Adoption

November is National Adoption Month.   We adopted our oldest son, now 5, so this topic is near and dear to my heart.   One of my good friends challenged me to write down our story:  why did we decide to adopt, why we chose foster care, and what was the journey?   To all the birth parents out there that made the decision for adoption-  Bless you!  Bless you for choosing life and bless you for making that hard decision for your child.   For all the adoptive parents– Bless you!  Bless you for making the decision to open your hearts and your homes.   And for all the adopted children out there– Bless you!  You are LOVED!

We started to try to get pregnant early on in our marriage.  We knew there would be some obstacles since I was diagnosed with endometriosis.   We were unsuccessfull after a considerable amount of time.  We even consulted a fertility doctor, did a couple rounds of clomid, and one IUI (Intrauterine insemination).   After no luck, we started to consider adoption.   My two cousins were adopted, and I had another cousin that adopted her two children.  Adoption was a loved option within our family already.   We went to a few seminars on the ins and outs of adoption.   My husband was really leaning towards foster care– he knew there was a great need in our own town.  We signed up to take the classes to become foster parents and I was still hesitant.   After our first class I knew I had made the right decision.  I had goose bumps the entire class and felt fire in my heart to be the best foster parent I could be.    Shortly after we were certified as foster parents we received a placement of a two year old girl.  She came to us in August of 2011.   Then in September 2011 we got a call of a baby that was to be born later in the week and asked if we could also take him in.  OF COURSE!   Having two kids in my home, I felt whole finally.  I knew I was supposed to be a mother.      The little girl eventually returned home to her biological parents and is still there today.    Shortly after Jacob turned one, his adoption was finalized.  He was always part of our family and I loved him as my own, but now we had a piece of paper that said he was ours.

Jacob is the youngest of 6 siblings.  It has been challenging to explain to him that he has brothers and sisters not living with him and what adoption is.   He sees his siblings from time to time and really enjoys knowing them.   He has met his biological parents, but currently is not in contact with them.  We continue to talk about adoption with him and let him know his story and how loved he is.  We celebrate his “gotcha day” every year with a big family dinner.

The road to the finalization of his adoption was a rough one.  Those details are part of his story and one he can tell later if he chooses.   Just know, that even through all the heartache, I wouldn’t change a thing.  I love Jacob so much and I am so thankful for him every day!   Adoption is not an easy decision.  Its long, its messy, but the rewards are so great.

Not everyone is ready to adopt.  But today, would you consider it?  Would you consider advocating for adoption?  Would you consider praying for the birth parents, and the adoptive parents, and the children?

Healthy Baby Home Party

This is a great way to get involved with Seventh Generation!   We love their detergent and their baby wipes.  All their products are safe and work–products you can feel good about having in your home.   Check them out HERE.

 

What is a Healthy Baby Home Party?

Seventh Generation’s home parties are powered by people like you who are focused on creating a healthy environment for the next generation. Developed with input from non-profit partner, Healthy Child Healthy World, they are a great way to get together with friends, share helpful information, and make an impact!

Healthy Baby Home Party kits are provided to all selected hosts and are filled with educational info about our environment, helpful tips, a fun game, and samples and coupons from Seventh Generation and other favorite family-friendly brands like bobble, American Meadows and Zarbee’s Naturals.

What is the Application Process?

• Sign up atgenerationgood.net to join the Generation Good community, or log in if already a member.
• Accept the Healthy Baby Home Party Application offer on your Generation Good dashboard and complete the application.
• Applicants will be notified by mid-June if they have been selected to host a party, via an email to the email address assigned to their Generation Good member profile.
• All selected applicants will then need to confirm their participation by accepting the Healthy Baby Home Party Mission in Generation Good and confirming their shipping address.
• Hosting spots are open to US residents only at this time. Canadian parties are planned for later in 2016!
• Full terms and conditions are available within Generation Good in the “Healthy Baby Home Party Application” offer.

Essential Oils

Once upon a time ago, I got really into essential oils. I even signed up to sell with one of the larger companies. And then I found it was so expensive and kind of cold turkey quit. Lately I’ve been re-interested in them. I’ve been looking for a non traditional way to help my husband with back pain. Just something extra to help knock the edge off on bad days.

So I started my internet search to find the PERFECT essential oil brand. Holy Smokes- there are a bunch of them!!! I think I have found one though.

I love that you can use oils for skincare, healthcare, aromatherapy, household cleaning, and more! I even found a recipe today for beard wax which I plan on making!

But one serious need I have is a diffuser. I’m not sure why I haven’t invested in one yet. I have two travel size ones that I use occasionally.

It seems that the benefits of oils are endless….and so are the selection of oils.

I’d love to hear from YOU!!!–Do you use Essential Oils?– what do you use them for? (no sales pitches please!)

Christmas time!

Its Christmas time!  And the season is in full swing.  My oldest son, J, is so excited that he asks me everyday if its Christmas.  I think I must have put presents under the tree too soon, because he cries when I tell him he can’t open them yet.

So to try to distract him from the tree, I’ve been trying to do Christmas activities.  We have a countdown calendar, Advent chocolate calendar, and lots of CRAFTS!!!

What holiday activities are your kids doing??

I have listed some of the best kids Christmas crafts I found on Pinterest.  Leave me a link with one you found/tried too!

Snotty Noses

Tis the season for boogers, snot, coughing, and red noses.  My oldest started preschool this year and kindly has brought home all sorts of illness.   We’ve had the cold a few times already and its only OCTOBER!    A few years back we discovered Boogie Wipes.   I seriously use these on my own nose.   They smell so good and are soft.   They miraculously dislodge dried snot and help to prevent the red nose that a regular tissue creates.   We keep a big container on the counter and have a travel pack in each car.   I really recommend these to any family!   And just so happens, they are having a giveaway to win a year’s supply of Boogie Wipes, plus a Target gift card.  WOO HOO!   Enter HERE.   Contest ends 11/1/15.

Booger facts:  Colds are the most common illness among children of all ages and they last about a week. Statistics show that preschool-aged children have around nine colds per year, kindergartners can have 12 colds per year, and adolescents and adults have about seven colds per year. Cold season typically runs from September until March or April.

Check out a coupon here to try Boogie Wipes today!http://www.boogiewipes.com/boogie-products/boogie-wipes/

 

*These opinions are my own. I’m not being paid or reimbursed in anyway for this post.    Boogie Wipes Contest

Ghosts!

Every once and again, I see something online that I think would be fun to do.  I like to find activities that are secretly educational and fun for the whole family!!!   This one is called Ghost tea bags.    In a nut shell-  cut open a tea bag, empty the contents, light it on fire, and watch it fly.

The science behind it!  (Instructions below)

Lighting the top of the teabag heats the air inside. The air molecules start to move more quickly and spread out to take up more space. As the air molecules spread out, the air inside the bag becomes less dense. Warm, less dense air rises above cool, dense air. The ash of the teabag is light and doesn’t require much force to lift it. As the warm, less dense air rises, it has enough force to lift the ash of the teabag.

Materials

• Tea bag- thicker bags work better
• Nonflammable surface (a flat dinner plate works well)
• Matches or lighter
• Scissors

 

 

• Remove the staple, string, and label from the bag of tea.
• If your bag of tea is not open on its ends, cut both ends off and empty out the tea into the trash.
• Unfold the bag of tea so that it is completely straight.
• Use your fingers to open up the bag of tea. You should end up with a shape resembling a cylinder.
• Stand the tea bag on one end on a plate or other nonflammable surface
• Using a lighter or match,light the top of the tea bag.
• Watch the flame travel down from the top of the bag until…
• It flies!   Be careful of ashes falling down.  We had
• a great time trying to catch our ghost on the plate!

Say What?!!!

My son says some of the wildest things.   Like the old Bill Cosby show, Kids Say The Darndest Things.

But in response I’m either dumbfounded or I say the wildest things back.  Things come out of my mouth that I NEVER even dreamed of saying.   “Put your pants back on while watching cartoons please.”  “Poop goes in the toilet, not our hands.”  or  “no, I’ve never climbed a big tall mountain to find a hairy monkey”

What’s the craziest thing you’ve said to your kids?

The other morning, I was getting ready for work and my two kids were on the bed “talking” to each other.  Jacob, aged 3, looks at me and says, “I think Benson loves me.”  (Benson is 6 months old).  Before I could respond….he then says in a lower, creepy voice, “hahaha, its all part of the plan.”

That’s one of those moments where words escaped me.

Moms, Unicorns, and Big Foot

My husband and I started trying to have children when we were 21.  We wanted to be young parents.   Fast forward 9 years.  I FINALLY have two beautiful boys.  One through adoption and one through IVF.  I’m not such a young parent…..they are 4 years old and 6 months old.   There are days I feel 80 and have no energy.  Other days, I just want to laugh and play all day long with them.     That leads me to Unicorns and Big Foot.   Moms are SUPER cool.  No really.  I put mothers right up there with magical, beautiful unicorns and the notoriously strong Big Foot.

On any given day, I am known to do multiple loads of laundry, feed hungry tummies, quiet the raging tantrum beasts, kiss boo-boos away, generously give away love, and problem solve for my house.

Jacob, my 4 year old, is in that stage where he thinks he can do everything by himself.  He doesn’t need my help to use the potty, walk down the precarious stairs, cut up his sandwiches, or brush his teeth!   Benson, my baby, thankfully still needs me all the time!   I can’t believe how fast children grow up.  Blink and they are graduating high school.   With all my mother super powers, I still haven’t figured out how to slow time down.

A couple of days ago, I took Jacob to a new dentist.  He has a mouth full of cavities.   We walked in, checked in at the front desk, and moved to the waiting area.   He crept into my lab and tucked himself into me.  He needed ME!  I hated seeing him scared, but was so thankful that even as he gets bigger he knows I’m still his safe-house.   

Thanks buddy for making me feel loved, magical, and strong.  All with one little hug.

National Waffle Day!

 Every day of the year is a celebration of something.  For instance, today is National Waffle Day.

There are days about food, days about family, and sometimes its really off the wall (National Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day).   However, this creates such an easy activity for kids of all ages.  You can create something for every day!

So lets use Waffle Day for our example.   Activities will vary depending on your childs age.

• make waffles together
• draw a picture of a waffle
• create a waffle collage from magazine pictures
• write a story or poem about a waffle
• read a story about a waffle
• sing/create/listen to a song a waffle
• you get the idea!!!!

You can find a complete listing here: http://nationaldaycalendar.com/calendar-at-a-glance/