When daddy comes home from work its a big event at my house. The kids scream daddy and daddy makes funny noises and gestures to greet his children. I’m blessed to have a husband who is so committed to me and the kids and who is a great father!
Here is daddy playing ring around the rosie with his girls:)
Family Fun Day is something we do almost every Saturday, rain or shine. This is the time that my husband and I devote to spending QUALITY time with our kids since the weekdays are usually filled with obligations such as school, church, work, up keep of the home. Family Fun Day could be anything from going to the park, getting ice cream, playing in the kid’s play area at Burger King, going to the library, etc. Family Fun Day does not have to be an expensive activity because its all about spending time and showing love.
My husband makes alot of sacrifices to make sure we have our Family Fun Day. For example, my husband has to work every other Saturday to do payroll. Today, since he knew that he wanted to help some of the men at the church paint and wanted to spend time with us he went to work at 4am. He worked 4-9am, painted the church (9:30-12:00), and then came home to spend time with his family.
Today our Family Fun Day activity was to rake leaves. I know it might sound lame, but our children enjoy the outdoors and they were able to help their dad and I while also playing in the yard. We worked together as a family taking the occasional time out to play soccer:) Here are some pictures I took of our Family Fun Day.
My “Tunky” (my son) and ‘Lil Momma” ( my daughter) working hard trying to beat the other to the
leaves (as if there wasn’t enough) 
Daddy made a big pile of leaves for the kids to jump in. Then he tried to covered their legs in it.
Daddy was think “FUN”, Mommy on the other hand was thinking “GERMS”. They took a good bath
after all this fun. Even “Munchie” (my baby) joined the fun!
“Tunky” took the broom from mommy so that the men could do the hard work! What a gentlemen:)
“Munchie” being “Munchie”. She took our little solar lamps out of the ground. BTW she broke all of them.
What can I say…That’s my baby.
Labor of love…Fun…Family…And a Clean Yard!
Recipe for Dishwasher Soap
I found this recipe for dishwasher soap and not only is it safe but it washes the dishes well also. Dishwasher soap is easy to make, and cost effective. I mix up a batch in an empty canister, and pour it in the dishwasher as needed.
Mix in a container:
2 Cups Borax
2 Cups Baking soda
Use 2 TBSP per dish load and add a TBSP of vinegar to the rinse cylce and there you have it…Inexpensive dishwasher detergent. FYI I bought the big box of Borax at Walmart for $4 ( I still have most of it left after making the detergent) and a large box of baking soda for $1. I still have enough to make maybe 5 more containers. With this economy you have to learn how to make your dollar stretch.
I mentioned a few weeks back that I will be doing something new to my blog. Well it is my great joy to introduce my new blog titled DIVA ON A DIET. This blog is specifically for discussing things pertaining to weight loss. It will provided resources, recipes, tips, my experiences, etc on its page. I will keep treeiskeepingitreal but will soon transfer all of my files under a new blog title. Stay tuned! Until then check out my new blog www.divaonadiet.blogspot.com. I hope you like it. Also feel free to subscribe to my blogs.
Blessings,
Tree
Being a stay at home mom I’m learning the importance of staying within budget. With the holidays quickly approaching I feel like any other red blooded American…I want to shop!!! Even though the craving and desire to spend money I don’t have and to max out my credit cards is quite strong and have made up my mind to become more thrifty and conscious about my spending. Afterall, I have to live after the holidays. So my solution to this problem is not to give up the fiestivities but to learn how to stretch my dollar and enjoy the holidays without going broke.
One of the things I’ve decided to do is to make some homemade gifts. I know it might sound cheesy to some but I think it takes alot of love to create and make a gift for someone. Yes it’s easier and probably more fun to go out and buy but considering the economic times we are in it would be wise to find alternatives.
Now I’m not a seamtress but I love to bake and I’m pretty good with crafts so I’m in the process right now of finding things I could make. Some ideas I have come across was jar gifts. You put dry ingredients in a jar with the recipe attached. So recipes include cookies, cake mix, soup ingredients, etc. You decorate the jars and make the ingredients look pretty in the jar by layering. I thought that was a cute idea and a very cheap one. Here is a link for some creative Jar Gift Ideas and Recipes: 
http://www.allfreecrafts.com/giftinajar/index.shtml
Another idea I had was making soap and bubble baths. I’ve always wanted to learn how to make soap so here is a great opportunity to learn. Below is a great website for making soaps. It has some pretty easy recipes. The website also have great Jar Gift recipes.
http://www.craftbits.com/viewCategory.do?categoryID=SOA
My last idea is to bake, bake, bake, and bake some more. Find out family favorites and bake them and put baked items in pretty cellophane with ribbons.
Well there you go, some of my ideas for gifts this Christmas! Let me know what ideas you have for this holiday season.
My nickname is Tree. Its a weird name but it really does grow on you (no pun intended).
I am a mother, wife, daughter, friend, but I am nothing without Christ. I don't claim to be perfect but I do serve a perfect God.
This blog is about my life (all aspects of it). My life consists of being a mom to a special needs child and two toddler girls, a homemaker, and a loving and supportive wife to my husband.
Some of my goals are to eat healthier, exercise more, go to school for natural health, and most of all develop a stronger relationship with God through reading His Word (Bible) and praying sincerely. I hope you enjoy my musings and hopefully it will be a blessing to you:)
Grace and Peace
