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I like to keep things in my life simple. I
try to keep my home and my schedule in order. By keeping
things organized we have more time to spend with our family making
memories. Here are a few
of my solutions that help me do this.
New
Solutions Added
Children: Car Bingo (6/29/10)
We just got back from our family vacation. We
had a six hour car drive each way and I knew the kids would spend most
of that time watching dvd's. I decided to make car bingo for them
to play just in case they got board with the movies. I was
surprised but the kids loved playing it. I played with my seven
year old daughter while my 4 year old son helped us look for the items.
It was fun and got them looking out the window at the scenery we drove
by. I was so glad they got to see some of our drive instead of
staring at the tv screen the whole time. I laminated the cards and
we used dry erase markers to mark the squares. Here are the cards we
used:
Car Bingo
Children: Play Mats (5/24/10)
I found these cute little ocean figurines and space
figurines at the craft store Michaels. They had many different
themes such as birds and horses, but I thought my boys would like these
the best. For the photo they are on, I searched for themed
wallpaper on the internet and then printed them off. I found a
scene for each side, put them back to back to make them two sided, and
laminated them. My boys got them for Easter and loved them.
They are nice because they don't take up a lot of space so you can take
them with you places such as out to eat etc. I have seen a lot of
cute figurines such as packs of plastic bugs and green army guys at the
dollar store that would be fun too. They make fun and inexpensive
gifts for children.
Children:
Wii Mats (1/10/10)
My kids got a wii for Christmas. They love it
and it gets them moving. As they play, they start moving closer
and closer to the tv. I was afraid they were going to put the
remote right through the screen. So, I put down these carpet
squares and told them to stay on their mats. Hopefully it will
keep our kids and our tv from getting hurt!
Children: Growth Chart (12/18/09)
I saw a growth chart online recently that I loved.
I have been meaning to make one for my kids for a few years, but never
knew how I wanted to do it. This was the perfect solution.
Amy at
www.amyscreativevinyl.com made me the vinyl for the growth chart
like the one I saw online. I LOVE IT!!! I got an 8"x8' board
at Lowes and had them cut it to 7'. I just found out that Lowes
will cut your boards for you! Then I painted it an off white color
and sanded the edges lightly. Then I applied the vinyl and it's
ready to mark my kids heights on it. When I grew up we marked our
heights on the back of a door. When we moved we had to leave it
behind. Having the growth chart on the board is great because it
looks cute enough to leave out as a decoration, or if you want to put it
out of sight it will easily fit into a closet, and it's can go with you
if you move!
Food/Kitchen: Popcorn (12/14/09)
I recently discovered you can pop popcorn kernels in the microwave.
Pour about 1/4 cup kernels in a brown lunch sack, fold over once, and
tape shut. Microwave it for about two minutes or until finished
popping. I love doing this for a few reasons. First, the
kernels are much cheaper than buying microwave popcorn. Second,
you don't have to add any oil or fat to the popcorn. Third, it's
much healthier than the microwave kind because you don't have all the
additives and extras they add to the microwave popcorn. Fourth,
you can top it with whatever you want. You can use real melted
butter, salt, garlic, etc. Fifth, it tastes yummy!
Children: Multipurpose Toys (12/05/09)
These are the best children's toys ever! I
bought them on sale several years ago. While bathing my daughter
one day I became very frustrated with all the bath toys she was playing
with. They all had small holes that trapped water inside and every
time she squeezed them, black gunk squirted out! I got the set of
beach toys out and they have remained in our bathtub ever since.
There are buckets, shovels, cars, and boats etc. included in the set.
They love them. Last winter I had another bright idea. My
kids wanted to play out in the snow but I didn't want to join them in
the cold. So, I grabbed the beach/bath toys and set them out on
the deck in the snow. They loved scooping up snow and molding it
into shapes. I laid a towel down for them to sit on so they stayed
dry. We have also taken these toys to the beach and they loved
them there too. We've had them five years and all three kids play
with them daily. I've also put them through the washer and the
dishwasher several times to clean them with no problems. So, the
next time you need children's toys that are inexpensive, hold up great,
and are multipurpose- go buy a sturdy set of beach toys.
Children: Racetrack (11/23/09)
We have two sons who spend the majority of their days
rolling, ramping, and racing their many cars all over the house.
We found the perfect racetrack for them. It is a piece of vinyl
soffit found at any home improvement store in the siding section for
about $12. It has three lanes and bends slightly to give the
perfect incline. It's 12" wide and 12' long and can be placed
anywhere. My boys have had it on our outside front steps, our
stairs inside, and leaned up against our couch. They have had so
much fun sending their cars down the track and watching them race down.
The best part is that it is thin so can be stored anywhere, it's very
inexpensive, and it keeps the boys busy for hours!
LDS: General Conference Basket
(9/09)
I love watching General Conference each April and October. I love
being home all weekend with my family watching conference on the tv.
I love having big breakfasts and soups to eat for lunch and dinner.
I love hearing our church leaders give us inspired words and guidance.
The one thing I didn't love was having my children cause such a ruckus
that we couldn't hear much of what was going on.
In April I made a General Conference Basket for the
family to enjoy. It worked very well for my three and six year old
kids. I took different General Conference packets I have found on
the web and customized them to what I wanted. I make one for each
child. There is a photo of each Prophet and Apostle and a blank
head next to it so they can color what they look like when they speak.
I also have a tie on the page for them to color to match the speakers
tie. I have a spot for them to write or draw pictures of what they
are speaking about. At the bottom there are different things they
can color if it applies to the speaker, such as if they are bald, wear
glasses etc. I also have pages for other speakers who are not
Prophets or Apostles including pages for the women who speak.
At the end of the conference packet, I include several coloring pages,
word searches and other fun things from the friend. If they finish
or get tired of coloring about the speaker, they can flip to a page in
the back of the packet and work on that. I bind all the pages
together into a book to make it easy to flip through. The first
year I printed a packet from the internet I didn't bind it and pages
were flying all over the room!
I also made Conference Bingo Cards that we all really
enjoyed. There are several topics on the card including prayer,
faith, temples, etc. We play by covering our entire card with
pieces of candy (m&m's, gummy bears, mini marshmallows etc) and as we
hear someone discuss one of the topics, we get to eat the piece of candy
on that square. The person who get's bingo first gets to eat the
remainder of their candy! I put the packets, bingo
cards, and candy in a basket along with crayons and a few other little
things for the kids to do. I have found with my kids that if you
package something to look nice, for some reason they like it better.
That is why I bind their books and have everything arranged nicely in
the basket.
Here are my packets and bingo cards. You can
download them and use them for your family. Don't forget to add
coloring pages and word searches etc to the back of the packet.
You can find several of them put together online or browse through the
Friend Magazines online at
www.lds.org.
General Conference Packet
General
Conference Bingo
Food/Kitchen: Lunch Choices (08/21/09)
I thought this would be a good post since school is about to start next
week. Last year my daughter started kindergarten. I packed
her lunch each day but she rarely ever ate it. I realized that I
needed to start giving her choices and let her decide what she would
like to pack in her lunch. I made a key ring full of choices.
Each category is a different color. Now, she goes through and
orders her meal each day. She knows she has to pick one blue, one
green, and one yellow. Then, the rest are up to her. This
system worked very well for us. Blue-main dish
Green-vegetable
Red-fruit
Purple-side dish
Brown-dip or sauce
Orange-treat
Yellow-drink You can download the cards and then print
them on paper or cardstock. I printed them on paper and then
laminated them using
Jumbo Card Size 2-15/16" x 4-1/8"
laminating pouches from
www.oregonlam.com.
I punched a hole and put them on a ring.
You can download the cards and the photoshop template here:
Food Choices Cards
Food Choices Cards Photoshop Template
LDS: Home, Family, and Personal Enrichment
Ideas (01/09) I have served as my branch
enrichment leader for a year now. I love this calling a lot.
Here are my planning, agenda, and notes from our four activities we had
last year:
The Hundred Dresses
Journaling
Add a Little Sugar and Spice to Your Personal and Married Life
Frugal Gift Ideas We had several smaller activities
throughout the year too. Some of them were FHE swaps, bread
making, soup making, homemade laundry soap making, temple trips etc.
We are a small branch and don't do "groups." Instead, we do
several small activities. I try to have two activities a month the
sisters can choose from. I keep the meetings and activities simple
with few decorations and easy refreshment ideas. I really want the
women to learn something and/or feel the spirit. This is what is
most important. The socializing and fun will happen naturally from
us getting together. Here are some ideas from our
planning meeting for this year:
--Ideas for our
4 main meetings this year
1 March—“He
Is”—improving our relationship with Jesus Christ (using the song He Is
by Hilary Weeks
2
June—Developing and recognizing our talents
3
September—How to put our eternal priorities first (temple, family) (make
temple mod podge)
4
November—Holiday traditions
--Food/refreshment
ideas-brownie bar, baked potato bar, soups
--Ideas for
small activities-Self defense, fhe swap, movie night, scripture study
systems, Ensign article night, cake decorating, genealogy, healthy
support group (exercise, nutrition, stress management),learn to cut
hair, organizing/what works for you, herbs-how to grow and use,
wheat 101, powdered milk 101, emergency notebook, medicine cabinet
in a bag, canning
Food/Kitchen: Pop Up
Pancakes (09/04/08)
I found a recipe for pop up pancakes (also known as German Pancakes) on
this blog
http://www.makeandtakes.com/. I made them for my kids and they
devoured them in a matter of minutes and begged to make them again soon.
Since then we've made them for breakfast, lunch, and dessert. They
taste a little like crepes and french toast combined. The batter
pops up in the oven. You can see in the photo below how they look
when they come out of the oven. You can top them with anything you
want. Our favorites are syrup with powdered sugar and fruit with
whipped cream or powdered sugar. You could also top them with
chocolate or honey or anything else that sounds good to you. You
can make them in any kind of pan, but muffins are fun. We love
them and they are super easy to make. The recipe I saw was good
but I added a little vanilla and sugar and now the recipe tastes great!
Pop Up Pancakes 1 cup milk
1 cup flour
6 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash salt Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Grease 24 muffin cups
Mix all ingredients in a blender then pour into muffin cups
Bake 15 minutes
Food/Kitchen: Muffin Tin
Meals (09/04/08)
I read about "Muffin Tin Mondays" on the blog
http://sycamorestirrings.blogspot.com. Each Monday this woman
(and several moms who have joined the trend) serves her children lunch
from a muffin tin. I tried it and my kids love it! I use a
mini muffin tin that holds a dozen muffins. In each spot I put a
different food. In the above photo I have food like peanut butter,
crackers, ham, green peppers, carrots, spinach leaves, cheese, raisons
etc. I also took a cookie cutter and cut a butterfly out of bread.
My kids got to decorate their butterfly and then eat it. They
loved it so much I bought more cookie cutters. We now have a
circle they can make a face from, a girl, a boy, and a bear (build a
bear!). They love it and I do too because I don't have to cook
anything. I just toss in different things from the cabinet and
fridge.
LDS: Family Home Evening (06/08)
One of my favorite time savers are fully prepared
Family Home Evening kits. I have participated in several swaps
where everyone prepares multiple copies of the same Family Home Evening
and then we exchange them. We go home with several different
fully prepared Family Home Evenings. The kits we exchange are
complete lessons with visual aids, stories, games and activities.
They are great because when Monday rolls around all I have to do is grab
a kit and read over it quickly. The above photo is a Family Home
Evening I received in the last swap I participated in. It's nice
because I have so many great lessons now. It's a lot easier to
come up with one creative lesson and swap with others, than to come up
with several on my own. Since I have started swapping kits we have
had Family Home Evening almost every Monday night. Because the
lessons are so creative my kids love them. I have hosted several
swaps as
Home, Family, and Personal Enrichment activities. I've also
joined a few online swaps where we have mailed them.
Here is a copy of my swap rules and a sample lesson
that you can download.
FHE Swap Rules
FHE
Lesson Prayer
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