Yes!

I haven't had much to say here lately.

I've been struggling a bit, and I've chosen not to drag you into my struggle. Being silent is the best way to do that, I think.

A friend of mine, who prays for me often, prays that I will be amazed through my struggles. In my head, I believe that God will do that----amaze me. Redeem my anxieties, my story, far beyond what I can imagine. But, my heart cries bull shit.

(I said that to a group of friends the other day, which included our pastor's wife. I'm thankful for a pastor's wife who thought that was funny.) 

So, I struggle and I pray to be amazed. That one day, my heart will see the truth that my head knows, so that I won't have to say bull shit anymore (about that).

While praying to be amazed, I've struggled to see the miracles around me.

I've told you here before, I believe everything is a miracle. When I choose to pay attention, listen and take one thing at a time---I believe I can see all those miracles best.

So.

That house that I absolutely fell in love with? We have a contract on it.

So, we are in the process of selling our house. (Know someone who wants to buy a three bedroom home in the St. Louis area? Have we got the place for you!)

If you've ever done this before, you understand the work that goes into getting the house ready for people to walk through it. 

I have often, over the past month, found myself getting our house ready, on short notice, while Brad is at work, or out of town. Frantically mopping the floors, only moments before potential buyers walk in.

Doing this with two toddlers, is no easy feat, as you can imagine, or maybe have experienced, but I have to tell you---I have seen many miracles through it. (1337) I thought I'd share some of those miracles with you today.

The girls know what it means when I tell that people are coming to our house. I often hear them saying, People coming! As they go about their work. And they take it seriously, they get down to business helping me clean. (1338)

They meticulously pick up and put away all their toys and books (1339). I'm often stunned to find things put away---even when I haven't thought to ask them to put it away. (1340)

There is such joy to watch the delight in their little faces helping me get the house ready. (1341) And--they beam, literally beam as I praise them for obeying me, and doing such a great job of cleaning. (1342)

Then, we pray. We pray that God will bless the people that come to see our house, and that the right person will like our house and put an offer on it.

After I say that last part, I look and see Hadley eagerly nodding her head, and Brynne pipes up with an enthusiastic, "Yes!" Fervent prayers, these girls are----joy! (1343)

Once we pray, I load the girls into the car and go back through the house to tidy up last minute things. I'm always finding small miracles of things the girls have done without me even asking during these last-minute sweeps. (1344)

And, this too. Yesterday, we got a bit of rain for the first time since June 16th. (1345) With the city-wide watering restrictions, most of my garden, sadly, looks like this:

But---some of my flowers are still thriving (barely). (1346) I'm delighted to say that when people have come to see the house, there's always been something blooming. (1347)

 

Linking up with Ann and Jen.

Mama Loves: Funky Tan Lines, Comfy Sandals and Anniversaries

Welcome to another week of Mama Loves! I'm so thrilled that you stopped by!

Not sure what Mama Loves is? Check out the Mama Loves page for the scoop on what Mama Loves is all about.

Also---to see all the amazing ideas that have been shared here, check out the Mama Loves Pinterest page. So many crazy-good ideas there!
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The criss-cross tan lines across my foot are from the one and only sandal I've worn all summer a.k.a. the most comfortable sandal I've ever slipped my foot in.

Meet the Teva Olowahu Sandal:
 
It has this mush stuff on top that is so squishy and soft, and it has arch support, which makes it better than just your regular old flip-flop. The extra straps keep them securely on my feet, even if I have to take off at a run after one of the girls.

As my tan lines clearly demonstrate, these shoes are part of my everyday life---the plain black lets me dress them up, dress them down. Best purchase of my whole summer!  

Can't wait to see what you're loving this week! 

P.S. I do wear sunscreen, and I lather my girls in sunscreen too. For some reason I never think to put any on my feet.
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On August 6th last year, we kicked off our Mama Loves series. Over the past year, you guys have shared some awesome ideas! We've heard about:

• toys
• gear
• crafts
• time savers
• recipes
• books 
• money saving ideas
• games
• handy tips to make life easier
• pretty things for mamas to wear
• activities to wear out those kiddos

Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom here in this space! I've incorporated many of your ideas into my parenting---it's definitely made me a better mama! 

I wanted to celebrate our one year anniversary with a huge giveaway extravaganza.

Starting next week, I'm going to be giving away some of the great items I've "loved" over the last year. I'd love for you to be a winner!

Please check back next week.

Do you have a Mama Loves idea from me or someone else that was particularly helpful? Leave a comment. I'd love to hear about it!

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Mama Loves: Words

Welcome to another week of Mama Loves! I'm so thrilled that you stopped by!

Not sure what Mama Loves is? Check out the Mama Loves page for the scoop on what Mama Loves is all about.

Also---to see all the amazing ideas that have been shared here, check out the Mama Loves Pinterest page. So many crazy-good ideas there!
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Hi friends. In response to last week's list, Laura shared a great list of Alternative Princess Stories you should check out!


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I love words. I love writing. I love reading beautiful words that someone else has put together. I love it when other people put words together that make me laugh.

So, without further ado, here you go.

On courage:



On expectations:




On being:



On faith:



On parenting:





And lastly, On Good TV:





Name this show! 

All of the above came from here. 

Can't wait to see what you're loving this week!

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Mama Loves: Great Books!

Welcome to another week of Mama Loves! I'm so thrilled that you stopped by!

Not sure what Mama Loves is? Check out the Mama Loves page for the scoop on what Mama Loves is all about.

Also---to see all the amazing ideas that have been shared here, check out the Mama Loves Pinterest page. So many crazy-good ideas there!
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Please check out these great ideas from other mamas!

• Clotheslines make clothes smell oh-so wonderful! (on a personal note, they come in really handy if you use cloth diapers!) 

 

• Puddle Jumpers are an awesome way for your toddlers to swim in the water! Definitely a favorite with many mamas! Check out Katie's great review of them, and some definite proof that they're a hit! 

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Katie always has fabulous posts about books her littles are loving! I pay close attention to these posts for two reasons:

1. Her twins are less than a month behind Brynne and Hadley
2. Katie is a Kindergarten teacher with both excellent taste in books and great experience with what kids love.

So, when Katie talks about books. I listen.

I am not a Kindergarten teacher, but we do read a whole lotta books around here. I thought I'd give you a list of a few that the girls loving the most lately. Maybe one of them will tickle your fancy. 

• Madeline. 

 


Oh, how the girls love Madeline! What I love about her character, is that she's not girly-girl; she's fearless and daring and proud of scar she gets in the book. The words are rhythmic and entertaining for both adults and children.

*A bonus is that there are lots of drawings of Paris in the book. My girls can identify the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and the Palace of Versailles.

• The Paper Bag Princess. 

I'm not much of princess person---I think the "princess culture" is unhealthy in many ways. So, what on earth am I talking about princess book? You might ask. This, my friends, is no ordinary princess.

She's smart. She out-wits the dragon, who is holding her fiance captive. Yes, she rescues the prince, only to discover that the prince is vain and arrogant, so she decides she doesn't want to marry him after all.

A princess who is clever and wise. Great story! 

• Little Blue Truck. 

 And its sequel:

• Little Blue Truck Leads the Way

 


 I think I originally heard of the Little Blue Truck from Katie. See? You should listen to her! The books she recommends are winners!

The Little Blue Truck books are fun and rhythmic. The girls know just when to interject the appropriate "beeps" and "honks" and have learned how to identify taxis----random, I know.  
Both these books present the lesson in the importance of being kind, which any mama loves.

Can't wait to see what you're loving!

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Mama Loves: Sunhats

Welcome to another week of Mama Loves! I'm so thrilled that you stopped by!

Not sure what Mama Loves is? Check out the Mama Loves page for the scoop on what Mama Loves is all about.

Also---to see all the amazing ideas that have been shared here, check out the Mama Loves Pinterest page. So many crazy-good ideas there!
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Please check out these five fabulous ideas!

Organized, wooden puzzles!  Isn't that a lovely sight?



gDiapers with a cheaper alternative to stuff them with.



Great list of free family books on Kindle---check out Olusola's space!

Plastic placemats go great with booster seats for growing toddlers.


Bean box instead of a sand box---great idea!


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If you've read this blog for very long, you've probably seen pictures of our girls in their sunhats.

The girls know that if we're going to spend any time outside, they have to have their hats on.

These i play Brim Hats have SPF 50+ to protect their sweet little heads, and they tie under their chins, so they can run and play, without them falling off. Oh, and they are machine washable---always a fabulous feature with little ones!

The girls have the toddler size. Even though their head circumferences are in the 90th percentile, these leave plenty of room for them to grow, so we can probably use them next spring.

So, I realize that the link above only has styles for girls. I did find that i play makes these in solid colors, so boys can wear them too. 

Can't wait to see what you're loving this week!

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The one where I use the word "nipple" at least 25 times...

...just so you've been fairly warned.

So, my husband kind of covered this story in this post, but I'm writing it up anyway, because, I think, it begs more conversation. Maybe. Sorry if you read both our blogs. Clearly our lives are not all that exciting, that we both feel the burning need to write posts with the word "nipple" in it---there's number one, if you're counting.

I don't agree with the idea of giving body parts incorrect, dumbed-down, kid names. I even cringe at "ducky" or "horsy". And, I may, or may not have even been known to cross out those words in books to replace them with "duck" and "horse".

I was a biology major, if I do nothing else that that degree, I will teach my children the correct anatomical body parts, so help me!

So, when the girls were still nursing, they used to play with my collar bone and would thump my chest, so I had little one-year-olds that could (and still can) point out their clavicle and their sternum. That lesson was fairly painless.

Awhile back, Megan wrote this post about using some trickier anatomical parts with her girls, and it got me thinking about the time when I'd have to do the same with Brynne and Hadley. Certainly not something I was looking forward to, but one of those things you just have to get through, like pulling off a band-aid, or something.

Anyway, so last night as we're giving the girls a bath, Brynne sticks her finger on Brad's nipple (he was shirtless), and asks what it is.

Taking a deep breath to strengthen my resolve to use proper anatomical terms, dusting off that biology degree, I tell her that it's "Papa's nipple."

Then, she says, "Brynne no nipples." Well, I couldn't have her believing inaccuracies. So, of course I inform her that Brynne has nipples, and point them out for her. I tell her that everyone has nipples.

With this new nugget of information under her belt, she proceeds to name off everyone she's ever met just to make sure that they do, indeed, have nipples.

Mama, nipples? Masi, nipples? Grandpa, nipples?

Etcetera. You get the idea.

At one point Brad informs her that the dogs have nipples.

You should all be really proud of us, though. First of all, because we are stellar parents (insert laughter here). But secondly, we did all of this, even the whole "dogs have nipples" thing, without laughing. I mean, really, this whole "correct anatomical terminology" thing is serious business.

In retrospect, I could have gone with pectoralis major, and avoided the whole "nipple talk". Apparently my biology degree needs a bit more dusting. 

Oiy! Glad we saved vaginas and penises for another day.