Raising Multiples
New Upromise eCoupons for March 2012
Upromise has posted their new eCoupons for the month of March 2012. Remember to activate your eCoupons to get additional savings. If you have not yet signed up for Upromise you can get more information regarding on our experience or directly at the Upromise website.
This month they have 26 coupons you can activate for bonus savings. Once you activate your eCoupons all you have to do is scan your rewards card or purchase the items at the store and the cash will be added to your account. You don’t even have to carry any coupons to get the rewards!
You can go to their website for more information on the Upromise program, it’s free to join.
Some Things……Just Make You Smile!
My smiley face greeting
One busy morning as I was getting items ready for work and making breakfast I noticed that the girls were a little more pre-occupied than normal. I heard whispers and giggles but from what I could see they weren’t being bad just mischievous. Soon I finished up what I was working on, moved onto the next task and they started eating breakfast. As we hurried off to do the activities for the day I noticed the item they were working on together out of the corner of my eye.
A smiley face….. They had taken their dry erase board and made a smiley face out of their nerf darts as a special surprise! As soon as they saw me pause at the edge of the room and glance at their artwork they burst into more giggles. “What do you think Mom!? Do you like it?” I love that the girls took the time to put together a silly “nerf smiley” face just to cheer me up. Even though life has a way of staying busy (to the point of crazy at times) it is moments like these that make me smile and count the amazing blessings I have been given. Take a few extra minutes to treasure your little ones today – give them an extra tight bear hug, talk with them, or read a book to them….these days are precious!
Giveaway: “Wits & Wagers Family” Game by North Star Games
I am thrilled to announce a new giveaway on Blessings Multiplied! The winner of this giveaway will receive a copy of Wits & Wagers Family by North Star Games! As a Mom, wife and friend I am always looking for ways to entertain my family and guests. After playing Wits & Wagers Family several times with my family (see my review) I know many of you will enjoy this game too! This game has quickly become a favorite with our family. Here’s how to enter the giveaway:
- Sign up to follow my blog (if you haven’t done so already) and leave a comment below telling us how you follow Blessings Multiplied. Sign up to receive Blessings Multiplied via email or like on Facebook.
- You can get a bonus entry into the drawing if you leave a separate comment below sharing what types of game you enjoy playing.
All comments must be made by March 31st at 10:00 PM EST to be entered into the drawing.
You can learn more information about this great book and my review on Wits & Wagers Family by North Star Games.
*A special thanks to North Star Games, specifically Dominic Crapuchettes and Luke Warren, for the providing this game for the giveaway!
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
It was a fun week pack full of extra activities but I was able to make some headway on some of the goals I set for myself. I am hoping to make a lot of positive progress forward this week!
Here is the update on last weeks goals:
Family Goals
Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday- Read a book to the girls everyday – I didn’t read a book to the girls the night Jake & I went out for our Date
Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this weekGo on our Date Night with JakeSpend time together as a family
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – in the whirlwind of events this didn’t get done
- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday – too many late nights
- Finish reading When Work and Family Collide by Andy Stanley – barely had time to pick this one up
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).Travel “To Do” List
Home Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned and written by MondaySpend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house- Spend 30 hour a day de-cluttering the house – I picked up and maintained but didn’t de-clutter every day
Business Goals
Pay all bills that come in the mail this weekWork on ideas for upcoming blog postsSpend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk- Finish 2011 Business Taxes – waiting on the accountant
Ministry Goals
Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requestsMeet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses – working on it
- Complete our personal 2011 taxes – waiting on business taxes to be complete
- Put money aside for upcoming trips – some set aside
- Put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes – part of the way through the first year
Here are my goals for the upcoming week:
Family Goals
- Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
- Read a book to the girls everyday
- Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this week
- Connect with each family member at least once a day
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday
- Finish reading When Work and Family Collide by Andy Stanley
- 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
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
- Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
- Spend 1 hour a day de-cluttering and organizing the house
Business Goals
- Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
- Finish 2011 Business Taxes
Ministry Goals
- Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
- Email Alms & Legs Ministry Team & Complete Meeting Agenda
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses
- Complete our personal 2011 taxes
- Put money aside for upcoming trips
- 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
Game: “Wits & Wagers Family” by North Star Games
Are you looking for a great family game? Awhile ago our family received the game Wits & Wages as a birthday gift, since then we had played the game MANY times. So much that several our family and friends have purchased the game as well for their families. We were over….the…top….excited to receive Wits & Wagers Family by North Star Games to play!
Our family has enjoyed playing the Wits & Wagers Family game together. It is a wonderful family friendly trivia game that is fun for the entire family. The four of us played several rounds over the last month with each game being about 30 minutes long. The recommended ages for the game is 8 and up but our girls (who are 7) had a blast playing it too.
We have the original Wits & Wagers game and felt like the Wits & Wagers Family was geared more to a younger audience. The questions were easy enough for the kids to answer, but were not so easy that the adults knew all the answers. The topics were about items that appealed to kids as well. For example, a couple of the questions were along the lines of “How many colors of Fruit Loop cereal are there?” or “In feet how wide is the pitchers mound?”
The game is lighthearted and full of fun facts. You don’t need to know all the right answers in order to score some points. In Wits & Wagers Family you can only gain positive points with your “Meoples” and for having the closest answer without going over which makes it easier for the younger kids who are playing the game. I love that the game encourages you to learn some interesting facts which makes it educational for the whole family. The game is fairly quick, enjoyable, and almost anyone can play it.
The only thing that I was surprised about with this game is the amount of questions. The original Wits & Wagers has 7 questions and answers per card (which we went through fairly quickly because we played the game often) with Wits & Wagers Family there are only 2 questions and answers per card so you go through the deck much faster. I think offering an expansion pack with more questions would provide additional value to this game.
This game has provided a lot of great entertainment for our family. It has been wonderful being able to sit down after dinner and play a round of Wits & Wagers Family together. The time spent playing this game with our family has allowed us to create memories while while helping us unwind, laugh, and relax after our busy days.
If you are looking for a game that the whole family will enjoy you should check out Wits & Wagers Family or better yet come on over and play a round with us. The rounds go pretty fast and you may be surprised at how much you’ll learn. Who knows…..you may even find yourself having a little fun along the way! 🙂
You can purchase this game at major retailers like Books-A-Million, Target, or local game stores found on North Star Games retailer locator. To learn more about the game and those who created it you can visit North Star Games website. You can get the most update to date information on North Star Games by following them Facebook and Twitter.
Disclosure: A special thanks to North Star Games, specifically Dominic Crapuchettes and Luke Warren, for the providing this game for review purposes. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Last week we celebrated the girls 7th birthday (a wonderful highlight to our week)! The upcoming week it full of extra activities, but hoping to make a lot of progress with my goals as well.
Here is the update on last weeks goals:
Family Goals
Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday- Read a book to the girls everyday
Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this weekGo on our Date Night with JakeCelebrate Valentine’s DayCelebrate Brina & Karlie’s BirthdaySpend time together as a family
Personal Goals
Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday – with the extra activities this didn’t get done
- Finish reading When Work and Family Collide by Andy Stanley – haven’t even started it yet….
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).- Packing “To Do” List – working on it
Home Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned and written by MondaySpend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house- Dinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday) – had a couple later nights with appointments
- Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the downstairs Bookshelves / Desk / Dressers – started but not finished
Business Goals
Pay all bills that come in the mail this weekWork on ideas for upcoming blog postsSpend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my deskWrite a Guest Blog Post- Finish 2011 Business Taxes – items at Accountant so waiting for them to wrap up their piece
Ministry Goals
- Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests – didn’t get this done with all the other activities this week
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses – working on it
- Complete our personal 2011 taxes – almost done, waiting for our business taxes to be completed before finishing
- Put money aside for upcoming trips – was able to do some
- Put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes – put some aside
Here are my goals for the upcoming week:
Family Goals
- Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
- Read a book to the girls everyday
- Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this week
- Go on our Date Night with Jake
- Spend time together as a family
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday
- Finish reading When Work and Family Collide by Andy Stanley
- 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).
- Travel “To Do” List
Home Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
- Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
- Spend 30 hour a day de-cluttering the house
Business Goals
- Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
- Finish 2011 Business Taxes
Ministry Goals
- Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses
- Complete our personal 2011 taxes
- Put money aside for upcoming trips
- 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
I Love You Sweet Girls!
I have always enjoyed this book and thought the quote was appropriate with today being the girls birthday. No matter how old the girls get they’ll always be my babies. Thankful for the opportunity to be a Mom to Brina and Karlie!
Happy Birthday Brina & Karlie!
Happy 7th Birthday to Brina & Karlie! We love you sweet girls. It is amazing how quickly these last few years have gone by and we are thankful for the many wonderful memories we have shared. Wishing both of you many more awesome years of great times! 🙂
Family Activities: Celebrating Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day Heart “Attack” surprise for the girls
Our family had a blast celebrating Valentine’s Day together! Jake and I went out the Saturday before Valentine’s for a Date Night and to celebrate. On Valentine’s Day I took goodies and helped at the girls class party as well as celebrated with the family that evening. It was a fun relaxing time together. The girls loved having an extra special dinner together in the candlelight as a family. For dinner we a fun conversation as we ate steaks, baked potatoes, fresh vegetables, bread, fresh fruit salad, Cherry Limeade punch, and cheesecake. Here is a little tidbit from our Valentine’s Day celebrations:
Heart shaped cinnamon rolls for breakfast
Valentine’s Day Breakfast
Valentine’s Day “love” notes on the girls bedroom door
Valentine’s Day fun for Brina & Karlie (looking from their room out to the hallway)
Brina’s Goodies’ from Grandpa & Grandma
Karlie’s goodies from Grandpa & Grandma waiting on her barstool at breakfast
Hugs & Kisses Tigers
Karlie’s Valentine goodies from her classmates. (With the word “Bushta” written across the front too, silly girl)
Brina’s Valentine envelope full of goodies from her classmates
Jake’s dinner plate – stick of dynamite with little heart notes….
You’re the bomb!
You’re the extra spark in my life!
You ignite my heart!
My heart explodes with love for you!
You light up my world!
The girls loved Daddy’s sticks of dynamite made out of rolos and love notes, they couldn’t wait for him to see them!
One of the girls plates for Valentine’s Day Dinner with the family
Our Valentine’s Day Dinner table
Be My Valentine decoration hanging from the ceiling fan over the dinner table
Conversational hearts center piece
Valentine’s Day Dinner table
Brina & Karlie worked hard on their Valentine’s Day Cards!
A stack of love notes for Jake to take with him on his next trip……one note for every day we are apart!
“I Love Jacob” written in hot pink lipstick on the mirror (the girls wanted to know if it would clean off the mirror or be permanent)
Heart balloons with love notes attached and flower petals to make the room more romantic
It was a wonderful Valentine’s Day with our family! We had a great time decorating, talking, celebrating, and enjoying our time together as a family. Thankful for days when we can relax and celebrate our love for each other. Although, we spent time this week to focus on our love it is important that this isn’t just a once a year activity. Taking the time to celebrate our love regularly is just as important.
Lunch Box “Love” Notes
Earlier this week I shared about our “Love Bug” Notes and received several emails regarding where to purchase similar notes so I decided to share a little bit more. Here are some fun ones:
Includes 105 colorful cards and over 100 silly stickers for help you brighten your child’s lunch.
The book over 75 includes tear-out notes with Bible Trivia.
Just tear out a silly riddle to make lunch enjoyable for your kids.
Example – “What’s the funniest place to eat lunch? In the laugh-eteria!
Remind your child of God’s faithfulness with over 75 tear-out notes that you can put in their lunch box. Each note includes a verse.
Hugs in a Lunch Box for Ages 5-7
Age specific lunch box notes to send with your child.
If you have some Amazon Gift Certificates from Swagbucks these would be great to add to your basket! Do you send lunch box notes to your kids? How often and do you usually write your own notes or send pre-made ones? If you have a great “lunch note” book that you have used please feel free to share a link below!
