Gift's to give!

OH! SNAP! It's your birthday and I don't have anything to give you... ugh... dislike! Simple solution: homemade coupons providing a simple or extravagant service tailored to the person your giving to. This some times can speak more than some quick gift you threw together! Especially for me,it reminds me of the many coupons I received from siblings. "One coupon for breakfast in bed" or "Free day of baby sitting" or "I'll cook you a meal and bring it to you" or "Good for one date with one weeks notice" or "Coffee delivered to you with or without chocolate"- I have been known to give these, I feel they personalize the gift and do not contribute to the clutter that seems to take over anyone's house at any given moment in time:) So... go ahead create a coupon and give it to some one you love, like or just need a quick gift for (works great for rewarding those hard working students in your life:) Blessings and Happy Valentines Day to you!! 

It's Monday again:)

Media Free Monday!! I still am not sure who this day is most hard for me? or the small child? But we shall trudge on and only "change the rules an ity bity bit" for illness and holidays!! Phew! I think I can I think I can I think I can....

   Today was exceptionally warm so we spent 1.5hr at the park and then back to warm our faces and hands!  Along with lunch we listened to a few  Audio Books (free). This activity helps us to  keep our mind's off of the TV and computer games that are, for today, off limits! Another link for FREE audio books We hope you enjoy these stories as much as we do!!

Media Free Monday's!

The small child of the Van Marter house hold filled the hall way's of our beautiful house with a irritating temper tantrum because I had turned off the television and wouldn't let him go immediately to the computer for another media fix. I decided in that moment to instill 'Media Free Monday's' in an effort to curb his attachment to this mind numbing devices! As I contemplated this more while carrying my screaming 3yr old to his room (and shutting the door), a thought came to me... we hardly watched any television in our house growing up yet, we didn't suffer in a wealth of exciting childhood experiences! In this split moment I decided to also extend 'Media Free Monday' into Tuesday mornings and sometime's evenings (Although being a single parent Monday night and Tuesday night in desperation I may turn the tube on!) MFM has been known to infaltrate Wednesday's as well!!  The small child has no knowledge of this extension of MFM (and shall remain blissfully un-aware!!) this "rule" has helped him to extend his creativity in wonderful ways! I have seen super hero cowboys, special cowboy's, superhero's who get along with bad guys and he has found a new tolerances for ART?!? This hasn't come with a few melt downs, tears from mother and son, and a few "exceptions" to the rule but!! after the first few (painful) hours of MFM morning the creativity blooms! Some times it needs help and I have an arsenal of idea's to kick start the creativity! For example...http://www.10paperairplanes.com/  has provided hours of entertainment to our home! Also Crayola Quick and Easy Face Paint has helped to keep the MFM blues away! So has giving B a few CD's and a CD player to sit and enjoy repeating the same song over and over again! More idea's to come... Happy Media Free Monday friends!

MONSTER away!

To you this picture represents a tiny spritz of scent aka smelly stuff but... to a 4yr old boy with a very healthy imagination this is SCARY dream spray! a few dozen spritz's around the room and a healthy dose on his bed and all night time terrors are simply misted away! This is not a JVM(<---my initials) original but it was remembered in not so quite desperation from the endless excuses as to why the small one should not go to bed... Scary dream spray coupled with a flash light and 4 books (because he's four). Has kept the night time "I need a drink of water" etc... at bay! Another rule is he get's one time out of bed (to pee/drink/ect..) any time after that he is disciplined! I praise the Lord he isn't as stubborn as me(SORRY MOM/DAD) it only took 3 nights of disciplines to curb the multiple night time pop ups!(for me I think the parents lost count;) oops! One other "trick" we have found to make night times successful is a quick, easy, simple routine! For you this can be anything as long as it is repeated!

The Small One's Night Time Routine

8:30-Potty and dressed for bed

8:40-floss and brush teeth

8:50-Bible story and prayers

9:00-lights out

(9:15-9:30-he faithfully appears for one last pee)

9:45 he is usually asleep!

Some nights he is awake, in his bed till 10pm or later but! He's in his bed! Quiet and safe:)

Feel free to share your successes! Your routines! Your tribulations! Because this is parenting NOT perfection:)

Just a tip!

Hey! just in case you were ever wondering... I use this (permanent marker) almost every time I have a large get together! For cups, plates, and labeling my pitchers of liquid! Now, I've done this since Mr Clean invented the magic eraser(my Mom has been doing it longer, can't count how many times we had to ask "is this really sugar or salt?")...Never thought about the significance of this organizational tip till my (super awesomely creative) friend said "you should blog about that." So... If your short on time, label makers, or just need to make a note... use a permanent marker! Trust me those magic erasers (even generic) will get it off!! (Now this doesn't apply to children! As a daycare worker found out...duh!?!?) But for almost any and all other surfaces's go for it!! Plastic, glass, refrigerators... you can do it! It helps me keep those half opened jars of sauce used up in time! Open jugs of milk used up in time and lets my guest know which is which (even if they all look like water because you use Smuckers all natural lemon-aid:) Happy labeling friends!

ps. I also tie the marker to something solid during the party so everyone always has access to this wonderful labeling device!!

p.p.s You can use it to mark up your containers that hold sugar, salt, malt-o-meal, etc... I also write the recipe on the outside with tips and tricks for the next time!

Facing my biggest challenge... ME!

Ever met your match? Locked horns with the biggest bull on the block? Smacked into the hardest wall ever?Only to find out that the real obstacle is Y. O. U.?!? I know I have many times, in fact I'm what you might call stubborn, pig headed, dense, obstinate etc... when it comes to learning life's lesson's. For example: when your Father say's don't touch the tool box he means the handle as well. OR when your parents say "this is going to hurt me more than it hurts you", their right, it does. OR when you leave that huge project for the last minuet and then are shocked by the grade it received. OR when you start training your body to be healthy and it turns out not to be so easy?!? AHHHCK!!

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

Follow the link to my newest challenge I have set before my self along with making daily devotions as essential to my day as breathing. A seed was planted in my head by a old family friend via Facebook, it was then watered by friends and family members as I began to think out loud "I'm going to do a couch to 5K". The final push were two of my friends saying "I'll do this with you! Come on! Together we can do this" The treadmill was dusted off and the couch to 5K training began. The hiccups have been many, the excuses have been long and, the will power has been weak. Yet, (Proverbs 27:17) "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." My friends and family have been right along side me encouraging me, letting me know I have encouraged them, sharing their "failures", expressing their frustrations, yet pushing me forward when all I want to do is give up and go to bed!! Funny thing is I feel so much better after I've worked out, drank my water, and read my devotions. So why all this "belly aching"? Why am I beating my head against a brick wall? I have no idea, its just the way God created me and I am trying my best to embrace my inner bouncy ball and all that comes with it! Including the stubborn, pig headed, dense, obstinate etc... side of me!

Soo... I wrote this just to let you know; I've been there too (if you haven't guessed the examples are from my life.) I know what happens when you close your self off, ignore the gentle prodding of the Holy Spirit who is whispering in your ear "Get your degree in early childhood! Your not a business management major!" Pull a "Jonah" and flunk out of college...awkward! I praise the Lord daily for his promise in Romans 8:28 "We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God—those whom he has called according to his plan." and my life verse 1 Corinthians 15:10 "by the grace of God I am what I am, His grace to me is not with out affect..." And my newest verse to chant as I'm "DYING" on the treadmill Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." and those HE has surrounded me with!

I leave you with the quote that inspired this blog... "Your biggest challenge isn't someone else. It's the ache in your lungs and the burning in your legs, and the voice inside you that yells 'CAN'T'. But you don't listen, you just push harder. And then you hear the voice whisper 'can', and you discover the person you thought you were is no match for the one you really are."- Dave Scott, U.S. Triathlete-

I'm a mess!!

http://youtu.be/ltMBeMxB5gU

It's a great song! Listen to it! Even if the quality is "poor".

I know it's a MESS!! But please oh please let your kiddos have those sensory experiences even if you have to pay a preschool teacher 3day's a week or a special art teacher so they can make a MESS!! A few 'MESS' examples are shaving cream, finger painting, 'Goop/gack' (corn starch and water), soap, glue painting, glitter... the list can go on and on my friend. If you need help finding messy activities I can help with that!! If you need help finding ways to make it less of a MESS and more enjoyable for all person's involved I can help with that too! But please, oh please! Let your babies, kiddos, pre-teens, teenagers... make a mess!!

We have a rule in this house "No ginormous messes! (with out a consenting adult). So I try my best to once a week have a GINORMOUS mess day!! Shaving cream has been my 'go to' because it is the easiest to clean up! But today we tried 'goop/gack' and it was a big hit! Filled about 20 min of kiddo's time (we added washable paints to stretch the fun!) then 20min of clean up(kids, floor, table...) and they reieved a great sensory experience! and it really didn't "cost" me any thing except time which is an expense I am willing to expend in the pursuit of raising the my blessing. So many valuable lesson's are learned when GINORMOUS messes are aloud. Like 'it's okay to get dirty', or 'its a solid AND a liquid', 'cleaning is necessary', 'making messes is okay', and a important one 'life get's messy! just clean your self up and keep on'.

So...those squeamish and faint of heart at the thought of play dough, finger paints and shaving cream! Fear not! This phase in life is short lived, so live it up! Make a MESS!! There will be plenty of time to have a clean and neat house later in life (when you'll be arguing about their MESSy room's;)