Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Storms
Storms can be exhilarating, frightening. As we peer out the window in the safety of our homes, nestled together, the crack of the thunder makes us jump, then laugh--a stilted, nervous laugh. We gather in closer and keep watching and listening. Like the accident we so desperately want to turn away from and see all at the same time, we can't bring ourselves to walk away. Keep watching each flash and waiting in the stillness for the crash to follow.
It does not cost anything in the comfort and shelter of a warm home; the lights glowing, warming the inside. The safe haven.
I watch the storm in another's life. I stay nestled in the comfort of my life surrounded by love and blessing. I stare silently, speechless. I'm not quite sure how to comfort. Floods of "I told you so's" race through my mind but that won't help right now. If only.....but the past cannot mend. The storm is happening now. So I watch and pray and hold my little ones a little tighter, drink in the warmth and safety of my own little room where we all sit nestled together, and pray to the One who calms the storm that He would calm this one.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Freedom for Tiny Feet
I know many of you have passed this stage of life but I am in the throws of baby feet, tiny toes and chubby legs that refuse do to anything but crawl. I cringe to think of shoving those delicate little virgin feet into anything hard, squeaky, pinchy or bunion producing and so I have found myself on a quest for shoes that will make my little guy feel like running (although at this point I would settle for walking).
Before my littlest one entered the world I have shoved a borrowed pair of Robeez into an old shoe bin and forgotten about them completely. I had actually never seen or heard of such a shoe (nor was I particularly interested) when my neighbor thrust them upon me and insisted I try them out. My first impression was that they looked a bit odd so I pushed them aside and there they remained, forgotten and discarded.
Once my youngest boy entered the world 2 generations of shoes had finally seen their death and I pulled the forgotten Robeez out of the bin and fell in love with them. But now no matter how much I yank, squish and hope that I can continue putting them on my little guy until he is breaking out with acne I have had to come to grips with the reality that they are too small for him.
Thus, began my quest. Unlike my neighbor I cannot afford to pay $20 or more on shoes for my precious boy no matter how much I love his little feet. However, I couldn't bring myself to pick up the hard, stiff, unforgiving shoe on the discount racks at my local department store. I searched for something even comparable and ended up tired and staring at my computer instead of the store shelves. I began on Etsy and searched through what seemed like millions of booties until I came upon these....
www.bugaloo.etsy.com
Just what I had been looking for and reasonably priced. They are handcrafted so probably better quality if not comparable quality to Robeez and they have some incredibly adorable designs. Since my discovery through etsy my sister-in-law informed me that the woman in charge of these wonderful shoes is related to Passionate Homemaking and that there is also a direct website for these shoes. http://www.bugalookids.com
Please check her out and the wonderful shoes she is crafting for the tiny feet in our homes.
Now if only my 15 month old would actually start walking.....
Before my littlest one entered the world I have shoved a borrowed pair of Robeez into an old shoe bin and forgotten about them completely. I had actually never seen or heard of such a shoe (nor was I particularly interested) when my neighbor thrust them upon me and insisted I try them out. My first impression was that they looked a bit odd so I pushed them aside and there they remained, forgotten and discarded.
Once my youngest boy entered the world 2 generations of shoes had finally seen their death and I pulled the forgotten Robeez out of the bin and fell in love with them. But now no matter how much I yank, squish and hope that I can continue putting them on my little guy until he is breaking out with acne I have had to come to grips with the reality that they are too small for him.
Thus, began my quest. Unlike my neighbor I cannot afford to pay $20 or more on shoes for my precious boy no matter how much I love his little feet. However, I couldn't bring myself to pick up the hard, stiff, unforgiving shoe on the discount racks at my local department store. I searched for something even comparable and ended up tired and staring at my computer instead of the store shelves. I began on Etsy and searched through what seemed like millions of booties until I came upon these....
www.bugaloo.etsy.com
Just what I had been looking for and reasonably priced. They are handcrafted so probably better quality if not comparable quality to Robeez and they have some incredibly adorable designs. Since my discovery through etsy my sister-in-law informed me that the woman in charge of these wonderful shoes is related to Passionate Homemaking and that there is also a direct website for these shoes. http://www.bugalookids.com
Please check her out and the wonderful shoes she is crafting for the tiny feet in our homes.
Now if only my 15 month old would actually start walking.....
Friday, September 18, 2009
baking the man
Okay, I understand that this may sound a bit weird...even verging on the psychotic but I was baking a pie today (that's not the weird part) and as I was rolling out my pie crust I discovered this.....
Creepy....
Creepy....
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Growing up
Richard Scarey tells my boys that they can be anything they want when they grow up. My 2nd oldest has now declared that he wants to be a cow when he grows up and at this point I don't have heart to tell him his dream will not come true.
My oldest son creates things--worlds, villages, castles....His most recent endeavor--a city full of army men.
My oldest son creates things--worlds, villages, castles....His most recent endeavor--a city full of army men.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
I Am Who I Am
For those of you out there who know me you know that I LOVE music. In fact there is probably not a moment of the day when I don't have something playing in the background whether it's Pandora, a CD, or the radio. Last night I was mopping and listening to a CD I had just burned (no, I do not have an IPOD yet.. however, it is forever on my wish list and one of these days...sigh) .
Anyway, back to the burned CD...”I am who I am” by Ben's Brother (and no that's not my husband's brother, it's the actual name of the group) was playing and I found myself becoming completely wrapped up in the lyrics.
The song starts out
“No I don't mind if you think I should grow my hair
And no I don't mind if you pick out the clothes I wear”
He goes on....
“Why when you dream do you see me as something I'm not?
Why don't you wake up and see all the good things you've got?
A heart isn't made out of clay
Not something you shape with your hands
Is the reason you ask me to change so that you'll stay the same?
Well I'm sorry if I keep disappointing you again and again”
His answer to all this...
“I am who I am, and you can't change me
I've done what I can, now I'll stand my ground
You're tying my hands if you re-arrange me
It all falls down,”
I sank deeply into his words as I realized how true it is that we as woman are so guilty of this. Of course we've all run into our fair share of weak men who are much more willing and desirous that a woman come along and tell him what to do or think but that is definitely not what we want! So why is it that we have ideas of what we want and we want to mold those ideas into someone else? We smile and say that we love someone exactly the way they are but then we proceed to try to change that person into the person that we really want. The one we created in our mind that doesn't really exist. So in the end we end up destroying that image and the person that we've tried to smash into it.
Of course a song is much more powerful if combined with the music so I'm not sure just reading the lyrics does it justice, but the point remains.
Final note: I know nothing more about Ben's Brother or the other songs that he has so if you check him out further and find that all of his other songs belong in some elevator please don't put me in that box.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
I need a manual for this?
I have recently taken up treasure hunting at several thrift stores in my area and came upon this book. It was published in 1956 and contains a wealth of information. At first I smirked a bit as I threw it on top of the brand new playmobil I had found for $0.50; however, once I got home and took some time to look through all the lovely things I bought I paused to read a few lines.
I am beginning to realize that maybe in the '50s women took marriage and family a little more seriously (at least the practical out workings of marriage and family). Being the "well prepared" wife that I was, I focused more on what it really meant to be married. On wha
t I was doing when I made vows in church to commit my life to this wonderful man. I had kind of forgotten that it might be nice if I knew how to cook a few meals or at least do more than cut up keilbasa and throw it in Zatarans Jambalya mix.Well, so far I've been doing this "homemaking" thing for 6 years and have managed to get by but I had no idea what knowledge I was missing until I found this book. For instance, do you know that you're supposed to dust your furniture every day? Hmm, I'm actually trying to recall the last time I dusted. It's not that I haven't noticed the small colonies of dust bunnies collecting on the piano or realized that I probably really should get to it (even though you might not think it I do really like to keep my house clean) I just never thought of it as something I should take a bit more seriously. There's also a whole chapter entitled "Laundry and Spot Remov
al Made Easy". And several chapters on cooking with wine, how to be a good hostess, what to serve at parties, and so much more.My favorite part is the chapter entitled "Keep yourself Glamorous". Okay, I admit that I secretly wished I could be Mrs. Cleaver or Donna Reed and wear high heels while I vacuum or scrub the toilet. Well, apparently I can still do that. Maybe I'll reclaim the 50's and start a new trend.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Honey, I love you
My latest discovery is the amazing benefits that honey has. Yes, I've been using it in my bread and feel guilty when I reach for sugar instead of the gift God has given thr
ough our friends the bees; however, this is not exactly what I'm referring to. Up until now I didn't realize just how amazing honey is for your skin.
I guess Cleopatra knew this but unfortunately she didn't have a blog so I had to do a bit more research to find out all the amazing benefits that honey really bestows upon our largest organ.
Did you realize that honey is hygroscopic?? Okay, so maybe I didn't know what that meant when I first read it either. What that means is that it actually softens your skin by pulling moisture from the air. In addition to it's moisturizing abilities, honey also has natural antioxidant properties which help protect skin from the exposure to UV rays.
As if that weren't enough there's more. Above all that honey also contains a naturally occurring form of hydrogen peroxide so it works like an antiseptic to kill bacteria on the skin. This is great for those who suffer from acne.
After finding out all this information I was inspired to add a honey soap to my repertoire. I recently made a Honey and Wheat Germ soap that is scented with Lemongrass. The wheat germ acts as a very gentle exfoliant and you know what the honey does. The Lemongrass adds a heavenly scent to the soap. My husband could not stop smelling it after I made it. I also found myself sneaking down to the kitchen to smell it one more time.
Oh, in case your curious I've entitled m
y new soap, "The Bees Knees"
ough our friends the bees; however, this is not exactly what I'm referring to. Up until now I didn't realize just how amazing honey is for your skin.I guess Cleopatra knew this but unfortunately she didn't have a blog so I had to do a bit more research to find out all the amazing benefits that honey really bestows upon our largest organ.
Did you realize that honey is hygroscopic?? Okay, so maybe I didn't know what that meant when I first read it either. What that means is that it actually softens your skin by pulling moisture from the air. In addition to it's moisturizing abilities, honey also has natural antioxidant properties which help protect skin from the exposure to UV rays.
As if that weren't enough there's more. Above all that honey also contains a naturally occurring form of hydrogen peroxide so it works like an antiseptic to kill bacteria on the skin. This is great for those who suffer from acne.
After finding out all this information I was inspired to add a honey soap to my repertoire. I recently made a Honey and Wheat Germ soap that is scented with Lemongrass. The wheat germ acts as a very gentle exfoliant and you know what the honey does. The Lemongrass adds a heavenly scent to the soap. My husband could not stop smelling it after I made it. I also found myself sneaking down to the kitchen to smell it one more time.
Oh, in case your curious I've entitled m
y new soap, "The Bees Knees"
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