It is not as bad as it seems

I took my two lovely children to the grocery store yesterday and things did not go so well.  It all started when I decided to get gas before going inside.  Buddy had a huge meltdown because I pumped gas at the number six pump instead of the number three (his favorite number).  This just set the whiny stage all the way through the store for both he and Sweetpea. 

After getting everything on our list, I arrived at the checkout line fairly flustered.  Sweetpea was trying to climb out of cart while buckled to reach the M&Ms and Cheetos, Buddy was trying to pull away from me to run across the aisle and look at toys, and I just tried to keep them in line.  I really think God gave me an extra measure of grace for them and I was able to reprimand both in a calm voice.  And for the most part, they decided to obey.

A grandmother-y looking woman was in front of us waiting her turn and all I could think to myself was, "She is going to think I am a horrible mom for having such ill-behaved children".  It was almost the woman's turn to check out and she turned to me to give what I thought would be advice on how she would handle my situation.

She completely flabbergasted me when she stated, "You have such well behaved children."  My response was a very surprised, "Really?"  To which she smiled and continued, "They are normal children wanting the yummy treats at the checkout but they obeyed when you said no.  You are a good mom to set boundaries and reinforce obedience and you will have to do this over and over while they grow up."  All I could do was thank her and breathe a little easier as we waited our turn. 

Yes, Buddy and Sweetpea have their whiny moments.  Yes, I get tired of having to set the same boundaries over and over.  Yes, they push hard against the boundaries.  But Yes, I have great children who, for the most part, are obedient. 

I can get so caught up in each little act of defiance or disobedience that I lose sight of the larger picture of the truly amazing gift that it is to be Mommy to Buddy and Sweetpea.  I took time that afternoon to thank God for the woman in the store who reminded me that it is not as bad as it seems.

**Edit:  Sorry this was supposed to be auto-posted yesterday.

Thanksgiving Shirts

Again, while surfing Pinterest, I saw the cutest idea for a turkey shirt but the link didn't work.  So I used the picture and created my own version.  Although I'm a beginner at sewing, I thought this would be fairly easy.  I was right and it turned out to be a lot of fun until Buddy announced that he didn't want to be a turkey, he wanted a lion.  Maybe next project!  : ) 
Here's how I made our turkey shirts. 

I started by making a pattern on Word using the shapes tool.  Sweetpea's pattern is smaller than Buddy's since her shirt is smaller and I didn't want the turkey to overwhelm her. 

Brown fabric and at least two colored fabric pieces are needed for the turkey.  Using the pattern, I traced out all pieces and cut them out.

After arranging the turkey the way I wanted on their shirts, I used an iron-on adhesive to keep the pieces in place.  I mainly did this since I am new at sewing and don't trust my pinning skills yet.  I sewed around the body and all the pieces and then added a face as well.  Attaching the wiggly eyes turned out to be the conundrum.  All the glue I had at home would not hold up to washing in the washing machine until I found Liquid Stitch.  Now the eyes are attached and the shirts are ready to go!

Overall, I am very happy with the way they turned out.  Neither turkey is perfect but I know the kiddos will look cute!

Thanksgiving Bow

Thanks to Pinterest, I found this adorable turkey bow for Sweetpea and decided it couldn't be that hard to make.  After reading the tutorial, I gathered my material and got to work.  In the end, instead of sewing it all closed, I just used craft glue.  Sweetpea's bow is pretty small and it would have been hard for me, a beginner at sewing, to make it look right.  I love the googly eyes too!  The greatest thing about this bow is that it took about 20 minutes to complete...and then time for the glue to dry.

I can't wait for her to wear it to our church Thanksgiving dinner and on Thanksgiving Day. 

Handprint Turkeys

Yesterday, Buddy, Sweetpea, and I made our version of the Handprint Turkeys at Meet the Dubiens.  I've used paint to make their handprints before but it always makes me very nervous.  Instead we decided to trace hands on construction paper to make the turkey feathers.  A lesson learned for me was to not just make up crafts on the spot and to take time to do a little prep work.  Buddy and Sweetpea were not very patient as I cut out their hands though they did draw a bit on their background paper.  Then even after we had glued down the feathers and body, they had to wait again while I cut out the shapes for the face.  Older children would be better able to cut out their own shapes but Buddy is not quite there yet with his scissor skills.

Here are our finished turkeys.  This is Sweetpea's and obviously I helped her place the face pieces and draw legs.  She had fun holding onto the colored pencils and pushing down the shapes.

Buddy was able to add his turkey's face by himself.  He didn't like the idea of a waddle so he drew a mouth.  Then he added eyelashes to the turkey as well.  I love how his turned out!

These cute turkeys are now hanging on our dining room wall and I'm getting more and more excited for Thanksgiving day.

Thanksgiving Projects

Today I was thinking about various Thanksgiving crafts and I wanted to post some of the ideas I've found either through Pinterest (anyone else as addicted as I am?) or through searching blogs.

I hope to make these Pilgrim hat cookies soon because I love all the things they are made from!   They would make an adorable treat to take to a school Thanksgiving party or just for an office surprise.

This turkey craft is a great way to get children to think about things they are thankful and write onto the feathers.  Depending on the age of the children, more parental guidance may be needed.  Buddy has been thankful for his Buzz Lightyear toy so this craft is a great way to capture the age of your child!

I love handprint activities for my children and this handprint turkey would look cute on the wall year after year.

2 Teaching Mommies has a Turkey unit with lots of fun activities.  They also have a Thanksgiving unit too that would be great as well. 

Happy Thanksgiving crafting!

Thanksgiving Cookies

Yesterday, Buddy and I made cookies for his turn to bring snacks to school.  After they cooled, I decorated them and was pleasantly surprised at how cute they turned out.  Best of all, they were simple and easy. 

I used our Sugar Cookie recipe to make the cookies with Buddy and he helped use our turkey and leaf cookie cutters for the shapes. 

During nap time I whipped up the icing and the cookies were completely decorated in twenty minutes.  The eyes were made using those tiny ball sprinkles which was the most difficult part because they were hard to hold onto and place in the icing. 

Overall, this was a simple Thanksgiving treat and a fun snack for Buddy's class.  If I were to make more, I'd add orange colored icing for the leaves and more colors on the turkey but these were nice and simple treats.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Intentional Acts of Kindness Week 1 Wrap-up

Week one of Acts of Intentional Kindness was an interesting way to start the month.  I am realizing how selfish I tend to be and have decided that even if my children aren't around that I am going to be more kind.  Here is a wrap-up of what Buddy and Sweetpea and I did or, at least, tried to do. 
As I mentioned last Tuesday, we started the month off by writing our World Vision child a letter.  Buddy has wanted to pray for Emous each day since he drew the picture to mail. 
Wednesday: We brought Daddy a Sonic drink to enjoy before he had youth group. 
Thursday: I was able to be a nice driver since part of one of the main streets in town is under construction.  It was sort of sweet as the lady in the other car almost didn't believe that I was waving her into the lane.
Friday: I tried to let someone go in front of me at Walmart but I'm realizing that no one wants to pass "the pregnant lady".  I tried this again in Hastings while waiting for coffee on Monday but again, no takers. 
Saturday: Jon took all of us shopping for our Operation Christmas Child box items.  Buddy and Sweetpea had a blast choosing small toys to pack. 
Sunday: This turned out to be a harder day to be intentionally kind and I didn't have anything that we did together.  But I'll try to be more prepared for next week. 
Monday:  While we were at the library for story time, Buddy shared his puzzle with a younger child.  He even helped this little girl complete the puzzle when she started to have trouble.  Because of this, he and I had a really great discussion about other ways he can show kindness without a Mommy prompt. 

I'm looking forward to seeing what this next week holds and encouraging kindness with my children!

30 Days of Intentional Acts of Kindness

Today is the beginning of 30 Days of Intentional Acts of Kindness with your Kids.  I've been thinking for a few days about how we would start this new project with Buddy and Sweetpea.  My original plan for today had to be changed so instead I had Buddy and Sweetpea draw pictures for our child that we sponsor through World Vision. 
I have a list of about 12 ideas to start and I hope to have the chance to be spontaneous as well throughout the month.   I don't want to do our ideas in any specific order but I didn't want to have to scramble each day to come up with something new.  Here are a few of the ideas that I have for us to do this month.

1. Write our World Vision child a letter.
2. Pack an Operation Christmas Child box.
3. Take a plate of goodies to our librarians.
4. Pay for some one's fast food in the line behind us.
5. Take mini loaves of banana bread to our neighbors.  (We still haven't met them)
6. Be a friendlier driver.
7. Let someone go in front of us in line at Walmart.

Buddy and Sweetpea had a great time today drawing and "writing" letters and I hope they enjoy tomorrow's idea as well.  There is still time to join in the 30 Days of Intentional Kindness with I Can Teach My Child.  If you are looking for ideas, you can check out the links at I Can Teach My Child.