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Showing posts from September, 2010

Grace

"Your grace is enough. Your grace is enough for me." These are lyrics to one of my favorite songs. I've liked this song for a long time. I can really rock to it in the car and feel close to God. But until recently, whenever I belted it out I focused more on the second part of the lyrics I quoted above - "Your grace is enough for me ." Because I'm vain, egotistic, and selfish. Then, I was blessed to go to the MOPs convention in Orlando in August. And I heard this song in a completely different way. Christi Nockels was leading us in worship through this song and as we got to the end, she riffed a little. And prayed a little. And whispered a little. She whispered into our ears that His grace is enough for our children. And this His grace is enough for our husbands. And I was stopped in my tracks. You mean, I'm not enough? I thought that was my role, to be enough for them. That I had to fill their needs and be perfect so they could be their best. One ...

Mary Is Walking!

She's been teasing up for several days now with a few steps here and there. Then yesterday, she took 12 all by herself.  Oh, and  as a bonus, you can see her sign cookie... which is one of the things we had been using to motivate her. It was just a plastic counting cookie though.

Dinner Time Blues

I'm currently sitting at my dining room table listening to my sweet, darling, angelic Charlotte pitch a fit. This is uncharacteristic of her. But I did find it slightly amusing when she told me to "go away to bed and stay there FOREVER and ever and ever." You see, she is not happy about our new dinner time rule - she has to eat her dinner. A couple of weeks ago we tried a timer method because when she does it, she dawdles. Not that she has to rush, but if she doesn't have the attention span or ability to sit in her seat for 45 minutes, then she needs to finish her dinner sooner. Unfortunately, that just resulted in her not eating more than a couple of bites for dinner in the 20-30 minutes allotted to her The girl is tiny. I don't expect her to eat a huge plate of food. I've done the research and she gets about 1/2 cup of food at dinner. I've seen the girl eat a lot more than that when she wanted too, but I try to keep her portions reasonable, especi...

Guest Post: The Art of the Written Note

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I've been talking to Abbe Mazer Lunger, the mompreneur who founded PrintArtKids , and she sent me a sample of the products they can create using your child's artwork. I was impressed with the both the quality of stationary created and the concept of using children's art to engage them in the etiquette of hosting a party. I asked her to share more about how to engage children in gratitude and how her shop works. *************************************** In the current age of email and texting, it’s only a matter of time before the hand written note is all but forgotten. As parents, we must challenge technology by continuing to teach our children the art and importance of personalized correspondence. Involving children in the planning of their birthday parties is the ideal time to introduce them to this necessary life skill. Creating their own unique invitations, thank you notes and birthday cards using their own art is a fun activity, and will enhance both fine motor skills ...

Happy 1st Birthday Mary

My dear Mary, You turned 1 today. I can hardly believe how fast this first year of your life gone. One year ago, right about this time, you went swimming in a big blue tub and took your first breath. Only God knows how many you've taken since then! Or how many are yet to come. I just laid you down to sleep after a pretty rough evening. You have a cold. You just wanteeed to be in Momma's arm until you fell asleep and rolled over. While you are drifting into dream world tonight, I'm thinking about the dreams I have for your life. Sometimes my dreams are basic, like I dream you will sleep through the night soon. Sometimes they are a little harder, that you will catch up with your peers and be discharged from therapy. But my real dreams, are so much bigger than either of these temporary ones. I dream that you will find the path God has for your life quickly... so that you don't waste any years walking away from him. You see, as much as I love you and as much as your...

Giveaway: Chocolate Cake Club

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Do you have those moments in life that just scream for chocolate cake? Those special events that need a special treat to go with them? I recently was introduced to an online company, The Chocolate Cake Club , that can help you create those moments, to be inspired, and to have more fun even if your family is busy. They call these "Chocolate Cake Moments." Their tag line is - "Products That Make Life Easier For Busy Parents." What parent couldn't appreciate that. And while they offer all sorts of organizational tools and things for daily life, I want to share with you something they sell that makes life easier when you are planning a party. They are called Birthday Party Entertainment Kits . Birthday Party Entertainment Kits come with an activity that doubles as the party favor, goody bags for filling, themed invitations, themed thank you cards, a game, a party and entertainment guide, as well as one or two more things to round out the theme. Themed kits i...

Giveaway: Sudz N Bubbles

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Unique and unusual party favors are one way to make your child's party memorable. I had the opportunity to share several unique ideas at Charlotte's party. One of them was a cupcake soap that we shared as a party favor. Sudz N Bubbles makes and pre-packages these to match any party color scheme. We had one extra to keep for Charlotte,  but she doesn't want to use it because it is so pretty. Fortunately, she doesn't want to eat it either. These soaps are a nice way to avoid cheap dollar store toys that will break before the party is over. And they can also prevent sugar overload from giving a favor bag full of candy.  Finally, these glycerine soap products will last longer, letting the recipient remember the good time for weeks to come. Not only can these Sudz N Bubble soap cakes be personalized by color, Cindy, the mom-preneur who founded the company, can make a custom label to go on the bottom of the cupcake package. Cindy says "Sudz N Bubbles was born out o...

Giveaway: Strawlution

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Kid parties are often known for concluding with a big mess for the hostess to clean up. There are cake crumbs in the carpet. Little bits of paper being chewed up by the dog (or the baby if you live at my house). And inevitably, some kid decides to make a big pink stain with his juice cup right in the middle of the living room. Right? Recently, I came across a product call Strawlution. It is a straw that goes in, but doesn't come out. That ought to foil the neighborhood brat's attempts to ruin your carpet for sure. You can use it in juice boxes, yogurt or pudding cups, or anything else that is drinkable through a straw. I've let Charlotte use these straws when she has a drink in the car because the number one no-no for us is pulling the straw out. It works especially well with those little chug milks too that you get in the drive thru. For those extremely rare days when nothing else is available. (Was I convincing enough?) Enough of my fast food habit... back to the st...

Lots Of Winners Tonight

I had fun with the random number generator tonight and here are the winners from all of my closed giveaways: The Sewing Loft - #90 by Jeannine Peppers and Pollywog s - #16 by Naomie hoops&yoyo - #36 by Brandy Chocomize - #69 by Angie NYC Subway Line - #57 by Julie Cake Crystals - #78 by Melisa Bass, #68 by Heather , #37 by Sophia, #44 by Lona728, #71 by Supreme Vision Sassy Signs - #37 by SJT42075 DaSweetZPot - #7 by Shairbearg Congratulations! I'll be emailing all of you shortly to get your contact information!

Birthday Bash Is Almost Over

Life sure does get busy when school starts... even for those of us who don't have school aged children. My hubby went back to work. MOPs started again. And a "new friend from China," as Charlotte calls her, moved in with us. (We are hosting an exchange student this school year.) So that means I still have a handful of reviews/giveaways to write up. Look for those to all be posted in the next few days. The participating companies include: Bloomin' Books Strawlution Chocolate Cake Club My Punch Bowl Monkey Monkey Music Sudz N Bubbles Squishy Press Print Art Kids (review only) Z Wind Ups Leave an comment on this post letting me know which company you are most interested in and I'll give you an extra entry on that giveaway!