How to Keep your kids busy, on the cheap!

This summer has been a complete bust for us. With picking up extra hours at work to fill in what I lost for the summer, there has been little to no extra for summer fun. So the other day after I finished work, I swung by our local Dollor Store to see what I could find. I found these awesome foam planes for $1.25! Perfect. 2 planes for the price of one! (You can grab whatever you think may interest your littles, for my boys, planes, trains and cars are always a go to!) You could always pick up a few new, interesting things that can be put away for a later date! For me, I wanted to spend as little as possible. For $1.25, I was prepared for them to last just for the day, but thats all we needed :)

Thank you Dollar Store :)

Ace helping daddy build the plane

As soon as I got home, the boys noticed I had something special in hand, and as soon as I pulled the planes out they jumped up and down excitedly yelling, "Mommy, you got me a plane?! Oh THANK YOU mommy, you are the best!" Literally. I guess having 4 year olds has its perk, they love you for the little things!

 

Ez man

So we immediately got to work, pulling all the pieces out and building. Okay, so I am not going to lie! I got super confused from the lack of instructions as there were no instructions, so I had the hubs help! Once they were put together, the boys had a blast flying them all around the living room! And boy do those things fly. (When properly put together...) After about an hour of testing, we decided to head to the park down the street and test them there. Unfortunately, it was too windy and the planes quickly fell apart. BUT we made it to the park, even if it was only maybe the second time this summer... Super sad, I know I know! So we just played until they were tired! I put everything I had to do on the back burner, and just let go.  And guess what? Life still went on and dinner was even still on the table before midnight!

Okay, so I guess my little tidbit for the day is this; even if you have no money, have a bajillion things on your to-do list, and feel like summer has sucked the big one, you can still find a little fun if you just let go a little. And you definitely don't need to spend a lot, or drive to some fancy smancy theme park either! (Not that there is anything wrong with theme parks, our family personally loves them a little too much!) Just love the little things, enjoy time spent with loved ones, and let go :)

Doing what boys do best, gettin dirty!

“Perhaps it takes a purer faith to praise God for unrealized blessings than for those we once enjoyed or those we enjoy now.” 
― A.W. Tozer

Morning Routines

Do you have one? Mine varies greatly depending on the day of the week, and lets face it, my mood! Mon. Tues. & Wed. I work outside the home, so if I manage to eat breakfast, pack the boys bags and get to my destination without missing a shoe (OR child), I have done great. The other 4 days, I try to stick to a routine.
First, coffee, even though I hate the taste of it! It helps me get up and go, with two little ones, being able to chase all day is a must.
Second, feed our bodies with some healthy food. I find if I don't start the day with fruit, the rest of the day is a battle field of fighting healthy choices all day. plus, sugar and junk make my kids go crazy!
Third, feed my body spiritually. For myself, this one is hard to do. It is so simple, yet taking the 10 - 15 minutes of quiet, uninterpreted time to read my bible and talk to God seems like a daunting task instead of something I just yearn to do. Is that sad? That one of the most benefiting things I can do for myself and my family and my entire life feels like work? I think it's time to whip myself into shape.
Today I did manage to grab 10 minutes of silence, thanks to a beautiful little contraption my kids received for their birthday. Behold, the trampoline! Total. Life. Saver. So today after breaky, I threw some clothes on the boys and shoved them out the back door! It was only 10 minutes of silence or more like, "not-ear deafening screaming" but it was great. I sat on my back porch, grabbed my coffee and just read! Well, technically I listened too. (Thank you YouVersion!) :) If you haven't downloaded the YouVersion app, do it right now! It is an amazing app that has many plans to help kick start your Bible reading. I even found a new one thats worth a look thanks to some wonderful women who really know the importance of listening to His voice :) SheReadsTruth
Starting my day like this is worth the fight, and it makes me wonder why I don't fight for it more often.
So that is my morning routine. Nothing super exciting!

My morning, thanks to SheReadsTruth

Truly Listening

This past month has been a blur for me. I was thinking that it went by way too fast, and not because it was the shortest month of the year, but because I just have way too much on my plate! As if it wasn't enough to work out of the home 2 days a week, run my blog design company on the side, commit myself 2 Sundays a month to the worship team, 2 small groups and a new class at church, + still be a mom, wife, cook, cleaner and all those other lovely "mom" things. Then I decide to go and add another day to work out of the home. :/ Yes, I am officially nuts! So, you could say I don't have time to get board. Or that I don't have a life outside of doing life. HOW IN THE WORLD DO YOU MOTHERS WORK FULL TIME?! Super. Flippin. Moms. Seriously!

Okay so back to my rant about my insanely busy life or lack there of.
My gramma (my boys GG), was in a car accident at the beginning of February. So on top of everything I have going on, we have been spending a great deal of time and money, on being with her at the hospital! I have helped out in any way I can, with making some decent puree'd food for her (Cause we all know how awful that hospital junk is,) and visiting without the littles if possible. I think, with running the roads and being everyone else's caretaker, my body has suffered greatly because I have been sick for what seems like, the entire month of February! I have had tonsillitis, strep throat, and now a cold one right after the other and I feel SO defeated. :( Perhaps its time to just take a day for me and tell everyone else to just bug off for a few days, I know its not the nicest thing to do, but I'm really no use to anyone if I am sick!

One thing that I have been super grateful for this past month was the opportunities I have had to be still and listen to His voice. I feel like amongst all the craziness, I have been able to find time to pick up my bible pick up my iphone with YouVersion, and read/listen more often. To just enjoy the quietness at the end of the day when the littles are asleep, and just talk with Him. I also found that if I really and truly take the time to have a meaningful conversation with my heavenly father, and ask him to show me the beauty and joy in the little things, and to help me hear His voice better than I did the day before, He listens! I have had multiple times were He placed something in my view and answered a little question I had. It was super exciting!
I was raised in a Christian home, but for the first time I am experiencing really knowing Him seeing just how great of a God He is. I love it!

So a friend of mine on FB posted this image the other day. It is not mine, and I honestly I have no idea whose it is or where to give credit for it so I am apologizing in advance, and if its yours, let me know! I would love to credit you :)
This just really hit me and the month I have been having. It helps put things into perspective and I found helped me with my journey to listening to His voice! Because truly, we all never really stop growing in our walks with Christ. There is always a deeper level to go and we always have room to grow with Him!







I am also mingling and meeting new bloggy friends over here ;) Feel free to join me!