Jewelry & Romance Contest Reminder

Ladies,

Don't forget about WeaverMom's contest. You could be wearing this lovely, handmade jewelry set from Bead-Attitudes!!!



All you have to do is:

1. Post about your most romantic time with your husband since your kids came into your life. Please mention that you would like to win the necklace from Bead-attitude with a link to her site, and include a link back to WeaverMom's post which can be found HERE so others can find more romantic moments.

2. Come back and add your link to your "romantic" post to Mr. Linky.

3. Leave a comment with a question for "Wednesdays with WeaverMom"

HURRY! Contest ends soon!

You are what you think you are

The story is told of a man who found an eagle's egg and put it into the nest of a barnyard chicken. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them. All his life, the eagle did what the chickens did. It scratched the dirt for seeds and insects to eat. It clucked and cackled. And it flew no more than a few feet off the ground, in a chicken-like thrashing of wings and flurry of feathers.

One day the eagle saw a magnificent bird far above him in the cloudless sky. He watched as the bird soared gracefully on the wind, gliding through the air with scarcely a beat of its powerful wings.

"What a beautiful bird," the young eagle said. "What is it called?"

The chicken next to him said, "Why, that's an eagle - the king of all birds. But don't give him any mind. You could never be like him."

So the young eagle returned to pecking the dirt for seeds, and it died thinking it was a chicken.

What you think of your own potential not only defines who you are today, but what you will be tomorrow. Find your confidence and strength in God and soar like the eagle!

God's Little Lessons for Mothers

I Challenge You...Go Figure

Three weeks ago I blogged about my apple cider concoction, I started taking it the following Thursday (I had to order it online.) I've been taking it 1-3 times a day, almost everyday since it arrived. Plus, I'm walking 15-20 minutes three times a week. I haven't been eating as healthy as I'd like to, but I have been downsizing and trying to avoid the BAD fat.

After my semi-healthier life I decided to see how fit...or unfit I really was. I have to admit I was a little over confident in myself, so I challenged my children and nephews (ages 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 4, 4) to a race. My goal wasn't to win the race, it was to see if I could keep up with the youngsters. WHAT was I THINKING??? I ate their DUST! They whooped me....Go Figure;)

So, now I'm challenging YOU! I would like you to challenge your child/children to a race...not to win, but to:

A) Have FUN with your child/children and B) See if you can honestly keep up, and that includes all you mommies with 1 and 2 year olds. I didn't race my 2yo, but he's hard to keep up with.

**A little tip: STRETCH OUT BEFORE ATTEMPTING THIS!!!

I believe from this challenge you will benefit from 2 things, a little exercise and most importantly, time with your child/children! The memories will last a LIFETIME :)

Attitude adjustments. They're not just for kids.

One day a person in my house woke up with a bad attitude. She walked around with a frown on her face. She was frustrated at the other family members. She yelled, she had temper tantrums. She admitted that she was wrong for her behavior, but she didn’t change. In fact, I think she enjoyed the way yelling made her feel. It released some of her irritability. But, later, she would feel bad about it and wish she hadn’t done it.

I noticed her attitude was affecting the other family members. They began to fuss
with each other, walk around with sullen, frowny faces and make rude comments to each other. There was more fighting. This went on for several days. I’m ashamed to admit, I let it go on for almost two weeks.

What would you have done? How would you discipline this individual? How long might this behavior gone on in your house?

What if the person with the bad attitude was you?

I was preoccupied with the upcoming yard sale, trying to paint my bedroom along with the usual daily activities like doing lessons and preparing meals. I wasn’t handling it very well, but I kept pushing along, determined to do everything no matter how bad things got. I was making a kid cry almost every day. I felt irritable, imposed upon, my fuse was very short and my attitude was very bad.

First, I blamed my kids. They were so needy. They wanted food, clean clothes, and even attention from me! I couldn’t do everything, why couldn't they understand? They were fussing with each other more, talking back to me and not completing chores. I was yelling, threatening and punishing, but nothing was working. Instead of improving relationships, I was tearing them apart.

When I hurt my daughter’s feelings in church one Sunday and she hid in her room most of the afternoon sobbing on her bed, I realized I was the problem and I needed to change my attitude.

Have you ever noticed that when you have a bad attitude everyone around you has one too? That’s what was happening in my house. I was too busy to set limits, so bedtime slipped into anytime. Chore time disappeared, and being respectful to one another was rare. I was too busy to enforce discipline, so I began to yell, make unreasonable demands and expect them to do what I wanted them to do without taking the time to explain anything.

I was very close to a nomination for worst mother of the year.

What changed? When I finally realized I was the problem, I prayed for help. I started opening my eyes to the harsh words I was using and the negative comments I was making. I re-read Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining and Bad Attitudes in You and Your Kids! By Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller. (And boy did I need that refresher course.) I apologized to my kids, and I struggled. It’s not easy to be calm, rational and giving.

Things are still not perfect; they never will be. It’s hard being the parent. I get discouraged. I get irritable. Some days I want to call a time-out and just stop being the mom for a few hours. It’s so much easier to let the sassy talk go rather than apply discipline. It’s easier to zone out than pay attention. But I’m trying. And it’s amazing what changing my attitude has done for the rest of the family. If I am on top of things, they don’t push the rules quite so much. If I am free with the affection and love, they aren’t whiny and needy all the time. And if I’m communicating with my kids instead of yelling demands, they are able to come to me, to open their hearts to me, and that’s the kind of relationship I want to grow within my family.

It’s amazing what a little adjustment can do.

Featured Multi-Tasking Mom

Summer from Summer's Nook is the featured Multi-Tasking Mom this month. Summer had some great multi-tasking ideas starting with this great recipe.

Summer says, "In our house, it's hard finding a delicious meal for mom and dad that the kids will eat too. But this is one even our picky 4 year old loves. Plus it's very easy to make. We serve the crescents with gravy on top and mashed potatoes and green beans on the side."

Chicken Crescents

2 to 3 large chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
3 oz. Cream cheese with chives
1 package garlic or herb croutons, crushed
4 ounces walnuts, very finely chopped
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 packages Pilsbury Crescent Rolls

1. Preheat oven to 375

2. Combine the croûtons and walnuts; set aside

3. Combine the cooked chicken and cream cheese; set aside

4. On a cookie sheet separate the crescent rolls from each other. Spoon about 3 teaspoons of the chicken mixture into each crescent and roll up. Seal the edges.

5. Coat each crescent with the melted butter, and roll in the crouton mixture, coating well.

6. Space at least 1 inch apart on cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes or till golden brown.

That sounds delicious! And so easy. Next, Summer had a favorite clean-up product that I also find myself using with all too much frequency - Goo Gone. Summer calls it, "an all organic miracle cleaner. From sticker and tape residue, to sap on the car windows, to grease splatter in the kitchen, this stuff takes care of the tough stuff!" She's right. I've used it on enough sticker incidents to know. More recently I've used it for a silly putty on sheets incident and it worked!

Finally, Summer wowed me with her personal multi-tasking tip:

"Though I could list many great multi-tasking ideas, I think the one crucial to becoming a good multi-tasker is self-discipline. Before we can put great multi-tasking ideas to use, we have to have the will power to follow through. To just buckle down and do it, even when it seems overwhelming. It gets easier as you practice consistency, follow through, goal setting and establishing priorities. I love multi-tasking. I feel that it is almost a form of art for me. How much can I juggle at once, how gracefully can I do it and how quickly? I love the feeling I get when I am successful at it."

Congratulations Summer! Email us your address and we will send you your Orderly Mom Notebook. The prize for next month's winner will be a $25 gift certificate and a pair of earrings from Shana Logic. To find out more about being a featured multi-tasking mom, see this post.

I think you should know:

When I brought my son home from the hospital I was thrilled, but tired. Sure, I was tired when I brought my daughter home too, but I wasn't THIS tired. My fatigue was not short lived and my son was soon showing signs of colic. His colic would show it's ugly head from 10 pm - 2 am or so. This was not helpful to creating a peaceful home. Meanwhile, my 18 month old daughter began to have an ear infection.

Three antibiotics later, for my daughter, and she was as stopped up and as green as the first day of her ear infection. My fatigue was growing and felt unending. On my 6 week visit, I mentioned the fatigue to my OB-GYN and his response was, "Welcome to Motherhood." Needless to say I was less than thrilled with his willingness to help me in my time of need.

Our pediatrician had no remedy for JB's colic and HC's ears were headed toward tubes. I was falling apart. I began to cry out to God. I knew there had to be a remedy. I knew I could not remain as tired as I was and make it. I was overwhelmed. I 'found' a healthy TV program and it was full of ideas for better health, but I didn't know what we should do. We went to the health food store and I bought a few calming herbal teas to drink, with hopes that the affects would soothe my son. He was nursing.

The health food store clerk began to list off all the things I should take and give my kids. In the moment of exhaustion, and having no answers, I bought everything she suggested. I then went home and cried in fear. I was about to give my kids supplements with a label that basically suggested 'I was treating us at my own risk'. Frightening, to say the least.

My husband went to work and felt as overwhelmed as I was. He knew I was at my limit. A couple called his restaurant to order food to-go and waited in the lobby as their meals were prepared. (Enter our God moment.) Hubby began chatting with them and the female was pregnant. Hubby began telling of my recent fatigue, HC's poor health and JB's inconsolable crying from 10 pm - 2 am.

The man, who happened to order to-go with his pregnant wife, was a PhD doctor of nutrition. He began asking my husband loads of questions and began diagnosing me. His assumptions were spot on. After he saw us, and diagnosed us officially, he prescribed supplements and a specific diet. Everything he said lined up with the TV program I found and the sales clerk at the health food store. We were relieved and felt at peace following his instructions. We had an official plan, with supervision.

I began taking the supplements, changed my diet and within 3 days I felt 100% better (not to mention JB suddenly stopped his colic). Hallelujah!! We gave HC and JB probiotics (LifeStart by Natren) and HC's ear infection, that would not go away, was gone. She has not been sick since and she used to catch everything that was floating in the air. Here we are 2.5 years later and my kids are healthy and well. Our pediatrician is amazed that JB hasn't had but one ear infection ever. (This ear infection came about when we stopped the probiotics for a few months. We haven't let that happen since.)

So, I think every mom should know about Probiotics at the very least! It has proved a good decision for us. As for me, my supplements were temporary. The PhD doctor said I had an adrenal depletion because of 2 pregnancies in such a short period of time. After following his diet and supplements, I was back to me.

If you are feeling down or you know your kids have been constantly ill - you can find other methods for treating them. I suggest you cover it with prayer and let God show you the way you should go. My story is tailor made for our family BUT - God will do the same for you!! I do not suggest you do what we did, which is why I left out the specifics. I think you should know: there are other choices out there. You know your family best, follow your instincts and seek wisdom.

Proverbs 3:13 Blessed is the man who finds wisdom.

Proverbs 3:18 She(wisdom) is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed.

Recipe Roundup: You're A Peach!

Mmmm...peaches! They're deliciously sweet and juicy, and readily available this time of year. At our house, we fill our fruit bowl with them and eat them as a healthy snack all week long. Because my family enjoys them so much, I'm always looking for new ways to use them in sweet and savory recipes.

One of my favorites is Clara's Peach Cake. This easy-to-prepare recipe uses ingredients that are already in your pantry; all you need to add are some fresh, ripe peaches! This cake is great as a breakfast or brunch dish, or served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream as the perfect ending to a savory meal. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!


Clara's Peach Cake

Crust:

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup milk

Combine dry ingredients in medium mixing bowl. Cut in butter. Add milk and pat into ungreased 9" x 13" pan.

Peel, pit, and slice 7 peaches. Layer peaches on top of crust, and sprinkle with 1/2 cup sugar.

Topping:

1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
dash salt
1/2 cup butter

Crumble mixture together with hands. Place on top of fruit.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for approximately 50 minutes, or until top just begins to turn golden brown. Enjoy!


Now it's your turn! Do you have a favorite peach recipe you'd like to share? Use the Mr. Linky below to add your recipe! If you don't have a blog, please leave your recipe in the comments section. And, don't forget to come back for next week's Recipe Roundup: Breakfast Items.