Our DIY Advent Countdown

Yesterday we started our countdown to Christmas.  In typical me fashion we had to do two days to get caught up but it worked out.  If you are like me and are late, you can rest assured that it's not too late to get started with a countdown. 

And I'll show you how. 

A little history of our countdown calendar: 

When Emma was two and Calvin was one Nick lost his job.  It was hard and tough and horrid.  We had $200 in our savings account.  Fun times were had by all. 

Not. 

One thing we vowed was that the kids wouldn't know what was going on.  We didn't want them to not have a Christmas or to notice that they had less.  

So I came up with this countdown during that time.  

That first year I took string, tacked up some socks and mittens I found and put things in them that were around the house...a couple of stickers, dimes, candy canes, whatever.  I put them in before I would go to work at 4 IN THE MORNING! And then they had that day's sock or mitten waiting for them when they woke up with Daddy.  

And they still ask for this every single year!  My kids are all about traditions.  In fact, Nick and I even purchased them Playmobil advent sets because they had been BEGGING for them but in the end when I asked which they wanted to do, Playmobil parts or surprises every day they chose our old fashioned surprises method.  So the Playmobil's are going back I guess :/. 

The thing I love is you can really make this as simple or as elaborate as you want. It doesn't have to cost a lot but if you want it to, you can.  It's all up to you! 

Okay, so I'm going to walk you through what you need to do the countdown how I did it this year: 

Supplies You'll Need:

-String, twine, ribbon. I've used all of them through the years.  This year I am going with twine for a rustic look. 

-2 Nails or Hooks to hang the string on.

-Socks, mittens, little stockings.  I have a mixture of these.  Truth be told a lot of these are ones that were cute but we had lost their mate.  So I kept them.  I also love to see how little their tiny hands and feet were when they were babies so I used a lot of their infant-wear :) See how cheap this is by using what you already have?

-Clothespins, Binder Clips, Safety Pins, or Paper Clips to secure socks to string. 

-Numbers. In previous years (I think you can see some from last year on the socks in the previous picture) I printed numbers out.  I've used just plain stickers.  This year I found these cool gold stickers that were for 25 days.  Perfect!  They were a little pricey ($4.99!, I know, I'm pathetically a cheapskate) but I had a 40% coupon so it worked out.  Emma loved the stickers.  I got them at Hobby Lobby if you are looking for them.  They are super thick and super sticky so I'm hoping the numbers will last more than one year.  But again, use anything!  I've used post-it notes before.  

-Optional: A Honking Bag of Junk to use. I bought all of this stuff for 90% off last year after Christmas.  If you don't have your own honkin' big bag of stuff, it's okay, you can just put in there whatever you would like! 

How to Set Up Your Advent Calendar

Hang your wire, string, ribbon, whatever.  I just used two nails and tied it on there.  I tried to make it as tight as I could because the weight of everything will make it sag a bit.  The above picture is what mine looks like before I hung everything.  I then went and scrubbed my wall as you can see dirty clay fingerprints from us making ming bowls for our history lesson. 

Then hang your socks, mittens whatever.  I use some of the kids smaller socks, their baby mittens, and some of those little stockings people give you every.single.christmas.  Now you have something to do with them all! 

After I took this picture I went and peeled off that piece of tape that is on the wall.  This is real life people! I use small clothespins from Hobby Lobby to hang our socks but you can use anything you want.

This is the finished layout I have.  I tend to hang them all up and them move them around so I don't have all mittens clumped together or 4 red socks side by side.  Make it look how you want, whatevs. 

I then put the numbers on.  You can o this however you want.  I put 25 on one side and then 24 on the other side and then work my way towards the middle.  So odds are on one side and evens are on the other.  This works great because then I don't end up with one side of the advent calendar empty and the other side sagging from everything in the socks.  This is from trial and error that I've figured it out.  Also because we have two kids and they like to take turns opening the advent sock, one basically ends up with the odds and one with the even days and so they know which side to go to when it's their day. 

Here is another thing I think I do weird but I'll share it with you.  I make a column of the days and then next to it I figure out how many days there are till Christmas.  Then we open that corresponding day.  I know a lot of people do it the other way where if it's December 10 then they open 10 but we open 10 on the 15th when there is 10 days left until Christmas.  Get it?  Are you confused?  You can set it up like me and then have a mini panic attack every day when your kids open it and you're thinking "what?  only 21 days until Christmas?  Yikes!" but to your kids you can be all "yeah!  Only 21 days left!" because that's what cool moms do. 

Okay so you saw my weird list, I then start to fill it in with what I'm going to use every day.  I started doing this because the first year I kind of ran out of ideas so we had a million days of candy canes towards the end.  Lame.  Don't get me wrong we have plenty of candy cane days but I try to space them out.  

So I write down what events I know we are doing and what we will be up to so if there are things I can tie into that I can plan.  One night we are going to a local Holiday event where they always want to buy something so I will put a little bit of money in the sock for them to each be able to shop for a souvenir. 

Another idea is I will figure out when we can watch Polar Express at home and I'll put "train" tickets in their sock so they know we are watching the moving and it will be special. 

After I've written down events that I know we are doing and things I can coordinate to those I fill in the dates left.  This is where I pull out my honkin' bag and see what I have to give them.  Again these are all things I got super cheap, for real: 

I wait until Target has 90% off and then I buy whatever I can find.  So this kit was $0.20!  Seriously, I can handle 20 cents.  And it makes them work together and it gives them something to do for a while.  

I try to space out events, candy, a toy, money, and craft days.  

As you can see here, Day 25 they got candy canes!  And they were super excited.  It's the little things around here! 

Day 24 I had puzzles to give them but they wouldn't fit in the sock so I wrote this note and stuck it in the sock. They love the little hunts and running to see what they will find. 

By spending a little bit of time putting this together I have peace and quiet in the house.  They worked on these puzzles for about an hour.  They helped each other, we helped them and it was so much fun!  

So I hope that gives you an idea of something you could thrown together and have lots of fun with your kids.  There's nothing really special about "here have another candy cane"  but the act of putting it in a sock or mitten in the countdown makes my kiddos so super excited.  Weird, I know, but it works.  

And remember you can make it as basic or fancy as you would like!  A couple of dimes makes kiddos super excited.  Or put Bible verses in each sock.  Or candy.  Or an event like "drive to see christmas lights".  

I know you'll do awesome! Let me know about your fun advent countdowns and remember,it's not too late to start making memories and traditions! 

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2016 Update:

The kids are getting older (shocking I know!) so I was a little leary about using this again.  After all I started doing this when Calvin was a year old and Nick had been laid off...this was cheap!  But the kids are insisting we do it again this year.  When they were younger it was easier to stick small things in the socks and mittens...coins, candy, stickers, etc.  But as they've gotten older it's been so fun to incorporate clues and crafts into the socks. 

Have fun with it! 

Sweet Gifts for Kids who Like to Bake

I love baking with our kiddos. I always have. Ever since they were little we would bake together and it has always been a very special time that we all enjoy.

Now that we have a tween and a teen I am finding them starting to bake on their own, expressing their creativity (and hello? math skills!) through making sweet treats for the fam, which is totally a-ok with me.

If you are buying for some kiddos (or a family, or just mom) who like to bake, these would make some pretty sweet gifts:

Color Gel

For super vibrant colors in frostings, you are going to want to switch from liquid food coloring to gel. This will really make your cookie decorating fun!

American Girl Baking

This is Emma’s favorite baking cookbook of all time. And I have to admit that we have enjoyed every recipe out of it that she has made us out of it. Great recipes, easy to follow, and overall fun, this is a book that will be perfect for your little girl!

Cake Decorating Set

This set has a lot of equipment in it for an amazing price! This would be an amazing gift for someone who loves cake decorating or for someone who has a 4-h cake project coming up in the next year.

Matching Aprons

Emma and I have fallen in love with matching aprons and these are amazing with their vintage cuteness! If you like baking with your daughter, there is just something about donning matching aprons that takes the fun up a notch!

Kid Chef Book

Our kids have LOVED using the Kid Chef books. There are several of them to choose from. They are fun books and have easy to use instructions for cooking. This baking cookbook would be great!

As we get closer and closer to Christmas (can you even believe it is almost here?) it sometimes gets harder and harder to think straight without the chaos and the pressure of the season taking over your good senses. So if you are in need of a gift one of these items would be great. Or you could group a few of these things together to make a gift basket for someone…even if they don’t like to bake (yet!) you never know but you might be sparking a new love for a hobby they will love for years to come!

An Invitation to Intentional Living

Last year as I rounded the bases towards my 35th Birthday I realized how quickly I had become unhappy with my life.  Being able to stay home for 8 years now, oh sure, I was glad for my husband, children, and stay at home status, but I found that any sense of joy or purpose was missing from my life. 

After praying I realized that I was living my life without a sense of intention.  I was missing the purpose, the reasoning, the feelings, the savoriness of life.

Often times I was too busy rushing through the day to day to realize the beauty of the gift of a single day here on earth.  I was hustling to get dinner on the table without enjoying the food, eating without enjoying a meal. 

So at 35 I decided not to waste another day.  I would enjoy every day.  Even the bad ones.  Even the horrible ones.  I would find something to enjoy.

In this journey I have discovered more joy than I ever thought possible.  God has opened my eyes to what a gift life truly is.  How a pretty set table really does make the food taste better.  How amazing it is that leaves turn up in a storm to collect rain.  How incredible it all is, working together.

See, I have spent my life thinking there was something wrong with me.  I've always been the girl (now the 35 year old girl) who could do all things okay-ish, but not one thing particularly, whoopee-well. 

I always assumed God had made a mistake with me.  Well, that or that there must be something out there I would be great at if only I could discover what that is (coal mining, perhaps?). 

I felt incomplete.  I felt lost, until one week I got away to examine my life.  It's amazing when you sit in a place and talk with God and just listen.  He sure laid a lot on my heart.  I finally felt that I understood what He was trying to do with my life, how He was using me with all of my okay-ish gifts. 

See, I'm good at all of these things in order to love and serve my family simply through living intentionally.

I may never be able to bake well enough to own my own bakery but I do an alright job of it to surprise our children with cookies, cupcakes, and doughnuts I baked for them for Valentine's Day. 

I may never be a professional party planner but I can plan a pretty great all out American Girl themed birthday party for our little girl to make her feel valued and treasured. 

And that's why I'm here. 

On this earth, I'm here to love my family through serving them.  To live intentionally to provide them memories, love, affection, and protection that will smother them with God's love so they'll be equipped to go out in this world and know how loved they are. 

And I'm at this computer to help you do the same for your family.  To help you learn how to bake a cake, wrap a gift, teach latin, whatever.  But to walk with you down a path leading to intention and joy through serving and loving our families. 

I invite you to start living intentionally for the Lord.  To look for his goodness in this world.  To love through serving your family.

And if you want to follow along with my journey, I'd love to have you for a friend and we can make mistakes together. 

After all,

The joy is in our journey!

Week 7 Recap of our No-Spend Challenge

Well this was the first week that I heard serious complaining about the no spend challenge. 

Emma was hilarious when she said "we had a good two months of this no spend challenge.  Now I think it's time to be done.  Let's order Chinese food." 

And believe me I was feeling the same way!  I was ready for Chinese food and not cooking too, but we didn't cave and had frozen pizzas instead. 

Can you picture me with my head hung low and pouting?  Because that's what I was looking like. 

Thankfully I am realizing that when one of us is weak and ready to give up (usually me) then there is the other person to stay strong and diligent (usually Nick). 

Valentine's Day was a bit hard with the no spend challenge. 

We are not huge spenders for Valentine's Day.  I've never gotten Diamond anything.  I do usually get roses.  But this year I knew I wouldn't be getting anything.  Still there was this TINY part of my brain that was just wishing and hoping that he would come home with something that I would act upset he spent money for but secretly was delighted he brought home. 

You know what I am talking about! 

But he didn't buy anything.  Well I take that back he did go to the store and bought crab and oysters to go with our beef tenderloin stay-in date meal. 

However I had had the same thought of a little surf with our turf and bought lobster tails. 

So it was a huge seafood feast. 

Nick also came home with an old fashioned love letter. 

It was my first one ever and it made me sob.  Big, ugly tears, sob.

It was perfect.  It helped me to realize that some of the most beautiful things in this world are free.  They don't cost money, they aren't big and flashy, but instead are simple and true words that mean the most. 

The days before Valentine's Day I was prepared that we wouldn't be buying the kids a ton of fun Valentine's stuff like we normally do. 

I had purchased Emma's Valentine's Day gift last year before we started the no-spend challenge.  So I purchased a small lego set for Calvin so he would have something soon. 

To make their special day a bit more special we made some sweet treats with things that we already had at home so they didn't cost a lot of money. 

We made cookies which was lots of fun! The kids took a cookie decorating class last year so I whipped up a batch of royal icing and we had fun decorating cookies for our friends and family (and for us, of course!)

We had fun breakfasts!  For this I made toast and used a cookie cutter to carve out a heart from the center.  I then put Peanut butter on the heart and strawberry jam around the outskirt of the toast.  We had strawberry milk because strawberry milk makes everything better.  And I love these napkins that I bought last year from Marshalls. 

And of course we had fun lunches!  The kids' favorite lunch is a muffin tin lunch.  I bought these sweet 6 cup muffin tins from the Dollar Store, and then I put fun things in them!  For this lunch I gave them strawberry flavored string cheese, vanilla yogurt with sprinkles, strawberrys, grape tomatoes, more strawberry milk, and some heart shaped sweet tarts. 

I love giving them fun lunches, it really helps to break up the homeschool day and make things more exciting. 

A special part of Valentine's Day was someone sending me a gift!  I love colored pens and someone sent these to me with a sweet Homeschooling Momma card.  I have no idea who sent these to me but it was just the sweetest thing! So if you are reading this and it was you, thank you!

All in all it was a great Valentine's Day and week. 

It was really nice when it was all said and done to not have the guilt that I spent too much on the kids or spoiled them more than I should have.  It was a great day and we loved spending time with one another which is the best part of Valentine's Day! 

I hope you all had a great Valentine's week.  Please let me know how you are doing on your own no-spend challenges. 

Love to you all! 

These kids of ours are amazing

Check out this huge pumpkin crop we've had this year.  Whew!  Picking these guys was exhausting, ha!

So I was going to write "hope you had a good weekend"  but then I realized that when I post this it will be Wednesday already and that thereby reminded me of my lameness dealing with time this week. 

I mean, how is it not still Monday? 

We had a fabulous weekend.  It was a whirlwind of activity but it was lots of fun. 

We have some promising things on the horizon and we are praying and trusting God to see those through.  I'll let you know of course as things develop. 

Let's see, what else can I record as an update?  I love to write things down on here to keep track of what the kids are doing. 

Emma is in the Nutcracker again this year.  She is in the party scene in the beginning when Clara is given the Nutcracker as a gift.  It's about a 30 minute role she has and we are thrilled for her.  This weekend she was also asked to be a Polichinelle girl (she was this part last year) and she was so tickled that they asked her.  So she will be in both acts of the ballet. 

On a side note, I have no idea how this girl does everything that she does.  She's just amazing.  This summer she developed a cold (I thought!) during her ballet summer intensive classes.  Summer intensive was ballet every day for 8 hours a day for two weeks straight.  She missed one day with her illness and then I made her go back to ballet.  Turns out the girl had pneumonia.  Pneumonia!  And she made it through.  I felt really bad when I found out how sick she was but also really proud of her that she struggled through and was successful. 

Calvin is in pottery classes at the local art museum.  He was invited to submit one of his pieces into the art museum to be on display.  I am so proud of him.  He LOVES pottery which is adorable and he is so proud of himself. 

Well I think that's it for now. 

Hope you all are doing well! 

What I'm Loving on this Monday

Hey y'all!  Hope you had a great weekend!  Ours was a weird combo of being super duper busy but still managing to get a ton done and home and starting the week feeling relaxed and refreshed.  Believe me, that miracle doesn't happen often around here!

I thought I would share with you a few things I'm digging this morning as we are getting our day off the ground....

Um, coffee!  Nick bought me some Door County coffee for me and had it sent to me while he was out of town with business last week.  So thoughtful.  Of course it is Pumpkin Spice...my fave! Also, I am doing the Trim Healthy Mama eating plan which I LOVE!  but the one thing I miss so much is Pumpkin Spice Creamer.  I use real cream and stevia in my coffee these days so the flavored coffee allows me to still have the taste.  It's the best Jerry, the best!

Adorbs outfits as Emma would call them!  This weekend I went up to the attic and got down the seasonal clothing bin (I buy so many of them I have a bin dedicated to holiday outfits. So handy and then they aren't taking up room in their closets when it's not time for them!).  I brought down all of the Halloween outfits and I was so excited to see this one because I bought it in the spring and had completely forgotten about it.  So much fun!  There's also a matching outfit for her American Girl doll.  I am having a blast dressing her like this and she is still not complaining about how I dress her (Thank you, thank you Jesus!)

Isn't she just the cutest?

This sweet boy was a champ with his spelling this morning!  This year we switched to Spelling Workout curriculum.  Cal is a level C and Emma is a level E.  Isn't that cute how that worked out?  Anyway, they both had tests this morning so he was having a quick review before we dove into it. 

It's been an amazing curriculum and they both seem to really enjoy it. Anyone else using this?

This visual timer.  Wow am I loving this thing today. 

I bought this for Cal about 3 years ago.  He hated it.  We tried it for time frames such as when he needed to get dressed but he would take the batteries out and hide them and then hide the timer and then it didn't work.  Funny how that works, right?

But this year we've been using it a lot with school.  Emma loves to use it for her work.  15 minutes of spelling?  She just sets the timer and it dings at her when her time is up. Easy-peasy.  If you have kiddos who struggle with transitioning from activity to activity or need a little help keeping track of their time, this thing is great!

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Well that's it...a quick list of things I'm loving today as we are quickly diving into the week!  Can't wait to see all that is in store for us this week.  I think it's going to be an amazing week here and I hope it is for you as well! 

Comment below with any fun plans you have :) 

Guest Blog: Emma's Perspective on Homeschooling

Emma came to me last night and requested to be a guest blogger on the site.  How can you say no to someone so cute?   So without further ado, I bring you Emma writing about all things homeschool:

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Home schooling- one of the marvelous things in this world.  When you home school you get to learn about anything you want. 

That's right you can learn about sheep, whales, space, you can even learn about toaster ovens!  If you want to learn yep, this is how you do it.   I am home schooled and I have to say it is really cool. 

You can name your school anything.  My schools name is the Acadamy of Excellence. 

Our everyday subjects are, Math, Grammar, World history, Science, And Foreign languages.  We also do way more than that. 

In the morning, after breakfast I love to go to the classroom and clean out my desk, Sharpen my pencils, and to top it off get a good long book, snuggle down in the book nook and just read my heart out. 

My brother and I love world history. We think that Rome is the most interesting.  We love coloring sheets of Gladiator fights, Roman homes, and of course market places.  We have the exact same rules as normal schools though. the raise your hand and the stay at your desk are the most important.

I am so bummed out that we have to do school in the summer. The good side is that we do get longer holiday breaks. But I guess school is really fun if you think about it. 

I hope that westudy Zebras this year. I find that Zebras are interesting.

Well I hope that everyone has a good summer vacation.

A Letter To My 10-Year Old Daughter

Dear Kazoo,

I cannot believe that you are ten. 

Ten. 

Wow. 

I know that parents say that so often that to be honest, when I see it on social media, I just kind of roll my eyes and blur over it all because we all keep saying it. 

Grandma Peg told me that my time with you would be over before I know it and she sure was right.  Like sand, I feel like I am watching time slip through my fingers faster than I can do anything about it.

In only 8 years you will be leaving the nest.  For bigger and brighter things.  To live out your hopes and dreams, to spread your wings and fly. 

8 years probably seems like a lifetime to you and a microwave warm up to me.  We've got all kinds of development between then and now to go through.  Things to love and things to hate.

With that in mind I thought I would send you this letter and let you know all of the many, many things going on in my head. 

-I first and foremost want to say thank you.  On behalf of your autistic brother and your Daddy and I, we thank you for being the kind of sibling and daughter that anyone would be proud to have.  You take on the role of sibling to a special-needs child with such grace and dignity.  I have no idea how we would have gotten through everything without you.  You always seem to know when to cut your brother some slack and when he needs to be reeled back in.  You always tolerate, always teach, always protect, and always, always love in ways that blow us away.  We know it stinks sometimes when your things get broken, your feelings get hurt, your turn isn't realized.  We want you to know that we are trying to be fair.  In reality, it isn't always going to be. But we love you even more for understanding that and being okay with it.  That's where we need God's grace and you get that too. 

-In the coming years we are going to have to expose you to some hard topics. You think weed means a dandelion. You have no idea what sex is.  You think "butt" is a cuss word. You think the signs "don't drink and drive" mean not to drink Pepsi while driving home from Taco Bell.  Your naivety is what we have craved for you to have in this world.  But Daddy and I figure it's probably best to expose you to these things eventually rather that drop you off at the doorstep of William and Mary to just let you figure it all out. So we're going to have to have some worldly talks.  Some exposure.  It makes me want to throw up thinking of explaining sex, drugs, and rock and roll to you, but we will. Because we love you and we want what's best for you.

-We want you to know that to the ends of the earth we will love you.  No matter what weird experimentation you go through.  No matter who you find out you are.  We will love you to the ends of the earth and back.  You will always be our favorite and our best.

-We know you want to be a vet but here's the thing.  Nothing in this world comes easily.  Nothing.  Please be prepared to work your tail off for what you want.  Don't let anyone get in your way or try to discourage you.  You will fall.  You will fail.  You will want to quit.  Don't.  Don't ever quit.  Pull that competitiveness out of you and use it to get what you want.  We promise it will all be worth it.

-Please don't try to grow up to quickly.  Stop it.  Knock it off.  It's all a lie.  All of it.  We know you want your own cell phone and you think it's cool to have an ipad and headphones and dance around.  But please don't put the American Girls away just yet. Don't forget how fun it is to spin in a pretty dress.  Don't let the world make you someone you aren't.  Remember, you can be as young as you feel, not as old as you are real.

-Above all please remember to just follow God's will.  Like I've always told you, my life is so much better than I ever could have imagined it to be.  All because I did what God wanted me to do.  I followed Him.  I promise, do what He wants;  Seek him.  Be in love with Him.  And life will beat your best dreams on a good night.  Cross my heart, kiss my elbow.

-Remember how you love our home?  How you call it a peaceful mansion?  How you say it's your favorite place in the world?  Well, it's not going anywhere.  It will always be here with open arms.  So you can drag your drunk, goth-clad self home from college if you need and we'll be here with a strong cup of coffee and open arms.  Because we are family.  And family sticks together.

I hope you have the best tenth birthday ever. I hope you dance and twirl and giggle and whirl.  We're going to party, as you always misquote and say, like it's 1799.  Sure, we'll get our petticoats swinging around.

We love you Kazoo!  Happy Birthday to you!

Our Fresh Start Began with Popsicle Sticks

Homeschooling sometimes gets hard, y'all! 

This year I had the amazing idea of making our homeschool year last all year round. 

No long summer break for us.

I really think this will be a good idea but with no end in clear sight things are starting to get a little sticky around here.

Bad attitudes.

Crankiness.

Procrastination. 

And if you think those sound bad you should see the kids. 

Ha!

Truth be told it's been all of us. Just not into it.  Doing the bare minimum of work required.

It's been a good day if we get all of the worksheets and problems done.  Forget fun projects or artwork. 

As the sun was setting on the end of our yet-again horrific attempt at homeschooling last week I knew we had to do something.

Something had to get turned around or we were headed off the edge of a cliff in a car.

So I spent all weekend planning.

You know, like I'm supposed to every week .

The thing is, I spent MONTHS last spring preparing for this school year. I have a notebook with everything detailed that I need for each week.  Every book I need, art supply, everything. But some of it I had decided not to use and for some reason in my mind that meant that I wasn't going to use it at all. 

Which just is absurd.

So I went back to the notebook and ta-da!  most everything was already planned out for fun activities. 

With the help of that, pinterest, and just simply getting things ready for the week I was able to get started this week with our ducks already in a row.  Everything was planned out and ready to go.

So that was done but I was also faced with the problem of all of the bad attitudes.  I had managed to get myself out of my funk but how was I going to get the kids okay-ish with doing school again?

The answer, like always, practically jumped out of the Bible and smacked me in the face.  I love when my help comes from the Lord.  Which is pretty much all the time. 

Calvin had to memorize this verse the week before to complete his Awana book so it was a perfect jumping off point for this week.

To enforce or rather to encourage this, Sunday night Nick and I sat down in the living room with a bunch of popsicle sticks.

And we made chores.

Glorious chores.

It wasn't anything too hard.  Or anything that will take too long. But they are things that will definitely help out.

Clean the bathroom sink.

Put random lost socks in the laundry.

Things like that. (And as a total side note, can you figure out which of the popsicle sticks was written by me?  Nick totally has Doctor/Architect handwriting.)

I introduced the popsicle sticks to them in the morning while they were still in bed.  We had talked about the verse the night before so I reminded them of it and told them about the chore sticks.

I told them that all of their complaining and arguing just sucks the life right out of me.  And then I am too tired to do all of the chores so they will have to help.

It's only the third day but we've only had to draw out a popscicle stick twice.  Which means there's only been complaining two times

Which for me is like drawing a popsicle stick from the mom lottery.

Two times complaining in three days is a total win.

And every day we've been able to get our school work done.

Another win.

Our Fresh Start was three days ago and it's only just begun. 

Happy day friends! 

What do you need a fresh start on? Brainstorm, switch things up, and get going!

Making the Every Day the Everything

Last week my uncle passed away.  It's been a whirlwind of family in town, memorial services, moving furniture, cleaning, crying, and more.

And in those times is when family is reiterated as being the most sacred of all blessings God gives us here on Earth. 

Where would we be without our tribe to hold us all up collectively?

My extended family is amazing.  We all seem to get it, we all laugh about the same things and more.

And when I come home from funerals and look around at the life Wit and I have been blessed with around these two blessings of ours, I'm astounded by how it all is going by so quickly.

Like a blink it will all be over.

I was on Facebook a couple of days ago and while their intent is not to inspire me, I have a few friends who post photos of their children all.the.time. And while for others it may be annoying, for me it is inspiring. 

I think at times when you have babies and toddlers around it is easy to see things as exciting and photo worthy.  But then the play-doh's been played with so much it's not fun to take the pictures.  And the sledding's been done so many times you are convinced you'll remember them on your own, you don't need to soak it in.

But you all remind me to relish the small things, to soak in the moments in the every day.  I want to remember it all so I can look back and see that these every day moments that just could have gone by unnoticed amidst the laundry and the cleaning and dishes, these every day moments are everything in life.  Aren't these moments why I wanted to be a mother?  Aren't these moments the ones who define who I am as a caregiver and nurturer?

And so, after seeing my friends posting pictures of their kids eating a donut in the backseat, or giggling after a bubble bath, inspired, I set off to capture my own every day moments.  To preserve them in photographs to commit to memory time and time again.

May I not forget the mornings where the snowstorm raged outside while the tangles in dolls hair laid flat and we giggled and swapped outfits on dolls.

May I not forget the excitement of pieces being put together and constructed into something that has been dreamt of for a year.  Of a toy saved for and cherished, of the learning moments through frustration and toil.  May I remember it all. 

And so you Momma's on social media, please keep posting your photos. 

You inspire me. 

To take my every day and to once again pick up my camera, put down my laundry basket, and to stop and see my everything around me.

I thank you for helping me get back to the root of what is important.

Zulily has Jelly the Pug on Sale!

This blog post may contain affiliate links that help offset the cost of running this blog.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.

Eek, I couldn't wait to jump on here and let you know the news...

Now through the 19th Jelly the Pug is on Zulily! 

Jelly the Pug is my absolute fave brand for Emma!  Especially as she is getting older and more vested in what she is wearing each day, Jelly the Pug has really helped to keep the peace between us.  They sweet brands are "sassy" as little Kazoo says and the details like ankle ruffles, knee patches, or bows really help her feel like she is wearing something that is cool and far from boring.

I think that this dress has to be my favorite and it is on sale for only $17.99!  Regularly $48.00 you can see why I love Zulily so much!

I also am in crushing on this dress, the Hot Pink & Teal Love Birds Hannah dress. I love all of the patterns of fabric that they use and they way they mix them together. This dress is $17.99, on sale from $44.00!  So cute and ruffley. 

And if you are looking for a great Easter outfit or for a Spring tea I think this is just darling.  I love outfits for things like Easter egg hunts because they can have fun and they don't have to worry about sitting like a girl or bending over.  My Aunt calls these hippie pants and so does Emma now but we still think they are the cutest!  This is the Peach Sweet Heart Brandy Top and Pants.  This outfit is $19.99 and was originally $48.00.  Hello, you beautiful bargain you! 

So those are some of the Jelly the Pug over on Zulily that I am a bit obsessed with right now.  But hurry because the sizes and styles sell out really quickly :(.  If you are new to Zulily it is a bargain website that has new deals every day.  You have to be a member to shop but it's free to join! You can click here to join today and get to shopping for so many cute things...including Jelly the Pug!
 

Happy Shopping, sweet friends!

This blog post may contain affiliate links that help offset the cost of running this blog.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.

Our Winter Trip to the Indianapolis Zoo

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day we went to the Indianapolis Zoo.  I wasn't sure what to expect going to the zoo when it was only 7 degrees out but we went anyway.  It was amazing.  Even though not many animals were out we had an amazing experience.

As I mentioned in this previous blog, to get in we only had to pay with canned goods to help the local food bank.  How amazing is that?

The first thing we went to see was the indoor aquarium. 

There is something so magical about taking the time to just let the world go by behind you while you gaze at the fish swimming contentedly around.  And then there is something to ethereal about watching your children be able to do the same thing.  It is such a joy to watch them enjoy God's creation and to discover all of the attributes about it.

I think our favorite part was getting to watch the Dolphins.  They have this walk through thing where the tunnel is under the water and the dolphins swim by. Because it was the winter and there was hardly anyone else there we had the whole place to ourselves and the kids and I laid down and watched the dolphins swim over us.  At first Emma thought I was crazy but after we left she said that was her favorite part.  See?  Sometimes it pays to be the weirdo mom :)

Other things the kids loved were the penguins waddling around,

the walrus under the water eating his fish and then spitting it out at us (I refrained from posting those pictures on here.  You're welcome! :)  ).

The orangutan exhibit was so neat and we spent lots of time there watching the apes (not monkeys as we learned!).

We also saw a polar bear,

a tiger that looked like he just wanted to be pet (or eat our face off but you know, whatever), and more!

All in all it was a super fun day.  I think our most memorable thing though were the dolphins. After lunch we returned to the zoo for the dolphin show.  The kids had no idea that dolphins were capable of performing and doing all of the neat tricks.  They were squealing with delight, it was so precious.

So there ya have it, our fun, freezing trip to the zoo.  If you go in the winter I do highly recommend it because we were able to have so much more interaction with the cold weather animals and with such low attendance it practically felt like we had the place to ourselves.

Have you ever been to the zoo in the winter?  Did you like it more than other times? Comment below, sweet friends!

Cupid's Fantastic Float

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, love is definitely in the air!

The love of all things sweet that is.

The boys went to Boy Scouts sometime and Emma and I got together to concoct this yummy drink to share with y'all. We came up with this which we're calling Cupid's Fantasic Float (isn't the name adorable?  Emma came up with it...love her!)

Here's what we love about our float: It's super easy to make, super cute, super yummy, and a tad healthier than other drinks we've seen around.

So without further ado here's the recipe and step-by-step directions:

Cupid's Fantastic Float

Ingredients

1-1/4 cups Raspberry Juicy Juice

1 cup club soda

2 scoops vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt

1 red vine or twizzler

Steps:

1. Measure out juice and club soda into a glass ball jar.

2. Gently plop a scoop of ice cream onto the top of the drink. Stir gently to combine and when it melts in a little plop another cute little scoop on the drink to float on top.

3. Snip both ends off of a twizzler to make a fun straw. (optional)

Voila!  A fun drink to surprise your kiddos with!  Emma loved this! 

I called the twizzler optional because you could always serve with a fun-colored straw and then you would have a completely natural colored drink.  No red dye 40 in sight if you forego the straw! Or you can purchase these panda red licorices that are all natural and amazing!

I hope you enjoy this drink as much as we do. It's a sweet thirst quencher for sure.  

Give these a try and we're sure you'll LOVE them like we do!

Be sure to let us know how you like them!

Homeschool Co-op Drop Outs: What I've Learned

So I am a co-op drop out. 

Yep, I'm a cool homeschool mom like that. 

I keep thinking of that song about being a beauty school drop out. 

And yes that probably makes me a dork.  I'm learning to be okay with that.

The truth is that this has been a long time coming.

And by long time I mean about a month.

Here we go with my lengthy explanation.

We started a homeschooling co-op in the fall.  It was a group of other families with the moms teaching and assisting in the classrooms with class periods set up.  The kids went to different classes throughout the day and we had a lunch period in the middle. The co-op set the school year into trimesters. 

The first trimester seemed to go fairly well.  We had some issues but nothing serious in the classroom.  The big part I was having a bit of an issue with was when the second trimester came along, the only heavy weight class the kids were in was Chemistry and the kids were falling drastically behind the class with their homework. It wasn't for lack of trying but they were just not grasping what was being covered.  So I was having to struggle with how to get them to learn it while having them behind and not knowing whether to speed them up to be with the class while not understanding what they were doing or to stay behind to understand but go to class every week with unfinished homework and assignments.

The other classes were nice but they were extra curriculars.  Legos, crochet, etc.  And so by going to co-op I felt that we were kind of missing an entire day that could be used for instruction on fun stuff.  Don't get me wrong, I know they were learning things and having a great time with friends.  But I also knew that behind the scenes we were falling drastically behind in math, grammar, and latin.  Yoinkerdoodles.

I also somehow forget that Calvin has autism.  The summer and autumn we were in a really great cycle.  I don't look at my son and see "autism" plastered over his forehead, he's just him.  But over Christmas break he started being able to not communicate again.  And started stimming again.  And a whole other myriad of things including not having control over the tone of his voice.  So when he's answering you in a good mood he sounds like he sounds irritated and mad at you.  It's difficult on us.  It's super difficult on him.

And I just knew then and there.  There was no way I was going to be able to send him back to co-op like this.  I can't ask mothers to handle this when they have a classroom of other children to help.  I can't ask other children to act like nothing's going on when he's yelling at them for no reason. 

And so we dropped out.  I felt really bad.  I cried.  A lot.  I've asked that they allow us to return if we want but haven't heard what the final "verdict" from the leadership board is. 

But in the end of it, I am holding my head high.

I did what was best for our family.  While it was difficult for me because it might not be the best thing for Emma to leave but it is for Calvin, what that meant was if it's not good for one of us it can't be good for any of us.  It might seem unfair sometimes but we're learning we're a team and we have to stick together.

As a homeschooling mom I am constantly worried about what people think of me.  I don't want others to think I'm a "weirdo" because I homeschool.  I want the other homeschool moms to think I have it all together. Ugh.  it's just a weird place to be sometimes when you carry this title.  But in this instance I felt that I had finally grown mature enough to be able to recognize that this was not working and it wasn't the best fit for our family.

Through this homeschooling journey I swear I am learning as much if not more than the children are.  I'm learning to laugh in the rain, to give myself grace when things get rough, and to see things as trial and error rather than failures when they simply don't work out. 

As I write this we should be at co-op right now.

Instead we dropped out. Before I would have felt like a total failure because of that.

Instead we made it half way through a math lesson today before Calvin went into his quiet corner in the homeschool room and was on his own with his cat for 20 minutes.  Then he went and played piano.  He learned 15 spelling words and successfully wrote legibly two sheets of words for me in handwriting.  All of those are things we wouldn't have gotten done even last week.  I'm considering this a win.

And as a homeschooling mom and an autism mom, I'll take as many wins as I can get.

Happy weekend sweet friends!  Hope you learn to look for wins and to give yourself grace.  Love you!

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