Boys Archives - The Pennington Point

Happiness is a Peaceful Weekend

by Lisa on April 29, 2013

It was a peaceful weekend, quiet and low key. We milled about doing this and that. No trips, no rushing around. Delightful!

On Saturday I gave a couple of haircuts on the front porch. For some reason, even though I cut the boys’ hair myself and own all of the cutting tools, I wait until they look like orphans in a third world country before I actually cut their hair. I will go weeks saying, “Boy, you need a HAIRCUT!” knowing that all I have to do is pull out the clippers and have it done in about 10 minutes. Pitiful.

After the haircuts were done Patience and I decided to use the nice light on the porch to take some new photos for our shop. My Mason Jar Straw Lids are our hottest seller these days, so we wanted to spice up their pictures. We set one of our tables on the porch with our pretty summer dishes and took about 7000 shots. This is Patience’s influence. I am a just-take-a-couple-of-pictures-and-be-done kind of girl, but she likes to keep going with gusto. My problem with taking so many is that I have to reject a bunch of good ones.

Just to show you, here’s one of the rejects….but I love it!

And the good ones…they are super yummy! I love this one with our new stainless steel straws.

Seriously, I could show you 6998 more! And we have several new listings in the shop and more to come. EEK!

Since the table was all set anyway, the 4 girls decided to eat dinner out there and had a lovely time. Although I couldn’t tell you why they aren’t actually drinking from the mason jars with lids. I wonder if they know they are allowed to actually USE them.

Yesterday was James’ birthday. The kids and I pampered him as much as we could. We did whatever he wanted, which meant spending the afternoon playing Wii Family Feud. It was girls against boys. The girls won. I’m just sayin’. Birthday or no birthday….no one lets anyone else win around here.

I had to look through my Instagram feed to remind myself of what happened over the weekend. It’s sad when I can’t remember what I did yesterday. Especially when I saw this picture from church of 2 of my kids singing for the Lord. Really Mom, this is something you should remember.

Sorry for the grainy picture. I was using my iphone and I was way in the back. Note to self: sit in the front the next time my kids sing.

I guess that’s not a completely uneventful weekend. A few interesting things happened.

How about you? Did you relax? Or go gusto?

A Boy and His Toothbrush: a love story

by Lisa on April 2, 2013

I have such a hard time getting my younger kids to brush their teeth long enough to get them clean. Unless I’m standing right there with them saying, “Nope, brush more,” they stop after about 15 seconds.

Levi, at 5 years old, is especially in a hurry to finish brushing and move on to the next chore so he can get to the fun part of his day. I have to send him back 2-3 times before he gets all of his pearly whites squeaky clean. That is, until I gave him a new Arm & Hammer Tooth Tunes Toothbrush. He is cuh-razy about it!

It plays a song for 2 minutes and he sticks with it the whole time because he thinks it’s so much fun. After each meal he asks to go brush his teeth….seriously!

The toothbrush Levi has plays the song, “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction and you can actually hear the music while you brush!

And Arm & Hammer Tooth Tunes is having a One Direction Sweepstakes that you can enter to win a trip to see One Direction in concert. If you like them, you should enter…it looks like a fun contest! I got so into reading about the Sweepstakes that I decided to make a practice video (Keep in mind, I didn’t follow the rules of the contest because it is supposed to be no longer than 30 seconds and NOT have any music. I was just enjoying watching him play with his new favorite toothbrush.).

I’m not exaggerating. He wanted to sleep with it last night.

Its super easy to enter and would be a fun family project (but you don’t have to make a video to enter). Check out the Sweepstakes and definitely get your kids a One Direction Tooth Tunes Toothbrush. It’s easy to find most anywhere.

Arm & Hammer compensated me for my participation in this campaign, but all opinions and toothbrush love are my own. I proudly work with the Mom It Forward blogger network.

We All Need to Take a Day Off Once in a While

by Lisa on February 13, 2013

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day……LOVE!

I have much to do to get my little love gifts ready. I’m writing notes to the kids and giving them teeny things. For James I’m making his favorite dinner, homemade egg rolls. Nothing says love to James like a homemade egg roll.

Yesterday was a low key day. It was one of my rare pajama days. I really needed a day to unwind after all of the activity of the past week. I just don’t do well with extreme activity. This is the one reason I don’t apply to be on the The Amazing Race. Well, that and my fear of being forced to eat live squid in India.

While in my pajamas I did something I haven’t done since my postpartum recovery days. I watched 3 hours of Matlock and ate chips. This is my idea of extreme relaxation. I don’t need a spa experience. I just need Lays and the Hallmark channel. I’m a simple girl with simple needs.

It’s true. Sure I have to sleep in dead silence with a fan blowing straight on me and not one ray of light anywhere within a 5 mile radius. But what’s complicated about that?

Having a low key day gave me time to spend with each of the kids. Instead of rushing past, “Yes, honey. Thanks for showing me your coloring picture but Mommy has to do something, bye!” I got to breathe in the joy that is my children.

At one point Adam brought me a book and he said, “I found this in my room, what should I do with it?”

Me: Hmmmm….(turning it over in my hands)…what IS this strange and mysterious object? It appears to have symbols in it. I wonder what they mean? What could you do with it? Use it to step on when you need to reach something high? Hold it in front of you for protection when someone is throwing rocks at you? It could be fuel when you need to start a fire.”

Adam: MOMMY! I KNOW what to do with with it! I mean what should I DO with this one?!

I pretended not to understand. He tried to explain. I looked puzzled, he got more and more frustrated with me.

Really, why have kids if you can’t entertain yourself with them?

Maybe for Valentine’s Day I will give him a book. I can put a note in it that reads, “Dear Adam, I found this at the store. I wonder what you should do with it. Love, Mommy”

I’m off today to get school done then get my Valentine’s Day gifts ready. I do love it. I don’t care if no one does anything for me….I just love doing it for them so much that’s enough. But if someone wanted to wrap up a bag of chips and a few 80′s mystery shows in a big red bow I wouldn’t turn it down.

5 Clean Boys = 1 Happy Mom

by Lisa on February 4, 2013

Hello Monday!

I’ve always liked Mondays. The weekends are nice, but with a houseful of kids it’s easier to be on a routine. Weekends are all “Mom, may I make a rocketship?” and “Mommy, do we have any AA batteries?!”

I’m glad for this morning and the sounds of the pitter patter of little feet brushing their teeth and making their beds and opening their school books.

My parents visited this past weekend which means we kind of sat around, talked, played games, sang songs….general nothingness.

But that paled in comparison to the nothingness after they left, which consisted of me taking a long, hard nap then moving to my recliner for more rest.

I did give the boys haircuts yesterday morning. They were on the verge of looking like orphans and I was concerned that people would start patting their heads in the grocery store and giving them quarters. No doubt their long, dirty fingernails added to the general sense of parentlessness when you looked at them.

So I clipped and sheered and scrubbed ‘em good and now they are presentable again….at least for the next week. Then all bets are off. Boys don’t stay looking neat for long. I just try to enjoy it while it lasts. Then I suit up to hose them down again.

Yesterday morning while I scrubbed boys into recognition the girls got a little burst of energy and they cleaned the house in record time. All bathrooms were cleaned at once, the floors were scrubbed, dusting, vacuuming….it did this mother’s heart good. I know it’s a merry heart that is good medicine, but a clean house doesn’t hurt either.

My favorite way to start a week is with a clean house and clipped boys. It makes me feel like I can succeed at anything. Maybe I’ll do something big this week….like get the painting started in the living room. Who knows what I can do when I have cleanliness to power me!

Here’s wishing you a clean powered week……

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The Heart of the Problem: Creative Discipline

by Lisa on January 16, 2013

Last week I shared on Facebook about my boys having trouble doing their chores. Two of my guys just weren’t doing them they way I had told them to, so after a couple of weeks of not getting on top of it I decided to take steps to make some changes.

I sat them down and told them that there would be no playing or entertainment for 3 days. During that time they would do extra chores and if there wasn’t work for them they would read (a book I gave them, not just superhero stuff). We were diligent about it and for one of the boys it worked. He’s been doing great with his chores and is back to normal. Easy.

But for the other one, not so much. He has something, way down inside, that just doesn’t want to budge. He was doing what I told him, but his heart wasn’t in it.

So we will have to dig a little deeper with him. It’s all good, just part of parenting. I have remained calm and cheerful and loving through it all. I want that to be the message here….it’s a GOOD thing. Just because it’s hard or maybe even feels impossible doesn’t mean it’s bad or that you aren’t doing a good job. You can do this! Hang in there and be glad for the opportunity to help your child overcome a problem.

In this case, it’s obviously not just a bad habit, but he’s holding back. I can’t make him want to do what he’s supposed to; only God can do that. But I can do things that will point him in that direction. So I have to get creative and think of ways to draw out his heart and help him desire to do what he is supposed to do.

Here’s the plan for what to do next: In addition to all of his chores he will do all of mine with me. Laundry, making beds, cleaning bathrooms, whatever. If I’m working-he’s working. That way he is with me and we can talk and build our relationship. It’s an opportunity to teach him how to do the work plus it keeps him from entertaining himself too much.

I will add Bible verses to each day. I am using the “Jesus Calling” devotional, so I will just use those verses (no reason to make more work for myself!). We’ll read them together, he will recite it to me then he will write it in whatever artistic way he wants and we’ll hang it on the fridge. In other words, not just scribbling it on a piece of paper, but working to make it lovely. All day long I’ll ask him what the verse is and we’ll talk about how God can use those Words in our lives.

The last thing I plan to do is get him good and tired. Kids today sit around and don’t use their energy, they get bored and that gives room for sin. I will have him do some laps in the yard, maybe toss a ball. If I can think of reasons for him to be running that’s better, but if I can’t then it’s just generally running around. I’ll make some kind of game out of it. Being tired is good for you. Especially a little boy.

I made this plan by thinking about what the core of the problem is

1. He’s being selfish
2. He’s looking for entertainment too much
3. He doesn’t want to work

Then I thought about how to redirect him

1. Selfishness needs God’s Word
2. Seeking entertainment needs to have no entertainment at all for a while (as in no movies, no computer games, etc.)
3. Not wanting to work needs MORE work than normal PLUS being tired so you can see how nice it feels to use your body every day.

And through it all he needs to see that no matter how bad it gets I still love him and am glad to be around him. That never changes. He is always my delight. That’s what God gives to me, so I want to model that for my children.

The thing to remember moms, is it’s not about having perfectly behaved children or a well-run home. It’s about joyfully using the issues that arise to direct the path of your children and train them in the way they should go.

Come hang out with me on Facebook for updates on how it’s going.

KRE-O Transformers Are a Perfect Fit for My Boys

by Lisa on December 13, 2012

With 3 boys in the 6-13 age range, I have to find toys that they can share but still fit their unique personalities. They love all things heros, building, power, wheels, anything monster-like. True boys. No doubt about it.

These 3 guys bring so much joy to my life that I want to find Christmas gifts that bring them joy too.

Aren’t they cute? They make my heart flutter.

One thing my boys LOVE is Transformers. Is it a truck? Is it a robot? Wait! It’s both! KRE-O Transformers are exactly what they like to play with.

The versatility makes them perfect for brotherly sharing.

When a big, rattly sounding box arrived in the mail a couple of days ago from Hasbro I rushed it off to my bedroom and closed the door. I ripped the box open and dumped its contents onto my bed….

Oh my goodness….the boys will flip when they open these on Christmas morning. The big Destruction Site Devastator will make the older boys happy and the smaller boxes will thrill the younger guys. What little boy doesn’t love a set called, “Cycle Chase” or “Decepticon Ambush”?

What’s a decepticon anyway? Or an autobot? Just using words Mom won’t understand will please them. They like to show me how advanced they are, “Hey Mom! Did you know that a decepticon can destroy an autobot, unless Ironhide is using his spinning drill?”

Wow, really?! I didn’t know that. You’re so smart and clever. Go play now.

I’m following the Transformers Facebook page for ideas I can share with my boys. Printable comics using the KRE-O characters, drawings, contests…maybe sometime I can surprise my guys with something I learned off the Facebook page or Twitter by telling them, “I hear a recon drone is on a quest for Energon.”

I can’t wait to see their faces when I say that.

I just hope they don’t expect me to have any more conversation after that. Then my cover will be blown.

This is a compensated post, but all opinions and thoughts are my own.

10 FREE Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Older Boys

by Lisa on November 15, 2012

Day four of my free stocking stuffer series….the day I have been dreading all week. Older boys. Young men. The hardest group to buy for second only to very old men who need nothing, want nothing, hear nothing.

I asked my 2 sons in this age group, “What are some good stocking stuffer ideas that you would like? You know….some of your favorites from Christmases past?”. Jacob (20) and Noah (13) sat and thought and rubbed their chins and all they could come up with was underwear and a miniature Slinky.

Uh oh. I may be in trouble. Let’s see what I can come up with….

1. Baked Goods

What’s his favorite cookie? Why not make a whole batch and give them all to him….he doesn’t have to share just this once.

2. Book with Secret Compartment

I’ve made a few of these over the years. What young man would love it?! They give a great tutorial for how to make these over at Our Small-Town Idaho Life.

3. Tin Can Robot

He’s got to empty his pockets somewhere. Why not with a robot cup that’s been made with recycled junk? He can magnet things to it, hang things from it, put things in it…it could become the most useful useless thing he owns.

4. Movie Night

Our family uses Netflix, so it would be free to let our boys pick a movie and we add it to our que. When the movie arrives they pick a snack and special drink and get to watch a movie with their friends or siblings.

5. Music

Burn a CD of some of the songs you enjoy listening to together. Or maybe a few that you liked when you were his age. When I was Noah’s age the songs I listened to were “Night Fever” and “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue.” Maybe I’ll stick to songs we like to listen to together.

6. Fingerlights

It’s not free, but pretty darn close. You can get 40 of these little flashlights for $5.92. That’s less than $0.15 each! Spread the love, give them to nephews and friends….of just give your son all of them and let him cover himself with them.

7. Photo Pencils

I can see this as a black and white photo, a place he loves, a pet….there’s no limit to what you could do! Photojojo has a really easy to follow tutorial on how to make these.

8. iPad Cover

This tutorial by lil blue boo is very detailed, but doable. You could make it for ipad, Kindle, ipod, any tablet, he’ll LOVE it! (I may make one of these for myself!)

9. Personalized Puzzles

Make him a set of puzzles that have his interests. Crosswordpuzzlegames.com has tools for creating your own crosswords and cryptogram. Make them hard Mom…..let him stretch his brain trying to figure out your great grandfather’s first occupation.

10. Flarp

What boy doesn’t like squishing putty between his fingers and having it make a tooting sound? This recipe from Mandy’s Recipe Box will make enough for you to give to several boys.

Whew! I did it. Now I need to go take a nap. Thinking of stocking stuffers for older boys is exhausting.

I hope you’ll head over to see what Gina at The Shabby Creek Cottage and Andrea at The Cottage Market came up with. We all need help with this one!

There are lots of great suggestions for older boys on my Facebook page too!

10 FREE Stocking Stuffers for Little Boys

by Lisa on November 14, 2012

I love my little boys and their supehero, Lego, lizard fascinations. They love adventure and building and exploring their world. It’s so much fun to think about them while I’m putting their stocking together and know how much they will enjoy their little gifts. Here are a few free ideas to help make the stockings full to the top.

1. Wooden Blocks

Handmade Charlotte has a really good tutorial on how to make gradient blocks in any color….so cute!

2. Fabric Rattle Ball

A few years ago I got Patience a book teaching how to make fabric balls. It has lots of fun patterns. She made this one in about 20 minutes. We added a rattle by putting beads in a little plastic container and pushing it into the middle of the ball.

3. Flashlight

It’s not free, but for only $1 you can buy your little boy hours of nighttime fun. My boys just LOVE flashlights.

4. Sword

James made this sword for Levi a few weeks ago and he loves it so much that I think we’ll make one for our 9 year old and surprise him in his stocking! Cardboard, foil and you’re all set to swashbuckle.

5. Laminated Photo

Anytime I show my little guys a picture, they ask if they can have it to keep. So why not laminate a few favorite pictures and let them carry the pictures around all they want?

6. Cereal Necklace

My kids all love a candy necklace (even the boys!), but I don’t always want them to eat sugar all day on Christmas. Make them a necklace with string and breakfast cereal. It’s a little less sugar and just as much fun!

7. Glow Stick Bubbles

According to Pinterest you can make glowing bubbles by pouring the glow stick liquid into bubble liquid. It’s sure worth a try! I think I’d give them a bundle with sticks and bubbles (more $1 store items) and pour it when we were ready to try. This could be the hit of the year!

8 Car Roll Up

Gina at The Shabby Creek Cottage has a fun tutorial on how to make these. My little car aficionado will love it!

9. Cardboard Tube Binoculars

When he’s in the mood to be a spy, these will come in handy. Crafty-Crafted.com has a great tutorial for how to make them.

10. Cape

I think my boys would wear a cape everyday if I would let them. This would be a great thing to make out of one of Daddy’s old shirts. Free, quick and easy….the best kind of stocking stuffer!

Be sure to head over to Gina at The Shabby Creek Cottage and Andrea at The Cottage Market for their suggestions for stocking stuffers for little boys. Those 2 are so amazingly clever!

Be sure to follow me on Facebook for lots more holiday ideas!

We Be Hangin’

by Lisa on October 19, 2012

I have been home all of 2 days and I have had about 2 hours of down time total. Between grocery shopping, catching up on emails, running to the city on Wednesday afternoon with my boys….I am wearing out.

I have to say though, spending a “Mommy & Boy Day!” in the city was a blast. We ran a few errands, ate some burgers and talked.

I asked them things like, “If you could do anything tomorrow what would it be?” and, “Have you ever wished you were a grown up?”

Sparking interesting conversation in 4 boys that mostly like to talk about superheroes and Legos was a challenge. But we managed and we had a great time. In fact, they are deeper thinkers than I gave them credit for. Occasionally a well developed thought would emerge amongst the burping and the questions about how far one could throw a straw with his teeth.

Thursday morning I hit the ground running. Two weeks without buying groceries can take a toll when there are 11 people eating. We were down to cereal crumbs and an odd mystery can that’s been in our pantry for a few years. No one has the heart to throw it out and we are afraid to open it and see what’s in there.

The girls and I did some grocery shopping, but I am slow moving. I hurt my ankle on Tuesday and it has been swollen and painful ever since. I wish there was a good story behind it. But I guess the story would be, “Woman hurts ankle but is too oblivious to know how it happened.”

I decided to rest it in the afternoon. Maybe a little ice and elevation will help it heal from the horrible accident that I am going to make up if anyone else asks me what is wrong.

This is a small town. All through the grocery store people would call out to me, “Lisa…what’s wrong with your ankle?!” I’d have to say, “I don’t know….it just hurts and is swollen.” Then people would give their theories on my pain and tell me their long hurt ankle stories while I made a pledge in my head not to leave the house again until this thing is all better.

It’s the size of a cantaloupe. I’d show you a picture, but I haven’t shaved my legs in a while and no one needs that image to start their weekend off with a bang.

It’ss going to be a quiet weekend here of cleaning house and lying around in my hammock that has been beckoning to me since I got home. It missed me. I missed it. We belong together.

What will you be hanging around in this weekend?

Texas Facts and Haircuts. A Perfect Combination.

by Lisa on September 24, 2012

Fall is my favorite season. It makes me feel all tingly and excited to be alive. Like this morning, for example. I woke up spontaneously at 5:45 and felt ready to face the day. This only happens in the fall and, I assume, heaven.

On Friday a few of us went to Austin to see the Texas capitol. It’s a beautiful building.

Did you know that the dome of the Texas capitol building stands 7 feet higher than the nation’s capitol building? Yep, everything’s bigger in Texas.

Of course I had to make a quick stop at IKEA. Try as I might, I can’t make my brain allow me to visit Austin without stopping there. It’s like my car drives itself and I have no control. Under powers I can’t resist I enter the store and wander around just long enough to want to makeover my entire house with Swedish furniture and odd shaped dishes.

On Saturday the girls and I worked on filling Shop 24 orders and then I gave 5 haircuts. I don’t know why I wait so long to do haircuts. I like doing it. We go on the front porch and I spend a few minutes with each boy. I always pretend I accidentally cut off too much or made some kind of fatal haircutting error. “Jacob! Oh No! I shaved the word ‘MOM’ into the back of your head accidentally!” They love it when I do that.

The boys all looked like 60′s Beatles groupies. Adam’s transformation was the most dramatic.

Sunday was quiet. We rested and hung out. Nothing noteworthy.

Fall weather + boring Sunday = LOVE

On Sunday night I took some of the kids out to see 3 million bats emerge from an abandoned railroad tunnel. Don’t say I never did anything awesome.

The weather was crisp, the bats were fascinating and we all just sat and watched. That’s when I know what it means to just be still and know that He is God. You can’t help but realize the awesomeness of God when you’re watching something so finely balanced and well orchestrated.

In case you can’t tell where the bats are….

Today I’m heading to the city to take Grace’s friend to the airport. We’ll have a fancy Texas style lunch first and go see the Alamo. No one should leave San Antonio without at least seeing the Alamo. I’m pretty sure it’s the law ’round these here parts.

I hope you’re enjoying the fall as much as I am. Have a wonderful week!

All of these pictures were from my Instagram feed.

Follow me @PenningtonPoint for more fun and exciting adventures!

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