Making Your Home a Haven Challenge

It is hard to believe that it is the 4th of for the Women Living Well Fall Challenge for Making your Home a Haven.  I participated the first two years but missed last year.  I feel like this is coming at the perfect time for me - I need to refocus my energy into my home and this challenge will do just that.

An added bonus this year is that there will be a weekly give away making it more fun to post for that odd chance I might win! 

So, what is this weeks challenge?  To clean up some clutter!  I've lost my motivation to do deep cleaning so I'm hoping to get some things checked off of my list this week.  Courtney also talks about cleaning up the clutter in our spiritual lives - as always, I've fallen of the "quiet time" wagon so I'm going to use this week to get back into it. 

Preschool and Pre-K Report

Here is our week in pictures!

Isn't that face adorable?  This is actually from a week ago Sunday.  The boys and I went to church then met my husband for lunch when he finished working.  He had a concert that evening so we were just all hanging out.  After lunch we went to the mall playland and the boys played until I noticed they kept laying down on the ground they were so tired HA!  When we got home, I carried Nate inside, he woke up so I put him down to take off his shoes; he wandered to the couch where Josh sang him to sleep with a "littleby" and Nate slept for 2 hours, took a bath and went to bed and slept all night!

Now, on to school! 

Monday:

 I love this picture HA!  Nate has a mustache from sucking on a marker cap :-)  One of the great things in the Letter of the Week curriculum is the use of things around the house to practice.  Today we used blocks to make the letter "I".  Some weeks we use stickers or legos or whatever else I can find around the house.

 Josh really struggles still with wanting to do the preschool lessons so he did the letter "I" in blocks too.  It is still great review for him so how can I say no?

Later in the day the boys got out some games to play.  We are still learning how to play games; and that one person doesn't always have to win!!

Tuesday:
No School :-)  I took the day and went to a scrapbooking crop so I did not make Nana do school BUT my boys said that next time, they want Nana to do school with them so I'll have to leave some fun lessons for her to do!
Wednesday:

 In just the first few weeks  of school, Nate's coloring has improved by leaps and bounds.  He know stays in the lines (unless he is adding legs to his elephant picture hanging on his wall; I am very thankful for washable markers HA).  This was our Bible Activity for the day - "Be Fair".  We talked about how Bees don't take all of the nectar but leave some for the other bees; comparing that to sharing with others.

 Scissors and glue sticks - it is what makes a boy happy!

 I love those feet (and they are "almost" clean!)

 Again, making the letter "I" with tangrams.  I need to get more of these though - the boys tend to fight disagree over the pieces. 

 This week, we only did an afternoon craft on Wednesday.  Monday the boys were outside playing so I just let them play and on Thursday, well, I don't even remember HA! 

 I found this great idea over at Toddler Approved for a "Snippin' Tree".  Basically, I gave the boys 4 different colors and let them snip the "leaves" and glue them.  I thought this would be a huge hit.

Well, these were their finished products.  Notice?  One color per tree?  They got bored REALLY fast with this idea!  Oh well, they can't all be winner ideas, can they?

Thursday:
I don't even remember Thursday .  For real.  I don't think we did school . .. I think we ran errands that morning which I won't do again with 4 kids under 5!!

Friday:
Normally we go to Friday school on Friday.  Well we did, for like 30 minutes, and then I had a kid puke.  At least he made it to the bathroom! 

 This poor little guy had the flu - running a fever and crashed on the couch; something we never see.  He kept asking when his fever would leave :-( 

 On the other hand, this little guy was LOVING that his big brother was sick because he got to ride the two-wheel bike the whole day.  He cannot WAIT to get his own bike.  It will be kind of anti-climatic since he can already ride one so I had to take a few photos of his "first" bike ride!

And then there is this guy - the big kid has a blown disc and is pretty much "chair-ridden" at this point. 

So, that was our week.  I'm a little more prepared for this coming week - only 3 days of school this week due to a doctor's appointment on Thursday with the big "D" for his back. 

It's hard to believe that it is the night before October.  I want to incorporate some more fall activities and pumpkin/fun Halloween stuff plus we have a birthday this month for a special boy who is turning 5. 

Inspiring Posts

I am not creative on my own.  For real.  I get all of my ideas from other people which sometimes gets me in trouble because I find TOO many good ideas and get overwhelmed with them because I try to do them all!  Today I want to share links to different posts from this past week from two of my favorite blogs to read. 

My husband and I are slowly making a plan to take our kids to Disney.  By slowly I mean s.l.o.w.l.y.  I am just now starting to ask die hard Disney fans what I need to plan, how to plan and, well, frankly, how much it costs.  Our goal it to take the kids in 3 years.  We feel they will be the perfect age to enjoy "everything" and actually remember the trip.  I'd love to then take them back when they are mid-teens to enjoy the older kid stuff but that is another story. Anyway, a blogger friend of mine just posted her fabulous movie list she used with her kids to prep them for their Disney trip.  I loved her list and am waiting for the day my kids like movies HA  I like this list also because well, we don't have many DVD's so I'm using her list as a jumping off point to get some that are available.  You can check out the Disney Move Countdown over at Superchikk. 

Another thing that I am looking forward to doing with my kids is reading chapter books.  We tried starting one last winter and my kids just were not ready.  I'm being inspired to try this again after reading a great post over at Homeschool Creations.  She shares the list of books they are planning to read this year (school year) and shares some great tips for reading out-loud with your kids.  One idea is give your kids something to do with their hands - legos, crayons and paper, etc.  The funny thing is that I would have made them put that stuff down but, after reading her post, I understand now that they need something to help them focus.  I also love the timer idea too.  My kids still aren't quite ready to focus on chapter books but one of the ideas in the back of my mind was to put together a book basket for each week.  That way, they could each pick out a book after lunch and we could read it together (or I can set the timer for 10 minutes and read until the timer goes off - they love the timer).  This basket could be library books or at home books (well, if we ever get back to the library HA)  The other thing the hubs and I want to start doing is reading Bible Stories/Devotionals at bedtime.  I will admit that this is "hard" because we are often tired but the boys love to sing at bedtime so we figure that to start with a short devotional would be a plus, then some songs, then hugs and "quisses" before we say goodnight.  I know what I want to get for this but just haven't gotten it yet :-)

Food Friday - Pigs in a Blanket

Pigs in a Blanket
adapted from . . .I think Pillsbury 100 years ago

 
This is one of my favorite go to appetizer recipes because it is easy, fast, and so good!  It just takes two little ingredients and you have this plate full of goodness.  

What you need:
1 package Litt'l smokies (without cheese)
1-2 packages of crescent rolls - you really do want the old-fashioned triangle rolls; not the sheet.

What you do:
Open one package of crescent rolls and separate into individual triangles; then cut each triangle into 3 pieces.  Wrap each piece around a little hot dog and place on a sheet try.  If you use one package of crescent rolls you will have left over hot dogs; if you use 2 packages of rolls you will have extra dough.  So, take your pick!

Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes and enjoy with your favorite dipping sauce. 

Weekly Menu

So, last week I mentioned I was trying to figure out Sunday dinners.  Well, last Sunday I had a light bulb moment :-)  Sunday evenings will become what ever you want dinners.  If you want ice cream, you can have it.  If you want crackers and ketchup, you can have it.  I'll have some simple things always on hand like PB and J, corn dogs, frozen pizza etc but I'm not going to sweat it.  We tend to eat a late lunch due to church so sometimes, no one is hungry.  Growing up, it was a free for all after church and often one of my brothers would make a fried balogna or fried egg sandwich (Yuck and double yuck!) .  I usually picked out left overs or talked my mom into making me a grilled cheese :-)

This weeks menu is a little scattered due to some commitments - I have a busy week!

Friday - The boys and I are heading to a concert to see Darryl's group so we will run through McDonald's on our way out of town.

Saturday - We are hanging out at home today or at least we plan to - we may head to the park for awhile or maybe do something else fun.  I'm not sure on dinner yet.  Maybe we'll go get Chinese or do Chili Dogs at home.

Sunday -  Since we aren't having tacos on Friday I'm going to have everything ready for tacos after church.

Monday - Teriyaki Chicken Thighs, a veggie, baked potatoes and rolls

Tuesday - BBQ Pork Chops, rice, veggie and rolls. I have a board meeting in the afternoon and then I'm heading to a ladies conference at the church we've been attending for the evening so I needed a quick meal!

Wednesday - Pancakes and Sausage

Thursday - I'm leaving on a scrapbooking retreat and my mom is coming over to watch the kids.  I'm guessing that they will get McDonald's or something :-)

I have a few leftover sweet recipes - An apple pie, Pumpkin Crunch, and Cookies - that I didn't end up making over the past few weeks so I'll use those items up this week too.

Discontent and how to recover

Periodically, I hit a phase where I experience extreme discontent-edness.  (Is that a word??) I think that it is a pretty normal feeling that many people get. . .especially stay-at-home moms with kids all 4 and under.  I mean, we are just now into talking in complete sentences but still have the daily melt downs and hissy fits.  (And yes, I'm talking about the kids, not me!)  When this feeling starts, I usually have a couple of days where I have a pity party before I suck it up and ask myself why.   Why am I feeling like this; what caused it; how do I fix it.  I thought I would share a few of my strategies and my current solutions.  It might help someone else , who knows!

Strategy number one - I make a list of the things that are making me feel discontent.  Yes, I'm a list maker so this helps soothe my soul. This is the list I came up with recently.
1. Homeschool - not doing it but being prepared for everything I want to do each day
2. A small house - feeling overwhelmed with spaces that need to work in multiple ways, trying to figure out how to organize and tired of broken things or things that don't work for us
3. Finances - feeling slightly out of control at times
4. The heat - when the forecast is in the 90's or even humid days (you would be amazed how that impacts my outlook on life)
5. Projects, crafts, planning and paperwork - how to fit it all in and not ignore the kids
6. The kids - not spending enough quality time with them; dealing with a strong willed kid; discipline, chore charts, and daily life.

Strategy Number two - I "stew".  Once I have my list I take a few days to stew on the list and let my mind start to sort through what I need to do to overcome in each area.

Strategy Number three - I make lists, plan, and organize new ideas.  Here are a few of the ideas I have and am trying to implement.
1. I am setting aside one afternoon during the week to work on homeschool planning and prepping for the following week.  Most likely this will be on Wednesday afternoons since our school week will end on Thursday (due to Friday school starting soon).  I'm also planning on taking one hour on Saturday (or less) to double check all prep work.

2. I have a new rule - no spending until Friday ;-)  Or something to that effect.  Sometimes it feels like money slips through our fingers because of store runs, gas, or grabbing a quick meal on a hot night.  I have to get back to once a week money - putting all income away until that day; paying bills, and using envelopes to ensure we have grocery and gas money set aside. 

3. Projects/Crafts - I would like to dedicate Friday afternoons to working on my projects.  We go to Friday school in the mornings so I'm pretty much "done" by the time we get home and really need to focus on something other than normal daily life.

4. The Small House Syndrome - this is a huge process.  I'm starting with doing what I did a few years ago - Simplify.  To do this I'm deep cleaning each room, updating the decor as much as I can and attempting to fix things that bother me.  Obviously, some things take money so I'm trying to save our pennies to replace/purchase some things we need. 

5.  The kids - Every day I try to take time to do one thing in the afternoon with the kids - an art project, something to cook, a game or a walk.  I'm also trying to say yes more when I get asked to play.  It makes them happy and it makes me feel like I accomplished something

6.  The Heat - guess what, it's gone :-)  I started this post back in July when the heat was awful but now we are in some much nicer days of fall. 

I'd like to say that I am successful at this all the time but I'm not - as with many things in life it is a daily process - some days are good and go as planned and some days I'm glad of the truth that everything is new in the morning and I can start over each day!

Too Cute Not To Toot

You may recall that last week I mentioned that this post is a changin'.  It's going to evolve into something like this:

1) I still want to post/share/remember cute ideas I come across so I will still post new ideas as I see them both for your benefit and my own.  I'm just not going to spend hours . .. over a course of days . .. to search high and low for new ideas.  When I find them, I'll share.

2) I'm going back through OLD too cute posts to find ideas I forgot about it and still want to make.  When I pick a project, I'll share what it is and then once complete, I'll post about it too. 

So my first new project to work on comes from a post back in December 2011 and is for this great Christmas Countdown.  Something simple but fun to do each day.  The idea came from Gingersnap Crafts.

I also have two other crafts I'm working on and had really hoped to get done this past weekend but life seems to "get in the way" . . .or I just enjoy relaxing on the weekend too much!!