After a week of fun, friends, field trips, house work, sleeping in, and even a camp fire, we’re topping off our Spring Break with a long weekend at Grandma and Papa’s.
I have found that packing up the circus crew of 6 for even a weekend away, can at times be a bit overwhelming. And while the kids love to help pack, sometimes they are anything but helpful. So, I found a system that works pretty well for us.
We are three weeks in to our new school year. I think I FINALLY have all the kids correct curriculum (missed a few things I when I ordered it this summer) and their books organized in a way that works for them, me, and their tutors at the tutorial. I’ve done things a little differently this year, and SO FAR, it has helped our days to run more smoothly. First of all, I’ve committed to waking up before the kids every day.
At the end of last year Scott and I went out for a big fun day date. As we thought back over the year and looked ahead at the new year we talked about things we wanted to do differently in the coming year. Scott had a few suggestions on the food front. One was that we eat more meatless dinners. He was not advocating we go vegetarian…(good thing too b/c this meat and potato loving gal would have surely lasted all of 2 days at best) the other was that we starting eating more fish.
My kids love to draw and color and cut and create. And they are always, always, always asking me for paper. When my 4 year old doodled all over my check book, I knew I had to come up with something better. One day I stared at our empty popcorn tin and an idea hit me. For some reason the tin seemed perfect for storing crayons. Wouldn’t it be great, I thought, if we could have a roll of paper on our table like at Macaroni Grill?
Ever tried to pack cupcakes in a lunch box? It creates a gooey mess all over the sandwich baggie and takes all the fun out of eating it when your hands are covered in icing. I saw this handy little trick in one of my student’s lunches back in my teaching days. Take your plain cupcake.
Slice it in half.
Take a glob of icing.
Spread it in the middle of the cupcake.
I know that many think Valentine’s day is just a day created by Hallmark. Others think it’s a cheesy holiday for saps. Say what you will, I’ll jump at a chance for a date night with my hubby. And I don’t mind a sweet card and some cinnamon heart candy either.
But, after having kids, Scott and I found it rather difficult to go out for Valentine’s day. Since we don’t hire babysitters, we typically rely on friends or grandparents for babysitting and you can’t ask another couple to babysit for you on Valentine’s Day.
The other night as we were driving home from out of town friends, our youngest complained that her belly didn’t feel good. A few minutes later I heard a cough and knew instantly what it meant. We pulled over and began clean up. For once I was thankful for our less than clean minivan as it provided numerous things for us to use as barf bags and clean up rags for the remaining hour drive home.
This year, I was looking for something simple and inexpensive that the kids could work together with me to make for their teachers. Too much to ask? I hoped not, but nothing was coming to me. And then I remembered this brittle that someone had brought to MOPS a few years ago. It uses saltine crackers. And you can pick up a box of Saltines at Aldi’s for 89 cents… which is perfect since I have to make gifts for SS and Bible Study teachers (times 3) plus neighbors and the tutorial teacher and “don’t forget my gymnastic teacher Mom!
Last week we took the kids to the local zoo. We have tried to go once a year for the past several years. We go in part b/c we want to give the kids a chance to see the exotic animals up close. It’s so fun to watch their reactions. But, I’ll be honest, we also go b/c I love to see the animals up close! It is amazing and awe inspiring and I don’t think I could ever tire of it!
I seriously wonder what moms did before the internet. Where did you go when you were looking for that cookie recipe you can’t find in your recipe box, or to check for tips on how to bring your child’s fever down, or to seek help tips for crayon removal?
A few weeks ago when I discovered this
after my daughter’s naptime, I left a face book status that I was wondering how to get marker off of a baby doll face and within the hour I had 15 helpful tips.