Friday's Fab 5 - Top Mommy Magazines

Clayton's school has been selling magazines for the past two weeks - so this got me inspired to write down a few of my all-time favorite magazines! I love receiving magazines in the mail! Often I only get to skim them - choosing my most favorite crafts, party ideas, parenting tips, etc. Here are my top 4 "must-have" Mommy magazines.



1) Family Fun - My friend convinced me to begin subscribing to Family Fun a few years ago when Big C was little. Since then, I have skimmed over 100 issues. I get tons of family crafts (holiday ideas and treats), party ideas (tasty snacks and fun games), and parenting tips (do's and dont's). I absolutely love getting this magazine in the mail each month!



2) Parents - This is an awesome magazines for expecting parents, new parents, or more experienced parents. This magazine is your answer to any question: "When do I start baby food?" "How do I get my child to sleep more consistently?" It also provides nutrition information, pregnancy tips, post-baby information, - just whatever! It's a great resource with tons of information. This magazine also provides fun crafts, party ideas, and family-related activities.



3) Parent&Child - Another great parenting magazine. Somehow, I began receiving this magazine at school for FREE a few years ago and I absolutely love it! This is a great magazine to discuss a child's learning and development. This magazine provides varieties of resources, activities, and games to help enhance your child's vocabulary and skill development. I look forward to checking my mailbox each month to get this great magazine!



4) Parenting (School Years) - As I mentioned before - Big C has been selling magazines for school. This is a new magazine that I have chosen to take a peek at. Clayton will be starting 1st grade next year and heading into public school, so I thought I might need some insight into the whole "school" world. Yes! - I am a Kindergarten teacher, but this whole "parent" thing is entirely different. This magazine is supposed to focus on the challenges that Moms face with school-age children. I can't wait!



5) The Jesus Storybook Bible - I thought I would stay with the theme and share one of my favorite books to read to my two big kiddos each night. My sister introduced me to the Jesus Storybook Bible, and I haven't put it down since. Big C and Little H love reading Bible stories from this Book! It tells each Bible story, with incredible illustrations, and is able to tie each story back to the coming and life of Jesus. It is simply amazing!

Oreo Balls - Straight from Grandma's Kitchen

My mom makes the best Oreo balls! She has made them for family occasions, small group nights, and treats for Dad! We all love them! This recipe is straight from my Mom, "Grandma."

You will need:
12 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 pkg. almond bark squares or 2 pkgs. white chocolate, melted
1 regular-size pkg. Oreos
dash of salt

*Will bought the white chocolate (by mistake) last time and they were extra delicious!

What to do:
Crush Oreos finely either in food processor or with rolling pin. Thoroughly mix crushed Oreos, cream cheese and dash of salt together and refrigerate until firm. Take out and roll into 1-inch balls; place on waxed paper and refrigerate appropriately one hour. Melt almond bark (or white chocolate) in microwave in a glass bowl on High for around 2 minutes. Dip each ball in the melted coating and place on waxed paper until firm. Refrigerate in covered container.

Try out these yummy treats - you will be so glad you did!

~ ~ ~

On another note - Big C was assigned a president to study during his Kindergarten Presidential unit. He was assigned President William Howard Taft. Here is a sweet picture of him, typing his first little report on the computer last night! He did such a great job!

Wordless Wednesday - Batman is Sleeping

Truthful Tuesday

This is my first "Truthful Tuesday" - so here it goes........

1) I did have Huds sing this song at least 5 times, in order to get a great video where you could hear all of the words.

2) I truly enjoyed my day at home with two sweet little boys, even though Baby G is terribly sick and Little H is headed down the "sick path" also.

3) I love spending days off, watching endless amounts of cartoons with the kiddos - Chugginton, Clifford, Caillou, and Jungle Junction are some of my favorites!

4) I did let my mom come over the help with the laundry today, even though I was home. (......Like I said, I had two sick boys!)

5) I did let Hudson eat lunch at the coffee table and take a nap in his Batman mask because he was not feeling well today. (two things my mom would NEVER do!)

6) I think I have guilted Will into NOT going to the gym tonight. (It's been a long, hard days - two sick little boys........you know)

7) I am blogging while my husband is mopping the kitchen - I am terrible!

8) In my defense, I did cook dinner, clean the kitchen, and finish the laundry my mom had started.

Ok,.......I think that's enough honesty for today!

Something I Know a Little about..........Discipline

With three busy boys, we have to have some sort of order and discipline in our home. I am definitely not the "Queen of Discipline", but I do have a few tricks that Will and I use to keep our boys "somewhat" behaved.

1) PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE!!! We praise Big C and Little H constantly for all the things they are doing right! "I love the way you are sharing your toys!" "Thanks Hudson, for picking up your room!" "Clayton, thanks for getting that bib for G!" I know it sounds silly, but it works! They do want to please,......sometimes.

2) Count to 3 - I know this is a discipline controversy - (how your kids should obey the 1st time), but, let's get real - they don't! at least always obey the FIRST time. But they do obey! When the boys are having a hard time, I do count to 3. 1,.......2,........(and by then, they have done what I ask). It usually doesn't go any farther.

3) Toys to timeout - Toy sharing is sometimes an issue at our house - and when it is, the toy goes to timeout. If they can't share the toy, then they can choose something else to play with for a time. After a few minutes, usually they have forgotten about the toy and have moved on to something else.

4) Money Jars - I saw this idea and copied it. We love it! Big C has 3 jars (Giving to God, Spend, Save). When Big C earns money from a special task or chore that he has done, he receives a small reward for his work and can place it in a jar. Being a kid, he does often want to place his money in the "Spend Jar". We just gently remind him, that he will need an offering on Sunday and after all, "It is God's money, first!" He has responded really well to this jar system.



5) Time-out - just like it sounds! We don't really have a certain time-out place. I am fortunate in that Huds will walk himself to "time-out" and sit on the stairs until I call for him to explain "the incident". When Clayton was a toddler, we were not so fortunate! Clayton would sit in the kitchen chair - throw a tantrum, kick his feet, rock the chair (a real angel). But it does work, and we use it with both kiddos.



6) Spanking - YES! we spank! It is a last resort, but sometimes, there's just no other alternative. With the big incidents, or simply repeatedly disobeying, we will spank the boys.

Here's a little insight into what works for us. Discipline is ongoing and isn't always perfect, but it does pay off in the end. Here's to 3 happy, well-adjusted boys!

A Sweet Sunday

I love relaxing, Sunday afternoons with family - and this afternoon was no exception. Today, Nana and Pops invited us to the local chocolate festival. And.....knowing how we all love chocolate, we were there! Booths and tables of cakes, brownies, cookies - who could resist???



Not Huds (sporting his cool shades), returned to the chocolate booths several times, accompanied by Pops, Daddy, or Austin.



Or Clayton (munching on chocolate ball), managed to find the only non-chocolate items there - ice cream, goldfish crackers, and crackers/cheese. - He's my kid!



And Gray (recovering from a cold) was just along for the ride - Except for the occasional chocolate that Daddy or Pops would place on his passy!

Our family had a blast!
We finished our afternoon by visiting the park near our house!
It was a bit chilly, but the boys had a great time! As Little H puts it: "I go play on the playground!"







Wrapped in a blanket, to block him from the wind, our Baby G took advantage of the swing and fell asleep. I think our afternoon wore him out!

A Tribute to My Toothless Big C

This past week, Big C has lost his 3rd tooth! His mouth looks more like a sweet jack-o-lantern at this point, and tooth #4 is very loose! My sister keeps saying "how big" he looks. I have been thinking back to my sweet Little C and rummaging through old photos.



You would never know it, by these sweet pictures, but Big C was definitely a difficult baby and toddler. When he was born, Will was working night shift and going to college, I was teaching, and our house was in total chaos! Big C didn't sleep through the night until he was 18 months old! - and that was only after we put him into a twin bed. It was a rough year and a half!



Big C has always had a special bond with my sister. I think it's because Will worked so much during those early months, and she did come over EVERY night and just hold Clayton to give me a break. Aunt Shannie and Clayton spent those nights reading stories, having photo shoots, and just spending time together! I was, and still am, thankful for Aunt Shannie!



After Little H arrived, Big C completely ignored him for about a week. Then (once he realized Hudson was here to stay), Big C has become the best big brother! Today, they spend days playing in the sandbox, playing basketball, Legos, and work puzzles together.



Big C has always been a "busy" boy! He seems to have endless amounts of energy! He runs, hops, leaps, jumps - you name it!



He is definitely our inquisitive child - always wanting to know "why" and "what's that?" His big, bright smile can make any day! He thinks he is sooooo funny and brings so much laughter to our home!



Here is my Big C - and the many more teeth to loose and laughter to come!