Girls' Night In

Once again the boys headed off to Men's Discipleship Class at a nearby Potter's House and we girls had girls' night in. Sabrina loves this and can hardly wait until the boys are out the door!

Tonight, we mostly played with her Barbie Dolls. She has quite a collection- some are from when I was a kid. When I got tired of sitting on the floor we watched a Barbie movie. Then we returned to her room to play with the dolls some more.

We played a bunch of games of Connect Four. Sabrina is pretty good at this game and she has a lot of fun playing it.

We also played a game of Monkey Dunk without the elephant. It was fun.

We finished girls' night in with a bowl of ice cream right before the boys came home.

Marie-Anne

Game Night- Marie and Frank

While the kids were busy doing other things Frank and I played a few games just the two of us, (of course I had the kids take a few pictures). It is very important that we spend time together as a couple too. I also believe it is important that the kids see us spending time together.

Tri-ominos is a game I love to play. It is pretty much triangle shaped dominos. We do have the kids' version, but I prefer the original. The original is too hard for Sabrina so it doesn't get played as much as I would like.

Another classic is Chinese Checkers. Once again it is too hard for Sabrina, though Alex has shown some interest in learning to play. I used to play this game with my Mamaw; I never won, but I kept trying. I rarely win against Frank, but it is fun.

Marie-Anne

Game Night

Our first game was Monkey Dunk, which is one of the games I recently picked up at the thrift store. The object of the game is to flip the monkeys into the "ponds". All players play at the same time and you get a point for each monkey that lands in the pond.

This game is labeled as a preschool game, but I disagree because we all had to practice and the kids had a difficult time figuring out how to flip the monkeys. The instructions even say to practice, but if my 7 and 11 year old had a hard time I am sure it would be too difficult for a preschooler.

However, now that they have figured it out we all agree it was pretty fun.

We also played Sequence States and Capitals. This is a great game for learning the states and capitals. I think I will add a map of the U.S.A. to the game box so they can also learn where the states are on a map. Alex has taught Sabrina a lot of countries using a map on the school room wall, so I am sure they will enjoy learning states as well.

Marie-Anne

Bible Kids Club

Bible Kids Club is still going on. This time, the kids watched a DVD about the first Christmas. Then they did crafts. I had wrapped a shoebox and asked the kids if they knew what God wanted for Christmas. They took turns guessing then I finally showed them a mirror and told them God wants them, their prayers, their love, their time...

I got these jumping frogs for another lesson, but we had time so the kids enjoyed playing with them.

An interesting thing that we did not plan on when we started Bible Kids Club, (Sabrina's idea) is that grown ups and teens would come. Sometimes the parents bring a friend with them or sometimes we have several teens. While we were still having the meetings in our home we realized we needed something to occupy the adults who brought the kids. So now, while the kids are doing crafts and games the adults watch a DVD geared for grown-ups and then discuss it.

Marie-Anne

Wetlands Park- Nature Center

As many times as we have been to the Nature center, I still love it. It has lots and lots of hands-on activities and it is free!

The weather was nice so we also enjoyed a hike around the trails. We had a great time.

Marie-Anne

Nature Center Book Nook

I received an email from the Nature Center asking for donations of new or used books for a reading nook. The kids and I dropped off this mix of new and used books today.

It made me a bit nostalgic because Sabrina has outgrown the Dora beginner readers. I tried to talk myself into keeping them, but I didn't. By letting them go, not only will a lot of other kids get to enjoy them, but I get to support a place that we have really enjoyed.

Marie-Anne

Game Night with Friends

We invited our very good friends, the Chavez's over for a game night. We have never invited anybody else over to play games, but it was a whole lot of fun.

Before they came over I set out games that the four adults could play and another stack for the three older children, (ones they could play without help). I also left out some preschool games for their young daughter.

First up for the adults was Battle Sheep. It was pretty competitive and a lot of fun. One game ended in a tie between the two men and Angie won the other time. She said she wants to get the game.

First up for the kids was Monopoly Junior. I don't know who won, but I do know they didn't put the game away and left it scattered on the floor. I had to remind them about the put a game away before getting another one rule. I think we got all the pieces, but I won't be surprised if we find one or two under the couch.

Next Alex challenged Angel to Battle Sheep. That kid is ruthless; he had Angel blocked within a couple of turns. I reminded him it was Angel's first time to play and told him to let Angel take a few turns before trapping him. I didn't want Angel to think the game was too hard and no fun, especially since his mom wants to get it.

Ticket to Ride was the next game for the adults. Our friends had never played it before so it took a little while to explain the rules. With four people playing, laughing, and joking around I had a hard time keeping up with whose turn it was. I was not surprised that Frank won.

Alex and Angel played a couple rounds of Toss Across using their hands instead of bean bags.

We had a great time. I kept the food easy- meatball subs, a veggie tray, and store bought cupcakes. After the kids played a few games they also played in Alex and Sabrina's rooms. Having friends over for a game night is definitely something I want to do again.

Marie-Anne

Coffee with Friends

Lately Frank or I will sometimes watch the kids so the other one can go meet a friend for coffee. It is a lot of fun to just sit, relax, and spend one on one time with a friend- no distractions. I also think it is good for the kids to see us making spending time with our friends a priority.

Marie-Anne

Game Night

Battle Sheep is an abstract strategy game. The players set up the board in any configuration they choose.  Each player has a stack of sheep that they can only move in a straight line as far as they can. Players must leave at least one sheep and move at least one sheep. The goal is to get more pastures than other players. So the strategy comes into play as players try to block opponents and keep themselves from being blocked.

Sabrina didn't like the game, (though I hope she will when she is a little older). Alex said he loves it. Frank and I both like it. I am very glad to add it to our growing collection of board games.

Later Frank and Alex played two games of Chess.

Marie-Anne

Game Night

Last night after church, we played a couple of games. Monopoly Junior worked much better with everybody starting out with $20. We were all able to go around the board more than once. It was also a big help in set up to have all of each character's pieces and money already separated into little bags.

Frank, Alex, and I played Ticket to Ride. It was a close game; Frank won with 104 points, Alex came in second with 103, and I had 100 points. Fun game!

Marie-Anne

Charitable Giving

Over and over again the Bible emphasizes good works, not to be saved, but because we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ; therefore we obey His commands.

In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works...  Titus 2:7

As parents, we want to teach our children to be generous as well. Therefore we often, but not always, involve them in our charitable giving. We want them to see for themselves that this is something that our family does.

Hoodies they picked out for homeless teens

There are lots of simple ideas that don't cost much in time or money that can be great examples to kids;

Operation Christmas Child
Food drives
Toy drives
Book drives
Clothing drives
Collect coloring books and crayons for the Children's Hospital
Donate unwanted books to the Friends of the Library
Collect school supplies during back to school sales
Make Valentines for Vets or nursing homes
Care packages for military
Invite friends without family nearby to join you for the holidays
Donate items to an animal shelter...

This time of year it is easy to give. Just in shopping I came across Salvation Army bell ringers, firemen doing the fill the boot drive, a book drive, a toy drive, and a food drive.

Marie-Anne

Buying used games

I scored a great deal at the thrift store. I got seven games that look new for under $20. I checked the prices of these games used on Amazon and they would have been about $85 plus shipping. I wrapped two of them as family gifts for Christmas. The others will be put into play soon.

When buying used games; I have learned to always, always, ALWAYS check to be sure it has instructions, isn't missing pieces, and is in good shape.

Marie-Anne

Rodeo Park

We had a picnic at Rodeo Park for lunch today. Yes, folks, it is December and my daughter is wearing shorts.

After we ate, Frank and I played Badminton. I love that game. I played it a lot as a kid, but for some reason I hadn't played it since then until recently. The kids brought their scooters and rode while we played.

They also had fun at the playground.

Marie-Anne

Fire Station Tour

We took the kids to drop off the toys we've collected for the fire station's toy drive. I collected toys I found on clearance through out the year, and their party was a fundraiser too.

We were quite happy that the fire fighters offered us a tour of the trucks.

Marie-Anne

Bike Ride

Sabrina has asked for a bike ride almost every day since she got her bike.

Marie-Anne

Game Night

We are trying to get in the habit of having game night at least weekly.

Our first game of the night was a new one for us; Monopoly Junior. It is a fast paced, much simpler version of the original. We played it twice, but next time we will give everyone $20 to start with instead of the allotted $16 so everyone can at least go around the game board once. I will also get snack size ziplock bags to store all pieces and starter money for each character to make startup time quicker.

Next up we modified Travel Qwirkle to be a cross between Bananagrams (which we have) and Pivit by Mindware (which I want). We each got 24 tiles and used two pennies as the trade in tiles. Then we each made our own crosswords with at least three per row. Sabrina, being younger, was allowed to have only two per row, but most of her rows had more. It was a fun game and I played it as a solitaire game later.

Scrabble Alphabet Soup is a game we haven't played in a while. We only played one round because the kids were being goofy and fighting over it.

We also played Sequence for Kids. It is fun to watch the kids strategize.

Sabrina begged to play Zingo, so, of course, we did.

We finished up with what used to be Sabrina's favorite game; Candyland. When we got this last year, she had me play up to ten times a day for the first week and she had me read the storyline at least three times. She still likes it, but it is no longer her favorite.

Marie-Anne

Benefits of Family Dinner

I'd say we eat dinner together at least 99% of the time. When Frank works from home and on weekends we eat lunch together as well. I received an email promoting family dinners, so I guess we are in the minority.

Research indicates that families who eat 5 or more meals together per week have the following benefits;

Boosts vocabulary in young children

Kids eat more veggies and are more prone to try new foods
Lowers stress
Lowers risk of substance abuse
Lowers risk of depression
Increased chance of graduating high school
Saves money if the meals are made at home...

Of course, it isn't the act of eating that lends these benefits. Rather, the conversations and the bonding that take place around the table during a meal.

Marie-Anne

Garden Update

As I suspected when I planted them, the spring crops died at first frost. This season was mostly a learning curve because we planted what we had and planted them late in the season.

So half of the garden died, but half is still growing.

Frank got more radishes.

Marie-Anne