Raising Multiples
Be My Valentine: “Love Bug” Notes
Little ladybug “love” notes in the girls school lunches
The girls love getting surprises in their lunch boxes. I found these adorable ladybug notes (aka “love bug” notes in our house) and waited until I had a coupon to buy them at our local Hallmark store. It is my intention to send a special note or treat with the girls lunches at least once a week (on a good week I do it 2 or 3 times). In a time pinch I put these fun bugs on their sandwich containers or random places in their lunch.
Fun note to remind the girls we love them
Not only do these notes brighten the girls days it also encourages them to read. The notes are cute and it only takes a minute to add them to their lunch box.
Karlie’s Note – Buzzing by to say….. Consider yourself HUGGED! Squeeeeeeeeze
Karlie has been known to keep her “love” notes in her lunch box for weeks. She gets so excited about the little notes that sometimes when I ask her how her day went the first thing she tells me about is the “love bug” she found in her lunch.
Brina’s Note – A little buggy told me you’ve been working really hard. You should feel so proud!
Brina loves getting these notes in her lunch so much that she has a baggie full of them in her “special” drawer at home. I know the girls appreciate these small reminders of our love.
I love having these on hand to add a little bit of variety to the special surprises.You could pick up these or something similar at your local Hallmark store or find some online to print off or make up some of your own to print off. What type of goodies do you put in your kids lunch boxes?
Be My Valentine: Sweetheart Sandwich
Valentine Heart Sandwich for the Brina’s lunch box
It is a lot of fun putting in something different into the girls lunch box. Around the Holidays and whenever I get the urge I do a special surprise in their lunch boxes. I typically do at least one special lunch box note or shape or treat a week, occasionally they get a few extras squeezed in when I have the time and creative juices flowing. In honor of the upcoming Valentine’s Day Holiday I put a heart PB&J sandwich in their lunches.
It an easy way to show the girls that I am thinking about them and care, plus they had a blast showing off their heart sandwich at lunch time to their friends! The majority of evenings if we have time I have the girls at least start putting together their lunches. Many nights they make the PB&J sandwiches themselves. Yes, they are messier and probably use more peanut butter and jelly but they enjoy pitching in and helping put together their lunches. Also, lunch making time gives us a few extra minutes of productivity and socializing together in the kitchen. Sometimes after they finish their lunches I will sneak in a note or something special other times I am making the lunches so I will add a special Momma’s touch.
All you have to do for this simple treat is make your peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Use a cookie cutter to make the shape you want. Put it in a container or sandwich bag and it is ready for them to discover the next day at lunch.
Heart shaped cookie cutter that I used for their PB&J sandwiches!
Karlie’s sweetheart surprise sandwich!
Family Fun: Getting a Little Fresh Air
Brina swinging on the jungle gym
One of the best parts about the warm sunny days when they hit in the middle of winter is the family can go outside and get some fresh air. Since it is the season of colds and sickness the fresh air is wonderful for everyone. We try to let the girls get some play time outside when the weather permits and we even join in on the fun. Whether it is pushing one of the girls on the swings or playing catch it is important that we spend some time relaxing together.
Karlie playing catch with Daddy
Thankful for the warm and sunny days in South Carolina as well as the opportunity to spend some extra time with my family! 🙂
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
Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday- 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
Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this weekSchedule a Date Night with the Girls & Re-Schedule My Date Night with Jake- Finalize the Girls Birthday Party Items – working on it
Set up a dentist appointment for the girls– scheduled and went to the dentist, no cavities!- Pick up the girls new glasses – picking them up this week
Personal Goals
- 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
- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday – not every night
Finish reading Crush It by Gary VaynerchukRead 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).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!- 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
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 houseDinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)- 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
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- Write a Guest Blog Post – deadline was postponed with sickness
- Schedule Meeting with Accountant for Business Taxes – scheduling this week
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 LunchEmail Alms & Legs Ministry Team regarding our upcoming meetingPut together the Alms & Legs Meeting Agenda
Financial Goals
Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses – working on it
- Start working on our personal 2011 taxes – we have started the taxes
- Put money aside for upcoming trips – putting aside some of the money
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 the Girls
- Celebrate with family and friends at the Girls Birthday Party
- Pick up the girls new glasses
- Schedule Appointment with Chiropractor
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday
- Finish reading Everything Romance by Todd Hafer
- 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).
- Finalize Upcoming Travel Plans
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
- Dinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
- Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the Master Bedroom & Bathroom
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
- Write a Guest Blog Post
- Schedule Meeting with Accountant for 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 with the Meeting Notes
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
- 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
Book: “God Gave Us You” by Lisa Tawn Bergren
This week one of the books I read to the girls before bed was God Gave Us You by Lisa Tawn Bergren. Several of Lisa’s books have become family favorites over the past couple of years. The girls love the illustrations as well as the story and I like that Lisa’s stories stimulate conversations about God, creation, love, and more.
The story starts as Mama Bear is tucking Little Cub into bed when Little Cub asked “Mama, where did I come from?” Mama Bear goes through a simple version of how Little Cub was created, including pregnancy and the excitement of preparing for the new baby. I love that the book mentions how the parents prayed for Little Cub even before she was born. Lisa did a great job answering a common question little kids ask parents in this short and sweet book.
Overall I think Lisa Tawn Bergren provides a good story with beautiful illustrations by Laura J. Bryant. The story gives nuggets of valuable information about pregnancy and babies. The only thing that I didn’t “like” in this book (which was minor) was the author used the word “borned” during the conversation between Mama Bear and Little Cub. Even though I know Little Cub was asking the question it distracted from the overall rhythm of the book a little bit. This would be a great book for those who are having a second child or a young child that is asking a lot of questions about where they came from.
Rate my review & be entered into a giveaway: I reviewed this book for “Blogging for Books.” By rating my review, it allows me to choose another book and enters you in a GIVEAWAY! The rating is a two step process.
Step 1: Rate my review below (select the number of stars, enter your email, and hit submit).
Step 2: Check your email account for a message from Blogging for Books and click their link to verify your email.
Once you rated my review AND confirmed your email, you will automatically entered in a giveaway for this book by WaterBrook Multnomah!!! They will pick one person to receive a copy of the book for themselves! WaterBrook Multnomah will contact the winner directly.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes from the publisher through the Waterhouse Multnomah. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
New Upromise eCoupons for February 2012
Upromise has posted their new eCoupons for the month of February 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 22 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.
Organized Chaos: Lunch Box Items
I found a great spot for lunch box items in our kitchen!
Since the majority of our family packs a lunch for school and work nearly everyday of the week it is important that the items for packing lunches are accessible as well as our time spent putting them together is used efficiently. As I was brainstorming the different ways to make the lunch packing task more streamlined for our family I came up with a solution that has been really successful for our family. I found a perfect location for all the non-perishable lunch box items in our kitchen and before long had a lunch box making system that has worked really well.
Even though these drawers are organized in our kitchen the kids do not get something from each drawer every day. The idea is to keep a small stockpile of items necessary for lunches handy so when I need something to put in their lunch I can get to it easily. I purchase items for the drawers only when they go on sale so it stays within family’s grocery budget.
The majority of the week they get fresh fruits & vegetables, water bottles, and no dessert. I do however try to give them one snack item every day in their lunch whether it be a granola bar or pretzels or something similar in their lunches. Every day I make a lunch I use these drawers for something whether it is to grab a sandwich container, lunch bag, granola bar or another item!
Below are the labels I have for the drawers as well as pictures to show you what I put in them:
- Granola Bars / Snacks
- Sandwich Containers / Bags
- Cookies / Desserts
- Fruit Snacks
- Drinks
- Miscellaneous Snacks
Granola Bar & Snack Drawer
I put all the sandwich containers and brown bags into the container drawer. Even the two new ones I picked up fit well, we had the perfect number of sandwich containers for the drawer!
Toy Story brown lunch bags (picked up at the Dollar Tree) are fun to occasionally use for your kids lunch plus they fit nicely beside the sandwich containers in the drawer.
Sandwich Containers & Bags Drawer
Cookies & Desserts Drawer
Placed the fruit in the drawer (applesauce, raisins, cup of fruit).
Fruit Snack Drawer
Placed lunch box drinks (with exception to their water bottles) in this drawer (Chocolate Milk, Gatorade, Juice Bags, Juice Bottles, etc…).
Drink Drawer
Miscellaneous Snacks Drawer (includes items like pudding or jello cups, teddy grahams, pretzels or other bagged snack item)
The last several months we have been using this system and it has been very beneficial for the entire family. Plus if the kids want a snack they can grab a granola bar from the drawer instead of digging through the pantry trying to find a snack. I do try to keep the drawers stocked and rotate (the newer items go in back so the older items get eaten first) the products in the drawers.
My best piece of advice is that you find a system that works well for you, if what you are doing is not going smoothly or you want to find a better way to do it try something different and you may be surprised at how more efficient it is for your family. I already had the items on hand all I did was pick up the two containers on clearance around the beginning of the school year. I would love to hear your tips on keeping all your lunch box items organized and accessible.
- Granola Bars / Snacks
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Last week we made a quick trip out to the midwest, Nebraska & Kansas, to attend a Pro Ag conference with my family. The girls had a blast with Grandma while Jake and I (along with other family and friends) attended the conference. We learned a lot of great information (still processing all of it) they covered a lot in a short period of time. We were also able to squeeze in some time to spend with extended family during the trip too. It was a quick and busy trip but we were able to fit in some fun along the way! 🙂 Now that I am back home I have a pretty big week planned out, praying I will be able to tackle the majority of the items on the list for the week!
Here is the update on last weeks goals:
Family Goals
- Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday – I was not able to do this with the conference last week
- Read a book to the girls everyday- during the conference they were with Grandma so they probably had books read to them but I didn’t read them
Spend some time with extended family
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – did well until all the traveling
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 dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
Business Goals
Attend the Pro Ag ConferencePay all bills that come in the mail this week
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 – still working on this one
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
- Schedule a Date Night with the Girls & Re-Schedule My Date Night with Jake
- Finalize the Girls Birthday Party Items
- Set up a dentist appointment for the girls
- Pick up the girls new glasses
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday
- Finish reading Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk
- 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).
- Set up an appointment to get updated on shots / vaccinations
- Finalize Upcoming Travel Plans – dates set / plane tickets purchased / visa
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
- Dinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
- Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the Master Bedroom & Bathroom
- Get the majority of our 2011 Personal Taxes completed
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
- Write a Guest Blog Post
- Schedule Meeting with Accountant for 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 regarding our upcoming meeting
- Put together the Alms & Legs Meeting Agenda
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses
- Start working on our personal 2011 taxes
- Put money aside for upcoming trips
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
Box Tops for School
The girls are always on the look out for Box Tops for their school! A couple months ago I spent an evening with the girls gluing all our box tops onto the sheets. Every full box top sheet (50 box tops per sheet) gave the girls an entry into a drawing and a little special toy.Since I have two kids I wanted to fill at least two sheets. Each box top gives $0.10 cents to your child’s school so by filling up two pages our family would be helping the school get $10 to use. Since it takes our family awhile to build up our stash of box tops I typically do this activity once a year, but when the girls went to bed we only had 88 box tops, we were still 12 short of filling up 2 sheets (100 box tops). They were disappointed that we didn’t have enough for both sheets but went to bed hopeful.
After the girls went to bed I went through the pantry looking for all the extra box tops still on the boxes of food. And guess what!? I found 12 more to put onto the sheet for them to take to school. The girls were so excited to see the completed box top sheet on their bar stools at breakfast the next morning. Love being able to make my girls smile, even if it means removing the box tops off the items still in the pantry.
To get more information on Box Tops and how you (and your school can participate) can be found at Box Tops for Education.
