She Is Hiding Something

Funny Stuff I Hear

B came to me and told me that a bad dream he had one night came back the next night. Before I could respond, A shouted out, "Oh, it's like the next episode!"

L walked into our office dressed for church, with a stuffed to overflowing purse and applying lip gloss and said, "I love being a mom!" She had earlier told me she really wanted lip gloss in her purse so she could be like a mom.

L was walking around the house wearing a backpack. I asked what she was doing and she informed me that, "I am going to Greece." Then she added, "I am Rick Steves' sister."

L often says things like, "Her honey is off to war" or "Her honey is away with the army." when she plays with her dolls and stuffed animals. Such is life for a military family...

Sipping Chocolate

In the "to go" cup.

In the "sit and stay awhile" cup.

At the Chocolate Box there is the most amazing beverage. Sipping Chocolate. Or, as I call it, Liquid Heaven. Seriously, this stuff is incredible, if you are a chocolate lover, that is.

So, now I am on a search for the recipe. The first one I tried was a big disappointment. But I am no quitter! I won't give up. I will make my own sipping chocolate, oh, yes, I will!

Beeswax Birthday Candles

I kid you not! I was recently wondering if someplace sold beeswax birthday candles and I came across this web page a day later. They sell beeswax birthday candles! Along with a bunch of other super cool stuff.

So, here is how I came to wonder about beeswax birthday candles. We had recently celebrated a birthday in our family and I noticed that we were almost out of birthday candles. I typically have a rather large supply of them on hand. After one too many last minute runs to the store,the day of a birthday party, to get candles, I stocked up. And that stock has now run out. As I stood, camera in hand, watching my children lick off the frosted bottom end of the paraffin candles that had been in the cake a thought fluttered through my mind, "I wonder if there are beeswax birthday candles..."

It just makes sense, right? After switching to natural cleaners and cleaning out most of my petroleum candles (I kept a few that I really like) to look into beeswax birthday candles.

Still Designing Our Own Wrapping Paper

I previously wrote about our custom wrapping paper, and, we are still at it. It is such a great way to involve kids in gift giving and it makes unique wrapping paper. Ikea has rolls of plain paper designed for their drawing easel. We buy the roll of paper and use it for wrapping paper.

We ♥ S. Pellegrino!

A splash of fruit juice topped off with S. Pellegrino.

Delicious. Festive. Inexpensive (honestly, I think the bottle was less than $1.50 and when served in fancy glasses, a little goes a long way). So easy.

This is a favorite around here. And since we rarely drink soda, this is a great treat. I think the kids actually prefer it to regular soda.

Hat Making

A creative moment. I think my favorite part of this photo is the hat on Tigger.

Flour-less Cake

Yum! Here is the recipe. I highly suggest drizzling with chocolate sauce and this caramel sauce.

Caramel Sauce Yumminess

Delicious! Absolutely delicious!

On ice cream, drizzled over chocolate cake, as an apple dip, or by the spoonful right out of the jar...I am not saying whether I actually do that, I am just saying, one could do that and it would be delicious.

The Journey That Saved Curious George by Louise Borden

I previously blogged about this book, but that post failed to convey how special this book truly is. This is a book that deserves a spot on your bookshelf. First, the story of how this book entered our home.

For our 10 year wedding anniversary, M and I planned a long weekend in Washington D.C. He was already there for a business trip, so I went out as well and spent time with a dear friend before meeting up with M for our time together in D.C. We had a packed agenda of things to do and see. I had never been to D.C. before. M had previously lived there for a summer, so with his familiarity of the city and my eagerness to see all we could possibly see, we were set for adventures.

We did and saw so much! It makes me tired and excited just remembering it all. One place we absolutely wanted to see was the United States Holocaust Museum. It was awful and incredibly well done all at the same time. The museum was designed and laid out well. Our time there was sobering and after touring the museum, I knew I wanted to look for something to take back as a souvenir for the kids. I wanted something that would be a gentle introduction to the horrors of the holocaust.

I have a concern that if the holocaust is introduced too early it is traumatizing or numbing. Or both. I didn't want our kids to be flippant about it, "Oh, yeah, I have heard about that", or inappropriately overwhelmed by it. I was having trouble finding the right thing when my eyes landed on the book pictured above.

Our kids have long been Curious George fans. Who does not love Curious George? I picked up the book and instantly was taken by it. The artwork is a wonderful mix of sweet cartoon sketches, actual vintage photographs (many taken by Margret Rey herself) and collage-like layouts of period stamps, vintage maps, as well as copies of telegrams and letters and pages from H.A. Rey's day-planner.

The Journey That Saved Curious George tells the story of how the Rey's met, married, moved to Brazil (had two pet monkeys), returned to Europe and had to flee Paris as Nazi troops closed in. They fled on bicycle as trains had stopped running. Among the few possessions they took was the manuscript of the book that would become the first Curious George book. This story is a love story, a war story and a story of starting over.

It is a wonderfully gentle introduction to World War II for young children. It takes something most young children care about, Curious George, and shares how World War II impacted the authors of the Curious George books. I think this book is the perfect way to open the conversation about that time in history.

The author, Louise Borden incorporates a great deal of geography into the text, making the book a good fit for geography lessons. A number of countries and cities are mentioned along with rivers, various other bodies of water and the Pyrenees mountains.

Good, Clean Body Care Products

The One Change Per Month focus for February is to consider changing to beauty products that are produced without extra chemicals and junk. This process has been a long slow one for me. I love make-up and perfume (I know, I know, it is supposedly toxic, but I just can't let it go!) and all sorts of pretty, yummy-smelling things. Over time, I have changed some products and others I am not sure I will ever change. And that is okay. I am finding what works. I still want to enjoy fun products, so, I look for less toxic (seriously, click on the link here and look at the products, maybe you can find some you own), affordable products that are made by businesses that care about the integrity of their products. One of my favorite businesses that fits this criteria is Prairieland Herbs.

When you find a good thing, you just have to share about it! Sometimes multiple times. So, I am sharing, again, about how much I adore Prairieland Herbs. I still get the same thrill when a box of their goodies arrives on my doorstep.

Some favorites of mine are:

• Shampoo bars-love these! They are a staple in our house. My boys like the peppermint/tea tree shampoo bar. Which is my favorite? I can't even choose! Aloe Fresh, Chamomile Citrus, maybe, or Fragrant Tresses, or it could be Rose Geranium...
• Before & After Sun Lotion-a wonderfully, creamy lotion. I adore the rose/lavender scent, the price (hello-$6!?!) and that it has sun protection in it.
• Facial Serum-so soothing, perfect, even for my oily skin.
• Facial Cream-smells yummy and leaves my skin feeling wonderful. At night, I cleanse with the Dead Sea Mud bar, use the serum and this facial cream. C always tells me I smell so good after washing my face at night. Yup, not only does this stuff really moisturize, but it smells great.
• Lip balm-these are the favorite chap stick around here (except for L who is currently into the M&M lip gloss that she was given for Christmas, but as soon as she eats all of that runs out of that, I have a Coconut lip balm from Prairieland herbs waiting for her). I keep the tea tree/peppermint on hand for my boys who seem to regularly battle chapped lips and for any cold sores that pop up.
• Lipgloss in Coral-This is a new product for me. I had eyed the lipgloss numerous times and finally decided to give it a try. Wonderful. It just is. First, the price is super at $5. It is called lipgloss, but it reminds me more of a super moisturizing, sheer lipstick. The color is just right. The sort of beauty product that is humble and only makes ones lips look wonderful without causing people to think, "oh, she has lipstick on." It is the color I would want my lips to naturally be and when I am wearing it, it is not overly obvious I have product on my lips.
• Dead Sea Mud facial soap. My favorite facial soap. Ever. Great for oily skin.
• Healing Wand-I always have these on hand. This has replaced all other first aid topical ointments. It really is super stuff. We use it often on scrapes, cuts and all manner of owies. And honestly, $3 for the small wand and $8.50 for the large? Such a good deal!
• Lotion bars. Another favorite of mine.
• Whipped Shea Butter. Again, another favorite.

I have to stop! So many great products. I can't list every product and flavor that I like! But, I will mention one more.

• Solid perfumes. I am branching out and trying some non-toxic scent. I ordered the Wise Woman scent, which is totally different than my normal perfume(s) that I wear. C loves it because it smells like the facial moisturizer that I sometimes use. And the price, $6-seriously, how reasonable is that? Next time I order I think I may try a few other scents and may even mix a couple to see how I like the combinations. I am still testing this to see how long the scent lasts, but I think that if I layered the scent by pairing it with a lotion bar or whipped shea in a similar scent it may last well enough.

What else do I appreciate about Prairieland Herbs? I appreciate knowing who makes the products I use and their commitment to high quality at reasonable prices. I appreciate that they seek to use Fair Trade ingredients when possible.

Changing the Default Mode

(I wrote this last week and had planned on posting it right away, but…it didn’t happen. I have several posts that are in process.)

Ever have one of those days or maybe a week or even longer where you just felt cranky? For no good reason. And unmotivated, yet driven by the "to do" list, all at the same time and the two keep clashing into one another in most ungraceful ways. Yeah, I have been battling that for the last week or so. Tuesday evening the crankiness started to lift. The negativity seemed to dissipate. Yay! Happiness and the ease that accompanies it returned.

Then Wednesday morning, as I was getting ready, there was a pounding knock on my bedroom door. One of the kids had accidentally locked the cat in the van. All night. After being told to make sure the cat was not in the van. So irritating. I handed over the keys so the cat could be released and rushed to get dressed to go outside. I grumbled the entire time, knowing that this had tremendous potential to be hilarious later. I was not yet ready to embrace the hilarity. I was petrified about the mess that was sure to await me in the van. Crankiness descended and latched on. Even after checking the van and seeing that it didn't stink and no messes were found, happiness did not easily return. My grumbling had stolen my joy and wasn't about to give it back without a fight.

Getting back to happy took a lot of work. It took a lot of stopping mid-thought when I realized that my thoughts were negative and unhelpful. I grew up in an environment where anger and irritation were definite default modes. It has taken so much practice to retrain my mind to not default to irritation or negative thinking. I have had to learn to retrain my thinking.

While the work of changing my thought patterns does not feel as hard as it did years ago, it still takes a good deal of effort. It takes pushing through a learned response to, by the grace of God, be transformed by a renewed mind. It takes a lot of effort. I can't emphasize that enough. Different personality types are more prone to negativity and those who grew up in places where negativity was standard have a real struggle in overcoming this. But, since God is one who turns weaknesses in to strengths, the cool thing is that there is hope.

Those, like me, who are more prone to negative thinking, for whatever reason, have an opportunity to see God redeem in that area. It is only the grace of God that I can find joy in even needing redemption in this area of my life. For a long time this struggle caused fear in me. Fear that I wouldn't be able to have my mind transformed. Basically, fear that God would not help me. And I desperately wanted His help.

Dwelling on scripture has been a key to change. Sometimes instead of praying through a situation that is hard I have found help in thinking on verses like Romans 12:2 " Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." and Philippians 4:8 & 9 "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."

These two verses have been extremely helpful to me in changing negative thought patterns. At times I have found that even praying about a situation causes me to sink back into negative thoughts. Instead, reciting a verse in my mind helps me to come through to a happier place. At first this was a challenging habit to form, but after practice has started to feel more natural.

Changing my natural default mode is a process, but praise God that He works and changes weaknesses. The following Psalm is another encouragement to me. No matter what my struggle, God loves me and He will “take me in” and help me! There is such joy in that.

Psalm 27:7-10

Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud;

be gracious to me and answer me!

You have said, “Seek my face.”

My heart says to you,

“Your face, LORD, do I seek.”

Hide not your face from me.

Turn not your servant away in anger,

O you who have been my help.

Cast me not off; forsake me not,

O God of my salvation!

For my father and my mother have forsaken me,

but the LORD will take me in.