I've Made a Vow

As I left the grocery store today I made a vow. First I curse the person who made the little carts for  kids to use. If I had maybe one child with me and there were no other shoppers in the store it wouldn't be so bad. Alas, how do you tell a 2 year old he can't use one when you let his 4 year old sister? The carts aren't quiet and neither are kids. Add that to the freedom it gives them to roam and your asking for a headache. So here I am with my two  helpers  kiddos and we  meet a couple people on our journey. 
The first guy is is an older white haired gentlemen who is awesome. He stands and watches the kids adoringly and tousles Jonathans hair. I could tell he just wanted to pick him up and give him a hug. Smiles and tells me how cute they are. The kids were laughing and acting like they were in a race (so not the quietest), begging to get the next grocery item I picked up.
Now onto the next person. This woman was not as old as the gentleman but her actions were quite different. At one point the kids got in a traffic jam and blocked the isle. I told them to move so she could get through but a two year old doesn't move that fast when he's stuck. I got over to help and her actions spoke louder than words. She just stood there acting disgusted that the kids were in her way. No "hey sweetheart could you try to move". Just a look of disgust and impatience. They kids were not hurting anything they just happened to be stuck.
So here is my vow:      I'm not going to give children a demeaning look like they just broke a precious figurine. I know people have bad days but it's amazing how much it affects others when they take their frustrations or crankiness on others. I'm going to be like the older gentleman and look at children for what they are, angels. Angels with miniature race cars grocery carts. Now the kids didn't notice their reactions or I doubt they even care, but I care. I vow to be a HAPPY OLD LADY!!!

THEN and NOW

THEN:

When I had my first baby I expected Mothers Day to be a day off. A day when I didn't have to CHANGE a diaper at all or COOK. I would be SHOWERED with GIFTS and PRAISE. I expected to get breakfast in bed and that I wouldn't have to lift one dish to CLEAN. I could sit, RELAX and just be SERVED all day.

NOW:

After six kids and 13 Mothers Day's I know I'm the one that needs to CHANGE.

It's a privilege to COOK for my family. It's an accomplishment  to have SHOWERED 

before the kids wake. GIFTS will come and go but the PRAISE I can give will last in the hearts of my children forever. It's not about making sure everything is CLEAN, I need to RELAX and play with the kids. Knowing that I've done my best and SERVED the best I can as a Mother.

Summer Schedule 2013

I started doing Summer schedules for the kids about four years ago. The older kids were at a fun age, Danika was eight and Andrew was six. When I was a kid I remember being bored a lot through the Summer and so I wanted to have something on hand for them to do. I also have feel better to have spent that time with them and  I hope they feel the same. I want them to look back on their Summers at home and remember the fun times they had with Mom. Before we do the activity the kids have to first finish all their chores, piano lessons, math practice (yep I'm a mean mom and make them do Math homework through the Summer), and do 20 min. of reading.  It's nothing fabulous just an activity a day but it's something all the kids can do. HAVE A FUN SUMMER!

Westwood Summer Schedule Nonperishable shopping list for 2013 activities

Things to hang onto:

Plastic yogurt container lids

Toilet paper rolls

Egg carton’s

Home Depot or Lowes: ½” PVC pipe and connectors for marshmallow guns. While there pick up Paint chip cards/ sample swatches for the peacock activity. Spray paint (optional)
If you see a number by the item it's used for 2 or more activities

Yarn
Kabobs
Chewy candy for kabobs

Wax                  
Liquid starch
Clear glue (2)

Food coloring
Balloons (4)
String/thread

Glass vase gems
 Play dough
   Pom poms

Corn starch (2)
Baking Soda
 Assorted felt

Washable paint
Pipe cleaners
 colored drinking straws

Plastic pony beads
 Wood beads  
 Google eyes

Elmer’s glue  
 Borax
 red, white and blue star garland
Craft dowel rods
Red, white and blue paper  
 Popsicle sticks

Bird seed
Knox gelatin (2 envelopes)  
Wax paper (if you don’t have it)
¼ cup dried fruit (raisins)
  Sidewalk chalk  
Black construction paper

Q-Tips      
 Candy (For June 25^th) optional
  Kool Aid (variety of colors)

Lemon lime soda
  Water marbles
   Fly swatter (Dollar tree)

Shaving Cream
Colored Feathers
  Construction Paper

Craft foam
  A Black Light
 Fluorescent paint (assorted colors)

Perishable Grocery shopping List

June 14: Strawberries, bananas, chocolate chips, flour tortillas, peanut butter, cinnamon, sugar.

June 24^th: Strawberries, lemonade.

July 11^th: Marshmallows (mini)

I couldn't figure out how to put the calendar on here as the program I used was Word Starter so If you want the calendar form just send me your info and I can mail it to you.  Here are the list of activities. For some crafts the directions are in the Link listed.

June:

Spy Training with yarn

Make Candy kabobs with a bunch of chewy candy.

Volcano in a mug: Layer Wax, sand, and water. Then heat till wax boils like a volcano.

Make Slime:1 1/2 cups of clear glue and 1 1/2 cups liquid starch. Add food color

Science experiment: Watch as the blue and yellow water travel up the paper towel, making  its way into the empty cup to make green water.

Blow up 10 balloons.  Number them from 1 to 10. Hide the balloons throughout the house. Have children work as a team to find the balloons in order

Do an Act of kindness for the Postman. With notes to thank him or a treat.

Make suncatchers with lids, glue, and glass gems

http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/16045/glass-gem-sun-catcher-craft

Make Wacky Sacks http://www.somewhatsimple.com/wacky-sacks/

Make yummy snack together

http://www.acedarspoon.com/strawberry-banana-peanut-butter-chocolate-quesadilla/

Nature scavenger hunt. Gather things to glue onto a collage

Make craft clay

http://www.busybeekidscrafts.com/Easy-Craft-Clay.html

Make caterpillers out of egg cartons

Make Balloon people by gluing felt pieces onto balloons

Paint your creations from clay made on Tues.

Make strawberry lemonade popcicles

Make pipe cleaner ninjas

http://frugalfun4boys.com/2013/04/01/pipe-cleaner-ninjas/

TP roll paint chip peacock

http://tpcraft.blogspot.com/2011/06/toilet-paper-roll-paint-chip-peacock.html

Make super balls http://makingmemorieswithyourkids.blogspot.com/2011/05/homemade-super-balls.html

Have teams and create treasure maps. First team to find the other teams treasure wins. http://tangarangblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/tuesday-kid-craftparty-craft.html 

July:

Make star wands

http://la-lashomedaycare.blogspot.com /2011/07/4th-of-july-star-wands.html

Visit the ZOO J

Make stars out of popsicle sticks or jumbo sticks.

http://www.planetpals.com/ craft_recycle_flag.html

Build your own rocket and launch with Stomp Rocket

Sidewalk paint http://shareandremember.blogspot.com /2011/06/cornstarch-sidewalk-paint.html

Don’t forget to Go to 7-11for free slurpees onthe 11th

Make marshmellow shooters

http://www.momscraftyspace.com /2011/05/marshmallow-shooters.html

SPLASH PAD J

Make a birdfeeder in the shape of a star

Make your own bird feeders http://learning.innerchildfun.com /2013/02/hanging-shape-bird-feeders.html

Make Squeeze bottle pancake art for snack

Sidewalk chalk Pictionary

Make Q tip fireworks

http://formulamom.com/qtip-fireworks-craft/

Write thank you letters and buy some candy or other treat to give to neighbor or primary teacher

Make puffy paint

http://getyourmesson.blogspot.com /2011/09/puffy-paint.html

Make a magic potion with kool aid ice cubes

http://www.mrshappyhomemaker.com /2011/10/magic-potion/

August:

Color rainbows and

Find a sunny spot, inside or out.  Hold a glass of water above a piece of white paper and watch as the sunlight passing through the glass of water bends and forms a rainbow on the paper.

Play with water marbles maybe mix some in shaving cream for a different sensory play.

Balloon volleyball. Use fly swatters to hit them

Get colored feathers and create your own birds on construction paper.

Make egg carton fish http://www.crafty-crafted.com/category/animal-crafts/fish-animal-crafts/

You have to scroll half way down the page to find the craft.

Learn some clapping games at http://funclapping.com/ and try perfecting a few

Shaving  cream water fight

Make stuff from old TP rolls

http://www.easy-child-crafts.com/preschool-spring-crafts.html

Make a movie. Write a story together and your own characters

Create a masterpiece by using Sidewalk chalk on the tramp

Glow in the dark fun

http://www.growingajeweledrose.com /2013/01/glowing-rainbow-water.html

Take dog to the dog park. If you don’t have an animal maybe consider visiting the local humane society.

Make a treat and a note to give to your teacher tomorrow J 

 School begins

First day of school Cookie Party

Westwood Financial Contract and Uh oh!

Kevin was reading in an ensign from the 80's that talked about allowance and children. It suggested having kids learn the value of money by paying for their own clothes. We have thought it out and came up with this contract. We already had an allowance in place but it was a dollar a week which wouldn't be enough for them to pay for their own shoes, clothes, backpacks etc. They did get paid more if they mowed the lawn or babysat but we wanted a set amount weekly. With this contract, part of Andrew's chores are to mow the lawn, Luke does the weed-eating and Danika is required to babysit 2 hours a week. If she does more than she will be paid extra for her time. We hope that the kids will learn how to manage their money wisely. The younger 3 will still be payed with mommy and daddy bucks but when they turn 8 will move to the contract.
We started at the beginning of last year keeping track of the older kids amounts in transaction registers. I  usually keep them and write amounts but I like that the kids can see what they have and why something has been subtracted (ie. leaving toys out that go to the mommy and daddy buck store, or for not completing a chore). They can cash out when they want it.

 I hope we are teaching them to be responsible for the money they are given and now that they have to pay for their own things will learn the value of it.
Here is what our contract says.

WESTWOOD FINANCIAL CONTRACT

We the mother and father of the Westwood household designate a portion of our income to our children. The following rules and guidelines apply.

Each child will receive half their age weekly in dollars.

It is a requirement to have chores completed and completed well to receive the full amount.  The following deductions will apply:
-$.50 for every required nag to complete task
-$1.00 for every chore undone

2. Child is required to pay 10% in tithing and 10% to savings.

3. Child is required to buy own clothes, gifts for friends or family and to pay their own way into activities when invited by friends (ie. rollerblading, jump zone).

4. Lying about completing a chore will be a forfeit of weekly allowance and extra chores will be applied.

5. Items left out in areas other than bedrooms (ie. shoes, backpacks) will be placed in the Mommy and Daddy buck store and can be retrieved for $.25 cents.

6. Clothes left on the floor at anytime will be considered a chore undone and is subject to the $1.00 fee as stated above.

7. Chores halfway completed will also be considered as a chore undone.


By signing this contract you agree to the terms and conditions stated and agree to comply.


_______________________      
Child's signature
_________________________                                                        Parent's signature

As to the Uh oh.... I had a neighbor come over to have me cut his hair. While cutting his hair BriLynn decided to cut hers. AHHHH So I had  to cut it short in order to blend in what she snipped off.  

It's nice that she has naturally curly hair, it makes the shorter part blend it better.

So that is the second time she has cut her own hair. Hopefully we are done with that :)

Birthday Poems

For my birthday, my sweet hubby and kids sent me on a treasure hunt.

The first one they gave me said:

Roses are red,
violets are blue.
I know you like reading,
and I do too!!
Reading is fun,
I read to myself,
I go get my book,
on the ___________.
Love Andrew.

I found a new book and the next clue on the bookshelf.

2nd clue:

Golf,
Tennis
Basketball
We don't care which
 we love them all!

(closet with balls in it) Jacob gave me a CD

3rd clue:

Gold and Silver
Dark or Light
Put on something
Shiny and bright.

Danika gave me a matching mother daughter necklace with the next clue.

4th clue:

Lets go hide
Lets go seek
to find some good
stuff to eat.

(I found earrings in the pantry from Luke)

5th clue:

We love to run
We love to  play
There is no cleaning
on this special day

I found a gift from Kevin in the cleaning supplies and the last poem said:

Roses are Red,
Violets are Blue
There's no doubt
We all love you!

It was a fabulous way to start the day! I sure don't deserve my wonderful hubby and great kids, they rock!!!!

Loosing my Mind!

I'm pretty sure that has been the header to another post. This week the kids are on Spring Break. Schedules are different right? Well I felt things were going smoothly till I totally SPACED taking three of the kids to their piano lessons. We went to Baby Animal day and it didn't even come to mind till we were home and Danika mentioned something about it. I felt like it was run run run all day. Playing at the Sports Academy, Home, Shower, Storytime at Library (I remembered somethings), Home, Lunch, Meet with a friends in Smithfield, Baby Animal Days, Home, Eat, Scouts, Visiting Teaching, Home, Laundry etc...... BREATH. Well I don't think the kids mind that they missed out on lessons but I mind (I pay for them he he).
Well here are a few pictures of recent happenings:

                        We met the Easter bunny at Lee's. 

I was so happy that Jonathan liked him. He gave him a hug and a high five. As you can tell from the sun in their eyes it was a beautiful day. The weather has been perfect, I LOVE SPRING!

Our Neighbor Marissa came with us to Baby Animal Day which helped me out a lot. She took more pictures with her phone but I did get a couple.

I think the baby turtles were the kids favorites. The baby bears were cute too.

Here's hoping I don't loose my mind anymore this week.

Sigh....Our Baby is 2

I know I've said it before, many many times but I'm going to say it again: kids grow up too fast! This little guy is a handful. He loves to get into everything, loves to play with balls, cars and pretty much anything he can hit things with. We love his adorable smile and his laugh is contagious. Love you Johnny!!!

I wanted to make the basketball look more real with some texture and found that the meat tenderizer worked good he he.

Happy 2nd Birthday Jonathan!!!

Wow a 12 year old....really?

Where did the time go. I can't believe our baby is 12, or maybe it's that I can't believe I'm old enough to have one. She has been such a blessing in our lives. She is our little babysitter now and we are so grateful she is willing to watch the kids so Kevin and I can go on weekly dates.
She has grown into a beautiful young lady and we are so proud of her. She is doing well in school, piano and violin. We LOVE THIS GIRL!!!!! She is having her birthday party on Saturday at the Fun Park. They will have pizza, cake and go rollerblading.  They provide everything and I'm super excited that I won't have to clean up after twelve 12 year olds.

Happy Birthday Beautiful!

It's great to be 8!

Luke is eight! He wanted to have a math party because he's really into math (lets hope this lasts).  We had a Math is a Blast party and played a bunch of games. How I let him talk me into having 11 friends come I'll never know. I guess in my mind I figured not everyone would be able to come. All of them did so I had 12 rowdy 8 year old's to handle. Thankfully Danika was still at school, Andrew went to a friends and the two little ones were at another friends house to play. It was nice to just focus on Luke, the party and the games.

The great thing about being 8 is Baptism! I'm so thankful for family and friends who came to support Luke on his special day. Luke was excited to receive his new scriptures and bag for church. Although he has been taking them to school as well....yeah he's just a little excited about them. He was excited to receive his scout shirt and book too.

Two more birthdays to go this month. Jonathan will be two (I can't believe my baby is two! I guess I'm more surprised that I'm not pregnant or have a baby already!)  Danika is turning the big 12 so we will be having a big party for her as well. I've decided to throw big parties every 4 years when they are 4, 8,12 and 16. The other years they can have some friends over to play and we will have a family party (I'll still make them a birthday cake of course) but I'm not going to plan a big party with decorations and games as the other years. Happy Birthday Lukie Ookie!

I hope this works

We had a family council this morning during our scripture study. Kevin and I (Mostly I) have been having struggles keeping the kids on task. As soon as they come home they want to do other things besides chores and homework. I have been feeling like a task master and I don't like saying "NO" so often. We decided to make up charts. We already have chore charts and the kids have been doing well (after being told a few times).  I was always being bombarded with "Can I play now?", "What else do I have to do?" and so on. Multiply that by four (cause the younger two have very few chores) and it gets daunting.
So now when the kids come home they can get their paper. (I'll get a clip board to put them on) Mark off what they need to do and bring it back to me when it's complete, and I will give the final check off to play.
There have also been times that they have said their rooms were clean and beds made and after inspection they were not! We discussed this as well. The kids agreed that if they mark off the box without completing the task they will loose their game time.
I'm going to try and let things slide such as them not getting their tasks done (on my time) because in the end it's up to them when they are going to play.

Although we have talked that if Mom asks for things to be done and it's ignored they get an extra chore from a list I've made. Just little things such as, wiping out the microwave, fridge, toaster etc. There are some times when they have to complete a chore before others, like if one kid has to sweep before the other one can mop. It's not nice to make the one who has to mop wait when he or she has all the other items checked off the list. Well here's hoping this works!