• Category:

photos

Thursday~ July 9, 2009

When Simple Shoes contacted me, offering to send a pair of their new line of toddler shoes, I didn't even have to think for a millisecond. I sent an email back saying that I will only have something sent to me for review if I'm as certain as possible I will love the product, and then I quickly accepted the offer. (I so rarely accept these offers because this is my blog, and I intend to mean what I say when I rave about something.) Miles has had a pair of Simples in the past that we loved, and I was as certain as I could be that we'd love another pair. I was so right...


These are the pair of Simples that were sent to Miles (they come in sizes 4-10, so a 10 it was for Miles, since he isn't quite a toddler anymore). Don't you love the name? The Noodle! You should really go check out The Doodle and The Poodle too. There are styles and colors for both boys and girls, and they're so cute, I kind of want to eat them.

One of my favorite things about these shoes (other than their cute-itude) is the fact that they're WASHABLE, have NON-MARKING SOLES, and they're EASY AND FUN FOR MILES TO PUT ON! They're soft, flexible, and oh so comfy. He loves them. These shoes just plain rock.


I love simplifying life in many ways, right down to having easy-to-slip-on shoes for the feet of my busy little Miles...



I've been going on and on about how cute and comfortable these shoes are, but do you want to know what my very most favorite thing is about having these shoes? OK, I'll tell you. Simple Shoes makes their products out of 100% sustainable materials like recycled inner tubes and recycled corks, cotton, recycled car tires, and bamboo. So not only are fashionable and toddler-user-friendly, they're eco-friendly too. You know I love that!

Lastly (and quite possibly most importantly), Simple shoes is offering you a 10% discount off your first order! The discount code is simplemommy and this offer expires on 7/31. So hurry! Get your simple on!

(In the Fourth of July picture above, Miles is not conducting a marching band. However, he is holding up a sparkler. Did you guess?)

• Category:

review

At the end of a loooong winter, I started to have a really hard time as a stay at home mom. I was struggling to keep my cool and basically losing my mind, feeling kind of suffocated and lonely. Many of you will remember that I emailed my friend Debbie (of Suburb Sanity fame) and poured my heart out all over the screen, begging for her to tell me HOW to do this. Then she gave me great advice (you can find that here).

One of the main things I took away from Debbie's advice was to get out of the house for some kind of activity every day. She talked about how it was the only thing that saved her sanity when her kids were really small and needed a lot of entertaining and direction. Of course, this is something I was aware of, but it's easy to forget during a Minnesota winter. I did heed her advice though, and we have been loving it. Every day. The pool or the water park or the regular park or a play date...you get the idea. Sure, it can be exhausting to load the small people in the van, remember all of our stuff, and chase and get dirty and wet and tired...but, it's so worth it! I'm kind of sane!

My friends and family will be happy to hear that sometimes we even skip naps!!! (See? I'm not a total control freak anymore!)

The other thing that's been helping with my sanity issues is that I treat Asher's waking up from a nap as a trigger to walk out the door and spend an hour or two outside if we don't have other plans for the afternoon. It's become such a habit to immediately head outside with our snacks and water bottles, I don't even think about it anymore. This saves us the torture of long afternoons inside, me shaking bored small people off my legs while I get all irritated and grumpy.

It feels good. Maybe this is what most moms do, but I have a tendency to fall into funks in which we don't get out enough. So our TV is off, I'm on the computer less, and we're enjoying each other. And just because it gave me warm fuzzies, I will tell you that a neighbor came across the street the other day just to tell me how much he respects seeing us outside so much. He talked about what a good example we are to him and I just about cried. So thank you, Debbie. I'm paying it forward!

Here's what's been imprinted on my brain:

At least one adventure per day keeps the crazies away.

and,

Nap time over = Out the door (Do not pass go. Do not collect 200 dollars Do not read one more blog. Get off Twitter.)

For more Works-For-Me Wednesday posts, visit Kristen at We Are THAT Family. She's got a really great list of summer tricks in her post today, just so you know.

• Category:

Tuesday~July 7th, 2009

Things have been so serious around here lately. I need to lighten up a bit. So I became a (pretend) rock star! Here's my first (pretend) album:

Look what I made! (OK, it's not a real MUSIC album, it's a made up one, but it's so much fun to pretend.) I guess this has been making it's way around facebook, but I saw it on my friend Motherboard's blog and had to do it because I'm very easily distracted from what I should be doing so creative. It's one of those random search things, like shuffling your ipod and having the songs answer your questions...only it's different than that. (The directions are below, if you want to give it a try.)

Because I'm sure you can't really see it, my band name is Diaspora Minister of Israel. That just totally cracks me up. And the album is titled Scandal is Gossip Made Tedious (ooooh, profound!)

And the girl on the cover? I KNOW, it's uncanny! We have the same exact hair!!!

(Everything in italics below was stolen straight from Motherboard's blog Crazyland)

If you want to make one too, here are the instructions:

1. Go to wikipedia and hit random. The first article that comes up is the name of your band.
2. Go to random quotations and scroll to the very last quote. The last 4-5 words are going to be the name of your album.
3. Go to flickr, and hit explore last 7 days. The 3rd picture is your Album cover.
4. Photoshop, picassa or whatever other photo altering tool you have and put the band name and name of album on the photo (I used picassa because, even though I have photoshop its beyond me how to use it...). It's fun. I promise. (and I'll add here that I used picnik) I figure if you don't know how to put the text on the picture, you can always just type in your band name and album title below the picture. Just a thought.

I've just inspired myself. I think I'll go make another album...


Yup, I did it again. Can't stop...


I actually quite like this one: most people never listen by Bentley Hampshire.


Okay! I'll stop after this one...maybe...


the truth is putting on its shoes by Golf California

I think I've found my calling...

OK, this is the LAST ONE!!! I've got to get going. I'm off to listen to some REAL music by my talented friend Jeff James.




Peace out.

• Category:

weirdness

Monday~July 6th, 2009




I want a cottage style house built by my Dad near a lake. I want salvaged barn doors to pull to the side, heavy and creaking. I want built-in book shelves filled with colorful stacks of my favorite reads. I want a cute little breakfast nook and a center island where I can pack lunches. I want a pantry off the kitchen and plenty of space to cook. I want to hang and place all kinds of vintage things, picked up at estate sales by Ryan's parents. I want a really big garden full of fruits, veggies, herbs and flowers. I want a cozy space for guests to stay and kids to play above the garage. I want all of that, and yet I still want the house to be small, holding us close together so there's nowhere we can go to end up feeling like we don't belong.

I want a swing on a wrap-around porch. I want to look through the window while I sit with my husband and swing and rest. I want to see an office through the window, one with those built-in shelves full of books and french doors that lead to an entry where the staircase climbs high and is littered with family photos. I want to write in that office while the breeze comes off the lake and through my window. I want rounded doorways and crown molding. I want to look out the window to see my kids run far and fast, and then I want to watch them play for hours with nothing but sticks and rocks and water.

I want to go home. Through a swinging screen door, I want to go home. And there I want to keep the TV off and never own a video game. I want my boys to love living and people unconditionally. I want them to learn to help the world around them because they see their parents doing that. I want to make them big meals and laugh with them around the table while the chairs scrape the floors. I want to go to church on Sunday and then spend the afternoon with Nanny and Bapa, feeding the horses and smelling the flowers. I want to run into old friends in the grocery store, and then I want to stand in the aisle talking until the frozen things in my cart start to melt. I want to grow our family there in more than one way, in the country and the house by the lake.

I want.

There's nothing wrong with dreaming and hoping for a thousand different things. The renewed health of a loved one. The reconciling of a relationship. The love of a father, or mother, or husband or wife. The happiness of children. The success of a friend. There's even nothing wrong with the wanting of things, things that make your heart happy with their beauty and light, like a cottage house in the country.

Unless this wanting comes with a heavy discontent in the now and the possibly never.

So more than anything else I could want, I'd like to truly be content with exactly how things are in this very moment, even in the times when these things are difficult and painful. I can always continue to want and to dream, I just simply hope to do it with a peaceful and patient heart.

I want.

• Category:

thinking

Friday~July 3, 2009


1. I totally forgot to announce my favorite title(s) for the picture story on Wednesday. Whoops. So. Remember this picture? There were so many great responses, but I especially appreciated "Tales of a Former Superhero: All Washed Up" by Minnesota Mom, and "H2 oh!" by K from Range of Notion Thanks for playing along!



2. We're heading to my hometown for the 4th. This was a last-minute decision so we have no plans, really. (That's a hint to those of you who live there. Wanna hang out? Email me or facebook me or call me. I'd love to see you. Yes. You.)

3. Speaking of my hometown. Remember how I said we've decided (finally) to move there? Well, we still really want to go, but meeting with a realtor was pretty disappointing. We found out we'd most likely lose a good chunk of money on our house. I realize that's typical in this market, but we've put in almost five years of blood, sweat, and tears to improve it, so that's a hard pill to swallow. To be continued...

4. The other day Miles said, "It's a challenge to balance a book on your head." Out of nowhere. You'd think he was waaaay mature with statements like that, and he can be, but he also says things like, "I will poop at your face, Asher! How can you resist?!?" So he's still just a regular four year old.

5. Earlier this week we were over visiting my
Kate and her kiddos with our friend Susan and her kiddos.
Kate and her family have city chickens. See?
I have no reason for sharing this other than the fact that I really like this picture of one of the chickens.





6. Speaking of Katie. Asher and Miles love her so much. (They got that from me.) Asher fell the other night and his tooth went through his lip. (As you may know from my depressing post yesterday.) About an hour after the incident, Asher brought me the phone and said, "T" over and over (his word for KaTIE). He doesn't say much, but I got the message. He really really wanted me to call Katie. I asked if he wanted to tell her about his owie and he said "Uh HUH." I love that he needed to talk to her. I just love it.


7. Have you heard of Associated Content? I'm excited to say that I've just recently become a contributor there. I'll be writing posts on parenting/motherhood on a regular basis. To get started, I shared two posts from my archives. You can find them here and here, if you'd like. Associated Content is a great site to bookmark for when you need concise information on pretty much any subject. All you have to do is put in your search words, and you'll get just the information you need in well-written articles, all in one place. What I love about this is that you can not only find articles full of information, but also pieces you can relate to, just like blog posts. I'm honored to be a part of this, and I hope you'll check it out.

• Category:

quotes

Thursday~July 2, 2009


Sometimes there's just no better word than gross. I feel it. The gross.

I'm acting like a pouty teen around my husband, flustered around my children, and overwhelmed by every little duty around me.

I was totally distracted by some new writing opportunities yesterday, and shot off to bury my nose in the screen, pounding fingertips on the keyboard. This is what I do a lot when Ryan comes home. I plant myself in this place and something in me tells me I'm simply claiming my time, a little piece of me that is just for me rather than more giving and giving and giving. But I know that sometimes I spend far too much time here.

Ugh, the fight for balance.

Gross.

Then Asher stood on the bench of the small table in our backyard and from his cry I knew how bad the fall was. Ryan was calling for a cold cloth and I knew there would be blood. Gross. His tooth had gone through his bottom lip. We went into the mode, the one where our insides are flopping and flipping, but we seem calm with easy movements and soft, comforting words. He didn't need stitches, the cut on the outside was very small and the nurse that I called said that means no stitches. Good. Now his little lip is fat and my guilt is rearing it's ugly head. Oh how my heart hurts when they do.

No, it makes no sense to think that one had to do with the other. I know my escaping had nothing to do with his falling, it's just that when you know there's something gross and unfocused going on in you, you feel misplaced guilt. Or I do, anyway.

I don't need to be told I'm a good mother. I know I'm a good mother. I know it's not my fault. I just feel gross. Some days (and days and days) are like that. All itchy and off and gross. These days pass and then they show up again, that's just life.

Sometimes it's gross. And that feeling reminds me to stop and breathe and pray, forgiving myself and all that is gross. That's the only way I know to get the gross to scram.

• Category:

motherhood, thinking

Wednesday~July 1st, 2009

Asher is especially fond of a toy trumpet we found at a garage sale. (Yes, I bought a second-hand toy a child puts his or her mouth on and then blows saliva into. Sure, it probably has many foreign germs embedded inside of it, but I bought it anyway, just because Asher liked it so much. Ahem.) Anyway, my favorite parts of the video are when he plays the trumpet through his nose (brilliant), and then studies where to put his fingers very closely (brilliant), and then lastly, how he blows and blows and blows and then answers, "Uh huh!" when asked if he's dizzy. (which is hard to hear, but it's at the very end-the part where he looks a little drunk from all that light-headed tootin' of the horn.)

I can't even really describe what it's like for me to watch Asher enjoy life, his little personality blossoming in ways it just couldn't before. His pain and discomfort were stealing his ability to just have fun before his surgery and recovery. Now look at 'em! Oh how I love this boy...Enjoy!

• Category:

giveaway, The Noggin

Tuesday~June 30, 2009

He was so excited to go, but when it came right down to being left on that field with all the other little gloved T-ballers, he just wasn't so sure. So he was the one, the one that battled his nerves and fought back tears. The one who didn't follow when asked to run. The one playing in the sand to avoid the unknown. I wanted to hover, to push, to control the situation. I wanted to take his nerves and add them to mine, leaving him peaceful and confident. But I couldn't, so I just waited, and watched from afar, hoping...


He stood at the back, silent, small nervous movements, chewing nails and hiding under that visor. Kicking at the dirt and peeking out the side. So unsure. So new. So hard. They asked him to warm up with running and with stretching. He stood frozen in his fear, motionless and chilled.


But just as they always do, when we give them time, the fears started lifting and the ball started soaring and the feet started running. The boy started listening, and he started talking. He was stretched and then he was warmed.

We were waiting and watching and we felt so far away. We felt it all with him, and we waited and we watched and we hoped.


He came home laughing and smiling and talking and quite pleased with himself. He pushed through the hard things, the overcoming of the many fears. It was a beautiful thing.


I showed him this picture and he said, "Look at those clouds where I was running." Yes, they're definitely a beautiful thing. Miles, I love your sweet, sensitive spirit. Take all the time you need to warm up. After some time, the hard things turn beautiful, just like those clouds.

• Category:

memories, milestone, photos

Monday~June 29th, 2009

This has to be one of my favorite picture stories ever. It begs for a witty title, but I just can't think of one....

• Category:

giveaway, photos