Sweet Friends

Watching my girl start developing friendships with other kids her age is so exciting to watch! Kate's been blessed with several very sweet playmates that we both enjoy getting to go on special adventures with from time to time. This morning Avery's mom invited us to go with them to a farm in Grapevine. We picked cotton, took a hay ride, played games, rode a pony, decorated pumpkins (pictured above), and did so much more. I loved watching the girls interact and really enjoy each other's company as they played together. I can't wait to see how their relationship continues to deepen and grow as time passes!

"Summer Loving Happened So Fast..."

I LOVE COUPONS! My "summer loving happened so fast" when I had a little extra time on my hands and not as much money since there isn't as much work in my part time childcare position during the summer months.

To expand my coupon collection, every Sunday I buy the two newspaper bundle from Dallas Morning News and during Kate's nap I spread it all out, cut & organize my coupons, and devise my shopping strategies for CVS & Kroger (my two new favorite stores because of CVS's Extra Care Bucks and Kroger's policy on doubling or tripling coupons). I've even started trying to find online coupons to print, learned how to stack manufacturers coupons with store coupons for better deals, and started hunting for information on the internet from other moms who are smarter at bargain shopping than I am.

From all those things put together, I've saved our family close to $1100 in the past four months in groceries and health/beauty products. And I've gone from spending about $60-$75 a week on those products to being able to get by on an average of $35-$40. While that all sounds wonderful on the surface (and it is fabulous), my main frustration is that my bank account doesn't show an extra $1100 sitting in it!

That total saved actually comes from all the coupons I've clipped, the deals I've found, and the Extra Care Bucks I've collected/spent. And a good portion of the items I've purchased with that savings are currently sitting in the hall closet as members of my precious stockpile. I never understood this before, but stockpiling things that I can find at an awesome price is definitely a saver strategy. So now we've got shampoo, razors, body wash, rice krispy treats, chex mix bags, toothpaste, and much more that I've found for incredible prices just waiting on us to use or donate it.

I am saving about $20-$30 a week, but with an unexpected doctor bill here and there, the ever fluctuating cost of gas, and such we haven't seen a significant change in our finances - but I know it is making a difference by helping us better afford those incidentals and I really love my little growing stockpile.

So after giving bargain shopping my best efforts, tracking my progress for a few months, and looking at our finances, I think it's fair to say my summer love and I have "had a blast" and it's definitely worth my time and energy to keep at it. If you have any great couponing strategies or any money saving tips that have proven worthwhile for you, please let me know about them - I know I still have a long way to go to perfecting the art of saving a buck!

This challenge is a blessing

Some of my favorite things about my precious girl (in no particular order):

1. Her love of all things artistic - she's constantly painting, singing, or dancing
2. The way she runs to me after I've been away from her for a little bit... and when I sweep her up in a hug she squeezes me back and says, "I missed you, Mommy"
3. Her love of nature & outside - this girl would always be outside if possible. This summer when we went camping and she got to SLEEP outside she was so excited! Going to the park to swing and slide, riding bikes, jumping on the trampoline, or ANYTHING as long as it's outside is always a top pick on her list.
4. Each day when she wakes up she asks, "Is it good morning time yet?" And there have only been one or two mornings I can remember in her ENTIRE LIFE that she wasn't happy to be awake and wanting to snuggle a little before starting the day
5. Her ZEST for life and living it to the fullest as often as possible! We get a little too loud for Cody sometimes in all our excitement, but I love that she loves so much with such enthusiasm!
6. The fact that she's a get up and go sort of girl -- after asking if it's "good morning time", her next question is what are we doing today and/or where are we going
7. She has started requesting for me to sing her the silly songs I made up for her when she was a baby and she's learned the words so she sings them on her own at random times - no one has ever sung those songs but me before now and they seem so much sillier when you listen to them coming from someone else's mouth!
8. Her budding imagination, sense of humor, and the silly things she says - today after BSF she told me "God is a smiley face" - sometimes I think she's trying to be funny on purpose because her eyes sparkle when she knows she made me laugh (and then she usually says or does that thing over & over)
9. Her favorite expressions is "are you kidding me?" I never realized I said that phrase so much, but she definitely picked it up from me and knows the exact way to wield that remark to get a good laugh from anyone in earshot
10. Her compassion - any time I have to go to the doctor for something or she sees Cody or me hurt in any capacity she is very concerned about our pain and is extremely loving until she's sure we're really okay

We are so blessed to have been given this sweet girl. She definitely challenges us each day - but she's also one of the main sources of joy to my heart at so many moments through out the day. Three years ago all we wanted was to start a family, so to be struggling with how to train up our toddler now is truly a blessing. When she's in one of her terrible two moments tomorrow I pray that I will take the time to consciously remember what an amazing blessing she is in our lives as I grit my teeth and jump in there to handle the situation in the best way I can!

If you know this sweet girl, what's one of your favorite things about her?

Days like this...

Have you ever had a day like this? I definitely have days like this -- and unfortunately so does Kate. The hard part for me right now is trying to PARENT someone having a day like this... and this particular little someone is only two and a half years old.

I love Kate with a kind of deeply unconditional, pure sort of love I never knew existed before she was born, yet lately it seems like my precious baby is more of a rebellious teenager than mommy's sweet little girl. She wants things to be her way, right a way, and then in the odd circumstance it actually works out that way she changes her mind quickly about what she wants! She can be happy one minute and screaming the next -- or vice versa where she's screaming one minute and laughing the next. Sometimes I know she disagrees with me merely for the sake of disagreement. Her language skills have developed to the point that now she explains a million reasons for why she can't do what she's being asked, insists on knowing WHY she needs to do anything I ask, and she has an opinion on everything we say.

I understand this is a normal part of two year old development -- and in a so many ways I'm thankful to just be dealing with merely a normal two year old development rather than all the things people around us are struggling with -- but this is where we are and it's something important for us to learn to deal with correctly. As Kate's mom I want to be understanding when she's just having one of THOSE kind of days, but on the other hand, when it seems like she's having on of THOSE days every other day I feel like I need to intervene somehow. So we've been struggling with discipline lately at our house.

It seems that right now we need to adjust our discipline strategies because what we've been doing has lost it's effectiveness. In Sunday School a couple years ago we went through the book Shepherding a Child's Heart. It discusses discipline in context of the long term perspective as based on the author's understanding of how the Bible addresses the subject. Overall I agree with most everything I read in it, so that book -- combined with several others -- definitely shaped my view of Godly discipline, but even with tools like those in my arsenal, right now I feel like I'm falling short of what Kate needs from me in this regard.

Based on wisdom from those resources, Kate sits in time out for lesser offenses and we give spankings for more serious disobedience. After she has misbehaved we talk about what she's done to make sure she understands her mistake, we discuss what she should do next time, she apologizes, and then she sits in time out or is spanked. After the crying has stopped or time out is over, we hug, reinforce what we will do next time, and go back to playing with clear consciences. That has been a great system for quite a while, but the effectiveness of those strategies is starting to GREATLY diminish so this week we started combining that process with taking away toys (particularly the prized dress-up clothes and art supplies) to try making an impact.

I thought that might do the trick, but she acts like it doesn't matter to her at all. In addition to praying about it, I asked a friend what she thought and she shared that her sister takes away her child's "lovey" (i.e. chosen special item that you can't usually live without, sleeps with, etc) as a method of discipline when she needs to get across a point. That completely breaks my heart, but if taking away Kate's blanket for a night is what needs to be done for her to take us seriously I would do it. Cody and I were talking about it last night and he suggested a sticker chart as sort of a more positive, rewards based system where if she earned so many stickers we got to do something special, but we aren't sure if she's old enough to comprehend all that just yet.

What do you think about taking away the "lovey" for major disobedience issues or a sticker reward chart since our normal discipline routine isn't working? Or are there any other discipline strategies that you find/found effective with a two year old that's going on thirteen? Any guidance for two loving parents who are striving to raise an obedient child in a loving environment would be GREATLY appreciated!!

The Shaving Cream Joys

Playing in shaving cream brings Kate unbelievable amounts of happiness. Her face of unbridled joy is one I long to see as often as possible. Regrettably, I've been making choices lately to do too many "good" things that I've been too busy to create opportunities to catch many glimpses like this one in either of our lives. So this weekend I've been asking myself how I can simplify my life in order to have time for those shaving cream kind of joys.

Last week I heard someone say: God's will is revealed to us when we look up, not around. As that truth clicked through my brain, I realized I've chosen to focus too intensely on the horizontal needs and activities surrounding me and neglected proper vertical attention when it comes to the direction I've been designed to go. I only have so much time in a day and only so many days on this earth, so I need to accept the fact I CANNOT do it all and so strive to prioritize my schedule to more accurately reflect my goals.

My heart beams when I remember the Kate's endless giggling as she played in that shaving cream. She had it smeared all over herself, the table, the wall behind her, and even her beloved Red Sox hat - but I've been built in such a way that watching her joy in those crazy, messy exploratory moments as she grows and learns new things is what brings me unparalleled joy and a sense of fulfilling my purpose. It sounds terribly trite and old fashioned, but I was truly made to be a wife and mother - so I need to manage my time in such a way that allows plenty of room for me to be more purposeful in those roles rather than rushing through the bare necessities with whatever is left in me at the end of a long, hectic day.

After coming to that understanding, God made the path of how to simplify my outside our family obligations very clear to me and today I took my first steps in that direction. Change is always challenging and a bit uncomfortable for me in the beginning (especially when it affects others), but in the long run I have confidence it will be more than worth the sacrifice... so I challenge you to roll up your sleeves, take the plunge into whatever your shaving cream joy may be, and enjoy!