A No-Nagging Solution for Screen Time Sanity

May 6, 2014 in Linen Closet

Get the kids to finish their work before turning on the electronics with no nagging required? Count me in!


Yesterday when my kids walked in the door after school, they went straight to the TV. All 5 of them! No kisses for Mom. No telling me about their day. Not even a snack. Straight to the TV.

Please tell me I’m not the only one whose kids have days when they would rather watch a movie than download their day to Mom.

It’s not that we don’t have rules about screen time. They just choose to “forget” about them until I start nagging.

I hate nagging.

My expectations really aren’t a big mystery. The rules are the same every day. You finish your homework, jobs, and piano before you can turn on a screen. Simple.

Kids & Technology Toolkit

The only exception is when you need to use the computer for your homework. Hey, I’m not completely unreasonable.

I don’t think I’m asking too much.

  • Homework includes whatever the teacher assigned that day and reading for 20 minutes.
  • Jobs include 1 kitchen job (like unloading the dishwasher or sweeping the kitchen floor), 1 daily job (like taking out the trash or cleaning a bathroom), and straightening their bedrooms (just a quick pick things up and put them away so it doesn’t get out of control).
  • Piano practice is playing each song in their lesson assignment 3 times.

 

If they drag their feet and complain about it for awhile, it still takes less than an hour to get it all done – on the harder job days.

But it still doesn’t get done. Grrrr.

Have I mentioned that I really, really hate nagging?

So in an effort to avoid the nagging and still get what I want – and ultimately what is best for our family – I made this handy little sign.

Get the kids to finish their work before turning on the electronics with no nagging required? Count me in!

 

It hangs next to the TV and the computer. Now all my little screen-addicted children need to do is ask themselves those 7 questions before they turn on those electronics and everyone is happy!

Well, mostly me. But some day they will thank me.

I’m sure of it.

Do you need to stop the screen time nagging, too? Just click on this link or the image above to get to the full printable version of my screen-time sign.

Do you have screen-time rules?

April Visiting Teaching Printable

April 29, 2014 in Family Room

If you are having a crazy April like me, and you just realized it’s your last chance to get your visiting teaching done for the month… you are going to LOVE how easy I’m making it for you to be a ROCKSTAR visiting teacher!

April Visiting Teaching printables


This sweet little handout comes from this month’s message. You can either print this front and back like I did OR choose one page or the other. Cut it out, punch a hole in the corner, and attach it to a treat.

Voila! Instant visiting teaching!

April Visiting Teaching printable


Personally, I didn’t even make appointments – just showed up at their doors and handed them chocolate. Can we all admit we LOVE that kind of visit every once in awhile? I even raided my stash of mini Cadbury eggs. That stash has to last me until next year! But I pulled out a bag for my sisters.

That is sacrifice.

But seriously, the month ends tomorrow. It’s not like they’re going to think I’m going above and beyond the call of duty…

Let’s all try to do better in May. Mm-kay?

April Visiting Teaching printable


Click on the previews for each download page. I printed the scripture and definition on one side and the quote without the border on the other side. Without the border it didn’t have to match up exactly and it would still look good.

April Visiting Teaching printable April Visiting Teaching printableApril Visiting Teaching printable

Honestly, what is your favorite kind of visit from your visiting teachers?

 

Meal Planning Made Easy

March 14, 2014 in Kitchen, Linen Closet

printables-weekIt’s the final day of Free Printables Week! We will definitely have to do this again because I LOVE printables. Sweet little love notes and cute signs and tags are definitely on my list of faves.

Eating is another one. Definitely a fave.

I really love to cook, but even something you love can get tedious when it’s every day. every day. every day. many times every day. For some reason my family keeps expecting to find food on the table day after day. The nerve.

Meal planning will be so much easier with this #printable menu planner and grocery list. I won't have to run to the store every night.



I think the hardest part of cooking for a family is deciding what to make every night. You want it to be healthy, something people will eat, not the same thing you just ate a few days ago, simple and quick to prepare….

My grandma solved the problem by having a weekly menu that never changed. Monday was chicken casserole. Tuesday was bean night. Wednesday was tacos. She didn’t mind cooking for her family of 10, but she didn’t want to have to figure out what to serve. So she assigned a meal to a day and served the same thing every week for years and years. My dad loved it and wished my mom would do the same thing. I’m glad she didn’t.

One time I decided I would simplify my life by making a 2-month menu. I printed out 2 blank month calendars and filled them full of dinner plans, leaving a few blank days for trying a new recipe or being lazy eating leftovers. I got all the way through two tasty months, but when it was time to start back at the beginning of my fabulous menu, I just couldn’t do it. Even after 2 months I felt like we had just eaten those meals and needed to try something new.

You just have to find a solution that works for you, right? Well, here’s what works for me.

Meal planning will be so much easier with this #printable menu planner and grocery list. I won't have to run to the store every night.



Instead of repeating the same menu, I deal with menu planning by making it one of my weekly chores. Every Monday I plan our meals for the week, and every Tuesday I do the grocery shopping. I hang the menu on our family whiteboard so the family has an idea what to expect – although I admit it we don’t always stick to the plan – at least they have a clue as to what they can expect to see on the table.

I print these out every week, so they don’t have a lot of colors or extra frills. They’re just basic and straightforward. First, the menu planner.

Meal planning will be so much easier with this #printable menu planner and grocery list. I won't have to run to the store every night.Simple, eh? I write in the dates at the top and down the side under the days of the week. And then it’s time to go to town. I gather cookbooks and and click around on Pinterest and my favorite blogs to fill in the meals.


I confess, quite a few of those boxes are filled with “self serve” – especially on the weekends. At least they know to expect to fend for themselves, right?

Sometimes we have theme nights or try to plan our meals around a holiday. One summer we assigned a land of Disneyland to each week and ate meals we might find there. It was our “we can’t go to Disneyland this summer and we’re having Disney withdrawals” summer. Some weeks we eat a lot of scrambled eggs and grilled cheese sandwiches, but we almost always manage to get dinner on the table.

I’m old school, so I print it out and fill it in with pencil – always with pencil because I move things around a lot before the final version is complete. I always make sure to make a note of where the recipe came from so I know where to find it when it’s time to cook.

While I have the recipes in front of me, I pull out the grocery list page and fill it in as I go.

Meal planning will be so much easier with this #printable menu planner and grocery list. I won't have to run to the store every night.

The unmarked section is for another store I need to visit that week. Lately that means Costco. We keep a running list on the board where everyone is supposed to write down what we’re out of when they used the last of it, so I pull list out to finish up the grocery list,and then I’m ready to shop.

When I first started meal planning, I would just plan dinners. I bought food for breakfast and lunch, but it wasn’t planned and we ended up buying more than we needed and wasting food. When I decided to add breakfast, lunch, and after-school snacks to the weekly menu, I thought we would spend more money. I was planning more meals, after all. But I was surprised – and happy – when we actually spent LESS. When I planned all of our meals and shopped with a list, I ended up only buying what we actually needed that week, which ended up saving us money. We waste a lot less food now, too!

I still have to cook every day – until my family decides they’re okay not eating for awhile – but it makes my life easier when I only have to spend one day coming up with the fabulous ideas of what to feed them. You can get your own menu planner and grocery list when you click on the images to get to the download page. Or here • menu plannergrocery list.

How do you handle meal planning at your house?

{Incredible Kid Day} Love Notes

March 13, 2014 in Mailbox

I don’t know how kindergarten teachers do it. I had 7 kindergarten girls at my house for less than 2 hours today, and I wasn’t quite sure I would make it.

My baby girl turned 6 today and had a party with her adorable school friends. They yelled every single word they said, asked the same questions over and over again without listening for an answer, and absolutely made Chuck’s day.

After the last girl went home, I sat down with Steve, laid my head on his shoulder… and woke up an hour later.

So I’m a bit worn out, but it was a great day with some incredible kids.

Speaking of incredible kids, this Saturday, March 15, is Incredible Kid Day! What kid doesn’t love to be told how incredible they are???So many fun free printables for families - lots of love ntoes for kids, visiting teaching handout, and more!

So to continue on with Free Printable Week, I gathered some of my favorite “You’re an incredible kid!” love notes.

I love to leave notes and treats for my little kidlets – on their pillows or hidden around their rooms. Although I have to be careful not to hide them too well or they might get mixed in with the mess. A few years ago, I bought little Valentine’s mailboxes on clearance after V-day, and each of the girls has one of those in her room so we can leave each other fun notes and sweet treats.

Basically this is a little lesson in how to turn this stuff:

What a fun and simple way to make my kids' day! Love these free #printable notes.

 into huge smiles and happy kids in three easy steps.

  1. Download and print this file.
  2. Cut out tags and attach to stuff.
  3. Give to kids and watch their faces light up.

Simple! Here’s what the whole class looks like together, all 9 of them.

What a fun and simple way to make my kids' day! Love these free #printable notes.

And we did a few group shots, too, so you can get a better look. I was going to explain them in great detail, but really, how much detail could there be? They’re just simple and fun.

What a fun and simple way to make my kids' day! Love these free #printable notes.

“Have a fun day!” attached to a Fun Dip – because what could be more fun than a bag of flavored sugar?

“You are one smart cookie” is attached to Smarties, but cookies would be good, too!

I love these Despicable Me fruit snacks, or you could attach “You’re One In a Minion!” to a minion Twinkie. Did you know the minions weren’t even in the first version of the Despicable Me script? Whoever added those little dudes in should get a raise.

What a fun and simple way to make my kids' day! Love these free #printable notes.

My girls love socks, so what better way to wish them luck than with a cute new pair of socks with a “Put your best foot forward. Good luck today!” note attached? Perfect for test day or audition day or any other day they’re nervous about.

Have you tried Extra Dessert Delights gum? We kinda got hooked and have a huge stash of every flavor we can find. They are so good! And perfect for when you want something sweet without all the calories. They’re also perfect for attaching a “You are Extra special to me!” note for your incredible kids.

What a fun and simple way to make my kids' day! Love these free #printable notes.

I love turning m&m’s into “mom” with a little sticker and a pen. It’s a fun way to sign any note, but especially an “I love you more & more every day!” note.

Fruit by the Foot is really long, right? So it’s perfect to give with this note to illustrate just how serious you are about how HUGE your LOVE is! “I love you <— ♥ —> this much!”

My little Babs definitely inherited the Irish temper from my side of the family. It especially fires up when she’s having a hard time in math. So I made her this little note to remember to relax when she’s in a crunch. “If you get in a crunch today, take a deep breath, relax, and remember I love you!” I’m sure the chocolate will help the day go better, too!

What a fun and simple way to make my kids' day! Love these free #printable notes.

 I don’t know what it is about these Kool-Aid Bursts, but they’re just so much fun! And a great way to say “You are one kool kid!” My kool kid thought the Kool-Aid Man included on this note was hilarious, but I didn’t include it in the final version. I was impressed they even knew who he was! Oh yeah…

You can click on any of the photos or —> right here <— to get to the download page and give these fun notes to your incredible kid. It will make their day!!!

What a fun and simple way to make my kids' day! Love these free #printable notes.

What makes your kid incredible?

St. Patrick’s Day {free} Printables

March 11, 2014 in Mailbox

My dad’s family is Irish – and I have the fiery temper to prove it! The story of my first ancestor who came from Ireland to America is full of action and adventure: fight scenes, robbery, murder, near-death experiences, cowboys and Indians, and the wild, wild west. He definitely didn’t have it easy. I would love to meet the man who went through so much to make a better life for my family. I just wouldn’t want to make him mad…

With our Irish heritage, we love St. Patrick’s Day. I love any excuse to give fun treats and sweet notes to family and friends, and this holiday is no exception. It is the perfect time for some extra cute love notes attached to super sweet treats.

These cute notes are perfect for St. Patty's Day treats for friends, teachers, kids, and anyone else!

Day 2 of Free Printables Week features these fabulous St. Patrick’s Day tags. My incredibly talented friend, Carrie, at My Recipe Confessions asked me to put together some fun tags to go with her amazing Pots of Gold. Naturally I jumped at the chance to work with her on something so fun!

These tags are so simple to use. Here’s what I did in 4 simple steps:

  1. Print them out on white cardstock.
  2. Punch out the circles with a 2 1/2-inch circle punch.
  3. Punch a 3 1/2-inch scalloped circle out of colored cardstock for each tag.
  4. Attach the tag to the colored paper.

So easy – and so cute!

These cute notes are perfect for St. Patty's Day treats for friends, teachers, kids, and anyone else!

You could leave them just like this and place them around for your family to find (like on a pillow or mirror). Or you could step it up a notch and add some goodies! Maybe punch some holes and tie the tags to your treats.

You can find the perfect Pot of Gold treats and Rainbow Sugar Cookies to give with these tags at My Recipe Confessions, so be sure to visit Carrie and check out her adorable crafts and incredible recipes.

To download these tags, simply click on the photos below to get to the download page. There are 12 different tags in all. The first two sheets have one of each tag like a sampler. The rest of the pages are single sheets with multiple copies of the same tag. If you are looking for a note for a group, class, or big family, these are perfect for you! There are 8 tags on each of those sheets.

You can find these on the Printables page, too.

These cute notes are perfect for St. Patty's Day treats for friends, teachers, kids, and anyone else!

These cute notes are perfect for St. Patty's Day treats for friends, teachers, kids, and anyone else!

These cute notes are perfect for St. Patty's Day treats for friends, teachers, kids, and anyone else! These cute notes are perfect for St. Patty's Day treats for friends, teachers, kids, and anyone else!These cute notes are perfect for St. Patty's Day treats for friends, teachers, kids, and anyone else!These cute notes are perfect for St. Patty's Day treats for friends, teachers, kids, and anyone else!These cute notes are perfect for St. Patty's Day treats for friends, teachers, kids, and anyone else!These cute notes are perfect for St. Patty's Day treats for friends, teachers, kids, and anyone else!These cute notes are perfect for St. Patty's Day treats for friends, teachers, kids, and anyone else!These cute notes are perfect for St. Patty's Day treats for friends, teachers, kids, and anyone else!These cute notes are perfect for St. Patty's Day treats for friends, teachers, kids, and anyone else!These cute notes are perfect for St. Patty's Day treats for friends, teachers, kids, and anyone else!These cute notes are perfect for St. Patty's Day treats for friends, teachers, kids, and anyone else!These cute notes are perfect for St. Patty's Day treats for friends, teachers, kids, and anyone else!

How do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

Did you catch day 1 of Free Printables Week?

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