Tuesday's Tip- Building a cleaning bucket for your kids

Ok moms, you are gonna love today's Tuesday's tip.  I guarantee it.  A few months ago, shortly after Sydney turned 6, I decided it was time to teach them how to clean a bathroom.  To be honest, I did it out of sheer exhaustion.  I figured if we lived on a farm (that's my secret dream), they would've been working by now.  So instead of collecting eggs from chickens (sigh!), they get to learn how to clean a bathroom.  When I told them what we were going to do that day, you would have thought I had just announced we were going to Disneyland.  They were that excited.

I divided the girls up.  Sydney basically begged to clean the toilet.  Um, ok sure.  Have at it.  Brooklyn wanted the sink.  They actually did a really good job on their bathroom.  They had so much fun.   Who knew?  Wish I would've started it earlier.

So here is my tip to get your kids to enjoy cleaning.  Give them their own cleaning buckets or pails.  Here's what you need:

1 bucket or pail

1 "magic wand"

1 sponge or rag

1 water bottle filled with water

an apron (optional)

You may have all the supplies you need already in your home.  If not, you can create a bucket for around $5-$20 depending on how elaborate you want to get.  Here's my cost breakdown.

Pail: $1 at Target.
"Magic wands": $2.99 at Target.
Rags: I already had them.  Two pack from Trader Joes.
Water bottle: $1 at Ikea
Aprons (not pictured): Already had them
My total cost: $4 per bucket

Here's another tip.  Fill the water bottle with plain old water.  That way they can clean almost about anything and if they decide to have an impromptu water fight, it's not a big deal.

For the magic wand, I use half vinegar and half liquid soap. I love it.  It works fantastically and it's non toxic for the kids.

A bit of caution.  If you are a control freak like me, let me give you one piece of advice, Let it go!  Chances are they will end up making more of a mess for you to clean up, but you know what,  it's all worth it to see them learn and grow.  They are not perfect.  Far from it, but as I watched them  clean my bathroom tonight, I got a small glimpse of the beautiful mothers they will make one day. My other piece of advice is stay close by.  I was downstairs when they got started and by the time I got to my bathroom, here is what I saw.

 
So I had to give them a few rules, like don't climb up on a slippery counter.  Yikes.  Do you have any great ways you get your children to help around the house?  I'd love to hear about them.

Ode to my husband

I am blessed!  Even when life is tough, I try to remember the blessings in my life.  One of those blessing is my husband, Brian.  Almost 12 years ago when we said, "for better or for worse, in sickness and in health," we never could have imagined how much we would be tested.  This amazing man has stood by me over the last 8 years as we have suffered loss, not once, but twice and has watched me suffer debilitating dizziness every day.  So, if you don't mind, I'd like to share with you a little bit about this man I call my husband.

He has an amazing heart for those less fortunate.  He loves to serve the orphans and the widows.  This is one of my favorite pictures that was taken while he was in Haiti just a few short weeks ago.  He hadn't been to Haiti since the summer of 2010.

 

He is an amazing dad to our daughters.  I love to just sit back and watch the way he gently instructs the girls and how he makes them think for themselves.  I love to listen to him read to the girls at night.  He has passed on his love of C.S. Lewis and the girls enjoy hearing him read the Chronicles of Narnia. I love how he takes them to dances and on dates.  It's so important that my girls know how a man should treat them when they starting dating. Daddy makes sure they know how loved and valued they are.

Brian loves to run and compete in triathlons.  I was so proud of him this last weekend when he competed in the Birmingham Mercedes Marathon and beat his PR by a landslide.  This was his 3rd marathon (Boston 2008 & Miami 2010) and by far his fastest.  I also love to watch how he encourages others to take up the sport.  I can't tell you how many people have started running because of Brian's gentle encouragement.

Brian, I wanted to publicly thank you for being an incredible husband and father.  I didn't want to wait until Father's Day or our anniversary to let you know how I felt.  Today just seemed like the perfect day.  I love you with all of my heart and I want to thank you for being such an amazing example of Jesus to me.  I know at times it's been hard to watch me suffer and know there is really nothing you can do to help me, but pray.  Those prayers mean the world to me.  Thank you for helping around the house and caring for the girls, when I just simply can't.  You are more than I could've ever asked for and I am so thankful God chose me to be your wife.

Onward

I've missed blogging.  I've missed you.  That may sound strange because most of you who still read my blog, I probably will never have the chance of meeting, but I feel a connection to you.  That's the funny thing about the blog world, you feel a sense of oneness with people you've never even met.  For my sweet friends who know me in real life and have told me they have missed reading my blog posts, thank you.  You don't know how much that means to me.

Most importantly, I've missed blogging for my sweet babies.  Every year at Christmas time I make a blog book for my girls.  They love them.  I felt guilty that this Christmas there was no blog book for them under the tree.  I was reminded of this the other day when Brooklyn took all 3 of her books to bed and was reading them.  Then Sydney, who is just learning how to read her sight words, chimed in and asked if I would read them to her.  They love to read the stories and look at the pictures of when they were much younger.  This is why I blog.  I miss giving them these stories. 

With that said, I'm back.  I have alot of catching up to do.  Yikes.  They are getting so big and I want to remember these times, because they go by so fast.  So, Brooklyn and Sydney, mommy is back to blogging.  I can't promise that I will blog every day like I've tried to do in the past.  It will be, as the Spirit moves, as they say and I promise to get last years posts in a book for you soon.

Happy Birthday Brooklyn

My sweet Brooklyn turned 7 over the weekend.  I can't believe how big she is getting.  It's almost hard for me to remember her as a baby.  Anyone else feel that way with their kiddos?  I went up to her school on Friday and spent time with her at lunch and bought ice cream for all the kids in her class to help celebrate.  I love to watch her interact with her friends.

Brooklyn, I am so proud to be your mama.  You are becoming such a beautiful girl inside and out.  You love to read and you still love maps.  I don't think that will ever change.  You love to play with your hermit crab.  You take him out and let him crawl around on the floor and on your hand.  I have to remind you sometimes to put him back in his cage so he doesn't run loose.  You are learning to ride your bike without training wheels and you just completed your very first triathlon.  Soccer is starting and I cannot wait to watch you play.  Most importantly, I love your heart.  I love how you love Jesus and your desire to help others warms my heart. 

I love you to the moon and back sweet girl.  Mommy

Back to School

Where did the summer go?  Did anyone else feel like it flew?  I'm actually thrilled that Fall is on the way.  It's my favorite time of the year. 

I can't believe my babies started school.  Brooklyn actually started last Thursday and Sydney started today.  They are getting so big.  Brooklyn is so excited to be in first grade.  She loves to read and loves art and I am so thrilled to watch her grow.

I wasn't sure how Sydney would handle her first day of kindergarten in a brand new big school.  She surprised me when she just walked right into class.  She was a little shy, but she didn't cry.  Mommy on the other hand, shed a few tears.  I tried not to let her see because I didn't want it to make her sad.  She has such a sensitive heart.

Tonight when I put her to bed she told me she didn't want to go to school tomorrow.  She's a mama's girl through and through and I think she's having a hard time being away from me.  She's got a great teacher, Brooklyn's teacher from last year, so I know she's in good hands.  Praying she'll feel differently in the morning.

It hasn't really hit me yet that I'm a mom of grade schoolers.  What will I do with all of my free time? 

For starters, I will tackle my house.  It looks like a bomb went off.  I don't function well in a dirty, unorganized home.  It actually affects my mood.  I hate that.  Does that happen to anyone else, or is it just me? 

I'm actually excited to be on a schedule and get some routine back in my life.  I desperately need to start a new Bible study and get into a good workout routine.  My other goal is to get a good meal plan scheduled so I can have healthy and yummy dinners every night.  Cooking is not one of my strengths, nor something I enjoy.  Hopefully I can change that. 

Last but not least, I can't wait to blog more.  I am so far behind it's almost overwhelming.  It was all worth it though to be able to spend that time with my girls.

Has school started for you?  If not, enjoy the rest of your summer. 

3 Generations

I promise I will get my Dominican update posted soon.  The amount of pictures I took is a little overwhelming.  I'm trying to sort and edit a little every day. 

In the meantime, I'd thought I'd post about something very cool that I am excited about.  The Tennessean ran a story today on my family.  I haven't seen the newspaper yet, but Brian says we are on the front page.  I thought you all would like to take a peek at it.

Rachelle Darin, left, Krista Darin Lord, Marcia Darin and Stacy Darin Zepeda exercise together in Pinkerton Park.

Marcia, her daughters and granddaughters will do a triathlon in August. / Dipti Vaidya / The Tennessean

You can read the article here.  Thanks to my hubby for being the encouragement we all needed to get our little behinders off the couch on onto the pavement.  Love you baby.

Snapshots of the Dominican

We arrived home very late last night.  It was a full day of travel and we were all exhausted, but we had an amazing trip.  I have over 550 photos to prove it.  Here are just a few of the faces we saw along our journey.  I hope you enjoy them. More to come this weekend.

My hubby also wrote about the Dominican.  You can read about it here.

On a mission

It's 10:45 and I'm exhausted, in a good, hard work, kind of way. The girls and Brian are asleep and I'm writing on my iPhone in the dark. So this post will be brief. I wanted to thank you all so much for your prayers. They mean so much to us. I have tons of pictures from today but I'm just too tired to download them and we have to be up early to go back to Esperanza. I promise I will get some up tomorrow night. I'm dying to show you the faces of the sweet children we got to love on tonight. Sydney is so excited to see her two new best friends in the morning. I hate to see what happens when we have to say goodbye for good tomorrow. The kids loved all their gifts we gave them. It truly was like Christmas morning for them. Please be in prayer tomorrow as we feed the children and show the Jesus movie to them. Pray that many of the children will come to know the Lord as their personal Savior.

To Serve the Least of These

Tomorrow is the day.  A day we have been planning, for over a year.  Brian and I have a heart for missions.  We believe we are called to serve those less fortunate than ourselves.  We will soon get our chance to do just that.  The best part about it is that these two little girls will get to experience it all with us.

We would love your prayers.

1. For safety as we fly and safety as we drive through the Dominican Republic.  I've heard our van doesn't have seat belts.  Yikes!

2. Good health for all of us.  The dizziness has been really bad lately and I am just praying for some good days while we are there.

3. Most importantly, please pray for the hearts of the kids we will be ministering to.  We will be showing the Jesus Movie to them in Spanish.  My prayer is that many kids and adults, will come to know the Lord.

Thank you for coming on this journey with us.  You can follow our trip on Twitter @kristalord and @premierebrian or here on my blog.  

If you want to learn more about the organization we are going with or to sponsor a child, please visit Servants Heart Ministries.



Heat Wave

Y'all it's hot in Nashville.  We broke a record on Friday with high of 109 degrees.  It hasn't been that hot in Nashville ever since July 1952.   So what does one do when it is that hot outside?

We go camping of course.  The girls have been bugging us for months and we finally caved.  We went to Costco and got a pop up tent, which sets it self up in less than 10 seconds.  It's awesome.  The girls can both fit in it and it was under $30.  Total score.  Then it folds up flat for storage.

Ok, so they camped in the living room.  That still counts, right?  They had a blast.  Of course, a good camp out is not complete without S'mores.  We made oven S'mores.

Sydney helped me make these and I have to say, they were delish.  Just like the real thing and oh so easy to make.  Here are the directions:

Line a cookie sheet with tin foil.

Arrange mini marshmallow on graham crackers.

Put chocolate chips on top of marshmallows.

Stick in the oven on broil and take them out when the marshmallows turn brown.

Enjoy with your kiddos and imagine you are camping under the stars and listening to the crickets.

Finally, I saw this picture on Facebook and had to include it in my post, since I am talking about how stinkin hot it is here.  I saw this and it put the heat into perspective for me.

Oh Lord forgive me for complaining about the heat.  It is nothing compared to what our men and women have to endure on the front lines.  Please protect and guide them as they fight for our freedom. Amen.