No, Minnie Mouse Doesn't Live Here

But two tweenagers do! And they love to paint their nails just like Minnie Mouse!

I just love having girls. I'm sure if I had boys I'd say that I love having boys. But, I don't have boys. I have girls. It's cool.

Here's a few things I love about my girls:

My Girls are really silly. Almost always. I like that.

My Girls like to shop. Sometimes. I like that.

My Girls like to cook. Sometimes. I like that too.

My Girls like to talk. Sometimes. I like that.

My Girls like to have their nails done. Sometimes. I like that... sometimes.

My Girls share their emotional side. ALWAYS... I SOMETIMES like that!!!

Yes, having girls is a good thing.

Hard Life Lessons ~ To Everything There is a Purpose

“Mom, why do people take what isn’t theirs?!”, my daughter, who was hurt and feeling disbelief at being robbed, begged me to explain. She continued, “I worked hard to get that phone, and now someone has taken it away. I don’t understand why someone thinks they have to right to steal my stuff!”

Last Monday evening, during both my daughters’ volleyball game, one of their cell phones was stolen. For both my daughters, this was their first experience with the theft and the blatant dishonesty of others. How could I give a good answer to her questions that would make sense out of it all? How could I help her understand that we live in a world that doesn’t always respect the hard work of others? How could I explain that a segment of society believes, “If I want it, I’ll just take it”? And how could I settle my own gnawing disappointment in knowing that bit-by-bit, my daughters’ innocence is being chipped away?

My husband and I had our girls wait until the ripe old age of 12 before they were given the privilege of having the luxury of owning cell phones. They each saved their birthday money and hard-earned report card earnings until they had enough savings to purchase the phones they’d been planning and waiting patiently for. We agreed to purchase the monthly service as their reward for earning awesome grades (all A’s!) and having great behavior. The phones were definitely earned by both hard-working girls!

Work. As parents, we have modeled the value of work, and they have seen us work for what we have. They know that to have something means to work and earn it.

Yes, they earned the phones. Now someone else has robbed them of their earnings, and we feel violated. Yes, the phone is just a material thing, just a belonging. But, it’s OUR material thing, OUR belonging.

We’ve already replaced the phone with another. Unfortunately, the “new” phone isn’t really new. It’s one of our old phones and not the nice touch-screen that she worked so hard to buy. Our daughter has accepted the circumstance, and is moving on, but the sting is still there.

I feel saddened that my daughters experienced this crime. (Yes, it is a crime.) But, since I believe that God has a purpose in everything, I’m grateful for the unfortunate lesson they learned, but saddened to be reminded that we live in a world where these types of lessons are necessary.

My girls learned that in this world, there are those who work and those who take. They learned that material belongings are temporary. They learned that they will have to be wary as they go through life, for while there are many who are good; there are many who are not good.

Finally, they learned what it feels like to be victimized. Fortunately, this knowledge will lead them to have compassion for others who are also dealt with the negative circumstance of being victimized in some way.

It is true that character and virtue are developed through trials. It is true that to everything there is a purpose. And as hard as it is sometimes, we give thanks for everything.

MIRACLES HAPPEN EVERY DAY

We just had a birthday celebration in our home... My babies are now 12-year old tweenagers.

Yesterday they were only 1. I blinked and suddently my girls are on the verge of their teenage years. Suddenly they aren't toddlers and they are tweens who still want Mom and Dad to tuck them in bed each night and say night time prayers together, but don't want to be seen kissing Mom when being dropped off at school in the morning.

Looking back, I can remember when we thought we'd never have one child. Then I remember finding out we were having twins and thinking that we'd never have a successful pregnancy. Then they were born at 27 weeks. We were afraid for them. We prayed, and prayed, and prayed. Then we prayed some more.

I remember seeing those teeny weeny little girl babies who weighed less than 2 pounds each. We thought they'd never fit into those gigantic premie clothes, much less those enormous premie diapers. Funny how it is that our perception is totally based on where we are standing at the time!

After 2 months, we brought our daughters home from the hospital, wearing the premie clothes that finally fit. We quit thinking they'd never do this or that. Our prayers transformed to prayers of joy and thanksgiving. We were so at peace and so happy to have them home. Nothing else mattered...

Blink.

Now they're 12. They're smart. They're socially engaging. They're physically able and good at sports. They're beautiful. We still pray to give thanks. We also pray for their happiness, well being, and their future.

They are awesome.

They are true miracles.

Thank you, Lord.

KEEPING KIDS ORGANIZED

Okay the title of this post just makes me giggle for two reasons. First of all, we all know that kids are like puppies and kittens. They can never truly be tamed and organized. Second, I am not the queen of organization... I'm just your average working mom, trying to stay on top of daily chaos and clutter.

Keeping kids organized can be a huge struggle, especially when both parents work full time! There are a few things you can do to keep your busy kids organized. The truth is, you'll probably always be behind the 8-ball if they are involved in a variety of activities, and no system is fail-proof, but at least you can say you tried!

Here's what we do at our house. (Okay - we intend on doing this, we try to do this, for the most part we do this... and sometimes we're just flying by the seat of our pants!!)

* Assignment books must come out of the backpack first thing when we get home. Homework comes next. This is when I sign papers, etc.

* Soccer items stay in a soccer bag, cheerleading items in the cheer bag, etc. Just grab a bag and go.

* Children can write events on a family calendar and younger kids can give you papers with important dates. My kids know that if it doesn't go on the calendar, it doesn't exist. It's their job to make sure it gets to the calendar.

* Do it all the night before: pack a lunch (mine pack their own lunch), get the backpack ready and set by the door, choose clothes and accessories (from head to toes!).

* I keep a binder for all the important papers that come into the house. When I file papers right away, then I'm be able to my your hands on it quickly when I need to! Of course, as much as I try, the paper monster occassionally rears its ugly head!

* Clothes must go INTO the dirty clothes hamper in order to make it into the washing machine. Favorite jeans and tops can stay on the floor forever, as far as I'm concerned, but they cannot be worn if they're dirty. Amazingly, the favorite jeans end up in the hamper, just as I've asked.

Finally to make your own organizational system work, just stick to the basics:

1) Develop a routine, and stick to a it as much as possible.
2) Have a place for everything. Everything goes in its place, or it goes in the trash.

We parents have to stay on top of this and give our little disorganized mushy-brained kids a zillion nudges a day. By keeping some sort of organization system we can prevent a little frustration for everyone!

Hello Again!

Well, hello old friends!! I'm sorry I haven't posted in such a loooonnnnggg time, but this busy life of working mom to two tweenagers just has seemed to leave me no extra time! I thank the good Lord for my menu... It has SAVED me over the past 2 months!

What has captured so much of my time lately, you ask? I have been driving and driving and driving. I have waited at soccer fields and church parking lots. The calendar is BURSTING, life is GOOD, and here is the Fall line-up:

* FFA - Goats arrived in late August. Our girls, the Tweenkies (okay - they are twins and they are tweens. I'm being clever and corny and dorky all at once!), work with their animals daily and they have already participated in their first all-day prospect show of the year. Tweenkie #1 came in 4th place, and Tweenkie #2 came in 3rd place. I'll post pictures of Spotneck and Buddy soon!

* Soccer - WOW! All our games are at 8:00 a.m. on Saturdays. Practices are on Mondays and Thursdays. Those games, though, are WAY too early!!! I need a nap!

* Pep Squad - The Tweenkies are having so much with Wednesday afternoon practices and Thursday football games. They get to ride the bus to out of town games and cheer at the games, and the fact that they have grown old enough to do this just takes my breath away. Where has the time gone?? ((Sigh))

* CCD - The CCD year is off to a running start and Tweenkies have lessons every Wednesday night.

* Youth Group - My friend, Red, and I have started a Junior High Youth Group at our church. We had a blast at our first meeting! The group named their group the "J'Town Saints". They are too cute!

This crazy life is so awesome! I wouldn't trade it for the world. It is a blessing to be able to share all the excitement and thrills that my girls are experiencing as they grow up.

So what about that Make-a-Menu stuff, you ask? Well, I'm still at it, and what a life saver (AND A MONEY SAVER!!!) it has been!!!

Here's the line-up for this week:

BREAKFASTS:
Sunday - Pan sausage & scrambled egg breakfast tacos, juice & milk
Monday - Peanut butter on toast, chocolate milk
Tuesday - Cinnamon Oatmeal with apple chunks, milk
Wednesday - Bean & cheese tacos, milk
Thursday - Scrambled eggs & toast, milk
Friday - Peanut butter on toast, chocolate milk
Saturday - Fried eggs, bacon, fruit, biscuits, milk

KIDS' LUNCHES:
Monday - Left over pizza, yogurt, apples
Tuesday - Deli Ham Sandwiches, brownies, carrot sticks, chips
Wednesday - Peanut Butter & Honey sandwiches, apples, brownies
Thursday - Mac 'n cheese with sliced franks, pudding cups, sliced cucumbers
Friday - Deli Ham Sandwiches, snickerdoodle cookies, carrot sticks, chips

SUPPERS:
Sunday - Savory stroganoff-style beef stew over steamed wild rice mix, peas, asparagus, rolls, Grandma's cheesecake
Monday - Beans with bacon and cheese topping, cornbread, fruit cup
Tuesday - Pancakes, sausage, applesauce, scrambled eggs
Wednesday - Crockpot roast chicken, homemade mac 'n cheese, garden salad, garlic toast
Thursday - Family Fridge Buffet! (aka, leftover night)
Friday - Chalupas, fruit cup
Saturday - Kids go to Nana's, Mom and Dad go on a date!!!

Now that I've got my blogger hat back on, I promise more Make-A-Menu lessons real soon! We'll be entering the world of using the FREEZER for our menu planning. Stay tuned!!!

TIME WELL SPENT - Making time for each of my daughters...

I love planning a little one-on-one time with each of my twin daughters. Now that they are in their tween years, I can sense when one or the other is feeling a little removed, a little moody, or a little bit of a "pair" and not occupying a special place in our family all of her own. This is when I like to plan a special project for us to work on together, just the two of us.

Well, Sam and I have spent some great quality time together lately, but it seems that Miss has been doing her own thing. I could feel the need for us to connect. Since both the girls adore any kind of craft making, I thought a good craft session is what was in order.

So off to the local Wal Mart went Miss and I to hang out at the fabric department and look at the pattern books. The plan was for her to pick out something that she could start the new school year with. I really thought she'd find a cute top to make...

Instead she chose this messenger bag.

And here's the fabric we picked up, along with finds from my stash: buttons, ribbon trim and an American flag patch. This fabric is sooo her personality! She's all spunk!

We still need to pick up red trim to bind the edges, and we'll go to the fabric store in San Antonio to purchase it this week since we'll be there for art classes anyway. I really wish that we had a fabric store in our small town, and I really wish that I was brave enough and had the money to open one myself, but that's for another post!

While we're at the fabric store, Sam will pick out her fabric too. She's so excited about making a messenger bag as well and has some awsome ideas about what will make a really cool bag for her books. She has been busy picking out buttons and looking at color combinations. She's really a very creative designer!

Both of my girls have already learned to do some basic hand sewing and machine sewing. Now it's time to learn how to use a pattern. I can't wait to work with them individually and spend some special mom-and-daughter time together before we get back into the busy routines of school and fall activities. (Seems like that's just 'round the corner!)