Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Flowers & Snow Days

Last week Kevin bought me a new kitchen table!! Our old one was getting pretty shaggy looking and I wanted one with darker wood and a more updated style. 

A few days later Kevin came home with flowers for the table. I maybe had mentioned that spring flowers would look so good on our table since it has been such a dreary long winter indoors :) 

Kipton has been busy at the table on these winter days.


We did get some snow last week and the boys were right out as soon as I gave them the ok.
Kevin took them out and they had a blast.


Teaching the boys to build snow balls. O boy :)



All while they were outside in 20 degrees and snow......I was inside taking pictures from the window. 

Ahhh :) 

Monday, January 28, 2013

"Snow" Activity

You know I am not a fan of winter if you've read any of my recent posts. I am NOT an inside girl. I like taking the boys to the park to run off their energy, on hikes around our property, to fed the animals, take long walks, ride the 4-wheeler, or just work outside!

So this winter is REALLY killing me. Slowly. 

Therefore, I am forced to find good entertainment for these wild boys. Here is one I found from Pinterest.
It was fun for them, but if you are Type A and can't let go of the mess this activity may not be for you. 

I'll let the pictures say how it went:


All you need is:

A cookie sheet
Shaving cream
Bulldozers, trucks, anything that scoops
Spoon to shovel the snow


Karson also enjoyed writing letters and shapes into his shaving cream.
A teachers dream come true :)


Karson is almost 4 and he LOVED this activity.

Kipton is 2.5 and well he liked it.....but would have rather done something else :)
It really surprised me that he didn't like his hands getting messy. Especially because he is
the. messiest. eater. ever!



Hopefully you and your kids are staying busy inside and as a mom you're keeping your sanity!

Have a great week :)

Our Monday includes: running errands and going to the library :)

Friday, January 25, 2013

Pretty & Legos

I get SOO many people tell me that Karson looks just like his daddy, and Kipton is "pretty". 

I have to agree. He is really pretty! 

I was folding clothes the other day in my room and had this new ear warmer my mom got me. He asked me what it was so he tried it on. I sent this picture to my mom with the caption "pretty" because I truly think he is a pretty boy. However, he is ALL boy! My husband would DIE if he saw this picture :)


When our family was asking what to get the boys I suggested Lego's. We didn't have any and I knew this would be a good gift that we could continue to add to. My mom & dad got Karson this Lego table and Lego's as well as Aunt Amanda got them a huge box full. We keep it in Karson's room instead of the toy room because I feel like Kipton would just break his "creations" and mess it rather than build things at his young age.


However, he likes to try to build just like big brother. It has really been a great gift.


I have been pinning several different ideas on Lego storage. Karson's birthday is coming up in March and he's asking for more Lego's so I will have to organize something up for him. Right now they are in a clear tub so he could dig around to find the pieces he needs. 

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Karson's Sports Room

We have officially lived in our new house for 1 year. Throughout that year we have been painting each room and trimming it out with trim. We choose for our contractor to not finish the last few details on our home and Kevin and my dad have taken over. Because they both work full-time jobs they work on things when they can. 

Karson's room was up next. He has a sports themed room. I pinned lots of inspiration for striped walls. I am not a "colorful" painter. I like white and tan. Period. However, my husband LOVES color so...he tries bringing new ideas out in me. He was super surprised when I brought this idea to him. 

And then he got started :)

                                                     Before                                  After       


The happy boy with a finished room!







The stripes were a lot harder than I thought. I would defiantly pin some ideas on easy ideas on stripped walls. I have now read them after the fact and learned my mistakes. 

Next up is Kipton's bedroom. I really want to do the chevron strips but Kevin seems to think it will be soo hard and time consuming. I'm ok with that :)

Monday, January 21, 2013

Our Discipline System

I thought I would share our discipline system in case some of you moms out there are looking for something other than just constant reminding, time-outs, yelling, or even spanking (if that's what you do). 

I knew I had to do something after about a month of going crazy just randomly disciplining our boys. When we have some kind of system, life seems to be easier at home. 

So I came up with this in the Summer of 2012.

  • At the beginning of each day both boys begin on START. Each boy has a clothes pin with their name on it so they clearly know where they are.

  • When one of the boys do something wrong (like hitting the other) they will be given their first warning. If they continue to do the bad behavior, I will tell them "I am going to move your clothes pin down." I also use it as a threat if they are doing something when they were just told to stop. (jumping on the couch) "If you don't stop jumping on the couch, you will have your clothes pin moved down". 

  • As you can see in the picture below I drew pictures of each level moving down since they are still little and can't read. You could change yours up if you see a different consequence would work better for your kid(s). 


  • I like this system because it imitates what teachers use in elementary school. Most classrooms use color/card changes. So this is similar, but gives the child more chances to do better. 

  • Karson is almost 4 years old so he understands it a lot better than Kipton (2). He doesn't like it when his clothes pin is moved down, and has even asked if he can get it moved back up. I have said that if I see that he can be better in his actions and choice, then he can get it moved up.

  • I do use it when out in public too. I will remind the boys that I will move the clothes pin when we get home if they are not listening and obeying while out at a store, restaurant, etc. 

  • I feel like this works best because they can actually "SEE" where they are and see what can happen next if they keep making bad choices. 

As I mentioned earlier, I wrote this post back in 2012. 

If you would like to see our NEW discipline system click HERE

I feel like my new version focuses more on the positive with giving stars as you see good behavior. I do believe in showing positive rewards for positive behavior. 

I hope this is something you can take and use for you and your family. Every child is different, as well as every family. 

Remember children are a blessing from The Lord. 

Cherish them, even in their hard times.

Discipline is a part of parenting that is the hardest, but once you see the glory coming from your children and what they have learned, it will be worth the hard days.

Stay Strong!

Friday, January 18, 2013

There's something about bed time

where everyone is so cute and snuggly in their fresh jommies :) 


and everything is funny and makes you laugh...

and you want to do anything and everything, BUT go to bed :)
 

and beg for just 1 more story MOM!!


and be an extra good brother and "read" to your little brother because it's his favorite story



and give extra kisses because daddy is FINALLY home :)


and finally hit the sheets and call it a day.

thankful for the good, bad, and ugly with these two guys.

ohhhh and for bedtime!!!

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Pajamas & Pancakes Playdate

Yesterday we got to get away from our home to visit with friends from the Mother's Club.
The boys LOVE when I say we have something to attend with the club. It has been so beneficial in our life of being a "stay at home" mom & kids. It's nice to get out and interact with other kids and have adult conversations. It has truly been a blessing that I found this club. 


Karson ate and ate and ate pancakes and breakfast type foods. 
Brandi is ALWAYS such an awesome host and remembers every detail of hosting a 
party even if it's for 20 + toddlers. 



Brandi has a daughter around Kipton's age so most of the toys there are girly. 
Kipton LOVES babies. Everytime we have a playdate at a little girl's home this is what I find.



He is a very nurturing person. He loves to love on them and feed them. I don't find anything wrong with boys  playing with babies at a young age. It gets out the curiosity. 


All of the boys loved her kitchen set and baby dolls. It was so funny!


This picture cracks me up!! Look how happy he is. So funny :)

We look forward to many more playdates with our Mother's Club friends. We have 2 birthday parties this weekend with 2 different little girls from the club. 

We are always trying to plan fun but cheap things for the club. Coming up we have an ice skating playdate, Valentine's party, mall playdate, St. Patrick's party, bouncy house playdate, and chick-fila fun. 

So thankful for such a great group & to be apart of it!

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Beating Winter and T.V

Have ya'll felt like winter is depressing and LONG?

This winter seems so much different. I always dread winter but this year it's way worse. I think it's because my boys are so busy and we are stuck inside a lot. We have especially tried staying home more because of the bad viruses going around as well as the flu. We have been so lucky that we have only had small head colds. Praying and knocking on wood, nothing sneaks in :)


So what do you do with your kids during the winter when your stuck inside?

We I have been busy thinking of new things to keep them busy and promote learning without 
relying on the TV to keep them entertained. We normally only watch 2 cartoon shows per day and allow Karson to play his Wii for about 20 minutes per day. I just have a underlying negative feeling towards kids and too much television. But of course if it's for your family, then that's great!

Here are a few things we do DAILY:
  • Puzzles
  • Playdoh
  • Board Games
  • Hide & Seek
  • Dress up
  • Good guy/Bad guy
  • Daily chores





I have learned a few things about Playdoh playing. I normally keep it in the kitchen at the kitchen table but then it made a big mess under the table with all of the little pieces that they would drop on the wood floors. It is also hard to sweep up so I decided to bring it into the toy room with a blanket on the floor. I gave the rules to the boys that we only kept the playdoh on the blanket and not the carpet. Then afterwards we just balled the blanket up and put it in the washer. It was so much easier. You could also use a plastic table cloth cover but we just didn't have one. 


Boys like making snakes, and worms the best :)



What about you? How are you keeping busy at home?

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Projects and Parties

We've been working on a few different projects around our house. You know because it wouldn't be "our" house if there wasn't at least a few projects going on. While I do like seeing progress the projects drive me crazy. Kevin is painting Karson's room and we decided to try a stripe along the middle.

Like this:

So we have begun the process. It has been interesting. Always an adventure working with Kevin. He has his way of doing things, and I have mine :) I will soon be posting before and after pictures. Stay tuned!

Yesterday the boys had a birthday party for our friend Hallie from the Mother's Club.

They had a blast! 




I normally have them match because there are so many people there on Saturdays and I can keep up with them easier. It's quite the challenge to watch 2 little ones with lots of people in the building, but we did it and had fun! We have 2 more birthday parties this week and projects to finish. 

Here's to hoping we have a good week!

Friday, January 11, 2013

Things I like/dislike

 We've had a rough week. I dislike rough weeks. 

Too much fighting.
Not enough sharing.


Karson has liked our new game. "Grocery shopping" where I lay out all of the play food and boxes of little play cereal in the toy room and they come shopping. I put prices on the boxes and I make Karson count up his total. Then I act like the "register" girl as they call me. They have been really enjoying this game. They asked me if they can bring their grocery cart to the grocery store next time we go. I would, but that would end up in a fight because we only have 1. I dislike that I forget to buy 2 of everything.
  

I like when they share. I dislike the fighting over toys!


I like ok LOVE this little jewel. It's my sanity for the day.

Kevin says I'm dependent on coffee. Maybe so?

I think in the world of mothering....it's very much needed!!

We have a busy weekend ahead with 2 birthday parties, church, grocery shopping,
and lots of family time.