Wednesday, November 11, 2015

I'm in the sick kid time warp!

It's like one minute it's 7 a.m, the next minute it's 2 o'clock and my slow cooker pot roast has yet to be simply be placed inside the cooker. My house looks like a bomb went off and for once it's not due from toys being thrown about. It's from the 101 things I had started today that I've dropped for my two sick munchkins.

It really doesn't help that I'm sick on top of it. My husband is sick also and the sky looks sick. I haven't seen a single ray of sun shine all day. It has been gray and rainy which really zaps my energy. Combine it with the fact I have been taking down my Halloween decorations and putting up some Thanksgiving and my Christmas village. Also, Morrigan has to build a model of a atom due next week but she has a bunch of things going on so we are doing a little bit every day.

Well, that was at least the plan before we all got sick. Now, my table is covered in craft supplies and tiny fake trees. My living room is being taken over by all the unfolded clothes, and my kitchen still has the pots and pans from dinner last night still in the sink.

The kids have been difficult, to say the least. Morrigan's coughing is driving me up a wall, her constant sniffling has gotten on my last nerve to the point that each sniff sounds like someone is running sandpaper over my eardrum. We have been yelling back and forth because the girl would rather sniffle then blow her nose.

Freya has been crying for hours because she wants to eat the faux candles I have in the windows. She won't nap today, did I mention she was up until midnight last night and then woke today at 6 am? So she's a bit sleep deprived as am I.

Of course, my husband walk in the door as soon as Morrigan finally stopped fighting me about the saline drops and blew her nose to the point the sniffles are quiet for now which also quiets the cough. Freya was finally nursing into a nap, and I sat back looking through Pinterest on my phone for some overly ambitious American Girl doll projects. Go figure! I looked at the clock, 3 pm? Guess the sick kid time warp jumped me ahead another hour. Crap!

You know what? These days happen...I'm ordering a pizza!

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Never Too Young To Give Children Choirs

I give my 10 month old choirs...

Okay, now that may be excessive, but I'm not going to stop her. Except when she actually does get strong enough to pull those plates out of the rack. I will end up with a bunch of broken plates if that's the case.
I did however start Morrigan with choirs at age 4. It was simply dusting the surfaces in the living room. I may have had to go back over everything but it gave her a sense of pride not only in her self but also the home she lives in.
I can't say she kept that sense of cleanliness as her room always looks like a tornado just ripped through it. But what I do see is a pride in the communal living areas like the living room and dining area. She treats my furniture with care.
Choirs should not be used as punishment but rather a teaching tool. Teach your kiddos the value of pride in their home and you will raise children that are respectful of your house and the stuff you have that makes it a home.

Friday, November 6, 2015

Why I Love the Day After Halloween!

I have a secret, I'm addicted to the deal. I love a good sale! I hate buying things at the regular price. I live for clearence which is why I wait until the day after Halloween to buy decorations.



My husband and I collect Lemax Spooky Village pieces. My spooky village is getting to the point where I can't fit any new pieces. So we are currently working on terrain and small pieces. But I wanted the dilapidated barn and I was hoping to find it discounted the day after Halloween.

We went to 5 different stores looking for discounted Lemax pieces. Two were Ace Hardware and a Sears which we had no luck but at the two Michael's we found three mound pieces, two rolls of ground, fencing, benches, coffins, and some Michael's brand accessories like pumpkins and hay stacks, most at 80% off. But our best find was two display Lemax pieces at a Michael's that had no box and the big piece was missing it's light. I got the dilapidated barn I wanted minus it's light for only $5 and the gory grillin figure for $0.25! I am so thrilled!



I get holiday decorations on clearance every year. I just wait for the day after the holiday and I go out first thing in the morning to Michael's or Walmart or Target and load up on holiday stuff at a fraction of the cost I then just pack it in when I take down my holiday stuff for next year. The only holiday I don't do this for is Thanksgiving because I hate black friday with a passion. It comes from being in retail management before I was mom.
My decorations for Halloween...
To this for Thanksgiving...


That is how much I despise going out on black friday! My Thanksgiving decorations will have to wait. Most of these were bought when A.C. Moore was liquidating their store in Hanover MA.

So this is my advice, never pay full price for holiday decorations go clearence shopping the day after instead.

I plan on posting the instructions on how to make some of my home made decorations for Halloween. I have to do my ghost and zombie over again so I will do step by step  instructions. Also, you can follow me on Pinterest to view some on the crafts I have done for the holidays.