Family Musings

It might seem obvious that a stay at home mom to a preschooler and a toddler would do just about anything to get away from her life to spend a few days of hanging out with some of her best girl friends. Especially after spending a good chunk of the summer solo parenting because her husband was out of town at work. And I suppose for some moms, that would be enough of a reason to pack up the mini van and get as far away as possible. But in less than a week, I have an even better reason to round up those girl friends and go on a 10-hour road trip to Tennessee - MOPS Convention! MOPS Convention is a crazy, jam-packed weekend full of learning ways to be a better mom, wife and MOPS leader. Last year I learned so much - about leading large groups of women in creative activities (i.e. crafts),  how  grace is essential to mothering , why my room mate saved her first kiss for her husband, what happens when I don't get enough sleep and I can't blame a restless baby, and that I reall...

Have you ever been confused by the alphabet soup on the labels in the skin cream department? Then this guest post is for you. I'm glad to have some of the jargon finally clear in my head. ********************************* One of the best ways to prevent the onset of smile lines is to keep your skin healthy using exfoliants. Exfoliants help to remove the outer layer of dead skin cells and promote new cell growth. This can make your skin look smoother and give it a nice healthy glow. There are two main types of exfoliants that are used today, Alpha hydroxyl acids and Beta Hydroxyl Acids. This article will explain the difference between the two and help you decide which is best for your skin. Alpha vs. Beta Beta hydroxyl acids are found in most anti-wrinkle creams because they remove the dry and dead top layer of skin. One of the most commonly used "BHA"'s is Salicylic acid . Salicylic acid can help remove aging skin cells and  can even kill the bacteria that caus...

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it here before, but we intend to be a homeschooling family. there are lots of reasons we want to homeschool and I'll share those at another time. But right now, I'm so excited about having taken a major step towards our homeschooling goal that I can't wait to share it with you! Bruce and I have purchased our first official homeschooling curriculum (not counting the preschool workbook I bought at Sam's last summer). We bought the Sonlight Curriculum for 4 and 5 year olds . In no particular order, here are the reasons we chose Sonlight for our family: Their "great books" literature-based approach appeals to our desire to develop strong critical thinking skills and avoid the typical text-book type learning that happens in most classrooms today. It meets my specific organizational needs. I know homeschooling at this level can be done inexpensively with resources available online, but my mind gets lost in the blogosphere...

It's true... when the details of daily life increase, the journaling and recording of that life decreases. Summer is racing past me with out me having taken the time to note as much of the fun things we've done as a family as I would have liked. I know we are making great memories each week and at least want to mark a few moments of this jam-packed summer! There have been impromptu field trips to new candy shops in town... Hospital visits to see my mom (who is staying with my brother now and working on the recovery process)... Fun sparkler parties with sweet friends... Playing in the pool with cousins... One on one time for Mommy with each of the girls... Mary and Mommy at Explorations V Children's Museum together... Charlotte and Mommy watching fireworks in a parking lot on our way home... Late nights trying to find out who hit the gate in my neighborhood (a fun treat reserved for the HOA president, moi!) Welcoming Daddy home from...

As I mentioned the other day, Charlotte was going to gymnastics camp this week. It is an early birthday present (she'll be 4 in a few weeks) and she was very excited to wake up every day and put on her new sparkly gymnastics outfit. Anyone who knows me on a daily basis, knows that I generally don't have a problem leaving my children with other people. And they don't either. Charlotte has been going to church nursery since she was about 2 months old and never really bats an eye when I drop her off. And now, Mary usually just walks right into her class without even a second thought of me. My girls go to a baby sitter's house sometimes or I swap child care with a local friend. I have just never felt very stressed out about leaving them with people I know and trust. But the first day of gymnastics camp was a little different than I expected. As I watched Charlotte walk onto the squishy floor, she turned and gave me a slightly pensive look, seeking encouragement that it ...

This week I've been blessed with the chance to spend some one on one time with Mary. As it normal with second children, she doesn't get as much undivided attention as her big sister. However, while Charlotte has been enjoying going to a gymnastics camp this week, I've had 3 hours each morning to spend with Mary. In part, I've used the time to run a couple of errands that are just easier with one girl instead of two. But, I've also tried to do something that I thought Mary would enjoy. And today, I remembered to take some pictures of her being adorable, something she is very good at. This is Mary imitating the frog. She even did a little hoppy thing too. The frog is also a speaker that played fun kids' music and Mary couldn't resist dancing. She even clapped for herself, something she does often. Mary wasn't fond of sitting in the baby/toddler swing because she thinks she's big enough for the regular swing. And even though I don't l...

We've had a pretty crazy week around here adjusting to life with Bruce in Nicaragua and my mom in the hospital. Part of my strategy has been to keep the girls busy so they don't have time to notice that Daddy is away. It is only half working though. This morning, our fourth waking up at my brother's house, Mary immediately started asking for Daddy when she woke up. (She had spent the 40 minutes before she fell asleep last night asking for him too.) After I got her out of the crib and tried to snuggle with her in bed (because I was not ready to be up at 6 am!), she wiggled out of my arms, ran to the bedroom door, pointed, and starting yelling "Dada!" I feel for her, I'm missing him too. It's hard enough to have your husband out of town, but to have him gone while my mom is very sick, is even harder. Well, Charlotte decided to help Mary out and this is what she told her. "Mary, Daddy isn't out there. He's in Nicaragua being a missionary....

My mom was sent home from the hospital a week ago Friday and then got a ticket back on Tuesday when her doctor did some follow up blood work. Apparently, they are intrigued by her case because her platelets dropped back to 6,000 without any of the symptoms she'd had the first time it went that low. Since then she has had a bone marrow tap (results coming by Tuesday), a round of chemotherapy (rituxan), and has been told she'll probably be there until this coming Friday. And maybe she'll even get treated to another  IVIG treatment. I took the girls to visit her yesterday and they had some fun playing in her squishy bed and putting up a luau banner in her room. It is hard to think about her spending so much time recently in the hospital because she is a person who never sits still, or at least not for long.  Yesterday, we also said good-bye to Daddy who left for a two-week mission trip to Nicaragua. If you are interested, you can follow the details of the trip at th...