POISON CONTROL!

Poison Control gives me the answer before the 'Emergency Room' visit.  I have called them so many times it's ridiculous.  They ask for my zip and say, 'Oh hi Krystal how are you today?!'  I call them 'BEFORE' I need to call them.  Very few times have I actually called them during an acutal emergency.  I called them when I was pregnant and asked if it was ok to mix certain drugs together.  And, I called them today to ask if I could give my 7 year-old an antacid for her upset stomach. 

Walnut Remover!

Noiseless Fun?!

Now, do not be mislead by 'Noiseless Fun'.  What I really mean is that the 'toys do not make any noise NOT the children.  I was making smoothies one morning for 'T' and I, and it was too thick for us to just drink out of the cup.  So, I go into the cupboard and get a straw.  As I am grabbing the straw I grab an extra one and start drumming all over 'T's head. 

Driving Fun...

Wooden ABC and Numbers

This might sound a little strange, but we drive around.  Actually, we drive around a lot. When I say a lot I mean probably a half hour once a week.  It is something that our family does to unwind or just go and do something.  We like to discover parts of our town we did not know existed.

Good-Bye TOYS!

I did this over a week ago, however, I waited to post this to see how it turned out.  Well, my son 'T' did not want to pick his toys up 'AT ALL'.  And, I had had enough of picking up his toys.  It was really getting to me, because I felt like I was not following through on my 'threats'.  So, I followed through on my threat that I would throw his toys away.  I need to add that both of my kids were present during our garage sale and said good-bye to a lot of toys and old things they did not use anymore.  However, 'T' might have said good-bye to the toys but it was not without a cry and break-down.  Honestly, I thought we were going to put him in therapy after the garage-sale, but he was fine.

Phone Call Questions...

So, I was standing in the kitchen the other day and the phone rang.  Can you take a wild guess what happened when the phone rang?!  Yup, that's right the kids came into the room and wanted to talk to me.  When I got off of the phone I asked both of the kids what to do when I am on the phone unless it is an emergency.  And, they both said, "Wait Patiently!"  Now, I am going to have to give 'E' some credit on this one, she helped come up with the idea.  Of course it does involve my trusty laminator.

Quallities For You and Friends...

Ok, so the school year is about to start up again and I am kind of on a 'Self Esteem', life changing mission for my daughter 'E'.  We were sitting on the couch talking about God and what type of person we should be for God.  And, then I realized that 'E' does not really 'know' the qualities that she should have or qualities that her friends should have.  So, I got out my trusty laminator, this is something that I do quite often actually.

Building Self Esteem and Emotional Intelligence

I love my kids and one thing that I want them to grow up with is self esteem and emotional intelligence.  Now it has taken me a while to think of something that would be fun.  The other day I was playing with my awesome laminator.  And, it hit me, I tried to find as many 'emotional' and complimenting words that I could possibly find.  I wanted enough to fill at least an entire page to make it worth it.  While I am making this my daughter 'E' was asking me the whole time.  It was fun when I was all done and used 'ticky tac' to stick the papers to the wall in my kitchen. 

Ironing... Money?!

I know, I know sounds crazy right?!  Well, years ago when I was actually ironing clothes I was thinking about the next day at work.  There was a vending machine at my work and it was extremely picky.  If your dollar was not the newest dollar it would spit it back out.  This drove me crazy.  So, as I was ironing my clothes I took my money out of my pocket and ironed my money.

Best Ice Cream Deal in Town

When we are in the mood for ice cream we go to Meijers. This is what I do when I want to do something with the kids, but do not want to spend a lot of money or drive very far. 

Now, if you're real clever you can push the kids in a cart while they will sit there quietly eating their ice cream. This will give you approximately 20 minutes of quiet time if needed. I would recommend NOT doing this every time you go to Meijers. We actually, make a special trip to Meijers for the ice cream. That is the only time the kids will get it. They do not get treats when we go shopping, they are expected to behave during that time and will not get ice cream the next time we decide to get ice cream. 

Fair is Fair

Recently, we have had 2 garage sales. They were definitely needed! When we moved last year in June, we brought a bunch of stuff with us that should have stayed... So, my goal this year was to simplify our lives as much as possible and focus on the things that matter the most to us. God and each other are our number one priorities. Well, with as big as our family is our kids get a lot of 'STUFF'.

Dictionary, Shmictionary...

Fourth Edition of Webster's New
World Pocket Dictionary.

Ok, I personally, love the Dictionary.  I especially, love my dictionary app.  My daughter 'E' is at that age of, "What does that mean?'  It is the age of great wonder and needing to know everything.  I used to carry around a small pocket Dictionary.  (My small group from my Church can tell you all about it.)

Happy List :) Sad List :(

The 'Happy List' is laminated
and on her door, in her room!

I just recently posted about my husbands' grandmother 'Gram' that is dying. She has been sick for a long time and my daughter has had this doom-n-gloom perspective on EVERYTHING. It is extremely understandable since 'E' and Gram are so very close. However, the doom-n-gloom attitude has been going on for a while.  And, I do not really understand it since she is such a happy, loving, caring wonderful little girl. 'E' gets in these modes where nothing will make her happy and she cannot think of anything that makes her happy.

Death in the Family

Heaven is For Real

Well, it's that topic that people never want to talk about and that is death.  Currently, we are losing a very close family member.  My husbands' grandmother on his mothers' side is dying.  We all call her Gram.  She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer 3 years ago, and was given 6 months, 6 months ago.  It will be anytime now and it breaks all of our hearts.  Gram dying has especially affected our seven-year-old.  Our daughter 'E' is very close to Gram.  We have slowly watched Grams health go down hill for the past 3 years.  So, I figured this would be a great topic for anyone that has a child who is/has lost someone.