Make Over Your Mornings.

Let me start by saying that I loved this course!

At the end of June, I was talking with my friend Tracey about how I just couldn't seem to get on track.  I was accomplishing what had to get done in my life - feeding the tribe, basic cleanliness - but I just couldn't get motivate like I used to be.  I felt like I was always rushing around from one thing to the next but never actually in control of my days.  Just putting out fire after fire. 

Imagine my surprise when my I got an email from my favorite blogger, Crystal Paine at moneysavingmom.com with a new e-course.  Tracey & I decided to take this course at the same time to encourage each other and, if I'm being honest, so that I could be accountable to someone to actually finish it.  Make Over Your Mornings was just the encouragement I needed to get back on track.  The videos were just 5 minutes a day followed by a 5 minute or less read in the accompanying e-book and a 5 minute challenge.  The best thing about this course is that it wasn't a "one size fits all" type course.  It challenged me to think about what I needed to do to make my life run smoother. 

I spent time thinking about what my families priorities are and what my personal priorities are and came up with a daily plan that helps me to accomplish what's important to running this house and making my life less stressful.  Since July, I've been following a morning and evening routine that wasn't just something I found on Pinterest that works for someone else.  My routine needed to include time for running a rental business, homeschooling three active boys, finding time to spend with a consistently busy husband who basically is doing two full time jobs, serving at my church, caring for a small house that with five people in it quickly gets messy and finding time to take care of me - spiritually and physically.  Something that frequently gets tossed to the wayside. 

And yes, I probably could have came up with a plan on my own.  But here's the thing - I didn't.  And I hadn't.  And what I was doing wasn't working.  By taking just 15 minutes a day for 14 days, I was able to get back on track in little bite size increments. 

Interested?  Check it out at makeoveryourmornings.com.  There's a one day sale on August 25th.  You can get the 14 day course for $10.  This is not an affiliate link for me.  I get nothing from it.  I just know how it motivated me to get back on track. 

And maybe I'm not the only one needing some motivation. 

Movie Review: Wreck-It Ralph

We splurged on a family night out yesterday and went to the matinee to see Wreck-It Ralph.  I'm so glad we did. 

Ralph is the bad guy in his game.  His job is, well, to wreck it.  To tear up the apartment building in the game so that Fix It Felix can repair it with his golden hammer and earn medals.  When the arcade closes each evening, all the video games continue on with their "after work" lives.  Unfortunately for Ralph, even after hours he is considered a bad guy, just because of his role in the game.  He just wants to be included and sets off to earn his own medal so he to can be a good guy.

This movie repeated the message of don't judge a book by it's cover.  It had some great laughs, lots of physical comedy gags, racing scenes, action with shooting big transforming bugs and of course, lots of video games.  I had a chuckle at seeing Qbert and PacMan in different scenes, as well as Sonic giving public service announcements.  The boys liked seeing different video game characters that they knew in the movie. 

I was also impressed at the lack of language in the movie.  Honestly, given the casting of the film I figured Disney would try to slip a "not so bad" bad word in like they've been known to do (think Iron Giant or Cars).  No such worry.  The worst I heard were just jokes about, well, poop.  There was a big thing about Ralph meeting Vanolipe and telling her he's been in Hero's Duty.  Of course, you can't say Duty/doodie with out some kind of laugh, right?  It was right up the boys alley.

If your looking for a fun family outing this weekend, I would recommend Wreck-It Ralph.  We enjoyed it.

Bible study with kids.

Our boys are now 8, 6, and 5. We've been searching for a better choice for our evening Bible story. It just seemed like everything we came across was too young or too old.

Enter my new, most favorite family Bible study:

 

 

Each night, we follow Doc as we dig for the truth.

There are four parts to each lesson:
The map tells us where we will be going today.
The dig is the main part of the lesson.
The treasure is the big idea of each lesson.
And finally, the display - how we put this idea into real life.

My favorite part of this book is that unlike many kids Bible story books or devotionals, you actually use your Bible. I love that each night the boys are finding the book of Luke. I love that they are becoming more familiar with the location of the books of the Bible and realizing that the Bible is for them. I love that they are reading the word of God, not just someone else's paraphrase of a Bible story.

The lessons are concise, which helps a lot with the "antsy in the pantsy" problem of many of our previous attempts at family Bible study.

We've been using this book for the past couple of weeks and are really enjoying it. I downloaded my copy onto my Kindle, but it's available for the Nook or as a PDF file as well. I think it's the best $5 I've spent in a long time.

You can check out the website here for more information: thedigforkids.com.
  



Bedtime Treasure.

Bedtime.  Oh, how I love bedtime. 

I'm not only physically exhausted, most days I'm also mentally tapped out by the time it rolls around.

One of my favorite things that we do at bedtime is to play music as the boys go to sleep.  It really does help us have a much smoother transition and significantly less complaints of being cold/hot/scared/not sleepy....really, just about any excuse you can think of to not go to sleep.  We've used soft classical and different instrumental music when they were younger, but a few months ago, we found a keeper. 

Hidden in My Heart: A Lullaby Journey through Scripture by BreakAway Music is one of my favorite CD's.  It's not your typical children's music.  It's powerful, it's beautiful, it's worshipful.  The label of lullaby doesn't do it justice. 

Many nights, when I'm tired and if I'm being honest, overwhelmed and frustrated....to hear that beautiful melody floating down the stairs, reminding me "surely goodness and love will follow me, all the days of  my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forevermore", well, that's just a wonderful thing to hear before bed regardless of your age.

I love that not only does the music set a relaxing tone to our home, but the boys are hearing the Word of God each night as they drift off to sleep.




You can hear a sample of all their tracks by clicking on my Amazon link below.  

New Suess!

I think I've read every Dr. Seuss book ever written.  I read them when I was a child and now I read them to my children.  Every single book. 

Until now.

There's a new Dr. Seuss book out.  It's a collection of short stories that he had written for a newspaper back in the late 40's early 50's. 

The Bippolo Seed and other Lost Stories was released September 27, 2011.  It not only includes a great selection of Dr. Seuss stories, but it also has background information from the historian who located these previously unpublished gems. 

Interested in more?  Check out my affiliate link below.



Lacura product review

I've been an Aldi shopper for quite some time now.  I've always been impressed with the quality of their off brand products.  With the exception of their fake Oreos, everything we have tried is equal to brand name products.  I don't hold the Oreo's against them.   No one can get those wonderful chocolate cookies the same as the original.

I've been thinking about investing in a skin care regimen now that I'm the big 4-0.  I've used Mary Kay, Merle Norman and my usual - Clinique off and on for the past 20 years.  They've all worked fine.  Of course, they all have something else in common - a hefty price tag. 

So, I decided to try out Aldi's beauty brand, Lacura.  I read numerous online reviews and they were overwhelmingly positive.  The most common negative comment was about the floral smell of their cosmetics.

I purchased the following:

Hydrating facial cleanser for $2.49
Gentle toner for $2.49
Revitalizing eye gel for $3.49
Gentle lip care (3 pack) for $1.49
Exfoliating peeling gel for $2.49
Ultra firming mask for $2.49
Lipstick in Truffle and Cool Sand at $3.49 each
Eyeshadow duo in Lilac lady and Velvet rose at $3.49 each
Foundation in Translucent at $3.49
Powder in Translucent at $3.49

My total cost for everything listed above was $35.88. 
Compare that to my usual $22.00 for foundation alone at Clinique.
Impressive price, but how does it work?

Here's what I think.

The cleanser and toner are nice, cleanses well with no dryness.
I'm using the exfoliating gel twice weekly and the eye cream nightly.  I've tried the firming mask once and my skin did appear firmer after using it.

I've bought the lip care/chapstick before - we used them all last winter with great results.  I bought a regular 3 pack for the boys and a tinted 3 pack for myself.  It's just a hint of pink to make you natural lip seem a little more polished.  And it feels creamy but still nice and light. 

As far as the makeup is concerned,  I love it!  The foundation has great coverage, the powder has a natural finish.  The lipstick goes on smoothly and while it doesn't have all day staying power, for the price, it's a keeper.  There is a very faint scent with the powder.  I wouldn't call it floral but it is a nice clean scent.  It's much less noticeable than Cover Girls scent.

The eyeshadow colors are very nice, no caking when applied.  My favorite is the Velvet Rose duo.  Very natural with just a hint of color. 

They also have mascara and blush, but I didn't need any at the time. 

Overall, I'm very satisfied. 

Click here for Aldi's website with more information.