Christmas Cookies

I am trying to do more in the kitchen with the boys these days. I thought making cookies would be a good activity for us. You have heard me mention that I meet with a bunch of ladies every Thursday at a local church. A few weeks ago, we baked tons of cookies for an organization called, "Cookies for Cancer." It was a lot of fun, so I figured I would let the boys in on it. It was messy, but Sam really got into it. I was surprised at how quickly he picked up on using the cookie cutters, etc. Sprinkles were a huge hit, and as you can see, in the pictures, they were very tasty. I forgot to do a picture of the final product. However, today after nap time, we are doing this again. This time Paw Paw is coming over to help.

Mattox rolling dough, while Sam throws as much flour on the floor as possible.

Sam couldn't help but snag a few pieces of cookie dough. The evidence is on his face. So cute.

Alas, we decorated with sprinkles. We even brought out the sprinkles from Easter that I we never used on anything. Who says snowmen and ginger bread men don't wear pink and purple?  :) The boys are digging the leftovers.

Painter's Tape City

This provided hours of fun for my boys. During naptime, I put this together in hopes of having a peaceful afternoon. I wanted to be able to prepare dinner in peace. THIS DID THE TRICK. If you have painter's tape, a few cars, and in this case, some really cool blocks to create a city, you are good to go.

First, sweep the floor. Second, use the painter's tape to create roads. If you have blocks, you can use them for buildings. I didn't do this, but you could also use little animal figurines. Maybe make a zoo...just an idea.

Here, Mattox is very focused on having one car yield to the other. We take traffic laws very serious in this house. :)

Here, we talked about slowing down in a school zone. If the bus stops, all the other cars have to stop, so the kids can get off safely. Not sure why, but my son is very big on safety. We also covered the pedestrian crossing sign. Again, cars must slow down and stop to let people cross the street safely.



This is the overhead shot of the city. Yes, the blue blob is my attempt at making a park with a lake. It's obvious, I am no city planner.



Give this one a shot. If you have any other ideas to make this more fun, send them my way. I will be doing this frequently. Good Luck!

Perception. Reality?

Every Thursday, I meet with a group of ladies at a local church. Everyone has such different personalities and bring a variety of talents to the table. It is a time to learn, grow, relax, and occasionally vent. One issue that keeps coming up in our group, is how we often compare our insides, to everyone else's outsides.
I think social media has totally aided in this terrible habit, we sometimes do, without thinking. As much as I love keeping up with my friends on Facebook, I can't help but sometimes compare what I am doing, to what they appear to be doing. It seems like so many moms have their act together. Their kids are always dressed so nicely, doing crafts that never seem to get messy, and have their house so nicely decorated, with everything in it's place. In their pictures, they seem to have finished a daily workout, showered, and put on makeup. In the background, there is no sign of clutter in their home...and to top it off, their dog is nicely sitting on it's bed, content with chewing on a bone. I am sure their organic, preservative free dinner is already made...and it's only 10am.
 As I take all this in, I can't help but feel insecure. Am I doing this stay at home mom thing, right? I do my best to send my 3 year old to school, wearing cute clothes and combed hair. I understand the importance of him looking good, feeling good, and being able to hold his head high as he enters his little classroom. Hopefully, this day, he matches, and has a semi healthy lunch packed. But honestly, my pictures on Facebook show a different story. A story that goes like this. My kids are wearing hand me downs that are covered in oatmeal, because I let them feed themselves. On the occasion they miss their mouth, Summer the dog is more than happy to help with clean up. Sometimes she even aids in cleaning their hands for them. Laundry is everywhere, because my washer and dryer is in the kitchen. Some of the clean clothes are folded, the others were folded, then taken out by my 1 year old that thought it would be fun to take them out, and throw them back in with one of his new found sound effects. I certainly haven't showered OR put on makeup. I am lucky to do that at a stoplight on the way to preschool. As I back out of the driveway, I notice my yard, full of leaves, although the trash men just took away 6 trash bags full of leaves from last week. My car is a WRECK. Why? I have extra juice boxes, diapers, wipes, jackets, toys, and hand sanitizer. I also have multiple crafts that came home from preschool, laying in my front seat. They've yet to make it into the house, nicely put away in their proper location. Did I mention that it's December, and my house isn't decorated for Christmas as well as others'. You can forget about getting organized enough to send out a Christmas card. There is a lot to feel insecure about, as I look at pictures. However, the other day, I was thinking....I DO have some victories as a stay at home mom.
For example, my kids may be at the kitchen table with bed head, but my 1 year old is the 1st one to fold his hands for the blessing. My son lost his toy Goofy and told me, "I can call God and Jesus, and they will help me find him." My son asks me each morning if I will snuggle with him. My other son gives me huge, wide open mouth kisses almost every time I ask.
I also have victories that aren't so easy to blog about. For example, the other night, my son was acting TERRIBLE. In the moment, I was angry, but took a second away from him, and realized he was just exhausted. He didn't need to be punished, he needed sleep. So, instead of taking toys away or spanking him, I just laid down as he was sobbing. I told him he was such a good boy, and that I was going to lay with him for a few mins. He was asleep shortly after. I came to bed, thanking God he gave me the discernment to not act out some of the thoughts I had, but instead, to offer grace in that moment. Maybe my victories as a mom aren't ones you can photograph and post on Facebook. Maybe I'm doing a decent job, even if my kid's clothes aren't new and their hair isn't perfect. In fact, perhaps I am giving them security in the fact that they are loved, even if they aren't perfect. I hope so. I hope they are learning to be confident in the love they have in me, Chris, and ultimately, Christ. I hope they are learning not to judge others by what they look like, what abilities/disabilities they have, or what house they live in. As I am convicted of comparing my insides to other people's outsides, I think of these 2 scriptures and hope that I am modeling values that will result in eternal glory.
Samuel 16:7   
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
Matthew 6:19-21
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.