Art Journal

I joined an art journal workshop, which is more like a "create along". Every week for the year, they give a prompt, and this is what I made for the prompt "The Lost Art of Love Letters".

 

When I was pregnant with Amelia, Eric gave me a ...gift. It was a pretty little box with hundreds of little pieces of paper that said what he thought of me, who I am, and a few things he would do for me. I used some of those little papers on this painting

 

 

 

 Here are a couple others that I have done so far. 

 

 

"Building character". I used Amelia's oil pastels that she just got. Drawing is not one of my talents, but I like how this turned out anyway. The words around her say "Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 1 Timothy 6:11"

 

 

 

While I was doing that, Lizzy asked me to draw a picture for her to color, and then wanted me to share it online. :)

 

 

This was for "You make me smile."   The girls make me smile, and they are always giving me pictures that they made, which of course, makes me smile.   I asked them each to draw some things, and I modge podged them together to make this.  :)

 

"Up, Up and away"  I painted this because I got to go on a balloon ride with grandma in 2012, and that is a great memory!  :)

 



 

I have given up on trying to actually post here on a regular basis, but once in a while I can pop in and say something. :)

The girl are all growing super fast!  They are 8, 5 and 3 now.  School is almost done for the year, and I am really looking forward to the lazy days of summer!   

The best news though, is that Lord willing, we will probably be able to move next year!  I have been wanting to move to the country almost since I moved away, but the last few years the pull to live on a farm has grown and grown until now I can hardly stand it!  The problem is that we bought this house right before the market crashed.   We were supposed to be here 4-5 years, it has been seven.   We have started saving, thinking it would be 3-4 more years before we would have enough to pay the difference from what we owe, to what the house is worth.  Well, this spring prices have jumped a LOT in our neighborhood.  They have increased at least 20%, just from six months ago.  So now we are in range to actually sell soon!  Even if the house values don't go up again next year, as long as they don't drop, we should be able to make it happen.   I am so excited that I can not even express it.  I feel like I have hope and expectancy, even if I do have to wait a year, I now know what is coming is right around the corner!

The plan is the spend this year doing all the little things that need fixing, so by the time spring arrives next year, all we have do do is clear out the "clutter" to ge the house ready to go on the market.


We are hoping that our next place will be our forever home, so I am going to be very picky!  My top desire is that it is secluded (neighbors at least 1000 feet away, farther would be better.)  Just far enough that I can do what I want without neighbors to complain (like if I want 20 roosters, I only have to deal with hubby's annoyance, not the neighbor's.)  I also would like a longer driveway so I don't have to worry about kids or pets on the road.  I would also like enough land to mini farm.   I look at places with 5 acres, but really I would like at least 20, 40 would be better.
So my ideal farm would be...
40+ acres, 1/4 wooded, the rest pasture and hay field, a pond would be nice
dead end road with nearest neighbors 1/4 mile away or more
old farmhouse that has been completely restored and updated with attached garage ( Or a newly built straw bale home that used passive solar energy)
mature yard (big old trees)
4 bedrooms, formal dining room, den and 4 season porch or sunroom 
big old barn (red barn style)
already fenced would be a plus

Eric would just like to be close enough to the Twin Cities so that he can commute.

I know that I will have to bend on a lot of my wishes, because that ideal just doesn't  fit into our budget, but the seclusion is not negotiable.  The neighbors have to be far enough away not to care about my roosters, or where their dogs are not going to be coming over all the time, etc.  (Or my dog there.)
My second is having enough land to farm.
Third is that I would really like a mature yard.  
It can be a new house, old house, two story, rambler (although I don't want a split entry if I can avoid it... might consider one if everything else is perfect.)  I would even squeeze into a smaller house (800-1000 square feet) if everything else is great.  You can always add on to a house, you can't change your location. ;)

Ok, I am going to stop now, you get the idea. :)

Electric Company

All three of my girls like this show, it is educational, and it is on Netflix...  my favorite type of show! 

This is not the Electric Company we watched as kids.    I mean, they taught my 7 year old how to beatbox, but I still think it is a great show!

http://pbskids.org/electriccompany

Spring is here, and summer is just around the corner.

I got my first sunburn of the season.   It was my fault as I was enjoying the sun so much I didn't bother with sunscreen.   I am not an avid sunscreen user.  I believe that we need the sun, and blocking it out all the time isn't good.  If I know we are going to get more sun than usual, especially going to the lake, ect, I make sure to slather us good.   For everyday playing in the yard and going to the park, I just skip it, unless it seems extra "hot".   Spring rolls around though, and I always forget to ease into the the season.  The girls rarely burn, and I always do in the spring.  Besides my fairer skin, I am sure it is also because they spend more time outside, bit by bit, in the spring, and have gotten a bit of a tan before the sun gets close.   So, here I am with a dark red forhead and red face, shoulders, arms and back, and my girls got a bit of pink yesterday that is almost gone already today.   That is all good though, as I would rather have me burn than them.   Then I don't feel guilty, just ditzy.  Ha!   

In other news, Amelia had her first dance recital a couple weeks ago.  She did really good, and was cute as can be (of course)!

During the intermission, Gwen got up on stage and entertained everyone.  She is so cute!

Obediently, Immediately, and Cheerfully

What do you do when you can't sleep and it is 1:30am?  Why, update your blog of course.

A few months back I was at a loss what to do about Amelia's attitude.   She was 6 going on 14, and I had no clue what to do.   Pretty much every day she would slam her door, or tell me she hated me, or tell me that I am the meanest mommy, or all three.   That is on top of me often hearing "humph!" or some such thing from her when I asked her to do something.  We tried time outs, taking stuff away, not doing something fun, ignoring it.... I even spanked her a few times because I just didn't know what to do, even though I have chosen not to spank my kids.  You get to a point you will try almost anything.  I was starting to think about taking her bedroom door off it's hinges so she couldn't slam it anymore.

I was talking to my friend about this, and she told me about a method she had used with her kids.


This is what we did.
We made up a list of 5 numbered chores. The top of the list is supposed to say "obediently, immediately, and cheerfully".  It is supposed to be 10 chores, but I could only think of 5 at the time.  (Preferably use the child's least favorite, but you can throw some that you don't enjoy in there too ;).)  Amelia still likes to do chores, so I just picked some.  The first isn't too hard, and they get harder as you go. Now, any time Amelia gives us any attitude, all I say is "that's one" and she knows she has stop whatever she is doing to do the corresponding chore. If she keeps giving attitude, or doesn't do the chore right away, I don't argue with her, or threaten her, I just say "that's two" and then she has 2 chores she has to do, etc.

I try to follow the obediently, and cheerfully, but am not a real stickler on the immediately.  It depends on the circumstance.  If she does something I ask, but with a big "humph!", that is not cheerfully, and gets a "one". I don't give her chores if I ask her to do something and she says "just a minute" or something, as long as she is talking normal, but maybe I should, as she usually says that. lol  I do stick to the immediately when I start counting though.

Anyway, we saw an immediate improvement. The first day she did a chore, then a couple the next... by then she was pretty much cured. 
She very rarely gets the extra chores now, and she has never gotten past 3, except a couple times when I think she didn't really have attitude, so was arguing her point that she wasn't being snotty, but I heard snotty. I ended up only making her do 2. 

By the time she is done with the chores, she has lost all attitude, and is back to my sweet, happy girl.

Before this, she was having at least one crazy attitude meltdown every day, and that is besides all the constant "humphs" ect.
 
I have never found anything that worked so well.   It is amazing just seeing her attitude change while she is getting stuff done.   More than once she has come to me when finished, and being back to her sweet little self, asking what more she can clean for me, ect.  I think it has been about 2 weeks since the last time she got one of the list chores.   :)
 
 
 

What can I say?

I tend to start things with great enthusiasm and good intentions, be it a blog, a journal, eating healthy, scrapbooking, sewing, fish tanks, organizing, cleaning, meal planning, even spending time with God. Then, after a time, sometimes months, sometimes days, the new great thing falls to the wayside for the next fun thing, or even just doing nothing. It is amazing how much time I can spend on my computer, looking at whatever it is online, and yet have no time to write in my blog, or keep on on my friend's blogs or journals, much less have time to clean my house.


There are very few things that I see through their entirety, or keep my passion about. I am not sure what it is about me, or what I am missing that makes me like this. I would like to change. I would like to keep my passion about the important things in my life.

Some things that I need to keep in focus.


God ~ He is part of my every day, but I want it to be even more so. I want it to be a normal part of my day to pick up my Bible, or sit down in a quiet place to pray, rather than it being something that I try so hard to remember to do. I want to spend my day joyfully praising my Lord, and not just saying "hey" once in a while.

Eric ~ Our relationship is a very good thing. Although we aren't doing bad, I can always improve how much attention that I give him. I want to remember to make his lunch every day, and remember to let him know each day how much I appreciate him. It would also be lovely if I looked nice every day when he gets home from work. (I say this while wearing sweats that are too big, and hair that was slept on, and of course no makeup.)

My children ~ I am not a bad mom. In fact, I am a pretty good mom. I do have a tendency towards selfishness though. Instead of thinking up a fun game or craft to do, I read a book, browse the internet, or whatever, while they entertain themselves or watch TV. It isn't that I don't pay attention to them, or do things with them; it is just that there is a LOT of room for improvement.

My house ~ It isn't gross. I don't have a moldy bathroom, or food rotting or anything, but it isn't very organized. I need to find "homes" for everything, so it is easier to keep clean. I also need to work with the kids more, so they learn better habits than I have.

Our health ~ I would like for us to eat healthier. I think we probably eat healthier than most Americans, but that isn't saying much. We get fast food at least once a week, and lately I have been turning to processed foods more often than not, because they are easier.

~ I don't ever expect to be perfect, but I would like to be a work in progress, and I really haven't seen any progress lately.

I know prayer and spending time with God can only help.

Any other suggestions?

Life

Not much to report, which is good as nothing bad has happened.  Life is going smoothly.   I especially think so today, as my girls didn't wake me up until 8:20am!   A full night's rest (minus getting up with Lizzy twice) is much appreciated!

Life

Gwen turned two.  Lizzy is almost 5 months old, and is getting baptized on Sunday.  Amelia is reading!   I started a new buisness.  I am a Norwex cosultant.  It is a party based buisness, and I joined just because I was so excited about the products, and they are so great that they sell themselves.   I am so not a sales person, but I really don't need to be with this.  
Eric is doing well.  He is still working at the same place.  The bills are getting paid, and even though we don't have too much extra money, we have everything we need, so no complaints here.  :)  I am hoping we will be able to get our credit cards paid of quickly now that I have my buisness, and then start saving, and even getting a few of those things we have on our wish list.

Ok, kids are calling.   Hopefully I will get back here more often. :)

Norwex

Hi!  I need to at least update monthly.  I get so far behind.  

So what do I do?   I start up another blog.   lol  This one is for my business though, so maybe since I will be updating that one, I can get here more?   I hope so. :)

Anyway, here is my Norwex reviews blog. 
http://norwexinfoandreviews.blogspot.com/

A few Christmas pictures

Elizabeth



The girls got to go sledding at Eric's sister's house! So fun!!!

Christmas eve at our house.

Christmas at my grandma's.

Amelia's Christmas program for preschool.