Life was easier when my kids all liked watching the same TV show. Arthur on PBS was quite captivating to all three of them far longer than my older son {who is now 16} would probably like to admit. We were a one TV family, and haven't had cable for decades {though we do have Netflix streaming now and absolutely love it!}. You can check out this post on how we are able to survive life without cable.
My husband and I are quite strict about television viewing {garbage in, garbage out} and we do our best to monitor our children's TV watching. Netflix streaming makes this really easy with custom profiles for each member of the family. Plus, sometimes the kids watch a show that we hadn't discussed and Netflix does a great job of ratting them out with their recently watched episodes!
My tween daughter Isabella has recently stared venturing out of the public broadcast shows and has been looking for a series that will keep her interest. There are lots of shows out there, but my husband and I like the ones that are clean and don't have story lines that deal with more mature content than we are ready for just yet!
Isabella recently discovered Mako Mermaids. A second season of this Netflix original series was just released a few weeks ago. Isabella has been watching episode after episode and the series has captivated her attention. But don't take my word for it! Let me take a second to introduce to you my daughter Isabella with her review.
I love to upcycle.
It's actually one of the things I've been doing for the longest.
I think it's the ultimate recycling.
Crafting and DIY projects can end up breaking the bank and actually, sometimes making things yourself can actually cost you more than just buying the item at the store. I love all things thrifty and I will rarely make something just for the sake of making it when I can buy it cheaper.
However, in the case of this leather pillow, I was able to whip it up for around $2. You can't buy a decorative pillow for two bucks!
On Wednesday, I shared with you the little bathroom update that we did in the kids bathroom. My husband helped me make floating shelves for the little niche above the toilet in the kids bathroom.
I picked up a few accessories at Marshall's and Home Goods and I made the little lather, rinse, repeat sign that is framed.
Last month, I shared with you all how one of my goals was to start taking my pins off of Pinterest and making them a reality. I started a blog series I am calling From Pin To Reality.
I'm a big fan of buying local and supporting local artists and crafters. Over a year ago, my oldest son started telling me about a local company {causal industrees} that he was loving and we started supporting this company by buying some pretty rad locally made shirts.
I was just folding laundry and three of the four t-shirts I folded that were Aidan's were all Casual Industrees tee's. I have a few personal favorites.
One of the best parts about child sponsorship is the ability to have communication with your sponsored child. I had the opportunity to meet one of our sponsored children this past summer in Uganda and seeing him in his mud hut holding onto a stack of letters that our family has written him over the years was heartwarming. This family lives in a very small space and only has room for the most basic items. To see that they had made room for the stack of letters that was written to them by a family they didn't even know, made me realize how much they do cherish that communication.
The older I get, the more I realize how dependent my mood is on the weather.
I realized pretty early on living in the Seattle area that I needed to get a break during the dark dreary months and find some sun.
I spent nearly a week in Cancun, Mexico last week soaking up sun and enjoying rare one on one time with my husband and loving every minute of it.
One of our favorite things to do to start the day is to get out and run. I don't necessarily love the running part, but being outside, being active and exploring the area is a great way to start the day.
One of the songs that came on on my iPod as I was running was Building 429 "Where I Belong"
If you haven't heard it, or just love the song and want to hear it again, here it is. It's a great one.
This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with
Pollinate Media Group® and Universal Pictures, but all my opinions are my own.
#pmedia #BoxtrollsFamilyNitehttp://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV
One of our family's favorite things to do during our long wet winter is to cuddle up on the couch and watch a movie together. It's the only time the kids are able to eat in the living room and they take full advantage of it!
The Boxtrolls was just released so while I was out shopping at WalMart , I picked up the DVD {while supplies last!} and got some goodies to create the perfect family movie night.
It's easy to get into spending habits and not even think that what you are doing is a waste of money. The new year is a great time to reexamine your spending habits and start making easy changes. I have five things that you can stop wasting money on and start putting some more cash back into your wallet.
Soup is my favorite! I make a pot of soup at least once a week and always love trying new recipes. Here are 20 homemade soup recipes to try this winter.
As a mom teaching kids to do chores, this verse resonates with me quite often! It's also a great reminder for us as we prepare to serve. Volunteering and serving is so very important to me and our family, and this is a great verse to remember while in the trenches.
