SewMona – Page 26 – A slice of my Florida life

Make Time for Your Kids

I just wanted to watch one show. One show – 30 minutes. I guess you could say it’s my one guilty pleasure. We only get the local channels so, for me, there’s no temptation to watch TV. HGTV is my channel – I used to watch it every night, but since moving and downsizing, I haven’t. However, I really do like Rehab Addict and my mom (who lives around the corner) is happy to let me come watch it. Theoretically, the kids are all in bed and my FIL is willing to stay home while MIL and I go. Tonight though, my daughter needed me. She volunteered to make cookies for tomorrow’s school party. I know that she won’t always want my help with making cookies (she’s actually perfectly capable now).

So, I remind myself that I can catch up on TV shows when they show reruns or when they show up on Netflix or Hulu, but I can never have a do-over of this moment. So, even though I know it’s my fault the cookie baking is happening after bedtime, it’s OK. We did this earlier (when we should’ve been baking cookies) and it was totally worth it!

Sometimes the fun stuff still gets pushed aside, but we’re trying to make sure it happens more!

Art Project – 3-D Hand

I saw this idea on Pinterest and had to try it. I was surprised at how easy it was and that it really worked! Simply lightly trace your hand and wrist onto a piece of white paper. Pick two or three different colors for your lines. I used markers for mine and think they work better than crayons or colored pencils. Draw a straight line until you get to your tracing, then make a curved line. It’s easy when you start, but when you get to your fingers, be careful that you make your curved line just in the fingers and a straight line between them.

I started by drawing straight lines with a ruler. I space them out a bit. Then I connect them with a curved line. Then I use another color and draw straight lines in between the first set. Connect them with a curved line too. If I want a super neat look, I use a ruler for the whole thing.

You don’t have to use a lot of colors. It works just as well with only 3 or 4. As long as your lines are semi-straight, it will work.

3D Hand

Using a rainbow of colors will work well too!

3D Hand

I don’t think the colored pencils and crayons worked as well.

Even with just a few lines, the hand starts to pop off the page.

As soon as you get lines up the whole hand, you can really see the hand popping off the page! I tried this with the art class I teach and it worked well for the older kids (say 10+). Younger kids aren’t as careful about the straight and curved lines and don’t have the patience to do the whole hand.

On Being Offline

I’ve read part of The Unwired Mom (before I apparently deleted the e-mail that had the link to my free copy) and this that goes along with it. I’ve read this. I know that when the internet goes down, I get more down (although I grumble about not being able to check my e-mail or my etsy shop or my ebay or my blog). Currently we’re living without home internet – oh the horror! It’s temporary, but we all miss it!

However, actually getting offline when the internet is right there calling me? It’s hard! Part of my life is online – it’s how I make money. If I don’t answer questions on eBay and respond convos on etsy, then I might miss a sale. However, spending hours following links from one blog to another or constantly checking my shop is not productive! So, how do I balance this online and offline life? How do I make sure my kids don’t think I’m setting a double standard when I tell them to turn off the TV or find a save spot in their game?

Here are three simple ideas.

1. Each morning, I have a routine – shower, dress, make/eat breakfast, get hubby and daughter off to school with lunches. I normally check my e-mail while I’m having my breakfast (one of the perks of having a small house? The dining room table is also our computer table…maybe that’s not a perk…). Then comes school for my boys.

2. Do I have obvious things that need to be done? Is the sink full of dishes? Do I have laundry to fold (I have no problem doing laundry and putting it away, it’s the folding that I dislike!)? Do I have etsy orders to complete? Then I need to get off the computer or my phone and get busy!

3. Have I spent time with my kids? Maybe this should be number 1! We have three kids and they require time. I homeschool two of them which requires that I give them my undivided attention. When my daughter gets home she wants to tell me about her day, she wants/needs my undivided attention. She doesn’t want to repeat stories. They all want their share of Mama time and I need to make sure that they get it!

Is the internet an important part of your life? How do you make sure it doesn’t take over?

2015 Goals

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I’ve never been one to make resolutions. They never last long and normally they’re pretty vague like “loose weight” (how much? how will I accomplish it?). Goals, however, seem more achievable. Somehow, the word seems to imply that you’ve thought about them and have some sort of plan in mind. Or, maybe it’s just me.

I recently read Ruth Soukup’s Living Well, Spending Less: 12 Secrets of the Good Life and one of the things she talks about is having goals – something to work toward. I have lots of things I want to accomplish this year, but without a plan, nothing will happen. I want to take this blog to the next level, increase my etsy shop sales, work through Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps, travel, continue homeschooling my boys, eat healthier (or loose weight)…you get the idea. If I don’t plan though, these are just ideas, things that would be nice to do. So, I’m making a plan and then updating here each month with how we’re doing. That way I’m accountable to my readers.

So, here are my goals for the new year.

Work: I want to post more regularly and am working on a schedule where I’ll post on a certain topic on certain days. I also need to work on restocking my etsy shop. The holidays were busy and while I’m glad, I need to work on making more footie pants to rebuild my inventory. I would like to add 4-5 pairs a week.

Financial: We’ve had quite a few unexpected expenses recently (seriously, can we just go back to walking/biking everywhere?) that ate through our $1000 emergency fund and then some. We need to work on rebuilding that and eliminating the credit card debt that came from covering the rest of the expenses. We were working through Dave Ramsey’s baby steps and were on step three…now we’re back to step one. *sigh*

Personal: Three kids & one major surgery did a number on my body. I’m working on getting back to where I’m happy with the way I look. I’m trying to eat more fruits and veggies and take my kids for a bike ride everyday.

Homeschool: We’re starting the second half of our school year. This semester I’m also teaching art at the school where hubby works. School needs to happen first thing in the morning. Getting it done early works well for us – then the boys have the rest of the day to play and I can do some work. I need to work on art projects ahead of time as I have a habit of throwing something together at the last minute.

Family: We’ve been wanting to camping more, but it just hasn’t been happening. This year I want to be looking for more opportunities to camp (I’m working on our spring break camping trip). We want to go to Wales next year for a couple weeks so planning and saving for that needs to start this year! I would love to go to the Grand Canyon at some point in the next year or so. I need to look into it more – it would take us a week just to drive there and back, so it would need to be a two week vacation. We’re also in the process of selling/buying a house and there’s a lot purging going on. Once we get moved, we need to make our new house a home.

What about you? Do you have goals for the new year? If you need some inspiration, check out Ruth Soukup’s Living Well, Spending Less: 12 Secrets of the Good Life.

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Contentment is a Choice

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This post is written as part of Ruth Soukupâ€™s Secret 13 Blog Tour, which I am excited to be a part of along with many other inspiring bloggers. To learn more about the blog tour and join us, click HERE. To find out more about the Secret 13 Essay Contest and your chance to win a weeklong Carnival Cruise for 4, click HERE.

I was privileged to get a preview copy of Living Well, Spending Less: 12 Secrets of the Good Life. I’ve been following Ruth’s blog Living Well Spending Less for over a year and I love what she has to say. Her new book made a lot of sense to me! I’ve read it once – a quick read through and now I’m re-reading it.

She talks about the good life and how it isn’t what we expect. It isn’t more things or more money.

It is a life rich in faith, family, friends, and creativity. It is a life full of the richness that God has to offer; a life spent building treasures in heaven rather than here on earth. It is not a life of laziness and greed, but one of discipline, hard work, and self-reflection. It may not always be easy or comfortable, but it is always full in abundance and completely secure in Christ.

Last year, we moved across the country and did a major downsizing. We had to really think about what we wanted and what we could part with. I remember the final day of loading the truck – we still had more stuff to put it in and were rapidly running out of room. We had to reassess the leftover stuff and part with more of it. We left some stuff for the new owners – 25 lb dumbbells (the thrift store wouldn’t take them) and our glider swing (that was a tough choice!). The day we left PA, we made a final stop at the local thrift shop to drop off the stuff that wouldn’t fit. After the truck arrived in Florida and we started unloading it, we found more stuff that we didn’t need! For several weeks after we arrived, we were filling our dumpster each week, plus adding some to my parents! So much stuff that we paid to move and then just threw away! We also had enough stuff for a yard sale and then donated the leftover stuff to a local church for their rummage sale.

One of the things we don’t have right now is cable or satellite tv (we get the local networks via antenna). I honestly don’t miss it. My hubby and kids do, but they’ve found other ways to watch (Netflix, free shows on TV websites, DVDs). One thing I noticed is that I’m a lot more content when I can’t watch a lot of HGTV and DIY. I used to love watching Bathroom Crashers and Kitchen Crashers and any other show where they remodeled. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it made me very discontent with what I had. When I looked at my kitchen, all I saw were cabinets that were at the very least in need of painting (preferably replacing), the floor was old linoleum and never looked quite clean, the layout was all wrong…. You get the picture. What I should’ve seen was a huge kitchen with tons of storage that was perfect for a family with little kids that are going to spill things. Don’t get me wrong – the kitchen was dated, but updating it wasn’t a need. It was something I wanted to do (very badly!), but it wasn’t in our budget and that bothered me more than I should admit.

When we moved (to a house that I had only seen pictures of), the kitchen was smaller and even more dated (hello yellow countertops & backsplash), but you know what? I didn’t care! Why? Because I chose to be content – we were moving to Florida, close to family, & near the beach. We were simplifying life – hubby was leaving a job that had become too stressful with too many hours. He got a job teaching – something he’s always wanted to do. We left behind a big house with a huge fenced yard that we rarely used because of a neighbor we didn’t get along with. Our new house has a much smaller yard, but both neighbors enjoy seeing our kids out playing and have never complained about the noise. We try to get to the beach often (it doesn’t always happen though).

We are choosing to be content and it makes a world of difference!

Discover your own secret of the Good Life in Ruth Soukupâ€™s new book, Living Well, Spending Less: 12 Secrets of the Good Life. Through personal stories and practical action plans, she will inspire you to make real and lasting changes to your personal goals, homes, and finance. It is real, honest, and speaks to the heart of the matterâ€”how can you live the life youâ€™ve always wanted? It releases tomorrow Dec. 30, but if you pre-order today, you can get some great pre-order bonuses!