Best of 2013 on 123 Busy Bees

So here is the countdown to the best of 2013 here on 123 Busy Bees. See if you can notice a theme in my most popular post from 2013.

10. Clutter Busting Challenge: Day 16


9. Clutter Busting Challenge: Day 18


8. DIY Princess Dresses


7. Kid's Shorts Tutorial 


6. 30 Day House Cleaning Challenge Day 18


5. 30 Day House Cleaning Challenge Day 12


4. Clutter Busting Challenge Day 3



3. Clutter Busting Challenge Day 1


2. Saving Money by Cleaning with Vinegar


1. Saving Money: Make Your Own Barbie Clothes
 

So did you notice the theme in my popular posts. Either you like to see me clean my house or you like seeing my messy house. Either way I hope you have enjoyed my blog in 2013. You will see so many new things in 2014. Happy New Year everyone and thank you for reading my post. Don't forget to follow me on Facebook and Google + so you don't miss anything.

Weekly Goals

Well last week didn't go as I expected. If you're curious why read my post from Thursday HERE. I ended up with sick kids which of course changed our plans.

Last Weeks Goals: 

Personal: 

• Daily Devotion and prayer
• Read one chapter in Reshaping it All and The 5 Love Languages of Children
• Work on my healthy lifestyle; watching portions, drinking more water, making healthier choices 

Family:

• ENJOY CHRISTMAS WITH ALL MY FAMILY
• Polar Express night on Christmas Eve with hubby and the girls

This Weeks Goals:

Personal: 

• Daily Devotion/prayer
• Wake up at 5:30
• Read two chapters in Reshaping it all and The 5 Love Languages of Children 
• Exercise 5 times
• Try something new
• Drink 8 glasses of water a day

Family

• Have girls do chores daily
• Read every night with the girls 
• Game night

 Around the house

• Use household binder to stay organized

 

How Can You Use the Cinderella Effect to Teach Your Daughters About Life

Photo taken from princess.disney.com

My girls LOVE Cinderella. I grew up loving Cinderella. What girl doesn't want be Cinderella.

After I had my oldest, I really didn't know if I wanted to expose my daughters to the Disney Princess culture. Are we really teaching them reality? I started out trying to keep my daughter shielded from that Princess culture but by the time she was two, I couldn't keep her shielded anymore.

The next two years I started realizing that there are great lessons to learn from these movies and my job as mom isn't always to shield but instead teach.

What I call the Cinderella effect is the idea that the boy and girl will meet and fall in love at first site. There might be a small obstacle in their way but then they go on to live happily ever after.

Photo taken from princess.disney.com

Here is what I want my daughters to learn from the Disney Princesses:

1.  There is a prince out there for them. They won't fall in love at first site but God will lead them to each other. If you wait for God's leading you will know when that prince comes. 
2. They are a daughter of the King, therefore they are already Princesses. Since they are Princesses, they deserved to be treated like one. That does not mean they are spoiled and get everything they want, but they are treated with respect. The prince should be putting the needs of the princess before his own. He opens doors, pays for dates, picks her up at the door and says hello to the parents, and always keeps in mind that to disrespect the Princess will always have severe consequences.
3. There is no such thing as a Happily Ever After in the Disney sense. Marriage takes work. A lot of work. You can still be happy and feel like its a Happily Ever After if you take the time to make it work. Cinderella had to spend years being treated poorly by family before she met the prince. Your relationship with your husband will have to go through some valleys. It makes the Happily Ever After worth it in the end.
4. You should never give up on your dreams. Cinderella dreamed of a better life and she got it in the end, even when it took her many years. Belle wanted someone who would love her for her and care for her father as well. It took her father getting lost, locked up, her taking his place, her getting scared and living with the last thing on earth anyone would want. It also took lots of hard relationship work before she got her dreams. It isn't about the castles but about contentment in life. Their dreams are all about being content with life and working towards those dreams.

Being Blessed With Sick Kids

A few weeks ago as Christmas was drawing near and our plans were being finalized, I had in my mind the vision of how Christmas was going to go. Here is how I envisioned it would go:

Tuesday my in-laws would come over sometime around noon. We would get food ready and eat. Kids would open presents and then go play downstairs with them. The adults would sit around and visit for a few hours. 

Around four we'd start getting girls ready for church. At five we'd be sitting together at the Christmas Eve Service. 

When we got back the girls would open their blankets I made them and the Polar Express book. Then we'd watch the movie, drink hot chocolate, and eat some caramel corn. 

Wednesday morning we were to open presents, smile, laugh, and enjoy the morning. Then we'd get dressed and head over to my parents house and have some pancakes while we wait for my brother and his fiance to get there. 

We'd open gifts again, smile, laugh and enjoy the kiddos. The rest of the day would be spent getting our meal together, visiting, and playing a game or two. 

Doesn't that sound like the perfect Christmas? Who wouldn't want a Christmas like that? Well it didn't really go like that at all. Here is how Christmas really went for us this year:

 Tuesday my in-laws did come over before noon. As I'm getting the meal together, my middle daughter needed to be cleaned up and comforted because she had diarrhea. Later the little one was discovered to have diarrhea also. That meant someone was going to stay home with the younger two instead of going to church. 

My husband went with our oldest and when they returned it had started snowing pretty well. That meant that the husband would be out all night moving snow, so we opened all the presents that night. 

Because it took a little while to do so, it was too late to watch the Polar Express. Instead we read the book while drinking hot chocolate. 

As the two older girls were finishing their hot chocolate, I was sitting on the couch with the little one and of course she had to throw up all over her new blanket. 

Husband got the other two to bed, I got the little one to bed, and he headed out to move snow. It was a long night, ending with someone in bed with me and it was not my husband. 

Wednesday morning started with the girls watching the Polar Express, me starting cinnamon rolls and the little one throwing up, again. 

The husband got home and blew off our driveway around 9am (we had about twice as much snow as predicted). Little one went back to sleep, husband went to sleep, and the other two girls and I headed to my parents. 

We opened presents, chatted for a little bit and then I had a phone call from the husband and little one. She was hungry (which made sense since she had very little to eat in 24 hours and threw up what little she did have). 

I came home, gave her a cracker and a sip of juice and snuggled. After an hour she seemed ok so we headed to my parents again. 

I spent the next few hours snuggling with her and chatting with my family. She got really tired and want to go home and sleep in her own bed so her and I headed home, alone. 

At five I woke her up so we could go eat supper with the family. She ate a little bread and turkey, but looked very out of it still. We didn't stay long and headed home to get everyone in bed. My husband was the first in bed, he was extremely tired. 

 There were some really important lessons I learned yesterday. My Christmas was far from the perfect one I imagined. I did enjoy Christmas despite everything. 

I was forced to slow down and just be. I'm a planner and when things don't go the way I planned, I sometimes have a hard time with those changes. It creates a lot of anxiety in me. Forcing me to sit and cuddle the sick child made me sit and be. I couldn't be in control of anything except the care of my child. It made my Christmas one of the most relaxed I've had in a long time. 

I was given opportunities. Because I came home alone so my little one could nap, I was given a chance get some things cleaned up and a break from everything. I had a chance to sit in a quite house and have some time alone. That is such a rarity for me. It gave me peace and time for reflection. It was a wonderful time of renewal of energy for me even though it was only a few hours. 

 This Christmas I was very blessed to have sick kids. I was given things I never asked for but very much needed. God is truly amazing that way. He will give us what we ask but also what we don't ask. He knows our needs even when we don't. 

 

Weekly Goals

I really had a hard time figuring out what my goals are for this week. Since we will be with family from Tuesday to Thursday, it doesn't give me a lot of opportunities to complete the goals I typically have. 

Last Weeks Goals:

Personal:

• Daily devotion/prayer time
• Work on my diet: meaning drinking more water, watching snacks, and watching portion sizes
• Write at least one blog post
• Try something new: craft, sewing project, recipe
• Read one chapter in Reshaping It All and The 5 Love Languages of Children

Family:

• Read every night with the girls
•  Have a least one night of game night as a family

 Around the House:

• Complete my cleaning list
• Get my kitchen cleaned up every night (really need to get much better at this or this might happen
• Have the girls spend time cleaning toys up every day
• Finish addressing and mailing out Christmas cards

This Weeks Goals:

Personal: 

• Daily Devotion and prayer
• Read one chapter in Reshaping it All and The 5 Love Languages of Children
• Work on my healthy lifestyle; watching portions, drinking more water, making healthier choices 

Family:

• ENJOY CHRISTMAS WITH ALL MY FAMILY
• Polar Express night on Christmas Eve with hubby and the girls

How Do You Teach Your Kids to Follow Christ?

 

My third session at Hearts at Home was called Raising Generations Who Raise Generations to Follow Christ presented by Dana Blomberg. It was a nice session but I didn't really feel like this was as beneficial as I thought it would be. Raised in a Christian home, being a Christian for most of my life, I knew most everything she all ready mentioned. I still feel like I should share with you as there may be moms and dads out their that don't know these principles. 



5 Key Principles For Passing The Baton to Your Kids

1. We need to teach proper respect and proper view of authority. Kids learn this by watching us. They will mirror our actions. If you want you child to be having daily devotions, then you need to have one as well.
2. Teach them absolute truth. God's natural law is absolute. There are absolute consequences. (Fire burns, touching fire will burn you: absolute law and absolute consequences.) God's moral law is absolute. He gave us the 10 commandments as our moral guideline.
3. Teach them the gospel: who God is, what is sin and what are the consequences, and how to respond to salvation.
4. Teach your children how to pray. Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication (ACTS). Give them fill in the blank prayers, especially the young ones. (I'm sorry for . . .) (I'm Thankful for . . .)
5. Teach them how to apply God's word to their life. They will learn to apply when they see you apply. 

Dana Blomberg had some great points about teaching your kids to follow Christ. In our house we really use a variety of ways. Since they are still very young, we are limited. The two older girls go to Sunday School and Awana. At home we like to watch Jelly Telly TV and Theo. We spend time reading bible stories and talking about them. We pray together. We have been intentional about being involved in our children's faith journey.
 

21 Days to a Simple Christmas: Day 12 and 13

Money Saving Mom

Christmas baking is one of my favorite things about Christmas and one of the worst things about Christmas. I already made my Christmas Cookies. Last year we made cake mix cutout cookies. Although it's not my favorite, my kids and husband loved them. 

I tried three other new recipes:

 
Easy Gingerbread Recipe from Snap Creativity

Red Velvet Cookies

  Our Italian Kitchen 

I plan on doing some prepping for the week of Christmas with some breakfasts made ahead and waiting in the freezer. Most likely I will have at least cinnamon rolls. I haven't decided too far ahead and need to figure out what ingredients I already have. 

Are you doing any holiday baking this week?

If you haven't gotten Celebrating and Savoring a Simple Christmas by Crystal Paine you can do so here. I would really encourage you to do so. There are so many great ideas to help get you through the holiday season and so many extra resources to use.

Weekly Goals

Goals for Last Week:

Personal:

• Daily devotion/prayer time
• Work on my diet: meaning drinking more water, watching snacks, and watching portion sizes
• Write at least one blog post
• Try something new: craft, sewing project, recipe (tried some new cookie recipes)
• Read one chapter in Reshaping It All

Family:

• Read every night with the girls
•  Have a least one night of game night as a family

 Around the House:

• Complete my cleaning list
• Get my kitchen cleaned up every night (really need to get much better at this)
• Have the girls spend time cleaning toys up every day
• Get Christmas Letters addressed and mailed out (I lost about half the addresses so I've been looking them up. Over half have been mailed out.) 

This Weeks Goals:

Personal:

• Daily devotion/prayer time
• Work on my diet: meaning drinking more water, watching snacks, and watching portion sizes
• Write at least one blog post
• Try something new: craft, sewing project, recipe
• Read one chapter in Reshaping It All and The 5 Love Languages of Children

Family:

• Read every night with the girls
•  Have a least one night of game night as a family

 Around the House:

• Complete my cleaning list
• Get my kitchen cleaned up every night (really need to get much better at this or this might happen)

 

• Have the girls spend time cleaning toys up every day
• Finish addressing and mailing out Christmas cards

Vaccine Conundrum: Should You Vaccinate?

Today there is such a debate over whether to vaccinate or not. I have read almost everything I could get my hands on. One thing that I can say for certainty is that vaccines have NOT been proven to cause autism. So first time moms don't be scared of vaccines because of that. Other factors are now being considered including mother's age.

What is important is to really take time to research each vaccine and decide if it is worth getting or not. I spent the time and decided that my kids will get their vaccines except flu and HPV. My youngest still hasn't gotten her vaccine for chickenpox and may never, I haven't decided yet. 

When you start doing the research and trying to make decision on whether or not to vaccine you need to think not only of your child but also those they may come in contact with. 

When my middle daughter was three months old she started getting what I thought was just a cold. She started coughing more than I was comfortable with which sent us to see the nurse practitioner. She sent us home saying she was fine.

By that night her coughing had gotten much worse. It had both my husband and I scared for her. We headed to the ER around midnight. After being there for a few hours, a chest x-ray, a call to a pediatrician, and other tests that were sent out to Mayo, we were sent home.

The next day she was put on medication for suspected whooping cough. The test came back a few days later as positive. The next week was spent getting everyone in to the doctor and through a round of antibiotics and fielding phone calls from Infectious Disease.  

We were very grateful that she had a more mild case, but the next four months were filled a long road to recovery. It took four long months for her coughing to go away. Four months before she could sleep for more than 45 minutes at a time because she was woken up with a coughing spell. Four months before I could be in a different room than her and not have to run and help her through a coughing spell. Constant ear infections until she had tubes put in just before her second birthday. Little speech until that point resulting in speech therapy. 

Our little one had her first Dtap vaccine at 2 months. It only protects at about 70%. I believe that the vaccine is what made her case more mild. The one vaccine that I believe everyone needs to consider is the Dtap. My baby had health problems since she was three months old because someone she came in contact with had whooping cough. Adults and kids need to get vaccinated to protect others. 

Other parents aren't so lucky. Whooping cough/Pertussis is highly contagious up to 10 days before the coughing starts. It can also be very deadly for infants and those with health problems. Vaccinations aren't just about your child but others around them.

I encourage you to read another story about a family that had to deal with pertussis http://shotbyshot.org/pertussis/bradys-story/. 

21 Days to a Simple Christmas: Day 11

Money Saving Mom

I love Christmas books. My two favorite have to be The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck and The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans. I read them both last year and now am in search of at least one this year. 

For my girls, we read from the Disney's Christmas Storybook Collection, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Christmas Donkey, and so many more. Click HERE for our full list.

What Christmas books are you reading?


If you haven't gotten Celebrating and Savoring a Simple Christmas by Crystal Paine you can do so here. I would really encourage you to do so. There are so many great ideas to help get you through the holiday season and so many extra resources to use.

21 Days to a Simple Christmas: Day 10

Money Saving Mom

Today my husband and I sat down to make a bucket list. With our girls still being pretty small, our list is pretty simple. It is also helping us develop our own traditions, separate from our extended families.

Here's our list:

• See Christmas lights at Sibley Park (huge light display)
• Make Christmas Cookies
• Make a snowman (if we get enough snow)
• Go sledding (if we get enough snow and it warms up)
• Polar Express night (plan on Christmas Eve)
• Grinch day (plan on Friday)

 Hopefully we get to do everything. What's on your bucket list?

If you haven't gotten Celebrating and Savoring a Simple Christmas by Crystal Paine you can do so here. I would really encourage you to do so. There are so many great ideas to help get you through the holiday season and so many extra resources to use.

21 Days to a Simple Christmas:Day 9

Money Saving Mom

Finishing Christmas cards today. I ordered our photo cards in November and wrote our Christmas letter last week. I'm ready to print off the letter and start addressing them.


If you haven't gotten Celebrating and Savoring a Simple Christmas by Crystal Paine you can do so here. I would really encourage you to do so. There are so many great ideas to help get you through the holiday season and so many extra resources to use.

Christmas card 2013 3

View the entire collection of cards.

Get Organized!

 

The second session I attended at Hearts at Home was titled "The Get Yourself Organized Project". This was a really nice session with basic advice for those of us who are really tired of trying to be Martha. I love how she defined organization: "Organization is getting the things done that are important." 

Her ideas are pretty simple. There are two things you need, a system and accountability.

She gives 8 simple rules for getting organized:

1. Work Backwards: Break up a task so that you don't have to do everything at the last minute. Give yourself time to complete tasks and do them on days/nights that are less stressful. This is a great concept to teach your children when it comes to school work. 
2. Apply Pressure Where Needed: What makes you feel the craziest? Which room do you hate to walk into? If you feel better having a clean kitchen focus there, if it's the bathroom then focus on that room instead.
3. Wait For a Path to Appear: There is no perfect solution to organize your craziness. Take a look at what your problem is and where the path is. Her example was shoes in the entryway. To solve the problem she bought a shelf and put it out of the way to hide it from visitors. Well that of course didn't work. Her husband suggested a basket by the door where shoes end up. I'm sure you can guess that it was much more successful. There was a path already and the basket was just placed on the path, where the shelf was trying to create a new one.
4. Never Organize Alone: It seems like common sense but use your family. This is a great opportunity to teach your kids responsibility and how to be part of the family.
5. Treat Your Home Like A Grown Up Kindergarten Room: Have you ever been in a kindergarten classroom before? EVERYTHING is labeled. Why? So the children can do for themselves. I organize and my kids and husband unorganize, why? I know where things go but they don't.
6. 3 Boxes 2 Bags: I've heard similar strategies before. Set the timer for 15 minutes and work on one room. Grab your 3 boxes and 2 bags.
• GREEN box: give away
• Purple box: put back
• Orange box: other rooms
• 1 Garbage bag
• 1 Recycle bag
7. Make a Decision Even If Its Wrong: If you are unsure about an item, pretty soon that one item starts multiplying. If you don't need it or don't use it, get rid of it. You will always be able to replace it later.
8. It's Your House You Make the Rules: As a mother of 3 preschoolers I am seeing the importance of house rules when it comes to cleaning and organizing. Some parents might not make their kids clean up their messes but in my house, if you make the mess then you can clean it up.

It was a nice session that reminded me just to be simple in cleaning and organizing. There are great blogs out there helping you get organized but it can be overwhelming. What I took away from this was to make things simple for myself and family. Help them learn how to organize and stay organized. I don't need to do everything on my own. This is our house and we ALL need to be responsible for taking care of it. Nothing was mind blowing but gentle reassurance that I can do better and I'm already doing ok.

For more ideas check out http://www.kathilipp.com. There is so many great posts on her website and several books available for purchase including The Get Yourself Organized Project.

21 Days to a Simple Christmas: Day 8

 Oh the dreaded or maybe not dreaded Christmas card. I guess it depends on if you like to write or not. I've done the family Christmas letter since I was in middle schoool. It was something my parents wanted to do but didn't really have the interest to sit and write it, so I would take on the responsibility. Since our kids have been born I've started writing our new family Christmas letter.

This year I decided to do it a little differently. Instead of a straight forward letter, I changed it up and made it look more like a newspaper. Each of us has it's own column except my husband and I share. Check out Pinterest, it has so many great Christmas letter ideas. 

This is a chance to tell those you see little of what is going on in your life. I love getting Christmas cards in the mail and reading up on what everyone has done the past year. Have some fun with the letter. It doesn't need to be long or detailed. Do it as a date night with the hubby.

If you haven't gotten Celebrating and Savoring a Simple Christmas by Crystal Paine you can do so here. I would really encourage you to do so. There are so many great ideas to help get you through the holiday season and so many extra resources to use.

21 Days to a Simple Christmas: Day 6&7

 


If you haven't gotten Celebrating and Savoring a Simple Christmas by Crystal Paine you can do so here. I would really encourage you to do so. There are so many great ideas to help get you through the holiday season and so many extra resources to use. 

Today's task was to read chapter 4 and check out cash back sites and coupon sites when shopping on line. I just signed up for ebates a couple weeks ago and often shop through swag bucks. I check different sites before shopping to get the most cash back. They often change. It all does add up after a while. All cash back and gift cards I earn, I keep to buy different things for me sometimes but often my husbands birthday and Christmas gifts.

I also rarely pay for shipping, if I do it's a small flat rate price that makes whatever I am buying worth it. If shipping costs $5 and it would costs more to drive to the store then shipping is fine. Most sites offer free shipping if you spend $50 or $75. If I am a little short of free shipping, I often check out clearance for toys and clothes for my girls. It's a great way to stock up on things you need for the future and spend about the same since you have free shipping. 

I also love Zulily which you can sign up through my link here: http://www.zulily.com/invite/hfeistwilson278. Zulily is a discount site where I have gotten some great deals on presents.

If you shop in stores and have a smart phone, check out shopkick. Earn points when you enter specific stores like Target and earn extra points for scanning specific items. Turn points into gift cards.

Happy Shopping Everyone!

Weekly Goals

Last Weeks Goals:

Personal:

• Daily devotion/prayer time
• Work on my diet: meaning drinking more water, watching snacks, and watching portion sizes
• Write at least one blog post
• Try something new: craft, sewing project, recipe
• Read one chapter in Reshaping It All

Family:

• Read every night with the girls
•  Have a least one night of game night as a family

 Around the House:

• Complete my cleaning list
• Get my kitchen cleaned up every night (really need to get much better at this)
• Have the girls spend time cleaning toys up every day

Goals for this Week:

Personal:

• Daily devotion/prayer time
• Work on my diet: meaning drinking more water, watching snacks, and watching portion sizes
• Write at least one blog post
• Try something new: craft, sewing project, recipe
• Read one chapter in Reshaping It All

Family:

• Read every night with the girls
•  Have a least one night of game night as a family

 Around the House:

• Complete my cleaning list
• Get my kitchen cleaned up every night (really need to get much better at this)
• Have the girls spend time cleaning toys up every day
• Get Christmas Letters addressed and mailed out (letter is done. YAY!)

 

21 Days to a Simple Christams: Day 5

Day 5's task is scheduling when you will finish your shopping time and leaving yourself less stressful buy having a plan. When are you going to shop, where are you going to shop, and what are you going to get at each store.

If you decided to make some gifts like I have, you'll need to plan a time to work on them. I have two of the three blankets for my daughters made. I can get it done in about 60 to 90 minutes so one night very soon, I'll have to finish the last one. 

My online shopping will leave me with only a few people left to buy for. I plan on doing that today and tomorrow to ensure they are here on time. Since I'm not sure what we are going to get the rest yet, I can't really plan a shopping day. The good thing is that my husband will be able to pick up those last few presents leaving me a little less stressful.

If you haven't gotten Celebrating and Savoring a Simple Christmas by Crystal Paine you can do so here.

21 Days to a Simple Christmas Challenge: Day 4

Day 4 of this challenge brings us to checking our gift list and asking ourselves what we really can afford, what we really need to buy, and do they need everything? Are there things I could make instead? Streamlining and making our final list might be one of the easiest and one of the hardest things to do.

In my family we often go in together on gifts which can make it easier, but often times harder since we can't always agree until last minute.

The only person I am really having a hard time making a list for is my husband. About a month ago I had no ideas for him and now I've had to cut down the list or spend $300 on him. That is not going to happen.

There are a few people we haven't decided what to get yet. About half my shopping is already done and the other half shouldn't take me long. Some will be purchased online and others in store.

Check out Day 4 on moneysavingmom.com and get your FREE copy of Celebrating and Savoring a Simple Christmas.

The Season of Giving: Operation Christmas Child

https://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/buildonline/

This is the second year we have done Operation Christmas Child with the girls. For anyone who has never heard of it before, it is part of Samaritans Purse which was founded by Franklin Graham. Operation Christmas Child's goal is to spread the good news of Salvation along with toys and essentials these kids need. 

The boxes are given to kids in very poor regions, often in war torn areas.Many of these children have never and will never receive a Christmas gift. It is a wonderful opportunity to share the love of Christ. 

We built our shoe boxes for around $15 a piece. We hit up the dollar store for some fun items, and also more practical items like soap, washcloth, toothpaste, toothbrush, and a hair brush. The girls enjoyed picking out items for a little girl around the same age as them. 

You can still pack your shoe box. Just go online at https://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/buildonline/ and they can pack it for you. 

We want to teach our kids to have a giving heart. Giving them opportunities such as this, will help cultivate that giving heart.

21 Days to a Simple Christmas Challenge: Day 3

 

Today is Day 3: Making a list and checking it twice. I had a list in my head but now it's time to write down who I have to buy for. We have a small list because we are trying hard to get out of debt and so buy for the bare minimum. There has been years past that I have done this because it really does help organizing thoughts and time making it less stressful. Plus I love lists!

Here's my list:

• My Husband
• My girls
• The dog
• Siblings
• Parents
• Nephews
•  Cousins (names that were drawn)

It may be short, but we keep things simple. Christmas isn't about how many gifts you give but the spirit that the birth of Christ brings to us each and every day.

21 Days to a Simple Christmas: Day 2

Today's day 2 of the 21 Days to a Simple Christmas Challenge and probably the hardest for many out there: BUDGET. If you have been following my blog you'll know that we have been going through the My Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. It truly has been life changing and this year we head into the Christmas season with money set aside and many gifts already bought. 

To set enough money aside I had to sit down and figure out what we spend on gifts for everyone for Christmas, Birthdays, and Mother's and Father's Day. After I figured that out I divided it by 12 and so every month we set aside $75 for gifts. 

This year we are looking at spending about $365 on siblings, nephews, and our parents. Some of those gifts have already been purchased. This may be the last year we exchange with my siblings and spouses and instead exchange names and donate to a charity instead.

On our kids we spent around $50 a piece which includes blankets I made them and a few toys.

I use gift cards I've earned from Amazon and the cash back on our credit card (which we use like a debit card and I track EVERY SINGLE PENNY) to pay for my husband's gift. He uses cash he's gotten here and there often times money he's gotten donating plasma.

We've always known what we'd spend on each person and have stayed on our sort of budget but this is the first year we will not have to come up with the money after the fact. We have the money up front, just sitting there waiting for Christmas to come around. I cannot tell you how much less stress I feel about that.

Weekly Goals

Last week my goals were simple since it was going to be a busy week. I didn't stress about the holiday and tried to spend my time enjoying it.

We had my in-laws at our house on Thanksgiving day, Friday morning we packed up and headed to my sister's place in Duluth, and Sunday headed out in the morning to take the two oldest to Disney Live.

This week I need to get back into things. So here are my goals:

Personal:

• Daily devotion/prayer time
• Work on my diet: meaning drinking more water, watching snacks, and watching portion sizes
• Write at least one blog post
• Try something new: craft, sewing project, recipe
• Read one chapter in Reshaping It All

Family:

• Read every night with the girls
•  Have a least one night of game night as a family

 Around the House:

• Complete my cleaning list
• Get my kitchen cleaned up every night
• Have the girls spend time cleaning toys up every day