Broken cat heads and wishing for value

About 3 months ago a friend organized a really fun activity where we sewed and created the cutest sock kittens. I know my kids liked them, they slept with them at night and they were so stinkin' cute how could they not? Yet, when it came time to clean their rooms today I realized the kittens had to go.

This was a hard decision.

Why though really? One kitties head was safety pinned on because we ran out of time to finish the cat and it ended up on of our list of projects that will just have to be finished later. So why so difficult?

Maybe because it was unfinished...maybe because of who I made it with...maybe because I was the only one that felt sad about getting rid of the kitty.

Lately I've been wrestling with the thought and the scary conclusion that my kids don't value their things.

My mom is an avid yard saler and she's good at it, so every few weeks we are given great new things that she finds. A lot of it has to get thrown out just so I can keep some sort of semblance of tidiness in our house.

So do my kids not value things because my mom attends yard sales and they know new things are always coming in?

While I would love that to be the answer (because that's easy to pinpoint) I don't feel that's the whole story. How do I instill this sense of "value for things" in my children?

My only solution, thus far, has been the mantra of Less is More. If they have less things and really think about what to acquire will that help?

I guess for the meantime I'll continue to throw away sock kitten heads and silently mourn.

Yep! 3 years has passed

I told myself that when I blogged again I wouldn't apologize for all the time passed, the moments lost the words forgotten. Don't mistake this for an apology because it's not, it's just a...Oh! That's where I left off sort of heading.
If blame be needed for my absence to this blog it resides solely on CHATBOOKS. Yep that wonderful little company that has transformed my life and made me a better mother, journaler, scrapbooker, etc. is to blame.
I got a smartphone for Christmas 2013, set up an instagram account immediately, linked it to my life-changing-app Chatbooks and haven't looked back, till today.
Why now, you may be asking yourself? Well because I miss lengthy, over-analyzed thought processes that drive me to my computer and can only be written. I miss typing. I miss seeing that I'm more then just the places we go and the events we attend. I miss writing about the hard days and my crazy ideas and pouring my heart and part of my soul into a journal.

Come unto Him

“If we notice that planning for parties and scrambling for presents begin to detract from the peaceable message of Jesus Christ and distance us from the gospel He preached, let us take a step back, slow down a little, and reconsider what matters most.” —President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the First Presidency

Silent treatment

Jaya can ignore everyone and everything when she has a good book. I actually waited to tell her I had it because I wanted to have her attention this morning. This is what she's looked like since 11:00am.

Wakey Wakey Kale

I found the golden ticket to waking Kale each morning...Elf on the shelf...He came to our home last year and this year has grace with his presence again. I can't tell you how much "Ted" has helped Kale wake up each morning. While this would normally be a very daunting part of my morning, now I just have to rub Kale's back, and softly whisper "I wonder what Ted has done today?" Up Kale jumps and runs to find him.
A couple of times I had the camera ready when he found "Ted", and it doesn't quite capture the excitement that's there, but it's close!

 

Watching The Littles!

My sis-in-law had her baby, and so I got to babysit her other 2 boys for a few days, we call them The Little's. Everyday was an adventure, and the nights were lots of fun too! It's hard to believe I did sleepless nights for so many years, and makes me grateful for the season my children are in now. I wish I could have recorded all the funny comments and sayings that we laughed at over dinner and during car rides, but in short it was a fun to have them over.

What this experience taught me about my own son was that he loves to teach. He would come up with a cool trick (ie. cutie mustache) and insist on teaching his cousins.

 

 

Another great game that Kale came up with was called "I ask the questions, if you agree raise your hand." I'm not sure that Coleman ever really knew what he was agreeing too, he just went along with it.

 

Needed therapy

You know those days you are just bugged? Well this girl was having one of those days, and while riding home from church she finally lost it (all because her brother was counting). It was the perfect opportunity to discuss anger management I gave her a list of ideas she could do to feel good again. 10 minutes after we got home, this is what I found to be her chosen method of therapy...petshops...goes to show that play is therapy!