A dress-up mirror

I got the book The Creative Family by Amanda Soule for Christmas and have loved all the new ideas! I finished it in a few days and feel inspired to bring more creativity into our home. I thought I'd share one idea I got from the book that is so simple and easy to do and encourages the kids to use their imagination: putting a mirror next to the dress-up box. John especially loves to dress up, and invites his friends to join him whenever they're over. Pirates, super heroes and ninjas are the latest. And a mirror makes dressing up and becoming a different person that much more fun!


Gotta love unfinished basements... not very pleasing to the eye, but with 3 little boys, it sure is nice to have a place they can run around without me worrying about anything breaking!

If You Give a Mom a Muffin

I had to post this poem. Many of you have probably seen it before, but this is pretty much the story of my life! Especially when we're trying to go somewhere... everyone needs their shoes on, and then someone has to go potty, I remember I need to change the laundry so the clothes will be dry when I get home, I decide to quickly do the dishes from breakfast so I don't have to do them when we get home, I notice a bill is due tomorrow and quickly jump on the computer to pay it... and it goes on and on and on. Finally an hour later we're heading out the door.



If You Give a Mom a Muffin

If you give a mom a muffin,
She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
So she'll pour herself some.
The coffee will get spilled by her three year old.
She'll wipe it up.

Wiping the floor, she will find some dirty socks.
She'll remember she has to do some laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
She'll trip over some snow boots and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan supper for tonight.

She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She'll look for her cookbook. (101 Things To Make With a Pound of Hamburger.)
The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill which is due tomorrow.
She will look for the checkbook.

The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two year old.
She'll smell something funny.
She'll change the two year old.
While she is changing the two year old the phone will ring. (Of course!)
Her five year old will answer it and hang up.

She remembers that she wants to phone a friend to come over for coffee on Friday.
Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
She will pour herself some.
And chances are,
If she has a cup of coffee,
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

Written by Kathy Fictorie

How to Raise Boys Who Read

Another article from Pete's parents. This one is from the Wall Street Journal, the link can be found here.



Amen to all of that! It goes along with what Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Treat a man as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he could be, and he will become what he should be." Have your kids read books that will teach them something and that will help them become the person you want them to become. And as for video games and other forms of electronic entertainment... I feel like it's a touchy topic for some, but I agree with everything this guy said. Just last night I saw a commercial that advertised a free Xbox 360 for students who bought a PC. Nice job Microsoft. Let's encourage our young minds to fill their time with something other than books and learning.

The Nesting Box

Pete's parents gave us a copy of this article from the Deseret News a year or so ago. Pete and I couldn't stop laughing when we read the part about the one little rabbit struggling at the bottom of the nest, but eventually fighting his way out. It reminded us too much of Joe who is constantly at the bottom of the wrestling pile. It turns out having kids who tease, wrestle and argue with each other might not have it so bad. In fact that might be what helps them survive!