f-o-r-k

Sick of the kiddies just throwing the silverware down as they "help" me set the table, I decided to find a easy way for them to set the table and set it right.

I created this easy way for them (and..ahem, ME) to remember and never forget the correct way to set the silverware down, in their right places.

The word FORK  has the same amount of letters as in LEFT. So, the fork goes on the left.
The words KNIFE and SPOON have the same amount of letters as RIGHT. So, they go on the right!

Try it!

do as I say, do as I do

We have all heard of the phrase, "do as I say, not as I do", right?  In my mind this means, don't imitate my actions, but obey my words. Okay, that is fine and dandy, but the more I think about this, though, as a parent, (a mom), are these words the words that I want to live by? Not so much.

As parents (adults), children watch us and soak everything up like a giant sponge. They take in both, what I say AND what I do. For an example, if I tell my kids to treat others with kindness and yet myself don't show this to others, I feel a mixed message is sent. If I tell my kids all about the dangers of drinking and drugs, yet I partake in such activities how am I setting a correct example? I would be a fake, a phony, and a liar!

Once at the dinner table I corrected my youngest daughter for talking with her mouth full. Not long after that, she caught ME doing the same thing and asked, "why is it alright for you to talk with your mouth full and not me?" Good point daughter, good point!

And, this is what my point is all about. My kids are watching me! Yep. Every action bad and good is picked up by those innocent learning eyes. In no way am I am perfect parent! Indeed, I am far from that. All I can do is try my best, say many prayers, and learn to forgive myself (not always easy!)

be bored!

Randomly I stumbled on an interesting website. I was looking for something completely different, yet I was intrigued by what I casually found. The article I found was about boredom and children....two things that mesh well in my world!
The article instantly transformed me back to my childhood, that 8-year-old-girl-and-a-bike world that once consumed me. The articles author, Edward Collier said it best when he said, "In fact, boredom can be a force for good, fostering the ability to fall back on one's own resources, a life skill best developed when young." I couldn't agree more! Looking back, my mom was on to something, only problem was, I wasn't always on the same page as her. Now though, it all makes sense!

I can recall hoping on my bike, zooming up and down the block looking for the next adventure. My mom didn't "plan" our summers. We had the true freedom of just being kids.My earliest "freedom moment" was sometime when I was around 6. A neighborhood girl thought of the idea of going to the neighborhood store to visit a gumball machine. I somehow conned my way to tag along with her. It was fun and adventurous only until I got back home! My mom, being the layed back lady she was, didn't take kindly to this amount of freedom. I think my freedom ended for a good amount of time that summer in the '70's. Nonetheless, my self-sufficient spirit was created in those early childhood years. That same free-spirit drives me in bountiful, creative ways til this day.

If I had even a mere penny for each time the two words "I'm bored" come out of one of my three children's mouths, I would be a well-traveled rich woman by now. Too often it is easy to just say, "go watch TV". Or, "what do you want to do?" I do find myself falling into the guilt-trip of needing to be the entertainment promoter at times. But, you know what?.. I am going to ease up and let go of the reins from now on. I am going to let my children have the privilege of being bored! I never quite saw it that way before Colliers article, but it really is true. Being bored is a life skill. I don't want to raise kids that need to be entertained by someone all the time.

As Collier says, "boredom opens channels". My own 11 year old son has found the keyboard (although it has been smack dab in the same spot in the living room for years!) He has taken a liking to classical music and each day I am pleasantly entertained by his keyboard melodies. Now, if I would have said to him that you must take lessons and learn the keyboard would he have this same genuine interest? Who knows.

"Things are very different for many of today's children. The notion of quality time implies doing something constructive or worthy rather than parents just letting their children "do their own thing". This Collier statement is harder to apply to my youngest daughter. She is the hardest to get to do anything on her own. She thrives being around the company of others and craves constant motion, in all shapes and forms. I wish she would learn to 'do her own thing'...I guess I need to work on this more.

My middle daughter is a terrific boredom-buster. She can self-entertain herself in oodles and oodles of different ways. Problem is, little sister tends to tug at her, to free herself of her own boredom!

"Don't be afraid to say goodbye to ready-made, boil-in-the-bag entertainment" is one of the statements that Collier says that I love the best. It is a realistic interpretation to life in 2011.

So the next time those two-words (I'm BORED) come creeping out of one of my kiddies mouths I will not cringe up my eyes and throw myself into a panic. No. Instead I will put a pleasant smile on my face and remind myself that this is a teaching moment. And, if I am lucky, one day I will be thanked for having bored children.

miracle in a bottle

Ok, I know in the past I have written about the woes of my never-ending acne problems! In my almost 30 years of suffering from some sort of pimple, white head, or deep cyst-like thingamajig, I have tried all the stuff out there...and I do mean ALL!

Benzoyl, this....Salicylic acid, that! Things seemed to work for a bit, but nothing was long lasting. Not long ago after seeing my doctor, she suggested that I go on an acne medicine, via perscription. That was the bottom line! Nope!! I did not want to take that route and so I did my own research/testing.

Well, I am glad to say that I have finally found a "natural" way to tame the zits. Now, I cannot tell you that I never get them anymore, 'cause I still do! I just found a way to make them go away a whole heck of a lot faster. And, if I feel one "coming on", I can fight it off faster.

My secret weapon.....tea tree oil!

I had a bottle of this sitting in my medicine cabinet for a long time. I would dab a bit here of there, but not regularly. Well, after my research I found that tea tree oil can....

• Effectively treats problem skin with regular use

• Deep-cleans pores and helps relieve redness
• Multiple uses including skin and household


This leaf-derived essential oil from the arid plains of eastern Australian is an abundant source for maintaining healthy, glowing skin. Its inherent antiseptic qualities make it suitable for everything from skin care, household cleansing to a therapeutic pedicure treatment.


I began to apply it, with a cotton swab, every day. I would wash my face first, then afterwards apply (full strength) to my problem areas. Now, at first my face would get really dry and a bit red where I applied the oil. The smell was strange too. But, after a few times, the dryness and redness went away...my face adapted to it. If you try, start with a small area to see how you react. If you do react, don't give up! Keep at it!
I cannot begin to tell you how much I love this stuff! It's amazing to see it work on my pimples, and have them be gone overnight!

You can find tea tree oil at most health food stores and online.

What else can you use this miracle oil on? Check this out.

May 8th 2011

A First Communion Blessing

May you always feel

as close to Jesus

as you do today.

May you always

count on Him

to gently guide you

on your way.

May you always

trust in God

to answer every

single prayer.

May you always feel

Him blessing you

with tender, loving care.

 Congratulations, my darling daughter Aleksandra. What a joyful day it was.

the good ol' days

This past April 29th was my 41st birthday. Somehow it seems so much older written down! Over those years life sure has changed. I have seen, done, and experienced many "things" that my children will never be able to. Sure, they will have their own share of "things" to look back on. Time seems to be in "fast-forward" lately. The days quickly bring in a new month, and before you know it, the year (that I could hardly grasp in the first place) is gone.  So, as I still have the ability to remember the past, here it goes.

Looking back over my last 40 years, I can remember (some more fondly and vividly than others) “things” from my past that are only just that, things from the past. Let’s think about these things.




I remember…

-When pictures (the ones that used to be developed on film) had those pretty white borders around it. And, if you got really lucky, the date stamp was on it as well! The picture taker really had to plan their shot, since they couldn’t just “delete” an unwanted photo. Also, the age of Polaroid instant pictures was in its hay day. Who can forget that high-pitched clicking sound and ultra bright flash as the picture was being taken. Also, the waving and fanning of the picture as one anxiously waited for it to “magically appear”!

-LP’s, 45’s and that lovely record player. Remember when the store at the mall was actually called a “record store”? The shelves were lined with oodles and oodles of records. You would have to stand there for infinite amounts of time, flipping through each and every one. Once you brought the ‘lucky one’ home, you would line it all up on the turn-table and follow along with the lyrics as you scanned and memorized every inch of the album jacket/cover. My very 1st record was back in the 1970's. It was Grease. Who didn't love that movie! I can't even begin to tell you how many hours I spent listening to that record and gazing at the record jacket. Miss those days! Now, all you get (if you are lucky) is a hard CD plastic shell with a easily scratchable disc inside. Or, since the birth of iTunes, one click and you have your music, but no fancy album cover to galk at. Sad.

-The corded telephone. The other day, as my ten year old daughter was on the phone, I had a vivid flashback to MY days of ‘phone hogging’. We didn’t have the luxury of call waiting, caller ID, or voice mail back then. Remember that annoying busy tone when you would call someone over and over and over again? The cord in our house would only reach so far. Glory was the day when I actually got my own phone in my room. I honestly think I lived on that phone! Today, with texting, Skype, and email, do people even have a home phone anymore (beside me?)

-Pen pals and other hand-written letters. When I was in middle school I had a pen pal in Germany. We met through one of those teeny-bop type magazines. Both her and I LOVED Duran Duran and we wrote (hand written letters on actual paper, with actual stamps, and an actual mail person delivering it) each other. It is a shame that nowadays “the letter” is almost considered a thing of the past. Sad really. Penmanship is going down the tube as is the art of letter writing.

-AM/FM radio. My first experience of a radio was when I was a little kid. The family went to a Christmas party at the Moose Lodge that my dad belonged to. Each child received a gift and mine was a tiny transistor radio. I felt like I struck gold! I took that bad-boy to my “secret place” (up in the branches of the big weeping willow tree in my backyard). There, I would turn that radio on and there my love of music was born. That transistor made way for a Walkman and after that the portable CD player/radio. Now, the teeny tiny iPod is all that is “cool”, but not in my book.

- Actual paper books. I can fondly remember those "library days" when I was a kid. Those were the days that I would have to race through the house trying to find my borrowed library books that needed to be taken back to the library. Those were also the days that I can spend browsing aisle after colorful aisle of endless rows of books. I was, and still am, drawn to a catchy-fun looking book cover. A good illustrated book is priceless in my eyes. Sadly though, with all this new technology, "the book" is being shelved and forgotten about. I, for one, am not taking lightly the new 'readers' out there. I still need to feel the pages of a book in my hands. I need to flip actual paper pages. The library is truly a forgotten gem.

Pieces of me

I turned 41 last week. Hardly noticed a difference from 40, other than the "1" added to the end. It was a great day spent with my family. A great day indeed!
This morning I had a thought, though. It seems that lately I have been noticing a certain "calmness" in my life. Not a calmness pertaining to my daily events: taxing kids between school and games, stores and friends. For that is in no-way CALM!!  No, I feel it's a calmness that comes from inside of me. A certain calmness that, I can only expect, comes with age.(?)
As I think about it, I can compare this thought to a jigsaw puzzle.

 When I was born, someone dumped a huge box of puzzle pieces on the ground. The size and amount of pieces is overwhelming! Where does one begin? Where to start??

~As my young years start to weave together, I need lots and lots of help finding the right pieces. I need guidance putting the pieces in the right spots; making sure not to "damage or break" the ends. Sure, there will be bends and wear along the way, but with the right help, the pieces will not get lost or harmed too badly.

As I enter my young-adult life, the puzzle is forgotten about, at least for a while. Other things fill my head and my days. I may try to work a piece or two together, every now and again, but only half-hearted and not with a whole heck of a lot of care or concern.

Eventually, though, as my years continue, I "find" my puzzle again. The pieces somehow don't seem too overwhelming now. I actually sit down awhile and take time to "figure it out". I can do it on my own now! There are still a lot of "holes" in the completed piece, but I can see "the picture", though not crystal clear.

Little by little the puzzle is taking shape. A few stray pieces only remain now. The pieces seem to just "flow" together by themselves without much or any thought. I am enjoying this!

Soon, the puzzle is complete. The picture is present. The box is empty. I feel good! Looking at it closely, I can see a whole lifetime in that puzzle. The turned-up edges and chewed ends of my youth. The rough and confusing spots in the middle. And finally, the smoothness of it completeness.

As I sit and stare at the finished puzzle I just sit and smile. That puzzle was truly a journey. And I did it!