Multiple Mayhem!

4 Creative Ways to Keep Your Kids Busy This Summer

Denise — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:21:00 GMT

Summer vacation means only one thing for children: Freedom from school! For young ones, this time of the year means a blissful few months without having to wake up early, do homework or see their teachers. It means fun, fun and more fun.

For parents, however, summer vacation is a completely different story. Many parents tend to stress over just how much time their children can laze around on the couch and watch television or play computer games.

Wouldn’t it be great if your kids were involved in something educational and productive during their summer break? Here are a few creative ways to keep your kids entertained this summer:

1) Open a lemonade stand.

The idea of a lemonade stand may seem old-fashioned—but customer service, marketing, sales and finance are just some of the lessons young ones can learn from running a lemonade stand for a day. You can even agree to open shop on your sidewalk every Saturday—and the profits can go towards buying an item of their choice at the end of the summer break or once they've saved up enough money.

2) Plant a garden.

Why not take advantage of the sunshine and plant a small flower or vegetable garden in your backyard? Feeding, watering and even weeding plants will give children a sense of responsibility. You can help your children track plant growth with charts and daily photos or drawings of their plants. Afterwards, celebrate with a huge feast—with their vegetables as the main ingredient, of course!

3) Open up a car wash.

Give the kids a hose, soap and a sponge, and ask them to spend the afternoon washing your car. Of course, you can give them a little something for their hard work. If your children want to earn more income, you can even ask neighbors, aunts, uncles and grandparents if their cars are in need of substandard cleaning.

4) Write a story.

Let your imaginations go wild and write a story with your kids. Writing chain stories is a great way to produce truly entertaining plots. One child can write the first paragraph of the story, then he or she will show the last one or two lines to the next person, who will then add another paragraph to the story. This will go on until the story is deemed complete. You can even opt to illustrate the story and bind it into a book. The kids can give copies of their book to their grandparents and other relatives for Christmas, and it will surely be a hit!

These are just a few great activities for your children to get involved in while they are off from school. These activities will hone their talents and sharpen their imaginations and you don't have to let on that they're learning anything!

Photo Credit: iClipart

4 Tips for Dealing With Picky Eaters

Denise — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:14:00 GMT

Dealing with picky eaters at home can be terribly frustrating. The last thing you want to do after a long day at the office or anywhere else is to battle with your child over green peas or a piece of broccoli.

If you want to end the ongoing war at the dinner table, then here are some practical tips on dealing with picky eaters:

1) Make their plates colorful.

Create a menu composed of delicious, nutritious and brightly colored foods. Brown meatloaf may be boring, but not when paired with orange sweet potatoes and purple eggplant. Getting your children to “eat their colors” might just be a lot easier than getting them to “eat their vegetables.” Focusing on colors works especially well with kids of a younger age. It might also help to ask your kids what color they’d like to eat for tomorrow’s dinner—then do your best to accommodate their request.

2) Don’t overdo the snacking.

One reason your children may not be finishing their plates is because they aren’t hungry. Create a routine by serving meals and snacks at around the same time each day. Don’t serve snacks, milk or juice an hour before dinner or you might decrease their appetites. If your children know they’ll only be getting food at certain times of the day, then they’ll be more likely to eat what’s put in front of them.

3) Be creative with their favorites.

Is your child asking for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Children find comfort in familiar foods, so one thing you can try is being creative and adding a twist to their favorite dishes. Serve peanut butter with celery and carrots. Peanut butter also goes beautifully with fruits like apples, bananas and pears!

4) Involve your children in meal preparation.

Take your children grocery shopping with you and ask them to help you select the vegetables, fruits and other items for that day’s dinner menu. You can also involve them in cooking—such as rinsing the vegetables or mixing the batters and sauces. When at dinner with the rest of the family, be sure to praise your kids for their choices and all of their help in the kitchen.

Getting your children to eat a nutritious meal doesn’t always have to be such an exhausting task. Try some of these tips and hopefully you’ll be saying goodbye to mealtime clashes with your children for good.

Photo Credit: iClipart

4 Secrets to Getting Your Children to Do Their Homework

Denise — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 03:29:34 GMT

As all parents know, doing homework isn’t usually a child’s favorite activity. In fact, getting a child to do homework after a long day at school is one thing that most parents and children dread having to deal with on a daily basis.

Here are some great tricks to help get your children to do their homework:

1. Make the time for homework non-negotiable.

Sit down with your children and together determine a time scheduled purely for studying and doing assignments. Your children are more likely to respect the time set if they helped make the decision. Whether homework time is set for right after afternoon snacks or right after dinner, a consistent routine will slowly help eliminate any signs of resistance.

2. Use a timer.

Using a timer is a great tool for children who easily get distracted. By seeing how much time they have left, your kids will force themselves to focus. Be sure to check their homework when they’re done. You don’t want them guessing answers just to beat the clock!

3. Occasionally reward your children.

Did your child get the highest score on an exam he or she studied really hard for? Reward your children when you think they truly deserve it. Be sure to use incentives sparingly, however. They will come to expect rewards if you give them out too often. Reward your kids with praise instead of gifts whenever possible.

4. Do your homework at the same time.

One way to inspire your children to do their homework is to show solidarity and do your own homework at the same time. No television for them during this hour means there should be no television for you. If your child is reading a novel for class, then review a report you’ve written. If your child is doing math problems, then spend time balancing your checkbook. It’s easier for your children to be responsible when those surrounding them are acting responsibly, too.

Try out these four trusty tips and hopefully, homework time will become a more pleasant experience for both parents and the children. Good luck!

Along Came a Spider Who Sat Down Beside Her

Denise — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 22:43:44 GMT

We have a huge oak tree beside our driveway that we park under and recently a banana spider has made himself a home there. Every morning when we load up the kids to take them to school they have to stop and look and see what spidey is doing, but we're all careful not to get too close because he's at least three inches long (not including his legs) and pretty darn scary looking! Hubby has been extracting honey nearby and spidey has been feasting on the poor unsuspecting bees who apparently can't see the five foot web that he's built there. We can't reach the web because its pretty high up in the tree, and I'm not sure that we'd want to reach it if we could, but we're really hoping that he'll move along to a new location soon now that the extracting is finished!

It's Big Cheese Day for the Quads!

Denise — Thu, 05 May 2011 17:16:00 GMT

We're nearing the end of our quadruplets' first school year and to celebrate each of the pre-k "kindermice" gets a day of their own where they're the "Big Cheese" for a day - they get to wear this snazzy hat, lead activities and give a presentation to the class about their favorite things.

Their teacher this year has been absolutely wonderful about making them all feel special on an individual basis, and in asking for our input on things like this so she gave me plenty of advance notice and asked if I wanted to do all the kids on one day or if they should each have their own day. I'm grateful that she gave me the option because unfortunately work commitments wouldn't allow me four mornings off, and I'm SO glad that the kids all had a blast and enjoyed being the "Big Cheese" for a day!

Loving These Teacher Appreciation Gifts!

Denise — Wed, 04 May 2011 18:57:00 GMT

The kids had a blast last night preparing these appreciation gifts for their teachers! Their favorite part was using a big spoon to fill them with M&Ms and my favorite part was eating all the ones that hit the table. Thanks to Sara at Our Best Bites for the great idea We changed up the label a little bit so I could print them out on actual labels, then we made these gift tags and attached decorative paper clips to them. This morning the kids hand delivered them along with jars of honey from our bees. Thanks so much to all of you teachers out there for all that you do throughout the year!

Signs of Spring

Denise — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 14:38:00 GMT

Although the high for today will end up in the mid 80s, I wanted to share these signs of spring from our backyard.

7 More Mouths To Feed

Denise — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 05:49:00 GMT

One of the benefits of living out in the middle of the woods is that we get to see all sorts of wildlife, of course that can be a double edged sword when that wildlife prefers to eat your apple, pear and pomegranate trees! We looked out the office window the other day to see this family of seven deer having a snack in the front yard. The kids begged me to print the pictures so they carried them to school yesterday and they were so proud that they showed them to EVERYONE they came across in the parking lot, the office and the hallway!

Operation Santa Smiles

Denise — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 02:01:00 GMT

When our quadruplets were three months old the boys both developed pyloric stenosis and had to have surgery to correct the problem. We spent the week of Christmas at the hospital with one son, then the week of New Year’s at the hospital with the other and even though they were way too young to remember, the hospital is just no place for a kid to be at Christmas. Ever since then I’ve been planning on taking the kids back up to the hospital on Christmas Eve to deliver toys to the children there as soon as they were old enough to understand. This year we’ve been hearing way too much about “want” – my silly kids “want” everything they see on television, even when they don’t know what it is or does. So we decided that this was the perfect time for a lesson on “need” and to get started on what will be an annual trip to the hospital, and I’m so glad that we did. The kids were very happy to give out gifts of stuffed animals, Zhu Zhu pets, bendable elves, and holiday tattoos to about 30 kids at the hospital last night. Several of the kids were about their age and I think that really brought the message home for them.

Thanks very much to Sacred Heart Hospital and to Miss Angie, the sweet volunteer who gave up part of her own Christmas Eve to escort us around the children’s ward! We’ll see you again next year!

Hershey's For Halloween

Denise — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 23:10:00 GMT

Hershey's has some really neat packaging out for Halloween this year, but I must say that my favorite is the Reese's Pumpkins! Since the quads turn five this month, I plan to use some of these Hershey's candies to make goody bags for the kids in their class. I'm sure they're going to love them, and I'm happy to help out with any leftovers

Disclosure: This post was written in hopes of winning a Hershey's gift pack from the Mom Bloggers Club!

I Made the Reader Spotlight

Denise — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 16:22:00 GMT

I Heart Publix is one of my favorite blogs because Michelle, my bloggy BFF that runs the site, helps us to save SO MUCH money on our grocery budget. I'm thrilled that Michelle asked me to do her Reader Spotlight and her post about me is up today Thanks Michelle - you're the best!!

Project Tutorial: Simple Ribbon Hair Bows

Denise — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 18:07:00 GMT

The kids had their annual school pictures taken this week and I was really worried about how the girls hair is going to look in the photos. We put their hair up in a pony tail every morning before school, and every morning by the time we get to school it looks like they just rolled out of bed. They just can't keep their hands out of their hair and its usually a disaster within minutes of putting it up, but they're only four and they can't fix it themselves so I tried to figure out an easy way to keep it looking nice until after their pictures were made. I ended up creating these simple ribbon hair bows from some leftover 5/8" ribbon and bobby pins and the girls absolutely loved them, plus they were much easier to put back in place than a ponytail.

For each bow you will need to cut a 5 1/2" length of ribbon and 3/4" length of ribbon.

Fold the long ribbon with the raw ends in the middle and pin in place. Straight stitch through the center then pull the thread taut to gather the ribbon, then wrap the thread around the center several ties before tying a knot.

Wrap the short length of ribbon around the center of the bow, fold the raw edges under and pin then stitch in place.

Place the bobby pin on the back side of the bow with the flat side up and stitch in place at both ends and in the center. Now I can't wait to see how the pictures actually turned out! I'll keep you informed

Back to School for All FIVE Kids!

Denise — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:55:00 GMT

Wow - the day it seems like we've been waiting years for has finally arrived! Actually it was last week, ALL of the kids are in school this year with Jacob in the first grade and the quads in Pre-K. WHOOHOO!! They are all loving school, their teachers are wonderful, and they've been excited to get up and go each day. Just don't ask about Jacob and the homework Thank goodness for the uniforms, it's the one thing that makes mornings a little easier - everything mixes and matches.

Our Favorite Way to Enjoy S'Mores

Denise — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 18:08:00 GMT

We love to enjoy S'mores as a family because it's an activity that all of the kids can participate in, and of course they're just so yummy! Our favorite time to make S'mores is during our backyard cookouts, but they're also a great idea inside on a rainy day!

This post is my entry in a contest for a S’mores prize pack as a member of the Mom Bloggers Club.

Jacob Celebrates His 6th Birthday!

Denise — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 07:01:00 GMT

Jacob had a blast today with his friends and family at his birthday party held at Chuck E. Cheese, then mom had a good time putting this short little video together!

Jacob Graduates From Kindergarten!

Denise — Thu, 20 May 2010 22:32:00 GMT

Today was Jacob's graduation day and he was SO thrilled that he "went to school a kindergartner and came home a 1st grader!" The ceremony was really sweet - the two graduating kindergarten classes got together and sang three songs before their commencement ceremony. We're very proud of you Jacob! Great job!

What I Love About Family Portraits

Denise — Wed, 05 May 2010 19:39:00 GMT

I was reading about this new book that just came out called "Awkward Family Photos" (about $9 on Amazon) and the pictures that I saw were absolutely hilarious, and unfortunately, remind me of most of the family photos that we take. We have more than one camera and we take tons of photos, but with five kids under five we RARELY get all of them in one shot. Of course our annual family photo usually turns into a story , like the year that Jacob got knocked down by the photographar and got a bloody nose, or the year that none of the kids would look at the camera so we were all looking at each other in our Christmas card picture. This year I think we're gonna change things up a bit and give Sears Portrait Studio a try, and not just because they are graciously offering one lucky winner a two day conference pass to BlogHer this August (but I WOULD give my right arm to go!) I've heard great things about them and I've always been a fan of Sears - so look out guys, I'm planning to bring the whole brood in this fall for a family photo that WON'T make it into the book!

Disclosure: This post is my entry in the Sears Portrait Studio BlogHer contest, all of the words and thoughts are my own but they have been written in the hope of winning a ticket.

Annual Strawberry Festival

Denise — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 18:46:00 GMT

The local annual strawberry festival is a two day event each year and is one of about 4 or 5 area festivals where we setup a booth to sell our honey. Since we live in the middle of the woods it's a little far for people to come buy our honey, but mother and I usually have a good time working the festivals - it's a change of pace from working at home a few times a year (and is just enough to make us REALLY appreciate the fact that we get to work from home ).

The problem with working the festivals is that the kids never get to go and have any fun at them because we're too busy setting up and working them. Well this year we had a super long winter and about 1 1/2 days of spring (it's already in the 80's and humid so I think spring is over!) so the bees didn't get to make very much honey before the festival. We ended up selling out of all but a few bottles on the first day and didn't have near enough to go back for the second day, so instead this year the kids got to go. They had a blast - they got to play a few games and rode a few rides, then were happy to get milkshakes on the way home before dropping hard for a nap

The Importance of a Family Vacation

Denise — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 18:16:00 GMT

The hubby and I had our last vacation in 2003. We'd been trying to start a family for a couple of years with no luck, so we decided to take a vacation to just "get away from it all" and relax. We didn't have the money to go far or do much so we drove down to south Florida and hit Disney, some nice restaurants and a few other hot spots, and it was AMAZING! The chance to have some downtime with no schedules and to do lists and just reconnect as a couple was awesome. Little did we know that it would be our LAST vacation for over seven years About ten months after that our first son was born, then just fifteen months after that we welcomed our BBGG quadruplets and it has been pretty much non-stop, round the clock ever since then.

The quads are four now and our oldest is five and thanks to a LOT of help and support from our family (thank you mamaw, papaw, nana and Aunt Diana!!!) we've all survived pretty much unscathed Since we've got one in kindergarten and the quads will be starting pre-k this fall, we're starting to realize that life as we know it with these kids is about to change dramatically once again and I'm feeling the need to slow it down a little and really take the time to enjoy my family. I believe that a family vacation, even one that's short or close to home, is a perfect way to do just that! What better way to create lifetime memories for your children, recharge your batteries, and remind yourselves how much you appreciate each other.

Disclaimer: I am writing this post to participate in the Golden Inn Resort “What is the importance of a Vacation” sweepstakes for a chance to randomly win a full conference ticket to Blogher 2010. You can learn more about the Jersey Shore Resort and contest at their blog http://www.GoldenInnResort.com/vacationtips.

Jacob is Healing Up from the Surgery!

Denise — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 20:09:00 GMT

Jacob had surgery to remove his adenoids and tonsils, and to have ear tubes put in both ears a couple weeks ago. We got lots of advice and info ahead of time and were as prepared as possible with the protein shakes and all the soft foods - but you're just never really prepared to see your child in so much pain. He did very well in the surgery although the doctor told us the adenoids were worse than he expected as they were growing up into Jacob's nasal cavities. When we got to see him in the recovery room he had a bloody nose and two of his teeth were missing (they were loose when he went in), but he has healed up very well and pretty quickly so we're all happy with that. He started back to school this last Wednesday and he's been like a whole new boy now that he's not having problems with his ears or the sleep apnea! Way to go Jacob!