Valentine Crafts - Putting Your Love into Words

I love to craft, especially if that craft turns into a gift for someone that I love. That is why Valentine ’s Day is so much fun for me! This year I am going to focus on gifts that literally tell the person what they mean to me and why they are so loved.

A few years ago I purchased a large poster board and a handful of candy bars. Together it made the perfect card to tell my husband just how I felt. You can really get creative with this! Get a marker and begin your love poem, perhaps with “Dear Sweet-tart” and continuing on with your own special message. I wish I could find a picture of the one I made to show you, but there are many great examples online.

Here’s a cute one from Pattiwack.com.I have also used this idea for teacher gifts, it could work for father’s day or any other day you want to give someone a token of appreciation or love.

For a simple, sweet gift for the hubby you could print one (or more) of these awesome “udaman” candy bar wrappers from Jeanne Winters!

I have also wanted to give this project a try using a deck of cards filled with “52 reasons why I love you.” There is a great tutorial for it on Papervine!

I made an “I Love You Because…” memo board for my man this year. This is basically an adaptation of the dry erase board tutorial that Brittney shared back in September, but instead of lining the inside with fabric you print out a page with an “I love you because…” message. Each day you can use a dry erase marker to fill in the blank and share one of the many reasons you love that person. Who knows, they might even write you a message back…hint, hint!

I might add some embellishments to mine, you could really get creative with this. Here is a link to the document I created for this project ..\I love you because Printable.pdf

Why limit the lovefest to just one day? I adore the idea of two week’s worth of love notes and treats!

There are some awesome printables and fun ideas out there, a few of my favorites are the 14 days of Valentines at Mommy by Day Crafter by Night

and the 14 fun tags at Six Sisters' Stuff!

For the kids...

These printable love notes from The Mud Pie Makers are perfect for lunch boxes or sock drawers! Just a little note reminding your kids about the meaning of love, you can write your own little message to them on the back.

I love this idea from Mama Jenn and think these will definitely be showing up on my kids’ pillows this year! What a fun way to keep the love notes going all year. My husband and I have done something similar to this for years. We have a red journal that occasionally shows up on one of our pillows with a sweet note from our spouse. I love that years of memories are contained in one book, and it is much cheaper that buying several greeting cards each month.

So take some time to share how you feel with the important people in your life. You don’t have to spend a lot of money, but expressing your love in words (or candy) can really mean a lot!

Written by Happily Domestic Contributor - Jodi Faye

Happy Groundhog Day!

It's Groundhog Day everyone, this means finding out how much winter weather we must endure. According to the famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil it's looks like we are in for at least 6 more weeks! From the looks of my front window, I think Phil is right! That's right folks, Phil saw his shadow. Had he not seen his shadow we could have had an early spring! Darn rodent!

If your looking for something fun to do this Groundhog Day, I highly recommend watching the movie Groundhog Day! This is an oldie but goody and one of my favorite movies. My husband and I are planning to watch it tonight. I haven't seen it in a few years. Here's the trailer:

Contours Options Tandem Stroller WINNER!!!!

Congratulations to Bridgett! She will be helping kids in distressed situations and got this awesome stroller for a smokin deal at $195!!! Thank you to those who entered.

Staying on Track With Home Routines

I have dreams of becoming a super-organized housewife. I picture myself waking up early, before the kids, and having my bible time with a cup of chai. I would cook my family a hot breakfast, and send the kids off to school cheerfully with confidence in knowing their backpacks were filled with all the necessary materials for their day (even a special home-baked treat in their lunchbox). I would then fold and put away the clean laundry that I was so on top of that every hamper in the house was empty. It would still be before 8am and since I had already showered and dressed I would start to clean a room that was already fairly and neat and organized.That is just a dream however and unfortunately very far from my reality. It is more like waking up to “mom, where are my PE shoes?” and “can we have fruity pebbles for breakfast?” (Don’t worry, my answer is no.) While I try to rub the sleep out of my eyes and get my pregnant belly out of bed to hurry to the bathroom, I trip over the pile of laundry that I’ve been meaning to get to this week. The sink has dirty dishes, but thankfully the clean bowls are in the dishwasher. I have managed to pack the lunch boxes the night before, but forgot the water bottles. In a chaotic span of fifteen minutes I do my best to send the boys out the door and finally go to fill my mug when I hear baby sister calling from her crib upstairs. So, the day begins with me feeling behind already and not really knowing where to start to get back on track.

The previous paragraph may have caused some of your to cringe while others may be nodding in agreement thinking that sounds similar to your mornings. Okay I admit I do not have it all together. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job as wife and mother and feel so blessed to have been given these roles. I know for the most part I am doing pretty good job, but always have areas to improve.

I see other moms who seem to get it all done (and look good doing it) in the 24 hours that God has given them each day and wonder where I am going off course. Okay, time to get honest...I am guilty of distractions. My computer and phone play a big role in that, and I'd much rather start a craft project than a load of laundry. I now find myself in need of a very clear plan of attack to manage my time. I think I may have found that in a place I was least expecting it, my distracting iPhone! I was searching for “mom” apps one day and hoping to find something that would help me keep track of my daily to-do list. I ran across Home Routines and was a little leery of the $3.99 price tag. I am quite frugal and usually don’t spend more than 99 cents, and usually just browse the free section. I was desperate however, and read several good reviews that encouraged me to give it a try.

For me it is like a home notebook or binder that hold all of your to-do lists for the day, week, and/or month but in a digital version. It incorporates the Flylady method and offers a “zone” to work on each day along with your daily tasks. I like that it breaks it down into morning, afternoon, and evening. I find it much more manageable when I see smaller checklists, and don’t find myself getting so overwhelmed.

It is very easy to customize, you can add as many routines as you need and can easily add tasks, daily notes, and even zones. You can assign a different zone for each week or have it change each day. It offers a timer, so you can tackle a zone for fifteen minutes and are then rewarded at timer’s end with a song and note of accomplishment. You don’t need an app to do this, make it part of your day by setting a kitchen timer; you will be amazed at how much you can get done in just fifteen minutes!

At the end of the day you can see a list of your accomplishments. I know how easy it can be to go through an entire day running around like crazy, and then sit down at day’s end and wonder “what did I get done today?” This feature offers encouragement and allows you to see a clear list of all of your accomplishments for the day.

If you don’t have a phone that supports this app you can still visit the Home Routines website to find help from their “Housework Ninjas.” This is a group of experts that offer advice to get you on track with anything from organization to healthy habits and offer emails full of useful tips.

Though I know this might not be practical for everyone, this system seems to be working well for me. I have tried binders full of checklists before and they tend to sit on my counter unopened most days. I tried a note card method in a recipe box that contained cards with all of my tasks and were rotated each day through the month. Again, it worked for a few days and then just collected dust. My phone, however, sends me little reminder messages and is a lot harder to ignore. Plus, there is just something about seeing that gold star show up on the screen that keeps me going!

If you are looking for a printable version of a household notebook, I found some great resources at http://organizedhome.com/printable/household-notebook. I think this could be a great option for the right person, and the pages can be put into sleeves and used with a wet erase marker to save paper.

Another resource I have been using this week is on one of my favorite blogs by Proverbs 31 Ministries contributor Glynnis Whitwer. She has been doing a "Clutter-free Challenge" on her blog that not only offers tips of organization, but also a look into why we find ourselves in clutter and how the power of prayer can play a part in the solution. I often forget that even in my daily trials I can turn to God for strength, discipline, and guidance. In fact, this may be one of the most important areas in which I should seek Him, as it affects so many aspects of my (and my family's) life.

This year is bringing many changes to my family, and I am hoping to make it all a bit easier with a more organized home and less stressed out mama! I will keep you posted on my organization makeover progress throughout the year.

I can use all the help I can get. I would love to hear how you organize your task lists and encourage yourself to stay on track. Do you use a digital method or keep it simple with paper and pen?

Written by Happily Domestic Contributor - Jodi Faye

Enter to Win a DOZEN Preston's Pants Cloth Diapers!!! Hurry Ends Soon!

Enter to win a FREE stash of Preston's Pants cloth diapers in assorted styles and colors!

TWO WINNERS will be chosen at random.

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Click here to go enter!

Preton's Pants also offers custom made diapers with embroidery! Check out this adorable diaper I had custom made for my son. I love it!

Snaps match the embroidery and the inside fabric is a farm scene print fleece. I must say, I am very impressed by these WAHM made cloth diapers. Colleen does a fabulous job! They fit my son perfectly and we have not had any leaks.

To shop Preston's Pants, click here. You can also purchase from her new Etsy shop! Click here.

Silent Auction Coming to an End- Don't Miss Out!

The silent auction for the Contours Options Tandem Stroller ends here in a couple days (February 1st at 8pm Mountain Time). Currently the bidding is only at $170. These strollers go for $319 if you buy them anywhere else and proceeds from this auction benefit the charity, K.I.D.S. (Kids in distressed situations). Please show your support and make a bid today! You will receive this awesome stroller (free shipping) and be helping children in need all around the world! Beats purchasing elsewhere.

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This stroller has received a 4 1/2 star rating! To read the many rave reviews it received on Kolcraft's website, click here.

What to do with all the....

TOYS!!

Most every house has them and in this day and age most have too many. So what is a mom (especially a mom of many) to do with all the toys? Here are just some of the ways we "tame" the toy monster.

At my house we use lots and lots of tubs. We have tubs in all shapes, sizes and styles. I have taught my children that each "set" of play things has their own tub. And at clean up time even my three year old know what goes in each tub. It might sound a bit over the top, but with this system my children can find the toys that they are looking for and it minimizes the little toys that are lost in the bottom of the toy box. So we have a "Polly Pocket" box, a "Guy" box, a Rescue Hero box, and so forth. We also have a tub for play food and dishes and one for baby clothes.

Our "Kitchen" box and "Baby Toy" box

We also have a lot of toys out of reach. When I only had preschooler and under almost all toys were out of reach and they were allowed one "set" out at a time. For example if Miss M wanted to play with the Dora set everything else was picked up and then I would hand her the Dora set off the shelf. When she wanted to play something else she had to have Dora picked up. Now with five children in the same size house I have run out of closet space to keep it all out of reach. I now have to use the closet for the older children's games and toys that are dangerous for the little guys.

One of the closets keeping Toys/Games/Art supplies out of reach

We have so many many books that we have a book shelf in all three bedrooms in the house. And any extra space in the book shelves has a bosket or two on it for toys, socks, or whatever else is needed.
Recently I purchased on of these cool Cubical things at Target when they were on sale and I am currently watching for another sale. I want another one for the other side of the window in our sun room. We have cubbies for different toys and it makes clean up easy. I wish there was a better way to limit how many sets could be taken out at a time because my little ones want to dump all of the cubes out every day. But we are working on fixing that behavior. At least, now that we are out of closet space this shelf provides a way to store toys that isn't TOO hard on the eyes.


Thought about cleaning it all up before I photographed it but then felt the need to show you how it normally looks.

I have also been known to save the bags, backpacks, and such that my children get with gift sets or toys or from yard sales and store toys in them. We have, what would look like to you a normal book bag, but to us is the tea set bag. Everyone, well all of the kids and mom, know that all the tea sets get put into that certain book bag. The bag came with some toy or gift but we reused it as effective toy storage.

We also try to promote creative gift giving for our children. We put such things as thermoses, lunch boxes, bulletin boards, sleeping bags, and art supplies on their birthday and Christmas lists. They usually always get something that they "want" but we also try to get them practical things that don't take up so much space but that are fun. Hair things, fun socks, a cool cup, an electric pencil sharpener, pretty pencils, or a neat sheet set for their bed are just a few of the things that my children have loved getting but it didn't add to the toy monster in the house.

The hooded towels my sister made for two of the children for Christmas gifts.
They LOVE them!!!

How do you tame the toy monster at your house? Any great storage ideas? What creative gifts have your children received instead of toys?

Written by Happily Domestic Contributor - Amanda Sikes