Save My Saturday

This Saturday is kinda a dud. My husband is working 3-11 so My Saturday needs some saving for sure. I don't know what it is about Saturdays that make the kids nuts. The school week is done, Chores are done(ish), and now They need an activity or it will be wrestle mania in my living room. Yes, Moms of all boys girls rough house and wrestle too lol. We need a way to get all the energy out. It's a little too cold to go outside without a an hour bundle up-a-thon which lets face it defeats the purpose of a restful Saturday. So indoor obstacle course it is. Now we have a decent sized house and I don't have many breakables so I allow jogging/ruining for this at their own risk. I set a timer on my ipod and I give them each a color of ruberbands, this is how we mark that they went to each spot in the course, they also have to retrieve certain items.
Todays course looked something like this.
Start at the front door
tag the back door (hang your band on the door knob)
give the dog a treat
hop scotch across the living room (we have a hop scotch carpet)
Go to the bathroom and get a roll of toilet paper
Get a pencil from the schoolroom
put the in your hand above your head and put the toilet paper on the pencil
hopscotch back across the living room
put the pencil and toilet paper away
tag your bedroom door
tag the mailbox
tag mom
and your done.
I do call out the steps as they go as that is a lot to remember
then we see who had the best time. It's pretty funny too because the dog usually chases them and the 3 year old is very territorial with the hopscotch carpet so they have those little obstacle too lol. We may do a few more courses after wards or sometimes they ask to do the same one again to try to get a better time.

Holiday cards and Potatoes

Yippee, it cyber Monday. I'm making Holiday cards today. I missed the boat and haven't finished setting up my Etsy store. Who would of thought that the life of a stay at home homeschooling mom of 4 wouldn't lend itself to much free time for crafts and hobbies.

this snowman image is only for personal use and can not be used for custom cards sorry for the inconvenience
(if your looking for custom cards email me)

Yesterday however, I did manage to get a fun activity done up for my preschooler. I downloaded a Mr. Potato Head printable. I pulled it into psp and digitally colored it (yeah I like to let my young ones color but sometimes the ocd in me needs something to look a certain way) I had to "draw" my own potato but that was ok with a lot of cutting to get it down to size. I then laminated all the pieces and attached Velcro so my little one could build her own Mr. Potato Head while we do school work. I of course ran out of Velcro so its an unfinished project but she enjoyed playing with what was done. I am thinking when my new file folders arrive I will set it up to be a file folder game or a busy bag and maybe use good old Mr. Potato Head for some lessons on the 5 senses.

On another note, I also added a new Printables section to the blog. I have just a few up right now but will be adding more as I make them. Check them out I'd love to hear what you think of them.

Save my Saturday!

When the school week is over, the kids are antsy because its too cold to go outside or raining again! The rain here is enough to make you crazy I thought I moved to Small town Ohio not Seattle lol. The kids need something to do and mom, well lets face it, It's a day of rest. I always try to plan something out of the norm. I wish I had pics to go along with this post but we where so busy having fun I never got the camera out.

I bought Lego's for the first time on Black Friday. A big huge kit and it makes me nervous having a puppy in the house and a 3 year old who loves to put stuff down the heating vents lol. But we needed something new.

The kit we got contained 1,600 pieces. for $30 at walmart. This is a whole new world for my girls but my husband and I had countless hours of fun playing with them when we where kids. I wanted to try to make it a touch educational I took some small clear plastic cups and let each girl scoop a cup of Lego's and the challenge was to use all the Lego's in your cup to make something cool. My oldest made robots, My middle girl made hotels, and my 2nd youngest made a family. I was surprised how well they did. The second challenge was using 2 colors only I divided colors up in the cups and gave each of them 2 colors. This time we got a family on a boat, a bathroom, and a map.

Getting Lego's was a big step for our crew and while I still cringe every time I hear one hit our hardwood floors. It totally "saved my Saturday"

Happy Thanksgiving! What a better day to express what your thankful for. I try to focus on the blessings in my life on more than one day a year of course. Trying hard to also teach my girls to be thankful for all that they have. As American children they have so much while children across the world suffer. I would adopt the world if I could and give to many. But, as that is not possible we can only pray that they have love and that all their needs are met. I am so blessed.






A short list of what I am thankful for this year.
I am thankful to know Jesus as my personal Saviour.
I am thankful to be an American and have religious freedom.
I am thankful for my amazing husband who is loving and supportive despite my many faults.
I am thankful for my daughters who are blossoming into wonderful young ladies.
I am thankful for my home, van, and food in my pantry.
I am thankful for iced coffee, dark chocolate and sweet tea.
I am thankful I have the option and resources to homeschool my daughters.
I am thankful my husband has a job he loves and is willing to commute to provide for us.
I am thankful for my amazing friends online and offline.
I am thankful that my husband supports my many crafting and home improvement ventures.
So much more I am sure but these are the ones at the forefront of my mind.
What are you thankful for this year?
If you are looking for a last minute busy activity to keep the kids out of the kitchen. Goggle is your friend just google "thanksgiving printables" and you will find tons of things from coloring pages, placecard activites, wordsearches and more.