The Barela Family

1. i found these letters at the craft store today for kids new rooms. they loved decorating them. i was kinda choosy in the colors i let them use but then i let them do their own thing. quite the little artists. these pics are as their letters are in the process of becoming masterpieces. the final products are lovely! i think they will look great hanging on their doors.

2. brian sent me this article this week on chores and how they are used in your family. this article explains how their family doesn’t call them chores but acts of service. it’s looking at “chores” as not as something that is a an obligation but a way we can serve each other. what does your family do for chores? do you have a chart? do you give an allowance? would love to know your thoughts. we don’t do much in this area but we would like to start something.

3. i found these sites helpful in things to do in the long winter days or any day really when you want to have fun with you kids. some great ideas, check them out!

12 Ideas To Keep The Kids Busy On A Snowy Day | The Mother Huddle

The Bullet List {Esther from Babyccino Kids}

4. the latest song i bought from itunes was Sweetly Broken by Jeremy Riddle. i’ve been listening to it in my quiet times in the mornings. so good. love the words. puts things into perspective as i start my day. did i tell you i have joined Hello Mornings with other women literally all over the world? pretty cool, huh?Inspired to Action gives you all the details here. if you want to be committed to getting up early to spend time with God, plan your day, exercise, better serve your family, have a moment for yourself and get a couple steps ahead of your kids (any or all of the above is good!) this is a great way to get started. knowing there are so many others doing the same thing at the same is so encouraging. there is even an accountability captain that will check in with you via twitter if you haven’t checked-in a couple days. think about it. would love to have you join with me.

5. we are having a small super bowl party with my parents and some friends on sunday. and of course the first thing i think of…what are we going to have to eat? i found a couple great recipes that i’m thinking about.

• blue cheese steak bites on baguettes
• mini twice baked potatoes
• peanut butter cheese cake with a pretzel crust and carmel drizzled on top (yes please!)

what are you making for the big game?

1. my new creation of a sandwich: english muffin, orange marmalade, ham, brie cheese and onion broiled for about 5 min. so good with the sweet and salty taste together. and any toasted sandwich is yummy in my book!

2. i have started a new workout using my 20lb kettlebell. i’m doing 75 reps (of the most common swing) 3x a week. i try to do as many as i can at a time, take a minute break then finish the rest. kettllebells are a great whole body work out. really good for your core and this is perfect on days when i don’t have a ton of time to work out. try ’em out sometime if you haven’t yet. it’s a great kick your butt workout in a short amount of time!

3. there is an anthropologie less than 5 miles from our new house. excitement is not even the word! maybe then i could go and buy this…ha ha! yeah right. but a girl can dream and get great ideas and then looking for something similar in my price range:)

4. i’m getting my haircut and colored in less than 2 weeks. it is so past the time to do something with my hair. i figured new city…new haircut. i’m thinking layers and…..bangs. we. shall. see.

5. the girls LOVE their cousin kenzi. they love not being the youngest. they love being little mommies to her. they love showing her the ropes of playing babies. they love being the leader bossing her around. right now kenzi loves it all too so it works out for everyone. oh and notice the hat kaia has on, yeah she has had that on now for 6 days. won’t take it off, even to sleep. at least she looks stinkin’ cute in it!

1. i have some new little treats for the kids that have been a big hit with out the major sugar rush and the expense is minimal. for snack at night i’ve been serving trix cereal in a small bowl with no milk. since we normal don’t eat sugary cereal with lots of bright colors this is a fun new experience for the kids. pretty much like the best thing ever! it’s just enough sweetness to make the kids think they are getting a major treat. my other new find is tic tacs. these have been a great little “candy” to give the kids. again, because we don’t each much candy, little tic tacs are still a treat.

2. and what does mommy like for a treat, especially on a cold afternoon or evening…or anytime really? hot chocolate and an english muffin with butter and cinnamon and sugar. yum! it makes me feel all warm and cozy inside. always been a favorite of mine.

3. brian and i have a new discovery this week that has had major changes in our day to day functioning. VITAMIN D! woo hoo! what a difference we have noticed. with no sun we were feeling sluggish and just out of it. now we have much more energy and focus all through out the day. we are all benefiting from the results. yay! for vitamin d!

4. this week i did a fun art project with the kids. mix equal parts of shaving cream and elmers glue. use fingers, a sponge or paint brush to make a picture. we added blue food coloring and snow flake sprinkles to make a snow storm picture. once your project dries you have a picture with a cool velvety texture. fair warning: it’s kind of a messy project but cleans up easily. and the kids LOVE it!

5. so we’ve been experiencing this cold wintery weather for several months now and indiana has the same weather. (what i’m really saying is, we are not getting away from this stuff) i realized it was time. i bought the kids boots. they still aren’t much for playing out in the snow but at least now they are prepared. so let the sloshing begin!