Summer Game Plan

It's Summer. I know for some of you incredible moms out there this is good news to you because it means that you get to spend more time with your kids with less schedule and structure. This is not good news to this mom. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy being with my kids and being able to go and do what we want when we want...but the enjoyment of being with them soon fades as they start complaining, fighting, and asking "what can I do, I'm bored?". They turn into little lifeless blobs who sit in front of the TV because "it is too hot" or "there is nothing to do".

NOT THIS SUMMER!!!

I want to have an enjoyable summer of creating memories, soaking in some much needed sun, being active, seeing my kids work and play and learn together, and spending less time nagging.

SO...WE CAME UP WITH A GAME PLAN:

Nothing fancy...but it's a plan with a little bit of structure to give us all something to look forward to and to give the kids some responsibility.

We made each day of the week into a theme:
Make it Monday - try a new recipe, make something for someone else, or make a craft

Family Rec Tuesday - Instead of signing our kids up and paying for Summer Rec, we decided to do our own. We came up with ideas like a family bike ride, soccer, football, Wii party, game night, Nerf war, a treasure hunt, and a camp fire.

Wet Wednesday - My kids are constantly asking if they can get wet...which creates a huge mess. Wednesdays are the days set aside for sprinklers, water fights, splash pad, or slip n' slide. One day a week I can handle.

Tidy at 10 Thursday - At 10:00 we gather to clean the house. I will assign small jobs and we will work together.

Field Trip Friday - go somewhere fun and inexpensive. Some of the ideas that we came up with are hikes, try a new park, community programs, and visit grandparents.

Outside Saturday - Yard work

We also gave the kids Daily responsibilities that they need to do BEFORE they can turn on the TV/computer. These include tidying their rooms, taking care of the dog, reading, weeding their garden box, being active, and talent time (piano, drawing, math games, coloring).

So there it is...our game plan for a GREAT summer! I am writing this on Tuesday's Triumph because instead of hearing the TV turn on as my kids were waking up, I heard them puttering around the house and yard as they did their daily responsibilities. It was music to my ears! Granted, I have only won round 2 of 80 days of summer. This game plan could back fire and it could be an epic loss and show up on "Monday's Madness"...but today it was a Triumph :)

The Come-Back Kid

Oh, how I am glad that 2013 is behind me because it was sure a challenging one! I feel like it was the year of getting my feet planted firmly on the ground only to have them knocked out from under me. But I got back up each time.
The year started off with me trying to get my baby weight off. I started running again and worked my way up to 6 miles. On one of those routine runs, I felt an intense cramp in my right hip. I tried to walk it off and start running again but is was impossible. By the time I hobbled home I could hardly lift my leg. After weeks of being misdiagnosed and being in pain, I finally found out that I had a stress fracture in the femoral neck of my hip. The doctor told me that I could not put any weight on that leg until it healed. I laughed in his face. WHAT!!!???? How was I supposed to care for my family, especially my 1 year old in a split level home? The estimated 4-6 weeks of being on crutches turned into 9. It was one of the hardest and most frustrating things that I have gone through...but it strengthened me physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I learned how to depend on others for the simplest things like carrying my baby down the stairs, grocery shopping, and cleaning. I was humbled by the love and support that I received. I learned to appreciate my body and independence. I learned to be patient as I was waiting for that dang bone to heal. I also learned that crutches are great for other things...like giving my kids a little nudge, reaching those hard to get things on the top shelf, and even defending a soccer goal.

Well, after those LONG 9 weeks, I SLOWLY started to strengthen my leg and get back to my original goal of losing weight. I worked hard, lost most of my baby weight, and felt stronger than I have in years. During this time I was also going through extensive testing to see if I was healthy enough to donate a kidney to my dad who was in kidney failure. In December I got the news that I would be part of a 6 person kidney paired exchange. I worked even harder to be the healthiest that I could to have a better recovery and to donate the best kidney that I could to my recipient. On December 18th I had the opportunity to donate my kidney. It was major surgery and I required a lot of help during my 6 week recovery, but it was totally worth every moment of pain and discomfort because I was able to help my dad and my recipient to have a better quality of life. I guess that I needed a reminder of what the Lord wants me to learn...patience, how to accept help from others, appreciation of my body, and a greater love of the ultimate gift of life from our Savior.

So, I find myself again at the bottom of a long upward climb. But I am going to get up, brush myself off and start again. Just call me the "Come-Back-Kid".

Crazy Good

AAHHHHHHH! Life is CrAzY with 5 kids! Some days I wonder if I will even have time to breathe....but life is good, in fact it is great! Here are some of our newest triumphs:

Kaylee and Aaron have started school and they come home excited about the things that they are doing in their classes...Hooray for great teachers!

 Nathan has started preschool twice a week...Hooray for a much needed break for both of us.

Megan is sleeping through the night...Hooray for sleep!

 And she keeps getting cuter and chubbier by the second...Hooray for kissy cheeks.

Travis keeps me running with a few cuddles in between...Hooray for more energy to keep up with him!

Hooray for a crazy good life!

Introducing Megan

She is here...our little Megan arrived last week. She is a beautiful little 7 pound piece of heaven. I feel so blessed and honored to have this little girl in our family. She brings a special spirit into our home and hearts. The 9 months of being sick, moody, tired, and uncomfortable were worth it! So here she is...introducing Megan Eliza:

Stained Kids, Clothes, and Swingset

What do you get when you combine Spring Break, a sunny day, 3 bored kids, and a bucket of wood stain?

You get one less day of Spring Break, small sunburns, 3 brown kids with stained clothes, and a newly painted swing-set.

Good job guys!!!

Chef Kaylee

Kaylee loves to cook....probably because then she can make things that she likes to eat, lick the beaters, try it before anyone else, and choose the biggest piece once it is done. Whatever the reason, I am glad that she likes to cook. That is her go-to activity when friends come over or when she is bored. She came up with an idea to cook for our family for the entire day...breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner. She planned the entire menu and became Chef Kaylee for a day (with me as assistant chef). She did a fabulous job...

 Breakfast...French Toast Dippers

 Lunch...Chicken Noodle Soup

 Dinner...Chicken Strips and Mashed Potatoes

Phew, what a day! After dinner, Kaylee said "Wow, that is a lot of work...I feel like I was cooking and cleaning up food all day". I couldn't agree more!

Ordinary to Ornate Frames

I needed something to do with my empty newly painted walls and didn't want to spend a lot. Frames can be so expensive. So here is what I came up with...I found some old frames from a thrift store for $4 total and transformed them into decorative frames that match the colors in my room:

Before:

After:

Here's what you need:

• Old frames with a FLAT FRONT...doesn't matter what color/condition they are in.
• paint to cover the edges of the frames
• decorative paper (I chose 3 that coordinated together)
• ribbon to match the paper
• Mod Podge

Here's How:
Clean up the frames to get rid of any dirt. Paint the sides and edges of the frame. Don't worry about getting paint on the front, it will get covered with the paper.

 Cut the paper to fit slightly smaller than the front of the frames. I used one paper for 2/3 of the frame and a coordinating paper for the other 1/3. Mod Podge the paper onto the frame and then Mod Podge on top of the paper to secure it better and give it a glossy finish. Press the edges of the paper down and press out any bubbles with your finger.

Let dry and tie the ribbon around the frame where the two papers meat. The ribbon makes it a little harder to get the glass and board back onto the frames...just use some gentle force.

And Ta-Duh...here's the finished wall:

It adds such a nice, personal touch to our room without breaking the bank to do it!

Monogram Wreath

I finally finished a wreath for my front door. It has been one of those projects that has been hanging out in the back of my mind nagging me...so I finally put it to rest. Here's what I did:

• Took an old wreath covered in flowers and greenery and took everything off except for 3 flowers that I liked.

• Found a wooden G at the craft store and painted the sides  and part of the front brown.

 
 
 

• Mod Podged  paper onto the front of the G.

 
 
 

 
 

• Secured the G to the wreath with hot glue and a ribbon

 
 




 About $10 and 1 hour later I have a personalized wreath for my front door:

Terrific Ten!

I can't believe it...my baby girl is ten years old...sigh. To make her birthday party a little more triumphant, I made these cute party favors with just a Twinkie and a glazed doughnut:

I thought that it would be a really cute teacher gift as well. On the tag do a "Top 10" reasons why Mrs._____ is such a terrific teacher. Then have you child think of the 10 reasons.

Here are my Top 10 reasons why I love my 10-year-old Kaylee:

1. Kaylee is a beautiful girl, inside and out.
2. She is very helpful. When asked to help she doesn't complain.
3. She is a happy girl. She makes me happy just being around her.
4. She is a great pianist. I love to listen to her play.
5. She is kind to everyone...it doesn't matter who they are, Kaylee loves everyone.
6. Kaylee strives to make good choices and learns from her mistakes.
7. She is a hard worker, and likes to get the job done right.
8. Kaylee is so cute with little kids...she is a better "mother" to her brothers than I am at times.
9. She is fun to be around, she likes to have a good time.
10. I love Kaylee's smile...complete with dimples :)

Happy Birthday to my Terrific Ten Year Old!

My New "Nest"

Why is it that after living in my house for 5 years I have finally gotten around to painting my bedroom/bathroom? Why do I have this crazy insane drive to do all of these unfinished projects when I am sick and exhausted from being pregnant? It's called nesting, and I've got it bad...but it has paid off. Check out my new nest:

My nest before:

My nest during:

And my new nest:

 We found the coolest thing - paintable bead board wallpaper. It looks just like bead board and is so much easier to put up and less expensive...love it! I think I want to use it around my kitchen bar...here we go again, another project...sorry Eric...only 16 more weeks of the insanity :)

Guess Who? Family Edition

Last year I found a cute way to personalize a gift for the person who has everything and who also loves to play games (like Grandmas with their grandkids). Sorry, I can't find where I found the idea to give you the credit...but kudos to you!

 

We took a regular Guess Who? game, took all of the pictures out and then added our own to make it a Family or Grandkid Edition. I used pictures with people wearing Halloween costumes, glasses, hats, and wigs to make the game a little more interesting....so that the questions like "does your person have glasses on?" and "is your person wearing a costume?" can still be asked. If there are not enough people in your family to have one person per square (24 squares)...no worries; I just used baby pictures as well as current pictures of the same person and just labeled them "Baby Stacey" and "Stacey". I also added pictures of our family dogs, past and present.

Here's how to make your own unique and personalized Guess Who? game:

• gather 24 different pictures, some with a distinguishable accessory like glasses, jewelery, and hats.
• Label who the picture is on the bottom
• Edit the pictures so that they fit inside of the picture slots of the game (1 1/8" wide by 1 3/8" tall)
• Print out 2 sets of the 24 pictures to put in the 2 game boards (one for each player)
• Make one set of the 24 pictures into the bigger cards that each player draws in the beginning of the game (1 5/8" wide by 1 7/8" tall)
• Take out all of the original Guess Who? pictures and put in your personalized ones.
• Have fun playing!
• Here are some links for the templates that we made. They are just the right size to fit into the picture slots. Just add your own pictures and names and print on heavy cardstock. (Just be careful not to change to size of the boxes when you add your own pictures):

For the pictures (A red and blue set for each game board)

For the cards

Ready or Not...Here it Comes!

Halloween is almost here...ready or not, here it comes! It seems to always sneak up on me pretty quickly! I think that I am almost ready...
The candy is bought (hopefully it lasts until Monday).
Our decorations are up (except for the fake spider webs that I bought and haven't put up...and I probably won't because I will just have to take it right back down).
Our pumpkins are picked (except for the three green pumpkins in our garden that I am hoping will be orange by Thanksgiving):

 

And...our costumes are ready!!! You know my obsession with having a family theme, so here is a sneak peak of what I made for Eric and I so that we could fit in with the kids...thanks to Oopsey Daisy for the great idea! I can't wait to see how we will all look together...it will be TOYrific!

 1...2...3...4....5...6...7...more days...ready or not, cause here I (Halloween) come!

Congratulations to Cathy for winning the My Memories giveaway!!! 

My Memories Digital Scrapbook GIVEAWAY

Whenever I walk into a scrapbooking store, I am so overwhelmed with all of the papers, accessories, gadgets, prices, and stickers that I just walk out. I don't have the time and money to shop for all that stuff and then to figure out a layout, print out my pictures, and make it into a cute keepsake....it's too much for me! I have just been downloading and organized my pictures on my computer...and that was good enough for me!...until:
I just tried a digital scrapbooking software called My Memories. It takes all the guess work out of scrapbooking. There are tons of layouts, themes, designs, and accessories to help you triumph over your pictures. And it's not just for scrapbooking...I am going to use mine to make Christmas cards and calendars for Christmas. Here is what I was playing around with today:

So, on this Tuesday's Triumph, I want you to triumph over your pictures as well. My Memories is giving away this digital scrapbooking software ($39.97 value) to one of you lucky readers...here's how to enter:

1st entry: Visit My Memories and choose your favorite digital paper pack or layout and leave me a comment on which one you like.

2nd entry: Follow PB & Joy publicly or join using Google Friend Connect (top right corner) and leave me a comment.

3rd entry: Leave me a comment telling me why you want this software.

I will choose a winner on next weeks Tuesday's Triumph...Tuesday, October 25th.


You can also purchase My Memories here and as a special for all of my readers, here is a promotional code - STMMMS90076 that provides a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store ($20 value!)

Good luck!

Home-made Wart Remover

STOP! Before you buy expensive over-the-counter wart remover; try it for months only to find out that it doesn't work; go to a dermatologist who "freezes it off" and tells you to come back after a month because it doesn't work (speaking from experience)....save yourself the time and money and try this!!!

I have had a pesky wart on the knuckle of my pointer finger. I tried everything I could think of to get rid of it, but it just kept coming back. My cousin (thanks Kisha!) told me that I should try a home-made remedy that worked for her. I tried it, and I have been wart free for a month with no signs of it growing back :)

Here's what to do...it sounds a little weird...but it works!

• Cut a fresh garlic clove into slices that will cover the wart (I cut one clove at a time which would last me about a week, then do it again)
• Put the garlic slices in a little container and cover them with a few drops of Vitamin E oil (in the beauty section of the grocery store)
• Keep garlic in the fridge
• Every night take one slice of garlic, cover your wart with it, and cover with a bandage to keep it in place.
• Before I put the garlic on, I would use a nail file to rub the wart and get rid of the tough skin.
• It took about 7-8 weeks for the wart to be completely gone...but that's how long it would take with the over-the-counter crap anyway...and this REALLY WORKS!

Before:

After:

Trust me, it really works. And this is perfect for right before Halloween (unless you are planning on being a wart-infested witch)...get rid of your warts and the garlic will keep those pesky vampires away as well :)