Announcing My New (PRINTABLE) 2015 Household Management Binder (and a freebie!)

Check out the household management printable at my new home by clicking here!

Anxious

I’m anxious.

Like the I-need-to-scrape-paint-on-our-front-porch-or-stuff-my-face anxious.

The kind that makes it hard to concentrate.

Makes it difficult to work.  At least I can write.

Lord willing, big changes are coming.  And I hope I can divulge them with you soon.  Just keep watching.

And in the meantime, what are you feeling anxious about?

To Be Honest

To be honest…it’s past my bedtime.  I’m tired.  But I am here at my in-laws watching Penn State v. Ohio State (well…I’m not really watching, but who’s keeping track?)

To be honest…I’m typing this entire post on my phone…eek.

Right now I’m part of the latest Bloom book study on Let’s All Be Brave by Annie Downs.  And while reading through I’ve come up with a list of sorts.  A list of things I need to evaluate.  I’m going to share my list with you today and later answer my questions for you.

So here’s the list.  I hope you will share your own responses:

1) What is your brave?  The thing you want to do but are to scared to do.
2) Who loves you?  Who will support you in your endeavors?
3) Who do you love?  Tell them so.
4) What are your talents?
5) How can you use them to serve God.
6) Speak random words of kindness.
7) What do you need to say yes to?
8) What do you need to say no to?

#letsallbebrave #bloom #incourage

How would you answer these questions?

Catching Up

Wow!  I don’t know how things have been going for you (though I’d love to hear!), but our lives have been a whirlwind over here for months.  You would think that I would be used to it by now, but, well, I’m not.

We had some major events happen this summer that ultimately led Cinderella to enter a faith-based residential treatment home.  There is much hard work to be done on both ends that include counseling, homework, parenting classes, visitation, and many changes to old habits.

I found myself in the hospital about three weeks ago, struggling with a bout of depression.

I’d love to dialogue with you about some of these changes.  My hope is to post once a week about how things are going.  I hope you can benefit from reading as much as I will (hopefully) benefit from talking about it.

I must admit–I have been working on things I’d love to share with you.  We’ve tried many new recipes, gone to some great museums, tried new crafts and organizing ideas…my hope is to throw some of these in there as well.  But I haven’t forgotten you!

What major events have been going on in your life lately?

Checking In: What Are You Reading?

It has been far too long since I posted, and I miss  it terribly!  Our family is undergoing many trials and transformations, which hopefully I’ll be able to share soon.

In any case, I wanted to check in to see how y’all are doing?

For lack of time, though, I thought I’d share with you what I’m reading and ask what’s on your night stand right now?  Here’s what’s on mine:

The Generosity Ladder by Nelson Searcy
A Devotional Night Light for Parents by Dr. James Dobson
Parenting Isn’t for Cowards by Dr. James Dobson
The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman
Let’s All Be Brave by Annie Downs

2014 Summer in Review

So on Monday I posted about how much left we have to do this summer.  Despite the fact that we left so much undone, I have to admit that we definitely did have a bit of fun along the way.  Here’s what we accomplished this summer:

• Wendy was confirmed
• Princess Anna graduated from preschool (sniff!)
• 1 day trip to the beach with Prince Charming to watch Wendy play sand soccer
• VBS (x2)
• Community Fun Day
• 1 minor league baseball game (not including the Mother’s Day game)
• Hosted a 2-day yard sale (made barely anything…oh well…)
• Visited the church yard sale
• Had fun with friends on the 4th of July
• Visited the library (multiple occasions!)
• Put together puzzles
• Played Hide & Seek
• Used our imagination to have fun
• Played with sidewalk chalk
• Learned a dance
• Made a video
• Spent some time with some of my favorite church ladies
• Spent some time with some of my best friends in other cities and states
• Yard Game Day
• 1 trip to the beach with my parents and the little ones
• Princess Anna went to Kindergarten Camp
• Went to church camp!
• Hands on House
• Please Touch Museum
• Princess Anna and Rapunzel both completed 4 swimming lessons
• 17 locations for letterboxing
• Princess Anna and Rapunzel read for a combined total of 1,012 minutes
• I completed The New Dare to Disciple by Dr. James Dobson
• Even Wendy read a few books (and she doesn’t like to read!)

In the middle of all that, Prince Charming and I began counseling and parenting classes; we worked together to vacuum every day for 6 weeks, did laundry every day for 6 weeks, and lived out of containers to rid our house of pests for 6 weeks; Rapunzel attended play therapy every week; finished one soccer season and began another; went to the dentist; completed one school year and prepared for another; taught Princess Anna to buckle herself (HOORAY!  Thanks to Wendy!); celebrated several birthdays (Princess Anna turned 5!); tended a garden; became even more involved in our church (if it’s even possible); babysat my little buddy from church); exercised; colored; did extra work for money; and went to the park.  I’m sure there was more, but I’ve listed enough.

How did you spend your summer?

The Seven-Day Sprint

Oh my goodness…I am just thinking about the next couple of weeks in a panic.  Some of you may be sharing the same thought: WHERE DID SUMMER GO???

Crazy mom that I am, I had this summer completely booked.  I don’t know what it was about last summer, but I feel like I got so much more done.  This summer completely got away from me.  I can’t possibly be the only mom who feels this way, as I know some of you had kids who went back to school a few weeks ago!  (Our kids start on the 19th.)

I have to admit: some things came up this summer that kind of threw a wrench in my plans (happens often!).  We had some issues with Cinderella that needed addressed, which has added more to our calendar.  We added swimming lessons to the schedule for Rapunzel and Princess Anna.  An impromptu trip to the beach with my parents also came up for the little ones.  Mix in some pest control issues (which required some in depth house cleaning we didn’t anticipate) and an extra VBS and you have a full summer.

Still, I have to say I am a bit disappointed that we didn’t accomplish certain things.  For instance, we have 13 locations left to find for our letter-boxing adventures.  The insane mom in me says we will do seven this week.  The sheets are due on Sunday, so we will have to give up there.

We are many minutes short of our 800 minute goal.  At this point, Princess Anna needs to read 50 minutes a day to reach our goal by the deadline, and Rapunzel needs to read 34 minutes a day to reach the same goal.

If they were to complete all of the worksheets I had for them, they would need to complete 12 worksheets per day.  I have the feeling that is not going to happen; however, for incentive, I think I will offering bonus points for each worksheet completed.  (Hopefully this will also help keep them out of my hair while I work this week!)

I can’t wait to post about our adventures visiting museums this summer!  I had really hoped to go to one more tomorrow, but Cinderella is working, so that won’t happen.  We have a membership though, so we’ll probably go several times throughout the rest of the year.  We were able to have Yard Game Day, and we have scheduled Spa Day for this Friday.

All of that being said, this post is entitled “The Seven-Day Spring”, because I intend to make the most of the next seven days I have with the kids (technically 8 if you want to include next Monday, the day before school starts).  Here is what I’m hoping for:

• Squeeze in as many review worksheets as we can (I’ll probably give them a break the day before school though)
• Read 50 minutes each day with Princess Anna and 34 minutes each day with Rapunzel
• 1 more swimming lesson each for both Princess Anna and Rapunzel
• 7 Locations for Letterboxing (4 on Tuesday, 3 on Saturday)
• Take Rapunzel to Hershey Park with the tickets she earned last school year (so excited for her first time!)
• Spa Day!
• Picnic at the creek on Saturday (catch some minnows and crayfish, find shapes in the clouds, and watch the birds)
• Corn Roast

Let’s go ahead and throw in counseling, parenting class, chores, preparing children’s church and Sunday school lessons, checking the teacher’s list at the schools (SO EXCITED!), work, and spending time with one of my besties, and you’ve got one crazy to-do list!

How are you spending your last summer days with the kids?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! (AND A DISCOUNT!)

I’m super-excited to announce that I’m offering MY VERY FIRST ETSY SHOP SALE!  Because my birthday is in August, I wanted to offer you all a very fine discount…just because!  So head on over to my Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/MakingtheMostBlog?ref=ss_profile and enter the code HAPPY28 on checkout!

Enjoy!

P.S.  Keep your eyes peeled; new posts to come soon!

Avoid the Summer Slide: Review Packets Worth Investing In

I spent quite a while this past month searching for a summer packet for the kids.  Now before you think I’m crazy, I don’t make them do schoolwork all summer.  If you saw my last post, you know I love to fit in lots of fun.  But I also hate to think that my kids missed out on great learning opportunities and fell behind just because I decided to let them completely veg out over the summer.  Must be the importance of education that my grandma ingrained in my head.

So finally I came across some great packets that I thought would do the job.  I hate spending money, but I don’t have the patience to make my own worksheets (or the knowledge for that matter!), and I worry that the workbooks available at the store cover the common core.  What better way to know than to get it from a teacher.  So we decided to invest.  And $6-$7 per packet really isn’t bad for keeping your child up-to-par for three months.

Here are my favorites.  I hope you like them as much as I do!

On My Way to K by Miss Kindergarten Love – $6.75 at TPT

Ready Made for 2nd Grade by Lyndsey Kuster @ A Year of Many Firsts – $7 at TPT

1st Grade Summer Packet by Faith Wheeler – $7.50 at TPT

Know of some other great summer packets for this age group?  Please share!

Planning Summer: Theme Days

Not one of my parenting priorities, but just something fun: theme days.  Having theme days allows to do a variety of different things under a certain theme.  This keeps the kids busy and sometimes allows me to be more closely involved with their play.  Here are some of the theme days we have planned for this summer:

First Day of Summer Party
Construction Day
Craft Day
Yard Game Day
Sports Day
Splash Day
Spa Day
Last Day of Summer Party

I always plan for plenty–that way, when I don’t get to all of them, we still remember the ones we were able to have fun with.  Our favorite: Spa Day!  Last year, each of the kids invited a friend over, and we painted nails, made homemade chocolate face masks, and did some hair.  This is another MUST DO for this year!

What are some of your favorite themes?