Family Fun

  • 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?

  • Travel & Vacation: Charleston Trip

    Had to stop on one of the road trips because someone was getting car sick…..Daddy taking her for a walk to get some fresh air.  Poor kiddo!

    She hasn’t gotten car sick for quite awhile, but on one of our trips recently she started getting queasy.  Stopping for a little bit of fresh air for a few minutes seemed to do the trick.

    Found a cool tree house on Daniel’s Island, great place to play and have a picnic!

    Karlie having fun

    Hanging out at the turtle park

    Pool time!  Karlie holding her breath under the water!

    Brina hanging out under water

    Is it me or does the road seem to end in the sky?  Actually this is one of our favorite bridges near Daniel’s Island.

    Looking at the beautiful sunset from the bridge

    Karlie enjoying her blue rock candy treat

    Brina with a bright pink tongue

    Brina having fun

    Karlie splashing around

    Brina swimming under water

    Giving us game directions

    Karlie lining up her knee board

    Karlie spinning and having fun

    Brina’s ready to spin

    Brina having fun in the pool

    Brina going for the diving stick

    Karlie sitting at the edge of the pool chatting away

    Having fun in the pool

    Brina flying through the air

    Playing with Daddy in the pool

    Silly Karlie

    Brina shark is after me

    Karlie has a knack for losing teeth when we are traveling….once in an airport on a trip and this one at the hotel in Charleston (after eating an apple)

    Brina zooming down the slide

     The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax.  Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away.  Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories.  It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine.  Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn.  You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!

  • 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

  • Intentional Living: Weekly Goals

    The girls were wrapping up their last full week of school so we had a lot of extra activities now we just need to get through the next few days and it will be summer break!  It was hard to get everything done last week with all the year end activities therefore I am hoping to catch up this week.   We have a lot of really great activities planned for this summer.  It will be fun to travel a little and catch up with some family and friends too.

    Last week’s goals:

    Family Goals

    1. Connect with each family member at least once a day
    2. Prep for Summer Break – I got their summer reading wall put up now need to finalize all the other little details
    3. Read at least one book to the girls every day – didn’t get a chance on Monday night it was packed full with KOH, 1 John Ministry – Homeless Dinner, Girls 1st Grade Program and Swimming Lessons
    4. Listen to the girls read at least one book to me or Jake every day – we missed Monday night but otherwise did well
    5. Attend the Girls First Grade Program
    6. Spend some extra time catching up with family and friends
    7. Swimming Lessons for the Kids
    8. Confirm the Schedule / Flights for upcoming Family Reunion – schedules confirmed just need to get flights arranged

    Personal Goals

    1. Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – getting closer
    2. Update my goals – didn’t get to it this past week
    3. Finish reading  Am I Messing Up My Kids by Lysa TerKeurst – I keep leaving the book in random places so getting behind
    4. Finish The Hunger Games by Susan Collins (recommended by several friends) – while the book captivated my attention I have a lot of mixed feelings about the book…..

    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 – had a couple days I let it go with all the activities going on this past week

    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 – I ended the week with a stack of papers that need my attention

    Ministry Goals

    1. Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
    2. Email the updated praises, prayer requests, and schedule to our Community Group
    3. Feed & Serve Homeless – 1 John Ministry

    Financial Goals

    1. Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4 – so close but went over by $1.76
    2. Emergency Fund – save 6 months worth of living expenses – getting closer
    3. Put aside cash for upcoming trips – on hold momentarily
    4. Save money for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes – working on it

    My goals for the upcoming week:

    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
    2. Update my goals
    3. Finish reading  Am I Messing Up My Kids by Lysa TerKeurst

    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

    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 upcoming trips
    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

  • Book: “Dash” by J. Elizabeth Mills

    Even though our girls are twins they have very different personalities.  One of the few things they have in common is their love of horses!  Both of them absolutely love anything about horses.  Lately I have been noticing that more and more horse books have been pulled off the shelf to read and when we go to the used book store they are always on the look out for new “horse” books.

    The other day I noticed that Karlie had been carrying this Scholastic book Dash by J. Elizabeth Mills around for several days and reading it over and over.  I asked if she would be willing to read the book to me and she did!  It is still hard to believe that my girls are old enough to be reading me books.  Granted this one isn’t a huge book but it does have four short chapters.

    The story is about a little girl named Jenny who wants to participate in a barrel racing competition.  She and her horse Dash train really hard for the big day.  Both of our girls love this book.  If your child loves horses and is starting to read independently this would be a great book to add to your library.

  • Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4

    I apologize it has been so long since I have posted my $40 for 4 grocery update!  It has been a fun, amazing, wild, memorable several months with a trip to India, Charleston, Disney, Kennedy Space Center, Sea World, family staying with us on and off for a month as well as many other wonderful activities! I have been doing my best to stay within budget but having you alongside of me and reading my regular post definitely keeps me more accountable because I have blown the budget several times since I last posted!   Here is my weekly update on our Groceries $40 for 4.

    Groceries from Save A Lot | RiteAid and Ingles

    Save A Lot | RiteAid Groceries:

    • $4.87 at Save A Lot | RiteAid for 1 gallon Milk and 1 bag Brown Sugar (ran out of milk and used the rest of my brown sugar for the homeless dinner our Community Group hosted on Monday evening so had to restock these items)

    Ingles Groceries:

    • $11.79 at Ingles for 2 loaves Bread,  1 gallon Milk, 1 Yellow Sweet Onion, 1 container Pina Colada Yogurt (on clearance & so delicious I almost didn’t share it), 1 bag Fresh Green Beans (clearance $0.99), 1 bag Fresh Cauliflower, Broccoli, and Carrots (clearance $0.99), 1 container Mushrooms (clearance $0.99), 1 container Dill Veggie Dip (clearance $0.99), and 1 package Wholly Avocado Dip (clearance $0.99).  Everything was marked down, on sale, or on clearance at Ingles.

    Groceries from Ingles and Save A Lot | RiteAid

    Ingles Groceries:

    • $7.77 at Ingles for 1 container of Dill Seasoning, 1 loaf French Bread, 1 container Peach Yogurt  (on clearance), 1 container Fresh Pink Lemonade (clearance $0.99), 1 container Veggie Dip (clearance $0.99), and 1 container fresh Chicken Salad  (on clearance) Everything was marked down, on sale, or on clearance at Ingles.
    • Save A Lot | RiteAid Groceries:$17.33 at Save A Lot | RiteAid for 1 package Flour Tortillas, 2 multi-packs Trident Gum (clearance $0.74), 2 Ham & Cheddar Lunchables, 1 bag Chicken Breasts, 6 packs Sandwich Creme Cookies (clearance $0.69), 1 pack Powdered Donuts (clearance $0.84), bags of Cheddar Cheese Balls, and 1 Watermelon.

    I was able to get a few great items this week. Thankfully, I was able to make it by the store and pick up some items that we’ll need over the next couple of weeks even if a couple of unexpected items got added to the list.  Thanks for helping keep me on track even in the midst of this busy season!  I don’t anticipate life slowing down too much though since the girls will be getting out of school next week and we have a lot of exciting adventures planned for their summer break.

    This week I spent $41.76  on groceries.  I was bummed that I went over on my budgeted amount for the week again but thankful I was only $1.76 over!  I would have made it but I was asked to provide snacks for the girls field day so it was extra items I wasn’t planning on for the week that helped me slide past my goal.  I was happy to find a few items marked down on clearance and provide snacks (watermelon, cookies, and cheese balls) for 20 students while staying pretty close to my budgeted amount.  I hope that next week we can come under budget!

    It is my goal to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks!  As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me.  I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too.  The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.

    Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances.  Life doesn’t always go as planned.  We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given.  Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life.  A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others.  There is so much more to life than having all the stuff.  We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.