Category — ideas

I’m home from work with Luke-Xavier today because he’s not feeling well and when I’m home I LOVE to be in the kitchen.

I decided to make a super easy treat since I have a little time.

2 pkgs of Dr. Oetker Dark Chocolate Truffle Mousse
2 cups milk
1-12oz. tub of extra creamy cool whip

Follow directions on pkgs of mousse. Fold in the entire container of Cool Whip. Chill 2 hours and EAT!

Super easy and extra moussey! Yum!

Have a great day~

I don’t often blog about work, but this week we came up with a craft that was fun, educational and can easily be done at home.

We have been talking about farms and ranches, the different animals on each and the duties of the people who live and work there. We came up with the idea to have the kids learn about sheep and wool. So we made each child their own wooly sheep to shear.

Then we explained about the process and that they would be shearing their sheep with their hands.

Then we had them collect their “wool” and explained that it gets sent to factories and is made into different things that we use at home. We gave them the choice of making a sweater or a blanket.

It was a fun and easy project that taught them about sheep, wool and some of our household items.

Have a great day~

I am now on my 5th teenager. I have one kiddo that is through the teens and onto the 20’s and 4 who are solidly in the teen years. And the #1 thing I’ve learned about teens is that you can not…let me repeat…can not make a teen do something they have decided not to do. Sure, you can deliver consequences for their actions or lack there of, but if they’ve decided not to come off the roof because they are angry at you, you can not MAKE them come down. Yes, you could climb onto the roof and push them off or drag them down, but I don’t recommend that. If they’ve decided they aren’t going to get out of bed and go to school, you can not, in fact, MAKE them get out of bed, get dressed and go to school. You CAN drag them out of bed, try your darndest to dress them yourself and force them into the car, lock the door and speed out of the driveway. But along the way, if there’s a stop sign…they can jump out. I think you get what I’m saying.

As I look back on being a teen myself, I shouldn’t be surprised by having learned this lesson. I distinctly remember standing in my parent’s kitchen and having the thought, “they can’t actually MAKE me do anything. They can yell at me. They can ground me. They can fine me or refuse to take me somewhere. Heck, they can kill me. But I still won’t have done the dishes”. Dang! Knowing that I thought that way, I shouldn’t be surprised at the stubbornness I sometimes encounter in my teens.

What you CAN do…wait it out. If they’re on the roof and it’s going to get cold and dark, they will come down…especially if you aren’t demanding that they come down. If they won’t get out of bed for school, take the phones, turn off the internet and go about your day. I’m serious! The less attention you give to the behavior the quicker it disappears. Of course, if it becomes chronic then intervention will be needed, but I’m talking about the occasional defiant action. You don’t want your teen to become a truant or to live on the roof and if the dishes aren’t getting done at all, then, yes, something besides ignoring their defiance needs to be done. I’ve found that if I just let them have their strong-willed outburst and then say “no” to the next couple of things they ask to do, it gets the message across.

Bottom line…teens can be tough! Even the very best, most studious and polite kiddos can decide to rear their defiant heads. I’m encouraging you, as the parent of a teen, to take a deep breath, silently decide what the consequence will be, let them finish their defiance and then deliver the consequence. I’ve found it saves a lot of yelling.

Have a great day~

This conversation took place in the car the other day;

Lex-Mom, I know how to make Jesus better

Me-How to make Jesus better?

Lex-Yes, we can give him medicine and a vitamin and fizzy juice (what my little kiddos call Airborne) and then he’ll be all better.

Me-Those all sound like really good ways to make someone better, but what’s wrong with Jesus that you think we need to make him better?

Lex-He died…remember?!

Have a great day~

This morning I started with a few chores. My plan was to head into the kitchen, start the coffee, pack the lunches, switch the laundry and then wake the kids. I went to the dryer first. I pulled everything out, put it on the counter and started to fold it. Then a lil voice in my head said, “hey Jen, you know, the dryer could be going while you fold the clothes”. I said, “hey lil voice, you’re right!”. So I stopped folding and started to put the wet clothes from the washer into the dryer. Then the lil voice piped up again and said, “hey Jen, you know, the coffee could be brewing while the clothes are drying, while you fold the clean pile”. I stopped putting the wet clothes into the dryer and said to lil voice, “hmmm…you’re right! Why am I so backward today?!” So I left the wet clothes and the clean pile and went to make the coffee. Now the coffee is brewed and in hand, the dryer is going and so is the washer and the clean clothes are folded and stacked.

Thanks lil voice!

Have a great day~

This question recently came from one of my readers. With her permission, I thought I’d share it and my answer;

Hi. So I’m asking for M.O.M advice. I know a lot of big families but they either have all small kids or they tend not to be involved in as many activities as my kids. Yours seem to be in a lot of stuff, too, so here’s the question. Or problem. Mine are driving me absolutely nuts with the last minute stuff. I forgot my… I have rugby practice… I need a…. This morning at 6:20 my son informed me that he needs a flash drive because he lost his a long time ago. But he needs it today. He knew I went to staples last night. Then, he forgot his rugby stuff. Which means that I have to drive it to him instead of him getting a ride to rugby.

Here’s the thing: If I stop them from going to sports because they forgot their added practice or gear, I feel like I’m punishing the team, not them. But I’m trying to get them all over the planet and work… So I’m being punished.

Any advice?

Laura

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yeah, I’ve been there (and still am from time to time). I totally understand what you mean about punishing the team. But…the kids key into that quickly and understand that you’re not willing to let the team down, so they’re off the hook. So, sit them down and tell them (I like to tell them things AND have it in writing so that they understand it’s not going away) that the next time that you have to run around because of their forgetfulness or mismanagement of time, that you are going to give them an extra chore that they can pick from a list of extra chores (make it something substantial, that doesn’t usually get done, but that you REALLY WANT to get done). If it happens again, after an extra chore has been given, then tell them that they will be fined (this is IF they have $. A teen’s $ is usually hard enough earned that they don’t want to have to relinquish it for something that isn’t what they WANT). IF it happens AGAIN after that (make sure you keep track) then they lose the privilege of the sport for the day/week/one game…you decide. BUT, they will have had PLENTY of advance warning, so it’ll be THEIR decision to let the team down. AND let them know that they will have to give the coach (and team, if you choose) an apology for letting them down and tell them why it happened. This all puts the ball in their court. They have plenty of advance notice of what the cause and effect are and the decision is theirs.

That’s my advice. It’s hard to make them accountable for their actions, but it can be done.

Good luck!

Now that Black Friday is over and we are in full, “it’s time to think of gifts for the kids” mode I wanted to share a great gift idea for those looking for a fun and educational idea for their younger kiddos.

Jump Start Pet Rescue for wii! My 3 youngest have been having a blast with it. And I’m truly surprised at the fact that it’s not only fun but educational. It’s recommended for ages 3-6 but my 7yr old and our 8 yr old friend have been enjoying it too.

The kids have been enjoying JumpStart.com for awhile now and getting Pet Rescue was another way for them to have fun and learn with all that the Jump Start family of products has to offer.

Good luck with all the holiday shopping! I hope all your gift choices can be as easy as this one!

Have a great day~

I have 3 teenage girls at home and each one has 3 chores that they are supposed to do daily. Each week, on Sunday, they are supposed to switch chores. But it doesn’t always move smoothly. If the dish doer of the week has been gone, then the girls don’t want to switch the chores and have the new dish doer inherit all the dishes that weren’t done, etc. This is exactly what happened yesterday.

The dish doer for the week had spent the night at a friend’s house and even though I helped out with the chores and got a load of dishes going, there was still a pile to do when she got home. She wanted to go ahead and switch the chores, but her sisters did not. The argument of whether to switch or not switch went round and round. Finally I stepped in.

I took 6 slips of paper and wrote “switch” on 3 of them and “don’t switch” on the others. I had all 3 girls come in and pick a slip of paper out of a bowl. When they’d each picked I had them read their papers. It ended up “don’t switch” 2-1. She was NOT a happy dish doer! This meant that not only did she have to do the pile that was sitting there, but that she now has them for another week. I’m hoping that a lesson has been learned!

Have a great day~

Summer around here is always lots of fun.  After-all, we live in a beautiful place, I get to have the kids home and we get to make our own schedule.  But, just because it’s summertime and I want to go lots of places and do lots of things with the kiddos, doesn’t mean that the budget suddenly expands.  Having all this time off to pursue fun things can be really expensive.  So, every summer, I search and brainstorm to find the things to do with the kids that will keep us busy, be lots of fun and are either really cheap or absolutely free! Luckily for me (and the kids), living in San Diego means there are lots and lots of things that fit my requirements. 

Yesterday, we spent several hours out and about and having a great time and it cost me…….$5! Yep, $5. I knew I had to share the fun stuff we did and the great thriftiness with which we did it!

First stop-Sammy’s. There were 6 of us and we used 2 coupons for free Messy Sundaes.  I ordered iced tea ($2.25) and left a tip as if we had paid for the sundaes. 

Then we walked downstairs and enjoyed some sun and the shooting water play at the Highlands, which doesn’t cost anything. I had packed lunch (which they weren’t interested in until about an hour after eating the sundaes) and I enjoyed sitting in the sun and watching the kids play. 

We then changed out of anything wet and enjoyed walking through the Highlands shopping center.

The kids spent about 1/2 an hour exploring this pet store.  They had some great fish tanks set up and the kids were wowed by the choices available of doggie cakes, cookies and treats. They thought we should surely return when we are ready to celebrate Lilly’s birthday (FYI-Lilly is our dog). The people working in the shop were attentive to the kids and happy to show off the store “pet” which was a fat monitor lizard.

Last stop-Barnes and Noble for some stories.  We spent a long time enjoying the books here.  JJ read several stories to the kids and Tristan was happy to be on his own to enjoy books he was hoping I’d buy.  His birthday is approaching, so he may see some of them soon!

So there you have it. An entire day of fun for only $5!

Send me your thrifty summertime ideas! There’s always room for trying the things I haven’t thought of!

Have a great day~

Potty-training……

Well, I’ve been down this road 8 times and I’ve always started right around each kiddos second birthday.  Last year, as Luke-Xavier’s second birthday was approaching, I decided to wait a little while since Clay had just deployed and I knew that it wasn’t the best time to try to introduce any other life changing events.  So, I waited.  Then summer came and we were busy running around and I thought, “well, I’ll just go through the summer and we’ll worry about potty-training when everyone’s back in school”.  Then school started and I found myself homeschooling two 7th graders and I thought, “well it’s certainly not a good time to worry about potty-training!  Maybe after Clay gets back from deployment and we’re into the holidays….”  And so it went with one “reason” after another until yesterday when I thought, “ok, we HAVE GOT TO GET THIS DONE”!  Not only has his 3rd birthday come and gone, but he’s going to preschool in the Fall and he MUST be potty-trained to be there.  So my mind started working on strategy (I’m a little out of practice).

The other night when he was in the bath, he started to pee and stopped himself and I put him on the pot and he finished there.  Hmmmm….not bad!  So, I know he’s got some control over the whole thing.  Hmmm…..how to motivate him?

Ah Ha!!!!! M&M’s!  I remembered the old trick of giving an M&M (or other small treat) every time a trip to the bathroom is successful.  So, I told him we were going to go to the store to buy a bag and he quickly reminded me of the successful pee episode of the other night and that I owed him ONE M&M.  Who was I to argue with memory, math or motivation?!  One bag of potty-training motivators was purchased and ONE colorful candy was dispensed into a eagerly waiting hand.  

But today!  Oh today!  He gets it!  Man does he EVER get it!  He’s come to me saying he’s gotta go, several times.  So, off with the diaper and a boost onto the potty and he sits there until he makes himself go.  Then he excitedly puts his little hand out for the ONE M&M.  This last time, he was so determined that he spent 20 minutes sitting there, insisting he had to go.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I found something that was gonna work and work fast, but this kid has the patience of a saint!  

So, let’s hope he stays motivated and that it’s quick and easy!  I’d love to make my next shopping trip without purchasing another box of diapers!  

I’ll let you know!

Have a great day (and an M&M!)~

I felt like this was a good example of how we make things work around here-

The other morning, Clay was making the lunches and let me know that we were out of bread (of course it was the morning of the day that I was going grocery shopping, so there wasn’t a lot to work with).  I told him to grab the tortillas and cheese and make quesadillas.  There weren’t any flour tortillas.  Hmmmm…….what to do?  I looked in the fridge, saw that we had the small, corn tortillas, grabbed them and the cheese and headed to the stove-top.  I lightly toasted the tortillas over the flame of the gas burner and then added some thinly, sliced cheese, folded each one over and VOILA!  Lunch was ready to be packed.  

Of course, as soon as the kids were delivered to the school, I headed to the grocery store.  We are now fully stocked, once again.

Have a great day~

I am not much of a breakfast person but I COULD NOT resist putting this together!  Give this a try;

Warm a croissant

Cut it open and spread some Nutella inside

Top with sliced strawberries and  freshly whipped cream

Try it!

Good night~

The Spring Cleaning Bug bit me today and I’ve been scrubbing the kitchen like it hasn’t been scrubbed in…….oh, let’s see…..a year!  But all this cleaning and scrubbing brought me to a moment of wanting to share a quick reminder about cleaning.

When cleaning, start at the top and move down.  Geesh!  This is something we all know, but I could have used a reminder!  I looked at the floor and thought, “I’m going to tackle this kitchen today.”  After the floor I started the counters, the stove and the cupboards.  Guess what?!  It’s time to do the floor again!

Happy Spring Cleaning to all~

Yesterday, Max started brainstorming on how to build a leprechaun trap.  He was so excited when we were at the store and he saw this bag that was full of Easter eggs and had one gold egg in it!  He decided it was exactly what he needed.  So, we bought the bag and he left the gold egg inside and built a “ladder” on the side of the bag so that the leprechaun could get in to get the egg and would then be trapped!  A good plan!

Oh!  The golden egg worked!  It enticed a tricky leprechaun to come into the room.  But, he stole the egg and left this decoy in his place along with a trail of golden glitter!

This was obviously a sassy leprechaun!  He left this lil note.

Max and Tristan enjoyed following the trail of gold glitter to try to figure out where the tricky leprechaun could have gone.  Oh the brainstorming they did!

Max was happy to bring his trap to school to show the decoy and glitter and to tell the story of what happened in his room while he was sleeping.  He is already coming up with ideas for a better trap for next year!

The magic of childhood!

Have a happy St. Patrick’s Day~

As a parent, one of our biggest and often toughest jobs is teaching our kiddos the lessons they need to lead a successful, happy and productive life.  It would all be so much “easier” and “peaceful” if we could just take the hands-off approach and give in to every whim, want and fit.  But that wouldn’t be parenting.  That would simply be existing.  Sometimes I’m tempted to exist because I’ve taught the same lessons over and over with each child.  

Lately I’ve had a morning issue with one of my younger kiddos who’s learning (or needing to learn) some time management skills.  Every morning he drags behind in the routine and often forgets to put things into his backpack or to brush his teeth.  This means I’m constantly reminding and rushing him.  Often times all the other kids will be in the car and he’ll still have no shoes on, no backpack ready and his teeth are unbrushed.  It makes me want to pull my hair!  I’m trying different ideas to keep him on task, but so far none have worked.  I’m getting ready to make him a check list that he can carry with him in the mornings.  

This morning when everyone was in the car and I had to come back into the house to move him along, I handed him his backpack and he started complaining that he was cold and needed a sweatshirt and was thirsty and needed water.  I decided to teach a lesson about being uncomfortable because of your own actions.  I told him that he’d just have to get a drink at school and that he’d have to feel a little cold today because he didn’t get his uniform together in a timely manner and that every time he feels cold today that he will have a chance to remember that if he had gotten things together on time that he’d be warm.  

Harsh?  Maybe!  But I’m betting he’ll think about it.  And for all of you who are thinking what a mean M.O.M. I am……we live in San Diego for goodness sake!  It’s not like he’s in Pittsburgh fighting snow in a tee shirt!  

Have a great day~