I just saved over $3,000. You're welcome Michael Neal.

Mike just went back to work today after a few days off. He usually takes 3 or 4 days off during the first week of the month to spend time with the kids and catch his breath after the last week of the month. So, While he was home I took advantage of the situation, I had him watch the kids and I packed up a few things that we don't use everyday, did some deep cleaning, cleaned out the garage, and hauled a bunch of stuff to Goodwill. It felt good. Real good. I love purging. It makes me happy.

I feel like we are making progress in Brent's allergy situation. I suppose it's good that we are figuring it out, But it also sucks because we are finding that he is not just allergic to peanuts. The list keeps growing. We will be headed to an allergist specialist in the next week or so. We are up to a list of at least 3 really serious "like he could stop breathing if he comes in contact with" Allergies. And a page full of allergies that will give him rashes and hives, and we haven't even ventured into sensitivities yet.

The house is coming along! We are looking at about 45 days until completion! They started drywall yesterday, that should take about 5 days or so to tape, mud, smooth and all that stuff, and then the fun stuff will start to go in!~ Floors, cabinets, backsplash, tiles, Etc. I think I am almost as excited to see all this stuff go in as I am to move in!

I have been searching for things for the kids rooms and the living room, On a budget... and I think it's starting to coming together. I need opinions please... Here is what I am thinking for the living room, Do you think it goes together? Or if there is something you think needs to go in that room will you send me a link? Pretty please with sugar on top?

I'm thinking this rug in either the tan or the blue. I'm leaning towards blue... But its going to depend on the wall color and/or if its too much tan or too much blue. It's all about balance baby... Finding my zen. My happy place.

These for the window treatments.

This is the paint selection. It's the Restoration Hardware Silver sage collection. Surprisingly, their paint is rather reasonably priced. I am thinking the middle shade, But it will depend on the lighting in the house, That will be a game time decision.

This tucked in the corner by the fireplace. With a soft little throw blanket. Cozy right? Everyone needs a recliner, and this is a recliner I can live with.  

 

                                        A few of these...

                                                        

And this will be the crowning jewel butted up right behind the sofa.

 Its going to be a labor of love to find the stuff the make this a reality, But I am determined. 

This is the sofa and loveseat. {I am going to wait until we get our tax return to buy the leather ones I want. But I really love these. And have lusted after them for quite some time... Who knows maybe I won't want the leather ones come April or so}, And Mike gets his wish to sit on cloth not leather during this football season.} And I got a ridiculous steal of a deal on it.

Are you ready for this??... Retail on the couch alone is $1,800. The loveseat is $1,700.

I paid $250 each. $500 for the set. That's a big fat savings. Here's the story.

I was stalking craigslist for a dresser for the girls, And just for the heck of it I typed in Pottery Barn. And these couches came up. The ad had been up for an hour and I thought to myself, I have to call. Mike was at the pool with the kids and I didn't have time to wait for him to give me the green light, So I basically just thought, Well, I will send her an email and then ask Mike. If he says no, we just won't go look at it. Well, I sent an email and then I waited about 5 seconds and then texted the lady. I couldn't take the chance of loosing these bad boys, so I had to be aggressive. I know what you're thinking, But hold that thought.... Does that really surprise you... Uh, Have we met? My nickname isn't "Badger" For no reason. I earned that. I didn't care if this lady thought I was a crazy stalker for emailing, texting, and calling her, all within 10 minutes... I had some couches to buy before anyone else got to them. So, We went last night and picked them up. Well, actually the lady was so so sweet, She had a trailer and a truck, so she followed us and dropped them off. No extra gas fee or anything. Well, When I went in to look at them I saw them, and thought to myself... THESE LOOK NOTHING LIKE THE PICTURE!!!!! They are a hot mess! They literally looked like the pictures above, Clean, white, and crisp on the craigslist ad. I walked in and took a look at them and they were covered in a wrinkly faded ugly khaki-ish green-ish slipcover. I was devastated. And then she said, "I took the pictures without the slipcovers on it." So we peeled back the slip covers and you know know what I saw... Those white, crisp, clean couches. With springy soft cozy fluffy pillows and cushions. No pets, and no smoking!!!!!! They are only a few months old, And the gal decided that she wanted leather instead and just needed someone to take them off her hands that day, because she was moving the next day. That's why they were priced so low. But they did need a new slipcover. I knew that the pottery barn replacement slip covers are ridiculously over priced, {$840 for the sofa slipcover & $650 for the loveseat cover.} But I figured that I could take apart the old ones using it as a pattern and make some new ones. I knew it was going to be a huge project, But I didn't care. I couldn't pass this deal up. So we get home, and it sank in... I was dreading the thought of spending HOURS and HOURS making a new slipcover for those. So much so that I got desperate and it did seriously cross my mind to pay the pottery barn price and get new ones. But that just wasn't logical and would absolutely dismiss the fact that I was doing this in an frugal but glamorous way. So, I had determined that I would make them. Well, I still didn't want to commit to that. Even though I knew it was really my only option to keep this frugal. So I started Google-ing like a mad woman and blog stalking design blogs. And shut the front door, do you know what I came across... THIS SAVED MY LIFE!!! Okay, okay, lets not be dramatic, But it did save me about 50 hours of remaking these slip covers... 

IKEAS ektorp slip cover fits the pottery barn basics sofa! 

(Now, as a side note, If you're wondering why I didn't just buy the ikea sofa... I wouldn't have bought the Ikea ektorp sofa because even though it may be a great deal, and look pretty dang close to the Pottery Barn one, It is nowhere close to as
comfortable or of the quality that the Mitchel Gold from PB is.)

The price from Ikea... Drum roll please... $39 for the loveseat cover and $49 for the sofa slipcover. Compared to Pottery Barns $840 and $650. BIG DIFFERENCE!

So, Sarah, And I are taking a trip to Orlando on Saturday and we will be making a stop at Ikea to pick up my new inexpensive slipcovers. So, to make a long story even longer... I got some extremely comfortable very very well built basically brand new Pottery Barn couches for dirt cheap. And I am every bit as happy with them as I would have been buying them brand spanking new and carrying them out of the pottery barn store. Actually, no, that's not true. I am happier... WAY happier because I saved over $3,000. Remember this post? Well, This was a win win... Mike got craigslist prices, and I got pottery Barn. Complete with comfort, quality, and you know, That little tag that says, Pottery Barn. Let's be honest, That little tag takes me to my happy place:) And so does keeping money in the bank account.

 Man alive, My life is chaos right now. We have a lot on our plate right now.
The good news is... IT IS SEPTEMBER!!! I can officially say we are moving NEXT MONTH!!!!

 The property management wants to start showing the townhouse this week. Awesome, Because keeping a house clean 24/7 with 4 kids under 5 years old is a walk in the park. Not to mention cleaning the carpets and painting over Kynzi's artwork so that when the realtor walks in she doesn't automatically say, WOAH! They are SO not getting their deposit back! So, I am frantically trying to do damage repair and control.

Monday Brent got ahold of one of the kids peanut protein bars and within seconds was COVERED in hives, and he was pulling at his tongue and scratching his face and neck, and his face was bright red. So after 2 HUGE doses of Benadryl the situation was under control. So we are awaiting the allergy test results. I am terrified of the results. I already know what's coming. This kid is allergic to everything already. I don't know how I am going to handle a full blown peanut allergy on top of everything else. And in addition to that lovely news, he has croup again. We were 5 seconds from taking him to the emergency room again tonight. He's doing a bit better but is still having some trouble breathing and so I am sure I will get no sleep tonight and I'll be up every two seconds to check on him.

Preschool and kindergarten have ruined my life. The two little kids don't get naps because we are in the car, out the car, in the car, out the car, So they are GRUMPY ALL DAY. I have NO time, and I get NOTHING accomplished. All I do is drive, drop kids off, pick kids up, and wait in carpool lines. And the school is 5 minutes away! At the new house, They are building a school on our street, So that will be so fantastic! However, It won't be done until the 2014 school year, So until then the kids are being bussed to a school that is 15 MILES from our house, Because they are so overcrowded. We won't let Blake ride the bus, and I certainly am not driving that drive, because it has totally made my life a living nightmare and its only 5 miles away right now! I can only imagine how unproductive my life would be then. So we have been faced with making a choice between, A) Home school. I mean, Its only kindergarten, surely I could do it. B) Home school / Have a tutor come in once or twice a week. C) Private school that costs a fortune. D) drive to China. or rather, Switzerland... literally. We haven't made a decision, and to be honest, I am kind of just hoping it magically all works out somehow... Sigh... Wishful thinking.

 While we are on the subject... Blake hates school, I think he is starting to warm up to it, But it's a fight every morning to get him to go. (He still wants to be in Miss Michelle's class.) LaLa on the other hand loves school and does so so well. She brought home her packet that was supposed to take the whole week... Yeah, She brought it home on Tuesday... Complete. Blake used to bring those packets home on the weekends because he never finished them in class. Boys are SO different than girls.

 I am back on the bandwagon... I have to get my eating under control. I have been eating my stress. And it is taking a toll. Eat crap, feel like crap. True story. I have been doing good for the last week, No slip ups, Not even a lick of the frosting beater! That's will power. Now, I wasn't doing too bad before, I just have an addiction to red vines and cinnamon rolls. Okay, maybe it was that bad. (And yes, I was eating that in the car with my fingers because all I do is drive and pick up and drop off kids at random times of the day. And yes, that is a batman in the cup holder, And no I haven't given up zipfizz yet.)

 Is this baby's hair insane or what? It is becoming a battle to get her to keep anything in it these days, So she looks like a crazy little lion running around with this mane of hers.

 I bit the bullet and made a decision for the girls bedrooms. I couldn't love it more. I am so excited to get their room put together.

 The house is coming along. All the plumbing and electrical are in, and inspections are passed, and they will start drywall Monday. This week was a nightmare trying to get the stove and the cabinets right. First they sent me a picture that didn't even remotely resemble our kitchen. And it took about 15 e mails to get it right. And then I was sent a picture to confirm our a range. Well, Slight problemo... They had sent me a picture of a range top for the kitchen. Uh.... I might need an oven. Then the bathroom cabinets were a headache... Did you know that they make cabinets for the bathroom without drawers? Um, I had never seen that before, and so I didn't know that to have drawers in your master bathroom vanities, it was an upgrade... lesson learned. ASK DUMB QUESTIONS (That you don't even think to ask or know to ask) When you build a house.

This was this afternoon. In Florida, They don't have to put insulation in-between your interior walls. (Weird right?) So our awesome contractor told us he'd let us in to do it ourselves so we didn't have to pay for it. We did it for sound proofing reasons. Our 4 kids are loud! So, Michael and I went up after he got off work and went and put it in... In 92 degree weather. upstairs in a house that has no fans or ac. It was beyond hot and humid. Who in the heck came to Florida before air conditioning was invented and said, Hey, This is a nice place to live? Idiots. That's who. Anywho, I didn't mind so much, I love stuff like this... It's in my Mexican blood! Mike however, wasn't as thrilled to do it. But he did it! And we did it without someone (Mike) Shooting someone (Me) For micromanaging and being Obsessive compulsive!~ WINNING!

Any how, I am stressed to maximum capacity. However, I am so extremely grateful for our blessings. I am so grateful that we have medicine to help Brent fight the things that poison his body. I am so grateful he is in our lives. His smile and laugh brings so much joy to my heart. I am grateful that all of my children are healthy and that they are growing and progressing. Kynzi's speech has come so so far in the last few weeks. It truly is a tender mercy from the Lord. He is so mindful of us. And he does hear our prayers. And he does answer them. Not always in the way we want and not always in the time that we want. But he does answer them and his ways are higher than ours. He knows what he's doing. I am so grateful that we have the gospel of Jesus Christ and that we have that blessing of peace and security in our lives. I am beyond grateful for the love of my life that I get to share these experiences with. I love Michael more than I could ever say. I really do think that he is as close to perfect as they come. Our life is nowhere close to perfect, and it certainly isn't as easy as we would sometimes like it to be, But as imperfect and as hard as it is, It is still wonderful. There is joy in the journey... It's just sometimes a little bit hidden and we have to look for it before we can find it.

Tonight I literally wanted to scream and cry at the same time. My house was disastrous, I didnt make dinner, I am way behind on everything I needed to accomplish in the day, and Mike left for scouts. In the middle of the bewitching hour. Kynzi and Brent did not get naps today and were screaming in surround sound, And then Brent puked a little in his high chair. Not so bad, What's a little more chaos in the midst of 4 tired hungry needy kids. I think to myself, If I can just get two of them down for bed, I can make it... As I am changing his diaper he projectile vomits all over himself, and the white carpet. Add to that the major diaper rash he has that I am trying to clean off his poor raw red bum, while he's vomiting. I literally just wanted to scream, cry, and walk up to my room, close the door, and disappear. Pretend it wasn't my life. Well, Unfortunately that wasn't an option. Long story short, it's been a long rough night for me, and I am in a pretty terrible mood. So, I decided to drown my sorrows in some really delicious cookies. Yes, I am an emotional eater. But I only ate one, So I am an emotional eater with self control. Okay, actually I have no self control these things are just really really sweet and one will do the trick. And it worked, I feel better already. 

I found them here.

Meltaways

1 C. butter

¾ C. cornstarch

¾ C. powdered sugar

1 C. flour

1 recipe Cream Cheese Frosting (see below)

In a medium bowl, cream butter until fluffy.  Add cornstarch & sugar and blend well.  Beat in flour until thoroughly mixed.  Drop by small teaspoons onto baking sheet & flatten out with the bottom of a class. (Dip glass in powdered sugar to prevent sticking).  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  Cool on wire rack & frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (3oz.) package cream cheese, softened

1 C. powdered sugar

½ t. vanilla

Mix all ingredients together.  Color with food coloring if desired.

 Is this kid too much or what? She is going to be the one to keep us on our toes. 

 Blake started kindergarten yesterday. He was so happy. The kid was ready to go back to school the day it got out. He said he likes his class, But he said he liked Miss Michelle's class better. {This was his pre school teacher, and they were best friends} I think he maybe just needs some time.{Which unfortunately he wont have at this school.} His teacher, Mrs. Colclough {cole-cleff} is very nice. And she seems to be very patient and very good with the kids. I don't know if this is normal, or if I'm just not allowing myself to get attached because I know we're moving, But I am just not feeling this school. I know people would die to have their kids attend Chets Creek, But I am just not really feeling it. It's huge,  There are more than 20 kids in Blakes class with one teacher. It just seems like it would be impossible for my kids to form a relationship with their teachers, and I feel like if they have a good relationship with their teachers they will thrive in their learning environment. I don't know, I just feel like something is missing and I don't know what it is. I just don't feel like it's where he belongs. Again, Maybe that's just because I know we are leaving in a couple of months, or maybe I am just deep down a homeschooling hippy and I don't know it. I'm hoping that wherever he ends up when we move, I will be a bit more excited and have a peace come over me knowing that he is where he will do best. I don't feel that way where he is now.

LaLa starts VPK next Monday. She is so ready to go and the extra week is practically killing her. 

But she also had a big day yesterday. She got her first violin. {I had one for her, But it's still too big. She will have to grow into that one} So we went to the violin shop and had her fitted for the right size. Look how teeny hers is... I felt like I was going to break it while I was tuning it with those teeny tiny pegs, In fact it was hard to get my fat little fingers around one without bumping the others.

 It made my heart so happy that she wants to play. And I love that we have something to do together that is just our special mama and lala time.  

 She is so eager to learn. And won't stop pestering me about teaching her. I'm okay with that! She has a fantastic grasp of how to hold it, and is very insistent that I show her how to hold it correctly, And she is really phenomenal at playing just the string I tell her to play. Most kids regardless of age, It takes a while for them to figure out the angle that they need to hold their bow at in order to play just one string not two at a time. And no squeaks! Hallelujah. My mother was a saint for listening to me practice those first few years. Yikes! The violin is not like a piano, or something else that if you strike a key, that's the note it makes, on the violin, If your finger is off by a tenth of a millimeter, it will make it sound like a cat is dying. It took me a good bit to figure out how to make that beautiful instrument sound -not-so-dying-cat-like.

I have taught violin for years, Many many moons ago, But I have never taught a child who cant read. I've never taught a kid under 7, And they already knew how to read music, making my job easy. So I was really struggling how to go about this. I looked on a few teacher discussion boards, and of course everyone has different opinions, But what seemed to be the majority vote for kids this young, was Suzuki.

 I. HATE. SUZUKI. Like, with a passion. It teaches children to play like robots. They learn to play precise, exact, and like little bow-slinging-fast-finger-moving-robot-zombies. There is no feeling or emotion. Don't get me wrong, Those suzuki taught kids have impeccable timing, And can sight read like a hawk. But if you want a beautiful musical number that will speak to our soul, Those kids can't give it to you. Obviously there are some exceptions, and I do like a few of their books, But I do not like the Suzuki method. So, I was basically up a creek and on my own to figure out how to go about teaching her. So upon some searching I came across this.

This was the best method I have come across. Even for kids who can read, But can't read music just yet. I did not want to teach her to play by ear because I know far too many people who started playing an instrument by ear, and never learned to read or rely on reading music and as a result have put limitations on themselves. But when you put a kid who can play by ear, and read music, watch out world. Call me crazy, That's alright. I'm excited about all of the possibilities that are opening up with them getting a little bigger. I can't wait to start the kids in piano lessons, and am so thrilled with the thought of them learning new skills and finding out what talents they have been blessed with, and then helping them develop those talents and interests. {Blake told me today he wants to play the tuba. LOL. Where are my ear plugs? Perhaps I can persuade him to play the cello.}

Meal planning.

So hopefully this will help me keep my sanity. Two weeks of meals. Planned and groceries bought. I've had a lot of people ask me if I really feed my family of 6 for $100 a week, Organically and naturally. Yes, I do. And this is how I do it. I make almost everything from scratch. And when we move to the new house, I am starting a huge garden with the help of our sweet friend Miss Gail. Who is a horticulturalist. Hopefully she can turn this brown thumb into a green thumb.



 How freaking cute are these cards... I think I need to print some out!

Monday: B- Whole wheat Banana Flax muffins.
                L-Grilled Chicken Breast Chunks.
                    Fren-swan keen rice. {Blake named it. It's homemade quinoa and brown rice pilaf}
                    Homemade nilla wafers.
                    Grapes & Watermelon
                    purple carrots and raw broccoli. {Yes, my kids eat raw broccoli.}
                D-Salsa Chicken black beans and corn

Tuesday: B-Oatmeal
                L- Chicken chili and tortilla chips
                     Corn {frozen}
                      avocado
                      dinosaur egg pluot
                D- Spaghetti and french bread

Wednesday: B-Whole wheat banana pancakes
                    L-Chicken breast strips
                        Homemade bread sticks  {I tweaked this recipe. 1 tea. salt. 1/2 bread flour 1/2 WW}
                        Yogurt
                        cucumbers & carrots with greek yogurt ranch
                     D- Alfredo bake with Canadian bacon and mushrooms with peas and bread sticks
Thursday: B- Zucchini carrot bars
                  L-Turkey
                     Cheese
                     rolls
                     pineapple
                     tomatoes and carrots with GY ranch
                  D- homemade Hawaiian pizza {Pineapple and canadian bacon}
Friday: B-waffles and fruit
             L-wheat doughnuts
                 strawberries
                 mini banana
                 almonds {Blake calls them seeds}
             D- Chicken gravy and rice
Saturday: Pancake muffins
                Homemade chick fil a nuggets roasted tri colored potatoes and fruit
                Chicken Brodies
Sunday: B-Cinnamon Rolls
              L- almond butter and jelly sandwich
              D- Nanas house


Monday: B-cinnamon toast and dinosaur pluots
                L- nanas Whole wheat focaccia bread
                 sugar snap peas
                 almonds
                  homemade nilla wafers
                  Kiwis and black grapes
                D-Chicken divan
Tuesday- B-Waffles
                L- Almond butter and honey sandwich
                strawberries
                raw broccoli
                tri colored carrots and GY ranch
                Homemade cheeze its
               D- Teriyaki chicken and rice

Wednesday- B-doughnuts
                     L-Grilled chicken breast chunks
                     fren-swan keen rice
                     fresh spinach {You'll be surprised at what your kids will eat if you just give it to them}
                     Orange
                     D- Hobo packets

Thursday- B-Waffles
                  L- Canadian bacon circles
                       homemade nilla wafers
                       cucumbers and GY ranch
                       Blackberries
                       roasted potatoes
                   D- Tacos

Friday-B- Cinnamon rolls
            L- mini pizzas 
              Almonds
              sweet peas
              yogurt
              grapes & apples
            D-Skillet lasagna

Saturday- B-Pancakes
                 L-  Bread sticks and red sauce
                      kiwi
                      Blakcberries
                      Broccoli
                 D- Hot ham sandwiches

Sunday - B- Oatmeal
               L-pizza
               D- Nanas house


 The Grocery list and the budget.

This is minus the pantry items. So keep that in mind. {I usually buy three or four pantry items in a trip. This week was brown rice, almonds, vinegar and baking soda} I Always use at least 1/2 Whole wheat flour in everything. If not 100%. And I grind it myself and buy it from the cannery. And All meat and produce and dairy is organic. Our Costco has a FANTASTIC selection of organic, and so does my Publix. I only shop at Costco target and publix.

Cream cheese -$ 1.89
Almond butter-$5.99
almonds-$10.89 (3 pounds)
bananas-$1.39 {I lied, I do not buy organic bananas}
Organic Chicken Breasts-$22.10
Black Grapes-$7.99
watermelon-$5.99
avocados-$5.99
english cucumbers-$3.79
Canadian bacon-$10.99
Cheese-$4.99
Rice milk-$13.99 {Its like 12 cartons}
Spinach-$4.49
strawberries-$3.99
kiwi-$6.99
pluots-$6.99
yogurt-$7.89
Veggie tray-$6.90 {tomatoes, carrots, broccoli and sugar snap peas, It was cheaper to buy it this way than it was to buy an individual package of all those things}
Greek yogurt-$4.79
black beans-$1.89 {dry}
tortilla chips-$5.29
zucchini-$3.24
Brown rice-$9.39 {6 pounds}
Potatoes-$6.99 {yellow purple and red mix}


Total=$157.84
             
This is for two weeks. And because I wash my fruit and veggies with the vinegar, {The ones that can be, Obviously I dont do bananas and watermelon} they do last this long. And because I make a lot of our bread rolls crackers,  sauces and such, I can feed this big ole family of ours for $100 or so per week. There is still a bit left in the budget just in case I forgot something, or in case I find a killer BOGO sale, I have a little cushion to stock up. Hope it helps!
                    

This is what I just finished reading. 

It was a quick, easy read. Which I really like because I don't have the attention span for longer books. 

I think you should read it, Not necessarily to follow exactly what she did, But to get ideas that can benefit your family.

Here's what I liked and a few Ideas that have been inspired by the book and some thoughts and realizations that occurred to me.

{Quotes from the book are in blue}

 {My thoughts are in purple}

 Instead of communicating "I love you, so let me make life easy for you,"  I decided that my message needed to be something more along these lines "I love you. I believe in you. I know what you're capable of. I'm going to make you work.

Kids need to know how to work. Plain and simple. And this generation, {mine} is lazy. And the next generation is bound to be even worse if something drastic doesn't change. I will not be part of that problem. My children will NOT be part of that problem.There are a few who learned to work, and who are hard workers. But the mentality that the world teaches is that of lazieness and taking the easiest road and only doing a job half way. 

Pardon my french, but I grew up knowing that if you half-assed {ass isn't a bad word, it's in the bible

- The gospel according to my grandpa} a job you were in deep doo doo trouble. And you were going to make up for your lack of effort by doing twice the work you were assigned in the first place.

Sadly the majority of this generation is lazy and expects a free ride. They think that they are owed something in life. That they are entitled to everything. 

They see privileges as rights. 

Their ideas of "necessities" are ridiculous. 

 I was part of that problem. The outrageous ideas of needs vs. wants. And I expected that my parents would provide whatever I thought I "needed"

 In truth, however, my real responsibility as their mother is to teach, not to tackle tasks for them.

   

I am a mama bear. And I will protect my kids with my life. And sometimes it means that I make life TOO easy for them. Now don't get me wrong, I know that my kids are still very young, But there are things that I need to make them do to help them get used to getting out of their comfort zone. If I do things for them now because they think they are hard or they are embarrassed or scared to do, That is going to set the precedence for the rest of their lives. If they grow up with mom bailing them out, then when it is time for them to branch out and spread their wings and I try to start teaching them to do things on their own that they think are hard or out of their comfort zone, it's going to be hard to break the habit of mom bailing them out.

I can see myself flirting with the very dangerous line of "helping Vs. Hurting"

It will be easier for me to do it for them, Or it will be hard to watch them struggle to learn new skills, And it will be hard to know when to step in and when to let them swallow a little water and keep on swimming. 

My friend Laruen shared her strategy, which we'll be implementing. A mother of three, she decided to incentivize her teenage girls by putting a jar filled with thirty one dollar bills in their rooms at the start of a month. each day she checks to see it the beds are made and the stuff is put away. If rooms don't pass inspection, she takes a dollar out of the jar. At the end of the month, the girls get to keep whatever cashola is left in the jar.

We will be implementing this one. Maybe not with dollars, maybe quarters or candy until they are bigger. But it will serve as their allowance and a few other chores will need to also be carried out in order to ear the goods.

When I step in, fix problems, and do those little household chores (or homework!), I send the message that they can't do it themselves. and if they can't do the small  things, how will they ever attempt the big things?

I had never thought of it that way but it's so true. Prime example, I always put Blakes shoes on for him, just because it's faster. Now he expects me to do it, and tells me he "can't" I mean, c'mon kid, Your two year old sister can put on her own shoes. Surely you can do it, You just think you don't have to because I have enabled you for so long. 

"Parents are constanly telling their children how special and talented they are. This gives the, an inflated view of their specialness compared to other human beings. Instead of feeling good about themselves, they feel better than everyone else. 

This one made me sick to my stomach. How do you make your kids confident and not cocky? 

We have very confident children. Mike and I are both confident people. I don't think cocky, but the confidence that comes from knowing ones self worth and having a testimony of who we are and in whose image we are created... How do you explain that to a 5 year old? We have a LOT of work ahead of us with this one. I tell at least one kid everyday not to compare themselves to others. 

She mentions it briefly in the book, But these are my thoughts, This whole "everyone is a winner and everyone gets a trophy is CRAP." Go ahead. Try to argue it with me,  I dare you.  If everyone is a winner, Where is the drive to do better? Where is the room for improvement? Where is the motivation to work harder. You can't have the sweet without the bitter. Kids need to know that there are winners and losers in life. If you lose, You work harder and smarter. You learn from the lesson and You try again. You don't ever give up. EVER. 

A child will jump only as high as the bar is set. But he will jump. He needs the bar to be set until the day he can do that for himself too. 

Little known fact... I pole vaulted in high school. I remember the first time coach Bolken set the bar at 7 feet, {It seems so small, But it was insurmountable to me at the time} I tried over and over and over, I knocked the bar down every try every day for a week. Until finally I did it, And you know what happened after that... The coach moved it up an inch, And I didn't clear it the first time, But I did the second time. I never would have tried it, I needed someone there to tell me I could. I needed someone to literally and figuratively set the bar high.

My children will know what is expected of them. And the bar will be high.

Any how, It's a great book and you should give it a shot. It has some great ideas that I'm sure more will stem from.

 This is what happens when I skip a week of blogging. We get a massively long post about everything under the sun.  My life is a mixture of chaos and boredom right now. I've been laying in my bed or in the rocking chair for the last week. I finally broke down and went to the Dr. and got some antibiotics. I really didn't want to spend another $100 on the Dr. and prescriptions after our massive dentist spending month, but after I could hardly stand up I figured I should go.
LaLas teeth were way worse than Blakes. She had one crown put on, and 6 cavities filled, and still has 3 cavities that still need filled. And if you're wondering yes, I brush my kids teeth. I had hyperemisis with both pregnancies and so they didn't get the minerals and nutrients that they needed to form their teeth buds correctly. LaLas two front teeth grew in with two holes in them. So they will basically be cursed with cavities and fillings their entire life. I told Mike, hey at least after they have all their teeth filled or crowned there eventually won't be anything left to get cavities! He didn't think that was so funny. I'm probably the only mom that prays their kids teeth fall out. No teeth = no cavities...

I feel the need for some massive organization. Routine, scheduel, lists, charts, etc. Blake starts school Monday, and LaLa starts the Monday after. Lists and organization come naturally to me, thank heavens. Because we need it. On the to do list today is planning the months meals. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is no way in heck I am letting my kids eat school lunch, So I am making them pick their own lunches {pictures from online} And then we will keep a calendar with pictures so they know what is to eat {And what they need to pack, More on that in a sec} and I can stick to a plan and budget and keep my sanity. I intend to make them pack their own lunches three times a week. I will show them the picture and leave them to their own devices to pack it. Obviously because they are still very small, I will check their lunches and make sure they have food to eat. But I am also super excited to make them some cute bento lunches. I would love to say that I could do this every day, But I don't have that kind of time. So to be realistic and not set myself up for failure and also give my kids some responsibility, The plan is to make cute lunches twice a week, maybe Monday and Friday. And then they will learn to follow direction and learn to take care of themselves by packing their lunch Tuesday - Thursday. Lunches will be made the day before to avoid any more chaos in the mornings. And clothing will be picked out and laid out the night before. Breakfast has to be quick and filling, crock pot, Make ahead casseroles, and easy stuff to throw in the microwave from the freezer, Cinnamon rolls, waffles and pancakes. {homemade obviously} Except maybe the waffles, I don't have a waffle maker and the Vans waffles are awfully delicious. And cheap when they are BOGO.

I am officially married to an old man, Mike turned 30. 30 years old. Like officially out of the twenties. Oh my word. He sure is a good lookin' old man though.
My baby is one! I looked at Mike and said, this is the last first birthday we are going to celebrate. I was a bit sad, He seemed pretty okay with that fact. {That may or may not have had something to do with their one AM bonding session the other night.} He's starting to think about walking, and to be honest, I'm okay with that.

The house is coming along nicely. We have stairs, windows, a sliding back door, {Which may not seem like a big deal, but it is. It means a lot to us to have a door to the back, Because that means we have a yard for our kiddos to play in again. We have missed it and will not take it for granted again. And it's the coolest back door ever, It slides into the wall and disappears completely!} Perfect for parties. So come on over! And we have singles on the roof. The roofers were up there yesterday. Man they are some brave workers! They were walking on the roof like it was no big deal. I would be terrified and I sure wouldn't be slinging around a ten pound nail gun to throw me off balance! It was pretty cool to watch them. 

We walked through and were able to get the feel for the layout. It was so cool to go upstairs and see the rooms and imagine how I'd decorate and where I'll put what. And it will be awesome to wake up and not have a kid or two in my bedroom on the floor, because I'll have a door that actually locks. And hopefully they will want to stay in their rooms because they will have their own space. I will never build a house again. The anticipation and the waiting are killing me. I'm not a patient person, and I like instant gratification. When you buy a house that's already built, it's already there and you just have to close and move in. When you build one, the weeks seem like months. We have had the decision made since January that this is the house we were going to build. It's been a long 8 months. On the bright side... I only have to pay the rent ONE MORE TIME!!!! That makes me beyond giddy with excitement.