A Newer, Better Tri-Moms!

Tri-Mom's is getting a facelift! We have changed our name to TIPsters--our goal is to Teach, Inspire, and Promote ideas to women and mothers everywhere so this name is very fitting. Our format will stay the same--offering up our views on relevant topics every first and third Tuesday of each month. 

Now for the fun part--we are inviting our readers to join us! We are looking for guest posters to help with our topics. If you'd like to weigh in on your own blog, e-mail me or leave a comment below with the topic you'd like to participate in. This is a great opportunity to inspire and encourage others. Allyson has even created a handy little button for you to display on your blog.

Here are our remaining topics for this spring: 

April 17: Spring Cleaning

May 1: Reflecting on the Past School Year

May 15: Summer Learning Plans

Join us next week for our tips on Spring cleaning! 

Tri-Moms: Celebrating Easter Day 1

Today's Tri-Mom's topic is celebrating Easter. The commercial side of Easter is fun--the chocolate, jelly beans, plush rabbits and colorful eggs--but it's important for me to reiterate the true meaning of Easter to the kids as well. 

This week we are taking a break from our normal studies and spending it on an Easter unit study. Today, and every day this week I will be sharing a few things that we're doing. 

Yesterday, we started with reading about the origins of the word "Easter," commonly thought to be derived from Eostre, a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility. Other suggestions include a translation error from ancient languages. 

We began reading from the Bible about the events leading up to Easter Sunday. Since this past Sunday was Palm Sunday, we started by reading from Mark 11. Later on we used the story for our copywork:

Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting,
“Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessings on the coming Kingdom of our ancestor David! Praise God in highest heaven!”

We wondered how all those bunnies and eggs became such a symbol of Easter anyway. So each day this week we're going to study a different symbol of Easter and its meaning. Day 1's symbol is a candle--specifically the Paschal candle, or Easter candle. These white candles represent Christ's conquering of  death. 

We then made our own Paschal candles, first painting a toilet paper tube white. 

Then we had fun mixing paint and using it to make a flame out of jumbo pasta shells. 

We found some extra craft cups and painted those as well for our candle holders. 

We fastened all the pieces together using glue and wax paper. Then we decorated our candles with a cross to look more realistic. Here are their finished candles.

Later on, we had some scientific fun with marshmallow Peeps! We've all seen marshmallows expand in the microwave, but Peeps are even more fun! We put some Peeps on a microwavable plate and set the timer for 20 seconds. 

After about 20 seconds, our Peeps had definitely grown! 

I had them take guesses as to why it happened and then explained to them how the whipped sugary treats' air bubbles grew in the heat and expanded the whole body along with them. 

Then just for fun, we had some more Peeps "joust" each other with toothpicks. As they expanded in the microwave, the first Peep to spear the other was the winner. 

Get ready! 

Our Peeps got a little carried away during the duel...We had them fight to the death...literally. They blew up and knocked each other down into a sugary mess. What fun! 

After all this studying, we were running low on Peeps so we decided it was snack time---specifically Peep S''mores! 

Check back tomorrow to see what we've done today! As always, be sure to check out the ideas from my fellow Tri-Moms,  Kristin and Allyson. 

How do you celebrate the meaning of Easter with your family? 

Upcoming topics:

April 17: Spring Cleaning

May 1: Reflecting on the Past School Year

May 15: Summer Learning Plans

Tri-Moms: Gardening with Kids

Today is the first day of spring--yay!--and this week's topic on Tri-Moms is about gardening with your kids. There are lots of ways to teach your kids about gardening, but keep in mind that a lot of times, it's a process of trial and error. 

Start with some kid-friendly tools. Little hands won't get  tired as easily with smaller, lighter tools in bright colors made just for them. Buy some small gardening gloves (or not, if your kids love getting dirty) and you're all set. 

If you're planting a flower bed, why not try something easy for kids to try, like sunflowers? They're easy to maintain and come in different colors, making it great for kids who are just learning. You can also teach them how to use the seeds for next year. Other easy-to-grow flowers are zinnias and geraniums.

While you're at it, why not get some clay, beads or tiny ornaments and have them make some beautiful stepping stones for their new garden? 

Remember that lovely garden I told you about last year? The one we were so excited about? Yeah, that's not happening this year. We got complaints from our backyard neighbors and a lovely visit from our landlord about resources because of watering the garden. *sigh* It wasn't pretty but I'm going step right around that big ol' can of worms and move on now. 

If you want to teach your kids about gardening but lack the space, or aren't allowed, try container gardening. You can use big flower pots and some soil to get started. Some easy vegetables to try with kids are zucchini and sweet peas.  

Or try a  TickleMe plant (yeah I just found it and I know the kids would love it). 

Above all else, remember to have fun and enjoy the beauty of watching things grow! As always, be sure to check out the ideas from my fellow Tri-Moms,  Kristin and Allyson. 

Do you garden with your kids? Share your tips below! 

Upcoming topics:

April 3: Celebrating the Meaning of Easter

April 17: Spring Cleaning

May 1: Reflecting on the Past School Year

May 15: Summer Learning Plans

Tri-Moms: Celebrating Spring

March is finally here and you knwo what that means--Spring is upon us! We've had a fairly mild winter this year, which is strange since we've had heavy blizzards the past two winters. Yesterday we were greeted with this as we left the library:

And this when we got home:

Nevertheless, if you're like me, you might have a touch of Spring Fever. If your kids (or you) are ready to get out of the house but school still demands to be done, here are some tips.

Aah, can you smell those lovely flowers?

The best way to celebrate spring while still learning is to get outdoors! This one is kind of obvious, but see if you can do some of your studies outside. 

• Science and Nature:
• Take a nature walk through the park and study some of the insects or flowers that you find. 
• Talk about the changes that happen in nature around you when spring comes like the trees and flowers. Discuss birds and bees (no, not that birds and bees!) and how they help our environment. 
• Make a mountain out of sand then make a volcano outside using baking soda and vinegar and watch it rise!
• Do some of the water experiments I posted about here.  
• Let them help you plant seeds in the garden or in indoor containers.
• Math:
• Jump rope on the sidewalk while doing math drills. 
• Let them write math problems in sidewalk chalk. 
• For little ones, let them practice counting by 1's or 2's while blowing bubbles.
• Social Studies:
• Take your living history books outside and just read them aloud while having a picnic lunch. If it's raining, you can still have a picnic inside just for fun.
• Discuss and study where you live. Take a walk around your neighborhood and make a map. Note any important landmarks or history that's relevant to where you live. 
• Language Arts:
• Have them practice writing words in the sand or soil
• Make observations of what's around you and pick out the parts of the sentence. For example: "The tree with the pink flowers on it is a cherry blossom tree." What are the nouns/verbs/adjectives? What's the subject/predicate?
• Art and Music:
• Keep it simple: Bring out the paints and get messy outside! Bring out some pictures from an artist study and try and recreate them using sidewalk chalk. 
• Bring out the radio and just let it play or put on some classical music while you study or play.

I hope these ideas will help you enjoy the wonders of spring while still feeling accomplished with your studies. As always, be sure to check out the ideas from my fellow Tri-Moms,  Kristin and Allyson. 

How do you beat Spring Fever? Share your tips below! 

Upcoming topics:

March 20:  Gardening with Kids

April 3: Celebrating the Meaning of Easter

April 17: Spring Cleaning

May 1: Reflecting on the Past School Year

May 15: Summer Learning Plans

Tri-Moms: Romancing Your Husband

In continuing the month of love, today's Tri-Mom's topic is about romancing your husband. Many times we, as women, expect our husbands to be romantic. We wistfully look back on our days of dating when maybe they were a little more romantic. 

I know for me, I will be honest and say that my husband is not the sweep-me-off-my-feet Prince Charming type. There have been times that I have wished he would be more like the movie heroes in chick flicks--you know the type. But--that's not my husband. My husband may not bring me flowers or gifts, but he brings home steady work and works hard to provide for us. He may not help out around the house as much as I would like, but he's not afraid to play a game or watch a silly movie with the kids. He may not take me on spontaneous getaways but he always looks and speaks to me like I'm the only woman on Earth he'll ever love.

Whether or not your husband keeps you on your toes in the romance department, have you ever considered that they may be feeling a little deprived of romance themselves? Believe it or not, men want romance just as much as we do! The difference lies in how we define "romance."

Source: flickr.com via Corey on Pinterest

One great resource that I have used in my own relationship are Gary Chapman's Five Love Languages. Sometimes we may think we are bending over backwards for our spouse, but they're just not "getting it." The problem may be that you're not speaking the right "language" that your husband speaks--either quality time, words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service, or physical touch. Figuring out which language(s) your husband speaks can go a long way in helping him feel more loved and secure in your relationship

The second book that I recommend to everyone is The Love Dare. You may have seen the movie Fireproof with Kirk Cameron (awesome by the way). This is the book that was based on that movie and I cannot say enough good things about it! Seriously! This book is a 40 day challenge to learn how to love your husband. But honestly, that's such a simplistic view of what this book is about. It's more than just romance--it's about unconditional love. It's about loving your spouse even if he may not be showing you the love you want.

Because isn't that what real love is? Love is self-sacrifice. What greater example of this than Jesus? Isn't that the most romantic notion of all--love without limits. 


Be sure to check out the ideas from my fellow Tri-Moms,  Kristin and Allyson. 

What do you do to romance your husband? 

Source: tumblr.com via Christy on Pinterest

Upcoming topics:
February 13-18: Share the Love Giveaway! 

February 21: Romancing Your Husband
March 6: Celebrating Spring

March 20:  Gardening with Kids

April 3: Celebrating the Meaning of Easter
April 17: Spring Cleaning
May 1: Reflecting on the Past School Year
May 15: Summer Learning Plans

Tri-Moms Share the Love Giveaway Day 6

Welcome to Day 6 of the Tri-Moms' Share the Love Giveaway! Today is the last day for new giveaways, but you still have lots of time to enter them all so make sure you tell your friends! You can use the "Share" buttons below this post to make it easy! 

Today, Kristin is your host and the prize is a lovely book of Colonial American paper dolls from Dover Publications! 

Head over to Kristin's site for your chance to win a copy! 

In case you missed it, here are the rest of the giveaways:
Day 1: Choice of Crochet Patterns from Knot Sew Easy HERE
Day 2: Mornings With Jesus 2012 Devotional HERE
Day 3: A is for Abigail HERE
Day 4: Don't Make Me Come Up There! HERE
Day 5: Speak HERE

Tri-Moms Share the Love Giveaway Day 5

Welcome to Day 5 of the Tri-Moms' Share the Love Giveaway! Every day through Saturday, one of our Tri-Moms; Christy, Kristin, or Allyson; will be hosting a new giveaway!

Today, I'll be your host and the prize is a copy of Laurie H. Anderson's Speak.

About the book:


The first ten lies they tell you in high school.

"Speak up for yourself - we want to know what you have to say." From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows that this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless, outcast, because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. As time passes, she becomes increasingly isolated and practically stops talking altogether. Only her art class offers any solace, and it is through her work on an art project that she is finally able to face what really happened at that terrible party: she was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and is still a threat to her. Her healing process has just begun when she has another violent encounter with him. But this time Melinda fights back, refuses to be silent, and thereby achieves a measure of vindication. In this powerful novel, an utterly believable heroine with a bitterly ironic voice delivers a blow to the hypocritical world of high school. She speaks for many a disenfranchised teenager while demonstrating the importance of speaking up for oneself.


Speak is a novel that really grabs you and brings you into the life of this lonely, outcast teen, Melinda. Her whole world changed in the blink of an eye and her school life has only made things worse with her friends abandoning her and others making fun of her. Her traumatic experience causes her to become virtually mute until she finally finds a reason to find her voice again and speak out. 


You can purchase a copy of Speak at Amazon. Or, if you'd like a chance to win a copy, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below! 

One lucky winner will be randomly drawn on March 2nd and will receive a copy of the book. Winner will be verified and e-mailed within 48 hours and will have 48 hours to respond.


Be sure to come back tomorrow to check out what treat we will have for you!


In case you missed it, here are the giveaways so far:
Day 1: Choice of Crochet Patterns from Knot Sew Easy HERE
Day 2: Mornings With Jesus 2012 Devotional HERE
Day 3: A is for Abigail HERE
Day 4: Don't Make Me Come Up There! HERE

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tri-Moms Share the Love Giveaway Day 4

Welcome to the Tri-Moms' Share the Love Giveaway! Every day from today through Saturday, one of our Tri-Moms; Christy, Kristin, or Allyson; will be hosting a new giveaway!

Today, Allyson is our host and she's giving away a copy of Kristen Welch's Don't Make Me Come Up There!: Quiet Moments for Busy Moms. 

Click HERE to go to Allyson's site and enter to win! 

Update: In case you missed it, here are the other giveaways as well:

Day 1: Choice of Crochet Patterns from Knot Sew Easy HERE

Day 2: Mornings With Jesus 2012 Devotional HERE

Day 3: A is for Abigail HERE

Tri-Moms Share the Love Giveaway Day 3

Welcome to Day 2 of the Tri-Moms' Share the Love Giveaway! Every day from today through Saturday, one of our Tri-Moms; Christy, Kristin, or Allyson; will be hosting a new giveaway!

Today, Kristin is our host and she's giving away an awesome little book called A is for Abigail by Lynne Cheney. 

Click here to go to Kristin's site and enter to win! 

Updated: In case you missed it, here are the other giveaways as well:

Day 1: Choice of Crochet Patterns from Knot Sew Easy HERE

Day 2: Mornings With Jesus 2012 Devotional HERE

Day 4: Don't Make Me Come Up There! HERE

Tri-Moms Share the Love Giveaway Day 2

Welcome to Day 2 of the Tri-Moms' Share the Love Giveaway! Every day from today through Saturday, one of our Tri-Moms; Christy, Kristin, or Allyson; will be hosting a new giveaway!

Today, I'll be your host and the prize is a wonderful book of devotions just for women.

Mornings with Jesus 2012 is a wonderful book of devotions for women, from the publishers of Guideposts. There are 366 daily devotionals written by inspirational Christian women including Tricia Goyer, Judy K Baer, Gwen Ford Faulkenberry, Sharon Hinck, Keri Wyatt Kent, Camy Tang, and Erin Keeley Marshall. 

For my full review of the book, you can read my previous post here. You can purchase a copy of Mornings with Jesus 2012 at Amazon. But for a chance to win a copy, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below! 

One lucky winner will be randomly drawn on February 28th and will receive a copy of the book. Winner will be verified and e-mailed within 48 hours and will have 48 hours to respond.

Don't forget--we will be hosting a new giveaway every day this week through Saturday! Be sure to come back tomorrow to check out what treat we will have for you!

Update: In case you missed it, here are the other giveaways so far:

Day 1: Choice of Crochet Patterns from Knot Sew Easy HERE
Day 3: A is for Abigail HERE
Day 4: Don't Make Me Come Up There! HERE

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tri-Moms: Share the Love Giveaway Day 1!

Welcome to the Tri-Moms' Share the Love Giveaway! Every day from today through Saturday, one of our Tri-Moms; Christy, Kristin, or Allyson; will be hosting a new giveaway!

Today, Allyson is our first host. She's got an awesome prize package of crochet patterns from Knot Sew Cute!

There will be three lucky winners in this giveaway, so head on over to Allyson's site here to enter!

Update: Be sure to check out our other giveaways below:


Day 2: Mornings With Jesus 2012 Devotional HERE
Day 3: A is for Abigail HERE
Day 4: Don't Make Me Come Up There! HERE

Tri-Moms: Dating Your Husband on a Budget

I think most of us would agree that it's important to spend quality time together as a married couple to stay connected. Many people suggest having regular date nights but what do you do when you are lacking funds? 

We have been at the bottom of the income ladder since having kids so this is a frequent problem for us. We don't get out together nearly as often as we'd like to. but we aim for once every month or two. Since money is tight, I struggle to find things that are fun to do but don't cost a lot of money. Here are some things that we like to do. 

• Go to the movies. I love the whole movie experience--the big screen, the surround sound, the hot buttery popcorn...but, I don't love the price. You don't have to stay home all the time though. Look for special offers from daily deal sites such as GroupOn or LivingSocial. Occasionally they will offer movie tickets at half price and many times they will pair it with restaurant deals such as Restaurant.com certificates or Starbucks gift cards.
• Consider purchasing an Entertainment Book. We aren't fortunate enough to have one in our area, but I've heard good things about them. For about $35 you can purchase a book specifically for your area that offers coupons and specials on local restaurants, shopping, attractions and entertainment. 
• Sometimes a stroll through the park is a simple way to get outdoors for some fresh air while still spending time together. It's quiet and allows us some time to really talk and focus on each other. Another idea is to find a local arboretum or zoo. 
• Go for a drive. When my husband and I were younger, we used to go for drives a lot. For some reason, talking just naturally flows easier when we're just driving around. Often we'd end up just watching the sunset together. It sound hokey, but it was beautiful. 
• Stay home and have a home cooked meal. Share the cooking responsibilities and make a meal together that you can enjoy. It doesn't have to be fancy, it could be as simple as spaghetti, a fresh salad and bread. The point is that you're doing something together. Throw in a couple of taper candles and you're set! 

Six Sisters also has a list of 50 frugal date ideas. More at The Dating Divas. If you have an e-reader, you can download a free copy of 40 Unforgettable Dates with Your Mate (Nook/Kindle)
 

Also, be sure to check out ideas from our other Tri-Moms, Kristin and Allyson. 

Upcoming topics:
February 13-18: Share the Love Giveaway! 

February 21: Romancing Your Husband
March 6: Celebrating Spring

March 20:  Gardening with Kids

April 3: Celebrating the Meaning of Easter
April 17: Spring Cleaning
May 1: Reflecting on the Past School Year
May 15: Summer Learning Plans

Big Giveaway News!

I, along with my fellow Tri-Moms Kristin and Allyson, will be hosting a week of giveaways in February! Check back for details coming soon!  

Tri-Moms: Beating the Winter Blues

Christmas is sort of like a wedding for me. You spend months or weeks preparing for it and then it's all over in a flash. What then? Personally, I could do without the months of January through March--once Christmas is over, bring on Spring! However, this is not to be. So, what do I do to beat boredom during those cold, winter days? Today's Tri-Moms topic is just that. 

For our family, the first few weeks of post-Christmas winter is spent trying to get back to normal. Now that the holidays are over, it's difficult to get back into a routine for most people, especially kids. We're just now starting to find our groove again in school and it takes a lot of discipline to stay on task to complete a full day but we're managing. 

Fortunately, the weather has been generous this winter for the most part so we've had a lot of outdoor time. It's good for them to get some fresh air and exercise since they're cooped up a lot more with the days being shorter this time of year. 

We've had more family time watching movies. We all love movies in our house and we have a family movie night every Sunday. On days when it's cold and we don't have a lot of work to do (haha rare!), we might just fix some popcorn and hot chocolate and watch a movie or play a board or video game together. 

Honestly, we don't have any friends that we hang out with and we don't see family much because they're all too busy but I want to try and make an effort to make more time for playdates. I think it's important for kids and adults to have some time with friends and want to work on being more connected with people this year. I'm naturally an introverted person so it's difficult for me to make friends but I want to work on that because relationships matter. 

Lastly, now that our activities have started back up, like dance and Royal Rangers and Mpact, we haven't had to face too much boredom in our house. For moms with little ones who aren't at that stage yet, here are a few ideas for you.

• Playdates--it's a win, win. You get some adult time and the kids get to see their friends
• Baking--kids love to help in the kitchen so why not bake a cake or some cookies and enjoy them together?
• Puzzles--they're fun to do together and educational for the kids
• Learn a handicraft--learn something new together or involve them in one of your hobbies. It could be teaching them how to finger knit or sew, or building a birdhouse together for the spring. 

I hope these ideas help your family beat the winter blahs. How do you beat boredom in the winter--share your ideas. You can read my fellow Tri-Moms' ideas at Kristin's blog Bits and Pieces from My Life and Allyson's blog A Heart for Home. 

Upcoming topics:

February 7: Frugal Date Ideas

February 21: Romancing Your Husband

Tri-Moms: Time Management

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and holiday season. I don't know that I'm quite ready to get back into the swing of things just yet, but I know I'm definitely not alone. 

To kick off this brand new year, today's Tri-Moms topic is Time Management. This is NOT my strong suit! I am a very organized person--in my head. I love to plan and write things down. However, my problem is that my ideas get lost somewhere in translation from my head to my hands. Or if I manage to write things down, it inevitably disappears into thin air and gets forgotten. 

So, I've spent the past couple of days trying to devote time to what I want my goals to be this year--personally, in my family relationships, spiritually and financially. One of those goals is to be more organized in every area of my life, but especially with my time because that has a domino effect on my whole life. I've been looking at sites like Organized Home and Organized Mom for ideas.

So, I don't particularly have any advice as it's a process for me and a long one at that. But I believe that making even the smallest changes like waking up 15 minutes earlier or swapping out half an hour of tv for exercise instead can make a big difference and change your perspective. The road to forming new habits is a tough one but it can be done. 

One resource that was a tremendous help to me previously is the book Managers of Their Homes. Unfortunately, the book was lost (see what I mean?) and I have not been able to afford another copy in a long while. It will show you step by step how to help get your whole family organized and more efficient and it also gives you access to helpful tools and forums where you can connect with other families. As an aside, they also have a book called Managers of Their Schools that I would love to check out too.

Do you have any tips on staying on top of things? Are you going, going, going all the time or do you prefer the quiet, simple life? How do you keep your family organized? Share your thoughts and be sure to stop my be fellow Tri-Moms, Kristin and Allyson for their ideas as well! 

Upcoming topics:

January 17: The Winter Blahs

February 7: Frugal Date Ideas

February 21: Romancing Your Husband