apple & onion moments...

At my most recent MOPS meeting they had an AWESOME speaker talk about forms of parenting. Trust me I am NOT doing her talk justice but one part really struck a chord with me, well actually two parts. She mentioned how in her house they teach forgiveness. I thought we did too but something she has her kids do made me rethink what I should teach our tribe. When someone does something "bad" I have them sit in the time out chair to think about their actions & then I have them apologize to the party that was wronged but what I have not done was to have the wronged party say "I forgive you". I never realized how important that was until she spoke about it yesterday. WOW was that an "AHA moment" for me! The 2nd part of her talk was connection we need to have with our children. Having that 15 minutes together as a family whether it be at breakfast or dinner. How we need to communicate with each other about the good & bad moments from each day also known as the "Apple & Onion Moments". This was not the first t ime I had heard about this but today it really hit home with me. Now we almost always eat together so that was not new to me but asking about their good & bad moments was. I would always ask about their good moments & never thought to ask about what they did NOT like. How that played an important role in their day. I was not quite sure the tribe would understand what that meant but boy did they surprise me! I asked each of them what they enjoyed about their day & what they did not like at all. It was amazing to see what things they came up with. Cam told me that her "Apple" moment was going to speech & "Onion" moment was not being able to go to the park with her siblings. {We go to the park when she attends speech}. Bren said he liked the ducks at the park & did not like being up in the TALL tree. {He actually let me put him up on one of the branches!}. Aave liked going to the park but did NOT like the brown duck. {It was this weird duck that bounced his neck up & down as he/she walked}. Linz loved going by Daddy's work for a visit & did NOT like that TALL tree.{After looking at the tree she did not even attempt to climb it!}. This is something I am going to do every evening at dinner time. To make things more interesting I  am going to go out & get some props to use for these...

Picture taken from http://www.giftsforeducators.com

picture taken from http://www.gourmac.com

apple & onion moments...

when we were little...

Lately the tribe has been enthralled with watching OLD family videos. Anything older than today is OLD to them! LOL! Luckily I figured out how to play what I have on our video camera PLUS I have found a few on DVD so we are not watching the same video OVER & OVER again! Trust me, I love my family but there is only so much of my niece's highschool graduation I can take! =] *** If anyone out there has any video of my Dad that they could send us we'd be very much appreciative! We do not have any of him for the tribe to watch! =[ *** Here's to watching OLD videos of...

when we were little...

I am why we can't have nice things...

I have always saved my $ for the GOOD stuff. I just would much rather have something nice than something "not so nice" so I would shop around & save my $! Just after I started my current job I wanted to splurge on a new TV so I saved & saved for a 27 inch TV to keep in my room. At the time a 27 inch TV was a BIG deal. {Boy am I aging myself! LOL!} When buying an entertainment armoire for my first place I searched & searched till I found just the right one that fortunately was marked down a bunch which saved me a TON! =] When it comes to CHRISTmas I actually start buying gifts now! hahah! Anyhow, saving is how I & pretty much everyone is able to afford ANYTHING! Fast forward to today, to our family of seven. Money is EXTREMELY tight & trust me we are NOT getting anything new anytime soon. I would never change our life however boy do I get a tear in my eye for when I had less obligations! Oh to reminisce about the past! Ah... So you can imagine how much I appreciated opening up the tribes 4th birthday present from their Uncle Rick. He found these really cool T-Shirts for each of them that fittingly say...

I am why we can't have nice things...

your four year olds purse...

Having three girls can be quite entertaining at times. Yes there's a TON of DRAMA but they also give us quite a few giggles on a daily basis! Each has their own personality of course. There's Camryn who is NOT afraid of anything or anyone. She is our social butterfly who loves to "mother" EVERYONE! She likes role playing & will not only be the mom but the baby too. She will try to "help" me but in the end causes me more work. =[ Sometimes she does what I am thinking but most times not. Avery is our own personal DIVA. She LOVES LOVES LOVES to dress up, play "Mommy" & almost ALWAYS has a purse on her arm! When we go out to dinner she has to bring her purse in with us & even takes it with her to the bathroom. I think she carries a purse more than me! Like I said she is our little DIVA! LOL!

Then there's Lindsey, she is Mommy's little helper. She does not hesitate to get her hands dirty with an job I have for her. She will even volunteer to do stuff! She has done the laundry, scrubbed a few pots and even makes our bed! She too likes dress up & has been known to carry a purse around the house. Just like her twin she puts practically ANYTHING in her purse. So you ask what might anything be? There was a hankerchief for the occasional runny nose {Grandpa would be SO proud since he ALWAYS carried one!}, an ear scope just in case they stuck something in there! =], Brendan's toy race car, a pink bracelet because it's "girly", a pet dragon "just because" & last but not least a rubber snake! Yes, a rubber snake! {Gotta have one of those to scare Grandma! =]} So what can you find in...

your four year old's purse...