Am I going to make it?!

Thru this parenting thing, I mean?! Sometimes I feel so inadequate! If you are a parent reading this blog, do you ever feel like that?! There are a few things I hope for in my kids, that they love God, that they love each other, and that they love others. Of course I also hope that they excel in their schooling or activities, and that they are in general well behaved kids, but if I can accomplish those first few things, then I think the others will maybe fall into place. I am placing myself in the world of failure right now, and I hate it. I know it’s just a funk I am in, and I know that in a few days things will be easier – it just seems to be the natural cycle here for us, but I hate the here and now. What does this stem from, you ask? Well, today the gymnastics instructor had to pull me and another mom aside and said that some not so nice words were being exchanged between one of my girls and the other girl. The words “Jesus doesn’t love you anymore” or something to that matter. Our gymnastics instructor is a Christian, so I don’t think she took that lightly and nor do I. I was steaming mad. I had a major talk with “said” child about it, and about how it hurt me to hear my child speak like that to anyone and how that is not true because Jesus/God made everyone on earth and loves everyone – and how we know that to be true. So hard to explain why that is such a terrible thing to say to someone. I just feel like I am doing an inadequate job at raising my kids. Often times I feel like we don’t have control of them and that they whine and complain too much, and I don’t know how to make it stop without yelling at them (which I am sure is not the way to teach them). The disrespect they have for Kyle and I at times is not acceptable to me, but I don’t know how to teach them that – I tell them, but it doesn’t seem to sink in. Are they too young to really get it yet? Am I expecting too much out of them for their age? Just some of the things I am struggling with right now. I know in the scheme of life and in comparison to what some moms are struggling with right now, it is sooooo not a big thing, and again…this too shall pass.

I am still without a job, I think I am going on 4 weeks now. It' is funny how when I was working I always thought "I think I will get bored staying at home all week”, and now I am thinking quite opposite. I wish I was bored! We have definitely been keeping busy! I always used to chuckle when I would hear retired people talk about how they are more busy in retirement than they were while working. I never understood how that can be, but now I understand! I think you just busy yourself with other things! I don’t miss having to get out so early in the morning with the three girls, but I miss working just a little bit. I have had more time to workout and take care of myself, though, which I love! Money/budgeting is tighter of course, but it helps a little now that we don’t need to buy diapers, and I have still be doing my coupon saving as well! Today I ran to Family Fare during gymnastics because I had a $10 register coupon that I needed to use and I needed just a few things. I bought 2 Tropicana OJ’s, 2 Classico pasta sauces, a box of lasagna noodles, and a box of texas toast and I paid only .48 cents! I was grinning from ear to ear walking out of there, and I think the cashier and bagger lady thought I was robbing the place, but with the $10 Catalina coupon and a coupon for most of the other items, it was all legit, and the grocery store still gets the money back from the companies of the coupons! It’s a win-win! Last week I did Meijer and got just a TON of stuff for under $80!

And of course I have new fun LO’s to show you! What would a post by me be without some layouts?!

These first two are made with Shabby Miss Jenn Designs:

And this batch is done with mostly The-Lilypad goodies

And this is just another for my Disney album:

Ciao! Here’s to a better end to the week than the beginning to the week!

MandaKay

Cotton Candy By Natalie

Don’t you just love Cotton Candy? I know I do, and now I have another reason to love Cotton Candy! I am lovin’ Cotton Candy By Natalie! Natalie makes the original Reversible Camera Strap made out of cute fabrics! I have been eyeing these camera straps now for a while – and more recently I have been introduced to Natalie’s straps. You see the straps I had seen prior to this were actually fabric covers for your existing camera strap, and I just wasn’t sure that is what I wanted. So, when I had heard about Natalie’s fabric straps and how they were actually a new strap to attach to your camera, I was really excited. The thing about me though…I don’t buy ANYTHING without quite a bit of thought. I don’t spend a ton of money on “extras”, so when I do I want to really be sure I want it! Sometimes I wish I wasn’t that way! Sometimes I am glad I am that way. Anyway, guess what?! I WON this strap from a blog giveaway!!! I don’t know if I have ever really won anything this good before! I have won some very small things, but nothing so nice as this! I sign up for giveaways ALL the time – I’m talking daily! LOL! I was beyond excited! So first of all I need to say Thank You to Gussy (who sounds like an amazingly sweet, creative, lovely soul), and especially to Natalie – for offering up one of her creations! Here is the strap I chose: Purple Paisley and Flowers (mind you I had to take these photos with my old point and shoot, and it SUCKS!)

It’s all I would have wanted and more! It’s sturdy and really well crafted! My theory behind picking this specific one is two fold. 1. I wear brown and black at different times, and I wanted a strap that would match both. Yeah – I’m kind of a nut like that. 2. I love purple. I always have. Think I always will!

So, remember be saying sometimes I wished I wasn’t such a thinker when it came to spending money…well this is one of those times, because had I bought a strap back when I first saw Cotton Candy by Natalie’s straps, I would have been a happier person even earlier! :) I seriously smile when I look at my camera now – it’s more “me” now! Fabric and music – two non-living things that can stir up emotion in me.

So, go…check out Natalie’s Etsy Shop and become a fan on facebook for specials!

On a more serious note, my heart has just been continually tugged on for some women and a family that I know, and for the hardships they are going thru. The B. Family (Lynette fighting Breast Cancer), The V.S. Family (Jackson fighting a blood disease and right now specifically weakness due to inflammation around the brain), and the V.B. family (Lindy in the final stages of battling breast cancer ie. finishing chemo and heading into the reconstruction, but as of tonight going thru tests in regards to a brain tumor found) I don’t want to give full last names without permission and I obviously don’t even know the half of what is going on with these people, but I KNOW that God hears our prayers, and if you could join me in saying a prayer for these people I would appreciate it and I know so would they! God knows what they need right now in this moment. It is so tough to hear the struggles of these amazing people, and I wish I could do so much more than pray, but for right now that is what I am doing, and asking you to join me!

And on that note, one thing I am going to do in September is to run the Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure, and if you are interested in supporting me in the run that would be great! I am running for Team Bell – and it sounds like the team is 88 people strong right now and our goal is $3,000 and we are already over $2,000 raised. Here is the info:

LOCALLY PRESENTED BY:

Komen Grand Rapids Race for the Cure^{®
September 25, 2010}

Dear Friends and Family,

I recently accepted the challenge to raise funds to support the Komen Grand Rapids Race for the Cure® on September 25th in the fight against breast cancer. One in eight women will be stricken with breast cancer in her lifetime and the more we raise, the more the Grand Rapids Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure can give back to fund vital breast cancer education, screening and treatment programs in our own community and support the national search for a cure. If you would like to see how the money is being spent, you can read about the grant programs that were funded this year by the Grand Rapids Komen Affiliate. 75% of the money raised stays right here in our local West Michigan Community while the remaining 25% supports the national research program.

Click here to visit my personal page and pledge your support.

Please join me in the fight by pledging in support of my participation in the Race or contributing generously to the Komen Grand Rapids Race for the Cure®. Your tax-deductible contribution will fund innovative outreach and awareness programs for medically underserved communities in the West Michigan area and national breast cancer research. It is faster and easier than ever to support this great cause - you can make a donation online by simply clicking on the link at the bottom of this message. If you would prefer, you can also send your tax-deductible contribution to the address listed below. Whatever you can give will help! I truly appreciate your support and will keep you posted on my progress.

Thank you so much for your time and support in the fight against breast cancer! Every step counts!

Sincerely,

AmandaH.

To sponsor my participation online, click here.

Thanks, and again, so sorry for the lengthy post!

MandaKay

Weekend recap & other stuff

So much to highlight since I last wrote! We’ve had a fun couple of weekends! One big thing happening in our lives is that I am currently unemployed. I am not sure how I feel about this yet. I am super sad about losing a job that I LOVED, and sad that the economy has taken it’s toll on the company I worked for. I had worked there for quite a few years – on and off since before I had Braelyn. Anyway – summer is obviously a fairly good time to be home with the kids! I am looking for a part time job though, so I will keep you posted on how that goes!

Two weekends ago we had a wedding to attend for a cousin of mine, and it was fun to get out and see family and go out with no kids! Here is Kyle and I before the wedding

And during the week last week I decided to try to potty train my 3rd (final) child! I figured since I wasn’t working any longer I could save money by potty training Gracyn! I loosely followed the 3 Day Method – letting Gracyn run around all day basically sans clothes/diaper. She thought it was fun and special to do that! I just told her that if she wants to go potty that she can tell me and we can go on the toilet. Low and behold she totally did just that! Not just once, but all day the first day. She had no accidents all day. She did wear a pull-up at nap and bedtime of course. So Wed. and Thurs. she did great. and then Thurs. we headed out for camping and I just figured that she would wear pull-ups/diapers all weekend while camping. And she did, but she actually told us before going potty almost the whole weekend!!! Only once or twice did she go in her pull-up! I am so proud of her! She loves it too. Oh yeah, we have used the treat bribe as well, which helps a bit too! ;) I picked right back up on Sunday and today and I think it’s safe to say she is potty trained! Wore big girl undies all day, and told us each time she needed to go – # 1 and #2!!! To say I am excited is an understatement! We have been buying diapers for a little over 6 years straight – no breaks in there! And a few of those years we were buying diapers for two! I am so glad to be done changing diapers, and to be done buying diapers! I think we are going to celebrate by taking Gracyn to Chuck-E-Cheese for her big girl party!

And now for our camping pictures! We borrow my mom’s inherited motor home to go camping usually once or twice a year. This year we decided to try out Grand Haven State Park because we thought it would be great to be right by downtown Grand Haven and right on the beach. We were a little bit upset right upon arrival because of the extra $42 we had to spend on State park passes for both the motor home and for our vehicle. I guess we were expecting at least the motor home to be covered under the cost of camping there – just like a travel trailer is, but no. So after we got over that we got all set up. Some major storms were happening south of Grand Haven, so we hunkered down and got the kids to bed and went to be ourselves – no fire.

stormy skies:

the sweet Travel Craft

(I so need a class on taking night pictures by the way – they NEVER turn out and I play around a TON with my settings!)
The next morning Kyle went to work and I hung out with the girls. It was very humid and still pretty wet, so we laid pretty low. We did go for a walk to check out the beach/boardwalk, and I got some fun pics!

Yeah – she’s crazy for crazy bands (Thanks Sadie!) ;)

By the way – did you notice in the last few pics of Selah that she has bangs?! Yeah – I didn’t do that! And I have always been adamant on no bangs on my girls. Grrr. :)

We enjoyed lunch together too – for some reason lunch together while camping is more fun?!

And then I put the girls to work. We had SOOOOO many green and yellow beans and we didn’t know what to do with them, so I decided to take them camping and I set up a table for the girls to sell the beans! Told them that the money they made they could use for ice cream that night! I think they sold like $8 worth, so not a ton, but I think it covered their ice cream! They got pretty bored with it, but it was a fun lesson in entrepreneurship. And we figured some people might just love fresh garden beans to cook with their camp dinners!

Kyle finally came back from working and Braelyn and he played catch for a while (I had played with her too while the other girls napped – she loves catch on the beach)

After naps and dinner we decided to head out to the real beach to do a little jumping of waves.

Selah was crazy in the water – almost too comfortable! She would dip her head right into the water – this is the best pic I could get of it because she was being so crazy!

After that we got cleaned up and went for a walk on the boardwalk to get ice cream. When we were leaving we saw and heard a bunch of police and an ambulance coming into the state park. We had heard chatter that there was a person struggling in the water. We decided to go on and get our ice cream, but we kept hearing new sirens and saw the dive team trailer fly past. Kyle is very intrigued with this kind of stuff, so he wanted to get back (instead of head down to watch the Musical Fountain). We decided to do so, and upon arriving back on the beach we had seen the Human Chain doing their search and numerous Sherrif’s boats and Coast Gaurd boats searching the waters. It was a very disheartening experience. Everyone on the beach was very quiet, the sky was eerie looking as a storm was looming, and sun was setting. We stayed and watched for quite some time, and then decided we better get the kids to bed. After getting them to bed we each took turns going down to the beach watching the rescue efforts. The Coast Guard helicopter came in and was flying right over the beach/water – again amazing to watch and yet very very frightening. The story written by the paper is here. Such a sad night, and I continue to pray for that family.

Saturday morning at the campground was pretty quiet. The girls slept in pretty good, and we made a little breakfast, played in the sand by our camper, and kind of got bored. We decided at 4:00 to head home and take good showers and give the girls a good bath because we wanted to go out for dinner that night. Kyle’s parents called us and wanted to come out and visit, so we told them they should join us for dinner. We met back at the campgrounds by about 6:30 and walked up to Snug Harbor for dinner. And of course ice cream on the way back up the boardwalk! After putting the kids to bed they joined us around a fire for a bit. It was a great evening.

Sunday morning we woke up, had breakfast, and packed up. Lunch at my mom’s and a pretty relaxing rest of the day, except for the 4 loads of laundry!

And that’s that! Pretty long winded huh?! I only have a few LO’s to share. The first two are quickpages that Jacque put together and they are on sale at TLP for only .99 now thru tomorrow (Tadpole Tue.) I did both of these LO’s in about 20 min. start to finish! I love that! That’s only .25 cents per LO!!! WOW – there is no way you could do a paper scrapped LO for $1.25 (factored in the .99 cents to print it in 8 x 8)!

And a gorgeous kit by CD Muckosky: Together

Oooo…this yummy collab by Shabby Miss Jenn Designs and Kate Hadfield is a must have too!!! This kit is HUGE and would encompass so many different summer activities and so many other things as well!

Alright, alright…I am done! Whew, it’s getting late and I have a few things to wrap up! Hope you enjoyed reliving our camping trip with us! ;)

MandaKay

Summer activities

Summer is in full swing and I LOVE it! I am loving all the heat, I am loving all of the fresh fruits and veggies we have been having, I am loving the ice cream shop nights, just everything about summer in Michigan is great! Here are just a few pictures of some of the fun stuff we have been doing!

A little John Deere fun on a country summer night – with ice cream!

I am not so sure this is a good idea, but leave it to Dad to do dangerous things!

Summer treats/baking!

Fires with S’mores!

fishing as a family

friends and summer camp!

picking blueberries

making fresh blueberry pie (oooo…might need to go pick more blueberries, b/c I could eat this every night!)

Raspberry picking!

tv dinners!

Lots of fun going on, and I am still doing my photo a day too – so lots of pictures being taken, and although I have still not mastered my camera I have definitely been enjoying capturing memories!

And a few LO’s to post too!

I’ve had a lot of fun with the July BYOC at the Lilypad (I think about 3-4 of these LO’s were done with various pieces of that!)

I hope your summers are going well and not flying by too quickly for you!

MandaKay