…we started off about a year ago with 3 verbal rules (Obey Daddy and Mommy, Do not hurt others, and Do not hurt yourself), and I’ve kicked around several lists in my head for the past couple of years – but they were always very negative.  No kicking, no hitting, no shoving, no throwing…  A lot of “NO’s” to address very specific behaviors – but not getting to the heart of the matter.

Then I ran across this post – and I fell in love.  Not only with the presentation, but also with her rules.  So positive, so uplifting… I freely admit that I used almost all of her rules – I added two more (#1 and #2) and I took out a couple others, but for the most part, they are the same.  And instead of doing this on canvas, I did it on a scrap piece of MDF that we had in the attic – so it’s heavy as all get out, but I had everything on hand, so it was free!

So here are our 21 Family Rules…

For more Top Ten {Tuesdays} (or top 21, since I can’t count), visit Amanda here!  And for more Do It Yourself Day projects, visit A Soft Place to Land here!

I feel like I’ve written a post about this before, but I can’t find it on this blog or any other one I’ve ever maintained… so maybe it’s just been kicking around in my head for a while.  Please remember that I am a mom of 2 boys – ages almost-4 and almost-2.  These kiddos are crazy and gross – they are all boy, that’s for sure.  I decided to do this list after I said the following to Elias yesterday:

1. Get that out of your pants. This really applies to anything… but yesterday it was a 4 foot length of doweling that he had threaded through his underwear like it was a sword.

2. Sweetie, not everyone wants to see your Spiderman underwear. Do you see a theme happening here?

3. OK – go show Daddy, and then never do that again. Suppressing laughter, but followed by the admonition…

4. Kix do not belong in your nose.

5. We have to put on clothing to go out of the house.

6. Underwear is for family time only.

7. Stop smushing your face into mine!  I can’t breathe! This is a way that Donovan shows his love – I need to teach him that love does not have to be so… smothering.

8. Donovan, give your brother some space while he goes pee-pee. This is mostly so I don’t wind up with a little kid covered in his brother’s pee-pee.

9. Stop drinking the bath water!!!

10. I miss the boys. Said on a date night with my hubby.  I really never thought I would say that on a much needed night alone… Sorry, my love!

For more Top Ten {Tuesday}, visit Amanda here!

In no particular order (chronological or otherwise), here are my top ten favorite summer pictures:

1. Elias and his best friend, London, at London’s 4th birthday party (held at Inflation Nation – super fun!).

2. Craft time. What I hope will be happening in our house for years to come.  This is one of the first times I’ve been able to keep Donovan busy while Elias and I worked on a craft together.

3. A trip over the James River to Belle Isle. A first for the boys this year, but it won’t be the last!

4. An everyday occurrence at our house - followed by much laughter, and then, finally… “Momma, will you get him off of me?”

5. Donovan’s first trip to the Metro Richmond Zoo. I didn’t get many pictures, so this is the best one that was taken of Donovan (and me).

6. Great-grandbaby #6! My nephew, Mason, was born at the end of June, and he became my hubby’s Granny’s 6th great-grandbaby!  There’s another on the way (not us!), so Granny will continue to be surrounded by little ones who adore her!

7. Another everyday occurrence at our house. Donovan loves running around in his diaper, and he also loves shoes… so he’ll take everything off and then bring us a pair of shoes to put on him.  crazy kid….

8.&9. An afternoon at the water fountains. With Josh’s mom, who the kids all call Emmy, and my sister-in-law and her two daughters.  The kids all had such a good time together that day!

10. Brothers!

For more Top Ten {Tuesdays}, visit Amanda here!

Blessed is [Lydia] who obeys the law of the Lord.
[Lydia] doesn’t follow the advice of evil people.
[Lydia] doesn’t make a habit of doing what sinners do.
[Lydia] doesn’t join those who make fun of the Lord and his law.
Instead, [Lydia] takes delight in the law of the Lord.
[Lydia] thinks about his law day and night.
[Lydia] is like a tree that is planted near a stream of water.
It always bears its fruit at the right time.
Its leaves don’t dry up.
Everything godly people [Lydia] do turns out well.
Sinful people are not like that at all.
They are like straw that the wind blows away.
When the Lord judges them, their life will come to an end.
Sinners won’t have any place among those who are godly.
The Lord watches over the lives of those who are godly [Lydia].
But the lives of sinful people will lead to their death.

Psalm 1 (Lydia’s version)

Homeschooling with Preschoolers at Owlhaven {easy ideas to keep preschoolers occupied AND learning}

“F” Activity Trays from Mozi Esme {If you are doing the letter F with your kids, look no further than this post!}

Butterfly and insect net from All the Little Things {I never thought of making one myself!}

Cereal Box Mosaic from Infarrantly Creative {Not only is this amazingly crafty, look at how she uses it!}

Balsa Wood Prints at the long thread {{super cool art project – look at the ready-to-frame results!}}

Soap Crayons from Scribbit {{no photos, but it sounds like FUN!}}

Dole Whip Float from Eat at Home {{ice cream + pineapple juice = delicious}}

Homemade Scratch Art with Small Fox {{a bit of prep, but then watch the fun}}

Superheroes and Princesses {{the newest crafty mama blog in my feedreader}}

After Part 1 of our Jonah Bible Study for 12 preschoolers, we did a fabu craft I found at Little Window Shoppe. They are called I Spy Bottles. The idea is that you fill an empty water bottle with small items (catalog them as you go), then fill the bottle with sand or rice. Later you shake, spin and roll the bottle to find all the items you put inside. Fun to make, then fun to keep and play with later!

I thought this would be a great Jonah craft. So, I collected the mini water bottles (what, like 8oz, maybe?) from church. (Our church provides drinks and snacks for all the volunteers. So, I just wandered around and asked everyone for their empty water bottles until I had enough! RECYCLING!)

Then I headed out to the Dollar Store to find our I Spy items. First on the list?  Jonah. I found army men, police men, firemen and cowboys and Indians. I ended up picking the police because they were blue. That seemed ocean-y. But I didn’t notice they all had guns in their hands. Oh, well.

I also found a bucket of craft foam fish stickers, a bucket of craft foam beads and a little bag of marble-y things you’d put in a vase. We divided these up into bowls and buffet-style, the kids filled their bottles. Of course, they only got one Jonah (aka Mr. Police Man). We called the beads seashells and the marbles rocks, so the kids thought it was very ocean like.

After everyone’s bottles were filled we went back to the Mine/Belly of the Whale and filled them 3/4 of the way up with sand. On their way out we gave them the top lined with white glue and then they sat down to play I Spy Jonah. It was really fun—but took much LESS time than I anticipated. So, we turned on some music and they had to play with their bottles for one full song before we took them back up and wrote their names on their bottles.

Next, my favorite: SNACK TIME! We had these plates ready before any of the kids even arrived:

Ingredients:
one can of frosting tinted blue
one box of fruit snacks shaped like fish
one bag of goldfish crackers
one box of graham crackers

(note: I was going to do this with tinted cream cheese and crackers, but couldn’t find crackers big enough to decorate. That would have been a better low sugar option.)

Supplies:
paper plate
plastic spoon

We gave everyone a paper plate with one graham cracker, a few fish snacks, a few goldfish crackers and ONE spoon filled with frosting. They spread the frsoting on their cracker and decorated it with the fish snaks and crackers.

This eliminated mess and the double dipping that is likely to occur when a tub of frosting is set in front of a four year old. We also had a sample one made so they knew what to do when they got their plates.

After a few minutes of quiet snack-making and eating, we turned on Veggie Tales’ Jonah and before you can say Ninevah, the parents arrived! Everyone (including myself) was excited about their snacks, their crafts and HOPEFULLY their lesson about God’s plan for their lives!

(Alternate Title: Are We Crazy?!)

We have a neighborhood Bible Study every week. The past few weeks we started doing a Bible Study for the kids, too. They are all preschool age and this week I was the host/teacher/chief babysitter. Here’s a brief rundown of our night. You know, in case you ever go crazy and decide to start a preschool Bible Study…

Our theme was: God has a plan for you! We focused on the story of Jonah and how he disobeyed God’s plan.

When they arrived, we colored a whale coloring page. The whale had a little flap cut in his tummy. (I used a razor knife.) Then I stapled a plain piece of paper to the back. After coloring the whale, we drew a little Jonah inside. A little more fun than a plain coloring sheet and a low key transition for when they first arrive. A lot better than, “WHERE ARE ALL OF LYDIA’S TOYS?!!!”

Then we all sat down for the Bible story. I tried to remember some of those “open shut them open shut them” songs to get the kids settled. But I couldn’t. So, we just settled for wiggly kiddos. I read the story like a “sound story”…when certain words came up, they had to make a sound or repeat the word with a motion. For example, every time I said “Ninevah” they had to hold up their finger and say Ninevah in a creepy voice. Then we all acted out Jonah jumping off the boat and being swallowed by a whale. Sound difficult?

Well, it was actually quite easy and fun! I had Lydia’s Little Mermaid tent set up by the door to our porch. I crawled into the tent and into the porch. The kids crawled behind me. Inside the porch was my leftover Seven Dwarfs Mine from Lydia’s Snow White Party. But the kids thought we were in the belly of a whale…an open can of tuna adding to the smelly ambiance. We finished the story in there and then spit ourselves back into the living room for a craft!

Come back tomorrow for Part 2: Jonah I Spy Bottles and Ocean Cookies

L.O.V.E Shaped Candy Canes from Make & Takes

Organizing Kids’ Crafts from Organizing Your Way

Coat Trick from Heavenly Homemakers (this is how Lydia puts on her coat, too!)

Lifting Hands (a praying-for-your-kids blog. outstanding!)