Happy New Year

Happy New Year from the Gafford Family!

We're thankful you're here and reading our little blog!

I'll be posting our goals and our word for the year this week. So stop by tomorrow!

Naomi's Vocabulary

This is very funny indeed. Daddy and Naomi practice their enunciation. (Hint: Naomi wins I think)

Merry Christmas from the Gafford's

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!

Toy Rotation Boxes

With Christmas coming I know I'm anxious about all the toys coming our way. I love and appreciate all the generosity but all the toys can be daunting. I've noticed the more toys the girls have out the more gets dumped out and none of them get played with. The girls get overwhelmed by the mess and then cleanup becomes a big chore instead of a fun game.

A few months ago I put together a couple toy rotation boxes which only contained puzzles or stuffed animals. When I wanted to rotate puzzles I had to get that one box and rifle though it to get out what I wanted. I never liked this rotation system. It just didn't fit our needs.

The 6 bins awaiting their toys!

About a month ago I got down 6 plastic bins from the attic and began sorting through the girls toys. I enlisted Daniel's help as I was very overwhelmed by the process and didn't really know where to start. I knew what I wanted to do but didn't know how where to begin or how to put my plan in action. Thankful for him! With a little talking about what I wanted from our toys and how the girls behaved if there were too many toys out we decided on our plan.

Here's what to do:
1. Get out the boxes you want to use, whatever you have on hand is fine.
2. If possible, chat with someone else about your plan of action. Two heads are better than one!
3. Start the process of sorting: Throw away broken toys and any trash that made your way into the toys. Put together the toys that go together. We found it best to focus on one group of toys (ex. little people, puzzles, etc). This is also a great opportunity to gather a donate pile full of toys that aren't loved anymore.
4. Place toys in the bins and and remember what works best for you and your kiddo's.


 

The sorting process, taken care of Daddy. :)

All done sorting. Now time to hike all the boxes up to the attic.

At the end of the process each of our bins contained different items. Most bins contained 2-3 puzzles, a few little people, some cars, stuffed animals, a board game and a few stuffed animals. In one bin we put our little people farm and the people and animals that matched, 2-3 puzzles, a couple stuffed animals, some flash cards and a board game (just to give you an idea).

The goal of each box was to put a combination of toys for the girls to play with when I got them out. When I get out the box they have a variety of toys to play with. The boxes weren't filled to the top but have more than enough toys to keep them occupied. I like that the boxes create "new" toys to play with for the girls, too. It's fun for them to see what each box contains.

The great news in all this toy rotation box stuff: no more cluttered floor, no more overwhelmed mama or girls, no more anger about the junk on the floor. The boxes really have helped not only my sanity but the girls too. Clean up is much easier and fun again. And the less toys that are out, the happier the girls are. 

Less clutter = more fun for everyone!

Note: I do keep some items out all the time. A few stuffed animals, the baby doll strollers, the basketball goal and balls, their building blocks, books and their kitchen/cooking toys. These items get the most play and always make the girls happy. As of right now, this is all I've had out for the past 3 weeks. They haven't asked for any other toys and seem content with what they have. Out of sight out of mind, right?
After Christmas I will put a couple new toys out that I think they'll enjoy all the time and the rest will go in the toy rotation boxes, hence the reason I left room in each box. I know I'll also go through the boxes and see if there's anything to donate. After a few months I'll go through each box again and continue to add to the donate pile. Keeping clutter to a minimum is good for this mama. :)


Do you implement anything in your home to keep toy clutter to a minimum?

Menu Plan: Dec 15-21

My organizing has gone to a whole other level. I whipped out the label maker and labeled everywhere
our refrigerator. I sent this picture to Daniel last week and the reply I got was, "You need help."
That's probably a true statement. But I feel more organized with it labeled. I'm putting food and drink items back in their proper spot. It's working out well. I think I do need help though. :)

It's winding down to Christmas... 10 days to go! Frankly, I'm ready for it to be over. We don't do a lot around here but with all the commercials and stuff, it's getting more nauseating with each year. Yes, I like presents and spending time with family and talking about Jesus but all the in-between things are just tiring! Anyone else?!?!

Moving on... our week is shaping up to be a busy one. Tomorrow night we travel down to Olive Branch to pick up our Azure Standard order. It's my last order with that group as I've found one in Arlington and only 15 minutes from our house. It'll be much better! I'll have to tell you how much I love Azure in another post! Wednesday is Daniel's office Christmas party. He started a new job last week so we'll go and meet everyone on Wednesday. I'm nervous but excited. I've already been consulting my sister on what to wear. This casual, stay-at-home momma doesn't have a clue! Thankful for her and her advice. And next Sunday is our church candlelight service and the preschool is putting on a short live nativity program. They did it last year and it was so sweet. I always love see what shenanigans the kids pull in those situations. It'll be fun as always!

Now, onto the menu!

Sunday-
bacon, yogurt, leftover donuts
leftovers
leftovers

Monday-
eggs with baked good, fruit
noodles, cheese, pepperoni, fruit
roast chicken {new recipe}, potato, vegetable (this will be my first ever roast chicken in the oven!)

Tuesday-
pancakes and bacon, fruit
grilled cheese or homemade pizza (I keep our freezer stocked with these)
breakfast for dinner

Wednesday-
oatmeal or cereal, fruit, yogurt
peanut butter sandwich, chips/pretzels, fruit
Daniel's work party

Thursday-
omelets or egg sandwich
leftovers
spaghetti, french bread, salad

Friday-
eggs with cinnamon toast, fruit
noodles, cheese, pepperoni's, fruit
homemade pizza

Saturday-
special breakfast day: donuts, french toast, waffles, omelets, danish, breakfast casserole and fruit
leftovers from Thursday night
company chicken casserole, 2 vegetables


As you can see I'm posting breakfast, lunch and dinner. I make the same things for breakfast and lunches each week but change up our dinner. I got so bogged down in planning all 3 different meals each week that I decided to keep breakfast and lunch the same. It offers us variety and I don't feel like I'm eating the same things all the time. I do switch foods up, as needed, if we're running low on certain things. This method has been working for us for a few months now and I'm happy with it. Do you plan breakfast and lunch?

What's cooking in your kitchen this week?

Naomi's 2nd birthday!

This past Saturday we celebrated our sweet, vibrant and feisty girls 2nd birthday! We had an animal theme since she loves the zoo and all things animals. Gigi bought these fun animal masks from our Amazon wish list. We all had tons of fun wearing the masks and changing our animal personalities. 

I bought 2 dozen cookies from a friend. She decorated them with zebra print and giraffe print. They were so cute and delicious! I highly recommend her goodies and if you're interested in her items I'll give you the name of her Facebook page. She bakes and decorates cupcakes and cakes, too. Her prices are very reasonable. And sometimes you just need a little help in party favors. :)

How cute are these?!?! They were delicious!

The birthday girl. She loves "zeebies."

Big sister, Nyla. She's half kitty cat and half leopard. :)

Sweet sisters!

We're singing "happy birthday" to her. She wasn't very thrilled with us doing this at first, she screamed, arched her back and waved her arms at us, while saying" no, don't sing to me." Yes, she's feisty. She got over it when I set the cake down in front of her. She's hilarious.

Blowing out her candles with help from mommy.

We did it!

Ready for cake!

Yum

Yum

We had a blast celebrating our little one's birthday. I made it through the party without crying. Go me. Though, her actual birthday I did sob. I always do on their birthdays. I love that they're growing up, they're doing what they're supposed to do but it's going by so fast. Such is life!

She told me, "I hate you."

A couple nights ago I was in the kitchen getting dinner together, the girls were sitting at the table and Nyla turned around and looked at me and said, "I hate you." She had a little smirk on her face. I asked, "What did you say?" "I hate you" she said again.

I know she doesn't understand what she's saying. She's three. She's trying out words and seeing what they look like to her and seeing our reaction. I didn't overreact. I told her we don't use that word because it isn't nice. Then I turned around toward the counter and began to cry. That word from my precious, loving three-year-old. How can she already know that word?

I went upstairs and immediately hit my knees and prayed for her and for me. How do I handle this? How can I explain how hurtful that word is to me and to others?

The last thing I wanted to do was talk to her or even look at her. She cut me deep with one simple phrase. I know she doesn't know what it means but that doesn't make it any less painful to me. I never thought I'd hear, "I hate you" from my three-year-old, not this soon in our walk together.

Daniel sent her to her room after all this so we were both in our rooms crying. Like I said, the last thing I wanted to do was talk to her but I felt God pulling me to go in her room and hold her. He extends grace to me every single day and I knew I needed to extend the same to her. Forgive her. Love her. Hold her. So I did.

I scooped her up and we sat in her chair and cried together. I explained in few words that hate is a hurtful word that we don't use on anyone. We speak of love in our home not of hate. She told me she was sorry and we cried some more together.

While this isn't something I want to experience again, I'm sure I will. And just as I did, I'll extend grace and love, just as Christ does for me.