Free Mommy Card Designs!

I have decided to start making some of my Mommy Calling Cards designs available for download!

Coming next week, I will occasionally post a new design that will be available for download. I have not yet decided if it will be available indefinitely or for only a certain amount of time. I am, however, leaning for a certain amount of time. Maybe even to only have one that is downloadable at a time.

These will be for personal use only. I have also tweaked them just a bit so that they have been made to Vista Print's specifications. That way, with just an upload fee and shipping, you can get a box of free Mommy Cards!

I will continue to sell Mommy Calling Cards, and will even still sell any of the ones that I have designs up for. First off, I will do that because the printing that I have done is a higher quality than a freebie place. Also, because I will probably only have one design available at a time, that may not be the one someone is looking for.

So, keep an eye out for the free downloadable designs. If you want to make sure that you don't miss any, you might even want to subscribe to the feed for this blog.

How to Get Compliments on Your Baking or Cooking

Moms work hard, and sometimes, it is without a whole lot of notice.

Well...here is a fun and quick way to garner some compliments, even if you have to hear them second hand.

Step 1 -- Make some delicious homemade treats. From scratch is best, but do whatever you feel comfortable with.

Step 2 -- Let your family have a little bit of the treats, but not all of them!

Step 3 -- Send all of the "leftovers" of your baking to work with your husband. Instruct him that you want to hear what people had to say about them.

Step 4 -- Feel uber appreciated when your husband comes home with an empty tupperware and lots of compliments to pass along to you. (And, as a double bonus, your husband gets to feel extra special hearing everyone compliment his wife's baking!)

Okay...I know, I know...we shouldn't do things just to be praised. But, darn it -- every so often, it's a nice treat...for everyone! (And, it's a great thing to do if you're trying out new recipes as well!)

13 Homemade (or Almost Homemade) Gift Ideas (TT #15)

Thirteen Homemade (or almost Homemade) Gift Ideas

1. Photo Note Cards: To do this, I have some of my favorite photographs printed and then use blank cards from the store (like Hobby Lobby or Walmart) that come prepackaged with the envelopes. I just adhere the picture to the front, and then package up a whole set of cards and envelopes, tied with a ribbon. Here's a little tip to make them look even better -- I offset the photograph (not directly in the middle), and then I take a fine tip pen and sign and date under the photograph. It gives it a very professional look!

2. A Basket of Homemade Goodies: This post has a list of ten or so homemade goodies that went into our Christmas baskets this past year. We got lots of great comments on them!

3. Framed Scrapbook Layout: If you are inclined to scrapbook, make a layout that is 8x10 or even pick up a 12x12 frame at Michael's or Hobby Lobby. This is a post showing how I have decorated my own dining room with them, imagine the joy of a grandparent to receive enough of these to decorate with them!

4. Coupons or Certificates: Tired parents would love a certificate for a free night of babysitting. Your grandparents who rarely go out would love it if you gave them a certificate that you would bring a homemade meal once a month. Heck -- my grandma loves that we take fast food once a week (or every couple of weeks) and the kids eat lunch picnic style on her floor.

5. Themed Gift Basket: Here are some ideas from other sources.

6. A Gift From Your Special Talent: This would seem to be a given, but it isn't. So often, when somebody sews, does wood working, makes specialty-type soaps, etc., it's something that is common place to them. They forget that others don't do those things, and would really enjoy a gift like that. So, if you sew, make an apron for a bridal shower (if you're making it, you can make something very traditional, or something very hip). If you're a wood worker, make your Mom a special jewelry box for Mother's Day. Use the talents that God gave you to bless someone else! (And save yourself a trip to the store besides!)

7. A Gift for the Whole Family: Okay, so this one goes with themed gift baskets, but I like this one, so thought I would share it separately. This would be a gift for a family with preschoolers/elementary kids. A toy pail filled with a sugar cookie bag mix, a can of icing, decorations (sprinkles, etc.), cookie cutters, and a toy shovel for mixing. If you really love the parents that you are giving this to, include a coupon that says YOU will come and make it with their kids.

8. No Sew Fleece Blanket: A fun project for someone who doesn't sew. Or, great for older kids to make as gifts as well! Here are some directions.

9. Dress Up Box: Not exactly "homemade" but kind of. I just wrote this week about adding to our dress up box by shopping at Goodwill. Why not compile an entire dress up box to give as a gift from Goodwill finds? You can easily put together a great set for under $40. (Or, you can really sink as much money into it as you want, particularly if you are giving it to a family with many children.)

10. Homemade Soaps: They sell supplies that you can easily make soaps yourself at hobby/craft stores. Don't invest in fancy supplies, unless you want to get serious into making them. For just a fun homemade gift stance, you can get away with picking up a few supplies and then melting the glycerin in a glass bowl at home.

11. A Starter Kit: Again, not exactly homemade, but not exactly like presenting someone with a giant calculator from the As Seen On TV store either. But, this is especially great for someone who has expressed an interest in a new hobby. This is especially great (and inexpensive) if it is a hobby you already have, and then can "shop" from your own supplies.

I'm not suggesting giving ugly paper or half used sheets of stickers to your friend that wants to start scrapbooking, but maybe some little used punches and stamps, a stack of cardstock from your collection, fun embellishments that you have extras of, and then maybe even go out an buy some adhesive and a cutter to throw in. Or, perhaps for someone who has shown interest in learning to sew -- a pin cushion (with pins!), a tape measure, a stitch ripper, extra spools of thread from your stash, some fun fabrics that you just have sitting around waiting for "the perfect project," etc.

12. A Homemade Recipe Book: One year, I asked my siblings for some of their favorite recipes, and I put them together into a cook book for everyone for Christmas. But, the better part was that the front of the cook book was all recipes that I had scanned from a binder that our Mom has. Rather than to just copy recipes and type them out, we can all now see them in the original writing of friends and relatives, as well as newspaper clippings, parts of boxes (you know -- when a product gives a recipe suggestion), etc. My personal favorite? My now 38 year old sister wrote her name as a preschooler on one of Mom's recipe cards, and now we all have that as part of our cookbook.

13. Your Time: Offer up your time and labor for a project that you know someone has been wanting to do, but just hasn't been able to. Commit to spending a Saturday helping someone put in their landscaping or an afternoon of cleaning house for a busy Mom or weeding a garden for a friend that you know will be spending a week away. One of the most touching gifts we ever received was when we moved out of an apartment and some friends went into our old apartment and cleaned for us so that we didn't have to. It truly blessed us and we understood what good friends they were by their actions.

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WFMW: Finding Great Deals for The Dress Up Box

For great ideas and tips that work for other bloggers, be sure to check out Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in my Dryer!






My kids are big fans of getting dressed up to play. I have done a variety of things to help them have a good variety of things to dress up in. This weekend, we had our biggest increase in our dress up box, and actually ended up moving our dress up box from an overflowing large rubbermaid container into our living room hope chest instead.

Anyway, so, for about the price of a Cinderella set that I saw on Amazon.com (around $30), which included a two piece dress, plastic shoes, a crown, and a wand, we went to Goodwill instead.

We walked out with the following items for our dress up box: 2 clip on ties, 2 pairs of sunglasses, 4 vests (two girls vest and two mens vests -- one is faux leather), a ton of scarves (a bunch of head-type scarves like Molly is wearing in the picture and then two winter scarf types of scarves), and a very over the top gold shiny purse. (Molly kept saying, "Look, Mom! I'm Mary!!!")

The kids thought they had hit a goldmine! And, I loved that we were able to add so many cool things to our dress up stuff.

Other ways we have added to our dress up box before: clearance dress up stuff, Christmas gifts, after Halloween sales (we got a cowgirl multi piece set that was originally $20.00 for $2.00, since it was 90% off), we have made some of our own things (like tutus), Target's 1-spot, etc.

Having a dress up box is such a fun thing for the kids, and it really spurs their creativity. Heck, even Noah who wants nothing to do with dressing up was thrilled after our Goodwill trip! He grabbed everything when we walked in and ran in his room. Then, he came out and started singing a song inviting people to come and buy things in his shop.

If you're starting out a dress up box or just adding to a current one, be sure to check out Goodwill for some great deals! Plus, the great thing about buying at Goodwill is that this is a "greener" choice for dress up clothes than running out to the store and buying a set of play dress up clothes.

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Speaking of kids...need some tips about photographing them? Be sure to check out some of my photography posts from this weekend!

Say Cheese (or Not!) -- Some More Tips for Photographing Your Kids

Tips for a DIY Home Photo Shoot with Your Kids

Hello Laundry Room, Goodbye Economic Stimulus Check

(This post has also been entered into the Basket Carnival at Orgjunkie.com -- be sure to check out the "after" pictures to see what we did with baskets to help organize our new space.)

It might have been nice to have spent the long weekend lounging around the house, but it just didn't happen. We did spend most of our weekend at home, although we also went dinner at my parents house one night and at a friend's house for Memorial Day lunch. Oh, and we also had several trips to the big hardware/home store not far from our house.

We had decided that it would be best to spend our economic stimulus check on something responsible, but instead, we decided to totally redo our laundry room. Yes, we spent over $2000 taking care of our laundry room. Yikes! But, that *did* include a brand new washer and dryer! WooHoo! (And, really -- that was almost all of the money, truth be told.)

As long as we had to take everything out of the room (and we FreeCycled our old washer and dryer), we decided to paint, redo the flooring, put up a new border, and totally reorganize.

Here is our big tackle, complete with before and after pictures (all very little areas of the room at a time -- it's hard to get good pictures of a 30 sq ft room!):

Before...(There doesn't appear to be a picture of the floor before hand -- it was a blue tile floor with tiles that were starting to slip away from one another. Augh!)

During...

Eric hard at work putting in the new flooring -- oh, you can kind of see the old flooring right next to the new flooring

Not quite done remodeling yet, but we just had to stop everything to try out our new washer and dryer that were delivered on Sunday morning -- the kids loved seeing their clothes spin around and around

After...

Say Cheese (or Not!) -- Some More Tips for Photographing Your Kids

So, I posted some home photo shoot tips yesterday, but thought I would post a few more tips for photographing your children today.

I am certainly not an expert and may say things you have tried/seen/read about before. I am just using my knowledge that I gained during my 2 1/2 years of having a portrait photography business, and just about a lifetime of being a shutter bug.

So...on to a few more ideas/tips:

1. If you notice that many of your pictures start looking the same, try working from different heights. You will not see a good portrait photographer just standing in one spot, and always staying at the same height. Lay down on your belly to get to a lower level. Maybe grab a step ladder in order to have someone seated by able to look up at your just slightly.

2. Don't be afraid to sometimes pose your kids. But, likewise, don't be afraid to let them do their own thing. One of my favorite portraits of my middle son is with him with a smile so big that his eyes are almost closed and he has his tongue sticking out to one side of his mouth. Now, this is not usually my style of photograph that I enjoy. But, when I look at it, I see that it is him.

However, on that same day, I took another favorite picture of him looking deeply in thought with his gaze downward. This was very much *not* him, but I loved that I captured that moment, since he is always in motion. And -- can you believe that day produced another of my favorite pictures of him? It started to rain and, just like any child might do, he ran into the rain and stretched his arms out to feel it, but with a little bit of obvious hesitation. These were all taken on a day when I let him do a little bit of his own thing, but also sometimes said, "Hey Jack -- come sit here and now look over this way."

3. If you are using digital, find different ways to make your pictures black and white. If you have photo editing software, this will be easier. I have found that just desaturating an image often doesn't get the effect that someone is looking for. And, nobody's method for black and white may be what you like best. Read up on it, and see what you like! (Personally -- I like high contrast black and white, as well as dark and moody black and white.)

4. Take close up portraits! Get right up close -- fill the frame with just someone's face. But...while you're at it, make sure to take some full body shots. And, then do some things in between. I know there is a real movement toward portraits that are uber close up. And, they're great. But...it's nice to have some that aren't so close up as well.

And, while cropping in the camera is great, don't be afraid to get things in the background for your family snapshots! Just think of the fun of seeing Grandpa's first car in an old photograph of him and his high school sweetheart together. Consider that if people were so worried then about "cropping in the camera," you might not have seen that car because the focus would have been tightly on your future Grandma and Grandpa.

Okay...I got wordier than I meant to, so I'll end here. But, perhaps I will add more tips at another time!

Tips for a DIY Home Photo Shoot with Your Kids

I'm all for going to an actual portrait photographer for portraits -- let me say that up front. Even though I have officially closed the portrait part of my business last year, I feel like I would be remiss if I don't say that upfront.

Anyway -- if you would like to, however, try to do some portraits at home, let me give some backdrop ideas. Because, darn it -- you know what it's like, don't you? You get the most adorable picture of little Sarah. Her eyes are twinkling, her smile is shining -- but her lunch plate with a smattering of hot dog pieces can be seen in the background. Augh! It's things like that that can really take away from a picture.

And, it doesn't even have to be something so extreme. It can be a cluttered counter (like at my house!), a chair that clashes with her outfit...whatever. There are a lot of things going on in our houses, and they are not condusive to picture taking.

I started out trying to just use a cream colored flannel king size bed sheet. I will tell you that all though it wasn't the best, it did work okay. But, even better was when I picked up a king size black vellux blanket from JC Penney's (on sale, I was able to get it for $30) and a several yard piece of pink fleece from Walmart. These both made wonderful backdrops before I started buying backdrops that were actually made for photographers. (And, even then, I still sometimes used those!) You don't even need fancy equipment to hold them up -- when I first started practicing on my kids several years ago, I would tape backdrops to door frames, ledges, etc.

Now -- here's the next part of this tip -- try to get your little one to sit/stand at least a few FEET away from the backdrop. Trust me on this -- it *will* look better. Now, I will admit, I have done as little as a foot in front of it before, but I really would not do any closer. The farther away, the better.

Okay, so those are the home photo shoot tips for now. Oh, but here is a quickie that was fun for us. If home doesn't work -- go outside! But, here's the kicker -- if you have more than one child, only take one of them at a time. One summer I took one of my boys out for a few hours of pictures on a local college campus. It was just me and him. Those are still some of my favorite pictures of him, and he still remembers it too!

I made the bed today! I ROCK! (aka Remember to Praise Yourself)

First, I feel the need to preface this by saying, I think I am generally pretty modest about the things I do. When people say things like, "I can't believe you find time to do all those things," I will answer with something like, "Oh -- it's nothing" or "I guess I like to stay busy." Or, if someone compliments me on something that I made, I thank them, but it's hard for me to take a compliment.

That being said...I will admit something. I praise myself often. And, darn it -- you should too. We need it. I think most of us spend so much time poorly taking compliments that we don't really take them to heart.

And so, like yesterday when I finished getting the roast, potatoes, and carrots all into the crockpot in record time, I said outloud, "I rock!" I will admit -- that's my favorite. But, I also say things like, "I'm awesome!" or "Rock star!" or anything else that pops into my head.

I praise myself for the small things in life, I notice. For things like the roast or making the bed. I don't do it for every little thing, and not for the same thing each time I do it. I don't even think about it when I do it. I just do it. And it makes me smile.

So, maybe the next time that you dust the living room or unload the dishwasher -- remind yourself how awesome you are!

13 Signs That Make Me Think I Might Be a Nerd (Thursday Thirteen #14)

13 Signs That Make Me Think I Might Be a Nerd

1. When I was eight months pregnant, I stood in line for tickets for myself, my husband, and two of our friends to see Star Wars: Episode I on opening day.

2. We actually discussed jokingly (maybe) that if I went in to labor at the movie, we would try to incorporate some kind of Star Wars name as a middle name.

3. I have magnets that I bought that says, "I married a nerd before nerds were cool" and "Talk nerdy to me."

4. My senior class had the lowest attendance on senior skip day that there had ever been. I, however, was at school. (I have come to find out that some schools actually have the seniors skip. It was NOT an approved event at our school.)

5. I married a guy who didn't even know when senior skip day was.

6. I was once working with a friend who made some joke that had a Civil War reference. I was the only person that laughed.

7. In graduate school, I had a teacher (not professor) who was talking about the ways we retrieve information. He said everyone there could easily answer what two plus two was, but it wasn't like anyone could just answer who was the 8th president of the United States. I blushed and looked down at my desk as I thought, "Martin Van Buren."

8. Given a choice, I will always pick reading non-fiction over reading fiction books.

9. I graduated with a 4.0 in graduate school.

10. Like with #7 on the list, I often won't answer when people ask seeminly rhetorical questions because they think nobody will know the answer. I'm embarrased for knowing the answer. (Of course, it's not like I always know the answer. I may be nerdy, but am not a genius by any means.)

11. At a recent church function, our associate pastor and I sat and talked about Rollercoaster Tycoon. (And about how we each have had to stop playing it at various times, because we get too sucked into it.)

12. Each semester in high school, my friends and I would go into the guidance department and talk to the secretary to see what our current rank was in the class.

13. I am not ashamed to share reasons why I think I might possibly be a nerd.

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Using Outgrown Girls Dresses (WFMW)

For lots of great tips and ideas, check out Works for Me Wednesday at Rocks in my Dryer!




I think that I had read this tip a long time ago in a magazine or the like, and apparently filed it away in my brain to be brought back this year. It is one that we are using all the time, and it has been working wonderfully for us.

Molly has outgrown some of her dresses from last year. Many are still fine in how they fit her upper portion, but they are just too short. Heck -- even some of her 2T dresses still fit the top half of her, but just are not acceptable as dresses anymore.

So, with the fashion right now being those flowing maternity style tops, we have begun coupling too short dresses with blue jeans or capri pants (when the weather gets better). This way, a dress that might have been passed along to someone else is still usable by us for an entire season more than it might have been before, except it has changed from sweet dress to fashionable top!

And...as an added bonus -- Molly loves it!

This has worked great with long sleeve cotton dresses from places like Gap and Old Navy when paired up with jeans throughout the cooler weather. And, I just can't wait to match up some of her sleeveless dresses or even a sweet pillow case dress that she has outgrown with some capris or cropped pants for the summer.

This is also a great tip when you receive hand-me-down dresses from other families that are maybe just a bit too short for your modesty comfort. Use them as cute shirts instead!

Saving money (and going green by reusing clothes longer!) and looking fashionable...it works for us!

Beef Broth for Breakfast (and Other Hospital Adventures)

I would like to be able to write something profound about my weekend, but instead, I will just tell it like it is. Overall, my weekend was pretty junky.

My previous blog post, thanks to Blogger's new feature of being able to schedule posts, was probably posted right around the time that I was curled up like a roly poly bug and moaning on the floor of the hospital ER.

I had actually been feeling sore and sometimes in pain for about a week off and on. Mostly, thankfully, more off than on. But, it really flared up on Thursday morning, and I visited an urgent care center. I was told that it sounded like I probably has some food poisoning (or other type of contamination), and then as an after-thought (because of one of my lab results) said maybe it could possibly be kidney stones.

Apparently not so "maybe possibly."

Yes, on Friday, I found out in the ER (after a CAT scan) that I do, indeed have kidney stones. Two of them, actually.

I was about to be sent home with pain killers and anti-nausea medicine, but because they gave me such a strong pain killer in my IV before they were going to wheel me out, I ended up getting sick all the way out to the car. So, they brought me back in an admitted me to the hospital. Yuck! I have to admit, I never would have agreed to go back in and "lay down a little bit" if I had known that actually meant that they were going to admit me to the hospital for a "24 hour" observation. (I just can't bring myself to not put that in quotations, since I know that was really not how it happened.)

So, to make this a little more brief, I finally saw my doctor (well, the doctor on call for my doctor) on Saturday after 9 pm! I didn't leave the hospital until 10 pm. I was so irritated. I tried to be calm, but I did break down around 2:30 pm and was sobbing and begging the nurses to make sure he hadn't forgotten about me.

I'm glad to be home, but I'm still pretty beat. Going to Mass and dinner tonight completely wore me out. (But, on such a wonderful note, my parents actually came to the Mass with us. That was so nice, and we all enjoyed it.)

I will be having a referral to see a urologist, so hopefully they can get me in soon and they can figure out what we should do about these stones, so that I don't end up in the ER again. Although, now that I have pain killers and anti-nausea meds here at home, I think it has to be pretty serious before I'm willing to stop in at the ER again, for fear of being stuck in the hospital with a roommate who cried, moaned, and talked in her sleep all night long. (Oh wait -- I already did that roommate part, though she was a very kind woman.)

Besides, I don't even want to see when my $500.00 copay comes rolling in for the hospital stay, so I'm not apt to want to repeat that anytime soon either!

St. Mary doll desperately seeking St. Joseph doll

Molly has the Holy Folks Saint Mary doll that she got for Christmas. (This was when I posted about it.)

Apparently Molly now feels that Mary needs something else, in addition to her baby Jesus. I found this out while Molly was playing with dolls and stuffed animals the other day.

It would seem that Mary thought some of the other dolls and stuffed animals might be able to help her. Molly walked Mary over to a large stuffed penguin and then "Mary" asked, "Penguin -- have you seen Joseph? We're looking for Joseph."

She continued this questioning on a variety of dolls, as well as to some Care Bears and a bevy of animals. Poor Mary seemed pretty desperate to find Joseph.

Molly finally asked me, "Where is Joseph, Mom? We don't have a Joseph!"

I have looked around online, but it seems that St. Joseph just isn't a saint that people think little ones will want in a stuffed doll variety. If anyone has any leads for me, please leave a comment or drop me an email! Of course, even if you don't have a lead for me, feel free to leave a comment anyway!

(Pictures from http://www.CatholicChild.com)

Several Newer Additions to My Etsy Shop

Blue Sky Miraculous Medal Rosary Bracelet

Blue Flowered Single Decade Rosary with St. Therese

Turquois-Dyed Holy Family Rosary Bracelet

Pink Mother of Pearl Rosary
(I may have already posted this one before, but now I can't remember,
so I thought I would post it too.)

Shades of Purple Single Decade Rosary

Multi-colored Car Rosary with Magnetic Clasp
(and soil from Fatima centerpiece)

The Saints in Heaven saint charm bracelet

Newest Mommy/Business Card Design -- Libby
Allison card -- comes in your choice of four different pinks

13 Things We're Growing in the Garden This Year (TT #13)

Thirteen Things We're Growing in the Garden This Year

Gardening is an excellent way to go green AND to save some money! Even if you don't have much room, there's something like kiddie pool gardening!

So, as I sit here at the computer, Eric is out tilling up the garden. What a guy! Of course, it'll by my turn when we start planting though.

Here's what we're growing (some in the garden, some in pots)

1. Strawberries

2. Zucchini

3. Yellow Squash (straight neck)

4. Green Bell Peppers

5. Red Bell Peppers

6. Cucumbers

7. Romaine Lettuce

8. Buttercrunch Lettuce

9. Cherry Tomatoes

10. Grape Tomatoes

11. "Boy" Tomatoes (Better Boy and Big Boy)

12. "Girl" Tomatoes (Early Girl)

13. Beef Master Tomatoes (that name cracks us up)

(Okay...I'll cheat and put in a number fourteen -- 14. Brandywine Heirloom Tomatoes)

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Free Treasure Shopping in a Garden Greenhouse (WFMW)

Check out lots of great tips and ideas at Works for Me Wednesday on Rocks in My Dryer!

We have been busy getting our garden ready for planting this week. This has meant a couple of trips to the local greenhouse for picking up vegetable plant starts.

This was not something I was looking forward to doing with Molly (age three). But, when Eric and I went together with her, she was so good and just wanted to keep picking up flower petals that had fallen on the ground. She kept calling them her "treasures."

When I decided that we needed another trip to the Greenhouse this week with just Molly and I, I brought along a small metal cup and told her she could fill it with "treasures." We did talk very briefly about that they could only be things that fell on the floor, but she never made a motion to try to take anything off of a living plant anyway. So, that was a relief.

So, our trip did take a bit longer than it might have, since she frequently made us stop to pick up treasures, but it made the trip very enjoyable. And, even better -- Molly was a million times more excited than when she gets to pick out a toy, and it didn't cost me a dime! (Heck...the girl checking us out even offered Molly her own little bag to put all her treasures in.) It doesn't get better than that!

Raised Bed Vegetable Garden with a Kiddie Swimming Pool

We are busy getting ready for our vegetable garden planting. All of the plants have been purchased, and we just have a few things to do before planting. We are actually even doing a few things in pots, as well as several things in our small, raised bed garden (it is approximately 120 sq ft).

I have to say, there is just nothing like being able to go out into the backyard and gather some of the ingredients for dinner. Or, maybe just pop a grape tomato or strawberry in your mouth while playing outside.

Even if you don't have very much room (or maybe don't want to dig into your yard), raised bed gardening works well. And...if you don't even want to construct your own raised bed garden, you can use a kiddie swimming pool as a raised bed garden!

I once heard a speaker who said that she made a "pizza garden" with a kiddie pool. She broke up the sections into "slices," and then planted things that she and her grandchildren could use to make pizza. How cool is that!

For more information, check out these links...

The Benefits of Wading Pool Gardens (includes prep information, etc.)

General and Specific Information on Raised Bed Gardening (this link takes you to a page of more links on HGTV's website)

Sacrifice

Our boys receive an allowance each week. The only stipulation we really have on their allowance at this point is that they have a small amount that they must give in the offering at Mass each week.

Of course, it is not unexpected that they do not remember to get the money themselves. Each weekend before we go to Mass, we have to remind them to go get it. Sometimes we forget too, and then we have to loan them the money until we get home.

This week, neither Eric nor I had a bit of money on us (we had written a check in our own offering envelope), and I realized that I had forgotten to remind the kids to get their money.

Right about then, Noah pulled some money out of his pocket. I thought, "Oh, okay...Eric told them." But, no, apparently Noah had just remembered all on his own and hadn't said anything to anyone (which was why Jack was there with empty pockets).

I whispered to Noah, "Wow! Great job remembering, Buddy!"

He smiled with the smile that he always does when he is proud, and then said with a serious tone to his voice, "I had to sacrifice some of my money for the Church. It's important to have a sacrifice for the Church."

Amen, Noah.

What a dear and darling soul is inside that eight year old body.

Oh man -- I *love* this apron!

I like aprons. I really like aprons. I like them even though I always type the word as aprong for whatever reason, and then I have to back up and delete the g.

I have been wanting a half apron for a long time, but just had never found one that I wanted to pick up. Or, maybe the price wasn't right. Or, maybe the timing wasn't.

I was thrilled, however, when Kellie (whose blog I really enjoy reading -- go pop over there and say hi!) opened an Etsy shop -- the Laughing Otter, as I had been admiring all of the aprons she seems to whip up all the time. I liked all of them, but really loved all of the half aprons.

So, I just had to take some time to post about my fabulous apron pictured here (thanks to Kellie for letting me use her pictures), especially since this Monday is National Wear Your Apron Day!

Kellie's aprons in her shop are super cute, and very unique -- just like her! If you find yourself apron-less this coming Monday, maybe it's worth stopping by her store so that you don't find yourself apron-less next year on National Wear Your Apron Day! (Oh...but stop by soon -- she sold almost all of the aprons she started out her shop with, and only has a couple of new ones in stock.)

Thanks to Kellie for helping me look all cool and cute when I run out to the mailbox during the middle of the day. And, I would say thanks for saving my blue jeans too, but I seem to have ripped out the left knee on my only two pairs of jeans. But, at least I can say thanks for keeping them from getting stained!

Modest Clothing: It's Not Just to Save Our Daughters

Modest clothing is a topic that comes up often on the "mommy blogs." And, rightfully so. People should be concerned. Personally, I think society should be concerned when I have to be careful about the clothes I am buying my three year old, because there are lots of options that just aren't very modest...at all.

Seriously -- three years old. What does our society gain from sexualizing three year olds? What does it say about us, as a society as a whole? Because, really, the garment industry is one of supply and demand. Even if we aren't buying these provocative outfits for preschoolers, somebody is. They aren't making these clothes to lose money on them, they are making these clothes because people are buying them.

The "funny" thing about all of this is that often, only our daughters are mentioned when we discuss this modesty issue. I just read this article, which I thought was very excellent. And, Mary Ellen did mention very briefly the one thing that often comes to my mind when modest clothing and actions comes up -- our sons.

It is my belief that we need to encourage modest clothing for the girls of our society not only to save and protect them, but also to save and protect the boys of our society. Just as we can lament what it does to the girls of society when a four year old wears short shorts that have "SEXY" printed across the backside, but we need to lament -- what is this doing to the young boys of our society?

What about the six year old boy just beginning to really be able to read who "learns" that a four year old girl's bottom is "SEXY" because her short shorts say so? What does this constant barrage of images and situations just like this do to that same boy as he grows up? What about when he is 10? 16? 21? Even if we try to teach them differently with our words and actions, what if what he sees out in society is just too much?

Now, I'm not suggesting that girls need to be covered from head to toe, or dress like pioneers. But, there is a big difference between dressing like that and dressing in short shorts and tight tank tops. Somewhere in there, there has to be a middle ground. (And that middle ground is not a bare midriff, I'm sure.)

I learned an interesting thing that I just didn't realize about men (most men, I hate to make the generalization of all men) when I read the book For Women Only: What You Need To Know About The Inner Lives of Men -- even when men don't want to look at all of these things that society is throwing at them, there are often times when they just can't help it. I like how the author of that book made a point. She said, "Don't read this sentence," or something like that. Did you read it? You couldn't help it, could you? It was just there. It was there in your face before you knew that you weren't supposed to read it. Just like some Victoria's Secret commercial that pops up while your husband may be watching a TV show that starts flashing barely dressed women before he could even turn his head to not look.

What happens to our sons in a society like that?

Even in a holy place like church. What happens there as soon as the nice weather rolls around? Our sons and husbands are going to a sacred place only to still not be safe from the pressures of society.

Each summer, our priest reminds parishoners in the bulletin that our church *is* air conditioned, and so even though it is warm outside, they will still be comfortable in the church if they dress appropriately for Mass. I am always glad when he reminds people of this, but it also makes me sad that he needs to remind people that halter tops are just not appropriate for Mass.

I still vividly remember one Mass last summer when Eric just looked disgusted, and was shaking his head. I looked over to see a very lovely young lady -- I would guess around 16 or 17 years old. She was dressed in high heels, a very short skirt, and a top that was a bit more revealing than was appropriate. (Her mother, by the way, was dressed at about the same modesty level as her daughter, sadly.) I realized later that Eric was probably not only disgusted that she was not dressed appropriately, but was also disgusted that, as a man, there is no where to escape these images -- not even at church. How sad.

And, so I have to say again...we need to save our daughters' modesty and self-image. We need to teach them that their bodies are theirs, not something to show off to the world. And, in doing this, I pray that we can save our sons too.

Anyone interested in taking over my line of Mommy/Business Cards?

I have put a lot of thought into it, and have decided to close up shop on my Etsy shop for a while.

I'm planning a big sale to try to part with some of my inventory, and am currently thinking that I'm shooting for a final date of July 31, 2008 for my shop -- just before we plan to start homeschooling.

As I was thinking about it some more today, I thought that it was a shame that all of my Mommy/Business Card designs would go to waste. (The design above isn't on Etsy right now, but she's called Libby, and I think she is pretty cute!) You know -- what am *I* going to do with them?

So, then I thought, "Why not sell the designs to someone who might want to either start up their own business with them or add them as a line to an existing business?"

What this would include would be the rights to produce the cards for others (for profit), although I would retain the copyright with the written understanding that I am only retaining those rights for me to be able to use any of them for my personal use, not for me to sell any longer. There will be a particular stipulation that the purchaser would be agreeing to, however, that they cannot sell copies of the templates. They are purchasing them solely for their personal use and/or to sell printed cards.

The purchase would include a CD-Rom of all of the card designs as layered PSD files. This would allow the purchaser to make changes on the cards -- both to personalize them for clients or even to change colors on cards! I would also share some tips with the purchaser, including what third party printer I use for having the cards printed.

If someone purchases these, I will, of course, at that point, remove them from my own Etsy shop, as the agreement would be (as stated above) that I could not sell any of these designs any more.

Of course, because of its nature, this can only be purchased by one person. So, if anyone purchases them, then they are gone.

The current asking price for this is $250, which comes out to much less than $20 per design (and that's not including that several of the designs have multiple color choices that they come with, etc.). I may take lower offers, but will be waiting until much later in the summer to act on any lower offers. Payment will be by Paypal only.

If you're interested -- drop me an email! Or, if you know of anyone who might be interested, please pass along the information to them! Thanks!