A Yes Day!

Today was a Yes Day! Emma didn't have school because they were holding conferences. So we pulled out our yes can and did things we don't normally get to do every day. I got the idea from Family Fun. Every time the mother would say no to a certain activity or request, this certain family would write it down and put it in a jar. Then on a designated day, they would pull things out and try to do as many as they could. Emma caught on to the idea right away...asking to do all sorts of stuff just so I would say no and then we could put it in our can (we used a paint can instead of a jar).

Our Yes Day activities included making cookies and eating crackers (Paul put that one in and he was sure excited to eat his saltines). Emma made a tent in the front room and then they watched a movie with popcorn. I bought some fruit before dinner so we could have a fruit salad. Yes, make a fruit salad was actually in the can. We didn't get to go hiking (we were going to walk around the backyard with backpacks on) or have ice cream sundaes. We postponed camping out in the living room until Friday when the weekend is here. Not everything works when we pull it out and the kids know that I have the right to veto doing certain things for whatever good parental reason I can come up with. We just try to do as many as we can during the day so it seems like they get told yes for once instead of no all the time. I don't have a set day that is always Yes day...I just pick one every so often when we're home, usually on a Saturday.

Binder Stickers

When Emma started the school year, we sent her with just a plain white binder. That's what I had on hand and I knew I could save by just giving her the one I already had. Then I took her to school and felt a little silly because all the other binders had characters on them - Tinkerbell, Disney Princesses, Hello Kitty, etc. They looked so fun and I knew that Emma would have liked one like that. What can you do though?

The other day Emma, in her ever searching need for projects and activities to keep her busy, wanted a box to decorate. Long story short, she got it decorated so that it could be our mailbox. She would draw me pictures after school and put them in the mailbox, and I could draw her pictures during the day for her to check when she got home.

In an effort to play along, I came up with this kit of binder stickers. I knew that she had this plain white binder, mind you she hasn't complained, but I thought it would be fun to spruce it up. So I cut some vinyl and helped her discover her mail without actually telling her to look in the box. She was so excited and a little incredulous when she saw the vinyl., but she knew just what to do. She got to work immediately.

Paul has been leaving me lots of mail too. I've been thinking of getting him a plain white binder...

Washing Our Hands

Here comes another reminder. My little ones need to be reminded to wash their hands after using the bathroom. I hereby launch Operation Hand Wash.


And while we're at it...Operation Flush as well!


My little secret to preserving these tags made of paper? I slip them down in a sheet saver and then trim off the three holes, leaving the stitching to keep the pocket in tact. I trim off the excess at the top, starting just a little bit above my tag. Voila!

Reminders

Ok...I'm done customizing. Here's my post.

Lately, I have really noticed how hard it is for me to remember what it is I'm doing throughout the day. I make breakfast for the kids and then I remember that I need to send an e-mail. To the computer room I go. On the way, I pick up the piles of yesterday's discarded clothes and head back the way I came to the laundry room. I put the clothes in their appropriate baskets and then I start a load of laundry...I might even stay to fold a little. And then, it hits me, I didn't send that e-mail. Back to the computer room I go. When I get there, I remember that I needed to cut some vinyl for a set of blocks, and..."Oh yeah! I need to cut that vinyl for xxxx. They need it right away." So I cut the vinyl and take it to the kitchen table to weed and tape. Then I see the dishes from breakfast and start to load the dishwasher. As I'm placing the dishes in the rack, I remember that I need to send an e-mail...

I know some of you may be laughing. I hope that a few of you have felt like this and I'm not the only one. It seems that lately this is how I spend my day, going back and forth from one end of my house to the other. It's a wonder I get anything done, I know! In an effort to help me remember things, I've made some little tags.

The first is for the Laundry Room. I hate it when I dry clothing that I want to hang dry. Absolutely hate it. Good shirts have been ruined because I have forgotten to take them out of the load as I transferred the clothes to the dryer. Or someone else will come along and change the clothes over, thinking to help me out, and unintentionally dry my non-dry-able shirt.

My solution: A magnetic tag for my washer. I store the tag on the side of the washer and whenever I start a load with non-dry-able articles included, I place the tag on the top of the washer. That way whoever changes the laundry, mostly me, will remember not to dry all the clothes in that load. Cool, I know!


Next, forgetting to brush teeth (I know you're thinking "who forgets to brush their teeth?) Well, I have the hardest time remembering to brush my kids' teeth in the morning, aside from Emma who goes to school. It's probably because I get started in this back and forth game I play all day and brushing teeth is something I start, but never finish.

My solution: A tag for the bathroom door. This way I will have a visible reminder to brush their teeth. And, they have a visible reminder to remind me. I showed them the sign tonight before they went to bed. Claire even read it back to me. :)


I know that I really need to reduce the rush in my life as President Uchtdorf talked about in conference (look for that on a tag or in vinyl soon hehe!). And...I need to make some visible reminders.

I can't wait to go to bed and wake up to my reminders.

A photo a day for a year

Happy New Year! I can say that I was up to welcome in the new year, but I was in bed reading. When I finally looked at the clock it was 1:00 am. Jason gets off at 3:00 am so I decided to just shoot through the next two hours and welcome him home as well. He just laughed at me when he saw that I was still awake. The book I was reading you want to know? Forest Born by Shannon Hale (fourth in the series, very good).

Last year, I can say that because it's January 1st :), I came across this blog with a really cute idea for journal-ing the year with photos. (Now I can't seem to find the blog to give the person credit, but I am looking.) The idea was to take a photo each day and write just a short caption. Not a lot of work, but the end result is 365 pictures (or more) from the past year. I thought that would be so fun. This year we're going to try it. It might be a big undertaking, but we'll see.

White Christmas: We did not get a white Christmas, but a white Christmas break. Emma and Paul love to stay out and play in the snow for hours. I think that is partly due to their snow pants. Benjamin and Claire get too cold and they come in quickly after going out. And chances are, if you send your kids out to play in the snow they're going to want hot chocolate when they come back in.

Letters from Mom: I started this last year for the kids. I want to write a letter each year to each of my children telling them the fun things they learned and how they grew and how much we love them. I will keep them until they're 18 years old or so and then they'll have a bundle of letters to read when they graduate. Then hopefully I won't hear so much from my kids that I can't remember the little things they did when they were little. My mom is always saying that she can't remember what we did when we were little. I know January has dawned, but I'll get them done and sealed up here before January takes off and 2010 with it.
New Year's Resolutions: This year I want to really follow through with my New Year's Resolutions. One that I'm really excited about is to Keep Christmas all year long. My inspiration comes from the warmth and glow I felt this past Christmas, the desire to have that feeling continue, and this statement by Charles Dickens, I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year. I am excited for this. During Christmas we're more prone to be forgiving, caring, serving, and loving. I want to remember to be that way all year. I also want to look for random ways to spread cheer and brighten people's lives all year. January 1st has arrived, let's get started.

Paul opening his Lightning McQueen car. He knew what it was beforehand because it makes noise.

A Celebration

We had a dinner in honor of all the grandkids on my side. (I swear it's something that Sherri Dew spoke about in a meeting when I was present. Only I can't remember the particulars for sure. Anyway, that is where I got the idea.) We held it at my mom's in the basement. I wanted it to be a nice dinner where we celebrate who they really are and give them yet another opportunity to remember. I came up with the theme DIVINE: you are children of the most high back in October and we just waited until after all the holidays to have it in January. Well, coincidentally, or not, the sharing time in the Friend used a scripture - Psalms 82:6 - "all of you are children of the most high."

My sister-in-law made these really nice invitations and sent them out to all the kids so they were personally invited. They wore their church clothes and I gave them just a little message before we began about who they are and how they should act. It was really quick because they were excited to get on to the meal. My mom and Cherice made french toast - the kids' absolute favorite - and then we had ice cream with toppings for dessert. Their place cards had their full names on them with the meanings. They really liked reading those and sharing them all around. We decorated with lamps, greenery, and white Christmas lights. The mood was really nice and peaceful.

This is what the kids saw as they went down the stairs. I wanted them to see a picture of themselves that night, but it will also stay up all year. Every time they go downstairs to play they'll see this and be reminded again how special we think they are. And of course, we just had to use vinyl.

Here's the banquet table,
set for the royal feast.

Emma kept calling it a prince and princess dinner.

The honorable guests

I hope to make this a tradition at the beginning of each year to start it off right.