UGH!!! Internet Problems!

So you may have noticed I was absent from the blogging world most of last week. No lie, a few hours after I posted Mondays blog our internet quit working.  We tried EVERYTHING, and nothing worked. Finally, Friday afternoon it mysteriously started working again. Anywho, I just wanted to let you all know I did not intentionally disappear for the week. In fact, I had some great blogs intended. I guess I will post a few of them this week and try to post the rest next week. 

MEL

Motivated Mommy Monday's: Frugal Fun

Yeah, it’s almost spring! Around here that means getting out and about to enjoy the return of our friend the sun. It also means summer is not far behind. That realization has me planning out activities for the summer. During the spring and summer I like to plan at least one fun activity a week for the kids. I do this because I feel like it is sooo important to have fun with our kids. Not just important for them, but for us too. Sometimes being locked up in the house with the kids can be exhausting, and in turn; can cause lots of animosity and irritation between parents and children. So, it is definitely good to get out and have fun together. We as moms need that refresher and our kids need the fun. We do after all want them to enjoy their childhood and have lots of fun memories, which hopefully include us and exclude trouble. However, as we all know taking the kids to places like museums, amusement parks, zoos and water parks can rack up financially. Thankfully, with a few fun filled summers behind me I have come across a lot of cheap and great ideas. So, I wanted to share them with you guys and hopefully learn a few new ideas from you too.



1) Find out if your local museums or zoos have free days, or maybe even a few hours each week when admission is free.

 

a) A lot of museums do this at least once a month. Because of all the cold this winter we had to plan a lot of indoor activities, so I did my research.

i) I found out our children's museum was free on Thursday nights from 5 to 8. It made for a great family night. I also plan on taking my son again soon with some of my girlfriends and their older boys for a mommy/son date.

ii) The science museum also has a free night; Tuesdays from 2 to 5. My kids love the science museum. Jeremiah really enjoys the dinosaur exhibit and Cherish loves the crystals. There were also lots of other fun exhibits for them. However, they are not quite old enough to really understand these exhibits yet so this museum is somewhere I would only take them for free right now.

b) Our zoo even does a few free days each year, usually on holidays like MLK day or President’s day. I think they even did New Years day last year.

c) One final suggestion, if your museums or zoo do have a few hours free once a week or once a month PLAN OUT your trip BEFORE you go. Know exactly what exhibits you want to visit and how long you can spend at each one in order to see everything in the allotted time. Remember because it is free it might be crowded. Thursdays at the children’s museum certainly is, but Tuesdays at the science museum are sometimes often vacant. It really depends on the time period.

2) Find out if some of your favorite places have discount days.

a) For example, we have a jump place right down the street from us. On Thursdays they discount their rates from $8 a kid to $5. Parents are always free but can still bounce and children under two are free. For the last two years, we have gone several times all three of us for a total of $5. Best of all, they both love it. This year though we have to pay for Cherish, but 10 dollars for the 3 of us is still a great deal.

3) Use coupons, memberships and club passes.

a) Every year we get a membership to ONE of the kid’s favorite places.

i) Usually, the zoo because they have not been known to have free days in the summer and our kids love it there. Also, because it is a pass we can use when we travel to other cities all over the country.

ii) Trust me, if you know you will use it even just two times it will be worth it.

b) Coupons are also great! We always use coupons at places like Chucky Cheese.

c) Finally, check and see if some of your favorite places have club passes, where if you go there so many times you get one time free. The jump place I mentioned above has a club pass. For every eight times you go and pay you get one time free. They also have shirts you can buy. If you wear the shirt when you come in you get a discount.

d) Check around; if you know you are going to spend a lot of time at a particular place this spring and summer wouldn't it help if you could get some sort of discount?

4) Set up group trips to do events like bowling and skating.

a) Most places offer discounted rates for groups so if you set up a church playgroup not only will you have extra fun because all your friends are there but you can also save money.

5) Plan a camping trip.

a) This is something that can be fairly cheap if you can stop yourself from going overboard.

i) With small kids keep it to one night, maybe do it in your backyard or a friends the first couple of times.

ii) If you don't already have a tent or other camping essentials think of the purchase like this you are investing in lots of future fun. When I was growing up we spent almost every weekend camping at the lake. Depending on where you go and what you already have this can also include fun free things like fishing and rafting.

6) Pick fruit at a farm.

a) We like to go pick blueberries every summer at a local blueberry farm and I think this summer we will also try a strawberry farm a couple of hours away. Check to see what’s around you.

b) This is a great activity and cheap too. Usually you only pay for what you pick, and it is much cheaper to pick it at the farm than to buy it at the store. You can freeze most of these fruits for up to 2 years or just have a cooking extravaganza.

c) It is also a great way to get a picky eater to try something new. If he picks it himself he is much more apt to like it, after all, he's invested in it.

7) Attend story time at you local library.

a) For some of us this is pure torture, trying to keep active kids quiet for so long. But if your kids are more laid back why not try it? Even if you have an active kid you should try it. You might even find it is worth the torture, one of our libraries gives away prizes which often include free tickets to museums. And eventually your kids will learn to sit still.

b) Join the summer reading program. Usually if a kid reads 10 new to them books (or is read to) they get one book to keep. You will just have to see how your libraries program works.

c) Barnes & Noble also has a story time every week and they usually include a craft so it is lots of fun.

8) Check out Chick-Fil-A's events schedule.

a) If you know what that is you are BLESSED. If not sorry. Chick-Fil-A is a great Christian based fast food restaurant. Very family friendly. They are always having cool events and giving away GREAT free food. We have play dates at ours all the time.

i) One of ours has an event every Friday called Mini Moo it includes a story time, balloon animals, face painting and they even pull out some cool toys like mega blocks and play doe. I love it because my kids can sit and listen to the story for as long as they can take it. Then, WHEN they get antsy they can leave the playground and return to the dinning area to play with the toys.

ii) Our other Chick-Fil-A has a mad scientist night. One of our local science teachers comes and does cool science experiments with the kids.

iii) They also have family night with a clown, face painting, and balloon animals.

iv) Then there are a ton of one time and annual events.

(1) For their anniversary (in the summer) they always do Cow Appreciation Day. If you dress as a cow you eat free. Lat year one of ours had a petting zoo and a helicopter that dropped 200 stuffed cows with parachutes from the sky. Seven of the cows had a years worth of free Chick-Fil-A.

(2) They have also done events like Star Wars Night.

9) Check around for dollar movies.

a) AMC usually offers $1 movies on Wednesday mornings during the summer.

i) Often they are movies that have been out for a year or so, but young kids could careless they just like to see movies on the big screen.

10) Feed the fish or ducks at a local pond or lake.

a) Kids love this!!! When my son was little we had to hold him by the belt loop or keep him in the stroller because he would try to jump in after the fish.

11) Get creative.

a) Go to a candy factor and see how it is made.

b) Or do like Mandy @ Capitol Heights Mommy did with her daughter this weekend and go to Petsmart or another pet store to look at animals.

c) Take them on a tour of a fire house.

d) Drive to a local airport and watch planes take off and land.

12) If all else fails take them to a park.

a) We like to rotate parks so that the kids don't get board with them. However, we can do that because we live in an area where there are lots of parks.

i) If you only have one or two parks in your area I suggest taking some items along with you to add something new and exciting for the kids.

(1) For example if you have one you can take: a bike, or power wheels, a skateboard, skates, sidewalk chalk, kites, sand toys, etc.

(2) Finally, our favorite item to take to the park is...dunt, dunt, dun: A FRIEND. Let me tell you, we have had some great park playgroups! Everything from power wheel playgroups to Easter egg hunts; they have all been a blast for the kids.

(3) You might also consider driving to the next big town and visiting their parks one day.



Finally, when my son was little (before my daughter was born) we lived in a small town, so I know how hard that can be when trying to entertain kids. My advice: don't give up! We would car pool with friends to the next big town (30 min. away) just to take the kids to a new park. Now that we live in a big city we often drive an hour or so to visit some really cool parks. I'm sure with a little research you can find some awesome and cheap things to do.

If you are new to a town, ask around, meet new people. If nothing else you might be able to have play dates. My friend Lisa just meet a mom at the grocery store last week because their boys (who turned out to be a week apart) would not stop talking and playing together in the check out line. They exchanged numbers and had a play date. Then, at the play date found out their next kids are due a week apart too. I bet they'll be friends for life! Oh, and did I mention Lisa's new friend is new to town and Lisa is her first Houston friend.
See, it works! Get out there, meet people, ask around about fun places to take the kids, use your internet, get creative. Go get going. Now! Go, go! Oh, and tune in next Monday for some more great ideas, I still have a few to share and hopefully you guys can add some more. Please share if you have some creative and cheap ideas.



MEL

Catching Up, Lent, and Family Rules Canvas

Hello all,

So, I know some of you maybe wondering what my deal is this month. I have to admit your concerns are warranted, my posts have no doubt been few and far between.  Sorry. I would like to say I have a legitimate excuse, but to be honest I don't. In fact, it's just been a little bit of everything. At first, I was just trying to not be such a stickler about posting every weekday. It was stressing me out and I could tell my husband and kids were frustrated because it was taking time away from the family. Probably because I still have yet to figure out a working schedule for all this blogging. I have also been a little busier since the holidays ended. All our weekly events are in full gear again and that has only made it harder to fit in blogging.

Anywho, I wanted to catch up with all of you and just let you in on a few things I've been up to. First, I recently started the Beth Moore study "Living Beyond Yourself" for the second time. I barely made it to week two the first time I started years ago, but I knew it was one I wanted to finish. Then, all the ladies in my lifegroup got together and voted to do this study as our Spring Bible Study, I was in!

Oh, and I made a book mark especially for this study.

If you haven't seen this let me tell you they are so cool. They open up and fit over the corner of the page.

What's next?

I'm also doing a study with my sister-in-law at her church; it's called "Wired That Way." It's actually a personality study, not a Bible Study. Regardless, it has been fun and informative thus far. The lady leading the class actually trained under the authors Marita and Florence Littauer. Has anyone ever taken this test? If so what is your personality type? I'm borderline Powerful Choleric and Perfect Melancholy, and I do mean borderline. I have taken the test 3 times (once by myself, once with my husband, and once with my sister-in-law) and every time I was dead even between the personalities. At first I was surprised, because I thought I would be Perfect Melancholy all the way. Then the more I thought about it I realized EVERY single person on both sides of my family is either pure Powerful Choleric or a combination of it. It's obviously in my blood. On top of that, it only makes since that in such a family one would learn to speak up in order to just be heard.

Finally, for Lent I added a prayer study called "Seek GOD for the City 2010."  I have to say; though I am only 3 days into this devotional I'm so glad I'm doing it. It is so refreshing and humbling to pray on behalf of others, and it's just another way for me to dive into prayer in 2010. If you want to learn more about Lent you should check out Coffee, God and Me she is doing a great series on it.

Let's see what else...? Oh, My Family Rules Canvas!!!

 

I'm not quite done yet. I still have a few embellishments I want to add, but I'm having a hard time finding them.

First, I have this really cool G stamp and I want to it to the left of "Family Rules" so it will say "G Family Rules". I just need to borrow my mother-in-laws light blue stamp pad.

Then, I want to add a set of wedding rings and a briefcase to the right side of "work hard". To symbolize that we should work hard at every aspect of life: school, sports, marriage/relationships, and careers.

Finally, I want to add one more butterfly to the right border of "Guard Your Mind" and "Pray about Everything & Thank God Always."

Here are some close ups of the rest. I have to say so far I am very satisfied with it!

For directions on how to do one of these check out The Pleated Poppy.

My Rules are:
1. Pray about EVERYTHING & Thank God ALWAYS.
2. Guard your mind.
3. Work hard.
4. Have fun.
5. Be honest, keep your promises.
6. Be kind, use your manners.
7. Be respectful, ask first.
8. Listen carefully.
9. Obey your parents, your teachers & God.
10. Build others up.
11. Find contentment in EVERY circumstance.
12. No whining.
13.Act responsibly, think hard, choose wisely.
14. Say I love you often.
15. Hands are for hugging NOT hitting.
16. Forgiveness is mandatory, NEVER leave angry.
17. Bless your food, be grateful, eat together.
18. Be a good steward, clean YOUR stuff.
19. Share EVERYTHING, there is NO "MINE", it is ALL GOD"S.
20. Love the LORD your GOD.

Finally, if you are joining from Follow Friday I am so glad to have you.

Here's a little about me:

First of all, I love the Lord.! Beyond that, I have been married to my best friend Josh for five years. We have two kids Jeremiah 4 and Cherish 2 and I get to stay at home with them.  If you look around you will find posts on everything from marriage and parenting, to prayer and growing closer to God, even a few crafts.

Taking it to Him Tuesday's: As Homemakers we should Pray for our Homes.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how to make our home run more effectively. As a homemaker/ stay-at-home-mom I feel like it is my responsibility to create a peaceful and productive environment for my husband and my kids. I want to keep a clean and organized house so that my kids have a safe and fun place to grow-up and my husband has a peaceful sanctuary to come home to and relax. I also want to fill their bellies with delicious and nutritious food.

Evaluating myself, I feel like I have always done a good job at running our household by planning meals and keeping our home clean and organized (and I know my husband would agree). However, I have to admit over the last year I have become a bit relax in these areas. I think I just got overwhelmed. As some of you might remember from previous posts last year my husband and I moved our family in with my mother to try to pay off our debt and save up for our first home (we were sick of renting). Needless to say it has not been easy trying to create a home for my husband and kids in someone else's house. Especially since we are cramming five people in a three bedroom house, we just do not fit. I have had a rather difficult time trying to find a place for everything, which in turn makes it a LOT harder to keep the house clean from day to day. From personal experience, I can tell you it is much easier to keep your home clean when there is a PLACE for everything. So needless to say at times I have let myself become so overwhelmed that I just gave up.

Gladly though I can say that God has been refreshing my soul, and in turn has been leading me to refresh our home. However, I know now that I cannot go about doing this in the same old ways I always have. Obviously, they are not going to work in this household. So, I have been researching some more effective ways of running this home. Today, I realized I need to be praying more about what will work here. That realization got me thinking...shouldn't we all be praying more about how to run each of our homes effectively? You may already do so, if so I would love to hear about how God has answered your prayers and directed you in managing your home. If you are not alread praying about this I want to challenge you to join me in praying about how to manage my (in your case your) household in a way that is most peaceful and productive. May I suggest that if running an effective household is something you struggle with this is probably just what you need to discover better ways of doing things, ways that work for you. I KNOW God will direct us in the way that is best for us.

Just some thoughts from what God is teaching me,
MEL

Motivated Mommy Monday's: Kids Really Do Desire Boundaries.

Today's post was inspired by Melinda over @ Coming Clean: Confessions of an Imperfect Parent. Earlier I was reading her post about a recent interaction she had with her daughter. You should check it out! What struck me was her last statement: "Sometimes I feel weak – not up to the fight. But retreat is not an option. One day my kids will be glad I did battle."  I went to comment on the truth behind this statement and realized I have way more to say on this subject than can fit in a comment and since its Motivated Mommy Monday I decided to blog about it.

When I was 15 or 16 I remember sitting at Super Summer in large group and the speaker asked a question that I probably never would have thought twice about had the response from the audience not blown me away. The question went something like this: "How many of you wish your parents had set more boundaries, enforced them, and fought harder for your purity (not just sexual purity but purity in general)." Remarkably, the majority of the hands in the room went up. I cannot say for sure how many people that was, but I think it would be safe to say 70% of the students there raised their hands. In a room that had well over a thousand students that is at least 700. See, kids really DO want boundaries!

To all you parents of tweens and teens please don't stop fighting for your child's purity!!! I know the moments when they seemingly resist your boundaries may out weight the moments when they willingly adhere to them and understand your reasoning, but trust me ONE DAY they WILL get it. The question is; will they be thankful you stuck to your guns or will they wish you had cared enough for their purity to be the mean parent with all the rules. I know it sounds harsh, please understand I AM NOT trying to offend anyone. I just want you to get it; your kids need a parent more than another friend.  Perhaps that is why Proverbs 13:24 says, "He how spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him."

Though most kids would tell their parents they do not like nor want structure, discipline and boundaries; they secretly NEED them and crave them. It truly is a desire of their hearts! These things make kids feel safe and secure. For example, I once watched an episode of Primetime where they showed a study done about how kids play on fenced-in playgrounds verses fenceless playgrounds. The results showed that when on the fenced-in playground the kids where much more likely to explore the entire playground; where as, when on the fenceless playground they tended to stay close to their parent. After a little probing the researchers realized the kids on the fenced-in playground felt safer.

Let's apply those results to parenting for a minute; boundaries are the fence, and the playground structures represent the kid's abilities. When we put a fence of boundaries around our kids we allow them to explore all the structures out there in a safe environment, which they can comfortably figure out what God made them good at and we can then raise them in the way THEY should go. Now, unfortunately we cannot prevent a few dangerous elements from sneaking onto the playground (that is up to God); however, by putting up a fence we CAN protect them from the dangerous elements that lurk outside the playground. If we remove our fence we allow ALL the dangerous outside elements to FREELY enter the playground. The result: kids who are so BOUND by fear they fail to explore and figure out what God made THEM good at. Or worse they eventually work up the guts to wander around and before long they look up and they are lost in the woods without a sense of how to find their way back. Or maybe they become ENTANGLED OR ENSLAVED by some dangerous element (sin) their parents had no idea was out there and therefore CANNOT get back to the playground even though they want to.

Don't just take it from me; think about what YOU know to be true. Think about you kids as babies. Were they happier when they were on a structured schedule or when there was no schedule for the day?  I know my kids were a LOT happier on a schedule!!

I hope you are inspired by this post as well as Melinda's post to STAND STRONG. I know I was inspired by Melinda and I will be all the more eager to stick to the boundaries, because to be honest I was one of those kids who raised their hand that night. I wish my parents had stuck to their guns. They had WAY to much trust in me. What a mistake! It is not about trusting your kids; it's about NOT trusting the world!

Just some thoughts,
MEL

Taking it to Him Tuesday's: The Power of Prayer (please share your stories).

Okay, so as you all know I did a fast yesterday on behalf of my kids. Thank you so much for your prayers. I did great until dinner time, then I started to get hungry. But don't worry I saw it through to the end, and first thing this morning I ate.

I decided to do the fast because in my concern for my kids I could not stop thinking about the deep anguish David felt in 2 Samuel 12, when Nathan told him that because of his sin the son he and Bathsheba conceived would die. In his anguish he fasted for days, so I decided to do the same. Unfortunitly for David his son still died, but after that he and Bathsheba concieved Solomon whom is says the Lord loved. That of course is evident in how blessed Solomon was. I have faith that God will her my prayers and bless us far more abundantly that I could ever ask or imagine, even if it is not how I expect him to answer them.

Anyway I wanted to hear from you your stories about how God has answered you prayers far more than you asked or imagined (Ephesians 3:20).

I'll share one story about our local radio station KSBJ; yesterday they held a telethone for Haiti. It was their prayer that they would raise 50,000. They had raised about 700%  of that the last time I tuned in; that's 350,000! Wow, God is great!

MEL

Motivated Mommy Monday's: Ending Generational Sin

I have to go pick my kids up from their Nana's, so I will try to keep this short.

Last night a call from Josh's mom about an incident that happened with our kids got me thinking about generational sin. We all have those family sins that seem to carry on from one generation to the next. What is your family sin? For some it is pride, for some it is sexual immorality, for some it is greed, for some it is anger, the list goes on and on. Whatever it is, I am sure if you are like me you cringe at any possible sign of it in your children's lives.

I am so afraid for my kids to be inhabited by our generational sins that on numerous occasions I have sat in their room and prayed over them as they slept. I prayed that our generational sins would end with Josh and me and that our kids would never know their enslaving power. But with one phone call I realized we have not done enough to protect our kids from this sin. We have to do more, but what? Josh and I are honestly at a loss for how to deal with this. First, because our kids are at an age where they really do not understand why this is so bad, we know that scolding is not the answer. However, merely talking with them about it is not enough. So, we have decided to take it to God in a more serious urgent way: we are fasting today.

We need direction about how to handle this and we want to show God we are committed to ending this sin with us (it's been a struggle in both of our families). So, I am asking for your prayers today. Please pray we have the strength to follow this through today. My husband becomes very cranky when he does not eat and he often gets headaches from skipping a meal.

I am also wondering if you might need prayer over a generational sin. If so please share in the comments, even if it is just an unspoken. I would love to pray for you today.

MEL