My 100 Things

I'm continuing on with my 100 Things list today as I don't have much on my mind right now. I realize that last time I said I was only going to do ten at a time and then ended up with eleven so in the interest of balance, I'm only giving you nine today.

89. I'm a frustrated scrapbooker. I love scrapbooking once I'm finished with a page but the process of actually doing the page drives me insane while simultaneously bringing me joy. I can't explain it but if you scrap, I think you get my drift.

88. I hate doing dishes and laundry but, for some reason, I'm happy to scrub the toilets. Hmm...maybe this is a self-esteem issue. *Amanda makes a note to explore this further*

87. I prefer to be barefoot whenever I can. I'm not a shoe girl by any means. If it were acceptable, and the pavement weren't so dang hot here in AZ, I'd go everywhere barefoot.

86. Once, while in Army bootcamp, I fell asleep at the grenade range. Yes, while live grenages were going off just yards away from me. You become really tired at bootcamp. Really tired.

85. I once fell asleep at a Sting concert. Yes, while Sting was up there on stage singing just yards away from me. I curled up on my blanket on the grass and went to sleep - on purpose. You become really bored at Sting concert. Really bored.

84. Yet, despite numbers 85 and 86, I can't sleep on a plane or in a car to save my life.

83. I cannot, cannot, cannot handle "mouth sounds". I hit the mute button on my remote anytime a Carl's Jr. commercial comes on and would personally like to slap the advertising executive who handles their ads. I leave the room whenever my dear husband pours himself a bowl of cereal. And for all that is Holy in the land, do NOT chew gum around me. I will not be held responsible for my actions.

82. I've watched Poltergeist and Rocky II so many times, I can say the lines along with the actors.

81. I can name all 50 states in alphabetical order in under 30 seconds. You can test me on this.

There you have it. Nine more tidbits about me. Since your day is now complete you may as well go back to bed. I mean, really, what more is there?

Mommy Tip Tuesday

Good Morning! It's Mommy Tip Tuesday again. If you have a tip to offer other moms today, we'd love to hear it. Remember, your tip can be about anything mom and/or kid related such as, getting kids out the door for school in the morning, craft ideas, fun & healthy snacks, potty training, keeping kids happy on long car trips, etc. Share your wisdom! I know I could sure use it! Blog about your tip then add your name to the Mr. Linky below so others can check it out. Be sure to link back to me in your post so others know where to find Mommy Tip Tuesday and join in the fun next time.

Today, I'm doing things a little different. Instead of offering you a tip, I'm looking for a tip or two from you. As I've said before, I struggle with getting London to eat. I'm happy with the smoothies in the morning but don't plan on feeding her smoothies 3x a day just to get something healthy into her.

And, really, WHAT she eats is not the problem I'm struggling with right now, it's WHEN. I'm struggling with snack-time. If I left it up to London, she would just snack, snack, snack all day long. And I don't mean on your typical "junk/snack foods" I mean yogurt, bananas, organic cereal bars, goldfish crackers or dry cereal. I don't have a problem with these foods, it's just that when it comes time to eat a meal, specifically dinner, she is not hungry and then it's a struggle to get her to finish her meal.

I've cut off snacks after 4 pm and this seems to be working pretty well. She's then hungry enough at dinner to finish her meal. She will then say that she doesn't want anymore but will immediately ask for a snack. If I feel she's eaten an adequate amount of dinner, I will allow her a snack. All this takes place around 6 pm in our home. She will then repeatedly ask for more and more snacks for the next 2-3 hrs. It's insane! I ask her if she's really hungry or if she just wants to eat because she likes it. She tells me she's hungry.

We've tried getting her to eat more dinner or tell her that she's allowed ONE snack after dinner. She is not happy with this new rule and will continue to ask for snacks. I have to literally get upset with her and sternly warn her not to ask again to get her to stop. But, if she's really hungry, I want her to have something. Argh! You can see why I'm pulling my hair out!

What are the snack rules in your house? How do you handle after-dinner snacking? Is there some trick to knowing if your child is really hungry or just wanting to munch out of habit?

Meyer Monday

The God-kind of love bears up under anything and everything that comes. It endures everything without weakening. It is determined not to give up on even the hardest case. The hard-core individual who persists in being rebellious can be eventually melted by love. The Bible says, "While we were yet in weakness [powerless to help ourselves], at the fitting time Christ died for (in behalf of) the ungodly" (Romans 5:6).

It is hard to keep showing love to someone who never seems to appreciate it or even respond to it. It is difficult to keep showing love to those individuals who take from us all we are willing to give, but who never give anything back.

We are not responsible for how others act, only how we act. We have experienced the love of God by His mercy, and now He commands us to show that same kind of love to the world. Our reward does not come from man, but from God. Even when our good deeds seem to go unnoticed, God notices and promises to reward us openly for them: "...your deeds of charity may be in secret; and your Father Who sees in secret will reward you openly" (Matthew 6:4).

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~ Joyce Meyer, Being The Person God Made You To Be

Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. ~ 1 Corinthians 13:7-8

Super Savings Saturday

I didn't hit CVS or Walgreen's or the grocery stores this week. Just didn't seem to find the time to squeeze any of it in plus the deals just weren't really deals for me this time around. That's okay, though, as I hit several garage sales last weekend and scored some major finds!

I had hit a consignment shop about a month ago hoping to find some sweaters on clearance for next winter only to find they were all gone by then. So happy was I to find a woman my size selling several of her sweaters & a denim skirt at $1 a piece! That is waaaaay better than I would have found even on clearance at a consignment store. Elsewhere I found two pair of great looking jeans at $2 each, 3 pairs of shorts and a shirt for London .50 cents each plus a cute flower for her room for a quarter. All total in the above picture: $13.25!

Next, two pair of like-new jammies and a pair of barely worn Hello Kitty shoes at $2 a piece. I think the flower jammies look dirty at the knee in the picture but really they are not. I'm not as excited about these prices but the garage sale lady...well, uh...she kind of scared me and I didn't want to mess with her, so I just paid her asking price and ran to my car yelping like a kicked puppy.

Moving on...

I don't know how the jeans made it into this picture but there they are. Other than that, I scored a couple of things for Kirby - a pair of swim trunks and a pair of Bob The Builder shorts, both a quarter each. The other items I got for a girlfriend of mine. I normally don't blindly buy for friends but the NICE lady at this garage sale was selling all the clothing for .25 cents a piece! That's hard to pass up. So I ended up getting my friend eight pieces of clothing for her little guy for only $2!

Plus, I was able to walk to my car with my dignity at no additional charge. Bonus!

Last two items I got for $1.25. The cutlery box on the left makes for a cute pen/pencil holder on my desk and the metal bucket will be used as a base for a small gift basket for my Secret Sister at church. Both of these items are in excellent condition.

I'm really happy with the great deals I got this week and am looking forward to finding some more next week. You can check out all the great deals that were had this week over at MoneySavingMom. com. Blog about your finds and you can join us next week, too!

My Baby Girl is FOUR!!!

I can't even believe this! Where did the last four years go? Looking through all of her pictures and trying to pick out just ten of them was not an easy task. First of all, I actually ended up with twelve but the rollercoaster of emotions this day has brought is just a little too much for me. Instead of going over each picture with a cute caption, I'm just going include lyrics to the song I used to sing to her when she was a baby, You Are The Love of My Life by Sammy Kershaw.

You are the love of my life,
And you are the reason I'm alive.
And baby, baby, baby
When I think of how you saved me,
I go crazy.

I've never known love like this
And it fills me with a new tenderness

And I know, I know, I know
You're in my heart, you're in my soul
You're all I can't resist

And I need to tell you
The first time I held you
I knew you are the love of my life

I spent a lifetime waiting
Always hesitating, until you.

I was lost so deep inside my shell
'til you came and saved me from myself.
Now all I really know is
I need you.

And you are the love of my life
All the joy and tears that I cry

And baby, baby, baby
You don't have to say a word
I see it in your eyes

As we stand together
I promise forever
'til the day that I die
You are the love of my life.

I spent a lifetime waiting
Always hesitating until you
I was lost so deep inside my shell
'til you came and saved me from myself.

Now all I really know is
I need you.

You are the love of my life.
You are the reason I'm alive.

Anyone else of a big ol' lump in their throat? Just me? Okay. I'm off to find the tissue box.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEET PEA! WE LOVE YOU!!

Bonded By Blood

I don't like it when my kids bleed. This is not one of the more enjoyable aspects of being a mom. I'm quite sure I'm not alone in this.

Yesterday morning, Kirby decided to take on London's Little Tykes shopping cart in an all-out baby version of "the only rule is there are no rules" cage fighting. The shopping cart won. Kirby, for his effort, received the consolation prize of one fat and bloodied lip. I seriously considered taking a picture of it but thought better of it as it is not for the faint of heart.

And the fact that the boy just won't sit still long enough for the camera to focus.

I handle the occasional broken blood vessel just fine. I'm the picture of calm, cool & collected. I don't scream, gasp, get dizzy or otherwise run around squealing like a four-year-old flapping my hands in the air. No, that's not me. But on the inside...yeah, it's the inside that goes a little Tammy Faye on me. Basically, whenever I see my babies bleed from one injury or another, my heart crumples up in a ball somewhere in a darkened corner of my chest and sobs uncontrollably.

I firmly believe that children should not have the physical ability to bleed until they are at least filling out their applications to various colleges & universities. Preferably Ivy League, of course.

Why is this part of childrearing so difficult? I can handle the occasional bruise, scraped knee, even a kitty scratch (which he received the day before) but when the blood starts to flow outside of their body, mine stops within. I can only imagine it's because their blood is my blood to begin with. I made their blood. Me. I first gave them mine, then made theirs for them, then through the Good Lord's amazing design, taught them how to make their own. And I would gladly shed my own blood for them today.

But this can't be all there is to it, because if it were simply a biological thing then adoptive mothers wouldn't feel that same sobbing heart in the darkened corner that I do. So what is it then? I can only come to one conclusion and it still comes down to a blood bond. A blood bond that runs through the veins of everyone of us making us all, not parents, but children ourselves.

Just like we all would shed blood for our children, our loving and selfless Savior shed His blood for His. Us. It's THAT blood that gets me in the heart whenever I see it flow. It's THAT blood that reminds me what it means to be a loving parent full of grace. It's THAT blood that - No, I didn't make for my children - but was instead given to me as well as them. We are bonded by blood. You, me, your kids, my kids. All of us!

And the blood that causes me to weep, amazingly, heals me at the same time.

Amen!

Mommy Tip Tuesday

Good Morning! It's Mommy Tip Tuesday again - won't you join me?

Today, my tip is a book recommendation for those mommies out there with a new baby at home. Specifically, a new baby who may not appreciate being put down and getting themselves to sleep.

When London was fresh-out-of-the-chute-brand-new, I nursed her to sleep for each nap and at bedtime. Soon, it was time for her to learn to fall asleep without me or, more specifically, without my boob.

She was having none of it.

Just about that time, I stumbled across the book, "The Happiest Baby on the Block" by Dr. Harvey Karp and I quickly snatched it up! Boy, was I ever happy I did!

Dr. Karp gives expert advice on how to lovingly get your baby to sleep without resorting to leaving them to cry on their own. Crying it out was not an option for us with London. Kirby didn't get so lucky and was allowed to cry for 10 minutes or so before falling to sleep. London is the firstborn and, therefore, loved a little more. It's only natural. And the sooner The Boy learns this, the better off we'll all be. Now excuse me while I go throw a handful of Cheerios on the floor for his breakfast and point to where the milk cows are. I'll be right back.

I'm back! However, I'm cutting this short again because as I've been typing this a friend has called distraught with a "clutter emergency" so I'm headed over to help her clear out her living room and other areas. I love dealing with other people's clutter! Call me if you ever need stuff thrown away. I'm really good at it!

Unfortunately, I'm really good at buying more, as well.

Add your Mommy Tip! I'd love to hear from you!