Artsy

We have been being artsy around here and I love it! Painting is therapeutic for me, even if it is done with a 2 and 5 year old. Jayme and I had planned for the girls to paint canvas' on New Years Eve, but we just did not get around to it. On New Years Day, I let our girls paint their canvas'. This might become a tradition every New Years Day. The girls loved it and I think it would be neat to see how their art skills change each new year. I picked the colors I wanted them to use (so it would match their room) and then they did what they wanted. I did paint some swirls on B's to get her started, but they were soon painted over. :)









I have also been working on a canvas for a while now. I say "a while" because I worked on it one night at Lindsey's and then finished it up the other day. It really did not take to long, but hard to do with 2 little ones under foot. I see a million things wrong with it, but it is what it is for now, and it is hanging in our living room. I love trees and birds and 1 Cor 10:31 is one of my life verses.










I also have to give a little promo for B's new Dot Paints that she got for Christmas. I highly recommend the investment into them. I bought them at a teacher supply store in Fayetteville and they were not cheap for kids paints. About $15 for the big package. They are so easy for little ones to use and not that messy either. They are not just little kids. As you can see, I enjoyed myself. This blog that I reference uses them a lot for crafts.

Parenting Tips: Bribery

Ever wondered how to get your kids to do something they don't want to do? Here I come to the rescue with a solution: Bribery! That's right, folks...flat out, blatant bribery.

"If you'll just stand still for 2 minutes, you can have a cookie when we get home"
"If you obey me and stay quiet while we're in this store, we'll stop and get McDonald's"
"If you stop talking for the rest of the night, I'll give you some money!"

That's right! Money. The root of all evil...and obedience. Emma has a piggy bank that she got when she was born. Until recently, it sat on the shelf as decoration. However, now that we've invoked the above mentioned parenting tip, that bad boy is filling up quickly! The best thing about this, is you can mask the shallowness of money bribes by reminding your child it's a time to practice counting! That's right! The kids can count how many pennies you give them as bribes for obedience! It's a learning experience!

So if you're in a pickle and need your kids to obey, try bribing them. It works like a charm!