Showcase Sunday Week Two

I can't believe it's Sunday again! That week flew by.. I discovered so many favorite fun things to share with you, internet!

--- Get ready to have a heart attack. Do you love newborn babies & adorable dainty cute things? Yeah, cardiac arrest. Sew Whimsey. Oh. my. gosh. I need some of these for my girls. And maybe one like this for me.

--- I'm not sure if you'll be able to view this one or not... But this is one of the best things I've seen. Who could not be in love with a bull dog in a tutu in the snow?

--- I know there are a few sites like this that exist, but I did not know anything of this sort existed a few months ago. Woooooooot. They sell one kids item per day at a discount. Worth checking out now and then.

--- A bunch of kitchen art that sincerely amuses me.

--- Maybe one of the coolest things I've seen. And I want it someday. In the room where I have a giant saltwater aquarium. I need this.

So these are the things that tickled my fancy this week, interweb. Send your suggestions along! You can tweet me too!

Morning

I look at my three year old, then my ten month old, and back to my three year old. "OK - who drank my coffee??" It couldn't have possible been me. I would have remembered enjoying it more and certainly would have felt more awake by now. Maybe there's a leak somewhere in the bottom. That's ok, I just refill to have my "second" mug of the morning.

I love my blue snowflake mug, it's an extra large size that may or may not hold a lot more than 8 oz of coffee. And it makes me feel better to think I've only had two mugs of coffee as opposed to say 8 cups.

Morning is my favorite time around home. Now THAT is saying a lot. To anyone who has ever known me, mornings were not my strong suit. I just wasn't talented in that area. Try as I might, I'd say I got about a C - in mornings. As difficult as some mornings are to get the kids out the door and onto the bus on time, it's so amazing to see the 3 older children really take on personal responsibility for getting ready and getting themselves to school. Sometimes I do a double take when they come home and think "Now I KNOW you did not have that on when you went to school, I wouldn't let you out the door like that?!"

Once I get Liam on the little preschool bus I get over 3 1/2 hours with my two littlest littles. This time has been so fun to really connect with Shiloh and see her own little unique personality come out and emerge from the constant "I'm a toddler and I destroy" personality. Getting to spend so much time focusing on Brynn has also been a real treat to savor his first year. The milestones aren't going by in such a blur.

Shiloh almost always asks for air popped popcorn for a mid-morning snack. She loves the whole process and I don't have to have had my second mug of coffee to get in made, she walks me through the whole process. "Pour it in mom. Turn it on. Now get the butter. Salt! Salt! Salt!"

Brynn's favorite morning activity is bouncing in his jumparoo which is the best. invention. ever. He loves music and it rewards his bouncing with little tunes. He love all the toys around the seat and the ones that dangle above his head. And, mostly that boy just loves to jump. He's going to be an Olympic Pogo Stick Gold Medalist, since they'll have that sport by the time he's old enough. Certainly once I submit these videos of him bouncing in the jumparoo, training for the USA Gold, for a new olympic sport they'll realize it's the competition that's been missing.

I have to get the sheets switched on the beds before nap time here. Now who drank my second mug? I better get some paper towel for the leak that I'll inevitably find from the bottom of my mug.. there must be drips of coffee everywhere around here. Somewhere.

Showcase Sunday?

So I'm thinking of implementing a new idea here, Showcase Sunday. At first I was thinking, Showoff Sunday but that seemed misleading. I feel like showing off would entail my own accomplishments and the idea is more of a discovery sharing one. I'm indulging my nerdy love of the vernacular here, and showcase would mean to exhibit something in an attractive or favorable aspect. And that makes more sense.

Essentially my idea is to show off cool blogs or items or articles or what-have-you. Things that tickle my fancy that I think the rest of the world needs to know about. It could be something homemade it could be pictures of your dog, really the possibilities are endless.

I'll be starting today with just a few things, but if you want your blog, or dog, or article, or friend, or grandmother's e-store, or whatever to be featured at some point please send me an e-mail or leave a link in the comments section and I'd be happy to review it!

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Showcase Sunday Week One

I discovered through browsing this blog called Beingwoman. I am fascinated and inspired by this idea. Every day the author of this blog posts about women throughout history and what is notable about them. I spent about an hour reading the other night and learned about women I had never heard of and their great personal accomplishments. It's an amazing concept and I personally think women of note and their accomplishments throughout history aren't taught enough. There are some fascinating and phenomenal accountings that I think everyone could appreciate.

Real Sustenance is a blog I have quickly turned in to a favorite of mine. I visit it at least once a day. The author writes gluten free dairy free recipes that are easily convertible into whatever type of diet you follow (for instance, I do eat dairy, so it's not hard to switch the ingredients to the ones I have in my fridge to cook with). She also makes suggestions how to make recipes egg free or vegan if you don't eat any animal byproducts. It's gourmet style healthy food that's easy to follow and super delicious. My kids have even enjoyed every meal I've tried from the blog and I highly recommend the recipes.

And, that's not all!

Real Sustenance also hosts a weekly Sunday event called Seasonal Sunday, where each week anyone can participate and link up a recipe of their own that uses seasonal ingredients! Wondering what in the world to do with all that extra zucchini your neighbor gives you at the end of summer? Now you know. This week's recipe collection from bloggers everywhere is already shaping up into more things to try than days in the week! And it's a great way to connect with other people to visit your blog and try your recipes and vice versa. It certainly helps when you find yourself falling into a cooking rut! This is a GREAT concept that you are sure to love.

Expect to see this blog name pop up frequently. I am such a food lover, and the recipes are so good I know I'll just have to share when I make another delicious recipe from time to time!

And lastly, you must quickly check out this etsy store. The hats and headbands are to die for!

Quarter

September 30? Really? That was my last blog entry. It doesn't feel like it was THAT long ago. The rumors are true, I got rid of the internet. We were wireless. Wait.. I mean, WIFI free. We were disconnected.

Not entirely. You know me, I did still have my smartphone. I couldn't be completely detached. And as dedicated as I am to the internet, I got way too frustrated trying to blog from my phone.

So we lived a simpler life for a quarter of the year. Now the internet is back because I missed you all so much. And a tiny bit because I'm taking online classes this semester. Apparently internet is required to do that. And also, Time Warner really wanted me back as a customer so they offered to cut the bill in half again for a year. So the quarter year sacrifice was worth it.

I desperately want to get back into the habit of writing every day. I miss that. And while I do really want to write a book about the crazy life of a single mom of 6, with those chapter titles in the post below, I also have had a topic of interest to write about bouncing around in my head for years now. And I'm wondering if this is the year to start it.

Books

I have so many thoughts that run through my head that strike me as "That would make a great book title" or "That'd be an awesome chapter" Sometimes I wonder if the crazy things I say and/or do should be documented. I try with my blog.. but, well you know me, blog friends. Sometimes I let a month or so slip by (yeah, saw when my last post was. Sorry about that. I really had blogged many times in my head that never made it to an actual post. Funny how that actually works.)

Here's some of the potential things I need to expound on/write my book about my crazy life as a mom to 6 :

*"Your Shopping Cart Looks Like a Pack 'N Play" & more of my favorite received comments

*What To Know About Wearing a Corset To Make You Skinnier - Not admitting I've worn one, just things you need to bear in mind. You know. In case you come across a situation where you would. Not that you wear them either.

*"We're throwing spaghetti?" And other things I did NOT say.

*Alarm Clocks Only Work When You Set Them

*Why is There Applesauce in My Drawer?

*That's Not My Job.

Back to School

The preparations were numerous. The excitement level was astonishing. New shoes were anxiously put on while outfits were accessorized. My son had to be reminded that no baseball caps were allowed, the summer break made him forget the cap can no longer be a part of regular attire. The girls brushed their hair until it shone, then picture perfect pony tails were put in place finished with hair accessories - Nora's a curly pink ribbon. An hour turned out to be the perfect amount of time to get us all together and out the door, but the anticipation may have had a role to play in that. We may need to plan on more than an hour once the year progresses and the fervor dies down.

It took one complete hour after everyone was home from school to sort through all the various pieces of paperwork that came home and an additional 30 minutes to complete papers and prepare backpacks for the following day. There wasn't even any homework involved! Four backpacks is a lot to go through, I can't imagine when I'll have to be organizing six!

Isaac has a real agenda this year, he is quite proud of how grown up he is now. He isn't in the purple hallway at school anymore either! That's where the rest of his siblings are. It's going to take a while for me to get used to this!

I can smell dinner announcing it's completion cooking from the crock pot in the kitchen. Even though there was not any football/cheerleading practice in lieu of the first day of school we continued on with our crock pot meals anyway.

How did I do this last year while working full time???

Labels

Back to school.. I barely survived it! More on that later. I really don't have time to blog, but read this article this morning and was so inspired I wanted to share a good, quick read :

Label Their Clothes, Not Their Souls