Love's Gotta Have Arms

Here are some fun ideas to show some lovin' to the kids.....

Have a secret "I love You" signal such as three squeezes of the hand, touching the tip of your nose or maybe a V-sign with your fingers....(we have one, and it was so cute when I showed the kids and I told them that only our family knows. It's so sweet to see them in public across a room and they give you the signal).

Write a short love note on a large paper, wad it up and stuff it into your child's show to be found later.

Write a three sentence "thank-you" note to a teacher, coach, neighbor, relative or friend who works with and encourages your child.

When reading a story to your child, change the lead character's name to your child's name.

Praise your children to someone in front of them-especially when they don't think you know they can overhear you.

When saying "good night", recite a couple of things you appreciated that your child did that day.

When taking your children out for ice cream, make it memorable and mysterious by blindfolding them first.

Arrange for an unexpected visit by your child's best friend.

In the morning keep kissing your sleeping child until he or she wakes up.

Surprise your child with breakfast in bed.

Do something surprising this week- wear Groucho glasses to dinner, put your shirt on backward and act surprised when it's pointed out. Sit in the wrong chair at breakfast. Ambush your child with a squirt gun ( I so love doing that one).

Create minor mischief-short sheet your child's bed.

Write into your date book five, one-on-one "appointments" with your child to cover the next month.

Break the record of how many days in a row you can go without making a critical comment on your child.


Lighten up and have a great day,
Abby

Kids' View

This is very interesting to hear what the kids think about me.....hmmm....

Copy this note, ask your child the questions and write them down exactly how they respond. Tag me back if you have done this, I'd love to hear the answers.


1. What is something mom always says to you? Molly-Clean up; Jack-?; Drew-okey dokey artichokey

2. What makes mom happy? Molly-when things are cleaned up; Jack-when I say ok; Drew-when I clean up the basement

3. What makes mom sad? Molly-when I not clean up; Jack-when I say no; Drew- when I disobey

4. How does your mom make you laugh? Molly-when your silly; Jack-when you tickle me; Drew- when you do something silly

5. What was your mom like as a child? Molly-I was a baby; Jack-good; Drew-good

6. How old is your mom? Molly-23; Jack-33; Drew-32

7. How tall is your mom? Molly-don't know; Jack-same as drew; Drew-66inches tall (he got out the yard stick and measured)

8. What is her favorite thing to do? Molly-clean up; Jack-cook; Drew-play with legos with us

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Molly-go to a meeting; Jack-play with Molly; Drew-go to parties

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Molly-?; Jack-building legos; Drew- singing songs11. What is your mom really good at? Molly-give me hugs; Jack- cooking; Drew-building legos
12. What is your mom not very good at? Molly-?; Jack-you're good at everything;Drew-this is a tough one
13. What does your mom do for her job? Molly-clean up; Jack-cook; Drew-sell Tastefully Simple
14. What is your mom's favorite food? Molly-salad; Jack-Tastefully Simple; Drew-pizza
15. What makes you proud of your mom? Molly-?; Jack-cause she helps me; Drew-builds legos with me
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Molly- Jasmine; Jack-R2D2; Drew- Princess Leia
17. What do you and your mom do together? Molly-play Pretty Princess; Jack-Play legos; Drew-have fun; you do a lot of things
18. How are you and your mom the same?Molly-give kisses and clean up our kitchens; Jack-we love each other; Drew-we both like each other and we are on the same team when we go to holiday world and we both have long eyelashes.
19. How are you and your mom different? Molly-?; Jack-? ;Drew-you wear different clothes than me
20. How do you know your mom loves you? Molly-cause you give hugs;Jack-your nice to me; Drew-you let us have candy
21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? Molly-restaurants; Jack-to Tastefully Simple Meetings (not true); Drew-Mcdonalds(so not true)


Dad:
1. What is something dad always says to you? Molly-obey; Jack-obey; Drew-silly things
2. What makes Dad happy? Molly-obeying; Jack-; Drew-when I say ok to him
3. What makes dad sad? Molly-when I grumble; Jack-when I say no; Drew- when I disobey
4. How does your dad make you laugh? Molly-when I laugh; Drew-when he says silly things
5. What was your dad like as a child? Molly-not nice; Drew-not good
6. How old is your dad? Molly-5; Drew-35
7. How tall is your dad? Molly-don't know; Drew-70 inches tall
8.What is his favorite thing to do? Molly-wrestle by his self; Jack-go to work; Drew-wrestle with us
9. What does your dad do when you're not around? Molly-go to work; Jack-I don't know; Drew-go to work
10. If your dad becomes famous, what will it be for? Molly-?; Jack-computers; Drew- getting a lot of money at work
11. What is your dad really good at? Molly-working on the computer; Jack- working; Drew-building legos
12. What is your dad not very good at? Molly-?; Jack-cooking; Drew-putting us to bed
13. What does your dad do for his job? Molly-eats a sandwich; Jack-work on computers; Drew-making money
14. What is your dad's favorite food? Molly-sandwich; Jack-chocolate; Drew-candy
15. What makes you proud of your dad? Molly-?; Drew-builds legos with me and plays Wii with me.
16. If your dad were a cartoon character, who would she be? Molly- ; Jack-R2D2; Drew- Luke Skywalker
17. What do you and your dad do together? Molly-wrestle; Jack-play Wii; Drew-play Wii
18. How are you and your dad the same?Molly-have fun; Jack-both boys and we love each other; Drew-both boys
19. How are you and your dad different? Molly-?; Jack-? ;Drew-he's a grown up and I am a kid. I also like to go to the grocery store and dad doesn't.
20. How do you know your dad loves you? Molly-cause you give hugs at night time;Jack-he plays with us; Drew-he bought us a Wii and plays the Wii with us.
21. Where is your dad's favorite place to go? Molly-McDonalds; Jack-work; Drew-chick-fil-a

My Favorites

Here are some favorite memories of the kids in the last 7 years.

One of the Boys

Having bigger brothers, Molly likes to play with the boys and do what they are doing. Here it was sword fights. She wasn't afraid to get in there and fight.

Drew's Delicious Win!

Drew one first place at the Cub Scout Recognition Dinner. They had a dessert contest, so I pulled out a simple and tasty recipe (hint hint Tastefully Simple) and he made it all by himself! I helped him put it in the oven though. Drew named them Drew's Delicious Bars.

Playing with Food

The kids love to play with their food....on this particular day it was making masks out of their food. I showed them how to bite holes to make eyes and they took it from there....