Archive by Author | Lisa McAfee

Reasons why You are the Best Mom

Apr11

 

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Mother’s Day is quickly approaching and I just wanted to send a post your way to let you know you are the best mom for your child(ren). It is easy to get caught up in the faults you find with yourself and the inadequacies you may see in being a mother. But, I wanted to let you know that your children have been placed in your life and you are the greatest gift your child has received.

Would you like to know why?

You spend hours each day teaching school when you could be visiting with friends and pursuing a hobby, making a career for yourself, or volunteering.

You give selflessly each and every day. You fix meals, take care of the house and care for your children, just to name a few things.

You prepare lessons plans, drive to lessons, co-ops, clubs, sporting events, and church so that your child can experience the best of everything.

You discipline yourself to teach school when there are days when neither you, nor the children want to do it.

You listen to your child(ren), you care deeply for him/her, and want the best for them.

Thank you, Mom, for giving of yourself, for teaching them, for sharing your life (the good and the bad) with the precious gift of your family. Yes, you are going to have bad days, but there are also many good days. When you mess up, be quick to admit it and ask for forgiveness. I think I must have said I was sorry more than a thousand times!

I just wanted to leave you with a quick story and the reason why I wanted to write this post. I received a call from my oldest son tonight who is in his twenties, and he called to say he loved me. He also told me he had found some keepsakes of things I had written to him when he was in college.  Who would have thought? At that moment I had a thought that even though I messed up countless times and cried many a tear thinking he could have had a better mom, I realized that I mothered pretty well after all. Ian is a loving, generous young man and I am thankful he gets to call me mom.

So, don’t lose heart! Be encouraged, and keep being faithful to what you have been called to and chosen to do. You are the best mom your child could ever have! Happy (early)Mother Day.

 

Ideas for Weight Loss

Apr4

I have wonderful news… my youngest son is getting married! His fiancée is wonderful and we are looking forward to having her in our family. She will have all the joys of spelling and saying our last name like I have!

Recently I began trying on dresses for the “Big Day”. I don’t know how these pounds grabbed onto me, and if I had to choose a date for the wedding, I would say a year from now so I could get skinnier. Well, I have about a month to lose some winter poundage. Miracles can happen, right? I looked on the internet with my quest to lose weight and found 7 key points to help:

  1. Did it grow? Fruit, vegetables, and nuts fit that category. However, I would have to say that maltodextrose  does not. What is that anyway?? A colorless to yellowish syrupy mixture of dextrose, maltose, and dextrins containing about 20% water, used in confectionery, alcoholic fermentation, tanning, and treating tobacco. Ewww!! 😦
  2. 1 ingredient– No, I don’t have to eat just one thing, but rather  food should be as unprocessed as possible.
  3. Did it have a mother? Was it alive previously? Fish, beef, chicken all had mothers. However,  I do wonder about pigs… 🙂
  4. One pound= 3500 calories How long will it take to exercise off a donut? Motivation factor!
  5. Stay hydrated– Often we think we are hungry, but it is actually thirst. Also, water curbs appetites. Calories are being burned walking to the bathroom too!
  6. Eat every 4 hours– By eating smaller amounts our blood sugar remains steady, resulting in eating less.
  7. Move! If I don’t have a partner to hold me accountable I am far less likely to exercise. A friend keeps me moving and motivated on days when I’d rather sit and eat some carbolicious snack.

Here is to hoping to see progress soon. I haven’t lost any weight since I started yesterday (lol), but I am thinking thin thoughts… I’ll close with a recipe from Fitness Magazine that I am going to try. Care to join me?

Peach Milkshake (1 serving)

1 cup almond milk

1 cup peaches

1/2 cup pineapple juice

1/2 banana

1 teaspoon coconut oil (optional–may help burn calories)

Blend all ingredients until smooth.

*I like to add chia seeds or flax in addition to the above ingredients. Chia is rich in omega fatty acids and minerals. Flax is rich in protein and fiber.

 

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City Goggles: Places to visit in the area

Mar29

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Don’t you just love when you have pleasant surprises? Well, today was just the day when I received one. I am on a homeschool forum and one of the moms posted a link to her son’s page concerning places to visit here in the Greater Cincinnati area. I was intrigued by the miniatures museum and went to check it out.

Cory Woodruff is a student at DAAP at the University of Cincinnati and chose to do his senior capstone project on coffee shops and various other places to enjoy in Southwestern Ohio and Northern/ Central Kentucky. Not only did his short clips make me want to visit the locations he chose to film, but I also found his angle shots interesting and his story lines intriguing.

The surprise that I had was when I looked at his gallery page and found that my son in Cory’s videos. Malcolm is representing Carabello Coffee, the shop that he has worked at for the past 2 years!  Carabello Coffee is a wonderful place to visit and get a great cup of coffee and nosh on sweets and delicious Bella Pops.  I am posting the link to Cory’s project so you can enjoy all the clips. City Goggles Be sure to check out the statue video as well. He has history links to each of the statues and you can incorporate this into your history studies.

Perhaps some of your children are interested in film and are exploring career and hobby possibilities. I hope to have an interview with Cory in the near future.  🙂

Dressed for Death: a book review

Mar28

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 Sometimes we homeschool moms just need to slow down and take some time for ourselves. One thing I enjoy doing is reading.  Mystery,  justice, and romance are elements I love to see in a novel when I am reading for pleasure. Julianna Deering truly met these expectations with her fourth book, Dressed for Death. With many suspicious characters and several twists and turns throughout the telling of this tale, I was held in suspense until the very end. I look forward to reading more cases from Ms. Derring about her sleuth, Drew Fathering, and his encouraging and fearless newly wed helpmeet, Madeline. I believe you will enjoy this book as much as I did. 

If you would like to have a sneak peek about the book, read on… A Regency-era event turns out to be deadly when one of the guests dies from an apparent overdose of cocaine. Nothing seems to be as it appears as several guests are caught up in the web of death and suspicion. Drew Fathering, one of the guests and amateur detective, is in a race against the killer as one by one guests from the hosting house are being murdered.  

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

 

Chore Cards: Completing Housework

Mar21

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Chores can be a negative word in a child’s mind, okay, in an adult’s mind too! So, how do you get housework done around the house without a lot of nagging and threatening? I wish I had the cure to share with you because I would be a wealthy woman selling my solution!  It is a matter of discipline for all involved. You have to be disciplined in seeing that the work gets done and your family members have to be disciplined in doing the work.

One of the biggest frustrations I found with my sons was that work was “half done” or not done to my satisfaction. Do you call a bathroom clean when the mirror still has toothpaste on it? hmmm… I found myself having to go and round up the one whose chore it was and be right there while the job was completed correctly.

By creating a simple checklist, chores  were done correctly. Laminating an index card with a list of things to be done for each chore worked well. I first demonstrated each step on the chore card and watched a few times to be sure the steps were done properly. If you decide to do this, the time invested in the beginning will give you huge dividends in the long run.  I kept the chore card in the room which was being cleaned, but they can also all be kept in a central location.

Chore cards can be different colors for different rooms for easy reference. It is frustrating when you have a system in place and it gets derailed because of a small detail. You can type and duplicate the directions for each chore card in case it gets lost.   Here is an example for cleaning the living room:

Living Room

Supplies Needed: Dust rag, furniture polish, vacuum cleaner

Directions:

  1. Pick up any toys/items that do not belong  and put them in their proper place.
  2. Using the dust rag, wipe off the lamp shade and the baseboards.
  3. Lightly spray the wooden table with the furniture polish and use the dust rag to rub in the polish.
  4. Vacuum the rug, making sure you move the furniture.
  5. Replace the furniture and the vacuum to their original spot.
  6. Put away furniture polish and throw dust rag in the laundry.
  7. Return the chore card to its proper place.

I realize everyone’s house and standard of clean is different, but hopefully this gives you ideas and saves you time. 🙂