You might have seen by now on my Instagram feed or other social media, that there’s an amazing book about to be released.
On November 10th, my dear friend Rebekah Hargraves over at Hargraves Home and Hearth will be launching an ebook on Amazon titles Lies Moms Believe. In this book, Rebekah uses biblical teaching to refute 32 common lies moms believe Continue reading “Lies Moms Believe” »
My first guest blog post has been published! I’m super excited! It’s such an honor.
Head over to Seeme and Liz to read my article “4 Steps to Resetting a Bad Parenting Day”. I share the ways I’ve learned to recognize, and quickly reset a bad day before it gets out of hand. Let me know what you think in the comments below!
And don’t forget to read more of the great parenting advice Tanya shares at Seeme and Liz.
Mother Daughter trip to Iceland!
Lord, help me to be better today. Clothe me in the patience and understanding I need to be a better mother and wife.
Forgive me for raising my voice yesterday and most of all help me do a better job at keeping my daughters’ heart. Help her forgive me when I am not the mama she deserves and when I fail to be the best I can be.
Amen.
Do you tell your kids you love them everyday? Do you say ‘I love you’ or do you have something else special you tell them?
My daughter is an angel. Yes, an angel in the flesh. Let me explain… when I was 7.5 months pregnant, my dear sweet grandpa passed away. He was the kindest, sweetest, gentlest and strongest man. He helped raise me and acted in place of the father I did not have growing up (my dad was tragically killed when I was 4 years old). Grandpa took me fishing, game to every school event and taught me how to drive. I’m crying as I type this…Anyway, this amazing man died at the age of 90 while I was pregnant. Until this point in my pregnancy, Teagan did not move around much in the womb. I secretly and constantly wondered if she was alright because she was not as active as everyone said she would be. That is, until grandpa died.
Starting the day after he passed away, and especially from the day of his funeral, my baby girl was in constant motion. She kicked and punched and flipped all around. Maybe it was the emotion stress that was the catalyst for all the movement. I prefer to think that part of my dear sweet grandpa’s spirit became part of my unborn baby girl.
So that’s the story of when my baby became and angel. Since the day she was born, Teagan’s name has been interchangeable with “Angel” or “Angel baby”. Every day, I make sure to remind my little girl that she’s an angel. I thank her for being mine. I tell her that I am so thankful God gave her to me. I tell her that I am the luckiest mama in the world. Our extra special exchange is “I love you to Saturn and back”.
I hope these daily expressions of love fill her up. I want them to penetrate into her soul and become ingrained in her. My prayer is that these things will stick with her as she grows and battles the many challenges of adolescence and adulthood. I hope they protect her from the evils of negative peer pressure and society.
So how do you tell your kids you love them? Do you have a special word or phrase?
Aileen
Dirty walls, Cookies and Prayers
It is officially a blizzard in upstate New York. The forecast originally called for 16-20 inches of snow but now weather reports are predicting greater than 30 inches of the white stuff!! Holy cow! I don’t ever recall getting 30 inches of snow in one event! School declared a snow day late yesterday. Non essential employees were told to stay home.
Today is a pajama day. And also a day to get caught up on a few things we’ve been slacking on (some homework that was missed while we were on vacation, a 4h presentation that needs to be finished, laundry, and most of all downtime at home with no schedule).
There’s so much to be grateful for today but strangely enough I’m suddenly feeling anxious and cranky. Maybe it’s the list of things I should get done on this ‘extra’ time? Maybe, as a mom, I no longer know how to truly relax without guilt? Are these feelings normal or is it just me??
I know today I need to focus on the important things in life and forget the laundry, carpets that need to be vacuumed, etc.
Today, I am grateful for my big presentation being over, my sweet husband coming to watch and support me, my beautiful daughter resting her head on my shoulder and loving me no matter how cranky I may get.
Today, I am looking forward to a slower pace and no commitments, maybe a nap, a long hot shower.
This week I am looking forward to sewing class, the end of hockey season party.
In the near future I am looking forward to spring. I love seeing the flowers emerge, new leaves and having baby chics.
I hope you’re safe, warm and enjoying this day.
Aileen
Do you sit on cold, hard bleachers at your child’s sporting events? Are you tired of a sore backside after every game?? I hate being cold and I hate sitting on freezing cold bleachers. Life as a hockey mom.
Until I remembered the warm cushions my father used to take on hunting trips. Anyone remember this roundish, bean-filled, camouflaged things? I didn’t want camo and I think I threw away those old seats anyway. I decided to make my own version of a hunting seat cushion to bring along to hockey games and practices.
So, here’s how I did it. As you can see, I’m not much for exact measurements. Also, feel free to adjust the size of the foam to meet your needs and budget.
1 piece upholstery foam 15″x17″X2″ from Joanns (purchased with a coupon, of course!)
2 pieces of fleece in any patter/color about 10 inches wider than the foam (I eyeballed it)
To make life easier, I purchased 1 yard of fleece and estimated all the measuremts and cutting. With the fabric folded in half and raw edges together, lay the foam on top of the fabric approximately 4-5 inches all the way around. Then cut the folded edge.
Leaving the foam in place, cut a 4″ by 4″ section out of each corner. 
Now, cut 1″ wide strips all the way around, stopping 1/2″ away from the foam. 
Make a sandwich out of the foam and fabric with once piece of fabric on the bottom, foam in the middle and second price of fabric on top, making sure the right sides are facing out. 
Finally, double knot the corresponding top and bottom strips all around. 
Voila!! A comfy, cozy stadium seat to keep your bottom warm and happy!
If the fabric on your stadium seat gets dirty, it’s easy to untie and throw in the washer.
The entire project cost about $10 and took about 30 minutes, including tying.
**note that fleece is not the best material to use if you anticipate using your stadium seat in wet or snowy weather. For me, it works excellent for the multitude of indoor hockey games and practices each week. And it will be great for softball season as well.
Let me know how yours turned out!!
Upstate New York has received nearly two feet of snow in the last 14 days. Lots of snow, lots of cold weather. Last Sunday when we got out of church, it was snowing like mad. The beginning of the week continued with a few snow flurries and seasonable temperatures.
Saturday the temperature was incredibly warm. At 9am, we grabbed our snow gear, sleds and snowshoes for some winter fun around our yard before the craziness of the day began. We showshoed around the yard for a bit, threw snowballs then went sledding down my moms hill. It was so warm, even I was sweating and had to take my coat off.
Since the weather was amazing and it’s a three-day weekend, I decided we needed to find a much bigger hill to sleigh ride down on Monday. The day before, the temperature reached a balmy 60 degrees! Crazy for February!
Again, we got all our snow stuff together and this time loaded it all into the car and headed for the big hill. Super excited, we pulled into the parking lot (the hill is actually a well known hiking spot) and…
Serious disappointment. There was barely any snow left. We almost didn’t even get out of the car. We sat and pondered the hill for a few minutes while eating the snack we brought.
Eventually the excitement from the last two days of anticipation got the better of us and we braved the muddy parking lot, icy path and climbed to the top. The first run down, we both got stuck on grassy patches and thought sleighriding was over.
Adjusting our path down the hill some, we managed to squeak in a piece just wide enough and steep enough to propel us over the grass and continue down the hill. This area was actually quite icy but that was perfect! We slid even further down on the grass and though it wasn’t a hill, it was still super fast and super fun.
Initially, this was a total mom fail. I’m glad we convinced ourselves to give the hill a try. We had a blast, giggled a lot and made some good mom-daughter memories.
This week has been a struggle. A battle at every turn with lack of patience at home with the little one and my sweetheart, a battle to focus at work, stomach issues, lack of self confidence, stress over our upcoming trip, and on and on. If I had written this post yesterday, I would have struggled to with counting my blessings. Today is a little better but the blues and other nonsense is still hanging on. Regardless, I live in a country that has so much more than others. Even on my worst day, I still have more than most people in the world.
Today, I am grateful for:
I am looking forward to:
Today: getting outside after work
This week: a satirsday morning not yet full of commitments
In the future: our trip to Disney is less than 1 week away!! (Still so many things to accomplish. I sound way more excited than I feel.)
Blessings to you all.
My daughter loves looking at the stars, the moon, identifying planets and constellations. Recently, I came across a sweet book called Walk When the Moon is Full by Frances Hamerstrom. The book chronicles twelve adventures of a brave mama and her two children every full moon.
Ms. T and I decided to read the book each month on the full moon and then create our own adventures. Listen to all of the night sounds, witness the beauty of our surroundings bathed in moonlight.
Last month was our first full moon. It was quite chilly and either of us was super into freezing our tushes off so we sat in the front seat of the car reading the first chapter of Walk When the Moon is Full and checking out the trees and sky. Although it was not quite the same adventures had by the family in the story, it fit our mood at that moment. I had so wanted to wander the neighborhood that night but I was tired and cold and Ms. T was happy enough in the jeep. Sometimes as a busy mama, plans change and you roll with it. No looking back or regrets.
Tonight, I am hoping to bundle in our snow gear and spend at least 10 minutes outside under the moonlight. Probably with our little dog in tow.
In addition to it being the Full Snow Moon at 7:33 pm Eastern Time, there is a also penumbral eclipse at 5:34pm. I had no idea what this type of eclipse was but according to The Old Farmers Almanac, a penumbral eclipse is “a very subtle kind of eclipse which may appear darker than usual”.
On top of those two fun lunar events, tonight will be the closest pass of a comet to Earth since 1983. The Comet 459 will be visible in the eastern sky around 3 am Saturday. Look for a blue-green object with a tail. Although I would love to see a comet this close, I’,m not sure I’ll be getting up at 3 am. We’ll see.
For more information, check out the Old Farners Almanac Full Snow Moon.
You can order your own copy of Walk When the Moon is Full at Amazon.
Enjoy the full moon!
