Today my third darling girl turned eight years old.  She has been waiting for this day for a while, and now that it is finally here she is all over the place, bouncing around!

Today we had cookies with our scrambled eggs at breakfast and pizza and Yoda pie for lunch. Then it was off to the movies for Enu and Daddy. They saw Shrek while eating popcorn.  It just doesn’t get any better than time alone with Daddy!

Her party is this Saturday.  A Taylor Swift theme birthday party…I’m sure there will be a picture or two worth sharing from that party!

Here is the best photo of the day. Enu with her Yoda pie.  Yoda pie is a mint-chocolate chip ice cream pie with Ande’s candies….it is so named for the simple reason that the first time Grammy made it, it was for a nephew’s Star Wars party!

I recently won $100 Visa gift card from BlogHer on the question of the day!  I was so tickled, I immediately entered the other $100 questions of the day, as I became very greedy

Today Jenna at StopDropandBlog has the question of the day. Of course it is about pictures (!) as she is a photography among other things.

Meg in a Fire Truck

So here it is.  My favorite picture.  I took it last year at the local FireMan’s Festival (which fits in with Jenna’s theme well LOL!) and didn’t try to take it the way it turned out, it just happened. I love it.  I also won a $5 gift card to our local coffee hangout with it.  Wow am I lucky! 

So click on over to BlogHer and enter the question of the day…it is a real contest that you can win.   Enu wants to know why I won’t buy her ice cream with my winnings…I’m just stingy that way!

Photo Credit Mandy W. 2009

I just finished a book that MomOutnumbered passed on to me last week. I tend to like MomOutnumbered’s books (It is her fault I picked up Twilight, remember?) and just looking at the cover of How High the Moon by Sandra Kring made me want to start reading right away.

Last year I read The Book of Bright Ideas by Kring and loved it as well. Like her last book Moon has a young girl as the main character. Set in the 1950′s she has some of the innocence of the times, yet is more knowledgable about life than she can ever imagine!

Isabella “Teaspoon” is a ten year old with a lot of heart, who wants to help and cannot stop talking. I seem to attract these traits with my own girls!  Her character reminds me of a Pippi Longstocking and Anne of Green Gables rolled in with some Shirley Temple. Teaspoon says it as she sees it and I found myself laughing out loud through out the book.

This book is a fun and easy read that also touches your heart and shows how fragile life is and how important it is to care for your children. Maybe my connection with adoption is why this book has become an instant favorite.

I cannot really call this a review if I don’t say something on the critical side, can I?  If I had one wish about this book, I would have loved to have had a few chapters narrated by Teddy, the man raising Teaspoon. Of course this may have changed the story to much, but he is such a kind character. I wanted to get to hear his thoughts as well.

If you have already read this book, let me know what you thought of it.   If it sounds like a good read for you , go to your library or ask Mom Outnumbered to borrow it!

Other posts on Books and Reading:

Books Make A Difference

I’m A Reader

(Disclaimer:  I was not ask to write a review, nor do I have an affiliate link on this post!)

Photo Credit: Mandy W. 2010

This has been a bit of a busy week.  Most of our weeks entail me running around, mind you, but we had some major events this week.  Major for us, anyway, the world didn’t stop spinning and CNN didn’t call.  We did however, have two girls Fly Up from Brownies to Junior Girl Scouts and it was Elle’s last day of pre-school today.  Definitely a time for pictures!

Meg later helped Enu get into her new Junior (green sash).

Mita wouldn't put on her sash, but liked the flowers!

The Flying Upceremony in Girl Scouts can be a simple affair or a major ceremony. The leaders for Mita and Enu planned this ceremony perfectly. There was food, goodie bags, some official ceremony of the pledge, the promise and a song and of course the girls walking across the stage (pretend bridge) receiving their badges and pins they earned over the last year.

Elle attended her last day of pre-school. Last day EVER!  She starts Kindergarten in August and will be a full-time student for about two decades.  She is excited of course, but I will miss our days at home with just the two of us.  Don’t tell the other girls, but sometimes Elle and I would just watch TV or eat popcorn after the kids went to school. It was like having our own little Neverland, where she didn’t have to share with her sisters and I didn’t have to make her share! Here Elle is after I picked her up today.  They did clown face-painting as a last day of school activity.

Not to leave Meg out…she had to decorate a potato as a book character this week.  She choose to make a Hermione Grainger  potato (big surprise there!).  Hermione Potato Head was dressed in purple netting for the Yule Ball.  I failed as a mother and didn’t get a picture taking of said potato before Meg took it to school. No big deal you say?  Just take one when she brings it home from school?  I would if some potato mashing bully hadn’t wrecked poor Potato Hermione at school!  Ruffians.  Anyway, Meg is confident she can repair her creation, so I may have a photo in the next few days!

How was your week?

Photo Credits Mandy W. 2010

Dear Children,

It doesn’t matter how old, or young, you may be.  It is never to early to learn one of the greatest secrets in life.

Do you want your parents to say “Yes” more often? Do you want to have more fun, less yelling and incredulous looks?  Read closely and I will tell you all you need to know…

Timing is everything.

That’s right. Timing.  It isn’t completing chores (though that does help), it isn’t saying please (though that does help), it isn’t even smiling and asking about your mom’s day (though that would bowl her over)  it is all about TIMING.

Some Examples:

You want to have a friend over to play.  Your Mom is in the bathroom with the door shut and your Dad is not home.  Which would you do?

A.  Knock on the door and ask to come in.

B. Open the door and walk right in asking the question and yelling at your sister at the same time.

C. Yell from downstairs and don’t stop yelling until Mom comes to you.

D.  Wait for your mom patiently to get out of the bathroom and make her bed while waiting.

You guessed it… D is the  answer.  Let your mom go to the bathroom alone.  She is more likely to say yes to you   Try it and see.

It is Friday afternoon.  School is out for two days and all you want to do it relax and play.  You know you have to bring some stuff to school on Monday that you need help from your parent with.

A. You get in the car after school and tell your mom everything you need before saying hello (and while your three sisters are doing the same thing).

B. You decide to wait and tell her on Sunday night at 10pm when you should be in bed asleep already.

C.  Monday morning rolls around and your Mom tells you to get into the car for school.  After she is buckled and the door is locked you tell her that you need a few things.

D.   You get home after school and help your mom get the after school snacks ready while asking her to help you with your projects.

D is it again!  Mom’s like help.  Mom’s like to have notice. Remember these things and she will say yes more!

Your parents do not want to say no all the time. This may be hard to believe, but most Moms and Dads want to help their children, spend time with them and in general, make them happy.  Stress gets in the way of saying yes.  If you find out what times are less stressful on your parents, they will say yes more. 

Last example:

Your mom is cooking dinner, going through you and your sister’s back packs, packing lunches fo the next day and organizing the next Girl Scout meeting on the phone.  Your dad is working on the flower beds and you want to shave your legs for the first time.

A. You got into the kitchen and stand three inches away from your mom and follow her around until she puts down the fun and yells “What do you need?!”

B.  You go outside and tell your Dad that Mom is busy and you need to shave, is it okay with him.

C. You see your mom is busy and decide to shave first and ask later.  Later then becomes sooner, since you are hemoraging all over the carpet on your way back downstairs to ask Mom where the bandaids are and how much blood can you loose before passing out.

D.  You don’t ask and wait until you actually have some hair on your legs to shave.

D is again the best answer!  Sorry my dear!

This advice is FREE. Please use it. Frequently. 

Sincerely,

Your Mother

Photo Credit

As a young child in the second grade I remember being sent to a “special reading” class in school.  It was one of those things that people didn’t explain or talk about. I just went.

I cannot remember her name, but the teacher of that class had treats when you finished books.  I remember feeling so warm and happy in her class room with books and treats.  I honestly don’t remember how long I went to her class, but it couldn’t have been very long, since my memories of it are so vague.  I think she realized that I could read well, I just was very painfully shy and didn’t like to read out loud.

This “poor” reader label stuck with me until my family and I moved to California.  When asked what my reading level was I promptly said, “The lowest one.”  My scores told them differently and I quickly went from “poor reader” to “above average”. I was still shy, but my love for books was evident.

I would like to share with you a few books that have meant a lot to move through the years.  This is not a big, impressive list, mind you, as I have never been an intellectual reader.  Reading to me is an escape, an imaginative adventure, a no-thinking-needing form of entertainment that rescues me from reality that sometimes is overwhelming or an informative experience that teaches me more about life and what is going on in the world.

The Little House On the Prairie series, written by Laura Ingalls Wilder formed my enthusiasm for pioneers and historical books.  As a girl I would pretend that Laura traveled in time to 1983 and I  had to show her all the modern ways.   I have actually been to Walnut Grove and hope to do a Little House road trip with the girls some day!  How cool would that be?

As a child books that I also treasured were:  The Great Brain byJohn D. Fitzgerald, a series about a really smart boy who caused trouble in his town in the 1800′s.  The Frog and Toad series by Arnold Lobel.   One of my favorite things as a mom is sharing my love of these books with my kids.  Meg had Frog and Toad memorized as a young child and she is now reading The Great Brain.  She is also a fan of Little House of course!

I read The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom in high school.  It is a very powerful book that I read annually through college to help me remember what truth Faith was.  I’m currently looking for my copy, as I hope to read it again.  Little Women by Louisa May Alcott is still one  I adore and hope to share with my girls.

Here are a few of my favorite books I have read over this past year:

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

There Is No Me Without You by Melissa Faye Greene

Saving Cecee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

The entire Harry Potter Series

The Twilight Series (Still don’t know why so don’t ask!)

No matter what genre of books you enjoy, reading is a wonderful way to spend time and reading to  your children in an investment that will continue to pay off in the future. Our kids have minds that absorb so much (even if they don’t seem like it!). Books are a way to help them learn, explore and grow in knowledge.  If you want to help give a book to a child, please take the time to go to BlogHer and make a comment on the Books Make a Difference post.  Every comment gives a child a book.  How cool is that!

(Disclosure:  None of the links above are affiliate links!  I should do something about that shouldn’t I!)

Photo Credit

The Mother's Ring Hubby gave me

In accepting my Mother of the Year Award I would like to thank my Hubby and my four perfect children…

That is how I would start my acceptance speech.  Okay, so it may be a bit boring and in need of a joke, but seriously I don’t think I’ll ever need it, so why spend the time fine-tuning it?

Every experienced mom knows that there is no such think as the Mother of the Year.  We acknowledge that some moms are more organized, find time to exercise and look good.  This qualifies them as Looking Good Mother of the Year and they really do deserve an award for this as it is a good thing.

Having a card or sweatshirt saying, “World’s Best Mom” or “Mother of the Year” can be quite intimidating for most of us.  A few years ago Hubby got me a cute little ornament that I treasure.  It says:

“Most Loved Mom“

This is my kind of title.  I can handle this kind of talk as there is no pressure, just pure love.

Now is where I tell you about my Mother’s Day.  The kids (after being kindly reminded that 8:30 would be the perfect time to awaken mommy the night before) woke me up at 6:57 this morning with breakfast in bed.  Very sweet, but very early!  I got flowers and cards and a great necklace.  We also took a three mile hike and found a cache using our Geocache Junior.

After finding several ticks and being exposed to an amazing amount of  poison ivy we showered, changed and spent the evening with my parents.  Food and fun.  The kids got to play with cousins and I got to see my mommy   She bought me an awesome plant and a beautiful apron off Etsy.com.

All and all a really great day for our FourAgainstTwo clan.

So Happy Mother’s Day to all the loved mothers out there.  Even if you are not feeling very loved right now or feeling like a less than perfect parent, Mother’s Day is still our day!

Hubby getting rid of the winter-damaged limbs.

Spring makes for great photo opportunities.  Every day is full of like and color, even if it is rainy colors.  We have had such a great time getting back outside again. The kids are happier, more content and love to run, run, run.  How great is that?  I have even played a few rounds of  tether-ball recently.  you have no idea how much energy that game takes until you play it.

For more You Capture check out I should Be Folding Laundry .  Happy Spring everyone!

Two baby birds

Elle climbing a tree. She doesn't need help this year!

Enu with some barn kittens the kids found.

A few months ago

I was at the movies with some friends (it feels like years ago!) and we saw the preview for Babies.  I instantly fell in love and wanted to  have a baby right then and there. Hubby didn’t see this preview and did not feel the same. Actually, I think he could have watched the preview and still would have had the same sort of negative thinking!

This movie is about the first year of four infants from different parts of the world:  San Francisco, Mongolia, Namibia, and Tokyo.  The film promises to be beautiful and I hope that Breastfeeding is a big part of this film (fingers crossed).  This film may be a great opportunity for us all to learn from other and come to respect our different ways of parenting.

I have included a few links to share with you with previews and shots from this movie.  Enjoy!

My preditcition is that the birth rate will be rather high come next March.  By then I will be working again in the field of Lactation and be as busy as ever!  Busy with babies..how great is that.  Unfortunately I cannot seem to find a theater in this part of Ohio that is showing Babies this weekend so our birthrate may bounce once it comes out on DVD or On-Demand.  Oh the life of a country bumpkin!  Here are a list of theaters.

(Disclosure: I was provided with these links through the BABIES Ambassador Program. Sharing these can lead to me winning prizes like diapers and baby stuff. As I don’t need these items anymore (boo hoo) in the event of my winning they will be split between our local pregnancy center and my niece Ali!)