2 weeks!

I made it about 2 weeks during my blog-- not bad!

That is about the story of my life.  Do a huge plan- get it all planned out--be gun ho about it and then...

well a few weeks go by and that is the end of my grand plan.

It is a horrible pattern I have found myself in.

I can't say that I am going to be back on track--cause those first few weeks I didn't have much going on in my life--but as they say---life happens.

I normally have lots of time at night to write on my blog, but I bought a subscription to a face paint website.  It is only good for a year SO I am trying to take advantage of every extra minute I have to watch the videos and learn all I can. The website has over 300 hours of face paint videos from all the professionals from around the world.

I will post-- I won't forget about the blog, but I am NOT going to feel guilt about missing a day (or even a week)!

Thinking Thursday-- The Professor

So I was going to write about my mother, cause seriously who is more influential in a persons life than the people that raise you.

BUT...

I am learning that this isn't a post I can just write up off the top of my head, I am going to have to give this some thought.

SO...

I choose someone else who has been an influence in my life, but not so much that I can't write something quick about them.


I had a professor at college and he was one of the best/worst teachers I ever had.

I may have cried out of anger in his class and I am SURE I was that girl that when I rose my hand or made a comment the other kids would groan.  Yes, I was that student in class.

Anyway.  The reason this professor changed my life is because he made me question everything I had ever been taught.

He taught that progression was bad. It was really the first time I ever wondered about that.  I had always been taught that we want to progress, get better, get healthier, get more.  He said all of that was wrong.  He wanted things to go back to the Amish way of life if not the cave man days, But on the other hand he liked inflation.  He was really a strange man.  

I was an 'older' student when I took his class.  I had gone to about four different colleges (but never getting an associates I was still considered an underclassman cause so few of my credits transferred) and had been married for a year when I took his class, which was full of upper class-men taking it to just finish school, freshmen who were just entering college, or the stoners knowing they could pass his class - I am guessing-because he was smoking it up with them on the weekends..

I learned from his class that I needed to really question some basic things I had been taught and seek some more answers for myself.  I have never been afraid to speak up (or against) teachers whom I thought were dead wrong, but in this class I took it to a new level.

I may or may not have said -ok, kind of yelled-  in class once "Does anyone else think what he is teaching us is total crap?"  I think at least 2/3 of the class was asleep or ignoring him, cause no one really said anything after I said that, but the atmosphere changed and the teacher just shook his head and said "It's ok, just calm down."

I was in two clubs that he was in charge of and was taking another class of his, so we knew each other pretty well and he wasn't offended.

There were a lot of other times when I just had to question what in the world is he teaching us and are these other students thinking he is right?  I felt I needed to say something, to let the other students know it was OK to think differently and to question this (any) professor-- I am not sure if any of the other students even cared as much as I did, but I felt it was my duty to speak up.

And so while I only knew him for about a year (he was fired/quit after during his review with the school board he yelled at them and swept everything off the desk)-- I will always remember the lessons I learned in his classroom, even if they weren't the ones he was teaching.

Craft Day

So today is a house, yard, kid craft day.

Outside isn't above freezing so I am skipping yard craft, and I am barely getting over Christmas decoration overload (at least for me)-- so that gives me a KID craft.

I live in a tiny town and my kids will be with the same 30(ish) kids through out their whole school career (K-12), so I want to get to know the kids in my child's class before they are don't want me around.  So on Tuesdays you can find me in one of the kids classroom.  

The 2nd Tuesday I help in my sons Head Start classroom. 

I am going to post about the craft I did with them.

I have to keep it kind of simple because 1. It is pre-school 2. I have about 30-45 minutes.

It was really fun and I think the kids enjoyed it.  I didn't take any pictures cause they are Head Start kids and I don't want to infringe on their rights--so I didn't take any...

But we did colors. I read two really cute books about colors

White Rabbits Color Book by Alan Baker

And

   What makes a rainbow

I liked both these books--very cute and they held the children's attention.

After reading these books I had the kids get around a big table.  I had 3 small mason jars with colored vinegar.  Red, yellow, and blue food coloring plus the vinegar.  I thought the kids would take about the stinky smell, but no one did.

I put about a tablespoon of baking soda on a cookie sheet and poured on the blue vinegar. The kids thought was so cool.  I did the other colors with their own small pile of baking soda-- then I pour the yellow and blue vinegar together and so on.

The purple didn't turn out very well, but the rest were about perfect.

I recommend this experience for any kids.  I think even middle-schoolers would think it was cool for a few minutes.  

So there you go-- a fun, easy, and pretty cheap craft/experiment to do if you have younger kids. 

funathomewithkids.com is where I got this last photo--I wish mine looked that pretty!

Parenting 101

If there is anything I have learned about parenting is there is no formula.

If you do A your kids will end up like B.

I wish that was true, but it just isn't.

I never understood why my sister in law parented the way she did until I had a boy.  I had two girls before I had a boy--and she had a boy first.

I don't care what people say boys are different than girls.  After having a boy I totally understand now why she did a lot of her parenting stuff the way she did and not the way I did them.

You can't judge parenting.  When I talk about parenting I am talking about parents who aren't on drugs or need social serves in their lives.  I am just talking basic 'normal' parenting -- and if DSS or drugs are a part of your parenting I am sorry and I pray for you and your family!

Why do I feel qualified to write on parenting?  I have 4 kids--2 girls and 2 boys.  Each are totally different--image that-- but they are awesome!  I really have been blessed/lucky to have amazing kids.  We have never had to deal with major illness or trauma.  I pray for those that have to deal with any of that.

I am just starting into the pre-teen era--so I have NO parenting advice (except my teenage years and what I have observed about teenagers from other families) when it comes to that age or older.

My daughter Squirt-she is 10 and my pre-teen. She is pretty amazing.  She is helpful, loving, obedient, smart, and just all around good girl.  She learns quickly and is a great friend.

My 2nd child, 8,  another girl, Firecracker is awesome.  She fits her name.  She wants to make people happy and is my listener--she likes to listen to the grown ups talk and know what is going on int eh world.  She is smart and works really hard when she is interested in something.

My boy, 4,  is Little Man.  He is a challenge for me, but I love him.  He likes to make people laugh and he is very interested in doing what he wants to do.  He wants to learn to read and loves school and playing with friends.  We have to remind him often that WE (parents) are the boss and he needs to listen to us and not just do what he wants.

Our little Monster, is 1 year 3 months.  We call him Monster because he had his front 8 teeth (4 on top and 4 on bottom) by his 8th month.  Right now he is pretty destructive.  He lives to empty bookshelves and drawers.  He is smiley and happy and eats a ton! He has his siblings wrapped around his finger!


Before I had kids, or even married-- I worked at a mall make-up counter.  A young couple with their young child (still in a stroller) came to my counter.  The child was drinking a milk shake.  My face must have said "How can you give that child such a horrible thing?" Because the young dad explained. "It is a milk shake. She has s cystic fibrosis and needs a high amount of calories than normal kids.  She normally gets ensure, but she had some pretty big tests today so she gets a reward of a milk shake."

I was so embarrassed. I learned quickly that I was a judgmental jerk.  I didn't know their story, but I judged them in a split second when it came to their child.

I have a soft spot for children and I don't think any child should have to suffer, but that isn't realistic.

SO back to parenting--- The first thing I want people to know is I am NOT judging you if I parent differently than  you.   I will tell you what has worked (or not worked) in my experience.

My peice of advice for parents, or anyone.  You know your child the best. You know the best way to parent them.  You know if timeout, a light swat to the bottom, or sitting and holding them while discussing their actions is the best way to discipline them.

You have been blessed with instincts to know what your child needs.  Listen to that inner voice when it says to praise your child, direct your child, or even check on your child.

If you read 5 parenting books you will have 5 different parenting styles--5 different ways to handle the same situation and 5 different outcomes.  Figure out what works best for your child (and different things will work with different kids!)

Next time (2nd Tuesday) I will give some more 'solid' parenting advice that might or might now work for you!  Aren't I helpful :)

My Brain Book

So most people call it a day planner, or filofax, but I have always called it my Brain Book!

When I have to much on my mind, or to many things going on I start losing things. Keys, phones, kids--ok so not kids, but you get it.

At the high school I went to they gave each student a Stephen Covey student planner.  I loved it.  It was great to have everything in one place.  I knew what was going on where I needed to be.

Once I graduated I would actually go back and I bought a day planner from my high school almost every year for 4 more years. I would print it off at the start of the year-- whole punch it, and put it in my small 3 ring binder.

After I got a little older I needed something that worked a little differently.

I bought different cheap planners all over, but nothing worked the way I thought it should, so I made my own.

I found a filofax facebook page and followed it.  I

My brain book has changed and adapted over the years and last year I felt I had a pretty good design for my planner, so of course when something works really well why not change it---

I decided to switch it up--because I like change and wanted to see if I could find an easier (but not cheaper) day planner--

This year I ordered "Mothers Who Know" day planner.  It is fantastic.  I couldn't believe how similar it was to the one I designed. This is a planner designed for the LDS mother. Here is a link
 http://intheleafytreetops.com/2016-mormon-mom-planner/

I will use it this year, but honestly after only 2 weeks in I feel like it isn't better than the planner I made.  I will incorporate a few things, but I think I will just go back to my own design.


Now that I have my new Day Planner--Brain Book-- I don't even know what I did with my old one--

Maybe I should focus a little more on keeping my house clean and organized and a little less on keeping myself organized on paper.

Story of my life!

1/10/16-- Article of Faith

Has anyone ever asked you...."so what do you believe?"

I like to talk with people and learn their beliefs.  I find everyone's story amazing. I will talk to you if you are Christian, Jewish, Wiccaa, or somewhere in-between.

I have been asked this and because of some awesome insight from one of our religious leaders, Joseph Smith, I have a great way to answer this question.

When the Church of Jesus Christ (Mormon, LDS) was being restored-Joseph Smith was asked to sum up the religion-- so he was inspired to write 13 Articles of Faith.  It is essentially an outline of our beliefs.

So I take a few weeks (on the 2nd Sunday of a few months) and talk about The Articles of Faith.

The first article of faith is very simple.
We Believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

Pretty simple.  Do you have any question about us believing in the Godhead?  I have had many people tell me I wasn't a Christian because I don't believe in Jesus.  I am always so surprised when they say this, because 1. Our religion title is "The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-Day Saints" and 2. Ask any active member of our religion and they will tell you that we do believe in Christ as our Savior.
 I think that makes it pretty clear.

Here is where people who are only interested in arguing, instead of discussing, will argue with me - because we believe that Jesus is a separate person from God, and the Holy Ghost, we aren't really Christian.

I am sorry that you feel that way, because I want people to draw closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus in their lives, and hopefully that is your goal too-- so instead of fighting with me, lets join together and bring the Light of Christ to others.

The second Article of Faith
We believe that men will be punished for their own sins and not for Adams transgression.

Kind of fancy words for you are responsible for your actions. You can't say "well Adam was the first one who sinned, so anything I do is his fault."  or "well my mom smoked, so I will blame her for me smoking."  While I tend to agree with the 2nd one a little, I think that you will ultimately be held accountable for your actions good or bad.  However, I do believe that parents have a responsibility to teach their children---but that is another topic all together!

The Third Article of Faith
We Believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

Have you ever wondered if you are saved by works or grace?  This Article of Faith teaches that both are important.  Someone who learns of Christ at the end of their life isn't doomed because they haven't lived a perfect life--they can repent and be saved by the Atonement of Christ, and those that never learn of Christ, but live a good life--they aren't doomed either--its the ones that are bad and know about Christ that are in trouble!

I am not a "you are going to Hell" type of person-- in-fact I think very few people will go to Hell--

Christ was a peaceful person, but he would get angry at hypocrites.  Those who said they were the religious people and used the name of God for gain-- the money changers in the Temple-- I think that says something about the nature of our Judgement in the last days--wow I sound like of like those people on a street corner on a box--anyway...

I hope you have a fantastic Sunday and rest in order to sharpen your saw!!

Saturday -- Hit and Miss

Saturday-- I am a little late-- but I am getting it done!

Like I said Saturday's are hit and miss!

Today (and yesterday) was (were) an UUUUUGGGG! kind of day(s).

I find myself yelling at my kids, being general grumpy and went back and forth between trying to make everyone do chores an saying "whatever you aren't helping anyway!"

What do you do when you have days like this?

I tried to nap, but it didn't work, so a hot bath helped some. I have noticed if I clean when I am angry I clean better and when I wake the next day the house is clean and that makes me feel better!

The only thing I can say is I am thankful that I can start again tomorrow!

Friday Fun

Where I live my kids don't have school on Friday.  This is a day we clean the house and try to have some fun.

Our income does not lend itself for expensive fun.  We don't have memberships anywhere (well cause there is no place around here for a membership), and we have to come up with creative ways to have fun.

so while this might not be FUN for you guys, these posts will be some of the more fun posts for me to write, and hopefully calm any feathers I may have ruffled on Thursday :)

Anyway--

1st Friday: Personal stories--Some of the subjects might see to overlap, but I am going to try really hard to separate them so each day is pretty unique in what I discuss and I won't tell the same stories over and over.

2nd Friday:  Favorite quotes-- these are quotes that I have heard or read and mean something to me.

3rd Friday: Inspirational Stories-- people are amazing, and I think every person has a story.  I want to share some inspirational stories with you.

4th Friday: Monthly Challenge-- I will post a challenge-- silly, serious, hard, or easy and I will do it before I report back--and want YOU to do  it too!


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Ok personal story.

I want everyone to know right off the bat I am not perfect!  I know it is a little shocking to learn that, but I am sure if you have ready any of my past blogs you already knew that.

I have 100 embarrassing stories--stories I keep telling my brain to stop remembering.

Like the time I dumped a huge bowl of soup all over a girl during lunch--it also dumped all over the display case and ruined a lot of food.  uggg.

Or the time I tried to play pool and look really cool, but just looked SO stupid--I don't drink so I can't blame alcohol.

or the time I asked my neighbor if your daughter was her daughter, or her husband's daughter--MY husband just looked at me and said "Amy! Both!"  Oh yeah---

How about the time my son decided to lift out my skirt in a very crowded theater.  Yep--that is a good one (that was about 6 months ago)

I am horribly forgetful, and I have lost more car keys than most people every own! or locked my keys in the car dozen of times, or had to just my car jump started because I left the lights on---all bring back great memories!

.

I could go on and on and on.

BUT

I want you to know this blog isn't about me being perfect, or setting myself up for praise. This blog is about being real so that maybe I can help you along your journey.

OK--here is the REAL story I was going to share with you.

As a blogger, I follow other bloggers. There is one blogger I follow who is pretty perfect.  She is gorgeous, her husband is good looking, her kids always look put together, hair done, matching clothing (and shoes).  Her photography is worth reading the blog for, but she does fun crafts, amazing activities, and one idea she came up with is ALL over Pinterest.  (How is the word Pinterest not in my computers dictionary?)

Anyway--

I got to meet her.  My family was eating at a restaurant where you serve yourself and go sit down, cafeteria style.

She walks in with her her beautiful family--they get their trays and head to their seats and this is what I observed.

She was walking confidently in the lead. She has great shoes on, a beautiful outfit and is smiling.  I look behind her.  Her husband (while looking very handsome) is trying to balance 2 trays while his young daughter is pulling on his arm. She is angry she can't have her food NOW!  Her other kids are bickering and scowling at each other.  They weren't perfect!

It was really nice to see reality. Even when she would post "bloopers' or 'oops, how did I take that picture" the family looked perfect.

People ONLY know what you put online. They see YOU as you present yourself.  I could pretend we are well-to-do and I never run out of energy, but the truth is we struggle with money and I love naps.  Everyone is human.

I never want someone to see me in public and think "oh well her blog is a total lie" (which I don't think that ladies blog is a lie, just polished up a bit).

So I have no problem pointing out my flaws or showing you how un-perfect, my perfect life is.

Thinking Thursday

Doesn't 'Thinking Thursday" just sound better than "Thinking Tuesday"?

so I have lots of opinions and thoughts.

so on Thursday's you will have to put up with them.

the 1st Thursday  I will choose a current or controversial topic and tell you my thoughts on it.  Sounds risky I know--but hopefully you will be able to see my view point on the issue and if you have a different view point you can (civilly) express that in the comments and we will learn from each other.

2nd Thursday: I want to share with you people who have influenced my life and how they did it.  They might be people I personally know, or famous people, or maybe total strangers.

3rd Thursday: Emergency Prepare:  I am not a crazy prepper--I am a wanna-be crazy prepper.  Seriously though I think we are loosing a lot of basic skills that are so important to know.  I also think food storage is a great thing, not because the world will end next week (I give it at least 15 more years :) )  but because food storage helps in so many ways--we will discuss that later.

4th Thursday:  How to do _________.  This is either something I have learned to do for one reason or another, or something I would like to learn to do.  I think knowledge is a powerful thing and we should never stop learning--we are living in an information era and You-Tube is an amazing school.   I can learn to do anything I want sitting in my own  home--so I will.



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Why not start with a basic topic....


my blog my rules.

 I don't feel I am fanatical, nor am I out to injure, hurt, embarrass, or disgust people with my view points.  I just really like sharing different information and learning from others.

In my blog I will talk about Jesus Christ, Heavenly Father, and the Holy Spirit. If this deeply offends you, I am sorry, but not sorry enough to not talk about it.Will I slam you and say you are going to HELL if you don't believe as I do? Never.  In-fact, I am interested in knowing WHY you don't believe the way I do about an issue.  Not a rant filled with anger and hatred, but just an honest comment on your feelings and thoughts and personal views.

I won't loose sleep if you 'unfollow' my blog, because honestly I am writing this blog with the expectation of my sister and my mom reading it, and they are both busy, so I don't expect them to even read the whole thing.  If I say/express something that bothers you so much you unfollow me, I am sorry.

I had a theater teacher tell me "If something offends you, don't just shut down, find out WHY it offends you--what about it makes you uncomfortable."

Somethings are just offensive, plain and simple, but that statement has made me explore myself when I am offended -WHY I am offended? Sometimes it is because of the people I am with--they might be offended--other times it is because they are making light of something very personal to me, or maybe the ignorance they are showing towards a subject is so annoying I am offended.  

I think it is easy to spot someone who is just repeating what the media has spouted compared to someone who has actual thought about a subject, researched it, and come to their own conclusion.

So I will discuss issues that I think are kind of mild, like breastfeeding in public, and aliens, but there are times when I will discuss hotter topics, like the right to life support, immigration, and the death penalty.

One problem I have is I can see logic in both sides of most stories, so it is hard to be black or white on almost any subject. So I will post my thoughts, my opinions, my life experiences, and you will share yours and hopefully we will learn from each other, even if we don't change our minds about a topic.

That is the awesome thing about freedom of speech.

Wednesday's crafts

Crafty Wednesday.

I wonder what Wednesday will cover?

How about crafts and getting projects done?

I am an eternal crafter.(spell check is telling me crafter is now a word, but isn't giving me better options--anyone have a better word?)  I have a little bit (a lot) of different types of crafts.  The problem with me is--I don't craft.

When I go to my craft room (yes I have a small craft room--I am so spoiled) I spend more time organizing, re-arranging, and trying to get everything perfect that I run out of crafting time.

Plus on and off I have had babies,  and they just totally ruin any chance of crafting, but I am DONE with excuses.  I am going to get something done this year and you are going to help me!

So come along with me and watch me turn my piles of stuff in to helpful, beautiful, useful crafts!


The first week, well I am not so sure very many people will be interested.  I am a professional face-painter who greatly lacks in natural skill.  I have to practice, practice, practice.
So the 1st Wednesday I will be practicing my craft. BUT I will be throwing other random crafts in there too--so you might get a few weeks of face-painting and then a blog about origami, or soap making, or something random like that.  SO check back.

The 2nd Wednesday is about house, yard and kid crafts.  Obviously the yard crafts will take place more in the summer time, while the winter will focus more on house crafts.  I will address everything from making magnets, to fairy gardens, to gardening, to flannel board activities with your kids.

3rd Wednesday's will focus on food crafts and just plan cooking stuff.  I do a lot of canning in the fall and get so sick of it--but through out the year I try to have my kids help make dinners and learn new ways to work in the kitchen.  If you are a beginner I don't make very difficult menus or recipes.  If you are an expert please leave comments on how to improve my meals and if you are a health nut, you might want to avoid 3rd Wednesdays--but know I am trying to eat better (if you ignore the fact we might have had hamburger helpers last night (but we added corn and pea's-that counts right?)).

The 4th Wednesday I think I will try to do the most time consuming, and biggest 'stuff' collection of crafts I have--which is -- Scrap-booking and card making stuff.  I have a lot and this is the stuff I normally rearrange and try to put perfect before I work on anything, so nothing gets done.  But with this blog I will conquer that--right?


I am thinking I will either have to post these a little during the day--OR do the craft some time during the week and post it on here on Wednesday.

Anyway

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1st Wednesday of January.

The Art of Face Painting

I have loved make-up since I was little. I remember my grandpa giving me a lip gloss when I was little.  It was really sparkly, and it smelled good.

Fast forward to middles school days and because I had an older sister, I wanted to wear make-up.  I would sneak wear it so my mom wouldn't find out, but I don't think she really cared.  I remember going to the dermatologist and him asking me to bring all my make-up.  Any make-up I owed was given to me, or I had bought the cheapest stuff.  Since I didn't know what I was doing I had bought face powder (no foundation yet) that was way to dark, so I bought face powder that was way to light and dumped them both in an little box--the kind that jewelry comes in.

When the dermatologist opened that make-up box I could tell my mother was embarrassed that I was using that as a make-up holder so I think we went to the drug store and bought some cheap make-up, in the right color.

Fast forward again to high school and I did theater.  I loved playing with the make-up and did other peoples make-up for the plays.  I didn't really wear make-up every day, but I loved playing with it.

After high school I really got into make-up. In college I took the theater make-up classes and bought make-up books, both for glamour, theater, and daily wear.  Again, I never wore it daily, but still had a ton of it.

I went to a year a college, then moved home.  I worked for a few different make-up lines at the mall, and wore make-up everyday.  I was still pretty natural for a make-up counter girl, but I got to experiment and I loved it.  I wish I would have learned to do make-up like Dior or the MAC ladies, but I am happy where I was. I was there for about a year maybe all together.  I can't remember for sure how long.

I married a man whose mother is a Director for Mary Kay, so after being married a year, we moved back to his home town and I started doing the business end of her Mary Kay business.  I learned a lot and again loved being surrounded by make-up. I worked for her about 4 years I think.  It was really great.

During this whole time I still played with make-up, but it wasn't until about 3 years ago I watched a you-tube video on face-painting. Lisa Joy Young, was amazing and I was hooked.  I bought $50 worth of paint (which gets you about 4 colors and a couple brushes).  I started watching you tube videos, practicing on anyone who would let me, and just learning all I could.

Like I said I don't have natural talent.  I don't see what colors might look good together, or how a design might work better if I changed something up. I have to work super hard at any face I accomplish.

The 1st thing you are taught is lines.  You have to learn to paint a line from thick to thin, thin to thick, thick to thin to thick, and thin to thick to thin. It sounds boring, but it takes skill.

 I am working on 100 teardrop challenge right now.  I want to be able to do 100 'perfect' tear drops in a row with out one mess up.  If I do ten and mess up I have to start over--

I will report next time if I got my 100 perfect teardrops!

Thinking Tuesday ooops-- I mean Personal Tuesday

Tuesday:  I have lots of opinions, but I am always willing to listen to different points of views and to learn--so I have dubbed these posts as "Thinking Tuesday's".


So just the name 'Thinking Tuesday' and how it doesn't flow off the tongue really bothers me!  I will have to think of a new name.

I had wanted "Tantrum Tuesday", but I was hoping to post more uplifting things than just tantrums and negative posts, so I will work on it.

Maybe I will change around Thursday and Tuesday and have it be Thinking Thursday and Personal Tuesday.

Ok-- it is done

SO

Welcome to Personal Tuesday

Each Tuesday of the month I want us to get to know each other.  OK, really this blog is about me, so I want you to get to know me.  Honestly though, I would love comments and feedback and anything else you would like to share.

so...back to ME...

I wish there was a sarcasm font--I think Italics works pretty good--but sometimes I use italics for other stuff, so italics aren't always 100% sarcasm which can get confusing.

anyway---

The 1st Tuesday I will leave you all hanging --because I need at least one (or 2) days a month off--so actually the 1st Tuesday of the month I won't blog anything--unless I really want to.

The 2nd Tuesday I will share my fountain of knowledge on the subject of parenting-- again where is that sarcasm font?  Bur I have had 4 kids so I do know something.

The 3rd Tuesday is again, a day off for me (hence the "2" in the 1st Tuesday).  Why did I choose Tuesday?  I don't know, maybe I don't have that much personal things to say after all.

and last the 4th Tuesday is about marriage. Again, not an expert, but I am still married to the same guy for over 15 years now and it hasn't always been pretty--So I will share my experiences with marriage.  I am sure my husband (an under-sharer of information) will love me (an over-sharer of information) talking about it--so we will just have to keep it between us -- ok?   Good.  




So here we are on the first Tuesday of January and I blogged.  Oh well--- That is all you are getting from me today.  Hope your day is fantastic!

Clean Up Monday -- YAY!

So some Monday's are manic and some magical, but for some reason Mondays just are a fresh start and I am ready to put my house back in order from the weekend.


It hasn't always been that way.  I have come a LONG way in my housekeeping abilities.

Is it because my kids are older and they help more-- maybe, but they also make messes more.

Is is because I finally understand (but still struggle with) getting rid of clutter? YES!

Is it because I like a clean house, it feels more calm to me? YES

Is is because it is easier to get other projects accomplished when you aren't worried about cleaing a mess before starting a new one? YES

all these and more reasons.

Anyway---just like I did for Sunday, let me give you a rundown of how I envision Mondays looking.



1st Monday:  Plan  your Cleaning:  I am forever planning/reading on HOW to clean your house, and the  best schedule to use, but I never really put any into practice--so every 6 weeks or so I will try a new schedule of house cleaning.

2nd Monday: How I stay organized, my Brain book, and other helps. You will just have to read it every 2nd Monday to see what I am talking about!

3rd Monday: How to make our houses lovelier.  I read once about a lady that cleaned her house really well, saw how ugly it really was, and never cleaned it again.  I want to clean and beautify my living space.  Hopefully I can get something done every month to report to you :)

4th Monday: So my body needs cleaned up! I am not sure about you, but I am holding on to about 35 extra pounds since Monster was born and I need something to get rid of it.  I get tired of the same thing day in and day out, so I have made an exercise plan for the next 6 weeks, after that I will switch it up---Maybe knowing you are reading this will help me stay accountable!

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I got this book called 'The Creation Plan' from my Mother-in-law "Glam-ma" and it talks about how God created the world and how we should organize ourselves in the same way.

Today I will start that method, and I will report back on how I feel it is working (or not working) for me.
This chart (taken from The Lightsome Life) is a basic understanding of The Creation Plan.
http://thelightsomelife.com/how-to-keep-a-clean-house-made-simple




If you are interested in Creation Plan cleaning with me for the next six weeks--here is a link to the Amazon page where you can buy your own.

http://www.amazon.com/Creation-Plan-Seven-Approach-Homemaking/dp/0877479615

Welcome to Sunday Reverent Ramblings

I think for this first full week I would just introduce what I hope (anyone else notice I overuse the word hope?) to accomplish on Sunday's for the next year.


I have broken down each day into 4 groups (since most months have 4 of each day).

1st Sunday: 
I will try to post 4 different plans to hold a family night each week.  I want there to be at least a lesson and activity for your family to discuss, play, or just think about.

All my kids are under the age of 10, so planning it is pretty simple, but I want to engage each family member, so that can be a challenge to make sure my 10 year old and my 4 year old both are able to pay attention.

2nd Sunday
This Sunday I will take a topic from the scriptures to ponder and discuss.  In my religion the members of the congregation are asked to give the talks each week (about 10-12 minutes).  Wouldn't that be awesome if at the end of this year I had 52 topics I had thought about and basically wrote a talk about.

3rd Sunday
I  read a lot of self-help books and inspirational books, so I am hoping to discuss these books with you during the 3rd Sunday. I am always looking for ways to improve myself and reading out the of the 'best books' is one way I feel I can do that.


4th Sunday
One thing I try to do is read from the scriptures and figure out how what the scriptures are telling me can be used in my daily life to help me.  I don't claim to be a preacher, or to understand the mysteries of God, but I believe the Holy Spirit does direct and guide us individually to more fully understand something.  I want to share some thoughts I have had while doing this blog.

Do they all sound similar?  Hopefully I will be able to make them all different.

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We start each family night with a church song (youtube your favorites) and a prayer. Once our kids are older and going their own ways during the week, we will do a quick calendar time to make sure we know what is happening in each others lives--this info includes concerts, study groups, extra work hours, dates planned, or other things your family is involved in).

If not everyone can be there, that is ok. Make it work with the ones that are there.

If it is just you or you and another loved one,  still do family night.  

YOU are important in the eternal family.

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Being the 1st Sunday of the month, I don't feel like I can leave you with out something for your family to do on family night!

Each week we have an evening set aside for our family to be together.  Growing up I remember these were important for my family. Not only did we all bring our calendars so we could schedule where each person would be and when and why for the week, but my parents always tried to feed us spiritually too.

Some times we would do fun things, like see a movie, or go bowling, but mostly it was a lesson and if there was time (with 4 teen-agers there isn't always time), we would do an activity.

Since my kids are still young it is mostly me being burnt out and that is why we don't do an activity, or even a lesson.

So for January this is what I have planned for my little family.

We either have our family night Sunday or Monday---so we don't get confused I will use Sunday Dates.

Note: I do NOT believe in re-inventing the wheel, so you will see lots of links that you can click on to take you to where I am getting my information from.



Sunday the 3rd:   Discuss goals and the importance of knowing how to take steps to make something happen.

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2015/01/three-ways-setting-goals-can-be-different-this-year?lang=eng
(There is a great page to print out and fill out for adults or older kids at the bottom of this article)

Activity: Fill out this great form by Thirty Handmade Days.  (I don't know how to make things look cute to click on them--Links?  Something I need to learn!)

http://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com/2015/12/printable-new-years-resolutions-kids-2016/



Sunday 10th:  The Holy Ghost/Spirit
(Holy Ghost and Holy Spirit are the same thing, just different terms)

Discuss the importance of having the Holy  Ghost as your companion. Talk bout how to recognize the Holy Spirit in your life.

Mark these verses about the Holy Ghost in your scriptures: John 14:16–17, 2 Nephi 32:5, and Moroni 10:5. Discuss ways the Holy Ghost helps you.

(for younger kids)  Roll the dice and talk about the different things that come up 

http://fashionsbylynda.com/blog/?p=739

Older Kids/Adults


Sunday the 17th: 

I try to make at least one night a month about having fun. We will play family games, watch a movie together, read a book together, or any thing else we think might be fun.

Sunday the 24th:    The Bible is the Word of God.

Discuss why the Bible is important and how it came to be. 

https://www.lds.org/topics/bible?lang=eng


The Bible is a BIG book for a little one, so I like this reading chart. We do have a few children's Bibles that we will read, but I think these are great to read directly from the Bible.


Special Sunday the 31st:
This year I want to try to have the extra day of the month with a family member or someone we want to spend our family time with.

I think we will ask our Glam-ma and her hubby to join us on this Family Night Via Skype/Google +.   We will ask them questions about their life, or ask them to come up with a lesson for our kids.  

If you don't have this option, maybe your family could adopt a grandma/pa near by.  Someone who doesn't have family around would be ideal.  Invite them over for family night and just spend time with them. 



Hope these help getting your family night going. 

What can I expect?

I love to plan. In fact, planning for me is more fun than doing.  I think I would be great at planning parties, and then passing the plans off to someone else to do the work.

I love planning menus (at least a month at a time), but have the same 10 meals over and over.

I love planning school curriculum (think homeschooling), but find the day to day actual doing the stuff I plan not as rewarding.

SO I have mapped out this whole year---yep you heard it right.

I sat down and figured out something I could write about EVERY DAY for the next year.

Of course I won't stick to that plan, but at least I have it ready in case I have a brain freeze and can't figure out what to write.

BUT I do have a guideline I am going to try to follow.

Mondays: This is a day I have always felt motivated to get stuff done in my house. I struggle greatly with my housekeeping skills so Mondays will be focused on House Stuff (can you see how glamours my life is already?)  Mondays will be called "Clean Up Monday"

Tuesday:  I have lots of opinions, but I am always willing to listen to different points of views and to learn--so I have dubbed these posts as "Thinking Tuesday's".

Wednesday: What good homemaker doesn't have a room full of half done crafts?  I hope that I am alone in this problem of never completing projects, so maybe if I dedicate Wednesday's to my crafts and such I will accomplish something--so welcome to "Crafty Wednesday".

Thursday: Like I have stated before, I have no problems sharing personal information about myself.  I try not share information about others--but it does happen at times, but I try to keep it all positive.  So Thursday's will be "Personal Thursday'.

Friday: We are lucky to have Friday's off of school.  I am going to try to have more fun with my family --so "Friday Fun" should hopefully spark that desire each week to do something fun!

Saturday: These are often the busiest and laziest days for me depending on what we have going on.  I am going to just label "Hit and Miss Saturday" because I don't know if I will be able to post every Saturday or not.

Sunday:  Obviously, this day will be focused on church-y things.  I am a Christian and one thing I love about being a Christian is the fellow-shipping we do to strengthen each other, so these days I hope to strengthen you! "Sunday Reverent Ramblings"


I am working against some obstacles.  When I decided to do this I had a fully functioning lap top that I could work at where I needed, but thanks to Monster and a small cup of water I no longer have the letters t y u i o p available to me.  It is very difficult to write with out those letters.  So I will have to use the family computer, which hopefully shouldn't be a big deal.

Happy New Year

It is 2016 and I still don't feel like I have my act together.

Every year I write resolutions, the sad thing is, they are the same resolutions over and over and over.

Seriously, I look at my goals from 2005 and they are pretty much the same as 2016.

Do you ever do that?

Well, one of my desires for this year is to be consistent in my blogging.

I have that little nagging voice in my head telling me not to...
      No one but your mom and sister will read it.
      You don't even have a camera right now to post great pictures.
      You have never been consistent with a blog before.
      Why put so much personal information out there.
      You haven't designed a blog in years--you don't even have this one set up cute.
     
But even with all those nagging at me, I am ok with it.

Why do I do it?

I feel that sharing with others helps people not feel so alone. I might be able to help someone else out because of my experiences.

I like to share.  I am pretty open about my thoughts, feelings, and I do write a lot more about my emotions than I show them.

I have no camera right now (Monster may have throw it away in his 1 year old cuteness), but I hope to work with that.  I am not very good at photo's anyway...and I would like to work on that too!

Even if my mom and sister are the only two reading it, I am ok with that.  I have to say I HOPE that I get a million followers and I can pay my house off with the money I make as a professional blogger, but I have a feeling I will never make that leap (but it COULD happen).

I use to be pretty savvy about decorating webpages, but I am out of practice and can't even remember how to start.  Hopefully it will all come back to me.

So welcome to my adventure.