The baby is the only one I dress. The rest, take care of their own. I’ll try to interject my say, but really, when I’m trying to get all 4 out of the house, I’m cool with whatever, as long as it’s weather appropriate. I love looking back through the blog and seeing the different phases they go through. Soul’s newest thing is sneakers or the red cowboy boots (anyone remember her tuck the dress into leggings phase?!). Brave typically wears red or blue on (or both), and this comes from her love for Spider-Man. True tries to mimic what I wear (and sometimes Ben), and Glow’s still my doll. I’ll keep playing dress up with her for as long as she lets me.

I love having 4 daughters! When we’re out people will often say something to us about trying for a boy, or assume we kept going for a boy, but really, we are really glad we ended up with a house full or girls. It’s the best!

on me: dress, thrifted. boots, piperlime. bag, humble hilo. on true: jacket, c/o guess kids. skirt, misha lulu. shoes, old navy. on brave: shirt, c/o old navy. skirt and leggings, misha lulu. shoes, gap kids. on soul: dress, misha lulu. boots, thrifted. on glow: dress, misha lulu. sweater, old navy (really old!). shoes, c/o old navy.

Have you heard of Swapdom? It’s a cool new way to shop! Instead of busting out your wallet, it’s all about trading what you have (and want to move on to another home) for something someone else has (and they want to move on to another home). It’s a really great concept and I have already uploaded some of my swappable items here. Also, I’ve already submitted my first swap offer, so I can’t wait to see how that goes and fingers crossed a good match comes up and I get what I’ve been eyeing. I had been looking for this particular item and got really excited when I saw that someone had the specific item up for a swap (in my size!).

We’ve really been working at purging and with the girls having tons of things, this is a perfect way to move some of their stuff on. Swapdom just started a baby & kids section, so most of the things I’ve uploaded are for that. If you’ve got some things to move on to another home (and want to get some things in return), I think Swapdom is a great option for you. You just pay shipping plus a $1-$2 fee. Here’s a little chart that explains a little bit more of how Swapdom works…

And to celebrate the launch of their Baby & Kids section, Swapdom is hosting a contest where you can win a Phil & Ted Stroller! We have the Phil & Ted Double Stroller, so I can attest to it’s fantastic quality, so I think this contest of theirs is pretty great. If you want in, you can get more details about the contest here; there isn’t really much you have to do to enter, but like their Facebook page and register on Swapdom.

You can view my profile here and maybe some of you have some good stuff to upload and we can start swapping!

Heart Chain Garland

Supplies:
Chenille stems in various Valentine’s Day colors (would definitely look cute and modern in black and white!)

Directions:
1.Take one stem and fold in half.
2. Connect the two ends by intertwining together.
3. Bend connected ends downward to form the heart shape.
4. Insert another chenille stem through the heart and repeat steps 1-4 until you’ve created your desired length for the heart chain.I was looking back at old projects I’ve done and saw this chenille stem garland I did a couple years ago, and thought it would easily work for Valentine’s Day with hearts. This project is totally easy for the kids to get involved too!

White Bean Hummus with Parsley. I made this for the kids for Friday family night. I prefer hummus without tahini because I never have tahini on hand. This one had white beans, a little bit of olive oil, tons of garlic, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste; it’s so easy and so good! They eat while we watch something together and then we cuddle when they’re done for the rest of the movie. After we skedaddle them off to Ben, Ben and I have our special time together which involve one of our Friday night sushi dishes (see here) and a movie on Netflix.

Week of 2/3 – 2/7
Monday: Spicy Thai Curry Noodle Soup
Tuesday: Spicy Mackerel
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: White Bean Chili (once again dinner club didn’t happen, so this week for sure!)
Friday: Sushi/pizza night

We love spicy food! I cook spicy dishes pretty much all the time and make two batches of the same thing, but one without spice for the kids. I think Ben and I are addicted to spice and our spice tolerance just keeps increasing.

Last week we went through some of the frozen meals I had saved these past few months. I tend to save meals and forget about them, and they end up freezer burn and wasted, so I’m trying to get better at remembering to eat them. We’re trying not to waste food or money and meal planning has definitely helped with that a lot!

This week’s learned, links, and thankfulness…

We’re reading The Canterbury Tales and the girls are loving the stories!

Wanna read my tip on how I keep my home from looking like a toy store explosion? Read it on Apartment Therapy here.

Cute Love Day dresses made by the mama from City Kid Style.

I’m so going to cook this next week.

True officially has her big girl bed and now I’m on the hunt for some cute bedding! Any suggestions?

Loving the new clogs Lotta from Stockholm has in stock!

Miss my friend Melody and so glad I have her blog to see what she’s up to!

I ordered my planner for the year and I can’t wait for it to get here. Yes, I know, I’m totally a month late. Better late than never right?!

I’ve been following along with a one year Bible reading plan. I’m praying that I stay consistent this year. I usually fall off the wagon when March comes around.

Thankful for some family time with my family last Sunday. We live close, but don’t see each other too often. We’re all such busy folk!

It’s February 1st and next week I will have some more Valentine’s Day projects for you! Happy weekend friends!!!

We’ve been giving the older two many more responsibilities around the house; they put away dishes, sweep floors, put away laundry, and help make sure rooms are generally tidy. It’s been exciting to see them grow in maturity in this area. I know it will be something we will constantly be teaching them as they get older and can handle more, but it’s good to see them taking initiative and learning how to be responsible with what they can now. They make me proud (all my girls do). While we do have a reward system, there are some things they must do because it’s part of their regular responsibilities and there are other things they can do to earn money.

From time to time, Ben has also given them money responsibility lessons using the Dave Ramsey Junior Kits (we’ve already done the whole financial peace thing ourselves). I love hearing the girls talking about give, save, spend. They have a nice little wallet full of money, but they haven’t spent any yet, though they have ended up paying me if they neglect to do something (or sometimes when they’re late to something because they weren’t being efficient in getting ready). We don’t want them thinking money grows on trees, so we’re trying to instill whatever wisdom we can now.

There’s so much we have to teach our children; it’s such a big responsibility. It’s definitely a joy, but sometimes it feels overwhelming because you want to teach them well, but sometimes as parents, we just suck. I can think of plenty of fail parenting moments I have had. I’m glad God’s mercies are new every morning and that my kids are so gracious and forgiving. Parenting is such a juggling act. Most times I’m thinking, “Don’t drop the ball. Don’t drop the ball.” Next thing you know, I’m like, “Crap, I just dropped the ball,” and everything else comes crashing down. Then, you just gotta pick all the balls back up and start juggling again.