It breaks my heart when my children lie to me! I am beyond frustrated and aggravated and angry! Yes, I said it.... angry. Parents are allowed to get angry, right? But, more than anger, I just feel heartbroken!! I want my children to grow up to be honest and trustworthy.
I hate being lied to! How on earth can I teach my child to tell the truth? I'm out of ideas! We have learned Bible verses, written them, grounded him, made him work, talked until I am blue in the face, taken away privileges, and every other creative discipline I can think of! Any great ideas?!?
Honesty 101
I'm sure it's something we all face as a parent. I'm praying that somewhere along the way, something will work! At this point, I just pray that he gets caught every single time. I just don't know what else to do. Who has the world's best idea for teaching a child to tell the truth? I wold love to hear it!!
If you haven't been paying attention to Target's posts lately, they have changed their coupon policy. Be sure to check it out before you head out to go shopping! Here's a quick overview.
Target: New Revised Coupon Policy
Revised Coupon Policy - June 2012
Target has made changes to its official Target Coupon Policy.
Limit of 4 identical coupons per household, per day (unless otherwise noted on coupon)
Returns of items purchased using Manufacturer coupons may receive coupon value returned in the form of a Target GiftCard. (*)
We reserve the right to accept, refuse or limit the use of any coupon
We do not accept Canadian coupons in our US stores.
(*) New return policy
Previous transaction: You bought one bottle of Pantene Shampoo $3.49 and used $1/1 manufacturer coupon. You paid $2.49.
Then you decide to return the shampoo purchased using a manufacturer coupon. They will give you $2.49 cash and the $1 (from manufacturer coupon) will be on Target gift card
Heather and I find tons of deals at Target, especially stacking a Target coupon with a manufacturer coupon. If you haven't been to their site to print coupons, it's worth it!! Go HERE to look at Target's latest printable coupons.
We had an awesome time at our McCormick GrillMates party from Crowdtap! I got a sweet party package in the mail from them including rubs, marinades, BBQ sauce, and seasonings. We invited tons of friends over (mostly our SS class from church) and had a BYOM party! But first, we wanted to try out a few of the flavorings for ourselves!! We grilled some pork chops marinated in the Spiced Brandy and Herb marinade and hot dogs for the kiddos! We used the brown sugar bourbon BBQ and it was awesome!
We provided the grills and the seasonings and drinks. We also picked up hot dogs and buns for the kids. Everyone else had to bring a side dish and their own meat to grill! It was so much fun. We had all kinds of goodies... Potato salad, veggies and dip, home made bread, brownies, strawberry cake, home made chips and homemade layer dip, beans, and lots more I'm sure I forgot!
Emma found a really cute recipe on Pinterest for us to make. It uses Nutter Butter cookies and you add icing to make them look like flip flops. We searched 4 stores in two towns to find the cookies shaped like peanuts! We finally found them at Target in Branson!
We grilled everything at the party!! We had pork chops, steaks, chicken legs, shrimp kabobs, hot dogs, and burgers! Everyone really enjoyed getting to use the seasonings. We really wanted to have a hands on party to let everyone experiment with their own flavors. I even picked up a few extra McCormick GrillMate products at the store the day before so we could use those, also. We loved the hamburger seasoning and the Montreal Steak! Delicious. The Brandy rub was a huge hit with the crowd!
Mostly, it was just an awesome time to hang out with our friends. We are the "young couples" class and there are about 20ish kids among us. The kids ran all over the yard playing on the tree house, the trampoline, and mostly with water guns and water toys. The tree house became a fort or at least a safer place from the girls to hide from the boys! The boys made the mistake of getting a few of the Dads wet and ended up in a bucket of water!! We had a blast! I'm so thankful to have such fun friends and family in my life. They are a blessing to me. It was nice to be able to open our house as a fun place to play and visit. I hope to do it again soon! Thanks again, McCormick Grill Mates and Crowdtap for the great party kit and the chance to spend an awesome day with friends!
If you haven't signed up with crowdtap yet, it's time! You'll be qualifying for your own hosted parties in no time!!
** Sorry the pictures are so crazy!! I have no idea what's going on with blogger. It didn't have anything matched up when I published it. Oh, well! Enjoy!**
Have you seen Madagascar 3 yet? It seriously is one of our favorite movies of all time!! We love the first two. I'm pretty sure we have seen them a million times! They are hilarious and my kids can quote almost every line and sing every lyric to the crazy songs!
Alex is sporting the Afro!!
With the Afro circus song and the video they have seen a million times, excitement was building! Going to see a movie at the theater is nearly impossible for our family. With 6 kids, it costs us nearly 100 dollars to go see a movie. It easily reaches 100 if it's a 3D movie.
Kenda Drive In
We usually choose an alternative to the regular movie theater. Our FAVORITE place to go see a movie is at Kenda Drive in. We've been waiting for a kid movie to play and this was the first big summer hit that I've been able to take the kids to. I can honestly say, it was everything we thought it was going to be. I qualified for a hosted party on Crowdtap and they sent a digital kit with all kinds of fun downloads and activity ideas. It was awesome!!
Pin the tail on Gloria
It's a little pricey to print everything that they sent, but I managed to print enough to keep us entertained. We had coloring sheets, games, pin the tail on Gloria and other party ideas. I printed everything ahead of time, packed some crayons, glue, scissors, etc. and headed out! We also packed a football, glow sticks, snacks, a cooler, lawn chairs, and who knows what else the kids snuck in!
Blindfolded for Pin the tail on Gloria!
Emma was the winner!
Zebra Cake!
We had a fabulous time before the movie. The kids loved all the free activity sheets and the masks were a huge hit! I forgot the string, so we had to borrow some straws from the concession stand to hold them up!! lol The face painting was a huge hit. I had a friend that made the zebra cake (Thanks, Sheri Ollar), and the kid (my daughter) that one pin the tail on Gloria got to eat the first piece! I'd say this hosted party was a huge success. If you want a chance to host your own party some time, go check out crowdtap. You'll be glad you did! You can sign up here.
Here is a video from the party of all the kids playing Pin the Tail on Gloria!! Hilarious!!
I'm telling you, I am raking in the Amazon cards! I cashed in today for another $25 card! I also applied to host a Woolite Extra Dark party. It's very easy. Go see if you qualify now... Woolite Extra Dark Party
You can be as involved as you want to be. You answer a bunch of questions from all different brands about things that you like and use and are interested in. You get points for answering each question. Also, sometimes they send you discussions. You get extra points for answering those discussion questions and replying to others' posts. If you do a great job, you could win a Top Award! If you do that, you can win up to 15,000 points!! At 20,000 you can cash in for a $10 Amazon Card.
It's that easy. Answer questions, get points, cash in. And a special little added bonus...
Sometimes you qualify for a sample and share or hosted party where they send you all kinds of goodies to try out with your friends. You review it, post on your social networks about it, and get to keep the free products. Plus, they give you more points if you do a good job! That means more Amazon cards!
Here are a few of the giveaways going on right now!
BIC Mark-It
Enter every hour for a chance to win a free marker!! I've tried for a couple of days off and on and finally won today!! They are giving away 200 every hour. Those are pretty good odds!! Go to BIC Mark-It to enter.
Sobe
Go to their facebook page to like them and spin for a chance to win! Sobe Facebook
Nestle
Enter on the Nestle Facebook page to see if you can free Nestle Drumsticks or a prize pack!
What girl doesn't love shoes? Does anyone else have a pile of them in the bottom of their closet or is it just me? I soooooooooooooo want to make one of these for my closet. It looks easy enough! I found this blog that tells how to make one and they have some other great ideas, too! Check it out!
Jamaica was a blast and we have immediately entered back into life in the real world. I guess getting home at 3 AM and the kids waking us up at 7 will do that to you! I guess that also explains why I slept 12 hours last night! LOL I think I needed to catch up from our vacation.
While we were there, we realized that there were several items we left at home that we REALLY wish we had packed. When we travel by car, I pack anything and everything. I just keep adding stuff in or picking it up along the way at Walmart. When you fly to a tropical island and things are ridiculously expensive (and they don't take my coupons) I decided to add a few things to my list so I'll remember next time. Yes, I realize that may be for our 20th anniversary, but it never hurts to be prepared, right? Oh, and they don't have Walmart to run to when I need something!!
Here's our list.... You all help me add to it! What is that "must have" item that you forgot to take with you or are so glad you did?
1. Mosquito spray~ We were eaten alive!! Apparently there were more bugs than just mosquitoes, too. I had to go to the doctor yesterday for a topical steroid for some crazy bites!
2. Insulated Mug~It's hot on the beach. My concern was not taking liquids on the plane... not about taking an empty cup. I should have packed one.
3. Snacks~ We stayed at an all inclusive place, but they didn't have much food just to snack on when you were hungry in your room late at night or in the afternoon on the beach. Also, there wasn't much healthy food at all. Some healthier snack options would have been great! I brought some crackers and squeeze cheese, but they confiscated my cheese as a "liquid" before I got on the plane!!!
This is our top three. What is on your list?!? Anything special you always pack to take with you?
