Amber Alert

wonderful update! The 10 year old is back with her father and where she belongs. Thanks so much to everyone who helped either in prayer and thoughts or in locating the missing girl.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day! I hope you have a wonderful day and I'll leave you with my favorite quote about daddies. It's from Chris Rock's Bigger and Blacker show and, though I cleaned it up with * in place of the swear words, it's still, well, from Chris Rock... be warned.

Now, if the kid can't read 'cause ain't no lights in the house, that's daddy fault. He got this down. Nobody give a * about daddy. There's some real daddies out there. I'm not talking about the guy that just * you and left, * him, okay? I'm talkin' about the real daddies. There's still some * out there that handle their business. There's some brothers who handle their business.

But nobody give a * about daddy. Everybody take daddy for granted. Just listen to the radio. Everything's mama, dear mama, always love my mama, mama, mama, mama. What's the daddy song? Papa was a rolling stone! Now, mama got the roughest job, I ain't gonna front. But at least people appreciate mama. That's right, every time mama do something right, mama get a compliment. 'Cause women need to hear compliments all the time. Women need food, water, and compliments. That's right, that's right. And an occasional pair of shoes. That's right. Women got to hear it all the time or they lose their mind. And make sure you thank your mama for everything. Tell your mama how good the food is. Tell your mama how nice the house looks. Tell your mama how nice her hair looks. Did you tell your mama? You better go in there and tell your mama. That's right, tell your mama, tell your mama, tell your mama.

Nobody ever tells daddy *! I'm talking about the real daddy that handle the * business. Nobody ever say, daddy, thanks for knocking out this rent. Hey, daddy, I sure love this hot water. Hey, daddy, this easy to read with all this light... Nobody give a * about daddy. Think about everything that the real daddy does. Pay the bills, buy the food, put a * roof over your head. Make your world a better, safer place. And what does daddy get for all his work? The big piece of chicken, that's all daddy get, is the big piece of chicken. That's right, and some women don't wanna give up the big piece of chicken. Who the * is you to keep the big piece of chicken? How dare you keep the big piece of chicken! A man can't work 12 hours and come home to a wing! When I was a kid, my mama would lose her mind if one of us ate the big piece of chicken by accident... you ate the big piece of chicken?! Oh, lord, no, no, no, now I got to take some chicken and sew it up. Give me two wings and a pork chop ! Daddy'll never know the difference.

...and for those who really have no reason to celebrate this day or who are hurting because of this day I want to send you a huge :hug: from me to you.

Taken Over

So my living room has been turned into Fort Knox. I love it.

Summer Family Movies

Just wanted to give you a heads up on a couple cheap or free movies that are happening over the summer break.

Free Family Film Festival. Certain Regal Cinemas are hosting weekly free family movies on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings at 10am. . They have a G rated movie in one theatre and a PG rated movie in another. Doors open at 9:30and seating is on a first come first served basis. Once the theatre is full, it's full, so plan on showing up around 9:00 and waiting in line if the movie is a more current title. You can't reserve seating for friends that are planning on showing up either. They have to be in the theatre. To find if there is a theatre near you and what movies are playing, check out Regal Cinemas Free Family Film Festival site: http://www.regmovies.com/nowshowing/familyfilmfestivalschedule.aspx

AMC Summer Movie Camp. Certain AMC theatres are hosting a $1 family movie on Tuesday mornings at 10am. Admission is $1 and you can purchase advanced tickets online or at the theatre. Doors open at 9:30. Even if you purchase advanced tickets I would still suggest showing up at or before 9:30 in order to get seats that are actually next to each other. Their kid's concession combos are reduced to $4 also. To find a theatre near you, what movies will be playing, and to order tickets online, visit: http://www.amcentertainment.com/smc/

CineMark Summer Movie Clubhouse. CineMark which includes Century Theatres, CineArt, and Tinseltown is also having $1 family movies on Wednesdays at 10:00am. There is also a limited availability punch card for all 10 shows for $5 which is a savings of $.50 per show. To find a theatre, see what movies will be playing and to order the punch card, visit: http://www.cinemark.com/summermovieclubhouse/index.htm

Other chains also host free or reduced cost summer movies so check out your local theatre.

A couple movie tips.

Get your seats first. Generally, the theatre will fill up fast. Find your seat before you go to the bathroom or get concessions or you may not be able to find seats that are next to each other. Put down the, "these are my seats" sprawled out jackets or other items, then go do your other business.

Go to the bathroom before the movie starts. But if your kids have to go in the middle of the movie -- it's ok too.

Bring some before the movies games or activities. You may be waiting up to an hour or more in a line or in the theatre before the movies starts.

Bring your car seats with you. My little ones have a hard time sitting in the chairs without them collapsing and they have an even harder time seeing. Instead of fighting off all the other parents for one of the limited number of booster seats available through the theatre, just bring in your own booster from the car.

Don't worry about your fidgety, talkative, up and down child. Remember, you're in a theatre with over a hundred other families with small kids, they understand (and if they don't then they really shouldn't have come to the show). Don't be completely disrespective and let your baby cry through the movie but if your kids don't have the perfect theatre manners, don't worry about it.

Don't forget $ for concessions. Though the movies are free or reduced, chances are the concessions are not. Most of the time the concessions are regular priced.


Remember, enjoy your time together. This is supposed to be a family event. Try to keep your stress level down by preparing before hand and remembering that it's about the kids enjoying their theatre time, not whether or not you have everything together and your kids are on their most proper behavior. And hey, if you have to walk out, at least you didn't have to pay full price.

Part II: Pretending the Squiggle is a Square

Attempt #1: extreme organization

Seeing my struggle, a friend recommended going at my house with a much more organized approach. You see, because I'm a very... free... spirit, I don't have a routine and structured mindset so "cleaning routine" was new to my vocabulary. She suggest I write down the things I'd like to get accomplished on a daily/weekly/monthly basis and then organize it so I don't think I have to do it all every day.

I started by writing down everything that needed to be done. In the kitchen: dishes, counters, pantry organization, sweeping, moping, cleaning the microwave, fridge organization, etc. and I did that for every room in the house. Then it all got spread out onto a 6 day checklist with once weekly and once monthly columns and away I went with my new cleaning routine.

About a month into it I realized I couldn't keep up with the expectations I put on myself and started to slip back into discouragement and eventually scrapped the whole thing because, "Why try to be something I'm not. I can't keep a good home and that's all there is to it."

Back in to chaos my house went and I felt even more beat down than before. If this is how it's going to be then I'm out...

New Giveaway

Over at CraftBlog there's a review and giveaway for the book The Creative Family written by Amanda Blake Soule of SouleMama.com. It's a really great book to use as a springboard to adding more creativity into your everyday life. There are a couple things in it that, as a Jesus follower, I would not implement in my home, but with a little adaptation and tweaking, turn into great fits for my family. I highly recommend it for anyone with kids.

Check it out over at CraftBlog.com