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Happy New Year!

I love new things! New toys, new clothing, new furniture, new towels, new movies, new books, new phones, and well, you get the idea. New Years are also fun because they’re a great time to reevaluate your plans, where you’re at in life, and what you want to achieve in the next year.

I try to avoid random New Year’s resolutions, you know, things that maybe I’d like to do (like make it to the gym at least once a week) but don’t really have a good plan for accomplishing and focus more on making plans to accomplish what I want to do. Like, how can I make it to the gym once a week, with a toddler who naps, homeschooling a 1st grader, preschool, dance classes, music lessons, and a few other things like grocery shopping thrown in there, who has time to go to the gym.

Honestly, my motivation for going to the gym is so I can put the kids in childcare and enjoy 1 1/2 hours to myself without answering a thousand questions, pretending like the sky is purple, saying the correct words for “Elsa’s” coronation, toting the toddler around, and trying to clean or cook all at the same time – oh and, keeping the 6yr old focused on school work too. An hour and a half a week to myself to just exercise and take a shower undisturbed really would be nice – but factor in that it takes all that time and more to get everyone out the door, drive there, and then return, it makes for an all day affair for me just to go to the gym! I really am going to try to go more often, I just haven’t figured out how to work it into my school and activity schedule yet. I’ll figure it out eventually…

Anyways, back to new things. Which reminds me, New toys – the next person who gives my child a new toy is going to die! I’m kidding…kind of. After Christmas we now own FOUR child’s cash registers. Four! And a whole new bucket of play kitchen food – I think that makes 3 buckets total in my house! Today, I was working every single child’s puzzle we own so I can throw away all the puzzles that don’t have all their pieces, because, we received NINE new puzzles for Christmas. Nine! and I don’t have room for nine new puzzles, so the old ones must go! On the bright side, I also organized all the uno and skipbo cards back into their appropriate places so next time I want to play uno they’ll all be together – not sure when that’s happening. And I tossed a whole bunch of random cards and card games that I just hate. Now to just hide candyland and monopoly…

So…new things, new goals, for this new year, I have a few. One for each area because I need to keep things simple.

18 month old: He will learn to ask for water this year – currently he just goes around the house crying when he’s thirsty, some form of pointing or word for water would be greatly appreciated by all. I handed him a cup of water this afternoon and he just sat there and chugged the entire thing like he was dying of thirst. And then he was no longer cranky.

3yr old: She will learn to read – I’m thinking just the preschool hooked on phonics. She’s dying to read like her older sister so I’m going to order it for her and we’ll work on it every day. Maybe 3 letter words by the end of the year. She would be so happy!

6yr old: She will learn to write legibly – why is handwriting the most difficult subject ever? I have no idea! Reading and math are a breeze so I guess something had to be difficult. I can barely read it even when I know what she’s writing, so you know it’s bad!

Me: I will go to the gym once a week – just kidding, I know that’s not going to happen. Though, it would be nice! I do need to get a new exercise routine going though before we start trying for child number 4 later in the year. Pregnancy is way better when I’m active.

Parenting: With 3 there’s a tendency to let them get away with things that they shouldn’t because I’m busy and tired, just being more intentional and focused even if I don’t feel like it.

Marriage: I want to spend more time doing fun things with my husband. We’re actually making good progress on this already and we have a few things planned for next year so I just need to keep the ball rolling and we’ll be good here.

And that’s all the new stuff for this year. Plus the usual, you know, doubling my facebook and twitter followers, updating my blog regularly, cooking more meals from scratch, and figuring out how to make a milk gravy and biscuits that are actually edible!

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Christmas With Kids

I love Christmastime, I always have. But it’s especially fun with little kids! We start all our stuff on Christmas Eve.

First, we go to our New Year’s Eve service at Church. I don’t hear much of the sermon amidst the 3yr old closing herself in the seat, bumping into the people in front of us, and waving to friends two rows back. While she’s at it the 18 month old is eating a small candy cane, dropping the small candy cane on the floor, and feeding the small candy cane to me. I thought he had forgotten about it and decided to eat it so it was out of the way and he suddenly decided that he wanted it back. Not to eat, just to hold in his hands for the remainder of the service. He was quite sticky by the time we got home.

And lit candles at the end of the sermon are a great opportunity for the 3yr old to attempt to catch something on fire until her Daddy blows out the flame. While this is happening the 18 moth old is contriving ways to grab the flame part of my candle (which he never succeeded in doing). I was more than happy to blow out the candles after singing “Silent Night”.

Honestly, the kids weren’t bad considering their ages and that they rarely join us in the sanctuary. But it made for an entertaining evening.

After dinner and “Charley Brown Christmas” we all open one present. This year the kids had picked out these $1 metal ornaments at WalMart that have candy in them for their Christmas Eve present. They’re kind and share the candy with us parents. It’s pretty much the worst candy I’ve ever tasted – I think they forgot the sugar, and all the kids feel the need to share a piece with me! Thanks a lot kiddos…

After they go to bed we set up the geotrax set. This is one of my favorite parts. The kids are always so excited to see the train Christmas morning and it gives me a chance to make breakfast so we can eat before opening presents. While setting this up we watch our favorite Christmas movie, “We’re No Angels”. It’s one of my favorite movies, if you haven’t seen it, you should. Amazon Prime has it on instant stream if you want to check it out.

Thankfully the kids sleep till almost 8. And after playing with the train and eating breakfast it’s 10 before we get around to presents. After presents and the baby’s nap we head over to a relative’s house for lunch and more presents. We carry 1 box of presents out of the house and return with 4 – because we have the only little girls on this side of the family and Frozen is all the rage this year. Well, that and all the giant stuffed animal gifts for the 18 month old. And now you know why I’m constantly cleaning out toys! I’m going to have to go through the kid’s puzzles because I am now out of puzzle storage room. I’ve been putting this off for a while, should be fun tracking down all those tiny pieces and hoping there still some puzzles with all the pieces in one place at one time.

We have loads of new nail polish, puzzles, coloring books, candy, stuffed animals, cars, and other toys. The kids are exhausted when we get home so bedtime is pretty easy, and we parents crash on the couch until bedtime.

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My Favorite Sites

A while back someone asked me to post a list of my favorite sites. Some of these include links that give me stuff if you sign up, other’s don’t offer that option, but either way, I hope you find something that you like! And sign up with my links just in case 🙂

Site with Points for Searching and Shopping:

1. Bing – You earn points for searching. It’s 1 point per 3 searches and a maximum of 30 points per day – or 40 points if you want to install and use the mobile app as well. I like to redeem my points for groupon gift cards and then get some free food with my groupon bucks. Actually, these days, I get free lunches for my husband with my groupon bucks, but either way, it saves us some money and he gets tasty lunches during the week.

2. Swagbucks – Points for searching and a few other things, the search points are random so you may get 20 points or no points, you never know. There’s also surveys, daily polls, and you can click through when you’re shopping online. So, there’s multiple ways to earn points here. I like to redeem my points for Amazon gift cards.

3. My Points – This is another site where you click through when you’re shopping and you get points you can redeem for gift cards. They have a great selection of gift cards on here. Also, Bzz Agent (discussed below) gives you My Points when you interact with brands, so you can earn two ways.

4. Coke Rewards – Collect bottle caps, enter the codes for points you can redeem for merchandise or free cokes. If you’re drinking it anyway you may as well get a few free ones!

5. Kelloggs – If you eat cereal, crackers, or plow through the eggos like my kids do, this is a great way to get some free cereal bowls or other merchandise. Just enter the codes from the inside of the boxes.

Product Review Sites:

1. Pinch Me – They offer a small box of free samples every other week. You have to be on there right when the samples become available to order yours or you won’t get any. These are all sample size and a bit of a hassle to get but if you want to try out interesting products, you can give it a try.

2. Smiley360 – Free products to try and review. They recently updated their website and it’s so much easier to use and they have so many more products available. I’m currently trying out a new Nescafe instant coffee, and I’m waiting on some scented markers to arrive for the kids to test. They seem to have a lot of home stuff like soap and toilet bowl cleaner and other fun things like markers and coffee.

3. Bzz Agent – Free products to try and review. I get lots of food products from here. I just tried a new Sara Lee Pound Cake (the blog review for this is coming soon), and several Kroger $5 off coupons to promo their digital coupons and their community rewards. Plus they do toys – which the kids love, and other products like deodorant, roomba, etc. Usually the products are totally free. (I got a huge discount on my roomba but I did still have to pay something – if you don’t want to pay you just say so and don’t accept the campaign). They offer you a product and you say that yes you’d like to receive it and review it. I’ve been using this site for years and love all the fun products I get to try!

Survey Sites:

1. YouGov – Mostly government related surveys. Usually about 1 survey a week, they have a few decent redemption options.

2. My View – I’ve been using this survey site for a long time. They have a great selection of rewards.

3. Toluna – Surveys mostly, there’s also a few other activities you can do on the site for points to redeem for gift cards.

4. Schlinger & Associates – A few surveys for points. Mostly, these are research studies and they’ll tell you up front what they’re offering you to participate. Sometimes it’s a check and other times it’s a gift card.

5. Pure Profile – Surveys, you redeem for PayPal in $25 increments.

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Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and on Thanksgiving this year I am reminded of all that I have to be grateful for.

My husband: He’s sweet, caring, hardworking, and loves his family. I couldn’t ask for a better man, and I’m very grateful for that. Three kids and almost 9 years in we still don’t mind putting up with each other. We’re actually trying hard this year to spend some time away from the kids – you know, dinner out, a football game, a few movies, stuff like that – with 3 kids we really need some time to talk to each other without little ears being present. Plus, I need some occasional adult time.

My kids: My oldest who laughs at anything remotely funny, or not funny. My middle child who just likes to be sweet and helpful. And my baby who is just constantly a mess – it’s his goal in life, to make a mess and be a mess as often as possible. I’ll probably never find all the marbles to Hungry Hungry Hippo again (I think the hippos actually at them!) or clean without finding a few legos (or walk through the house at night without encountering a few), but when I hear them giggling and playing together, I’ll take the messy house any day of the week.

My family: Where would I be without my family. We’re loud and crazy when we’re all together but we really enjoy some good laughs, good food, and a great time catching up.

My Job: I’m kidding, I don’t have a job, actually I kinda do. Taking care of the kids is quite a job. Plus I freelance web and graphic design from home, with 3 kids this can get exciting and some days I long for a real office, but I get to stay home with my kids and it’s worth the hassle.

Mostly, I’m grateful for those people that God has put into my life, my family and friends. The people who keep me grounded, like me just as I am, and who care about me and are there for me when I need them. That’s a lot to be thankful for.

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Dress Up Your Nuggets

Chick-Fil-A Moms is hosting a Dress Up Your Nuggets challenge. Sounded like lots of fun. I chose an Around the world Theme to show off some different ways to eat Chick-Fil-A nuggets.

First up is French. They’re all about their minimal servings. Though I doubt they eat barbecue or chicken nuggets in France, if they did, this is what it would look like. And Chick-Fil-A is such a quality nugget, it could be served in a gourmet restaurant, right?

Next we have Chinese. They pair everything with rice. Add a little sweet and sour sauce and you have a meal!

Third we have Mexican. I love a good taco! My 6yr old thought this one looked so good she claimed it for herself as soon as I finished photographing it. Of course, I had to remove the lettuce, because she doesn’t eat lettuce on her tacos. A little mexican rice, cheese, lettuce, and chicken for a delicious chicken taco.

Last of all, I came back home to the Southern US and did Fried Chicken and Waffles. No one can beat some savory fried chicken and sweet syrup, especially when the chicken is boneless and oh so tasty!

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Arla Dofino Cheese Review

Thanks to Bzz Agent I received a coupon to try Arla Dofino cheese for free! My family loves cheese and we really enjoyed trying out Arla Dofino. We actually liked it so much, we tried out several different varieties.

One of the cheeses we tried was the Jalapeno Havarti. The Havarti is pretty soft so it’s easy to eat as a snack with crackers. I don’t like most Jalapeno cheeses this way because usually the pepper chunks are too big. They were the perfect size in the Arla Dofino cheese. I also tried it grated up on chips. I spread the chips on a plate, grate the cheese on top, microwave for 30 seconds, and I have hot chips with cheese that I’ll dip in salsa. So delicious! And the Jalapeno cheese gave it an extra pop that worked great with the salsa.

I also made these little cracker bites with the creamy Havarti and bacon bits. I spread the saltines on a tray, put little slices of cheese on top, added some bacon bits, and cooked in the oven till everything was hot and melty. So delicious! They were eaten up very quickly!

For a tasty cheese tray, the round of Edam cheese was perfect. It has a great flavor, and it’s a great cheese to have out at a product, it looks like a premium product and it tastes great. Definitely getting another round of this for my holiday party this year.

I’ve liked every variety of Arla Dofino cheese that I’ve tried and I I can’t wait to serve some to my guests this holiday season.

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Dial Face Wash Review

My newest product trial is for the new Dial Acne Control Face Wash. I love trying new beauty products!

My first tip for this product, don’t set it on the bathroom counter next to the hand soap, the kids will think it’s for hand washing. My kids love to wash their hands, and they love to use the automatic soap dispensers in public restrooms – you know, I saw that bath and body works has a new auto soap dispenser that sits out your bathroom counter, my bathroom would be covered in bubbles if I bought that! But, I’m way off topic now…

Anyways, don’t leave it out for the kids, especially if your children like to wash their hands as much as mine do!

I do like this soap, it gets my face nice and clean. However, it does dry my skin out a little so I have to use a little more of my face lotion when I’m using the dial face wash. Way better than a face wash that makes my face oily (yes, I’ve tried one that does this and it’s awful!) and with a little extra lotion in the mornings my face is clean AND moisturized so no problems there.

I also don’t have to use very much of this product each time to get a nice lather that makes me feel like it’s doing something good. So this bottle is going to last me for quite a while. Yay!

Also, this product has very little scent, which is awesome, because I really don’t like being overpowered by scent when I’m washing my face in the morning.

I only have occasional acne so it’s not like this product cleared up my face, because my face is already pretty clear. So, no drastic results to show. However, I haven’t had any trouble with acne since starting to use this product so I know it doesn’t irritate my skin and it definitely seems to help prevent oily skin which is usually my biggest facial skin problem.

I’m enjoying using this product and I think it’s definitely getting my face cleaner in the mornings!

Thanks to Smiley 360 for the great product trial!

Click Here for a $.75 off coupon!

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My Halloween Porch Light

Me and my porch light just do not agree on how my front porch should be lit for Halloween. We’ve been in our house for 6 years now and I have yet to have my porch light ON for Halloween.

1st Halloween – I’m pretty sure the light worked, but I didn’t even think about it being Halloween. I grew up in a rural area and you really don’t trick or treat when the houses are miles apart. So, I really wasn’t paying attention. Plus I had a 2month old, so I really wasn’t up on things yet anyways. Currently, I live in a neighborhood that’s easy to walk and perfect for trick or treating, so there’s a lot of trick or treaters. Anyways, the first year in my house, I just didn’t think about it. Someone TP’d our pine trees in the front yard that year too. How was I to know this was a popular trick or treating street?

2nd Halloween – My porch light had burnt out the week before, but I hadn’t thought about it last year, and I didn’t think about it this year. However, my father-in-law had picked that night to come over to our house and work on his car in our garage (our garage is easier to see from the street than our front door). To complicate things, he was working with the garage door open and the lights on in the garage so people kept coming to him for candy. He sent them to the front door and luckily I had a basket of random candy on the counter that I grabbed and handed out to trick or treaters. As a side note, my father in law sat at that basket halfway through the evening so I was without a basket after that, and yes, I handed out the squashed candy, I didn’t have anything else!

3rd Halloween – So, I was prepared with candy this year, just in case, but I hadn’t planned to turn the porch light on so I didn’t have a large supply of candy. But, my father-in-law decided AGAIN that this was a good night to work on his car in my garage with the door open – you’d think he would know better by now. And since my porch light didn’t work again (it always goes out sometime in September and I don’t have a ladder tall enough to reach the bulb so I add it to my husband’s to-do list and hope for the best) people were driving him crazy. I offered to just set the basket of candy by the garage door entrance so he didn’t have to keep sending people to the front door, but he didn’t like that idea. So, I apologized to everyone for the porch light being out, and handed out candy at the front door.

4th Halloween – I finally got it figured out! I had my big basket of candy planned, even had fall decorations on the porch. My plan was to turn on the porch light and put the basket of candy on the porch so I didn’t have to keep answering the door. Well…a month before halloween my porch light went out again. And I STILL don’t have a ladder tall enough for me to reach the light, and my husband keeps forgetting, so I have to keep answering the door and pointing out the basket that’s on the outside of the door because no one can see it because there’s no porch light! You know, people come to the door, I say the candy’s on the porch (though, it’s now behind the open door) I have to point it out and they can’t see it because the porch is dark. I quickly gave up and just handed it out at the door.

5th Halloween – I still don’t have a tall enough ladder to reach the light, and it went out again in September. Though, it’s ok, we’re going to a halloween party, I’ll just leave candy on the porch and hope for the best. Well, my husband is home late that night so we end up at home with two disappointed little girls in their halloween costumes, handing out handfuls (instead of one at a time as instructed) of candy to people at the door. I almost ran out of candy! Actually, I did run out of candy, the last couple of people ended up with mini rice crispy treats. Sorry kids!

6th Halloween – This year, I have outwitted the light. I purchased a ladder. I replaced the bulb that burnt out in August this year with one of those bulbs that is supposed to last for years. I have my candy planned out, my bucket, we take the kids to a party the Friday before and they are all excited about handing out candy this year. A week before halloween my light goes out, you know, the bulb that is supposed to last for years. But, I have my ladder, so the day before Halloween (I’m not taking any chances this year, surely a light bulb can last 24 hours!) I climb up there and replace the bulb. Well…apparently, it’s not my bulb, there’s something wrong with the fixture and no light bulb is going to work. So, once again we have a dark porch, and this year the weather is bad so even though there are lots of trick or treaters, they aren’t taking a chance on a dark house so only about 5 people come by, the girls are sad because no one came, and we have LOTS of candy left over!

Next year, I’m going to have the fixture replaced, a new light bulb, and a couple of lanterns, some flashlights, maybe I’ll line the sidewalk with candles or something…

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Seventh Generation Natural Hand Wash Review

My second week of product reviews – I have a few lined up that I need to do! This one is also from Smiley360.

I got a free container of Seventh Generation Natural Hand Wash, Mandrin Orange & Grapefruit to try. It’s always awesome any time I get to try products that my family uses a lot of. My kids are obsessed with washing their hands, washing their barbie’s hair, and giving baths in the sink to many other toys such as polly pockets and play food. So, we go through a lot of hand soap around here.

Any time I put a new soap out on the counter it’s pretty much guaranteed that that girls will notice within an hour and give me their “very important” feedback. My kids approved, I had to smell their hands multiple times that first day I set the soap out because they loved the scent and felt the need to share. At least I knew their hands were clean!

I also like that it’s not anti-bacterial. You know how hard a non-anti-bacterial soap that everyone likes is to find? Either I’m looking in all the wrong places or there aren’t a lot of them.

This product smells great, my hands feel clean after using it, it’s not anti-bacterial, it’s made by a company that is good at making natural products, and for $4 on their website, It’s really not any more expensive than the Bath & Body Works soap I usually buy.

Plus, I love the bright colors on the soap bottle, and the citrus scent that I’m trying out is such a clean smell, I love it!

Want to save a little more? For 20% off your online order, click here.

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My “Free Spirited” Child

So, one of my goals this summer was to spend some time getting to know my second born child. She’s what I like to call a “free spirit”. She’s really a sweet child, and tries hard to please, but I feel like we’re constantly fussing at her for things like spilling her water (for the 1,000th time!), stepping on my feet (also for the 1,000th time), dropping her bowl of cheerios on the floor, and so on. All avoidable accidents in my opinion. She’s like that dog on “up” who’s going along great but when he see’s a squirrel everything else is forgotten. Yup, the bowl of cereal is there, and you’re eating it, but you get distracted with a toy or something and bump the cereal off the table with your elbow. I try hard not to be upset because it is an accident, but you’ve got to pay attention to what you’re doing! So, my goal has been to figure out how to connect with her so that we’re enjoying each other more and it’s not just constant frustration.

My first born, I understand, I’m a firstborn and she’s a lot like me. A rule-follower, likes to keep everyone happy, a bit of an over-achiever, and fairly confident that in everything she does, no one can do it better (even if the child standing next to her in ballet class is way better than her).

My second-born on the other hand, is a total mystery. She’s pretty much always in her own little world, very spontaneous, blissfully happy one second and melting down the next, and in general hard to figure out. So, I’ve been paying a lot of attention to her moods. What makes her happy, and what is it that she likes to do. Surprisingly, she’s not actually that difficult to understand, she’s just a lot different than me so I have to consider things from her perspective.

Some interesting things I figured out.

1. A hug goes a long way – if she’s melting down, just sitting out the couch with her for 5 minutes can turn her day into “beautiful bouquets of flowers” – literally, I’m fairly sure this is how she thinks about it. She loves to come in my room early in the morning – sometime between 3am and when we get up, I’m not sure of the exact time because I’m asleep – and just snuggle in bed. She’s always happy on these mornings so I’ve quit trying to send her back to her bed but instead I just make room for her. And it makes sense, as a baby, there were nights she just wanted to sleep lying on my chest on the couch. If she’s upset and I need her to talk to me, just holding her hand while we talk helps her calm down. (now, if I was upset, this would irritate me, so I’m doing the opposite of what I would like)

2. Spontaneity is fun (and does not come naturally to me) – So, she wants to walk through the sanctuary instead of the hall on the way out of Church, it actually doesn’t take any extra time, it’s just not the usual route, we detour through the sanctuary and she skips the rest of the way to the car. Made her day, and honestly only requires that I pay attention and participate in something she considers novel.

Or, why she feels compelled to smush her face agains the screen door EVERY TIME she comes inside is a mystery to me, but I just smile and say hello, she says “hi” and continues on. I’m learning to just roll with it.

3. She loves to accessorize – I like accessories, like small hoop earrings, thin chain necklaces, and bracelets that don’t make noise when I use my hand. She on the other hand, likes to go through my jewelry box and pick out the largest, jangliest necklace she can find and wear it. Currently she’s wearing this bulky gold chain (don’t worry, not real gold) that I never wear because it’s just too large for me. I think she thinks her outfit’s not complete without a little bit of “bling” so I just roll with it. She is pretty cute running around in her princess dress, flip-flops, and mommy’s necklace.

4. She needs her space – being the middle child isn’t easy. Her older sister is constantly telling her what to do, and her little brother is constantly in her space stealing her sippy cup and snacks. Some days she just wanders off to her room alone, I’ll poke my head in and ask if she’s ok and she’s happily playing barbies or ponies by herself and perfectly happy about being alone. She doesn’t want company and I don’t feel compelled to make her join us. She’ll be out in an hour or so when she’s ready to see people again.

5. Praise her when I can – she got a certificate at preschool the other day for ending her day at the top of the behavior chart – the kids start in the middle so you have to be extra helpful to make it to the top – I made sure she remembered to show it to her Dad at supper time and explained to him what it meant. She was super excited to have made it to “pink” at class, plus get the certificate, and get to show it to everyone. It was a good day for her. She really likes to help, so a lot of times I praise the attempt, while she’s helping me clean up the mess. I’ve learned not to fuss at her too much, she already knows that she should have watched where she was going so she wouldn’t make a mess. I try to focus on what she was trying to accomplish and how good she is at helping me clean it up.

6. Let her help – even if it means a mess. Inside, I cringe every time I hand her a glass of water to carry or a plate of food to take to the table. Most of the time she makes it fine, but about 5% of the time she gets distracted on her way from the counter to the table and the water gets dumped or stuff starts rolling off the plate. It’s just a part of childhood and I’ve learned to keep an eye on her and refocus her when she needs it. And, I try to give her mostly mistake-proof jobs. Assigning her the job of giving everyone a fork at dinner is a great job for her. I hand her 5 forks and she distributes them, it’s hard to make a mess with that one.

7. Most importantly of all, just embrace and enjoy her unique personality – It is, after all, how God made her. And the more I stop trying to make her personality conform to mine, the more I see how sweet and fun she really is.