30 Days of Thanks

Today, Nov. 29th, I am thankful for...the wonderful invention of digital scrapbooking! That may not be what the official name for it is but gone are the days in my house when I have to run to Hobby Lobby for supplies! I have discovered that it's so much easier for me (and affordable) to use the scrapbook packs that you buy online, download to your computer, and use with Photoshop Elements. I can sit and watch a movie with my family and STILL be creating scrapbook pages without the hassel of pulling out all my pages, photos, pens, stickers, cutters, etc...you get the point. It's a mess by the time I'm done doing the real deal so this is a way I can still preserve photos and memories without the mess. After I make a page, I save it to my computer and when I'm ready, I upload the page to snapfish.com or shutterfly.com and make the book. It's a hard bound book, not bulky, and very professional looking. I can make 4 copies for the kids or grandparents if I wish. It's a no brainer that this is the way to go if you are a scrapbooker. The site I used to purchase my packs was called www.sweetshoppedesigns.com. The packs are anywhere from $4-$8 a piece and you get 8-10 background patterns (papers) and tons of embellishments, even an alphabet font on some. The kicker? You get to use all these things forever. You don't have to go back to buy more paper. It's a one time thing that lasts a lifetime. And honestly, once you play around and master photoshop elements, it's fairly easy to use too. You can get a free trial on PS Elements online for like 30 days and if you like it, it's around $60 a year to continue. You do need SOME computer smarts (or a husband that knows computers like I have.) Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to do with my closet full of scrapbook supplies! Maybe sell them on ebay?

30 Days of Thanks

Today, Nov. 28, I am thankful for...the start of the Christmas season. Usually, Christmas preparation make me crazy, stressed out and insane. But this year, my Christmas cards are sent (before Thanksgiving even!) and I am done with my shopping. I only have to wrap gifts and I like to put on a movie, lock myself in my room, and wrap like crazy. This year, I am going to try a new tradition for the kids using an advent calendar (as explained in the below post.) I'm going to come up with 24 activities we can do as a family each night after supper. This not only keeps us close as a family during the holidays but it is fun. This way we can look forward to something Christmasy (is that even a word?) every night, and not just on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. I am working both those days so this is another way for me to stay connected to the kids and make the whole month special for them. Christmas karaoke, Christmas movies, and Christmas crafts and goodies are on the lineup for good clean fun at the Sheldon's. Be on the lookout too cuz we may just show up on YOUR doorstep singing our favorite carols.

30 Days of Thanks

Today, Nov. 27th, I am thankful for...the website and magazine "Family Fun". It is an awesome magazine I use to do cute projects with the kids. I've used it for the Thanksgiving goodies I made this year (pictures in the post below), along with both the little boys' birthday cakes. This year for Christmas I am taking another good idea out of the magazine and I'm going to tweek an advent calendar and put fun ideas under each tab so we can do things as a family each night of the Christmas season. Things like make an ornament, deliver a meal to a friend, make popcicle stick Christmas trees, wear winter hats and scarves and make paper snowflakes and snowmen for the tree. The possiblities are endless and it's a good way to teach the importance of family time to my children. So many times we come home from work and just lay around on the couch, simply going through the motions and not really interacting them. There are nights when Avery goes to his room and plays PS2 for the evening while Evan goes into our room to watch Dora. This idea came from a mom who obviously was experiencing the same everyday stressors I do during the holidays and wanted to make a change (and start a new tradition) for her family. I want that too. Soon are the days when it'll be just Erik and me and we'll be thinking back on the chaos. And we'll miss it. We'll miss the giggles, the singing, and even the bickering between the kids. This is the time of year to really take in all we have been blessed with and to bless others. Today I am thankful for other moms that give me great ideas to bond with my children.

Today, Nov. 26, I am thankful for...my family! Of course, I am! It's Thanksgiving and the most common thing to be thankful for but today is the day to specify what it is about each of my "peeps" that makes me love them.

Erik-my soul mate, the one who keeps me in check and balances things. When I'm crazy, he knows not to be! He not only has been a super partner for the last 12 years but he's been a fantastic father to our children. He strives to be a better man all around and really works hard to achieve this goal. He sees things in me that I can not and he supports decisions I make for myself. We work good as a team. He's the one that teaches me patience most of the time and I'm blessed that I have a man to help me with things that need to be done around the home we are trying to maintain for our family. There isn't anyone in the world I'd rather be married to or share my life with.

Avery-my oldest son, the one who amazes me with everything he does. He has paved the way for his siblings and I'm learning how to be a better parent as I deal with new issues that he is going through, being my oldest. He is a trustworthy, loving, and wonderful child and it makes me panic when I think of him leaving the nest in 7 short years. He has such a great sense of humor, is a great student, and fantastic athlete. He is so much like his dad so I know that whoever he ends up sharing his life with down the road, she'll be the 2nd luckiest girl in the worth (2nd only to me).

Jaelyn, my only daughter, the one who teaches me that patience is a virtue. She is so talented and beautiful but also so head strong. She is my mini me. When I get angry with her it's only because I can see and hear myself in her. The artist in her makes me so proud. She has a very caring heart and feels empathy towards others. Out of all my children, she is the one that I know will take care of me when I am old as she is the caregiver in our family.

Braden, my second son, is the one in the family that often gets forgotten, sad to say. He is soft spoken most of the time and usually takes a backseat to the others only because he's so easy going. It's odd when he's acting out or causing problems because he's always been such an easy child. He has a good sense of humor and makes everyone around him laugh. He loves to snuggle with his mommy in the mornings and that makes my heart melt. I'm so proud of how he has adjusted to going to school full time and how he tries so hard to learn what he is suppose to learn.

Evan, the baby, is such a smart toddler. He's gonna be the mastermind to big projects as he likes to figure out how things work. He likes to mimic the others and do what they do. When Braden was busy learning his alphabet, Evan was too. When the others are doing chores, Evan wants to do it too. He's still the baby but is trying to grow up and this mommy isn't ready to let him do that completely yet! Yes, he gets treated differently because he IS the baby but it's also because he's so darn cute and says the cutest things.

I am so blessed for the big family I ended up with. I look down the road and imagine how my family is going to grow with in laws and grandbabies and I know that I am so grateful to be the matriarch of such a great bunch of people!

30 Days of Thanks

Today, Nov. 25th, I am thankful for...time with my kids. In this fast paced world we live in, rarely do I get a chance to give them my undivided attention. Usually the TV distracts me, I'm doing laundry or cleaning up the kitchen. I'm playing on the computer or talking on the phone. But today, I have plans! We are going to be making all sorts of Thanksgiving treats and they are gonna help me! I am hoping they are as excited about it as I am! I think it'll break up the day of watching cartoons and playing video games for them. I most likely am more excited then they are about it but it's only because I live for the oh's and aw's of my clever designs! I admit it!

30 Days of Thanks

Today, Nov. 24th, I am thankful for...people who do the jobs we hate to do. Think if we had to do all the "Dirty Jobs" that they show on TV. What if we had to butcher our own meat instead of just go to the store and pick up a turkey or hamburger. Think if no one cleaned the movie theaters or the bathrooms at the baseball park. Think if no one came to pick up our garbage. There are so many jobs out there that are nasty and we often just take it for granted that there are people out there doing them to earn money to pay the bills. Nursing aides and even nurses often times get to clean up vomit, feces, and blood. That's nasty to some, but just another day in paradise to others. We all have a limit of what we can stomach and what we'd rather just pay someone else to do. Today, I'm paying for Blanca to come clean my house. Clean up my dog's hair in the carpet and my son's pee on the toilet seat. That's not really fair to her but that's what she does to pay her bills. (Of course, I make sure there really isn't any pee on the seat!)Part of me feels guilty that I'm hiring someone else to clean up after my family as I can do it just as easily myself. But it's one of those jobs I'd gladly let someone else do. I just keep telling myself I'm giving her work in this recession and helping her put food on the table for her family. (whatever helps me sleep, right?) So next time you are thinking to yourself that YOU have it hard, remind yourself that someone right now is probably doing something grosser than you can even imagine.

101 Things list

Did you know that it's almost been 1001 days since I made my "101 Things to do in 1001 Days" list? I know! Time flies! I have actually accomplished quite a few on my list and I think I'm gonna give it another go. "Sincerely, Jenny", a blog I read religiously, is a friend and fellow blogger from Des Moines. She got me thinking of some really good ideas on my next list under the topic of volunteering. Afterall, aren't we the hands and feet of Jesus? Here are some of hers that I blog-lifted and some of my own.

Have my family donate time in a soup kitchen
Donate blood (once I get my blood counts up!)
Donate 1001 Things to Goodwill (love that one!)
Tip someone 100% for really good service (you never know who that will bless)
Donate $100 to 3 separate organizations (Breast Cancer research is #1 on the list)
Walk or participate in a fundraising event like the 3 Day Breast Cancer walk
Adopt a family for Christmas

These are just a few that will make the list in 2010! I'm excited to start making another list. What I didn't accomplish with the last just might make a reappearance on the new list.

30 Days of Thanks

Today, Nov. 23, I am thankful for...my dad! It's not his birthday but when I went to get the mail today, Erik got a magazine called "Handy Man", which of course, reminds me of the best handyman I know! My dad! Mr. Fix it! Mr. "if I can't fix it, I'll rig up a way to make it work." It's kind of a joke but he has more fun trying to find "alternative ways" to fix things. Take our basketball hoop for instance. My brother and his family came to visit this summer and my brother went to dunk the ball and the whole pole cracked and fell on my brother. (Luckily him and not one of the kids!) It was bound to happen and we don't blame him, although teasing him about it is fun! My dad and mom came a few weeks later and my dad had made a plan to get this hoop fixed, even though it looked like it was headed out with the trash. Well, He did it! With the use of our neighbor's tools, an old 2x4, and a few trips back and forth to Ace Hardware, he got the job done! The neighbor boys are thrilled that ol' Gramps came and saved the day! I remember when my grandpa used to come to our house, he'd always have a project to work on. Looks like my dad is following in his dad's footsteps. First it was Evan's tree swing, then the basketball hoop...what next? He won't paint, says that's a young man's job. But I'm sure I can break something for him to fix! Thanks Dad! Love ya!

30 Days of Thanks

Today, No. 22, I am thankful for...my cell phone. Not just because I am blessed to have the iPhone but because without my phone, I couldn't get updates on my children throughout the day via text, couldn't check my emails and bank statements, couldn't find out the latest on facebook. I always have a camera and even a tape recorder on me wtih this thing, not to mention a calculator and all the other apps I have bought. A few of them I have purchased for the sole purpose of keeping my 2 yr old entertained in the grocery store as he plays games on my phone. That boy can manuver his way through that phone better than my grandma can, I can assure you of that! It's just so nice to have a cell phone so when I have quiet time on my drive home from work, I can catch up with my parents or friends. I know for a long time I didn't want a cell phone but now, I can't imagine life without it. I am getting the play by play of Avery's baseball game he is subbing in today thanks to texts from the coaches wife. It doesn't take the place of being there with him, but it helps to know I'm still in the loop.

30 Days of Thanks

Today, Nov. 21, I am thankful for...choices. We don't realize how often throughout the day we are asked to make choices. Simple choices like what toppings to put on the pizza, what to make for breakfast, what bills to pay first. There are still countries out there where women are not allowed to make choices and in some countries, people don't have all the choices to make like we do in the US. What fast food restaurant will I eat at? What will I name my child? What stock will I invest in? Everyday it's another decision to be made. I am faced with the decision right now whether or not to continue a friendship. That sounds harsh but my choice is whether or not to keep investing my energy, time, emotions into friendships that I'm getting nothing back but stress in return. I've done it before and I'll do it again. Breaking up with a friend isn't easy. But sometimes it's for the best to cut those ties and free yourself from that emotional heartbreak. I feel that way about certain members of our extended family as well, which unfortunately, I don't have a choice but to just ignore it. So as I make decisions today about whether or not to order out for lunch, whether or not to go to bed early, whether or not to wear my Hawkeye scrubs...I am thankful that at least I have choices to make. Difficult or not, it's still MY decision in the end. It's only ME that controls my fate. It's only ME that I can be unhappy with or proud of at the end of the day. Some choices will be easy to make while others will come with consequences. But at least I have them to make.