Lusting.....

I'm in Lust over this Board...!

I have to have my babies work on the walls. Hanging them up with tape on the bare walls was getting to me...like nails on a chalkboard type of getting to me.
 We just have so much of it that the bulletin boards in their rooms are full so it overpours out into my kitchen and dining room. I have tons of holes from tacks on my walls. Eeekk...!

I came across this board from A Wishful Thought. My heart skipped a beat. Literally....it skipped.

Super cute and affordable...I had to get it. It could be my Christmas, Birthday, Kwanza, Valentines gift...all in one, I told the hubby.

I just got it in the mail today, ripped everything off the walls and hung it up.

Every time I look at it, I smile with glee...!

 I have been organizing the kids art projects today.

Their art portfolios where we keep everything, is flooded with papers and ripping at the seams.

 I thought of a bunch of ideas of how to organize those memories. I was on the fence about taking pictures of all the projects and then binding them in a book. I know for myself, I love how my Mom saved my actual projects and books. My husband has some as well. We have given them to the kids as gifts. They love reading our stories.

 I decided to buy a clear plastic storage container for each of the kids. I labelled them with their names. They aren't super huge and can fit easily on their shelves in their closets. I saved a few things from each grade and it has alot more room for the years to come.

Back to my love of this materialistic object....next week we start our lessons and I can't wait to see papers hanging from this beauty.

Yes, it's really the simple things that make me happy...!
I wonder if Noe will hold me to the "it's all the holidays in one gift!"
I have my eye on a new label maker....!

Wizards of Waverly Place.

Tonight was the premiere of the Wizards of Waverly Place movie. We have been waiting all summer for this day! We cleared our schedules and wrote the date on the calendar.

I wanted this day to be special for the family so I planned a couple of goodies for them. I looked online for some crafts for the show and looked under party ideas, but I really didn't find anything I liked. Being particular because we do watch the show all the time, the things I found had to do with witches hats or making a black cat or star shaped wand. They've never wore a hat in any of the shows. Like my son said, these are crafts for Witches not Wizards. Ya, we're picky about our themes!

I bought the kiddos the soundtrack for the movie and we've been listening to it all day long. Patience keeps singing the songs whenever it isn't playing.

Since the show takes place in a sandwich shop, we made sandwiches for dinner. The sandwiches got a little crispy. My Mom & Sis came over and I totally forgot about them while we were talking...!

On one episode, the parents were given Koogle to eat (which looked like homemade Mac-n-Cheese to me.) I made some Koogle for the kids. When you eat Koogle, you have to obey when someone tells you to do something. We played around with obeying each others orders.

For dessert, we made Wizard Wands.

Here the kids are saying their spells.
I turned into so many different animals tonight!

We gathered together on the couch and watched the movie together.
It was a really good movie!
Worth waiting for!

The Toddler Cookbook

The Toddler Cookbook by Annabel Karmel is a wonderful cookbook for TODDLERS!

Sometimes, cookbooks say they are for toddlers but are a little beyond their skill level. Their recipes might be for kids but are usually too difficult for toddlers. I found this cookbook to be really right on for what my 2 year old and 4 year old can do in the kitchen.

The theme for Muffin Tin Monday this week was FACES.

Since it was the first week back of school, we barely got to make our face lunch.

We chose 2 recipes out of our cookbook.

These pizzas were delicious and healthy. I've never made my own pizza sauce before. It took about 5 minutes all together.

Our dessert FACE recipe was an attempt on these Peanut Butter Bears.

(Not my photo)

For the past year, my Rice Krispy Treats haven't been turning out.
 What in the world am I doing wrong?
They don't turn out hard enough to shape. They just fall apart and are sticky.
I ATTEMPT to fix them by stirring in more cereal then pouring in more liquids then more cereal. Ahh! They just turn into a mess. A yummy mess that the kids eat with a spoon!
So, although the book was right on for the kids skill level, my Rice Krispy skill level wasn't taken into effect.  The kids did their jobs right!

First Day Of School {2009}

Our countdown chain says it's the 1st day of school!

My BIG 4th grader and 1st grader!

All my lovies wanted to take a picture together.

Every year we have a special breakfast on the first day of school at McDonald's. You can tell Patience isn't a morning person like her Mama!

Maelyn in her classroom coloring. Getting to work right away!

My handsome in his class....!

I bought the kids NERDS for their after school treat- because they're NERDS!A quick after school project decorating bookmarks.
The kids had a great first day of school. They know tons of kids in their classes and really enjoyed their day.
I misssed them so much!

Ready For School...!

The kids are more than ready to go Back-To-School.

They love school. One more day kids, calm down...!

We got their clothes ready in their hanging thing for the week {weekly hanging closet organizer, we call it hanging thingy for lack of what it is.}

Their backpacks are filled with their goodies and waiting by the door. I made them Backpack ID Tags with their pictures on them.

We made Teacher Survival Kits for their teachers.

I secretly made the kids Student Survival Kits for their first day of school.

Their milk money is addressed in an envelope.

The kids drew on their lunch sacks. We'll make their lunches later tonight.

I have a 4th grader and 1st grader now....!

I'm getting excited now too....!

{Griffith Observatory}

We had a day of fun in Los Angeles last weekend.

We finished our school shopping, ate at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles (saw it on Food Network and wanted to try it), and went to the Griffith Observatory.

When we take the kids places we always talk about our trip afterward. Sometimes we use our trip as a journal prompt and write a few sentences about what we did and saw.

Since we went to the Observatory, the kids did a star journal.

It takes only a few minutes to make these and they could be in any shape depending upon where we go.

A journal is a good way for the kids to remember where they went and what they did on the trip.

A {Slice} Of Summer

I really wish I had some photography skills?! My pictures always look so dull.

Next Monday the kiddos go back to school.

I wanted them to draw or write their favorite things that happened during this summer.

This is what we came up with.

Our Slice Of Summer!

We painted a watermelon shape onto a posterboard.

When the paint dried, we cut it out.

I also wrote "A Slice of Summer" at the bottom of the watermelon using paint. It would look really cute using die cuts as well!

While the wording dried, I cut out a seed shape out of black construction paper- then another smaller seed shape was cut from white paper.

The kids got a couple of seeds each to draw their favorite summer moments.

When they were done drawing them, they glued their pictures onto the black seed using a glue stick.

The last step was attaching all the seeds onto the watermelon. I used regular Elmer's glue and it worked fine.

~

Summer is almost over! It was fun while it lasted!

Muffin Tin Monday

For Muffin Tin Monday, we decided to make our dinner from a muffin tin.

We made Beefy Biscuit Cups and had Cupcakes for dessert.

Beefy Biscuit Cups

Ingredients

1 lb. Gound Beef

1 jar Spaghetti Sauce

2 tubes Biscuits

1 cup Cheese

Directions

~In a skillet, brown beef and drain.

~Stir in spaghetti sauce and cook over medium heat for 5-10 min.

~Press biscuits into greased muffin cups.

~Spoon 2 tbls. of the meat mixture into them.
~Bake at 375 degrees for 15-17 min.

~Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 3 more min.

~Serve with a salad.

*You can make pizza cups, taco cups...use your imagination*

The kids made some cupcakes for dessert.

I pick up cute baking supplies for the kids to use whenever they are bored. Noah made the Transformer cupcakes and the girls made the Hannah Montana ones. We used our silicone heart cups from the Muffin Tin Swap for the girlie ones.

Head over to Her Cup Overfloweth and see what other fun tins look like! Mom's get down in the kitchen with their muffin tins!

Muffin Tin Monday {SWAP}

Michelle from Her Cup Overfloweth (My hubsand loves her blog name!) organized a Muffin Tin Swap. It was such a good idea to get some new supplies for MTM.

I was chosen to swap with Dezi from The Allen Family. She has 4 little ones like me!

I received my Muffin Tin package in the mail and these were the treats that I got. Thanks so much Dezi! It feels like Christmas!

All I have to say is that great minds must think alike! Her package looks almost exactly the same. Except for the heart cups because she has 4 boys, I sent some pirate cupcake wrappers.

We already used some of our goodies!

{MY} Daily Schedule

4 years ago when I decided to stay home full time with the kids, I had no idea what that even entailed.
 I didn't know how to schedule my day, how to make the most out of 24 hours, how not to feel overwhelmed or the saddest part was..... I didn't know how to savor each moment with my children.

The first year as a SAHM I decided I had to find my niche, my way.
 Most of my readers are Moms. We raise our children differently. We have different goals. We have different expectations. We have different lives. We ALL want to make the most out of our days. We ALL want to raise wonderful human beings. We are ALL good Mom's in our own ways.

Having some type of schedule has really helped me over the years. The schedule has changed numerous times due to babies and schooling and activities. However, we consistently have a schedule posted and we consistently follow it.

Daily Schedule

• Wash face and put on contacts, brush teetch.
• Straighten up my bathroom.
• To help wake up, sometimes I do 30 Push-ups and 50 Sit-ups.
• Make my bed and straighten up room.
• Start laundry *Keep the door open so I don't forget about it. I have to do at least 1 load a day, usually 2 for this big family.
• Kids are up by now, change diapers.
• Feed Giselle, our guinea pig and let her out of the cage.
• Make and eat breakfast.
• Get older children to school *They will be ready.
• Clean kitchen.
• Clean dining room.
• Clean living room.
• All of us get dressed *I usually clean up in my sweats and get dressed after. When I do get dressed before I clean, I wear an apron.
• Straighten kids' bathroom.
• Finish the rest of the chores scheduled for that day  *See below.
• Check kids rooms.
• Snack time.
• My 10 minutes alone to pray and read Bible.
• Lessons for the day with the preschoolers.
• Lunch time.
• Outside play.
• Pick up older kids if they are at school.
• Snack time for older children.
• Older children clean their rooms *During this time the younger children might watch a show, play outside or do worksheets I print out for them that they call their "homework."
• Homework time.
• I prepare dinner while the kids have free play  *I have craft projects available if they want to make. If not, the materials will be there for another day if they choose.
• Clean up time.
• Family activity *Walk, read, devotions, movie, board game, park, etc.
• Get lunches and backpacks ready for school the next day.
• The 3 B's. Bath, Book/Bible, Bed.
• Me time *Exercise, put on a facial mask, paint nails, bubble bath, etc.

Of course, like every other household we have Date Night and extra-curricular activities and church activities so my schedule changes on those days.

Chores-wise

Weekly:

I do the above chores everyday such as dishes, laundry.
Plus, I also do my chore that is scheduled for that day.

Monday: Pick-up the house *Weekends are extremely busy. We usually eat and then go out and leave everything everywhere.

Tuesday: Cleaning Pantry/Fridge and Errands *Post Office, Grocery Store.

Wednesday: Bathrooms and Wash Sheets.

Thursday: Dust and Organize *It could be 1 drawer that's bothering me, a closet, bookshelf, pantry.

Friday: Floors *Sweep, Mop, Vacuum.

Monthly:

Spiderwebs

Wash Windows

Scrub Doors and Walls

Dust Ceiling Fans

Yearly or Seasonal:

Wash Curtains

Dust Blinds

Clean Closets and Drawers *Go through the kids shoes also because they grow so fast

Carpet Cleaned

Anything else that I put off...!

We have our days or even weeks where we throw everything out the window and do our own thing. Spontaneity is a good thing. Children thrive on rules and schedules and discipline though.

{Island} Getaway

Take me away to relax on an island....that sounds so good right now!

The kids really like making island crafts. Sometimes I just let them do their own thing and their ideas run wild.

To make this project the kids each got a blue sheet of construction paper.

They cut an island from yellow paper as well.

They also cut the brown trunk of the palm tree.

I spread blue paint onto their hands and they made waves and water with them.

After they washed up, I put green paint on their hand and they made the green palm leaves.

With the thumbs of their other hand, they made brown coconuts out of paint.

~

After it had dried, my daughter glued sand onto hers and made starfish and sharks in the water.

Your island can be anything you want it to be!

{Ice Cream} Sandwiches

Ice Cream Sandwiches in the summer time....are always a good idea...!

Make your favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe {I used the Nestle Toll House recipe.} When making these for parties, I make a large batch of cookie dough.

Choose a flavor of ice cream. Let the ice cream melt a little.

When your cookies cool, place some melted ice cream on top of one cookie and then place another cookie on top.

Roll in sprinkles or chocolate chips or toffee...if desired.

For a party, I just stick them on a platter then wrap it all in Saran Wrap...then stick in freezer until ready.

For just our family, I wrap each one individually and put into freezer for kids to grab when it's snack time.

You can use sugar cookie dough and put a flavored ice cream in the middle....the sky is the limit on flavors...!

Fish Books.

These Fish Books are a fun way to combine a craft and writing all in one!

Grab a few pages of lined paper for this project. We used the wide lined paper which is why our fish is folded this way. If you choose to use college ruled paper, your fish might be folded the other way.

Have your kids choose what color construction paper for the fish body and then a different color for the scales and tail.

Staple the pages all together.

You can either staple the tail on or glue it on.

Have your kiddos cut scales. For my younger two kids, I cut their tails and scales out. Let the kids glue them on. Next, either draw an eye or glue one. Draw a smile on with marker.

Let the kids use their imaginations and write their stories!

For the younger kiddos, you might have to write what they say or let them draw inside.

Our family is HOOKED on Reading!

{ABC} Book

Every now and again over the years, we put together an ABC Book.

It's our Camacho Family Personalized ABC Book.

What we do is... I take pictures of the kids with things from around the house that start with each letter of the alphabet.

Using Microsoft Word, I import the picture then type the letter that it corresponds with and the word as well. I try to make it fun and cute with different fonts and colors.

I then print out each page and cut them down to the size that I want to make them. A whole sheet of paper for just one picture is a little too big for me.

I get them laminated at Office Depot.

When I get home, I punch a hole in the top/left hand corner and stick a binder ring through it.
Ff
 Feather

Ee

Bb

Butterfly

Uu

Umbrella

Ss

Soap

Eggs

Hh

Horse

~

The kids look at these over and over!

Once they recognize letters, they start reading the words.

What kid doesn't love to read books about themselves?!

Window Hanging...!

Remember how we made the kites for our windows?

Well, using that same basic idea we could make anything!

Party decorations that I actually like in the stores, are few and far. I thought it would be neat for Noe's Super Hero party to make this window hanging to decorate.

•  Melt crayons inside of two sheets of waxed paper.
• Melt by ironing the wax on low heat.
• Grab your construction paper and cut out a design after drawing it first.
• For cutting the inside details, an Exacto knife works best.
• Use double sided tape to attach the wax to the construction paper.
• Cut access wax paper.
• Hang!

The possibilities are endless!

{G-Force}

For our Family Day, we decided to go see the movie G-Force.

I was really nervous about taking Carm because, well, she's never sat down to watch a full movie before. She is in love with guinea pigs though. So, we set off to the theater!

It was dark by the time we got out.

Carm sat all through the movie. She was mesmorized by the guinea pigs!

We made a day out of the Guinea Pig theme.

Giselle, our Peruvian was given a bath. Everytime I cut her bangs they grow back so quickly, so I put them in a pony tail.

 All of us girls wanted to have a picnic with our guinea pig.

We had salad, everyone's favorite!

Later on, we made guinea pig cupcakes.

The kids just licked the frosting off. I just like the cake part. It all works out!

We had a fun Guinea Pig Family Day!