2CUL Craft

Somehow I always get stuck

with doing the crafts for

the kids' school parties.

All the other moms are

too afraid.

So here is what we are

doing for Valentines

this year.

And this crafty-challenged

lady

has made a tutorial

for you and yours

with all my V-day love.

1 - Use graph paper

to make block letter

conversation heart sayings.

2- Cut out

3 - Apply glue on graph side.

3- Stick onto sandpaper

from right to left.

Remember it will iron on

like a mirror image.

(That's why you glue on the right side)

4 - Outline well with crayon.

5 - Color in rest of sandpaper.

(I plan to actually have hearts

but this was the scrap I used

today for the prototype)

6 - Heat up iron to cotton/dry setting.

7 - Cut out a square of an old white sheet.

(600 threadcount egyptian cotton

 is optional but soooo soft)

I happened to have a perfectly great

topsheet leftover

from our tragic "ruined by talon toes"

sheet set

shown here on instagram.

7 - Sew up the 2 cut sides.

I will use the already folded over side

for the yarn-tie.

(Use a sewing machine if you want)

8 - This is what I did to make it go faster

(I hear you screaming you seamstress people)

I actually may just use fabric glue at school.

9 - Safety pin your yarn.

10 - Lead it through the fold.

11 - Tie big knots on each end.

(So they won't ravel or go back into fold)

12 - Place sandpaper on finished bag

that I turned inside out from stitching.

(Hopefully you guys are smart enough 

to understand that part)

13 - Turn sandpaper crayon side

 onto the fabric.

Cover with parchment paper or a tea towel.

14 - Iron (moving iron in circles)

for about 30 seconds.

Wa-la

Inspiration for this craft

came from alphamom.

Like I said above,

I plan to make them actual hearts

and either pre-make the bags

or have the kids glue them

(because of school time limits)

or do t-shirts

or just make the

sandpaper cut-outs

and send

iron on instructions home with kids.

Happy V-day

crafting all you cupid moms

who like me

 are suckers for love.

Feel free to leave

all your suggestions for betterment

below in the comments.

I have til Thursday to fine-tune.

Or just tell me how cool I am

because moms need

to love other moms.

And you're so welcome.

I couldn't find a single

thing good enough

on my beloved forthekids 

pinterest board

so I had to tweak.

I'm thrilled

with  my mom 

abilities

today.

As you should be too.

2013 goals or Going for the Gold

I've been trying to finalize my 2013 goals.

Even though I gave myself a C last year,

I am an absolute believer in the adage

"goals that are not written down are just wishes."

While at Ikea on our date Saturday

LG and I came up with a winning idea

on how to motivate our family

towards betterment.

Money is a pure motivator

for all of us,

so we are going to reward ourselves

with GOLD.

We decided on family Olympics

for 2013.

Or as LG says,

"We're having family hunger games."

Everyone will get to put their names

in a pot in a once a week drawing

for 5 gold coins.

We will all earn chances in the pot

by accomplishing

our 5 personal and 5 family goals daily.

(That's up to 70 shots a week)

Unlike hunger games,

we want our names in the pot.

The more we accomplish our goals,

the better chance we have to win a gold coin (or 5).

Our theme is

"Go for the Gold."

Get it.

We're the Gold's.

We're so funny.

I am super excited about

the 5 rings of improvement.

LG and I narrowed our desires for our kids into

5 categories:

spiritual, mental, physical, emotional, and financial.

(See the above photo)

Here are the goals

we came up with as a family

in each category.

Some of these goals are going to be easier than others.

Reading should be a cinch.

Believe it or not

I think sharing feelings

might be harder (especially for some)

 than daily scripture study.

The kids are already up in arms

about the soda

but I love that they will still have the choice.

If they drink soda,

they lose a shot at a dollar.

If it were up to us

we'd take it away all together

but this way we make the point

without taking away their agency.

I am super excited about

seeing how this family challenge

will pan out.

I hope to win a few bucks along the way

and I think this may

have the "fun" factor

to keep us motivated all year.

Anyhow,

I am sure you have all been dying

to see what my goals are for

2013.

With no further ado,

by category

we go.

Financial

1.Save a $1 a day toward family vacation.

2.Stay under budget.

Emotional

1.Journal/study/meditate daily before doing anything else.

2.No phone in bed.

3.Give a meaningful inspired service weekly.

Physical

1.Use myfitnesspal every day until I weigh under 160 pounds.

2 Keep running 3x/week.

3.Run 2 half marathons (unless I get pregnant)
4. Add in a fourth workout every week. Something other than running.

Spiritual

1.Pray every day.

2.Temple once a month (take Abigail with 4x)

3.Organize family genealogy.

Mental

1.Learn a new word every day. 

(I discovered a cool app for this)

2.Go back to school,

even if it's just one class.

3.Write every day

(blog/outline of novel)

4.Read 100 books

(adding in 1 junior non-fiction

to regular reading goals)

Marital

1.Bond every night.

(Communicate regularly)

2.Go to bed and wake up together.

It's lofty, I know,

but if I only get a C,

I will still have accomplished twice

as much as if I had never written anything down.

My OCD side really loves fresh starts.

Just think, we have one every day.

Santa Claus Going to Town

Thank you Caroline and Shopko

for some Christmas jolly.

The Kid Nativities

Remember how I told you
we were going to be making
nativities at Cub Scouts.

Well I lied.
It took the girls and I
two hours to come up with this.



The hour Scouts has alloted per week
just wasn't gonna cut it.

So I gave the boys the molding clay
and told them to create their own creche.

I was pretty partial to the pregnant Mary on a donkey.

It seemed to me like the artist must have some African roots.

I do believe this masterpiece

will be put away with tissue paper

and pulled out every year

to be displayed in a place of honor.

I also believe that today's equivalent to a manger

is a plastic baby pool.

Wouldn't you agree?

DIY Christmas Advent

Abigail and I made some new friends here in Utah.
I love Kristen Colson,
while Abigail is a little more partial to her kids.
One imparticular.

Kristen is my kind of mom.
She's fun.
She's loving.
She's involved.
She keeps it real.
and
She keeps things simple.

Kristen says,
"You're welcome."

Kid Nativity

Today at Cub Scouts
we will be talking about the ways we worship.

While I give a lesson about how
as members of
The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints
we worship our Savior Jesus Christ,
the boys will be keeping their hands busy with this project.

Thanks Aunt Rosemary for the great idea.
And thanks cousin Ryan
for making this so very lovely
twenty years ago.

Nothing better than a vintage art project.
I believe this would make even Martha proud.
Martha Stewart and Martha in the Bible.

DIY Angry Birds - just in time for Christmas

All credit for this amazing idea goes to my amazing friend

Stori Spotten.

When her and her husband posted this idea on facebook

I just knew I had to share it with the cyber world.

The picture pretty much tells you all you need to know,

but for those of you like me who want more details,

come back for when I hear back from Stori

as to what she used to draw on the store-bought bouncy balls.

I am guessing she used paint or sharpies.

What's your guess?

Stori's answer

I used a little bit of everything, sharpies, paint & even a little green nailpolish(which i already had) on the pigs noses to give them a little depth. lol I got my paint at lowed they have in any color for around 2.97

Wha-la.

Easiest and coolest

and quite possibly the cheapest

Christmas gift for the season.

It will be perfect to give to your kids on Christmas morning

when you have a million assorted cardboard boxes

to put to good use.

Thanks Stori for having a brilliant mind.

And for being an awesome friend

and letting me be the one to crack the story on my

little personal blog.

I think I am going to get millions of hits this month.

Family Dance Night

Do you remember this ancient post about the family staying up all night to dance.
We couldn't afford to go to Chuck E Cheese and so we pulled out the old records.

Well now we can afford to go to Chuck E. Cheese but I believe I would rather
travel back in time and do this all over again.
I finally figured out how to post the video and these are so cute.
The girls have grown so fast but I am pleased to report that they still giggle just the same.
And they still think they can dance.

It started out slow. Very Lawrence Welk feeling slow.



Then we moved on to Bob Dylan's song on banjo.
Dad does some tapping and at the end the baby has to join in.


More with dad and baby. Puff the magic dragon.


Then dad goes a little crazy.


A little Beverly Hillbilly's. We were in TN after all.
We have some underwear malfunctioning.
This is when I hope that no sickos have found the blog.
But, if you sickos have found us, make sure you watch this one through
to see the man you will contend with if you come within 50 feet of our daughters.
And then know that I am about 800% more ferocious.


Now dad kindly introduces the two-step to our flapper girls.
Has anybody seen our girls?


And if you've been the loyal watcher,
you will be happy for this finale.
One final laugh for us all.


Good times. Good times.

Grassy Feet

Did you hear that the way to really get air on the trampoline

is to get as much grass as possible

to stick to the bottom of your feet?

The grass gives you super powers.

You can jump over houses

and touch the top of 

mountains.

Even Olive was amazed.

I've learned to enjoy the moment.

And then scrub the feet.

Popsicle inspired Make-over

Hailey was the first friend the girls made in Tennessee.

She lived next door at her grandmothers for about 4 years.

We enjoyed some time with her right before we left.

We were happily surprised when her recently applied eye shadow 

matched her Popsicle perfectly.

It started all kinds of fun.

Here is the other neighbor Leslie, featuring Tennessee orange.

Go Vols.

Bella was the envy of Sophia.
Purple belongs to Sophia.
No one else is allowed to have purple.
It's Sophia's favorite.

Somebody went a little crazy while applying Sophia's blue.
I think that would have been Abigail.
Blue is Abigail's favorite.

And last but not least.
Abigail doing the best she can with what was left.
Red.
I guess even red looks orange in Tennessee.

I will forever cherish the memories of our kids playing with the neighbors.

Luckily, they aren't too old for that.

We now have new neighbors to play with.

We might have to pull out the eye shadow and popsicles one day.

Scientific Method

Abigail was quoted in the Knoxville Sentinel today. She was dressed like Galileo when talking to the reporter. She was so proud that the way the reporter started his article was Galileo was there. "Oh yeah, he's talking about me," bragged Abigail. The irony of her later quote is what is killing me. I must blog about it. Don't mind me as I ramble on about the whole experience. Sometimes this blog acts as my personal journal and our family historian. If you want the abridged version just read the next paragraph and scroll to the end.

I can only blog about this because Abigail is usually a great student. She always scores in advanced on her T-Caps. She is in all Honors classes. She got straight A's her first quarter of middle school. So you can imagine our dismay when a few days ago, Abigail came home with her report card and there was a big fat F in Science. We were appalled.

My friend Rita said that when she saw Abigail at the school it
 reminded her of how they always depict God in the movies.
It wasn't until I took this picture and added it to my blog
that I realized what she was talking about.

We have come to the conclusion that the grade is the fault of three bad combinations: 1- Our neglect due to the move. 2- Abigail's complacency and 3 - We are pretty sure Abigail will eventually be diagnosed as ADHD.

What most people don't understand about ADHD kids is that a lot of them are extremely bright. There is an ADHD subset that usually gets overlooked. They are the ones that do very well in school because they are so bright.

My husband was a kid like that. He was just recently diagnosed with ADHD as a 35 year old adult. Ritalin has been an eye-opening experience for LG. The first time he took the drug, he said to me, "Oh my gosh Alice, my mind is so clear. It's crazy. Just imagine what I could have done if I had some Ritalin while in law school."

Anyhow, back to the story. Abigail brought home this F. It was horrifying. I immediately e-mailed her teacher and talked to her principal on the phone. I am a little worried how this will effect Abigail's placement at her new school after we move. The timing is awful, but hopefully we can get her new school to understand the extreme abnormality of this grade. The good news is that maybe now we can get her doctor and school to understand our concern for her ADHD.  They wouldn't agree to look into the possibility when she had straight A's, but now they will hopefully be able to see a little window into what we are dealing with on a larger scale.

When LG sat down with Abigail last night to review her individual assignment grades it was no surprise to us that Abigail said that on each low grade she had forgot to either turn it in, complete it, or study. She has science first period and even if she does pay close enough attention to instructions, which she often considers non-essential information, it's gone by the end of the day. She is just not engaged by things that don't require real thinking and she is simultaneously totally overwhelmed by the structure in this class. Her teacher has about ten things going on at once and it's just too much for an ADD brain. Her teacher is great and really makes science come to life, but for an ADD kid, the way that she structures her class is brutal. It's been an awesome on-going science project. Who knew that they actually do science projects in a middle school science class?

Let's see. The Scientific Method at work:

1 Ask a question - Does Abigail have ADHD?
2 Do background research - Abigail is normally a straight A student.
3 Construct a Hypothesis - It would be unlikely that Abigail has ADHD given the facts.
4 Test your hypothesis by doing an experiment - Give Abigail a Science Teacher who assigns 6 projects per nine weeks and does very little to communicate with the parents or make sure that Abigail stays on task. See how she does.
5 Analyze your data and draw a conclusion - Abigail failed science yet still received either A's or B's in all of her more structured classes, therefore she probably does have ADHD or just hates science.
6 Communicate your results - That would be this blog post. Do you think I should e-mail it to the teacher? She would be so proud that real science was actually taking place. She might even use it for future class projects.

So, imagine our surprise when Abigail came home the same day as receiving her F all excited about her Galileo project. She was so excited to not just research Galileo but to dress up like him. She did awesome, huh? She got really creative and insisted on dragging out the Santa costume box. Of course it was at the bottom of the stack of moving boxes, but at her stubborn request we re-shifted the whole room to discover the needed beard and wig. Then she told us not to come to her presentation. I think she was trying to keep us away from her science teacher.

Well imagine our surprise when reading this in the newspaper article this afternoon: (Amongst our first failing grade ever, the irony is just a little too much)

Sixth-grader Abigail Gold donned a white wig and beard as she depicted famed early astronomer Galileo for the Living Space History Museum exhibit.

She and other students selected a person in history who had an impact on the space program, designed posters, dressed in period and gave oral presentations on their historical figures. 

Abigail said Thursday's event shows science and math can be fun.

"I've always wanted to be a scientist," she said. "A lot (of kids) think it's boring, but it's my favorite subject."

When Abigail got done reading aloud about herself in the article, Sophia quickly chimed in:

"Abigail what it really should have said is 'but it's my favorite subject', even if I did fail the last nine weeks."

What I was thinking was that it's a good thing that God gave Abigail such a bright mind because if anyone is ever gonna figure out how to beat ADHD permanently, it's her. She has a love for science that I have rarely seen, even if it's a failing kind of love.

How to dress up like a cow

We recently took a trip to Chick-Fil-A

for some free chicken.

All you had to do was dress up like a cow.

It was in this setting that I realized,

that moms can try as hard as they want:

they can make costumes

and help coordinate efforts

but, they can

never

even

try to

replace

dad.

LG is such a good sport.

Or he really just likes free chicken.

Nobody got his costume.

Except for this other dad,

standing close by

in his sissy

jersey spots.

He let out a good manly chuckle

at the sight of LeGrand,

being the man that he is.

I think he is going to rethink

his costume next year.

I wonder how many men

will show up as bulls

next time?

But, remember,

you saw it here first.

LeGrand needs all the manly points

he can get

in this household

full of women.

Like our 4 daughters

always say,

"even our cat and dog

are girls."

My kind of Craft Project and Chore Chart

I am NOT crafty.

That is not a confession,

like the kind you have to hide in a closet,

but a declaration of this is part of who I am.

More power to those of you who are crafty and take joy in it.

I would rather buy your stuff than attempt it myself.

Because I am a shopper.

Shopping is a talent I like to spend my time working at.

I'ts also something that I have learned how to curb.

You see, God made everyone different.

It's o.k. that I am not crafty.

It's o.k. that I don't want to spend my time

trying to be like most of the other moms I know.

It's o.k. that I would rather spend my time

reading and writing and bargain shopping.

It's o.k. that I don't care if my girls hair is perfection.

And that I don't even like those horrible

crazy HUGE bows on the modern babies' heads.

It's o.k. that my house is simple.

That I don't need a showroom

for my friends.

It's o.k. It's o.k. It's o.k.

I recently came across a friend's cool craft project.

It involves a T-shirt and a can of spray paint.

It's my kind of project.

I am going to try it.

But, I will probably never post a picture of it.

Because that's just not who I am.

I would rather blog about my

thoughts, opinions, ideas, and funny stories.

Go over and check out how to do it at Jennifer's blog.

I'm sew in heaven.

She's most definitely a crafty.

In fact her mom tried to teach me how to sew once.

It was a disaster.

The only way my ugly skirt got done

was because my sister took pity on my

and finished it after she got done with hers.

We were 14 and 16,

and she was and still is a million times craftier.

And to add to that

Here is an example of the simplicity I prefer.

It's our chore chart.

I will show you how to make your own

if you are craft challenged.

Like me.

This system made it through the whole summer,

and is still in full swing

into the first week of school.

I'm very proud.

Not of its gorgeous display,

or the effective system,

but I am proud of the fact

that I pulled out

the electrical tape,

crayons,

scissors,

paper,

contact paper,

and magnets,

and my kids made it for me.

The kids were crossing their weekly jobs out

with a dry erase marker

as they get them done.

Now, we just know when they've got them done.

The sooner the better.

Each of the girls were assigned a row.

Oldest to youngest.

And there is even a spot for Caroline.

Because we are putting her to work

as soon as possible.

Trust me,

the older girls

can't wait to pawn stuff off on her.

And they each have three columns.

One for everyday jobs.

And a column of weekly jobs.

Because Excel spreadsheets,

I can reinvent.

We rotate the dailies on a weekly basis.

And they get to choose their own weeklies.

First come, first serve.

They love the grab.

And the competition.

We've initiated the concept

in family scripture study too.

Scripture chase:

Old Testament.

Go.

Proverbs 3:5-6

They are memorizing the

scripture songs

so they can get faster.

Watch out seminary kids.

The Gold Girls are in the house.

The last column is completely unrelated.

They are not rewarded any longer for chores.

They are expected to comply.

They don't get allowance.

But, they do get warm fuzzies

for good behavior.

Kind of like

dad gets warm fuzzies from mama

for bringing home the bacon.

The black circles are worth 1 warm fuzzy.

The yellow are worth 2 and a treat at the store.

The red are worth 3 and a rented Redbox.

The blues are the biggest hit.

They are worth 10 and a date with mom, dad, or a friend.

The green are worth 20 or $5.

They haven't learned to save up yet.

They like instant gratification.

In the form of candy and movies.

Lucky for dad.

The term warm fuzzy was coined

by my first grade teacher.

And you will hear me use it as a threat often.

"Go take two warm fuzzies for hitting your sister."

But hopefully, more often than threatening,

you will hear me rewarding:

"Everyone gets three warm fuzzies

for being so helpful today."

It's on the fridge,

like every other important thing in my life.

And did I mention?

That it's been working

at my house

for three months!!!

Kids doing chores = one very happy uncrafty mom.

One last sidenote:

At church the other day,

a teacher was explaining to me that

in his training he has learned

that you don't want to divide and conquer your kids.

For example,

"Look at Bella, she is such a good cleaner."

I am trying to figure out a way that I can

make this system

more of a Harry Potter style.

Where

everyone

gains

and

loses

together.

I am thinking that may

unify the girls

a little bit more.

Go Griffendor Gold Girls.