Sausage and Noodle recipe. HELP ME NAME MY RECIPE!

Hello! I wanted to share with you one of my family's favorite "go-to" meals.

This is an easy one to make and usually our go-to on weekends when we can't agree on something for dinner but also don't want to spend money on ordering out.

**I do not have a name for this recipe yet! Comment with name suggestions :)**

First I start with 4 cups of water in a pot, with 3 bullion cubes on med-high heat.

I purposely don't add 1 cube per cup as typically suggested on the back of the bullion container as the sausage in this recipe plus broth can be too salty.

While I'm waiting for the broth to boil, I get my sausage and cut it up,
This is the kind of sausage I like to use,
All I do is slice this up and add to a skillet on med-low heat

Next I get out a few peppers,I like using the mini peppers because my girls aren't big fans of peppers so I've found these mini ones are easier to cut super thin and hide (hide... in theory),
They're smaller so there are less seeds which makes it easier to clean out,
I also think these are slightly sweeter than typical bell peppers.
I get terrible heartburn during pregnancy and I've found that for some reason these don't aggravate the heart burn like regular bell peppers. Doesn't make much sense, maybe it's psychological but whatever works!

 My water has started boiling so I add half a box of thin spaghetti.
I know this sounds crazy, 1/2 a box to only 4 cups of broth??!!... TRUST ME!
The noodles will completely cook in this broth without needing drained, just go with it

 I've got my peppers sliced nice and thin, and add them to the pan with the sausage, I turn up the heat                                                                           to medium

 Once the sausage starts cooking it begins caramelizing, which makes the bottom of the pan sticky.
I scoop out 1/4 cup of broth from my pot of noodles and add it to the sausage so the sausage doesn't                                                          burn and get my pan all messy.
           When I stir in the broth I sometimes find I need a little more so I add another 1/4 cup

After about 12 - 15 minutes the noodles will be completely cooked. 

As you can see there's still some liquid but not a whole lot, 

DO NOT DRAIN the remaining liquid!

Put the noodles into the pan with the sausage and peppers, 

Get it all stirred in, 

Then I add a splash of milk, 

I should have measured but I get into my groove where I end up tossing a little of this or that into a dish and forget to get exact measurements. 

When I say a splash of milk I mean a splash, like maybe 1/8 cup.

This is optional, I find it makes the very light (barely there) sauce just a tad creamier. 

That's really it! An easy, delicious and filling meal.

Sometimes we add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, If I know we are going to do that I add even less bullion so the dish isn't over salty.

Don't forget to comment with a name suggestion for this yummy recipe!

I understand if you need a few days to go prepare it for yourself to experience the yumminess before suggesting a name ;)  

How to do Cindy Lou Who Hair

   Today B's school had their annual read-a-thon, this is a way the school raises funds for new books. The students have a few weeks to get pledges from friends and family then when its the day to turn them in (read-a-thon) they have a fun day of reading.
What's really fun is the whole school gets to dress up as a children's literary character of their choice. It's a bit of a friendly competition as classes with most participation, monetary donations and donated books win prizes, the most creative, original, and best costume also wins a prize.
It is a really neat way the school raises funds and the whole school from students, teachers, administration and parents get involved.
  
  Well this is my B's first year and she decided she wanted to be Cindy Lou Who from
How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
I nearly squealed when she said that's what she wanted to be, as Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year!
I also love that she chose something on her own, I gave her some suggestions of things I could think of like Madeline, Pippi Longstocking, a mouse, a princess, Cindy Lou Who, Mary Poppins etc. She ended up choosing Cindy Lou Who which I thought was fantastic for a few reasons; there was room be creative, she didn't choose a character based on her friend's influences, as a few of the girls had told her what they wanted to be and I knew it would be a fun costume to put together.
She even kept it a secret from her classmates until a few days before read-a-thon!
She came home saying so and so "is going to be Charlotte from Charlotte's Web" so and so "is going to be Belle"... "But I didn't tell them mine because I don't want them to like my idea so much they use it, so I want it to be a surprise"... smart girl!

  The first thing I looked up inspiration for on pinterest was Cindy Lou Who hair.
I mean the hair really makes the costume, but how in the world do you get all that hair to stick up?!
I watched a few tutorials, and took some inspiration from each one, I did not copy any one idea.
The reasons just one tutorial didn't work is all the tutorials I saw was on adult hair, one lady had extremely long hair, another had natural curls, and another had short hair.
So I played with a few inspirations a few days prior and settled with some tweaks that worked best for her hair

Here we go with how I did B's:
It's a little hard to see in this picture but I basically sectioned off the top half of her hair and split it into 3 sections with the middle section being a little smaller,
the middle section is sticking straight up ,
I used a hair tie on the back section so it wouldn't get mixed in with the back half of her hair, 
the front section is just hanging out in her face...

 I cut a one liter coke bottle in half, I did this based on the length of her hair,
When I had done a trial run a couple nights before I decided a whole liter bottle was too big,
I tried a cup which worked well I just didn't know how to make it stay,
So I decided I would use a bottle and as a way to reinforce it, feed some of her hair through the bottle
So that middle section is what was fed through the bottle as you can see in this picture..

Once I fed the hair through the bottle, I picked up the front section of hair and began covering the front and sides of the bottle,
You don't want the bottle showing at all,

 Then, I took out the hair tie from the back section and began using the hair to cover the back and sides of the bottle,
I used a little detangling spray in the front to smooth down some of the frizzies, and combed that up,

 Once the bottle was covered with her hair I put a hair tie at the neck of the bottle,
Securing the top of the hair to the bottle,
the hair will flow over and down kind of like a fountain which is fine you'll curl that later.

 I did not get a good picture of how a parted the back of her hair so here's a picture of the back once it's done,
Just trying to show you I split the back of her hair in two and braided the two sides,
It looks crooked here, but it's not, it's just the angle of the picture

 Once the back is in two braids, I began curling the pieces on top near the spout of the bottle,
K has joined us now! :)

 You want to curl these sections under, to make it look like the hair is ribbon on top of a Christmas present.

 I bought lots of supplies from the dollar store and just used some ribbon to tie around the top of the bottle so it's not visible,
I also added little Christmas ribbons with twist ties on the ends of the braids before bringing the braid up and bobby pinning it to the side.
Once the braid is bobby pinned up, you'll want to curl the ends of the braids under as well
Once done I sprayed LOTS of hair spray to keep it all in place

 Here's a great side shot of what it looks like when it's all done!

 I didn't do step by step pics of her make-up,
My sister gets all credit for the make up! she worked on that while I did B's hair, spoiled girl!
she did peach blush, with silver sparkles on her cheeks and eyes
she also added false lashes as Cindy Lou Who has LOOONG lashes :)

There you have it! Cindy Lou Who hair!
It took me just over an hour to complete her look, this doesn't include dressing time as she slept in these PJ's the night before to make life easier on all of us.

 Just to give you an idea, this was her hair at lunch time about 5-5.5 hours later.
It still held up very well throughout the day!
Our waitress even asked to touch it haha

Glucose test, Proof I don't always cook fancy dinners ;), and Footloose the children's book!

  These past couple days have been so busy, but the week is almost done!
Had to do my glucose test yesterday, which any of you who are moms know, that is not fun. Thankfully the 3rd time has been the easiest one yet! I remember during my first pregnancy I was so nauseated and light headed I was sure I was going to pass out.
The Medical Assistant kept saying "Deep breaths cause if you throw up you have to do the 3 hour test". It took all the willpower I could possibly muster to not throw up, I could barely keep it together for an entire hour there was NO WAY I wanted to drink that nasty drink again and wait 3 hours!
So, I got through it and the glucose results were fine.
By the time I had my second baby the glucose drink was clear, no longer a red for fruit punch flavor or an orange for orange flavor.
I'm convinced that somehow the no added coloring helped take the edge off the nausea.
It was there the second time, as well as this third time, but nowhere near as bad as that miserable first time.

Here's the disgusting drink, that is no longer colored for those mommies whose babies are a little older then mine and haven't seen it ;)

 
   I find it kind of crazy that each doctors office does their glucose test differently.
This is baby number 3 also doctors office, city, and hospital number 3, all of my kids will have been born in different cities (one in a different state), by 3 different medical offices.
So 3 pretty different experiences as far as medical staff and offices are concerned.
I would say this 3rd glucose test was the most inconvenient, I had to drink the nasty liquid
(NOT given a choice in flavor by the way!) in 5 minutes, go see the midwife for a routine prenatal check up, then wait the rest of the hour in the waiting room until my blood could be drawn all with my 21 month old daughter, K.
My K is my sweet, very busy girl, she is my 'march to the beat of her own drum' girl and does not like being confined or being told what to do. She's also very loud when she's angry, so if she doesn't like something everyone in about a mile radius will hear about it.
I do have to say while it wasn't an easy appointment having to wait so long she did very well!
I think what really helped with her behaving was that this office has toys in the exam rooms and also in the waiting room there are toys along with a play kitchen.
The kitchen is right up my K's alley, she LOVES playing kitchen right now and it's so fun seeing her pretend and get excited over playing and exploring.
So, thank you to my OB's office for making an inconvenient time more tolerable by having things to keep my toddler entertained.

   Unlike my first OB office where children were forbidden!
I always thought that was bizzare, didn't effect me much back then but I thought that was weird that a doctors office who helps keep babies healthy in utero and delivers babies does not allow children into their office (see? very different offices).
Anyways, glucose test is done and results there were normal.
Once I finished the nasty liquid I felt as if I could go days without sugar and be completely fine. Well, once I got home I finished several bottles of water in about an hour to flush out the nauseating sugars that felt like they were taking over my body with jitters and exhaustion.
Once I drank tons of water I then began to crave sweets again, Oh pregnancy how strange you are!
I also felt pretty drained after the glucose test and did not feel like doing much of anything at home.

  Which brings me to a special section for those of you who think I always make special, home-made, "gourmet" meals for my girls even though my husband isn't usually home for them.
Appearances are nice but let me show you truth:
I give you my mid-week specialty; Kraft Macaroni and Cheese with a side/dessert of strawberries!
I will admit, I always add a little bit of extra cheese for a little extra yumminess to an easy dinner ;)
I can't ever just follow a recipe, especially a boxed one, I have to do something to make it my own.
I don't think I've ever not done that.

   My girls LOVE strawberries, they polish off an entire container in one sitting.
That's the one thing they both love and I can't keep enough of at home.
I kind of have to hide them though cause they don't eat one or two berries it's like once they start they don't stop, there's no control when strawberries are involved.

   Also, tonight was an easy meal, we had leftover waffles from like a month ago that we had frozen.
I heated those up with some sausage and we had "Breakfast for Dinner".
I love this age, my 5 year old thinks something is special when it's a little different or out of the ordinary. She's asked for a breakfast for dinner night for about a week now and I'm glad I saved it for tonight when I needed both an easy meal and to not feel guilty about an easy meal.
Definitely a win win, easy dinner which made me look like super mom to my 5 year old.
Can't get better than that!

   Bedtime for the girls is 6:30 pm, I know that sounds insane and I promise I will dedicate an entire post to that later.
Since They're in bed early I can work on this blog and have some me wind-down time.
I have the girls in the same room this week for the first time which is still an adjustment, they are both still waking up at night but it's getting easier to calm them back down and get them back to sleep so there's a positive I can already see coming from sharing a room.

   We always read before bed and I had to share with you this book we got a couple days ago from the library. It's called Footloose! Yes, like the movie Footloose...which is one of my favorites!
I didn't pay too much attention to the book when Brielle handed it to me at the library, just looked like a cute animal book with lots of brightly colored pictures.
We read it last night before bed and both girls asked that I read it again tonight.
Tonight is when I noticed there's a CD with it, Guess what?! It's Kenny Loggins singing Footloose with the lyrics changed a little bit to make it a zoo, kid story version.
The story is about animals in a zoo dancing once the zoo's closed.
So funny! My girls LOVED the song, we listened and danced to it 3 times before bed.
   My parents actually met after seeing the original Footloose in theatre back in the 80s.
So that movie is special to them in a way, I was introduced to the soundtrack at a young age and always enjoyed the music, I loved the movie after I saw it and now my girls already love the "kid version" Footloose.
It's so much fun seeing similarities in families, even the little things like music enjoyed.
Here are a couple photos of kids Footloose.

   I'm so ready for a fun weekend! Tomorrow B has her first read-a-thon which is a way to raise money for books at her school.
The fun part is the whole school gets to dress up as a literary character, she chose Cindy Lou Who from How The Grinch Stole Christmas! I'm so excited! It's one of my favorite stories and now one of hers too.
We have to wake up super early to make the costume and hair perfect but it will be worth it!
Stay tuned for lots of pictures and how to do Cindy Lou Who hair.

Tired, Busy week. This is a bit of a ranting post

Do you ever get to Tuesday and think to yourself "man this week has been so busy! Wait, it's only Tuesday and I'm THIS tired already?"?
Well, that's me this week, and there's still a long week ahead.

**I do want to warn everyone this a ranting post a little bit but I've promised to be genuine in this blog and today is not sunshine and rainbows so I'm sharing it with you!**

As I've mentioned in other posts I'm over 6 months pregnant with baby girl number 3.
Which, for anyone who's curious, means she is about the length of a scallion and according to Babycenter.com, she's 1 and 2/3 pounds.

https://www.babycenter.com/slideshow-baby-size

I cannot believe the exhaustion I've been dealing with. The constant mood swings, especially in the first and beginning of second trimester, nausea is nothing new this pregnancy, but the exhaustion is unbelievable. My eyes feel like their constantly heavy and I just want to sleep all the time.
I've had thyroid issues in the past and I just knew that had to be what the problem was.
For any of you that have dealt with thyroid issues you know the kind of tired, it's a different tired than typical mommy tired, you feel completely drained no matter what you're doing or how much sleep you get.
Ever feel like a doctor or medical professional isn't listening to you?
Yeah that's been happening to me lately too. It's especially hard when you've moved and have to find a new doctor, the new doctor sometimes thinks they can do things differently and it'll be a better outcome.
Long story short, someone finally listened to me and ran a full thyroid panel and SURE ENOUGH my thyroid is super low! Ugh, seriously so frustrating, it's not hard to order a blood draw to just make sure and I could've been feeling better months ago.
I say this as a medical professional myself, it's frustrating!
Please remember, while I do believe there are GREAT doctors out there and I still believe there are doctors who truly care about their patients, you are your own best advocate.
If you know something is not right keep trying, keep talking, keep researching until your heard.

Anyways, because of all this I have 3 doctors appointments this week, 2 for myself 1 for my girls.
On top of the already hectic schedule of getting B to school on time, making playdates, get B picked up on time, get B's homework done, this week I get B's costume ready for a fundraiser her school is having Friday, and oh yeah I forgot I'm already feeling too tired to want anything to do with cleaning and cooking when I'm not busy so at only Tuesday I've already lost just about all motivation.

Here's a sneak peak of B's costume for Friday she got to chose a literary character from a children's book and chose Cindy Lou Who :) how cute is she?! This is a very trial run and I can't wait to see how it comes together Friday!!

Let's top the crazy, only Tuesday, week off with my 21 month old refusing to nap this week, this little girl is so strong willed she's purposely getting her leg stuck in the rails of the crib thinking that will get her out of nap...and it has, twice now! So I guess she's figured out how to work our system. Today, I got her leg unstuck left her to go back to sleep and I caught her forcing her leg in the rails again!
I love my husband, he's a wonderful man a great father and provider for our family, but I did say this was a ranting post so... I very kindly asked him to convert K's bed to a toddler bed over the weekend, I wanted the girls to move into the same room because the both of them have been in a terrible habit of waking up to get into mommy and daddy's bed at night. I'm pretty sure I mentioned earlier this post I'M TIRED! kids waking up at night trying to sleep with feet in my already sore back is just not cutting it. Well guess what didn't get done this weekend? Yup, as you can see in the picture below it's still a crib!
So night one of them in the same room begins tonight, I temporarily took B's mattress off her bed and lay it on the floor next to K's crib. They've been asleep for 2.5 hours now so we will see how the rest of the night goes....

 Here's K fighting her nap earlier... and proof it's still a crib ;)

As I'm writing this post I'm reminded, a lady in my bible study suggested I always think of at least one good thing that happened every day before ending an especially stressful or tiring day.
One thing, B's school pictures finally came in, I've been looking forward to receiving those for about a month now. She looks so grown up, it's crazy! This momma's heart feels proud of her sweet girl but also a little sad that it's going so quickly.

B's official Kinder  picture!

Another great thing is my girls got along so well today, their giggles just make my heart explode with love. I love when they play, believe it or not they actually do fight which I think is so weird because my 21 month old doesn't say much but I guess she doesn't really have to because she gets her point across with her blood curdling screams! silly girls. K figured out how to spray a squirt bottle today and the girls took turns spraying each other and laughed so much they couldn't breathe!
Those are the moments that I wish I could just replay over and over again.

my silly girls playing together

Ok, that lady from bible study was so right, I feel so much better thinking on the good things of the day! I guess I will end it on that note now.

Thank you for all the readers so far, please subscribe, I figured out how to add a subscribe button to the top of the blog ;)

First Field Trip and Apple Cider Recipe

I love weekends. Just about everyone does but I love weekends for time with family and friends.
I really need social interaction, it's part of my personality and something I need to really feel like myself. My husband does not have a typical Monday thru Friday 8am-5pm job, he never has in the 9 years we've been together so I'm used to it, but it definitely makes social planning difficult. We have been blessed that he has weekends off to spend time with the family (we do not see him during the week), we get to enjoy family time, go to church together, go to kids birthday parties, or just hang out at home.
This past weekend was especially busy; Friday I took B on her first field trip, Friday night was a date night (thanks to our church hosting a parent night out where they watch the kids for a few hours so couples can have a date!), Saturday we had some errands and things to do around the house then we painted pumpkins, Saturday night I had some much needed girl time, and Sunday had church and then a birthday party. It was a jam packed weekend!

It's technically fall here in Arizona, I love fall! Mostly for the cooling temperatures and fall time activities. This weekend was full of fall time activities!
Friday I chaperoned a field trip for the first time! We went to a farm, got to pick veggies, choose pumpkins, learn about corn and the kids got to feed animals and play in bounce houses. It was so much fun seeing my sweet oldest child interacting with her friends and enjoying her time exploring the farm. I did not take into consideration how exhausted I would be!
I'm 26 weeks pregnant but in my "I'm a super mom" brain a farm field trip being exhausting never crossed my mind.
The temperature has been like a yo-yo here, just when the temperature begins to drop and you get so excited for cooler temps the next week its back up in the 90s again. The mornings and evenings are nice and cool which is a welcome relief to the 120s we had in the summer!
Being from the Midwest I so miss the cooler temps (and the colors on the trees!) but I've become accustomed to the heat a little I suppose hence 80s actually feeling good to me now!
The day at the farm was a high of 87, so when we first got there it was great weather, by the time we left the sun began beating down and it got hot which I  think contributed to the exhaustion.


                    My sweet girl is all about the bling and ready to strike a pose wherever we go.

While the farm is not a Midwest farm with hay rides and cold weather, it was very well put together. They had real corn (the kind that was over 6 feet tall!), a petting zoo, produce you can pick fresh and lots of other fun things for the kids; bounce houses, "train" ride (they get to ride in barrels pulled by a tractor), slides, water pumps and a few other things I know I'm forgetting.

Being from the Midwest I'm usually a little disappointed with the farms and corn mazes here in the southwest but this farm was well planned, very organized and pretty close to the "real" thing I'm used to.

An exhausting day at the farm made a girls night around the fire pit the next night (that I was already so excited for), even more welcoming.  There's a great group of moms I've met from church that have just been wonderful to get to know. My family hasn't been in our area very long and making friends is super hard! It takes time, and as a mom with a husband who doesn't have a typical work week, schedules are almost impossible to work around. So friends don't come too easily as a momma in a new town. I'm thankful that we have a church with a lot of young families and there is always some kind of event going on which makes getting involved and meeting other mom's easier.

Anyways, one of the momma's I've been getting to know hosted a girls night, she has a lovely set up in the back yard with a roomy sectional couch and a fire pit. We had decided we would sit around the fire chatting and making s'mores. Even though we are in the southwest I still love what fall has to offer; cooler weather, fires, and all the fall smells and flavors. I wanted to bring one of my favorite fall flavors to s'mores night, Apple cider. I had never made apple cider before but decided it couldn't be too tricky in a crock pot, so I got to work on it Saturday afternoon.

I started with 8 gala apples cut into fours, I left the skin on and just cut around the core and seeds, and 9 cups of water.

I then added 5 cinnamon sticks, a teaspoon of all spice and 1/2 cup of brown sugar.

That's all! I covered the crock pot and set the temp to high

I let them cook for 2 hours, the apples became tender, I scooped them into a blender and pureed them then added them back into the crock pot. I did this in batches, adding about 2 cups of apples to the blender, puree, add them back to the pot and them scooped about 2 more cups of apples from the crockpot, pureed and added them back. 

~when blending anything it works much better to add a little liquid in first, this helps the blades move more freely. I simply took some of the water from the crockpot and poured it into the blender before adding the apples to the blender~

The texture was chunky so I skimmed just a bit off the top (it was applesauce texture) but I didn't strain the cider as I think the pulp makes it taste more home-made.

DELICOUS! I took it to ladies night and they loved it. In fact we are planning on getting together for a s'mores night again soon and I've been asked to bring more apple cider. 

Most of you know I love to cook I like creating something new and I so enjoy sharing delicious recipes with others. So, when asked to bring a specific recipe back it's seriously the best complement to me.

This apple cider recipe is definitely a keeper and I look forward to making it again soon!

Apple Cider Recipe

8 Gala Apples

9 cups of water

5 cinnamon sticks

1 tsp. of all spice

1/2cup brown sugar

Wash the apples well, cut into 4 sections leaving the skin but cut around the core and seeds, put the apples into a crockpot on high heat, add the water, sugar and spices. 

Let cook for 2 hours, puree the tender apples in a blender then add back to the pot.

Cook on low heat another 2-3 hours. Then enjoy!

I hope you all enjoy this delicious apple cider recipe! I especially love when a recipe is easy AND delicious, that is definitely this recipe! Not many ingredients, and minimal effort.

I hope you all have a great week! I have a busy one ahead but hope to still add lots more new posts.

Kids and Chores

Chores are no fun but obviously a necessity.
Some tasks I detest more than others, oh laundry you are my arch enemy! but that's a post for another day...
How do you get kids to help with cleaning?
I always have my kids help with chores. It's important for kids to learn how to clean and they should be given responsibilities. We are teaching B, my five year old, how a family works together like a team it's not JUST mommy's job to cook clean and repeat 24/7, which is another reason why I love having her help in the kitchen. B has certain jobs she knows she has to do, such as; help unload and put away silverware and Tupperware from the dishwasher, put her clothes away when laundry is done, pick up her toys and make her bed. She's old enough to know how to clean up her toys and her room so she does that.

I consider grocery shopping with kids a chore, it's not much fun for them plus you're trying to juggle snacks, drinks, diaper bag, phone grocery list. Its just not much fun for anyone. My girls tend to behave the best in a "special cart" (see below pic) with a snack and drink. I DETEST these carts! It's a great idea but they are nearly impossible to maneuver and fit a weeks worth of groceries in. BUT I'll take the difficult shopping cart over screaming kids.

                              Here are the girls excited we found a fun cart, they are a precious commodity                                                                            around here not easily found
 

I also have B help put things away on grocery day, in my fridge I have the bottom drawer designated for kids snacks that way they are easily assessable to the girls. So, when we get home from the grocery store I put the girls snacks in an area on the counter and B puts them in the drawer, sometimes K wants to help with this so she will also put things in the drawer with her sissy.
K also has this obsession with my k-cup storage, she loves rearranging the little cups and that keeps her busy for a good long time. I had bought some k-cups today and I let her be in charge of putting them away. She did this the entire time I put away groceries and cleaned up! This job is so entertaining for her.

                                           Here's B after she's finished putting kids groceries away
                                                           That pose of hers! Always ready!
                         Don't mind the mess in the background my groceries weren't done just her part ;)
                         

My 21 month old doesn't have required jobs yet but she likes doing whatever mommy and big sister do so when she shows interest in a job we are working on I let her get in on the chore as a stepping stone into responsibilities when she's older. It's great to get them involved in chores while they spike an interest in it. I did this with my 5 year old when she was a toddler and she rarely complains when doing chores. K likes to help put silverware away when I unload the dishwasher she also enjoys putting silverware into the dishwasher

 
           When a 21 month old puts silverware away it's not exactly done perfectly but that's ok!
                               How can I say no to her happy little face wanting to help?!

B knows chores sometimes have to be done before we can get to the things we want to do like arts and crafts, the library, or a playdate. I know someday she may complain about how unfair chores are (she has tried this stunt a couple times) but it's now an expectation that just gets done. Sometimes there's resentment but most of the time we make it fun. When it's time to clean her playroom she likes to be timed to see how fast she can get her job done. She's so proud when she completes her task before the 2 minute timer is up.

We also have a reward system where if she does a chore without being asked, does a chore especially well, or if for some reason we have an extra time consuming day with chores she earns "responsibility rocks".
We got this idea from a preschool she attended, when the jar is full of rocks she earns a special treat. Usually she chooses a pizza party which consists of the whole family eating pizza in the living room with a movie. I love that's her choice as a reward! She could choose a book, a toy, a special outing but she always requests quality time with her family. I just love that so much, the fact that she enjoys her family so much she asks for time with us as a treat. Who knows, maybe she just loves pizza and I'm reading too far into this but I'll take it! Someday, she's going to want to do something else instead of spend time with her family so for now I am so grateful that she looks forward to a pizza party with her family and not yet a pizza party with just her friends.

I'm not very strict when it comes to a certain cleaning routine every single day, I wish I were but sometimes I procrastinate. I don't make my kids clean on a rigorous schedule everyday but when things need to get done they do. Usually the rule is, if we have a playdate or something fun planned the dishes and kitchen have to be completely done, and the toy room needs to be picked up. if those things don't get done because of a bad attitude then we don't get to go. I do this because I strongly believe kids need to have consequences for their actions. So, when my know-it-all 5 year old decides she's going to be headstrong and refuse to pick up, our library time gets taken away that day or we don't get to go to the park. Usually just reminding her that she loses the privilege gets her to pick up, sometimes it doesn't and she stands her ground so the privilege does get taken away.
I hate that part of parenting... consequences! but it's one of the most important parts I think if I'm going to raise great kids.

So, momma's, get your kids involved in chore time. It wont look perfect and won't get done especially fast but it's an important life lesson kids need to learn.
Don't be too hard on yourself for the things that don't get done, you're busy raising beautiful people!!! <3 <3