Ballards Design-style Cafe Shelf Giveaway

Traci at Beneath My Heart blog is having a giveaway! This gal is so crafty. And her tutorial on how to "make your VERY OWN Ballards Design-style cafe shelf for a fraction of what it costs in the magazine" is awesome. Go over and check out her ideas. Let them know that More Than A Mom (aka I) sent you.

The Air Show

Today we went to the Breslau Air Show with two other families.









It was cooler than I thought when we left (I was sweating in the house as I ran around getting things gathered and children plus husband ushered outside the door) so we were cool. Luckily the children were dressed mostly appropriately. It was sunny but windy and then near the end it started to rain.

The children generally enjoyed the show but parked planes were a bit boring and redundant for the little ones.













So that makes it want little ones to get into mischief. Here is hubby chasing Ava away from touching the very clearly marked "do not touch" plane's propeller.










I decided to pair up the kids and let Ava show her brother the sites. She is such a wonderful tour guide - and keeps the guide at a good pace too!



















And you cannot go to the air show without getting your face painted in army camouflage (not sure about the connection there but, okay...).












And the greatest part was hanging in the hang glider ...

Friday Fill-Ins

1. He was a handsome gentleman.

2. Fall leaves and children going back to school is what I look forward to most this time of year.

3. My best friend - who needs one!

4. I would like to be honest with you.

5. Appearances can be deceiving.

6. The last person I gave a hug to was my daughter.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to working on crocheting a Christmas gift and watching the television to relax, tomorrow my plans include going to the gym, my Weight Watchers meeting and the library plus out for dinner with the family and Sunday, I want to go to church, tidy the house and do enjoy my last hours with just my family!

Happy 5th Wedding Anniversary to Me

Today is my/our fifth wedding anniversary. Wow! Time is a-moving. Our youngest is 19 months and our eldest is 3.5 years old. How is it that we have two children and a house and such different lives from when we first met? And how is it that we still seem to be on the same page? Often you hear of couples who grow apart after years and different life experiences together (we have been together for 7 years this November). I am thrilled to say that we are still happy and moving forward together in our life journey.

We might be tired from our highly energetic children and we might squabble about different viewpoints (e.g. refinishing the basement, the priority and order of which projects and when to complete them, etc.) but we manage to work it out ~ eventually (and perhaps with a third party such as a contractor ...) but we do work it out and that is the point, isn't it?

It is so easy to get lost in the little frustrations and annoyances but when we remember to look at things from a broader perspective it really makes us thankful for what we have and are together.

Happy anniversary to my husband and I. And here is to another wonderful year in our story.

Being a Parent

Thank you to Simple Marriage for this post on The Biggest Lie Many Parents Live By (and sometimes as spouses). Here is a summary but click on the article title for the full original post.

Being a parent is overwhelming at times. Endless schedules, teachable moments, messes to clean up, meals to prepare, laundry to fold, and moments to lose your cool. Take comfort in knowing that you’re not alone. Countless parents are in the same boat. And all of us are in this boat due to two things.

First is our own emotional reactivity (which is our own worst enemy). And second is the biggest lie many parents live by… more on this in a moment.

We all live within a system. Your family is a system. And each member feeds off other members within the system. The simple truth is you probably spend a great deal of time trying to control things you can not possibly control. Your kid’s reactions, their behaviors, their choices, even your spouse.

There’s a great deal of pressure with parenting today. We are bombarded with the messages of putting family first. Keeping our children safe. Being saddled with the idea of parents are the ones molding the future of our world. It’s overwhelming. So rather than spending a great deal of energy on things you can’t control, spend time working on the things you can. This starts, and probably ends, with you.

Second, there’s a lie many parents live by. It’s this: you are responsible for your child. But ultimately, they are their own separate being.We are much more responsible TO our children than we are FOR them.

Marital application: To apply this idea on another level, read the post again and replace the word children with spouse. The same idea applies.

Daycare Planning & Basement Renovations

I am planning weekly themes and craft ideas for my home daycare. I feel good for having structure and lots of ideas. If only the kids appreciated the work that goes into the activities we do. Perhaps they do but when I pull it out and get them all running into the opposite direction that doesn't help my ego or my patience.

We are also planning to finish the basement. Problem is, hubby and I do not agree on how it should be finished so I am stalling. I have ideas, he has ideas, I have to live in the space daily and make it work, he just gets to visit it on the weekends and the occasional evening. I like things a certain way - out of site and with a place. Hubby just ... doesn't notice. Functionally I want the basement to be both a play room for the daycare as well as a family room since our main floor is open concept with a dining room, kitchen and living room. It gets cluttered very quickly if I am not on top of it so putting all the toys (or the majority of them) into the basement will make a world of difference.

Thus far, the basement will (need to) house a spare bedroom (which will also be an overflow play area), a television/play area, bathroom with shower to go along with the spare bedroom, cold room (already in place) and an area for our computers. Plus I'd like to have a tool area for the man and his exercise equipment (isn't this nice of me?!).

So I have such great ideas. Trouble is ... how do I find a design that we could agree on? I've drafted my own but I am not as floor-plan-savvy as I thought. I look at what I want on paper but when I look at the physical space I wonder if it will all fit??

Thoughts on how I can get a layout or where to get help?

Not Me Monday

My daughter (3 years old) did not run to the side of the shed during a play date and pee.

My son (1 year old) does not try to poke out the eyes of his little girl friends.

The redeeming moment of the day was when Ava, completely unprompted, said to me "thank you for taking me to school and thank you for signing me up for camp. I had a lot of fun". Wow!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Scrapbooking

So, if you have been following my blog, you know that I have made a major dent in de-cluttering the house. We now have the house painted and new carpets (which has made a world of difference in how I view the house, let me tell you!).

So now I need to get into the organizing projects ... such as scrap booking our family memories and getting our wedding videos (we had my sister-in-law video tape) organized. Currently the scrap booking is organized in a tote but from there I shudder to open it.

In the meantime, here are some simpler ideas that I think I could manage if I so desired a la Martha Stewart.

Do you scrapbook? How do you organize your projects (and where did you start if you were, say, three years behind with stuff to do)? How often do you scrapbook and how do you fit it into your schedule?

I'm Baaaaack ...

You may or may not have noticed that I have been M.I.A. (missing in action) on my blog for a few weeks. We had vacation. Yay! It was quality family time and I appreciate my family far more than before we left. The medication (for post partem depression) has seemingly left my body and I feel energetic and much more like myself. I haven't even had an anxiety attack since we left for holidays.

I also think I have found the trigger ... whiny, teething children. Probably not the greatest thing since I have a home daycare but knowing makes it far easier to deal with. And I also know that I will not take a potentially whiny, teething child as a client in the future. Live and learn, heh?!

I have no idea about my blog audience and so I what interests you, so I will put this out to you ... would you like to hear more details about our family vacation or has the first paragraph been enough for you?

Toddler Toys ~ Observation

My own personal observation about toddler toys ... a toy is not truly loved unless it is strewn, in multiple piles, all over a home. Some of these beloved pieces may be even more loved as they remain hidden from the clueless mother who goes in search of them.