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Thursday, August 24, 2017

It's Almost Time to Go Home!!

Hey friends!! Well, we are on the home stretch...it's almost time to go home! Daddy will be here Sunday night and we will head home Thursday morning. So excited!!! I can't wait to show you all pictures of our new home!

Thanks for stopping by The Homemaking Party!

Friday, August 18, 2017

Worry-Less Eclipse Glasses for Kids Using a Paper Plate

With the big Eclipse event of 2017 just a few days away, I've been waffling between stressed and excited at the thought of viewing it with my kids. With nine children, any exciting event needs to be planned out well if I hope to keep any kind of order. It's especially important that our Eclipse viewing day is not chaotic because the slightest deviation from my instructions to them can cause permanent serious eye damage.

You've probably already made yourself aware of the important warnings and safe viewing practices put out by NASA and other reputable organizations. If not, be sure to check out NASA's instructions for enjoying the Eclipse safely.

The kids and I have been visiting my mom in Oregon all summer, which puts us very close to the path of totality. We'll experience about a 98% eclipse in the town we're in. Therefore, it is imperative that we have protection for our eyes the entire time we are watching the event. My big worry in all of this is how I am going to make sure the kids keep their eclipse glasses on---especially since they're way too big for most little faces.

Sometime in the last two weeks, I'm sure I saw this paper plate idea online somewhere. That, or I dreamed it. Either way, I don't think this is my own idea but I can't find the original post so I'm doing my own. It's not a worry-free hack...but it is a worry-less one! My sister-in-law lives about 90 minutes up the mountain in a town that will see 100% totality and she was able to snag us these neat eclipse glasses that have the date of the event printed on them. They'll be a special memento of the day and of our time in Oregon so I don't want to alter them in any way. This DIY allows me to make them safely work for each of the kids.

I began by tracing and cutting a rectangle into the center of the plate. I made it large enough not to obscure any part of the lenses but small enough that the glasses completely overlap all edges.

Then I cut two slits on either side of the rectangle to run the glasses through.

Next, I ran the glasses through the slits, and carefully pressed the glasses against the plate, taping them down.

Finally, I cut up to the nose opening on both sides to help it securely fit on little faces and voila!---a safer option for my little kids that won't be slipping off of their faces unexpectedly. The kids can hold this up to their faces when they want to get a glimpse of this awesome event. I'm going to have them practice looking down to the ground before removing it so they don't accidentally get an unwanted peek.

The most important part of this DIY is taking the time to explain to your kids why they can't look at the sun without the glasses. On a normal day, it's very difficult for us to look at the sun anyway, but on Eclipse day, it will be much easier the more the sun is obscured. The rays are still just as harmful though so we must use the protective glasses through the entire event. Only those in the path of 100% totality will have a precious minute or two to remove their glasses and look up when the moon is directly in front of the sun---but for the rest of us, it's glasses on the whole time!


Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Turning Lemons to Lemonade on the Columbia River Gorge

 Hello Everyone! Welcome to the Homemaking Party! 
When I was in the 7th grade, I won a button at the school carnival that read, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." I took it home to my mom to have her explain to me the meaning---basically, when you're faced with hard times, you have two choices: negativity or positivity. 

Our family has had to choose to make a lot of lemonade the past couple weeks! To make a long story palatable, our van is toast. Toasty toast. We lost the engine last week and the van is too old to make the repair costs worth doing. So...the kids and I were stranded in Oregon unsure how to get home at the end of the month---for about 24 hours. Then the body of Christ began stepping in and we are well on our way to being able to afford a trip home on time. Yay! 

Anyway, this is just the kind of stuff that used to get me down. However, God has faithfully provided for our needs so many times that I didn't even worry this time! I knew it would work out---and it will!

So, on the day I had to go sign off the title to the guy from the scrap yard, I decided to take my oldest son Michael along and make it a happy day. First we stopped for ice cream---yum! Then we took the old highway along the Columbia River Gorge and found several spots with Oregon Trail ruts.

When we got to the town of Arlington, we stopped at the little park in town and I showed Michael my childhood swimming hole! I hadn't been there in at least 30 years!

Every day we encounter things that can bring us down. Some are simple like an impatient person in the checkout line---some are really big like being stranded 1,800 miles from home with nine children. If we choose to make lemonade out of those sour experiences, we might discover fun things like bits of history, a great swimming hole, or ice cream!

The Autumn Pen Friend Exchange is open to new participants at my blog, The Victorian Letter Writers Guild. I'd love to have you join!




Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Visiting the Children's Museum of Eastern Oregon in Pendleton

Welcome to The Homemaking Party! Today is Kynthia's birthday---she's 6 years old! We are having a great time celebrating our fourth oldest daughter.

Cainan (13) was given a free pass to the Children's Museum of Eastern Oregon and since the activities are mainly geared toward younger kids, he decided to take Brenna, 4, for a special day out last Friday.

The pretend grocery store was Cainan's favorite part of CMEO when he was little and Brenna loved it too!

I sat at a table in this pizza shop and wrote letters while they played restaurant. 

The Alice In Wonderland tea party room had a verrrry low ceiling! Ha!

When they'd played for a couple hours, I let Cainan pick out a souvenir for Brenna. He chose a wooden flute and they each got a snack. It was a great day out!

We are going home in 29 days!!! I can't wait! Did I tell you all we got a house? I can't remember...but we did! It's gonna be great. I can't wait to show you all around!


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