Family Friday

I thought I'd take a little time today to share a little about what's going on with each of us!

First Luke: Luke is a typical boy! He loves all things weapons, although the boys don't actually have any! Not that we are against them as toys.. just that we don't have any. Because, with boys, even if you don't have any.. they will make them. Luke makes guns and swords out of his Trio blocks all of the time! He can be really silly and get everyone to laughing, especially Eli! At the same time he can be really moody and need his space, but don't we all?! He loves playing soccer.. well, he loves going to soccer practice and games! He's not much of a player yet! He really likes to socialize and play (games, not soccer) with his teammates! He's not very big on going after the ball, he'd much rather it come right to him. And I mean, that's probably the only way he will ever make contact with it! It will have to land right in front of him... and then he still may not kick it! He's having fun though, and that's what matters! He LOVES to get dressed and likes to dress himself. He doesn't always match but most of the time I just let him do whatever. The only time I intervene is when we're going to church or somewhere special. He also loves to wear socks and shoes! He's not a big flip flop or sandal wearer. There have been times when I just had to make him wear sandals! Thank goodness colder weather is around the corner (I hope!). Luke is a great big brother (most of the time). He and Eli are starting to play more and more together. Luke is pretty protective of his brother and lets me know if Eli is doing something that might hurt him. The sweetest is when Luke steals a kiss from Eli and he doesn't know anyone is watching! Melts this mommy's heart! They do fight, of course, but they really are great friends!

Now Eli! Eli is a Mommy's boy! Seriously! Hmm, I feel like I've said this before! ;) Well, he still is! He is also much more go with the flow and relaxed, especially when Mommy is around! He's not near as moody as Luke! He loves to watch Luke practice and play soccer. He also loves to throw balls! He really has a good chest pass, so we may have a future basketball player on our hands! Eli also loves getting in to everything. Every. Thing. I know we saw this coming. We just knew he would be the child to strow everything out, get into stuff, make huge messes, never understand the meaning of "No" or "Don't Touch!" (see above picture!) I think it's more his little personality rather than just the 'terrible twos'. He's very independent! He thinks he can do anything and will try! And all the while he is a little love bug! He will gladly sit in your lap for hours or shower you with hugs and kisses!

The Hubs- The Hubs is in full swing school mode. He had his first Algebra test last week and made a 99! So proud of him! He started off the school semester doing homework in the kitchen and that did not work out! It's true that the kitchen is the hub of the household! So, we cleared out the treadmill in the bedroom (need a new place to hang clothes now!) and put a table that the Hubs mom had given us in it's place. It's worked out much better now, although wireless has been giving him problems! And since his school work is online (even his 'on campus' class has online homework, that's been trying for him.

And me- Well, my knee/upper thigh is still giving me problems. I went to the Dr a little over a month ago with it and was told after an X-ray that I had a tilted knee cap. I was told to take Rx ibuprofen and do some exercises. But I feel like there is much more going on. I haven't had the sharp pains in my thigh lately but I still have a place right above my knee that is swollen. I've tried this week to keep it up here and there but it really is hard when you're home with two boys all the time! I just had to let some housework go. My knee has felt better at night (when it usually starts throbbing) but the swelling hasn't changed. So, I'm not sure what to do. I haven't been exercising either, for fear of hurting it worse (I kind of feel like Jillian might have been part of my problem!). And I can totally tell! I haven't gained any weight but I just don't feel as good.. and I feel all stiff!

I just finished reading Intimate Issues. And all I'll say about that is that it's a good book for married, Christian women! I just started reading The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson. It's sooo good! I really wish I was reading it with a group of women, so I could discuss it! It would be a great group discussion book study! I didn't get any response with that idea though, but maybe in the future! I also just started reading Hebrews. I read Joshua, Judges and Ruth in a row and just thought it was time for some New Testament!

Well, there is a little bit of info on what's going on in our house!

Menu Plan 9.20.10

We had dinner at my moms twice this week and we had a leftover night so three of our meals are repeats!

Sunday (last night)- Taco Salad w/ Homegroup

Monday- Cheesy Stuffed Shells (was manicotti but I bought jumbo shells instead), Salad

Tuesday- Leftovers

Wednesday- Chicken Nachos w/ Black Beans

Thursday- Cheeseburger Soup (new recipe, found one without velveeta, sounds yummy)

Friday- BBQ Chicken Pizza, Carrots w/ Dip

Saturday- Hamburgers, Potato Salad, Baked Beans

Letter M

Last week we did the letter M. It was a short week with Labor Day but we did get a good bit in. We of course started with the letter M collage. Letter M is for Money, Mouse, Marbles, Milk and Mop.











We did a cute Totally Tots letter M craft. M is for Mouse!









We read two books about mice. The first was Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh.



After reading the book we did a counting activity. I wrote numbers 1-10 onto index cards then I gave Luke a pile of paper clips. He had to randomly draw numbers and then clip the correct number of paper clips onto each card!


We also read Mouse Paint by Walsh. And then we painted mice! We learned about mixing red, blue and yellow paints to make purple, green and orange! I drew 3 ovals on 4 pieces of paper (2 for Luke and 2 for Eli). They painted 3 mice red, blue and yellow. Then they mixed the paint to get orange, purple and green. After they are dry you can add faces, arms, legs and tail. Here is Luke painting his mice:

And here is Eli painting:

We also made Double Chocolate Chip Muffins (this recipe , minus the cherries) and read If You Give A Moose A Muffin!

Last we went on a Letter M scavenger hunt! Fun!

Here is what he found: Mouthwash, Movie, Markers, Man, Monster Truck, Magazine, Make up, Money, Magnet and Mirror.

Luke also worked on his Kumon Uppercase Workbook!

Our verse for the week was, "A merry heart does good like a medicine." Proverbs 17:22

Our Family Rule that we learned was: We Tell The Truth ~ Exodus 20:16 - "You shall not lie."

And a cute story about our 'rule' that hopefully shows reinforcing these things is working... Today, the boys were playing in Luke's room and I heard them bickering. Then I heard Eli start crying. Before I was able to head in that direction, Luke ran into our bedroom, came up to me and said, "Mommy, I'm not going to lie. Eli was trying to get my clothes and I took my arm and pushed him."

He got a spanking. But I did tell him I was thankful that he told me the truth!

:)

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Cleaning Schedule

I am laughing as I write this post because I currently want to pull my hair out. Seriously. My kids are driving me crazy.. and in the same thought I'm praying, "Please, Lord, give me gentle and kind words, patience, wisdom and understanding."

I've been meaning to share my 'cleaning' schedule. It helps me keep my housework semi-caught up. At least the "big" stuff. So here it is:

Mondays- Trash (our pick up day is Tuesday) and weekend pick up

*Even when you stay at home, Mondays are Mondays! The house is usually a wreck with stuff all over the place... especially if we were gone much of the weekend. Sounds crazy, right? But when we're in and out of the house a lot over the weekend, even if we're not there much, the house looks like a disaster Monday morning. We come in, change clothes, drop 'stuff' off, the boys play for a min while we get ready.. and nothing gets put away or picked up. So that's what I do Mondays.

Tuesday- Laundry/Change Sheets/De-clutter

*Tuesday is a minimal day too because we usually go to the library. So, I try to catch up on some laundry and change the sheets. I usually grocery shop on Mon or Tuesday too.. so I keep things lighter. I also try to pick one area of the house to declutter. And I mean something small, like the top of the fridge or the catch all bowl on the kitchen table.

Wednesday- Bathrooms

*This includes mirrors, sinks, tubs, shower stall, toilets (inside and out) and sweeping and mopping the bathroom floors. This also includes the sink, counter and mirror in our bedroom.

Thursday- Vacuum and Dust

*Yep, that's it.. I vacuum and dust... the bedrooms and the den. Exciting. Sometimes I vacuum really well.. like I get behind furniture, etc. And sometimes I just go over what I can see! If it's the Hubs week to be off on Friday I also try to get my Friday work done.

Friday - Sweep and Mop

*Sweep and mop the hall and kitchen. I hate mopping.

I try to sweep the floors everyday and of course I do the dishes everyday.. well most everyday. Sometimes the dinner dishes don't get done until the next day. I also do a load or two of laundry everyday.. but if you were to come over today you'd see two loads on the couch... it doesn't always get put up the same day! Here lately I've been on an organizing kick. And that is good.. because I am not organized. Today I organized the closet where I keep all of our craft and school things. So, I'm hoping to add some kind of organizational stuff to my week. I guess decluttering counts, right?

I made up this schedule to keep up on the important cleaning. Sometimes kids are sick... I am sick.. we are busy and it doesn't get done. And it's okay. My house is never perfect. I have kids, young kids and you know what? We live here! I have gotten into the trap where I worked myself to death to keep things looking perfect. And you know what? They never looked perfect! I would work and work on housework and at the end of the day, all I had was frustration! There was still laundry to be done, the boys had left their blocks in the den floor, I hadn't made it to the bedroom where my makeup was still strewn all over the counter, the Hubs had left his wet towel in the bathroom floor, that pile of mail and papers still waited on me by the computer... and it was 11pm and I was exhausted! So, now, I try to do the important things and do a few 'straighten ups' throughout the day and just let it be. I still catch myself going back to that frustration. But I have to remind myself what is important. My kids and hubby deserve a wife and mommy that is not frustrated.

Next, I'll share about the boys 'Chore Books' and our 5 minute clean ups!

*Disclaimer- Please don't think that this means my house will look tidy every time you come over. And please don't think this 'schedule' means that I have it all together. Oh me, that is far from the truth!