Do the Holidays Ever End?

Okay, I admit it. New Year's Eve completely snuck up on me. In celebration of (or recovery thereof) I will not be posting activities for tomorrow. Have a great day with your family. If you need something to do with your kids, then take a trip down memory lane. Look at photos from 2007 and remember all the great times you had together.

Happy New Year!

Fun Farm Frolicking

Welcome back! I hope you all had great holidays and you are sufficiently recovered and ready for the arrival of the new year. We are going to start out simply this week since it has been such a busy time of the year.

Music Time: Sing Old MacDonald had a Farm with your kids.

Craft Time: Make paper bag puppets. Try making farm animals like a cow, pig, sheep, or chicken. You can do this by decorating the bags with construction paper cutouts or get more creative with other art supplies. (ex: buttons, yarn, glitter, etc.)

Story Time: Read books about farm animals.

Outdoor Time: Have your kids pretend to be different farm animals.

Art Time: Have your kids draw and color a farm scene. If you have really young artists at home, find them a coloring page with farm animals and just have them do the coloring.

Indoor Time: Put on a puppet show. If you have puppets, you can use them. Otherwise, use the puppets you made at craft time.

Carnival of SAHMs - December 23, 2007

Welcome to the December 23, 2007 edition of Carnival of SAHMs. Sorry the posting is so late, but at least I am getting it in on the right day! Life has been CRAZY here with the addition of our 6 year old nephew to the kid crew. I was telling my brother-in-law that I had to go post a blog carnival and he said, "I don't even know what a blog is...I'm thinking it's some sort of high heel shoe with goldfish in it, but I'm not sure." Do you know people that react the same way when you talk about blogging?! Well, on with the carnival...there is a lot of good reading here for you this week.

Did you ever wonder if you are the only mom that lives a crazy life? Well wonder no more! Dana presents And the toilet saga continues posted at Principled Discovery.

Okay, I must live under a rock. I had no idea there was even a product called the Keeper. Whether you know what it is or not, you can find out from one who's been there and done that. Stephanie presents The Keeper - A Three Month Review posted at Stop the Ride!.

Tea Party Girl presents Why I Said ‘No’ So I Could Say ‘Yes’ posted at Tea Party Girl, saying, "Blessed December to every SaHM! I hope this article helps you choose little ways you too can be nurtured this season." I thought this was a refreshing point of view considering I have a little girl turning 3 next month and she doesn't take tumbling, dance, karate, swim lessons, piano, gymboree, etc., etc.

Lauren Franklin presents Once upon a time... posted at Finding my mommy voice. Come read about the start of Lauren's journey as a mom.

Need a good laugh? Here you go! Jenny Rapson presents Dirty Phonics on the Bathroom Wall posted at Mommin' It Up!.

Lisa Clauson presents How to Teach Children to Say Thank You posted at Lil Duck Duck. Thanks, Lisa, for some creative ideas for thank you's. Very timely with Christmas this week!

Spillay presents Christmas is coming! posted at A Pot of Gold. A nice read to help remember why, as moms, we run around like crazy this time of year.

Dolfin presents Book Review - Hanukkah posted at Lionden Landing, saying, "Holiday wrapup - A book review of Hanukkah" This is a nice post comparing several books on Hanukkah. Dolfin has done the footwork so you don't have to.

WhatWorksForMom presents Scrooged posted at What Works For Us. Ai-carumba! This is one of those stories that makes you question what you would do in the same situation.

This is a REAL quick tidbit. Wenchypoo presents Food Absurdity of the Millenium posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket, saying, "Some entertainment for you--food to AVOID. This product is perfect for the inept cook who can't boil water without burning it. I found this buried in my health food store's online catalog."

Here's a little glimpse into a the life of a SAHM from New Jersey. Jenny presents My Little Guitar Hero posted at the so called me.

Alison presents Preschool For a Fraction of the Cost posted at This Wasn't in The Plan.
Cool! That was my reaction to this idea. It's on my list of things to look into.

Last but not least, here is an experienced mom sharing her wisdom on sleep training. We did something similar with our first, but unfortunately, waaaay too late in the game after far too long without sleep. Fussy Fussypants presents How to get your baby to sleep through the night posted at Mrs. Fussypants Guide to Life, saying, "Hope y'all enjoy!"

I too, hope you all enjoyed this edition of the SAHM carnival. A very merry Christmas and may you find the perfect gift in your children's smiles on Christmas morning.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of sahms using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: carnival of sahms, blog carnival.

Keeping it Clean

A little blog housekeeping first - tomorrow is Favorites Friday, so you get to repeat your children's favorite activities from the week. I won't be posting the Daily Grind next week for a couple of reasons. One, we have family coming in for the holidays so it promises to be quite hectic around here. Two, I don't think most people are going to have a problem finding ways to keep the kids entertained next week. For most of us, the kids are going to have a bunch of new toys to keep them happily engaged for the week. But, I will be hosting the SAHM Blog Carnival this Sunday. Be sure to check back in and see what moms are contributing this week for your reading pleasure.

And, since I mentioned it a looooong time ago, I thought I would post my cleaning schedule for those of you who can't get enough of schedules. This schedule is designed to keep your house clean - NOT spotless. Go see Martha Stewart if you need a spotless house....better yet, go see a shrink. You need to get your priorities in order. Spotless homes and small children are not congruent. If you fail to get everything done everyday, then at the very least your home will be tidy. This far surpasses the (total chaos)(pit of despair) mess that reigns without some sort of schedule in my home.

Being an accountant by trade, I am an excel freak. So my schedule is posted as a spreadsheet on my refrigerator. Feel free to write it up in whatever way works for you. You could use index cards for each day/category, make a list then laminate it, write it on a white board where you can check it off as you go...the possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

Here is my schedule:

DAILY: Straighten all rooms
Do dishes and put away
Make beds
Plan meals
Do a load of laundry
Wipe bathroom sinks
Wipe down shower after use
Clean stove/oven as needed
Pay bills
Water plants/garden
Feed/water pets

WEEKLY -
MONDAY: Empty wastebaskets/take trash out
Sweep kitchen floor
Spot-clean walls/floors
Change bed sheets
Choose a monthly task
TUESDAY: Clean kitchen sink
Clean bathroom mirrors
Clean toilets
Clean ceiling fans
Choose a monthly task
WEDNESDAY: Empty wastebaskets
Clean toaster, microwave, coffeemaker (i.e. regularly used small appliances)
Wipe cabinets/appliances
Sweep/mop downstairs
THURSDAY: Clean kitchen sink
Clean bathroom mirrors
Clean showers Spot-clean floors
FRIDAY: Empty wastebaskets
Dusting Sweep/mop upstairs
SATURDAY: Clean kitchen sink
Choose 1-2 monthly, bi-monthly, bi-annual, or yearly tasks

MONTHLY: 2x - dust out of reach areas/polish
Check dryer vents
Vacuum in/on/under furniture
Clean refrigerator inside/top/under
Wash kitchen curtains
Turn mattresses
Wash garbage cans
Wash windows inside

EVERY OTHER MONTH: Dust blinds
Wax floors
Clean kitchen drawers/cupboards
Wash curtains
Wash whole stove
Wash windows outside
Baking soda in drains to clear sinks
Clean throw rugs

BI-ANNUALLY: Carpets cleaned
Rotate seasonal clothes
Clean closets/drawers
Check smoke detectors/replace batteries (do at daylight saving time each year is an easy way to remember)

YEARLY: AC/heating system maintenance
Wash walls
Wash blinds

I know, I know....it seems overwhelming. But the reality is, you are doing most of this anyway. You just didn't realize how much you were juggling every day/week. Or you did, and it made you want to fake your own death and disappear to a tropical island somewhere. Utilizing this schedule will help it be more manageable. Really, if you are following this schedule on a regular basis, most of the daily and weekly stuff just isn't so bad. It's when you fall behind that the tasks can become laborious. For instance, if you haven't so much as looked at the blades on your ceiling fans since the day they were installed or you moved in, then it is very likely going to be a highly time consuming chore the first time you clean them. But after that, each week will be a pretty quick and painless assignment to dust the blades off.

Also, you can shift items around as needed for your home. Our garbage is picked up on Tuesday morning. I was scheduling to empty the wastebaskets 3x a week, so I did MWF to accommodate getting them emptied the day it needed to go out. Our last home was only one level. I just split the house into two sections and swept/mopped half the house on Wednesday and the other half on Friday. Also, I assigned everything from Mon.-Sat. I like having Sunday off from any chores. You can set up your schedule for every day of the week if you like or maybe you would rather do more during the week and have off Saturday and Sunday. Just be realistic about what you can get done in a day without totally neglecting your kids.

Oh, yeah. Here's the really important part....your husband should be helping you get this all done. Stop laughing - I'm serious. Keeping a household clean after you (get married) have kids is a huge task. Having this chart helps you to make that point abundantly clear with your significant other. Sit down with him sometime after the kids are in bed and before you become completely comatose, and go over the list of tasks, assigning them between the two of you. If your husband still needs more convincing that you need his help, then I suggest the two of you read Babyproofing Your Marriage. (review here) This book makes it clear that if a man wants you to meet his marital needs (nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more) then he needs to step up to the plate in a big way with the housework. Really, once you have kids, housework is the new box of chocolates/bouquet of roses. I remember telling a girlfriend of mine after the first baby, "Hubby did the dishes, cleaned the kitchen and swept the floors last night. It was the best foreplay I've had in a long time!"

Enough said. Divvy up the housework and give yourself grace on those days it just doesn't all get done. Your house will live to see another day. (and you will too!)

It's a Snow Day of Sorts

What a cute snowman! But this creation will set you back close to $60 if you want to buy it. Instead, you can make it with your kids during your craft time.

Craft Time: Snowman door wreath. Pick up 3 wreaths from your local dollar store or craft store. Tie them together to form your snowman and add a hat, scarf and mittens. The totally homemade version goes like this: Get an old cardboard box. Cut one big circle out of cardboard. Draw 3 circles inside each other on your cardboard circle, so that it looks like a dartboard. Then cut along each line. This leaves you with 3 circles to make your wreaths for the snowman. Punch holes in the circles and tie them together to make your snowman. Let your kids glue cotton balls onto the snowman, then dress him in your scarf set and hang on the wall or your front door. If you make a smaller one, then your kids can use construction paper to make the accessories for the snowman and glue them on.

Art Time: You draw the outline of a snowman family on paper. Now let your kids color in the features and accessories for Poppa snowman, Momma snowman, and baby snowman.

Indoor Time: Indoor sledding. Take turns giving your kids "sled" rides. Get a blanket out and lay it on the floor. Have your kid sit down on it, pull the sides in towards them for them to hold onto. Now you take the end and pull them around the house. This works best on non-carpeted floors, but can be done even on carpet. note: this is in place of going to the gym for you!

Outdoor Time: You've heard of a rain dance. Well, today you will do a snow dance with your kids. Do it up good if you want a white Christmas!

Music Time: Put on the song "Let it Snow," pick your child up in your arms, and dance with them. This is a great song to love on your kid with - hugs and kisses are called for in between twirls and dips.

Story Time: Read your kids Frosty the Snowman. You can find the story online here: Frosty the Snowman

Christmas Letter Pizzaz

Are you dreading creating your family letter for the year? Try this approach to get your creative juices flowing and make it more interesting for all involved. (i.e. your readers!) Write down the highlights you want to hit for the year. Now start creating a letter that reads like "The Night Before Christmas." To do this, you want to have 12 syllables per line and you want to rhyme each group of two. Here was our family letter from last year to give you an idea of how it goes. (I haven't worked on this years yet, but heck, the years not over!)

The year 2006 has come and gone so fast
With bittersweet memories that are sure to last.

The year started off with long awaited good news
A baby was due before Trinity reached two.

February we learned about love and respect,
A marriage conference we will never forget.

News came in April of the first of our losses,
Amy’s Grandmother went home to be with Jesus.

Amy went to Illinois to say her goodbyes,
Then returned home in time to turn around and fly.

Off to Florida for vacation we were bound
We stayed with Aunt Cookie and she showed us around.

The Cubs and the Diamondbacks played in early May
What a great way to celebrate Amy’s birthday.

But what was so much fun became cause to be sad,
When at the end of the month, we lost Amy’s Dad.

What a tremendous loss to all those who loved him
It seems so unreal we won’t see him ‘til heaven.

Somehow we moved on and prepared for the baby
Angelina arrived on September twenty.

Three years of marriage, one year of David’s Salon
Now two children at home, how fast the time has gone!

If we could talk to our dad two things we would say
We love you so much; tell Jesus “Happy Birthday!”

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
David, Amy, Trinity and Angelina

Give it a try - you may find it's not nearly as hard as it looks!

What do Teddy Bear Races Have to do with Christmas?

The answer: nothing. They are just something fun and easy to do with your kids. And don't we need a little fun and easy in our lives these days?! Here are all the suggestions for your activities today:

Craft Time: Christmas card tree ornaments. Put all those cards to good use. Cut out the pictures on the card to make an ornament. If there is a picture of a tree, then cut out the tree; an angel, cut it out. Let your kids cut if they are old enough. Then let them outline it with glue and glitter. Add some yarn or a pipe cleaner to hang it from the tree.

Music Time: Sing and dance to the tune of Walking in a Winter Wonderland. But to make it more fun, put on your long johns and sing it ..."walking in our winter underwear" instead. (Google "Winter Wonderland lyrics" if you need the words)

Story Time: The Polar Express is a must read with your kids this holiday season. Head over to the library and check it out.

Outdoor Time: In the spirit of the Polar Express, play choo-choo train with your kids. Have your kids form a train by standing behind each other and holding onto the waist of the kid in front of them. You be the engine in the front. Reach your hands back for your kid to hold onto if it isn't easy for them to hold onto your waist. Now chuga-chuga-choo-choo all around the yard. If they want, let them take a turn being the engine.

Indoor Time: Have teddy bear races. Get a couple of empty plastic clothes baskets and put a teddy bear in each. Have your kids race each other or you race your kid. Set a course for the race then push your teddy bears across the floor and see who gets to the end first. Try not to dump your teddy bear along the way! (don't have plastic baskets? find something else that will work in their place - even a couple small empty boxes will do) If you have really young ones, you may want to have the goal be finishing, rather than racing.

Art Time: Let your kids do a watercolor painting of your Christmas tree.

Kid Daze is Dazzled!

I recently read a book that I think is just fantastic. It is called Babyproofing Your Marriage by Stacie Cockrell, Cathy O'Neill, and Julia Stone. Now, my husband and I are Christians and have been to marriage retreats, marriage groups, marriage conferences, read all the books, been there and bought the t-shirt. Yet we still are on the quest to make our marriage something we are thrilled about rather than something we are surviving through. The one thing we never got from any of our Christian resources is exactly what Babyproofing Your Marriage, or BPYM for short, nails succinctly within its 285 pages. Once you have children, your lives change in ways no one really wants to admit to. (chapter four - The "Sex Life" of New Parents, Coitus Non-existus, among others)

BPYM covers so many of the real life issues that parents face and help you understand that YOU ARE NOT ALONE! Here are some examples from the BPYM Glossary of Terms:

The BPYM Call to Inaction - A plea to mothers everywhere to embrace lower standards and end the Uber-Mama insanity. The movement's manifesto includes calls to a) abolish Open House Overdrive (e.g. setting out fresh flowers before play dates) and b) limit the contents of all birthday party goodie bags to a Sticker and a Fruit Snack.

Marriage on Autopilot - This is the most common marital state for couples parenting small kids; we're not quite asleep at the controls, but no one is actively flying the plane. The "deep and meaningfuls" are gradually replaced by "time to make the donuts" repetition and routine.

Mommy Brain - The sizable portion of a mother's brain that is consumed with both the day-to-day and long-term minutiae of parenting: carpool logistics, doctors' appointments, a toddler's social development and potty-training progress. There is little mental real estate left over for her husband or herself.

Whiplash - The sensation experienced by many stay-at-home moms that they have been yanked out of the 21st century, and hurled back in time to the 1950's where they have to cope with gender inequality and never-ending, unappreciated housework.

All of these get covered in depth in the book along with many, many more. While there are definitely some ideas mentioned in this book that will not be considered acceptable by Christians, they are not specifically the suggestions of the authors. They typically are quotes from other real parents talking about things they have done/do to deal with married life as a parent. There is also language used that could be offensive. I just wanted to be forthright in these issues because I believe that most parents, especially of young children, will find this book enlightening and helpful. It also helps that it is written with a lovely dose of humor to make the revelations easier to swallow.

All in all, Kid Daze gives it a two thumbs up, must read rating. Now, if you'll excuse me, the kids are in bed and I have a date with my husband!

Who Has Time for Gingerbread, Anyway?!

Craft Time: Graham cracker houses. Instead of baking gingerbread, buy a box of graham crackers and just do the fun part - decorating! Again, sorry I have no photos to show you, but this is another one I am saving for next week. But if you really want to see some examples, just go to Google images and do a search for graham cracker house. You will get to see an abundance of graham creations to give you ideas.

The basics: You will need a box of graham crackers, a container of icing, and an assortment of candies for decorating. Also, a 1/4 tsp of cream of tartar mixed in a cup of icing will help the icing dry hard enough to hold your cracker house together. For a base used cardboard covered in aluminum foil. To pipe your icing onto your house, cut the corner off a plastic bag.

Once you have your walls assembled you have two options. 1. You can cover the house with icing and stick the candies on, or 2. use your icing like glue and stick individual candies on the house. If you go for option one, be sure to only ice one cracker at a time or the icing may get too hard for the candy to stick to it before you get all your decorating done.

Indoor Time: Sock Grab. Otherwise known as sock wrestling. The object of this game is to pull the socks off your opponent before they get your socks off. Obviously if you are playing this with your kids, you have the advantage. So, have fun with it and let your kids get the best of you - or at least get your socks! ;)

Optional alternative - if you have the board game Candyland, this would be the day to play it!

Story Time: Tell them the story of Hansel and Gretel today to go with your graham cracker houses. Don't have the story and no time to go to the library? Look it up online. :)

Outdoor Time: Inspired by Hansel and Gretel, hide a treat outside and create a trail that your kids have to follow in order to find it. You can literally use bread crumbs or whatever else you have that will do the trick and you don't mind trailing all over your yard. Bread crumbs are nice because the birds will clean up after your game for you! Be sure to be very elaborate in your trail making. Do lots of swirling and circling - make it lots of fun for your kids to track.

Music Time: Do you have some jingle bells in the house for holiday decoration? Let your kids play the jingle bells along to some holiday music today.

Art Time: Use playdough to create gingerbread men shapes.

It's Almost Christmas!

Here we are, the eve of another week. But not just another week - one week before Christmas. Isn't it unbelievable how the time goes so quickly? I am not going to be making "The Daily Grind" posts during Christmas week. We have family coming in to visit and I will be busier than ever. But you can always pull out some old favorites for activities if you don't have enough to keep your kids entertained. My guess is though, that keeping your kids entertained next week is not going to be an issue!


Craft Time: Gumdrop Wreath. I don't have a picture for this one because it is actually a craft I plan on doing with my kids next week when their cousin is here. I found out about this on another site last year, and loved it. The site is no longer actively posting but their archive is still up and available. Check it out at kiddley.com. You will have to scroll down as it is near the bottom of the page. Here is how I made it:



Supplies:
styrofoam wreath
gumdrops
toothpicks
yarn (for hanging - you could also use fishing line, pipe cleaner, etc.)
ribbon for a bow


I make a much smaller version than the one on kiddley. This year I went to Dollar Tree and found small styrofoam circles in the floral accessories section. I will cut the centers out to make them into wreaths. I'm guessing it is about 5" diameter. I also got bags of gumdrops from the Dollar Tree. The rest is pretty simple. Cut the toothpicks in half. Poke the cut side of the toothpick into a gumdrop then stick the other end into the wreath. I only cover the front and sides with gumdrops so that it lays nicely against a wall, cabinet, etc., when it is hung. My daughter and I did this together last year when she was a month shy of being two years old and she had a great time with it. I expect she will be able to do it without my assistance this year. (other than I will pre-cut the toothpicks :)


Story Time: Keep reading Christmas stories. :)


Art Time: Keep it simple today. Have the kids do some Christmas coloring sheets.


Indoor Time: Indoor basketball. Get a laundry basket and set it up on a chair or your sofa. Now teach your kids how to shoot baskets with a big plastic ball. Note: obviously, don't do this where there are breakables! Make sure you have a kid safe zone where you play this game.


Music Time: Teach your kids your favorite Christmas carol.


Outdoor Time: Play red light, green light. You be the stoplight first so that your kids get the hang of it. The basic rules are as follows: The stoplight has their back to the players and calls out "green light." Then the stoplight calls out "red light" and turns around. All the players are supposed to freeze at red light. If they are seen moving then they have to go back to the starting line. The first one to reach the stoplight gets to be the stoplight next. (just take turns, obviously, if you only have one kid) With real young kids, don't expect a complete freeze - if they can just figure out not to keep running during the red light, then they are doing great!