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Saturday, June 30, 2012

Chore Charts

If you follow me on Pinterest, you may have seen the recent flourish of chore charts. We want to teach our boys responsibility, even at almost 3 and 4.5. We want them to know they are expected to clean up after themselves, as well as help with other chores around the house. I realize that young boys would rather be doing many other things, but we know this is what's best for them in the long run. (Plus it gives this momma a little help around here!)

So I'm on the prowl for a great chore system. I know I could just tell them "do this, or do that" and they should obey. But I'm also for making it fun as well! We've learned that our kids thrive on routine and structure. Whether its telling them that "when the big hand is on the six, its bed time" or that "when the timer goes off, its your brother's turn with the game," they respond well and understand what's expected when there's a visual explanation. I'm no early childhood expert, but I've definitely learned a lot about what makes children (at least my children) tick over the last 4.5 years. So I really think having a list to check off or choosing a task from a bowl would make the kids excited about helping out each day.

Thanks to Pinterest, I found quite a few ideas that have my wheels turning. I'll create my own in Photoshop of course, but we all get our ideas from somewhere. Here are few that peaked my interest....I have included the source link to all of them so if you are interested in them, please check out the blogs that originally posted them.

This one seems the most practical and simple. Easy to follow and we can check off as the boys complete them. 

(source)
This one used some other pieces and were velcro-ed on to a main page for each day. I think that's a little more complicated than I want to deal with..however, I do love that there are images. Our boys can't read so the visual reminder would allow them to understand each task.

 (source)
I think this idea is so cute. Each task is on a clip and you move the completed ones to a different rod, or flip them over. However, it may not be practical for our space. But I'm pondering over it...
(source)
And this last one is really on here because I think its cool...but it would never work in my home. Those ping-pong balls would be all over the house, creating yet one more chore to complete. I have seen this with popsicle sticks in a jar which seems much more practical. 

Hopefully I'll have our new system worked out in the next few days and can share with you. If we go with a paper form, I'll even share the printable so you can try it out yourself. 

Friday, June 29, 2012

Inchbug Giveaway

For all the moms of babies and toddlers our there, this is an amazing giveaway!! Chelsea at Grow is giving away a 4 pack of Inchbug Orbit Labels. I've tried to win these multiple times and it has never happened. I'm still holding on to that dream :)

For those who don't know what they are, they are labels made of stretchy material that you can customize to label a variety of containers. They go around cups, bottles, snack cups, thermoses, etc. They are dishwasher safe and you don't have to worry about them peeling off and leaving sticky residue. These things are genius!! 


So if you want a chance to win, head over to Chelsea's blog and see all the ways you can enter. But don't enter too many times so that I'll have a chance :)



Thursday, June 21, 2012

Speechless


As a mother of all boys, I knew there would be things "boy related" that I would not understand. Like their natural instinct to think its funny to poot, burp, throw bugs on girls, etc. Its crazy how they are just born knowing those things. But what I was not prepared for was a little boy bathroom.

As the title of this post claims, I am speechless when it comes to how disgusting it gets. First off, they never flush. So what little pee does make it into the toilet just sits there until I happen to come in and flush it. But HOW IN THE WORLD does it end up on the floor, the cabinet, inside the bathtub, down the side of the toilet.....I could go on. It blows my mind. I typically clean the bathrooms once a week. But I have to clean their bathroom MULTIPLE times a week in order to prevent a horrible stench from creeping down the hallway.

I don't understand it. I've tried to explain to them over and over and over to take their time. Make sure it all goes into the toilet. Not to play around while going. And to flush. I guess it still has not sunk in. I guess its good that they like to help me clean because I give them rags and make them scrub all around that potty and they seem to think its fun. In a couple of years I'll have three...THREE..little guys in there spraying everything floor to ceiling.

Oh, and have I mentioned that their bathroom also serves as the guest bath??? What better way to practice hospitality and treating your guests as family than by having them bathe in your children's urine as they use the restroom ;)

**I should probably note that I am probably exaggerating on how bad this is. It just FEELS that way to me since I am constantly on my hands and knees scrubbing with Clorox Cleanup.**

Lake Trip - Memorial Weekend

We love that our family has a place at the lake. Its a 3 hour drive for us, so we don't get to go as often as we'd like. But when we do get the chance to go, its always a blast. Lots of fun on the water, some relaxation, and always lots of food. This Memorial Day Weekend we loaded up the car (it seriously looked like we were moving) and made the trip on Friday after work. Of course it took us longer than expected, we had to stop too many times, and each stop lasted way longer than it should have. I guess with 3 kids I should be used to this, but I always seem to forget. But we eventually made it and had 3 full days of fun in the sun. 


Headed out on the boat the first day.
Brooks DESPISED his life jacket!!
Had to take his mind off of it. 

First attempt at fishing...
No luck that time...so we moved on to this....
Brody and Matt tubing...Brody LOVED this.
So it was my turn to try it out with him. I was surprised at how much fun this tube actually was.
Not pictured...My sis Shelley and I rode together, and our little brother was driving the boat. Apparently he had lots of built up aggression towards us that he took out on us on this ride. I thought I was going to die multiple times.
I don't have any photos of day 2. After church, we headed down to the sandbar/beach area. We had packed a lunch and had a beach picnic. We spent the day playing in the water and out on the fast boat and tubes. By the end of the day, we were all pretty exhausted but it was loads of fun!!

On the boat ride back to the house.
Sleeping while sitting up
Carson didn't sleep, of course, so he got to drive.
On Monday we headed out for one more attempt at fishing so we could have a fish fry for lunch before we headed back home. 
2 of my cute boys
Waiting patiently....
And it paid off! They caught one at the same time!
Still examining his fish
Catching one more. The boys caught quite a few fish and were loving it. Looks like we have some pro fishermen on our hands. 
Not a great pic from my phone, but they also loved riding the golf cart around everywhere. 

Hopefully we'll get to head back to the lake again this summer!!

Sunday, June 17, 2012

happy father's day!!

Just a quick post to say Happy Father's Day to Matt, our dads, and all the wonderful men in our lives who are fathers.

Matty, You are an amazing father to our 3 boys. They look forward all day to the moment you walk in the door at night. Thank you for leading them according to the Word and raising them in the fear and admonition of the Lord. I pray that they turn out just like you when they are grown men. They wanted to share some words with you below.....

(I had to guess what Brooksie wanted to say)

To our dad's...thanks for being examples to Matt and our boys. Your grandsons love you dearly and talk about you all the time. We are so blessed to have amazing father's who love and support us, encourage us, and who strive to look like Jesus. 

We hope all the dads (and soon to be dads) out there have a great Father's Day!!