Starfall.com - Education Website for Littles

My sister-in-law Tiffany (who was a kindergarten teacher) just introduced me to this fun website for young kids to learn ABCs and reading skills.  Brayden loves to to the "ABCs" link where we click on a letter and learn about its sounds and associated words. Anywho, it's fun if you want to try it out!  Click on the picture to go to starfall.com

A Day in Guatemala and My Endorsement for President:)

This picture was taken on a different day than the 4th.
I won't post that picture - it's definitely not in the
least bit flattering :)

I'll never forget standing in beautiful southern Guatemala actually on the 4th of July.  We were giving supplies and business lessons to a gathering of dear Guatemalan women and young girls.  Knowing it was American's Independence day, they asked if we would sing our national anthem.  That day I will also never forget since it was what I recall, the sickest day of my entire life.  I was green in the face and couldn't keep anything down for days.   As I sang that song, tears ran down my face as I held a throw up bag in my hand.  I learned that day a deep love for AMERICA, as well as a love for the Guatemalan people.

Some children will never be able to walk or talk much.  Others will never enjoy living in a home with a mother and father.

Children waiting anxiously in line to receive one toy.  If your children start whining about something they want, show them this picture :)

Little boy so excited to own his first ball.

You can see the "home" behind us is where a family of eight lived.  We were building a studier home for them - still dirt floors.  Our previous 400 square foot carpeted apartment would have seemed like a deluxe stay.

A natural disaster destroyed the water system that supplied water to an entire community.  Can you imagine living a long time without water.  No, we can't!  Here we are (the Guatemalans were really the ones working hard) trying to rebuild the water system.

This amazing older lady you see started an after school program in efforts to help get kids off the streets.  Thanks to American donors, we were able to teach them how to grow their own square-foot gardens to improve their health.  I made a deal with them that if they could each build their own garden in this plot of dirt, that I would bring plenty of seeds for them to plant.  I was beaming with joy when I walked in and saw this...

Thanks again to American financial donors, these children were finally able to have their school classroom's roof fixed!  Every time it rained, water would pour into the classroom and greatly disrupt their learning.  I love these children!  Many Guatemalans, including these kids, desire to learn English. 

I LOVE this great nation AMERICA!!!!!  SO much of the world, especially Central and South America long to step foot on American soil.  I remember sitting in Church sharing a hymn book with fellow Guatemalan grandmothers.  As we sang, I realized they didn't know how to read.  What a privilege and immense opportunity we have to get an education and to have a bright future.  And because of that, our Heavenly Father expects much of us to bless those around us.  The call to action is not one which needs to overwhelm.  As we feel overwhelmed by the love and grace and blessings of God, we rise with a burning desire to do His will and serve all of those in our spheres of influences.  We are so incredibly blessed to live in this nation and I would love to see a President who can improve our country and our opportunities and our future!

We spent last night spraying our hair blue and red, making another flag, listening to "God Bless America" as high as it would go, and trying to watch the Republican debate!  CLICK HERE  to read about how important it is for us wives and mothers to have our own personal pursuits and passions.  And HERE to read ideas of how to keep learning and progressing amidst the motherly mayhem.

So, I hereby publicly declare my endorsement for Mitt Romney for President :)!   The great thing about America is everyone gets to have their own opinion.  But that's just my vote!  I have full confidence that he can get America back on track and a place where jobs can thrive again.

Surviving the Store, Handling Laundry, & After-School Routines and Ideas!

The powerofmoms.com website is an online gathering place for deliberate mothers!  Saren Eyre Loolsi (her parents founded Joy School)  and her cute friend April Perry created this website full of ideas from other mothers and info about motherhood retreats, family resources, a motherhood power of the month, and even book reviews.  They also have a "friends" tab that will link you to lots of other mothering blogs.  Here are some of Saren's "Deliberate Mothering Videos" to give you some quick ideas:  

After School Rountine: You don't have to watch all of this to get the idea but she has an after school snack followed by asking each of them 2 questions: 1. What did you do to help someone else today?  and 2. What is one thing you learned today?

Saren also has a fun idea for their Laundry Routine.  

A Trip to the Grocery Store.  Here are some of her ideas on preparing kids for the grocery store BEFORE you go in.  

 I find Supernanny's INVOLVEMENT TECHNIQUE to be so helpful... maybe you could even give older kids their own short grocery list of things to look for or let your child look for certain colors or foods as you go down isles.  I love how when my nephew would ask for things, my cute sister-in-law Brittany explains to him how some little kids don't have much and that he has many toys already at home.  I sometimes will grab a toy at the store for him to play with while I stroll around, and I explain that the toy "lives here." :) Grocery shopping is still CRAZY at times, but these ideas have been helpful to us.  Good luck to us all!! :)

BIG NEWS.....

So.... Steve got into four dental schools so far!!!  YEAH!  Go Steve!

 And..... We found out we are expecting BABY #3!  ... a month before school starts.  To those of you who think we are crazy... we are :)  But we love it!   

Ok, our "baby room" looks NOTHING like this.  haha! Just a picture from google :)

We are SO very excited for our two littles to have another buddy, but I am also bracing myself for the oncoming wave of "morning".... all day sickness.  So, I'm trying to get stuff in order and do some projects before it begins.  I want to devote every daily ounce of possible energy to my kidlets and hubby, so I'm trying to prepare for it.  This pregnancy (along with finding a live black widow inside my home - ahhh!) has motivated me to getting this home extra clean and organized.  And... most importantly, I want to teach Brayden to have fun WORKING HARD and CLEANING UP.  So I created this.... (after being inspired by a powerofmoms.com webinar)

Little pockets out of file folders - one that includes index cards with his chore for each day of the week and also one for the various toy items he needs to clean up.  I was going to also create a Morning and Bedtime Routine pocket but you know... you just can't do everything, right?!  I know a family who developed pictures for their kids doing each step of their bedtime routine, and each night the kids take turn deciding which order to do them in .... scriptures, prayer, pajamas, brush teeth, bath, etc...

You can see below the weekly cleaning routine I created, and Brayden gets to do a part along with me! 

I think it's so awesome how really young kids think it's super cool to clean up like Daddy and Mommy and there's so many ways you can make work FUN.  My little boy could even decide on the order of toys to pick up.

For those of you with OLDER KIDS, here are some ideas:

* set the timer, and say ok everybody if we can clean this in (a certain amount of minutes), then let's have some ice cream!

*If there's something your child really wants, maybe you could create a chart with squares and as they do certain tasks for you, then they fill in the squares and eventually earn it.

*Put on fun cleaning music that you can sing and dance to as you clean

*Teach them to look around and soak up how nice it is right after you clean something. 

*Find moments to laugh and connect with your children as you clean together.

CLICK HERE to see April Perry's (from powerofmoms.com) ideas on how to make housework fun for your kids.
CLICK HERE  to see a post on teaching kids to work hard and be more independent!

Shutterfly GOSPEL ABC BOOK - ready to order!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Select directly above "Click here to view this photo book larger" if you'd like to order this ABC book to interest your children during sacrament meeting - or to teach them on any day of the week!  Next on the right hand side you'll login with your info and then select "Save this photo book." Finally, you can quickly edit anything you'd like.  You would need to add your own personalized pictures for the "E" and "F" pages.  When ordering, I selected a "hard cover" so it would last.  Just fyi, it's not like I get any money for people ordering it!  This just took me a long time to make, so I hope it may save someone else time.  Hope it helps!

To see another post about surviving sacrament meeting and Sabbath Day ideas with kids CLICK HERE!

Life-Changing Pancakes!!

You HAVE to try this pancake mix.  Other moms have told me that it changes their life and they can never eat other pancakes ever again :) I whip up a ton of mix (it has healthy whole wheat flour and oatmeal) and Brayden eats these pretty much every other day.  SO YUMMY!  I got the recipe from Melskitchencafe.com and we have altered it to be even more amazing... she suggests using buttermilk or a plain yogurt/milk combo, but I've tried it and vanilla yogurt makes ALL the difference.  The type of vanilla yogurt even matters... Dannon Light & Fit vanilla has been the best.  I haven't experimented with using coconut oil yet but please do share if that works well!

Oatmeal Pancake Mix

*Makes 10 cups of dry mix

*1 cup of mix will make pancakes to feed 1 adult and 1-2 kids (about 6 pancakes)

3 1/2 cups rolled (quick) oats

3 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons baking powder

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 cup canola oil

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixer with a paddle (or by hand). With mixer on slow speed (or gently by hand), drizzle the vegetable oil into the bowl slowly while the mixer is running. When all the oil has been added, stop the mixer and squeeze a clump of mix in your hand. If it stays together, it is just right. If it is still crumbly, add another tablespoon of oil at a time until the consistency is correct. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature or indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer.

To make the pancakes: whisk together 1 cup of mix, 1/2 c. vanilla yogurt (I have found that a thick constancy works well like "Dannon Light & Fit vanilla",1/2 c. milk, and 1 egg. The mixture may seem thin at first but the oats will soak up the milk as it stands - let it stand for about 5 minutes. Heat a griddle around 325 degrees and drop the batter onto it. Enjoy!!

*Some have added mashed bananas, vanilla, and cinnamon... YUM!

Creative Bookshelves for your Children!!

Yeah!  I finally found a cheap and sturdy way to make cute bookshelves... thanks to pinterest!  I love how the front covers show - this helps my boy want to read more.  I recently cut up a 10-foot long raingutter to make a similar idea, but these look a ton stronger and whew, a lot easier!  IKEA has these spice racks for $3.99 each and you can paint them any color you want!!  CLICK HERE for the link to Ikea's wooden spice racks.

Here are some other posts about making reading fun:
Making Stories Come to Life
Having a Letter of the Week
Letter Association Songs to Teach
Forts & Flashlights