W.O.W. Results- Prince Charming's New Pad

I had so much fun with this Within One Week (W.O.W.) contest. They always motivate me. I need to take a room a week and do this to my whole house. Right now, Prince Charming's room is the only clean room in the house because I've been so focused on it all week.

Ready for the After Pictures? (Click here to see the before pictures if you missed it)

Drum roll please:

A Room Fit for a Prince:

Or a Room Fit for an All-Star! : )

My friend, Daiquiri made this teddy bear for me. I love it!

Wasn't my Papa handsome? I want to get this framed and up on the wall very soon. (I miss you Papa.)

A cozy corner to rock to sleep. Guess who made the quilt? Yeah, I told you she was my "Martha Stewart friend without the criminal record." : )



All "Baby" clothes put away and "Big-Boy" clothes are hung up.



Even a new light switch cover.

Wow! Way to go Mommy!

My favorite part of the whole room is this cool dump truck.

In fact, I could really care less about anything else than this cool dump truck.

Thanks, Mom!

Update on my mom's project:

She had a girl in her church who needed her help to finish a bridesmaid dress she was sewing, so Mom had to put her sundress aside in order to help. She said she was disappointed to not get it done for W.O.W. but she promised to email me pictures to share with you all when she does get it finished. She got a kick out of all of you cheering her on. Thanks!

I can't wait to see how the rest of you did with your projects. Put your name and a link to your blog in Mr. Linky below, and we'll all come to check it out and congratulate you for whatever you were able to get done in one week. Even if it wasn't all you hoped to accomplish, it is more than you had done last week!

I'll use a random number generator to choose the winner from the Mr. Linky on this post and I'll let you know who the winner is on Friday. Thanks for playing along! It really was fun for me!

Don't worry~ I'll host another one soon for those of you who missed out this time around.

Love,

Tweet

Dinner Time Conversation

Tonight at dinner, King Charming and I had to have a conversation with the girls about some behavior problems we've noticed. They haven't been listening and obeying me very well lately. Their respect for me was slipping, and we knew we had to nip it in the bud before it got to be a real problem.

They discovered Mommy is a pushover, so they were waiting to obey me until it fit into their own agenda or until I was frustrated enough to yell about it. It's funny. One of my strongest suits as a teacher was classroom management. I prided myself in having a very peaceful, well-run classroom, and was also proud that I never yelled. I'm so soft spoken, yelling at 12-year-olds would never have worked. I just trained them well, made my expectations of a peaceful, safe, happy, QUIET, classroom very clear and was super consistent in enforcing those expectations.

I figured I'd be good at that as a mom, too. NOPE. Not at all. Anyway, I knew it was time to stop letting it escalate to the point of yelling and nagging. We told the girls at dinner that I would tell them once, then there would be an immediate consequence for not obeying. They responded really well to the conversation and even admitted to knowing that they were doing it.

The best part of the talk was when King Charming said, "The Bible says it is really important to obey your parents."

He was going to say more, but the girls didn't miss a beat before they said in unison, "Ephesians 6:1, obey your parents in the Lord for this is right." And then went back to eating their roast beef.

KC and I looked at each other in surprise. We weren't expecting them to actually quote the scripture from the Bible where it said that! : )

All I can say is AWANA rocks!

There was an immediate change in their attitude towards me tonight. They were so helpful and respectful. I'm so thankful for my sweet girls and their sensitive hearts. And seeing how they apply the Word of God they have stowed in their little hearts.

Tweet

Giggling When You Shouldn't : )

I was visiting a new blogging friend's blog the other day and enjoyed her story about uncontrollable giggles. Isn't it hard to control when the giggles hit you at the wrong time? Reading her story brought back a memory from my childhood when a bad case of the giggles hit.

It was during one of my piano recitals. My dad and brother were dragged there against their will, and I wasn't very prepared for my performance, so I didn't want to be there either. My poor mom had to work so hard to get us dressed up and through the church doors where the recital was held. The three of us were in ornery moods and not feeling particularly obedient. : )

My teacher had a lot of students, so it seemed like an extra long and boring recital. Plus it was hot. Right in the middle of this long, hot, boring recital one of the students started to play a horrible, impressionist piece. I wanted to plug my ears it was so off. I think it was written to sound terrible on purpose, and right in the middle of the song, she got up onto the piano bench, reached inside of that grand piano, and started loudly strumming the piano strings like a guitar.

Dad, Ben, and I sat straight up and stared at each other. Our eyes asked each other the question, "She's not really doing that is she?"

Sitting back down, she calmly went back to her horrible song. The giggling started slowly, but as the recital went on, it got worse. First we were silently shaking, then tears were going down our cheeks, then we were laughing so hard, the three of us had to get up and walk out. My mom was FURIOUS with us! She followed us out a few minutes later and walked right past us and got in the car. She stayed mad all the way home, but we didn't have much compassion because we couldn't stop laughing. I can't even imagine how much we must have embarrassed her.

Just thinking about that day makes me still laugh. Have you ever seen anything like that? Strumming the piano strings? I guess I'm just too closed minded and can't appreciate REAL music when I hear it. : )

What about you? Any "can't help yourself from giggling in the most inappropriate place" stories? I'd love to hear them.

Tweet

Cover Where I Fail

Our family goes to the Saturday night service at our church and getting their last night was so hard on me! All day yesterday, I was grumpy and irritable and so were my kids.

The girls kept bickering, the baby whined incessantly from the moment he woke up, and King Charming had to work, so getting all of us grumpy people dressed and out the door and to church on time was all my job. I didn't do that job well I'm ashamed to admit. I nagged and yelled and acted like I was the kid.

Then on the way to church the Mommy guilt rolled in, and I apologized to my kids for the way I behaved.

Oldest Princess was so kind and said, "That's OK, Mommy, you ALWAYS do that. We're used to it."

Ouch! That did not help the Mommy guilt one little bit. Usually, that leads to great discouragement, but I found out last night that I'm learning to respond differently. This time I just stopped and prayed the prayer that is becoming all too familiar, "Lord, please cover where I fail."

Cover where I fail- How thankful I am that I can pray that. When I can't live up to the ideal mom that I long to be and worry that I'm failing and ruining my children, I can let go, look up, and say, "Help!" And my kids are somehow surviving being raised by me! Ha Ha.

I would not want to do this job without Him! Thank you Jesus for covering where I fail. When I fail....even when it is so often.

You can stop by Seek the Lord Sunday to read what other bloggers learned this week.

Love,

Tweet

15 Minutes at a Time

Thanks to all of you who are cheering me on with W.O.W. You can still join in any time! There are seven people playing along with me this round, and I promised if we had 10, I'd up the prize. (Bribe, bribe) So if you are thinking about it, jump on board. There is still lots of time before Wednesday.

I felt bad about how confusing I made it all sound. If you want me to add your link to the Mr. Linky, I don't mind at all. Just pick a goal to get done before Wednesday, blog about it, and then let me know. Even if you aren't playing with us this time, we could all use some encouraging comments to keep us motivated. : ) Links to the blogs of the other people playing are at the bottom of my last post. My mom doesn't have a blog (she's sewing herself a sundress this week) so she is using my blog. You can just cheer her on in my comments section, and I'll post her final pictures next Wednesday along with my wrap up.

I'm working on Prince Charming's nursery. I've been setting my timer for 15 minutes each day and that's all I've done so far in there. I'm actually amazed at how much I can accomplish in just 15 minutes if I stay focused.

I hope you are all having fun with this! (And I promise I'll have some non-W.O.W. posts up soon for those of you tired of all of this productivity. Hee Hee)

Love,

Tweet

W.O.W. Kickoff

Here we go! Are you ready to get something done "Within One Week"? I am! I hope you'll play along!

First I'll tell you what I'll be up to this week:

Poor Prince Charming~ I had this cute sports themed nursery planned for him, but it wasn't finished before he moved in and it has remained unfinished.

Boring!


His closet is full of clothes he's outgrown and the floor is cluttered with piles of clothes that need to be stored or hung up and bags of toys and baby gear. (I was nice to myself and didn't take too incriminating of "before" pictures)

Within one week I plan to:

• Clean and organize his room.
  
• Store or donate the clothes he's outgrown and hang the ones he's ready for now in the closet
  
  Too Small
  


• Get all toys, books, etc. out of bags and off the floor and organized
  
  
• Decorate it a little using things we already have here
  
  
  "Hey Mom- Get to Work!"
  

I had such high hopes for this room, but it really has become a mess. I can't wait to see it as a little boy's room by the end of this week. Thanks for motivating me!

I'm excited to see who will be playing along with me. I'll be cheering you on, and one person will win a coffee on me to celebrate all of your hard work. Make sure you visit the blogs of the other players and read the comments section to cheer on the "blogless" ones!

Here's what you need to do:

1. Read these directions.
   
2. Write a blog post on your own blog explaining W.O.W., your own goals, and inviting other people to play along. Feel free to copy and paste my W.O.W. memo board picture in your post if you'd like. Please also include a link back to Everyday Becky.
   
3. Fill in your name and the URL address to your post. It is very important that you link directly to your W.O.W. post, not the home page of your blog. (If you are unsure of how to do that, I've posted directions at the bottom of this post.)
   
4. Work on your goal this week and then come back on Wednesday, Aprl 29th to tell us all how it went.

If 10 or more people participate, I'll up the ante to a $10 prize. I'm debating whether it would be more fun for two people to win a $5 Starbucks card or is it more fun for one person to win a $10 card? Leave your vote in the comments section, and I'll do what you all tell me to do! I aim to please. : )

Have fun and cheer each other on!

Love,

You don't want people to have to search through your blog to find your W.O.W. post. Here's how to find the URL address that will go directly to your W.O.W. post After you publish it, click on the title of your post. It should open up as it's own page. Copy the address at the top of the screen. Paste it into Mr. Linky below. Easy! Email me if you need help! : )

Tweet

The 411 on W.O.W.

Wednesday, April 22nd, will be the beginning of W.O.W.

I'm so excited about those of you who have told me you are planning on it! I hope there are others out there planning to join us, too.

Here's everything you need to know:

What is W.O.W.?
W.O.W. stands for Within One Week. Those of us who are playing this week will choose a project or to-do item that we'd like to accomplish within one week's time- Wednesday 4/22 to Wednesday 4/29.

Is this just about housecleaning?
No! The projects I choose tend to be house related because that's my job and I get behind so easily. : ) This can be ANYTHING you want to get done in one week and need extra motivation to get it done.

(e.g. business or work related, fitness goals, craft projects, Bible Study, etc.)

How do I join in?
1. Choose your project
2. Write a blog post about your goal for the week. Before pictures are fun but not required.
3. Please link back to my blog and invite your blog readers to join us.
4. On Wednesday, I'll put up a Mr. Linky list where you can add a link to your blog post. (Don't worry- it's easy and my post on Wednesday will tell you how)
5. Work on your project throughout the week.
6. Visit the other participants often throughout the week to cheer them on.
7. (Optional) You can do update posts throughout the week to let us know how it's going.
8. Next Wednesday, April 29th, write a wrap-up post letting us know if you met your goal.
9. Come back to my blog on the 29th to see the final instructions and to enter for the MAJOR AWARD! Hee Hee

What is the Major Award?
One lucky person will win coffee on me ($5 Starbucks card or cash if he/she is not a coffee fan)
The rest of us will have to settle with the satisfaction of a job well done. : )
I'm still hoping for more prizes. If you'd like to contribute to the prize pot, let me know.
I wish I was rich and famous and could cough up a real major award, but I will make this deal with you- If we get at least 10 people playing along, I'll up the prize to $10. I know, I know....I'm SO generous! Hee Hee. So don't forget to invite people to play along.

Are there rules?
Of course!

1. Choose something that is doable in one week. Stressing yourself out is FORBIDDEN!

2. Don't spend money you don't have to spend. I'm a Dave Ramsey fan- only spend what you've budgeted for!

3. Have fun

4. Cheer the other players on throughout the week

5. Feel good about whatever you accomplish even if you aren't able to get the whole thing done in a week.

OK...Last question-

Do I have to have a blog in order to play along?
NOPE!

Just leave your goal in the comments section of my post on Wednesday morning. We'll cheer you on through my blog. Then you can tell us how you did by leaving a comment on the 29th. You'll still be included in the drawing for the MAJOR AWARD!!!! : )

I'm still deciding what my project will be. Guess I'll have to decide before Wednesday!

Tweet

Keeping Grandma Happy

Now that Grandma is home again, she's requesting Prince Charming videos.

Here you go, Mom:

Prince Charming has become....charming lately. : ) He is such a ham and loves to make his big sisters laugh. In this first video, I couldn't completely capture what he was doing, but he kept entertaining us at the dinner table by raising his hand. It looked like he was in class and wanted to ask a question. It cracked the girls up.

(Disclaimer: Please ignore the prunes smeared all over his face. : ) We were right in the middle of dinner)



In this one, Oldest Princess was cuddling with him in the living room while I was doing the dishes. (That's my radio blaring in the background) There wasn't anything particularly special about what they were doing, but I loved seeing how sweet they were together. I recorded it so I could keep that moment to remember. I love how my girls are with their baby brother.




OK Grandma. Hope that makes you happy.

Love,

Tweet

I'm Ready for Some More W.O.W.

Sigh....I've been so unproductive lately.

In January, my husband's shift changed, and he's been working different hours. I can't blame him or the hours for my lack of productivity, but for some reason as I've adjusted to the change, my rhythm and routines were thrown off a little and our house has suffered.

This beautiful spring weather has inspired in me a desire to clean something or organize something or make something. There's plenty to do on my to-do list, that's for sure.


















Sooooo..... I was thinking......maybe it is time for another Within One Week competition. If you haven't done W.O.W. with me before, you can click here to read all the W.O.W. posts.

What do you think? Anyone have a to-do item they'd like to tackle in one week's time? Here's your chance to have some fun doing it with people who will cheer you on as you go....and there's a tiny prize at the end for one reader....a Starbucks drink on me. : )

I'll kick this off on Wednesday, and will post official rules and guidelines sometime before then. I just wanted to give you a head's up that it's coming.


As you are thinking about what you might choose to do, remember to choose something that is do-able in one week. Stressing yourself out is against the rules and so is spending a bunch of money you don't have to spend. : )

I'm debating between three projects:


- A wall that needs painting thanks to all of your suggestions

- Organizing sewing and scrapbooking supplies

- Organizing Prince Charming's room and clothes. His poor nursery has turned into a storage closet.

So stay tuned for the official W.O.W. kick-off and make sure to invite your blog readers to join in the fun. More people playing equals more fun, and it might even inspire me to up the prize a little. Hint Hint.

By the way~ if you have a product or business that you'd like to donate prizes to this, let me know. It will make the competition more fun and will give you some free advertising. : )

Tweet

A Real Princess

Littlest Princess is only a few weeks away from her sixth birthday. Since Grandma and Grandpa were visiting for Easter, we decided to have an impromptu, early celebration so they could see her open their gift.

And what a gift it was! About a year ago, she and I had a conversation about princesses, and she asked me my favorite. My answer was, "Belle, because she looks like you with beautiful dark hair and brown eyes." Well, that was all it took! From that point on, Belle was her favorite because "she looks like me!"

My mom heard the story and decided Littlest Princess needed a real gown- A BELLE GOWN! So Mom sewed her this dress and turned her into a REAL PRINCESS!

She was sooooo proud and happy.

Watching her walk down the stairs made me gasp and panic a little. It made me think of a time far, far, far in the future. It made me think of Prom. (ugh! My girls are growing up TOO FAST!!!!!)



I hope you enjoy this video of the Ball we had that night:

(P.S. I'm having difficulties getting my laptop to play videos. Would you let me know if you have any trouble being able to watch this or if it is choppy? I'll have to get my IT Department working on that- a.k.a. King Charming)

Love,

Queen

Tweet

Top 100 Blogs On Christian Families

I got an email today letting me know that my blog was included on this list of "Top 100 Blogs on Christian Families." I was so honored to be included.

I plan on spending some time visiting the other blogs listed. It will be great to connect with other Christian bloggers. You all know I love Call Her Blessed , and that blog was also included on this list.

I wanted to welcome you if you are visiting from the Top 100 List. I'm humbled to have you here and hope you will visit again soon!

Here are a few of my favorite posts to help you get to know me better:

Not Exactly What I Envisioned?
Could it be Today?
The Saga of the Moon Boot
My Story Part One and Part Two
Where Does My Help Come From?
He Did It For Me and I'm Crying

Meet My Sweet Kids:
Mommy's Favorite Color
The Sweetest Wake-Up Call Ever
Playdate With a Purpose
Kids Say the Darndest Things Part One and Part Two

And the Love of My Life, King Charming:
Romance
He's Definitely Not in the Doghouse

That will keep you busy for awhile. Ha Ha.

Usually, I'm just celebrating my everyday life and blessings. I like to be silly at times and serious at other times. Either way, I hope you feel at home and blessed by your visit to my blog.

Love,

Tweet

Kids Say the Darndest Things- Another Installment

Kids Say the Darndest Things Part One

Oldest Princess has come up with some cute things to say lately, so I decided I needed to document them, too.

She was soooo mad at McDonald's the other day. They used to have an ice cream freezer when you first walked in where you could buy hard Tillamook ice cream, but when Grandma took her to buy her a cone, the ice cream freezer was gone.


Later that day she was telling me about it all. She was so mad she stamped her little foot and said, "Mom, you know the ice cream that used to be at McDonald's? They, they (she paused to find the right word for her frustration) they....DANGLY ripped it out and replaced it with coffee!!!!"


Dangly, huh? That's a new one, ha ha. At least she knew it was an adverb and needed an -ly at the end. That made her grammar loving mama proud. : )
_______________________________________________________


Just this afternoon, while I was nursing Prince Charming, the little turkey BIT me. Startled, I said, "No biting! These things are for drinking only!"


Oldest Princess overheard me and excitedly said, "That's good, Mommy! That just means he's going to be a meat eater! He's practicing how to chew!"


Proud of her baby brother, she ran to him and said in cooing, baby talk, "Who's my little carnivore? That's right. You're my little carnivore aren't you?"


Oh my, I was speechless. Glad to be of service....I guess???? : )

Tweet

Great Expectations

Remember our jaunt through the neighborhood and how it didn't quite live up to what I envisioned? : )

Well, I should learn the danger of expectations. Life rarely lives up to the expectations a romantic, sentimental girl can dream up. This Easter was no exception.

If you read my last post, you can see that Saturday was a blast. We had so much fun that day, and the fun continued into the evening. We went to the Saturday night service at church and my girls got to wear the beautiful dresses Grandma made for them. Two families joined us afterwards for food and more fun. The guys played Texas Hold 'Em and the girls sat in my living room and laughed until we were crying.

Saturday was fun, but the whole Easter experience this year was a letdown for me. I love Easter so much and wanted it to feel special, especially spiritually. The Saturday night service was just fine, but I had a hard time feeling connected, and it just felt wrong to be celebrating at night and not on Easter Sunday. It was quick and the music wasn't my style.

Sunday morning, Dad left on the airplane and my husband had to work, so Mom and I and the girls had a lazy day. I didn't even shower that day. I was grumpy and irritable and felt so guilty for not creating the right Easter environment. I worried that Mom would regret coming to our house and wish she was home. I didn't feel the joy that I usually do celebrating the Resurrection.

My kids were perfectly happy playing outside in the dirt, but there is a neighborhood church that backs up to our property and I could see the kids getting out of their cars in their Easter clothes. I felt like the neighborhood HEATHENS!

I finally gave up and had a good prayer time and God started pointing out to me how all of the problems were about feelings and expectations. I wanted everything to feel right. I wanted to be in a celebratory mood, but I just wasn't. I also felt responsible for making everyone else feel something special. I'm the mom, right? It's my job, right?

In my prayer time, I started to realize that the miracle of the Resurrection is still just as miraculous even if I didn't feel it this year. The gift of salvation is still mine, not because of good feelings, but because it is fact, and I've accepted it by faith. Truth is solid, unchanging, and not dependent on emotion. Emotion is unpredictable, and deceptive.

So, the holiday traditions may have fallen flat this year. Oh well! I can have the joy of the Resurrection any time I want it. The same truth will be true forever. The grave didn't hold Jesus. The grave won't hold me either because I'm His! What a miracle!

The funny thing is I'm actually feeling it today. Guess I'm just a day behind. : )

I hope that this truly was a joyful weekend for you all.

He is Risen Indeed!

Love,

Tweet

Fun, Fun, Fun

Grandma and Grandpa are here! Yippee. We're having so much fun visiting and my kids are getting spoiled, spoiled, spoiled. : )


I've been a little camera happy this weekend. I hope I don't bore you to death with all these photos. : )

Here's Grandma!

Before he leaves tomorrow, I need to snap a picture of my dad so Grandpa gets some airtime on here, too. : )

This morning we drove out to our good friend's farm and then on to an Easter Egg hunt at a park near their home.

Holding them back! I don't know him, but I love the big-eyed expression of the little boy on the right. He was ready to go!



I distracted the kids long enough to get them to pose for me. This is Littlest Princess with her two buddies.


That had to be the fastest egg hunt EVER. It couldn't have lasted longer than 1 1/2 minutes. Fast and furious, but fun!


Here's my sweet sister, Jen. OK...maybe not my REAL sister, but close enough. : )



I even stepped out from behind the camera for once to get a hug from my beautiful mama.



And another one from my Littlest Princess.



Hugs all around. These two girls have been so special to each other for so long. We prayed and prayed for this special friend until she got here from China when she was two years old. They are only a month a part in age and have loved each other for as long as they can remember.



I hope their friendship lasts a lifetime.



This Grandma is TOO much fun!


Did I mention my mama's here??? Hee Hee


Now that's the way to travel!
He used to carry me like that. I'm jealous! : )
I can't believe I didn't get a picture of his face this morning. There has to be one. I'm going back to search for one now.

Ah Ha! A Grandpa sighting! He was just too busy helping his granddaughters have a good time to stand still for the camera. : )

Oh yeah! This guy was there too, but I think he gets a little too much air time during this holiday, so I kept him for last! LOL.

Later this evening, we'll be going to church. I know it is non-traditional to celebrate on Saturday, but my dad has to fly out of town for a business trip on Easter morning. We were so thankful that our church has a Saturday night service planned so he won't miss out on being able to worship. I'll try to get good pictures to share of all the festivities. Especially the pretty dresses my mom sewed for the girls to wear! She retired this year and has so much more time to sew. We are reaping the benefits. I can't wait to show you what she made for Littlest Princess for her birthday. Stay tuned!!! : )

Tweet