Family Musings

Today, you can find me bragging on my wonderful hometown in Family Friendly Places in Lakeland , published on Lakeland Local . I didn't even scratch the surface of family things to do in Lakeland and hope that this is the first of many articles about this awesome family friendly town. Please take a moment to hop over and check it out! Thanks.

I hadn't expected to post again so quickly, but my friend Brandy shared a story that is too heartbreaking to not share with others. Ashley is a surrogate who is 21 1/2 weeks pregnant. An ultrasound revealed a cleft lip and palate . These are conditions easily fixed with surgery however, the intended parents want her to terminate the pregnancy. I don't understand all of the legal ins and outs of how surrogacy works, but how can it be right for them to force her into having an abortion? I am sure there has to be a way to get out of this situation. It might even cost this family thousands of dollars to repay her fees to the intended parents. Does any one know how to help her? Either to get out of the contract, to convince the intended parents to change their mind, or to meet the financial needs this family will surely have if she breaks the contract and is sued? Please pray for intended parents up that they might reconsider and make a different choice. Please pray for t...

Does your dryer take extra long to dry? Like more than 30 minutes to dry a regular load? Mine used to. In fact, sometimes it would take nearly 2 hours my dryer to get the job done. Finally, I decided to do something about it. I called a local dryer vent cleaning service and this picture shows just a small part of what they found at the top of my dryer vent. Apparently, the builder of our 2-story town home added these metal shields to prevent debris from falling into the vent. Well, guess what? It also prevented proper venting. Before I was a mom and before I was a teacher, I was a claims adjuster. I knew before I was even a home owner that clogged dryer vents are one of the leading causes of home fires. You'd think I'd know better. Apparently I didn't. Please, please, please call and have your dryer vents cleaned. You can just google it with your city name and it will probably find several choices for you. Mine cost $89, though they offered discounts if neighbo...

I offer this conversation as evidence of Mary's on going improvement in the area of speech. Me: Mary, don't pick your nose. Mary: Me no pick my nose? Me: That's right. Mary: Me pick Mommy nose? Happy Valentine's Day to all of you.  I hope you made a good pick! (PS. You still have time to finish The Husband Project . Be sure to comment and enter to win one of the great prizes!)

Y'all are amazing. I can't even begin to tell you how blessed I have been by reading your comments and seeing how you are expressing your love for your husbands. If you've been doing the project with us, but not commenting, take time now to do so. Not only will you encourage other wives, but you'll also be able to enter the drawing for all the great prizes listed below. In case you missed it, here are links to the rest of the Husband Project assignments:  Day 1     Day 2     Day 3     Day 4 . Also, if you want more Husband Project inspiration, check out Kathi Lipp's blog , or buy her book . For the last day of our short blog project, I want you to let your husband know directly what you think of him. You remember what flirting is, right? Even if you've been married a really long time, you should still flirt with your husband. So, today, send him an email or text message saying something nice and, if maybe a little saucy. For the more adventu...

On a typical night, dinner is a pretty casual affair. I make something. We eat it. The mess gets cleaned up (eventually). And it is typically over in about fifteen to twenty minutes. About as long as it takes me prep and make dinner most nights. Sometimes, I like to make dinner time more special by making fancy food. You know, things that require sauteing and deglazing and stuff. But I don't always have time for all that. Other times, it is easier to make a simple meal, and dress it up. That is what I did for a recent dinner. In this case, I took a simple meal of soup, salad, and warm bread and treated it like a restaurant meal. When the family came home I immediately welcomed them to the "Sabin Restaurant" and led them to their seats. I used a cheery, over the top greeter voice to set the tone. I also let the girls use my Fiestaware and cups without lids (BIG deal in my house!). I busted out my Crate & Barrel cloth napkins and my favorite Pandora jazz channel was...

It's been 3 days since we started this project together. Isn't Kathi Lipp amazing for coming up with such simple ways for us to connect with our husbands? In her book, the full project is 21 days plus bonus projects that will really blow your husband out of the water. Trust me, even if you have a good marriage, it can always be better. I highly recommend you consider buying the book even if you don't win the giveaway. Someone once asked me if this was similar to The Love Dare. I haven't read that book, but based on what I saw in the movie, I'd have to say yes, but... The Husband Project is much simpler. There is no need for dramatic moves like spending your life savings. Almost all of the projects can be done without spending any more money than you might normally do in the course of serving dinner to your family. Plus, The Husband Project is hilarious. Kathi Lipp is truly one of the funniest people I know. Today's project is meant to remind you that sometim...