Preserve those holiday cards!

I love receiving holiday cards- It is so nice to hear what people have been up to and to see their cute families. We enjoy them for a month and then put them away, throw them away, they get lost, etc....

This year we decided to keep them so we can look back each year. 

I found a great small binder with clear plastic sheets...

Added the holiday cards...

Put our card in the front

and voila!

A binder to keep those precious holiday cards. 

My kids love to look through it!

A fun Father's Day....

I had so much fun coming up with this poem
for Jason for Father's Day.

You have to sing it to the tune of 
"My Favorite Things' song from 'The Sound of Music'. 
I purchased all of the items that are in the poem, put them in a basket and decorated it for him. 

Golf balls on golf tees

and black socks on your feet
Yummy cologne to make your body smell sweet

Putting pal, putting cup tied up with strings,

These are a few of your favorite things-

Chocolate Almond Joy

and Orbit chewing gum

Aquaphor lip care to make your

lips yum, yum
Foot massage from your wife only fit for kings-

These are a few of your favorite things…

Happy Father’s Day!

     We love you DAD!

We had a great day filled with movies, gourmet food, adorable friends and fun!
Jason it truly the best father to our 6 kids and we are so grateful for him!

Thank you binder and teacher gifts...

So I have been in a 'create' mood lately- don't ask me why,
with the crazy month of May you would think I would stop making things until summer.
I guess it's my way of preparing for summer and trying to get our lives organized before it hits.

I saw this thank you binder in the Family Fun magazine a while back and had to make one. I try and teach my kids the importance of gratitude and writing thank you notes. So to make it easy for them, they just pull out the binder and everything is there!

You definitely need a thank you note tracker, it helps keep track of who you need to send thank you's to, throw in some stamps and it's complete!

The kids love to decorate and use markers on their thank you notes...

There is a place for the notes and behind it is a place for the envelopes. I used ziploc bags and duct tape for my plastic holders, it's easy to make them just the right size and a little cheaper than buying them!

Also for my kids teacher appreciation gifts, I found these adorable office kits here, they had great ideas for teacher appreciation gifts. Theirs are all color coordinated which I didn't have time to do but the kids had fun helping me assemble them.

Now I must plan out our summer quickly because it is only one week away!
Ahhhh!
Any great ideas to make your summer a success?

Fun game idea...

UPDATE!! I have started a new blog HERE.
It will have all sorts of ideas about families, friends, organizing, etc.
so I can keep this blog more of a personal family blog-ENJOY!
www.organicfamilies.blogspot.com 

We live away from all of our family so I came up with the idea of making the game, 'Guess Who' into a family version of 'Guess Who'. I replaced all of the regular pictures from the game with personalized family pictures.
I took the old game pieces and copied their size so the new ones would fit perfectly!
The kids love to play the game and are now very familiar with the family (including cousins, uncles, aunts) they don't see very often!
If you end up making this, make sure your pictures have fun and identifiable items on the pictures (hats, glasses, mustache, etc.)
It makes guessing so much fun!

We love family games!
This post was featured on the great craft blog UCreate, see it here and another great blog Doehler Days see it here!
For more great ideas, click on the label 'great ideas for kids' or 'gift ideas' below.
Enjoy!

(CHEAP) Christmas gift...

Since Santa has exhausted his allotment of money for the Madsen family by purchasing a trip to Mexico this Christmas, we are not doing big gifts for the kids, instead we are doing stocking stuffers. This is one of my long time favorite gifts that keeps on giving all year long.
Gift certificates.
Each of the kids get 12 certificates and get to redeem one a month.
Some ideas for the gift certificates are:
*20 minute tickle tuck-in
(my kids would do anything to be tickled while being tucked into bed)
*Favorite book
(up to $10)
*Extra 30 minutes of screen time
(they only get 20 minutes during the week, so they love this)
*Late night with a friend, including popcorn and favorite movie rental
*FREE chore day
(I know what will be redeemed first!)
ETC...
Gotta love cheap but meaningful gifts!
Stay tuned for more ideas!

Looking for a good poem?

My mom has been sick for the past month and her cute husband called and asked if I would whip up a poem to help cheer her up. She is feeling better but the sickness has taken its toll. So here is my poem if anyone needs one to use for someone who has been quite sick!
Hope you are feeling better mom!

Teacher appreciation gifts...

My grandma was an elementary school teacher for 30 years. I have so many fond memories but two of my favorite are when she was my 3rd grade teacher and would say in a stern voice, "Becki, please come up and talk to me." Of course I thought I was in trouble but she would whisper in my ear how much she loved me and give me a wink- I felt like the greatest kid ever. Another fond memory was when she would invite all of her grand kids over after school got out for summer break and let us pig out on all of the teacher appreciation treats she got because there was a TON and she couldn't possibly eat it all! She would say how much she loved fruit and wished she would get more of it!
So this one is for you Grandma-my kids teacher appreciation gifts
(no treats included!)

Why do we blog?
A. Because it's a creative outlet
B. To share ideas
C. To preserve our family memories
D. To keep family/friends updated on our lives
E. Because we don't have to cut, paste and add stickers (though those that do this type of scrapbooking are saints... AKA super scrapbooker Laura!)
F. Because we can take our blog and make it into a book at www.blurb.com and there you have a year of scrapbooking done, just like that!
Answer: All of the above but especially F!
I do recommend getting the hardcover, I ordered the paperback
and within minutes, it was torn from the excitement of 6 kids looking at the book, so I had to reorder a hardback.Awhile back I was feeling guilty about the time I put into our blog,
(which truly is only about two hours a week when you count the blogs I read) but then I was reading in D&C 25:8 when it says to Emma Smith to be an 'elect lady' some of "thy time shall be given to writing, and to learning much." And I truly believe it is a good thing to have a blog- to write, create, share and preserve our history!
So here's to all you bloggers out there!
Happy blogging!

Christmas project...

This is my one and only Christmas project I am making this year for my little girls, niece and nephew. They are so easy, so cute and fun to make! You can find the directions HERE.
Happy Crafting!

What am I thankful for?

Day 10:
"I am bored jars"

A few years ago, I got fed up with my kids always saying, "I am bored.." so I came up with this jar of fun-filled activities (and some cleaning ones) for them to do. Whatever they pull out, they do. Even if it's clean the under the couch cushions.
I just printed a list of the activities, cut them in strips, put them in a jar and then put an envelope on the back for the completed ones-super fun and a life saver for mom!

Click here and here for activities to do on Sunday.
Click here for outdoor winter activities
Click here for indoor winter activities
Click here for summer activities

A King for a day...

The kids and I had a blast planning a special day for Jason to show him how much we appreciate his never-ending hard work. We decided he should be our "King" for the day.
The door bell rang early in the morning and there was a mysterious letter (see below) informing him of his day's activities. It was a fun and memorable day!
We love him and are grateful he provides for our family so I can stay at home and be a full time wife, mom and homemaker! (The BEST job ever!)