The REAL housewives....

Ok, so does anyone else watch this show on BRAVO? I cannot even believe I have gotten so engrossed....it's embarrassing, honestly.


These women....used to a very lavish lifestyle get together, bash one another for their faults in front of cameras (I realize it's all for ratings...) and in front of eachother. They stick up for one friend and the next minute they stab that same friend in the back. The marriage(s) displayed sadden me most. These dominant women....henpecked husbands....reflect no covenant relationship whatsoever.

I started to look at myself and my goals in life. It's not really complicated. I'd prefer a really cool coffeemaker over a pair of $3000 heels. I'd rather take my boys to Chuck E. Cheese than spend $10,000 on a trip to Figi with my girlfriends (and nannies...so that I don't even see my own children.) Would I love a weekly massage? Sure....but I'd rather get one from my husband once a week in the comfort of our home....


I also started to think of my friends. I consider myself friends with alot of people but truly sharing my life with a tight knit group. Women I bare my soul to...women who are trustworthy...women who speak truth. I found as I 'counted those blessings' in the friendships I have, a real discovery took place: Who is the wealthy one? Those with $150,000 closets and marriages that carry no value? Those with plastic surgery but full insecurity?


No way Jose...I'm wealthier than all those women. What I posess is far greater than what money can buy. I needn't keep up with the Jones' as it is all 'meaningless' anyway. Guess I am the REAL housewife...and proud of it.

kissing

There are days like today....where I lose it. I absolutely LOSE. IT.

I look at these 2 little faces. Their perfect milky white skin. One has these intense green eyes with maybelline lashes...the other with eyes bluer than the sky.

I cannot help myself as I start to kiss one's face and then the other and then the first one again and then.....I lose it. Jude ends up getting mad...the baby ends up crying.

I need to gain control. It's just so hard.


You know that 'spot' on a baby's neck/cheek/chin that is just so kissable. Yeah, Leland should have kiss-burn from the hours I've spent kissing that little spot.

I know there are lots of duties to be done today...but I'd rather just look, cuddle, kiss on my boys some more.

stickers

So what is it with kids and stickers?

I get that they have fun colors....adhesive...rewards for good behavior....but really?

Jude walks out of school today with a massive "I can't wait to tell Mommy this" smile. The kind a Mom is easily able to distinguish. He gets in the car, buckles his seat belt and shows me his pudgy right hand! There IT is! A big bright yellow STICKER with a smiley face on it.

I ask him where this little happy face came from...he proceeded to explain that during circle time today...another boy wanted to sit on Jude's carpet square. While many times when a child is asked to share, they throw a fit or whine or tattle or do something else that is freakin' annoying...Jude chose to say, "Sure!" Jude's teacher took notice of that act of kindness and rewarded him publicly with that highly coveted item worth about 0.0000002 of a cent: A STICKER!

Of course I was proud of him...my son chose kindness over being a meanie. Sipping my latte on our way home, I thought about how he loved that sticker. I watched him in the rear view mirror staring at it and moving it in the perfect spot on his hand. I was immediately brought to the thought "Do I praise him enough?"

It's so easy to spot the bad stuff....yell at him for the annoying things that add up...but do I tell him how much I appreciate the hugs I get out of nowhere? The cuddles he offers freely to his brother? The cards and pictures I get drawn for me for FREE? As these questions circled my mind, I remembered the meaning of Jude's name: Praise

*Digging out my stickers now*

baby-friendly cleaning...

So, I have been on a 'self-educating' kick these days...anything I didn't know how to do albeit cooking, baking, organizing, I am teaching myself these days. I just want to be better at making my home a place that is the haven we had hoped for. It seems many of you are the same....years of doing things one way but there could be better or more safe/healthy ways to do them.

So, last night I hopped out for a little 'break' to get some ingredients to make a few household cleaners....here is what I used. Oh and I didn't make this stuff up...just googled it. :) *Quick tribute to Google for being the cheapest college education I could ever ask for*



ALL PURPOSE CLEANER

1 cup vinegar

1/4 cup Baking Soda

1 liter Hot water

a few drops of a mild dish detergent

10 drops of essential oil, optional (I used Lavender)

HOMEMADE DISINFECTANT

Fill 32oz spray bottle with hot water

Add 3TBSP of Castile Soap

Add 20-30 drops of essential oils

HOMEMADE WINDOW CLEANER

½ t mild dish detergent

3T vinegar

2 cups water

Put all these ingredients into a spray bottle. Shake this up some and use it just like the commercial variety.

HOMEMADE SOFT SCRUB
(make this one as you need it)

Simply put a small amount of baking soda in a bowl and add liquid dish detergent until you have smooth paste or frosting like substance. This very well on sinks and counters and won’t scratch the surface.

Hope you find these helpful....I found after looking at how much I have left of the ingredients these homemade cleaners call for....I literally will not be buying the $3.99 or $5.99 cleaners anymore...and will have them at my disposal for well over 6-12 months.

***CAUTION - Never mix Bleach with with Vinegar or Ammonia....can cause harmful fumes


ALSO....since many of us are in the same boat, follow me on here and I'll continue posting those money-saving ideas that might benefit us all! If YOU are like me and have found another great way to improve home-life, let me know! Let's learn together!

Worth the wait....

So, this weight loss stuff ain't easy. It's like one moment I'm prepped, veggies sliced, fruits available, and high-fiber snacks fill my cabinets....and then...I run into those moments when emotions are raw, stress comes or a night of little sleep turns me into dragon wife! Those moments tend to overtake and while I am the only one to blame here, it's just so hard NOT to turn to chocolate when life isn't going to plan.

Most times, weight loss is difficult. The times I've been most successful have been when I've got friendly competition and/or an accountability partner....but it's never been as hard as RIGHT NOW. I've just had a baby...my once hard and protruding belly can now be nicely tucked into my socks. My beautiful and lustrous 'pregnant' hair is now clogging drains and giving my husband the crabbies. It's unreal how this season they call "postpartum" is even more consuming than having your innerds squished by another human being. I had gone all hardcore on my diet right after New Year's...only to notice my then 2 month old waking up every 1 hour or more to eat in the night....I was about to pull my hair out when I realized that maybe my lack of calories contributed to my decrease in milk making my little guy need to eat more often. So, I got on fenugreek, upped the calories a bit, drank even MORE water, and you know what happened? I gained a pound!!! UGH!!!

It's not that I want to stop nursing because I honestly couldn't be more happy that it worked out so beautifully this time around...but wow, what a sacrifice. It's like when I was prego, my body was shared quite literally....and NOW...my body is still shared and still rather literal.

As frustrating as it is to have the extra poundage on right now...and to see my smaller sized jeans sit neatly in my drawers....and to have a VERY limited wardrobe...it's really truly and entirely worth it when I see this little man grow....eat...rest....grow and so on and so forth.

a precious remembrance...

As our morning progressed...I aimed to get as much done around the house while my energy was high, boys were happy and fed, and in between breakfast and snacks. Jude sat quietly at the table coloring a picture he had made on the computer and printed "all by himself!" He would show me the colors he was choosing and in the background sat sweet Leland just swinging away with his random "goos" and "ahhs".

Jude asked me a question...out of nowhere: "Mommy are we going to have more babies like Leland?" I smiled and said, "Would you like us to?" He quickly said, "YES! I want ONE MORE brother, Mommy!" I laughed and said the ever so common Mom-Phrase: "We'll see..."

The morning went on...turned to afternoon and when Jude and I got home from preschool, I finally sat down with a glass of water. Tired. Jude turned to me with an excited look on his face..."MOMMY! I just remembered something...." Startled by his enthusiastic tone, I asked him what he remembered. "Mommy, you don't need to have another baby because I have a brother to play with in Heaven: SAM!" Unable to immediately respond, I just took that boys head and hugged into my heart...my biggest fear after the dreadful miscarriage would be that this child would be the 'forgotten' one. I am pleased that not only do I think of him everyday....but his big brother does too. Miss you darling Sam....one day I will hold you...and get ready for a couple of brothers coming your way too!

When I grow up...

You ever have a conversation with a child that blows your mind? I had one today with my son, Jude. He is going to be 5 in May and I cannot believe how much I enjoy the talks we have. Today's talk, however, showed me a bit of how loved I am by my Father in Heaven....

It was the typical morning...breakfast, cleaning up, reading a book or two, coloring, and watching Sesame Street. I put Leland down for a nap and decided to make some cookies. Jude twirled around the kitchen, uninterested in the cartoons. He even went over and turned the TV off so 'we wouldn't waste energy'...I enjoyed his curiosity of what I was doing. He helped me stir in the oatmeal...peanut butter. As I spooned these cookies onto wax paper, he asked a simple question: "What will Heaven be like?"

I went on to explain the fun, food, golden streets, dancing with angels, and singing songs with Jesus...I even went into how much fun to meet the sibling he has up there. I asked if he remembered the 'sad' days after the baby brother, Sam, died. He said, "Yes" with a timid voice. He told me that he wanted to meet that baby but he wasn't ready to die yet...I told him 'Not til you're VERY old!" He said, "Oh like Papa?" (hee hee) I said, "No much much older than Papa!"

He persisted in knowing what Heaven would be like....what kind of food they have, do they play games, will my friends be there? I gave him the best answers I could of the little we know of that place. He then said to me, "How do we get there?" "Do we have directions?" I reminded him of the day he asked Jesus into his heart and he smiled, remembering. He then said this statement....a statement I hope I remember as long as I live. "Mommy, I bet Jesus will come and carry us...He is REALLY strong...as strong as Daddy!"

Childlike faith is more precious than anything and I see how God's love can be unable to be measured...it's just too much. I feel that love for this 'almost' 5 yr old who trust whole-heartedly in His God already....when I grow up, I hope I'm just like him.

cuz they're cousins.....and they're two of a kind!

So, this weekend we hosted the Miller side of the family at our home...we went to a Cavs game in a luxury suite and had one of the most amazing times! We even got to sit courtside and see the game up close. It was an experience I will never forget.


Another part of the weekend that makes me happy is that my little nephew Josiah who is a whopping 36hours older than my Leland came and watching these two little 3 month olds was amazing.

We so enjoyed the goos and gaa sounds they made....the giggles....the pitiful little cries....and of course watching their eyes as their older sibs/cousins ran around. It was a weekend to remember and I just so look forward to seeing these two little boys grow up together. Will they be best buds or will they fight like heck? It remains to be seen....