Family Musings

Last week my mom was taken to the hospital for a low platelet count. They sent her home on Friday because her numbers had improved after an IVIG treatment and lots of steroids. At her follow up appointment yesterday her platelet count was back down to 6,000 (it had been around 175,000 when she was released last week). So, she was sent back to the hospital. At this point, the plan of care isn't firm, because honestly, the doctor said the body doesn't usually work this way, even when people have ITP , which is what she was diagnosed with a week ago. I'd share more, but since there still aren't a lot of details available I don't want to share my speculations. Please pray for the doctor's to discover the cause of her low counts and to establish a plan of care that keeps her healthy and active. Please pray for my dad and the rest of our family as we try to support her. Please pray for my mom that she will have peace in her heart and will accept the plan of care th...

I am from ping pong tables, Tupperware and above ground swimming pools. I am from a bedroom community with a church every mile down the main street. I am from the rock garden with a double rocker for enjoying watch the traffic go by. I am from camping in Key West on Christmas day, curly hair, and a different last name for everyone in my family. I am from the people who can't say no and don't know how to sit still. From being the little girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead and dreams of being a lawyer because I liked to argue. I am from church when the doors were open, because we couldn't say no or sit still. I'm from the Sunshine State, broccoli-corn casserole, and homemade ice cream on the back porch during the summer. From the the person who doesn't know a "white fat boy" refers to a motorcycle and not a person, the man who stepped up when he didn't have to, and the ghost of evil done to someone too small to defend themsel...

This past weekend we went to the birthday party of a special little friend and I wanted to take a gift that was personalized yet inexpensive. Since I consider myself crafty, I combined a couple of my favorite ideas from around the web with a sale at Michael's and came up with this custom t-shirt for 5-year old Lydia. To begin with, I laid out the shirt (sorry the colors are funky in the next 2 pictures, I took them at night in fake light) and put a piece of cardboard inside to keep the bleach from bleeding through to the back. Then, with a bleach pen (cost was ~$1.40 with coupon), I free handed a random, girly design onto the side of the shirt. After about 15 minutes you can see that the color was already started to leave the shirt. After about an hour, the bleach gel had started to dry out and get crusty so I rinsed it in the sink then dried it. Once it was clean and dry, I used purple embroidery floss to stitch Lydia's name on the front. I did this free hand (I'm ...

In honor of this special day for Dad's every where, I decided to repeat my interview with Charlotte , but instead ask her to answer these same questions about her Daddy. What is something Daddy always says to you?  - "Good job!" What makes Daddy happy? -  "When I do a good job." What makes Daddy sad? -  "When I do a bad job." How does Daddy make you laugh? -  "His jokes. Like the bunny rabbit one." What was Daddy like as a child? - " I'm thinking. He liked to go to the potty." How old is Daddy? -  "I don't know, 98?" How tall is Daddy? - 99 inches. What is Daddy's favorite thing to do? -  "Bake food." (I think she means eat foot.) What does Daddy do when you're not around? -  "He just does what he wants." What is Daddy really good at?  - "He's really good at giving kisses and hugs." What is Daddy not very good at?  - "Putting on head bands." What does...

This summer I am hosting a weekly Mom's Night In (MNI) for some of my friends who have preschoolers at home and need a night out to relax while their hubbies tend to the littles at home (and hopefully in bed!). For our most recent MNI, we had a slight luau theme to the party and had some fun playing games from Python-Printables.com. I received a complimentary code to download their luau party games pack and you can be sure I downloaded every single game that came with it! We didn't use all of the games because they weren't all appropriate for our gathering type, but the ones we did play were fun. Our favorite was a fill in the blank game that had more than 30 different sentences to finish. It really helped us get to know one another better and see the ahem, wackier side of some of the ladies. ( As an aside, can anyone tell Brandy a real word that rhymes with coconut?!)  We also played a fun moo-luau mad lib which tickled the heart of this former English teacher. On...

Apparently reminiscing about our trip to see the manatees this past spring , Charlotte decided to draw one this morning. It is now hanging in the art gallery that is my kitchen. After this, she drew a picture of a dog with no ears. When asked why he had no ears, she said he was deaf and used doggie sign language. What have your kids been drawing recently?

I've posted before about why I think it is important to teach my children sign language . And when Charlotte was little I posted all sorts of cute , edited videos of her showing off the signs she had learned. But, as with any second child, Mary just hasn't seen any of the sign language love. So, let me remedy the situation right now with this 2-minute video of Mary showing off what she has learned from me, Charlotte, and Signing Time . Most of these signs came from Playtime Signs so I guess it's time to switch the DVDs out! Oh, and I just found out the other day that Signing Time has come out with Bible Fun: Friends & Play . I might have to add that to the girl's birthday lists!

When we first moved to Lakeland, one of my favorite things to do with Charlotte was take her to open gym time at a local gymnastics studio. We even went after Mary was born, but once she started getting more mobile, I found it too hard to keep up with both of them in such a large space. (I know, I'm a mothering wimp when it comes to things like this.) Fortunately, a play group that I am a part of recently organized a private open gym time at Gym Tek. I was so happy to take them and I think these pictures show what a great time both girls had. Here, Mary is copying the big girls who were taught to roll down the yellow ramp. Practicing her first ever hand stand. Climbing up the wall. And then touching her nose to the wall like she was taught. Mary copying her older sister, almost. You'll get there some day Mary. In the mean time, I'm proud of you for hanging here without freaking out. Maybe her favorite part! And learning how to skin the cat. This summer ...

I think it is important to spend one on one time with each of my girls. It is a chance to focus on them and not be distracted by siblings needs or wants. Recently, I was able to take Charlotte to another stage show ( we saw Annie a year or so ago), thanks to some tickets we were given by a friend with connections. On this night, Charlotte and I went to see Max & Ruby Live with several friends and she had a great time. And it might have been her first date. But shhh... don't tell her dad! Aren't they cute walking and holding hands? Waiting for our tickets at Will Call resulted in some funny outtakes.  I have no idea why she is making that face! Charlotte loves being grown up and handing things to adults. Like the tickets. And do you think Jesse is excited? Since the tickets were free, I splurged on a small popcorn.  "Is anyone coming? Do I have to share?" "Ahhhh... it's all mine!" "Hmmm.... smell that buttery goodness!" Amy ...

In case you hadn't heard, last Friday was National Donut Day. You better believe that was a holiday we celebrated at the Family Musings house! I remembered my mom making homemade donuts when I was a little girl but had never done it myself. The process is simple enough if you aren't afraid of a pan of hot oil. I even convinced my almost 4 year old to help me. Ok, I didn't really have to convince her, she loves donuts! Here are the ingredients you'll need to make easy peasy homemade donuts: Ingredients: Neutral flavored oil, canned biscuits, plus toppings. I recommend powdered sugar, cinnamon & sugar, and homemade frosting* with orange extract for a bright touch. Tools: Hands, high sided pan for frying donuts, slotted spoon for taking donut holes out of hot oil, chopsticks for taking donuts out, and cookie cutter or other small round device (I used a medicine cup and it was perfect!) First, you need to flatten the biscuits. Great step for the littles to help...

Memorial Day Weekend 2011 My husband is addicted to sun screen. He always wants to know where it is or how soon he can get it. If we have an outing planned that will involve more sunlight than you get walking from the car into the mall, then he wants sun screen. I complain about it a lot because it is another layer of things to do before we can leave the house and get onto the fun. Really though, I am glad he is doing what he can to avoid a future with skin cancer. Especially because he is pretty adamant about the girls getting sunscreen too. And now it is an almost normal part of our routine before we leave for outdoor play dates. In an effort to ease our schedule, I've tried several different kinds of sunblock. The worst was some baby sunscreen towelette that was supposed to be just open and wipe. Actually, it was gross and greasy and had way too much lotion on it to be easy to use. Generally though, I've just pushed through the fits from the girls and made them wear ...

Not only am I celebrating 1,000 published posts today, but my friend Amy is celebrating her 29th birthday today! Amy, owner of Dearie Designs is celebrating her birthday today with a special giveaway ! She is an amazing paper crafter and a Stampin' Up consultant. I've purchased many of her items over the last 2 years to use as gifts or for myself and all of them are beautiful and unlike other crafty things I've seen online. She writes: As a thank you for your support, any online or emailed orders placed on June 1st, 2011, will be entered into a drawing for a goody package including hand stamped cards & gifts from Dearie Designs, paper/supplies pack by Stampin' UP, and the new Stampin' Up Idea Book 2011-2012, when it arrives July 1st ~FREE! Details: Orders count when either placed in my online shop through my Stampin Up web site or emailing me with your SU order OR purchases of DearieDesigns items for sale in my etsy shop . Feel free to subscribe to her b...

I can hardly believe that this post is number 1,000. That's a lot of writing y'all! My very first post was on Friday the 13th in April, 2007. But I love my second post even better because it has a picture of my mom the moment she realized she was going to be a grandmother . Over the years I've shared lots of stories, reviews, and even thrown in giveaways to keep it fun. Here are some interesting statistics: 98 review posts written 72 giveaways 13 Thursday Thirteen posts 54 posts about my faith 201 posts about Charlotte Moon 50 posts about Mary Mitchell and lots of other miscellaneous posts and the randomness that is life! I've really enjoyed writing at Family Musings even if sometimes I do get in over my head with lots of product reviews to write. (I currently have several in the queue, just trying to space them out some.) This blog has also had a lot of different outfits. Some of them better than others of course... and as a way to celebrate publishing 1...