Posts by Rachel Spoelhof
Books are Better When You Share Them
Recently, my friend started a book club and invited me to join her. We have similar interest in books and I was excited to have someone motivate me to start reading. We picked a book, set a date, and started reading. Needless to say, we loved our book so much that not only did we finish it in record time before our meeting, we finished the whole series!
We decided to meet for pedicures to get pampered on our “date” to discuss our book. It was an amazing afternoon. We just talked about our opinions and realized at the end of our time we hadn’t mentioned our kids once. Of course we love our kids, but sometimes mommies need a break.
I would encourage everyone to start or join a book club. There are online book clubs, but I think the benefits of sharing time with someone better manifest if you are face to face.
Our book club is very informal. We are just choosing a book and a time to get together to discuss it. Your club can be whatever you want it to be. Here are a few resources about starting a book club that I found online. (Of course I had to include Oprah)
Happy Reading!
Are you in a book club? Do you have any recommendations for making our little book club successful?
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Read MoreYummy Bunnies – A Bunny Treat You Can Eat
Many Easter treats and snacks are very sweet. I’m not complaining – I love Easter candy. However, I thought it would be fun to make a healthy Easter treat for Ellie and Hanna to eat with their friends. With the help of my creative team (my crafty mom and mother-in-law) we designed these “Yummy Bunnies.”
Ingredients:
Cuties
Large Strawberries
Raisins
Banana
Mini Marshmallows
Shredded coconut
Toothpicks
Butter and powdered sugar (paste for the raisins and coconut)
These treats were easy to make and would be lots of fun for your toddler (or older child) to make with you!
How To:
Peel the cutie. Place one toothpick lengthwise through the top middle of the cutie. Slice a large strawberry. Make a small cut at the top so that the strawberry piece resembles bunny ears. Slide the strawberry onto the toothpick. Place a second toothpick horizontally through the center of the cutie. Cut a small piece of banana for the nose and attach to the front of the toothpick. Attach a mini marshmallow on the back of the cutie for a fluffy bunny tail. Make a paste from a bit of butter and powdered sugar. Spoon a small amount on the back of two raisins for the eyes. Spoon a small amount of the paste next to the nose and attach the shredded coconut for whiskers. Admire your adorable Yummy Bunny and eat!
Here is how I displayed the Yummy Bunnies for an Easter party:
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Daily Routines
Routines for me are the secret ingredient to get through most of my parenting days. We have our morning routine, a meal routine, a nap routine, a bed routine, and so on and so forth. Now that my nap routine is fairly successful, it is almost enjoyable. Once I turn off the lights and turn on Hanna’s white noise she lays her head down on my shoulder pops her left hand fingers in her mouth, her right hand twirls her hair and she’s ready to lay down. It’s like magic!
I also love our night routine – laughing together as a family as the girls run around being silly. Followed by pajamas, brushing teeth, stories, prayers, and a little “I love you” song I sing to the girls passed down from my parents. Now Ellie sings it with me:
I love you Ellie
Oh, yes I do.
I love you Ellie
‘Cuz you’re so true.
When you’re not with me
I’m blue.
Oh, Ellie
I love you!
I’ve also started a fun routine to take pictures of the girls. It is hard to capture all the adorable memories, so I try to take a quick picture of them every few days in the same spot before we leave the house in the morning.
I think it also needs to be said that although routines can be great, it is also fun and important to break them occasionally. I think my favorite is breakfast for dinner! Today we tried a new little hiking adventure with our friends. It was during nap time, so I was a little nervous, but we had a blast and I always leave a new experience feeling proud that I tried something new!
What are some routines that get your family through the day? What are …
Read MoreTrusting Your Heart
I think that without a doubt parenting is one of the most, if not the most, difficult job. There is no manual, no “rules.” We are faced with thousands of decisions each day, constantly wondering if we are making the right choices.
With this difficult job also comes the biggest rewards – those smiling faces, the sounds of laughter, the joy and excitement we get to witness each day.
This is why I love reading and hearing stories about amazing parents. The kinds of stories that inspire us to see each day as an opportunity to revel in the amazing gift of parenthood. What do these parents do? They trust their heart.
Here is a great story I saw today on my Facebook news feed about a mom who trusted her heart when she was told many times that her autistic son would never speak again, and now he is a college student at 15 and possibly on track to win a Nobel Prize in Physics. (If you have the time, watch the entire video. It is quite inspiring). She encourages other parents, saying, “As parents, we know in our hearts what our kids need,” she says, “and we need to trust that a little more. Even if that goes against what others are saying.”
Something that really spoke to me from this interview is how this mom really watched her kids. She saw what they were interested in and helped to foster their interests. She let them explore and learn, often on their own terms.
I know this isn’t easy. Often times it is uncomfortable or inconvenient. So many of the things Ellie loves to do are messy and require a lot of clean up (playing in the rain, playing in the mud, visiting farms and feeding animals), but …
Read MoreJ-E-L-L-O
With two littles, I am always looking for crafts that are safe and/or edible for my one-year-old that loves to put everything in her mouth.
This week we had some fun with JELLO. It was so easy and yummy I just had to share.
What You Need:
a box of JELLO (let your kids pick the color or colors)
boiling water
cold water
a bowl and a wisk
a glass 9×13 dish
cookie cutter shapes
I did not do anything special with the making of the JELLO. I simply followed the directions on the box. However, I tried to make as many fun learning activities from the snack making as I could think of.
Learning Activities:
COLORS. I let Ellie pick the colors of JELLO at the store. MIXING and POURING. I let Ellie pour the JELLO powder in the bowl and mix once I added the water. HOT vs COLD. We talked about the hot water and that we don’t touch the hot water. We looked at the steam when I poured the hot water in the bowl. We talked about the difference between the hot water and the cold water when I added the cold water. COUNTING. We counted the cups of water as we poured them in and counted as we stirred. LIQUID vs SOLID. I didn’t do this one with Ellie, but with an older child you could observe the JELLO in the liquid state and then compare it to the solid state after it has been in the refrigerator. PATIENCE. The JELLO takes 4 hours at least to solidify, so you have to be patient with this activity. You can’t eat it right away. SHAPES. We talked about the different shapes we cut out of the JELLO with …
Read MoreReal Love Isn’t Conditional
Happy Valentine’s Day!
I have been thinking a lot about love this week especially with all the great posts on the blog. I have really been inspired by the words of my amazing family. It was hard for me to make Valentine’s plans when many days I just feel tiredness and exhaustion rather than love. However, I realized that love isn’t conditional. Real love isn’t based on feelings. Although I don’t feel an overwhelming sense of love in all the hard moments, love is there because real love perseveres, hopes, and trusts. Bethany shared a wonderful verse from 1 Corinthians 13 that says without love we are nothing, but with love we can be “free, filled, and flowing!” LOVE IS A BIG DEAL! Therefore, we can’t base love on feelings because feelings wax and wane. When we make a promise to love – we love when it hurts and we love when we aren’t loved back. We love because God first loved us. He loves us in spite of our mistakes. He loves us when we fall short. He loves us the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
The promises in God’s love for us have challenged me this week in my love for my family and in my love for others. I must promise to love my children the same when they disobey and when they obey. I have made the promise to love my husband when we agree and when we disagree, when days are hard and when days are filled with laughter and joy.
Remember to fill every day with love. Some days will have a little love, and some will have a lot, but when you choose to love unconditionally, LOVE WILL BE THERE!
“The only way love can last a lifetime is if …
Read MoreThe Benefits of Being Brave
I feel like I am constantly faced with the choice to play it safe and stay in my comfort zone, or be brave and do something that might seem a little scary. This week some plans with a friend fell through and I was faced with a choice to stay home and stick to our routine, or to try something new.
I decided to be brave and went on a little adventure with my girls to Sea World.
I was nervous to go all by myself, especially since I haven’t been in years (and never with kids), but everything went great. We saw two shows and both the girls loved the turtle reef where you could get right up to the glass to see turtles and fish.
I am so glad I was brave and got to make this memory with the girls.
Although it can be hard to be brave, I think there is always a lesson to be learning from trying something new. Sometimes the lesson is easy: when you are brave you can have fun, meet new people, share a new experience. Sometimes the lesson is difficult: you realize things you need to adjust in your attitude, the kids have a meltdown, it isn’t the experience you hoped for. However, it is the good and the bad things we learn along the way that make us who we are and help us have experiences we can share with our kids.
Here are some resources to encourage bravery in your household:
For Tweens: 10 Ways to Teach Your Children to Be Brave from iMom
A list of books that build courage from Scholastic
Some great quotes about bravery:
How have you been brave recently? What lesson did you learn?
Here’s a challenge: Do something brave in the next …
Read MoreSurviving Long Days As a Mom
Before I became a mom, I had a very romantic view of parenthood. I imagined my husband and I having so much fun as a family, going on lots of outings, and just feeling happy all the time. This is definitely a part of parenthood, but so are long days, hard work, and loneliness. Being a mom can be very isolating. However, the more moms I talk to, the more I realize we are all in this together!
Many of my friends have husbands who commute and work long hours or are in the military. Regardless of your situation, there are going to be long days when you need some ideas in your pocket to make it to bedtime.
I asked some friends to share their favorite ways to survive long days.
Here is a list of our tips and suggestions:
– Easy Dinner – make sandwiches or pancakes.
– Utilize free events and story times at your local library. I used to do this all the time with Ellie.
– Host a play date. Then you can still have company without leaving your house!
– Join a Mommy Group. This is definitely what saves me most days. You can join shared interest groups, find groups on Facebook or Meetup, or a become a part of a church group like MOPS. I have many virtual friends that support me through our talks and sharing on Facebook.
– Utilize technology: text, FaceTime, Skype. Kids love to see family. Ellie and Hanna love to FaceTime with their Aunts and Uncles.
– Do a house project to pass the time and stay focused on a task.
– Plan something for yourself at the end of a long day: a Mom’s Night, wine and a good book, a prerecorded favorite show, or a nice …
Read MoreBest Homemade Play Dough
You have probably already seen that “two ingredient play dough” recipe floating around. If you haven’t, don’t worry, I’m going to give it to you. If you have, I have some tips to make the experience fun and successful for you and your kiddos.
I found this recipe from Discover, Play, Learn.
Best Homemade Play Dough
1 1/2 cups cornstarch
1 cup conditioner
BEFORE YOU START:
Take off any jewelry and/or rings. You do not want to have to clean them out later.
Prepare to get messy.
I made my play dough with a 2 year old (and even let my 10 month old try), so I chose to do the mixing and the food coloring myself. I let Ellie pour the ingredients in the bowl and watch me closely as I kneaded.
NOW LET’S START:
Combine the ingredients in a bowl and knead to combine.
It will be super messy. The cornstarch fluffs up everywhere as you knead, so knead with caution. Like homemade frosting, I find that the recipe will need a little tweaking. The first time I made this I used a really nice conditioner (because I had it laying around), so the measurements were perfect. The second time I used Suave conditioner, which wasn’t as thick, so I had to add a bit more cornstarch.
You will know that your measurements are perfect when the play dough no longer sticks in clumps to your hands. I followed this recipe exactly and then shook bits of cornstarch in the bowl until it stopped being so sticky.
The more you knead the softer it gets.
GET IT PERFECT
I noticed after we started playing that the play dough was a little runny, so I added pinches of cornstarch and re-kneaded until it thickened.
You could do the …
Read MoreMexican Taco Cupcakes
I have a friend who is very adventurous in the kitchen and actually tries all the fun recipes she finds on Pinterest. You can always count on her to bring something different and yummy to a party.
Last night I hosted a finger food party, so I wanted to try one of my friend’s Pinterest recipe finds. The original recipe can be found here.
Mexican Taco Cupcakes
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