The ghost hunters!

Has your child ever stolen something from another kid? Have you ever had to call another mom and explain that their child's favorite toy ended up in your child's pocket "by mistake" after a play date? Have you ever threatened to take away your child's favorite toy because they stole from somebody else? No? Just me?? Well, here is the story of my parenting low...

Yesterday one of my girlfriends had my daughters and I over for breakfast and a play date. She wanted to treat me to biscuits and chocolate gravy (HEAVEN!!!!) for my upcoming birthday. We had a good time chatting and refereeing our 4 kids. Zo (my almost 4 year old) was having an obeying problem and ended up in the corner once or twice while there but we got out mainly unscathed.

After we got home and had naps we were getting ready to meet my aunt for some Easter dress shopping when I noticed something in Zo's jacket pocket... I reached in and pulled out a tiny wind up ghost toy from our friend's house! After a chat with Z about honesty, she admitted that she had taken it from their house because "I didn't have one and I liked it." Great, looks like we are going to the library for a book on stealing!

I snapped a picture of the toy and sent my friend a text saying that we had their toy and that I was sorry my child is a thief. I started getting shoes on the girls and changing my clothes when she replied that it was one of her baby's favorite toys and to just stick it in my purse so I could give it to her Friday at my birthday shin dig. I went to the kitchen (where I had taken the picture) to grab it and toss it in my purse but, alas, it wasn't there... I JUST HAD IT 5 MINUTES AGO!? I turn to my 2 and 3 year olds and asked them who had taken it, neither would fess up.

I spent the next 15 minutes retracing my steps all over the house before, exasperated, I gave up and went to meet my aunt at the mall. The whole way to the mall I explain that when we get home they WILL find that toy or we would be giving away one of Z's favorite toys, her beloved beanie bear. She squawked and squealed all the way to the mall. I got there all flustered and chased two wild women all over Dillard's and half of the mall as they ran in separate directions for the next hour and a half.

I got home and showed my husband the picture of the ghost and set him the task of helping the kids find it while I fixed dinner. In between cooking taco meat and making the guacamole, I searched as well. Z looked here and there halfheartedly and announced that she had searched the whole house and it was gone so it must be back at her friend's house... Riiiiight. We put her in her sister's crib and I took beanie bear away. Chris pulled our bed away from the wall to see if it had fallen back there, nope but there was quite a bit of junk we won't speak of! I pulled the sofa across the living room to see if it was under or behind there... I found 5 shoes (only one pair), lots of missing toys, a pad for my steam mop and a (clean) cloth diaper, but no ghost.

At this point I was so mad we had lost this stupid little ghost that I was almost prepared to make Z go to bed without a chance to ignore her supper (because we all know she won't eat it anyway) when my husband asks something about wearing a jacket today, "yes!" I replied, "That was where I found it to begin with." He shook his head and said, "No, were YOU wearing a jacket?" Was I? I wore a sweater to the mall without a jacket because what I had on had a hole in the elbow that made me look like a hobo so I changed... WAIT!! I go to the bedroom and pick up my favorite tattered old Eddie Bauer jacket, that feels .2 oz heavier than normal, and there is that stinking, illusive ghost!

I went to the girls' room and extracted Z from sister's bed and show her the ghost. I explained that I had found it in my jacket pocket and that I was sorry for taking her beanie bear away. I took her to the table and gave her a taco that she scarfed down with a few blue corn chips. I sit there exhausted from frustration and wonder out loud if I have enough sunlight left for a quick run to clear my head... Hubs encourages it and I head for the door for a 1.4 mile jog/run to the park and back.

I got home and Z and I make peace once and for all when she offers to rub my sore legs to make them feel better. Then we cuddled and told each other over and over "I love you".

Have you ever had a "crazy mom moment"? 

Winter honey

I love the idea of finding wellness in God's creation. I use a lot of teas when I'm sick with sinus, allergy junk or when I have cold/flu symptoms. This fall I decided to take an extra step in my wellness with a honey blend of my own thinking.



I start with a fresh, clean canning jar and toss in about 10-15 whole cloves, 5 or 6 cinnamon sticks, and a lemon (quartered and sliced thin) and then fill the jar with local honey. I keep the jar in the door of my refrigerator and give it a good stir every few days.


When one of us has a tickle in our throats we either take a spoon full of it alone (delicious) or we add it to a cup of herbal tea.

Luxury from the kitchen!?

If you are anything like me, you probably suffer from dry skin in the winter. Sometimes my skin is so dry it actually hurts.
A few weeks ago I found an overripe avocado in my refrigerator, it was more mushy than I would have wanted to eat so I decided to make something fancy for my face! I ground up about a quarter cup of oats in my magic bullet, tossed 1/4 of the mushy avocado in with about a tsp of liquid coconut oil, a drop of vitamin E oil and about a tsp of milled flax.
I blended it all up and smeared it on my face...


I let it soak in for about 5 minutes and then rinsed and put my coconut oil moisturizer on. My face felt like butter!!

Drama and all it's nonsense

I hate drama and how it affects me and I am stepping up and saying "no more". I'm not interacting in silly fights on social media because honestly, it's fruitless anyway, nobody cares about what somebody else's opinion is these days. Especially if the opinion is from somebody with more conservative views. I'm tired of being called hateful, judgmental or a hypocrite when I disagree with somebody else's opinions. I am capable of disagreeing without hating or judging. 
So often, people assume that if you disagree you must hate. I don't know about you but I can disagree with you on something and still love you! I can't think of a single person that I agree with 100% of the time... not even my husband (and I'm madly in love with him). If I am friends with you, your view on vaccinations, marriage equality or the color red won't change that. I may disagree with your opinion but that won't mean I hate you!
So, why is it that people are always fighting on social media? Why has it become a place for everyone to passively aggressively (or just aggressively) attack one another? Why have we all become so loudly opinionated? I remember when I was growing up how our parents kept their views on things like politics to themselves. People back 20 or 30 years ago had enough respect for their friendships to not discuss things that could cause unnecessary problems. Trying to convince a long time republican that Bill Clinton was the best choice for president would probably cause more hardships in your friendship than it would swing their vote so why open that can of worms? 
My plea is that we all try a little harder to respect one another, not call names and try to remember that as firm in our views as we are, there are people just as firm in theirs. I'm not talking about not sharing the gospel, that is our duty as Christians, I'm talking about things like vaccinations, politics, parenting styles... Sure, you can say, "If your kids didn't get the flu shot, we may skip the play dates until the spring." You are making a parenting choice there. However,  saying, "I can't believe you didn't get the flu shot, you must like getting the flu." is just asking for a fight and is pretty disrespectful. 
I've been guilty of saying things in the heat of a debate that weren't kind, most of the time it was out of retaliation or defense of my own views being attacked, sometimes because I just wasn't thinking about how it was coming across. Either way, I'm walking away from it. 
Maybe we can all try a little harder to not post rants on social media that we know are going to cause hardships between some of our friends and maybe if a friend does post something we disagree with, we keep our own opinions to ourselves or speak to them privately about it.  After all, aren't our friends important to us?

To the person selling weight loss products:

Has anyone ever approached you out of the blue and tried to sell you on some new diet? What about your friends on facebook that are starting an at home business and they want you to try their new wonder drug? I know I have! Some aren't pushy, they share their own personal stories on their own facebook wall and leave it at that. Great, thank you for not pushing it on me! It's the ones that text, email, call or even the strangers that approach you on the street that get on my nerves. You may not realize it but singling someone out and basically saying, "Hey, you're fat and I want your money." is really bad business!

 I say all of this to tell you about an encounter at the park the other day... I was with my girls at the playground making mom smalltalk with another mom (I'd never seen this woman before in my life) when a man approached her and started talking about the company he was part of... it was a pyramid weight loss company and he told her it was the thing for her. HOW INSULTING! I stood there for a second while he talked and she politely nodded and told him she was using a different system under the watchful eye of a doctor but he kept pushing... That was when I finally stepped in and (much less politely) told him that we were not interested and to have a nice day. He finally left and I could tell it had upset my new friend.

I wanted to kick him in the shins for making this beautiful woman feel bad about herself! I was so mad you guys! Like we don't already have enough from hollywood airbrushing and all the ads in our faces on TV, in magazines and online telling us that we need to be a size 2 to be happy, now we have random people at the park trying to get us to buy into the latest pyramid scheme diet!? For real??? People that go into a business to try to help people lose weight (while making money) need to go through some people skills training first, approaching a person you've never met and telling them that your weight loss program is right for them isn't a good way to win friends and influence people! It IS a good way to get punched in the face though!

I get it, most Americans have a few extra pounds than are probably necessary. I know I would like to lose 20 pounds or so but I also know that I love Nutella and don't have a lot of time to get my flabby booty to the gym as often as I need to. We could all stand to live a healthier lifestyle but that doesn't give anyone the right to walk into a stranger's life for 5 minutes and tear them down in the hopes that you can make a few bucks!

We are all children of the KING (whether we accept him or not) and that makes us special. The size of our jeans, the color of our skin, hair or eyes, the brand of shades we wear or the number on the scale have little to do with the kind of people we are... it's the inside that counts!

I am about 5' 3" tall, I weigh 168 pounds (as of yesterday), I have brown hair and saggy, nursing mom boobs but I am a child of God! I am happy! I am SAVED by His grace! HE makes me worthy and HE loves me! I don't need the approval of random strangers (or even people I know).

So all you folks that sell stuff from home in a "multi level marketing" business, I'm happy you have found something you like, I really am! Those Thirty-One bags are cute, Mary Kay has some pretty nice makeup, I am glad Juice Plus works for you! Just work on your approach and PLEASE don't be pushy! If somebody says, "no thanks" you need to move on. And maybe don't approach me and my friends with a new weight loss potion because I might light your hair on fire with my jedi powers!

Wool dryer balls

When I started cloth diapering a little over a year ago; I heard about wool dryer balls and how they cut down on dry time and static! I found a set of 3 in a local store for around $20 and just couldn't bring myself to spend that much. I figured it was something I could make myself so I set out to do just that! I went to a local craft store and got some 100% wool yarn and began making it into a ball...

Once it's the size of a softball you want to secure the end of the thread and then put your balls in a sock or an old nylon stocking so that you can felt them in the washer and dryer to keep them from coming loose. I use a couple of really long knee high socks I never wore and just put several balls in one sock (knotting the sock between each ball).

I usually wash them with towels because I always wash towels on the HOT setting and it helps them felt better. I also usually wash and dry them twice before I take them out of the sock. 

After they are out of the sock they are ready to live in the dryer full time! 

Be a responsible adult

I'm probably going to be unpopular today but everyone elses views are being thrown in my face and I feel the need to share my opinion (because everyone is dying to know what I think, right?).

A while back I wrote a post about birth control and my views on it (found here). Yesterday the Supreme Court ruled in favor of religious freedom so that Hobby Lobby will not have to supply emergency contraception for their employees. There is such an uproar about this and I think a lot of folks are misinformed about what Hobby Lobby does and does not cover for their employees. They will continue to cover preventative contraception but will not have to cover Plan B or The Morning After pill.

People are so enraged over this ruling and I have a hard time understanding how we have come so far. Have we become so entitled that we think we should get everything for free? How about we have some self worth and take care of ourselves? Also, can we not control ourselves in the company of the opposite sex without throwing caution and good judgment to the wind and having unprotected sex? And then you want someone else to pay for your "lapse in judgment"? Hobby Lobby pays about double minimum wage so you can just go buy a box of condoms and if you really NEED to have sex, that way you won't need emergency contraception.

Many people feel that life begins when sperm meets egg. Emergency contraception (as well as most preventatives) work to keep a fertilized egg from implanting. To me that ends a life. As a mother, I mourn the lives of unborn children that never got the choice. Your right to choose ends when you decide to have sex, now you have somebody else's life to think about.

I wouldn't want to pay for somebody to take Plan B or The Morning After pill, I don't want to pay to end a new life! I understand that some people may not be able to afford Plan B or The Morning After pill, but does that mean your employer has to buy it for you? Would you ask your Muslim boss to buy a ham for you? No, because it's insulting and not his responsibility, go feed yourself with the money he pays you for working for him!

A huge pet peeve of mine is when people call a baby an "accident". You didn't accidently have sex with another human being. If you don't want an unplanned pregnancy how about try being responsible and not have unprotected sex.

I hear Pro-Choice folks talking about how women are being denied important medications or how the Supreme Court hates women because of this ruling... Let's be frank for a minute, Emergency contraception wouldn't be needed (Honestly, it's never needed) if you were being responsible. Important medications are things like insulin for diabetics or life saving drugs for people living with HIV. If you don't want to have a baby, DON'T HAVE SEX! Nobody is denying you emergency contraception, it's right by the counter at walgreens, go get it if you need it.

Hobby Lobby has a right to religious freedom, if something goes against your religion you shouldn't be forced to do it. You have a right to disagree with their beliefs but you don't have a right to force them to do something against their religion.