Need a Gift Idea? We Love This United States Puzzle

Christmas is two short months away. Talking to some of my mama friends the other day, we were brainstorming about what to get our children this year. The consensus is we don't want junk! We want toys that will actually get played with and are enjoyed for more than a day.

I immediately thought of this United States puzzle. My mom bought this puzzle years ago for my kids to play with at her house. I asked if we could borrow it because of homeschooling.

This states puzzle is beloved, even by Caroline. She's 4. If you need a good gift to give your own family or a niece or nephew or grandchild, I can't recommend this enough.



What are your thoughts on Christmas this year?

This Spanish/English word shower curtain caught my eye for my kids' bathroom. Can't get my brain off educational gifts! Ha!

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Goodwill Jeans

I have not been a big fan of thrifting or buying second hand clothes in the past.* The stores smell weird. You have to dig. Who has the time?

*exception

But as time has passed and my shopping skills improved, I've been willing to give it another go, especially because my kids need so many new clothes this season. #stickingtoabudget

I've discovered that kids' jeans are great to buy secondhand. They hold up to lots of wear and there is actually a really decent stock of jeans at my local Goodwill, all for $2-3.

Also, I am loving taking my older kids in Goodwill with me. I like that they see me "saving" money, and also we just have a good ol' time, laughing and joking around.

going for the cropped look

 

 model and photo bomber :)

She also found this super cute purse $2

win-win

Do you buy secondhand clothes?

Best Advice I've Ever Gotten on Kids' Chores

The most genius advice I've ever gotten about kids and chores came from this book, How to Be a Happier Parent. I don't have a copy of it anymore so I can quote, but I'll share the concepts.

1. Get your kids to do chores that actually need to be done.

Making their bed every day (don't really care about that personally) or getting them to fold dishrags (don't really need that done either) are great for teaching them how to work. But there are more important chores that we actually need done to keep the house in working order. Get them to do those things. For us, that's feeding the dogs (George), unloading the dishwasher (Stephen), and starting a load of laundry (Laurie) each day.

action shot

2. Get your kids to do the same chores every day for many months, even a year, then switch. This teaches them to be proficient in their chore, and then they can move on and learn a new one.

Laurie fed the dogs for 6 months every day. Then we switched, and now George does it. They are really good at feeding the dogs. They are actually helping.

I  emotionally and spiritually shut down at the thought of a rotating chore chart. I can't manage that! But reminding kids to do their one, important daily chore, I can do.

On weekday mornings, each child does their assigned chore. They've each been doing that same chore since the beginning of the summer. They are really proficient. When helping helps! Amen!?

The best time to do the big chore switch is Christmas and summer breaks when you have plenty of time to work with them and help them get through the learning curve of a new chore, especially with the more advanced things like laundry and dishes.

What are your thoughts? Do your kids have chores?

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Celebrating Fall in Small Ways

Seasonal living is good, clean fun. If you're a mom, you are most likely the gatekeeper of all your family traditions and celebrations. But there's a down side. It can get real expensive real fast.

Pumpkins are as much as $15-$20 apiece some places (and my kids think they each deserve their own). There's Halloween costumes - of course everyone wants a new one even though we have buckets of costumes!

The fair costs $1 million.
There's wardrobe updates.
Gourds ain't free.

I like it, but I don't like losing control of my budget! I've learned to embrace seasons in subtler (aka cheaper) ways.

Looking around my house today, it felt very fall-ish. For the first time it's not 99.9 degrees outside. There's a breeze in the air. The light is different.

Here's a couple of snapshots of how I'm celebrating fall in small ways, using restraint, and using what I have.

1. Aldi mums $4 each

2. Walmart mini pumpkins $2.98

3. Earl Grey Tea (from my tea stash)

4. fall nails , Essie drive-in and dine  (bought last year)

5. Pumpkin bread - I feel like I'm cheating on old faithful, but I usually make this recipe now. It's so orange and delicious. 

How's fall treating you?

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Insta Sabbath

Back in 2011, I had a bee in my bonnet to get an iPhone. Really, I wanted Instagram. I wanted an iPhone so I could get Instagram. I had no idea that IG had a feed and people could actually see your photos. I think I thought it was a photo editing app. Clueless.

Times were different then. The noise of the internet was mostly on Facebook and blogs and Pinterest had just started to take off. Instagram was quiet believe it or not. There were no ads, no stories, and the colors in the photos were muted. I'm pretty sure they didn't even have captions. I'd go days without checking it.

Fast forward to now. Instagram is the most exciting, addictive, and confusing space. It's a love/hate situation for most all of us. I have failed so many times, losing all self control, and literally reaching the end of the internet when I should have been doing so many other things.

As life sucking as it can be, I still want to be a part of it all (happy moments, Chatbooks, filters!), but in a healthy way. How can this be?

 Hilariously, one of my very first Instagram pictures 

#proud #imightframeit

After lots of experimenting with time tracking social media apps and long breaks from Instagram (neither broke the spell it had over me), I landed on Insta Sabbaths.

It goes like this, every Saturday night, I delete IG from my phone. I spend all day Sunday Insta-free. Usually, I don't put the app back on until Monday evening, after all my Monday work has been done.

I have been doing this for months, and it is truly freedom. FREEEEEDOM! I'm in charge of my phone, not the other way around. The weekly practice reminds me that this is an ongoing "issue" and discipline and self-control are more the solution than totally abstaining. Compare it to any vice. One glass of wine is ok, six, not so good.

I don't keep many other interesting apps on my phone besides IG. Without Insta, my phone doesn't have much appeal. It's dead to me. The spell is broken...at least for a day and a half.

How do you control yourself?
.....

On this topic

This podcast episode #209 was excellent. Tsh and Andrea discuss Andy Crouch's book, The Tech Wish Family. I loved the book.

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