Sons are a heritage from the Lord. Psalm 127:3

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Mini Valentine's Day Photo Albums & Cookie Jars

These are the mini heart photo albums my kids made and my daycare parents got to take home as a special keepsake (I'm missing one, the parent got it before we took pictures). The kids always love seeing their pictures with all the different craft projects we do here at my house. They had so much fun making these!

Here is a look at a few pictures on the inside. Nothing fancy, I just cut the pictures with a decorative scissor. This was when the kids got to practice writing with chocolate pudding. They enjoyed it, but it sure was messy with my littlest one!



I also made these really cute Chocolate Chip Cookie jars for the parents for a little "love gift"! :) I think they turned out adorable with the heart cookie cutters attached.
A close-up pic. I punched the whole on the wrong side of the card, but oh well, it doesn't look too bad. :)

Look how cute they all look once they were all finished. The kids did a great job on their photo albums!

Our New Frog Encouragement/Reward Mailbox

Isn't this frog just adorable! I was shopping at Michael's Arts & Crafts getting some last minute Valentine's Day supplies the other day and I came across this. It's a Valentine's Day Mailbox for a kids classroom. What a cute idea! And of course, I got it on CLEARANCE! :)

I thought of an idea that I could use this Frog Mailbox with my kids. We are starting to use this as an Encouragement/Rewards Mailbox! Having 3 boys ages 3 and under can be challenging at times, but it sure can be so much fun too! I want to encourage them and reward them with their good behavior and good attitude towards each other. So.......everyday I will write down on a piece of paper something that Mommy was proud of them for doing or saying, but I will also write down something if I see the boys acting or doing inappropriate behavior as well.

At the end of the week, we will take all these love notes :) and tally them up to see how many "Good vs. Bad (what they need to work on)" notes we have all together. If they have more good vs. bad, then they are rewarded with a popcorn and movie night either on Friday or Saturday nights with an extended bed time as well. I find that this is what my boys look forward to each week and I do not want to reward them if they haven't had a good week. I also find that if we read out load what they have done good and what they need to work on, then I'm hoping they will make more of a conscious effort on doing better and think about their actions before doing so.

This seems like a good idea to me, so we started it today! We will see how it goes. What do you think? Can you share with me some of your ideas or ways you reward your children to keep them on track?!?!

By the way, my older son loves frogs so that's why I picked this one when I saw it! :)

Monday, February 15, 2010

Meal Plan Monday

I have been feeling under the weather this whole weekend and somewhat today. I'm starting to feel much better now, but I think I'm going to just wing it this week rather than doing my usual menu planning. I haven't really had the motivation or energy to look at the ads & do my grocery shopping according to what's on sale. I think I have enough on hand to come up with plenty of meals. I will probably need to go to the grocery store for fresh fruits & veggies!

I hope you all have a wonderful & blessed week! :)

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Menu Plan Monday



Yes, it's that time again and I already feel behind this week. It crept up on us way too fast. Maybe because my mind is already on our 3 day Disneyland trip we will be taking in two weeks to celebrate my hubby's 40th birthday! Woohoo.......I can't wait and I'm looking forward to seeing my kids expressions once we walk into the Theme Park! This is going to be so exciting!!!!


Sunday: Super Bowl Party & Dinner at our Friends!

Monday: Eating Out

Tuesday: Costco Food Court :) (grabbing something fast on the way to visit Scott's Grandparents)

Wednesday: Meatloaf, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Corn & Butter Biscuits

Thursday: Bacon Sandwiches & Turkey Sausage, Egg & Spinach Casserole (Breakfast for dinner)

Friday: Turkey Burgers & Tator Tots

Saturday: Spaghetti & Meatballs, Salad & Garlic Bread

200 Links to FREE Kid's Coloring Pages


Looking for entertainment for your kids? Mommy’s Wishlist has over 200 links to Free Kid’s Coloring Pages. Bookmark this one! This list is alphabetized by character name.

This is so awesome! This will definitely save me time and money! :)


Thanks, Common Sense With Mommy!

Monday, February 8, 2010

FREE 6 Month Subscription for Thriving Family Magazine



Sign up for a FREE 6-month subscription for Thriving Family magazine. Just go to the Focus on the Family website and click on the banner at the very bottom. You should receive your first edition within 8 weeks.

Thanks, Faithful Provisions!

Friday, February 5, 2010

Scholastic Book Sale





The Teacher Store @ Scholastic.com is having their Dollar Days sale. This is available to educators only but does include homeschool teachers! They have some great books available for only $1.00.