Kids

  • Family Activities: Roller Blade Fun in the Basement

    Karlie roller blading downstairs….I wonder if she’ll do the splits!

    It was hilarious watching as the girls started to learn how to roller blade.  Roller blading is a fun indoor activity both on the cold winter or hot summer days!   The first few times we had them try out the roller blades on the carpet to make sure they could at least keep themselves upright.  It was a little easier to move on the tile but also much easier to fall down too.  They had plenty of falls, splits, and crashes that first time but eventually started figuring out how to move so they could stay upright.

    Brina working on her roller blading, much more serious and focused on keeping her roller blades together.

    As with any new skill your learning you may “crash”!  Karlie giggling about her fall.

    Brina getting back up after one of her crashes!

    Someone’s having too much fun…..Karlie trying to scare me as she coasts across the room on her roller blades

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    Jake had to travel last week for work so we tagged along with him since the girls were out of school.  We spent a fun week in Charleston swimming, playing, exploring, reading, and enjoying some extra time together.  We even made it to the beach which was a special treat!  Hopefully this week I will have a chance to get back up to speed with my goals and household obligations.  The pets were happy to see us come home too.  You will notice that some of my goals have shifted to reflect my priorities over the summer, it is more important to me to spend time with my family while the girls are on summer break then to ignore them so I can meet all my other goals.  Yes, I will continue moving forward with those goals as well but my highest priority the next couple months will be family since we have more time together.

    Last week’s goals:

    Family Goals

    1. Connect with each family member at least once a day
    2. Enjoy time doing one fun activity with the girls every day – spent a lot of time at parks, swimming, and spending time together in Charleston
    3. Read at least one book to the girls every day
    4. Listen to the girls read at least one book to me or Jake every day – the girls read through a whole bunch of books at parks, in the hotel and in the car, thrilled to see them get even more excited about reading
    5. Spend some extra time catching up with family and friends
    6. Finish 1/3 of the Summer Reading Program
    7. Spend time at the pool playing with the kids

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – walked with the girls in the parks and went swimming everyday
    2. Spend quality time with my kids & Jake – spent time together in Charleston
    3. Finish reading  Am I Messing Up My Kids by Lysa TerKeurst
    4. Finish reading More Than Enough by Dave Ramsey – started it

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu & Schedule planned out for the week – the dinner menu was based off of Jake’s schedule and whatever coupons we could find for the Charleston area so not every dinner was planned with us being out of town (but every lunch was planned)
    3. Plan Summer Organizational Schedule
    4. Pay all upcoming bills

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention – did as much as I could remotely
    3. 1o minutes a day Cleaning / Organizing my desk – wasn’t able to do this since I was in Charleston

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Email the updated schedule to our Community Group – didn’t get the email out but prayed for and tried to connect with each girl in our group

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4 – actually stayed under with us being out of town, just brought items from home for some of our lunches, dinner, and snacks (breakfast was included with the hotel)
    2. Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses – temporarily on hold as we save for another family car
    3. Save money for another vehicle to replace the one that was totaled – working on it
    4. Put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes – on hold while until we get another car

    My goals for the upcoming week:

    Family Goals

    1. Read at least one book or a chapter in a book to the girls every day
    2. Listen to the girls read at least one book to me or Jake every day
    3. Participate in at least 2 fun Summer Activities with the Kids
    4. Take the girls to Vacation Bible School – VBS
    5. Get to the 1/4 Goal Mark (500 Hours) on the Girls “Swim Into Reading” Summer Reading Goal (total 2,000 Reading Hours)
    6. Go to the library with the kids
    7. Go on a Date Night with Jake

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – at least 5 days this week
    2. Finish reading More Than Enough by Dave Ramsey

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu & Schedule planned out for the week
    3. Start My Summer Organizational Schedule
    4. Pay all upcoming bills

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
    3. 1o minutes a day Cleaning / Organizing my desk

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Email the updated schedule to our Community Group

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses
    3. Save money for another vehicle to replace the one that was totaled
    4. Put cash aside for 1 year of 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

  • Teaching Our Children: Is it Really Clean?

    The older the girls get the more responsibilities they are taking on around the house.  One of the cleaning projects they have tackled this year (and have done really well with it) is their bathroom.  To get them started I purchased a small bucket at Dollar Tree, put sponges, rags,scrub brush, and other cleaning supplies into it.  Since they are still pretty young I didn’t want them using any harsh chemicals for cleaning so I put in a box of baking soda.  Whenever they clean their bathroom they put a little bit of baking soda into a bowl, add some white vinegar, and a little bit of water which gives them a cleaning solution that works well but isn’t harsh on their skin.

    The other day as I was finishing up some projects and cooking dinner I noticed this sign posted on the outside of the girls bathroom door “cleaning do not enter”.  It made me laugh that they would think to hang a sign!  I was curious about what they were doing in there with the door was shut but I could hear the conversation going on inside the bathroom which made me just let them be.

    “Do you think I scrubbed the sink good enough?”

    “Where’s the blue sponge?”

    “This is so nasty!”

    After listening for a couple minutes I decided to let them clean in peace and recheck in a few minutes.  They seemed to have it under control.  When I went back later to check on the bathroom I was pretty impressed at how well they were cleaned it.  I went over the basic rules and system with them once several months ago but for the most part they do the bathroom all on their own.

    I think it’s great that they have practice cleaning their bathroom as well as realize the amount of time and energy it takes to keep the house clean.  Sure they don’t always do everything perfect but every time they do it they get better.  Lately there are very few things I have to correct after they have finished cleaning the bathroom.  I am thankful for the girls willingness to help.  Many times they will volunteer to clean the bathroom before I ask them to do it which is even better.

  • Creative Kids: The Best Part About a Cardboard Box

    The best part about a cardboard box……is playing with it after its been emptied!

    Karlie quite proud of her box!

     Who ever said you needed to give kids a bunch of toys?  Half the time if they have a box they are content to play for hours.  Or is it just my kids?!  When the girls spot a particularly big box come through our front door they are almost more concerned with whether or not they will get to play with the box after it’s been emptied.  If it was up to them they would confiscate every box that came into the house for their box creations, however, I have informed them that only large boxes are available for creative redesign!  This is a great rainy day craft if you have a big box already hanging around!

    How many monkeys can fit into this box?

    This is just after we told them that they could play with the boxes for a few days before they get thrown away.  They are almost giddy with excitement as they come up with creative ideas on how to play with this box.  They have built houses, tunnels, forts, barns, castles, cars, rockets, and more out of recycled boxes.   I am positive that we would have house full of box creations if I didn’t get rid of them myself because the girls have so much fun playing.

    I see someone peeking!

    It is neat seeing them have fun and get creative over something as simple as a box.  They usually color, sometimes tape, reshape and make the box into a “treasured” item.  This is the planning phase of the box give it a few more days or a couple of weeks (if I can handle tripping over it for that long) and it will be all decked out!  Do you let your kids play with the big boxes and what fun creations have they made with the boxes?

  • Fresh & Healthy: Simple Creative Summer Snacks

    Our girls love to eat a snack outside on the front porch, at the picnic table, jungle gym or really anywhere outside especially during the summer months.  They always love it when I bring out something special and creative for them to eat.  It is so sweet hearing their comments as they are munching on their goodies.  I don’t do anything too elaborate or time consuming so it doesn’t take any extra time but the kids get so excited about their “super cool” snacks you would think I spent hours putting it together.  The key is to use food items you already have in the cupboard or refrigerator and lay them out on a plate so they look appealing.  Here’s the items included in this snack:

    • 1 Decorated Star Shaped Ginger Snap Cookie
    • 5 Strawberry Malt Balls
    • Black Olives
    • Puffed Cheese Balls

  • First Day of Summer Vacation Strawberry – Banana Breakfast

    Brina and Karlie’s First Day of Summer Breakfast

    In celebration of the girls first day of Summer Vacation I made them a special breakfast with two of their favorite fruits – Stawberries and Bananas!  They loved it!  It was nice to have a slower paced breakfast because we didn’t have to rush off to school.

    • Strawberry-Banana French Toast (smile)
    • Strawberry (nose)
    • Banana (eyes)
    • Strawberry Yogurt
    • Strawberry – Banana Smoothie

    I don’t get to do this every morning for the kids but every once in awhile it’s nice to have a more relaxing day as well as an extra “smile” to start the day off on a good note!

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    The girls are officially out of school and on summer break now we have two 2nd graders in our household!  I am super excited to spend some extra time with the kiddos and have a lot of fun activities planned.  This week didn’t go quite as planned….Jake got in an accident so I am a little behind on some of the goals and had to rearrange other ones but thankfully he is okay and healing well.

    Last week’s goals:

    Family Goals

    1. Connect with each family member at least once a day
    2. Final Prep for Summer Break
    3. Read at least one book to the girls every day
    4. Listen to the girls read at least one book to me or Jake every day
    5. Spend some extra time catching up with family and friends
    6. Confirm the Schedule / Flights for upcoming Family Reunion

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – didn’t get this one done
    2. Update my goals
    3. Finish reading  Am I Messing Up My Kids by Lysa TerKeurst – time was spent in other areas this past week

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu & Schedule planned out for the week
    3. Spend 30 minutes every day picking up & cleaning the house

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
    3. 1o minutes a day Cleaning / Organizing my desk

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Email the updated schedule to our Community Group – didn’t get the email out this week

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4 – went over budget again
    2. Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses – still saving up
    3. Save money for upcoming trips – put on hold with the accident this past week
    4. Put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes – temporarily put on hold with the accident

    My goals for the upcoming week:

    Family Goals

    1. Connect with each family member at least once a day
    2. Enjoy time doing one fun activity with the girls every day
    3. Read at least one book to the girls every day
    4. Listen to the girls read at least one book to me or Jake every day
    5. Spend some extra time catching up with family and friends
    6. Finish 1/3 of the Summer Reading Program
    7. Spend time at the pool playing with the kids

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
    2. Spend quality time with my kids & Jake
    3. Finish reading  Am I Messing Up My Kids by Lysa TerKeurst
    4. Finish reading More Than Enough by Dave Ramsey

    Home Management Goals

    1. All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
    2. Weekly Dinner Menu & Schedule planned out for the week
    3. Plan Summer Organizational Schedule
    4. Pay all upcoming bills

    Business Goals

    1. Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
    2. Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
    3. 1o minutes a day Cleaning / Organizing my desk

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Email the updated schedule to our Community Group

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
    2. Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses
    3. Save money for another vehicle to replace the one that was totaled
    4. Put cash aside for 1 year of 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

  • Creative Kids: Lego Fun

    Karlie’s Lego Rocket

    One of the best parts about legos is that pretty much all kids enjoy playing with them…..boys…..girls……toddlers (with the bigger legos) all the way up to grown ups.  It’s one of those toys you can have in the house and pretty much any kid (or kid at heart) will have fun playing with and building cool items.  Even though the girls are twins they have very different tastes when it comes to what they like which isn’t a problem when it comes to legos because they have all kinds of sets, styles, colors, and more.  I love watching the girls sit down, follow the directions and put the legos pieces together until they create a master piece.

    Brina’s Log Cabin

    Above are just two of the ones they have done over the past few months.  Karlie did the rocket one and Brina did the log cabin.  The neat part is the first time or two they put together their lego creations when they were younger we had to help almost every step of the way.  As they continue to put together different ones we have to help less and sometimes they’ll completely surprise us with a new design which is fun too.  I think learning to follow directions, using creativity, and skills are just a few benefits of playing with legos.  I have found the legos can keep our girls entertained for quite a long time too!  Do your kids enjoy playing with legos?  What was one of their recent creations?

  • Fresh & Healthy: Fun Snacks for the Kids

    Delicious Smiley face snack

    The girls always enjoy it when we put together snacks.  It is super fun to surprise them with a treat.  As summer break quickly approaches I know there will be plenty of opportunities to bring them some sweet snacks.  Tomorrow is the girls last day of school and I am super excited to spend more time with them over the summer!  Here are the items I included in this snack:

    • Fresh Clementines Slices
    • Fresh Grapefruit Slices
    • Slice of Summer Sausage
    • Ritz Crackers
    • Cheese Slices
    • Pepperoni Slices
    • 2 Car Shaped Marshmallows
    • 1 M&M
    • Cashews or Pecans

  • Bath Time Fun with H2Goo Gelli Baff

    Mom it feels like applesauce….  It was pretty funny watching the girls reaction to the H2Goo.

    I was able to get Gelli Baff from ThinkGeek with a coupon as a gift for the girls.  They had a blast playing in the water and Gelli Baff.  It has the consistency of applesauce and jello.  I got the hot pink color for the girls.

    Bathtub full of clean water ready to add the H2Goo and the kids

    Pouring the magic H2Goo into the tub. It will soak up 400 times its weight which turns the water into a colorful and gooey gel.  The girls wouldn’t get into the “goo” until it was mixed because they were a little unsure of what was going to happen.

    Scooping it up in the cup.  The H2Goo will not stain the kids, tub or towels.  When the kids were done playing all you had to do was add the dissolver powder and the goo converted back into regular pink bath water before draining.

    Hot Pink bath fun!  The girls had a blast splashing around and playing with the gelli bath.  It turned the water to hot pink gelatin.  You can see it on the legs.  The H2Goo is safe, non-toxic and makes the skin softer.

    Two sets of twizzle toes peeking out!  This was probably the longest bath the girls have ever taken (and they have taken some really long ones)!

    Pouring it into Daddy’s hand.  This stuff was so fascinating that even Jake and I had to check it out.  It was definitely a fun consistency.

    Pouring it on her leg.  They loved scooping it up on a cup and watching it slowly slide down their legs, arms or bathtub.

    It comes out kind of clumpy because it is thicker so it was fun stirring and pouring.

    I was able to get this from Think Geek below are more Gelli Baff details (also known as H2Goo or Squishy Baff Bath it has several names).

    Product Specifications

    • For Ages 5 and Up
    • Turns bath water into colorful gel for a tub full of fun
    • Special powder soaks up 400 times its weight
    • Won’t clog pipes, stain fixtures, linens, or kids
    • Safe and non-toxic – actually softens skin!
    • Includes 1 packet of goo, 1 packet of dissolver
    • One packet treats up to 20 gallons of water!
    • Choose: Red, Pink, Blue, or Green Goo
    • Packing might read Squishy Baff Bath Kit but it is the same as H2Goo