Mary, Mary Quite Contrary (aka "Why did you name me Molly?")

Molly was not feeling well tonight. If her glassy, half open four year old eyes and slightly elevated temperature weren't a clue of this, then her words surely were.

She came to me in the living room and pathetically (and tearfully) cried out, "Why did you not name me a Bible name?"

She then continued in her woe.

"You named Noah a Bible name. Why did you not name me and Jack Bible names?" (insert more tears) "Why did you name me Molly? Why didn't you name me Mary?" (insert woe and tears and a sad, sad face)

I assured her that Molly was sweet and lovely, just like her.

Okay, so perhaps she wasn't so sweet and lovely at that moment. But, I knew that she was saying this because: (1) She was not feeling well, and (2) She loves Our Heavenly Mother. It was hard to begrudge her either of these points. So, I did humor her a bit. It didn't really help.

I tried to reassure her again, and this time pointing out that not only did the name Molly come from Mary, but also that we gave her a saint name for a middle name. In fact, I call her by both her first and middle name together about half the time, so we often use her saintly middle name. When we looked up pictures of some of the saints with the same name, it did seem to make her feel a little bit better.

Still -- I think she went to bed pretty sure that life would look a lot more rosy tomorrow if her name was Mary.

My Most Favorite Oatmeal Cookies Ever

These don't look like impressive cookies, but they are some of my favorite cookies ever. They are so good. And, even more fun, they are unsuspecting. Usually when people pick them up and take a bite they say, "Wow -- these are really good." It's kind of fun to surprise people like that.

I'm not saying these are some miracle cookies that will bring about world peace or anything. I'm just saying that I love them. They are quick and easy, and everyone seems to love them.

The recipe is primarily just the recipe for Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from the Quaker Oats carton, with some modifications by me.

Ingredients (include my modifications, which amongst other things, includes ditching the raisins):

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) of butter (not margarine), softened (honestly -- I throw it in the microwave until it just almost starts to melt)
• 1 cup of brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla (sometimes I do about just under this, but not by much)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups Quaker Oatmeal (quick oats only), uncooked

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Beat together butter and sugars until creamy.

3. Add eggs and vanilla; beat together well.

4. Add in flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; mix well.

5. Once those are all mixed in, add in the oatmeal and mix well.

6. Drop by tablespoonfuls (or with a cookie scoop) onto ungreased cookie sheet.

7. Bake 10 - 12 minutes or until golden brown.

8. Cool for approximately one minute on the cookie sheet and then move to a wire rack.

9. Enjoy!

This post is linked to: Tasty Tuesday, Kitchen Tip Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Talk about Tuesday, and I Am Blissfully Domestic

Many Little Links {June 28, 2009}

How to Make Vanilla Extract -- Joy the Baker

(I totally have got to try to do this sometime! Anyone ever tried it before?)

Sweet Summer Trifle Ideas -- Make and Takes

(I have a trifle bowl, so I love all of the different combination ideas!)

The Simple Fitness Rules -- Zen Habits

(Must exercise. Seriously. Must. Start. Exercising.)

10 Ideas for Frugal - and Beautiful - Art -- Simple Nest
(I painted some pieces for my sisters, maybe I need to do one for my own house.)

Adventures in Tray Freezing -- Make and Takes

(I can't wait to try this out! Maybe it would stop us from eating a ton of cookies all at once.)

Chocolate Chip Toffee Bars -- My Kitchen Cafe

(These look sinfully good. I must have some. Perhaps after I start exercising.)

Open Letter to Kate Gosselin -- Mommy Matters

(Very thought provoking post about a sad family situation)

How to Build Traffic on Your Blog (part 1) -- Rants & Ramblings (guest post by Jen from Conversion Diary)

(Great read for bloggers who are trying to build traffic, says Mrs. Obvious.)

Progressive Parenting

(Okay, so this isn't a post, but is the brand new blog of someone that I went to school with from middle school through college. There are only five posts so far, but it looks interesting. I can't promise I will always agree with the content, without knowing what she has planned for the future, but I wanted to give her a shout out. Go give her a visit and encourage her in her new blog. She is a fantastic person, and newly a stay at home Mom to her kids. Tell her I said hi!)

7 Quick Takes - June 26th (Volume 7)

~ 1 ~

This week, we enjoyed our first zucchini from the garden. It was so good! We enjoyed it sauteed along with some fresh basil that was also from the garden.

We are hoping that we will be able to enjoy a lot more fresh zucchini as the season continues.

~ 2 ~

Speaking of gardening -- I actually had to weed our garden for an hour this morning. Most of that was spent in a single garden bed. It was just insane.

Apparently I was looking pretty red and sweaty, because the kids kept saying, "Are you okay, Mom?" Finally, Noah (almost 10 years old) asked, "Mom -- can't I go inside and get you some water?" Poor little worried guy.

Of course, the worst part of it all is that there are going to be tons of weeds again by the weekend. Darn weeds!

~ 3 ~

Last week, I mentioned that I thought our new neighbors might not like kids. Tonight, Molly tried to wave to the lady. I was sure that the lady looked right at Molly and turned and just walked away.

Now, I know -- this is not a huge deal. But, who turns their back on a waving four year old without waving back? I'm hoping that she just didn't notice, but Molly declared the whole thing to be "mean."

~ 4 ~

I had my first eye appointment in four or five years on Thursday of this week. Not surprisingly, my prescription had changed. I hate having to pick out new glasses.

Even worse, I had my eyes dilated for the first time ever. I told Eric that I looked like a Cupie Doll, with my giant pupils. Seriously -- my eyes looked like this doll's eyes.

That's just not right.

Also not right? I kept trying to text message while I was waiting for my eyes to dilate. I don't even know what I was writing. Hopefully it made sense.

~ 5 ~

Now, just so you don't think that getting my eyes dilated was all the fun of my doctor's visit, I have to share what happened before I was called in to my appointment.

Luckily, my parents were with me and the kids, because right before they called me back, Jack (almost 8 years old) had been complaining about a stomach ache and then promptly just started getting sick. Right all over his clothes and the clinic's floor. (Oh, and in their trash can and in their bathroom.)

I won't go in to details because it was ugly. But, I will say that neither Jack nor I have any desire to eat French Toast any time in the foreseeable future.

~ 6 ~

Staying on the medical front, one of the biggest things that has been happening here over the two weeks (without my really knowing it) was that I was having several reactions to the Doxycycline that the dermatologist prescribed for rosacea.

It was just crazy, but I didn't connect any of it. I was horribly tired, but kept thinking it was from helping with VBS or from doing things around the house. I chalked up depression to being tired and being sad that our priest (and friend) is being transferred. I thought my joint pain was just because I was doing too much. Of course, I had already read that gastric distress and headaches were side effects, so I was just dealing with those.

Then, finally when I was so tired after a full night's sleep that I wanted to go right back to sleep, I googled for side effects. And, while I am well aware that I can probably find someone online who grows a third eye and claims it was from taking Amoxicillian. But, when I found forum and around fifty people were all posting the side effects I was having, I figured that cinched it.

The doctor said to stop the meds. Well, only after I called and declared that I wasn't going to take them anymore. And, after some time to wear off, I'm feeling a lot better! Yeah!

Aren't side effects crazy?

~ 7 ~

I seriously want to start making us more healthy meals. We're working toward it, but I would love some healthy recipes that are also more "normal" food. We're not fancy food people, but it seems that a lot of healthy recipe sources feel the need to make fancy food.

Anyone have any tips of places to look for healthy and "normal" recipes?

photos by... zucchini by Vanessa Pike-Russell cupie doll by Catherine T antibiotics by sparktography

Using Preplanned Curriculum For Part of Our Homeschooling

Last year was our first year of homeschooling. I bought portions of a preplanned curriculum last year, but with the intention that I was just using parts of it and would just plan the whole thing myself. (Then I sold most of it shortly after starting the school year anyway.)

And that was just what I did all school year long -- I planned everything, and almost all from different sources. But, do you know what? I was exhausted. I was sometimes planning right while we were doing school. As long as I stayed one subject ahead of the kids, I felt like I was keeping up.

Not only did I suffer because of this, but I realized they were suffering with it too. I was often stuggling to get in all of our core subjects, and was neglecting many of the subjects that were the very things that I was excited that I would be able to do with them while we homeschooled.

This year, I decided that I couldn't do it all. So, I did some serious research (and prayer!) about what I needed to do. I finally settled on Winter Promise for next school year. Although I will continue to plan out several of our subjects, I am letting them plan our social studies, reading (not language arts, just reading), and science. We use Horizons for math, so there is not really much planning involved at this point. Not only does this free me up to focus on the parts that I will be planning within the core subjects, such as Language Arts (which encompasses so much!) and Religion, but it also frees me up to add in things that we were really lacking, like art and music, as well as subjects like Spanish (Rosetta Stone) and Typing.

Now that I am giving up on planning it all myself, I'm actually excited for next school year. And, even better -- my kids have been so excited as they see all of the fun books coming in to the house to go along with Winter Promise. And, really, that was one of the biggest reasons that we started homeschooling -- we just wanted them to be excited to learn. But, if I can be excited about it too, then that's even better!

This post is linked to Thirsty Thursday.

photo by jimmiehomeschoolmom

Create Your Own Craft Kit for an Inexpensive Gift

Noah was recently invited to a birthday party for a girl that he used to go to school with. I kept thinking, "Hmmm...what should we give a nine year old girl?" And, quite frankly, I didn't feel like spending a lot of money either.

Then, I remembered that this girl enjoyed crafts, as I think many girls of that age do. When I coupled that with the fact that I had been wanting to clean through some of my beads, I realized that I had a perfect combination!

My only new purchase for her gift was some elastic for bracelet making. I already had an extra bead organizer (though it would have only cost $1 - $2 to pick up another one). Then, I went through my many boxes of beads and cleared out ones that I didn't want anymore, but that I also felt were ones that she might enjoy. I tried to pick a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors.

Sure -- I had spent money on the beads before. But, since they were things that were just sitting around my house, it made a great gift for just an extra $1 for elastic cording spent. And, even better, the birthday girl really enjoyed the gift!

In the past, I have also put together a fun scrapbooking kit for someone as a gift from my own stash of new items for someone that wanted to begin scrapbooking.

What are other gifts that you can think of that can be gathered from your home?

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday and Frugal Fridays.

Quick and Easy Party Recipe: Cucumber Sandwiches

I went to a small get together this evening with a church group that I belong to that was having a farewell for one of our priests who is being transferred. I had a problem though -- I needed to bring along food, but wouldn't have much time to put it together (at all!).

Thanks to cucumber sandwiches, I had a beautiful platter of food to take along with me with just about 15 minutes (or less) worth of effort. As a matter of fact, when everyone saw that I brought cucumber sandwiches, they all acted like I had brought something quite fancy along. (I didn't admit to slapping them together as I was almost literally running out the door.)

For a quick, but lovely, addition to summer get together, this was my simple "recipe" for cucumber sandwiches:

Ingredients

One loaf of Pepperidge Farm Very Thin White Bread
One (or one and a half) tubs of Philadelphia Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese
One large cucumber

Directions

1. Peel and slice cucumber.

2. Apply a layer of cream cheese to all slices of bread. (Having cream cheese on each slice of bread helps to avoid the bread getting soggy from the cucumber.)

3. Put cucumbers on one slice of bread (for each sandwich). I usually do four slices per sandwich. You'll then put on piece of bread on top that has only cream cheese on it. (So, each sandwich has four cucumber slices, for example.)

4. Slice the sandwiches in triangles, because that's a rule with cucumber sandwiches, right?

5. Display on a pretty plate, and be prepared to have your friends ask if they need to hold up a pinkie finger while they eat your sandwiches.

What are some of your quick and easy things to put together if you have to dash out the door at the last minute?

This post is linked to: Tasty Tuesday, Kitchen Tip Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Talk about Tuesday, and Works for Me Wednesday (themed edition: Best Summer Recipes)

photo by Alex Mahan

Big Problems at Blogger (aka Who Knows If You're Actually Reading This)

Apparently there are some big problems here at Blogger for those of us that use a custom URL (for instance, that I use www.manylittleblessings.net instead of randomangie.blogspot.com now).

Several days ago, Blogger stopped redirecting traffic from the old blogspot address to the custom URL for all of those that use one. And, worse yet -- the glitch made it so that the RSS feed stopped being sent out. So, if you read by email or FeedReader and you actually do receive this post, be sure to check out if you saw these posts that you may or may not have received the feed of:

How I Do Our Menu Planning One Month at a Time

Little Girls with Hats and Scarves

7 Quick Takes - June 19th (Vol. 6)

Because the feeds have been messed up, this also means that a lot of bloggers (using the custom URL) have seen a quick (and large) decline in their number of subscribers that is displayed through FeedBurner.

With no end in sight (and with me not even certain that this will go out to any of my readers who subscribe to the blog), I have to admit that it makes having the blog on WordPress a whole lot more inviting. I'm just hoping that this gets resolved soon, and that I don't have to mess with that. It seems like so much work!

Wish me luck! (Well...if you happen to be reading, that is.)

photo by jphilipg

7 Quick Takes - June 19th (Volume 6)

~ 1 ~

While at Walmart with the kids today, I spent $10 on a bubble blowing machine.

What a totally fun way to spend $10! If the plastic toy doesn't break, it is going to continue to be a ton of fun. I'm glad that I picked up one to give as a gift as well.

~ 2 ~

Speaking of blowing bubbles reminds me of being outside. And, that makes me think of our new neighbors. They are a young engaged couple (with no children).

As soon as we went out to try our new bubble blowing machine, Eric told me that they had been sitting outside and then immediately went inside. He told me this after he said, "I don't think our new neighbors like kids."

I said, "Maybe they were just ready to go inside."

He told me, "I've seen them outside and then they go inside as soon as we go outside."

So, I guess this will remain a mystery, but I'll be keeping my eye on it. Of course, it's not like I can do anything about it (or should). But, now it will be one of those things that I won't be able to not notice.

Operation Neighbor Watch 2009 is officially in effect.

~ 3 ~

Last week, we had a little run in with UPS. I won't get into the whole story, because then I may sound like I can't let anything go.

But, suffice it say, while receiving several UPS packages, I told the driver that one was missing and was listed as being on the truck. He was rude to me, said there were no more packages, and wouldn't go look. Of course, the package that was missing ended up being one that Molly had been waiting for all day long. She was heart broken.

I called the 1-800 number for help, and they claimed that the driver would have to bring it back when he found it still on the truck. I was skeptical. Then, when the customer service agent informed me that UPS has no way to contact their drivers once they are on the road, I knew I could officially not believe a word that he said to me.

Seriously? It's 2009 and they are trying to claim that once a truck leaves, they are completely unable to contact them? Unwilling to contact them -- that I can believe. But, don't try to tell me that nobody has the ability to contact them once they are on the road.

Of course, the package was later changed from "on time" and "out for delivery" to "missed at drop off/rescheduled." I could comment more on this, but I will just let you imagine the nasty words I had to say about it.

~ 4 ~

Oh, Feedburner. Dear, dear Feedburner. Don't you know how crazy it makes me when you drop my subscriber number by 124 people in one day?

I try not to be a slave to the numbers, but I notice these kinds of things. I can't help it. Why do you do that sometimes? And, if you could, would you stop it.

Thank you.

~ 5 ~

On Monday of this week, I had a biopsy of a little spot on my face. The doctor said that I didn't have to have it removed. He didn't really think it was anything. But, apparently the spot bugged my mother, and it seemed like the thing to do.

I worried for a whole week about getting it done. And, then about two hours before my appointment, I had a calm just wash over me. Sure, I did still say an Our Father and a Hail Mary while I was in the chair. But, prayer is always welcome, right?

I'll get the results in two weeks, but I'm not concerned. Quite frankly, the only thing that concerns me right now is having to keep a bandaid on it for a week. My skin itches!

~ 6 ~

And, as long as we're talking about my face -- I actually went to the dermatologist because I was pretty sure I have rosacea. Yuck!

I'm on medication for it now, as he thinks it could be that. But, it also appears that a good portion of the cause for my newly bumpy, itchy, red skin is that I have been slowly killing it.

Okay, perhaps killing it is a bit extreme. But, when he gave me a list of things I should be doing and things I shouldn't be doing to my facial skin to properly care for it, with one exception, I have doing everything I shouldn't be doing, and not doing anything that I should be doing.

Oh, my poor skin!

~ 7 ~


Eric installed the ceiling fan in our screened in porch this week. Because there was no wiring to it, this meant he actually had to punch a hole in the house, wire out to it, and so on.

Confession #1: I was terrified to hear that he would be putting a hole in the house to do this project, though I'm not sure how else I thought he would do it.

Confession #2: I was slightly more terrified when he told me how "lucky" he was that the hole ended up being in the exact right spot (since it was difficult to precisely pinpoint the spot).

He did a great job, of course, as he typically does with projects. I almost said he always does a great job with projects, but he and I both know that we once had to trade in a truck and tell them that although it was still running great, it would no longer stop, thanks so somebody's "repair" of it.

Seriously though -- Eric worked really hard on it to be sure that we would have some breeze out there once summer really hit. And, the extra sweetest part about it is that he even let me sleep in one day while he worked on it. Thanks, Eric!

photo credits:

Bubble photo: //amy// Skin Cream: sunshinecity UPS: iirraa Feedburner: magbag

Little Girls with Hats and Scarves

I'm not sure why I love to see it so much, but there is something so sweet to me about little girls in hats or with scarves on.

Really...who knows why? But, isn't she sweet?

And, I figure if it makes me smile every time I see it, it must certainly qualify as one of the finer things in life.

This post is linked to Finer Things Friday.

How I Do Our Menu Planning One Month at a Time

Although it seems like menu planning is much more common around the blogosphere, I often have people react with surprise when they find out that I tend to do my menu planning one month at a time.

In addition to the menu planning one month at a time, I also tend to do one major grocery shopping trip per month, with minor ones for things that we have run out of (produce, milk, bread, eggs) throughout the month.

I do want to point out, however, that I came to monthly menu planning out of necessity, not because I am all that organized. When Eric accepted a promotion at work several years ago, he was moved from being paid every other week to being paid just once a month. So, it became a logical choice to plan our menu a month at a time.

I have had people ask how I manage to menu plan one month at a time, and so I thought that I would share what works for me for menu planning.

1. I look at our previous menu list and see if there are any meals that didn't get prepared in the previous month. If there any (and there often are), I verify that I still have everything I need to make the meal. I then add it on to the beginning of my list of meals for the next month.

2. I go through previous menu lists for ideas of what we might want to make. I also look through my homemade binder cookbook for ideas of old favorites as well as new things I want to try. (I may also look through recipes I have saved from blogs that I want to try.)

3. Once I have a list of around 30 - 35 meals (figuring that some will be for lunches, we'll eat out at least once a week, and then also being sure that I'm going to buy things for quick and simple lunches), I need to take inventory of what I need to buy at the store.

4. I enlist Eric to help me as I go through my list and ask him to check for various ingredients in the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. I usually have a good memory about what we have, but have to ask him to verify some things. (For example, I may remember that we have sesame oil, but may ask him how much we have.) While he does this checking for me, I am writing out my grocery list.

5. With my messy grocery list in hand, I put it all into a document on the computer that is organized by areas in the store.

6. Grocery Shopping!

7. After everything is put away, I write up the official menu list.

Options Following #7:

8a. Sometimes, I use this list to plan out what we are eating on specific days one week at a time. I don't usually plan for the specific days for an entire month at once. For instance, on Sunday, I may look at the master list and write out Monday through Sunday of that next week only. Then, the following Sunday, I plan for the next week (from the master list again).

8b. Sometimes, I don't take the time to write out when we are eating what. I just post the master list, and I work from it throughout the month. I typically make a notation next to things that I have anything perishable for, so that we will be sure to have those meals earlier in the month. (And, then I can shop for perishable items for other meals later.)

My methods aren't always perfect, but it seems to work for us. I know that the months when I just go through we no plans, I often make many trips to the store throughout the month, but no big grocery trip. Invariably, I always spend much more on groceries on a month like that (which is a month like this very one!).

I would love to hear your favorite menu planning tips! I'm always looking for ways to streamline what we do!



This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.

Using Picture Labels to Help Pre-Readers Keep Their Toys Organized

Last week, I wrote about organizing Molly's toys. I had to continue to work on the toy organization this week because I wanted to place picture labels on each bin, in the hopes that it would be easier (for everyone in the family!) to put the toys in the correct bins.

If you missed it last week, here is what the bins looked like to start with (although this was actually when I was mid-way through organizing -- trust me though, it wasn't pretty to start with):


Here is what the bins looked like last week in my post about decluttering her toys as my "after" picture:

As I said though, I wasn't done because darn it -- I've organized these toys before! I have done it many times, and each time, all of the bins get all mixed around. So, it was my hope that if I added picture labels, everyone would clearly be able to see what types of toys should go in each bin.

After the fun of setting up something representative of each bin and taking photos of them, I had them printed -- two pictures per 4x6 print. I then laminated each picture (with the actual word labelled on the back of the picture), hole punched it, and used yarn to attach it ot the appropriate bin.

Here are the bins with their pictures attached:

And a close up of a couple of the bins:

It's been just under a week since I finished it all up, and I have to say -- so far, it's been a success! I'm so psyched! Hopefully this is one toy organization system that will finally work out for us.

How do you keep toys organized?

This post is linked to: Works for Me Wednesday, Talk About Tuesday, and Tackle It Tuesday.

Things a Nine Year Old Says

Just a couple of funnies from Noah from the weekend:

------------------------------

As Noah (age 9) informed us about how Jack (age 7) was going to help him in a particular situation, he said:

"Jack will help me because, you know, he's my wing man."

------------------------------

Molly and Jack were throwing things (like stuffed animals) at Noah in some bizarre game that they made up that made them all laugh like crazy. I wasn't paying attention too much until one throw that Molly made.

After her throw, Noah bent over just a bit, and covered an area of his body that made him say, "Moll -- watch out for the family treasure!"

(I don't even know where he heard the term "family jewels," but apparently treasure sounded even better.)

photo by sposta

Many Little Links {June 14, 2009}

My list is a little long this week, because I didn't get a chance to post any last week. I just couldn't bring myself to leaving any of the links off though.

How Listening to a Waiter Can Jack Your Profits Up 33% -- ProBlogger

(So many points in this article that you can use in many different situtations!)

10 Blogging Mistakes -- Life With My 3 Boybarians

(Great read for new and experience bloggers alike, plus I just love how Darcy gives advice)

13 Things I Love About Summer -- Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers

(This list left me shaking me head "yes" over and over -- just a feel good read)

Party Favor Ideas -- Blissfully Domestic

(I love sprinkles, so was thrilled to see the sprinkle tin idea in this post)

A Simple Guide to Keeping Your Counters Clutter Free -- Zen Habits

(I have really been working on this, so I loved this article. Please tell me I'm not the only one with counters that become dumping grounds for everything.)

Curing Scope and Sequence Syndrome -- Five J's

(If you're a homeschooler, who ever fears you aren't teaching the right things, you absolutely need to read this)

Interview with a Homeschool Graduate -- Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers

(Great read for anyone who has thought of homeschooling through high school)

De-Stress with Simple Mom -- 4 Reluctant Entertainers

(Simple Mom guest posted at this blog about entertaining without having to stress so much. As with most everything she writes, I loved it!)

Our Summer List -- Let's Explore

(I have been working on a "to do" list for the summer, but this is so much better. Plus, I would love to hear what my kids would put on their summer lists!)

Watch Out for These Health Busters -- Simple Mom

(My stomach hurts right now as I'm writing this, so it makes me think that I really need to work on all of the items in this article!)

The 10 Essential Rules for Slowing Down and Enjoying Life More -- Zen Habits

(I need to work more on numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 on the list.

That's not a good sign, is it?)

Why Can't We Manage to Cry Out for Help When We're Lost?

On a recent drive into the country to go to a friend's house for a playdate, with the kids happily talking in the back, planning what they would do with them that sunny afternoon, I couldn't help but to suddenly think of something that had happened on the way back from this friend's house a couple of months ago.

As a family, we all went out to eat dinner with my friend's family at their home and spend the evening enjoying their company. On the way home, we decided to try a route that was different than the one we usually take -- a highway that can wind around and be dark, but we know it. Instead, we decided to use our GPS and see if we could find another way home.

The kids were mostly quiet in the back of the van, as the GPS told us which way to go. Eric and I, however, used our knowledge of what we thought the way was, and seemed to continually go the opposite of the way the GPS told us each time. As we did this, we discussed it, often like this, "I'm pretty sure if we go straight here instead, then that will be more direct." Over and over we did this.

Sometimes, we had to drive considerably slower than the posted speed limit. We thought we knew where we were and where we were headed, but it was difficult to be in the countryside in the pitch black, save for the headlights.

Again, the GPS would tell us one way, and we confidently went another way.

Noah (our very sensitive almost 10 year old) chimed in, "Are we lost?"

No, we assured him, in a quick manner. We thought we knew a better way than the GPS, we told him, and then busied ourselves with talk amongst ourselves of the next turn, and what we thought would be around it.

I know that at this point, it probably does sound like we were lost. But, we weren't. We did know where we were going. And, finally when we were to familiar sites, we heard an audible sigh come from Noah. It was a sigh that said so much about his state of mind at that point.

He then went on to say, "I'm so glad we aren't lost anymore."

I told him again, "We knew where we were going, it was just a different way."

It was almost as if he couldn't comprehend that. He continued, with fear still in his voice, "I prayed and prayed. I prayed that God and all of His Angels would watch over us and protect us."

I was rendered nearly speechless. I wanted to sob. He had been so afraid, but he didn't tell us. Sure, he hinted at it when he asked if we were lost, but he didn't really tell us. It seemed that he was so deep in his despair and fear that he couldn't imagine that we could help. Because, of course, if he had told us how scared he was, we would have reassured him more. We would have told him exactly what route we were taking to get us safely home.

It was on that later sunny trip that I realized that there are lots of those times in our lives. Lots of those dark and winding road experiences, they just don't all happen in a dark and winding road in the back of your parents' minivan.

And, just like in Noah's time in darkness, for many of us, there are people who are willing to help. Really, they are not only willing to help, but they want nothing more than to help us feel safe. The problem is, it is in those times when the people who are able to help us don't know how scared we are. Why is it that it's so hard to speak up and ask for that help? Why is it that so many of us are afraid to admit that we are scared or too stressed or just can't do it all?

I took comfort in knowing that in such a deep despair, Noah looked to God for help. I think that was part of what made me want to cry too. But, another part was that I wished he would have asked for help. I would have been there for him. I would have had Eric pull over, I would have climbed back to him in the van, put my arms around him and promised him that we would get him safely home.

I just hope that maybe my quiet reflection that sunny day will act as a reminder to me that the next time I think that I'm lost on that dark and winding road - there are a lot of people in my life that would gladly pull over the van, put their arms around me, and promise that I will get safely home. And, likewise, I pray that I can listen as I go through life for the chance to be that person to someone else.



photo by bionicteaching

Great E-book to Learn about States and Abbreviations (Plus a Giveaway!)

Joy from Five J's recently contacted me about her new e-book Learn the States and Postal Abbreviations. I was thrilled when she offered me a copy to review!

This book is full of great activities for learning both the states, and then their postal abbreviations. There are flash cards, maps, worksheets, charts, and more!

I hadn't thought about how important postal abbreviations are until I was reading through the book and read the reasons that Joy gave. I guess you'll have to get her book, if you can only come up with writing it on an envelope. (That was really my only inital thought. But, then again, maybe I just wasn't thinking too hard.)

I think that one of my favorite things in the book was a chart that shows the state's names and how their abbreviations are made. (For example, there is a whole list of states that use the first letter and last letter. Again, I guess it was just something I never thought of. Honestly, I can tell you that Maine's abbreviation is ME, but I never thought about why, or about the fact that many other state's also have the first and last letter.) It was just a really nice visual -- perfect for my visual learners!

Now, I don't want you to think it's all about abbreviations though. There are sections on learning the states and where they are located as well. I just may have to test myself!

I really enjoyed that there was a nice variety of types of worksheets and activities in this e-book. And, one of the best things is that this e-book is only $5.95! But, even better? Until June 19, 2009, my readers can use the code MANYBLESSINGS to buy the e-book for only $2.95. (Seriously!)

Plus, I'm even able to give away one copy to a reader! Cool beans!

Here's how to win:

Leave a comment and tell me which state you would like to go to that you have never been to before. (I guess if you've been to all 50 states, then pick which one you would most like to return to.)

Make sure to leave your comment by Friday, June 12th at 11:59 pm EST. I'll pick a winner on Saturday!

Winner: April from Homeschool Musings

The Red Barn

This post is linked to Wordless Wednesday

An Inexpensive Way to Advertise Your Blog

I have written about buying and selling ads through Project Wonderful before. When I wrote that, I focused primarily on either selling ads on your own blog or on advertising your business (especially Etsy shops!).

I recently tried an experiment though, and wanted to share Project Wonderful as a great way to promote your blog.

I took a 125 pixel x 125 pixel button to promote my blog and added it to the Project Wonderful site. I picked approximately 10 blogs as those that I wanted to try to advertise on. At least half of those were ones that I read. I figured if they are blogs that interest me, then the readers of those blogs might be interested in mine.

I also decided that I was going to do some long term bidding. As someone who sells ads through Project Wonderful, I know that there are many people who only buy ad space on a blog for a few hours. To me, that just doesn't seem like an effective option. Sure, if you buy for less time, then you can buy on many different sites for the same amount of money. But, knowing that sometimes people need to see the same ad a few times before they click on it, I felt that long term bidding would be more effective.

I bid on all of the blog ads for a one month period, but also set a limit on most of them that I didn't want to spend more than $1.00 (although I set it for $1.20 on one blog where I was bidding a higher amount, and $2.80 on another blog). I like that I can set both a time limit and a spending limit, so that it will end whenever the first one is met.

The results?

Time on the Ad Campaign: 15 days

Money Spent on Ads: $8.07

Times the Ad Was Shown on Blogs: 78,484 times

(Of those, how many were unique views: 64,009 times)

Unique Click Throughs to My Blog: 102

Of course, one thing that can't be measured is the number of people who didn't click, but may have looked at the ad who might later see "Many Little Blessings" listed somewhere or might even come to my blog and recognize my Laundry Mama, and think, "Hey -- now where did I see that blog before?"

I saw an increase in traffic during those two weeks (possibly from some of those 102 not just visiting once, but also returning later), and also saw an increase in subscribers. It could have nothing to do with that, but it was fun to have the ads out there. Plus, I enjoyed having ads on blogs that I knew (and knew that the money was going to people I knew).

What are some inexpensive ways that you have found to promote your blog?

(One of my favorites is actually commenting on other blogs, which takes no money, but does take lots of time. So, there is always some "expense.")

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family

Trying to Tackle A Four Year Old's Toys

I have been working on decluttering around the house now that we have finished our homeschool year. It was something that I had really been wanting to do, and it seemed like a good time to work on it.

I was surprised when I whipped through several areas that I thought would take a long time. But, I was not surprised when it took me several days (working off and on) to finish going through Molly's toys (which we keep in the room that we use for school as well).

I forgot to take before pictures, so really, these are "during" pictures (but, I'm afraid to say that it does not look a lot different than the before pictures, other than that in the before pictures, the white shelves were full):

And, thankfully, here are the after pictures:

Actually, I have one more thing to finish off before I will officially consider this project done. Eric and I worked to take pictures of a sample of what is in each basket on her shelves and then I'll make a laminated tag with the picture on one side (I already got each picture printed as a 3"x4") and the words on the opposite side.

Here are two samples of the pictures that will be on her labels (for Care Bears and for Calico Critters):

This post is linked to: I am Blissfully Domestic, Talk About Tuesday, and Tackle It Tuesday.