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FAMILY/ Kids/Family

Charts, Chores, Allowances, & Behavior-Part 1 – Purposeful Living




These posts written by Todd (Amy’s husband) are
designed to model a system of purposeful living.  At least once a month, he spends time setting
meaningful goals around one of seventeen core priorities.

If you missed it, consider reading the foundation post – Purposeful Living #1. 

 

Correct Priority
Priority #5 – Social Health – Immediate Family–Children (Emotional Health)

Goal Setting & Reflection Date
Sunday, March 4

Goal
Invest in the emotional health of my children by revising our chart, chore, and allowance system.  Specifically this means:

  • Revising our list of morning, afternoon, and evening routines/chores.

  • Listing routines/chores in the order they should be completed.
  • Developing an easier system of connecting routines/chores to an allowance.  The system must be easy to record and monitor.  
  • Developing effective and easy to implement consequences for misbehavior.


Goal Status
In Progress

Thoughts
This week I spent time reflecting and setting goals to be a better parent.  To do a better job of meeting the emotional needs of my wonderful children.  
Amy & I have three amazing girls ages 12, 11, and 8 and they are number five on my list of correct priorities.  They are beautiful, and precious, and we are extremely proud them.  They bring joy to our lives and make us smile on a daily basis.   

{our girls-2010}

But even the best of kids can struggle if not given proper boundaries.

Two and a half years ago we developed a morning, afternoon, and evening chart system which included a list of chores for our girls to complete during each part of the day.  We also connected an allowance to the successful completion of these chores.  

While the charts have been modestly successful and have made life a bit easier over the past couple of years, the charts also have some serious flaws.  Enforcing them has become harder and harder and over the months Amy & I have stopped expecting them to get done almost completely.  Our girls still do some of the routines on their own, but there are many they will only do if nagged and many more that they don’t do at all.  As Amy likes to say, “We’ve got monkeys on our backs that don’t belong there.” I agree, we are spending too much time telling (nagging) our girls to get their responsibilities (monkeys) done.

This goal of revising our chart, chore, and allowance system is so important to me that I am moving it immediately to my weekly to-do list.  Over the next few weeks I will dedicate significant time to this project.  It is an area where I have missed the mark as parent and it is time to tighten things up.   

Not only will Amy & I benefit, but more important our girls will benefit.  They will benefit by learning the value of hard work and discipline.     

I plan to share the results of this work very soon!

Foundation Post
Purposeful Living #1

Outline Of All Purposeful Living Posts

Additional Posts In This Series

Charts, Chores, & Allowances–Part 2

Charts, Chores, & Allowances–Part 3
Charts, Chores, & Allowances–Part 4
Charts, Chores, & Allowances–Part 5
Charts, Chores, & Allowances–Part 6
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Decorating/ FUN/DIY/ HOME/ Kids/Family/ Organizing/ Simplifying

My Thoughts During Spring Break

Having my kids home for spring break has got me wondering…

…about this blog of mine. A hobby– turned passion– turned surprise income maker– now takes time.  I now have advertisers, sponsors and write occasional posts on products and get paid for it.  I find myself photographer, editor, writer, social media specialist, administrator, and receptionist all at the same time, and I LOVE IT! It has been a huge blessing, a surprise answer to prayer. We asked God about supplementing our income and what would be the best way to do that, and it seems like this blog is the answer. It brings me to tears when I think of the incredible gift I have been given, to spend time doing my passion hobby, and actually help the family income at the same time.  I have God and YOU ALL to thank for that.

But, as spring break is here, and kids are home, I find myself wondering how in the world am I going to do it all come summer break?  I have felt the pull the last 2 days, the pull between being a mom and being a blog writer.  My little ones win in this tug o’ war game.  I gladly give in.  For you see, I now know that the moments are so precious, and are not forever.  They pull, and I respond pulling them to me into arms that don’t ever want to let go.  Oh if I could freeze these precious moments!

Arms right now are empty, as I sit here in a few surprise quiet moments, as all 3 of my girls are at a friends house down the street.  Thank goodness for great neighbors, another answer to a prayer that we prayed.

Back to summer, I’m not sure how I will balance the two. I know so many of you do it, working mothers, and then those who are my heroes, single mothers.  But, I do know that my family must always come first, and I must notice and cling to those moments that so easily slip past when I am too focused on work.  I know my work is best when I am being the best mom and wife I can be.

I will probably sneak away to a coffee shop a couple evenings a week and take my laptop to the pool.

Another solution I have is bringing you into our days, sharing with you what we do, and keeping my posts simple. So today, you get to see what my youngest and I have been up to, and I will show you a glimpse of a fun little project we did yesterday with some of our neighbor kids.

I received a phone call from Grandma last night, “Can I take you all out for breakfast in the morning?  Can I drop little ones birthday gift off at the house, too?”  So our morning started out with the blessing beautiful weather, an awesome breakfast and time with Grandma.  Grandma Sharon knew that my little one could really use her own comfy chair in her room, and after looking all over the city, she found the MOST special and comfy one.  Such a great gift!  

 My little ones room has been a mess, and I was hoping this would be the motivation she might need to get her room in order.  I was right.  As we were out to breakfast, little one asks, “Mom, do you think we could work on my room today, maybe rearrange it and find a special place for my new chair?”  Yay!  Because I didn’t over schedule our Spring Break, I was able to say “yes” and now her room looks great!  She expressed such gratitude to me for helping her with her room, which melted me.

 {Here is what was eliminated from her room, most of which was under the bed! Eyyy..}

As always, when I get into one project, it seems like the rest of the house falls apart, so I will take some time this afternoon rescuing my house!  The weather is so amazing, I’m thinking it may be a great evening to pack a picnic and have Todd meet us at the park for dinner.  It is 81 degrees and sunny, with just a slight breeze.  Perfect!

Off I go to get to my rescuing, but before I do, here a quick peek at a super fun project we did yesterday.  I will have a “how-to” post coming soon!

It was one of our most fun projects, the girls loved it, and I love that it is healthy for them–no chemicals!

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Books/ FUN/DIY/ Kids/Family

A Perfect Friday Night & “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand

OR, eat chocolate, drink red wine and sit curled up with a GREAT book!
It has been a great Friday night here at our home.  It started as every other Friday night does around here. Dad takes 3 little girls to the local drug store to let them pick out a sweet treat, and then brings home take-out so I don’t have to cook!  We eat while watching recorded TV, tonight it was ‘Survivor.’  
I didn’t want to miss out on a sweet treat, so I made my favorite Oatmeal Peanut Butter No Bake Chocolate bars, one of my most popular recipes here at New Nostalgia. The ingredients are very healthful, but you would never know it by tasting these.  They are luxurious!  This time I put dried cherries in them instead of dried cranberries, and THAT my friends, was an awesome decision!
I also poured myself a glass of red wine.  My favorite wine guy from Trader Joes pointed me to this particular kind.  I told him I wanted the sweetest red wine he had and he pointed me toward Joseph Handler Sweet Red.  It like it very much, it is mellow with hints of cherry and plum. It is a nice change from my usually bubbly Moscato.  I only indulge in a glass wine every few weeks, as I am too cheap and health conscience to do it more often!
To top the awesome night off, I sat with my Nook reading “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand.  It is an amazing story, one that is very hard to put down.  But, as I was sitting there finishing up my Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Bar and sipping on my glass of wine, I thought “this is the perfect night and I must go share with my readers.”  So yes, I tore myself away from my Nook book just to come tell you about it!  Here is more about the book about the author:

The Story of Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
“Eight years ago, an old man told me a story that took my breath away. His name was Louie Zamperini, and from the day I first spoke to him, his almost incomprehensibly dramatic life was my obsession.

It was a horse–the subject of my first book, Seabiscuit: An American Legend–who led me to Louie. As I researched the Depression-era racehorse, I kept coming across stories about Louie, a 1930s track star who endured an amazing odyssey in World War II. I knew only a little about him then, but I couldn’t shake him from my mind. After I finished Seabiscuit, I tracked Louie down, called him and asked about his life. For the next hour, he had me transfixed.

Growing up in California in the 1920s, Louie was a hellraiser, stealing everything edible that he could carry, staging elaborate pranks, getting in fistfights, and bedeviling the local police. But as a teenager, he emerged as one of the greatest runners America had ever seen, competing at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where he put on a sensational performance, crossed paths with Hitler, and stole a German flag right off the Reich Chancellery. He was preparing for the 1940 Olympics, and closing in on the fabled four-minute mile, when World War II began. Louie joined the Army Air Corps, becoming a bombardier. Stationed on Oahu, he survived harrowing combat, including an epic air battle that ended when his plane crash-landed, some six hundred holes in its fuselage and half the crew seriously wounded.

On a May afternoon in 1943, Louie took off on a search mission for a lost plane. Somewhere over the Pacific, the engines on his bomber failed. The plane plummeted into the sea, leaving Louie and two other men stranded on a tiny raft. Drifting for weeks and thousands of miles, they endured starvation and desperate thirst, sharks that leapt aboard the raft, trying to drag them off, a machine-gun attack from a Japanese bomber, and a typhoon with waves some forty feet high. At last, they spotted an island. As they rowed toward it, unbeknownst to them, a Japanese military boat was lurking nearby. Louie’s journey had only just begun.

That first conversation with Louie was a pivot point in my life. Fascinated by his experiences, and the mystery of how a man could overcome so much, I began a seven-year journey through his story. I found it in diaries, letters and unpublished memoirs; in the memories of his family and friends, fellow Olympians, former American airmen and Japanese veterans; in forgotten papers in archives as far-flung as Oslo and Canberra. Along the way, there were staggering surprises, and Louie’s unlikely, inspiring story came alive for me. It is a tale of daring, defiance, persistence, ingenuity, and the ferocious will of a man who refused to be broken.

The culmination of my journey is my new book, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. I hope you are as spellbound by Louie’s life as I am.”

Rumor has it that they are going to make it into a Universal film.  That would be awesomesauce!
What are you doing this Friday evening?

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How-Tos/ Kids/Family/ RECIPES

Fun With Food For Kids

Source: ontobaby.com via Amy on Pinterest

Toddler buffet using ice cube trays.  So cute!


{wanna follow me there? Click here.}

Fruit served in ice cream cone cups.  Would be cute for a baby shower or summer party!

Rainbow on a skewer.

Source: opiefoto.com via Amy on Pinterest

Tortellini skewers with pesto dipping sauce

Veggie cups. No more worries about double dipping!

Grilled chocolate banana melt.  Fun after school snack..at least they get some fruit with it!

Peanut butter and jelly “sushi” rolls.

Apple and grape cars.

Fun cheesy sunflower and grapes.  Another after school snack idea.

Source: google.com via Amy on Pinterest

Fun owl food.  This would take just minutes to make, but lasting smiles!

Source: thekitchn.com via Amy on Pinterest

Watermelon and Cantaloupe fruit pops!  How clever.

Source: tumblr.com via Amy on Pinterest

So tropical!
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FAMILY/ Kids/Family/ Love/ Spiritual

How To Live At Peace With One Another


How To Live At Peace With One Another

This morning our home was not even close to peaceful.  I see habits forming in myself and my children that make me uncomfortable.  It is just too easy to complain, to snip and snark at each other, and to speak negative.  We have not been counting the gifts together and it shows.  When the heart is not thankful, there is room for complaining and lots of other junk!  

I searched the Scriptures and I am amazed how just one chunk of the Word can ground me, lead me and instruct me so I in turn can instruct my little ones. I will be sharing this with them tonight, all the while letting them know that it is just as much for me, their imperfect Momma, as it is for them.


I Thessalonians 5:14-18 NAS

We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.  See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.  Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.


~admonish the unruly
~encourage the fainthearted
~help the weak
~be patient with everyone
~see to it that no one repays evil for evil
~seek after that which is good for one another
~rejoice always
~pray without ceasing
~in everything give thanks

I Thessalonians 5:14-18 The Message


Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other’s nerves you don’t snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.

Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

~get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part.

I love this.  We are a family and we each contribute to the atmosphere and reality of our home life.  We all play a very important part.

~gently admonish the freeloaders
Ha. Love that word, freeloaders.  We all are guilty of this once in a while.  Wanting others to do our part.

~gently encourage stragglers and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet.
This was perfect for me today.  My middle girl had bad dreams last night and could not get back to sleep.  She woke up REALLY needing more sleep.  Here is the perfect example to where I need to be fore-bearing and reach out to comfort her in her exhaustion.  I am glad to say I did this.  Just having her Mom acknowledge that she must be tired from all those yucky dreams was enough to get her on her feet.

~be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs.
Oh boy.  This one is for me.  I  know my family well.  But, being attentive is much more than just knowing.  It is serving based on the knowledge of individual need, and yes, this takes thought and patience.

~…and be careful that when you get on each others nerves that you don’t snap at each other.
It is so easy to snap and snark at family members.  Ugh…why is this?  There has been a lot of that going on among siblings lately.  Oh how we need these reminders from the Word of Truth!

~look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.
As a mom and wife, this one is key.  It is so easy to look at the negative.  To see peoples faults.  Love looks past, and sees the best and works to bring it out!

~be cheerful no matter what
REALLY?  No matter what?  Yes, it is there.  It is a command.  To rejoice always. When I was sick I really had a taste of this, and it IS possible, but only with the Lords help.  He is the one that gives that peace that passes all understanding, that inner joy.  It is Him in me.

~thank God no matter what happens.
again, REALLY?  Yes, really.  Finding contentment in all circumstances is another supernatural thing only found in the power of God.

~pray all the time
A constant awareness of Him.  A continual communion throughout the day. Whispers between friends.  Thoughts to the One who knows me, loves me, and promises to be with me always.  He is the Peace giver and the Peace maker…

…and OH how I need Him in my family’s pursuit of peace!

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Frugal/ FUN/DIY/ Holidays/Parties/ HOME/ Kids/Family/ Simplifying

A Super Simple Yet Special Birthday

That sweet little face is my middle girl back when she was 9.  Last week she turned 11!  Where or where has the time gone?
We usually budget in birthday parties for our 3 girls.  I love a good party and an excuse to have one.  We usually do not buy our kids birthday gifts, as grandparents are amazingly generous so our kids get plenty of gifts, and we consider a birthday party their gift.  This year, my little 11-year-old-to-be asked “Mom, if I save my money for a new Kindle Fire will you pay for half of it?”  I told her that we would, but we would have to use the money we usually set aside for a party.  She like this idea, she thought it was totally worth it.  She saved her money, and is LOVING her new Kindle Fire,
Her birthday was last week, and I wanted to do something to make her feel special on her day, despite not having a big birthday party.  At the end of the day, she said “Mom, this was one of the best birthdays ever.” Success!
Here is what her day entailed:
She woke up to a sea of pink balloons on her floor.  I was sneaky the night before and when I peaked in her room in the morning, she was laying in bed, hitting one pink balloon in the air with the biggest, best birthday girl smile on her face.  She loved it and just giggled at me. That was so worth the 2.00 dollars I spent on balloons and the fact that I almost passed out blowing them up!  I got this great idea from my Pinterest Parties Board. 
{source: Parents.com}

Once my birthday girl was up, she was greeted by her favorite breakfast.  We call it “Toad In A Hole”–so appetizing, huh?  It really is good.  I wanted to make it extra special so I made it pretty with a flower cookie cutter and sliced fruit. 
{our usual “toad in a hole”}

{flower cookie cutter} 
{special birthday breakkie!}

She loved her special breakfast.  She also loved that I had to pick her up early from school to take her to a quick doctor checkup for a knee injury that is now healed. He gave her a GREAT birthday gift, telling her she could participate in P.E.  After sitting out since October, this was awesome news. 

 I had some returns to make at the mall, so she came with, and as we walked by the soft pretzel stand at the mall we both took a whiff and of course had to get one!  Getting out of school early and a couple buck pretzel made her feel very special.

In the meantime, little sister got home from school and I left her instructions to frost some cupcakes that I had baked earlier.  I used the same mix cake mix and frosting mix that I use in my Gooey Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes.  I knew little sister would LOVE getting to help, and I also knew I would come home to cupcakes that would be drenched in decorating sugar.  I was right!


Little sister also took time to make super cute and creative homemade party hats.  Loved!

{my youngest, laughing at me wearing her hat creation while doing a birthday jig}

I sent a quick text to the neighbor girls mom, and she agreed to let her 2 girls come over for some birthday cupcakes and…

..a hot chocolate bar!  Another idea from Pinterest, but we kept ours very simple.  The girls had caramel candy sticks to stir their hot chocolate.  They melted quickly into the hot chocolate and gave it a caramel-ly flavor.  Fun!

{my oldest, enjoying her caramel stick}
I took a few balloons from the sea of pink in her bedroom and taped them on the wall.  I wanted to copy the below idea also found on Pinterest, but kept it simple instead.

{great idea from Martha Stewart.  Could put a dollar bill in each balloon!}

{my oldest, enjoying her cupcake}

It was great fun, and actually felt like a party even though it really was not, (not like our usual birthday parties) and my sweet girl felt very loved on her birthday.  It goes to show that simple, cheap touches are enough!

6
Kids/Family

Our Family’s Favorite Christmas Book

Well, I shared with you my new favorite Christmas song, so I thought I would continue the theme and tell you about my new favorite Christmas story book called “The Nativity“

We purchase a new Christmas story book every year, and when I found this one at Indigo Bridge bookstore, I just immediately fell in love with it.  It delighted me, made me laugh out loud in the store, and was just a refreshing change from typical.

Janice Harayda gives a great explanation of a few of the delights from this book:

The Nativity has several big advantages over most other picture books about birth of Christ and the arrival of the shepherds and wise men. One of these is that it tells the story through the rich and resonant text of the Gospel of Luke from the King James Version of the Bible, dropping only a phrase or two here and there for clarity or space. (“Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people” becomes “Fear not, I bring you tidings of great joy.”) Another advantage of the book is that the characters have no fixed race, so all kinds of families can identify with them. A third is that Vivas provides dynamic but offbeat and deglamorized watercolor illustrations — no gilt halos, no foil star, no flocked sheep. So The Nativity is more accurate than many of the books that have a Jesus, Mary, and Joseph who might have come straight from a DreamWorks casting call.

I fell hard for this book, I think it is a beautiful example of “New Nostalgia.”
The text comes right out of the Old King James version I read, memorized, and fell in love with  as a kid, but the art is a completely different story.  The characters are a bit sloppy and tatty.  The angel gabriel has a ripped wing and is wearing boots that are flopping open with shoe strings untied.  There is a page where Joseph is helping very pregnant Mary onto the donkey, bending down and making a stirrup with his hands for her to step into..my girls think that is so funny.  Another one I love is while the angels tell the shepherd about their Savior, a couple decide to fly down and take a little ride on the sheep.  The illustrator is able to, in my opinion, have a perfect balance of humor, whimsy and genuineness, without ever crossing the line into irreverence. There is a page where baby Jesus is exactly how he came into this world, before he was swaddled.  Nothing that a little sticker couldn’t cover if you so desire.:)

You can browse through some of the pictures and purchase the book The Nativity here.

A few others we love are:

  by Lori Walburg

The First Christmas
 by Carol Heyer

Dale Tolmasoff

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