Take Care Tuesday- Free Printable Workout Calendars

Yay- I just finished my workout program. Now I need to decide on a schedule of what I am going to do each day.  Here is a free printable of a workout calendar. I am going to make use of mine and map out what I am going to do each day and for how long.  Be specific of what workouts you are going to do. On mine I am going to have some 20-30 min of cardio and 30 min of sculpting/weights on Mon, Wed, & Fri. Then on Tues, Thurs, and Sat I am going to do 50 min of cardio and 10 min abs. There are a lot of fun ways to do cardio, decide what you enjoy and what gets you the best results!  Good Luck!! Let me know what kind of workouts are your favorite.

Free Workout Calendar Printable

Mommy Monday - My Gospel Standards FHE wk 3: I will choose the right. I know I can repent when I make a mistake.

Family Home Evening Outline for: I Will Choose The Right. I Know I Can Repent When I Make A Mistake.

Welcome everyone to Family Night

Sing: "Choose The Right" Hymn Book Pg 239

Have a member of the family member say the prayer

Discuss any family business

July 2013 Sharing Time- Week 4- Heavenly Father wants me to marry in the temple and have an eternal family

I wanted to hurry and get this post in before Sunday.  I am going to try to get these sharing time posts in by Mondays so there will be more time for preparation.  So here's the idea for this week:

Free Silhouette Printable

Start by having a silhouette of a women and a man. Explain to the children that someday they will be all grown-up and that one day they will meet someone who will become their eternal companion. Also, have silhouettes of some little children.  Tell them that one day they can have children who will be sealed to them.  Show them a picture of the temple.  Explain to them that this is where they can be married and sealed together for all eternity. Eternity means forever. That it is an important step in returning to live with our Father in Heaven.

Free Temple Printable

Tell the primary children that we are going to talk about ways we can prepare now to be sealed in the temple.  Explain to them that you are going to need their help to build the temple.  That each piece of the temple has a way they can prepare to go inside and be married and sealed for eternity someday. Print out the free temple printable and cut out all of the pieces of the temple.  Each piece has a way the children can prepare for the temple written on it. Have the children put the pieces of the temple together on the board and discuss each piece or way they can prepare as they put the piece up. They have small numbers on them so you will know where they go.

When the temple is all built explain to the children that when we are sealed in the temple for eternity then our families are blessed and we are blessed to. We are happier, we know that we can be together forever and live with our Father in Heaven someday.  If there is extra time ask the children and leaders how their families have been blessed from being eternal families. (Be sensitive to those who have not been sealed) The important thing is that we can all prepare to have this special ordinance done. And helping the primary children understand how they can prepare for the temple.

Fabulous Friday - Spotlight post Dandilicious Design (Super Cute Earrings)

I love these earrings! What do I love about them? Well, they come in so many amazing colors and shapes and sizes.  They are really light for the size they are. And they are affordable.  Now where do you get these cute accessories?  You can find them at Dandilicious Design to visit the site click here.

* picture is from Dandilicious Design's blog

Thrifty Thursday - DIY Pedicure

Doing your own pedicure is super thrifty! All you need is a foot file, some nice moisturizer, a cuticle tool, nail clippers, and some finger nail polish.  All of which can be bought at the dollar store. 

First, use the foot file and file all of the rough spots on your foot. Next clip your toe nails.  I actually have a toe nail clipper that is a little bit larger than a normal clipper. Then, file your toe nails. Making them smooth and the shape you desire.  It is best when filing to file in one direction, not back and forth. Next, apply your moisturizer, give your foot a nice massage, pay attention to massaging the moisturizer into your cuticles.  Then gently push back your cuticles with the cuticle tool. Wipe off your toe nails and apply your base polish.  I did two coats. Then you will pick another color, I did white. I used the end of my cuticle tool to make the dots, you could also use the end of a strait pin, craft paint brush or an embossing tool.  Actually I've also used the end of a bobby pin before too. They make dotting tools if you would prefer to purchase one. Then you will make the dots, by dipping your tool into the nail polish and dotting it onto the nail.  As you can tell it is my first time doing the dots, they are not too uniform and my little toes they are a little crowded. Next time I will do it a little different then just randomly putting them on.  I've seen a tutorial that has you put a dot in each of the four corners and one in the middle then you can evenly space them in there. Wait for the dots to dry and then put on a clear top coat. And there you have it some cute toe nails to show off your favorite sandals.

Wisdom Wednesday - Chocolate Covered Sugar Cookies

I had a box mix for sugar cookies that had to be used up and the kids were really wanting a treat.  So last night I made some sugar cookies.  The first batch I rolled in some sprinkles and flattened out into circles. They were pretty good.  The next couple of batches I rolled the dough out and cut with some cookie cutters. And baked them.  I then warmed some white chocolate chips up in the microwave. Tip: add a little olive oil to white chocolate to make it easier to dip.  I then dipped the tops of the cookies into white chocolate and sprinkled with some sugar sprinkles, then put them in the fridge to set up. For the next batch of cookies I warmed up some caramel bits. I just used the directions on the back for dipping caramel apples. I then dipped the top of the cookies into the caramel put them on some wax paper and put them in the fridge to set up.  I then warmed up some yummy milk chocolate chips in the microwave. I took the cookies that had been dipped in the caramel and then I dipped them into the milk chocolate. Put them back on the wax paper and into the fridge to set up.  They are so yummy!!  Enjoy!!

Take Care Tuesday - Exercise, What Works...

Exercising is a part of my life.  I do it pretty much everyday of the week.  I allow myself to have a rest day on Sunday, where I do not schedule a workout.  But a lot of times as a family we will go on a little walk that day.  I am a strong believer that you need to schedule a time each day  that you are going to exercise and know before hand what you are going to do.  Scheduling is so important.  So, pick a time that is going to work best for you.  If you have children it could be before they wake-up if you find it hard to workout when they are awake.  If you work,  choose what is going to work for you, whether it be exercising before you leave for work or exercising when you get home. Just pick a time and keep with it.

Make a workout schedule.  It is so important to know what workout you are going to do and for how long you are planning on exercising.  Currently, I am doing a cardio kickboxing program which is on DVD, which has a schedule already for me.  This makes it so easy because I just follow that schedule that is already there.  But if you are not going to do a video, then make your own schedule.  I have found that works good for me, when I am not following a program, is I do some kind of sculpting or toning exercise three times a week.  I like to workout for at least an hour, so that is what I have planned for. Here is an example:
     
Monday- Cardio for 30 minutes (5 minute warm-up included), then Sculpting for 30 minutes (5 minute cool-down/stretch included)

Tuesday- Cardio for 50 minutes (5 minute warm-up included), Ab workout 10 minutes, 2 minute stretch

Wednesday- Cardio for 30 minutes (5 minute warm-up included), Toning for 30 minutes (5 minute cool-down/stretch included)

Thursday- Cardio for 50 minutes (5 minute warm-up included), Ab workout 10 minutes, 2 minute stretch

Friday- Cardio for 30 minutes (5 minute warm-up included), Sculpting for 30 minutes (5 minute cool-down/stretch included)

Saturday- Cardio for 50 minutes (5 minute warm-up included), Ab workout 10 minutes, 2 minute stretch

Different kinds of Cardio workouts: Kickboxing, Dance, Interval Training, Running, Walking on an incline, Biking, swimming laps or water aerobics, etc. (There are a lot of cardio videos out there, you can even find some free ones on the Internet.) I also think it is important to mix it up.  I have been doing this kickboxing program and feel that I am in pretty good shape. But I decided to go running the other day and my endurance was great, but I was sore after.  Different exercises use different muscles, so mix it up.

Sculpting can be done using weights or resistance bands. What I do when I am not in a program, is I use the different sculpting videos that I have and alternate with them.  So like on Monday I would do one and on Friday I would do another.

Toning can be used with resistance bands or not.  Pilates is a great way to tone.

Ab workouts... I love working my abs.  They do not take long to workout and get results.  It is best to work all of  the muscles in your abs.  So don't just do crunches for 10 minutes.  Mix it up and work every part.

I think the biggest thing is that you need to CHALLENGE your self!  If you are starting to think your exercise is easy then you need to step it up a bit.  If you are running and its a breeze, then run longer, or faster, or run on an incline.  Be intense in what ever you are doing, that is how you get results is when you give it your all.

Have a positive attitude.  If a workout is hard then say to yourself that you can do it.  Give yourself a little pep talk. Do not give up and say you can not do it or your too tired. When you accomplish something then be proud that you did it!  If you made it through a workout with out having to stop, be happy for yourself. If you ran a little longer then you did the day before, be happy for yourself.  If you are starting and you did your first workout, be happy for yourself!

Be persistent.  I sometimes get this attitude as I am finishing a program that I deserve a little break for doing such intense exercises for so long. This is when I get in trouble. I slack and then some muscle goes bye bye and some fat starts to come to visit and then it is like I have to start all over again.  So, being persist is crucial.  Yes, working out is difficult if you are pushing yourself, but the benefits are worth it.  So don't start to slack! be persistent and stick with it.

Make sure you are safe! As always check with your doctor before you start an exercise program.  If something starts to hurt and you feel injured then stop.  Nothing is worse then getting an injury and having to put working out on hold.  So be safe.

Mommy Monday -FHE lesson- I Will Remember My Baptismal Covenant and Listen to the Holy Ghost

Family Home Evening Outline for: I Will Remember my Baptismal Covenant and Listen to the Holy Ghost.

Welcome everyone to Family Night

Sing: "The Holy Ghost" Children's Songbook pg. 105

Have a member of the family member say the prayer

Discuss any family business

Scripture:  Articles of Faith #4 "We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost"  Try to have everyone memorize it. (Ideas of how to memorize Articles of Faith and other scriptures: Write the words out on a board. Repeat the Article of Faith. Then erase a couple words, continue saying the Article of Faith and erasing words until all of the words are erased and everyone can repeat it. You could also print it out on paper, cut it apart and take a way a couple words. Works the same way as erasing.)

Lesson:
When we are baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we make special covenants with our Heavenly Father.

We promise or covenant with him:
- That we will become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- We will be called his son or daughter.
- We will help others.
- We will testify of Christ and set a good example at all times.
- We will serve God and keep his commandments.

If we keep our baptismal covenants then Heavenly Father promises to:
- Forgive our sins.
- Give us the companionship of the Holy Ghost
- Permit us to enter the Celestial Kingdom to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus.

 Use the stick printable.  Put the two sticks together and have the word covenant in the middle holding them together.  Explain that when we keep our promise then Heavenly Father has to keep his, he is bound by the covenant. But if we break our promise then Heavenly Father does not need to keep his. Because the covenant will be broken. Take away the covenant word strip and show the two sticks broken apart.

Heavenly Father loves us so much that he has given us some special helps.  After we are baptized a worthy Melchizedek priesthood holder confirms us a member of the church and gives us the gift of the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Ghost will be with us to warn us of dangers, to helps us make the right decisions, and confirm the truthfulness of the gospel to us.  Sometimes it is just a feeling we get. We can feel really warm inside, sometimes getting emotional when the spirit is testifying the truth to us. And sometimes we get a very bad feeling when it is something that we should not do.  We need to choose to listen to the Holy Ghost.

Heavenly Father has also given us the sacrament to partake of each week.  This is when we can renew our baptismal covenants.  It is so important to attend sacrament meeting each week.  It is the most important part of our meetings, because we renew our covenants with our Heavenly Father. We need to always remember the promises we have made to our Heavenly Father.

Closing thoughts and testimonies.

Closing Prayer

Treat (Covenant pretzel sticks)
Take two pretzel sticks, insert the end of each stick into opposite sides of the marshmallow (Use Big marshmallows, not the small ones).  The sticks are like us and Heavenly Father and the marshmallow is like the covenant we make that binds us together.  If you want to make them tastier you can dip them in chocolate.   While chocolate is still wet you can sprinkle them with sprinkles or cinnamon sugar would be yummy if you dip them in white chocolate.

Fabulous Find Friday - DIY Summer Skirts

I love these light, fun summer skirts.  It gets so hot out these last two months of summer that its nice to have some fun skirts to wear to help keep cool. Click on the pictures below and they will take you to the links.

I found this maxi skirt tutorial over at Tip Junkie.  I love the ruffles and the pink color!

This pattern I found over at WKdesigner.

This cute skirt I found over at I Candy Handmade. So cute!!

This adorable ruffle skirt I found over at I Candy Handmade also.  I love the boots with it!!

July 2013 Week 3 Sharing Time: The Priesthood Can Bless and Strengthen My Family

This weeks sharing time is "The Priesthood Can Bless and Strengthen My Family". You can find in in the Sharing Time Outline Here.

Here are my free printables for this weeks sharing time:

Begin the sharing time with saying that we are going on an investigation to find something that can bless and strengthen our families. You will then choose one of the most reverent primary kids to come and help you. Give him a magnifying glass (real or you can make one out of card board and plastic wrap). Have him/her search for clue number one. (Oh ya, before primary starts you will need to either hide or put these clues around the room.) When they find clue #1 then read what it says.  Then choose another helper for clue number 2 and so on.  When they have found all clues ask all of the primary children if they know what this thing is? Remind them to raise their hands to give the answer. Hopefully they will say, "The Priesthood".  Then put your word strip "The Priesthood can bless and strengthen my family" up on the board. 

Choose 4 more helpers to come up and hold these pictures.  Discuss each picture with all of the primary children. Explaining why the priesthood is so important and how it can bless and strengthen our families.

Have another child hold a picture of the temple and discuss with the children how important it is that the priesthood authority makes it possible for us to be married and sealed together as eternal families.

Ask the primary children if they would like to share any ways that the priesthood has blessed them and their families.

End by bearing testimony of the importance of the priesthood and how it can bless and strengthen our families.

Thrifty Thursday - How to Make the Bib Clips

These bib clips are really quiet thrifty and easy to make.

Supplies needed:

Ribbon
Glue gun and glue sticks
Fabric glue
Felt to make embellishments
Clips ( I used badge clips, I just took off the plastic part and just use the metal clip part)

Directions:

Cut your ribbon to the desired length. Hot glue onto the badge clip.  I fished it through,the bottom of the clip glued then pulled it through to the back and glued.  For the embellishment pick what you would like to decorate it with. A girl you could do a fabric, felt or ribbon flower or butterfly. For a boy sports balls are easy.  I use two layers, I embellish and hand embroider the top piece, then glue  them together with fabric glue.  Then hot glue them onto the clips.

When you use them just clip them onto the top, almost corners of a napkin or paper towel and you have a bib. It is easy to carry around, takes up hardly any room.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Wisdom Wednesday - From the past - Bib Clips

I did this post a few years ago, I still love it!  Thy are bib clips, instead of having to pack a bib everywhere, you can just bring one of these along and just use the napkins at the restaurant and clip them on. I used them and loved them.

Here is  the previous post: Bib Clips.

Take Care Tuesday - Clean Eating

As I was thinking about what to post, I thought about what one of the best ways to take care of ourselves is.  Our body needs food to function correctly, more importantly it needs the right kind of food.  I recently read an article which was about cellulite.  In this article it spoke about women now and women in the past.  In the 40-60's you didn't here too much about cellulite.  Women woke up ate something that they either raised or picked from their garden. Then they spent the rest of the day manually working.  Now days we wake up eat something that has been processed at a factory somewhere, that definitely has more sugar than we need. Then we ride in our cars, sit at our desks, etc. We continue eating these processed unhealthy foods all day.  Our lives are higher paced and more stressful. We go to bed later than we should. Know wonders there is such a high obesity rate.  So what do we do?  We have to decide we want to be healthy.  Then we need to get back to the basics.  It's funny because you will hear people say that they do not have time to eat healthy meals or to be physically active.  It is an excuse!!!  It does not take any more time to fix a salad then pop in a freezer meal, it does not take any more time to grab a handful of grapes rather than a handful of candy.  And it doesn't take any more time to eat a bag of carrots rather than a bag of chips.   It might seem that buying healthy costs more money.  But if you don't buy the bag of chips and bag of candy and all of the processed boxes and cans of food and just buy things as close to their natural form as possible it really isn't any more.  What are some ideas of a clean eating menu?

Breakfast Foods:
Eggs - they are a great source of protein (If you are worried about cholesterol just use egg white)
Fruit- you could do a bowl of mixed berries or an orange or grapefruit
Oatmeal - no not the one that has all of the added sugar and pretend fruit.  Use oats and make oatmeal, the instant ones will be fine. If you need flavoring you can add honey or cinnamon, or even you favorite all fruit baby food.  I did this once when I was trying to cut all sugar and yeast out of my diet.  It wasn't too bad.

Snacks:
Raw nuts
Carrots
Celery
Apples
Any fruit or veggie


Lunch ideas:
Green salad - they don't have to be boring! You can add grilled chicken or ham. Add some mushrooms and red peppers.  If you like red onions add them.  You can sprinkle slivered almonds.  The options are endless.

Pick a protein - chicken, fish, pork, lean red meat, eggs, turkey
Add a fruit and veggie

Dinner ideas:
Pick a protein and grill or bake or crockpot it: chicken, fish, pork, lean red meat, turkey
Pick a side: quinoa, brown rice, sweat potato or yam, beans
Pick a veggie: broccoli, green beans, cabbage, zucchini, squash, carrots,  cauliflower, etc

Can I Ever Have Desert Again???  Yes.  If you have desert make it, don't buy it.  Then you know exactly what is going in to it. Use honey as the sweetener. Or flavor things with spices, such as cinnamon.  The goal is to eat clean and healthy most of the time. If you slip and have a piece of cake at a birthday party it is fine, don't feel guilty.  Just know that the next day you will be back to eating clean.

It can be hard getting into the habit of clean eating, I am trying to get there myself.  But I know the reward of being more healthy will be worth it.

Tips:
When shopping, shop the outside isle of the store.  Do not buy processed foods, try not to buy anything with a food label.

When you get home: wash and cut your fruits and veggies so they will be ready to eat.

If you are going to have a busy evening. Put your meal in the crock pot that morning or at lunchtime, then when dinner rolls around all you will have todo is eat it.

If you think you are hungry drink some water, if you are still hungry after 10-20 minutes then eat a little something.

Use a smaller plate.

Good luck!!

Mommy Monday - Family Home Evening My Gospel Standards

For Family home evenings I thought that it would be a good idea to use the My Gospel Standards found at the back of the Faith In God Booklets.  Tonight we started with the first one,  "I will follow Heavenly Fathers plan for me". We began by singing "I Will Follow Gods Plan" we stopped and talked about the words in the song.  Then we talked about how we lived in Heaven and that Heavenly Father created our spirits.  There was a war in Heaven and we choose to follow Heavenly Father and Jesus, we know this because we are here on Earth and have bodies.  Heavenly Father loves us so much that he sent us to Earth so we could have bodies just like he does. He sent us to families so we could have people to love us and help us here on Earth.  We are here to learn and grow.  To keep our Heavenly Fathers commandments.  We talked about some important ordinances: baptism, temple ordinances and being sealed together as a family.  We also talked about how we want to go to the celestial kingdom.  We ended with having our family prayer.  I used a picture of the pre-existence, Earth and the different degrees of glory.  I think visuals and telling things with some excitement helps to keep the children's attention.

July 2013 Sharing Time- Week 2- Family prayer, family scripture study, and family home evening can strengthen my family.

For sharing time in primary this week, I am going to do a little Family Home Evening type lesson to go a long with the topic.

First, I will start by having everyone sing a song.  I have these Happy Family Puppets that I had made a few years back that are on Popsicle/craft sticks.  I would post them on here, but they are not my drawings.  I found some family member pictures over at lds.org that you could print out, color and paste onto sticks. They are a pdf file.  Click here and it will take you there. With these puppets we will sing the song, "A Happy Family" found in the Children's Song book on pg 198.  Then using the printout below. I am going to have a child come up and wrap the wordstip  "Family Prayer" around the sticks of the happy family puppets.  We will then talk about how praying together as a family strengthens our families.  Then another primary child will come up and wrap the word strip "Family Scripture Study" around the sticks. We will then talk about how readying the scriptures together helps to strengthen our families.  Then another primary child will come up and wrap the word strip "Family Home Evening" around the sticks.  Then we will talk about how having family home evening strengthens our families. After they are all wrapped around the sticks, I will show the kids and talk about how those three things "invites the Spirit into our homes and brings us closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus, which makes our families stronger." (Sharing Time Outline pg 14)

Then we are going to play a little game.  I am going to have the kids go fishing. I have some fish that I have put metal paper clips on.  And I have used a long stick (a wood dowel would work too) and attached some string with a magnet at the bottom.  On the fish there are different things that families do together.  You could have the primary children play charades or pictionary with these things.  When they catch their fish they will read what it says on the back and have to either act it out or draw a picture and have everyone else guess.  Here is a printable of some fish:

Here are some ideas of some activities you could have on the back:

- Watch Movies

- Go on Walks or Bike Rides

- Go on Vacation

- Attend Church together

- Read Scriptures together

- Sing Together

- Play sports together

- Go on a Hike

-Visit Relatives

- Do Family History Work

- Serve someone together

- Cook together

- Pray Together

- Do yard work together

- Do house work together

ETC.....

What I am probably going to do is also have the primary child tell us something they enjoy doing with their family.

July 2013 Sharing Time- Week 1- Heavenly Father planned for me to come to a family.

I know this is a week late- but I thought it would be great if each primary kid had a copy of the "Family Proclamation".  This would have went well with week 1 sharing time, but could be done anytime this month.

I was going to whip some up...but there are already some great ones out there that are already done.  So here are the links to the ones that I have found.

1. visiting teaching surprise

2. lollyjane.com

Fabulous Find Friday - LDS Printables

The other day on Pinterest one of my friends had pinned to her board a website that had printables.  So I went on over to Mormon Mommy Printables and there found the cutest printables and even better all the ones I clicked on were free.  You need to go check this out!  There are some great ideas for Family Home Evenings and Primary! Just click below on her icon and it will take you to her home page.

Another website that has some Bible Characters is The Activity Mom you can link to her site here. She has a PDF file that could be printed and laminated.  These would be great for Family Night.

Thrifty Thursday - Up-cycled plastic grocery bag holder

I have a bunch of containers that used to have protein powder in them.  I have up-cycled them into a few different things.  One of my favorite is a plastic bag holder.  I keep one under the sink in the cupboard of each of my bathrooms.  Because, yes I reuse my plastic grocery bags too, they are the perfect size to fit in my garbage cans.  I love using the protein containers, because even though you wash them they still have the aroma of the flavor of shake mix, which then scents my bags. Here's the one I made for this post and no, not all of the ones I have are all dolled up.

Really simple to do:

Just re-use a container that you have. Empty wipe containers work great too.

I wrote with a permanent marker on the front of mine, but you could paint it on or vinyl it on too.

I put a piece of fabric along the top of mine with some hot glue and added a flower.

Then just stuff them full of all those plastic grocery bags you have!

Wisdom Wednesday - Flower Care Booklet (the idea)

I have planted so many flowers and plants and have forgotten some of there names. After purchasing them   and planting them I kept many of their little tags.  But I hate having to search through them and even then they don't really give you much instruction. I was thinking that it would be nice to have a booklet where I could go for care instructions for each plant in my yard.  So that is the idea.  I am taking pictures of each plant, then I will look them up online, where hopefully I will find their care instructions and tips.  I will post my progress.  Here's the 1st step, I have started taking pictures.

Here's a sample:

I am amazed at how well they have grown.  They were all planted at the end of the season last year.  Many of my plants were starts or bought on clearance.

Take Care Tuesday-Spotlight

Today I thought I would share and spotlight a website I recently found and love.  The amazing creator of the site is Merrick.  When you visit her website you will be hooked and in awe at how creative she is.  On her site she gives tutorials and fashion ideas.  A lot of her stuff is refashioning items, taking something and designing something else out of it.  I am doing this post on TakeCareTuesday, because I think everyone should feel good about what they're wearing and know that it doesn't have to take a lot of money to do so. Sometimes we need to think out side of the box.  We need to look at some of the stuff we already have and think, "What can I do with this?"  I am truly inspired by her posts.  So take a look and visit her at :Merricks Art

Mommy Monday - Job Chart for Little Ones

I am back...Sorry for the few days of no posts.  My family took a much needed vacation.  Today's Mommy Monday post is a job chart that I tried a little while back.  It actually worked really well.

This is what I did: I decided on the chores that my kids would be able to do for their age and then I took pictures of those chores.  This made it easy for them to know what chore they needed to do without having to be able to read or ask. In the box you could either make little papers that say "Complete" or "Done" or what I did was I had a bunch of stickers and each day they completed their job I gave them a sticker to put in the box.

Here's a Sample:

Take Care Tuesday - DIY Swim Suit Cover-Ups

Here are some cute swimming suit cover-ups that I found out there that you can make yourself. They all have great tutorials too.

This is made from a big white v-neck t-shirt.  This picture and the tutorial can be found at lovemaegan.com. Super cute and no sewing necessary.

This one is also made from a large white t-shirt.  Picture and tutorial can be found at Adventures of a Middle Sister.

This one is made from a piece of fabric.  Picture and tutorial can be found at laviediy.blogspot.com.

Now to decide which one to make?  Maybe all of them.

Mommy Monday - Take Time (Lego Designs)

Mommy Monday today is to take time and see what your children enjoy.  Sometimes we get busy with all of the things that we need to get done in the day, that we don't take the time to have our children share with us.  My boys were so excited to show me their creations today.  They have so much creativity and imagination.

Here are some of their creations:

Ninja Defense

Bounty Hunter House and Boat

Restaurant

My younger was proud of his little puppy that he bought with his own money.

A Snake House and Mine