Reviews

About a month ago, my friend Andrea asked me to be part of her review blog called SIMPLE ~Showcasing Interesting Mom Products Loved Everywhere~ Though I have yet to do a review, I am really looking forward to being a part of this. Not only do we feature reviews of many different products from wonderful online retailers, but also offer giveaways and coupon codes. If you want to check us out there is a link button to the review blog on the right hand side of my blog, just after the "About Me" section. I will try to keep updates on my blog letting you know if there has been a new post, coupon code, or giveaway. Enjoy, I know I will!

Phoenix Update

It's been awhile since you have heard about Phoenix, out little flattened cousin. We will be returning him within a few days. Unfortunately my enthusiasm for finding cool things to do here, died shortly after it's little first breath. Actually I found a number of things to do, so I guess it was the doing them that died. I did get one outing in, a few days after Phoenix's arrival (you know while the enthusiasm was still raging) to the Bird's Of Prey with another mother I met out here and her son. We had a good time, and got to see a Californian Condor up close, WOW are they ugly, and if you have never seen one personally, I need to take you to if you come out here to visit. So back to Phoenix, though I had all these activities planned we are now closing in on when I need to send him back, with only a handful of pictures...thankfully my brother Aaron and sister-in-law Kelsey came to the rescue - when we were over Wednesday evening admiring their new baby chicks, they suggested I bring Phoenix to their house. They almost have a little farm with cows, the chicks, and ducks, so the next day (yesterday) I took Phoenix to visit his other cousins and meet some animals.

While we were there we found the first duck egg! The two girls ate it, Providence was very worried that it might be full of a baby duck, but much to her relief it just a yolk and white.

Fashion Sense

See who likes to likes to pick out her own outfits, and accessorize? Full bags are Providence's favorite accessory, and they really make the outfit don't you think?


Little girls, it seems, have a strong natural maternal instinct. They can turn anything, and I mean anything, into a baby, family, or just something to take care of, Providence is no different. While eating a snack the other day she found a little orange slice and began lining up the orange slices into a family. There was the "sweet little baby one" next comes the mama and father, also included in this family sect is a grandma and "the bestest most wonderfulest lovingest kindest grandpa in the whole world!" That little orange slice sure is lucky.

A Right Way Means There's A Wrong Way

Providence looks up to her Papa very much, she likes to imitate things he does and misses both him and Oma since we have moved so far away. Little lessons are remembered though, particularly how Papa folds toilet paper, perfectly on the line square over square. Providence has been trying to teach me this art for quite awhile and though for a period of time I tried to do as she instructed, I have only done it once to her satisfaction. She joyfully exclaimed, "You learned how to fold it right!" However I never did find out what I did differently that time, and so have resorted back to my non-perfect way. She used the toilet the other day and when I half rolled, half folded some paper to wipe her bottom, (which she still needs some help with, as this is not a mastered skill). She tells me (as she very nearly always does) "Papa doesn't do it that way." and I said "I know, but I can do it differently" and in her vast knowledge of toilet paper wiping she says "Yeah, but you do it wrong, huh."

Ballet

Providence loves dancing, she loves to move and spin. She dances to most anything but she adores ballet music. One of the playlists on our iPod is named "Ballet" with songs from the Nutcracker and Swan Lake, the playlist is often asked for, so she can do a "show". I am afraid her size, already 42lbs and and 3' 4", will keep her from going professional, but regardless it doesn't hurt to have fun.

Don't you just love her ballet outfit?

It's snowing again. It has been warm lately, in the 40's, and I was afraid the snow was over for the season, so I was very pleasantly surprised when I woke up yesterday and today. We went outside yesterday and made a snowman so that you all could see that I was NOT lying here when I claimed to have learned the art of snowman making.





When I was on the computer the other afternoon Providence said, "Mom I need to blog." I asked her what she wanted to blog about and she said her friend Aaliyah. So here she is with her and Isaiah.

How Clever Is Too Clever?

We're having some issues with some very clever lying. An example: yesterday I was upstairs and Providence down when she starts crying, I come down the stairs and she's crying and telling me that the cat bit her. For those of you that know the cat, this is not far fetched, it happens multiple times a day, we both sport constant injuries from Scrump (if you are wondering why kittens name changes so often I explain here), so it would not be far fetched at all. While this would seem very probable, it was in fact a lie, I know this to be so because Scrump had been curled up with me sleeping upstairs for the last half hour. Why would she lie about this? I told her that Scrump had been with me and couldn't have bit her, and that it's wrong to lie, she meanwhile, is still sobbing about the "bite" and without missing a beat changes her allegation to the couch (which sounded alot like cat through the tears) scratching her. What?!!! Furthermore she insisted that she was NOT lying. I remember being a teenager and lying to my parents, insisting that I wasn't. As bad as I felt about lying then, how terrible it feels on the other end. I did not want to accuse my daughter of lying when she said she was telling the truth even though I knew she was lying. I said a quick prayer with a heavy heart and just did it. After some tears she did admit to lying, and wanted a pardon because she did tell the truth after all, albeit a little late. I was firm and did not grant the pardon, though I did praise her for telling the truth even when she knew there would be consequences. Raising kids is very scary; I am always wondering am I doing the right thing? Did I handle that in a godly manner? What can I do so Providence will desire to honor the Lord? Ultimately, I know, it comes down to the graciousness of our Lord, and that I need to make sure I am trusting and honoring Him. But I sure would appreciate prayers for me to reach heart issues rather then just dealing with the surface.

Aged Before My Time

So I am at the grocery store the other day, getting milk, eggs, and few other items, one of which was a six pack of New Castle. Though I am 25 now, I often get carded, I still look pretty young, fielding comments about still being in high school, and being too young to have a child, I'm sure not wearing any make-up 80% of the time makes me look even younger. Now, I feel like I have aged alot in these three years of widowhood, how can I not have? In that respect I have more in common with the 80 year olds; but sometimes I still feel like "Wait I just turned 21, I am still so young." I tell you though, when I see that sticker on the counter at checkout that says if you were born before todays date in 1990 you can buy cigarettes, I feel very aged. My little brother was born in 90! So anyhow I bring my purchases up to checkout and start getting my ID out while my checker (probably born in 90) is scanning the New Castle, however he doesn't ask for it. So I say "Do you want to see my ID?" and he says, "Well, I think if you can handle a kid you can handle a beer." Surprised I say something like "You never know people are having kids pretty young." and then the truth comes out...he replies "We only have to ID if you look under 27 so..." I could only smile, take my groceries and then make some phone calls to laugh about how old I am.

Savvy Kids

Providence told me this morning that she wanted her own blog...Uriah, my brother, has been encouraging her to have something to say, and a place to say it. I told her that she should practice and that in the future maybe we could start one up for her. She made up a song while "posting" about trying to do a blog. It is so funny to hear these words out of a child's mouth, and really makes me feel OLD. I mean my daughter will never know life without digital cameras, iPods, DVDs, cell phones, blogs, myspace, etc.

The visit with my sisters was so fun, we are so much alike, can't you tell? Providence was waking up every morning with seeing Aunties as the first thing on her mind and was a little sad this morning to not be able to go up stairs to see them. These pictures were taken on our way out of the house to drop the Aunties off. Didn't think to take pictures all together til they were leaving.




But Ivanna did think to take a picture of me demonstrating my mad balancing skills.






After working on her computer for about 10 minutes Providence closes it and says "It wasn't working, when am I going to get a new computer, a real computer?"

*oh, and the bird is some special balancing bird you can balance it on anything!*

Three Plus One Is Four

I love my sisters. They are my life-long closest friends; sure we fought in our younger years about important stuff like how close the bird cage should be to the edge of the table. But they have always been there for me, through the most joyful occasions to the hardest, never wavering there they stood. And I stand for them too. I love spending time with them, laughing ourselves sick by jumping on the bed or play wrestling, sitting on the couch all completely intertwined, not knowing whose leg is whose or what elbow is jabbing your back, there is something about the people that knew you when you were a kid that lets you still be a kid with them. I am having a wonderful visit with them, and will be sorry to see them go tomorrow; but I won't really miss them, and they won't miss me either. Sure we will look forward to phone calls, and seeing each other again; and there might be occasional twinges, but for the most part we have learned to not miss too deeply. I know we can always pick up where we left off and though I do desire to share our life with them (mine and Providence's), it doesn't need to be shared in an everyday kind of way. Would that be fun? Yes, and I certainly would welcome that should it happen; but we're big girls now and even have different family loyalties, theirs to our parents and mine to my daughter. I am so grateful to have sisters that no matter the distance or time between visits we can still fellowship as sweetly and part without heavy hearts knowing that God's hand is shaping all our lives. And three years ago we added a fourth sister, when my brother married his bride Kelsey.


CLARIFICATION: I of course have another sister because my brother-in-law Roger married HIS bride Rachel, however in this post I was talking about the mutual sisterhood the four of us share because we are all together for the weekend.

No Littering With Cats

I hate cat litter, it's smelly, dusty, and I can only imagine the chemicals involved making this stuff, not to mention wondering what happens once it's been used and tossed. So I decided to try something new, Feline Pine it was 100% chemical free and 100% recycled, so I figured why not give it a shot. I have to be honest, the first day I was ready to dump the whole box. Every time little kitty did her thing she needed to be rewashed by moi, I mean the sawdust stuff all over her body was bad enough, but the stinky stuff between her toes...not cool, not cool at all. I decided I would stick with it for a few days though, apparently hating litter more then the actual poop it clumps too. Within two days miss she-devil figured it out, barely even sawdust when she hops out of the box. A good thing too since she likes to sleep under the covers. I got the clumping kind but when it's used up (and it seems to be lasting a good while) I may try the original to see if it takes away the tracking all together; though the little bit that does make it's way out of the litter box is actually less then regular litter. I recommend this stuff to anyone tired of the nasty old stuff and ready to try something better for their home and cats; just give it a few days for the little guys to get used to it.


Earlier this week Kelsey came over with her girls (and maybe boy!??? Yes, she is expecting again! Third one in as many years, AND they, along with the rest of the family, are very excited) to make Valentines day cards. I think we were all ready to stop before the end, poor Joy crying in the background as Kelsey and I are encouraging the girls, "Pretty, do you want to put another sticker on?" "How 'bout a stamp?" "Gold glitter will look really nice on that one." "Pass the glue, please." All the while thinking...this glitter is going to follow me for the rest of my life, and I hope it isn't TOO sparklely coming out the other end for the girls, you know what with working at the table and it getting all over. I wish I was a crafty mom, you know the kind that made everything material in the house, reupholstered her furniture, painted the mural on the wall and can deftly maneuver the five other projects she's working on while helping her 2 month old daughter learn to crochet? I'd like to be more like her, alas, glitter and finger paint seem to be as far as I've gotten.

Hard at work.

Quite done.

Oh, and I get to see my sisters tonight!

For The Love Of Movies

I love movies, I mean I LOVE movies. I watch them quite often, and at this time in my life, with Providence going to bed around 7:30-8, I have the time to do that. I grew up without TV, literally without a television. My mom was/is a terrific reader, and she certainly gave us that gift. She read to us so often it seemed we were always ready to start a new book. She still reads often, just to herself nowadays. We all love reading and usually are working on some book or other. I think I must have been eight or there abouts, before I remember having a telly in the house. And even then it was kept in the closet when not in use...and it was not used regularly. I don't know if it was the lack of movies in my younger years or if it is just in my nature, but I love films. In the past year or so I have been watching old stuff, Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, William Powell, Myrna Loy, Irene Dunne, Alfred Hitchcock, etc. This was when cheesy wasn't cheesy. Who but Humphrey Bogart could say "Here's looking at you kid." and not sound cheesy. He even makes smoking look cool, and I hate cigarettes! Cary Grant just oozes charm, in every role I have seen him in, Clark Gable with his easy grin, and Alfred Hitchcock can make a shot of a hand -just a hand- make your heart pound. Last night for a special treat I let Providence stay up to watch a movie with me. (See she loves the old ones too, and has watched all six of The Thin Man movies with me, calling them the danger movies.) So last nights movie was Love Crazy, actually another William Powell and Myrna Loy pairing, fabulous together, they are. Providence ate her treat of choice, mini peppers, pretty much tasting the same as bell peppers (as for the treat part, yes she called them that...see below post, and trust me she knows what candy is, she's all about the sugar, this is some recent occurrence that I will not complain about).

Unfortunately Providence got too tired around nine and asked if we could finish it in the morning. She, like me, has a hard time falling asleep with movies playing. I am sure that she could, given the right circumstances, but she'd rather them to be turned off instead. I know many people that fall asleep to movies/TV, some even that seem to fall asleep because a movie's on (yes, you Rose), but that's just not in me. I can think of one blemish on my record, it was while watching Pride and Prejudice (the 5 or so hour long A&E version, sorry to all the new version lovers out there but I HATE it) my reasoning was I have seen P&P numerous times, it was the middle of the night, I knew that I could sleep for a bit and wake up to it still being able to follow. Even so it was still hard (and I still think of it, just seems disrespectful) if I wasn't watching it with a group of girls (some their first time) I would have turned it off and finished later, as I almost always do (the one time forcing me to put the almost in there). Which brings us to my next film particularity; I have to finish one's I've started, like have to or my brain will explode. I am slowly learning to overcome this, because lets face it, some movies are full of vomitus things. To be completely honest though I can only stop if someone else turns it off. My sisters usually...always, the only movies that I haven't finished have been with them, because they have enough sense to say "This is horrid and I won't watch another minute!" I remember talking about my disease with my husband shortly after we were married, and he said "What about the movie the other day, it was so dumb we just turned it off, you didn't finish that one." and I had to shamefully admit that after he fell asleep that night I slipped out of bed and finished it, he got a good laugh out of that. So I am getting better, I don't slink out of bed at night to sneakily finish films that have been turned off for my benefit. Right now though I am just enjoying these golden classics, have any to recommend?

If This Is A Treat

Sometimes I wonder if Providence has any concept of what treats are. The other night after dinner she wanted dessert, guess what she chose

and then she wanted cookies for breakfast...


We made pancakes instead.










Which, let's be honest, are kind of like dessert, especially topped with mango and whipped cream.

Too Quiet

Last night I am on the phone catching up catching up with a friend, when suddenly I realize it's probably been a good half hour with no screaming, laughing, crying or even questions, you know the kind that wait til you're on the phone and then follow you around. I felt like Miss Clavel from Madeline, "Something is not right." And sure enough as I round the corner to my bathroom Providence emerges.At least it's a washable surface.


On another note, yesterday for school we made snowmen out of play dough; which are so much easier then the real thing.
However I have learned how to make a real snowman, (apparently there's some technique involved, and fresh snow works best) so you needn't feel bad for Providence and the snowblobs any longer.

Lofty Ambitions

After some tiding up yesterday, Providence and I began work on a puzzle. A few minutes into it Providence decided that the one I picked was too hard. As a puzzle lover I was extremely disappointed (yes extremely) to not even get into putting it together, as we were still organizing when Providence made her declaration. I suppose a 750 piece puzzle may be a bit much for a three year old, but in my defense it was a Snow White one. On the fifth or sixth remark made about how hard it was, and since she wasn't helping anymore anyhow I said we could put it away...I had gotten it out for her in the first place (I really had). Providence made the next puzzle choice; I did the outside so she could put together the center. It didn't quite satisfy my puzzle itching but Providence was very proud.


Also, I finally took a picture of the very first room finished in the house, done ages before Providence's room, just hasn't been debuted. The guest room. So anyone coming out this way, there's a bed waiting.

Small Prayers

Mondays I have been hostessing a play group at my house with my sister-in-law Kelsey. It's been three weeks now and so far, only the friends she's invited have come. Granted she has been here alot longer then I, so I should think will know more people. I have invited a couple other mothers from my church to come, the problem is, most everybody has children being schooled in the mornings and need to focus on that. Nevertheless we have enjoyed our little play days so far and I look forward to continuing them. Anyhow less may be not so bad, when you get 7 kids under 4 years old (the most we've had so far) it can get pretty crazy, in a good way though, so more would not be bad either. This time we only had four. My brother Aaron came over after his dentist appointment and made a sled for the girls, he tried to buy one first but the stores have sold out for the SEASON! And the cardboard and dog leash seem to work just fine.



Every night for the past week Providence has been praying for a little sister; two nights ago she prayed "God...well...I really want a little sister...so please give me a little sister, and a grateful heart. Amen." When my turn for prayer came I prayed that the Lord will continue to direct my steps and I will joyfully follow where He leads, that I would reflect Christ to my daughter that she may learn of Him through me, and oh yeah, please give me a grateful heart. After dinner last night, Providence thanked me for the yummy dinner, for working to make it and that she loved it so much. Her praise warmed my heart so. I told her "You're welcome Providence; I am so pleased to hear your grateful heart." And she responded with "Yeah, God gave it to me because I prayed for it." No wonder we are supposed to become like a child.

Late, Later, Latest

In the Marine Corps there's a saying-something like "If you get there 5 minutes early you're still 10 minutes late." It's something I have always striven to adopt, well not always, but I really do like being on time for things, who doesn't (and maybe there are some out there, but do not reveal yourselves for you may be shunned). Before having a child I did pretty good, at least I think I did, but those pre-child days seem like another lifetime ago. Since having a baby I have gone through gradual declines, sometimes I am great, everything goes on schedule, then other times, and now days it's been the worst ever, I am never on top of things, and rarely on time for anything, my mind is in a constant state of chaos. I know alot of you mothers out there may say that's how motherhood is, but it is not how I am, and I think motherhood is an extension of our person. Of course mothers need to be more flexible, of course running a household will mean more demands, which will mean less time to oneself, of course motherhood changes you, but we are still a being and structured more or less the same as before motherhood. I know I am not able to give mothering my best like this, nor am I able to give friendships my best like this; in fact all my relationships suffer. I feel like I have to have it all done before my mind rests, and the problem is it's never done, well that and poor time management, that's my main problem right now (along with losing my mind to an unorganized house), I try to fit too much in too little. Like when you have to be somewhere, the library let's say, in 20 minutes and it only takes 10 minutes to get there, and both of us are ready, I then decide to take the opportunity the "extra" time allows to do something that ends up taking 15 minutes thus leaving when I should be getting there (because, at the end of 15 minutes I remember I forgot to brush my teeth and Providence needed to go pee, has her pants around her ankles and has lost a shoe). Alls this to say I am planning to make monthly goals for myself, my goal for this month is to be on time (or early), and I think that will settle my mind, at least a bit. Also, as each room slowly is put to rights I feel like I get a little more of my sanity back, so that along with the small pocket planner I am now in possession of, I may be back to a sane person yet...

Woke Up To Find

This is my driveway...and no neighborly neighbor yet. Hope I can get to church.


My house and yard, and as you can see, it's still snowing! Wahoo! (That's Providence)







Now those that are used to snow, and actually get more then this regularly, may be laughing at me, but keep in mind I have never lived in a snowy area, so keep those snickers to yourself.



*Update*

I got to church with minor slippage (and 15 minutes early I might add). I think my 2-wheel-drive vehicle is doing just fine. Then I came home to find that my neighborly neighbor's whole family is quite neighborly. The father (I assume) was plowing our little street when I pulled up, and he quickly came over and said "Hi neighbor, want me to move some of this snow for you?" Though I must admit I did wave quite animatedly to him as I drove by thinking it was the young boy who had plowed the previous times. It was a bit embarrassing to discover that it was in fact a very much older person.

Boot Bread

What is it you may ask. Apparently it is the only way to eat bread, if it's boot I mean. Yes, nearly every morning Providence asks for boot bread with butter, or sometimes switches it up with asking for a boot bread sandwich (that would be including avocado). So here's to eating boot's in the form of bread.As you can see Providence likes her eggs hard and butter piled.


Also in case some should wonder, kittens most resent name is Love, which is only true some of the time. We both have perpetual scratches all over our bodies. I guess I can be thankful that she doesn't ruin our things to satisfy her need of climbing and scratching.