Rock-n-Roll Bedroom

As the boys are nearing the beginning of sharing a bedroom (YIKES!!!) and Rocklyn is transitioning to a big boy bed (DOUBLE YIKES!!!!), we have finally completed their bedroom and I could not be happier with the results... and yes I have a dream that they will be musicians-obviously...

Records, records records from Mary Poppins to Fleetwood Mac to of course Zeppelin and records as the border of their ceiling that my husband spent so many hours painting two years ago when I was pregnant with Rocklyn!



Little pictures I found at Hobby Lobby to go above the crib!



Guitar tab chart and their coat/bag/anything else I need to put somewhere rack I got for 50 cents at Goodwill and painted brown. Helps out a ton!



Drum set and amp (used for a karaoke machine for now)

Pictures, pictures, pictures and a mini guitar!



Ryder's soon to be crib!

Rocklyn's new big boy bed! (And the fifth set of blinds in the house he has destroyed...is it even worth buying new ones at this point??????)

The last piece to the complete bedroom will be these guitar key hooks we found that will hold back the curtains to let the sunshine in but we have to get back downtown to buy them soon! I have to admit I teared up a little when I saw the big boy bed because time is flying too fast with these precious little angels God has blessesd us with!

POTS AND PANS AND LIDS OH MY

As most of you know my husband has been working 3 days of 12 hour shifts at a time in Nashville for about 6 months now. At first this sounded like the greatest work schedule ever. Don't get me wrong, four day weekends are amazing but I have to say these 14 hour days while he is away are difficult with a five and seventeen month old and for the last 2 months no second car!!!!!!! So as I hear him pulling in the driveway last night and am ready to pass him both children the second he walks in the door (after he washes his hands of course because I am a nut about germs and the boys), he hands me a card and two cooking utensils. And then a new set of the Better Homes and Gardens pots and pans I have been eyeing longingly every time we see them. What a gift! These mismatched pots and pans we both merged together upon marriage is doing the job just not in style! So if this isn't already putting him in the running for husband of a lifetime he states that these are my father's day gift! Huh? MY FATHERS DAY GIFT? He explains that he can only be the great father he is due to myself and our children. Wow! And goes on to explain that since I support him as he works through graduate school to make his dreams a reality, he wants to be the same for me and since cooking is what I love the most (and he wants me to give up the realistic-ness of a teaching degree and go for my big time dreams of owning a vegetarian organic restaurant) he wanted to get me something to work on my future! Yep, I think he's a keeper, as if I had any doubts before this lol. I now face a dilemna... I don't want to use them yet hahaha just enjoy their shiny newness for now!

WHEN TO BUY...

ORGANIC! Buying organic can be a very expensive blow to your pocketbook but thankfully Farmers Markets are abundant here in Tennessee and fairly inexpensive. If it is still a strain to your budget, below is the current list of what produce is important to buy organic and what you can go cheap and non-organic on...

Go organic for...

celery, peaches, strawberries, apples, blueberries, nectarines, bell peppers, spinach, cherries, kale/collards, potatoes and grapes.

You can skip organic for...

onions, avocado, sweet corn, pineapple, mangoes, sweet peas, asparagus, kiwi, cabbage, eggplant, cantaloupe, watermelon, grapefruit, sweet potato, honeydew and melon.

Skip those with icky pesticides contaminating them greatly, especially for our little miracles we call children! The plus side at the Freeland house this year... our veggie garden is growing so quickly! The down side is these infesting cicadas seem to have sucked the life out of our fruit trees and the peaches that were beginning to bud have no been eaten it seems. Isn't it time for these pests to leave for another thirteen years yet?????????????????????????

Anyway, until next time, be well and eat organic~love

http://www.picktnproducts.org/

Discipline

Discipline is something that has been lacking in our home as of late! In every area we are stumbling and failing a bit. One of the biggest is in our diet, whether it be shopping/couponing or what we put into our mouths. We were in the great habit of meal planning for two weeks ahead of time and couponing as well. This cut our costs at the grocery store drastically and helped us to save more as I could buy in bulk and divide as needed. We were eating some fantastic new meals and preparing them was so great for my sanity as well as all of our health. This routine has made its way out of our lives lately though and its paying not only in our wallet but on our waistline as well! Discipline needs to re-enter.

Another area we need to reinforce discipline in is our time management because that has slipped as well. We have a daily routine with the boys including flash cards, book time, bible time, scheduled meals, weekly "field trips" and it has gone down the drain! I don't know what has done it, maybe recent houseguests mixed with a bit of laziness??? It needs to return despite the reason it slipped away.

Most importantly in the topic of discipline though is disciplining our children. Rocklyn is now at the age of knowing right from wrong on many things he does and I have become the pushover. It's funny because before we had children we assumed I would be the strict one and Cory would be laid-back but the second I felt the love for my precious baby boys I became putty in their hands. It's not working though. Hitting, biting, screaming and fits of rage have become prevalant around here and I cannot let it get to the point where I am fixing it I just need to, from the beginning, lay the groundwork of discipline in my home. Time outs seem to do a bit of good. I spanked once and I ended up crying over it for a half hour hysterically so that is a no go. We do not spoil the kids with toys and other belongings because I do not want them to put an emphasis on things and become expectant of gifts. We got rid of cable in our homes and keep movie time at a minimum so they are not influenced by the disgusting junk that they could see on there. But I need advice on this! I want my boys to be well behaved children who are respectful of authority and stay out of dangerous situations so folks, what are your words of advice on disciplining young children????