few books...

..some recent winners for mommies...my reviews are usually posted on my Goodreads (see link to the right)...
Parenting with Love and Logic: Birth to 6 Years
(even my first-born loved it, could hardly put it down!)
a FUN approach giving me the attitude: "Yeah kid, mess up, make mistakes, hit those terrible twos, hooray! Do it now and learn from it now cause the consequenses now are soooo much easier and less permanent than when you are older..."

...and Potty Training for Dummies.
Two books that gave me attitude adjustments about parenting.
This quote from Potty Training literally brought tears to my eyes:
"Show your child respect in this awesome discovery process, and he will return the favor tenfold."

Hmmm conversation...

...this is how it went this morning: (by the way, we had just had a Family Night lesson on kindness and following Jesus example in being kind when we see people hurt like the Good Samaritan):

L: Mommy, if you get hurt, what should we do to help you?

Me: ummm, I guess you could call 911 (they have no idea what this means)

L: ...and what if we don't help you?
Me: ummm, I might die? (maybe a little to harsh for a 4 yr old?)

L: well, then we could get a new Mommy.

Me: you want a new mommy? who would it be?

L: we would have a grandma mommy! "Bing!" (with a wave of her hand, you know, like "bibbity bobbity boo!") and she would come to our house!

Me: Grandma, huh? Well, how about T & H, could they be your new mommy?

L: no, they are not a grandma. and Grandma Bobby could come to our house.

Me: and what about Grandmama?

L: she could come too. that would be good!

Me: where will I go if I die?

M: to Heavenly Father!

Me: that's right! To Heaven with Heavenly Father. Will I be happy?

M: Yes!

Me: That's right, I will be happy in Heaven with Heavenly Father! He loves me.

M: And you will be happy with Jesus and with Santa Clause!

I guess these are important conversations to have with our kids, right? Sure wouldn't want anything to ever happen to me! Though, they sure seem well adjusted to the idea...hmmmm :(

where have I been?

...well....I did it! I did my 2009 photo album. finished it. this is a big achievement. in our 7.5 yrs of marriage this is our first and only year scrapbooked! and my new goal...get each previous year done by Valentines Day, and it will become "we love our family" day where we look at the previous years events and celebrate family. that way, with all these girls, I figure valentines day will always be about just loving each other and they don't have to have it ruined by some sappy boyfriend in the future...haha

remember when....

...I love sharing the things I use to love with my girls...

a little advertising...

...for me that is! I don't have a good advertising sense, or know-how, I could try Etsy, but I thought I would start on here...

...these are personalized maps I made for Christmas presents. They would be about 3.5 x 3 feet. Made of real canvas, hand-painted, leather straps to hang, and personalized to the children. They can be girls colors with princess themes too! They roll up to fit into a tube and are durable enough for the kids to haul around a bit and lay on the floor and look at and explore. They are meant for their bedroom/playroom/indoor treehouse walls (but of course, how boring is that!). Anyway, they were so much fun to make, and the kids loved them so, encouraged by my overly-supportive husband, I thought I would throw it out there and see if anyone is interested in buying them as a gift. I've seen something similar for sell for over 200$ plus shipping and handling. Yes, I realize, a posh little gift for a child's room. But, I thought I would start by selling them for 100$ and that includes shipping and handling. For now. We will see what happens...

prayer...

tonight in the kids prayers they were thankful for:

"Jesus, Santa, and Zebras" -M (In that order)

"Love-a-Lot Care Bear, Birthday Bear, the Beast (and Beauty too I'm sure), the master (???)" -L

(we really were suppose to be blessing the food, my sister snapped this picture...I didn't realize what was going on the whole time!)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

games, good company, late night, too much sugar/pop/goodies, loud noise makers, yelling of "happy new year", tired/timid/sugar high kids, all around= a fun night!

Happy 2010

"As we reflect on the value of resolving to do better, let us discipline ourselves to carefully select the resolutions we make, to consider the purpose for making them, and finally, to make commitments for keeping them and not letting any obstacle stop us. Let us remind ourselves at the beginning of each day that we can keep a resolution just for that day."

                                                                                          -N. Eldon Tanner