The Giving Pig

One of the things that I'm really learning about as an adult is how to handle money correctly.  I've never really been good in this area, unfortunately. And so my husband and I have been working through Dave Ramsey's book "The Total Money Makeover".  We are making great strides at building up a savings and getting out of debt.  One of the greatest side effects of our "makeover" is the opportunity to teach our kids at an early age how to properly use money.

A friend of mine, Kim Weatherford, does this with her kids and I really love the idea! (Thanks Kim for the inspiration!!)  Each time Abby gets money (as a gift, as an occasional "allowance", from selling toys/clothes at our yard sale, kool-aid stand, etc) we are teaching her to set aside a portion for "giving", "saving", and "spending".   It doesn't matter to me at this point how much she puts in each category, just so that she gets into the habit of separating her funds.  I wanted to make this fun for her, and so "The Giving Pig" was born.

I just used items that we had around the house: An empty plastic peanut butter jar (it was crunchy peanut butter...that doesn't matter, but I do prefer crunchy!), construction paper (which I cut out to fit around the jar as well as traced the lid and bottom of jar), popsicle sticks...and Caedmon placed the pig magnet in the picture as added inspiration.

First, I cut a slit (slightly larger than a quarter) into the top of the plastic jar. Then I put scotch tape along the edges of the slit so that Abby wouldn't cut her finger as she deposits money.  Then I glued her decorated strip around the jar.

I let Abby color the popsicle sticks and then I cut them in half. Added 4 slits to the bottom of the jar, using a knife and poked the sticks through the slits.  The legs are adjustable. :)

 I cut triangles for the ears, glued on a pair of wiggly eyes,  another circle for the nose and there you have an adorable piggy face! Make sure to glue it with the lid screwed on. I did not at first, and each time I screwed the lid onto the jar, the pigs face was upside down. :) 



I cut a thin strip of paper for the tail and curled it around my pencil. And there you have the behind view!  Remember "Give"!

I also plan to create a "Saving Pig" and a "Spending Pig"...but we need to eat more crunchy peanut butter sandwiches!

Fairy Godmother or Just a Step Sister?

I love the imaginings of my four year old.  She is full of stories of princesses, tiger tamers, fairies, vets and pirates.  I am especially amused at the occasional cross-over between real life and imagination.  It's very common in our house to hear Abby say, "Mommy, today I'm Belle. You be the Beast."  or "Today I'm Wendy, Caedmon can be Captain Hook."  A normal part of my daily conversation consists of, "And who are you today?" 

I particularly enjoy my role as Mrs. Potts. ( I can do a fun English accent).  And I enjoy being Capatin Hook because I get to fight with a sword.  I dream of being a fellow princess such as Sleeping Beauty (Who wouldn't want an opportunity to lay down and rest for 5 minutes?). I do not even mind being the fairy godmother!  In fact, I often feel like that delightful little old lady decked out in blue,  as I create games out of thin air, and entertain the "guests" for hours on end. I feel like the fairy godmother as I dress and redress little Prince Charming and suffer through multiple costume changes (with matching shoes) from my little Princess throughout the day. 

But I never expected to be called a "Step Sister"...though I did find it a bit amusing.  Yesterday Abby and Caedmon destroyed their room.  Abby pretended to be everything from a cat to a rock star.  Caedmon played with cars and "shoo-shoo's" all day.  Just before bed, I asked the kids to pick up their toys.  Aside from being distracted, Caedmon thought it was a fun game to join as he tossed cars into his box.  Abby, acted as though her legs were made of lead and couldn't move a single muscle. She complained with every single stuffed animal that went into her box.

As I completed my final rant about not complaining over chores, I overheard Abby mutter, "You're the Step Sister."  :)

And there you have it, mothers!  Sometimes your the fairy godmother and sometimes your the mean step sister!

This morning,  I told Abby that we will be able to go to the store and buy her the nightgown she's been wanting.  She squealed and excitedly said, "Really?  I get my very own nightgown?"  (Poor thing...I should have bought her one a long time ago...if only I'd known how much it would mean to her!) I mentioned  that I'm not such a bad step sister after all.  She looked at me as though confused and a bit embarrassed and then admitted that she didn't mean it.  It lead to a great discussion about frustration and how we sometimes say things we don't mean....we've all be there, right?

 Who am I to condemn?  I've used worse names than "step sister" and if the worst thing she can call me is a step sister, then I guess I'm okay for now!  At least when I buy the night gown I'll be reinstated to my rightful position as fairy godmother!

Made for a Unique Purpose

While in college, I had the privilege to do an independent study with a professor who was researching home activities with Big Idea Foundation. This project was really cool. Two guys from Big Idea, Bill and Ted, (yes, those were their real names!) hosted "Family Nights" at various locations in urban, suburban, and rural areas. These nights included dinner and games.  Each game was meant to create environments in which the families could discuss some element of their family dynamics and how each person needs one another.  We sent the games home with each family and later did follow up surveys.  As one of the team, I was fortunate enough to get a game pack myself.  I tucked it away in a box somewhere and just recently rediscovered this gem.  Here is one activity we experienced as a family this evening over dinner.

Bob & Larry Family Night Home Activity
"Bon Appetit"
Eating with Style

What You Need
Pillow case, kitchen utensils

How You Play
Fill your pillow case with non-sharp kitchen utensils (spatula, tongs, ladle, potato masher, ice cream scoop, turkey baster, etc.). Tell everyone to close their eyes and pull out a kitchen utensil. The one you touch first is the one you take. The one you take is the utensil you eat your dinner with that evening. Enjoy!

Since my kids are so young, and we had soup for dinner, I used an ice cream scoop, two slotted spoons (one large, one medium) and a ladle.  My adventurous family jumped right on board with our new task!

 I think Abby enjoyed it so much, she prefers the ladle now. She said "It's just my size!"

 Caed refused to eat his soup, but he tried with all his might to eat that sandwich with his ice cream scoop!

What You Learned
Why is a fork or spoon easier to eat with than the utensil you used? A fork or spoon is made for a special purpose - you were made that way too. What unique talet do you have, and how could you use it to help your family or community?

As we slurped our soup we discussed the questions above. I love hearing things from Abby's perspective. She doesn't think that she's as funny as Caedmon (we decided that was one of his gifts) but agreed that she's creative and good with words even though she "doesn't know how to spell them". 

I love the way God has designed our family. We each have so much in common, but we are also so different. And we are learning to compliment and fill in the gaps for each other in ways that are unique to each person in our family. 

And yes...even eating soup with a ladle, or slotted spoon, or ice cream scoop is a sacred event.

Everything in Life IS Sacred

Caedmon's Call has a song entitled "Sacred". I've adopted this song as my theme song (at least for this season of my life).  God has gifted me with life. It's a life that as Paul says in Galations 2:20 "I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." I believe that God is redeeming his creation in all aspects  until the day he returns to rule in a new heaven and new earth. 

Being a mommy of two little ones, I get to see God's hand at work in redemption all around me everyday. I see it in their lives as they learn how to treat each other with love and respect. I see redemption in my own life as I learn to see the world through the eyes of my children. I see it as I work alongside my husband to create a budget and stick to it and then experience grace as we "bust" the buget and start again. I see redemption when we've had a rough day of whining and arguing, and we go to sleep loving each other and praying for new mercies in the morning. And I see it at work in my heart when I forego the coveted alone-time in order to comfort my 4 year old who is unable to sleep and wants "just one more story before bed".  These are instances of God's gift of redemption in my life...places that He is making sacred.

Here are the lyrics to "Sacred" by Caedmon's Call

Words and Music by Randall Goodgame and Andrew Osenga
(c) 2007 House of Mirrors Music (ASCAP) admin. by Simpleville Music, Inc. / 2007 Mighty Molecule Music. (ASCAP) admin by Music Services

This house is a good mess
it’s the proof of life
no way would I trade jobs
but it don’t pay overtime

I’ll get to the laundry
I don’t know when
I’m saying a prayer tonight
cause tomorrow it starts again

Could it be that everything is sacred?
and all this time
everything I’ve dreamed of
has been right before my eyes

The children are sleeping
but they’re running through my mind
the sun makes them happy
and the music makes them unwind

My cup runneth over
and I worry about the stain
teach me to run to You
like they run to me for every little thing

When I forget to drink from you
I can feel the banks harden
Lord, make me like a stream
to feed the garden

Wake up, little sleeper
the Lord, God Almighty
made your Mama keeper
so rise and shine,rise and shine
rise and shine cause

Everything is sacred
and all this time
everything I’ve dreamed of
has been right before my eyes

First Blog Nervousness!

Well, I've finally done it!  I've moved from Facebook to blogging.  I remember the first time I heard the term "blog". I was a newly hired secretary in the Communication Studies department at a local university. (A job I loved much to my surprise; especially since I managed to avoid all communication classes during my undergrad years at Wheaton College.)  The professor stood at my desk and excitedly told me about his new blog.  I knodded and joined his excitement and then googled "blog" as soon as he left my desk!

Communication within the public domain is something that I find very intimidating.  Speeches, presentations, raising my hand and answering questions in a classroom, blogs...I even lowered my voice when answering the phone in the Communication Studies department for fear of having others overhear my conversation.  And yet, I'm drawn to blogging for some reason. I love to read other blogs and I often think of things I would write if I had a blog... so here's to stretching myself!  It's a good thing to do something that's uncomfortable every now and then!