Sunday, January 16, 2011
Super Star Saturday Recap... Here are the links you loved!
Made To Crave Book and Blog:
www.madetocrave.org
Curbly's DIY Play Kitchen:
"Curbly is a Web community for people who love where they live. Curbly is the best place to share pictures of your home, find design ideas, and get expert home-improvement advice.Find the DIY article on Curbly's Facebook Page HERE!
THE REST OF THE LINKS YOU LOVED:
A Mother's love for her child can move mountains, and in our case also recover him from Autism through CEASE therapy.Parenting can be a bumpy ride with a house full of teenagers who finally believe what we said many years ago…”as you get older, mom and dad will appear to get dumber”! With one child on the autism spectrum with Asperger’s Syndrome, it makes things even more interesting…which is a nice way to say “exausting, frustrating, and high blood pressure inducing”. [Editor's Note: Jamie is a mom of teenage quadruplets... wowsa... this lady is amazing! For some reason her link got deleted off of our FB page... probably do to my fat clumsy fingers... sorry Jamie:(]
Tonya Poitevint Photography offers boutique, lifestyle photography, specializing in on-location, natural light portraiture; children, family, newborns and seniors welcome~
A resource of activities for young children that promote play, discovery and learning. This link is to their best posts of 2010... VER AWESOME!
I am a working mother of 3 boys, ages 10, 8, and 5. I saw my first Thirty-One catalog in August of 2010, and it was love at first sight! :) I can't wait to share my love of Thirty-One with you. Contact me today!Recruits new maid service and house cleaning companies to join our program and become Partners with a heart and soul to offer free house cleaning for women undergoing cancer treatment.
A little crafty blog to document my projects and creations. Custom clothes and accessories for your little one.
The ability to express her vision though the lens has been both enlightening and satisfying. With no extra time to take photography classes, she had to learn everything on her own. Balancing this with her role as mother and wife was difficult , but the hard work resulted in the evolution of her own unique style.
An Up and Coming boutique bakery in the Rogue Valley! Check out our Signature Designer Cupcake line.. [Editor's Note: Only visit this page if you are ready to drool... I have about 7 more weeks of a biggest loser contest and then mama's gunna hop on the Britt's Bake train... then I'll need someone to find me another Biggest loser contest:)]
"Design*Sponge is a daily website dedicated to home and product design run by Brooklyn-based writer, Grace Bonney. Launched in August of 2004, Design*Sponge was declared a “Martha Stewart Living for the Millennials” (NY Times, 2008)"
The European Touch Day Spa:
This is the she she Salon your EMM Gena will be working at one day a week... it's super schmancy and amazing! My hubby got me a massage there for my b-day and it was Heaven!!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Let's Talk Trash...or Not
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| Advice from guest contributor, CindyConner...AKA our EMG-Ma |
It’s our mouths. My mouth, your mouth, our kids mouths. I feel like a prudish ole fuddy duddy when I say this but so be it, it needs to be said. Are we really so illiterate and vocabulary challenged that we must revert to the base line expletives of a drunken sailor? [Editors Note: No Cindy...our brains just don't work fast enough to come up with anything intelligent due to lack of sleep...hehehehe]
My daughters will think this message is aimed at them and before the rest of you get defensive and go all judgmental on me, it is truly not YOUR tongues of which I speak. But if your hackles were rising as you read that last sentence, perhaps you too have room for some self-improvement. Just sayin'. It is my own short-comings that provoked this writing. I use the words 'your' and 'our' in the strictly hypothetical sense of those words. Honest.
I could be wrong here but I think I was a high-school senior before that mother of all bad words ever escaped across my lips. I was no Polly-pure-bred for sure and many other powerhouse obscenities were in my well-used arsenal but I don’t think even I was comfortable with the power packed F-word. Now as a 56-year-old grandmother I shamefully admit, even my oldest grandchildren have witnessed a foul example from granny’s mouth. When did this become ok?
I hear trash-talk from all walks of life. It seeps from the stereo of that miniature low riding car with the tinted windows who is waiting on a red light next to me at the intersection, I hear it at playgrounds, grocery stores, even a maintenance scheduler at a Nissan dealership in Billings Montana whispered it loudly at me when he became frustrated with his own mistake in the computer. Some times it’s considered funny when it shoots out of a toddler’s mouth. I personally am guilty of using it, simply for the humor and shock value. But on a personal level, I’m over it. It is low class at it’s finest and I’m raising the bar.
It becomes so routine and natural to just let it fly, there is no way to realize how many times on a given day we allow it, ever so casually to slide out of our mouths, until, inevitably….. out of the mouths of babes, our babes, it gets used loudly and appropriately. And yes, it is a reflection on us, on our example, on our very limited vocabulary, and on the low standards we have set for ourselves and our children in the privacy of our homes.
Our mouths are our most deadly and damaging weapons. Whether we use it to express ourselves profanely to blow off steam, or to hurt our spouse with cutting sarcasm, or assassinate another person's character with gossip, we are showing our kids what character is or isn't. I had a friend many years ago who had gone on and on to her husband one night about the ugly shoes his sister had bought that day when they shopped together. When her sister-in-law dropped in the next morning wearing said shoes, my friend gushed over them. When she finally took a breath, my friend's 4 year old son said, "No mom remember, you told daddy those were the ugliest shoes you had ever seen!" Awkward doesn't begin to describe this scene. Worst of all my friend's sister-in-law was genuinely crushed. We laugh at stories like this all the time but the reality of it is: "Sticks and stones can break my bones but your words can break my heart."
When my next door little grand boys have a sleep-over with me, they sometimes say "Gramma will you pray to Jesus?" when I tuck them in. I've had days when my answer should be, not with this mouth we can't. Seriously do you kiss your kids with that mouth?
I could be wrong here but I think I was a high-school senior before that mother of all bad words ever escaped across my lips. I was no Polly-pure-bred for sure and many other powerhouse obscenities were in my well-used arsenal but I don’t think even I was comfortable with the power packed F-word. Now as a 56-year-old grandmother I shamefully admit, even my oldest grandchildren have witnessed a foul example from granny’s mouth. When did this become ok?
I hear trash-talk from all walks of life. It seeps from the stereo of that miniature low riding car with the tinted windows who is waiting on a red light next to me at the intersection, I hear it at playgrounds, grocery stores, even a maintenance scheduler at a Nissan dealership in Billings Montana whispered it loudly at me when he became frustrated with his own mistake in the computer. Some times it’s considered funny when it shoots out of a toddler’s mouth. I personally am guilty of using it, simply for the humor and shock value. But on a personal level, I’m over it. It is low class at it’s finest and I’m raising the bar.
It becomes so routine and natural to just let it fly, there is no way to realize how many times on a given day we allow it, ever so casually to slide out of our mouths, until, inevitably….. out of the mouths of babes, our babes, it gets used loudly and appropriately. And yes, it is a reflection on us, on our example, on our very limited vocabulary, and on the low standards we have set for ourselves and our children in the privacy of our homes.
Our mouths are our most deadly and damaging weapons. Whether we use it to express ourselves profanely to blow off steam, or to hurt our spouse with cutting sarcasm, or assassinate another person's character with gossip, we are showing our kids what character is or isn't. I had a friend many years ago who had gone on and on to her husband one night about the ugly shoes his sister had bought that day when they shopped together. When her sister-in-law dropped in the next morning wearing said shoes, my friend gushed over them. When she finally took a breath, my friend's 4 year old son said, "No mom remember, you told daddy those were the ugliest shoes you had ever seen!" Awkward doesn't begin to describe this scene. Worst of all my friend's sister-in-law was genuinely crushed. We laugh at stories like this all the time but the reality of it is: "Sticks and stones can break my bones but your words can break my heart."
When my next door little grand boys have a sleep-over with me, they sometimes say "Gramma will you pray to Jesus?" when I tuck them in. I've had days when my answer should be, not with this mouth we can't. Seriously do you kiss your kids with that mouth?
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Super Star Saturdays... and my mentor Mary Katherine Gallagher
My life is probably the exact opposite of that of a superstar. 98% of my days are spent cleaning up "accidents" (of both the bodily fluid and broken lamp variety), wiping bottoms, cooking and then cleaning up more accidents. In between the mayhem I try to work, but only with the brain power and engery that's left after my boys suck me dry. I love what I do... every most mornings I thank God that I can sit down and work in my jammies with my nappy bedhead. Sometimes I do envy friends who get in their cars showered and dressed, with hot coffee and drive away to a quiet office where they can think and go to the bathroom by themselves.... but I know that would bring it's own bag of troubles and worries and like my friend Katie says "The grass is always greener over the septic tank."
Being a mom is hard, whether you're a stay at home mom, a working mom, a special needs mom, a single mom or even a step mom... I look at so many of my friends (who are super star mommies) and have absolutely no idea how they do it. With this in mind we decided we want to start something call "Super Star Saturdays" Although our name was inspired my hero and mentor, Marry Katherine Gallagher, Super Star Saturdays have nothing to do with making out with trees or smelling your fingers after they've been in your armpits...
Starting THIS SATURDAY, we are encouraging you... our EM friends... to post links on the Earth Monkeys Facebook page to the coolest products/blogs/companies you have come across this past week... you can self promote, promote a friend or just add a link of somthing YOU think is awesome... everything directly related to serving moms and/or kids of course. Our hearts are to create a place where moms can come to check out the newest and coolest of everything every weekend:) We want to promote hardworking moms who blog or own businesses (because we know how hard it is) and mostly we want to help make YOUR life easier ... I can't tell you how many times I see friends with cool gadgets, cute clothes and amazing activities/kids stuff who say they found it all online... so why not pull our resources and list all the goods in one place?? It will help everyone!
Here's the second part... whichever link gets the highest percentage of feedback will get the thrilling, glamorous, highly saught after(ahahahaha) prize of free advertising on our blog for the following week. Hey it's not much, but it's what we got:)
Here's the catch... it can't be anything spammy or we will remove it (no hard feelings... that's just not what we're going for) Also pleaseno viagra, porn links to anything skanky... let's keep it PG-13 ish:)... Yup that's it... no spam no skankishness ... anything else goes!!
More than anything we just want this to be another way for us all to connect and help eachother out, Lord knows mamas can use all of the help we can get! Can I get an Amen??:) See you Saturday:)
Being a mom is hard, whether you're a stay at home mom, a working mom, a special needs mom, a single mom or even a step mom... I look at so many of my friends (who are super star mommies) and have absolutely no idea how they do it. With this in mind we decided we want to start something call "Super Star Saturdays" Although our name was inspired my hero and mentor, Marry Katherine Gallagher, Super Star Saturdays have nothing to do with making out with trees or smelling your fingers after they've been in your armpits...Starting THIS SATURDAY, we are encouraging you... our EM friends... to post links on the Earth Monkeys Facebook page to the coolest products/blogs/companies you have come across this past week... you can self promote, promote a friend or just add a link of somthing YOU think is awesome... everything directly related to serving moms and/or kids of course. Our hearts are to create a place where moms can come to check out the newest and coolest of everything every weekend:) We want to promote hardworking moms who blog or own businesses (because we know how hard it is) and mostly we want to help make YOUR life easier ... I can't tell you how many times I see friends with cool gadgets, cute clothes and amazing activities/kids stuff who say they found it all online... so why not pull our resources and list all the goods in one place?? It will help everyone!
Here's the second part... whichever link gets the highest percentage of feedback will get the thrilling, glamorous, highly saught after
Here's the catch... it can't be anything spammy or we will remove it (no hard feelings... that's just not what we're going for) Also please
More than anything we just want this to be another way for us all to connect and help eachother out, Lord knows mamas can use all of the help we can get! Can I get an Amen??:) See you Saturday:)
Monday, January 10, 2011
From zits to wrinkles, freckles to fungus...REALLY?????
I had the joy of experiencing my first zit at the age of 19. Now those of you that struggled through high school with a face full of them are probably thinking "lucky!!!" But for me, it has taken 20 years, a truckload of antibiotics, bathtubs of benzoil peroxide, washes, scrubs, lotions, ointments, homeopathic remedies and special diets, it's finally gone. Basically I got to experience my 2 weddings, my 2 children's births, beauty school, 2 careers, my 21st., 25th, 30th and 35th birthdays, covered in zits! Fun...The great part is, they are gone, the bad part is, now I'm fighting the wrinkle battle! So not fair!!! At this point in my life, my bathroom cabinet resembles that of a 65 year old wrinkled, puberty struck, "cousin Eddies son", freckled freak of nature. I have RetinA for the acne (yes that is what FINALLY got rid of it!), Tri-luma to fade the freckles (sounds much better than "age spots!"), arnica cream for the aching arthritis in my knuckles, and this is the shudder part...an anti-fungal used on jock itch and athletes foot! There I said it! I had to use something men used on their
Funny what a little vanity does...Ya I'm not afraid to admit to being just a little bit vain...We are bombarded by skinny, plastic looking 16 year olds on tv and magazines selling us "old girls" living in the real world, foundation that makes us look 13.6 years younger, and eye creams that will for sure make us look like we actually have slept for more than 3 hours in a row, and cream to rub on our butts to that will make them look like my 5 year olds! But the reality? That type of magic doesn't really exist! We can fill our drawers with 15 different creams and still scare ourselves when we look in the mirror in the morning! We will have lines when we smile, (I'm ok with a lot from that!) furrows when we yell at our kids (not that I ever do that! right...) and no amount of sunscreen with ward off those pesky
I want to know what is in your bathroom drawer...make me feel better now...
and remember to share us with your friends! Us moms need each other!!
Facebook Login Labels: appearance, complaining, embarrassment, humor
Friday, January 7, 2011
Mommy Chic: How to glam up any boring outfit with simple accessories...
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| Clearly she needs Jamie's help! |
From Frumpy Geek To Mommy Chic...
Tips On Accessorizing From Jamie at Bohemian Jones
Tips On Accessorizing From Jamie at Bohemian Jones
Here’s how it works...Edit for Impact: If you have an eye catching piece
such as a bold necklace, a cuff, or big earrings,
let it be the focus and keep everything else to a minimum.
Mix it Up:
Toss out the matchy-matchy theory… head to toe of any scheme is never fun! Instead try simple unexpected pairings such as mixing metals, a single pop of color from a cocktail ring or pendant! Another great contrast is mixing feminine and masculine textiles, but again “edit for impact” on this one!
Know Spatial Relations:
You want your accessories to be a focal point, but don’t clutter yourself in them. Keep your distance between pieces. If you’re wearing a cocktail ring, don’t wear other smaller rings (except your wedding ring of course), or if you’re wearing a multi-strand necklace, don’t wear long earrings.
You get the idea!
Go-to’s:
Trends are always fun to keep up with, but for us busy moms putting on a fun chunky necklace is the farthest thing from our minds when we’re headed to the grocery store! This is where staple pieces are great, usually in forms of metals & sparkly diamonds or crystals! Hoops are a personal favorite “go-to” when I’m running out the door! I refer to it as “faking effort”, while others may call it “effortless chic”! Throw on a pair of hoops with a cute hat or scarf and “wha-la” you make “mommy-hood” look chic with a little sparkle! (editors note: this works unless you are at the grocery store with Linz and I, people run from our chaos too quickly to notice anything but blurrrr!)
Here’s how to nab them:
Write a Facebook post on your wall that includes tags to both Bohemian Jones and Earth Monkey’s The crazy lucky winner will be chosen at random today!
(***Here’s how to tag someone on FB: While typing your post hit the “@” key and start typing the name of the person and your contact list will appear… click the name and you’re done!**)
To check out more of Jamie's amazing designs at Bohemian Jones... You can check out there website at: www.bohemianjones.com or on facebook
(***Here’s how to tag someone on FB: While typing your post hit the “@” key and start typing the name of the person and your contact list will appear… click the name and you’re done!**)
To check out more of Jamie's amazing designs at Bohemian Jones... You can check out there website at: www.bohemianjones.com or on facebook
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Daring to dream...in the midst of utter chaos
Have you ever thought of something you'd love to do... that you're good at... that you're passionate about, only to put it out of your mind a nano-second later because it seems like too big of a dream...too overwhelming, too time consuming, or too [enter whatever excuse you want here]?? I have, too many times to count.
Last April Gena and I were trying to load our CRAZY(!!!) monkeys into the car after a
Gena didn't even know what a blog was 9 months ago and I have never followed through with anything... EVER(this includes but is not limited to recipes, any sort of directions or crafty projects)!! Still, in spite of ourselves, next week our first line of eco friendly bibs, pacifier holders and changing pads will be here... well they'll be at Gena's house, in her spare room.... all 30,000 of them... hold on I need to go hyperventilate... It's terrifying and exciting all at once. The past nine months have been a chaotic circus. So many times we just had to look at each other and laugh (to keep from crying) as we designed, planned, reworked and re-reworked our company with screaming kids crawling up our legs. When we'd meet during the day, desperately trying to get things done, our kids would poop on the floor, fight, bite, and pee on each other. We tried meeting at night after the kids were in bed, but our dialog went something like this.... "Ummmmm, hmmmm... I know I was going to tell you something... OH!... no that wasn't it." and the other one would answer with a yawn and a blank stare in a total mommy stupor. We know nothing about the retail industry, or manufacturing or overseas shipping, or marketing (Thank the good Lord for Google)... but we had a dream and we're a little nuts... so we just went for it. We haven't sold a single piece yet... we still have what feels like a million details to take care of in a very short mount of time... and I'm sitting here shocked and amazed that this is actually going to happen... it's a great feeling... one I never would have felt if I hadn't let go of my desire for comfort and control.
So today, if you're a stay at home mom... a work at home mom... or a work at work mom... I hope you can think about something you've always wanted to do... and just start doing it... even if you have crazy monkeys and no time to yourself, even if you have no money or resources. Because it's amazing what happens when we stop settling for "manageable mayhem" and just dare to dream... It's a new year and a great time to let go of fears and baggage and be the person God created you to be... so join us here at crazy, and just go for it!
Watch for the Earth Monkeys official launch soon!! Here are just a few of our products, all made 100% from recycled plastic bottles (*carabiners made from recycled aluminum).... Freaking out here... ok I'm breathing again... I guess no one said it wouldn't be scary:)
Facebook Login Labels: dreams, earth monkeys, fulfillment, funny, kids, life, motherhood
Monday, January 3, 2011
Too rebellious for New Years Resolutions...I prefer real change!!
I want to look back over my life and be able to say that I succeeded in the most important things that I committed to doing. For me, this is having a successful marriage (I'm on #2 and will not have a #3!!) and raising my kids to be generous, caring, compassionate, productive adults!!! I do, of course have a long list of other important things I want to accomplish, but these top it. I need to admit that lately I have been struggling in both of these areas. I know what I want them to look like, but have been at a loss of what to do to improve either. Let me just say that I have read almost every marriage, and raising children type books, I have talked to wise friends, and even a counselor...but up until reading this week, nothing prompted real change. 
The book is called "The 10 greatest gifts I give my children". I'm not going to go into what it's about, you're just going to have to trust me and read it for yourself...I do want to mention in one chapter though, the author talks about just how much kids are shaped by their parents and how they learn directly by watching (and hearing) us...take for instance yesterday when my 2 year old said to me "mommy mad!" I said "no honey, mommy not mad" to which he responded "mommy mad, mommy say "holy crap!"oops....but also about 15 times a day he says "I love you sooooo much! It's a beautiful day!" Thats the point...they learn to be just like us! Take just a minute to think about you, your spouse, or your best friend and see how many of their traits are identical to their parents.....It's scary actually!!! (Just a thought...if your not married, you might want to do a little "home visit" before you say "I do"!)
I'm going to leave you with the simple, (and if you let it be)"life changing" statement the author concluded one chapter with. Please comment below and tell us what this means to you. If you have trouble commenting, please click the link to our facebook page and post it on our wall there. Here we go...
Be the kind of person you want your children to become...
Be the kind of person you want your children to become...
Be the kind of person you want your children to become...
Be the kind of person you want your children to become...
Be the kind of person you want your children to become...
Facebook Login Labels: change, kids, motherhood, parenting, resolutions
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