Play Foam... So much fun and mess free?

While at The Christian Heritage Homeschool conference Rory and I noticed quite a few kids playing with this foam stuff that seemed to work like play dough. I witnessed the Play Foam in action and from what I could see it looked like a lot of fun and it seemed to stay together pretty well.

My daughter Rose is a play-dough-aholic. It is a calming activity for her and it keeps her occupied for amazing lengths of time. When I saw this play foam I immediately thought of her. I was hoping it would be more portable than play-dough.

So, we bought some and brought it home. She loved it...but then came the real test...no mess?

I must say that it is a lot less mess than play dough. And unless you put it in your hair like Rose did, it is really a pleasant activity. Playing with the foam is very calming for Rose and many adults visiting my house seem to enjoy the calming properties as well.

No mess...unless you put it in your hair! (Even if you put it in your hair it will come out.)

Working the system, Making it work for me

For those of you just plugging in, I am going through the book Organizing Magic by Sandra Felton and have invited you to join me. We are just getting started so it is not too late to join in.

On day one of Organizing Magic Felton mentions the Messies Annonymous Flipper. This is a system to help you maintain your home. And, I happen to have this system. 

This includes a day by day plan to maintain your house through daily, weekly, and monthly chores. It also has an option to set up a rotating meal plan complete with shopping lists. It has a guide and instructional CD to help you set up your system.

Setting up my Flipper system was a project. I listened to the CD several times and poured over the guide...and really it is not that complicated! I just had to really think about what chores needed to be done and how to clean my house. Did I want to do the room by room approach? What chores needed to be done daily? How often should we be washing curtains...something I hadn't really thought about. In the end I ate a lot of dark chocolate but managed to set up the system.

My Super Flipper in hiding. 

As you can see the Super Flipper comes with this very streamline photo album to hold all your chore cards. On one hand it is great because you can tuck it on a shelf and it isn't something that is going to add to the clutter in your home. However, I tucked it away a little too easily! And unfortunately my Super Flipper was yet another victim of the out of sight out of mind phenomenon.

When I started reading this book it reminded me of the system I already had in place. But, I had to do something to make it work better for me. My solution was to put my Flipper System front and center.

So, I went to the Goodwill and bought two table top photo albums for about $2 to $3 a piece. One of them has significantly more pages...In this album I put all the cards that make up my days of the week chores. The other album has the daily chores. These chores need to be done everyday, but they only have one card per week.

The next change I needed to make was to give myself a little reward when I finished my chores. When I complete my card and check off all my chores I can flip the photo album around. On the other side I have a cute picture, or a verse or quote for me to look at. It truly is a reward to not have my chores staring at me in the face.

Enjoying one of the cute pictures I get to see when my chores are done.

So far this has worked much better. It is also much easier for my husband to take a look at what I wasn't able to get done and he can help me check one or two off the list.

In the end... I believe the Super Flipper is something I Like A Latte!

Clinging to Imagination

 Here is a sweet and simple activity that my kids love, your kids might like it too.

This is a set of vinyl cling, window decals that were purchased at the dollars store (for a $1). This particular set is a under the sea theme. (And one left over Valentine's Day Heart)

My girls love creating scenes and making up stories with the different pieces. They love moving them around, doing voices of different fishes and pretending together.

As long as you don't mind the decorative finger prints on your windows to go with it... You could get creative and stick these to white boards or other surfaces for them to play on.

However, my kids happen to love washing windows, so that could be a follow up activity!

Just an imagination inspiration that I like A-Latte!

Here a pretty, there a pretty, everywhere a hair pretty

Our prettier 'Hair Pretty' display.

As I looked over at my daughter's American Girl doll I was surprised how much she really does look like my daughter. Right down to the very messy brown hair.

I picked up the doll and started brushing her hair. Time for an intervention, for the doll and for the girls.

This is one of the styles in the book,
a french braid with beads tucked in with bobby pins.

One of our issues is inspiration. I would love to fix the girl's hair in all sorts of cute ways, but my five-year-old either wants a big pony tail or just a head band.

So, I went on Amazon and found a great book all about fixing little girl's hair. It has lots of great pictures and easy to read instructions. This proved to be inspiration for both of us. She can look through the pictures and get ideas, and pick a hair style for the day.

Fortunately, they have styles for all hair lengths as well as varying time constraints.

Next I made a basket that contains all the tools and products I need to fix their hair. It includes a wide tooth comb, fine tooth comb, spray bottle, detangler spray, hair spray, & gell.   I also have a brush and bobby pins that match their hair color. The book gives suggestions about other tools that are handy. It has worked great to have everything in the basket. The basket saves time so I am not looking every where for items I need. It is also great for fixing hair on the go!

Our new guide to hair, and hair fixing basket.
A winning combination!

I decided to take a prettier approach to our hair pretty collection. I gathered several glass jars from around the house. The girls helped to sort and classify the hair pretties and then we lined them up on a shelf in the bathroom. It is now easy to grab just the right hair pretty and we are enjoying he decorative display!

This is my attempt at "Belle Hair"-- Not in the book.
Twisted sides, a bun and hair left down in the back.

Music for Lent- A perfect combination

I love pairing things. It is almost a hobby for me. I enjoy finding the perfect combination of sight, sound, and taste. Combining ingredients to make a recipe for a moment that just lets your senses experience a deep sigh.

A cup of tea with just the right pastry. Delightful! Then if I can combine that with a spot next to a window, a blanket on my lap and the perfect music to match my mood....Heavenly.

Each season produces new inspiration and just like we have Christmas music, I have fall, Lent and summer too. For me music is such a key ingredient. On one hand it sets a tone, on the other it reflects what I am feeling or trying to express.

This year I set out on a quest to find some music that reflected my feelings and mood in this season of Lent. I wanted music that was soul-full, focused on amazing grace and sacrifice that would draw my thoughts back to the Lord. I found Linsey Wallace.

Linsey Wallace has a smooth alto voice with rich character and artful twists. Musical artistry and worship blend smoothly together. She has a way of getting to the heart of the matter with Jesus. Her beautiful voice pulls you in and you can easily get lost in the music, yet the words bring you into meditation on Jesus and all that He has done. It is a wonderful listening experience that produces a response...worship.

And what do I have? A perfect combination for my senses. Music that captures the flavor of Lent, the beauty of the Cross, and the cries of my heart. All experienced by a sunlit window seat, a devotional in hand and cup of good tea.

Check out Linsey's two EP Albums (Swayed by Grace and One) on itunes and see what I mean.

Like A Latte: A pen for all reasons

I love it when a normal thing that is just laying around the house gets taken to a new level of usefulness. As a writer I have a thing for pens. But there is a certain kind of pen that gets used to the max around here. The dry erase marker gets the gold star! (Wet erase markers work great too! Just be sure you don't confuse it with that other pen that is often despised by mother's everywhere.... Mr. Permanent Marker)

What can you use a dry erase marker for... other than a dry erase board? Glad you asked! Let me count the ways!

1. For laminated charts (take a trip back in my blog and see a few that my children and I use daily) These charts are great visual reminders of what needs to be done. They are also wonderful teaching tools that can be used again and again.
5210 & Chore Chart
Weather Report Chart

2. Ever have water glasses sitting out all over the house? One great way to cut down on confusion and dishes. Simply write everyone's name on their glass every day.

3. Decorate your mirror. I am notorious for writing notes to myself on the mirror. This is often where I put my 'To Do' list. I also write items that I have to remember to take with me the next day. On a romantic and more encouraging note.... you can substitute the dry erase marker for lipstick and write your husband a love note or encouraging words of scripture.

** This is an especially wonderful idea if you have a daughter that spends a lot of time in front of the mirror. The mirror can often be a place of self scrutiny and a spot where we focus on the beauty we lack rather than what our Creator sees. Take the chance to counteract those negative thoughts with beautiful words and scriptures that will point your children back to the One who made them and loves them.

4. Prevent leftovers and meals in the freezer from turning into mysterious monsters of grossness. Label the food and put the date on it. Then just wipe it off when you are done with it!

Who knew that a pen could be used to prevent so much waste and clutter? Happy Marking!

(A word of caution: Do make sure the pen is in fact a dry/wet erase marker and not permanent. Also test out the surface before you write all over it. I made this mistake by writing on my oven hood....oops!)

It felt like a good idea

I love telling stories to children. I have to say that I think using felt pieces makes story telling extra fun. Children can see the story, and you can animate it for them. Then after you tell the story the children can play with the story elements.
I have even used felt pieces when teaching my creative writing class to older children. They loved it.
There are lots of sets out there to buy. The best ones tend to be rather expensive. I have been blessed because some friends gave us a bunch of felt pieces. Some of them are simple shapes and animal shapes. I use these to help the girls practice counting and simple addition and subtraction.
We also have some sets of fairy tale stories. They love to listen to those stories, then make up their own variations during their own pretend play time.
Most special of all, my Grammie gave me her felt board pieces that she used to use in Five Day Clubs. They are Bible characters and stories. Some came from kits, others she drew and colored herself. They are in amazing condition. It was so special for her to pass them to me. She knew I would use them as she had.

So, imagine my extreme excitement when I discovered a bag stuffed full of felt Bible pieces in our local thrift store for $20. I wanted to see what pieces it contained so I took it to the counter and opened it. Much to my dismay when the bag was opened an odious smell rose to my nose. To me the pieces reeked of cat pee. They were also covered in cat hair. (I am allergic to cats)

I brought this to the attention of the two ladies at the counter. So the ladies took turns sticking their faces in the plastic bag. "Oh no," they said ", it doesn't smell like cat pee, a cat just sat on it."
I was not convinced, I was still smelling cat pee, but they were sticking their faces into that smelly bag and coming back up only smelling cat.
So then began the group discussion as to whether or not these felt pieces could be washed.
Another customer joined the discussion and also smelled the bag. The lady thought they could probably be washed in the machine on cold and a delicate cycle.
Everyone had voted and I was out numbered. But, I was not going to pay $20 for a bag of felt pieces covered in cat fur and possibly cat pee.
So the ladies at the counter decided to take the bag of felt pieces to the experts in the back.
The experts in the back said that it reeked of cat pee and that they were going to throw it out. However, if I wanted them I could have them for free.
At this moment my brain malfunctioned.... it focused in on free felt pieces... sweet! I forgot to remember: #1. These are covered with cat pee. #2. They are covered with cat hair, and I am allergic. #3. I never looked to see what stories it contained. #4. Do I have time for this project?
Finally, after months of procrastination, I decided to open the smelly bag.
My friend Maria had started selling Norwex. The Norwex products are really quite amazing and I will be featuring them on my blog often. She gave me a sample bottle of the odor eliminator to test out. (All the products are environmentally friendly and safe for people with extremely sensitive allergies and asthma).

I threw the bag of stinky felt into the wash on cold with the odor eliminator. Amazingly it worked! There was no odor! But, they still had cat hair on them.
There were a lot more felt pieces in there than I realized. But the more I looked at them, the more random and weird they seemed. I had to lay them out to dry, and they took up my entire counter and table. Then I ended up using the lint roller on each piece. At this point Rory was very concerned that I had totally lost my mind.
I had to do an extensive online search to try and determine what story the pieces were from. In the end, they came from a bunch of different stories.
So there is a sad ending to this story.... I couldn't use any of the pieces!!! After all that time and energy.
However, the church has a similar set that someone donated. So maybe they will be used for good after all.
And, I got to test out the Norwex Odor Eliminator and I like it a latte! Check it out!

Mommy's Little Helper

I'm really not sure how I lived without this little devil before. I think it should be added to the Mother of Toddler Must Haves.
I think my Dirt Devil is filled entirely with Cheerios.

And what is even better... the little mess-makers like to use it too!

Blast from the Past

Much to my sister's amusement, I started toting around my old caboodle. This is what happens when you save things... just in case you might need them.
After my little one accidentally dropped and broke ALL of my makeup. I resurrected what my dad used to refer to as our 'girlie tackle boxes'! Now my makeup is safe and sound.