War of the Mind

We have had the flu at our house for a week now. As fun as yesterday was, I sent them back to school today. Especially since they have no school tomorrow. My tall girl was ok with going back but really liked the idea of being schooled at home. My Amber was not happy about going back because she still has quite a cough but no other symptoms. Tiny girl lucked out with not having school today but she was the most difficult.

Yesterday afternoon I caught myself starting to be cranky at everyone. I informed the monkeys that we were wrapping up our projects and going to take a nap. I let them know that if we didn't, mom was going to get really cranky with them and that I didn't want to do that to them. This bit of information caused them to come willingly to nap.  We all snuggled up so that everyone had a piece of mom. This is quite difficult to do with three. We read a couple chapters in The Wizard of Oz series and fell asleep. We woke (meaning me and my Amber girl) when we heard Grandma holler up the stairs to see if we were home. My Amber girl went to hug her Grandma and thank her for bringing us fruit and then came back to snuggle. We finally pulled ourselves out of bed to go and fix Daddy some dinner before he had to dash again. My Tiny girl refused to wake up. She'd open her eyes and snuggle back in.

This girl did not wake up until 630am this morning. I'm guessing she slept about 15 hours straight. And she didn't wake up all that easily. I knew it was going to be a challenging morning. She's my tempertamtrum girl and now she hasn't eaten in 15+ hours. I think she screamed and cried at every obstacle this morning. Then something fun would catch her eye and she'd be alright until the next challenge. It was frustrating to say the least.

I say all this to get to this...as I was driving to our first stop after dropping the girls at school, a war started over my thoughts. It was the most fascinating thing. It was like having four personalities. I had the one functioning and getting us where we needed to go safely. Then there was the one watching the war and being astounded that these two thoughts could be so petty as to fight over this when this personality knew the truth and wasn't going to stoop to their level. Then the two at war...

I hate my life.
No, you don't, you are abundantly blessed.
Right, I hate this situation.
No, this is just because of chemicals gone wrong in the body. You just need to stay steady.
Right,I hate being frustrated.
No,it's learning how to deal with difficult people in a Christian manner.
Right, I hate my life.

I finally had to tell them all to shut up because God was in control and I needed to get on with my day.

Not sure if any of you have had this experience. I'm just glad that I've gotten this far in my wisdom to know that it's not that I hate any of this. That it's time to lay it at the foot of the cross and move on to why God put me here, right now.

Then we went off to MOMS group where we're studying Esther with Beth Moore. Today's topic was meanness. How absolutely fitting to the war I just had this morning.

As I was listening to the video, I picked out a thought that people like to have an enemy. They like to have someone to hate. They like to be mean every once and a while. We're fallen, we sin, we crawl back to the foot of the cross. She also touched on the topic of power and how people are mean because they want to feel in power or they feel their power is being threatened or their power is being taken away.

Which brought me to the conclusion, when you're doing a good thing for the glory of God you will be threatened. Depending on how big of an impact it is going to be will be told through all of the struggles you are facing. We need to stand firm through the meanness and keep lifting people up. Heap coals on their heads by not allowing their meanness shake your foundation. We can be part of the problem or part of the solution. We need to be the common people taking uncommon stands.

Take every thought captive and stop the meanness in you. Then, go and lift someone up today. Tiny asked me while we were eating lunch how we can pick ourselves up. She meant as in the car. I called it a God-moment.

My typical day

Love this picture. This is how I feel at the end of some days. Hands full with three babies and all of their accessories. Exhausted to the point that I just want to stare at the wall and be.

My day begins at 330am when the alarm goes off. So far, the hubby and I can snuggle for the next 5 to 10 minutes until we have to get out of bed. Once the snow falls, he has threatened to wake up earlier. 

I grab my warm socks and my bag from beside my bed and head downstairs to take the dog out. Always an adventure. Depending on who's visited our yard in the night or which way the wind is blowing will determine how fast we are out and back in.

Start a pot of coffee and get on the dishes. Hubby is downstairs by this time and we get to spend some uninterrupted time together. Even if we don't talk, just being in the same quiet room awake is good enough.

Hubby is out the door by 415am. I finish up the dishes and get until 630am to choose something that is all me. I usually start with boosting on the computer to see what happened since I last signed on. Sometimes I watch a movie. I tried doing my Bible study but I just can't think deep enough to answer the questions that I would like.

I get the table ready for breakfast with bowls, spoons, cereal, and Violet's allergy medicine. The upstairs to sing the girls awake and pull them out of bed.

Downstairs and at the table by 700am or they don't get enough time to eat and chatter.

I pack their lunches or convince them that they will enjoy hot lunch at school. I make sure they have everything in their backpacks and that they are all dressed for the weather. Otherwise, I shuffle them upstairs to get pants or socks.

720am is the bathroom and teeth bell. They get 10 minutes to get all three girls in and out of the bathroom. Amazed when the bell rings at 730am for shoes-coat-hat that some of them aren't done in the bathroom yet.

Next most important bell is 740am. That one tells us that if we are not out of the yard yet, we are going to have to hussle to get to school before the start bell rings.

Walk Hazel to her classroom to empty her backpack. Walk Amber to her classroom to empty her backpack. And then Violet and I head home. Of course, while we're at school we get to see all of our friends and have odd conversations. The janitor has been on a mission to make friends with Violet since we started going to the school. He stops and smiles, greets her and shakes her hand. It's very sweet. On the days we miss him, she notices and mentions it.

From when we get home until lunch are free time. We can do chores, art projects, writing, coloring, watch a movie, or go to our "classes" that happen during the week. We have storytime at the library and a MOMS Bible study, and soon we'll be going back to school to help out in Kindergarten. 

We have some lunch and have interesting conversations. Then Violet chooses 3 books or we just started a chapter book and we snuggle up on the couch together and read. "When the big hand is straight up, we need to close our eyes." If we luck out, it's 100pm. Sometimes it's 200pm. Then it's naptime. Or just close our eyes for a few moments and rest. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Bell rings at 225pm to start getting everything ready to leave the house and gather the circus. Now I get pulled to school by Scooby and get to hold him down while all the kids wind him up. He is such a big puppy and all he wants to do is lick and play. Only an 80 pound dog that can look you in the eye on his hind legs is a little intimidating to play with.

On the way home the answer the major questions while I get pulled back home by the dog. "How was lunch and how much of it did you eat?" "What did you have for snack?" "Who did you play with at recess and what did you play?" "What was your favorite part of the day?"

They get a half hour to play outside. I sometimes stretch it to an hour if they are willing to do their homework while they are running around and playing. The dog chases a rock. I go through their backpacks and get some reading done while they play.

400pm the bell rings to get dinner ready. It goes off that early in case I have forgotten to plan for dinner and I need to cook frozen meat. The hubby gets home shortly after that and then we sit down for dinner at about 500pm.

After dinner is one of our many events of the week or just snuggle time. Still looking for the right night to fit in game night instead of it just being a random thing. Hubby teaches Aqua Kickboxing one night a week. The girls have youth group one night a week. Grandma comes over so the hubby and I can have date night once a week.

730pm up to bed for steps and stories. Each girl gets to choose one picture storybook. We do a nightly devotional. Say prayers. Then kisses and mom reads "close your eye" stories. This is a chapter book that has caught my fancy that I think they will enjoy. I read until they or I fall asleep and then it's off to bed.

Sleep until morning unless the dog barks, the hubby snores, the kids have nightmares, or the neighbors are loud (which thankfully doesn't happen all that much anymore).

Now that I have typed that all out....I am busy during the day.

Is your day as crazy as mine is? And don't forget all the exciting adventures that raising kids adds to your day, every day.

Proverbs 31:10-31

Proverbs 31:10-31

New International Version (NIV)

Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character

 ^10 [a]A wife of noble character who can find?
   She is worth far more than rubies.
¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her
   and lacks nothing of value.
¹² She brings him good, not harm,
   all the days of her life.
¹³ She selects wool and flax
   and works with eager hands.
¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
   bringing her food from afar.
¹⁵ She gets up while it is still night;
   she provides food for her family
   and portions for her female servants.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
   out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;
   her arms are strong for her tasks.
¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
   and her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff
   and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor
   and extends her hands to the needy.
²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
   for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
²² She makes coverings for her bed;
   she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
²³ Her husband is respected at the city gate,
   where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,
   and supplies the merchants with sashes.
²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;
   she can laugh at the days to come.
²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
   and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
   and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;
   her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹ “Many women do noble things,
   but you surpass them all.”
³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
   but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
³¹ Honor her for all that her hands have done,
   and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

This scripture was part of the MOMS study I'm in for the week on your husband. I read it and was astounded and thought that I needed to share this with my hubby after he chuckled about the topic of the week. 

The question that followed the instructions to read it was, "What questions came into your head as you read it?"

My husbands response was that life is so much easier now. 

I had a few more thoughts than that.

Did she have anyone to help her with all of this? That's a crazy amount of work for one woman.

Is our advanced technology helping us or hurting us? It's allowing for more idle time.

What were your thoughts after reading this verse? Do you think that you could be a woman from the Proverbs? I know for certain that I would have a really hard time doing it. Especially since I asked my husband today if he ever felt like he was being buried alive. He chuckled and said that he never thought of it that way. He also admitted that is why he doesn't ask me to do more than I already am. Because he recognizes that I may start one project with good intention of finishing it and then get distracted (rightly) by the children or anything else that takes (right) priority and then I just forget to get back to it.

On that note...I have heaps of laundry and dishes that should be getting some minimal attention while everyone is otherly distracted. But I am really enjoying writing.

So tired...just want a nap.

Something has got to be missing from my body because I should not feel this tired all the time. It's probably me wearing myself down but I don't remember feeling this tired when I do that. Hmmm...maybe these 330am wake ups with no nap are starting to affect me. Tiny girl did allow me to take one nap this week. We will try again today with all the other stuff I have planned.

Girlie birthday party this weekend. Started making the fairy dust (colored salt) last night. Going to pop some fresh popcorn for them to sprinkle the fairy dust on. Also planning on making coffee filter fairies and no cook playdough. So keep your eyes open for the wrap up summary of all this fantasticness. Along with it being my birthday and we've been invited to an Eagle Scout ceremony. And then it looks like I'll be starting helping out in the classroom the week after or maybe the week after that. The hubby is very excited that I have so much to do to keep busy. Praying that if I wear myself out, that he'll be fine picking up the pieces (after all, it took him a week to realize I was sick last month).

M.O.M.S. group started up again. Love hanging out with such a wide range of women. We have two brand new moms and a few well retired ladies along with all of us in the many stages of children. This session we are studying And yesterday was the introduction session. What hit me the most was the simple change of a word in a sentence can change everything. If you simply change "need" to "want", this weight lifts off of you and you are able to function happily. Talked this topic over with the hubby last night. He said that there has to be a base list of needs in order to function. I think that if we make some of those needs into wants in the learning process, we may raise happier children. They should want to pick up their toys so that they know where to find them and they don't disappear. They should want to put their clothes in their drawers so that they know where to find them and they stay clean and safe from the sisters. They should want to help out around the house because they know that makes mom and dad happy and when they are happy good things happen.

I think I have procrastinated enough for one morning (maybe .:slaps hand:. ok). Time to do my study because I want to not have to worry about it for the rest of the day and I want to do something fun with the tiny girl. Like attempt the first batch of playdough.

Wordless Wednesday

One of my latest creations.

She doesn't want to stop wearing it. Yeah me.

The Last Day of the Challenge

Today is the last day of the 31 day Blog Challenge. I started wracking my brain as to how I wanted to end this adventure. What have I learned. Who have I met. What I'm doing different.Where I'm going to go from here.

Those are all deep and pondersome questions. I'm not feeling that deep right now.

I really enjoyed having to be accountable for making sure that I shared something new every day. It made me more willing to share more, think more, write more.

I am amazed at how much my life has changed in these last couple of years. Something is steering me to go down a certain path. It looks very scary. And to borrow a quote from a lovely lady I've met this year, " I always take the high road. The low road is way too crowded." (You can find her here... http://christythewriter.com/)

This next school year is going to be a challenge for us all. My hubby changed jobs, therefore, we are waking up at 330A to get him ready for work and spend time together. Then I spend the next couple of hours cleaning, writing, spending time doing what I want to without distractions. Then come the school year, I'll be getting two of the three ready for full day of school. This means new challenges for the both of them, along with homework. It also means a new challenge for me and the tiny girl. She wants to do everything that her sisters do. She told me at the end of last year that she was going to be in second grade next year (she's 3).


I'm glad to have met many moms who have been down this part of the path that I have begun to walk down. I'm also glad to have met many teachers and homeschoolers who share wonderful ideas to keep my tiny genius busy. I have also met many writers who inspire me and show me that I don't need to be perfect for people to enjoy my writing. The only thing I need to do is to keep writing my best and people will read it.


It's like that giant question that everyone has asked at some point in their life, "How do they do it?" You just keep on keeping on and do your best to get it done. Don't be afraid to say that you need help....and then go to find it. 


This is the path that I am taking and I am glad to have been a part of this challenge and to see all the wonderful assortment of people and thoughts out there. Also to see how just a simple word can change a person's day (sometimes all it may take is a picture).

Random thoughts

Here's what's on my mind this morning.

My anniversary is on Monday. 8 fantastic years. Ok, they weren't all fantastic. What to get my hubby that he will enjoy and won't just become another thing in the house? It's bronze and pottery or linen and lace. Completely stumped by that one. I may just use my craftiness and make him something small and write him something beautiful that he can keep forever and our grandkids will be touched by how skilled a writer their grandma was and how loving and thoughtful she was and how much they wish they could be more like me.
Ok...enough of the ego boosting. I did start writing something. And if I feel brave enough, I may just share it. All I really want is to spend some time with him without the kids. Even if it's just going to get some ice cream together or going for a walk. Just do something simple. Because that is me.

The other thing on my mind is my cousin's wedding. My girls absolutely adore this lady. When we were kids we would spend a weekend together every summer at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Just the two of us (I have a sister and she has 2). She is getting married in September and I am wracking my brain trying to decide what to get her. They just bought a house this summer, so the ideal gift would be a gift card to help her finish the remodel. But I want to do something special for her.
Here's what I've been pondering....and how the two topics connect.

I have come to realize these past couple of years that marriage isn't just a thing. It's not like your name or your clothes. It is truly more like a job than anything else in this world. It takes effort on both parts to make it work. It takes hard work and understanding (I know I've heard that somewhere before).

The thought really hit me about a month ago. What I really need to do with this realization is write down these "ah-ha" thoughts about marriage so that my girls will know what I've learned and then maybe it'll help them with their marriages and relationships. Maybe I can give them a little something that I never got (sorry mom, I still love you). I found a journal at the local thrift shop...a journal that goes with The Power of a Praying Wife. In this book, I started writing down those "ah-ha" moments as they occur to me.

To connect it all together...
I was was thinking about creating a little book for my cousin on the thoughts I have collected. And I was thinking about sharing some of those same insights with my hubby in the anniversary letter. Good stuff?

Here's why a took a moment to write all of this....I would like your help. What have you found to be the "ah-ha" moment in your marriage. Something simple. Like..."it helps to have the counters clean, it makes everyone feel better and it's easier to get stuff done"...ok, with that my mind took it to the newlywed aspect and the long married aspect...love those kind of thoughts.

Ok, back from being distracted. Please feel free to add your bit of wisdom, you never know who you're going to help. Thanks for listening and now back to my sick little monkey (tummy ache and a fever).

PS...This is what inspired some of these thoughts today...http://theromanticvineyard.com/2011/07/21/water-into-wine-proverbs-11/

I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More by Karen Beaumont - Book Review

Summary: In the rhythm of a familiar folk song, a child cannot resist adding one more dab of paint in surprising places.

My girls love this book and ask to have it read almost every night. The story is about the typical small child who gets into mischief at every turn of the book. Mom catches him painting the walls and puts him in the bath to wash while she hides his remaining paints. As all us moms know, a determined child will find a way, anyway, to get what he wants. Instead of painting the walls, he starts painting his body parts in rhyme.

The colors are amazing. The style is realistic enough that you could see your own child doing this. At least I could see my crew of monkeys doing it. The littlest actually did once with Emerald Green fingernail polish.

To continue my exploration of my hometown, here is a link to our fantastic library. Love this one. The lowest level of the library is the children's section. That way the kids wonderful voices don't echo throughout the entire library and disturb everyone else trying to study or read.
http://www.wjnlib.org/

Movie Review - Water

My hubby chose this one from the library to watch for one of our date nights after the girls were in bed. He ended up going to bed about half way through because he was tired of reading subtitles.

I, on the other hand, made it through the entire movie. It was an extremely well put together movie, subtitles and all. The ending left me heartbroken and lost in my loneliness. Should not have watched this movie while my girls were at their grandma's for the night. Won't ruin the ending by telling you why. I'll just leave that as a warning for all of you moms out there. Make sure you can go and watch your monkeys sleep after watching this movie.

The movie is based in India in the 1930s. They married off their daughters at the age of seven. (My eldest is almost 7.) They got these young girls all dressed up in all these fancy duds. Threw a huge party where they celebrated all around town. And ended the night with a huge feast with tons of sweets. What little girl wouldn't love that sort of a party.

The movie is about how the people of India treated their widows. They believed that when the man died, half of the woman died with him. These women are given 3 options. The first is that their family can allow them to stay in the household. The second is that they can die with their husband. The third is to be placed into a special home for only widows. Widows were believed to be unwhole and thereby unclean. Some even believed them to be unpersons. The lecherous men of the time believed it to be good fortune to be able to have sex occasionally with a widow.

The movie follows a young girl of 7 whose husband has passed away. Her parents choose to place her in a widow's home. She isn't given any explanation as to why she was there and why her parents were leaving her there. The widows in the home explain it to her and help to ease her pain and make her feel at home. This girl changes the life of these women and brings a bright light into some of their lives.

It's a movie about love, life, and how we see each other. It's about treating people as God's creations and not as objects. It's about protecting and loving the people in our lives.

I won't ruin the movie for you by telling you any more about the movie. It's a good watch.

Meet Me Monday

hmmm...What should we talk about today?

My favorite sound.

The rain.

Not quite sure what it is about the rain that sinks into my soul. The sound of it on the roof, inspires me to write. The site of it washing everything clean and new again, soothes my soul. Taking my girls out running in it, fills me with joy. The smell...there's nothing like it.

There is just something about the rain.

My 100th Post

Ok...so it's more than the 100th but I deleted some of them. So this is the official 100th post in case you want to go and count the current ones.

What does one do with this immense post? Do I write about the state of the world? The state of my house? The state of my mind? The state of my girls? The state of my grass? What state I'm in?

Too much pressure for a simple outlet of all of the things tumbling through my mind...ah ha! The perfect topic. Writing.

I LOVE WRITING.

I believe everyone should do it even if it is only your simple thought of the moment or what you did today. There is so much therapy in writing. I don't think I can tell you just how long I have been writing for myself. I was never able to find that obscure person to write to. I would write fabulous emails and letters and I hammered through my journals like they were water. But to sit down and write to a person or an idea of a person that I did not know...could not wrap my mind around that.

Until one women's retreat. I had quite a few ladies tell me that the things that come out of my mind definitely need to be put into a book and that they would buy a copy for all of their friends. So I started collecting topics...with the image of the mom that's like me. She's bombarded daily from every aspect of her life. The mom that some days feels as though she has lost herself in this world of raising children. The woman that feels as though she is only a glorified housekeeper on other days. The woman that feels eternally blessed on yet other days. The woman who feels that she is all alone...as well as the one who wishes she could just have a moment alone. The woman who is having a hard time understanding and the next moment wishes that she didn't understand at all.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. The thoughts that tumble through my head astound and amaze me most days. So I started this blog building on the idea that started 2 years ago. Sitting on the front porch with women that you knew would never betray you. Being able to pour out your soul to them and know that if you got it trampled that you probably deserved it. Drinking wine and collecting the random sentence that makes you smile and sparks a thousand thoughts by just reading it again.

So this is where I am starting my book. This is where I am collecting my thoughts. This is what I am going to leave behind. You never know what's going to happen tomorrow, much less in the next minute. Leave someone something to let them know who you really are. Reading someone else's thoughts gives you an insight into that person that a conversation never will.

Thoughts of Another Agenda

I am not a good mom. I yell all the time. I never do anything fun like get dirty or hang from the monkey bars like Dad. I never let them do anything fun like dig holes in the yard and use glitter and glue all day long. I make them eat the food on their plate whether they want it or not. I don't let them eat sweets all day everyday. We don't spend all day at the park. I don't buy them everything they want.
I do let them eat sugar (chocolate, licorice, suckers). I let them run in the house and climb the walls. I let them make messes all over the house and don't make them pick it all back up. I don't give away their toys without permission from them.
I think I could go on forever with the thoughts that cause me to think that I am a bad mom. But these are hidden agenda thoughts that I don't want to think. I want to know that my children love me and enjoy spending time with me so much that they never want to leave my side. These girls are healthy and happy and have more than enough of everything. I am a good mom. No matter what those thoughts say.

Random Thoughts from the weekend

Random thoughts from my head.

Not enjoying living in my head lately. And a great friend of mine told me not to live there…just visit.

Throwing a tempertantrum doesn’t get you anywhere and doesn’t solve anything. So why do we feel the need to have them?

Point at a red light.

Zoomed past a minivan and a moving van because I was tired of driving 10 under the speed limit. Just got passed and felt good about accomplishing the task…..when I saw a county police officer up on the hill clocking the traffic going by. I was going 25 over the speed limit at this point. Got on the brakes and thank the Lord, I did not get pulled over.

The words mean one thing, but hearing them mean something different. 

Am enjoying the silence of nobody talking to me and having to talk to nobody.

When it gets to be the end of your life, does everyone want to write about where they’ve been? Or do they want to live it up until it’s over because they have nothing to leave behind.

Does the world seem less safe now than it did 50 years ago? Could it be a simple math problem. Let’s say, on average, there are 2 really bad people out of every 100. So in a town of 10,000 there would be 200 really bad people. It’s not that there are more bad people in the world; it’s because there are more people in the world in general.

Can you form a habit of thought? Silly question, of course you can. Can the habit of thought be yearly? Not daily. Every year at the same time, nothing specific to tell that it is that time of year.

Taking a break from the computer and the phone is liberating. But not everyone agrees with this thought process.

Afraid of letting my personality show. Because not everyone agrees or can handle my personality at it’s fullest.

We all know how wishes work. You’ll get it, but not always the way you want it.

On vacation, who cares about what time it is.

Today is my day. From the moment I opened the door and smelled the air. The weather is exactly how I feel. My mind has been a pile of much. Some beautiful things can grow in muck. But not everything we need can grow in muck. But today…the sun is fighting to get through the clouds and the breeze is out helping as well. I am shaking the rain from my brain. Blowing the cobwebs from my mind. I am stretching up to the Sun. This is the type of day that I just want to walk and walk and walk until I can’t walk anymore. Then sit down, enjoy the breeze and an Arnold Palmer. When that’s done, get up and start walking again until I get tired or it is too dark to see.

Thoughts of Another Agenda

Was hit by a topic for a series of notes.

What about those thoughts that go running through your head and distract you from what you want to be doing or should be doing? I call them Alternate Agenda Thoughts. It's the devil, or the sin in you, trying to distract you from being the best you can be and accomplishing all that God has put you on this earth to do. It's those thoughts that every person has (more so women then men) and some people recognize them for what they. While others are entrapped by them.

There are self-help book after self-help book out there trying to help women conquer these thoughts. I have read some of them. The current one is Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind. It's got some good things in it that we need to be reminded of. That's how I have come to see most self-help books. They are filled with information that we need to be reminded of again and again and again.

So look forward to some more random thoughts and hopefully some helpful hints as to how to turn those thoughts into something profitable or atleast helpful. If you have any thoughts that plague you or topics you would like to see my turn of a thought on, I would love to hear them.

Remember...out there...somewhere...there is a mom...going through something very similar to the things you are going through...and the turns of your thoughts into something good may help them in their journey and on their path.

Moms Praying For Moms

Whether you pray the way I pray.
Whether you believe in God as I believe in God.
We moms need to pray for the other moms we know.
We know what kind of behavior may happen in their lives with their children because we are living it as well.
I asked for prayer this week for life with my 3-year-old. She is a strong willed child that has genius tendencies. At least that's how I see her. She measures the punishment to the crime to determine if the punishment is worth the fun of the crime she plans to commit. She knows right from wrong and sometimes chooses the wrong because she can. She watches her sisters very closely and then imitates them to a tee.
I have see the fruit of the prayers. I am having moments of clarity.
She is bored and not challenged by the things around her or the things her sisters want to do.
She is my challenge. I am stockpiling activities to keep her active next year while both of her sisters are in school full time. Otherwise I may just decide to run away from home one day.

If you are a mom, and need some prayers, feel free to comment. I'll add you to my prayer bracelet and pray for wisdom and clarity for you this week.

Thoughts of Another Agenda

Today I want to be fat.

So that's not a pic of me being fat, but of being pregnant...closest I could get and I love that pic for some reason. Back to my thoughts.

I want to be fat. I want to be huge. I want to be large. I think these thoughts as I lay on the bed feeling thin and my hubby looks at me.
then I think about all the health problems that would go with it. Not being able to move or breathe well. That's not really what I want or even want to think. It's another one of those hidden agenda moments.
What I want is to be noticed for me. My ego is screaming. I need to not be seen as someone's (many ones) mom or someone's wife. My ego wants to be seen as me.
Maybe I need to take some time to write. Maybe I need to take some time to create. And then I remember the monkey circus and how they always seem to foil these plans because they feel neglected or ignored.
Being a mom is a hard job. And I feel my job gets harder being the wife of a former Marine with perfectionist qualities. His sighs, silences and sentences are sometimes deadly. But his good qualities out weigh that (most days).

My favorite hubby pic with the baby that was causing me to be fat in the pic at the top. Back to my thoughts.

Then I opened this book I got from the library. I know my girls like Kevin Henkes so I went kind of crazy renting his books from the library. (He's from Wisconsin too, in case you didn't know.)



The story is simple and the pictures are inspiring. It reminds me of my favorite times as a kid. Being in nature, listening and imagining. Think that's something I need to do more of. Which is why I was so inspired by this book from the library.


Loved this book and so did the girls. So I sewed together some lined pages and we started writing down all the sounds we heard on our walk. Which inspired the girls more. Listening Bingo. Plain Bingo sheet with the sounds we normally hear randomly placed on the page. I'll let you know how that one works next week when we get a chance to try it. Just started raining here. So beautiful to watch...just wish I could hear it over the monkey circus. *sigh* Someday it'll be silent in the house and I'll wish all of their noise was back to keep me company.

Helping Your Child Overcome Separation Anxiety - Book Review

Just finished reading this book. At least two of my three girls are affected by Separation Anxiety as I was as a child. (I may still be but I think we have learned to adjust as adults.) This may be why I must carry everything in my purse and never be without it.

The book is packed full of good information. Only it reads as an instruction manual or a government document. I guess I'm just getting used to reading the self-help books that sound like friends talking together.

I found no great insights from this book. The thought that did come from it for me was that I keep reading these books in hopes that I will stumble on the "ah-ha" moment that I did not think of myself yet. So I got to wondering if I am really the good mom I hear people tell me that I am. Maybe I am doing a good job and not letting my girls fall behind the curve. With the imaginative things these girls think up, I don't know why I ever think these thoughts. Maybe I just read enough that I have collected enough knowledge that I do know what I am doing without even knowing it.

This is one of the reasons that I chose to start this blog; to share with the world the things my girls and I do to survive day after day. Like the little reading nook I have created in the playroom. They just spent the last half hour in there looking at and reading books together...nicely.

When it comes to separation anxiety, I make sure that I hug them alot and I hold their hand when out walking. I created a worry stone necklace for the eldest because she needs to hold onto something to feel safe. Since reading this book, I thought that I might need to make and sell these to other moms who are going through the same things that I am.

I started leaving a scrap of paper on her desk and every day I write a new heart on it for her to look at during the day whenever she starts to feel stressed. I walk her to school every day and pick her up every day. We talk about what the day is going to hold and what happened during the day. We discuss how to avoid situations and what she could have done to make the situation better. I talk to her teacher daily about what is going on or what went on the day before. Extremely thankful for the wonderful teachers that she has had so far and how helpful they have been to her.

We take moments out at random to do little things that I know she enjoys and that no one else can be included into. When my hubby was working in Florida (3 weeks out, 1 week home), I started her on journaling her feelings. She couldn't write words yet, so she would write the picture and then tell me how it made her feel and I would write them and tell her what it is that I wrote. That way if she was feeling that way again, she could see the word that explained that feeling, along with the picture.

I will still search and try to figure out the latest issues that these girls are going through. I already started studying for when they hit the teenage years. As I have learned so far, the girl you have at 2 is going to be your teenager. I am in for a doozy of teenage years. It's a good thing I have 10 more years before they are all teens.

Cookies Momma, Please?

First grade is having their end-of-the-year celebration tomorrow. All of the summer birthday kids get to bring treats, they're going to don their swimming suits, and have a fun outdoor party for the whole afternoon.

Since my girl celebrates her birthday right before school starts every year, she gets to bring a treat tomorrow. She wants jello and chocolate. We compromised. I'm baking cookies (or did this afternoon). This is my green girl. I had green food cravings when I was pregnant with her. Her favorite snack as a tot was peas. She requests healthy snacks 9 times out of 10 (unless it's gum).

Last school year, she had a teacher who was majorly into health and fitness. So I set out to find all of the healthy cookie recipes that I could find. Kids love cookies. I love the teacher. Therefore I sugar snacks would not be coming from my house to school. The kids in her class all rated the cookies and let me knows which ones they liked best each day.

This is where I found the Mother Knows Best Carrot Cookies. My girls did not love them when I first made them. They barely liked them. The kids in school loved them. All the grown ups that tried them loved them. So I am continually amused when she asks me to bake these cookies for her.  These are what she settled on for her birthday treat tomorrow.

And for all of you who would like to try a cookie....
And my pics snuck in for the fun of it.

Mother-Knows-Best Carrot Cookies

48 cookies Bake: 10 minutes per batch
Prep: 25 minutes

Ingredients

·         2  cups chopped carrots

·         1  cup shortening

·         1  cup sugar

·         1  egg

·         2  cups all-purpose flour

·         2  teaspoons baking powder

·         1/2  teaspoon salt

·           Orange Frosting (see recipe below)

·           Finely shredded orange peel (optional)

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, cook carrots, covered, in boiling water for 20 minutes or until very tender. Drain well. Transfer to a bowl and mash (you should have about 1 cup).

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat shortening and sugar until fluffy. Beat in mashed carrots and egg. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; gradually beat into carrot mixture.

3. Drop the dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Transfer the warm cookies to a wire rack and let them cool.

4. Prepare Orange Frosting and spread over cookies. Sprinkle with finely shredded orange peel, if you like. Serve within 2 days or cover and freeze for longer storage. Makes 48 cookies.

Orange Frosting: In a large bowl, beat 6 tablespoons softened butter and 2 cups sifted powdered sugar until fluffy. Beat in 1-1/2 teaspoons finely shredded orange peel and 2 tablespoons orange juice. Gradually beat in 2 cups sifted powdered sugar and 2 to 3 tablespoons more orange juice until frosting is spreadable.

 I do not use the frosting for 2 reasons. First reason is that kids don't need everything they eat to be covered in frosting or dipped in something. Second, I walk to school everyday. Carrying 20 frosted cookies to school is not happening. If I can't put the snack in a box or a bag that could be dropped in an emergency, it's not coming with me.

Books!

I have been collecting in a composition notebook all of the books I have read to my girls since August of 2008. That is when we started hunting down our perfect bedtime ritual.

My husband was working in Florida at the time. He would be off to work for about 21 days and then would get to come home for 7. At this time Hazel would have been turning 4, Amber would be 2.5, and Violet would be 6 months. I believe that we had just finished remodeling the girls' room upstairs and all of the beds were still downstairs. I did my best to make it work and make it fun. I pulled as many mattresses upstairs as I possibly could and made a snuggly little nest for us all in there. I read them book after book until they fell asleep and then I would turn on an audio book so that someone else could read me to sleep.

We visited the library at least 3 days a week. I let the girls check out as many items as they had the urge to....until the stroller tipped over the one day because we had too many books to push home.

We are a family passionate about books. It almost (understatement) drives my husband crazy, the amount of books that we have in the house. I want to be Belle with that giant library that she can spend all day in. I even started reading when I am out walking so that I can feel just a little more like Belle. (If my girls can pretend to be princesses, why can't I?)

So I thought I would share the list with you and ya'll can feel free to ask how much we as adults enjoyed reading them vs the girls listening to them. Because I know all of you can understand that sometimes your child LOVES a book and you cannot stand to read it one more time.

I think I'll build a separate page for all of the titles to keep this short for ya'll.

Happy reading!

Follow up to my Adventure Revisited

Took some pics this morning and realized that I have the same haircut as my Amberlet (the one that chopped her own hair a few weeks ago). So I thought that I would follow up with some fun hair pics of me...along with the current do. Hope you enjoy.

 

 

 

 And now that you've been thoroughly entertained. Here are the latest one comparing my grey to the color I chose to accept as my own.

And now for the current hair cut...thinking I may end up coloring it after looking at all of these pics.

This morning. Just can't see the monkey in the bath behind me.

Thanks for walking through all of my hair styles. Good thing I don't have too many from the 80s on my computer yet.