Mr. Bug got me flowers today. They are so happy on my table
in the middle of rainy days and crazy schedules. Sometimes it’s little gestures
that say the most.
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Monday, October 14, 2013
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Moving Right Along: A Little Moving Humor
Happy Sunday evening to you! Since moving is so stressful fun and we love whining to each other sharing, I thought a few funny moving pictures were in order. Enjoy!
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Moving Right Along: Moving With Kids
Just popping in for a quick ‘hello’ and a note or two about moving with
kids. I have now survived four moves with one or more children running around,
and we’ve all made it through alive! Here are a few tips I’ve found that go a
long way toward making things a bit more bearable for everyone.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8iOjPqbC4e57r5FfgPYysaXkEt4aHldWhDWIfY790yg0c3_MxkfCxdP9QONxJ7aZBwBsFKhphmLfVmroSTHodkrJuEZP2fVsUt-WKSx4pTixHF9iVmg4G8eJxH5vDeUX4S79kt3LNujwB/s1600/Finger+Bullet+-+Small.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8iOjPqbC4e57r5FfgPYysaXkEt4aHldWhDWIfY790yg0c3_MxkfCxdP9QONxJ7aZBwBsFKhphmLfVmroSTHodkrJuEZP2fVsUt-WKSx4pTixHF9iVmg4G8eJxH5vDeUX4S79kt3LNujwB/s1600/Finger+Bullet+-+Small.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8iOjPqbC4e57r5FfgPYysaXkEt4aHldWhDWIfY790yg0c3_MxkfCxdP9QONxJ7aZBwBsFKhphmLfVmroSTHodkrJuEZP2fVsUt-WKSx4pTixHF9iVmg4G8eJxH5vDeUX4S79kt3LNujwB/s1600/Finger+Bullet+-+Small.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8iOjPqbC4e57r5FfgPYysaXkEt4aHldWhDWIfY790yg0c3_MxkfCxdP9QONxJ7aZBwBsFKhphmLfVmroSTHodkrJuEZP2fVsUt-WKSx4pTixHF9iVmg4G8eJxH5vDeUX4S79kt3LNujwB/s1600/Finger+Bullet+-+Small.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8iOjPqbC4e57r5FfgPYysaXkEt4aHldWhDWIfY790yg0c3_MxkfCxdP9QONxJ7aZBwBsFKhphmLfVmroSTHodkrJuEZP2fVsUt-WKSx4pTixHF9iVmg4G8eJxH5vDeUX4S79kt3LNujwB/s1600/Finger+Bullet+-+Small.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8iOjPqbC4e57r5FfgPYysaXkEt4aHldWhDWIfY790yg0c3_MxkfCxdP9QONxJ7aZBwBsFKhphmLfVmroSTHodkrJuEZP2fVsUt-WKSx4pTixHF9iVmg4G8eJxH5vDeUX4S79kt3LNujwB/s1600/Finger+Bullet+-+Small.jpg)
Even with all the helpful lists in the world, the truth is that moving
with kids is hard. Hopefully these tips will help ease the transition for
everyone and make it seem like going on a new adventure rather than leaving
behind an old life. Just remember that the things that seem little and silly to
us mean a lot to them, so try to find new ‘special’ things in the new place. They’ll
start rocking again in no time : )
Friday, October 11, 2013
Moving Right Along: Moving Away from Pride {Second-Hand Duds}
I am a very prideful person. Not in an ‘I’m super proud of my
accomplishments’ way, but in an ‘I can’t let anyone know I don’t have my whole
life figured out’ way. This has led me to make a lot of mistakes and has led to
a lot of discontentment in some areas.
One of the areas that I found myself struggling was kid’s
clothing. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but kid’s clothes are expensive! I would
get so frustrated when I would spend $100 at Target on clothes for the kids and
come home with only four or five outfits. Finally, I decided that my pride be
darned. My kids didn’t need new
clothes!
How cute are these little newborn outfits from Target?? But at a $22-24 each, we just can't afford to buy things like this unless it's a special occasion.
Most of the clothes in my kids’ closets weren’t bought brand new. This is one way I have found to get more for our money. Instead of buying
them three shirts at $9 each, I can get them nine shirts at $3 each by shopping
at a consignment or second-hand store. So many kids outgrow their clothes
before they’re anywhere near worn out, and I always make sure the items I buy
are in good shape. We do make exceptions for some things. At the beginning of
the school year, not only did each of the girls get two or three pairs of jeans
from Once Upon a Child, but they each got one new pair from a retail store
also. We also buy sneakers new, but rather than buying brand names like Adidas
or Nike, we get something from Target or Wal-Mart.
Both of the dresses the girls are wearing in this picture were found at Once Upon A Child and I probably paid less than $6 for both of them! |
We also inherit a lot of hand-me-downs from relatives and
friends. Since Judah has five male cousins older than him, I really haven’t had
to buy a whole lot of clothing for him at all. And both of the girls have
received clothing from older girls in the church. Sometimes you have to spend a
little time weeding out the stained or worn items, but it’s so worth it!
Even The Boy's 'I love Dad' shirt here was a hand-me-down from the cousins |
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This picture is from when we still lived in Kearney a couple of years ago, but don't they look cute in their second-hand sweatshirts? : ) I may be slightly biased, I know. |
If I’m being completely honest, it still sometimes feels like
I’m somehow depriving my kids by not buying them brand-new brand-name clothing.
I see kids at school or the mall wearing the latest styles and worry that my
kids are self-conscious about their second-hand duds. But I know that it’s
really all in my head. My kiddos have very cute clothes and they have enough
that I’m not scrambling to do laundry every second. Ain’t nobody got time for
that.
When they get older I know this method of shopping will not
fly quite as well, but we’re trying to get our finances handled while they’re
young so that when they’re older we can say ‘yes’ to a few of the higher priced
items. They still won’t get the most expensive of everything just because we
don’t think that’s a great use of money anyway. But a pair of Nike sneakers or
Buckle brand jeans may be in their future. Maybe even two if they ask nicely
and give me a chocolate bar. : )
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Moving Right Along: Packing up Toys & Preserving My Kids' Brains
I’m popping in really quick today for a mini-post on packing
up toys. (This is almost like I’m
failing at the 31 Days Challenge, but not quite)
I mentioned here that I think toys should be one of the
first things you pack up. I packed up dress-up clothes about three weeks before
we moved and didn’t get one request for them until we had been in the new place
for a while. This obviously wouldn’t work for every family; my kids aren’t nuts
about playing dress-up like my sister’s some people’s kids. : )
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It looks like Judah's playing dress-up here, but he's really just squirrel-watching. With protective eye gear. |
Books got packed up. I left out maybe ten books for the
kiddos and then the rest with in small tubs along with coloring books. I also
went through the books as I was packing them and got rid of any that were torn,
beat up or just held no interest for my kiddos.
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The Boy has a gift for getting books out. He's a stealth mess maker. |
Play-Doh got thrown away. There. I said it. The Play-Doh
that we had was either dried up and crusty or it was all mixed together so much
it just looked brown. Lame. Also, I hate Play-Doh, but I keep telling myself
that didn’t influence my pitching decision too much. (I’m in denial. Leave me
alone.)
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Get in the box, Mrs. Potato Head. Go quietly, ma'am. We don't want any trouble. |
I wish I could tell you that I had some perfect system to decide how many toys I left out for my kids to play with, but that’s not true. You want to know my secret? I figured that even if I packed up every.single.toy. in the playroom there would be more throughout the house that would be left out for their use. I was right. Worked like a charm.
If you can pack up the major categories like dress-up,
books, Legos, dollhouse, toy kitchen, etc. then the rest should just fall into
place. And I really think that the fewer ‘toys’ my kids have, the more creative
they are forced to be. That’s how I keep their brains from melting out their
noses. You’re welcome : )
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Moving Right Along: 31 Days of Blogging Challenge
Welcome! This is my newly created home page of sorts for the 31 Days of Blogging Challenge. This will be home base for all of the new posts in the 'Moving Right Along: 31 Days of Moving Through Life' series. I'll link to the new posts as soon as they're up! I hope you enjoy : )
Day Nine: New Memories in a New Home
Day Ten: Packing up Toys & Preserving My Kids' Brains
Day Eleven: Moving Away from Pride {Second-Hand Duds}
Day Twelve: Moving With Kids
Day Ten: Packing up Toys & Preserving My Kids' Brains
Day Eleven: Moving Away from Pride {Second-Hand Duds}
Day Twelve: Moving With Kids
I am so excited to be a part of this challenge, organized by the lovely Nester over at her blog Nesting Place. There are tons of bloggers participating! Go check it out!
Moving Right Along: New Memories in a New Home
We've only lived in the new house for a month and already we've made so many memories here. That's one thing that I actually really enjoy about living in different places like I mentioned here. You get to have so many memories in so many places! Today I'm just sharing a few of my favorite Instagram photos that are now memories in our new place
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New bunk beds for the girls meant a great big box to play with, so the munsters colored and decorated it before using it as a boat for their toys. |
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This was about two weeks in to our time here. He had finally figured out where to go in the middle of the night to find me :) |
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Moving Right Along: Getting Ready to Move
While preparing for our last move, I called my sister
countless times to whine about how much I hate moving. She was a trooper to put
up with it, especially since she and her family had also just moved and her
experience was far more stressful. (Think moving out of state into an apartment
for only one year with two kids and another one on the way. Yeah, my whining
was silly.)
But like I talked about here, our landlords wanted to sell the Mouse House and we didn’t want the stress of showing the house and not knowing if we’d have a place to live in a month. And the truth is the new place is great. It is somewhere that I can see us living comfortably for a few years while we pay off debt and save a down payment for another house of our own.
But like I talked about here, our landlords wanted to sell the Mouse House and we didn’t want the stress of showing the house and not knowing if we’d have a place to live in a month. And the truth is the new place is great. It is somewhere that I can see us living comfortably for a few years while we pay off debt and save a down payment for another house of our own.
So long story short long, I was kind of moving
against my will. Sounds so dramatic, huh? Picture me with my hand to my
forehead collapsing on a fainting couch. Oh man, I would love to have a
fainting couch. Anywho, back to moving…
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This isn't exactly a fainting couch, but if TJMaxx wanted to donate it to the cause, I wouldn't object : ) |
Giving perfectly good stuff away is tough for me. I am a
cheapskate to my very core, so when I see something that we don’t need that I could
get a few bucks for my first thought is to try and sell it. I did this with a
few things but what I really should have done was just get it the heck out of
my house. I have a few friends whose daughters are younger than mine, so I gave
them shoes and clothes that they’d outgrown. A stroller we no longer use went
to another friend. Excess dress-up
clothes went to a little girl at church who loves to play dress-up.
If you come across something that is stained/broken/worn out/no
longer useful…pitch it! Now is not
the time to see potential in every scrap of fabric and wonky picture frame. Do not
move trash just to throw it away a month later. This one was also hard for me
and I honestly could have done better. Learn from my mistakes, people!
My final word of advice for The Great Purge is this great
idea that I shared yesterday: someone else is happy with less than what you
have. When all is said and done, all this stuff is just…stuff. They’re just
things. Is it worth snapping at your kids and being a grump because you’re
stressed over the move and all the things you have? Consider how blessed you
are to have all of this stuff and let
the stress go.
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Moving Day! These kiddos were such troopers. I am so blessed with these little gifts from above. |
Monday, October 7, 2013
Moving Right Along: Quotes that Move Me
I’m close to my deadline for the day, so this is one of my
freebies/super easy posts to write : ) I present to you: moving quotes! Not
quotes about moving—quotes that move me. You can find all of these on my ‘Words’
Pinterest board here. Have a great day!
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The Winnie the Pooh and Piglet friendship is beautiful. They are so understanding and they're always there for one another. I know they're not real, by the way. |
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I feel this way about my kids sometimes. When you just want to squish their soft little bodies in a snuggle. |
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Sometimes all you can ask for is someone to stand next to you, hold your hand, and say "Yep. This sucks." But when they keep ahold of your hand, things are just a little bit more manageable. |
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This is a depressing-ish quote, but it rings true for me. I get bummed out during the winter, but just reading this makes me feel better. It's nice to know that I'm not alone in that. |
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This is really good for me to remember when I'm thinking about how much I hate the blinds in the kitchen or how I wish I had a headboard. Reality needs to take hold of me at times like that. |
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There are monsters in this world. Not with horns and googly eyes and fire coming out of their mouths, but real monsters. But they're not unbeatable. Something I want my munsters to learn. |
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I pinned this shortly after moving to Lincoln because it really rang true to me at that time. |
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I love that not all the responsibility is on the wife, nor is it on the husband. I do my part, he does his. It's a partnership and I love that. I don't always live up to my end, but we try. |
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This is cheesy but still true. Mr. Bug and I have been together for over 11 years, married for more than eight, but I still find myself looking for him no matter where we are. |
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Can I tattoo this on my daughters' foreheads? That way it will help them and other girls remember! Too far? : ) |