Decision fatigue is a real thing. When we first started homeschooling, I was exhausted by the end of the day purely from the never-stopping stream of questions I was asked. In the beginning I coped by buying lots of cereal (to eliminate at least one food decision) and giving the kids two "question sticks" during individual work time to eliminate the unnecessary questions that were born of laziness or boredom. 
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Those things definitely helped, but a little bit of decision fatigue is always going to be there when you are making parenting and teaching decisions for multiple kids all day long. Lately, this has really been bothering me when it comes to screen time, or in our house, iPad time. I felt like every hour of the day someone was asking me if they could play. My 4 year old was asking constantly during our morning school time, and the others seemed to be rushing through afternoon work to be the first one to ask. I felt guilty for letting them OR I felt guilty for not letting them. Lose, lose for me. Constant confusion and frustration for the kids because there was no consistent expectation and inevitably I would give one kid too much and another kid not enough.

One week I'd finally had enough and came up with about the simplest thing I could think of, but it has turned out to be really effective.

I first thought about what an appropriate amount of time for each kid would be in a week. Then I broke it down into 3-5 time slots. This varies per age. For instance by 10 year old has 5 slots, "15 min, 20min, 25min, 30min, 35min" and my 4 year old has 3 slots "10min, 15min, 20min". 

If they are done with their work for the day, it is an automatic YES, that they can use one of their time slots. They pick the amount and set the timer. I NO LONGER HAVE TO WATCH THE CLOCK AND WORRY ABOUT EVERYONE GETTING EQUAL. HALLELUJAH!!

Now, here is what I found to be the most brilliant. This was on the fly, because Luke asked "What if they have a bunch left over on the last day and they are fighting for time?" If they have any time slots left, they have the option of trading it in for money. Right now we are in India, so a 20min time slot is worth 20 rupes (about 30 cents). And it is working! They are monitoring themselves, spending less time on the screen, and earning some money! This extra value of saving/earning/self-discipline was not something I was aiming for at all, but it has been a nice surprise.

You can get a copy of this great resource over at my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Let me know how it works for you. If you are interested in any other kind of personalized form for your classroom or home, let me know!

How do you help alleviate Decision Fatigue in your daily routines?

My oldest girl turned seven this month. For the past year, she's been saying she wants a pool party and I kept telling her it might not be able to happen in October! But we just so happened to join the YMCA in September and they offer great rates on indoor pool parties. Even though it seemed a bit out of season, we had a blast celebrating with an Under the Sea Mermaid theme. There are so many cute ideas out there and I couldn't help but do more themed food than I usually do. Of course, first things first, I had to come up with a new invitation design. It was a good excuse to play around with my new iPad Pro and Pencil. I've been using the Astropad App to draw directly into Illustrator and it has been life-changing! The invitation is in my Etsy shop here!

I know party favors can get out of hand, but I do like to do something. The trouble is I always end up inviting tons of kids and it can get expensive! I knew I was on to something when I saw this great tutorial for homemade Sea Glass Candy. I put my own twist on the packaging and wha-la, party favors for about $10 total! I had to make 2 batches to fill 18 bags. For the couple of really young kids that came, I filled their bags with fish-shaped fruit snacks. You can download and print the tail template for FREE.

Then there was the food. I have to admit, after being away from the US for several years and not having access to Hobby Lobby, I was so amazed at all of the creative stuff you can buy now and had to control myself from buying EVERYTHING. But I couldn't pass up food spray paint. Apparently the kids had never seen it before either and were unsure about the gold oreos that I was inspired to make from this post. One of my friends was so quick in her wits to explain to the kids that ALL the food they were eating had some sort of artificial coloring and that they didn't need to worry. 

The adorable crab sandwiches were inspired by All That Glitters and the jello oceans cups I put my own spin on after seeing a bunch of different versions. The seaweed celery sticks were my last minute attempt to provide something healthy for the adults!

There are a lot of really amazing mermaid cakes out there! Most of them are far beyond my cake decorating talents! I was inspired by this simple, yet cute cake done by RoseBakes.com. I avoid fondant at all costs, so I made the mermaid using the "Frozen Buttercream Transfer" Method. I have done it for one other cake in the past. Its a great option if you feel confident with piping, but not with fondant. 

​I hope that you found some helpful tips and party ideas! 

Growing up, my mom always got us an Advent calendar. You know, those cardboard ones with the perforated boxes hiding a chocolate? I loved them and she even sent me (ok, the kids) some last year, all the way across the world. Except of course, no chocolates because they would have melted for sure. One year we spent way too much on a Lego advent calendar. And while I'm pretty sure we could reuse it, none of us are willing to dig back through the sea of pieces to find the Christmas ones. 

I've always had noble intentions of making my own Advent calendar with scripture verses and candy. There are so many amazing ideas on Pinterest, for cute little DIY boxes and envelopes and displays. But I knew it had to be really simple or it would again be just a fleeting idea. When I stumbled across this great one using socks and clothespins, I knew I had a winner. Right then and there I ordered a bunch of kid socks off online.

The most important part of the Advent calendar is what goes inside. Of course, the kids wanted candy, so I picked up some of that at the store. But I also wanted a good mix of Bible verses to share the Christmas story with the kids throughout the month. I looked around for a good set of verses that mixed both the Old Testament and New Testament. I loved the collection that I found at Sweeterthansweets. She uses little object lessons each day, which I thought was brilliant, but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find everything in time. So I meshed up the ideas with my own graphic magic and came up with these Advent printables.

You can print these and use them in whatever type of DIY Advent Calendar that you plan to make. Download them for free, print them back to back, and then cut along the dotted lines. Wallah! If you are not crafty at all, just print them and place them on the dinner table each night for everyone to read and enjoy!

Yesterday we celebrated our fifth Thanksgiving off of US soil. Did you know that Thanksgiving is not a thing anywhere else in the world? ;) I have got to say, this year was one of my favorites. When we first decided to travel abroad, I thought the holidays would be so difficult. They were hard at first. But it has been so good for us to create holiday traditions as a family. Now it seems like they keep getting better and better. Throughout the year, we interact with a lot of different cultures and foods, etc. At Thanksgiving, we get to pour out our culture with our friends and neighbors. 

This year we hosted 26 adults, representing three countries and even more languages. We had an amazing time stuffing ourselves and doing cheesy things like Thanksgiving charades and crossword puzzles. Luke gave a mini lecture on the first Thanksgiving and we all went around the table saying what we were thankful for. Everyone left with full tummies and full hearts.

Now the sad part, today is the part of Thanksgiving that I miss more than anything else - Black Friday shopping with my mom and sister. Though all the deals are online now, the deals were never the appeal. The appeal was waking up at 3 am, bundling up while it was still dark, and setting out on a quest that wasn't complete without good coffee and a nice lunch. If we saved a few dollars along the way - that was just the cherry on top! So, since I can't participate in the mob shopping, I will at least be part of the fun by passing along some savings to you. From today through the end of the money, take 40% off anything in our Etsy shop - Christmas cards, wedding stationary, birthday invites and more. I'll even be discounting custom design quotes, so contact me for special pricing!

Happy Shopping, wherever you find yourself this holiday season! ​

As a veteran packer and traveller, I have nailed packing for my family down to a science. For me, its all in the list. I start my list a week in advance and then begin packing only hours from departure time. Its my fail-safe way from forgetting essential items.

As I started my packing list last week for our trip to Bangalore, India, I began toying with the idea of going digital. Luke tried for a good three years to get me to go digital with our grocery list, but I thought it overcomplicated things to the point of inconvenience. I liked my pen, my paper, and the joy of physically crossing off each item on the list. But the definite advantage to a digital list is that it does help you think through the items that you need to put on the list. I decided to at least give it a try for this trip.

Since it was an experiment, I didn't want to spend any money up front. I downloaded three free apps before settling on one that suited our needs. 

Pack by Dejal Systems - This was the first app I downloaded, which I quickly deleted. I didn't like how it organized the items by alphabetical order rather than category and the overall look of the app didn't give me enough motivation to try to re-sort it. 

SimplPak by Simpl Studios - This one appealed to me, because as the name says, it is simple. It gives three categories, which is how I also categorize my packing (clothing, accessories, essentials). But it ended up being too simple. I could not figure out how to change the category names or even how to mark off packed items. 

TripList by Enabled Apps LLC - This one was a winner! While there are quite a few functions available only with the in-App purchases, it was versatile enough to suit my needs and simple enough to navigate.

Craft - I love starting with a craft, cause it gives the kids something fun to do when they first arrive, but allows time for everyone to come in before we start the games. The kids made Donut Tic-Tac-To Boards. Here are a few more of my favorite party crafts, and why I like them more than games!

The Cake - Since cake cutting is a must, I made a donut cake. I was originally planning to use this tutorial since I didn’t have a bundt pan, but I stumbled upon a clearanced one for $3 and decided it was worth it! The surrounding truffles were my attempt at cake balls. After getting frustrated by the dipping process, I gave up and mixed the cake, icing and chocolate all together in one bowl. They were delicious!

The Printables - Here are the printables I used for the party, which are all available in my shop. The Tic-Tac-To and Bingo are new additions. Just click on the pics for more info!

As a requirement for my graphic design degree, I had to take a few fine art drawing classes. I am not a naturally talented illustrator, so I really liked when they taught us the grid method for drawing. But in fact, you don't need to go to art school to learn this method. It is there in most children's activity books! It breaks down the drawing process into manageable pieces, which will work together like a puzzle to make an impressive final product. It also happens to be one of my favorite ways to decorate a cake. For me, not only is fondant difficult to work with, I just don't like the taste of it as much as I like buttercream. But I am no pro and my buttercream cakes can end up looking sloppy, and like a kid DID do it. The grid method enables me to decorate a clean, creative and great-tasting cake!
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Step One - Pick and Print a Picture
Find a google image of whatever character, object or theme you want on your cake. Print it out, preferably at the approximate size that it will be on your cake. After flip-flopping a few times, my son Sam settled on Geronimo Stilton, his favorite book character, for his 8th birthday cake..

Step Two - Grid Your Picture
For a 9x13 cake, grid your picture into equal squares 7 wide and 5 tall. If you've printed it to size (you need 11x17 paper for this), they will each be about 2 inches. You'll see how I compensate for the extra inch when we grid the cake. I did mine on the computer, so it looked like this.

Rio 2016 is officially underway and the Thompson family plans to spend a lot of time binge watching sports and athletes that we do not normally follow. During the 2008 Olympics, I was 37 weeks pregnant with our first kid and by the time the 2012 Olympics rolled around we had three kids. Can I just say I am thankful we only added one more since London? Now I am excited that my kids are old enough to watch the Olympics with me. Together we will be awed by the dedication and ability of the world’s top athletes.

As a kid, I was a total Olympic junkie. My childhood heroes were Nancy Kerrigan, Kristi Yamaguchi, Shannon Miller and of course Kerri Strug, who’s dramatic clenching of the gymnastics Team Gold in ’96 is still a regular topic of conversation between me and my sister. My childhood villains were the likes of Tonya Harding and the whole Romanian gymnastic squad. I read books about these people, dreamed about being in the Olympics, and occasionally pretended to be a figure skating champion. On my driveway. With my roller blades. All this to say, the Olympics was pretty big and special to me. 

Since we have chosen to live far, far away, there is a lot about my childhood that my kids will never experience. Sometimes it hits me while talking to friends back home. There is a longing somewhere within me to live out the nostalgia of my childhood through my kids, to see them experience the same things I did. I know those things. I can navigate those situations with confidence, understanding the system. Instead, I often feel clueless about how it feels to be a third culture kid! Perhaps that is one reason I am so excited about watching the Olympics as a family. Maybe this is something our childhoods can share. ​

​As we watch, I know that I wouldn’t trade my childhood, but I wouldn’t trade theirs either. When my son excitedly roots for a Thai weightlifter because “My friends live there!” or as we all cheer on the first Indian gymnast to make it to the Olympic stage, I remember and appreciate the value of their experiences. My kids will grow up with an awareness of the world’s people and cultures that I have only begun to understand my own lack of. I cannot wait to see how their childhood shapes them and I pray that they will be agents of peace and change in our broken world. ​

When I plan a birthday party, my first thought is the cake. My second thought is the food.  My absolute, very last thought in the planning process is what games are we going to play. My assumption is that the kids will get there, eat some food, and run around in circles having the time of their life, while we adults try to block out the noise and have a semblance of a conversation. However, kids seem to have expectations here. This has resulted in awkward situations of children asking what games we are going to play and Luke and I desperately googling some easy last minute games. And its worked okay. But something that's been a hit as of late at our parties is CRAFTS. This is a double bonus for me because 1) I love kid art and 2) apartments like ours are not always conducive to wild and crazy games involving tons of kids. Other benefits are that kids can do them as they please, so no need to wrangle 20 kids at once AND the crafts can double as party favors. WIN. WIN. WIN! So here it goes.. some of my favorite party crafts from the last few years...

Candy Necklaces
Set up a table of assorted "beads" and let kids turn make their own wearable treat! You can purchase actual candy necklace beads, or go to the candy aisle and pick up whatever has a hole through it. Lifesavers are a bit too sticky, but gummy lifesavers, mints and cut-up Twizzlers are a few great options to get you started. 

Cookie Decorating
Again this is a win for you. Not only do the kids have a blast, but you don't have to spend hours intricately decorating cookie by cookie. You may not have a roll of pinterest worthy photos, but you'll definitely have some adorable pictures of your kids making delicious food art.

Custom Costumes
During one of our many princess parties, I cut up a big sheet of yellow posterboard and set out all of the miscellaneous stickers, paints and glitter I've stored up over the last couple of years. Its a great way to purge your craft closet and entertain a bunch of kids! They had so much fun making their own crowns. For a superhero party, you could make masks. Or for a more generic party, kids can decorate their own party hats.

Overall, the best party crafts are the ones that are simple enough for kids to do on their own, yet also have some room for creativity to keep them occupied. After doing crafts at a couple of parties, I had kids asking "What craft are we doing?" at the next! Its a great alternative to the same old party games. Have you done some great party crafts? Let me know in the comments. I've got approximately 23 more parties to plan until all of my children hit the double-digits, at which point they can plan their own parties!