May 4, 2013 by Allison Hendrix

Great books for your Tween daughter…about being a tween.

Next week my oldest turns 11. She is all things first child; rule oriented, orderly, and driven. Over the years her strong will has served her beautifully as she has developed into a compassionate, servant-hearted, and intentional young lady. I adore her.

About 3 months ago we started to notice a few changes in her moods. Because I am homeschooling her this year, I get to experience these swings first hand throughout our days… so I have an invested interest to understand just what is going on inside her head. I was shocked that she felt incredibly comforted when I explained to her that her moods were a result of hormonal changes and were completely normal. Her intellectual mind could handle a physiological explanation much easier than not knowing why she felt so…off.

Because she is quite introverted and loves to read, I knew she’d prefer to fill in the gaps through books. Most of these are from a Biblical perspective but regardless of your spiritual beliefs, I think you’ll find some great insight.

Here is a list of our favorite tween books so far:

Perfectly Unique – by Annie F. Downs The author takes you on a thoughtful, funny and spirit-filled exploration of the way God created you different from every other person in the world, and He did this on purpose! Great perspective addressing body image and each of our unique set of talents. At an age when conformity can be the goal, this perspective can help our daughters build confidence and strengthen their faith through embracing their unique design. My 10 year old loved reading this!

You’re Already Amazing by Holly Gerth – (best suited for moms of tweens or actual teens) We, as moms, need to get our own thinking straight before we can be of any help to them. The author helps you understand and embrace the truth that as a woman, you do not need to do more, be more, and have more—because you are already amazing just the way God created you to be. When my daughter was on a club soccer team significantly above her skill set, principles in this book helped me teach her that she could walk on that field with no fear or apologies. I didn’t need to be nervous either. She didn’t have to be anything more today that she already was. She is Already Amazing! It helped us find that balance of striving to do your absolute best while knowing your identity and worth is not determined by the results.

Graceful – Letting go of your try-hard life by Emily P. Freeman – (I’d recommend this for an older teen or the mother of a tween) – This book is written to the good girl who tries to do everything perfect from sports to schoolwork. It’s also written to the girl who feels like she can’t do anything right. The ultimate message in this book is you don’t have to be perfect. My daughter often strives to be perfect and is discouraged by correction, so this book was a good fit. It is written a little above her comprehension level so we went through it together.

BeTween by Vicki Courtney – My daughter just finished going through this book in small group with her friends. It is a magazine style book filled with articles, games and lists. It’s targeted towards the 8-12 year old reader. The book wisely encourages girls to enjoy being their age rather than succumbing to modern culture’s temptations to grow up too fast. It addresses topics like popularity, friendships, texting, fighting with siblings, and your attitude with your mamma. It’s irresistibly fun and an easy read.

Soul Surfer series by Bethany Hamilton – Have you seen the movie Soul Surfer about a young girl named Bethany Hamilton who had her arm bitten off by a shark while she was surfing? Well, we have…like 30 times! It started a surfing craze in our home. My daughter has read and reread the book and devotionals dozens of times. Bethany speaks teen to teen about overcoming your fears and living out your faith. I ripped out a few pages from the devotional for issues my daughter hasn’t been exposed to yet, but still recommend it.

The Lily Series – by Nancy Rue – (for the younger tween) – We started these because my daughter’s name is Lily and it was just too cool to find something called the Lily series. There are several characters in them who each represent a different type of girl. We were surprised by how applicable these were to everyday decisions. They are short and each book addresses a different topic – “the Uniquely Me book”, “The Body Book”, “The Blurry Rules Book”, “The Walk the Walk Book”.

I’d love to hear any helpful book recommendations you and your child have enjoyed reading. Have a blessed day! alli

10 Ways to make your husband feel loved while traveling

When my husband travels, it’s hard on the entire family. Although I usually enjoy the first day or two of easy dinners and a pile of magazines as my bed companion, the novelty wears off, and we all want daddy back. He used to travel a lot!! I remember having a newborn, and my husband was out of the country for 3 weeks. I felt physically exhausted and assumed he should return refreshed from his “time away”. I acted like his business travel was a mini vacation. I could not have been further from the truth.

When he would return home, he would cling to me. The look in his eyes said it all. The travel schedule was rushed. The hotel room was lonely. The airplanes delayed. The meals quiet. His heart longing for the chaos of our home and warmth of our love. It was at this point, I made an intentional decision to start sending a little of that warmth with him. Here are a few ideas and ways to make your husband remember he’s loved on the road.

Get him a voice activated Alarm Clock – Record a sweet message that he will hear when he wakes up. “Good morning sweetheart. Time to wake up. Have a great day!” My kids would record messages “I love you daddy”. Could you imagine a better way to wake up in a lonely hotel room?
Text him pictures of you and the children at fun activities. We were at a Fall festival in this picture and took 5 minutes to write daddy a note and text it to him. He loved knowing that even admist cotton candy and music, we were thinking of him.
When he calls, DON’T COMPLAIN! I’m not suggesting to pretend everything is perfect, but you can discuss things without whining, nagging, or feeling entitled to a different set of circumstances. If you need to vent when he’s away, call a girlfriend, write in a journal, pray, go for a run.
Call the hotel and order him room service (even just a beer is fun).
Make him laugh… or cry- Hide ridiculous things in his shoes or dobskit. Be funny. Make him miss you. Humor is extremely underrated. You can also write encouraging notes, the ones that make his soul long for you. Talk about your respect and appreciation for him. My son has hidden his very special lovely in the suitcase – if that doesn’t say ‘i love you’, nothing will.
Enter ‘reminders’ or ‘alerts’ into his phone that will pop up throughout his trip.
Comfort food – Stick in some of his favorite power bars or his favorite candy. You can even wrap them for an element of surprise.
Hide a pair of your panties between his boxers – No judgement..
Download a romantic but cool song or playlist onto his phone. Halfway through the trip, tell him about it.
Facetime or Skype – Technology has made eye to eye contact possible. Little kids can actually believe they were with daddy….and I, sometimes just need to see my man.

April 26, 2013 by Allison Hendrix

Teacher Appreciation Ideas

impatien

Impatient Plant – Plant a simple impantien into a bright colored plastic pot. Tape a card onto a pencil and stick in dirt. Tie a ribbon. Cute and witty.

Lantern – We bought a lantern from Target and fill with chocolate covered pretzels. Attach a card with a reference to the teacher being a “light” in your life.

Personalized Starbucks treats – I bought cups from the dollar store and a package of chocolate covered shortbread from costco. I personalized these labels with each teacher’s name from this link. Printed them on sticker paper, cut and attached. Great way to start any day! Tea Jar – Fill a canister with tea and then print this label from www.lifecreated.com

Personalized Heart Poem – I asked my child what they love about their teacher, typed in his reply on this link , and it generates a heart shaped card. Print and give. You can never go wrong with a child’s sweet words.

Hand Picked strawberries – with a cute tag “I couldn’t have picked a better teacher”(from Dixie Delights).

photo from “Hello from the Natos”

Homemade Cookie Dough – Wrapped adorably in parchment paper, a favorite cookie dough has always been a well received gift. You can write a recipe directly on the parchment or print it out. You can also print the label from Nato’s photo from this link. double-chocolate-chews-l

Munchins – Cute idea from the Happy Home Fairy to bring in Munchkins with note. Click here to print their note.

“Orange you glad it’s summer” Printable – I found the printable over at Coley’s Corner and you can attach it to pretty much anything. Thanks to them for allowing us to use it.

Gift Card – “A teacher can’t survive on apples alone…” – I saw this months ago as a Christmas gift but think it’d be just as cute for a year end gift.

cake pops

Cake Pop Stand – after packaging each cake pop in plastic bags from Michaels, we wrapped a styrofoam rectangle in wrapping paper, stuck them in, and made a sign. Great Grab and Go treat when lots of teachers are involved.

Personalized Gifts – These ideas are easiest if you have a die cutter machine. Here are some ways we personalized an inexpensive item which are just so much fun to receive.

April 18, 2013 by Allison Hendrix

You know you are a mom of boys when…

You have rules like “No peeing on your brother in the bath tub.”
You find a matchbox car when you reach into the bag of pita chips.
You distract your neighbor in conversation, so she doesn’t see your son peeing in her bushes
The smell of sweaty necks and stinky feet is oddly endearing.
You have to swing by Chick Filet for a snack on the way home from dinner.
You’ve actually spoken the words “New rule: you are not allowed to stick your pinky into the electric pencil sharpener”.
You have way too much fun watching your kids play with a whoopie cushion.
Whenever you sit on the potty, your tush gets wet.
Shooting squirrels with a nerf gun is an acceptable pastime.
You suggest Super Mario as a name for the pet bunny.
You tell a babysitter they read better when they are upside down.
The noise in the car is louder than your own thoughts.
When the house is perfectly quiet, you know something big is wrong.
You don’t ask about the bloody nose and scraped up knees when your son shows you his new trick on the scooter.
Laying on the floor is never relaxing because there is always fear you are about to be jumped upon. “Incoming!”
Your friends with just girls stare at you all with their mouths hanging open.
You find his reference to “the Force” in Star Wars a brilliant parallel to the power of God.
You don’t scream when your 4-year-old proudly shows you the Bb’s he drew…with the back of a hammer on your car door.
When you meet a little boy, you stick out your hand…for a high 5.
You have both a Lego and Star Wars font saved on your computer.
You can’t imagine the day he falls in love with another woman.