tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47916886549484263752009-11-11T13:07:12.801-08:00It Feels Like Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671848129910298975noreply@blogger.comBlogger256125blogspot/qjcFhttp://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791688654948426375.post-19575639500169968972009-11-10T20:10:00.000-08:002009-11-10T20:29:32.950-08:00

My kids are 6, 4, and 2 years old and although young, I do want them to be in the habit of doing chores. Not for hours a day, but just enough to have a bit of responsibility, be helpful, and learn to take care of the house. Right now, at their ages, that means about 15 minutes of work required.But I have struggled to find a way to motivate them to get the chore done well, quickly, and without <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/8zLGlG3bqcs" height="1" width="1"/>

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Do you know what will make you jump just a little? Head out into your backyard in the black of night to investigate what the dog is wildly barking at under the car. Crouch down, shine your flashlight under to find this!!!! Starring at you from only a couple feet away!!! It happened to my husband and then to me as he insisted I come see, a couple nights ago.Is it just me or does that possum not<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/dczqrKp1BoQ" height="1" width="1"/>

It Feels Like Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671848129910298975noreply@blogger.com10http://itfeelslikechaos.blogspot.com/2009/11/not-playing-possum.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791688654948426375.post-67243190673327413872009-11-09T20:06:00.000-08:002009-11-09T21:54:08.301-08:00

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A couple weeks ago I was waiting outside the classroom to pick up my 4 year old daughter from preschool. She comes out and runs into my arms, not unusual, but instead of excitedly telling me about her day, she buries her face in my neck and won't let go. Something is wrong.I ask her what it is and she begins to cry as she tells me, "The pumpkin wasn't in the bag. It fell out." I immediately <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/W_TCb7vBqWc" height="1" width="1"/>

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I'm so glad my 4 year old and 2 year old helped me bake these from scratch chocolate chip cookies because I can totally blame them for the result:Yeah, not sure what happened there?!!! It was like one big, flat cookie mess! Burned on the edges, raw in the middle!! I was getting them out of the oven while my husband bathed the kids, and as I began to spatula them up I immediately realized, "<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/BAXGlG_XlzU" height="1" width="1"/>

It Feels Like Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671848129910298975noreply@blogger.com10http://itfeelslikechaos.blogspot.com/2009/11/i-blame-kids.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791688654948426375.post-66725219287647610352009-11-04T19:41:00.000-08:002009-11-05T05:35:37.580-08:00

Over the past year of trying to get better organized, I have become a complete fanatic for the containers. Give me an empty plastic bucket, basket, shoe box, or even an empty yogurt tub and I'm a happy girl!Here I wrote how after reading hundreds of times about using containers for organizing I finally discovered, "Hey, containers really do work for making things more organized!" And since then<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/VP8WYizPVOU" height="1" width="1"/>

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As a little boy with a big sister there is a high likelihood you'll someday be dressed in a pink tutu. And when that day comes and you twirl and giggle in a pink sparkly skirt, just make sure you have your pirate sword firmly in hand because that will be the shred of masculinity you can cling to if/when the picture comes back to haunt you 12 years later!Find more Wordless or Wordful Wednesday.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/_AEP9ESqrR0" height="1" width="1"/>

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I love displaying the Christmas cards that we get, especially since so many of our friends have little kids and send cards with pictures. It is really fun to have all the cards up in the house, marvel at how much all the kids have grown and changed, and just enjoy all the cute little faces!But until last year I didn't have a system I really liked for displaying the cards. But then I figured out <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/7x6NiBx7IAE" height="1" width="1"/>

It Feels Like Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671848129910298975noreply@blogger.com14http://itfeelslikechaos.blogspot.com/2009/11/display-those-christmas-cards.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791688654948426375.post-52167543135528541712009-11-02T19:22:00.000-08:002009-11-02T20:10:06.550-08:00

Have you heard of the Advent Conspiracy?In the video on the main page of their website (find it by clicking here), they give the statistic that Americans spend 450 billion dollars on Christmas every year. More people die from lack of clean drinking water every day that anything else. It would cost 10 billion dollars to make clean water available to everyone.I don't know about you, but I find <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/fRm34pQcZsE" height="1" width="1"/>

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You may remember this picture from my sidebar and my profile:Well, that was actually 2 years ago! Yes, my internet friends, when I say I'm behind on pictures, I mean I'm behind on pictures!So, my blog family photo (much like the family photos that hang in my home) actually depicted my family as we were 2 years ago.And this is now. . .So, now 2 years later, is it any easier taking family photos <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/J35WjGT1lns" height="1" width="1"/>

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2 Sentences, 8 wordsDot has a dog. Dog has a hat.Doesn't seem like much when you read it.But when you hear your 4 year old daughter read it all by herself?Utterly awesome, amazing and exciting!!!!!I posted last Friday about kid milestones rarely mentioned. The 1st sentence they read out loud to you without any help, has got to be one of my absolute favorite milestones!!I am especially excited <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/UIQ345X7CIU" height="1" width="1"/>

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Okay, I feel like I'm wading into deep waters here, but I'm going to share anyway.One of my big reasons for keeping this blog, for investing my time in it, is because I hope it will someday, when the time is right, minister to my children.There are many, many aspects of faith that my children are too young to digest right now. And the details around the concept of God speaking to them, like I <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/TngmuXAaTl8" height="1" width="1"/>

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When Toddler meets "The Pumpkin Monster" it is "The Pumpkin Monster" who should be afraid!He lost 2 gloves and possibly some stuffing during his encounter with my little guy!Find more Wordless or Wordful Wednesday.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/zbrg9FFzK20" height="1" width="1"/>

It Feels Like Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671848129910298975noreply@blogger.com20http://itfeelslikechaos.blogspot.com/2009/10/toddler-meets-pumpkin-monster.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791688654948426375.post-33421935931949771832009-10-27T16:53:00.000-07:002009-10-27T19:42:48.720-07:00

I love this buttercream frosting recipe (click on the words to get to it on allrecipes.com)! It is really yummy and makes a ton, so the last time I made it, I froze some.This week I wanted to make Halloween sugar cookies with the kids, so I thawed out the icing. The kids and I whipped up the cookies and baked them. And then added some food coloring to the icing to make it orange. The kids had<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/BvFZxPyeQVs" height="1" width="1"/>

It Feels Like Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671848129910298975noreply@blogger.com4http://itfeelslikechaos.blogspot.com/2009/10/yummy-icing-you-can-freeze.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4791688654948426375.post-35523397448220739962009-10-26T19:40:00.001-07:002009-10-26T20:26:57.464-07:00

This past Sunday I taught a 4 year old Sunday School class the story of 1 Samuel 3. That's the story where God talks to Samuel as a little boy while he is sleeping -- you know the one where he keeps running to Eli thinking Eli called him, until Eli finally tells Samuel God must be trying to talk to him.The kids loved watching me pull on a pajama shirt over my clothes, lay down on the floor with <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/_q6Ww9Ehe9g" height="1" width="1"/>

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Somehow we are never at a loss for Not Me! Monday blog material around here! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have NOT been doing this week!At our house:When I walked into the playroom one day last week I did NOT step in hundreds of tiny, multicolored, grain-like things. As I scanned the room that was coated in the stuff<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/DJqsSOwMcQQ" height="1" width="1"/>

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Today's Topic is:Having a joyful heart and a cheerful face!ActivityTogether with your children make faces for your pumpkins. Either carve them, or if your kids are too young for knives, or the mess scares you, use stickers to create different kinds of faces (you can do two faces per pumpkin, one on front, one on back).ScriptureProverbs 15:13a, "A joyful heart makes a cheerful face"DiscussionAsk <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/RtC30MUbQwk" height="1" width="1"/>

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All the parenting books and magazines talk about the kid milestones of rolling over, sitting up, crawling, walking , and talking. But I hardly ever hear about these 7 milestones that are really quite life-changing from the mom perspective:1. They can be in a forward facing carseatWhen: 1 year old and 20 lbsWhy it's golden: much easier snack or toy hand-offs, and for long car trips the baby can<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/PnOkgtK4OiM" height="1" width="1"/>

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Prepare yourselves. There is an utterly informative, riveting, edge-of-your-seat, exciting post to follow this message. Seriously, you are guaranteed to be left asking, "We care because why?"!!!13 Cereals in my pantry right now: Cranberry Almond CrunchKashi Go Lean Crunch OriginalMultiGrain CheeriosHoney Nut CheeriosLifeKroger Brand Granola cereal without rasins Shredded WheatRice CrispiesDora <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/kUVCi9MItEs" height="1" width="1"/>

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My kids are 6, 4, and 2 years old. They are each other's favorite playmates, and I love that! I want them to play well together, to enjoy their siblings, but I have noticed they kind of have to be taught or conditioned to play well together.It is not all bliss, we are still figuring it out, but here is what I have noticed works to help siblings play well together:1. Give them opportunity - I <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/EcyQA0Pb8CA" height="1" width="1"/>

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I love the mind of the toddler. How it works, how they learn, the things they think of. While the toddler stage is exhausting and messy, you cannot help but smile, because they are so cute and so hilarious! I am grateful to watch as they become "real people" with voices and abilities and opinions and wills and desires and plans.I don't usually have a cookie jar. When I bake cookies they go <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/wdFtl1ICVto" height="1" width="1"/>

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Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have NOT been doing this week!Around our house. . .It's NOT me who set up a picnic lunch in the living room in front of the TV for my kids, just so my husband and I would not miss a minute of watching a big football game on Saturday!It was NOT my 6 year old who <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/HANsgeY45VY" height="1" width="1"/>

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Click on over -- you'll be glad you did!1. These girl's boots are on sale at Target right now. I got these for my 4 year old daughter a few weeks ago and she loves them! It has not really been cold enough in our part of the world to wear them yet, but my girl has not let that minor detail stop her. I must say the boots are really cute!2.This post of Lysa's is so incredibly funny and yet leaves <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/9sKfldbez_g" height="1" width="1"/>

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Want to be thankful for your problems? In 13 words I give you a new perspective:A Chinese proverb: “Well-fed people have many problems, hungry people have only one.”Find more Thankful Thursday here and Thursday Thirteen here.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/_UB1Craigbc" height="1" width="1"/>

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Can you believe it is already mid-October? The Christmas season will be here before we know it! I don't know about you but I'm always looking for ideas of great toys to get my kids, so money is not wasted on a toy that will just become clutter in the house.To me great toys are toys that my kids really play with every day for years, toys that last & don't require batteries, toys that evoke <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/qjcF/~4/JI7pl3hECVM" height="1" width="1"/>

It Feels Like Chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10671848129910298975noreply@blogger.com4http://itfeelslikechaos.blogspot.com/2009/10/great-toys.html