Books N Boys

5 Little Speckled Frogs

2011-12-31T13:56:00.001-05:00

We used straws, dental floss, construction paper, tape, and these printable puppets from Picklebums to make a super fun craft today!

Don't you just love the bugs my son drew?

Jesus Chooses His Disciples

2011-05-09T13:22:00.000-04:00

The theme night for this AWANA was "All Star Night". The kids could come dressed up in a sport uniform if they wanted. So I thought we would talk about Jesus' "team" of friends he chose. I introduced the story by talking about being on a team and getting picked for a team and then explained Luke 5: 1-11 and Matthew 10:1-4 using felts. I also talked about how the word "disciple" meant "friend" - at least for our purposes :)

For our craft we did "following Jesus foam feet". I got this craft idea from Mumx6, although I modified it a little for our use.

Basically what we did was trace each child's foot on craft foam and write "Following Jesus" down the center. Then I let the kids go to town and decorate the feet with stickers, glitter glue, etc.

Ghana Night

2011-05-08T12:13:00.000-04:00

(image credit)
We had a missionary come speak for our themed "Ghana" Awana Night. Since I didn't have to do a story for that night I had some extra activities to reinforce the Ghana theme. I got some simple books from our local library on Africa, the desert, and animals that lived there. I set up the felt board for kids to play with African animal felts and desert scenes and for our craft we made Animal Masks.

Typical Cubbie Night

2011-05-07T11:52:00.000-04:00

I realized that I never posted our typical schedule for a night of AWANA. Since the Cubbies are only 3/4 our schedule runs a little bit differently from other clubs.

6-6:10 - Opening Ceremony. All clubs participate in Opening Ceremony, even the Cubbies. We are the first ones dismissed back to our room.

6:10-6:30 - Book Time. Since memorization is such an integral part of AWANA we make sure we have a good chunk of time set aside for reciting. I also have coloring pages available for children who are finished with their verses and a small area with toys (typically for the boys who have trouble sitting still) to keep the kids quiet and non-disruptive for the children who are still reciting verses.

6:30-6:45 - Story Time. This is my time in the spotlight :) Just kidding. I get seriously excited about sharing the Bible with my kids. After all, for 3/4 year olds with short memories it's like telling them a story they have never heard before! If I am really excited about the lesson - they will usually mirror my excitement.

6:45-6:55 - Bathroom/Drink Break. After sitting for story time preschoolers need some time to move around so I usually have each leader take their "team" of kids to the bathroom or water fountain to allow the kids to wiggle and keep the kids who don't quite have the whole potty training thing totally down a chance to empty their bladders :)

6:55-7:15 - Craft Time. I always try to have a craft that not only reflects the story, but is interesting and on a level that the Cubbies can participate and help create. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it's always a fun time!

7:15-7:30 - Games/Song Time. Depending on how energetic (wild) the children are on a particular night, I might sing some action songs with them (Zacchaeus, I'm in the Lord's Army, Cubbie Song loudly then softly, etc) to allow them to move and be noisy. Or we might play a game to go with the story (this is one area I REALLY struggle with - I can never come up with good games). One of our favorite games that a former brilliant director created is called the "Animal Game". Basically you make all the kids lie down on the ground and turn out the lights (works best when it's still light outside so the kids don't get scared) and tell them when the lights go on they need to be ____ nonviolent animal. Turn the lights on, give them a couple minutes to act out the animal, turn the lights off so they lay down quietly again and think of another animal. I suggest NOT asking the kids for ideas as the boys in the room come up with the most violent animals possible. Or maybe that's just my children :)

7:30-7:45 - Snack Time. I have a sign up sheet at the beginning of the year and parents bring a simple snack (no drinks or nuts) for our 3 dozen or so kids and leaders.

7:45-8 - Award Time and Review the Story. Pretty much what it sounds like.

And that's it! Then I go home and CRASH from all the energy I expend with the children. I am always amazed at how much energy preschoolers have!

Fruit of the Spirit

2011-05-06T11:09:00.005-04:00

I LOVE doing the Fruit of the Spirit with preschoolers. It might seem like an abstract concept, but I have really found that preschoolers understand and identify with many of the fruits we talk about. The way I usually do the story is to Google, print off, color, and cut out a page-sized fruit for each virtue to go with Galations 5:22-23:

Grapes = Kindness

Orange = Joy

Apple = Self-Control

Strawberry = Love

Banana = Goodness

Peach = Gentleness

Cherry = Faithfulness

Pear = Patience

Watermelon = Peace (get it? a piece of watermelon)

I don't remember where I originally got the idea, but I had a short introduction that went something like this:

"You need a good banana and a brown/bad banana. As you show the children the rotten banana ask 'Who would like to eat this banana? Why not? How can you tell the banana will not taste very good?' Then show the children the good banana and ask 'Now who would like to eat this banana? Why? How can you tell this banana will taste good? Did you know our lives are like one of these two pieces of fruit? Children who belong to God do nice things, so other people see them as good and wholesome, like this good banana. The Bible says in Matthew 7:20, "You will recognize people by their fruit." What kind of fruit do you want to be?"

Then I had the felt board set up with my cut out page-sized fruit taped onto it. Underneath each fruit was an example using our felts of the spiritual fruit it represented:

Love = Mom and Dad holding a kid/baby

Joy = Kid holding a present

Peace = Kid sleeping

Patience = Kids standing in line

Kindness = Kid sharing with another kid

Goodness = Kids helping to set table

Faithfulness = Kids reading Bible

Gentleness = Kid holding a baby

Self-Control = Kid eating ONE cookie instead of five

By removing the fruit covering the examples one at a time and explaining them, the kids really catch on to what each fruit means. By the end of the story, I am usually able to point to each example and have the kids tell me what each fruit is illustrating.

For our craft, I wanted to do something similar to THIS craft from Oriental Trading. I love Oriental Trading's crafts - they are easy and convenient, but I can't afford to do them every week for three dozen children! So, I try to pick the top five or so weeks that I really need a convenient craft due to other events going on in my life and I buy crafts for those weeks. Otherwise, I use Oriental Trading more as inspiration and make my own crafts like it. For this craft, I had my sister draw the apple shape on green foam and we basically copied the craft on our own. This craft would also be a good one for illustrating the Fruits of the Spirit.

In order to help cement more complex concepts like this in my kids' minds, I do try to go over the story again at the end of the night during Award time. Even so, don't be discouraged if a parent asks their child what they learned that night and the kid replies "I don't know." or "Jesus." I truly believe that God's word won't return void and that planting the seeds of the gospel in kid's minds is important - even if it doesn't seem to make an impact immediately. I have learned kids listen closer than you think.

God Made ME

2011-04-19T12:22:00.004-04:00

The first time for anything is usually hard. This is especially true for kids it seems. On the first day of class when kids are new, don't know me, each other, or their surroundings, it can be difficult to put them at ease and teach a lesson. This year I decided to go with the theme of "God Made Me".

I got "All About Me" posters from Oriental Trading which the leaders would help the kids fill out. This helped the leaders get to know their kids better. We read the book "God Made Me" by Debra Stuckey which is SUCH a perfect book for small children.

For our snack time, I brought in undecorated gingerbread cookies and frosting and let the kids make self-portraits. This was kinda messy but a huge hit! Plus it gave us a chance to talk about how we are all different and special.

We are AWANA Cubbies

2011-04-19T09:53:00.003-04:00

I have been involved with our church's AWANA program for over ten years now.

Most of that time has been in the 3/4 year old's class - the Cubbies. This year, I have also been teaching the 2/3 year old Sunday School class.

I love the 2-4 year old age range. Everything is new and exciting. I get so excited by the fact that when I tell my kids a Bible story they are hearing it and understanding things about it for the first time. Since I have invested a good deal of time and effort into making the stories and crafts I use each week accessible and interesting and understandable for preschoolers, I thought I would attempt to post them all here as a resource for me for future planning, but also to help any other parents and teachers of preschoolers that might be interested.

Today I want to post about the ways I tell a Bible story. I like to use lots of different resources when I tell a story because kid's learn differently and because preschoolers have a short attention span.

Our church has a set of Betty Luken's Felts that I like to use occasionally. These take some time to set up and put away so I don't use these every week. When I do tell a story with them I try to pick one that uses LOTS of pieces of felt so I can give each child one to hold. Then, as I tell the story they get to come and put their felt onto the board. This works wonderfully for helping more active children listen and be involved in the lesson. I also keep the felts at the kids level after the story so they can play with them and retell the story to each other.

Puppets are a wonderful way to explain more abstract concepts to kids! I have a Cubbie bear, Lamb, and Elephant puppet.

Occasionally I use books such as 3 in 1 to explain big concepts like the Trinity.

I have a box of large realistic Bible Story Pictures, that Abeka makes that are fabulous, realistic ways to tell the story.

Every week I provide a coloring page for the children who have finished reciting their memory verses. I try to reinforce the theme or story I will be teaching on. The Bible Story Coloring Pages book has been wonderful for preschool appropriate coloring pages that are so cute!

Resurrection Eggs

2011-04-01T10:04:00.006-04:00

My favorite way to teach children about Easter is with Resurrection Eggs. You might have already seen this idea around; I believe there are even sets you can purchase. I made our own set though because it really isn't that hard to do and lasts for years! There are lots of variations you will find when searching for Resurrection Egg sets so this set may not match up with others out there. Personally, the ability to customize your set is part of what makes these such an effective teaching tool.

Basically you need a dozen plastic eggs and an egg carton. Then you can copy and print out the list below and glue it to the inside of the egg carton. That will tell you what passage of scripture to read for each day, what is in each egg, and what it represents. I have found it helpful to either number the eggs or the slots in the egg carton so you know what goes where.

Day Read In Egg To Represent

Day 1 Luke 22:1-6 Silver Coins Judas betrayed Jesus

Day 2 Mark 14:12-26 Bread The last supper

(bread will mold, I used crackers)

Day 3 Luke 22:47-54 Sword Peter cuts off servant's ear

Day 4 Luke 22:55-62 Rooster Peter denies Jesus

Day 5 Matt. 27:1-2 Rope Jesus tied and whipped (Judas hangs himself)

Day 6 Matt. 27:11-31 Thorns Jesus' crown of thorns

Day 7 Luke 23:26-34 Cross Jesus dies on the cross

(I used popsicle sticks hot-glued together)

Day 8 Luke 23:35-43 Sponge Jesus is given sour wine

(vinegar works well for demonstration purposes)

Day 9 Luke 23:44-53 Linen Jesus' body is wrapped

Day 10 Matt.27:59-61 Rock Stone in front of the tomb

Day 11 Luke 23:54-24:1 Spices Women prepare spices

(whole cloves, lavender, any larger spice that smells good)

Day 12 Luke 24:1-12 Empty Jesus is risen. He's ALIVE!

Angry Birds!

2011-03-28T14:11:00.005-04:00

I don't know if it's just my family, or maybe it's just a guy thing, but my husband and boys are obsessed with the Angry Birds game that my husband has on his Android.

So, I decided to encourage my children's love of the game by making them shirts and stuffed replicas of the game so they could play it when Daddy's at work.

Here are some pictures of how they turned out. Hopefully it will inspire someone :)

I created my own Angry Bird images using the basic, ever useful Paint program and then printed them on iron-on transfer paper. Then, I used permanent markers to make the scenery.

For the stuffed animals, I used a basic ball and triangle pattern and added the embellishments

myself. I was pretty happy with how they turned out and my boys are HILARIOUS to watch playing the game since they must make all the sound effects when they play.

Sparking Mint Lemonade

2010-09-01T14:47:00.003-04:00

I haven't posted here in a while.

I could say it's because I've been too busy, but that would only be part of the truth.

Actually, it's because I just don't have that much to say. I read the blog posts of others on the web and it seems that they have so much to contribute. Well, I don't feel like I do all that much. So, for now I am only posting when I do. And today is one of those days.

I made up the best lemonade recipe in the world! Seriously, this is addictive.

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

bunch of mint - like at least a cup

Boil the above together to until the sugar is dissolved and you have a wonderful mint simple syrup that you can use for all sorts of things. The mint flavor gets stronger as it sits too.

Now add 1 cup lemon juice and 1 2 liter bottle of sparkling water.

That's it! So simple and SO good!

Wouldn't this make an awesome Christmas gift?

2010-04-06T11:32:00.003-04:00

So, I just entered a giveaway over at the Not So Perfect Housewife for a Sodastream!

This is definitely one to check out. We don't drink soda a whole lot around here, but this would be a perfect gift for at least two family members we have who drink soda A LOT. I love all the different flavors they have too (although they don't have my favorite - grapefruit). The cran-raspberry looks the most delicious to me.

I highly encourage you to check out the Not So Perfect Housewife and see her cute video of the Sodastream in action.

To remember...

2010-03-26T11:40:00.003-04:00

Ken came home from work the other day and jumped in the shower. When he got out, he called, "Hey Babe, could you bring me a towel?" Will being the sweet helpful child he is, immediately ran into the room and shouted, "Hey Babe, could you bring Dad a towel?"

Today Will stepped on a Lego he left on the floor. He came running to me and said, "Mom, I hurt my foot! I need 10 bandaids!" Guess if one is good, ten is better :)

Friday Faves

2009-08-23T23:45:00.003-04:00

Missy at It's Almost Naptime has one of the funniest blogs I've ever read. She's so real and thought-provoking and wonderful I just can't get enough of her! She started a new carnival recently - Friday Faves. This week's theme is the music you are listening to in your car.

So I figured I'd link up my children's favorite that they BOTH have memorized. Even the one year old sings along with "baa, baa, baa". It's super cute.

To see what other people have been listening to, check out Missy's website. It will take you longer than you anticipate. Yeah - she's THAT good :)

Emily - This is for YOU!

2009-07-27T13:37:00.002-04:00

Oh my goodness! Savvy Mode is having the most amazing giveaway I've ever heard of - SHOES!

Not just any shoes - these are more expensive shoes than I have ever worn in my life :)

Everyone should check this one out, but especially a sister of mine named Emily!!!

Frugal Kid Gifts

2009-07-27T13:07:00.003-04:00

Gina from the fabulous Moneywise Moms hosted a carnival on cheap gifts for kids. Since I have to do lots of kid's gifts due to all the siblings I have, I thought I'd add my two cents. Here are some recent popular birthday gifts I've given:

RM turned 8 recently so I used the Mars free chocolate coupons in conjunction with a Rite Aid BOGO sale and bought him 8 candy bars. That was a couple weeks ago and he's already eaten them all :p I've also seen people use this idea for cards (1 starburst, 2 M&Ms, etc.)

LA turned 6 in July & I got him a giant frisbee from Oriental Trading Co. for $5. Then I got a sharpie and wrote messages all over it. You could also use this idea for homemade kites - the idea is to cover the item in birthday wishes and fun phrases.

For my son's first birthday in a couple weeks, I am making banana shaped bean bags and my husband is going to make a bean bag toss out of a sheet of plywood and then I/my sister will paint it to look something like this:

Those are the most recent gifts I've done. I'm sure I could think of more, but my baby just woke up from his nap....

I feel like partying...

2009-07-22T14:30:00.000-04:00

Wanna come party with me and 400+ of my friends? :)

Things I love Thursday - Coconut Oil!

2009-07-09T13:21:00.002-04:00

After coming home from the store the other day I was bemoaning that I forgot to get more coconut oil and my husband said, "You should write a blog about how coconut oil is so awesome."

My husband is a genius.

Coconut oil IS awesome. I was a little sceptical when I first tried it, but I am completely hooked now. Only one, ONE, grocery store in our area carries it :( I have read both that coconut oil is wonderful for you and that it's the worst thing you could possibly eat. We haven't had any problems with it.

I like using coconut oil as a lotion - it makes my skin really soft without a greasy feel, plus it doesn't have a strong odor. It rubs in easily too. I am convinced that coconut oil is responsible for my lack of stretch marks from my last pregnancy.

Coconut oil is great to use for baking. I'm told it makes the best popcorn, but I haven't tried that yet.

The best use for coconut oil though, is as a KY substitute :) Seriously, this is why I buy the stuff.

It. Is. The. Best. Period. Natural, safe, odorless, not sticky or greasy, actually beneficial to your body, it is just awesome stuff. In case you haven't noticed, I really, really, really love coconut oil!

What do you love? Head over to the Diaper Diaries to let everyone know.

This made me cry.

2009-07-02T20:00:00.002-04:00

I found this song on You Tube and I started crying as I watched it. It is just such a sweet testimony for a guy and it made me think of my incredible husband.

I am going to see if my husband will sing it for church (he would ROCK it).

What do you think? Is it just me or is that a great song?

To ALL Parents

2009-06-24T14:42:00.001-04:00

Monday in a Harlem middle school, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice told a group of 120 students that administration officials are actively discussing “when and how it might be possible to join” (that is, ratify) the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). As before, she also communicated what a disgrace it is that the U.S. would stand with only Somalia against such a widely-accepted treaty.

This is the first direct public statement by the Obama administration that it will seek ratification of the UN CRC.

In my 30 years of political involvement, I have learned to recognize this as what is called a “trial balloon.” Like in World War I trench warfare, our opponents have “sent up a balloon” to see if it will draw fire. If things remain quiet, they will proceed with their plans to push for ratification of the CRC in the U.S. Senate.

To discourage them from doing so, we need to make sure that our voices are heard with unmistakable clarity. We must let the Obama administration know that we oppose this anti-family, anti-American treaty.

Here’s what we need you all to do:

1. Call the White House comments line at 202-456-1111. Tell them you heard the administration wants to ratify the CRC, and you strongly oppose this giving away of U.S. sovereignty to the UN. Also keep in mind that this treaty gives the government jurisdiction to override any decision made by any parent if the government thinks that a better decision can be made—even if there is no proof of any harm.

2. Call Ambassador Susan Rice’s office at the United Nations. Tell her that you want her to represent the United States to the world rather than trying to get the United States to go along with international law initiated by the UN. Her office number is 212-415-4000.

3. Contact your Senators and urge them to oppose ratification of this treaty. (Find your Senators’ contact information by typing your zip code into the box here.) Ask them also to defeat it once and for all by cosponsoring SJRes 16 – the Parental Rights Amendment.

It is very important that we speak up right now. Please call before you close this email!

Sincerely,

Michael Farris

(I called - would you?)

To learn more about this latest attack on parental rights, visit the Parental Rights website.

Unfortunately Courtney

2009-06-10T00:39:00.002-04:00

I was reading Kathryn's blog the other day and she was talking about how a friend of hers did a search with "Unfortunately (their name)" in Google and wrote a little story with the results that popped up. I thought this sounded like fun & I am totally burned out after writing 32! articles this past weekend. (I can tell you all kinds of cool facts about lobsters, the Foreign Exchange market, real estate, buying a boat, internet scams, etc. I am a plethora of weird information :)

The greatest disappointment, perhaps, is that one can imagine an interesting play here; unfortunately, Courtney didn't write it, and one can only wonder...

Unfortunately Courtney was afraid of the photographer and cried.

That's the NBA and unfortunately Courtney is getting a little of that right now.

Unfortunately, Courtney just doesn't have time to surf during the school week.

Unfortunately, Courtney cries at everything

Boo hoo :)

Moving on...

2009-06-03T00:16:00.002-04:00

I'm back! Did you miss me oh imaginary blogger friends? Since my last post I:

Celebrated my third anniversary (with a great deal on steak from Giant & my wedding video now also known as the "daddy movie")

Turned twenty-four (I only changed 2 diapers on my birthday!!! That's a record for me :)

Got hired as a free-lance writer (something I have always wanted to do)

So what does this mean for the future? I won't be posting every day anymore so I can write for my job, but I will still update this blog once or twice a week about whatever I feel like.

I know there are more creative/focused/better blogs out there so if you are reading mine - THANK YOU! You deserve a medal or something :)

Vacation

2009-05-19T12:55:00.002-04:00

I am on vacation for the next two weeks. I want to think about the direction of my blog and maybe you'll see some changes here after that. I also want to focus on my anniversary and birthday with my family. So until then, I'll still be around and available, but I won't be blogging.

See you in June!

Brotherly Kisses

2009-05-14T00:00:00.000-04:00

I turned around and caught sight of Will leaning on Evan's highchair to give him a kiss the other day. It was so precious I grabbed the camera to catch the moment. Brothers=love. So very special :) It just gives me warm fuzzies all over.

Check out the Diaper Diaries for more Things I love Thursday.

(Bet none of them are as sweet as this though :)

A Tribute to my Husband

2009-05-13T00:06:00.002-04:00

Today is my handsome husband's birthday. He is turning 32. In honor of this momentous occasion, I thought I would post 16 (half of 32) things I love about him :) These are all from THIS LIST I made for him one year. I was going to post 32, but it's midnight & I'm tired...

1. My husband is the most grateful person in the world. Seriously, he thanks me for little things or things I don't think he notices. He really challenges me in this area cause he is so much more content than I am.

2. His voice. He is an amazing vocalist, but even just hearing him talk makes me smile :)

3. His wittiness. He is SO clever it kills me. One line quips that are hysterical = my hubby.

4. Related to number 3, his sense of humor. My husband can make me laugh so hard!

5. How patient he is with people. He plays the same game over and over and over with Will and never get impatient with him or stops until Will loses interest. It is so neat to watch them play together.

6. How smart he is - my husband is so amazingly talented & smart. He knows how to do EVERYTHING. I'm not kidding. He really does!

7. How he is sensitive to my feelings. This especially means a lot to me when I'm PMSing :)

8. How excited he gets when he has an idea. He gets really enthusiastic & it's contagious.

9. How persistent and hard-working he is. He worked for YEARS to build our house while also working full-time. It's amazing to me.

10. I love how my husband shares his worries and concerns with me. I try and ask him occasionally what I can pray for him & he is always so open with me.

11. How his dream is not to be rich or important, but to own his own business and work at home.

12. How he treats his mom. This is something I noticed and liked before we got married. He shows such respect/love for his mother. How could I not fall in love with my man?

13. How he calls me every day on his lunch break. Even if we have nothing much to tell each other, just having him think of me & connect with me is so awesome.

14. How he is always willing to help others. If someone needs something done or help with something, my husband is the one they call. Because he knows how to do it & because he is always willing.

15. How he kisses me at stoplight/stop signs. This was something we started when we were engaged & I love how he still does it!

16. His heart for Christ. My husband loves the Lord & everyone who knows him knows that.

I love you so much honey! You are the best husband anyone could ever wish for. I'm so grateful to God for giving you to me! Happy Birthday <3

My hubby's birthday cake

2009-05-12T09:20:00.002-04:00

My handsome husband's birthday is tomorrow. We are going on a date :) Probably to go snag a bunch of birthday freebies and go to a movie. However, I was brought up with the philosophy that birthdays are very important and the bigger you can make them, the better. So today Will & I are making his daddy's birthday cake. If you have an Oreo lover in your life, I definitely recommend this cake :) It's the Cookies & Creme cake from the Chocolate Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn. I adore this book. Each recipe starts with a cake mix & doctors it up into something special. Plus, I can't tell you how many times I have used this book just for her fabulous fillings/icings/frostings/chocolate sauce recipes.

I will update this post later with a picture of the cake when we've finished...stay tuned :)

For more great recipes, you should know the drill by now - visit Blessed with Grace & Balancing Beauty & Bedlam for delicious recipes. I know I usually find at least two a week that I MUST try that week!

Cleaning

2009-05-11T09:13:00.000-04:00

After I put Will to bed the other night it was very quiet so I figured he had gone to sleep. A little while later he started calling me. I opened the door and he handed me a diaper. A dirty diaper. From the trash. That he had opened. And FINGER PAINTED with.

I discovered something that day. I can handle blood, vomit, and even blowout diapers with no trouble. But I have a LOT of trouble cleaning up poop the second time after my son has played in it. D.I.S.C.U.S.T.I.N.G.

I cleaned up Will's hands, changed his clothes, cleaned the walls, floor, and trash can, but when I came to the lid of the trash I was done. It was beyond gross. I ended up throwing it into the front yard for the rain to wash it off. (Yeah, I'll bet it looked weird, but I was done.) This is what it looked like when I first saw it. (Those with weak stomachs should look away now) Nasty huh?

Having fun...

2009-05-09T22:58:00.004-04:00

I made a "virtual me" on Caress' website. I only wish I looked this good :) Really makes me want leather pants though...

Found this fun game via the IE Mommy. She has partnered with Caress for a great giveaway going on right now...if you're interested :)

Other than the incredibly great body, expensive clothes/accessories, & perfect skin...this pretty much looks like me :p It's fun to play with anyways.

Elmo

2009-05-07T20:36:00.003-04:00

I found this at the grocery store the other day & impulsively purchased it thinking it might be useful. I AM SO GLAD I DID! My son, being a typical two-year-old boy falls down a lot. Before it was sometimes difficult to distract him/calm him down from being upset.

Today he fell pretty hard and smacked his head. No injuries or anything, just a little bump & a very upset kid. So we pulled out Elmo. He calmed down almost instantly & put Elmo on "to kiss the owie" for longer than I can usually keep ice on him.

I decided today that I love Elmo :)

To read things that other people love, or include your own, visit the Diaper Diaries for Things I love Thursday.

Balancing Hubby & Kids

2009-05-06T11:19:00.003-04:00

I was all set to post part 3 of my Discipline series, but Janeen of Christian Frugal Mama started a new carnival: Wednesday Wifehood & I really want to participate!

How do you keep your husband as the top priority when your children are little? This is a constant struggle, at least for me. You know the old proverb "a squeaky wheel gets the grease?" Well, kids can be a very squeaky wheel! Here are some things I try to do on a regular basis to remind my husband that he is the most important person in my life. After all, my kids will eventually grow up & leave me, but my husband will be with me for the rest of our lives.

1. As soon as my husband walks in the door, I try to stop what I am doing and kiss him, ask him how his day went, & offer him something to drink/snack on. I want him to know that I've missed him & that his comfort is a priority to me. I don't always do so great at this - some days I feel like he walks in the door & I start babbling about my day, but I'm trying to be better about that.

2. Once our boys go to bed, I try to spend at least an hour of time focusing on my husband. We've started recently exercising together & it's been such a nice quiet time to talk & reconnect.

3. I always go to bed at the same time as my hubby. This is a hard one for me. My husband gets up early to go to work, so he likes to go to bed early. I was raised a night owl & LOVE staying up late at night. But by going to bed with him, I get to show him that I would rather be with him than do anything else. I do sometimes stay up late & work on the computer, but only after my husband is asleep & next to him in bed (laptops are awesome).

What are some ways YOU show your husband he is The Man?

BLT Pasta Salad

2009-05-05T00:25:00.005-04:00

This is without a doubt my favorite salad in the whole world. It just tastes like summer!

Wanna make your own? This is what you'll need:

This recipe is from Taste of Home Magazine. It's super easy - cook up a 16oz box of pasta, chop the veggies, cook & crumble the bacon, and mix it all up. Then combine 1.25-1.50 cups mayo, 5 teaspoons vinegar, salt & pepper. Mix into the salad & you're done. YUM!

Want more great recipes? Head over to Tempt my tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace & Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty & Bedlam.

Cleaning in the Rain :)

2009-05-04T00:27:00.006-04:00

Ha, ha - okay, so my title may only amuse me, but I thought it was funny :) Made me start to sing..."I'm cleaning in the rain, just cleaning in the rain..." Yeah I know, I'm such a dork. It's been raining for the past several days here and the forcast is rain for at least the next couple days :p

My handsome hubby & son washed the car this weekend. It was so cute I just had to take pics and post them. For those of you with amazing eyes, yes my son is using a hand broom as a scrubber. It works really well!

Watercolors!

2009-05-02T00:01:00.005-04:00

It was rainy outside all day today. So we painted with watercolors. Will LOVES to paint. I stayed really close to him the entire time and he (thankfully) kept the paint on the paper/table/himself.

The recipe for the paint was incredibly easy and non-toxic. Good thing too, cause of course the first thing Will did was taste it!

The fizzing action of this paint is awesome - every little boy (& probably girl) will think it's the coolest thing ever :)

Non-toxic Watercolor Paint

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/2 teaspoons corn syrup

3 tablespoons baking soda

3 tablespoons vinegar

small containers & food coloring

We made four different colors: blue, yellow, orange, and green. Although after Will got tired of painting he combined colors all into one very green color. We hung the pictures up in the window to dry. Aren't they so festive & spring?

Birthday Bash for the month of May

2009-04-30T23:00:00.003-04:00

MomDot is doing a different giveaway every day for the month of May in honor of one of the author's (Trisha's) birthday. They are also giving away a swingset!

Since my birthday is in May too I will definitely be participating.

Happy Birthday Trisha!!!

Results of chopsticks giveaway...

2009-04-30T22:19:00.002-04:00

Congratulations Michelle! I have emailed you. If I don't hear from you by Sunday I will do the random thing again and choose another winner. This whole giveaway thing was fun! I think I will do them more often :)

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:4Powered by RANDOM.ORG

The Total Gym XL

2009-04-30T12:16:00.003-04:00

picture credit

My husband and I have just started regularly exercising together. He wants to get in better shape, I want to fit into this adorable/sexy dress I have for a wedding the end of May. We got a total gym for free (from our in-laws basement) and have had it set up in our bedroom for occasional use for an embarrassingly long time.

We are only doing two different exercises that are supposed to work 80% of the major muscle groups. All I know is, it really makes you sore all over! I think that's a good thing :p

If you ever see one of these at a garage sale/craigslist/etc. & have the room for it - I'd encourage you to get one. They are SO easy to set up & use. Just make sure if you have a cat he doesn't sharpen his claws on it. Our ex-cat had the habit of doing that.

What do you love this rainy Thursday? Head over to the Diaper Diaries to link up :)

Because Being a Mom is Hard Work...

2009-04-29T21:05:00.001-04:00

Eighty MPH Mom is hosting a Mother's Day giveaway with tons of cool prizes over at her blog from May 1-May 8.

8 Things Meme

2009-04-28T20:36:00.003-04:00

My friend Kathryn tagged me in a meme so here goes:

Eight Things I'm Looking Forward To:

My Wonderful Hubby's Birthday in two weeks!
My birthday at the end of the month
My third wedding anniversary & celebrating with the best husband ever at Cheesecake Factory :) :) :)
Evan's first birthday in August
Christmas (cause I just love Christmas)
Someday singing in church again
Having my parents/in-laws over for dinner
meeting my Lord in heaven & being in the presence of God! (borrowing this from Kathryn - thanks babe!)

Eight Things I Did Yesterday:

Moved a futon by myself
Went to the library
Made dinner
Changed poopy diapers
Vacuumed
Kissed my husband
Texted my brother
Read blogs/blogged

Eight Things I Wish I Could Do:

shape-shift
have a clean house without effort
see through walls
draw
be perfectly in shape without exercising
fly
keep my laundry room empty
sit and read books for hours

Eight Shows I Watch: (occasionally)

Seinfeld
American Idol
Lie to Me
Hell's Kitchen
The Office
Kitchen Nightmares
Cops
The Cosby Show

Eight People I Tag:

Jessica @ Coles are Cool
Christine @ The IE Mommy
Laura @ Infinitely Blessed
Nic & Missi @ Domestic Sophisticate
Shannon @ For the Mommas
the other Courtney @ A Blessed Mommy
Missy @ It's Almost Naptime
Cheri-Beri @ What is it NOW?

REALLY want to win!

2009-04-28T14:47:00.002-04:00

Simply Being Mommy is hosting a giveaway for a Douglas Plush toy HERE. I REALLY want to win!

They have such cute stuffed animals :)

Homemade Applesauce

2009-04-28T13:09:00.006-04:00

I love homemade applesauce! I love how yummy it tastes and how easy it is to make (not to mention what a nice, fast baby food it is :) I was recently blessed with an abundance of free, very fresh, very bruised apples. So I thought I would walk you through how I make applesauce in case you've never done it. Sound good?

For more yummy recipes, check out Blessed with Grace & Balancing Beauty & Bedlam.

My giveaway ends soon to - so please don't forget to enter if you haven't already - the link is in the sidebar. Thanks!

So first I chopped up the apples. I was trying to do this quickly because Evan didn't want me to chop apples, he wanted me to play with him. So I didn't so much "chop" as slice-into-fourths-peel-and-call-that-good :)

Here are the apples & about a quart of water. I cooked them for about an hour until it was all nice and mushy.

Then I added some cinnamon, nutmeg, and a little apple juice (cause the apples I started with weren't very sweet). Now, if you like chunky applesauce, you can eat it like this. However, my boys don't...

So I used my smart stick to blend it into apple perfection :)

Yummy!

Procrastinator

2009-04-27T13:49:00.003-04:00

I didn't do a whole lot of cleaning today. I just didn't want to. Instead, I took my little brothers to the library, made applesauce, vacuumed a little with Will, and played with my boys.

Just a slow, hot Monday. It was kind of nice.

When my husband got home from work he put screens in some of the windows so we could have a nice breeze through the house. I swear it lowered the temperature in here by ten plus degrees!

I am thinking about going to Shoppers tomorrow for their double/triple coupons, but I'm not sure if I really want to expend the energy. It was pretty difficult to shop last time with both my boys...hey I don't think I ever told you about it! It was a rainy, dreary day, but I was determined to go grocery shopping. I had my coupons/list all planned out & by golly we were going to do it! My boys were SO good - they obeyed and didn't whine/fuss at me. I spent $92 and saved $119 :) This is what I got:

Some vitals like toilet paper, laundry detergent, & new sippy cups which we were in need of because someone *coughWillcough* has a tendency to throw his cups from his high chair when they are gone. Sippy cups crack easier than I thought. Some frivolties like chips (treat for my hubby), cake mixes, & salad dressings that were just too cheap to pass up!

What this picture doesn't show is my two boys falling asleep in the car on the way home, or me crashing after putting kids to bed/perishables away. I was sooooo tired!

Great savings, but I'm not sure I have enough energy to do it again tomorrow. I'll let you know...

In other news, I discovered a really cool site today - My Moms View. She has a giveaway EVERY DAY! The one I am most interested in right now is the toy wranglers from LuvLoo.

Discipline - part 2

2009-04-24T00:37:00.000-04:00

My craft for this week was plastic bag pom-poms from Craftastica.

Since I didn't finish this post in time for Wednesday this week I figured I would just post it today.

I am doing a book review series (otherwise known as your own personal sparknotes :) on the book "Don't Make Me Count To Three" by Ginger Plowman.

For Discipline - part 1 click here.

Chapter 3 focused on heart issues. Ms. Plowman talked about not talking TO your child, but WITH them. She says not to ask "who had it first?" and met out justice, but to get to the attitude of their heart and address it with Scripture. Ultimately, our goal is to help our kids recognize what is in their own heart and think like a Christian.

"In all conflicts, we should begin our training by seeking to understand the nature of the internal conflict that was expressed in the outward behavior."

This is really a struggle for me. It's so often easier just to ask "who had it first" and solve the conflict quickly. I need to remember that solving the outward obedience now isn't taking care of the heart attitude.

Training children in righteousness is the theme of chapter 4. The main point is to question your children to get back to their motivation for their actions. The biggest thing I learned from this chapter is to role-play/practice correct behavior when you are disciplining. For example, Will's uncle sometimes likes to pick on him. We have been practicing telling CJ "no-no" and coming to mommy. One thing I thought Ms. Plowman overlooked was praising children for obedience. I thought it was a good addition to the practicing correct behavior. Praise good behavior. I try to do this with Will and it really seems to reinforce and encourage his actions.

Stay tuned for part 3 coming Wednesday...

This post is linked to Family Friday over at Homemaker Barbi. It's a new carnival that looks really neat if you'd like to check it out!

My Vacuum Cleaner

2009-04-22T23:17:00.000-04:00

(picture credit)
Make sure to visit the Diaper Diaries (assuming you didn't just come from there :) for more Things I Love Thursday.

I love my vacuum cleaner. I realize that may shock some people since I greatly dislike cleaning. What can I say? I'm weird :)

I have a Kenmore Progressive Canister Vacuum. I had never tried a canister vac before getting married. I wasn't too sure about it to tell the truth, but my husband convinced me. He was right (as usual). It is the best vacuum ever! It's light to push, which is great since I'm ususally holding a little one while vacuuming. It's easy to vacuum in the corners of the ceiling while I'm standing on the ground - this is amazing since I am 5' 3". It has several different, easily attachable parts, which means I can use the vacuum on the ground, high chair, couch, and rug without any difficulty. It has great suction and I've never had an issue with anything tangling in the beater bar. The cord is LONG and retractable (that is Will's favorite part, pushing the button to wind up the cord) and everything packs into the top of the vacuum for easy, compact storage. The best part? This vacuum retails for around $300, but we found ours on Ebay for $100. AND it lasts - my mother-in-law has the same vacuum. It's ten years old and still going strong! So that's what I love today. Excuse me, I think I need to do some vacuuming now :)

PLEASE enter my giveaway in the sidebar if you haven't already done so!!!

PBJ Pizza

2009-04-21T10:08:00.003-04:00

Welcome to readers that came from Balancing Beauty & Bedlam & Blessed with Grace! Please be sure to enter my giveaway in the sidebar :)

If you have not done so, be sure to visit the other participants of Tempt my tummy Tuesday and Tasty Tuesday. There are some really great recipes!

I've been trying to make homemade pizza once a week this month. (1) Because it's economical. (2 & mostly) Because my hubby/kids adore it.

This past week in addition to our normal entree pizza I felt like something fun and different for dessert. When I was a kid I remember going to Hungry Howie's Pizza in Florida with my grandparents. They served a peanut butter and jelly pizza that I loved! I thought I'd attempt to recreate this childhood favorite. What do you think?

The "recipe" was really easy too. I made homemade pizza crust using THIS recipe from Money Saving Mom. Then I poured melted peanut butter and melted jelly over the top. I put a strudel-type topping on top with 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons of flour. I baked the whole thing for 12 minutes and voila! PBJ Pizza that my hubby and boys gave their stamp of approval.

Rainy Monday

2009-04-20T06:59:00.001-04:00

On this very cold, dark, rainy Monday I think I am going grocery shopping with both my boys. It will be fun - in a crazy, trying to do five things at once sort of way :)

Mondays also mean laundry for me. I don't really like laundry. One of the WORST things about laundry is socks. And the fact that no matter how many times I put both socks in the wash, one of them disappears :-p

BUT today I came across the coolest website/giveaway that solves the problem of the missing/mismatched sock!

Check it out here at Katydid & Kid. Em - this is totally your kind of thing!

Fridays are so nice!

2009-04-17T00:00:00.001-04:00

This is an easy, cheap, romantic, and personal gift that anyone can do! For Christmas one year, I got a posterboard and a bunch of sharpies. I made a list of 100 things I love about my husband. Then I simply covered the posterboard. I also added some little doodles here and there to make it more visually interesting. Now it hangs in his workshop/garage.

So simple, but so cool!

Fruitsense Drinks

2009-04-16T00:00:00.001-04:00

Last time Shoppers had triple coupons I picked up several bottles of Old Orchard Fruitsense drinks. The first flavor I tried was the key lime colada. Blech! The coconut left a very chemically aftertaste. It was baaaad. I decided to give the juice another chance (since I still had several bottles) and opened the kiwi dragonfruit one afternoon. It is labeled the "energy" flavor and I really needed energy that day. I was pleasantly surprised at the taste - MUCH better - light and fruity; it tasted like watered down juice. (But not like apple juice, you know how some juices are labeled "strawberry banana cocktail" or whatever and you look at the ingredients and it's apple and grape juice? I hate that!) It actually seemed to work giving me energy too. I don't know if it was actually the "energy" properties or just the fact that I took the time to drink something, but I had more spring in my step to deal with the rest of the day. I have also tried the pomegranate blueberry mangosteen flavor and while I didn't like it as well as the kiwi, it also has a pleasantly light taste. There are two other flavors of Fruitsense: cranberry raspberry & tangerine grapfruit, but I didn't have THAT many coupons :)

I don't think I would purchase these full-price, but with coupons they make a nice occasional treat from water. They would also be perfect for when you are sick, since they have all sorts of added vitamins. I don't know that I would go straight to "love" for Fruitsense...though I do strongly "like" it. Have you tried Fruitsense? What did you think?

"Hey Babe"

2009-04-15T23:07:00.003-04:00

My hubby called upstairs to me today to ask me a question. "Hey Babe, where are the such and such?"

Will, the recently turned two year old parrot was standing by his daddy, "hey babe, hey babe, hey babe."

Ken and I totally cracked up.

Sometimes being called "babe" is almost better than being called "mom". Almost :)

My very first giveaway!

2009-04-14T00:00:00.003-04:00

Welcome Tempt my tummy Tuesday & Tasty Tuesday readers! For yummy recipes, visit Blessed with Grace on Tuesdays for the Tempt my tummy Tuesday carnival. For even more yummy recipes, visit Balancing Beauty and Bedlam for Tasty Tuesday.

I love Asian food. Vietnamese noodle soup (pho bo), spring rolls, chicken teriyaki, coconut milk rice, general tso's chicken, beef broccoli, curry, baklava, egg drop soup - it's good stuff!

Because I like asian food so much, I have put it as a category once a week on my monthly menu. Once every week this month we are going to have some kind of homemade asian food. This is where you come in. Because as much as I love asian food, I sometimes get in a rut as far as new recipe ideas. So...

I am hosting my very first giveaway! I have two packages of Kame bamboo chopsticks to give away:

That is 10 pairs of chopsticks! They have pretty red, shiny lettering on them. I have no idea what it says :) They are reusable and hold up really well!

To enter:

Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite asian dish is

Extra entries:

Subscribe to BooksnBoys and leave a comment telling me you did so

Blog about this giveaway and post the link in the comment section

Contest is open until April 30th.

Winner will be chosen using Random.org & announced May 1st.

Please make sure if you are not a blogger that I have a way to contact you!

My Hair Makeover

2009-04-13T15:00:00.003-04:00

I was looking for a new hairstyle recently and after I saw the IE Mommy's chic transformation I knew I had to try it for myself. A HUGE thank you to Tammy & Erin for their sweet encouragement and advice.

Check out my hair makeover on A Mom in Red High Heels

Creative or Crazy?

2009-04-13T12:31:00.003-04:00

Last night I was sorting laundry to give me a head start for today. Sorting laundry is a really boring job. So I did what I often do when I'm faced with a mindless task (and don't have children to entertain): I started writing in my head.

The laundry I was sorting started taking on personalities and talking to each other. The dark laundry was bored and rather uninterested in anyone else, "Yawn, she's cleaning us again." "Did you catch that movie the other night?" "No, he wore me the day he went to the dump." "I went to Kohls the other day - have you seen some of the cute spring dresses? Rowr!"

The bleach load (white washcloths, white towels, etc) was like a bunch of guys comparing scars. "Oh yeah, well I cleaned up sugar syrup that had boiled all over the stove!" "Ah, that's nothing. I cleaned up that poopy diaper the kid smeared all over his walls." "Guys, guys, I have you totally beat. I cleaned up vomit - not once, but twice!"

The light laundry is elitist. They are the ones always complaining. "He-llo? It says 'dry clean only' on my tag! Can't you read?" "What is this gray shirt doing in OUR load? He's not a light!" "Peace, man. Gray is the new white - haven't you heard?" (That was the gray shirt, he's kind of a hippie)

Maybe it's kind of a crazy thing to do, but it always makes the task more enjoyable for me :)

What weird/crazy/creative things do you do to make mindless jobs more fun?

Lazy Saturday

2009-04-11T00:02:00.002-04:00

I got REALLY behind with google reader this week. I had 200+ posts that just kept building up. Thanks to some late nights, I got it back under control, but whew! It constantly amazes me how much information is transmitted instantaneously over the Internet. Here are a couple of my favs for the week:

Capture the Tail - a fun tag-like game for Easter from Vanilla Joy

I recently had a horrible experience at Walmart and "called corporate" for the first time. Southern Savers has this wonderful post about calling customer service as well as numbers/email addresses for several stores.

This post on credit cards from the Simple Dollar was very thought-provoking. I don't ever agree with everything Trent says, but he is interesting and usually makes some good points in his posts.

Very fun weekend project!

2009-04-10T12:43:00.003-04:00

A couple weeks ago my husband built our boys the coolest ball pit EVER!

Last year at a garage sale I scored an inflatable ball pit complete with a couple trash bags full of balls. The ball pit has several holes that we patched. All was well for a few weeks, but then the pit started deflating again. Despite our best efforts, it just had too many holes to be salvaged. So we stored the balls in a laundry basket. This meant they spent more time dumped on the floor than actually in the basket - not so fun to play with :p We looked ALL over last summer for one of those hard plastic swimming pools, but were unable to find one. Finally my husband said "you know, I could just make a pit..." My response was "this weekend?" So he did. I assisted. Sort of :)

This is the finished ball pit - cool huh?

My incredible husband built a wooden box with wood we had on hand. Then we got 1" foam from Joann fabrics and stapled it around the top. We covered the entire structure with vinyl (easy to clean!) stapled nicely.

Then he inserted the pvc/net from the inflatable pit and we filled it with balls. We were going to put a rug in the bottom of the pit, but we forgot so it's open to the floor. My boys LOVE it and I love that the balls are contained where they can enjoy them :)

Cuisinart Smart Stick

2009-04-09T00:00:00.004-04:00

I received the Cuisinart Smart Stick as a wedding gift from a chef I worked with. She told me that I would absolutely love it.

She knew what she was talking about! I use this almost daily for a mulitude of tasks. The chopper is great for fast food prep (onions, baby food, nuts, etc.) and the blender is great for pureeing soup/sauces in the pot. The whisk attachment is only good in a deep bowl, but
I have found that to be true with any electric whisk. Cleanup is a breeze as almost all of the parts release easily and go into the dishwasher. Light, easy to handle, and quick to use! I love it!

If you'd like to see more stuff people love, head over to the Diaper Diaries for Things I Love Thursday :)

Discipline - part 1

2009-04-08T00:35:00.003-04:00

I recently finished the book "Don't Make Me Count to Three". It is "a mom's look at heart-oriented discipline" by Ginger Plowman. It was a really helpful book on not just making your child behave on the outside, but getting to their heart/mind. It's still a little early for a lot of the concepts for me/my boys, but I'm trying to apply as much as I can. Here is my breakdown of the book and what I learned:

Chapter 1 dealt with "the high calling of motherhood". Mrs. Plowman began the book by reminding me that although being a mom a lot of times feels like a forgotten/unimportant job, it is a vital, skilled job that we need to perform with passion.

"Being a mom is more than being cook, chauffeur, maid, counselor, doctor, referee, disciplinarian, etc. (just to name a few). It's about molding character, building confidence, nurturing, training, and guiding. There is nothing like the influence that a mother has on her child. A mother's influence has enormous potential to shape the person a child becomes, for good or ill."

This chapter was such an encouraging reminder for me! Since the world in general does NOT value stay-at-home moms very highly, it is so easy to become discouraged and feel like I'm not doing anything important. Plus, the challenge to parent with passion and be excited about parenting was motivating to me since I do tend to sometimes just do enough to get through the day and nothing more.

Chapter 2 is about the definition of discipline. Mrs. Plowman first addresses how the world today associates discpline with "punishment that involves anger". She then goes on to talk about how many parents today who are trying to set standards for their children focus only on the outward behavior. "[I]f they can get their children to act right, then they are raising them the right way."

Both of these viewpoints are wrong/falling short of the true purpose of discipline, according to Mrs. Plowman. She gives the Biblical definition of discipline and its purpose. She sums up the chapter with this thought," We must help our children understand that their straying hearts produce wrong behavior...If you can reach the heart [of your child], the behavior will take care of itself."

Yikes this is a long post and I've only made it through two chapters out of twelve!

I guess I will have to split this review up over several posts...I hope you don't mind. Writing out an explanation of what I learned really helps me remember and better comprehend things so I appreciate you being my sounding board :)

Marshmallow Worms

2009-04-07T13:34:00.001-04:00

I'm linking up with two Tuesday carnivals: Tempt my tummy Tuesday by Blessed with Grace & Tasty Tuesday by Forever, Wherever. Check em out!

This is one of those "keeping it real" posts. I made marshmallows today for the first time. Some parts went well, some parts didn't...

I used THIS recipe from Martha Stewart because I was trying to make homemade peeps.

Here are my ingredients - really simple. Sugar, water, and unflavored gelatin.

Soak the gelatin in cold water.

Sugar and water, boiling to the soft-ball stage.

Combine sugar syrup with gelatin and blend for ten minutes. This is when I started...

This is at 5 minutes...

This is when it's finished at ten. See how it's holding its shape? Then I was put it in a pastry bag and I was supposed to pipe the shapes directly onto colored sugar. Here is where I had problems. Up to this point it was pretty straightforward/easy.

This is my first attempt at a peep. It's pretty pathetic looking. It was IMPOSSIBLE to get the marshmallow to pipe nicely :p

These are supposed to be bunnies. Don't laugh. Okay, you can laugh, but just don't tell me you did. After this I gave up. Piping marshmallow just wasn't working for me. As a result my kids are getting marshmallow worms in their baskets. They will probably think worms are cooler than chicks/bunnies anyway.

Will got to try a marshmallow. He thought the texture was kind of weird, but he ate the whole thing.

Have you ever had a recipe not turn out quite like you expected?

"Don't open the hall closet!"

2009-04-06T11:43:00.004-04:00

This is the current state of my hall closet/pantry:

Pretty sad huh? I'm going to TRY and get this closet cleaned today. Not sure if I'll make it cause Evan is teething/has a fever/is really fussy and my poor hubby is home from work sick too.

I'll keep ya'll updated...

12:51pm - Update

I did it! I have accomplished something today :) Plus, I found a whole bunch of lightbulbs that I didn't know we had - always a good thing. Not as cool as finding money in the closet like my sister did one time, but still a very nice surprise. Here are my "after" pictures:

The top shelf is lightbulbs (in the box so I can get them down easily) and other "stuff to store".

The middle shelf is cleaning supplies.
The bottom shelf is my extra pantry space containing iced tea, saltines, candy, and chopsticks that I got in bulk. (Next week I will be doing MY FIRST GIVEAWAY with one of these items...don't miss it!)

Then of course, the all-important vacuum, broom, the upper part to the pack-n-play, and random wood pieces that I need to ask my hubby where they go.

*Sigh* It's so nice to have SOMETHING clean in the house, even if it's just the closet :)

Saturday Shout Outs

2009-04-04T13:20:00.002-04:00

The most frequent thing I've googled this week was "vomiting/diarrhea". Here was my most helpful results just in case any of you need it (hopefully you don't!): Treating Child's Vomiting

(That Kid's Health website also has a really detailed pregnancy week-by-week breakdown)

A Very Cool Idea for decorating in your master bedroom from A Thousand Words

I got 12+ bags of black beans for an insanely good price a couple weeks ago so now I am in the market for recipes (hint, hint). This soup from Salt and Chocolate looks good. I am planning on trying it maybe this week (assuming my family gets well enough to eat again).

And just for fun, I thought this video of a flight attendant rapping was hysterical!

Using what you have

2009-04-03T00:12:00.001-04:00

I am very proud of this arrangement. I made it using leftover flowers from my wedding, flowers I found at garage sales, wooden roses from Joshua's Hands, and a basket I already had.

Flower arranging is SO easy; anyone can do it. Really.

All you have to do is find a container - basket, bucket, wagon, use your imagination!

Put some styrofoam in the bottom.

Get some fake flowers. Garage sales/craigslist/freecycle/clearance at Michaels are all great places to score lots of pretty flowers.

Stick the flowers in so they are varied and look full.

Enjoy a pretty centerpiece that doesn't have to be watered and will never die :)

Here is another pretty flower arrangement that Martha Stewart made for Easter.

Two Thursday Carnivals in One Post - Woo Hoo Me!

2009-04-02T00:00:00.001-04:00

Today is Things that I love Thursday hosted by the Diaper Diaries! This is one of my favorite carnivals, because it was one of the first I ever participated in :) I also saw a photo carnival for today on Everything Except the Grill that I am linking to. Her theme for today is "Something you do everyday." Well, the first thing that came to mind was changing diapers! So I figured I'd participate in both carnivals today. Aren't I ambitious?

So, here is my picture of what I do (several times) every day:

"Hi to all you bloggy people reading this! My mom is going to change my diaper & that makes me so happy!"

The thing that I love today that goes along with the picture (actually, it's in the picture) is Balmex. Desitin is good too. Diaper rash cream. It is awesome stuff! My boys have been suffering from diarrhea/flu/vomiting this past week and I have been SO glad to have diaper rash cream on hand for their poor little butts. It works wonders for them and saves my sanity.

Plus, when you buy Balmex, you can submit it for $1 rebate from Caregiver's Marketplace. I got mine from triple coupons at Shoppers for about $2 before the rebate :) Not just awesome working diaper rash cream - it's cheap awesome working diaper rash cream. That's what I love!

For those days when Mommy is tired...

2009-04-01T12:28:00.003-04:00

Sometimes there are days when I am tired and it's hard to actively play with my kids. I really like doing quiet things on those days - like reading books. However, I have little boys and they don't always like to sit still and read books. So, there are a couple games that I use on "tired mommy" days.

First is "Animal Imitation" (like the name? I just made it up :). What you do is have your child/ren lay on the floor with the light off, then you tell them when you turn the light on they have to act like a ____ (insert animal here). We especially like odd animals like worms; be creative! I leave the light on for a couple minutes and then when I turn it off they have to stop what they are doing, lay down and quietly wait for the next animal. It's a great game because mom doesn't have to move much, the kids get to practice their animals, and get lots of energy out!

I also like "Statues". I didn't come up with this game, but I don't remember where I saw it. Basically the idea is to play music and have your kids dance. When the music stops they have to freeze into a statue. It's is REALLY funny to see what "cool" poses kids come up with :)

I hope this helps some of you with your own "tired mommy" days!

Oh so good!

2009-03-31T01:49:00.001-04:00

This week for dinner I made turkey/veggie soup and fried bread. I LOVE fried bread. My mom made it occasionally when I was little. Her mom made it for her and my great-grandma made it for my nana when she was little. It is so easy and oh so good!

First, make some bread dough. Any recipe will work. Let it rise.

Then, tear off a piece about the size of a ping pong ball and flatten it with your hands, like this:

Drop it carefully into a frying pan filled with about 1/2 inch of oil. Brown on one side (about a minute), then flip over (carefully!) and brown the other side.

Place on paper towels to absorb the excess oil and sprinkle with salt immediately. One batch of bread dough makes about a dozen pieces of fried bread.

Yum!

Hey I found a new carnival to participate in over at Blessed with Grace. It's called Tempt my Tummy Tuesday. There are tons of yummy looking recipes!

"It's Monday Again" - Update!

2009-03-30T13:32:00.001-04:00

These are my cleaning goals for today:

I am going to pick-up/vacuum the rest of the house as well, but I really try to focus on a specific area and DEEP clean it each Monday. My catch-all spot in the kitchen I will try to do before naptime & my craft area/dresser probably during naps. I will update this post with after pictures once I am done.
Is there a specific problem area in your house you need to tackle? Wanna do it with me? It's much easier with two!

Update - I finished one of my projects! Hurray! I've accomplished something today (*does silly happy dance that I'm glad you can't see*). Isn't it amazing how dirty one's house can get in only a week? Growing up I always thought our house got dirty 'cause we had kids. Now that I am older and wiser (stop laughing at me!) I realize that it's not completely the kids' fault. My house is very lived in - so it gets dirty. And cleaning my house is not fun, but it is good for me. Helps me practice things like persistence, nicely dealing with interruptions, etc. Once I buckle down and get the work done, I LOVE how my house looks when it is clean. Doesn't the kitchen catch-all look so much better?

Check out Monday's Muse over at Maternal Spark!

Saturday Shout Outs

2009-03-28T13:16:00.003-04:00

Sunday Shout Outs has been changed to Saturday from now on and I've become super cool. I now have a Mr. Linky at the end of the post so you can share something you read and liked this week.

It can be from your blog, someone else's, whatever. Just something interesting, clean, and family-friendly!

Here's my top three pics for today:

Build a Water Rocket - this looks so cool. If it wasn't raining I might try this today!

Secret to great cold coffee - I tried this coffee yesterday and oh my gosh! It is hands-down the very best coffee I've ever had! It easily rivals any iced coffee at any coffee house. This is the only way I am drinking coffee from now on!

Mom's Smile - I thought this was a great visual for teaching kids how their actions have an affect on others. My boys are too little right now...but I'm saving it!

Bad Sporatic Writer

2009-03-27T22:32:00.004-04:00

Man, I am such a horribly sporatic writer. That was one of the reasons I started this blog, to help me be more consistent with writing. Sigh ~ I'm working on it. I think I have a plan to help me though. I was trying to come up with a schedule for a topic to post about. I have noticed if I already have a theme/topic/subject/etc. I am far more likely to actually follow through and write the post. So here is my proposed posting schedule:

Monday: Cleaning/organizing related posts

Tuesday: Recipes

Wednesday: Parenting tips/stories

Thursday: Things I Love Thursday carnival hosted by the Diaper Diaries

Friday: Crafts

Saturday: Saturday Shout Outs of the best of the web I've found that week

Sunday: no new posts

I'm also going to try to work in book reviews under the appropriate category occasionally.

What do you think? Am I insane for trying to post almost every day? I am hoping I can do it if I work ahead a little and plan things out better. It's going to be my challenge to myself. Hopefully this schedule will keep me on track with writing more consistently, being a little more organized, and planning ahead. We'll see how things go. Are you with me?

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

2009-03-23T14:32:00.001-04:00

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Create a family tree - Free genealogy

Carnation Instant Breakfast

2009-03-12T14:13:00.003-04:00

Geez it has been a busy week! My boys have been HORRIBLE at naps this week and I have dropped into bed each evening exhausted so I haven't posted a whole lot :( I'm hoping to come up with more of a schedule for posting to remedy this. Anyways...

This Thursday the thing I love is Carnation Instant Breakfast mix. I got some for basically free last time Shoppers had triple coupons. Will, Ken, and I tried it for breakfast one Saturday and are hooked! It isn't super-sweet but still flavors your milk, plus it really does give you energy! A quick, tasty, healthy form of energy is something I definitely love in the morning (and as a after nap pick-me-up).

For more fun Things I love Thursday, head over to the Diaper Diaries :)

Playing and Learning

2009-03-08T00:00:00.000-05:00

Okay, I used to think I was a pretty crafty person. Then I started reading Little Hands, Big Work and discovered that I am a rank AMATEUR compared to Mrs. Packer. Wow! I think I've bookmarked every post on her blog :) Here are a few of my very favorites:

The Big Busy Book - Will, Evan, and my little brother CJ are all getting one of these for Christmas

Make your own balance beam - I'm going to show this to my hubby and request one for Will. It will be perfect for those days when we can't go outside because of weather!

The Weather Wheel - I like that it's simple enough for even Will to do.

The Donut Game - I think Will is going to really enjoy this game. I loved her video with her husband too :)

Color Matching Mat - I am going to make one of these to stick in the diaper bag. Now I am thinking I need a laminator...

See, I told you this blog was cool!

A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family

2009-03-05T02:12:00.002-05:00

My friend Mary over at OwlHaven is doing a giveaway of her new book: A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family. I'm sure it's awesome. Mary has ten children (six of them adopted) and her passion for her kids shines through her blog. As the oldest of ten children, I am really interested to see the ideas she has in her book. I am hoping someday she will come to our side of the country and visit our church - Mary would feel RIGHT at home :)

Check it out!

A Bear of Very Little Brain

2009-03-05T01:19:00.003-05:00

Winnie the Pooh. My son (and I) love Pooh. The old classic cartoons and the book are just wonderful. I love the unique, memorable characters and the situations they get themselves into.

For his second birthday Will got a snuggly Pooh blanket and giant plush Pooh from Nana.

Winnie the Pooh is so much fun - how could anyone NOT like him?

"It's snowing still," said Eeyore gloomily. "So it is." "And freezing." "Is it?" "Yes," said Eeyore. "However," he said, brightening up a little, "we haven't had an earthquake lately."

~ A.A.Milne

"If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you."

~ A.A.Milne

Join in the fun of Things I Love Thursday over at the Diaper Diaries!

Unexpected Find

2009-03-04T14:03:00.003-05:00

Tonight I was making homemade pizza for dinner. I was scooping out the flour when I noticed something blue in my flour container. This is what I fished out:

You just never know what (or where!) you'll discover next when you have kids :)

Coupon Organization

2009-03-04T12:54:00.005-05:00

Okay, so I know other people have posted on this same topic, but it's such a vital tip for me that I thought I'd stress the point once again. Coupons. They. Are. Worth. It.

I am not an organized person. I try to be. Really I do. But it's just not a natural thing for me. My mom is the opposite. She is naturally very organized and planned out. I want to be more like my mom :)

When I started doing coupons, I was a mess. In my typical non-organized fashion I would get the occasional printed/in the mail coupon and stick it in a drawer somewhere to be forgotten until after it expired. After I started seeing how my mom was saving SO much money by using coupons (and having FUN doing it too), I decided I really needed to figure out this whole coupon thing. So I signed up for our local (biased rag) paper and began receiving LOTS of coupons. I put them all in a bag, took them to my mother's house and said, "how do I organize these?" She showed me how she

keeps a shoebox with categories and just puts the coupon in the correct category. So I tried

that. But there was a problem. My mom does not usually go shopping with small children. I do. I decided I needed a different system after the 3rd or 4th time my box of coupons got dumped (not totally my kids' fault, I dumped it accidentally too). Do you know how stupid I probably looked grabbing at my own personal confetti shower while trying to keep my kids entertained/contained?

So I started looking around online to see how other people keep themselves organized. This is what I finally decided on:

As you can see, I got a three-ring binder and a BUNCH of sport card pages (from ebay 4 cheap :-) I can have all my store cards in the front, along with a pouch for a pad of paper, scissors, pens, calculator, receipts, pacifiers that have fallen on the floor, etc. Then, when I shop, I just flip to the right category and can see all my coupons clearly laid out. If I have more than one of the same coupon, they all go into the same pocket. The pocket in the front of the binder works perfectly for store flyers. Plus, it doesn't take long for me to clip/file coupons this way! Bliss! It saves me time & has already been dropped several times without losing anything out of it. It took a couple of hours for me to set it up, but now that I have it - it is WONDERFUL! A coupon binder works great for me!

For more Works for Me Wednesday tips/tricks, head over to We Are That Family.

Sunday Shout Outs

2009-03-01T23:47:00.000-05:00

Sunday Shout Outs from my browsing this week:

Jessica asked me this week where I get all my coupons. For that I must send you to the expert :)

Money Saving Mom - she explains several different strategies for accumulating coupons.

Once you get a nice stash of coupons, you'll want to organize them. I'll have a post coming up this week on that topic...stay tuned!

I am still hanging onto extra pounds, but have trouble with diets/regular exercise. I totally LOVED this idea of Losing Weight By Sleeping (found thanks to Rocks in My Dryer). I read it to my husband and he agreed to try it with me. So...we will be trying to get to bed at 9pm (*gasp*) every evening. I'll let you know how it goes :p

Rocks in My Dryer also highlighted Jelly Telly this week. Started by Phil Vischer the creator of Veggie Tales, Jelly Telly is another way of reaching kids with "Sunday morning values, Saturday morning fun!"

Oh, and going back to coupons again, here are a couple of the blogs I use to stay updated on deals:

Mommy Making Money is local to my area which is really nice deal-wise

Southern Savers is probably of even more use to Jessica than me, since she lives south of me :)

For all you who have noticed the time - my "sleep diet" starts tomorrow, so I don't have to feel guilty about staying up late until then :) G'night!

SCORE!

2009-02-28T11:34:00.001-05:00

(It's a good thing you can't see me right now, cause I am doing a crazy, happy dance...woo hoo!)

(Don't you like my little advertiser?)

This is my Shopper's trip this past week. I checked out twice so I could get lots of guacamole for Will's birthday party.

Transaction 1:

Dentyne single packs - 2

Dentyne 3 pack

Rice a roni - 12

Chex Mix

Cheerios - 3

B/C Warm Delights - 2

Blueberry muffin mix

Brownie mix - 2

Toaster pastries

Frosting

Success Rice

Tomato Sauce - 4

Quaker Rice Cakes - 1 reg. + 1 mini

Hershey chocolate bar

Dawn hand soap - 2

Pringles mini - 2

Dawn dish soap - 2

2000 flushes

Chicken broth

Old Orchard Fruitsense (Kiwi Dragonfruit Flavor is REALLY good!)

Tuna Pouch - 2

Tuna Can

Wholly guacamole - 3

Crescent rolls - 2

Sour cream - 2

Dannon yogurt smoothies - 4

Coffeemate creamer - 2

Balmex

Gillete Shaving Gel

Johnson's baby shampoo - 4

total before coupons = $140.18

total I paid = $30.09

Savings - 80%

Transaction 2:

Gerber Graduates meal

Fiber 1 muffin mix

Minute maid rice - 2

Reeses 100 calorie snacks - 2

Dole Pineapple chunks - 3

Healthy Choice Steamers - 2

Chef Boyardee micro meals - 5

Crunch and Munch - 2

Chock full o nuts coffee

Wholly salsa - 3

Wholly guacamole - 3

Jimmy Dean breakfast entree

total before coupons = $57.67

total I paid = $14.17

savings - 77%

If that doesn't convince you coupons are TOTALLY worth it, I don't know what will :)

Real Food

2009-02-27T00:24:00.000-05:00

Evan is six months now. That means he is big enough to eat REAL food :)
I love feeding my kids real food. As in, food other than me. Not that I begrudge them nursing. It is, without a doubt, what's best for them nutritionally. I just don't enjoy it. Probably because both my boys bit from birth ;p You can't get mad at a newborn for biting you, they didn't do it on purpose after all. But OUCH! It hurts. Anyway...
Rice cereal + Evan = happy baby. He ate all the cereal I made and wanted more. Big shocker there...I dread to think how much this child will eat when he is a teenager!

My husband is SO talented!

2009-02-26T23:11:00.002-05:00

Look what my husband made!
My little brother had a Marine birthday this year and my mom asked my incredible husband if he could make some simple wooden guns out of scrap wood for the party. She (and everyone else) was blown away by these cool guns! My DH made them out of scrap 2x4s with his router. He used a real (old, disabled) gun his grandfather gave him as the pattern. These guns are solid, fun, and oh so cool!
Just had to brag a little. Isn't my husband amazing?!? (I tell him so, but he doesn't believe me ;p)

pigtails and kittens

2009-02-26T09:02:00.005-05:00

I was going through old pics this past week and ran across this picture of me when I was seven or eight:

I am posing (of course) and holding my kitten (he was at max 3 months old at that time, yes he was a big cat!) that I got for Christmas when I was six. I LOVED that cat. He was the best. Since I got him for Christmas I was going to name him George Bailey, but my dad said I watched too much TV. So I settled on Crockett because he looked like the coonskin cap that Davy Crockett wore.
Crockett was smart. We put a bell on his collar because our PETA-fanatical neighbors came over to complain to mom that he killed a bird in their yard. Well, Crockett learned how to walk without ringing the bell! The only time he would jingle it was when he wanted my dad to let him outside - and dad would get out of bed (fast asleep) and let him out! Another thing Crockett could do was open doors. He would stand on his two back feet and use his two front feet to jiggle the knob until it opened. I got in trouble for leaving the door to the garage open a lot before we figured out it was the cat :p
The best thing about Crockett though was that he was GREAT with kids. My twin brothers were toddlers and my sister was a baby when we got him and Crockett would let my siblings do ANYTHING to him without biting/scratching/hurting them at all! They pulled his tail, sat on him, picked him up around the middle, etc. If he didn't like what they were doing, he would just get up and leave.
He even moved cross-country with us when we moved from Colorado to Virginia. He sat in the back of the car with me and moaned the whole trip. We drugged him, but it didn't put him to sleep - it just slowed down his meows :) We also had him declawed before moving cross-country. He learned how to catch birds/mice/whatever without claws.
He was a great cat. I hope that my kids will someday have a pet as wonderful as he was!
Want to join Sincerly Fro' Me to You? Head over to We are THAT Family.

I love pacifiers

2009-02-25T23:58:00.005-05:00

Ode to a pacifier

Biting, munching, sucking, chewing
always soothing
though small, you are sturdy and hold up well
even when my little one starts to yell
taking my place to soothe and quiet
so I am not the only diet
pacifier, pacifier without you I'd be lost
we will not lose you at any cost
and when my little one has grown too tall
I'll hang you on my tree to recall
that happy, busy, crazy season
of pacifiers, diapers, and two-year-old reason.

Want to join Things I Love Thursday? Head over to the Diaper Diaries.

Will's Birthday

2009-02-25T13:12:00.005-05:00

2 years ago I was in the hospital. It was a Sunday morning, but church was cancelled because it was snowing. In the afternoon there was a Nascar race. I remember it all vividly.
2 years ago today, I watched my husband cry tears of pure joy as he held his firstborn son. I saw both my parents turn into the kind of grandparents that totally spoil their grandkids. And I held the most perfect baby boy that the world had ever seen. William: my sweet little boy.
Happy Birthday William! I know that God has GREAT things planned for you :)
Mommy loves you so very, very much <3

Random Photo Tagging

2009-02-22T21:51:00.004-05:00

My friend Jessica tagged me in her random photo post so I am passing on the chain (insert evil laughter here). The instructions are to post the fourth picture from your fourth folder in your pictures folder. Here is mine:

This is a picture of my wonderful cat that I got for Christmas at age 6. He died when I was 18. He was the best cat ever in so many ways and for so many reasons!

I think I'm supposed to tag four more people now too. But, it's late and I can't think of anyone so, if you're reading this and feel like participating go for it and leave me a comment so I can come see your random cool picture :)

Free Cool Photo Gift!

2009-02-21T13:04:00.004-05:00

For this week's Sunday Shout Outs I want to tell you about Christine. She is the sweet, gorgeous mommy of twin girls who blogs over at IEMommy. I have been subscribed to her for several weeks now.
Christine has a strong interest/talent in photography and for ALL of her subscribers right now she is offering to glamorize one of your photos by making it black and white with COLOR like this one from her site:

Isn't that COOL?!?!?! I am so in awe of her for taking the time to do this for so many people. AND for being so talented.
Her blog is really fun too...you can check it out HERE and get your own gorgeous picture done :)

Finally Friday

2009-02-20T13:15:00.003-05:00

(picture credit)
This has been one of those weeks where I've often thought "I can't wait until it's Friday!" Do you have weeks like that too?
It wasn't a bad week, just very busy. I am ready for this week to be over and looking forward to (hopefully) a quieter week coming up.
Finally, it's Friday.

Nail Polish

2009-02-19T13:26:00.000-05:00

I love nail polish!
Painting my nails makes me feel so girly and pretty, even in my sweats :) Plus, as the only girl in our family, it's one thing I get to do ALL BY MYSELF!
It always makes me feel better if I'm having a bad day. I especially love the way my toes look when they are painted some outrageous color (like black with glitter, or red with white stripes, or purple, etc.)
I don't particularly care if painting my nails weird colors is juvenile - I like it!

(picture credit)
PS - I only use weird colors on my toes. My fingers are usually painted light, demure colors. Cause then it doesn't show as much when I chip them doing dishes/changing diapers/laundry/being a mom.

PPS - Want to join in the fun? Head over to the Diaper Diaries for Things I Love Thursday!

His/Her Jars

2009-02-17T23:00:00.000-05:00

I don't remember where exactly we got the idea, but my husband and I have used this for quite a while now.
We got two containers like these:

(picture credit)
Then we labeled them HIS and HERS. We each got a bunch of slips of paper and wrote down things we like to do together or like done for us. For example, taking a walk together, getting a foot massage, watching a movie, a really good kiss, praying together, etc.
We put our slips into our respective jars. Each week we get a slip out of the OTHER person's jar and try to do whatever it says for the other person as many times as we can during the week. Like if my card reads "a foot massage" I will try to give my hubby a foot massage as often as I can during that week.
It's fun to focus on something different each week and find out what your spouse really likes. It's also a way for us to remember to keep romance at the forefront of our busy lives. His/Her Jars - it works for us!

For more Works for Me Wednesday, check out Rocks in My Dryer.

Sunday Shout Outs

2009-02-14T22:25:00.002-05:00

This is the I-have-GOT-to-get-more-sleep edition of Sunday Shout Outs. Evan is six months old this month. He will be starting solid food on his brother's birthday. However, he DOES NOT sleep! He takes two 1-hour-at-the-most naps during the day (morning and late afternoon) then goes to bed between 8-9pm. He sleeps for maybe two hour stretches at a time. That's it. If I put him in bed with us, I can nurse him when he wakes up without ME waking up much. But then I am really sore in the morning because I inevitably slept in some weird position so he could nurse comfortably. I haven't slept longer than two hours since August. This is not good. Here is a strategy that I am going to start trying. Because I am tired.

An overview of different sleep training methods from Baby Center

Who Doesn't?

2009-02-12T01:47:00.006-05:00

It's Things I Love Thursday over at the Diaper Diaries - head on over to join the fun!
In honor of Valentine's Day. The thing that I love is CHOCOLATE!!!
Seriously, who doesn't love chocolate?
I have discovered since becoming a mom that I love chocolate more than ever now too. It's the perfect afternoon pick me up when I need a little extra energy. It's a great dessert as I unwind from the day. It's a quick breakfast on-the-run for busy days. It's a great treat to pack in your husband's lunch to tell him you love him.
Chocolate is the perfect food for any situation.
Forget flowers for Valentine's. Bring on the CHOCOLATE!

(picture credit)

What's your favorite dessert/flavor of chocolate?

Diaper Deal/Steal

2009-02-11T08:02:00.004-05:00

Check this out!

I ordered 2 extra large cases of Huggies, size 5 diapers from Diapers.com @ $36.99 ea.

Then I got FREE two-day shipping & $10 off. (Want the same deal? You can use the code Booksnboys to get $10 off your first order of $49 or more. Shipping is always Free and 2 day over $49. Disclosure: I also get $1.00 off at no additional cost to you. Thanks!)

Total - $63.98 (makes it 24 cents a diaper. Same as Costco)

Also included with my order is a free 1 year subscription to Parenting Magazine. Now, I'm not a big fan of Parenting - they're kind of preachy about their opinions. So I was reading the fine print on the offer and it said if you mail your proof-of-payment and this refund form to Parenting, they will refund you $14.97 - the one year subscription price. Make sure you print your receipt and the rebate form. (The rebate form can be found in your shopping cart, after you add at least 1 item, in the box that says, "Parenting subscription included with your first order of $15 or more.")

So - $63.98-$14.97 refund = $49.01

Making Will's size 5 diapers 19 cents each!!!!
Not only that - the diapers were delivered the DAY AFTER I ordered them! (There is also a coupon book to use with my next order.)

:) :) :)

I LOVE getting deals like that! That totally works for me!
Hope that helps some of you score some CHEAP diapers!

The best husband in the world. No, seriously, he is!

2009-02-10T13:55:00.006-05:00

I started writing the story of my husband's and my relationship and how we ended up getting married. But then I realized that, while it is a great story, it didn't have as many brag opportunities as I wanted.
I admit it - I really like to brag about my husband. He is so awesome that it's really easy to do! For example: my husband built our house. No, he is not a contractor or a professional builder at all. He is a machinist (he makes things out of metal, like the cone part on the front of a fire engine, or pieces for the toll roads, or computer parts). He is just really good with his hands and figured he would learn a lot. It took him about three years start to finish to build our house. He and I became a couple in year 2 of the house. He did practically all the work himself. The only exceptions I know of were pouring the cement, hanging drywall, and siding (although he said if he had to do it over, he would do the siding). EVERYTHING else, my incredible husband did himself. If he didn't know how to do something, he researched it and got assistance from friends until he had a good idea of how to do it.
It constantly amazes me that my husband took on such a huge project. That he stuck with it for three years! I LOVE the fact that my house is a constant reminder to me of the ingenuity, perseverance, hard work, and talent of my husband. I love how we've already shared such special moments in our house (his proposal, our first kiss, our wedding night, etc) and look forward to making many more memories together.
See, my title for this post was right. My husband is the best in the entire world. Not because he built me a house. But because he makes it into a wonderful home.
I love you so much Ken! You are the second best thing that ever happened to me!!!* My life has been so much more full and richer since we got married. I am SO glad you chose me! You are my favorite person & BEST friend <3

(*1st thing is, of course, Jesus Christ becoming Savior and Ruler of my life.)

Sunday Shout Outs

2009-02-08T00:01:00.000-05:00

Today's Sunday Shout Outs are of course about Valentine's Day. I love Valentine's Day. It's such a great chance to show/tell the people you love most what they mean to you :)

Creature Comforts has a great iron-on pattern for two cute pillow cases. This is what I made my hubby for Valentine's this year.

These printable little boxes are so cool! I printed one and had my brilliant husband make it a little bigger so I can put Valentine bracelets in them for Will to give his girl cousins.

I'm thinking about making this Overnight Stuffed French Toast for breakfast on Valentine's Day (since it's a Saturday) from Taste of Home. Doesn't it look so yummy?

For dessert on Valentine's Day I am waffling back and forth between making something chocolate or these Conversation Heart Cookies. What do you think I should do?

If I can find the hats, I am seriously thinking about making these for my two little boys to match...

Candy Cane Syrup recipe from Story Book Woods. This would look so festive over ice cream with pink sprinkles!

I really wanted to make this wreath from Little Birdie Secrets, but I don't think I'm going to get around to it. All well, I'll get the materials on sale after Valentine's this year and have it all ready for next year!

Valentine Card Idea

2009-02-07T15:00:00.000-05:00

(picture credit)
For Valentine's Day last year I made my husband the coolest card ever! I did a candy card - similar to the one pictured except with less candy :) It was really easy. I got a bright pink poster board and wrote my message with a sharpie, taping the candy on as I went. He LOVED it! Total cost for me around $5 but that will depend on how much candy you get. Here is what my card said:

My Darling Husband,
Thinking of you fills me with ALMOND JOY. Whenever I am in a CRUNCH you are MR. GOODBAR for me. You are MOUNDS of FUN DIP and can always make me SNICKERS. When we are in bed together, sparks, STARBURSTS, and HOT TAMALES always seem to fly, sending us to the MILKY WAY. I've seen plenty of NERDS and BUTTERFINGERS in my life, so I never thought I'd marry someone as BUBBLICIOUS as you! I really appreciate how you are always ready to help me with our BABY RUTH if I need a FAST BREAK. Now that our 3 MUSKETEERS is turning into a quartet, I will try to take every opportunity to send HERSHEY KISSES your way! Whether we are swimming in 100 GRAND or TWIX a rock and a hard place I will always be here loving you. I love you GOBSTOPPERS! Happy Valentine's Day!
With SKITTLES of love, Your Wife

Perhaps there is someone in your life that would love a candy Valentine card?

Em

2009-02-05T00:22:00.003-05:00

I had three brothers before I got a sister. I REALLY wanted a sister. In fact, I prayed for a sister. And then, the summer after I turned five years old, I got my wish. My favorite little sister. My only little sister. Eight boys and just the two of us girls. I am SO GLAD I have my sister.
Not that she's a perfect angel. Trust me, I shared a room with her forever (and the mess was all hers let me tell ya). But she is lots of fun and has a sunny personality. She's a great photographer and babysitter.
Em is the thing that I love this Thursday. 'Cause she's my awesomest little sister.

Auntie Em & Will <3

Valentine Mailbox

2009-02-04T23:14:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid my mom did a great job of making every major holiday special. Each holiday had its own traditions and surprises. Valentine's Day was no exception.
On Valentine's Day my mom would make beef burgundy. It was the one time a year she made it ('cause it was a lot of work). Always delicious!
Another tradition we had was the Valentine Mailbox. I can't remember a Valentine's without the mailbox. It has always been a part of Valentine's Day for me. Our mailbox was a simple cardboard box that my mom covered in paper and decorated. Each year she would get it out a couple of weeks before Valentine's and we would get to make and fill Valentine's to put in the mailbox. There were always surprises that showed up from Dad and Mom at the last minute as well. The anticipation of opening the mailbox and passing out the valentines that evening was almost as good as Christmas!
Since I have my own family now, I made a Valentine Mailbox for us this year. Like my mom, I got a plain cardboard box and covered it in construction paper (red, white, and pink). I decorated the top and cut a slit for the valentines, then I brainstormed to remember how my mom decorated the sides of the mailbox.
One side had our "family tree" on it - my mom drew a tree and wrote all our names in it. Another side said "Happy Valentine's Day". One side was blank, and the last side had hearts and arrows saying "Daddy loves Mommy", "Mommy loves Daddy", Daddy loves CL", etc. I decorated my box sides similarly to the way my mom decorated her mailbox. Why fix it if it ain't broke?
My handsome hubby offered to help me, so I had him color some conversation hearts for the blank side of the mailbox.
All in all, I think our family Valentine Mailbox turned out pretty well!

I'm hoping that as our boys grow up, they will be able to have fond memories of a great tradition continued into a new generation.

Easy, Handmade Baby Gifts

2009-02-04T13:08:00.009-05:00

Today's edition of Works for Me Wednesday sponsored by Rocks in My Dryer is about baby gifts.
Now I don't know about you, but I go to a LOT of baby showers. And it is customary to bring a gift to every shower. Averaging $10 a shower (for a cheap gift) gets expensive fast. What to do?
Well, I picked up a hobby I learned when I was a kid. Crocheting. Add a little older-and-wiser mathematical knowledge and voila!

Easy, unique, and special baby blankets! With some mathematical help from my handsome husband, I created the crochet pattern for these blankets and I think they turn out pretty well! (The pink and blue blankets pictured are for a set of twins :)
Plus, they are soft, cuddly, machine wash/dryable, and they make babies happy! As evidenced by Evan modeling for me:

Sweet and special - hey that works for me!

Let it snow!

2009-02-03T13:26:00.007-05:00

In honor of the snow that came down yesterday, we made a bunch of snowflakes to decorate the inside of our house. We hung them above the kitchen table which, in retrospect, was a bad idea because now Will climbs onto the table to make them swing. They are pretty and festive though!

The blue snowflakes were all templates that came from Family Fun. We made a snowman, hearts, and flowers snowflakes.
The white lacy looking snowflakes were ones I cut out of coffee filters. Delicate, lacy, and with some glitter, perfectly gorgeous and twinkly!
The pompom/3d snowflakes are made from white pipe cleaners threaded with tri-cornered clear beads. Instructions can be found at Family Fun also.
I am also hoping to make these glittery window clings. That is an after-the-kids-are-in-bed sort of craft though :)

PS - just realized the pompom/pipe cleaner snowflake's picture is sideways! Sorry about that.

Sunday Shout Outs

2009-02-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

When I read this post, I cried.
Granted it was two in the morning and I was nursing a baby and hadn't even been to bed yet, but still.
If You're Sitting There With Spit Up On Your Shirt, This One's For You.

Things I Love Thursday

2009-01-29T06:30:00.002-05:00

I was reading on the Diaper Diaries last night about how she put diaper cream on her daughter's chapped chin. Then I noticed her button for "Things I Love Thursday" and started thinking. What are some things I love?

Sleep was probably the first thing I thought. Then I read the rules and realized that it has to be an actual THING. Oh. Well, sleep is still WAY up there on my list :p

How about the internet? Without which I would become a crazy, isolated mom that only speaks baby gibberish. Seriously. What? Not tangible enough? Rats.

Um, okay how about my laptop or my cell phone? My laptop is a Dell Inspiron 1525 - I bought it from my younger brother when my old laptop died. If no major accidents befall it, I hope to have this wonderful computer for the next ten years. Don't freak out, you don't really NEED the latest/greatest computer every year, Nate!

My cell phone is from Verizon. I'm not a huge fan of Verizon. But it is comforting to have a cell phone with me when I go out alone with two boys under two. Or to call my handsome husband in the middle of the day for no reason. I especially love doing that :)

Besides sleep, the things that first came to mind that I love help me to connect with the people I love. It's not the thing itself that I love, it's the people I use it for. I used the word 'love' a lot in this paragraph. Oh well, I'm feeling too brain dead to change it now. Hope you enjoyed my first edition of Things That I Love.

Sleep is still way up there.

Old Pictures

2009-01-29T01:01:00.005-05:00

After reading on We are THAT Family I felt like joining in on their bloggy carnival. Great blog, btw. I subscribed after reading a total of one post - it's that good.

You know when you were a pre-teen and going through that "awkward" stage in life?
I had a particularly bad awkward stage. I was an all-out nerd. You know, big glasses, no fashion sense, shaggy bangs. Yup, that was me. What's the only thing worse than having a bad awkward stage? Having pics of it posted on Facebook :p
At least all my friends in the picture hated how they looked at the time too :) (I'm the one in the blue top...yeah, the frumpy librarian look.)

I look WAY better now...honest!
The sweetest part of the picture? I knew my darling husband at that time and when he saw this pic he said he thought I was cute even then :)

Frugal & Fun Decorating

2009-01-28T13:04:00.007-05:00

I figured since it's Wednesday and I am blogging I would participate in the Works for Me Wednesday from Rocks In My Dryer.
Today Will, Evan, and I cleaned and vacuumed the house. Bleck! The only fun part of cleaning is my boys "helping" me and being done cleaning :)
After we cleaned up, we decorated a wall in Will's room. Check it out:

1 dog calendar from Michaels = 25 cents
Time to cut and hang pictures = 30 minutes
Little boy's face when he saw all the "woof, woofs" in his room = priceless

I only used 8 out of the 12 pictures in the calendar, so Will and I are going to cut out and paste the rest onto cardboard to make valentines :)
I am thinking that this summer at garage sales I will look for 8 frames that I can hang in his room and just switch the pictures out as he gets older and his interests change.

Play dough

2009-01-27T12:29:00.003-05:00

It is snowing today. We needed a fun indoor craft to occupy our morning since we couldn't go outside. So we made play dough. Blue play dough. Then we cut and squished, and rolled, and mashed to our hearts content :)

Here is the recipe I used in case anyone else needs an indoor activity:
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup salt
1 tablespoon alum (I didn't have any so we omitted this)
Mix with
1 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon oil
Wilton cake colors or food coloring
If play dough is too sticky, add more flour.
Store in resealable bag.
Have fun!

Sunday Shout Outs

2009-01-26T13:26:00.004-05:00

(picture credit)
Trent over at the simple dollar wrote THIS POST about returning to his parents' frugal roots.
It made me think of my parents and nana and what they've all taught me about money over the years.
So this is a public shout out to my parents and my nana to thank them for all they have taught me through speech and by example. THANK YOU!
I am a smart, frugal, deal-seeking, coupon shopper today because of you :)

Cake for PC's birthday

2009-01-24T05:46:00.000-05:00

My little brother's birthday is coming up. He is turning nine. Since one of my brother's just became a Marine he is having a Marine birthday party. Here are some of the cool birthday cakes I have picked out for him to choose between. (I will be making the cake.)