The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

{giving} Box Tops for Joplin


I’ve been collecting these Box Tops for Education off and on for a few months now.  Having no children in school yet, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to do with them, but at 10 cents a piece, I thought, “I have to clip them!  It’s like throwing away money!”

Then, this week, I found a Facebook page about helping Joplin, MO schools (remember that devastating tornado?).  And they are asking for… Box Tops!  So mine are in the mail!  If you are interested in donating as well, check out their page!

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On a similar note, I just pulled out my coupons that will be expiring at the end of the month.  Did you know that military families stationed overseas can use coupons up to 6 months past their expiration date?  This website has a list of bases to send them to! 

{family} Mexican Fiesta Night!

Every so often, I get tired of the same old, same old and declare to my fam, “Today we are going to __________!”  The boys are typically excited with my crazy antics and Mark just goes with the flow, bless his heart.  So, after a pretty uneventful couple of weeks, I knew we needed something to change things up a little. 

And after reading about the pinata that was made on Young House Love a little while ago, I knew we just had to make one of our own!  Thus, the theme for Mexican Fiesta Night was born! 

It was pretty cheap for a full day of fun…the only things we bought were balloons (for $1.50) and a couple bags of candy.  Everything else we already had at home.  But spending a day doing an exciting, new craft with the boys…priceless.  Definitely a family memory we will remember (and do again soon!).

{kids crafts} Recycled Crayons

A great craft to do with the kids on a day when it’s too hot to go outside: RECYCLED CRAYONS!  They are so easy and fun to do and the possibilities are endless! 

Here’s what you do:
Find a bunch of old or broken crayons.  Remove all of the wrappers.  Break the crayons into small pieces and place into a muffin tin or silicone pan (we used a mini brownie pan made of silicone that I had on hand).  Place in the oven at 275 degrees for 15 minutes, or until melted.  (If using silicone, I recommend placing it on a firm cookie sheet before putting into the oven.)  Remove from the oven and let your new crayons set completely, about 1 hour.  Then, pop them out and color away!  

The boys just loved this project and we came up with a lot of ideas for next time:

  • I would use an Xacto knife to cut slits down the paper before peeling the wrappers off of the crayons.  This step took the longest and we had some trouble with the older crayons (the paper tended to stick more). 
  • I want to try to make crayons in different shapes.  I know they have candy molds at Michaels for pretty cheap, which would work perfectly for this craft!  How adorable would they be as party favors?
  • I think it would be neat to combine two colors into one space.  Once you have them all melted, swirl the colors with a stick! 

{read along} Mitten Strings for God: Mornings

Mitten Strings for God: Reflections for Mothers in a HurrySee my thoughts on chapter 1 here.

Chapter 2: MORNINGS

There are certain perks to having only little ones in the house.  Our mornings tend to be much like the ones described in the book: early morning risers climbing into bed with me for a little extra snuggle time.  I have one sweet boy who likes to curve himself around the shape of my spine, the other who spreads out on the foot of my bed. 

The mornings are early, REALLY early… but they are sacred.  I am embracing this time for its simplicity and simple rhythm because I know this will all change soon.  School, extra-curriculars, sports, friends…the days are going to be filled to the brim before I know it.  Here are some of my thoughts to making our mornings a great beginning to our days:

  • Get up before the boys.  In an ideal world, I would be doing this now, but those boys just wake up so. darn. early!  Hopefully, in a few years, I’ll be able to wake up earlier than them and have some quiet time to myself before the business of the day begins. 
  • No rushing.  I don’t like chaos and my kids don’t work well with a stressed out Mamma.  When our day starts with rushing around, I feel like we all leave the house a little off.  A little frazzled.
  • Prepare beforehand for a peaceful routine.  I am practicing this skill right now, since I know I will need to have it perfected by the time the boys are a little older.  When we need to be out of the house at a certain time, I make a plan of what needs to be done and work backward.  I try to do as much as I can the night before: clothes laid out, diaper bag packed, papers signed, etc.  I think that really helps the flow of our mornings.

What do you do in your home in order to create a peaceful morning?        

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