Changes Ahead...

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Esmé's Mommy here.

Wow - just when I think things are under control in one area, I find out I'm way behind in another. Know what I mean?

That Tot School post that just went up with Monday's date on it? I've been working on it since Sunday, but just haven't found the moments to squeeze into get it up until now. And it didn't even take that long in terms of total time

I've been meaning to write a post about the direction of this blog for a while (like since New Year's Day when I was going to write about all my resolutions?), but living life always trumps blogging about life for some reason.

The fact is, I love blogging, and I've had a dozen ideas for blogs I want to start, but so far I've managed to kick myself in the backside before doing so (except for that Winning Readings book blog, which has grown way too fast all of a sudden). I need new projects like a hole in the head. But I REALLY want to start a devotional blog. And a weight loss blog. And a vegetarian cooking blog. And a Project 365 blog. Not because I like cooking (I detest it). Or am any good at photography (though I blame it on the camera). More because I find motivation and accountability through blogging.

Well, I managed to last through most of January without starting any of that stuff, so I think I can convince myself to put it off for another year. Because I really don't have time. REALLY! (Still trying to convince myself.)

But I do have a few brainstorms I'd like to incorporate on THIS blog. So here's the schedule I'm outlining for myself.

• Sunday: Mission Sunday
• Monday: Motion, Matter, Mitosis, and Me
• Tuesday: Tiny Talk Tuesday
• Wednesday: Wordless Wednesday
• Thursday: Learning Spaces
• Friday: Fashion Friday
• Saturday: Tot School

I'll throw in other stuff here or there as I feel compelled. And life will continue to trump blogging, so I'm not gonna stress if I miss out here and there. Because one of my biggest resolutions is to be "present." Not thinking about how to blog about the event, but actually ENJOYING the event.

Mission Sunday. We're gonna mix this up a little. Instead of just random links, Esmé and I will focus on a specific country each week. We'll find it on the globe, learn a little about the language and food and religion, and find a blogger in that country who we can say hi to! And we'll give you a link so you can say hi, too...

And we'll be doing something here locally, too! We're starting right at home - we've found some yummy muffin recipes we're going to try - and first we'll bless Pappa with them to make sure they're edible; then we'll start "Operation Know Your Neighbor" and sharing some muffins with the neighbors, too. It'll take a few of weeks to get through the immediate neighbors...

Motion, Matter, Mitosis, and Me. It seems like everywhere I turn lately, I'm tripping up against how important science is for preschoolers. We've been churning out and burning out on printables and worksheets lately, and I'm looking for an alternative. Esmé loved the science stuff we did in our recent book reviews, so I'm planning to put together at least four science activities each week - in physics, chemistry, biology, and human health/anatomy. Fun and basic stuff, though I don't shy away from big terms. Check this out if you'd like ideas, and let us know what ideas you've got or posted about!

Tiny Talk Tuesday. I love how this meme helps us document Esmé's growth and cutisms! Nothing new here.

Wordless Wednesday. An easy post and a fun way to meet other bloggers.

Learning Spaces. I've mentioned our school house before. Sadly (or not so sadly from another perspective), the little 12x16' house is wrapped and boarded up at the moment, since Pappa is overwhelmed with other work, and the jobs keep coming in. But in considering how to set it up and decorate it, I looked for examples of play/schoolrooms online, and I didn't find too much that I really liked!

So I've been doing more research on it, and want to focus on difference aspects of learning spaces each week. I'm going to wait on this one until the Motion, Matter, Mitosis, and Me feature is well underway, but if any of you have previous posts about your own learning spaces that I could borrow, or if you'd like to do a guest post on the topic, I'd LOVE to hear from you!

Fashion Friday. As long as Esmé stays fashionable, we'll keep this coming! We'd love to see others join in with Mr. Linky, too!

Tot School. You may have noticed we're not focusing on letters anymore. Esmé's got the alphabet downpat, and I'm using a curriculum now. I think the alphabet school concept has served its purpose (and well) for us - and we are putting it on hold for now. We'll leave the links up on our sidebar so others can reference them, and at some point, like when I'm done with this curriculum, I'll reevaluate if we go back to letter themes.

In the meantime, I'll just be posting snapshots of some of the activities we've done, though I can't disclose the entire curriculum, of course! And we throw extra stuff in, too...

So there you have it - the focus of this blog - for now! Until it changes...

Thursday 13 - Blog Peeves

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Esme’s Mommy here.

It’s hard to believe Esmé is 15 months old today! She continues to be ahead of the curve physically, mentally, and socially, and it is amazing to watch her grow, learn, and love! She is also rather strong-willed and in constant need of action; quite the challenge for her somewhat passive Mommy.

Stats – we haven’t done these in a while . . . Esmé is now 24 pounds and 30.5 inches by our measurements.

Happy 15th, beautiful baby! Keep amazing us every day!

Now on to the promised Thursday 13 specifically for bloggers – Blog Peeves.

Last week I went through thirteen reasons I keep a blog on my subscription list. Here are 13 of my blog pet peeves. Most are not reasons to unsubscribe, but they do add up.

And I’m guilty of some of the offenses myself. I know.

1. No Feeds. If it doesn’t show up on Google Reader, I may never be back. I just don’t have the time. And if it does show up but with no content, I may or may not check out the content. My favorites are those with all content displayed.
2. Anti-Spam Entries. Those word verification letters you have to type when leaving a comment so the computer knows you’re a person. I understand the purpose, but it’s annoying when you can’t make out the letters and have to keep trying and trying before your comment is accepted. Even worse are the math sums – how dare you tell me I don’t know how to do math?? 2+3 = 5, I KNOW!!
3. Bad Language. A few bad words when the situation seems to absolutely demand it are okay, but please don’t make every other word a swear word. It makes me think you have nothing to say.
4. Anti-Christian Sentiments. I’ve found some wonderful blogs by people of other religions and love reading about their religious traditions. Even lack of religious sentiment is fine. But please don’t attack my religious beliefs. Especially using swear words.
5. Product Reviews. Some are better than others, but if you have too many blatantly-obvious reviews, it gets annoying.
6. Ads. Too many ads on a blog home page are also annoying, especially if they take a long time to load.
7. Broken Links. If you’re linking to something, it MUST be interesting! And then to have it not show up makes me feel like the person at the party who doesn’t know why everyone else is laughing. Is it the WAY I clicked on the link, or am I just fat?
8. Too Many Comments. If it looks like you have a fan club, I’m not as interested. I don’t wanna be a groupie.
9. Lots of Artsy Stuff. I have a love/hate relationship with blogs that are filled with crafts, cooking, and artful creations. I love seeing it, but it makes me feel so inadequate and unaccomplished. And overwhelmed by lack of time.
10. Too Much Information. Specifically inappropriate/graphic information that I wouldn't want my kid to be in the same room with.
11. Memes. Some memes are tastefully done, but I find myself skimming over most of them. I get the most benefit when I’m tagged and then read the answers of the person who tagged me while doing my own.
12. Music. The kind that automatically plays. Sometimes I have a sleeping baby on my lap and I’ve forgotten to mute my computer. Bye bye, sleeping baby! Now I have no time to read your blog.
13. Impersonal Preachiness. I like hearing about your lessons learned, but be real! Vent. Confess. Let me know who you really are.

Confession – I ate Nutella straight out of the jar today. And baby saw me. So I gave her a teeny tiny bit. Another chocoholic is born!

There – I’ve let it all out! Now I feel better. Let’s get back to the mushy gushy positive feedback affirmation stuff, shall we?

And please, please, please don’t think I’m pointing fingers at you! If you’re even reading this, you are definitely on your way to being one of my keeper blogs!

Thursday 13 - Blog Keepers

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Esme’s Mommy here.

I came across this post from African Kelli – one of my “keeper” bloggers. She just arrived in Mozambique on a short-term health project, and her experience so well describes the quandary, the dilemma, that is Mozambique. If you’re short on time, please read her post instead of mine today!

Yesterday was Independence Day here in Mozambique, so we celebrated with a potjie at my sister’s house around the block and down a ways. Here is a photo I snapped on the walk – just to give you a visual for Kelli’s blog post.

Sudden change of topic and on to my Thursday 13 – specifically for bloggers.

When I first figured out Google Reader back in March, I started subscribing to feeds at a crazy rate. I knew I was in trouble when I went on vacation for a month and had limited internet access. Within the first week, my inbox had 1000+ items in it. Now that I’ve been home a bit and started working through it, I’ve been unsubscribing from a few blogs. Not as many as I should, but a woman’s gotta start somewhere.

And it’s a TERRIBLE process. I feel like I’m saying goodbye to good friends, just so I can have a real life. Selfish, isn’t it?

I’m no SheSpeaks seminar speaker, but I’ve been analyzing what makes a blog a keeper and what annoys me, and thought my very amateur perspective might be interesting to some.

Trying to see the glass half full, I’ll start with the keepers. Next week we’ll do the (more exciting) pet peeves.

1. People I Know. This trumps all. If I know you personally, I’ll read your blog. Period. It makes my life more interesting if you’ve got the other things going for you, of course, and thankfully all my personal friends do!
2. Similarities. I like people who have common interests. In most cases, that means kids. I love mommy blogs! Ones with a spiritual emphasis and wholesome lifestyle are even better. And Africa-related blogs are awesome, too.
3. Human Tragedy. I find myself drawn to others’ stories of personal tragedy. I’m sure there’s a happy ending somewhere, so I keep coming back to read more.
4. Regular Posts. I need to feel a part of the blogger’s life. This means at least a post or two a week. More than one a day on a regular basis, though, and it gets overwhelming.
5. Comments and Replies. If I get a reply or a comment on my blog, it makes me feel like you’re listening. That means I’m more likely to listen to you!
6. Personal Stories. I want to feel a part of your life. The more stories, the better. Intimate details are cool – though not too MUCH information, please.
7. Jumping In. I like blogs where I don’t have to go back to the beginning to figure out what’s going on. Photos help with this, as well as details on the sidebar. (Gotta work on my blog in this area – I know . . .)
8. Giveaways. I’m a sucker for these, especially where all ya gotta do is comment! Shameful, but true. Though I haven’t been winning anything . . .
9. Good Writing. That had to be on the list somewhere, right?
10. Humor. I prefer writers who don’t take themselves too seriously. Or ones who thoughtfully leave a smile on your face.
11. Lessons and Hints. If I can walk away feeling challenged to change or having learned something meaningful, I’ll read you.
12. Easy Reading. I have an MBA and can certainly read at college level, but when I’m speed reading through 101 posts, I prefer the eighth-grade level. Short sentences and paragraphs work for me. Big words that challenge my ever-shrinking mommy vocabulary are splendiferous, though.
13. Appropriate Use of Photos. Run-on blogs with no photos get tiresome. Related photos keep my attention. On the flip side, please give me some words to provide context to those photos.

So that’s what works for me. Oh shoot, it’s not Wednesday, is it?

Yeah, my own blog needs lots of work. I’m learning!

Honorable Mention

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Esmé's Mommy again . . .

I won a writing contest! Well, actually, I got a “Most” Honorable Mention for my Clean Underwear post. But it was fun – thanks, Scribbit! And if you’re visiting from Scribbit’s page, welcome! Visit often!

Since I got more hits from the link on Scribbit’s page than I usually get in a month, I thought I’d share with any new readers who I am and why I blog.

I’m a thirty-something mom of a one-year-old with an American passport living in Mozambique. My claim to fame is having the youngest skateboarder in the world as my daughter. Serious! If you’ve missed my previous posts on this, here are links to some skateboard videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSugV3byMSc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjHL66Kw3A4

My husband and I work with Maranatha Volunteers International on their project of building churches and schools here in Mozambique. We’ve been here since May of last year. With an accounting and IT background, I work with the money over here.

Combine working full-time with taking care of baby full-time, and there must be a good reason for spending valuable time blogging. Let me say that this idea that being a mother makes you more efficient is totally false advertising. Where do I start? Oh, yes, bullet points! I love bullet points! They make me feel so organized – what disillusionment! So, here’s why I blog:

• I wanted to journal my daughter’s childhood; to keep track of all the milestones and have things documented for my increasingly failing memory. I know someday my baby’s gonna ask me when her first teeth arrived, when she was potty trained, and what her favorite books were. Right?
• By the time Esmé was four months, I was having a hard time keeping up the journal. I figured an online journal would make me a little more accountable.
• Being so far from much of my family, I figured this would let them see how Esmé was growing and make me feel less guilty for not writing personal letters.
• It’s just plain addicting! I don’t have time to keep up with all the blogging jargon and strategies, and I know just enough about statistics to know mine are pathetic, but there’s something oddly rewarding about knowing the entire world can see what I wrote if they so chose.
• “Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do it all for God’s glory” (1 Corinthians 10:31). My posts don’t focus on Christianity necessarily, but at the end of the day, if it doesn’t glorify God somehow, I shouldn’t be doing it.

If you’ve read very far back, you’ll see most of my blogs are written from Esmé’s perspective. Here’s why: (Oh goody, more bullet points.)

• This actually started out as a MySpace blog; one of my friends recruited me to sign up with them, but I just couldn’t make myself devote a whole webpage to me. (Yes, I have hookups, as my husband can attest.) It seemed much more reflective of my “humble spirit” to highlight my daughter instead.
• I DON’T have time to proofread my writing and make sure things sound good. People will be much more forgiving of a one-year-old’s writing than a thirty-something’s, won’t they? This allows me to just post, rather than try to be perfect and never get the posting done.
• It actually helps me as a parent to try to see things from my kid’s perspective. Sometimes the things I do just don’t make sense, or aren’t any fun, or have no value from that perspective, so when I see this, I can change and become a better mom.
• Some people actually think it’s cute . . .