21 Ways to Connect with your Kids and That's My Son

A few weeks ago I posted about the book 21 Ways to Connect with Your Kids.  This last week I started taking the quiz the author provides in order to narrow down your child's personality.  As much as I love this concept for the book and think that it is great . . .my kids are a little young. The quiz does not fit them at their age.  Instead of worrying about the quiz, I instead am just focusing on the "Connection Ideas" to add some spice to our lives.  The first one is "Fifteen Dollar Family Fun Night". I'm putting this idea aside for when the boys are older because it will be fun for each of us to take turns to plan this type of night.  Right now, my kids go to bed at 7:30 - we really aren't partying at night HA!.  The second Connection Idea is to eat dinner together. Well, we do. Every night.  I will say that right now we are working on teaching the importance of all staying at the table and not wondering around the house.  The boys have to sit down with us, eat something and, when they are done, ask to be excused.  Once they do that, no more dinner! This is a very quick lesson to learn once they go hungry one night :-)

So,for now, I'm working on Connection Idea number three - Looking for the positive.  I think it is so easy to say "No" all of the time and constantly be in "corrective" mode.  I find myself getting frustrated with the boys because they don't respond to what I tell them to do.  What I'm doing now (or trying to do) is to find positive things that they do throughout the day to praise them about.  For example, Josh cleared the table without being asked - I praised him all over the place for that one.  Or when Nate gave up a toy for Josh to play with - tons of  praise all around.  The author gives a list of 50 things you can say to encourage your kids right now such as "I believe in you", "I love spending time with you" or "You make me laugh".

Right now, my husband and I lay down with the boys almost every night.  This started as a discipline corrector - when the boys moved into one room, they played for hours after we put them to bed.  I got so tired of going in their room and yelling at them, moving one into another room as punishment and just being plain frustrated with their behavior.  One night, I laid down with one of the boys and guess what?  They went to sleep.  So now Darryl and I lay down with them - switching boys each night so we get equal time with them.  We sing songs, talk, make shadow puppets and then snuggle with our kid until at least one child falls asleep.  Do you have any idea how much they love this??? They fight over us sometimes . . .well, they fight over Darryl because, in Josh's words, "Dad is more fun" HA!  It is one of the best times for positive reinforcement as we really connect with each child.  And yes, for the record, Darryl and I do fall asleep at times too . . .it's just so relaxing HA!

Before I move on to Connection Idea four, I want to make sure that the idea of being positive is a habit.  Something that just happens without thinking about it.

So, as I'm working on those ideas, I wanted to move on to the next book.  I decided to pick up That's my Son by Rick Johnson.  The premise is "How Moms can influence boys to become men of character."  Isn't that my whole goal this year???  I'm looking forward to really getting into this book and sharing some snippets with all of you!

Too Cute Not To Toot!

I'm going to start this week with a craft idea for the kids.  It comes from Sweet Happy Life.  My kids love to paint so I know they would love to try this fun activity.

Valentine's is just around the corner so this idea from A Mom with a Lesson Plan is perfect.  It is a great, creative, different idea for homemade cards.

I love this faux tin art pieces from Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom. I think they make a beautiful addition to any room . . I'm wondering how they might work behind my stove . . .

Yes, I know Christmas is done but when I saw this cute ornament idea from Ashbee Design I knew I wanted to save it here.  These would be cute added to gift baskets (which I didn't make this year because I was so sick) or fun for older kids to make.

I love this simple tutorial from Petite Lemon for burb clothes.  No, I don't need them but I think they would be great to make and have on hand to give as gifts for baby showers.

This idea from B. jane brewing is such a cute idea for any kid bed.  Change the colors out to match the room/kid and it would be a perfect gift.

January Preschool

Yes, I know that it is now February but this post covers the last week of January Preschool.

Lets keep it real, this week was a total fail.  I did not plan anything for Monday because I expected to be babysitting extra kids.  Due to an ice storm I didn't have the extra kids plus my husband was home so we just all hung out and had fun.  My husband took time to return a ton of pop cans and then I did grocery shopping in the afternoon.  Tuesday, well, I was lazy and the kids were just having a fun day playing.  Wednesday - I was up most of the night between the boys getting up at separate times before 4:00 . . .then the power going off at 4:00 which meant I had two little boys in bed with me and they both had flashlights :-/  The power came back on at about 8;00 but I was already exhausted so we did nothing with school.  Thursday the boys had back to back well child check-ups and my husband was home for his scheduled day off.  Finally, I don't plan lessons for Friday - that is my planning day - plus I was, again, supposed to have extra kids again but that was cancelled because they were all sick!  The boys started asking on Friday for "projects" so I know they are ready to get back into the groove. 

Since I don't have school photos to share I thought I would share this little photo shoot with Nate.  His new thing is to make faces so he asked me to get my camera and he started posing!

February Pinterest Goals

I have a million and one boards on my Pinterest account.  Some of them I access often such as my recipe board or boards related to homeschooling.  Others, I pin and pin and PIN items to but don't take time to actually accomplish items.  That is where these goals come into play.  My goal is to pick a handful of items I want to attempt to try/make throughout the month. I feel like posting this at the beginning of the month gives me some accountability to see what I can really accomplish.

1. From my For the Home board:

I love my steam mop for quick cleaning but I would like to try this floor cleaner out to see if it really is as good as the writer says it is.

Ok, I haven't tried this as of yet - I keep looking at mops and haven't found one I want to buy yet - when I do, I WILL try this!  

2. Another one from my For the Home board:

Supposidly this treatment will take all of the sticky residue off of appliances - we'll see!!

After posting this, I read the blog post and guess what?  The author said that people told her about Bar Keeper's friend and it worked as well as cream of tarter and was less expensive.  I already use Bar Keeper's friend and it does work pretty well so I didn't bother to try it. 
 
3. And one more from For the Home.

I hope this idea works - my oven needs it!

Ok, I actually tried this.  Ready for some photos? 
Here is the before photo of my oven door: 

 Gross right?  Well, here is the after: 

 Still gross!!! It did take a little of the grime off but not all of it - not even close.  Plus, I would have needed to make a triple, triple, triple batch to actually clean the whole oven.  I might try this using vinegar instead of water with the baking soda to see if it will take more of the junk off.
4. This idea is from my Craft Board:

I want to make this for my secret sister at church (don't worry, she doesn't read this blog!)
This one is on hold for a bit - I haven't been able to find the wire yet :-) 
 
5. Another idea from my Craft Board.

I've been wanting to read this for awhile and learn how to use my Cricut better.

Read the article and learned that it is out dated - there is FREE software at the Cricut website now with lots and lots of helps. 
 
6. One last idea - this one from my Organization board.

We need this - or at least some from of this as the kids grow and we need more stuff in the truck.

This idea is so in the works. I haven't been able to find those holders yet so I'm working on a different idea. When I have it done, I will share it in an actual post. 

The other thing I am continuing to work on is to clean out my boards.  I try to move stuff I've completed to my "things I've completed succesfully" board OR delete it if it is a flop.  Plus I'm trying to move stuff to the right board (and get rid of duplicate type boards) and delete stuff I know I won't ever do!!

Looking forward to trying/completing this items this month!

Weekly Menu.

Last week was a good meal week :-)  Lots of ham and chicken cooked a variety of ways . . .but my grocery bill was low!

Can you believe that it is already February? Where did January go?  Usually January tends to drag a little after the busy holidays but not this year.  I think it is because I was still sick half-way into the month so I only really remember the last two weeks :-)

So what is the plan for the coming week?  Check it out!

Tuesday - Beef Tips and Noodles with Salad.  I had this planned for a week ago but we ended up not eating it so I figured this was a good time to make it!

Wednesday - Going out to dinner with friends!

Thursday - Taco Soup  - another meal I had planned for a week or so ago and then didn't make for some reason.

Friday - Frozen Pizza for everyone - I'm heading to a ladies night out with snacks and fun stuff; leaving the boys at home

Saturday - Mac and cheese for the kids; We will order in and watch a movie - we usually do this on Friday but since I am going to a movie night with ladies from the church, we'll do this tonight.

Sunday - Roast, Noodles, Carrots and rolls

Monday - Chicken Parmesan with spaghetti and garlic bread.  This is another recipe from a few weeks ago. It is a true "hit" with the family since the boys love spaghetti!! 

Sounds good to me! 

Food Friday - Orange Julius

Orange Julius
adapted from my Mother-In-Law's recipe

  This drink (shown in the blender) is a family tradition in my husband's family for Christmas morning.  We make it a few times a year for special occasions and it is so yummy!  I'd make it more but I really like keeping it as a "special" treat. 

1 6oz can frozen orange juice concentrate

1 cup milk

1 cup water

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

10-12 ice cubes crushed

Combine all ingredients in blender, cover and blend till smooth, about 30 seconds.  Serve immediately

February Craft Goals

I've decided that at  the end of each month, I want to look back through the last 4 "Too Cute" posts and pick out the  things I feel that I can actually complete and post them here - at the end of the month I'll update my progress by linking back to the posts of the completed projects.

So these are the items I picked out:

I had good intentions to do this craft but when I priced a square canvas in the size I wanted plus the letters - well, I decided I didn't love it that much and did make this craft.

I want to make these to hang by our growth chart- they seem pretty easy and inexpensive.

 My St Patrick's Wreath fell apart last year so I think I'd like to just make this one and use it for any month I don't have one . . .or at least for March.
This was completed and I shared the post back in March :-) 
 

 This is more just something I want to read and implement as I feel fit.
I've read some of this and am still digesting it - the calendar shown is no longer available so I'm kinda waiting for a new version to come out to see if I can use this idea more. 
 

 I'd like to get that Vinyl saying printed to put on the fridge above where I hang the kids artwork.
This is ordered and up on my fridge - I get lots of comments on it :-) 
 

 I will not complete this idea this month but I want to start it - I want to add an alphabet to our classroom wall as we study our letters - I'd like to complete A, B, C, D, and E.  Then continue to do them as we study that letter.
Letters A-D are on the wall and E-G are spray painted waiting for their modge podge :-) 
 

 This one will depend on price - if those items are too munch money, I'll have to wait.
After reading the instructions and supplies on this one better I decided I didn't really want to make this!! So, cancel this idea :-) 
 

I'd like to attempt to make one of these for each of the boys "friends".  Then go from there.
My mom offered to make these but I just never got the pattern.  I'm thinking this one is not going to get done.
 

 Another simple project - just need to buy the pieces and let the boys play.
I nixed this one. I actually have an idea to do this OUTSIDE on our fence this summer. I'll save it for that instead.

 I NEED to do this under my sink - those tiles are so cheap - this shouldn't be hard.
I still NEED to do this - I just need to get to the home store and buy my tiles.  I promise to share as soon as I'm done!
  

Tool pouches - I'd like to get these made for the boys Easter Baskets.  I even have an old pair of jeans I saved "just in case" so I just need the ribbon.
Guess what I found at Target?? TOOL BELTS!  YES!  And they come with tools - I had planned to get them at Easter but they were sold out - I'll check the next time I'm there and pick them up :-) 

First up is to make my supply list and then to get to town to pick up anything I need.  Now, I know I will not necessarily get everything done in February.  But by putting these on this post, I can carry them over so I don't forget about them :-)

Happy Crafting!