Saturday, December 10, 2011

Meal Train

Image DetailUnfortunately, my work family has had our share of loss these last two years.  Just as I heard about the latest plans to support a one of our own with meals. I had a thought, they need to be able to do sign ups on line! Then not 5 minutes later, an email appears from my very creative and wonderful coworker with the link that does just that. 

Hopefully your coordination of meals is for something to celebrate not a loss that reminds us how precious life is.     WWW.mealtrain.com

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Glitter + Ornaments = Sparkly FUN!

We tried making our own glitter ornaments with success and a few failures, regardless it was a fun activity we could all participate in.  Here is what you need:

Floor Wax, Glitter, Glass Ornaments and a funnel is helpful.

We first put in the pledge floor wax, swirled it around until the entire interior is coated. Dump the extra wax back in the pledge container. We then pour the glitter in and shake until the ornament is nicely coated. Let dry.

Learn from our mistakes:
Plastic ornaments don't work after they dry the glitter starts to fall off.
Watch our for ornaments that do not have the traditional size opening.
The floor wax dries quickly.  If it does, we just added more wax, swirled and started over.

My favorite are the classic Christmas colors, but mixing them up was fun too. Monograms, bows...lots of ways to personalize your ornaments.  Its beginning to feel like Christmas! 










Friday, November 25, 2011

Introducing George Our Elf

George our elf came to visit last night. He arrives the first night our Christmas tree is lit with the first gifts of Christmas, elf size gifts of course.  This year I snapped a picture of him to share with the kids. Even though Brendan is to old to believe in George the elf, his response was from that 6 yr old who received George's first gift of Christmas...  "Thats what he looks like!" 

George has been visiting us for the last 10 yrs when he had to arrive early to bring Brendan a parakeet who would not have made the long ride and all the stops with Santa.  He doesn't hang around like this new elf on the block who likes to sit on a shelf. He leaves his gifts as he has much to do to prepare for Santa's big night. Though his visits are brief, the kids LOVE him, sadly I think my kids can be bought.  Glitter our Penquin is Santa's reporter, Glitter play jokes, and likes to spy on the kids but they always find her. I love Glitter she is the best pet we've had!

Tonight she hid from me, as I searched high and low, in cabinets, boxes and through
the garage looking for our little friend. I breathed a big sigh of relief when I finally found her.
 She was hiding in one of those places the kids will never find, but add a year to it and Mom can't find her either!!  Gotta love those mom moments! 

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Love Our Christmas Tree




Thanksgiving was yummy and fell so nicely into place another thing I was thankful for. After the turkey is goobled it is time to decorate our Christmas tree.  I enjoyed the jellybeans ravaging the boxes and squeeling with delight if they discovered an ornament they made yrs ago, or had a picture of them on it. I  remember long ago, when I was planning on decorating my first christmas tree. That would have most likely been a peachy southwest with howling coyotes or maybe sunflowers. My mom gave me wonderful advice "Don't make it a theme tree when you have children their homemade gifts won't fit the theme."  I love the eclectic  tree we have,  many memories tied to a majority of our ornaments. It is almost a gift in itself each year as we open the boxes and remember all we have been blessed with.   Mom's really do know what they are talking about! Thanks Mom!! 

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

2 Ingredient Muffins



Seriously two ingredients mix together, cook for 19 minutes at 350 degrees. I think next time I'll add chocolate chips!  How easy is that! 

Monday, October 31, 2011

Preparing for Winter

On occassion it actually does freeze here in desert. I hate going outside in the cold to cover all the pipes.
Taking my Dad's advice I wrapped the pipes. I used the foam from the old trampoline. Cut it to size, then up the middle and ducktapped it secure.  Cost: 0.00  Love it when we can use what we have.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Ribbon Bookmarks

A friend sent me this cute idea she found on Pininterest, simply adorable. Thanks Barb! We love to read and now have a great way to mark our spot!


Currently our family reading is in the spirit of Halloween Goosebumps The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb.  Mondays we add a short lesson on A Smart Girls Guide to Manners for our weekly manner lesson.  I found a note and a book on my bedside table. The Hunger Games, left by my daughter Teagan who said I should read this book for myself. Love it!   We have been enjoying our Halloween picture books, with the little ones too.  Today we are off to the library to check out new books!

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Spooky Dinner

It doesn't feel like fall, didn't look like fall either as I enjoyed watching the kids play on the trampoline and play pool in their bathing suits all afternoon. 

One of our favorite traditions is our spooky dinner party.  Last night the kids insisted we do spooky dinner. I hadn't really planned it completely out..but the impromptu dinner turned out fun. We used some of our crafts we did over fall break as decorations:
Our Spider chandelier

Pinata ghost the girls made

Center piece..the kids loved the dry ice

Dinner Spider burgers

Thier favorite cookies with some friends
After dinner we did the pinata and played some games. My camera died but here they are:
1.  Glow in the dark bug hunt    2.  Wind up halloween toy races
We ended the night with a Goosebumps movie.   Happy Hauntings!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

The Grocery Game



I thought I would join in on the linky discussion of keeping in budget at the grocery store. I believe Susie Orman stated one of the biggest wastes of money is at the grocery store.  Here are the ideas that work for feeding 6 jellybeans on a single paycheck! 

Use what you have first!
Stock up on what you use regularly when its on sale.
Try store brands
Try new cost effective recipes
 I use a $2.00 rule on buying meats. Trying to buy whats on sale under $2.00lb.
We plan meals with what is on sale and with what we have on hand.
If you use coupons: A binder method is fantastic.
Use it up if its getting close to expiration, that is what we use first.
Less meat, more beans and veggies.
Quality food, not processed foods.
Cook at home, cook and freeze. Make foods easily edible, cut up the cantaloupe, watermelon.
Using a crock pot allows for cheaper cuts of meat.
Lastly, those last few pieces of corn or greenbeans in the serving pans get saved into a bag in the freezer, for later use of "garbage soup"  a free meal that would have been otherwise tossed in the trash.

I wish there was some big secret, if  you know it, please share. Check out what other families do to save at the grocery store.  

http://raisingolives.com/

Monday, October 10, 2011

Big Sister Teagan

Teagan is the oldest of my 5 girls and I just need to take a moment to give her the thanks and praise she has earned. I say thank you all the time, but sometimes you just need to put it in writing!

Thank you Teagn for all the work you do without being ask to keep our home in order and the girls taken care of!  You are a blessing to me and to our family.

I admire Teagan for going outside of her comfort zone and being part of student council, signing up for Battle of the Books and striving to reach her academic goal.

Have a wonderful trip with Gma and know you are going to be missed by all of us, but especially me!
love your expressions! Caught ya
I'm proud of you and I love you more then words can express!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Jellybeans Race for the Cure

This morning we headed out to walk for the cure! We all had such a great morning to help such an important cause.  Be the Cure!
Heading to the race!



We did it!!


Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Homework

I consider my self to be at least slightly educated earning my masters degree from ASU. Accept now I wonder if I could pass 2nd grade?  Think its just me? Give this a shot:

Directions:  Do the Sentence Correction Activity. Have your child read the sentences and highlight or box the exception sounds. 

1.  Which man is the best host?
2.  Wind up the top and let it spin.
3.  Jess has a bad cold.

How did you do? Seriously...so I had to get a tutoring session to figure it out, thank you Ms. Danbury for saving me!

Actually homework usually isn't so frustrating.  We play a variety of music during homework time, jazz, big bands, carribean.  The School Agers work on their homework or practice their math facts.
The younger jellybeans do learning activities. 


Ms. Pearson, does this look familar? We sorted by kind and then by color.

DeAnn


Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta II

The wake up call came at 3am our body time, 4am Albuquerque time...yikes! The sacrifice of sleep was definately worth the glorious sights.  If you've never been to the fiesta, I strongly encourage you to experience 500 balloons from all over the world! 
Dawn Patrol lights up the "night" sky!  Stunning!!

It starts!

Love all the overlap and colors

Told you it was out of this world!
Folks come from distant galaxies!

The kids and I loved the special shapes

Now they all want to go up, up and away!

Albuquerque has a lot to do, we spent the rest of the day at the aquarium and the butterfly and childrens gardens. The girls really enjoyed this special day!  Thank you Colleen for inviting us out!



Monday, September 26, 2011

Hats & Broom Sticks

Two of the girls want to be witches, and I want them to be cute witches.  So today we added some cuteness to these little witches attire, simply fun: 

Before

After


I love the fun of halloween!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Repeated Dreams.....



Lately I've been having a weekly dream or a continued version of the same dream.  Maybe you can tell me what it might mean or share your own.  Apparently I'm anxious about change, managing my jellybeans or maybe its means something else all together.

My dream :  I'm going (and it feels like its against my will) to college in the Denver area to get my Ph.D. (No Way that is happening) I'm taking all 6 jellybeans, we are renting a 1 bedroom apartment in a not so nice area by the University I'm attending.  I keep saying I really don't want to go but yet I continue to make plans on how to make this all work and am willing to give it a try. I'm hyper focused on how cold Denver gets and how I hate to be cold.  I refer back to how things are working out perfect here in AZ and again focusing on how cold and unmanageable this move and life will be. 

Now last nights dream was much more enjoyable:  Amy P and I are in Africa working with and enjoying caring and loving on the orphans in an orphanage.  When we aren't working with the children we are on tour exploring the area.

Thoughts?

Friday, September 23, 2011

Love my Wheels!


I love my bike, and am looking forward to more bike rides this fall.  Teagan says my new basket is perfect to ride to Starbucks and get her a Frapaccino. I enjoyed adding flowers to my basket. All I need now are streamers!  Oh! Wait! Teagan says I've already been 5....darn it! 

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta!


We are looking forward to attending the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta!  A family tradition since the beginning when it was at Winrock Mall parking lot with maybe 5 balloons. Looking forward to sharing this experience with the kids! If you've never been its definately a bucket list item to add! 



Monday, September 19, 2011

New Reads



Most nights our evening routine includes a devotion story to discuss and apply God's words to our daily life.  Followed by a story we are reading together, right now we are reading Miss Daisy Is Crazy. Recently we started Manners Monday, and we are using the American Girl's Guide to Manners as our talking point. The last 2 weeks lessons included the dangers of a 'Me First' attitude, and 'After You' with specifics of letting others go first, holding doors open, when its best to give up your seat.

For me, I picked up the Unwritten Rules of Friendship, great read for active parents who want to help their children learn to make friends. 

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Remembering


We've been off line as our computer was "hijacked" according to Data Dr.'s. I had thought this first post back would be one of catching up but all that seems really trivial when remembering 9/11.

Though the girls do not remember 9/11, after talking about what occured and visiting the Healing Field. After walking through the flags, my proud Americans tell me "I'll remember too". 

DeAnn

Monday, August 15, 2011

Bed Bugs!


Bed bugs have invaded my bed! Atleast these don't bite, well most of the time.

Can you find all four bed bugs? 

Sleep tight,

DeAnn

Friday, August 5, 2011

Preparing for School

I can not believe summer is coming to an end, especially when our pool is warmer then some states high's.  In our home I can sense the anxiety building, there seems to be a bit more conflict. To ease the butterflies here is what works for us:

I take each child out individually to pick out any needed school items: backpacks, lunch boxes, shoes. They also get to pick out a new outfit for that first day of school. Going out one to one makes it special, and learning is something special.

We start getting books at the library that talk about school and friends to read at night. A couple of books I like are:
The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
I Love You All Day Long by ?

Now that school is a week away, we are returning to our normal evening routine, plus an hour. The last 3 nights before school starts the plus an hour, is lost to regular bedtime. No more 10:00pm bike rides or swimming under the moon light atleast on school nights. I'm going to miss this freedom. maybe even more then the kids.

I talk positively about school, the field trips I went on as a child, wondering what field trips they'll have this year.

It is my hope my children will become life long learners.

Enjoy the School Year!

Monday, August 1, 2011

Chore Charts

School is starting and instead of late nights, staying in our pj's til noon, we are going to need to return to the basics. I've never used a chore chart, but now they Jellybeans are getting older, its a good time to start. I believe I tend to ask the jellybeans who are easier to get a job done, with little fight more often. That is not fair to anyone. Now it will be more equitable and having it posted will allow me to reference who to ask.  I turned this magnetic board into a chore chart for the chores that cause the most conflict. Happily the conflict is to many people want to help me...I'm sure this season to will pass. 

I have the the categories of:
Errands running with mom
Kitchen help
Vacuum
Dog duty
An empty spot if needed.

Each older is partnered with a younger to assist in getting the job done. To teach the youngers the skill of the job and be a good role model for them. They choose to rotate the jobs each week.

I'll rotate the errand runners, each time I ask, they can either go with or stay home, but their picture in line rotates regardless of their decision.  

We met today to discuss exactly what the expectation is for each category. For example the dog slot includes: feeding/watering the dogs and Windex the back door the dogs get dirty scratching to get in.

I also added a Now Hiring area to post jobs that I'm willing to pay them to do above and beyond the basics of running the family. Though I give basic, bare bones, allowance, I want them to learn that they need to work to earn what they truly desire. They can live on welfare and the little it can bring in, or get a job to better meet their desires.

I wanted it to be simple and colorful, I believe I met my goal. I'd love to know what works for other families.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Old Fashioned Glass

I saw this cute idea on another blog taken from Martha Stewart. Unlike our stepping stones, this one was a success! I used blue green as it reminded me of sea glass, but you could experiment with any color that works for your home.


You need various saved clear jars.

Mix regular school glue and your favorite color, food coloring.
1 tablespoon glue
1 teaspoon water
drops of food coloring
stir


Have the kids paint the outside of the jars


Don't worry if it looks like this


The glass dries clear
I think they turned out sweet and make an interesting grouping together filled with flower stems. I added the remainder of our stepping stone gems to the bottoms and look forward to adding flowers. Let me know if you try this!

Have fun~ DeAnn


Saturday, July 30, 2011

Stepping Stones and Miss Steps



Stepping stones are definately not my gift! I made one from a kit and it fell apart. Then I had the girls make them yesterday after reading a"How To" guide on the Lowe's website. Third time is a charm, but I might retire from stepping stones.    Learn from our mistakes:

Mix a little quick dry cement and water at a time, not all at once..oops!
Make sure the kids have put ample Vaseline on the pan you are using for your form.

You need:

Quick dry cement
Cake pans or molds, make sure the cake pan sides are straight up and down.
Vaseline to grease the pans, liberally, before you pour in your cement.
Decorations..the dollar store and thrift stores have a ton of gems.

Have fun and enjoy the process and time with the kids, regardless of the outcome. Here's to yours coming out better then ours!
Cheers
~ DeAnn

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Enjoying Everyday

I try hard to just find the joy in the day to day activities we do or need to do as a family. Approaching life in this manner has allowed me to find contentment and joy in our every day moments. We love to have our vacations and fairy parties but they are such a small part of "real" life.

Today the girls wanted to help me make dinner. Their help turned an everyday job to a fun activity.  They choose to make fried chicken. It was a great time as we gathered what we would need and broke the dinner down into jobs each jellybean could do.

It was fun to watch them work together, and how excited they where at learning how to cook!
Do I dare admit that this wonderful master piece was great until we took our first bites only to discover that mom didn't cook the chicken enough! They love mom mistakes! Back in the frying pan....mom and the chicken! It turned out yummy the second time around!

Savor the every day moments!  ~ DeAnn


Sunday, July 24, 2011

Cake Pops and Random Thoughts

Saturday was so much fun! I definately need more days like that!
The girls and I swam all afternoon a good 5 hours, watched movies, swam again under the crescent moon and made cake pops! I even was able to sneak out on my own and do a little hunting for my new dish collection. It was just a carefree day.
Here is our first attempt at the cake pop blitz that has hit the nation:


The kids had a great time making them and eating them. This is all that was left before I got my camera out!  We didn't have the cute formal lolli-pop sticks, but we did have some craft sticks..it worked for our family fun! I'm not a cake lover, so I could very easily pass on this dessert.  I heard no complaints from 6 jellybeans as they gobbled them up! 

Haven't made yours yet?  There are some simple youtube videos on how to create this new dessert craze.  Basically:  Make a cake and let it cool. Break your cake into pieces and mix with icing, it should be the consistency of playdough. Shape, into balls and let cool and firm in the freezer.  Melt some chocolate when your pops are cool. Dip the sticks into the chocolate so the pops don't fall off, then dip your cake pops and add sprinkles..it really is that simple! 


Last night, Chloe, tucked Teagan in with Chloe's favorite dog! Priceless!

I think I'm all sunned out, so we are hanging out, and going through things! No one is dressed and its after 2pm!! It feels good in its own right. Maybe with less and more organization...we can  have more "Saturdays" everyday! I hope so!

~ DeAnn