Swinging Into Spring

Don't get me wrong, I love winter! I love snow, scarves, warm boots, snuggling under blankets and drinking hot coco with the girls, but every once in awhile I need a break! Yesterday was our (much needed) break! We were lucky to have a warm (and windy) day AND it just happened to be President's Day so both girls were home from school to enjoy it. Logan and Noa spend most of the afternoon playing outside. They drew chalk murals, shot their arrows and just ran around being as loud as they wanted. We were all in heaven! We also made a trip to the park and GG enjoyed his first time swinging on the swing. He loved it, although he wasn't sure what to think about the wind blowing his hair. We're back to cold and windy weather today, but the joy of yesterday will stay with us for awhile.

The Long Run Diaries-Week 9

Week 9! WHOO HOO I've reached the halfway point!

Week 9

13.02 miles

2:17:01

10:31 Pace

This week was another taper-ish week. The midweek runs were the same, but the long run was "only" 13. It was another fr-fr-freeeeezing day, but luckily it wasn't too windy so it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. When you see that it's 10 degrees outside it kinda makes you want to stay in your warm cozy bed! Both Traci and I had a great run and I had no issues with migraines, soreness or extreme exhaustion. Yay for me!

This week the miles increase AGAIN and we're up to 8 on our midweek run and Sunday brings us to 17! The furthest I have ever run in my life is 15 so it's going to be both a mental and physical challenge!

As a treat to myself for all my hard work I bought myself 2 new running shells. When I thought about how long I've had mine (ahem...over 10 years!) I thought I deserved a new one! I had been eyeing this polka dot Saucony jacket all winter! When I popped into the running store last week I was beyond excited to see it on the clearance rack!!! I practically wore it out of the store I was so excited!

It's so bright and cheerful (and NEW) that you can't help but pick up your step a little bit when wearing it, and with the mileage creeping up there, I'm going to need a little pick-me-up!

Have a fab-u-lous Monday and seriously, thank you all so much for the encouragement! You rock!

Remembering To Say "Thank You"

It seems as we become more and more dependent on computers, smart phones, and i-whatevers, the written word becomes less and less. I'm just as guilty as the next, but one area I do not think technology has a place, is in the thank you note. Personally, I think if someone takes the time to do something nice for you, you have the time to write them a handwritten note letting them know how much you appreciate it. When the girls were younger we allowed their thank yous to be in the form of a picture, and as they got older we gradually increased the amount of actual words. First we started with a simple "thank you" and now that they can write, full thank you notes with actual sentences are required. They still like to include pictures too which is always a nice touch.

For the past two years Lo has been a Daisy Girl Scout and when anyone thinks of Girl Scouts their mind instantly goes to cookies!!! She's been a great little seller and even though she had LOTS and LOTS of customers, she was still responsible for thanking everyone. Last year we went with a simple "thank you" photo showing her with all her cookies and her incentive she earned for selling over a certain amount. She attached this picture to each cookie bundle for each of her customers. They were a huge hit!

This year she was another great little sales girl and again had LOTS of customers to thank. We decided that since she is in 1st grade now she needed to write a proper thank you note. This is what she designed (sorry for the awful picture...the real file was to large to post). 

It was super easy to make and only cost us about $0.09 each! First she wrote her note and drew her picture. Then I traced her letter with a Sharpie so that it was easier to read. I scanned the whole note and saved it as a JPEG file. Once it was all saved I just had to download it to our local Meijer Photo store and it was ready in less than an hour! 

I love her pictures, the hedgehog especially, and how she spelled Trefoils-so cute!

What kind of creative ways do you have your kids express their thanks? Shout 'em out! We can never have too much gratitude!!!

LoLa's Secret Secondaries: Mixing the Rainbow

One of the perks of being in first grade at Lo's school is that you can join one of the many clubs. Lo eagerly joined Science Club at the beginning of the school year and for the past 5 months has been working hard on her science fair project. It's been a LONG process for the whole family and last night it was finally time for the big event.

Lo had wanted to do her project on something art related. She had a lot of fun at one of Noa's school events mixing different colors of water and was hoping to incorporate something similar into her project. The experiment she decided on was to see if you got the same colors when you mixed the primary colors of light in paint, watercolors and light.

The final presentation was pretty involved for a 1st grader. First, EVERYTHING had to be typed. While the hubby and I wanted her to do most of the project on her own, we agreed that making her type everything would just take way too long so we helped her with that part. In addition to her tri-fold poster board she needed a typed report, an abstract and part of the judging included an oral presentation. She worked VERY hard and the hubby and I are so proud of her.

Woo hoo! Participation ribbon!!!

Before the science fair started the participants met with the judges and explained their project and answered any questions they had. This was the part that made Lo the most nervous. She practiced all week and by the end she could do the whole presentation without looking at her board. The best part was that SHE was so proud of herself.

After the judging everyone got to walk around and look at all the other projects. There were so many amazing projects and I learned a lot. All the kids worked so hard and they were all so eager to share their learning. Logan went around with her notepad and pen and took notes on all the projects she liked.

After the science fair they had had an awards ceremony. In addition to 1st, 2nd, 3rd and Honorable Mention they had other categories for each grade too. They gave out awards for Best Title, Math, Chemistry and Most Creative.

We are SO PROUD to announce that Lo won not one, but two awards!!! First she was given the Most Creative award (You know this crafty mama was beaming when they called her name for that one!). She was beyond excited. She had a huge ear-to-ear grin when she went up to accept her certificate!

She also was given the Honorable Mention Award. That means if any of the top 1st grade winners cannot attend the county science fair she will get to attend and present her project. Again, nothing but HUGE smiles from her.

She just kept saying, "I can't believe I did it! I did it Mommy!"

There's nothing better than your child feeling so good about their accomplishments.

To celebrate a job well done we all went out for Mexican food, Lo's most favorite.

....and all night, the smiles just kept on coming!

The Bank Of Murray

A few weeks ago I came across {THIS} blog post from Ducks In A Row about allowance. Instantly I knew it was an allowance system that could work for us. You may remember our "stick system" that we started with Logan awhile back. Initially it worked really well. Lo was motivated and regularly earned her sticks. Once the novelty wore off we were back to crazy mornings full of crying and crankiness. Since she rarely got her chores done she stopped earning money and once she stopped earning money she stopped caring. Clearly it wasn't working.

The new system is NOT about earning money, it's about managing your money. Nowadays it's hard to teach kids about money management because they rarely see it. So many of us use our debit cards to pay for things that kids can't grasp the value or even the concept of money. I feel like the hubby and I do a pretty good job talking to the girls about money and how, as a family, we have "needs" and "wants" and we have to make choices about how and what we spend our money on. I also want the girls to learn through their own experiences with having their own money. 

The biggest change from our "old" system is that the money is not earned. Each girl will still have chores they need to do, but both the hubby and I agree that those jobs come with being part of the family and the kids shouldn't be paid to keep their rooms clean, empty trashes or just help us around the house. Also, as Ducks In A Row pointed out, it's hard for kids to learn to save money when they are not earning it consistently. With the new system the girls will know how much they will earn each month and can calculate how long it will take them to save for a particular item that they want.

Each girl has their own "bank"

Each "bank" has a zippered pencil case to hold their money and their money register. Each girl gets $1 for each year. Lo gets $7 and Noa gets $5. We decided that the girls will put 10% of their allowance in savings, 10% in a joint "giving jar" and the remaining money will be theirs to spend. They also need to keep track of their money, writing down how much they put in their "bank" and how much they withdraw. If they want to buy anything they need to use their own money. It can be used for toys, candy, book orders at school or other "extras" that they may want. If they don't have enough money they cannot buy it. When they have saved enough for  a decent donation the girls will decide together who they would like it to go to. 

Both girls had money in their Bitty Jars so that became their balance. As you can see, Noa is our saver. Any money she gets she just puts away. Nana and Poppa sent the girls money for Valentine's Day and Noa was so excited to enter it into her bank! 

I'm hopeful that this a system that will not only work for us, but be something that we're good about keeping up. I like that it's simple and easy for the girls to follow. Not only are they learning about money management, but it helps with writing, spelling and math too. 

What kind of money management/teaching techniques do you use with your family? Shout 'em out, we're always in search of fresh ideas to keep us motivated!

Happy Wednesday!

Imy's Joy=My Joy

Our house is in a constant state of redecoration...I get bored looking at the same walls day after day. We've had a big blank way in our entry way for quite awhile now. It's right by a taller dresser so it needed something big for balance. As much as I don't like blank spaces I am a firm believer in waiting for the perfect piece. Inspiration will come...eventually. 

At the beginning of the month a great crafty destination opened in our town. Best of What's Around is crafty girls dream. It's full of repurposed, refurbished furniture, handmade clothes and tons of wall decorations and vintage knick-knacks. The best part? It's all LOCAL crafty gals and it's all handmade!!! My good friend Erin from Lois Pearl Designs has a wonderful corner of her goodies there (and you can even see my girls on the wall showing off their favorite Lois Pearl outfits). Seriously, it's an awesome place and if you're near Indy you need to check it out!!! You can find their address and hours {HERE}.

So back to my blank wall....I found a few quick, rare alone shopping minutes and stopped by Best of What's Around and I found the most perfect item for my big blank wall. The magnetic board in the picture is from Imy's Joy. When I saw it I KNEW I had to have it!!! It was the perfect color and size (it's hard to tell in the picture but it's 29"x 23") for the spot! I also love that it gives me some flexibility. I can change what I hang on it daily or hourly if that's what I feel like!

Imy's Joy also has tons of other items too, lots of signs with inspirational quotes on them and pretty things to hang on your wall. There was a super cute chalkboard menu planner for the wall that I really liked too. It would be perfect for our kitchen and would definitely cut down on the "MOM! What's for dinner??!?!" shouts I get every night.

What's your favorite handmade crafty designer? Do you have a place like BWA where you are? Shout em' out! We want to support them too!

Have a great Tuesday and thanks for checking in!!!

The Long Run Diaries - Week 8

...next week I'm totally trying horizontal running...

Week 8

15 miles

2:43:15

10:53 pace

Ahhhh week 8! First the weather was so much better than last weekend! It was in the 40s and the roads and sidewalks were clear. Not having to wear several layers of clothes made everything so much more enjoyable! I felt really strong this week, even after running my 15 miles. I had my usual oatmeal breakfast and ate my yummy Honey Stinger Waffle bars along the way and I'm happy to report that there were no belly issues. Luckily I had no problems with my water and was able to keep myself hydrated. My running partner Traci and I had decided that we were going to incorporate walking breaks into the actual race. Our feeling is that we'd rather take the first part of the race easier and feel stronger at the end rather than go out strong and hard and suffer at the end. No matter what, the last 8 or so miles are going to be challenging, we're just hoping that with walking breaks they will be manageable. We started them on our run this week. It was definitely helpful, both mentally and physically. They're not long breaks, but every few miles we'd walk, have a drink and eat our snacks if needed. I'm definitely sore today, but that's to be expected and I'm hoping to get in a little yoga today to stretch out a bit. I also thought I was getting another migraine last night, but I was able to calm it down with some Naproxen. I'm really hoping that it doesn't become a regular occurrence because the last thing I need is a weekly migraine that lasts 3 days!

This week has a slight taper-AWESOME!

Have a great Monday and thanks for checking in!