Owner: Our Family Village URL:http://ourfamilyvillage.com Join Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:31:16 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: A group of mothers sharing their experiences form first pregnacny to first grandchild. Site statistics:Click here
Ready, Set, Get Creative! 2007-10-19 06:46:21 I’m a craftoholic. Scrapbooking, sewing, knitting, if you can craft with it I’m drooling over it. In a perfect world I would have endless supplies of money and days would be 48 hours long. Then I might have enough time and money to feed my craft habit in a way that it deserves. Until then I just file away ideas for future projects and make wish lists of all the supplies I’m dying to have.
Because of my crafty obsession I’ve found myself as the new writer at Creative Mom Cafe. Michelle Brownlow, the previous writer, handed over the reins when her time became too crunched to keep up there. Not that I have hours of free time either, but I’m thrilled to be filling her shoes. I’m hoping to make it part crafty blog, part WAHM love blog. I know that as much as I love making crafts for fun there are plenty of moms who sell their crafty wares for extra income. So I hope to share some of them as well.
If you are into creative projects stop by and say hi. And
Flying with Kids - Airplane Travel Planning 2007-10-18 06:00:40 As our family gets ready for our first airplane trip with children, I am really stressing out. I haven’t been on a plane since my honeymoon, seven years ago. Not only do I feel unprepared about airplane flight in general (and post-9.11 too!), but the thought of traveling with my 2-year-old and 4-year-old is causing me serious worry. Please leave me a comment if you have any advice, words of wisdom, or comfort for this worried Mama. I’ve also done some research on the internet and compiled the following list of helpful information about air travel with kids:
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Read more:Flying
, Airplane
, Travel
Nicknames 2007-10-17 23:38:05 My family loves nicknames. I was saddled with a horrible nickname that has changed over the years to suit my mother’s odd sense of humor. I have sort of passed this lovely tradition on with my boys. Harry is Harry Monster and Evan is Evan Stinkerpants. Not too horrible and they are both very true at times.
My husband and I thought that a name change was in order today. We have decided that Pete and Repeat are perfect for the boys. Evan loves to repeat himself multiple times just to make sure that we hear him and are very clear about what he wants. Harry on the other hand loves to repeat anything and everything that he hears. My question is which one is Pete and which one is Repeat?
Chore Wars Works For Me 2007-10-16 22:33:19 A friend of mine recently told me about a site called Chore
Wars. It is an online game for kids, along a similar line of Dungeons and Dragons or World of Warcraft. But with one twist, instead of battling monsters kids have to battle chores. It is actually a very fun game. Mom sets up a game, listing what chores need to be completed and assigning the chores points for difficulty or for skill required. And mom can set up prizes for winning each chore, such as gold coins or special items that can be traded in for real life treats.
My oldest son loves it! He is very much into monsters and battling right now, so this went over very well. And the fact that he can earn gold coins to be traded in for treats is a huge bonus. It has been working so well in fact that I set up a game for myself. I call it the Mommy Chore Wars. Suddenly I have much more motivation to clean the house. I made a list of chores I need to do, set them with random treasures, and made a trade-in value list. Win a Silver C Read more:Works
Blog Carnival Round Up 2007-10-16 13:40:10 Here is another great round up of blog carnivals you should check out this week.
Carnival
of Family Life
Carnival of Homeschooling
Late is better than never, the Carnival of SAHMs
Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival
Make It From Scratch
Etsy Bloggers
Festival of Frugality
All Women Blogging Carnival
The Fabulous! Festival
Carnival of Bookworms
If you know of another great carnival to add to the weekly round up please let me know. I hope you enjoy the great selection of bloggers that participate in these fun carnivals. And don’t forget to leave comments!
MamaBlogga’s October Writing Project 2007-10-16 06:32:05 I am thrilled to have been a part of MamaBlogga’s October
Group Writing Project
. There were so many great entries this month, all of them worth reading. I hope you will take the time to enjoy them all.
Terrible Schmerrible by Ursula Zamora
An age old question… by Tiffany (Three Ring Circus)
What is the best age?? by Jennifer Hitchcock
Emerging by Tracey
Don’t grow up too fast my darling by Summer
3 yrs. + 1 yr, + 2 yrs? Are you crazy? by Brandi @ Home, Hope and Future
Day of Poo and Stinkor Looming by Maria C.
The best things about this age. . . by Summer M.
Like watching water boil by Shawn
The best thing about Abbie being 3!! by Jessica
Tomorrow, One Day Older by Phyllis
These are a few of my favorite things by boogiemum
Today, while the blossoms by Jordan (MamaBlogga)
The best thing about this age by Urban Mummy
When He Comes Running Back by Mommy Zabs
the best things about this age by melissa
Be 4 by Mama Zen
My favorite age by Deb - Mom of 3 Girls
The Blessing of Four
Blog Action Day! 2007-10-15 13:51:28
Today is Blog Action
Day, what are you blogging about?
Many people want to bemore eco-friendly, but they do not know where to begin. There are so many things out there that we know are bad for the environment but seem impossible to give up, and there are many more things that people do not realize how bad they are. Luckily we have the internet, an endless resource to help us discover what we can do, change, and stop to try and be even more environmental. Here are some great places to start looking:
We Can Live Green: resource for products, services and information related to going green.
How To Go Green: TreeHugger’s ultimate listing of ways you can be a little more environemtal in your day to day life.
Make Me Sustainable: register for free to access the tools and knowledge to help become more environmental
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Have a picky eater? It your fault! 2007-10-15 06:00:48 Some of you may remember my post a few weeks ago about my son, the picky eater. Well, it turns out that it is most likely due to my genes. According to this article from the New York Times, having a child who is a picky eater is 78% genetic and 22% environmental. (more…)
Blog Carnivals of the Week 2007-10-23 15:47:10 There are some great blog carnivals going on this week. I hope you will take the time to go check them all out.
Carnival of Family Life
Carnival of Homeschooling
Carnival of Natural Family Living
Festival of Frugality
Thomas Jefferson Carnival
Carnival of Education
Organize Your Life
Make It From Scratch
Etsy Bloggers
Work At Home Carnival
If you know of any other great blog carnivals please leave a comment and let me know.
Read more:Carnivals
, Blog Carnivals
5 Things Meme 2007-10-23 12:22:26 Steph from Adventures in Babywearing tagged me to write 5 interesting things about myself. I’m not sure thre are 5 interesting things about me, but I’ll give it a try!
When I was pregnant with my first I worked in a raw meat processingplant, out on the floor. I spent 9 monthes in near freezing temperatures and covered in raw meat. You do not want to know what your sliced ham looked like before it made it to the store.
I went to a women’s school for college. My favorite part was no school football or basketball teams. I hate sports.
I’m a trained and licenced doula. So if you ever need someone to rub your feet while you’re having contractions, I’m your girl. I’m also a certified breastfeeding councelor through WIC, so I can hang around and help you out after the baby is born too.
I don’t eat fish, shrimp, or anything else that comes from water. It just grosses me out, and I have no clue why.
I make my own laundry detergent. It’s ral
Colds and kids 2007-10-22 14:15:55 We have been battling colds all week in the Awesome Mom household. Both kids have been snotty and very cranky. The tissue box is empty after wiping two noses more times than I can count. I felt a bit smug after reading all the press about this recall. I knew that those medications were useless and unhelpful.
Because of Evan’s heart defect and the medications that he is already taking I have always been reluctant to give him anything with out first consulting his pediatric cardiologist. I have to be very aware of the possibility of interactions. We kept with the tried and true cold remedies (saline nose drops, the snot sucker and extra sleep) for most of his life. There was a period of time when we did try an OTC medication. He was gagging on his own snot and throwing up. It was super gross and since he was very underweight we had to keep food in him.
The medication did help some with the snot. However it got the nickname of cranky juice. When we would give i Read more:Colds
Schnepf Farms Pumpkin and Chili Party 2007-10-21 14:43:07 If you live anywhere near Phoenix, you’ve probably heard of Schnepf farms. They offer a variety of pick-your-own fruits and vegetables, often organic, at market prices (sometimes lower!). You can rent a peach tree for the season, and for $150 have way more peaches than you’ll ever know what to do with.
Their annual pumpkin and chili festival runs through October. Being a self-proclaimed pumpkin patch expert, I can say this is the best of the best around Phoenix. Fourteen dollars per person (or $12 through their discount with Fry’s) includes, per their website (schnepffarms.com), “Hay rides, miniature golf, 4 acre and 10 acre “Celebrity” maize, country road rally, honeybee adventure, carousel rides, petting barn, Hillbilly Bob’s Pig Races, 3-d scary weather attraction, Swinging Lady Bugz, Flying Farmers ride, Pumpkin
Launch, Witch Mountain, SRP Earthwise energy Maze, Rock climbing wall, golden goat bridge, “live” entertainment on two Read more:Farms
, Chili
, Party
What Are Your Kids Going To Be For Halloween? 2007-10-20 09:36:52 It’s the big question this time of year. What are your kids going to be? Are you going the store bought costume route, the piece together from old costume route, or are you crafty enough to make it yourself?
I’m not a fan of store bought costumes. Aside from the fact that I think they are ridiculously overpriced I don’t like seeing an army of kids coming up the street looking exactly the same. For me, that takes the fun out of things. So I make an effort to be a little more creative with their costumes. This year my oldest want to be a pirate. I pieced together a white shirt and black pants from the thrift shop, bought a red bandanna and a plastic pirate sword, and found an old felt pirate hat from the garage. Judging from the costumes in stores he might be the only pirate who doesn’t look like Johnny Depp.
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Read more:Going
, Halloween
What time is it? 2007-10-26 11:09:19 My boys love to play in mommy and daddy’s bedroom. The big draw in the room is the bed. It is fun to jump on and to fall down on. Blankets are all around for a rousing game of peek-a-boo. When that gets boring they move on to our alarm clocks. They have a lot of different buttons to push and it is fun to watch the numbers change.
We are quickly learning that it pays to check our alarm clocks before we go to bed. Last night I came upstairs to go to bed and mine was loudly beeping while my husband was snoring away. He is a much heavier sleeper than I am. When my husband’s alarm clock went off this morning to wake him for work it was heart attack inducing loud. We have been lucky that they have not quite figured out the sequence that changes the time but I am sure that some day soon it will happen. They have already figured out how to use the tape player that is in my husband’s alarm clock.
Here is a cute video of Evan in action. He is playing with my father’s al
Colds During Pregnancy 2007-10-25 15:52:42 Colds are awful anytime but are particularly agitating while pregnant.. especially when there are little ones to run after or a fetus who likes to kick the daylights out of you every time you cough. You can’t just settle under the covers with your favorite decongestant and sleep it off… so what do you do?
Try to take care of it early. Stuffy noses are common in pregnancy thanks to a myriad of things, mostly increased blood flow and swelling of the nasal passages. If you have a stuffy nose accompanied with a sore throat or an achy tired feeling it’s probably not just a normal pregnancy symptom. Try to “drown it” with fluids in the first 24 hours. Drink as much cold water and hot teas as you can possibly stand to- sometimes this will nip a cold in the bud. If not…
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Read more:Colds
, Pregnancy
Feel like being a lemming…8 more reasons 2007-10-24 21:27:40 I just finished reading Jo’s “8 Reasons I Love Home Schooling” which was inspired by Summer’s “8 Reasons” and figured I should add my 8 too. It’s interesting to see how other families approach home learning and to hear what they enjoy the most.
Currently just my youngest is home schooled. He’s 5 and would have started kindergarten this year if we were going the go-to-school route. This is my first time officially home schooling a child his age. It’s the first time we didn’t need to spend months ‘decompressing’ from the public school environment, before diving into the fun stuff. There are so many things I love about home schooling, it’ll be hard to keep the list to just 8 things…
I love watching my son’s natural curiosity lead him to new subjects to explore and that he explores them with such zest.
I love that home schooling forces me to work on my areas of weakness. Spelling being my personal
Red Stained Tupperware 2007-10-24 10:10:50 I make a ton of tomato sauce foods. It’s one of my favorite foods so I cook with it often. Pasta, mini pizzas, chili, if it can be made with tomato sauce I’ll do it. I also tend to cook in big batches and freeze half of what I made for meals later. The two combined means most of my tupperware had red stains across them.
I’ve seen some dish soaps advertised to cut out the red staining from tupperware. It sounds great, but I worry about using chemicals that could stick around and get onto the food. Not that plastic is so great anyway, but until I have the money to buy glass I’ll keep using my plastic containers. So what to do about the tomato sauce staining?
Sunlight!
Seriously. In the same way the sun bleaches bones white and gets rid of the stains on my cloth diapers leaving my tupperware outside in the sun for the day removes most or all of the red stain. It’s so easy I thought for certain it would never work. To my surprise it did! Just half a day in dir
8 Reasons To Love Homeschooling 2007-10-24 08:28:58 Summer did a post on 8 Reasons
To Love Homeschooling
back in September which I thought was pretty great. So I decided to do one on my homeschooling blog a few days later and I would like to share it again here with you. I had alot of fun doing this and it really came at a time when I needed to remind myself what this was all about.
Why I Love Homeschooling
1) When my kids were in public school we didn’t get along very well. They were both extremely mouthy and disrespectful. Since we started homeschooling they have become so much more mature and appreciative of things in their lives. It’s been amazing watching them actually grow each day. So many things I missed when they were little but now I get to enjoy these teen years.
2) I know my kids aren’t being taught the crappy History and Geography lessons that I was in school. So little of actual importance historically is taught in school and by the time most of us graduate we couldn’t recite the first line of the C
Think About It Thursday 2007-11-01 06:01:12 Oh yes, it’s that time once again. I found myself busy and let it slide a bit there, but I’m ready to pick it back up. There are always such great posts on the web, blog posts that need to be read and thought about. And darn it, I want to show them off so that you can read them too. Get out your thinking caps, here they come.
Is pregnancy barbaric? Sure it can be annoying and painful and leave us covered in strech marks and sagging boobs. But is barbaric the word you would use to describe it?
What Women Aren’t Told About Childbirth There are a lot of myths, lies, and half truths spread around out there. Are you getting the real facts or just scare tactics?
Not scared yet with all the toy recalls? How about Kids’ toys, pajamas contain industrial chemicals? Apparently a new study shows some high level of toxic chemicals in our children’s bodies. Scary indeed.
Are you putting your vote in public schools? As we head into another election year think aobut how your Read more:Thursday
A fun shop worth checking out! 2007-10-30 09:45:46 If you’re like me you probably rarely pay attention to the ads on the sides of most blogs. I know, it’s OK. But having ads up here I try to pay attention to what is up so that I can make sure it is family friendly.
Today I checked out one of the smaller ads on the far right side, the small black box that reads “Baby Basics With Style”. Wow, there is some style there for certain! The ad will take you to this funky Etsy shop. I’m in love! Pirate themed baby bibs, funky striped diaper cases, and the cutest little treasure pillows. 7 pages of the cutest stuff for babies! You have to click over and check this shop out.
Read more:checking
Yummy Bath Set Give Away 2007-10-29 06:33:46 I’ve got a oh so yummy bath set from my favorite shop Flutterby Gifts to give away. The set is a homemade treat for any tired mama looking to relax a little. There is a bottle of chocolate scented powdered bath milk, perfect for using during long soaks in the bathtub. A bar of solid lotion, also chocolate scented. Rub it on after the bath and feel your skin get softer. And a fabulous bar of Mocha scented soap to wash with. This is my absolute favorite bath set to have. No matter how stressful your day a soak in the tub with these goodies by your side makes you feel like a diva.
Want to win this absolutely wonder treat for yourself? All you have to do is visit Flutterby Gifts then come back here and leave me a comment letting me know what is your favorite product there. You have until November 2nd to enter. Then on Saturday the 3rd I’ll choose one person at random to win.
This contest is part of the huge Fall Y’all! Giveaway going on at Bloggy Giveaways. Head ove Read more:Yummy
My first give-away 2007-10-29 00:04:34 Now that I am officially past my guess-a-date with my pregnancy, nesting has set in big time. I’m an organizing, cleaning, sewing machine. Sleep? Who needs sleep?I’m going to have a baby any minute (or week) now.
Along with all the cutesy newborn cloth diapers I’ve been whipping up, I came up with a new design for a favorite gadget of mine. Well, as far as I know it’s a new design- I haven’t seen one quite like this before. It’s a lavender rice pack. For those unfamiliar with them, they’re basically a little pillow filled with rice that you can either heat up in the microwave or freeze in the freezer to use for whatever ails you. The lavender is optional, you may see them with other herbs or essential oils too, but as someone who suffers with occasional migraines the lavender seems to work the best. Normally you would find these in some variation of a rectangle. There are little ones used primarily for little boo-boos, long snake-like ones for
Grateful 2007-11-05 16:35:48 The November Group Writing Project is up over at MamaBlogga. I always love reading what people write on the monthly themes, and of course I enjoy writing something myself. For November the theme is : “I’m grateful for my child(ren) because. . .”
This time of year everyone is thinking about what they feel grateful for. When you are a mother it is hard not to feel grateful for your children, even on the days when you need a break. Before I became a mother I had a list of bad habits a mile long. Some as simple as too much junk food, others were down right self destructive. But when my children came along I could no longer keep on that same path.
Seeing that positive pregnancy test made me stop and reevaluate my life and where I was going. It made me stop doing a lot of the bad habits that I had done for years. Becoming a mother made me realise that there was someone other then myself to care for, and that opened my eyes. I am grateful for my children because they helped me to becom
Pissed Off 2007-11-04 18:06:36 I think I have found out where that expression comes from.
My youngest son has started showing his emotions, especially anger. When he gets mad he pees. Right where he’s standing, diaper or no, he just screams then pees. He’s got quite the little temper too. If I put brother’s bike in the garage, if I refuse to hold him while I am cooking, if I give him 3 crackers instead of 4. No matter the cause his little voice screeches and then it comes.
We’ve started trying to be careful about how we are around him when h has no diaper on, which is quite often now that he has learned how to shuck the things off. Bare bottoms are happy bottoms to him. Though his older brother has decided this new phase is hilarious. He waits calmly until the diaper has been tossed aside before he rushes up to steal a toy from his hands, then laughs hysterically as the flow starts flowing.
*sigh*
I tell myself it’s just a phase. But that consultation is wearing thin.
Read more:Pissed
, Pissed Off
Keeping busy. 2007-11-03 23:48:34 I have to say that I don’t have any cool links, or any cool giveaways, or anything like that to contribute at this time. I am the Laziest Pregnant Woman Ever. I’m sorry.
I’m trying to keep busy until my gender ultrasound, which has finally been scheduled for the thirteeth of November. Ten days. Ten days. Ten days. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of money, so my “busy work” is rather limited. I spend my days….
1. Begging for backrubs. Ouch, my back and backside are really starting to get sore from the posture shift. I’m really trying to straighten myself up when I walk but it’s hard to remember!
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Winner Announced! 2007-11-03 17:37:39 Is everyone ready to find out who the winner of that yummy bath set from Flutterby Gifts is? There were over a hundred entries for it. I wish that I had more to give away! LOL
OK, the lucky winner is….
(drum roll please)
Shama-lama Mama! Woo-hoo! Hopefully she will be able to find the time to relax and enjoy them. For those waiting to see who won Eden’s give away please be a little patient. I think she in the birthing zone right now. So send her happy labor vibes!
Read more:Winner Announced
Confession time 2007-11-02 18:59:58 One of the reasons that I have not announced that I write on this blog at my other personal blog is that my husband reads my personal blog. I don’t want him knowing about this blog so that I can confess some of my deep dark secrets. My confession for today is that I took a nap knowing that Evan had a smelly poopy diaper.
My husband, on occasion, will get part of Friday afternoon off. This is a nice treat and makes a nice start to the weekend. I was knitting and watching Evan play when I smelled the nasty diaper. My husband was deep into his computer game ignoring the rest of the world. I figured that it was his turn any way so upstairs I went.
When I woke up, Harry was awake from his nap and in a new diaper too. That told me that he too had made a stinky for daddy. My husband never changes the boy’s diapers unless they are poopy, a pet peeve of mine since the boys are in cloth diapers and I don’t want them sitting around in a sopping diaper all afternoon. My
Do You Dine Without Whine? 2007-11-02 15:58:03 I realized that I never wrote about the great meal planning site I’ve been using! I tried doing meal planning on my own, and failed horribly. Picky eaters, tight budget, and lack of creativity in putting together meals just added up to a disaster. So I gave up. Then a friend emailed me that she started using Dine Without Whine. It’s a meal planning site, where you get weekly menus and grocery lists emailed to you. See, no creativity or planning required!
The reason I suddenly remember and wanted to write about it was because of 2 updates they sent me. One announcing that they now are offering gift certificates. What’s cool is they can be ordered now and set to be sent later. You order, and then the system sends an e-mail, personal message from you, and gift code to your receiver. You can set this up to be delivered on whatever date you choose. So for instance, you can order today and have it delivered via e-mail on Christmas day to the recipient if you’d like. C
Halloween Recap 2007-11-02 09:11:54 Is everyone coming down from the sugar-high of Halloween
yet? We are almost out of candy, with a little help from mom and dad of course. I concider it good parenting. Every piece of candy I sneak now is one less thing to bounce my sons off the walls later. And trust me, no one wants that going on.
Trick or treat night was interesting. We had a late dinner, which meant other kids were already racing along in their costumes as we were sitting down. An interesting moment happened before we ate. At the last minue we decided not to try to cook something but to have a quick meal instead. So I rushed to the store to grab a couple cans of tomato soup for dinner. In front of me in line a slightly older couple was buying a basket full of bags of candy. Trying to buy them really, as they went through 4 credit cards in their wallet before finding one that still worked. I love Halloween and candy as much as the next person, but not enough to max out credit cards over.
After we ate we wandered up ou Read more:Recap
What Is Scarier Than Lead In Our Children’s Toys? 2007-11-08 15:16:09 How about a date rape drug?
Scientists say a chemical coating on the beads, when ingested, metabolizes into the so-called date rape drug gamma hydroxy butyrate. When eaten, the compound - made from common and easily available ingredients - can induce unconsciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma and death.
Wow! The holiday season just got even more gloomy What’s worse is I see some men taking their kid’s, sibling’s neighbor’s, whomever’s and using them as a cheaper and easier to get date rape drug. This is a hot toy, or was. I’m sure there are thousands of homes with Aqua Dots sitting in them right now.
Here is some information on gamma hydroxy butyrate. The effects are similar to that of alcohol on an adult. In a child the drug could lead to coma or even death. If you have these toys in your home please dispose of them safely!
Read more:Children
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