2012 Blue Jeans Week 6

 Welcome!  Hope you have had a good week!  Here is what we have been up to . . .

Sunday:  For Christmas Miss A got the Settlers of Catan Cities and Knights edition.  It has taken us a while to figure it out and play it.  Today Ben and Miss A were determined to figure out how to play it.   Now they just need to teach everyone else :)

Monday:  A Valentine's tradition at our house is the Family Valentine's box.  Remember making a Valentine's box for school for your friends to put your Valentines in?  Well, we do that as a family on the first Monday in February.  Then everyone makes Valentines for each other and we open the box and distribute the cards on the evening of Valentine's Day.  Everyone gets to decorate a side of the box.  Miss O got to decorate the top this year.  It is a tradition my kids love.

Tuesday:  Snapshot from our lives--our job chart.  This is probably one of the most important pieces of paper in the house.  I had tried several different approaches to dinner dishes and kitchen helping over the years, but 2 years ago we visited my sister-in-law, and she had a system like this--one kid, and one kid only, was in charge of all the dishes for that day--empty dishwasher, set table, clear table, wipe it, sweep floor, and load dirty dishes.  I thought it was a great idea, then there is only one kid in the kitchen, and usually fights about who is supposed to do what do not break out when only one child is responsible and one person in a room.  It took a while for my kids to be converted.  They didn't like having do to everything for the whole day, but I loved no one fighting and complaining about someone else not getting their stuff done so someone else can do their job :)  The care and feeding of our chickens are separate from the dishes.  I have another chart for Saturday house cleaning jobs.  I just printed off the chart and put it in a page protector so we can write and erase it with dry erase markers.

Wednesday:  In case you didn't know, we are getting a new power line installed down our country road.  It has been a mess.  Today I had 7 trucks and about a dozen guys in my front yard trying to get this huge new poll ready to go in the ground.  So glad when this will be over with!

Thursday:  A relaxing evening with nothing scheduled, so we watched  Planet Earth--or at least Ben and Mr J took turns watching as they took turns playing Tiny Towers on Ben's i-touch :)  Boys and their toys.

Friday:  Usually for Valentine's Day at school my kids don't get to make their own boxes--the teacher will have the whole class make the same type of box/bag thing in class, so Mr J and I were excited when his teacher sent home the note that he was supposed to make his own--any way he wanted.  Miss A was such a nice sister and helped him find this cool monster design in an old Family Fun magazine (yes, I keep all my old issues) and they made it together today.

Saturday:  Mr J got his class Valentine's made today.  We went with really traditional ones this year--red and white doilies with another heart glued on top with a mini-candy bar glued on that.  Of course, we had to all try the candy bars to make sure they were good :) 

Thanks for visiting and hope you all have a great Valentine's Day this week!  Share the love!

Feeling ancient

So on Sunday Mr J had to bring the story of where we got his name and bring a family picture.  Well, Mr J was named after his great, great, great, great, great grandfather who was born in 1783.  I wrote this on a paper with a family picture and had it ready for Mr J to take to church.  Ben took all 3 girls earlier with him, so it was just Mr J and me in the car heading to church. 
J asked me "Mom, did you know this grandpa?" (meaning his 5 times great grandpa)

"No, he was born a long time before me." 

"Is he dead mom?" 

"Yes, he died a long time ago too."

"So, Mom, were you born after him?"

"Yes,"

"So when were you born, Mom, 17. . .? (and his voice trails off)

I about ran off the road.

"No, J, I was born in the 1970's not the 1700's"

Talk about feeling ancient.

2012 Blue Jeans Week 5

I love my approach to documenting our lives.  I try to take a picture a day--of normal things, but as a friend pointed out this week, the snapshots usually don't show how busy or crazy things are.  I don't have photos of my kids screaming at each other or me screaming at my kids :)  I don't have pictures of the kids and Ben racing out the door 5 minutes late in the morning, or rushing to get dinner eaten before we run out the door for some other thing.  Maybe that is a good thing :)  I want to remember my days and the little things that made them special and make me happy--me yelling or my kids fighting really don't make me happy, but that does happen, and probably more than it should, but it is important to remember the smiles and the little things.  So, I take pictures of things that will help me remember the smiles, the little things, and what makes me happy.  Enjoy!

Sunday:  We celebrate our state's birthday every year with a sunflower cake.  This year we were rushed and frosting it didn't go as well as planned :), but it still tasted good!  More details if you want on this post.

Monday:  We have had spring weather in January, and today Ben and Mr J made a train track with the sidewalk chalk to run his trains outside

Tuesday:  Laundry day.  It has been my firm tradition since we got married that I only do laundry once a week--Tuesdays are my laundry days.  If you want anything cleaned any other day of the week, you are more than welcome to do it yourself ;)  my laundry mat is only open on Tuesdays.

Wednesday:  Spelling words are a part of life right now.  We try to come up with fun ways to study them.  Spelling them with letter magnets on the fridge is something Mr J likes a lot.  Anything that makes spelling more fun is worth it.

Thursday:  So I have this yoga DVD that I never use.  The kids found it and wanted to try it out.  I think they laughed more than anything.

Friday:  We got some rain, and Mr J went out in it to get the mail. 

Saturday:  Miss E has this fascination with cleaning out my fridge and organizing it.  I have no problem with her doing it, but she does get kind of cold, so she wore her gloves and winter hat to clean it out and organize today. 

Hope you have a good week and can capture the moments of happiness in your lives!

2012 Blue Jeans Week 4

I am really beginning to think that winter might have skipped us this year?  We have had a good week, and hope yours has been good too!

Sunday:  We get home from church around 1, have lunch, and then I always take a nap.  It is just programed into my system.  Sunday afternoon nap-necessity for me  :)  Now my kids know this, and sometimes they catch me at a weak moment, like today just as I was falling asleep Mr J asked, "Mom, can I build a train track in your room?"  "Huh?  Yeah, just don't wake me up."  Results from my weak moment above.  I am really glad those tracks are wooden because if they were plastic with as much as they get stepped on we wouldn't have a track left!

Monday:  She is official and legal--if  I am in the front seat :)  She is learning quick!

Tuesday:  Piano lessons night--we have a 2 hour block of lessons for 4 kiddos.  Our teacher gives them at a local church, and the kids know to bring their books as they wait for their turn in the church lobby.

Wednesday:  The kids get out 30 minutes early on Wednesdays for teacher meetings, and since the weather has been so nice, we have been enjoying the park after school on Wednesdays.  Today the kids wanted to roll down the hill.  I happily watched from below and took pictures :)

Thursday:  Free family bingo night at school.  Our kids' elementary does a free family bingo night each year.  They buy books for the kids' prizes and have themed baskets as prizes for the adults.  They have an optional chili dinner for $1.  It is a great, fun family night out.  We love our schools!

Friday:  Tonight we went to the big city to see our friend in his high schools' winter play.  It was Thoroughly Modern Millie, and the kids loved it.  An evening at the theater is always fun.

Saturday:  Miss A had a church volleyball tournament today in the big city.  It was a long day full of volleyball.  They started at 8:30 a.m. and didn't finish until about 3:30 p.m.  They came in 2nd place!  Yeah!  

Wishing you all a great week ahead!!

Cooking Tip #398

As I have mentioned before I am a "so easy and simple" cook, and I have learned a lot in the 16+ years I have been married and cooking, yet sadly I still have a lot to learn.  New lesson learned this Sunday. . .

Do not frost a warm cake--only frost a completely cooled cake

Cooking tip:  slightly warm does not equal completely cool

Sunday was Kansas Day, and we celebrate it at our house.  We have the tradition of making a sunflower cake on Kansas Day.

Some years it looks better than others :) (circa 2005)

So yesterday for various reasons that I won't bore you with we didn't get the cake made and out of the oven until almost 7 p.m.  We have scriptures, prayers, and the kids go to bed at 8, so there was no way the cake would be cool by 8.  The kids were not negotiable on having the cake tomorrow.  Sunday was Kansas Day, not Monday, so I said, okay, it is mostly cooled, just slightly warm, it shouldn't matter that much should it?  Um, yes it does matter.  My kids were standing, watching, and saying, "oh, dear Mom," but then followed it with, "don't worry Mom it will still taste good," as they piped on the flower and put all the chocolate chips on it.  I love my kids.  So at 8 p.m. we enjoyed a piece of slightly warm, badly frosted Kansas Sunflower cake, and everyone went to bed happy with visions of sunflower seeds dancing in their heads.

You are never alone

Monday evenings are family nights at our house.  We get together, sing songs, plan the week, eat treats, and have a (hopefully) spiritually uplifting lesson.  This last Monday Ben was in charge of the lesson.  He reviewed a talk by President Thomas S. Monson on standing alone, and how sometimes we may be standing alone to choose the right.  We talked about different times when the kids might have to stand alone being the only one who doesn't smoke/drink/make fun of others, etc.  Then we asked, "But are we ever really alone?"  "No," the kids said. 
"Who is always with us and watching over us?" 
"God, our Heavenly Father, is always with us and watching over us," they said, 

"And Santa" said Mr J, "he is always watching you." 

Complete silence, and then everyone started laughing, "well, he is always watching," he said.

Yes, I am teaching my kids correct principles, and isn't it comforting to know that you are never alone because your Heavenly Father and Santa are always watching? 

2012 Blue Jeans Week 3

Hope you have all had a wonderful week.  Here is what we have been up to. . .

Sunday:  Our family really enjoys playing games.  Sunday evening we were playing Qwirkle--a shape/color matching type game that we all enjoy.

Monday:  No school today, and the weather was nice and warm but very windy.  Miss E and Mr J tried to fly a kite, but the wind was so strong it broke the string off--darn!

Tuesday:  Mr J was home sick today from school--no fun, but luckily it was a short duration stomach flu, and so far no one else has gotten it, which is something to be very grateful for in a house with 4 kids!

Wednesday:  My poor front yard--our water meter sprung a small leak, and they came to replace it and fix it today, but had to dig a huge, huge hole, so we know we will be planting new grass this spring after they level it :)

Thursday:  Once a month during the school year I get together with some dear friends, and we go out to eat and shop to different little towns near where we live --GLO (girls lunch out).  This is so fun and such a life saver for me.  What would we do without friends?  Sure love these ladies!

Friday:  Snapshot of our life--piano bags--all 4 of my kids take piano lessons--Miss A is going on 8 years, Miss O 6 years, Miss E 4 years, and Mr J is just finishing his first year of lessons, so piano bags are a big part of our everyday lives--practice x 4 in our house each day.

Saturday:  I am not and have never been a real "girly-girl," just not my thing, and my 3 girls have never really been into the princess "girly-girl" stuff either, but every once in a while it is fun to do their nails, and Saturday afternoon we had nothing else going on, so we broke out the nail polish and did toes and nails. 

Hope your next week is a good one!