Works for me Wednesday: Preschool games

First of all let me just say that I HATE preschool games. The girls love them but I'd rather gouge my eyes out than play some of them!

Exhibit 1: Lucky Ducks. Yep, plenty of eye gouging when they choose this game.
Exhibit 2: Chutes and Ladders. I've blogged about this 'confusion in a box' before. Yep, more eye gouging.

Exhibit 3: Hi Ho Cherry-O. This one is not too painful the first two times you play it...but after the tenth time in an hour....you guessed it, eye gouging.
Exhibit 4: Memory game. This one is also fun the first time you play it, but Becca always makes the girls mad when she messes up the cards on the floor. They all end up crying, and you guessed it again...more eye gouging.

Exhibit 5: Boggle Jr. Mara loves this game but Emily doesn't 'get' it at all. It's a pretty good game but Emily always wants to play too, and then it makes Mara mad when she doesn't understand how to play. No eye gouging yet, but still not a whole lot of fun.
Exhibit 6: Candyland Castle. Finally one that we love. All three girls can even play this game without Mommy (after she tires from the first dozen games). They really like the whole lever pulling thing, and it's easy enough for an almost two year old yet holds a four year old's attention.

Exhibit 7: Zingo. This game is FABULOUS. I had never heard of it before, but we got it as a gift from my in-laws. If you have preschoolers who love games and you'd like to keep your eyes...you must go get this game! Again all three girls love it and can play by themselves as well. For more Works for me Wednesday, check out Rocks in my Dryer.

Big Truths for Little Kids works for me.

I wrote about this here just the other day, but I thought I'd post about it here too.

We've just started using a fabulous new book at our house. It's called 'Big Truths for Little Kids' by Susan and Richie Hunt.

I love the idea of a methodized (catechism) way of teaching my children about our beliefs, but don't want it to be something that they just memorize and spit back by rote.

I want my girls to have a Christian worldview...to know that the way we live is because of how we believe.

This book teaches catechism questions (Who made you? God. What else did God make? God made all things. Why did God make you and all things? For His glory. etc....), but then has a practical story related to the questions. It really does a great job of translating the learning of facts to a worldview.

The target age for this book is probably 4-7, but Emily (2) loves it and I really think it could be used effectively up to like 9 or 10 as well.

And it is also TOO cute to hear Becca (17 months old) say "Ga" when you ask her "Who made you?".

For more Works for me Wednesday, go here.

Works for me Wednesday: Online Shopping Edition

I LOVE to shop online. In fact, if I could do my weekly grocery shopping online, I'd probably never have to actually go shopping. Here are just a few of my favorites.

First of all, I love the bargains website Want Not. Mir posts all kinds of fabulous deals several times a day. I usually cave when there's a great toy deal, then I put it up in our 'toy closet'. When we're invited to birthday parties, I just get a toy from the toy closet. And I also go to it for the girls' birthdays and Christmas.

Then of course there's Ebay. Everybody knows about ebay, but this is where I get all of the girls' clothes. I love Hanna Andersson and Gymboree, but can't afford either of their brand new prices. I have bought an outfit on ebay for $20... all three girls have worn it. Then I've turned around and sold it three years later on ebay for $25. Can't beat that.

And finally, if you're looking for a few hours to kill, you've got to check out Etsy. Anyone can go to etsy and open a shop, but everything you sell must be handmade. Most of the shops are moms just like me selling really cute things. And yes, I do have a shop but it's totally empty...it's on my never ending to do list.

Now I'm going to go check out Rocks in my Dryer to see where everyone else likes to shop online. Honey, I won't spend ALL of your money today!

Help: Slow Down

It's backwards day again. Instead of giving advice, I ask for advice.

The last backwards edition, I asked for advice on keeping my sanity with a dawdling toddler. A couple of the ideas are working great, but now I have a whole other issue on my hands.

Emily has started stuttering really bad. Not just the normal get excited kind of stuttering. She can repeat a syllable a dozen times before the word comes out and is getting really frustrated with herself.

So I googled toddler stuttering and found some advice, but now I need advice on how to do that advice. And that last sentence made total sense didn't it!

Ok, anyway, several doctors suggested that I slow down when I talk to her and just slow down our general pace of life. Do you see the problem? I have a dawdling toddler who I'm trying to teach not to dawdle, and now I'm supposed to slow down.

And that doesn't even take in consideration that I also have a four year old and an ornery 16 month old (Mom, no need to stick up for Becca Sue....she's a cute ornery 16 month old!).

So here's what I need....some practical advice on slowing down. I still have to get everything done....three girls dressed, teeth brushed, hair fixed, etc. Oh and they have to eat too. Anyway, how in the world am I going to slow down?

Hit me with your best advice!

Christmas card crafts work for me.

So what do you do with all of the Christmas cards you've gotten over the last month? I had always just thrown them away.

The girls spent the night with Nana the other night. She kept all of the Christmas cards and let them cut out the pictures and then glue them to another piece of paper. Cutting and glueing.....heaven to my girls! (So spell check says that 'glueing' is supposed to be 'gluing' but I can't stand the way that looks so I'm leaving it as 'glueing'....cause I can!)

So keeping Christmas cards for crafts sounds much better then my idea of just throwing them away. Thanks for a great Works for me Wednesday tip, Nana!

For more Works for me Wednesday, check out Rocks in my Dryer.

Keyrings as Christmas ornaments work for me.

We decorated the Christmas tree yesterday, TWICE (That's an entire blog post by itself so I'll have to keep you wondering why we had to do it twice!).

When you're on vacation, there are always shops selling Christmas ornaments (even in the middle of July) for way too much money. I love getting Christmas ornaments to remember special family times though.

So, I always look for cute but cheap key rings. You just take the ring part off, add an ornament hook, and there you have it...fabulous Christmas ornaments for just a few dollars.

It was so much fun showing the girls our 'ornaments' from our honeymoon. We went to London and a little town called York. Here are some pictures of some great ones that we picked up for about $1.50...

The first two are from the minster in York...

And here's a really bad out of focus picture of a cute little British telephone booth...
Ooo, most of them are nice heavy metal ones too. They really look neat on the tree. Key rings as Christmas ornaments definitely work for me!

Check out Rocks in my Dryer for tons more Works for me Wednesday tips.

Works for me Wednesday

This week's Works for me Wednesday has a theme....What Do I Fix? Edition. Here's the explanation from Shannon's site....

"It's 5:15 pm, the kids are hungry, you have a headache, hubby is almost home, and the pantry has three things in it. What is your BEST last-minute meal recipe? Share with everybody this week. We'll call it Works-For-Me Wednesday: The What-Do-I-Fix? Edition. Or we could just simplify and call it WFMWTWDIFE. Yeah. That's much simpler."
So some people say that you are what you eat. If that were true, then I'd be fast, cheap, and easy! Last minute meal recipes are all that I fix.

My favorite lately is spaghetti (just ground beef, Ragu sauce, and noodles). The girls really like it when I use different types of noodles each time I make it too....penne, bowtie, shells, etc.

Ok, Ok, so the truth is that in the above situation I call Phillip and say, "If you want to eat tonight, you'd better pick something up on your way home."

For more last minute meal ideas, go here.

Acrylic photo frames work for me.

Why do babies and toddlers love to push buttons on the television? I guess the same reason they like the remote.

It never fails... I get all of the girls settled watching a video that they've all agreed on (which is a miracle). I walk out of the room, and 30 seconds later the big girls are screaming because Becca has pushed a button and messed everything up.

While at Wal-Mart several weeks ago, I was looking for a frame when the little cheap acrylic frames caught my eye. I thought, "That would be perfect to keep Becca's little fingers off of the tv buttons."

Well, I'm happy to report that they are working fabulously. See all of the fingerprints on the frame below....
Each fingerprint is one less scream from the big girls. Oh, and it also keeps random toys out of the VCR slot (not that that has ever happens at the circus house)!

I just had to show the next picture too. It took about ten takes to get the above picture. The other nine are some variation of the picture below. Good thing she's cute...the little rascal!
Go to Rocks in my Dryer for more Words for me Wednesday tips.

Help: Dawdling Toddler

It's backwards day again at Rocks in my Dryer's Works for me Wednesday. That means instead of offering advice, I ask for advice. So here comes a desperate momma asking for help...

Emily is THE worst dawdler. It only takes her twenty minutes to get from the van, up the ten stairs, and in the door. She can put her shoes on in a record fifteen minutes, and watch out...pottying in ten minutes feels like lightening speed! It drives me CRAZY!

If I tell her to hurry up, she just goes slower. Every once in a while I can get her moving a little faster with "I'll race you." or "Here comes the tickle bug." But those things are working less and less.

Got any other ideas? Please help before this momma goes nuts!

Worms and Blood Work for Me

This is the perfect Halloween lunch (even though we just happen to have it for supper last night)...Worms with a side of blood! You just take hotdogs and cut them in strips and then they get all curly when you boil them. It was super easy and the girls LOVED it!

Check it out....eeeeewwwww!

Mara said, "Momma, the blood tastes like ketchup, and the worms taste like hotdogs!" Who knew worms taste like hotdogs!

So for a perfect Halloween lunch or dinner, worms and blood work for me!

For more Works for Me Wednesday, go here.

"Deal?" Works for Me

I think I've mentioned before how strong-willed Emily is.....yes, maybe here and here and here too....oooo, and here's even a picture of a strong-willed episode.

Ok, so we've already established that she is strong-willed and a little difficult to live with. The problem is that a lot of parents use the 'strong-willed' thing as a cop out for disobedience and disrespect. Emily is strong-willed, but she does not run our household or get away with disobedience.

We have had to be creative with consequences and requests though. For example, spanking just succeeds is making her really mad and does not discourage wrong-doing. Time-out however is magic. We also have to be careful 'telling' her to do something. If I say "Emily, pick your toys up." She says, "No." But if I say, "Emily, I bet you can pick these toys up really fast." She says, "I bet I can." Now, she doesn't get away with the "No" without some consequences, but life is so much quieter if I remember how to ask her to do things!

The thing that has been working so well lately is "Deal?" Whenever I ask any of the girls to do something (or not do something) I like a "Yes, ma'am" in response. It helps me know that they heard me, and it helps them know that I mean business. Emily hates saying 'yes, ma'am' though. So, what works great with her is "Deal?" For example.....

Me: Emily, I need you to go potty so we can go play outside. Deal?
Emily: Deal!

I'm not sure how long this will work with her but for now "Deal?" works for me! Oh ya, and it's pretty funny when she pulls a "No deal" every now and then!

For more Works for me Wednesday go here.

Pull-ups Work for Me

Mara will be four in just a couple of months. She's been potty-trained for over a year and a half, but for the life of me I have not been able to get her potty-trained at night.

I've tried several different things.....nothing to drink after 7pm....6pm.....5pm....nothing to drink all day (just kidding), cold turkey (I got tired of washing sheets every day), bribery, and probably a half of dozen other things. Nothing was working.

So last week, I ran out of diapers for the big girls but had some pull-ups in the closet that a friend gave me when her little girl grew out of them. They had Disney princesses on them and little flowers that disappeared if she pottied on them.

She's never worn pull-ups before so the whole concept was new to her.

Well.....six days later, we have yet to have an accident in our princess pull-ups. Every morning when she wakes up, she runs down to show me that the flowers are still on her pull-ups.

So I still can't believe that it works, but Mara wearing pull-ups at night works for me!

Oooo, maybe I can draw some flowers on her regular panties and convince her that if she potties on them they too will disappear.

Rug Gripper Works for Me

Little girls HAVE to wear hair bows! So what do you do when their hair is too thin or practically non-exsistant?

You cut a strip of rug gripper and hot glue it to the top inside part of the alligator clip. Guaranteed to hold any amount of hair.

I put it on all of our hair bows. Instead of 'fixing' their bows a hundred times a day, I only have to do it three or four times!

Rug gripper on hair bows works for me!

There....that picture's better!

Where's the fat lady?

Today is Backwards Day at Works-For-Me Wednesday. That means that instead of sharing something that 'works for me', I'm going to ask for tips on something that doesn't 'work for me'.

I'm hoping that the more mature readers will weigh in on this issue. That doesn't mean that if you're young or feel young that you can't also help me out too though!

How in THE world do you know when you're done having kids? Was there a certain something that confirmed your decision? Do you regret not having more?

I really wish it were as easy as the fat lady singing.

Susanna Wesley's Apron Works for Me

Since becoming a mom, I've really struggled with finding time to study my Bible and pray each morning. The last couple of years I've tried either
a.) Getting up before the girls.
....or.....
b.) Having a quiet time during nap time.

I'm still laughing at option a, and option b has worked for a little while but is still not consistent.

The most practical thing I brought home from Deeper Still was the story of Susanna Wesley. She had eight kids (one of which was John Wesley). Whenever she needed quiet time to talk to God, she would put her apron over her head. Her children knew that when momma had her apron over her head they were not to bother her.

Well, I don't put an apron over my head but I've used the same concept the last couple of weeks and it's working! First thing in the morning, I sit in a chair at the dining room table. I only sit in this particular chair when I'm doing my quiet time. I tell the girls that mommy is going to read her Bible and talk to Jesus.

The first couple of days I got about ten minutes of quiet time (which was more than I expected!), but it's getting better. I got a whole half hour this morning! And how awesome is that for my girls to see me spending time with my creator!

So, Susanna Wesley's apron Works For Me! For more great tips, go to Rocks in my Dryer.

Auquadoodle Works for Me

You can tell by the several 'painting' pictures on my blog that my girls LOVE to paint. They ask to paint almost everyday....sometimes twice a day! There is fabulous washable paint out now so it's not that messy of an undertaking, but Emily can turn washing her hands into a messy undertaking! So on days that my sanity needs a little less mess, these aqua-doodle little pages "work for me"! They come with the little markers that you fill with water. Those are great when you need to take them with you. We really like to get a little bowl of water and a small paint brush (the smaller the paint brush, the longer it takes them to complete one, and the longer I get to blog.....oops, did I just say that out loud?). So if your kids love to paint, the aqua-doodle pages are a fabulous non-messy option. But you have to get the real stuff out and make a big mess every now and then!

Here are the girls 'painting' their Barbie pages....

Four Ten Hour Days Work for Me

Phillip just started working four ten hour days last week. We LOVE it! It's a little more challenging in the evenings to keep the girls occupied until Daddy gets home (and that's complicated by the fact that we got rid of Emily's pacifier last week too and she hasn't napped since!), but Fridays are so worth it.

Since we both 'work' on Sundays at church, Saturday has been our only day off. Our to do list is a mile long so there's very little time for just fun stuff as a whole family. Last Friday we 'slept in' (that means Mara got up at 6:45 as opposed to 6:30), ate Dunkin Donuts for breakfast, and went to the water park. We had a very relaxing super fun day.

Phillip seems to like the longer days at work too because he's been so productive. He said just the other night that the days seem to go faster because he's not watching the clock anymore.

So working four ten hour days 'Works For Me.'

This is my first time to participate in Works For Me Wednesday over at Rocks In My Dryer. There are tons of great tips over there so go check it out. Be warned though...it'll eat at least an hour!