Gettin' Crafty!

Lately I have been feeling a little bit antsy! Not sure where to put all of this "crafty" energy, I have run across some fun websites. I realized that I could totally use my craftiness to get myself and our family organized. Through my MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) group here I learned how to develop a Family Notebook.

Our family notebook consists of a 3 ring binder with pocket tab folders for dividers. In our notebook I have placed spots for:
Daily and Weekly To Do's
Menu and Grocery Lists
Coupons
Bills
Family/School
Church
Craft Ideas/ Home projects
Vacation

I have been shown some great websites for learning how to put together this family notebook. The first one is www.theprojectgirl.com and the second one is www.organizedhome.com. There are a ton of printable pages that I am using for my notebook. I also got the idea to do a holiday notebook. There are a ton of great ideas on those sites for this one as well. I like that I can go and just print off the pages and not have to come up with the ideas on my own!!

With this getting organized craze that I have been going through I have done a project to organize our magazines. I like to keep the ones that have ideas or recipes in them. So instead of spending $7 for a magazine holder. I used an old cereal box and some contact paper that I bought at Wal-Mart for about $6! I can't wait until we empty more cereal boxes so I can make more! This was a really fun project, mostly because it didn't take a lot of time and it was really inexpensive! Probably less than $0.50 per magazine holder!

Last week I make cork boards for my boys. I painted their names on them and hung them in the kitchen. This is going to be a great way to hang up all the art work that is brought into our house daily! They were so excited about it and can't wait to get started making stuff to hang on them!

Micah 6:8
He has told you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you But to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Summer comes to an end...

Summer is now coming to an end. School starts next week and I will be the mother of a Kindergartner! That is the craziest thing I can think of! It seems that only yesterday I was carrying him around on my hip and now he is going to get on the school bus and be off to school! We are both very excited about it though. He can't wait to ride the bus! I can't wait to see him flourish under a great teacher. I am a little worried though about how little brother will handle it. They have been wonderful playmates this summer, although there was a lot of sibling rivalry.

Summer was so much fun this year. We were able to take a few day trips throughout the summer. We went to a local State Park and had a picnic and went hiking to a beautiful waterfall. We took another day trip to the St. Louis Zoo, that was so much fun (even though it was the HOTTEST day of the year!). We also did a lot of fun family things like go mini golfing and swimming in the back yard. I feel as though the summer flew by but I am so blessed to have these wonderful memories with my young boys.

With fall fast approaching it is time to figure out a new schedule. There will be a lot of adjustments being made for our family this upcoming year. With a new school schedule, soccer schedule, and church schedule. It will be really fun to learn how to juggle everything. I am going to put up a "rough" sketch of our new fall schedule. I am sure it will need to be adjusted once we get a feel for how school, soccer and choir all work.

FALL 2010
7:00 Boys wake up and get dressed
7:10 Breakfast
7:30 Brush teeth/ comb hair
7:45 Get backpacks ready and prepare to leave for bus stop
7:58 Get picked up by bus
8:05 Mommy and little brother start chores
8:45 Morning activity (Bible study, or play date)
9:15 Snack time
9:45-10:30 Play time
10:30-10:45 Clean up and prepare for lunch
11:00 Lunch
11:45 Get settled down for nap/ read books and cuddle
12:00 Nap
2:30 Snack time for little brother
3:00 Leave to pick big brother up from bus stop
3:15 Snack time for big brother
3:45-4:30 Mommy and boys play time/ homework time
4:30 Mommy starts dinner prep
5:15 Dinner
6:00 Daddy playtime with boys or Evening activies (church, soccer)
6:30 Bath time
7:00 Prepare clothes and backpack for the next day
7:15 Boys play time
7:45 Clean up
8:00 Bible story and prayer time
8:10 Lights out!

Hopefully this will not have to change too much. I have found that the more busy I am the better the day goes. I am really looking forward to fall and enjoying some cooler weather and more fun times with my little boys.

I have been learning so much lately about the importance of being totally focused on my faith. The more I look to God for help and reassurance the better my outlook on life is. I am so encouraged by recently formed friendships. A Bible verse that has spoken to me this summer and I was really able to apply to my life is...

Deuteronomy 31:8
It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

This verse means that no matter what has or will happen in my life God was there before me and has it all under control! I know that His will for my life is not to harm me or hurt me, but to allow me to prosper and be strengthened in him!

Joy comes in the morning...

It has been 2 weeks since implementing our summer schedule, and I have to say that it has gone awesome! My kids have taken to the schedule like troopers! They love to do their chores in the morning and picking up toys has become a natural thing to do as opposed to something that is foreign to them.

I have been so pleased with being able to keep them busy, we have done so many cool things already. They have been so happy to play in their pool in the back yard, help mommy in the garden and play in their sandbox! Summer time is the best time!

My 5 year old is beginning to learn more responsibility and we are teaching him about the value of money. Something that we feel our parents did not do a very good job teaching us. He loves learning about what each of the coins is worth. He has his own bank with 3 different places to put his money. One for "the bank", one for the "store" and one for "church". I think its so important that he learns to "tithe" his money, so we make sure he puts a little in the church one every time he earns money or receives it from someone. He is saving for a Lego Pirate ship and we told him that if he earned the money to pay for half of it we would pay for the rest for his birthday (which is in September). The pirate ship costs $100!! So he has a lot of work to do, but we feel if he really wants it he will appreciate it more knowing that he paid for it with his hard earned money!

With the 2 year old we have started the dreaded phase of "Potty Training"!!! With my older one he was in day care so they worked really hard with him and he was pretty easy (for a boy!). This one I feel will not be so easy. He is kind of stubborn and not really interested. He wants to sit on the potty but then he gets up and down off of it a thousand times! I have started the sticker chart which I did with the older one and we talk about the potty all the time. So I think within a few weeks he will be more interested and ready to go for it! Wish me luck!

For a family update we are once again working our budget. Our family is truly living pay check to pay check (but not really even making it to the next pay check!). My husband and I have talked and think it might be time to talk to a financial counselor about maybe consolidating our debt. Its quite large and we have been trying to eliminate it on our own but its just not happening as fast as we feel it should.

My title for this segment was "Joy comes in the morning" because I truly believe we are in a valley of darkness. BUT I also believe that with prayer and faith we can come out singing with joy at the faithfulness of Jesus Christ! Our faith is being tested right now with so many uncertainties and so many unanswered questions, that we have no choice but to put our trust fully in the plans of our Heavenly Father!

In closing here are some verses that I have been meditating on lately:

Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.


1 Peter 1:13
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.


Isaiah 26:3
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.

Its Summer Schedule Time!!!

Its now time for me to come up with a workable schedule for summer. The 5 year old finished preschool this past Thursday, and its officially "summer"!! I have given a lot of consideration to what we would like to do and accomplish this summer. So with that in mind I have worked up this schedule to keep everybody in our house happy and active all summer long. The Schedule is as follows:

6:15-6:30 Mommy and Daddy get up, Daddy gets ready for work, Mommy does her devotions/ prayer time
7:00 Mommy get herself ready for the day
7:30-7:45 Daddy leaves for work, the boys get up, and get dressed
8:00 Breakfast
8:30 Brush teeth, comb hair and do morning chores
9:00 Morning activity/ Bible story time
9:45 Morning Snack
10:00 Boys play time
10:30 Structured Activity
11:30 Lunch
12:00- 2:30 2 year old's nap time
12:00-1:00 5 year old and mommy work on folder activities
1:00-2:00 Mommy Computer time/ 5 year old Movie time
2:00-2:30 5 year old reads books and coloring time
2:30-3:00 Afternoon snack
3:00 Afternoon activity---- Pool time, out side play, park, etc.
4:30 clean up and prepare for dinner
5:15 Daddy gets home from work, Mommy finishes up dinner
5:45 Dinner
6:15 Evening chores
6:45 Family Play time (either outside or inside)
7:30 Clean up the house time
7:45 Bath time for the boys, brush teeth, comb hair
8:15 Family book reading time/ Bible story/ prayers
8:45 Bed time for the boys
9:00-11:00 Mommy and daddy time
11:00 Bedtime for mommy and daddy

My hope with this schedule is that it will keep the boredom down and the fun times coming all summer long!!

Some ideas that I have for morning activities are: play dough, crafts, baking cookies, and painting, most of these can be done either inside or outside. I have also made some cool little buckets that I have placed these activities in on pieces of paper. So when it comes time to do these we can draw them out of the bucket and hopefully it will be even more fun for the 5 year old, knowing that he helped choose that activity.

My afternoon activities will consist of going to the pool, to the park, playing outside at our house, riding bikes, or going for a walk. I also have these, and a lot more, in another bucket to choose from.

During the school year, my 5 year old only attended preschool 3 days a week, but it was a 5 day program. So his teacher would send home the papers that he missed. Since I didn't get to most of them, I have saved them in hopes of "some day" completing them with him. This summer is the time that I am planning on doing that. I have compiled them into a folder and in the afternoons while the 2 year old is napping the five year old and I will be doing some of those papers. There are so many that it should keep us busy all summer!

Isaiah 26:4
Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

What can I say....

This is turning out to be a very frustrating day. My two year old is really beginning to show his true colors! I tried taking them to the library today, since it was raining. That only lasted about 20 minutes because he was climbing on everything and being very loud. I always feel like a terrible mother when I can't control him, but he is a very stubborn little boy! So with him sleeping and the 5 year old watching a movie that we borrowed from the library, I am taking a few moments to get myself together before I go and tackle some cleaning.

With school almost out for the summer, I was trying to come up with some exciting new things for us to explore this summer. Being on such a tight budget, I was getting really frustrated at how expensive certain activities can be. For us to go swimming at our public pool it will cost $9 total each time. I would like to go swimming at least 3-4 times a week, if possible. For us to visit the local state park it would be $11 total each time. SO my solution is to get a membership which really is a great deal. For the pool we would have to go about 10 times to get our moneys worth, for the state park it would be about 3 or 4 times. I think these will be great things for my boys to do to keep them busy and allow them to get out some energy!

For the creative part of my "plan", the five year old and I decorated some containers and labeled them "Outside" and "Inside". I printed out all of the activities that I came up with for us to do this summer and we will place them inside. That way whenever we can't think of something to do we can draw from one of the containers. My list for "outside" activities includes things like, riding bikes, going to the park, playing in the sprinkler, chalk, Frisbee, soccer, baseball, etc. I made one for "inside" activities as well, since there is always the chance of rain. Some of those include, baking cookies, playing with playdough, painting, having a camp-out, doing a craft, making puppets, etc. I am hopeful that these activities will keep us busy and out of boredom!!

My husband and I have also been realizing the need for more responsibility for our 5 year old. So we did some reading and decided on a "Chore Chart". We went back and forth and read many different opinions on what should be a "chore" and what should be a "paid job". On one hand we feel that he needs to be helping out around the house with out the expectation of getting paid. BUT on the other hand we feel he needs to start saving his own money to buy toys or other things that he may want (hoping that he might appreciate the things he has a bit better). One opinion we read was that every one should get an allowance for just being in the family. It should be set aside in the family budget for them to get their weekly allowance, a perk for being in the family. His theory is, you as the parent, are going to spend money on that child anyway, so you should just give the money to the child. I might not have explained that the way he meant for it to be explained. He also said that if a child would like to earn extra money for special things then paid jobs can be set out for them to earn that extra money. So we came up with our own chart to follow. Some items being chores and some being paid. The paid ones also have different amounts. On the chore side we put, make bed, wipe off table after meals, load his own dishes in the dishwasher, vacuum his room, and pick up his toys. On the paid job side we put, unload silverware and plastics from dishwasher ($.50), pick up sticks in the yard ($1.00), vacuum other rooms ($.50), take out garbage (.$50), help wash cars ($1.00), and raking leaves/shovel snow ($1.00). We are hoping that this will help him learn the value of working to earn special things, instead of just having stuff handed to him. Not that he gets everything he wants, but pretty close!


My husband and I recently finished reading Have a New Kid by Friday by Dr. Kevin Leman. We have been implementing the strategies in that book and I have to say, they work!! We were dealing with lots of behavioral problems with the five year old and they seem to be getting resolved. Next we are going to begin reading Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp. I am looking forward to learning more about how I can meet my childrens spiritual needs as a parent.


Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."

Mickey Mouse here we come....

We leave for Florida on Monday. We are all so excited!! We started saving for this trip 14 months ago, it seem like it was forever ago. We decided last year that we wanted to go visit my parents who are living in Florida right now. So we started to plan and realized that we could go to Disney while we were there and stay for free (my parents own a timeshare near Orlando). So we thought why not save our spare change in a jar and see how much we can save in a years time. We ended up with approximately $1,000!! I will say that the grandparents helped out by sending money about every week usually only a $1 or so per kid, and we had a garage sale which added about $200. So that $1,000 dollars covered our airfare and car rental!

So after we figured out how we were going to pay for this trip it was time to start planning how we were going to spend our time when we were there. First we decided that with our kids being so little (ages 5 and 2) we should only plan on going to two parks. We decided on Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. Next we had to decide when we were going to go to which park and for how long, since the 2 year old still takes naps and the 5 year old still need to rest. So we figured out that since Animal Kingdom is only open until 5 pm that we would go there the first day. We arrive late in the evening on Monday so we decided that being able to sleep in the next day and not rush to get to the park would be a good idea. So that left our second day in Florida to go to Magic Kingdom. That way we would have a good rest in us before tackling the "big" park.

Once we decided on which days to go where, I really wanted to plan a Character lunch. We have always done that when we go to Disney World and I know my kids will love to eat with and meet the characters. So I planned that and made the reservation before we left so that we wouldn't have to do that when we got there.

After going to the parks we decided that with the half a day we had before heading to see my parents we would hit Downtown Disney. Downtown Disney has a ton of specialty shops and things to do. We are most looking forward to the Lego Store, they have TONS of Legos out to play with and work on. My boys are going to go crazy!! They also have the Rainforest Cafe, which my husband and I are really looking forward to. We ate there 10 years ago on our Honeymoon, so this will be a nice reminiscent time for us. The boys have never eaten at a Rainforest Cafe, so I look forward to seeing their reaction to it! After Downtown Disney we plan to head to see my parents, they live further south in Florida. We are planning on going to the beach, which is something that the boys have never gotten to do. We just hope that the weather cooperates for us.

I know this will be a wonderful vacation for all of us. After 14 months of planning and preparing, I think we are ready! I never realized how much preparation went into planning such vacations. My mother would pack for 5, and plan all the stops on the way, plus the time that we were there. I give my mother a lot of credit because we were never bored or wondering what was going to happen next on our vacations, she always had it planned out. That is something that I am taking responsibility for in my own family. I love to plan and make sure that everything runs smoothly. My husband says that I have the gift of administration, but sometimes I think I am just too lazy to follow through!

I will report back, on the outcome of our Florida vacation! It should be a wonderful time for the whole family. At first I wondered if my 2 year old would be bored or not interested, but I have heard that they are so amazed at this age that they really enjoy it.

New things....

As I sit here we are about to leave to go and look at a new Christian School for our 5 year old. He will be starting Kindergarten in the fall. Even though we live in a great public school district, we feel strongly about a solid Biblical upbringing. This is a nerve wracking decision for me to have to make. We only have a week before the pre-registration has to be filled out and turned in at his present school. So the decision has to be made quickly. Its not that we put off making this decision we just didn't realize that it would have to made this soon!

Starting this year, my husband and I have decided to "live like our grandparents". Meaning that we will try to not be wasteful and make sure our things are taken care of and last us a long time. We have realized that this is a very wise thing that needs to be taught to our children.

After Christmas we piled the van high with donations for Goodwill. Most of which were toys out of the boys room. They received way more than they needed for Christmas, and we decided to make them decide which toys they wanted to give away to make room for their new ones. We also had a birthday in September, and one in January, so the last few months have been filled with new items. Reflecting back on the events of the past few weeks, like the earthquake in Haiti, it really makes me so thankful for the little things we have.

My personal goal for this year to live so that no one questions my beliefs! I want my children to know what I believed and to want to emulate my behavior in every way!