Tuesday, November 22, 2011

We are Thankful Because...

A Thanksgiving craft? Of course we did a Thanksgiving craft! We are Blazers, aren't we? We have a craft for every season, don't we? It sure seams like we do anyway. I just love doing crafts, and Princess loves doing them with me (that's one of the reasons I am thankful for her), so I came up with a great useable craft that also gives us an opportunity to express our thanks for each other. 

We made placecards for the Thanksgiving table. The cards are just a piece of cardstock folded in half. On the outside of each card we pasted a turkey that I cut out from some decorative scrapbook paper. Then we tied a ribbon along the top of the card. Sarah wrote on the outside of each card "We are thankful for _____ because...", and then she used stamps to spell out the name of each person in our family. On the inside of the card, each of us wrote why are thankful for that person. Some examples are:
-"We are thankful for Nana because...
                      you are self-less, doing so much for me and my family (Amy) 
                      you are a great grandma (Princess)
                      you give me scones and you play with me (Pumpkin)"
-"We are thankful for Pumpkin because...
                      you love to play with me (Princess)
                      you are sweet and silly, you are a great helper, and you make me smile everyday (Amy)"
-"We are thankful for Drummer Boy because...
                      you spend time with me (Princess)
                      you work hard for our family (Amy)
                      you have whiskers and you play Legos with me (Pumpkin)

They turned out really cute and I am excited for everyone in my family to read the reasons that we are all thankful for them.  

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Our Advent Conspiracy


The season of Advent is upon us. As you know, this season can easily become one of the most stressful times of the year, even though it should be the time of year that we feel the most joyful and blessed. Over the last few years, I have been searching for activities to keep me and my family focused on Jesus during the Advent season. I have several ideas this year that I would like to share.

Our church participates in something called "The Advent Conspiracy." If you've never heard of it, check out this short promo video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IN0W3gjnNE&feature=share&mid=533.
So, what is the conspiracy? The Body of Christ will refuse to binge on buying and consuming at the expense of sharing and giving. It goes much further than simply adding charity to a long list of gifts for kids, parents, cousins, and friends. It means scaling back the gift-giving to one another and using the money to meet critical needs around the world and at home. This is at the heart of the Advent Conspiracy.

So this is how my family plans to participate this year:
-We are going to scale down the gift-giving in our immediate family by making gifts for each other. Not only will we save money, but we will also be giving more meaningful gifts. It's a win-win! I can't wait to share with you our hand-made gifts! Look for that post after Christmas.
-We will compare the cost of supplies for the hand-made gifts to the amount we spent on gifts for each other last year, and we will give the difference to Living Water International, a ministry that drills wells in third world countries to provide clean drinking water for the local villages. This is the ministry that took Drummer Boy on a well-drilling mission trip to Honduras last spring. 
-We will organize a neighborhood effort to adopt a family through KSBJ's Giving Tree ministry. I like this ministry because it is personal. We get to meet and visit with the family that we adopt, and our children get to participate in that as well. We did this last year and the neighbors really enjoyed participating in this ministry, so I think it will be well-received again.
-We will organize a neighborhood service project at Kids' Meals. Princess and I spent a day there last December and it was a great experience. I am hoping to recruit several other families to participate with us this year and I am planning on including Pumpkin this year as well. 
-Each family member will receive an allotment of money to give to an organization of their choice. Some of the organizations we are considering are Young Life, Compassion International, Whole Heart Ministries, The Houston Food Bank, and KSBJ (our local Christian radio station). I am hoping that this will inspire the girls to take interest in organizations that reach out to people in need, and will let them experience the joy that comes from helping others and making a difference.
-I purchased a daily Advent family devotional from Doorposts that I am very excited about. Each day's devotion consists of two or three passages of scripture to look up and read, a short paragraph commentary, and a suggested hymn. It is short and sweet. We plan to do it after dinner beginning Sunday, November 27th, the first Sunday of Advent. 
-I plan to read Preparing for Jesus, a book of daily devotionals for the Advent season, each morning to get my mind focused on Jesus each day. I love this book. I have read it for the past four years and it keeps me focused and joyful when I might otherwise be overwhelmed and stressed!
-Lastly, we are planning to make a real effort to give more of our time and presence to our family and friends instead of spending more money.

Will you join with me in this conspiracy? If you like these ideas, adopt them for your family. I think it is so important that we get away from the consumerism that this season has become, and get back to the roots of the season: preparing for the coming of Jesus. Are you ready for Him? Is your heart ready? I hope this year that all our hearts will be a little more focused on giving and less focused on getting. A little more about Jesus and less about ME ME ME. 

Monday, November 7, 2011

Even Toddlers Can Do Chores

I saw a great idea for a toddler chore chart on this blog: http://www.passionatehomemaking.com and I tweeked it a little bit to work for my family. First, I decided which chores I want my kids to do each day or weekly, etc. Then I made an index card for each chore. On each index card I glued a picture related to that chore and then wrote the words of the chore. For example, I took a picture of Pumpkin brushing her teeth and glued it to the index card next to the words, "brush teeth". Then I took a picture of her clean room and glued it on the card next to the words,  "clean your room". I also made cards for Princess with pictures of her room and her brushing her teeth or hair, etc. 

Then I made two envelopes for each child. On Pumpkin's envelopes I wrote, "Pumpkin TO DO" and "Pumpkin DONE" and on Princess's envelopes, "Princess TO DO" and "Princess DONE". I also wrote a bible verse on each envelope to remind them why and how they are to do their chores (Colossians 3:23 and Matthew 25:21).

Then I taped the envelopes to the wall next to their rooms, where they would see them every morning and evening so that they could check their chore chart easily. Each evening, I go through the index cards and put the cards that they are responsible for the next day in the respective "TO DO" envelope. And each day, as the girls complete their chores, they move the card to their "DONE" envelope. Some chores don't need to be done every day, like clean your room and feed the fish, so those cards stay in the "DONE" envelope until I move them to the "TO DO" envelope.

We've been using this system for a few weeks now and it is working great. I am just so happy because I have tried several different charts (some home-made and others that I paid for) and nothing ever worked just right for our family. This chart is great because Pumpkin can look at the pictures since she can't read yet, and I can include daily chores, every-other-day chores, and weekly chores all in the same chart. I also love that it is so flexible (for example: the girls trade doing the dishes and cleaning the bathroom each week, so I can just move that index card to the other girl's envelope at the beginning of the week). The girls also love the pictures of themselves doing the chores.

If you've been looking for a chore chart that is flexible for your family, I hope you try this one and have success with it as I have.

Caught in a Snowstorm in October!

Drummer Boy has always wanted to go to a football game at West Point. It's just one of those things on his bucket list. To his great delight, he was assigned a project that is located about 15 miles from West Point in NY. Perfect! He decided that he would arrange to make a site visit during the fall and then stick around for the weekend to experience a home game at West Point. He chose the last weekend in October. The plan was for him to go up to NY mid-week, and for me to join him in New York City on Friday. We would spend Friday afternoon and evening in NYC and then take the train to West Point on Saturday morning. We planned on spending Saturday touring West Point and then attending the game. Sunday we had plans to experience the acclaimed brunch at the Thayer Hotel and then drive up to Hyde Park and the FDR Historic Site before heading back to the airport.

Well, that was the plan anyway. Until the crazy October snowstorm ruined our weekend!

Actually, Friday afternoon and evening in the City was great. We walked around Times Square, Rockefeller Center, and 5th Ave. We visited St. Patrick's Cathedral, which was beautiful (it reminded me of being in Italy). We had a fabulous dinner at China Grill and then went to see Wicked on Broadway. It was wonderful! Everything that I expected. After the show, we went back to our hotel and enjoyed a chocolate martini in the bar. A perfect way to end a wonderful day.

Rockefeller Center
St. Patrick's Cathedral
Drummer Boy in front of the Wicked sign in Times Square
 Saturday morning we got up and went to Grand Central Station. We walked around for a bit before boarding our train to Beacon. It started snowing at about 10AM while we were on the train, and it didn't stop until midnight. The area we were in got 12 inches of snow on Saturday. We thought we would be okay. We went ahead to the campus and tried to walk around, but we couldn't even see anything because the snow was all in our face and our eyes. Plus, I did not have waterproof shoes or jacket, so my toes and hands were FROZEN!!  We left the campus just as the game was starting because we just couldn't take it anymore. Little did we know it would take us 5 hours to drive the 15 miles from West Point to our hotel! Absolutely miserable!
Amy in the snow at West Point
West Point on Saturday
Thankfully, Sunday was a beautiful day. We went back to West Point and walked around. We couldn't get into the brunch at the Thayer Hotel, so we were disappointed about that, but we still had a nice time driving around and walking around the campus. Here are some pictures we took on Sunday.

Notice the snow piled up along the sidelines.
They had snowplows shovelling snow off the field before the game.

A fire hydrant buried in the snow!
We headed to the airport early and it was a good thing because the lines were so long that many people missed their flights waiting in line to check bags! It was crazy. But the redeeming thing of the weekend was that Drummer Boy got bumped up to first class and he let me take his seat. I had never flown first class before and it was fun! I felt very elite. He tried to tell me that I owed him one, and I said, "No I don't! This is my reward for being a single mom for half a week every week for the last 2 months!" And a nice reward it was.

My Busy Little Athletes

This fall, Princess continued playing volleyball and Pumpkin tried out her first team sport--soccer. They each had practice on Monday nights (which made for a pretty hectic Monday evening) and games on Saturday mornings (which was a great way to spend Saturday morning in my opinion). Drummer Boy and I usually had to divide and conquer with the practices and the games, but sometimes it worked out for the whole family to be at both games.



Pumpkin experienced her first team sport and she really enjoyed it. Her friend Anna was on the team with her, and it took Coach a few games to realize that they shouldn't be on the field at the same time. If they were both on the field, they spent more time talking and giggling to each other than playing the game. But, if Anna wasn't on the field, Pumpkin did a great job running after the ball and staying right with it. Of course, her favorite thing about soccer was getting a trophy and a medal! 



Princess continued playing volleyball this season, but was on a new team. She knew one other girl on her team at the beginning of the season, but she made several new friends. I was so impressed that she continued to enjoy the game all the way through the season (she usually gets tired of a sport after a while) and she wants to sign up again in the spring! She is getting better at her serves and is definitely getting stronger. I'm just excited she is still having fun with it! 

Now that fall sports are over, the girls want to do gymnastics for a little while, at least through the winter. Then in the spring Princess is talking about volleyball again or maybe T-ball/softball or swimming. My busy little girls!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Tick-o-Teet!


This Halloween was a super fun time for the whole family. My friends had been giving me a hard time about being a party-pooper when it comes to dressing up in costume, so I really tried hard this year to come up with an easy, fun costume for myself. And I came up with Miss America. It was so much fun. Everyone loved it, especially my girls. As I was getting ready, they were watching me and they kept saying, "you're so beautiful mommy!" You know I loved hearing that! They don't even know who Miss America is, but they loved it anyway. Princess was a black cat and Pumpkin was a witch.


We had our usual neighborhood pre-trick-or-treating party and we loved seeing all the costumes. There were several great family themes: Peanuts, Toy Story, Space, and Alice in Wonderland. Even my parents joined the fun!


We went from there to trick-or-treating and as usual, the kids went wild. There was one point in the night when I stopped to pick up a piece of a costume that had fallen off and when I looked up, my group of three 4-year olds that I was responsible for was nowhere to be seen. I stood in the middle of the street in bewilderment turning in circles until I finally heard my neighbor's very loud child scream "Tick-o-teet!" from three houses down! I ran as quickly as I could in my heels and gave them all a good talking-to about not getting ahead of me and staying close. We had a great night and once again, I have to say that I just love my neighborhood and am so thankful to have such fun neighbors. Now I better get to thinking about next year's costume....

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Crazy Mom and Daughter Weekend

Last weekend, Princess and I started what I think will likely become a new tradition for our family. We attended a Mother/Daughter Retreat at T Bar M camp, a non-denominational Christian camp in New Braunfels, TX. We were able to convince one of Princess's good friends and her mom to come along with us. And I am so thankful! We moms were completely exhausted by the end of the weekend! 


Friday evening to Sunday morning was filled with activity! The organized activities included a crazy game of paint wars, giant bingo and other giant games, a late night viewing of "Tangled", and three Bible study sessions in which we studied Isaiah 40 and learned that God is greater than any of our problems. During free time on Saturday afternoon, we swam, painted nails, made jewelry, played volleyball, and shuffleboard, shopped at the camp store, and Sarah did the "flying squirrel" element of the ropes course.



It rained off and on during the entire free-time, but they had several activities indoors so the girls still had a great time. If you were to ask Princess how the weekend was, she would say, "It was awesome! I wish I lived there!"


My hope for the weekend was that we would have a great bonding experience that we would remember for a very long time. We certainly did that and a whole lot more! 

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Off to Pre-K

Pumpkin's first day of Pre-K was yesterday. She was very excited. (I think she was a little bored last week when her sister had already started school and she was still at home with me). Anyway, she was not nervous at all, only happy and excited. And just like last year, I dropped her off in the car pool line and she just walked right into the building like she owned the place! No tears, no fears. I'm so proud of her.

When I picked her up I asked, "So, how was it?" and she said, "Well...it was great!" She makes me grin. :)

Lulu's Lemonade


Last week, we checked out a book from the library called Lulu's Lemonade by Barbara deRubertis. It is a "Math Matters" book about some friends who make up a recipe for lemonade and win first prize at a kid's cooking contest. I'm always up for trying new recipes and this one looked very interesting, so we made it. And...it is very interesting. After I got over the fact that it really doesn't taste like lemonade, I realized that it is pretty good. The girls really liked it, and a friend of mine suggested that it might be good mixed with a little champagne. I might have to try that sometime. Anyway, I thought I'd share the recipe if any of you are looking for an interesting, refreshing, summer treat. (It is still summer right? It's 104 degrees today in Houston, so I'm pretty sure it's still summer!)


Lulu's Lemonade

2 quarts lemonade (you can use the powder/water mix or frozen lemonade mixed with water)
1 quart orange juice
1 pint Sprite
1 cup lime juice
1 Tablespoon vanilla (I'll probably use about 1/2 Tablespoon next time)
1 teaspoon mint leaves

Mix all ingredients together and serve over ice. Makes 1 gallon.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

First Day of Second Grade

Well, it is still 100+ degrees outside, but for my Princess, summer is over. She started second grade this week. The above picture is of the kids at our bus stop. Our good friends moved to Dallas a couple of weeks ago, so now Princess is the only second grader at the bus stop. But, she is super excited. We met her teachers and saw her classmates last Friday, and she has about 6 or 7 friends in her class this year. Hopefully, she will be able to restrain herself from socializing with them during class! :)
So far, the week has gone very well. No homework yet. I guess that will start next week. I've heard that the homework really ramps up in second grade, so I am interested to see how she does with that. Second grade also begins actual number grades instead of just E=excellent, S-satisfactory, N=needs improvement. She's a pretty smart girl who loves to read but does NOT like math. So, we'll see...
As of today, the fourth day of school, she has yet to wear anything other than a skirt/shirt outfit. The girl loves skirts and she loves being fancy. She makes her momma smile.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Princess's New Sport

This summer Princess joined a volleyball team. She was the youngest and smallest girl on the team, and the only one who had never played volleyball before. From the very first day of practice, the coach and assistant coach spent alot of individual time with her. To be honest, at first she was quite bad, but it didn't take long for us to see some improvement in her skills. By the fourth game, she was able to serve the ball over the net. And the last game of the season, she had her first volley back over the net. Several of her team mates gave her high fives after that point! It was so sweet and I was so proud, I actually teared up!

The most amazing thing is that she wants to continue and play another season! This is the first time she has ever liked a sport well enough to sign up for a second season. I attribute that to the great coaches who worked with her and encouraged her so much. So, we've got 7-year old volleyball games and 4-year old soccer games occupying our Saturday mornings this fall. Sounds good to me!