Cyber Bullying and Our Teenagers - Growing Up Digital

This is a simple, yet profoundly needed message in today's society. I'm talking about cyber bullying. I'm dealing with this myself, as we speak. Kids can be mean. Cruel, even. They claw their way to the center of their social circle, at the expense of someone else's feelings. It's hard, as parents, to know ALL of our kids friends (or enemies) and ALL that's going on in their little lives. But, friends, it's SO important to be all up in their business!!! ALL. UP. IN. IT!

I've gone to bat for my kids, when I feared for their safety, a few times. I don't bother to get involved in their silly arguments, I do want them to learn how to deal with some stuff on their own. But, you better believe, as soon as some mouthy kid starts telling my kid what they're going to "do" to them, I intervene. I've seen it more times than I ever should have in the last few years.

Growing up, I didn't have social media. I didn't have a computer. I didn't even get a cell phone until I turned 18 and bought it myself. There weren't mean kids hiding behind their devices calling me ugly names. If someone wanted to bully me, they would either talk about me behind my back, prank call my house, or follow me home from the bus stop. All of which happened to me. Because kids are mean. But, those opportunities weren't as prevalent as the opportunities that our children are facing in today's very digital social society.

Something else that comes to mind when speaking about bullying, or cyber bullying, is our kids fear of "snitching." Another reason to be all up in their business is they will likely NOT TELL YOU what's going on, in fear of being a snitch. I've heard it come out of my boys mouths numerous times over the years, something I didn't hear as a kid, "snitches get stitches." What? I get it. The mouthy kid doesn't want to get in trouble for his ugly, mean-hearted attitude. But, kids being fearful to speak up? No, ma'am.

I'm not telling you to be your kids best friend. We all know better than that. But, be their advocate. Have a presence and relationship with their school and its administrators. Stand up for them. Fight for their right to feel safe in school (and out of school). Love them unconditionally. Do NOT tolerate bullying!

Have you dealt with bullying or cyber bullying with your children? What school grade(s) were they in? How did you handle it? I'm genuinely curious. After all, I still have many years of parenting school-aged kids ahead of me.

5 Back-to-School Shopping Tips

Last week a postcard showed up in my mailbox informing me that Middle School Orientation is in 3 weeks. THREE weeks, people! Didn't Summer just begin??

While I'm sad for the Summer to be coming to a close, I'm equally excited {if not more so} for the kids to go back to school. When I was a kid growing up, back-to-school season was my most favorite! Freshly sharpened pencils, crisp notebook paper, and a Trapper Keeper {!!}. Kids these days have NO idea what a Trapper Keeper is...only the greatest notebook of all time! Children of the 80's, am I right??

I'll have four kids in school full-time this year. While I'm no expert in what's right and wrong in back-to-school shopping, I have learned a few things along the way. After all, Jake will be starting 9th grade this school year. Including preschool and VPK, that's like 10 years of solid experience.

Today I'm sharing 5 Back-to-School Shopping Tips that I've learned along the way.

/1/ Start Shopping NOW! - Back-to-School supplies sales begin to pop up the weekend after the 4th of July. For real. It seems early but, it's great for a multitude of reasons. Keep reading. Each week, pick up a Sunday paper and scour the ads for the best deals.

/2/ Shop Often - Every week each store will have different school supplies on sale. This week you can buy pencils for next to nothing and next week might be 1-inch binders. The more often you go, the less money you'll spend and the less crowds you'll have to fight when it gets closer to the first day of school.

/3/ Shop Tax Free - Check and see if your state offers a tax-free weekend for back-to-school shopping. If it isn't offered in your state, drive to a neighboring state {if gas cost is significantly lower than the tax savings} or contact your local state representative to see if he/she can get the wheels in motion on bringing that savings to you for following years!

On top of the store's sale prices, saving your state's tax percentage is an added bonus! Since I like to shop for supplies each week as the sale ads come out, I usually take advantage of tax-free weekend for the kid's clothes. After all, the clothing is the most expensive part of the shopping list. Also, tax-free weekend is a great time to buy the supplies that are "wants". You know the ones, the FROZEN folders or the more expensive mechanical pencils that they insist are far better than the ones you bought for $0.48 or the fancy-schmancy pens. Basically, anything not on the "official" supply list is generally bought during this time for an added savings.

/4/ Know Before You Go - I noticed this past school year that my kids' school puts a supply list in their end-of-year report card. Genius! This way I'm armed with a supply list weeks before the sales begin and I can make a plan. I can buy more than I need, if the price is right. If I didn't have my list I might wind up buying 3 folders at that amazing sale price when the kids actually need 4...and then I might end up paying full price for the 4th. It's nice to have a list!

/5/ Price Match - This is my most recent back-to-school shopping, "ah-ha moment" tip. In years past I would check out Sunday's paper, make a plan to go to each store that had what I needed at the best price, and go to each store. {let's not even think about the amount of gas was used in this school shopping adventure...} This year is different. I check my Sunday paper each week, gather the sale ads with the items circled that I plan to purchase, and then head to my local WalMart and utilize their Price Match Policy. It's a one-stop shop. Best of all, if the item is Buy One, Get One Free then it's 9 times out of 10 going to be cheaper on the Buy One. For instance, XYZ store had Crayola markers on sale BOGO for $2.98. WalMart's price was $1.27. This means, I was able to get the BOGO offer at $1.27 instead of $2.98. Make sense? {I was able to get each item for 64 cents, instead of $1.49.} It's truly easy and saves SO MUCH MONEY!

Are you ready for Back-to-School? What shopping tip would you add to this list? Let me know in the comments.

Monday, Bring It!

I can't even handle the cute! 

Her face and her shirt are a mess and her hair is wild. But, that smile? It's the absolute BEST! That laugh that, unfortunately, you can't hear, is intoxicating! She is laughing hysterically at her brothers in this shot. All I can think about is that tomorrow is Monday and I have LOADS to do. All she's thinking is Monday, you're the next best day I get to be with my family who loves me! Oh, to be a kid again...not a care in the world!

What is on your Monday agenda? I have a fourth grade field trip to chaperone, jonahbonah packages that need to be shipped, an order or two that need to be sewn, potential Plexus clients to reach out to, a house to clean, a husband to love on, kids to hug and kiss and so, SO much more! Let's do this, girls! No wimps allowed!!

VTech Go! Go! Smart Animal Adventure Playset

Disclaimer: I was provided a VTech Go! Go! Forest Adventure Playset for mine and Mabry's review. All opinions on this products are my own.

I've noticed in the last six or so weeks that my house is quieter. From 9am to about 4:30pm it's just Mabry and I at home. Occasionally, Hubs will come home for lunch. Some days we have small visitors to play with. But, most days, it's just us.

It's almost like she's my first baby. The big kids are at school and so I get to watch her grow and learn new things each day...things I have forgotten that little ones do. My main focus is HER. She explores and toddles around. She's discovering  and I'm seeing her little personality shine through.

My favorite time of day is when she finds a favorite toy. Each day is like the first time she's ever seen it. Her eyes light up and she looks at me with her great big, toothy smile!

A couple of weeks ago we opened up the VTech Go! Go! Smart Animal Adventure Playset. Right away she was drawn to the animals that light up, say their name and sing silly songs. I was amazed at how long it held her undivided attention.

Go! Go! Smart Animals™ Forest Adventure Playset™ includes:

• The ability to explore the forest with the included SmartPoint™ bear as he plays with animal friends and responds to various SmartPoint locations with different phrases, music and fun sound effects.
• Motor skill strengthening activities which include two SmartPoint locations and four manipulative features including a turning disc, gate, sliding squirrel and twisting butterfly.
• Colorful tracks that can be connected to other Go! Go! Smart Animals or Go! Go! Smart Wheels playsets (each sold separately) to encourage children’s creativity.

As Mabry pushed the animals along the tracks with her tiny hands they interacted with her at the Smart Point locations. I also noticed she played with the four manipulative features; a spinning gear, turning gate, sliding squirrel and twisting butterfly. Fine motor skills being learned here, folks!

With VTech's new line of Go! Go! Smart Animals, there are LOTS of different animals to choose from and add to your playset. There are also add-on's for the playset to make it larger and give your animals more places to play and hide. 

If you're looking for a gift for Mabry this Christmas, we'd, I mean, she'd like some more animals and add-on's. This is her new favorite toy! I'm pretty certain your little one will love it, too!

There is an Amazon affiliate link within this post. This simply means that should you decide to click through and purchase the product from said link, you will be supporting my family through this little blog. :o) Thank you in advance for your support!

Little Bit Kisses

It's my favorite when my babies all learn how to kiss. A big, wet open-mouth kiss from a baby is AWESOME! Am I right? Mabry has recently starting giving me kisses when I ask her.

The best time to ask her for kisses is right after she wakes up from a nap. She wakes up and wraps her little arms around my neck and pats my back. When she lifts her head from my shoulder she leans in for the kiss. There just isn't anything sweeter!



These are the days I never want to forget!

at the dinner table.

"All great change in America begins at the dinner table."  -Ronald Reagan



i posted the above quote and picture on instagram a few days ago. i had a few people respond, "it's the best quote ever", "i have that quote in my kitchen", "that is an awesome quote".

what do you think? does your family eat around the dining room table. i mean together. do they eat at the dining room table together? all of you?

how often? every night? every thanksgiving and christmas? for sunday brunch?

i didn't grow up eating dinner at the table with my family. it was just my mom and i for a bunch of years. by the time she married my step-dad we were stuck in our ways, if you will, and we still didn't eat at the table. i think we ate together...just in the living room, in front of the tv. it was what worked for our family.

when my husband and i started a family we knew we wanted something different. we wanted to gather around the table and enjoy dinner together.

now that our children are newborn - eleven we value dinner around the table together. all of us.

sure there are LOTS of days that mabry is not there...but she will be. soon it will be all seven of us around our table enjoying each others company.

it gets loud. it gets really loud. there's nights where i have to talk above them all and ask for quiet. or at least a lower volume. but, we're together.

we don't watch tv at dinner. we don't listen to music. we don't look at our iphones {much} {{we shouldn't at all}}. we are present with one another. we ask how each child's day was at school. we ask what they had for lunch. we ask who their best friend is. we ask about them. we want to know what's new with each one of them. it's important.

we don't know the impact this has on our kids just yet. they're still young. but, in twenty years i hope to tell you that they each value the fact that dinner was at the table. together with the ones that love them most.

Create a Summer Bucket List {free printable}

This week on Blissfully Domestic I'm sharing how to create a summer bucket list for you and your family {with a little help from Lindsey of Pen and Paint.}. This is a super easy craft that the entire family can help with!  I'd love for you to go have a look-see.


{click over to Blissfully Domestic for the link to download and print your own Summer Bucket List printable}

This Is Gonna Hurt.

Remember when your parents said "this is gonna hurt me more than it's gonna hurt you" to you all those years ago??  It usually came before a good spanking.  Oh, how the times have changed.

Now, we don't so much say that as much as we think it.

Two grading periods ago our oldest, fifth-grade son brought home a report card that two generations ago would've warranted him going out and picking his own "switch" off the bush.  Instead of a good, old-fashioned whoopin', our son got grounded until his grades were brought up.  GROUNDED!!!

NO video games,
NO sleepovers,
NO friends over,
NO iPod,
NO cell phone,
NO television {unless it was something his little brothers and sister was watching},
NO NOTHING!!!

To him, his life was O V E R!!!

This goofball kid had his world brought to a screeching hault!


We, as his parents, were NOT his favorite people.

We made him do CHORES.  Oh, no!  Not chores!

And when he wanted to play outside he had to play WITH his brothers and sister, NOT his friends.  The TORTURE!!!

A couple of weeks, though, something happened.  After all of those weeks of him surely having thoughts of hanging each of us by our toenails for making his life so miserable {HA!} he came home with an A on a paper.  An A!

And then a couple of days later he brought home a 100% paper.  And a smile on his face!

Two days ago he told me of a report that he needed to do to make certain his Social Studies grade would come up.  He needed to do this paper.  And he was telling me about it.  That's progress, people!

Best news of all??  Yesterday he bounced into the truck, reached in to his backpack and shoved a perfect spelling test in to my face exclaiming that he LOVED Social Studies and the states!  He spelled each of the United States correctly and THAT paper would bring all of his grades to A's, B's and C's!!!

Bestest news of all??  He is PROUD of himself.  HE did that!  {of course, if it weren't for us TORTURING him by taking his ENTIRE life away he probably would've been content just "skating" by in his grades...}

Moral of the story?  That lesson hurt.  Making our son understand that making good grades comes FIRST {before his social life and video games, that is} HURT.  Not being able to send him outside to play and run off the energy that about made me crazy HURT!  It DID hurt me more than it hurt him.  It did!

Tell me what parenting lesson has HURT the most in your household.  I bet we could all share some doozies!

instafriday

it's been quite some time since i last shared some of what we've been up to on instagram. {you can find me @jonahbonah} let's get caught up, shall we?


/1/ i have mixed emotions about the school year coming to an end...however, homework is one part of school i will never miss!


/2/ we bought a picnic table for the back patio. why did we not do this sooner??? mckinley loves to go outside and draw and color. and we've done some crafting out back on our new picnic table too!


/3/ this was taken on the eve of our eleventh wedding anniversary right after we finished *family movie night* with all of our precious children. only with God on our side could we have made it this far. {i love you, hubs!}


/4/ eleven years. so proud to be his wife. {i forgot my mascara at home...we stopped to buy some. i felt nekked without it.}


/5/ see that blue thing atop my mason jar? yep, that would be called a CUPPOW. it turns your mason jars into travel mugs. genius. my new favorite thing...you'll be hearing more about them from me soon. those kids in the background? they're just digging our garden. i can't wait to have a summer harvest!


/6/ dinner on back patio picnic table. best idea we've had in a long time!


/7/ grow, little garden, grow.


/8/ anniversary blue mason jars? yes, please! i may have already purchased 24 of them and feel the need to have more. {for the record, i'm giving three of them away today to the boys teachers for teacher appreciation.  more on that later...i found a SUPER cute printable i can't wait to share with you!}


/9/ smash booking. do you do it? i wouldn't call it scrapbooking. it's more of a whatever-will-fit-that-you-want-to-remember kind of book. well, that kinda sounds like scrapbooking, huh? whatever you want to call it...i went to michael's, bought me a smash book, and got started. the first page? our baby number five!


/10/ oh, you know, just me in another amazing creation from the printed palette. i can't get enough, y'all. blue mason jars and the printed palette. my favorite addictions.


/11/ i captioned this photo on instagram with *so many things i love in this picture. piles of laundry means a well-clothed family. handmade art on my walls. my love on his day off. it's a gloomy day outside, but my heart is full of sunshine.* so true!


/12/ daddy kisses. princess smiles.


/13/ do you take care of you? i know you take care of your husband and your kids and your house and your church family and your {fill in the blank}...but do you take care of YOU? do it. my love tank gets such a boost when hubs tells me to go get my hair done or a pedi or a mani. and when he says go i run out the door! i feel like a new gal when i walk out of that salon. i get a few hours to recharge my *mommy battery*. i truly believe we can take better care of others when we first take good care of ourselves. amen?

these last few weeks have such blessed weeks. i can't wait to see what God has in store for the next few!

do i follow you on instagram? let me know who you are and i surely will start!