Rebirth

Today is so hard on kids, young adults and well, everyone. Beyond the normal bullying and teasing kids can go through, the internet has opened a whole new door to tormenting and judging from peers. It is scary, as parents, to realize we need to do our best to arm our children with the self esteem, attitude and skills to fight back against the ills they will face as they journey through this world. And to follow our own advice and keep our self esteem in tack, as well.

Regardless of faith or not, everyday offers a chance of rebirth, of starting over, and getting on a straight path. Today is a great day to leave whatever demon you are fighting behind; a decision only you can make.

As a Catholic, I believe that Jesus was reborn today, and on Easter in 2004 I was born into the Christian Faith. Though I am not always strong in my faith, I try to be, and I hope I can pass that strength in God on to my children and grandchildren.

Here is a video Nell over at Casual Friday Everyday shared with me. The visual aspects are touching and a great reminder that though there are many demons out there to knock us off our path, God will always be there to pick us up, help us through the dark days, months, years. The greatest gift of faith is knowing that we can get through anything because of Him.
Happy Easter, everyone!

March Of Dimes

I had something else I was going to write today, but at the moment, nothing seems as important as remembering Maddie, James and Jake, Caitlin, Sophia and Lucas, and Sawyer all the little babies I have known either in real life or through the blog world who died from complications or premature birth.

Maddie went to heaven on this Tuesday, April 7th, at the tender age of 17 months and my heart is broken for her parents and family.

There are two places you can donate to help support March of Dimes teams that are online friends of mine:

For James and Jake For Maddie

You can find events here as well; since I don't know where we will be living (either in AL or NC, I can't sign up quite yet, but as it gets closer I will either be walking in the Spanish Fort, AL walk, or the Triangle Area, NC walk. I hope I get to see some of you there, and though I don't have much to donate, almost every penny goes to research and help for preventing death from premature birth. Find out more at the March of Dimes site: www.marchofdimes.com

You Capture Fun

This week's "You Capture" was to find something fun. Well, with two little boys, that was a pretty easy task. I picked this picture because it wasn't posed, Little Dude was having TONS of fun, and I captured a sweet little smile that has just a little mischievousness showing through:



I also love this one because it shows Little Dude joyfully throwing a ball in a field of mud; is there anything more fun than that? For a toddler, I think not.




So what did You Capture this week?

Someday

So yesterday we drove to Pennsacola, FL to take my mother in law to the airport. Since we were in the area, we went ahead and made a side trip on the way home to go visit the National Air and Naval Museum again. It was, again, super fun and we made it around the the second floor this time, where there was a ton of NASA exhibits. SUPER cool!

As we left, Little Dude threw a fit. Partly he was hungry, partly he was tired, and partly he just didn't want to leave. So, he threw himself down, I had to drag him out of there, literally, and THANK GOD for my Mei Tai having pockets because I had to use both hands to get Little Dude to come with me. I swear some people were debating wheather I was kidnapping him-he was fighting me tooth and nail the whole way, and I even have a bite mark to prove it.

After finally getting Little Dude strapped into the car, and JR buckled into his seat-both screaming at the top of their lungs- I took a moment to lean against the car. I was dreading the hour drive I still had to get back to Mobile, and reall dreading even getting in the car my two terrors, er, bundles of joy, when an old woman started to get into the car next to mine. She came over, and I thought for sure I was going to get Parenting Advice, but instead she gave me this little gem:

"Someday you'll look back and wish these boys hadn't grown up so fast."

And then she smiled and walked on, leaving me very thoughtful.

Though yesterday I was ready to thrash my little bundle of toddler joy, I was quickly reminded that even these tough tough parenting moments will soon pass and become just memories. And, gasp, I might actually wish I were back in them, so I better enjoy them while I can.

Bye, Patty!

I am so sad today; my awesome mother in law, Patty, is going home. I have been spoiled for two weeks with all her help and companionship, so now I really don't know what I will do after she leaves...well, actually I guess I will get back to keeping up with all the blogs I enjoy reading! And I am sure my boss will be happy for me to take more work, should I find myself with too much "free" time!

In all seriousness though, I have had the best two weeks with Patty, and having her head home makes me miss our home all the more. I wish we were all going back to NC together, but it looks like we will be down here in AL for a bit longer. Sigh.

And it is nice here; we have made some friends, and I joined a few playgroups, but gosh, I miss our yard, our kitchen, our dog, and all our great friends and family.

But on the flip side, Bill still has a job, which is something to celebrate since his industry (construction) has taken a huge hit. Pay cuts were handed out last week to start this week, so our budget has tightened significantly, but I still can't complain. Many people were laid off, and I'd rather have a pay cut than no pay any day!

Well, we are off to the airport!

Time Off

My awesome mother in law, Patty, has been here for two weeks to visit and hang out, so Bill and I took advantage of having a baby sitter in town and left town. That's right! We went away for a few days and headed over to Biloxi, MS. It was TONS of fun! We stayed at the Beau Rivage, ate at Mary Mahoney's-to die for broiled crab claws-and we tore up the roulette table. Though we have to thank the kids for that-we played their birthdays and kept winning! Whoo hoo!

Although it was weird to not have the kids hanging on us, it sure was FUN to have an adult weekend away. AND I was finally not pregnant, so I could enjoy the free drinks the casinos hand out while you gamble. While we were in Vegas I missed out, so it was fun to order drinks!

I'll get pictures up later this week; we had an amazing view from our hotel. Anyways, sorry for the absence, but I did have a good excuse, don't you think?

Make A Bird Feeder

I love hands on activities for kids, and I was so lucky to work in a fabulous day care where we did all kinds of creative, fun, learning activities with the children. So, I have been excited to start doing a lot of the ones I especially enjoyed with my own children. This one is easy, simple, and environment AND budget friendly since everything is edible or out of the yard. Without further ado, here is how to make a bird feeder with your little ones:




Now that spring is here, I hope you guys have lots of fun with this activity; it can be done outside or inside and has minimal mess involved. Also, find a great place near some of your windows, if possible, to hang the feeder, then you can enjoy watching the birds with your child! This activity can also be a more involved learning activity for older kids, as you point out different kinds of birds, their colors, what kinds of homes they make-you can take this as far as your child shows interest and even make a great homeschooling lesson on birds out of it. Super fun, super easy, and that is what Works For Me Wednesday! Check out We Are THAT Family for more great tips!!