Worst Toy Ever. (so far)

This is in response to my Best Toy Ever post. Do not, I repeat, do not, buy Glitter Lava. It is officially the worst toy ever. This stuff is a mess. My son wanted some Flarp (flarp?!?!) but Walgreens was all out so I ended up buying him some Glitter Lava. Never again, people! It's not all fun and stretchy like they show on tv. Not at all. It's just super sticky and a pain in the you know where to get off of anything.

Need proof? Just take a look at this. We have stone columns in our entry way. They're beautiful. And now they have a little added bling, too! See that sparkley spot? (Now I admit, I'm a total girly-girl and I love me some glitter--just not on my house!) How in the world am I going to get this off? I'm fixing to get a wet towel and get to scrubbing. Cross your fingers that it works for me!


And this is just sad. Poor Spongebob. There he is, just minding his own business when ol' Bongo comes along and asphyxiates him with some glitter love.


Moral to the story--all that glitters is not gold. Stay away from the Glitter Lava! *Ha ha! I was trying so hard to work that one in there! lol My husband thinks I'm corny. I call it wit! ;)*

Works for Me Wednesday--Online Giveaways!

Check out a million other fabulous tips at We Are That Family!

Just recently I participated in the SWAK carnival and giveaway over at We Are That Family and I actually won...a $200 gift certificate to Bid My Cleaning! Yeah, I know; I just about fell out of my chair! So now I've decided that I love giveaways. You never know...you might actually win! Here are a few that I know of right now:

Tucker Blair Preppy Headband giveaway over at Her Southern Charm. This one ends at midnight tonight so get on over there!

Lilly Pulitzer mug and stationery giveaway from The Preppy Princess. You've got another week to enter this one...but do it now so you won't forget!

Here's a giveaway from Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. It's for the book Wild Things: the Art of Nurturing Boys. On second thought, maybe you shouldn't enter this one...I really need this book and I can't win if everyone else is entering! lol

Okay, I've got baby on the brain so here are a few baby giveaways from Design Baby. First, a Bumbleride Indie. Yes, a stroller valued at $400! And also, Piggy Paint. Oh, and then there's these adorable Personalized Wooden Blocks! Cute stuff! And speaking of baby on the brain...I had a dream (nightmare?!) last night that I gave birth to twins. That's not the bad part. The first one weighed 13 lbs 5.5 oz and the second baby weighed 10 lb 5 oz. Frightening!! lol

How about some yumminess? Ryan at The Gourmet Foodie Blog is giving away Torn Ranch Truffles. Actually, 13 boxes are being given away!

Okay, now this one is just stinkin' cute! It's a giveaway from Lollipop Book Club. You'll win a paperback book of your choice, a handcrafted lollipop (ca-ute!), a note from you to the child printed on a sticker inside the book, and it all comes delivered in a red envelope adressed to the child!

Alright, this should be enough to get you started. Good luck and have fun reading all of these AWESOME blogs!

A Few Cute Bongo-isms

I want to get these down before I forget them.

"My stomach is farting because I need a snack." (We then discussed, burps, toots, and tummies growling!

He pointed at me and said, "You are the womanest." (Well...thanks! I guess. The womanest what? The womanest woman? I sure hope that's a compliment!)

"My brain feels really good right now." (I'm jealous...it's been awhile since my brain felt good!)

"Hey, I know that sound!" when he heard his dad snoring! lol

His grandma gave him a big bear hug and said to him, "You are the sweetest boy ever. Do you know that?" Bongo replies, all sweet and innocent, "mm hmm!"

"God made you very safe because I can never, never be a blueberry." He's terrified of this happening:

Spongebob Taking a Poop

Where does my 7 year old come up with this stuff? And why is Spongebob green?! :)

Things I Love Thursday--My Belly! :)

Hosted by The Diaper Diaries

I love my belly! With my first pregnancy, I was young and silly and thought I had a funny shape. (I was vain, sadly.) I ended up wearing loose maternity shirts. This time, I am so rocking the baby bump! Now, I won't be wearing a bikini this summer. I'm not that in love with the belly. And I wouldn't submit anyone to that horror (I mean really, a giant, pasty white tummy with a flattened belly button...not something I want to show everyone. Oh, and the hair. I now have these little hairs around my belly button that I didn't have before. What's up with that?!) But I will be wearing cute tops that show how round and big I am! Here's my official 19 week picture (technically 18w6d, I'll be 19 weeks tomorrow):



At 19 weeks, the baby is moving around all the time. I can't keep my hands off my belly when I feel it moving and kicking. Unfortunately, my husband hasn't been able to feel it yet. Every time baby starts kicking and hubby puts his hand on my belly, baby stops. My child is rotten already! :) Our ultrasound is in 13 more days and I cannot wait to find out what we're having. The countdown is on!

WFMW

So many fabulous tips over at Rocks In My Dryer...go check 'em out!

***Disclaimer--this pretty much only works up to a certain age. Once your kids reach about 9 and up (earlier??), you can forget it! :)

My son is 7. He trusts me. As a matter of fact, he believes every. word. I say. Which is why I *never* lie to him. I do try to simplify things. And I stretch the truth just a teeny bit sometimes. And every once in awhile, I totally make something up. But I don't consider it lying! ;) For instance, the other evening he wasn't feeling well. He kept making weird faces and clearing his throat. I was hoping he wasn't about to puke. I hate the puke. Thankfully he didn't. I guess he just had a tickle or something but it was really bothering him. Drinking water wasn't helping at all. He didn't like it and was getting a little stressed out about it. So I simply told him that sometimes when you don't feel well, you really just need rest. Get some sleep and you'll feel better when you wake up. (Confession time...I meant it as maybe he should go to sleep for the night.) He believed me. And said he was ready to rest. So he layed down on the couch. Two minutes later, he popped up and said, "I'm all better! I rested and now my coughing is gone!" And you know what, it was!

Moral of the story: Sometimes you have to make up a story (not a lie) to help your child out. You just have to do it while they're still young enough to believe you! Worked for me!

Another picture of my handsome boy:

Crafty Tuesdays (a wip)

Go check it out over at Her Southern Charm! She made the most adorable linen bag with applique. (By the way Mrs. Southern Housewife, I'm totally inspired by Pink Lemonade Boutique, too--she's awesome!)

This post will be short and to the point. I had a busy weekend and my husband had a day off from work yesterday so there was no crafting for me. I'm just getting started now so I'll give a little sneak peak:



Notice the pink! I'm into all things pink and frilly and girly. What am I going to do if I have another boy?! Anyway, I'm going to try my hand at applique. I'll finish it up in just a bit and come back and post the results. Stay tuned! :)

Okay, here it is. My attempt at applique. Drum roll, please:


Aaagghh!! Oh, the horror! I officially stink at applique! That's okay, it was fun trying. Not really. I got frustrated. But...I'll try it again. On a random piece of fabric and not a perfectly good onesie! lol

So, since I failed miserably at that project, I think I'll leave you with some yummy goodness by other people who actually can applique very well!

Lemons and Lollis She is awesome! Corina has an Etsy shop but it's closed for the moment due to the fact that she recently had a baby boy. Look at her work!







Amazing stuff, right?! Check out tons more on her Flickr photostream.

Another very talented lady is Christa at Dapper Duds. She also has a fabric store on Etsy: Sew Good Fabric.







Alright, I feel as though I've redeemed myself...lots of adorable stuff to make up for my mess of an applique project! Take care, everyone! :)

Gratituesday

Gratituesday is hosted over at Heavenly Homemakers. This is such a good idea...to recall our blessings!

1. My mom was mugged yesterday. While she was pumping gas. She was standing at the gas pump, pumping gas, and someone came to her car, opened the passenger door and took her wallet that was lying on the seat. Seriously. She didn't see or hear anything. So very scary! No, I'm not grateful for that. I am grateful that guardian angels were watching over her. She wasn't hurt, abducted (which has happened around here recently), or worse.

2. My husband signs the papers this week for his new job. Praise God!!! This will be a substantial increase in pay...his salary will more than double! We can finally get out of debt and begin working on financial freedom. I'm such a Dave Ramsey fan, now!

3. My son is making so much progress! It's hard to condense it down to just a few words, but Bongo is really doing well lately. He enjoys playing with other kids at the park (social delays are very common in autism). As a matter of fact, every time he meets a new kid he says it's his new best friend! He also cracks me up. I mean, this kid is really funny. What a joy and blessing he is. (I know I'm his momma but isn't he just beautiful?!)


4. I'm so grateful that we're going to have another baby! For the longest time I didn't want another. One was fine with me. Now I can't believe I waited this long to have another. I get to hold that snuggley warm baby against me again, and listen to it breathing. Oh my, baby bliss! (ps--only 15 more days til the big ultrasound!)

Best Toy Ever. (for the moment!)

For Valentines Day, Bongo got this really cool Melissa & Doug Pizza Party toy. He loves this thing and has played with it nonstop. This is what it looks like:

(by the way, i just realized that they have other sets...birthday party, ice cream parlor, slice and bake cookie set, sandwich making set. really neat stuff.)

So Bongo takes custom orders. You get a choice of pepperoni, mushrooms or bell peppers. I personally ask for mushrooms but he always gives me pepperoni for some reason. It's really cute to watch him "cut" the pizza and serve it to us. Then we all have to pretend to eat it. Over and over and over. And over. And over. Just when this game was starting to get a bit old, he came up with a new one. He'll leave the room and his dad will hide the pizza slices. When Bongo comes back in, he has to do a little "retective" work to find the missing pizza. Everyone in the house gets interrogated. We're all asked if we've seen any pizza. Then we have to give clues as to where it could be...without being too obvious about it. And we do this over and over and over. And over. :)

It was such a nice day here yesterday afternoon...sunny and cool, maybe 68 degrees or so. We decided to go for a walk around the neighborhood. Bongo wanted to ride his scooter so off he went with dad trailing behind him. They made it around the block and back to the front door. At that point Bongo asked for his wagon. We told him he had the choice of riding his scooter or walking with us (the walk was to spend time together but also to get a bit of family exercise). He promptly sat on the ground and said that his leg hurt. Yeah right! Where in the world did he learn how to tell these little fibs?! Do you think he got his way?

Of course he did! :)

My Son, Bongo

My son has a thing for names. He likes to give people crazy, random names. When he's playing at the park and he makes a friend, he'll give them a new name, usually something like Buzz Lightyear or Meet the Robinsons. I've seriously heard him say, "Hey, Meet the Robinsons, come back here!" to a little boy that he had just met. He also names his family members. In the past, I was named Cain and his dad was Brain. It's always cute at first but it does get a bit old after awhile. I mean, when your kid is yelling across the store, "Brain!" at the top of his lungs instead of "Dad," people stop and stare! lol Anyway, we've all got new names again and he even named himself this time. His name is Bongo. We were at the park the other day and a little girl asked him what his name was. He told her it was Bongo. Then she said, "Mommy, his name is Bongo!" lol Yesterday he told me, "I can be Bongo forever." I'm thinking he'll change his mind on that by the time he's 12. I hope so anyway! I'm Sally, his dad is Mej, Grandma is Mango, great aunt is Monkey (good one!), other Grandma is Geo and Grandpa is Crazy Bamboo. I love Bongo so much--he sure keeps life interesting!

I hope you're all having a blessed Valentines Day filled with love. Bongo gave me a big hug and said, "we love each other!" Heart melting! I gave my husband a new Klean Kanteen. He's buying me a new tire. So romantic! lol

Grace Based Parenting--Secure Love

*I posted earlier that Tim Kimmel says there are 3 inner driving needs of all children: need for security, need for significance and a need for strength. I want to go over what he says about secure love because "desiring to love your children and actually loving them in such a way that they develop a secure love of their own are two different things."

What is secure love? It's a love that is steady, strong and complete. As our children grow up, they'll have their sense of being loved tested. Bad things happen, unfortunately; someone they love breaks their heart, someone will betray their trust, they might get fired from a job, they may have a spouse or child who passes away (that one makes me cry...I can't bear the thought of my son hurting in that way). When life happens, our children need to be confident that they are loved...even if we are not there to physically tell/show them that we love them. We need to pass on to them the infinite love of God.

*It's possible to love your kids without them feeling loved because it's incomplete. They may feel like they have to compete for it or that they have to earn it.*

Dr. Kimmel defines love this way: "Love is the commitment of my will to your needs and best interests, regardless of the cost." Love is an action--not a feeling. It's about our children's best interests, not ours. It's sometimes inconvenient and sometimes painful. We need to love them the way God loves us...even if they're unappreciative, even if they don't deserve it and even if it's costly to us.

Here are three things we can do to build an authentic, secure love for our children:
1. Accept them as they are.
OK, he's not saying to accept disrespect or deceit or anything like that. He's saying to accept them for the unique things that make them individuals. If your child doesn't like to play sports, if your child is slow moving, if they communicate in "teen" language, if they're emotional, loud, shy, etc., that's okay. That's who God made them to be. Sometimes our kids do things to annoy, frustrate, or embarrass us...that doesn't necessarily make what they're doing wrong. When we accept the unique characteristics of our children, we communicate the kind of acceptance that God has for us. This one really resonates with me. My son is quirky, unique and special. I don't want him to ever feel like I don't accept for the awesome person he is.

2. Be a loving and honoring family.
All children are important. Their opinions, time, concerns, space and ideas should be respected. It doesn't mean that there won't be disagreements or sibling rivalry in a home. There will be. But there will also be forgiveness and respect. This all starts with the way parents deal with each other, by the way. What kind of an example are we setting for our kids? Are we loving, honoring and respectful?

3. Give regular and generous helpings of affection.
God hard-wired our skin to our souls. We were designed to respond to affection. Children are especially responsive. Both genders need it from both parents. Even when they move into their teen years, they still need touch. (So don't go kissing your 16 year old son in front of all his friends...he might not like that! lol But when he's at home, give him a hug, put a hand on his shoulder, ruffle his hair, give him a playful punch on the arm.) This one definitely comes the easiest for me. I have no problem showing affection to my son. As a matter of fact, I can't get enough kisses and hugs from that little booger!

In closing, Dr. Kimmel mentions that we've all fallen short. We've all unnecessarily stolen joy from our children more times than we'd like to count. Thankfully, God forgives. We just need to ask for it. We can also ask Him to help us meet the inner driving needs of our kids. Oh, and we might also need to ask our children for forgiveness, as well.

As soon as I finish up chapter 4, I'll be back to discuss "a significant purpose."

Things I Love Thursday--Snip-Its

Hosted over at The Diaper Diaries. Go check it out!

I love Snip-Its. Snip-Its is my friend. Want to know why? Because cutting my son's hair is like giving a haircut to a wildcat! Ever tried that before? Not fun. But the people at Snip-Its are fantastic. They are so patient and calm and sweet. They're nice to my son (even as he's trying his best to rip the cape thingie off) and they're reassuring to me (even as I'm trying desperately to bribe my son to sit still cause it'll be over in just a minute)!

Not only are the ladies great, it's such a fun atmosphere. There are toys everywhere and the kids get to play a computer game while getting their haircut. And afterward, the kids use their "adventure key" to get a prize, usually a sticker or tatoo. Look how bright and cheery this place is.


So now for the details...they have a VIP program where you pay an annual fee (like $20, I believe). If you do this, you can make appointments and choose a particular stylist if you want. If you're not a VIP, it's walk-in only and you get who you get. Which is not a bad thing. A plain haircut is $17.99. I do have a code you can use to get $5 off (and I'll get $5 off our next visit, as well!). The code is 1470004485 and customer name is Baxter. Once you use this code for a haircut, they give you your own which you can then pass on to other people. Kind of cool!

I'll repeat it again--cutting the hair of a wildcat...not so fun. Having awesome people at Snip-Its do a great job with the hair cut and being super sweet...priceless!

Cute {Cheap} Craft Storage

Get yourself to a Target Dollar Spot. There you will find a bunch of little buckets for only $1 each. That's right, only $1. Go now. Seriously. You need some buckets. I'll wait. *That was fast--glad you're back!*

I have about 20 of these little buckets (and a few bigger ones) around my house, mostly in my craft room. They make for great storage and like I said, they're cheap. Just add a ribbon and there you go...functional and cute! Here are a couple I have (please forgive the bows...I've been practicing my bow tying. I need a how-to video on this or something).





Works for me! :) *See lots of other ideas over at Rocks In My Dryer.

S.W.A.K. Carnival--How We Met

Join the S.W.A.K. carnival over at We Are That Family.


I've been married to an awesome man for almost 11 years now. Granted, he has his faults as we all do, but truly he is an excellent provider and father. He is so very supportive of me and he makes me laugh. I thought I'd share the story of how we met. Now, you might not find it as funny as I do (trust me, the way it all went down was funny...I was there!) but I hope you get some enjoyment out of it.

I had just turned 19 and one of my most favorite things to do was go dancing. Like two-stepping. I rocked my size 0 Rockies (my how times, and my body, have changed!) and Justins and could do a mean polka, if I do say so myself! One night my girlfriend Tiffany and I went to Bushwhackers (what in the world kind of name is that for a club?!) and at some point that night, I ran into a guy named R that I went to high school with. This guy didn't give me a second glance at school but for some reason he stopped me to talk that night. I told you that I was rockin' my Rockies! ;) I kid. Anyway, we chatted for a minute and one of his friends, Jeff, came over. R told Jeff that I had went to the same high school they did. The first words Jeff speaks to me are, "Do you know who I am" Ummm, no. (Seriously, I've never seen this guy before.) Then he says, all incredulously, "You went to P high school and you don't know who I am?" Oh my! Wow, this guy's just a tish bit conceited. Yuck. I ended up walking away. And promptly forgot about him. Fast forward a week later. My friend and I ended up going to R's house for a little get together. Guess who was there? Oh yeah, the conceited guy. But something had changed...he was looking kind of cute tonight! He played pool with me...and didn't let me win! Oh, and then he had me feel a dent in his head. That was all she wrote! lol I was smitten. From that night on, I did not want to be apart from him. A year later, we were married! And I have to say, he is not a braggart in any way, shape or form. I have no clue what got into him that first night! That's okay, it makes for a good story!

And of course I have to add a picture of my handsome husband :)

Crafty Tuesdays

Jennifer at Her Southern Charm is hosting Crafty Tuesdays and I'm really excited to participate. It's been awhile since I've been able to really share my creations online so this should be fun.

Yesterday I started on a cute little Valentine's Day frame but it's not quite finished so I'll save that one to show for another day this week. For now I'll go ahead and share a few things I made awhile back. I love creating. Sometimes I make things with a purpose and other times I make something just for the sake of creating.


I love these flowers! They're so bright and cheery and really give a nice punch of color. I just cut a few strips of patterned cardstock, accordion folded them and glued them together. Add a brad/flower/tag to the center and voila! Cuteness! I have these sitting in an empty jar but I think they would make adorable toppers on wrapped gifts.


I got the idea to alter a barn star from Sande Krieger a long time ago. I covered this one with adorable little boy paper (Mod Podge is my friend!) and lots of ink to shabby it up. If this baby is a boy I might put this in his room. Or...wouldn't it be cute in a boy's bathroom? Hmmm, might have to think on that!


Here's the last one for the day. I went through a big aqua/pink/white phase awhile back. I couldn't get enough of it. I still think it's a great color combo (although now I'm liking other combos more, such as aqua/red or limey green/brown or butter yellow/black/white). Anyway, on this one I just painted a canvas and used my glue gun to glue on a bunch of ruffled crepe paper and more accordion folded flowers. Ruffled crepe paper is so easy to make and so fun to use (and inexpensive, too). I used to have this one sitting in my craft room but it's been packed since we moved and hasn't come out of storage yet. :(

Well, that's it for now. Thanks so much for taking a peek and I can't wait to see what everyone else is sharing!

For Today...

Outside my window... my front lawn is freshly mowed and the flowerbeds have been weeded. It looks so nice!

I am thinking... how to handle a certain situation. I know what God would want me to do...then i know what I feel like doing.

From the learning rooms... working on Valentine's Day crafts; lots of physical and sensory activities today.

I am thankful for... So much! The amazing weather we had this weekend. We have 2 very clean cars now...all washed, vacuumed and detailed. Church was fantastic yesterday (we're doing a short series on Esther and it was about "defining pressure"). I have the most tender hearted little boy who really loves his momma.

From the kitchen... Roast in the crock pot. Also need to bake and freeze mini quiches.

I am wearing... black yoga pants, pink t-shirt from Motherhood Maternity and fuzzy grey socks to keep my feet warm.

I am reading... Grace Based Parenting by Tim Kimmel and various blogs.

I am hoping... a resolution to the situation I mentioned earlier.

I am creating... a couple of crafts for Crafty Tuesdays over at Southern Housewife's blog. Definitely something for Valentine's and also a baby gift for a dear friend.

I am hearing... my son is telling me that he doesn't like the videos on YouTube that have bad words because he only like good words! (Really just annoys me that people have to post so much bad junk on there.) You know the song "Slow Fade" by Casting Crowns? "Be careful little ears what you hear"

Around the house... Need to finish up laundry and start the dishwasher. The house is pretty straight other than toys.

One of my favorite things... feeling my baby move and kick! Did I say that last week? I love feeling the baby move...such a blessing! If you see me start smiling and talking baby talk to my belly out of the blue, it's because I just felt the baby! lol

A few plans for the rest of the week... need to get some homeschool lessons/activities organized; prenatal yoga Tuesday evening; OT on Wednesday; ice skating on Friday; play date at the park on Saturday.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...


We took my son to the circus awhile back and I just love this look he has on his face. He was in awe of the people who were on those super tall swaying tower things. It sure looked like they were going to fall but they were didn't!

Book Update--Grace Based Parenting

So I started with Grace Based Parenting and I'm so glad I did. There's so much wisdom in this book that really resonates with me. And not only does it encourage me to be a grace based parent, it inspires me to be a grace based wife as well. So the book is about parenting with grace, which is the way God parents us. Tim Kimmel says that there are 3 fundamental, driving inner needs that all children have and that knowing these is key to being able to effectively groom your children for the future. And here was a "whoa" moment for me: he states that satan knows exactly what drives our children and "he is working even as you are reading this book to meet your child's three driving inner needs in counterfeit ways."

If we aren't processing everything we say or do through the filter of these three inner needs, we're going to have a difficult time upstaging the counterfeits that satan offers so effectively to our children. Raising your children in a spiritual cocoon won't help because satan operates inside it. He appeals to your child's hear. Plus, he isn't our only competition. The world system and our children's inner bent toward selfishness can also do a pretty good number on our efforts.

The three driving inner needs are:

1. A need for security
2. A need for significance
3. A need for strength

The purpose of the book is for us to learn how to meet those needs by giving our kids love, purpose and hope. I love this quote, "If we've done our job adequately, our children should leave our homes with a love that is secure, a purpose that is significant, and a hope that is strong."

That's all I'll go into for now. I've finished the first 3 chapters and there is so much good stuff in there that I want to share. I'll save it for another post, though! Tuesday I'll be participating in "Crafty Tuesdays" hosted by the Southern Housewife over at Her Southern Charm. I'm looking forward to it. I love crafting and it's even better when a bunch of people get together and share their creations. I get all kinds of inspiration when others share. I'm feeling kind of Valentine-y so I'm thinking I'll be making something with pink in it!

And now I'm off to attend a virtual baby shower. My good friend Monica is due in about 4 or 5 weeks and since she's moved to Japan, another friend is hosting a virtual baby shower online for her. Such a cool idea!

Hmmm...Which One First?

First, I have a praise--I took my early glucose test yesterday (I had gestational diabetes with baby #1) and my numbers were good! Yay! Thank you, Jesus! I have to be retested at 28 weeks but that's okay.

OK, back to my originally scheduled post: Number 6 on my "striving to be more" list is about becoming more knowledgeable through reading books. I'm such a book junkie! I have so many books...my problem is that I never read them! They just sit there, looking pretty and all full of useful info that I'm hoping I'll learn through osmosis or something. So anyway, I've decided to take action. I will read a book. From start to finish. No getting halfway through, forgetting about it and then starting it over 18 months later only to do the same thing again. (Not that that's been my experience or anything! lol) Now that I've made a decision to get to reading, I need to figure out which book to start with. Let's see, there are 3 that are calling my name right now.


Grace Based Parenting by Tim Kimmel. I've heard good things about this book. It's basically about parenting the way God parents us--with grace. It's about forgetting your ideas of perfection, letting your child be who they are and really focusing on the important stuff (like salvation, humility, kindness, compassion, etc.) He does not condone legalism, nor extreme permissiveness.


Marriage Without Regrets by Kay Arthur. This one is about how to be and do what God wants you to in regards to your marriage. It's about doing your part...biblically. I believe that marriage takes work. Lots of work. But it's the 2nd most rewarding relationship you can have...it's worth all that work.



The Prayer That Changes Everything by Stormie Omartian. Another one that looks sooo good. It's about praise and worship and how they can bring you into a deeper, more intimate relationship with God.

So there you have it. My dilemma for the day! Not sure which one I'll start but I'll keep you updated on it.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY (February 2)...
Outside my window... The sky is blue, the sun is shining, and I'm watching the flags at the model home next door blow in the breeze.
I am thinking... That I love this part of pregnancy. My morning sickness is long gone, I have so much more energy (although I still get more tired than usual), and I feel the baby moving and kicking every day!
I am thankful for... A fabulous Sunday spent with my husband, my son and my mom. We went to the park where I laughed harder than I have in awhile and then out to a delicious lunch of Mexican food. That evening I actually enjoyed watching the Superbowl with my husband!
From the learning rooms... More and less; ones, tens, hundreds and thousands place, prepositions
From the kitchen... Leftovers! Either potato soup or ham and potato salad.
I am wearing... Zoo walk t-shirt and comfy grey sweat pants.
I am creating... Organization. Need to be organized before I can pull out projects to work on.
I am going... To see my midwife tomorrow! So excited to hear the baby's heartbeat agin! Then lunch, a trip to Whole Foods and home to make a batch of pumpkin muffins and banana pancakes.
I am reading... A Marraige Without Regrets by Kay Arthur
I am hoping... To be faithful to our budget and focus on paying off debts.
I am hearing... my son playing a Spongebob game on the other computer.
Around the house... I need to finish unpacking from our weekend stay at my mom's. I cleaned before I left...it's so nice to come home to a clean house!
One of my favorite things... My husband's ears!
A few plans for the rest of the week: Appointment with the midwife, occupational therapy, work on homeschooling activities, more organizing/purging.
Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...