Summer of Sucess-Week 1,days 2 & 3

Week 1-day 2

Devotional:Mathew 5:9
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

The kids have been fighting a lot lately so I decided we needed to pray and ask for help!We tried to go 24 hours without fighting.I wonder how they will do!

Writing prompt:What way can you be a peacemaker?

We took a little field trip to the library to see animals with scales and tales.

Week 1-day 3
Devotional: The doll dilemma

Letter:E
Songs:
Practice writing E.Read Richard Scary Fun with words for letter E.
Writing prompt:What are needs vs wants?Write down what you need and what you want.

E is for egg.Easter isn't the only time to hide eggs!Gather pennies,nickels,dimes,and quarters.Teach preschooler what coins are.Hide money in eggs.Have older kids count money in each egg.

We played this money game with those same pennies, dimes and quarters.

Write grocery list.This is good writing and spelling practice.My oldest wants to cook one of the meals.

Summer of Success-Week 1

Devotional-A dime for a dollar
I want to teach the kids about money and the importance if paying tithing,or one tenth of what they earn.(We will be doing more with money tomorrow)

Preschool while older kids do chores.
We talked about his name and practiced saying it.Letter:D-practice writing it,read from Richard Scary's fun with words.Talk about days of the week and dinosaurs.We talked about days Mon-Sun and how there is usually 30 days in a month.This month is June.

Songs we sang are found:here

All kids:
Writing prompt- If my kids had a pet dinosaur,what would they do with it?Source:here

Even my Preschooler can scribble in a journal.Then I write down what his picture is about.

Experiment with how environment effects cold blooded dinosaurs.

We are making Dino-mite journals,by making journal pockets. It is easy!Cut out the pocket to some jeans.Glue it on and decorate!

How to look within and change your thinking for May 31-31 days of May-keovers

This month has gone by so fast!I kinda got stuck  on the soul searching part.Have you ever just wanted a change but you are not sure where to start.I thought a logical place to start was on the outside.I got a haircut and tried different make-up and style.When I start looking inward,there is a lot more to look at.There is so much on my plate right now.My baby is so allergic to food and I am tied to the same diet so I can nurse him and sustain him.It is messing with my hormones, sleep and energy.If I could ask myself if I am truly happy.I would probably say not really.I think a lot if that is not always in my control.To combat this feeling and loss of control,lately I have been trying to do things I like a little each day.I am hoping this can help me better understand myself or at least keep me sane ;-) It really helps to try to be as happy as you can!Especially if those dark clouds of fear,discouragement,or self doubt roll in!

Winter was definitely the hardest!I hardly left the house or talked to anyone.The warm weather allows more freedom.I think my biggest fear is that I won't make any new friends or be forgotten when someone new comes along. I think it could be my house being a mess when they pop by for a visit.We all have our insecurities!Find where they are hiding in that secret corner of your mind.Take a look at it,maybe it isn't so big as you first thought.

Identity your fears and step out of your comfort zone-
I am not much of a morning person.I love to sleep in, stay comfy cozy in my bed,under my covers.Eventually I have to get up and start my day.It is the same with most people.We find this area where we are happy and comfy and we don't want to step out of our comfort zone.I can't stay in bed all day.We can't let our fears debilitate us either,then we are bedridden.

Make a plan-
The way I plan on stepping out of my comfort zone is to plan things to do,once a week, in groups and step out of my comfort zone.I want to brush up on my social skills and try to steer conversations away from my problems.Look for ways to be there for others.I just can't keep dwelling in the "I can't" moments.There are a lot of things I cannot eat right now.:-(

Look deep within for what you want-
Looking within is a two step process.First you have to pinpoint why you are not happy.Talk to your spouse or close friend.Next you  have to reprogram your thinking.This takes time.Turn a negative into a positive!There is a lot of opportunity for me to reinvent foods.I could see it as a culinary adventure.I can't eat this, but I can eat A,C,and B.

Commitment my friend-
Changing these thoughts is hard to do so you have to commit fully to it!As you walk toward your fears and comfort zone, you might just find your dreams,or next adventure.It take one step and one thought at a time.Don't rush it,just want the change.It is the only way you will internalize it enough to make it a lasting change!

Our Summer schedule

Summer is here!It is great to get outside and play.It is also a time I do homeschooling with the kids!I want things to be relaxed, but I still want some structure.

This week I introduced our schedule and we started journal writing.Even my 3 year old!I have writing prompts,but they can write anything really.They can write about what they did yesterday or a story.I will be writing in their journals as well.I might just tell them I love them or comment on their stories they write.This is in addition to correcting letters and punctuation.

Reading is big in our home!I try to encourage it as much as I can!We went to the library to start their reading program.I picked out a book to read too!

We have a daily prayer and devotional.I like to center it around a behavior or character trait I want the kids to develop fully.One day this week we talked about likening or applying the scripture in our lives and then the kids acted out scripture stories,while the rest of us tried to guess.The kids wanted to keep doing it so that took up a lot of our time.I have more planned in a day than we can possibly do,but I like the kids to lead me in what they want to do.The pressure is off.We just have Fun!

For my Preschooler and baby I will be doing a different letter each day.Nursery rhyme each week.We are working on his name.So for each letter we sing a song and read Richard Scary's Fun with words.It has an awesome letter dictionary to really immerse a child in their letters.

Letters:W,E,R,N and O

Number:5

Nursery Rhyme:Rock a bye baby

Name song(tune of B-I-N-G-O

There was a Mom who had a boy(girl)

(Insert name) was his name O

This week has mainly been walking the kids through the routine M-Th.Friday is our family newspaper and field trip day!This Friday we will be going to a water park!

• Breakfast
• Get dressed and put clothes in hamper
• 3 b's-Make your BED,BRUSH your teeth and hair!
• Devotional and prayer
• Older kids do morning chores(rotate each week)While they do this I have music and letter practice with my Preschooler and baby.
• Journal and other activities(approx.1hour)
• Outside/free time
• Lunch-12p.m
• Quiet time(1 hour long) 
• Outside/free time-2p.m.
• Kitchen chores and dinner-4p.m.
• Bed time chores-8p.m
• Scriptures and books
• In beds but they can still read -8:30 p.m.

May 27-31 days of May-keovers

I have really been enjoying myself with these small changes.This last week I was not able to write everyday,however,I still have been trying to work in the areas I originally planned to.I have discovered along the way things that were not on my list,that became more pressing to me.I was able to put down my phone for the whole weekend and be with family and celebrate some birthdays.

There have been several late nights,migraines and some setbacks with my baby.His eczema has really flared up, and he is congested again.My hormones are all over the place!Hot flashes?!Really? I am not that old!It can be so frustrating to have to take steps backwards.For every step backwards, I hope to take 2 giant steps forward.My first attempt is to change my attitude!This is not going to happen in a day!There are still days I cry because I can't eat something I want to.There are days my family eats something and I lock myself in my room.The phrase I catch myself saying over and over again is "I can't" .I can't have that food or do this anymore.I am lucky to have a patient husband.

When I got to my may-keovers with my relationship with my husband,making time to connect and be with my kids,nothing else seemed to matter!I put my phone down and just had fun!I have missed writing though!

I am excited now that Summer has officially hit our home!It is my chance to have one on one time with my kids and I love it!One more week until week one of my Summer of success!

3 ways to get outside more often for May 19th-31 days of May-keovees

Today's assignment:
Get outside as much as you can!I am still transitioning from my hibernation during the winter.My body dislikes both the extreme cold and heat.Due to this fact I don't get out as much as I should!I also don't go out because the baby puts everything in his mouth or might crawl through dog doo in our backyard.Now that it is warming up,you need to remember to drink more water.

Here are my 3 sure fire ways to go outside more often.

1.Go for a walk-One way I have more success is going for a walk after I drop the kids off at school.Find some friends who will get you out of the house.

2.Schedule it in-Have your kids ever complained that recess is never long enough?Well,I agree!If you want happy and tired kids let them play outside.Plan at least 2 hours a day outside.Not sure how?Schedule picnics,or outings at the park.Mix it up!A lot of activities you do inside can be done outside!One of my favorites is yoga.On the days my husband is home,this is one I should try!

3-Small doses-Start small and work your way up to more time!Gardening in the morning and late afternoon is a great way to get outside.

Here are a few more ways to to get outside more often.

Sorry I am playing catch up.I have had 2 migraines this week and it was the last week of school for the kids!Keep checking my blog for my summer of sucess plan!Yes,a lot of it will be outside! :-)

Stress less for May 18th-31 days of May-keover

I have been thinking about how I could possibly lower my stress when it is all around me!I feel like most days I am being pulled in every direction! I do feel that I have not payed attention to what my body has been trying to tell me.I tend to worry about something ,and as I dwell on these worries,stress creeps in.Before I know it I am a stress ball of nerves!

A mother sets the tone of her home.She is like the trunk of the roots of a tree.She provides nourishment and safety to the branches of her family.So if I am not strong,my family is also weakened. Stress over time can weaken us all.

My favorite way to be more present in my day is to breathe deeply more or do yoga.These two things cause me to slow down and let things go.I know a lot,and mean a lot,of people have done variations of the movie, Frozen's Let it go.I think that Elsa's view of her power and feeling out of control,is a lesson to us all.To conceal and not feel is not going to help.She finally feels freedom and can let it go.That is what we must do as Mothers,let things go.This doesn't mean we explode in anger like a volcano!Instead we learn to control ourselves and learn healthy ways to let it go!Sometimes I have to turn away and close my bedroom door.We can be strong roots of our family without shutting everything out.We may be feeling guilty for being tired or frustrated.We can't ignore what we need everyday!

Today's assignment:
Make sure you are taking deep breaths throughout the day.Take a minute during your day to think about where you might be stressing more than you should.Once you have identified the where the stress is coming from, write down how you want to let it go.Let it go,so you don't blow!