Fun

  • Be My Valentine: “Sweet” Treats

    “Thanks for always rooting for me!” (IBC Root Beer) and “Thanks for always being our ‘sweet’ girl!”

    Every once in awhile when the girls and Jake are gone or busy with something else I will pull together a surprise.  I am thankful for my family and blessed with a wonderful husband and two sweet girls.  Life is not always “perfect” but it is fun.

    Spending a few minutes to show appreciation to my husband or my kids is worth every minute I invest.  The best part is I do it at random times when they are not around so it truly is a surprise.  This gift was originally given to Jake and the girls on Thanksgiving Day but it can be applied very easily to Valentine’s Day celebrations as well.

    If you are looking for something easy yet sweet to do this Valentine’s Day this was one that my family enjoyed.  After putting together your gift I challenge you to go one step further make a commitment to continue being a blessing to the ones you love by surprising them with a sweet note, treat, or something special throughout the rest of the year.  Try to make it part of your routine whether it is once a week, every other week or once a month.  Showing your care makes an impact on the lives of others.

    I came up with the sayings for the girls heart “love” notes – Thanks for always being our “sweet” Brina (or Karlie)! Love, Mom and Dad  The cute “pop” love note is from Darling Doodles.    She has a template you can print out if your interested in doing something similar for your spouse!

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    It was a busy week and I got sick (that doesn’t happen very often) so that slowed me down a little bit but I was able to make some headway on my goals.  Thankfully I was able to get some rest and don’t have to postpone too many items.

    Here is the update on last weeks goals:

    Family Goals

    1. Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
    2. Read a book to the girls everyday – I fell asleep early one night and didn’t wake up until after the girls were in bed so the book didn’t get read
    3. Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this week
    4. Schedule a Date Night with the Girls & Re-Schedule My Date Night with Jake
    5. Finalize the Girls Birthday Party Items – working on it
    6. Set up a dentist appointment for the girls – scheduled and went to the dentist, no cavities!
    7. Pick up the girls new glasses – picking them up this week

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – with being sick I didn’t get this one done this week hope to get back on track soon
    2. Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday – not every night
    3. Finish reading Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk
    4. Read and listen to the next section of  Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).
    5. Set up an appointment to get updated on shots / vaccinations – went to the doctor and got my shots, wasn’t too excited about this one, but it was necessary for upcoming travel!
    6. Finalize Upcoming Travel Plans – dates set / plane tickets purchased / visa – my visa has arrived and tickets are purchased, waiting on Jake’s visa!

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
    3. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
    4. Dinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
    5. Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the Master Bedroom & Bathroom – the time I had allotted to do this was taken up with being sick and trying to get better, hope to get this done next week

    Business Goals

    1. Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
    2. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    3. Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
    4. Write a Guest Blog Post – deadline was postponed with sickness
    5. Schedule Meeting with Accountant for Business Taxes – scheduling this week

    Ministry Goals

    1. Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
    2. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    3. Email Alms & Legs Ministry Team regarding our upcoming meeting
    4. Put together the Alms & Legs Meeting Agenda

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses – working on it
    3. Start working on our personal 2011 taxes – we have started the taxes
    4. Put money aside for upcoming trips – putting aside some of the money

    Here are my goals for the upcoming week:

    Family Goals

    1. Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
    2. Read a book to the girls everyday
    3. Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this week
    4. Go on our Date Night with the Girls
    5. Celebrate with family and friends at the Girls Birthday Party
    6. Pick up the girls new glasses
    7. Schedule Appointment with Chiropractor

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
    2. Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday
    3. Finish reading Everything Romance by Todd Hafer
    4. Read and listen to the next section of  Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).
    5. Finalize Upcoming Travel Plans

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
    3. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
    4. Dinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
    5. Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the Master Bedroom & Bathroom

    Business Goals

    1. Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
    2. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    3. Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
    4. Write a Guest Blog Post
    5. Schedule Meeting with Accountant for Business Taxes

    Ministry Goals

    1. Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
    2. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    3. Email Alms & Legs Ministry Team with the Meeting Notes

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses
    3. Complete our personal 2011 taxes
    4. Put money aside for upcoming trips
    5. Pay for Jake’s College Classes

    I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.  I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true.  When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals.  Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick).  Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.

    Why Share My Goals?

    • To keep me accountable
    • To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
    • To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
    • Create healthy habits in my life
    • To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn

    How did you do this week on your goals?  Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.

    The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results

  • Be My Valentine: “Steal My Heart” Cookies

    “Steal My Heart” Valentine Cookies

    Last year I picked up this Valentine Heart pan on clearance after Valentine’s Day.  The girls were very excited to try it out this year.  We made these fun “Steal My Heart” Cookies together.  The girls had a blast mixing up the cookie dough and they thought the cookies tasted pretty yummy too.  You can use a variety  of cookie mixes with this cookie sheet.  Below is your basic sugar cookie mix, you can add in a few sprinkles for an extra special touch.

    Sugar Cookies

    • 1/3 cup Butter or Margarine
    • 1/3 cup Shortening
    • 3/4 cup Sugar
    • 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
    • 1 Egg
    • 1 teaspoon Vanilla
    • 2 cups All Purpose Flour
    • Sprinkles (optional)
    • Icing (optional)

    1.  Beat butter and shortening on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Add sugar, baking powder, and a dash of salt.  Beat till combined, scraping the bowl so everything is well blended.  Beat in egg and vanilla.  Gradually add the flour into the mixture.

    2.  Cover and chill dough for 1 to 3 hours to make it easier to handle when making cookies or cutouts.

    3.  Lay down wax paper and lightly flour.  Roll the dough to 1/8 inch thickness.  Use a variety of cookie cutters to make the shapes you want.  Place on lightly greased cookie sheet.

    4.  Cut out a heart shape in the middle of the cookies.  Fill the hole with a crushed hard candy.  The candy will melt during baking creating the glass window pane hearts in the middle of the cookies. *We tried using up extra candy canes but they didn’t melt well (they tasted good) but I would stick to the one color hard candies like life savers!

    5.  Bake at 375° for 7 to 9 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are firm and light brown.  Cool until the middle window are set then transfer to a platter.

    Heart Shaped Pan

    Plate full of Valentine cookies

    Heart shaped Valentine cookies

    For more fun Valentine’s Day ideas go to Living in La La Land!

  • Versatile Blogger Award!

    I was excited to receive the Versatile Blogger Award from Save Green Being Green. Thanks!  Please check out Jessica’s great blog when you have a chance!

    The rules for this award are:

    1. Thank the person that nominated you with a link back to them. (see above)
    2. Tell 7 things about yourself. (see below)
    3. Pass this award on to 10 newly discovered blogs and let them know that they’ve received an award.
    Seven Things about Bridgette:
    1.  I started my first business Junior High School and second business in College.
    2.  I grew up on a farm in Kansas (the closest Walmart was an hour away).
    3.  I saw ocean for the first time in Aruba when I got engaged to my handsome man!
    4.  I love traveling around the world but my favorite place is to be home with my family.
    5.  I have fraternal twin daughters who light up my world.
    6.  I know how to drive a Combine Harvester.
    7.  I love playing board games with family and friends.

    10 Blogs that I have awarded the Versatile Blog Award are….

    The Savings Momma

    Close to Home

    MichiGal

    Rachel Ferrucci

    Be Your Best Mom

    Blogging Babies & Bayou

    Coupon Clippin Texan

    Confessions of an Overworked Mom

    Mom Knows Best

    Fun Being Frugal

    Take a minute to check out these neat blogs!

  • What Do You See – a Mess or a Race Track?!

    After lunch one Sunday the girls were instructed to pick up the newspaper after they were finished looking at it while Jake and I worked for a few minutes on our schedules for the upcoming week.  After about thirty minutes or so I came back into the kitchen and this is what I saw…..my first thought was “seriously, what a huge mess!”  Instead of picking up the papers they had spread all of them over the kitchen and dining room floors.  When asked as to why they didn’t pick “up” the newspaper they told me “Well we decided that it would make a great race track!”

    Although the mess was big I had to hold back from laughing.  It was a pretty cool looking race track even if it was a mess.    They were quite proud of their “track”.  So despite the fact the kitchen and dining room looked like they were carpeted with newspaper and ads I decided to let them enjoy it for the afternoon as long as they would pick it up before we left for Awana that evening.

    The silly part is that they had a blast with the newspaper.  Who would have ever thought that a newspaper could provide so much entertainment.  They rebuilt the roads several times, added new vehicles, used it as a walking track, and several other silly things all in that one afternoon.  In a matter of hours that newspaper got more love and provided more entertainment then all the other newspapers we have ever received put together.  And the best part, when asked to pick it up (the second time) the girls did it happily and in a matter of a couple of minutes.

    So was it worth me having to endure a messy house for a few hours?  Absolutely!  The girls had fun, they used their imaginations, were creative, and played well together.  The problem is I don’t always “react” well when I see a mess someone in my family has created whether intentionally or unintentionally.  Sometimes I am more worried about the mess they are making that I don’t allow them to just have fun.  Yes, having a clean has is important but if the house is always perfect then a race track would never happen.

    It was worth a temporary messy house to hear the girls giggling together over a silly newspaper converted into a race track.  Thankfully this time around I gave into just enjoying the fun moment and waited to clean up the mess later.  What do you see – the mess or the race track?

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    I made some progress last week on my goals!  Thankful for the opportunity move forward on my goals despite a busy 2012 first quarter.  Since I have a conference for part of the week the list will be shorter.

    Here is the update on last weeks goals:

    Family Goals

    1. Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
    2. Read a book to the girls everyday
    3. Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this week – the girls were sick this week
    4. Go on my Date Night with Jake (we got free movie tickets so excited to enjoy some time away together) – We gave away our free movie tickets because we had to cancel our Date Night, the kiddos got sick.  🙁 I am hoping to get it rescheduled soon.
    5. Get the girls Birthday Party Details Started

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – I did it again (victory dance).  It has helped give me more energy throughout my days too!
    2. Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday – was bad about this one, it was after 1 am one night
    3. Finish reading Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk – still working on it
    4. Read and listen to the next section of  Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).
    5. Get my Travel Visa Application Sent

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
    3. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
    4. Dinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday) – it was closer to 6 pm a couple of days
    5. Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the office
    6. Update Family & Friends Contact Information – glad to have this information updated 🙂

    Business Goals

    1. Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
    2. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    3. Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
    4. Plan new implementations for blog
    5. Start working on 2011 business taxes – gathered the information and paperwork but nothing more yet

    Ministry Goals

    1. Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
    2. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses – moving forward on this goal
    3. Start working on our personal 2011 taxes

    Here are my goals for the upcoming week:

    Family Goals

    1. Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
    2. Read a book to the girls everyday
    3. Spend some time with extended family

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
    2. Read and listen to the next section of  Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday

    Business Goals

    1. Attend the Pro Ag Conference
    2. Pay all bills that come in the mail this week

    Ministry Goals

    1. Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
    2. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses

    I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.  I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true.  When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals.  Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick).  Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.

    Why Share My Goals?

    • To keep me accountable
    • To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
    • To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
    • Create healthy habits in my life
    • To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn

    How did you do this week on your goals?  Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.

    The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results

  • Game: Wits & Wagers by North Star Games

    In an earlier post I mentioned the Wits and Wagers by North Star Games that we received as a gift.   On the box it says “The Most Award Winning Party Game in History.”   This game quickly became a family favorite.  We have played this game many times since receiving it and have shared it with several other family and friends as well.  The game is based on facts, however, you don’t need to know all the answers in order to enjoy, participate, or even win the game.

    Our family enjoys having games nights and are excited about finding great games we can play together.  If you are looking for a fun family game you should check this one out or better yet come on over and play a round with us.  The rounds go pretty quickly and you will be surprised at how much you’ll learn.  You may just have a little fun along the way! 🙂

  • Family Outings: A Walk in the Park

    Brina and Karlie pausing “briefly” on our walk so I can snap a picture!

    Every once in awhile when the girls are off school and it is a beautiful day we get to meet Daddy for a quick picnic and walk in the park.  Legacy Park is pretty close to Jake’s work so he can pop over and meet us over his lunch hour.  I think the girls get more excited about going for a walk around the park then eating, ha!

    Legacy Park has paved paths for walking, biking or jogging plus a playground for the kids, beach volleyball, and a big open field perfect for flying kites or playing soccer.  On those hot days they have plenty of shade and restrooms (which are very nice for little kids).  I treasure these moments when we get get together over the lunch hour to grab a bite to eat, walk, talk, and play together as a family.  I think it is important to have some relaxing times built into our schedules.  Not only do we get a few extra minutes together as a family we get fresh air and some exercise which is beneficial for all of us!

    Do you have a park you enjoy going to for a picnic or to play?

  • Family Fun: Rocket Sprinkler

    One of the benefits to living in South Carolina is you still have warm days even in the Fall and Winter. Yes, last week it got down to 14 degrees at night but the by the end of the week we were enjoying 60 to 70 degree weather.  To help everyone think “warm” thoughts this cool winter I decided to post a fun warm weather activity that you can look forward to doing with your kids before long.

    Rocket Sprinkler blasting off!  Jake had a sprinkler similar to this one growing up (his was a clown).  At the end of summer we bought this rocket.  Since we have a girl that LOVES rockets when this sprinkler went on clearance for a couple dollars I decided it was worth trying it out!

    The rocket sailing through the air!  The girls love spending time outside playing.  The sprinkler provides a great source of entertainment (when it is warm enough).  It might be a few more weeks….

    Brina and Karlie running around in the sprinkler and getting ready to shoot the rocket off again.

    The girls have a fun time playing in the yard splashing around in the water, climbing on the jungle gym, running around with Skipper (our black lab), drawing with chalk, riding bikes or many of the other fun outside activities.  I am thankful to have a yard were they can run and play.  I am looking forward to even more fun activities as we move closer to Spring and the weather continues to warm up, maybe even a couple “snow” days too.