Birthday Ballons our family tradition

One of the best parts of family life is the traditions that we have. My son a few weeks ago asked if we could start having pancakes on Sunday. He saw it on Curious George. George liked Sundays the best because it was pancake day. "Why can't we have pancakes on Sunday?" he asked. We decided as a family that we could do something special for Sundays.We negotiated it to be breakfast for supper on a Sunday.

We have some fun family traditions. One of our favorite is Twisty balloons for Birthdays. A couple of years ago I bought some twisty ballons at the dollar store. We looked online and found some insructions on how to make ballon animals. It was a blast. We decided that Birthday balloons it was going to be. It is fun, and the kids are so creative with it. We love to share this tradition with others. Earlier this month we were able to share with our cousin. It was her birthday and we were able to make it fun by sharing our ballons with her. 

What is your favorite family tradition?

Leave a comment below and let us know!

Graduation time of year

Congratulaions to our Erika. We had the opportunity to go up to Idaho and be there when she graduated from High School. Two  children Graduated from high school.  Gregg is so proud of his kids. Now to get the boys through school.

Kaytlin had to take her turn to try on the cap! 



We also got an invite in the mail for Gregg's Nephew Brandon. He will be graduating in June.  Congrats to him also. 

I

learning values by working together

Doing chores and helping with the home is an essential part of family life.We find that in those moments we become better. I struggle with so many "helpers", but I know the value of it. We try to keep it light and fun. Hopefully the kids will come to enjoy helping out.  I think we are making headway.

When we cleaned the church on Saturday Kaytlin needed help setting up a chair. She turned to me and said "let's do teamwork." She is learning the value of working together.


Dad hauls more than  just dirt and weeds in this wheelbarrow'ofun



all in the wheelbarrow for fun!

















gardening becomes a family affair

filling up the garden boxes





Andrew love to take care of the chickens.  He is pretty good at catching them and helping to gather them up
I can't wait for our first eggs to be laid. 

and when we are done Relaxing is always in order 



Kindergarten Graduation

I can not believe how time has flown. It seems like yesterday that I was holding a newborn in my arms and here he is graduating from Kindergarten.  Love ya buddy.

See me now at life less hurried

I have decided to keep this particular blog as more of a family blog.   I am still keeping a blog about living simple I can now be seen at http://lifelesshurried.blogspot.com/

What is simple living?

What does Simple living mean to you?  For each person it is different. Tara of simply made home has some great ideas. You can read some of her thoughts here.  For me simple living is fast becoming a way of life.

 Here is where it all begins

When I decided that I was not going to be the typical "Soccer Mom",  I was left with an empty spot inside. What was I going to be?  I didn't really know, but the typical housewife was not it. I spent over a year in "Survival mode"  I was just surviving. Life itself was never dull, because I have three very busy young children, but I was dull. I was weary and dreary.  I was turning into a grumpy, frumpy, mom. That is not what I wanted.  It was not a good choice.

I was watching t.v. alot. I was searching for answers through Doctor this and Doctor that. I wanted a quick fix. I was looking for that magic thing that would change my life.  I tried some things, but they were not a permanant fix.  I found myself trying to fix everyone elses problems with what I had learned on tv. If I fixed other people, I felt better. When my Dad said "Please quit Dr Philing me". I knew I had to stop.  It was not making me happy. I would feel better for a while, but I was still miserable. I was  miserable I was lost. I needed new life.

I had to get out of this rut. (Sometimes easier said than done).  I started setting goals and writing lists of things that I wanted to accomplish. I was reading money saving mom's blog you can check it out here. It inspired me to do better. I was doing more, I was getting dressed, and combing my hair (most days).  I was accomplishing more in life, but still not fullfulled.  If I  have want I want in life (a home, a husband who takes care of me, three wonderful kids) Why do I feel like crap?

I am searching the iternet looking for a good way to improve my life. I'm looking at blogs.I'm getting ideas for how to improve my life. I am finding all kinds of things. I should do this with my kids. I should make this improvement in my home.  I should-----, I could-----and the list is growing. Then you add Pintrest to the mix! It was too much.  

Pintrest was the breaking point.  I was so overwhelmed. Pintrest was making it way to easy to grow my list to infinity. Now I could have an infinite list of things that I could and should do. I can share with my friends. I can add their list to mine. I am feeling really guilty because I have placed upon myself this unbelivably long list of expectations and goals that I can not accomplish  I got on my knees and prayed.  The answer was simple.  Throw away the list. Get rid of the things that really do not matter.

I threw away that silly list. I quit surfing the internet all day. I quit watching all those Doctor shows on tv.  I threw away all the stinking thinking that I was doing. I took a real hard look at myself.  I didn't really like what I saw, but I saw potential to be something better. I was surviving off this list of things. It was my main motivation. A daily list of things I must do, and one for things I should do. without my tv and lists. I was really lost. I am able to find new motivation and new direction for  my life. My motto and the main theme in my life has become this

TO LOVE AND CARE FOR MY FAMILY IS THE HEART OF WHO I AM.

By clearing away the clutter of things that really did not matter, I was able to see what is real. I thought that with this list I would somehow be able to do those things on it. I would be superwoman. Without the list I felt worthless. But now looking back I know that the list was holding me back. I am better able to do the important things without the list. I do not worry that I am doing A when I should be doing B. The details of each day do not matter so much. What does matter is that I am getting closer to the end goal,  to LOVE MY FAMILY WELL. 


To love my family well leads to a much better attitude and way of life than what I had in the past.  I am now able to take time to teach my children. I am able to do all those activities that used to be on the list.  I am happier because I do not place all the demands of that list upon myself. I am finding my strenth and my mission from within. I am no longer listening to all those outside voices that call out to me "do this, do that".  I feel what is important each day and if I have a question about it. I just have to ask myself  "Is this helping me to love my family well?"

Loving my family well is in simple living. What does loving your family well look like?  What does simple living look like to you?  I would love to hear your comments about it.

make your own playdough

I grew up with homemade playdough/Salt dough. I have found a new recipe made with kool-aide powder. It is smoother than my mom's recipe and smells good too.  It is really simple to make




Kool aide play dough
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 teaspoons cream of tarter
1 envelope kool-aide unsweetened drink mix
1 cup water
1 1/2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

mix dry ingredients in a medium sauce pan.
Stir in oil and water
cook on a medium high heat for a few minutes until the dough forms a ball. 
remove to a floured surface and knead for a few minutes until smooth and cool enough for the kids to handle. 
store in a zip top bag

here is the dough as it formed in the pan it comes together quickly