A Mom’s Job » Four Against Two

Three Gifts Is Hard To Do

Dec 122011

Several years ago when I only had two children and one was just a babe, I decided that we needed to cut down on the stuff. The stuff that clutters. The stuff that the kids won’t play with after a while. The stuff that keeps us from remembering why we celebrate Christmas in the first place.

We are a Christian family. We celebrate Christmas as a time to remember Christ and in remembering Christ we give gifts to each-other and those less unfortunate than us. I told the girls that Jesus got three gifts (Gold, frankincense and Myrrh) and that they would get three as well. I quickly amended this pledge to exclude stocking stuffers, I just soooo enjoy the little fun things that the stockings have.

I have found that this was easier to live by now than when they were younger. Toys are so much fun and are so exciting I couldn’t help but want to buy more. Now the kids want money or an expensive iPod. These things are just so boring to wrap and they are small. I am proud that Meg and Mita are saving money for and iPad and a iPod touch… I just like to wrap!

I’m still happy with my decision. I don’t go into debt at Christmas time, my kids are not overwhelmed with stuff and Christmas is about more than presents. In fact in the last few years I have seen the girls grow in their giving and they really enjoy shopping for each-other, making things re-purposing items they no longer use.

I still miss the days of big toys to wrap though!

Do you have a tradition to try to keep the stuff down in your house and to celebrate what Christmas means to you?

Stream Of Consciousness: I Slept At The Zoo

A Mom's Job 2 Responses »

Dec 112011

I just got back from the zoo and I am worthless right now. I went with my younger scout troop. Elle’s troop and a few of the girls from my Caddette troop. We were over an hour late due to traffic. Who knew that traffic would be so bad for the WildLights at the Columbus Zoo? I cannot believe of crazy it was. I really don’t like starting off a trip on a late note, but we pulled it together and had a great time.

We were mostly asleep by midnight and up at seven. Sleeping on an air mattress isn’t horrible, but does not make for the best night’s sleep anyway. the kids were great, the animals were so much fun. The Christmas lights AMAZING!

I just am tired and worthless in a chair right now with no motivation to make dinner or prepare for the next week.

But it was worth it! An now I can say I slept at the zoo!

This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…

Set a timer and write for 5 minutes only.
Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.
Link up your post at AllThingsFadra.com
Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

Black Is Brown As White Is Peach

A Mom's Job, Adoption, Family, Parenting 2 Responses »

Dec 082011

Enu and Hubby at a Father-Daughter Dance in 2009

We are a trans-racial adoptive family. While I tend to forget this at times, Mita and Enu never have that luxury. From the get go the girls have always said brown and peach so that is what we say. One of the first days Enu rode home on the school bus she asked me why a boy was calling her black when she wasn’t black she was brown. I had to explain to her that the work black was used to describe people with all different shades of brown. She was puzzled.

The other morning I heard this conversation from another room (remember I have librarian ears).

Elle: Does white mean peach?

Mita: Yes, like brown means black.

Elle: Oh, so you used to be black and now you are brown?

Enu: Elle, let’s just forget this conversation. (She doesn’t say this mean, she just doesn’t want to talk about it.)

So, Elle – who doesn’t remember life without her colorful family, is now realizing that we are seen as different and Mita and Enu – who cannot help put constantly be reminded that they are different.

And then there is my nephew. Nine months younger than Elle, he was about two when we brought the girls home. I guess no one ever talked to him about the adoption and so, much like Elle it has always been this way. A few weeks ago his mom was reading him a story and Ethiopia was mentioned.

She said something like “Remember that is where Mita and Enu are from.”

Nephew: “No, they are from Uncle Hubby and Aunt Mandy.”

Mom: “Uncle Hubby and Aunt Mandy adopted them from Ethiopia.”

Nephew: “They are adopted?”

He then proceeds to inform others in our family that Mita and Enu are adopted. Over Thanksgiving he lets Elle know that her sisters are adopted. Elle of course knows this, but nephew is having a hard time getting it.

We are laughing, not at him but more at his refreshing point of view on life. He didn’t see the color differences.

I later told Mita and Enu this story. They had the sweetest smiles and laughter. Mita tells me, “I love that boy!”. They were so pleased.

While I believe in celebrating diversity and cultures and not in being colorblind, I cannot help but dream that everyone would just see my Ethiopian girls as girls and not brown/black girls. Just as Meg and Elle are not seen as white/peach girls, just girls.

I wonder if I will be writing similar post decades from now about my grandchildren?

I Have My Mom’s Ears

A Mom's Job 2 Responses »

Dec 062011

My mom has what I used to call her Librarian Ears. She worked at a library for many years and I blamed her occupation for her sensitive ears. She doesn’t like loud music, yelling or repetitive sounds.

I used to hate this about her.

Now, I have Librarian Ears and I don’t work at a library. I hear everything. I can be having a conversation with Hubby in one room and hear every word in the next. I hear the name calling, the bickering, the teasing…all things i hear. I cannot concentrate on one thing anymore it seems.

Sorry mom for the bad nick-name. My hat is in my hands begging forgiveness for all the bad thoughts I had about you once upon a time about your hearing sensitivity!

Everything also seems amplified, the TV the music…argggh. how do I make it go away? Anyway have any suggestions? Am I doomed forever to hear all things?

Photo Credit

A Product Review And Thankyou: Boiron’s Arnica Gel

A Mom's Job, Health and Hygiene, My Thanks Go To..., Reviews No Responses »

Dec 052011

I’m a Registered Nurse. I have worked in the medical field for close to fifteen years now, so if you said that I believe in medical science and medications and you would be correct. I do, however, also appreciate and use other types of healing that can occur with touch (massage, acupuncture, cranial-sacral therapy) homeopathic medications/treatments and nutritional supplements.

I have been using some homeopathic products from Boiron for several years now and I was excited when the company was at BlogHer11 as they had been in 2010. I love the ColdCalm and the ColdCalm for kids, as well as the famous Oscillococcinum^{® (please don’t ask me to pronounce that!)} The company recently asked me to review their new Arnicare Arnica Gel and I gladly have.

Arnica is an age old treatment made from a plant related to a daisy. It is helpful in aches and pains promotes healing and prevents bruising. An all-around helpful product to have around with a growing household!

My kids have aches and pains like they are ninety. They play rough and bruise hard. Me, myself have back aches often as well. I really like the Arnica Gel. It is non-greasy, is unscented without smelling of medicine and works.

Boiron is a company I feel like I can get behind, because of their helpful products, the education their site offers and the fact that they are giving! They donated a case of Arnicare Arnica Gel to our local women’s shelter! I was so pleased when they agreed to this. Haven of Hope will be quickly given the case so they can pass it out to women who are starting over, and possibly injured and in need of healing themselves.

Thanks Boiron!

To get a $1.00 off coupon click here. To subscribe to Boiron’s newsletter go here.

The Brilliance Of My Eldest Is Blinding

A Mom's Job, Moments With Meg 1 Response »

Dec 022011

Meg and Hubby

Can you tell that I am a proud mama from the title of this post? Meg has started her own blog reviewing books, DVDs and other things important to her.

I give you MegsMumboJumbo! Check it out and leave her some love!

Thanks to @FireMom for working out all the techy stuff!

Letter To Myself

A Mom's Job, holidays 1 Response »

Nov 302011

Elle in her Christmas dress complete with tennis shoes, watching the Nutcracker!

Every once in a while I will write a letter to myself giving me advice on how to handle things differently next time the event comes around.

Christmas is a good time for reflection and I think I have finally got this Christmas my four children down. I stress the MY part, because every family is different and my hat goes off to those families who can pull of all the fun traditions I used to try to do.

This year I did not make a plan for getting an awesome themed Christmas pictures for the Christmas cards. I used to try to get the perfect picture, no more.

This year I not only didn’t get the girls matching/coordinating Christmas outfits, I did not get any Christmas outfits at all. Elle has a new dress that I bought on sale last January and she is wearing it for her Christmas play, which happens to fall on her 7th birthday! One of the girls asked about her Christmas outfit. I told her I didn’t get them, because they won’t wear them without a lot of drama. Simple.

This year I will not try to yet again get a family picture. If it happens great, but I won’t even dream of it. It is just fact that we are an adoptive family of older kids with attachment/trauma issues. If a family portrait is a power struggle, we just won’t have one. Again. Maybe someday.

This year I am not trying to get all the girls to experience what I think they should experience or what tradition dictates. I took Meg and Elle to see the Nutcracker because they had good friends dancing in it and the other two hated going the last time. I plan on taking only Elle to Breakfast with Santa. I am taking Mita out on a mommy-daughter day and since I am homeschooling Enu, we are still getting a lot of one on one time.

This year I have so far been more relaxed than I have in years. I’m enjoying myself. Meg has asked to take over the Advent quilt this year. I gave her several things I wanted in it and she is doing the rest. The younger generation carries on!

Dear Mandy,

By golly, I think you finally got it!

Love,

Mandy

My Favorite New App (New To Me)

A Mom's Job, Stuff 2 Responses »

Nov 282011

I have had my iPhone now for a month or so and I am quite smitten with it. I have not named it, but I do sleep with it within reach. My Hubby and Meg (she has a iPod Touch) are much more app-savy than I am but I did find this app that I am really liking.

It is called CardStar. You can put in all of your key chain/shopper rewards program cards in your phone! It makes life a bit more easy at checkout, and considering that I tend to have to dig for cards or forget them I may actually start saving more money.

What I really like about this program is that you can put your library cards in it as well. All four of my girls have their own library cards (so they have to pay their own fees and take more responsibility) but they always forget to bring them or loose them (where do they get that from?!). Now I have them on my phone. I know this seems counteractive in teaching them responsibility, but I could never not let them check out books because they left their card at home…I mean they are books not candy!

Now one more little issue is solved.

Love. It. Forever. What is your favorite app?

(Disclosure: I was not ask to promote this app or paid to do so!)

Art Credit

Advent Activities For Older Kids

A Mom's Job, Bible lessons, holidays 3 Responses »

Nov 272011

The days of stocking the Advent quilt with easy crafts and recipes for Santa Sugar are gone for me. I am a bit melancholy, but I am also looking forward of doing some new, fun things for older kids.

But, I have to think of them first….

Some thoughts are:

Filming a Family Christmas Commercial to post on Christmas day…this should take a day to plan, a day to film and a day to edit.
Continue with the Story Starters I started last year, they seemed to work well and were easy. I can do several of these to fill in busy days.
Write Christmas Cards to ill children.
Write Christmas Cards to solders.
Toy shop for our local toy program.
Caroling with Girl Scouts
Visit nursing home with Girl Scouts
Elf a neighbor
Visit Courthouse lights
Visit Olgobee (spell?) lights
Winter hike on winter solstice
Make baked goods a bit more advanced than simple cookies (Of course all baking is advanced to me! The girls do really well though.)
Meg’s Christmas Concert
Time Capsule letters (Me and Hubby this year too)
Reading aloud from our many, many Christmas books I break out every Thanksgiving.
Christmas movie marathon while making popcorn garlands for the birds.
Make ornaments with applesauce dough

Now my plan is to have a Bible verse to go with each day that breaks down the Christmas story. I just have to sit down and get it done before Thursday.

I would love a few more ideas! Please help us out. The kids are older, but they still look forward to the thought of the Advent quilt, they just get bored easily.

Photo Credit

Time Capsule Letters…I Am Better Than I Thought!

A Mom's Job, holidays, Moments with Elle, Moments with Enu, Moments With Meg, Moments with Mita, NaBloPoMo, Stuff 3 Responses »

Nov 262011

Photobucket
Hubby got down the Christmas decorations on Thanksgiving afternoon per our normal tradition. The girls carried the boxes in from the garage and I opening up a lid on the first box. On top was an envelope that said “Time Capsule 2010″. Hmmm. My hand writing. Wow what a great idea! I’m so glad I thought of that, and then forgot it?!

So once all the decorations were up (the kids did an awesome job by the way, it is great to have kids who are old enough to actually help with things!) we sat down and I read the letters. They were simple questions like:

What was your favorite song in 2010?

What was your favorite movie in 2010?

What do you remember most about 2010:

What do you hope happens in 2011?

It turns out that none of the girls’ predictions came true, Elle doesn’t have long hair and Mita didn’t get to go to Washington State. We did make it to Chuck E. Cheese as Elle had hoped for and Meg did get to perform more in 2011 between her choir and being in Children’s Letters to God. Enu did not get to spend the night for a week at her friends house, but she did start doing her hair better!

A nice moment for us. I think this year I will add a few more question and have Hubby and I do one to. I am going to add this to our Advent activities (Oh yeah, haven’t started planning those yet either.)

I wonder if I will forget next year? Maybe I should go back and see if I blogged about my idea? Echinacea anyone?

Giving Is Contagious

A Mom's Job, Ethiopia, Family No Responses »

Nov 222011

Every once in a while Enu will put out a box by her door and ask for donations to send to Ethiopia. We throw some coins in and she adds it to our coin jar that we save to send to Ethiopia around Christmas time. This is the great way to teach the kids that every penny counts and adds up.

The other day Elle hung this up on her door:

Translation: Please put money for Ethiopia.

This makes my heart swell with pride. I love my girls and that they give and have a heart for giving is amazing for me!

The Unknown Story Of A Scar

A Mom's Job, Adoption, Family No Responses »

Nov 122011

November is National Adoption Awareness Month. The goal of this declaration is to encourage the adoption of children in the Foster care system. Most of these children are older children. Though we did not adopt through the Foster system, we did adopt older children and I try to be very honest about the blessings and the struggles of having done so. Adoption should not be looked upon as an easy thing nor as an impossible thing. There are hidden challenges and miraculous surprises with adoption as well as some stories that may never be told.

A few months after Mita and Enu came home I had Enu in the bath tub. She loved the tub and water and took long baths at that time. I pointed to a scar on her knee and asked her how she got it. She told me in very broken English that she had been running at our agency’s home in Ethiopia and fell on the pavement. It seems like a simple explanation, but it was the first time I had asked her something complex and she was able to answer so that I understood. I remember running out to Hubby and letting him know what had happened. I was so happy to know yet another fact of her life before us.

She has two other scars. I have asked her about them. She doesn’t know how she got them. One is a burn on her back. I wonder when I help lotion her: Did she walk backwards into a stove? Was she burnt by a stick? Was it on accident or was she hurt on purpose? How did she feel when it happened? Was she scared and lonely or did she have open arms to run into? I will most likely never know unless she remembers and lets me know someday.

Her other scar is on her neck. It brings more questions as the location is odd and to be honest a bit scary.

If you are considering bringing an older child into your family, please realize that you may never know every story. Some unknowns may haunt you, and they will haunt the traumatized child, but it is not a reason not to adopt. Just be aware.

Homeschooling Update

A Mom's Job, Homeschooling, Moments with Enu No Responses »

Nov 102011

Several people have asked me how the homeschooling is going lately so I thought I would write about it a bit. As I mentioned in a previous post, we choose to home school Enu for a few different reasons. To allow her to regress and then mature and to give us one on one mommy/daughter time.

We have accomplished the mommy/daughter time for sure. It is nice to have her along with errands and around the house when the other girls are at school. We have a lot of impromptu board games ( I refuse Monopoly, but Ten Days in Africa, mancala and Trouble are frequently busted out.) On the other hand, it can be trying not to have a break from each other.

Regressing is going well. It is a good thing to see. She creeps in our room and sleeps on our bedroom floor some nights. She is playing with toddler toys and pretending a lot which is fun to watch. It can be rather crazy having a pubescent tween one minute and a pre-schooler the next. Maybe exhausting is a better term than crazy!

The actually schooling is going well. We are reading a lot, doing math and grammar, word puzzles and she is doing a project on Ethiopia. For those of you who have ever wondered about homeschooling, I promise you the time actually spent with papers and workbooks is not as much as you think it is. It is so easy to educate doing everyday errands and trips.

Just the other day I took her voting with me. A real live civic class. At the grocery store she filmed a commercial about healthy food vs. junk food. Scavenger hunts at the library and teaching her how to look up books on the library computer is fun, easy and real life.

So I am happy with our decision to home school Enu, but I am tired and looking forward to a break once she starts back to school in January. I don’t know if I could handle the homeschooling full-time, and my hat goes off to those who do, but I do know that I will do it again if I see that one of my kiddos needs it.

I hope that this inspires people to know that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Giving your child what they need can change from time to time. As parents it is important to think out of the box at times and go with your gut.

Humiliation In The Line At The Polls

A Mom's Job, Moments with Enu, Stuff 2 Responses »

Nov 092011

I took Enu to vote with me today. I like to take my kids with me to vote and I thought it would be a good home school topic. We talked about how to remember voting day – the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. A tricky little phrase everyone should know.

We talked about the issues but mostly about the responsibility of voting and why it is so important to let our voices be heard in this way. Serious stuff.

As a little tangent here, the line was so long because the poll workers can’t see the words in the binders and checking it against the voter’s drivers license. I have often wanted to be a poll worker. I think it would be interesting and helpful. Plus I can easily read things for a few more years so the lines would go faster. Sorry.

So we are in line and Enu is playing with my license and the conversation goes likes this:

Ohh mommy, this says you are 5-5….yes I rounded up.

Ohh mommy it says you have brown hair, I think it is darker. Ohhh mommy you have hazel eyes not brown. Yes I know honey.

Ohhh mommy this says you weigh 145 pounds. Enu, hush that is rude.

This must have been made a long time ago.(Silence, insert dirty look here!)

This is the last time she will play with my license at the voting polls.

artwork credit

I Have The Best Job In The World

A Mom's Job, Breastfeeding 2 Responses »

Nov 072011

I just got back from working an eight-hour shift today. I normally work four hours, so it felt great to get an entire shift in! We were busy, as busy as I have been since coming back from my two-year break. I loved every minute of it.

It felt great to be useful, to be able to answer questions, relieve anxiety and help new families plan for the first few weeks with a newborn. I get instant gratification at my work and I crave that. I like watching an infant and mom improve their latch and technique in a matter of a few hours.

It also felt great to be challenged. There were two infants who had some major tight jaw action and one little girl who sucked on her tongue. I knew what to do. I knew what to say, suggest. That feeling is golden for me as normally I don’t know what to do or say. I don’t have answers for the world’s problems, I don’t have answers for all my family’s woes: But I can help you breastfeed. That might not seem like much to some, but it is my skill and for a mom needing help I can seem like a chariot of golden help! If only I had a magic wand to make everything easy.

To me nothing is more intimate or amazing than a mom nursing her baby and daddy looking on at them and it is a privilege to be able to help them.

It took me 29 years to find my niche. I pray it doesn’t take my girls that long, but as long as they find it I will be pleased.

What is your best job in the world. Was it easy to discover or did it take a while to figure it out?

Meeting My Girls – Take Two!

A Mom's Job, Adoption, Ethiopia, Moments with Enu, Moments with Mita, NaBloPoMo No Responses »

Nov 052011

April 16th, 2008 Hubby and I were in a cab driving through the streets of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Our guest house was far from our agencies home and I was a bit car sick. Stop and go is the normal for driving in developing nations. A lot of horns blowing, strange and wonderful smells in the air. I kept wanting to speak in Spanish as all my senses thought I was in Peru again.

I had put on a long skirt that day with a shirt with 3/4 length sleeves. The outfit was well-thought out as it is considered rude to expose your knees and your elbows in Ethiopia. Kids can get away with short sleeve shirts, but not women. I didn’t want to shock my new kids with bad manners.

My new kids. It was finally time to meet Mita and Enu. Two years into the adoption process, three months from first seeing their photos and it was all coming down to right now. I was worried they would cry and beg not to be taken. I was worried they might be mean and aggressive in their fear.

We pull into the alley with our agency’s sign “AAI” hanging in front of large metal doors and I felt a wave of anxiety. The guard lets us through and we do into the office. The compound is what I expected, lots of dirt and metal familiar to us with our experiences in Peru. What was different was that this time we would be taking two of the child as our own, not just playing with them or helping them. They were to be ours.

The Canadian director took us to Mita and Enu’s class. She stepped inside for a moment. I was waiting for the music to start playing, this is the dramatic part right? No music. To little girls step out. Smaller than I had imagined. They smiled bashfully and gave us a hug, immediately calling us mom and dad. I was pleased of course, but know that they were taught to do this. They had no idea that mom and dad were Enat and Abba. So trusting, yet really they had no choice but to come with us.

Their grimy hands in mine, they took me to see their bunk. One little bed without a pillow in a room with at least eight other bunks. One small cubby held all of their belongings. Enu looks at me with pride when she shows me her family photo album. I cried behind my sunglasses. Pictures. My heart broke and sang at the same time. More than I had asked for. I had prayed for one picture of their mom. I got so much more.

Hubby worked on paper work while we hung out in the office. I couldn’t talk with them, nor could they will be. We all seemed content, just a bit awkward maybe. Mita and Enu were not the names they went by, they were more family nic names and we weren’t the family that used them. My mind shifted to change the names I had dreamt about, talked about and written for several months. Already a change in expectations and we were thirty minutes into our new lives. That set the pace for the next few years.

I don’t look back on that day with music. I remember new love and timidness. The adoption was over. The rest of our lives were beginning.

Meeting My Girls – Overthinking Version

A Mom's Job, Adoption, Moments with Enu, Moments with Mita, NaBloPoMo 3 Responses »

Nov 042011

The first picture I ever saw of my girls.

A recent post on BlogHer inspired me to write about meeting my daughters for the first time.

I remember Meg being put in my arms shortly after giving birth to her. I said “I know you now. I know you now.” I was in awe that I was finally seeing my daughter face to face after carrying her for those many months. I didn’t even know if she was a boy or a girl, I just knew I loved her and that she would be perfect and that I would be the perfect mom. I had such high expectations for us. Well, after twelve years neither of us have proved to be perfect, but I really know her now. Every freckle, every scar, every pre-teen look she gives me. I know who she is.

It was pretty much the same when Elle was born. Though I knew she was a girl and I knew neither of us would be perfect. I felt enormous love and thanksgiving when she was born. I was an experienced parent who knew that it would go fast and that we would make it through just fine. My expectations weren’t as high, I just wanted to enjoy her.

I first saw Mita and Enu’s pictures in January 2008. I was so overjoyed to have a referral. I was so happy to see their faces. I was so ready to put the love I already felt to two little faces. I got to read school reports and health reports. I had put personalities to them just by their pictures. I bought them clothes and dreamed about meeting them.

Then we were there. The director took us to their classroom and brought them out to us. They were so small, so scared but happy. I now know they were happy because they had been told this was a happy thing. They really didn’t have a clue what was going on, the concept was just to big. Mita has told me when they were introduced to us as mom and dad she thought they had painted her Ethiopian dad peach!

The hugged us, held my hand, showed us the bunk they shared and their personal belongings. Enu handed me something that I will be forever grateful for. She handed me family pictures. Baby pictures, pictures of them growing up with their mom, dad and grandparents. This album has allowed me to talk about what they looked like as a baby, it has let them see how loved they were by their parents. It is a true miracle that many international adoptees don’t have.

So there I was hugging two little girls who were strangers to me, but not. I felt relief, happiness and a bit of now what? They knew very little English, I knew even less Amharic and yet we were a family. They looked at me, I looked at them. We were in a bit of limbo at that time I now realize.

One of the things that sticks out in my mind most is that Mita was sucking on the seatbelt buckle in the taxi. I was so grossed out, but didn’t want one of my first actions to be a correction. So I let her suck it (not wear it mind you!). I would have never let Meg or Elle have done that, but I knew them. I still didn’t know Mita. This is not a bad thing to admit. Adoption is different from giving birth, adopting older kids is way different from giving birth. They had an entire six and eight years of life that I didn’t experience with them.

Much like the birth of Meg, I had a lot of expectations for Mita and Enu, but I had learned that expectations can change and that can be a good thing. Much like with the birth of Elle I was ready to live in the moment.

What is different is that I don’t know where every scar has come from. I don’t know when their first steps were taken or when they started getting teeth. I have no idea what the birth stats are or even the correct date of birth. This things don’t really sadden me as an adoptive mom as I know that their Ethiopian mom and dad got to see these moments and from the pictures, I know they enjoyed these moments. What does make me sad is that if the girls decide to have kids of their own, we won’t be able to compare when things happened.

After three and a half years, I can say that I know my girls. I just don’t know everything. I never will.

These last seven hundred words cannot give you a great picture of what happened during that day visually, but it does show what was going through my mind. As this is NoPloPoMo and I am to stretch my writing, I am going to attempt to write this post again, but make it more about the actual meeting. We will see how that goes!

Puberty? WTH

A Mom's Job, Health and Hygiene, NaBloPoMo, Parenting, Teendom No Responses »

Nov 032011

I was at the gyno’s today trying to figure out the date of my last period. I used to be so on the ball with things like that, but don’t worry about it much now since I don’t worry about being pregnant. While I was looking at the calendar I could tell you my daughters’ cycles better than my own.

It is a weird thing having maturing daughters. Not bad, just weird. I am rather matter of fact with body functions (see my RN credentials) and thus have passed this on to my girls a bit. It seems all they talk about at times are boobs and pads and it hits me that I am in a different time of life now. The baby-toddler-preschooler-first day of school phase is over for me. My baby (almost 7) was chopping carrots for dinner tonight. I’m concentrating on periods, bras and acne rather than sippy cups and Cheerios.

I have to adjust to this new parenting phase and stop hovering. I should do more talking and share more about my experiences rather than just giving orders. It’s hard. Hard for me and hard for the kids to be growing. I feel my control slipping and I don’t like that feeling.

The struggle I deal with is that I am so afraid I will mess it all up. There is no do-overs in parenting and that is why my normally easy-going personality hit the road when I became mom.

Hubby is handling this “the girls are growing up” well. Better than I am actually. He’s an amazing dad. I would have died to talk to my dad about periods and my girls know they can go to him if they need something or are having a hard time. He takes it all in stride, which cannot be easy sometimes. He grew up with four brothers and now has four daughters. Life is funny that way.

Have you hit a different place in the parenting timeline that has been a struggle? Are you dreading your child hitting puberty or looking forward to watching them grow? Any words of advice are always appreciated!

Artwork Credit

Children Are Dying

A Mom's Job, Ethiopia, My Soap Box 1 Response »

Nov 022011

Children are dying.

Right now.

Every second.

Every minute.

30 thousand in three months.

30,000 people live in Juneau, Alaska.

How would we react if Juneau, Alaska’s population died of starvation? Would it be different than how we reacted to the 30,000 children who died in the past three months in Somalia? If 30,000 people died in England or Australia would we feel differently than we do the Horn of Africa?

I really want us to think about why we are ignoring Africa? Is it because most of the news we hear about Africa is bad? Is it because the people are black? Do we think they deserve what they get?

Being born in American does not give us more humanity or extra importance in the world. Kids in America are malnourished and obese due to poor diets. There are problems here that need to be addressed for sure, I will not argue that. The economy is bad. Yet, when I go to Starbucks there is a line. Going out to dinner I see the place is full. Our economic downturn means we tighten our belts and make hard decisions, but we are not losing thousands of our kids to starvation.

Please don’t tell me that we need to feed America first, when mothers in Africa are choosing which child to carry to the hospital while leaving the other one to die.

No comparison. Don’t even try.

If you can give, give. If you cannot give: pray, make yourself and your children aware of what is going on. Share that life is precious no matter what your geographic location is.

Places to give:

UNICEF

MercyCorps

OXFAM

Petition to Sign

Find an organization you trust and give. Give for aid now, so there will be children to education later and hopefully this will be the last time we see this atrocity.

Growing Out Of Halloween

A Mom's Job, holidays, Moments with Elle, Moments with Enu, Moments With Meg, Moments with Mita 1 Response »

Nov 012011

The planning of Halloween is more fun for me than the actual Trick or Treating. I love planning with the girls, looking for the good deals and finding the perfect costume.

This year Meg was…well I don’t know what her costume was, but she was cute. Purple and black with a funky hat. Very twelvish! It was all about the candy for her.

Mita wanted to be a bumble bee. I was thrilled that she wanted to dress up. She has never really embraced Halloween and the two previous years she didn’t wear her costume at the last-minute. This year she wore her costume, but put on a sweatshirt the whole time so I never saw the whole suit and of course she didn’t let me take a picture :(

Enu wore the same costume as she did last year, Tiana. She looked beautiful, but this year is definitely the last year for that costume! It was snug to say the least. On our second round of Trick or Treating she went as a golfer. Girls change their minds a lot it seems.

Enu as a golfer

My baby is almost seven. This year for Halloween she dressed up as Rapunzel. She loved dressing up and her outfit was completed by a Gecko and a frying pan as well as a smaller Gecko and small frying plan. If you have seen Tangled, you will understand the frying pan thing. She is still excited about the costume. How many years will I have left with her excitement? How long will it take for her to say M &M’s correctly?

Ella as Rapunzel

As I write this the girls are trading their loot. Heavy negotiations going on. It brings back memories of my brother Josh and I when we were little. The fun part was trading and pulling one over on him! Of course in about a week I will combine all of the candy into one pile to save space, but they seem to have forgotten that fact right now.

I wonder about next year. Will I have only two costumes to plan for? I guess there is always the grandchildren in 20 years!

In Defense Of Not Being The Best

A Mom's Job, In Defense Of, Moments With Meg 6 Responses »

Oct 282011

Meg likes to golf. Hubby has been taking her and Mita out for a few years now. She likes it. She enjoys learning about the game. She was so excited to be able to join the golf team when she hit the sixth grade. At our school the six graders can practice with the team, but are not guaranteed playing time. So she practiced this fall. She didn’t seem to be enjoying herself though. She said she wasn’t going to be on the team next year.

Hubby was disappointed, but was fine with that until she said she still wanted to play golf and learn to golf better, but she didn’t want to play on the team because the other girls were better than her. Hmmm. That changes things for me as a parent. Meg is the oldest and very much has the oldest kid mindset, outgoing and stubborn, responsible to a fault at times and all around lovely kid. So why does she have to be the best at everything in her mind?Why can’t she just play for the love of the game?

Are we teaching our kids (knowingly or unknowingly) that things are only worth their time if they are the best at it? Is this a new phenomenon or is it age-old and I am just experiencing it with my oldest child for the first time? More experienced parents please help me out here.

I want my kids to have fun, enjoy activities, have hobbies. These are all things I didn’t concentrate on when I was young. I read books and avoided almost all activities save for concert going. I want my girls to have a life-sport they can participate in forever to stay in shape and enjoy themselves.

Hitting my stride later in life has been a struggle for me and off course I want to be a good role model for my family. I started running and really enjoyed it, even completed my first 5K, then got an infection and havn’t been on a run in weeks. Maybe I need to start running again and show Meg that while mommmy will never win a race, she can still run for the fun of it.

I hope she goes out for golf again next year. I’ll be crossing my fingers and encouraging without nagging (is that possible?).

If you are reading girls, just play, have fun. In 5, 10, 20 years who played better golf in the sixth grade will not be the topic of conversation for people. I promise.

Kids Book Review: The Spooky Scavenger Hunt Giveaway

A Mom's Job, Moments with Elle, Reviews 7 Responses »

Oct 082011

All-aboard the Dinosaur Train! PBS’ hit show has a new Halloween Book out that I get to review. Anyone who reads my blog knows that I like to read, like to get kids to read and love having the opportunity to share my reads with everyone.

For those of you with older kids who may not have heard of Dinosaur Train, well, it’s big. I would call it the Rollie-Poli-Olie of today. Meg was a big Rollie fan (a decade ago EEEK!). In this animated cartoon a family of dinosaurs ride a train each episode to a new place in time. The Jim Henson Company is the creator of the series, so you know that it is full of fun, color and learning.

In The Spooky Scavenger Hunt (Published by Grosset & Dunlap), the conductor takes the kids (all dinosaurs) on a scavenger hunt and they learn to use their senses of sight, hearing, smell as well as touching on nocturnal animals. The pages are colorful, though not to bright – the darkness helps with the spooky theme. Of course the book is not to spooky to read to the little ones and is aimed at ages 4-8.

Elle (my 6.5 year old) enjoyed reading the book along with me. She does watch the show when her older sissies surrender the TV! We will be reading the book the next few weeks before Halloween and then passing it on to the nephews I’m sure. That’s what I love about books: They last for a long time and are never out of date for the most part!

Elle and Friend

Also coming up on PBS: Sid the Science Kid – Spooky Science Special on October 17, 25, 30 and 31st

Dinosaur Train: Haunted roundhouse/Big Pond Pumpkin Patch on October 20, 24, 30 and 31st.

Here are links to patterns for Dinosaur Train or a Sid Halloween costumes!

Okay, giveaway details! A copy of The Spooky Scavenger Hunt will be sent to you if you are the winner (US addresses only please.) .

Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment to the following question: Do you think that dinosaurs trick or treated? Explain your answer….seriously, just leave me a comment!

Extra Entries:

Follow PBS Kids on Twitter and leave me a comment that you did so with your Twitter handle.

Like PBS Kids on Facebook and leave me a comment that you did so.

Like FourAgainstTwo on Facebook and leave a comment that you did so.

The winner will be drawn via Random.org on October 19th at noon. I cannot guarantee that you will get it by Halloween, but there is a good chance!

(Disclosure: I received a free copy of above mentioned book ($3.99 US) from Three Sixty Marketing and Communications and the opportunity to give one copy away. I was given no other compensation and my thoughts are my own.)

I’m Blogging For My Breasts…Again

A Mom's Job, Breastfeeding, Health and Hygiene, Stuff No Responses »

Oct 032011

More boob talk from the boobologist here. Yes, remember I am a certified boobologist (aka lactation consultant) and I care about breast health overall. Last year I posted about Army of Woman and the good things they are doing. Dr. Susan Love and Avon have teamed up for some really cool Breast Cancer Research and they need YOU to help!

We all want to help out with the breast cancer cause and a lot of us are getting tired of just buying and wearing pink. We want to do something more. Joining the Army of Women is a direct way that you can possibly help out in breast cancer research. I have been a member for about a year now and every once in a while a email is sent to me with a new study they need help with. These studies can range from sending in a breast milk sample to filling out a form. Easy stuff to more time consuming, but you are not required to do anything you don’t want to do or cannot do. I have not qualified for any of the studies thus far, but I am optimistic because if I can help out in some way Army of Women is going to let me know about it.

So how about it? Join up and possibly save lives, feel productive and do a good turn!

In Defense Of Dirt

A Mom's Job, Health and Hygiene, My Soap Box 1 Response »

Sep 302011

Hello. My name is Mandy and I am a recovering germopobe. I used to pride myself on never touching anything in a public restroom with my hands. I was a professional worrier of germs and bacteria.

When Meg was a baby I went a bit overboard at times on protecting her. I kept her from playing and having fun in the name of safety. I have slowly come to terms with the fact that I cannot keep my kids from germs, viruses or worse. The world is a dirty place and we have amazing immune system that needs exposure to work at its finest.

One of the ways I came to this conclusion happened when I took Meg to a impromptu Doctors appointment. She was sick and I hadn’t scrubbed her from top to bottom before the visit as I normally did to prove I was an amazing parent with a perfectly clean child (you know you do this too so don’t judge me!). I was ashamed of Meg’s dirty toes and apologizing for them when the nurse said, “We want toes to look like that. We call it summer feet and it tells us that your child plays like a kid should.” That comment started me thinking about all the things I used to do as a kid and how letting Meg have a bit more freedom with playing in the dirt might be a good thing.

A couple of days ago I read a post on BlogHer. It was a well written, well-meaning piece about the condition of our nation’s indoor play-places and how filthy they are. I agree with everything this mom did and said, but as I mentioned in the comment section, I was surprised that she was surprised. She toured this play ground tube as if she was exploring a different planet and went on and on about the dirt and what was growing in the play place. I couldn’t help but wonder how this women has lived to be so amazed at grime and dirt. Of course it was appalling, and no I would not let me kids play in a obviously nasty place like she showed,however, the stuff she found growing on the tubes can just as easily be growing on her child’s school bus or on her own skin. Germs, viruses and bacteria are everywhere. You cannot hide from them.

Meg is now twelve (next month anyway). I have three more kids. With each child I’ve become a bit more relaxed with the germ thing. I do want them to be clean and healthy of course, but I don’t go into anxiety mode with a trip to an especially dirty bathroom anymore.

A few things I do make the girls do: Wash their hands when they come home from school or the store and before eating. They learned as soon as they were tall enough to squat on a public toilet rather than sit on it. I do have to say that I used to carry a Clorox spray bottle in my diaper bag and I would clean the toilet seat when they were potty training. If I am on my game I clean the door handles regularly. They also have Kleenex in their backpacks as well as alcohol based hand sanitizer for when they are away from soap and water. Remember that alcohol based sanitizer without the triclosan are best as the bacteria doesn’t become resistant to alcohol like they might with the triclosan, but watch the alcohol use with small kids who suck thumbs and fingers!

There is plenty of support for the dirt is good mantra, they are just a google away. Our hyper-clean society is breeding sicker kids with asthma and allergies as well as poor immune systems. I like this article from 2009. That and similar works have helped many overcome our out of control germ fears.

If I was superstitious I wouldn’t write this next sentence. My kids are healthy kids. Normal, healthy kids with bumps, bruises, summer toes and great immune systems. They get normal colds occasionally. Elle has mongo-sized tonsils and just got her second episode of tonsillitis (in her life). Normal kids stuff. Hopefully they will remain healthy and will be able to fight off the nasty stuff they will be exposed to in life.

There is nasty crap (literally crap) everywhere, even if you cannot see it, and our first line of defense is our skin. Then our nose and ear hairs and digestive juices, if germs get past these defenses our immune system kicks in. The more our bodies have been exposed to the better our immune system is equipped to fight the intruder. If our kids are not exposed to dogs, cats, dust and a bit of dirt and grime their immune system isn’t as strong.

My best advice. Let the kids play. Let them kiss the dog and run around barefoot. Play hard, wash hands and feed them well. That is all.

(Photo Credit)

Book Suggestions For Kids (And You!)

A Mom's Job, Books I Have Read, Education, Entertainment, Reading Challenge 1 Response »

Sep 292011

I am always up for book suggestions. Last year I met a retired reading teacher and she wrote the names of some authors she thought my then ten-year-old would like. She was so passionate about reading she wrote the suggestions on the back of the event’s program and we talked for a long while. She was not a fan of Harry Potter, but I liked her anyway and quickly requested the suggestions from our library. She was right, they were great books and I will pass them along to you as well as a few others I adore. I cannot mention all the books, but I will try and touch on ones I haven’t written about before.

Preschool/Young Readers

Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel- You cannot beat these simple stories that stress friendship, kindness as well as having an ease about them that makes reading fun.

Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson- Given to Meg when she turned two from her beloved great-grandpa Pap Pap. These verses bring out the adventure of being in a child’s imagination as well as build vocabulary skills with the old time language the book has. Elle is very fond of this book right now.

Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel - I started reading this book to Meg when she was about three years old. She quickly had it memorized and years later can still say his whole name! This is a favorite to read out loud in the class room as well. The illustrations are classic and introduce kids to the Asian culture a bit.

Early Elementary Students

The American Girl books are great (for girls!) as they have adventure, good morals and history in them. I like reading these books with my girls as I can add some historical tidbits and the books promote great discussions. Reading Addy was hard for me as I cried a few times, but those tears lead to great conversations with Meg. Kit made me mad when she hopped the train, but I was able to talk with Meg about listening to parents, making good choices and the like. Mita liked reading about Josephina and Enu enjoyed the Kit books best.

Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown is a fun and easy to read series that has started a phenomenon with the post office! We created our own Flat Stanley that Grandma and Grandpa took with them across the country and took pictures. Talk about inter-active! A great way to mix geography and reading.

Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park is Enu’s favorite. I do enjoy reading about Junie B. and hearing her language miss-haps are great learning tools for Enu. The way her mind works reminds me of another great series Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish. I’ve always adored Ameilia Bedelia being read out loud. Funny.

The Little House On The Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder is one of my all-time beloved books. I read them and feel at home. That said, they are wordy and Laura does love to get into her descriptions so if your child gets distracted easy I would pick the easy reader Little House books as the chapters are shortened a bit. Meg never really got into these books as I had hoped, but I think she does appreciate that they mean a lot to me. Meg is my dragon lover when it comes to books and the Prairie doesn’t have enough fire-breathers for her liking!

The Magic TreeHouse by Mary Pope Osborne books are Elle’s favorites. She loves to read about going back into time. I really like the non-fiction reference books the series has as well. This is a fun series to listen to on CD in the car as it takes the kids’ minds of the drive and into history.

Middle School

This is my favorite reading level thus far with my kiddos. Of course you have Harry Potter (a given) but The Hunger Games Trilogy is my new suggestion as well! With a series plot that could turn people off if they don’t read the book and just hear about the story line (a reality TV show that has kids killing each-other, just doesn’t sit well with most of us) I urge parents to read these books so they can help the kids process what they are reading.

Another set of books with a futuristic 1984ish plot is Shadow Children by Margerate Peterson Haddox. Wow. Heavy stuff, but great ways to get us all thinking, discussing and preventing problems in the future. If your child has anxiety issues I would stay away from these books for a while. Enu will not be reading them anytime soon!

I just recently finished The 39 Clues Series. Meg made me read them. I really enjoyed this book set and number 11 made me want more books as the plot is thickening. The story line hold the older kids interest but the books are at an easier reading level for fourth and fifth graders. Fun.

A few more for middle schoolers:

Shakespeare’s Secret and Masterpiece by Elise Broach

Mandy and The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards (yes, the Julie Andrews!)

Obviously I could go on and on…and I will with books I hope my kids will read as they get older but in another post! The selections above may be heavy on the girl side, but I am partial and lacking the experience of raising boys!

I hope you will add some suggestions to my comments so I can get cracking at those books as well.

Getting Your Kids To Love Reading

A Mom's Job, Education, School Issues 4 Responses »

Sep 222011

Okay....she is posing for this picture I admit it!

I have talked to several mothers lately who express that they want their kids to be readers, but confess that they themselves are not readers. Though I don’t consider myself an expert on getting your kids to read, I do have a few ideas and am very proud of the fact that all of my kids are often found with a book in their face.

As with all the values we want our kids to learn we must demonstrate those same values. Your kids have to see you reading. It can be fiction or non-fiction books, newspapers or magazines but they must see you reading for enjoyment on a regular basis. If they see you reading a book for a collage class you cannot complain about having to read it. If you read a book you don’t like, explain why you don’t like it. It is okay not to like a book or a particular subject and expressing this is a great way for your kids to learn.

I firmly believe that Meg would have been a reader without this, but Hubby reading aloud to her made a huge impact on how she enjoys books. He started reading the Harry Potter series to her in the first grade and five years later she is obsessed with creative, imaginative books that have dragons in them! Read out-loud to your older kids. I think we tend to stop reading to them when they start reading themselves. Reading out-loud helps them learn more vocabulary, gives them time to imagine about what you are reading and is great for bonding and cuddling with your kiddos.

Mita was a reluctant reader when she first came home with us and is now reading up a storm. We have to find out what they like to read. I worked hard at finding what she liked and then made sure she always had access to them. She is fond of biographies and non-fiction and also graphic novels. It was a bit difficult to find graphic novels that were girl-oriented and age appropriate, but I did find several. I think that the fact she was able to finish the entire book, and yet still be entertained by the pictures built her confidence that she could read well, and taught her that finishing a book is fun.

Enu is the child I am working at hardest right now finding her something to read. She has attention issues. Meaning she cannot pay attention. She will read one chapter of a book, deem it dumb and not finish it. The only books that she seems to enjoy are the Junie B. Jones books. She will finish these books with encouragement, but if I am not paying attention to her she will read several of them all at once, meaning she will read a chapter of one and put it down then pick up another one and read it. While I’m happy she is reading, I don’t think this does much for her comprehension or her enjoyment level. I have found that Books on CD are an easy way to get her into a story. It helps her vocabulary and takes some stress away.

Then there is Elle. My baby. My girl who tends to get the short end of the stick when it comes to one on one time now. She loves to read big books with hard words. She insists she is reading them. I struggle with this as I want her to read books at her reading level, but I want her to be happy and proud of herself as well. So as she reads these books I try and fit in a few fun first grader ones that will interest her. Foster confidence in your kids. She has such an imagination I know that once she starts reading independently she will be a lot like Meg and read a lot. I still need to spend more time with her and books those.

Reading is so important for our kids. It teaches language and communication skills, but more importantly it fosters imagination and possibility in our kids.I would love to hear your advice and suggestions for getting our kids to read more and enjoy what they are reading. I will soon write a post with some book suggestions for kids.

Reading The Signs

A Mom's Job, Moments with Elle, Moments with Enu, Stuff 2 Responses »

Sep 192011

A Sign We Hate To Read!

Last Saturday we drove to North Carolina to a beach house we rented with family. Our car was full on luggage but short on children at Meg and Mita were staying behind to finish their play commitments and coming down Monday with my parents. It was just Hubby and I with Enu and Elle. The drive went fine. We had no traffic, decent weather and the car ran fine.

The last forty-five minutes the kids kept watching the GPS system. It has a little checkered flag at our destination address. As they watched us get closer they started reading the signs at the side of the road. I’m sure every one does this on long road trips. There is nothing else new to do so we read signs. Road signs, restaurant signs, bumper stickers and just about everything within site. We then start passing large billboards that say things like:

I Got My Crabs At Dirty Dicks

and

Try My Nuts

Okay, so they are advertisements for a seafood place and a nut store, but please oh please don’t let my kids start reading these signs and repeating them. Elle already has a good idea of other definitions for nuts and dicks and I just hope the other crab definition doesn’t pop up to soon!

It makes me want put in a new DVD and have the kids mesmerized by the screen just to keep them from reading!

What signs have you winced at said a prayer that the kids won’t pay attention?

Kids Book Review: You Read To Me, I’ll Read To You

A Mom's Job, Adoption, All you need is love!, Books I Have Read, Homeschooling, Moments with Elle, Moments with Enu, Parenting, Reviews 3 Responses »

Sep 142011

Yesterday on our weekly trip to the library I found a fun new book that I thought Elle and I would enjoy. It turns out that Enu is in love with it and *bonus* it is a great bonding tool. The book is called You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very short stories to read together by Mary Ann Hoberman and illistrated by Michael Emberly.

Elle is an emergent reader, reading on her own a bit, but still needing help. Reading with her can be fun or can be tedious depending on her level of stubborness at the time! What is so great about this book is that we are reading short lines together, which keeps her (and me) from getting bored. There are mostly rhymes which is great for new readers and writers and the book gets silly which means fun! Fun while reading is so important when they are young. We can’t make it a chore.

As I mentioned in a previous post, one of the reasons for homeschooling Enu was to give her some one on one time that she missed when she was little. This book offers a fun and easy way to spend that precious time with her. She missed the fairy tales and rhyming books. She missed the silly reading stories. She adores this book. We have reserved the other titles in the series: Very Short Fairy Tales and Very Short Mother Goose Tales and I am hoping to get them in time for vacation.

I get happy when I find something with multi-uses and this book fits the bill. I encourage all parents of emergent readers or parents of older-adopted children to check this book out at your library and give it a try.

Have you read this book with your kids? Is reading time bonding time for you all as well?

(Disclosure: I recieved no compenstation for reviewing this book, nor was I asked to review it. I borrowed my copy from the library. Amazon links are not affiliate links and I will not get any money from them.)

Art Credit

Tech Week Is Not For The Weak

A Mom's Job, Family, Moments With Meg, Moments with Mita, Stuff 1 Response »

Sep 132011

Meg and Mita are in a play this week. Children’s Letters to God will be put on by our local children’s theatre. This is Mita’s first play and Meg’s third. Meg loves it. Mita says she will not do another one, drags her feet for practices and moans a lot…but at practice she seems to adore it. Hmmn. It will be interesting to see how she does for the performances and if she will think all the hard work is worth it.

It is amazing how differently siblings handle things. Meg is in stealth mode. She eats, sleeps, goes to school and golf and then it’s all about the play. She loves it. Period.

Enu and Elle are not loving it so much. They hate running sissies back and forth to practice. All they do is mumble about how boring it is. Yet I think they are going to love the actual show. I know they will love it.

Tech week is basically very long, late practices every night before the show. Last night the girls got home at 10pm. We will see how they get up this morning. Tech week is fast food week, spend a ton in gas week and no time for anything week. It is hard on the family no doubt. Hubby says we are taking a break after this from the theatre. I agree with him, but do so love to watch them stretch themselves, learn and have fun.

As a family with four kids we really try not to over-schedule our lives. We want the kids to have free time to play, read and just be kids. Now that Meg is in middle school, we are seeing an increase in activities that she wants to explore. I encourage her to explore but not all at once! Being in a performance such as the kids are in right now is a real stretch for us. One that we decided to go with this time around, but know that we cannot maintain this pace if our house is going to remain standing, with clean laundry, clean hamster cages and sane parents!

I will be ready for it to all be over, but I will treasure watching them on stage.

What activities does your family participate in that push the limits on family schedules, money and sanity? Is it worth it or are you toning it down a bit?

(email me at fouragainsttwo @ gmail . com if you want info on tickets)

Art Credit

Archery…Just Call Me Katniss

A Mom's Job, Books I Have Read, It's all about me!, Mom's Free Time, Sports, Stuff 4 Responses »

Sep 122011

I have found my sport. I may be 36 years old and non-athletic, but archery is for me I tell you. I like it. It is fun. It does have some competitiveness if you like that sort of thing (which I don’t -why can’t we all just win?!) but it’s not all about the competition. I must add that I have only done it twice, but I’m telling you that I love it. I became an instruction simply so my Girl Scouts would have a local opportunity to do some archery, but it turns out I really like it.

I may go professional.

Okay, maybe not but the fact that I like participating in a sport is pretty mind-blowing in itself and requires some ahhhs from the people!

Does anyone know of local archery resources for me and my girls?

If you don’t get the Katniss reference you need to go read The Hunger Games series, quickly. It rocks just like archery.

Art by Budotty

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Four Against Two

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Stream Of Consciousness: I Slept At The Zoo

Black Is Brown As White Is Peach

I Have My Mom’s Ears

A Product Review And Thankyou: Boiron’s Arnica Gel

The Brilliance Of My Eldest Is Blinding

Letter To Myself

My Favorite New App (New To Me)

Advent Activities For Older Kids

Time Capsule Letters…I Am Better Than I Thought!

Giving Is Contagious

The Unknown Story Of A Scar

Homeschooling Update

Humiliation In The Line At The Polls

I Have The Best Job In The World

Meeting My Girls – Take Two!

Meeting My Girls – Overthinking Version

Puberty? WTH

Children Are Dying

Growing Out Of Halloween

In Defense Of Not Being The Best

Kids Book Review: The Spooky Scavenger Hunt Giveaway

I’m Blogging For My Breasts…Again

In Defense Of Dirt

Book Suggestions For Kids (And You!)

Getting Your Kids To Love Reading

Reading The Signs

Kids Book Review: You Read To Me, I’ll Read To You

Tech Week Is Not For The Weak

Archery…Just Call Me Katniss

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