Feeling better and ready to write.How I got a new outlook on life and you can too!

Hi everyone! I sure have missed writing!I feel so much better!I don't want to over dramatize this past week,but I almost lost my life. I have never been so scared in my whole life.Previous to this antibiotic reaction I had been studying intently the atonement and really trying to grow closer to my Savior.

We are here to become better and more like him.We have the scriptures as our instruction manual.There is still the fine print: some assembly required.Anyone who has ever gotten a toy for a child knows this could mean hours of work.A few years ago me and my husband had our first almost all nighter Christmas,putting together a train table.There were so many pieces and they all connected together to form a very elaborate railroad track. Of course when we were done we had to play with it too!

Our Heavenly Father sent his son Jesus Christ to die for us.Like each piece of our son's toy train Jesus created a way back to him.We have the eternal pieces and our instructions (scriptures) so each day we are putting those pieces together.We get on those tracks and ride on what is to be our life.Now these train pieces come apart easily and to our dismay the kids have taken it apart and even lost some pieces.It is a lot harder when we feel derailed by the trials of life.We may even forget to do important things in our life to keep on track.Prayer,reading our scriptures and going to church are the main assemblers and re-assemblers in our life.

I feel like I have more time and really realize how quickly my life, or others can change course.Our little cabooses are tired of hauling around stress,pain,anger and even happiness.

I may start over and rebuild my tracks over and over but I am the engine of my little family.I feel fueled by the word of God and purpose.I set the tone.I am in charge of these little chuggers.This whole analogy gives new meaning to the word train in Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

My little chuggers

I am excited for a new month and a chance to start over.It is time to make new goals and carry my load with more strength and might.I am also very excited to have Summer clickety clacking at my heels.I have fun things planned for our Summer of Success;which I started last year.

For my 9 year old:
-set and achieve goals
-plan his day
-help me teach
-do his own laundry
-learn to study the scriptures
-cook and understand money,budget,and saving
-practice his violin

For my 7 year old girl:
-be more gracious and kind
-be a good friend
-stop whining
-sewing
-cooking
-prepare for baptism
-follow through on tasks and increase attention span
-learn piano

For my 4 year old:
-potty training
-make his bed
-familiar with different chores
-start to earn money
-learn his name
-be more familiar with written alphabet and numbers

1 year old:
-reading and singing to him
-hands on play
-familiar with ABC and 1-3
-intro to lots of new words.He will do lots of of observing.
-learn to fold his arms
-drink from a cup!(hopefully that will happen before summer.That is wishful thinking!)

These are just icing on the cake.We will keep up on math, writing,history,science, and reading.Lots and lots of reading!Sooo excited!!!

B is for bunny-preschool and toddler lesson

It I almost Easter! We have been doing a little countdown each night to keep the kids thinking about what Easter is really about. We started with an Easter egg hunt where I hid little quotes or scriptures in each egg. It has been a lot of fun so far!

For preschool:

Scripture: Doctrine and Covenants 45:3
 Listen to him who is the ^aadvocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—
Letter:B
Nursery rhyme:Little Bunny Foo Foo
Little Bunny Foo Foo
hoppin' through the forest,
scoopin' up the field mice
and boppin' em on the head.   And down came the Blue Fairy, and she said:
Little Bunny Foo Foo
I don't want to see you
scoopin' up the field mice
and boppin' em on the head.
And now I'll give you three chances,
and if you keep it up,
I'll turn you into a goon. She gives him 2 and 1 more chances!  

As we sang this song we hopped around like bunnies.We also talked about what can happen if we don't listen.In addition we talked about not hurting people on the inside or the outside.I took this opportunity to practice with my one year old to be gentle.He immediately smacked me and tried to pinch.Little stinker! At this age though it is all about repetition!

Craft: Making Bunny Food Foo
We decided to make it into a card.You need mini marshmallows, construction paper and glue.I also let my Preschooler pick from a variety of activities.I think he liked the independence! I got the idea from here.

Note to my readers:This post is late due to Mastitis and then a sever reaction to penicillin. I am lucky to be alive! So many people have helped and taken my kids so I hope to be feeling better very soon! Thanks for your patience and I should be back writing soon! 

D is fordandelions (preschool and baby lessons)

Scripture:
2 Corinthians 7:9
Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
Letter:D
Color:yellow


Nursery rhyme
All flowers are waking
All the flowers are waking,
Spring has come again.
God has sent the sunshine,
God has sent the rain.

All trees are waking,
Spring has come again.
God has sent the sunshine,
God has sent the rain.

All birds are singing,
Spring has come again.
God has sent the sunshine,
God has sent the rain.

Story time: War of the weeds.The fruits in Fruitville are taken over by weeds!The Gardner told them if there is something bad in their life to get rid of it.We talked about how we have good and bad happen in our life.We have Jesus to help us.We can ask for forgiveness and repent if we do something wrong.We just need to recognize it and pull it out from us before it spreads.

Activities

We pulled Dandelions,which are everywhere!

The baby explored them.

Save the dandelions from being run over!

We colored with them.

We made crowns and necklaces.They also used it to make soup.

Check out the link below for more great ideas and facts about dandelions.
http://www.universalpreschool.com/how-to/dandelion_fun.asp

Frozen birthday party

I couldn't find any frozen party items or dolls,NOTHING!I was so excited to find the poster!My favorite thing about the decorations was the ice in the back.Cool right?

I bought some tulle and lights to wrap around the table.My husband loved that he could use his staple gun!Be careful though with electrical equipment!

Game:I froze some of their treats to take home in ice so they had to chip away until they could get them.Those jewels are ice cubes I found at Target.

 We made these cute snowflake barrettes with this shimmery foam you can buy at Walmart.Then I let the girls decorate them with rhinestones.I even made one for me!;)Then I braided their hair like Elsa or Anna.The girls went wild asking me if they looked like Elsa and singing the movie songs!

Reaching in and reaching out in April

How does this mama take care of all her little monkeys and find time for me too?

I feel so inspired to write!I feel like I am accomplishing things .Most
important is that I am happy!Can you answer yes if you asked yourself if you are inspire, feeling good about your aaccomplishments,and truly happy?What is my secret?Two times a year we have the wonderful opportunity to hear from the prophet and apostles.Whether you are are part of the Church of Jesus Christ or a member of another faith,who wouldn't enjoy hearing such uplifting words?It is like each conference brings us back home and closer to Jesus.It is about as exciting as New years resolutions and Christmas.

It really is a fresh start for me and can be for you!It has been a while since I have done a reaching in and reaching out series.If you want to know what this is and how you can find ways to reach inside yourself and see who you are,and make time to better yourself,read this post.If you want little ways to reach out to others,read this post.The first post of my series can be found Here!

HEALTH

Reaching in
I do not read my scriptures ENOUGH! They are right there and yet not used.Soooo after hearing Linda S. Reeves talk I dove into the pages of my scriptures!After I can meditate and say my positive affirmations to myself that "I am healthy,happy and I can make it a great day!"This my own but you can use whichever ones you would like,of course!

HEART

Reaching out
Why do I get up in the morning?For my kids.They are growing so fast and even though I feel like I pay attention to them I still feel like I could do more.Then I read somewhere how kids need at least 8 ways of contact with their parents!I have never counted but I hope I am not to busy to cuddle,hug,tickle or reassure them with just a touch of my hand. What if they are having a bad day? My relationship with my daughter is strained because she aside from her many good qualities,can be rude,bossy and DRAMATIC!Helloooo she is a girl!Duh Mom,but wow it can be hard.I remember my Mother tenderly rubbing my arm to help me go to sleep.Maybe I don't snuggle enough or stroke her arm.I mean the last thing you want to touch is a fire! Do you struggle with your kids or maybe just a certain one?Decide how you want to keep track or realize if you are giving enough hugs.

One mother on her blog wrote how she stops at 5 o'clock and everyone just hugs.See her post here @ihttp://www.abundantmama.com

HOME

Pray to know how to use your time and how to clean and organize your home.For me I like to prioritize my to do list to 3-5 important things and then make a plan at night so I can get it all out of my head.Then I tackle the biggest job first!

Letters to my girl Friday-Ending my week on a good note!

Dear Friday,

I have a lot to be grateful for!I am grateful to my Sister who cooked and cleaned after me while I visited.I am grateful to mangy Mother in law and husband who took care of the older kids while I was gone.I am also grateful to my husband and kids for cleaning the house and the car! I am sooo grateful to my Heavenly Father for helping me and the baby through another tough week of diet changes.

What I accomplished
1.I flew with a 3 and 1 year old by myself!
2.I kept the kitchen cleaned each day
3.I had some girl time with my only daughter.

3 goals for next week
1.Manage my time better.Pay attention to my morning and evening routine and tweak if necessary.
2.Tackle papers 15 minutes per day
3.Try to connect more by meditating and 5-10 minute exercising.I need to de-stress and re-charge myself.

How was your week?What can you do better next week?

Take back your Turf Thursday-How to take control of your life, by taking control of your mind ,body and spirit.

It feels lately like my whole life is out of control.There are so many things that I can't control.I can't control my baby to force him to eat or sleep.I can't make my children do things.I can't control the weather or make people be my friends.I certainly can't control how much things cost or stop time from running out.Really,the way I feel right now, is that I have been in a head on collision.I have been in one before and the shock and pain you are in is all you can think of.Not to mention your car is totalled!

What does this have to do with my life?

Well.......

I feel in shock and not sure what to do next.My life is totalled, as far as what I am used to,especially trying to figure out this new diet....

It is time for me to rest and rehabilitate myself and my life.This starts with me,tomorrow morning waking up and having a plan.I hope to wake up before the kids but we will see.My plan is to MEDITATE ,study and  write first thing in the morning.(I will talk more about this later).I hope this will make me feel more ready for the day.
 Andrea Lewis,a writer for the blog http://tinybuddha.com suggests "Saying positive affirmations three times a day (morning, mid-day, and at night)—such as “I love and accept myself,” “I am at peace in my life,” “I deserve to be happy,” “I feel good physically, mentally, and emotionally”—dispels the negative chatter."

I hit a afternoon slump so I want to exercise by walking or doing yoga.I just hope the weather gets better!

I hour a day is just ME TIME!

At night I want to vary my wind down time and not just waste time on t.v or my phone.I will have a plan for what I am going to eat and do the next day.No matter what my Kitchen has to be clean.I feel right now like that is my engine and I HAVE to keep it running!

These few daily exercises should help me heal what is damaged in my mind,body and spirit.I hope to ease the tension and allow better things to come into my life.

It really all boils down to finding a balance and giving enough time for yourself.I love this post 25-self-love-tips-for-stressed-out-mothers

Are you feeling stressed,exhausted and at the end of your rope?What do you do to gain better control of your life?

I always feel better when I blog!:-)
Thanks for listening and I hope this helps get you back where you want to be!

International childrens book day

The weather has been cold and wet around here.What better way to enjoy a day inside then to make a fort and read books in it.

Today we made our own stories on http://www.storyjumper.com/.It is really easy and fun!You pick scenes and props and your text.If you have a reluctant writer in your family,have them give this a try!

For my Preschooler we read books.We read Silverlicious by Victoria Kann.

I read,That night I was ready...and then I asked my 3 year old what happens next.He looked confused.I told him he could re-write the ending.Does she catch Toothetina?He smiled and said she got caught in the net and broke her wings.Pinkalicious couldn't fix them so she asked her Dad,because he can fix anything!He did and put Toothetina in a jar and then put her in dinner!

Oh my!You can imagine my response.I asked him what happens if you eat a fairy?My oldest came in and said"All your teeth fall out and can't grow back!"

We had a good laugh and were very amused by this ending. 

For 1-2 year olds:teach the sign for book.My little man can say book.Exciting!Let them choose from several books.Let them take the lead.Toddlers love to hold the books and turn the pages.They try to imitate the sounds you make.The main thing at this age is repetition!

Happy reading!