The Noticer Project

"When we notice things about ourselves and other people that allow us all to regroup, take a breath, and begin our lives again, the best is surely yet to come."

From The Noticer
by Andy Andrews

Inspired by AndyAndrews' latest book, The Noticer (Thomas Nelson; 2009) The Noticer Project is an opportunity to participate in a world wide movement to "notice" the five most influential people in your life.

Here are the five most influential people in my life:

My Maternal Grandmother
She was the first person who ever made me feel loved, unconditionally.
She always expected the best of me, but showed forgiveness and compassion when I fell short.
When she died she left behind 12 grandchildren---all of whom thought they were her favorite.

Mr. Pryor my 9th grade Pre-Algebra Teacher
He was the first teacher who made math make sense to me, and that's saying a lot. He gave of his time to all of his students. He helped you without making you feel stupid. He never gave up on any of his students. He didn't play favorites. I ended that year with an A. It would be the only A I would ever receive in math and the only year it would ever make sense. If only there were more teachers like Mr. Pryor.

Trish Ramey
I was just a skinny shy girl on a dance team filled with other more popular interesting teenage dancers, but she, the broadway dancer in from NYC, took notice of me. Because of her I went after a dream that I previously thought was impossible...

Dr. Earls
Dr. Earls was my AP Humanities teacher in high school. A popular teacher even today, she was known for the way she brought Humanities to life. Well traveled, she shared many of her own personal slides in her lectures. She opened my eyes to a far away places and sparked my interest in travel. When I was lucky enough to model abroad I thought of her. After visiting Acropolis in Greece, I promptly went back to my hotel room and wrote her a post card thanking her. When I teach my children I try to bring her enthusiasm to my presentation. I hope I can also inspire them to see the world, just as she inspired me to.

My Family (okay, so that's technically five people lumped together).
My children inspire me daily to be a better person and Christian.
My husband makes me feel safe, loved, and protected. He accepts me for the imperfect person that I am and gave me the family I always dreamed of.

Who are the five most influential people in your life?

Miss USA

I confess I haven't watched a Miss USA Pageant since I was in junior high.
That said, I'm really proud of Miss California and how she not only stood up for her beliefs, but answered truthfully, regardless of the consequences, and most importantly, acknowledged that God has a plan for her life and that winning the pageant was obviously not part of the plan and she accepts that.

Here is a clip, in case you missed it.



I hope it's bigger and better things for her.
I think she is a good role model, but obviously that's not what the Miss USA Pageant is looking for these days. Too bad.

For more on this topic, please read Breathing Grace.

Little Debbie Snack Cakes & why EVERYTHING should be delivered

Truth be told, I have always loved delivery.
I'm a sucker for room service too.
Take me to a hotel and I barely want to leave the room.
Immediately upon check-in I can be found perusing the room service menu.
Room Service is basically hotel delivery you know.

Do they offer massages?
I want that too. In my room, of course.
In fact, I want all the spa services in my room.
Yes, I want the people delivered on up too!

When I lived in NYC one of the things I quickly grew to love about the city that never sleeps, is that it's a city that always delivers.

Me: "Hi, can I have 2 Twix bars and a Pint of vanilla Haagan-daz please?"
Delivery: That be 10 minutes. Okay?
Me: Thanks so much!

The first home I lived in with my husband was a condo.
It was part condo and part hotel.
That meant you could get--- condo service!
I loved it!

Two years after moving out of that house I found myself staying in the hotel part of our former residence. Oh how I craved their buffalo chicken wings one night.
(Yeah, I'm classy like that) When I called room service, imagine my surprise when they said, "Ms. Smith? Is that you? Welcome back! I remember when you would order this four nights a week! How is Mr. Smith? We miss you!"

Its nice to know I was appreciated.

Another fond memory I have of living there (and sadly, there were few) is when the local grocery store chain decided to...you guessed it, deliver! And, you could order your groceries online! I could hardly contain my excitement because I could order on up the groceries at midnight and have them at my door before lunch! Those were good times.

While I admittedly, really loved delivery when I was without child, I think I have a new appreciation and NEED for delivery now that I am with children.

I will drive 7 miles out of my way (each way) to go to the Starbucks drive thru because it's so much simpler than hauling four kids in/out of the car, parking lot, and starbucks just for my Grande Chai Latte.

How much easier would it have been at 3am when the baby sparked a fever, Big Daddy was once again out of town, and I was out of Infant Motrin?

If you are wondering what has caused this little rant, its because I'm sitting here craving Little Debbie Swiss Rolls, my husband is out of town (again), my baby is asleep, no responsible teen is available to baby-sit for 30 measly minutes, and the supermarket is acting like I'm the one being difficult just because I want them to deliver me four boxes of Little Debbie Swiss Rolls!
Gesh!

If anyone who works for Little Debbie wants to mail me a crate of Swiss Rolls I would be ever so appreciative.

The Dirty Dozen

Do you know about the Dirty Dozen? You should. Download your guide for free and keep it in your purse or with your shopping bags in your car.

Even if you are shopping at an "organic grocery store" please make sure the produce you are buying is actually organic. I recently was surprised to learn that my store, Whole Foods, carries fruits and vegetables that are not organic and I was purchasing them for my family thinking they were. Even in places like Whole Foods, Greenwise, Fresh Fields and others, you will need to read the labels.

Another simple way to ensure that your family is getting the best organic produce available (at a reasonable cost) is to subscribe to a CSA program. Local Harvest's website has a locator to help you find the best organic food that is grown in your area. Simply enter your zip code and view the list. They also include a list of companies that will ship their produce to you. You can learn more about CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) here.

Sometimes it seems there just isn't enough hours in a day to be a homemaker. Did you know about the dirty dozen? Have you already made the switch for your family? Do you have a CSA Membership or have a great online produce vendor you love? I'd love to hear your thoughts and tips.

A guest bathroom part I

Its always exciting to see a bathroom unfold, but this one is especially wonderful for me because I designed it myself! It's simple in the sense that it only uses 2 types of material: a 12x12 travertine and a 12x12 pebble tile that was cut in half for the border. It's not done yet...but it's getting exciting. When you are standing in the bathroom the pebble border is slightly above eye level. I chose that because the bathroom already has nice high ceilings. If it didn't then I would have raised the border higher to bring the eye up and make the space feel larger (taller).

The step out that you see on the right is a shampoo ledge and it will be done in the same pebble material.

The bathroom floor is the same material as the shower wall but is set on the diagonal.

sʇɹos ɟo ʇno ƃuıןǝǝɟ

˙ʎɐpoʇ ǝsoɥʇ ɟo ǝuo ƃuıʌɐɥ ɯ,ı ʞuıɥʇ ı ¿ʇɥƃıɹ sǝoƃ ƃuıɥʇou uǝɥʍ sʎɐp ǝsoɥʇ ɟo ǝuo ǝʌɐɥ ɹǝʌǝ

I find that when I'm having one of those days, little things can suddenly be amusing. Or very annoying.

Flip my text is my latest amusement.
Have you tried it? Have fun!

National High Five Day

Today is National High Five Day!
Catch someone doing a good job?
Give them a high five.


For fun you can make up a silly high five combo with a child!
Do you remember doing that when you were a kid?

Twitter in plain english

Do you Tweet?

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Did you see Oprah's latest show on Motherhood featuring Mommy Bloggers? I started to watch it and had to shut it off because I was so disgusted. If you didn't watch it, you didn't miss anything, but you might want to read this review of the show by Elizabeth Esther.

I couldn't have said it any better.

An organized kid

I'm constantly amazed at all the great things you can find on the internet---for free.
My most recent find, that I had to share, can be found on Amy Lucurto's terrific blog: Living Lucurto.

Amy has graciously posted free downloads of her days of the week clothing tags available in bright (boys) and pastel (girls). Not only is it a great way to teach the days of the week (sorry, homeschool moms make everything a learning opportunity) but think of how much easier your morning ritual will be when you have the outfits selected and tagged in advance. I usually lay out my children's clothing for them each morning, but I think I'm going to start doing it in advance for the week. I recommend printing them on cardstock and then laminating them for additional durability.

Too cute!
Happy Organizing!

Twittering your life away...

Do you know about Twitter? Do you tweet?
I must confess, I have a twitter account. Don't all the Mom's these days?
And yet, I cannot say I really understand Twitter. Do you?

This morning my very hip, much younger cousin, sent me a video link that I've decided to share on my blog.
But don't watch it with the kids in the room (or at work, Grand Pooba) because there is some language towards the end. Just a couple words (not the F-bomb) but still, I'm a Mommy, so I appreciate these warnings myself.




If you Twitter, send me the link. If you really understand Twitter----enlighten us all in the comments below!

Hair Mayo

This week I was on the hunt for hair mayonnaise after receiving a recommendation from a professional hair & make-up artist from London. She swore by this product for it's deep conditioning and shine benefits. In fact, she warned that it was so good you should only use it as needed because too much protein will cause your hair to become limp.

Directions:
Use a generous amount in your hair and either pin your hair up for the day, use a shower cap and sit under a hair dryer for 30 minutes, or put some on before getting into a steam shower. Repeat every 14 days.

Although I wasn't able to find it locally, I was able to find it online and request a FREE SAMPLE.

So request your sample today and we'll compare notes next month!

A planner a day...

I admit it, I'm a total organization geek.
I love planners and I'm a compulsive list maker.
The only problem is I get bored. Or frustrated if it's not, well, cute. It has to look stylish and be functional. I'm picky like that.

I'm also one of those people who spends a lot of time trying to figure out if there is a better way or system. I'm all about the systems.

Maybe I should have been an efficiency expert?
Or maybe not, it's not really being efficient if you spend a lot of time trying to improve systems that are working, is it?

At any rate, I recently came across The Project Girl's blog and I'm in downloading heaven.

Go and download her Daily Planner. While you're there, check out all the other cool downloads she has. It's worth the trip. I feel inspired to take on some new projects around the house!

How about you?
What are you inspired to take on?

Everything Expires

Did you know car seats expire? All car seats have an expiration date (varies by manufacturer) and they range anywhere from 5-8 years from the date of manufacture. So, like milk, you should probably check the expiration dates before buying (or shortly thereafter).

The two biggest reasons they expire are:
* Technology changes
* Wear and tear of materials (changes in temperature, and normal extended use)

Big Daddy thinks it's some conspiracy from the car seat makers but it sort of makes sense to me. The thing that doesn't make sense to me is why the seats are getting bigger (as in wider and heavier) each year to the point that even in a super-sized SUV you can just fit two car seats across the row and forget about putting a third person there----unless they are the size of Thumbelina or extremely emaciated.

One of the smartest things I've ever done as a mother (and of course I've done many--ha) is to get our car seats professionally installed by a child passenger safety technician. I did this for the first time with our newborns and have done it each time we've switched car seats ever since. Not because I'm lazy and cannot read the directions, but because it's important and FREE. You can visit the Seat Check, Safe Kids, or NHTSA website to find a location near you. In some areas they will even come to your house!

SEVEN out of 10 children in child safety seats are not properly buckled in.

When it comes to car seats I've also learned that bigger isn't necessarily better. By increasing the weight of your car seat by 15 lbs (or more) you've just turned your 30 lb child into a 45 lb child when it comes to projection. That is one reason why a lot of car seats have tethers that unfortunately few parents even use in the forward facing position.

You will be amazed at what you will learn about car seats from the technician so definitely make a point of scheduling an appointment to have your car seats checked, even if you've been using them for awhile. Sometimes they have recall information that you've missed or they may even inform you that your car seat isn't even made for your type of car! Who knew?

If you need to brush up on your National Car seat safety laws read this. There is also a great article about why car seats expire from the Safety Squad that I recommend reading if all this sounds new to you.

In case you are curious, our new car seats are the Sunshine Kids Monterey Booster and Britax Marathon.
A very nice police officer installed them for us and we love them!

I'm RICH----well, not really

But I'm as thrilled as anyone can be with $6.79!
That was my earnings from writing two lenses on Squidoo!

All thanks to my Lifecycle of a Meal worm lense.

{And you thought I was unemployed!}

Kinda makes the whole meal worm fiasco,
or rather experiment,
worth it, don't you think?

Now, go show some love to my Lifecycle of a Frog lense.
Mama needs a Grande Chai Latte from Starbucks!

And suddenly it came to me...

The morning routine at our house needs a routine.
So while cooking up the (microwave) oatmeal like a good little Mommy today, I had a revelation, of sorts.
We would have a SET (non changing) breakfast menu for each day of the week. It takes the guess work out of it and it stops 3 kids from putting in their individual orders like I'm a short order cook.

Here's my menu, but keep in mind I'm dealing with picky little eaters so we don't have a huge repertoire of breakfast foods.

Monday: Oatmeal
Tuesday: Scrambled Eggs & wheat toast w/ fruit
Wednesday: Waffles & yogurt
Thursday: yogurt parfaits & muffin
Friday: Cereal
Saturday: French Toast or Pancakes with fruit
Sunday: Cereal

** we have two cereal days because Friday's I need a break and on Sunday's we have church and eat a big brunch when we get home from church **

What do you or your children eat for breakfast? I think everyone ends up eating the same things each day (or most) anyway...Do you agree?

Nail it to the cross.

Today at church we were all invited to write our sins down on pieces of black paper and nail them to the crosses that were positioned around the stage. It was so powerful----and freeing. Of course I cried, as I seem to always do during service. It was just such an emotional experience and a great reminder that our sins are forgiven because Christ Jesus died on the cross to pay our debts.

Is there anything that you are carrying around that you need to release?
Nail it to the cross this Easter Season, you don't have to carry it around.

Library Thing

If you are a book collector (otherwise known as book junkie) like me who not only loves reading books but keeping them then you simply must check out LibraryThing and begin using it. Especially if you've outgrown your bookshelves and find yourself with books in various rooms, closets, cabinets and even in storage!

"LibraryThing provides online book cataloging in a social networking context. Individuals and libraries can catalog their collections and add them to LibraryThing. They can also create their own descriptive tags, review books, share what they’re reading, upload images of book covers, and discuss topics of interest. In mid-January, LibraryThing had more than 35 million books cataloged and some 500,000 registered users."
Information Today, Inc

I love having a complete catalog of the books we own. Perhaps it speaks to the little Librarian in me?

Librarything not only helps me keep a complete inventory of my library for insurance purposes, but also aids in my lesson planning as I can now easily see the resources I have on hand. The catalog system can either be printed out or searched and crossed referenced online. This feature has helped me to not only identify duplicate copies in my library, (which I later uploaded to Paperbackswap.com) but has stopped from me from making the mistake of purchasing multiple copies as well.

LibraryThing is completely easy to use, customizable, and affordable.
You can list your first 200 books for free and after that you can upgrade to a lifetime membership for only $25

So what do you do with LibraryThing once you have it?
Once you have entered your library into LibraryThing you can:

Show it off on your blog
LibraryThing has widgets that you can add to your blog that allow you to show off the book covers in your library.

Share your library with friends virtually.
Once you create your library, you will have a customized url that you can use to direct visitors to your online library. If you have a blog, you can add a LibraryThing button, otherwise you can add your librarything url to your email signature or just email it to your friends directly. You can view my library here.

Use your library for social networking.
LibraryThing will help match you up to other users who have similar book tastes. You can email them through LibraryThing, or look at their virtual libraries to see if anything in their library appeals to you. Since you have similar tastes, the chances are pretty likely you will find other books. Since users can also rate their books and add reviews you will also find reviews on the site. LibraryThing also provides recommendations based upon the books in your library, similar to those found on other websites.

Join the Early Reviewers Club and receive review copies of books FREE.


Beyond your own personal use I can see LibraryThing being particularly useful for any group with a library or shared book system. Homeschool groups could easily list the books they have available to their members and provide the link for members to peruse at their leisure. Interested? Take the tour & sign up today. If you do, be sure to share your library with me. I'd love to see it!

Little Hoot and Little Oink...we love you!

One of the greatest things about being a Mommy is putting my kids to bed each night.
Sometimes, it's because I'm exhausted and it means I can finally take a break.

But mostly, it's because after the baths are done, hair is braided, pajamas are put on and teeth are brushed----we settle down to read a few picture books. Kids cuddle up. Siblings who were previously mean to each other are cuddling together and sharing blankets as we all get lost in the stories. In our family, the youngest sits in my lap and turns the pages (if they choose) but each child gets to choose one picture book each evening. Occasionally, I surprise them and Mommy also chooses a book or two...that means our usual three stories can turn into four or five! Oh the excitement!

Our latest "finds" courtesy of Chronicle Books are: Little Hoot and Little Oink by Amy Krause Rosenthal (same author who wrote Little Pea).

Little Hoot is about a young owl who would like to go to bed at a reasonable hour, just like his friends, but his Mama and Papa believe little owls must stay up late and play instead. Children who have a hard time going to bed will think this lovely picture book is quite a hoot! Beautifully illustrated, engaging and fun. This book was a runaway hit with my I-don’t-like-going-to-bed 4 year old daughter and her siblings.
Little Oink is just a neat little fellow who would love nothing more than to have parents tell him to clean his room instead of messing it up. My children enjoyed the clever twists as Little Oink’s mother reminds him that he cannot leave his room until it’s a pigsty!

To read the entire review, please visit Heart of the Matter Magazine Online.

Cooking with Picky Little Eaters

My review is up at Heart of the Matter Magazine.