WFMW- Surviving with Kids in the Car (or minivan)

I remember when my sister and I shared a backseat and my mom would come up with creative ways to keep us from killing each other in such close quarters. If someone had ever told me that some day kids would have entire entertainment systems in the car just for them, or vehicles big enough that each child could have their very own seat, I probably would have wept for joy. It reminds me that my children just don't appreciate what they have, but why should they they don't know any different. And really my sob stories of when I was a child fall on deaf ears, they have heard too many of them.
So my tips for this Wednesday involve the family car, SUV, minivan, etc.

1. We rotate seats once a month, except for the baby. The two older children take turns sitting in the second and third row of the minivan or suburban. This helps to quell some of the "But she always gets to sit there!" and the mad rush to the car in which the children are "calling" which seat they get.

2. Everyone is responsible for their area and keeping it neat. I've found a great use for those plastic coffee containers. They are small enough to tuck under the seat and the kids can put their trash in them , plus they have a lid so the trash doesn't spill out or fall victim to Little One's curiosity.

3. Whatever goes into the car goes out every time we get home. The only exception are the toys and books that are stashed in Little One's box that sits in front of her seat.

4. They have headphones to listen to music and a built in DVD, but these are privileges. If they argue or don't take care of them they don't get to use them, period.

5. We play lots of games in the car: guess an animal (one person thinks of an animal and the rest ask questions to try to guess it), I spy, alphabet game, etc. Many times they bring a book or sketchbook t0 entertain themselves.

Those are just a few things that make life a little easier on the road, for more tips head over to Rocks in My Dryer!

Quote for the Day

Just wanted to give everyone a quote from one of our founding fathers as we head off to the polls next week:

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
Thomas Jefferson

MMM- Fall Festival

I almost missed posting my Memorable Moment Monday post because I've been a mom taxi today. I just got back from Soph's Brownie activity in which we made bandanna aprons. That was full of memorable moments! And Little One dressed as a ballerina for dress-up day in Kindermusik, which was another great moment. I just love those tiny ballet slippers:) But my most memorable moments came during the fall festival at the kids school Saturday night.

We went up to school in the afternoon to drop off my cake (picture following) for the cake decorating contest and ended up staying to help from about 12:30 until 10:30 that night. Since I was treasurer I knew I'd be there late gathering and counting money, but we hadn't planned on the early set-up part. WB ended up being in charge of the brisket dinner. The woman in charge had been praying for someone to come along to help her with that part of the festival and in walked WB. Having worked in a BBQ restaurant all through high school he knows his way around the kitchen. He got everyone into their hairnets and started barking orders in no time. Soon all I was hearing was ask WB he's in charge, even the manager of the school cafeteria was doing his bidding...geez. But I was so glad he was there to help out, he was a blessing and the dinner made a lot of money.

WB would make a great health inspector, no one was allowed in the kitchen without one of these fashionable head dresses. You'll notice I neglected to take any pictures of myself. ..(I did bring him a baseball cap later though)

The girls had lots of fun with the carnival games. We managed to tear WB away from the kitchen long enough to come with us. I managed to not lose the petty cash bag I had tucked under my arm, which was a huge accomplishment on my part.

My cake won first place, I think out of three adult entries, which I found hilarious. I entered because the contest was sort of my idea and my children had no interest in entering, so of course I felt obligated to. It brought back memories of my school carnival and the year I won the cake decorating contest in my division...I still have the trophy. This story failed to move or motivate my children however:)

Here is my award winning cake titled, "When the Witch hits the fan." (please ignore the terrible bright spot in the corner from my flash!)

Hope you had many memorable moments this Monday!

Frugal Friday - Kids and the value of money

I know there are many, many ways to help teach our children the value of money. Recently our 1st grader has been studying coins and our 3rd grader is learning about making change, etc. This all helps when they look at the change in your purse and realize just how much money you have to spend on something! But WB and I sort of both came up with the idea that we could give them a certain amount of money and take them to the store to buy something. A couple of ideas are:

1: Write down the price of their favorite meals when we go out to eat add it together and then give them that amount of money to go to the store with. Help them plan a home meal and then search for the ingredients, they have to pay with their money. Quickly they realize that with the money we spend on their two out to eat meals we could feed the entire family spaghetti, salad, and some bread. Wow!!! It's fun to watch their eyes pop:)

2: Those packaged sweets they always beg me to get at the grocery I rarely give in to because of nutrition as well as cost. But every once in awhile I say yes. Give them a few dollars and see how much prepackaged sweets they could buy as opposed to making something from scratch...like a cake mix for cupcakes. They will quickly see they could get more for their dollar by making it themselves. Not to mention it won't have all the preservatives etc.

I know there are tons more examples along these lines, but so far these have made an impact on my older girls. It's important that they understand that being frugal is not a terrible thing, just a smart choice:)

Since Biblical Womanhood is still on a blogging break you can head over to my mother-in-law Pat's blog to see another frugal Friday tip:)

Works For Me Wednesday- The Cleaning Inspector

I must admit I read about this idea in a magazine once. Some poor, worn out mom was tired of nagging, I mean always asking her kids to pick up their rooms. So one day she came up with the idea that an inspector needed to come visit and check out the state of her kids rooms and leave a report. I really had no idea such a thing would work, but I was willing to give it a try with my 6 and 8 year old. I told them that they needed to pick up their room because Inspector Gerard (in my house funny sounding names work best!) was coming to check their room. I told them he would be here later, when they were out playing. I think I mentioned something about how I hoped he didn't condemn the place etc., etc.
Immediately my children began putting away, dusting, vacuuming. It was amazing. They wanted a good report from this Inspector Gerard. Later when they were finished I checked their room, wrote up a quick report on a piece of paper (he did find a pair of shoes under the bed that needed to be corrected:) ) signed the report and stuck it to their door. When they found the report they quickly put away the shoes, smiled over all the "stars" they received and then we celebrated passing inspection with a mug of hot chocolate.
Now, really, I don't think my kids really fell for Inspector Gerard, they knew it was me. But it was just the added excitement that helped motivate them. So hats off to Inspector Gerard, he'll be visiting again soon.

For more helpful hints head over to Shannon's at Rocks In My Dryer!

Memorable Moment Monday-Pumpkin Patch Party

This Saturday was our 2nd annual Great Pumpkin Patch Party. Even though it was too dry for our pumpkins to grow this year we supplemented our patch with some bought pumpkins and all was saved! We had a blast. This year we moved the time up so I wouldn't have to worry about serving dinner and had everyone bring their favorite treats. It worked great. Again, it filled my heart with such joy to have our place filled with friends and family. I just love watching the kids and catching up with all our friends. I feel so blessed to have a place where we can entertain in such a way.

There's Farmer John, he came to take the kids on a hayride.

Oh, wait, no that is WB. Hmmm, I'm liking the farmer look. But before I get off track I'll show you some more pictures from the party.

A daddy helping his kiddo with the pumpkin picking.

Decorating the pumpkins.

Little One showing me her sticker.Our friends brought a pinata again this year and the kids had a blast!!

It was a great afternoon filled with laughter and fun, thanks everyone for coming...see you next year!! That was my memorable moment for this Monday.

Works For Me Wednesday...Storing and Organizing Kids Clothes

Around here I sometimes feel like between the changing weather and the children's growth spurts we are constantly switching clothes in and out. Now don't get me wrong I love having three girls because for the most part all we have to do is send WB to the attic for a box of clothes and we have what we need for the season. But WB was making a lot of trips up and down those attic stairs and I was thinking how could I make his life easier. You know, us wives are just constantly thinking of ways to make our hubby's life easier (it's to make up for all those difficult things we seem to put them through...like putting pantyhose on a toddler). Anyway, here is the system I came up with...
I keep two storage boxes either under my girls bed or in their closet. One box is for clothes they have outgrown or is no longer seasonally appropriate. I just throw the clothes in the box as I'm putting away the laundry. The other box are clothes that are a little too big for right now or clothes that will be perfect for the upcoming season. This way as we transition into bigger or warmer(cooler) clothes I have a stash handy so I don't have to send hubby running up to the attic each time. This system allows me to see just what clothes or shoes my kids are going to need and what they have plenty of. Oh, and I also have at least one box somewhere in my house that is going to be taken to a thrift store. That way the clothes don't take up unnecessary room in their drawers or closet.
So that's my tip for today, head over to Shannon's for more!