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

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!

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.

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



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

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



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