Bibity Bobity Boo!

So the situation with my youngest little slugger worked its self out (thank you Lord!!)

All is well and calm now. Preschool has been so much fun for the both of them! We are still pretty grateful for Thanksgiving break. I much needed week of R&R.

With Christmas just around the corner I have already drug out the decorations. We have the Elf on the Shelf, the kids believe in Santa and all that. My issue is how much of the 'magical stuff' do we push onto them?

It's not just Christmas where I struggle, Easter, the Tooth Fairy, all of it.

My 5 year old is really into the Elf and Santa this year and I find it really hard to lie to him about all of this. My husband and I talked about weather or not to do 'Santa' when our kids were tiny. I remember being crushed when someone at school told me there was no Santa. I didn't want our kids to feel that, but I didn't want them to be the dream crusher either!

We don't do the Easter bunny, even as a child I remember being confused about the bunny.

Tooth Fairy does make visits to our house, although the money she leaves varies, I'm never prepared for that one!

Santa visits and eats our cookies, we make reindeer food for the yard so they aren't left out either.

The older my kids get the more questions they have and I'm struggling with answers this year.

I know all of this make believe is done in fun, but when do you stop the lies?

Time Out

This is been a difficult week... week and a half really. We are having issues with our three year old hitting at school. He's not hitting hard enough to hurt the kids or make them cry.. but it's a problem that needs to be addressed. His teacher and I have done everything we know to do to try and correct this behavior .. the ball is in his court now. Praying,praying, praying this stops soon!

It's so crazy how different the boys are. Thing 1 is quiet, picky, and very loving. And then there's Thing 2..oh wow he's LOUD, isn't scared of anything and is very rough.

We almost didn't make it to church this morning because of him. I'm so tired.... tired of fighting with him, trying to teach him to play nice, and just plain ole' tired (he's been waking up a 2am EVERY morning) This morning.. it all just came to a head I think. I'm exhausted physically and emotionally. I'm starting to get short and crabby with people and I don't mean to.... that's not me.

Thing 2 was being difficult and Thing 1 wasn't helping matters. Hubby is on night shift so I'm really trying to keep everyone quiet. I was sitting here in the living room I wanted to just yell ENOUGH! But I would have woke up the Hubs. I sat down to do my devotion,it's a parenting one through YouVersion, great stuff. This morning's title- Accountable To God.

First little paragraph - God gave you children, and you are expected to raise them for His glory. You are a steward of God's children and, as a steward, you must answer to your Master for your efforts. SMACK . lol I've been leaving God out of my problems... it's all about me and what I'm going through, not about God and how he can help. So, head em' up moooove em' out.. I'm dragging these screaming kids to church. I thought, even if the sermon has nothing for me, I can at least sit for an hour and not have to listen to my kids fight over the DS. Horrible, I know, but I doubt I'm the only parent who has thought that on a Sunday morning.

Thank you God for meeting me in the pew. The sermon series has been about the Armor of God We were on the shield of faith. Boy.. do I want a shield to hid behind right now, maybe a set of earplugs too lol.Pastor's points this morning were about what different arrows the devil is shooting at you to try and get you down. Fear, doubt, despair, failure, defeat. Fear.. not so much doubt, check, despair, check, failure, nah not really, defeat, check. There has been so much going on with the kids and with me that I have been doubting myself, which if left unchecked tends to lead to despair and ultimately defeat. You may say that failure and defeat are the same.. how can you feel one but not the other. Well, I don't think I have failed... I have been defeated, I'm down but not out. It makes sense in my head ... guess that's what matters. Back to my sermon notes, I love to take notes ^_^ I need to remember God is in control, He is good, He is with me, and He is VICTORIOUS. One of the verses mentioned is Romans 16:20 -The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet, the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

So, tomorrow... I'm going to pray on my armor and remember the one thing I keep having to tell myself.. HE's got this!

homemade cleaners!!

I can't sing enough praise about homemade cleaning products.. I've had several people ask me what recipes I use so I thought I would list them all here. Happy Cleaning!!

Dishwashing Detergent :


1 box Borax
1 box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
24 packages of unsweetened lemonade drink mix, like kool-aid. (**Note: lemonade will stain soap dispenser yellow, another option would be to use citric acid instead of lemonade)
3 cups Epsom Salt
Lemi Shine rinse aid (I found it at Super 1)

In a LARGE bowl mix all of the above ingredience will well mixed. Place in an AIR TIGHT CONTAINTER and store in a cool dry place. If the containter is not air tight the powder will harden, much like brown sugar.

Use 1 Tablespoon per load




Laundry Detergent

1/2 bar of soap (any kind you want)
1 cup of Borax
1 cup of washing soda
a big pot ( that holds more than 2 gallons)
a grater
a funnel
a long spoon
2 empty gallon jugs/containers

Grate your soap into your pot.
Fill one gallon jug and pour water into pot with grated soap. Cook until the grated soap dissolves. Add the Borax and washing soda. Bring to a boil, it will begin to thicken. Turn off the heat. Add 1 gallon of cold water. Stir well then using the funnel pour detergent into your gallon jugs. Allow to cool for 24 hours before use.

Consistency and color will vary depending on your soap & water ~ it may be lumpy and watery… kind of like a watery gel, but it works great!
Stir or shake before each use, as it will continue to gel.


Use 1/2 cup per load


Fabric Softener

6 cups HOT water
3 cups white vinegar
2 cups Suave Conditioner (any scent)


Mix conditioner & hot water well, until conditioner is dissolved completely.
Add the vinegar, and mix well.
Store in a large container {empty fabric softener container, empty large vinegar bottle, etc}
Pour into a downy ball… or use approx. 2 tbsp. in the fabric softener spot in your laundry machine… then wash!

Dryer Sheets

1 part fabric softener + 1 part water
1 plastic container with a lid

Cut 2-3 kitchen sponges in half and toss them in the softener/water mixture.
slightly wring out one sponge and throw it in the dryer as you would any other dryer sheet.
After clothes are dry find the little sponge and throw it back into the container to use again.

Glass Cleaner

1 cup Water
1/4 cup White Vinegar
2 to 3 drops Dish Soap
Empty Spray Bottle

Combine everything in the spray bottle, swish around a little to mix and you're ready to go!

All Purpose Cleaner

2 Tbsp. Distilled White Vinegar
1 Tsp. Borax
1/8 cup Dawn Dishsoap
1 cup Hot Water
Empty 16oz Spray Bottle

Pour vinegar, borax and hot water into spray bottle.
Then continue filling spray bottle with cool water.
Add Dawn Dishsoap last. Done! Don't shake this cleaner to mix, once everything is in the bottle you are good to go.


If you haven't noticed Borax is a staple in almost ALL of these recipies.
You can use it like oxyclean and it's much cheaper. I discovered this fantastic stuff in my cloth diapering days, not one of my diapers had a stain when I passed them on to one of my friends.

I hope you try some of these recipies!

I got a lot of them from The Frugal Girls. Their website is amazing!
http://thefrugalgirls.com/

I saw the sign...

And it opened up my eyes and I am happy now... and I'm not going to type the rest of this song because it's irrelevant to the situation really LOL

It's kinda funny...I'm going about my life, going through the motions, in that spiritual rut we all hate but seem to find ourselves in from time to time. When, in the words of Emeril Lagasse, BAM!! God's like see what I did there.. I'm still here even if you're not paying attention.
I love the way He gives us a wake up call. When my BAM happened I was like.. how can someone not believe in God when things like this happen. He has provided for us when we needed it, no matter how big or small the need was, and always in His perfect timing. It's crazy!
It makes me think of the song "Who Am I" by Casting Crowns :

Who am I?
That the Lord of all the earth,
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt.
Who am I?
That the bright and morning star,
Would choose to light the way,
For my ever wandering heart.

Seriously, who are we that He cares so much for us? Mind boggling..but I LOVE it!

Boy are my arms tired...

I feel like all I do these days go go GO! Soccer started last week, we signed both boys up to play. My 5 year old has practice on Tues,Thurs the 3 yr old on Mon,Thurs and we have church on Wednesdays, Soccer games on Saturdays, Church on Sun. It's Wednesday, the kids and I are exhausted. I'm not sure how working mom's do this. I'm in awe of families where both parents work and still somehow do all of these things with their children. I'm guessing that they just don't sleep!

Other than a super busy schedule things are going great! The hubs and I have been able to spend some much needed quality time together. Last month he worked non stop so we are really thankful things are a little more normal for him now. We're really excited about the next Parent's Night Out our church has scheduled. Dinner without the kids woohoo!

As far as me personally, I'm looking forward to Friday! The one day this week I don't have to rush from here to there. I'll go grocery shopping while the kids are at school and then we will relax all afternoon. Sounds like heaven right now!

Well, the kids are fighting over a book.. I must go before someone ends up with a black eye.

*sigh* Come on Friday..

Dog Days of Summer

Dog Days od Summer-
"Dog Days" (Latin: diēs caniculārēs) are the hottest, most sultry days of summer. In the northern hemisphere, they usually fall between early July and early September

Source-wikipedia.com

Summer has been particularly brutal this year. I'm not sure if I'm on board with the 'the sky is falling Global Warming' people or if this is just a natural climate change. Regardless.. it's HOT.

It's hot outside, it's warmer than I would like in the house.. we're all getting cranky.

I've done something I said I would never allow my children to do. Play video games as long as they want. I didn't like it at first, and there are still times where I limit how long they play, but it has turned into a fun family thing. They are playing the games we played as kids, Super Mario, Yoshi's Island, Kirby, all of those Nintendo favorites. This afternoon I spent about an hour on the couch giggling, eating potato chips and playing games with the boys. That blissfully happy hour reminded me, I need to slow down and make more memories like this.

I'm dropping my Read the Bible in 90Days, I'm still reading, just slower than the program requires. I've gotten in a better routine around the house where I have a little more free time to spend with them in the mornings and the afternoon. School starts on the 17th.. Awana and soccer will start soon after that.. It's about to get crazy but it's all for those two little smiles! And that is priceless.

Back to School

So has this Summer just flown by or what?! It occurred to me last night that I have roughly 2 weeks before my kids will be in school. I'M NOT READY! I don't want to make them go! I have had a fantastic 3 months with my boys. We went shopping today and picked out backpacks, lunch boxes and first day of school outfits. I almost cried :( It's exciting though! Both boys will be playing soccer this year! Both will be in school, double the parties and fun! Not to mention BOTH boys will be in AWANA's this year too! My 3 yr old will be a Cubbie!! I'm so excited for him!! This will be my third year teaching AWANA's at our church.. I haven't decided if I'm going to teach Sparks again or try Cubbies with my little one, decisions decisions.

While I deliberate I'm going to try and relax and enjoy these last few weeks before the hustle and bustle of Fall takes over ^_^

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

Proverbs 3:5

I wrote earlier about our troubles with my car. I wasn't worried about it, I was at peace, God is going to take care of us. It was really strange though because even my husband didn't seem too worried about it. With his work schedule there would only be one week a month where being a one car family would be an issue, we would make it work.

We met Eric's Aunt and cousin for lunch as they were passing through town. On the way home the text chime sounded on Eric's phone , it was his childhood friend Josh, who remains a good friend our family. He was chattering about this and that, I was relaying what Eric wanted to say and adding my own "Hi how are ya's" We got on the subject of our car related woes. Josh is an excellent mechanic as well as a computer guru so I told him about it. He piped up with, "Hey I can get you a GREAT deal on a car!" I was like, go on... We had discussed getting a replacement car but were on the fence about it. This one was perfect size , priced within our budget and I firmly believe put there for us. I was trying not to get excited. I started praying again then I opened up my ipad to read ahead in the B90Days (Bible in 90 Days) schedule. I came across this verse :

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord you God is with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9

It's sad that God had to remind me that he's taking care of this.. the slightest little thing and my faith was starting to waver. How sad is that?! Eric makes a few phone calls to 2 different banks, seeing how good of an interest rate we could get (yay for good credit!) The car is ours!

Tuesday Eric calls from work.. hey.. I have an offer to go work for 2 weeks in South Carolina, do you mind if I take it. Eric hasn't taken an out of town job since our three year old was born. I told him sure, go for it, we would be fine! The extra money he would make out there would replenish our savings a little and help out quiet a bit. An added bonus is Eric's nephew is to be staying with us those same 2 weeks. He's a huge help and a great kid, so I will have a hand with the kids while Eric is gone. Another blessing with God's perfect timing. The only way I can think of ending this post is with this :

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.

Psalms 107:1

^_^

I'll post more when I know more but for now this is my song :

Lemons & Lemonaid

So today didn't start out as planned. We've been having issues keeping the house cool in this historic heat wave. I was working into the wee hours of the morning blocking windows with film that's supposed to absorb heat, reflect light yada yada. I'm willing to try anything at this point. It's almost 2pm and it hasn't hit 80 inside yet so I'm hopeful.
I got up this morning and skipped church. My husband's birthday is today and he has requested a special dinner. I didn't have the required items to make the meal (homemade pizza) so I had to run to the store. I opted to go early to avoid the after church crowds and get home before it got hot. So I loaded the kids up, headed out.. and the car starts acting up.. joy.. we've had transmission problems out of it off and on since we bought it. This time is worse than the others, which means it's going to cost more to fix it. I felt bad that I had to deliver this joyous news to my dear husband on his birthday of all days.
We'll make it work somehow.. we'll get through it, we always do. I didn't go asking God why this happened, I did get discouraged but I'm not blaming God. I did go find a quiet place, hit my knees and start praying though..It's been a while since I did that. I pray, we all pray, but I was praying in earnest this time. I even apologised for not going to church this morning. I prayed about a lot of things I'm not going to list but I got up and felt better.. more at ease, like a weight had been lifted. I'm not going to worry. God is always in control... He's got this.

Crazy Coupon Lady

We've all seen them.. with their binders and their calculators, they have this money saving thing down to an art! Thanks to the show "Extreme Couponing" more and more people are taking an interest in shopping with coupons. And alas.. even I have succumb to such a thing. I don't have a binder yet, but I do have a coupon for one!

For me its for fun and to save money. At the end of the 2010-2011 school year my husband's hours at work were cut.. no more overtime.. and hardly a normal work week. Our budget was made for his baseline check but we always had more than that. Our budget had always been more of a loose guideline to where our money should go than a real budget. Now... that's it. What's in that budget is what we have.. no more, no less. My sweet husband panicked a little. I told him, we can do this.. the budget makes sure everything gets paid.. we're just going to have to be diligent with what we have. Summer vacations were rethought, birthday parties were canceled and out came the scissors. I started to get excited every Sunday and Wednesday. Sunday for the coupons and Wednesday for the grocery store sale adds. I have *almost* cut our grocery budget in half over the past month. I'm in AWE of the mighty coupon LOL. I watch the coupon show and I used to laugh at the people who had these stock piles of stuff. Now, I am one of those people. I have no need for paper towels or toilet paper ( I have more rolls than I plan to count) Dish soap (I have 12 bottles) shaving cream (4 cans) Laundry detergent (3 BIG bottles) or fabric softener and dryer sheets ( I have enough to last us 3 months) and that's not counting canned goods and cereal. If there is a good sale on something we use and I have a coupon, or 4, I buy it. I go into a store, I have my list and how much those items are and how much my total cost should be at checkout. This is how I shop. That way, before I even leave the house I know how much money I'm going to spend. That has saved us. We still watch it and opt for date night in rather than go out. We've signed the kids up for free bowling all summer.. that as been a BLAST. Through this tough time we have learned more about each other than I think we would have otherwise. It's brought us closer together and I am so thankful for it ^_^ HURRAY FOR COUPONS ^_^

So here we go

I started the "read the Bible in 90 Days" program last week. It's been pretty interesting. My most recent find is.. no matter how much you think your kids whine and complain.. they don't have SQUAT on the Israelites Moses lead out of Egypt! OMG! God did so much for them and all they could do was wail and complain, why did you free us only to bring us into this wilderness to die! I'm tired of eating manna, I'm thirsty! Really?! They are worse than my kids were on a 6 hour road trip to Houston. But when you think about it, we can get that way sometimes. God will get us out of one predicament only for us to forget what he's delivered us from and find something else to whine about. So open your eyes and look around... like really look. You see that TV over there... you see that roof overhead.. that food in your fridge.. Yea God did that. God gave my husband the job he has at the EXACT moment he needed it. He provided a job where I could stay home with our kids. Sometimes we forget he's the great provider that he is.