Out of the mouth of babes....

I had to stop by the school today to drop off something that Jake the Great forgot. When I pulled into the parking lot I saw our preschool teacher and her assistant. The assistant teacher shared with me that she had a funny interaction with my youngest kiddo the other day. Apparently she was trying to help him with something and he very calmly said to her,

"You're really bothering me. Would you please go away?"

There's nothing quite like a painfully honest, polite, articulate three year old....

Brain power returns!

Well, thanks for all of your encouragement. As usually happens, once I got past the PMS zone my brain cells jumped back into action and I am on a roll again.

One fine reader asked me what kind of business stuff I am working on. Well, you've twisted my arm and dragged it out of me!

First of all, most of you know that I have my Supermom's No-Lice Advice business already. Well, that is still going, but it was only a starting point. My next stop on the Supermom train is Supermom's Health and Wellness. It is going to be a store that has
-encouragement
-appreciates that most people will do better in achieving their health goals if they take baby steps
-community forums and a blog
-lots of content to teach people why a particular product may be helpful to them
-not a million products to choose from--just a few select ones that my family uses and loves and feels is a really good value

And when I say "wellness," that is going to incorporate a wide range of life, since I believe we are all better off when we can laugh, love, think, play, rest, and just be.

So, that in and of itself is a big undertaking.

But, I'm also working on my first book, and it's almost done! It's tentatively entitled Supermom's 50 Simple Steps to Healthier Eating. Basically, it's for people who have a vague notion of wanting to "eat healthier" but don't know where to start, or fear that their family members will not be receptive to "healthy" foods. It's got lots of ideas, recipes, and resources for people to make simple healthy changes little by little. I don't know of any other books like it on the market. Most books about healthy eating seem to revolve around some fad diet that people try and then burn out on. I created mine to be something that people can come back to again and again for new ideas and encouragement when they are ready to "pump it up" in the healthy eating department.

AND, as if THAT wasn't enough.....right after I got started with Supermom's Health and Wellness, a fabulous opportunity presented itself for me to open a baby boutique in conjuntion with an already popular web site that attracts pregnant women. Basically, I have had a chance to open a store in a place that already has the traffic I need and the brand recognition that will make the customers feel comfortable. So, this baby boutique has kind of jumped to the top of my list and I am very excited about it. I have been busy thinking through lots of issues in regards to the business and have been combing the world over looking for the cutest, funkiest, most wonderful and personality-packed items for the store. We are going to have several very exclusive items and just gorgeous stuff all the way around.

From there I have actually developed some additional ideas for web-based businesses that will just have to wait on the back burner until I get these three babies of mine up and flying on their own.

I am really encouraged because the internet offers so much potential to people, regardless of your location, education level, looks, time availability, and so forth. The more I learn, the more I see. So I am working on building something that can be special and valuable to others, and a blessing to my own family. It's a really exciting time here.

Paralysis

I'm paralyzed.

Not literally exactly. I can still walk and wiggle my fingers and toes.

It's my brain that's the problem.

I've got several very difficult projects sitting in from of me, some that I literally do not know how to do. Yes, I can learn. But all of that takes T-I-M-E and brain power. My brain feels shot. This is not my best time of the month for energy or ideas.

I do not like a learning curve that requires me to take hours upon hours to learn stuff that, if someone was sitting right next to me, would take me 5 or 10 minutes to understand.

Since my kids have been back in school I have been feverishly slaving away at the computer, working, working, working on my business escapades every moment that I could.

And I burned myself out on it in less than a week. (That's PMS for you!)

The other day I forced myself to make a little schedule (just a general one) for times to do house stuff, times to do work stuff, and times to do kid stuff. If I can stick to it, I'll be a sane-r woman.

For this week, though, when my brain is so fried that I can't hardly start, I decided to just chill out with my preschooler. He starts school on Monday, and then I will be alone for 16 hours a week (except for when my husband is here, which will be more demand on my time than when the kids are home....).

My brain is so fried that when I went for a hair cut (to fix the bad, bad, made-me-cry pre-vacation hair cut) on Tuesday and my stylist asked me, "So, do you want bangs or want to grow this out?" I was completely and utterly unsure what the answer was. I was like, "Um, well, hmmm, I'm not sure......let's see......well.....huh.....um.....I don't know......." Yeah, it's bad. [Note to self: No more hair cuts while under the spell of PMS. Furthermore, the bangs were a bad call. Next time, grow them out.]

So, naps, movies, and outings this week. Next week...hopefully I won't be paralyzed any more.

RV: movie review

Since my brain is so fried between trying to learn how to build a web site, having too many projects going at once, and being overly emotional about birthdays, I took a break from my computer work today to watch RV. Robin Williams is the dad of a family in need of some time away from their electronic gadgets and to make some real connections. They set out on a road trip in a rented RV, and of course are met with a variety of crazy situations and people.

There were some very funny moments and some talented performances, and the overall message was good. However, I didn't think it was that great and decided not to offer it to my children to watch. Despite it's PG rating it did not pass my test for my kids to watch. Sexual innuendo, cruddy displays of teenagers acting like complete brats, potty talk, and a lot of cleavage were enough to make me think that I can do without it's influence in my children's lives.

Somebody pass me the tissues.....

My oldest child is 14 today. He has a moustache. In 4 more years he'll be an adult.

I'm feeling uncharacteristically emotional about this birthday. I'm not sure why that is, but it is.

The day I gave birth to this boy was probably the most important day of my adult life. Being a mother has so much to do with the rest of the choices in my life. You become a mother...and you lay your life down for it. Over and over again.

This is my favorite picture of me as a mother. It was taken just a few minutes after my son was born. (I even have the bloody hospital gown to prove it. Do you see that?) I'm so young...only 21 when he was born. And I felt like I could leap tall buildings in a single bound.

It's both sad and exciting to have my kids growing up. You have know idea what's coming around the bend, so it's scary too.

Even though I dubbed him Sullen here, he's a really great person and I like him so much. Now I'm gonna go blubber some more on my own....

(You can leave Sullen a Happy Birthday comment over at his blog. He'll be delighted.)

Life As A House

Today I watched one of my very favorite movies, Life As A House. This movie gets more meaningful to me every time I watch it. If you've never seen it, it's a wonderful story of love, redemption, and getting to the heart of what matters in life. Though it has some very difficult-to-watch scenes I find it to be a very powerful, beautiful film.

Peach Cobbler

Peach Cobbler

It's peach season! We are enjoying getting big boxes of peaches for only $12 these days. I freeze a lot of them and use them later for smoothies and peach cobblers. Here is a simple recipe for a peach cobbler that you can make in a jiffy.

Quick Peach Cobbler
4-6 cups sliced peaches (If you freeze your peaches just measure and put into a freezer bag. When you are ready just dump the frozen peaches into the casserole dish.)
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup melted butter
cinnamon nutmeg

Toss peaches with cinnamon and nutmeg and place in 13x9 dish. Mix flour, sugar, and egg to a crumb-like texture. Pour over peaches. Drizzle melted butter over the crumb topping. Bake at 350 for 30 min. or until top turns slightly brown and crusty. Serve hot or cold.

Snap!

Alligator Snapping Turtle in the Road, Oklahoma

Two of my kiddos have recently become interested in learning how to snap their fingers. First it was the 6 year old, then the 3 year old had to get in on the action. Much to his delight, the 3 year old has accomplished this task and is now delighting in his newfound skill of making little noises with his fingers.

What next? Arm pit farts?

Probably.

Cheese: My success story for the day

Today was grocery shopping day, and I had one of those little Thrifty Homemaker victories that make me smile.

As I rounded the end of an aisle at the store I noticed a little handwritten sign that said something about cheese on sale. This is not the space where cheese normally is, and not a space where they normally have anything I even consider buying, so I am used to walking right past. I did actually walk past, and then as the sign registered in my brain I backed up to see what the deal was.

In this section there were 2 lb. bags of shredded Sargento Mexican blend cheese, 1 lb. Kraft mozzarrella slices, cheese sticks, and other cheese packaged like you would put in a lunch box.

And just GUESS what the prices were!

Go ahead. Guess. I dare you.

The 2 lb. shredded cheese was $2, and the other items were $1 each!

Do you hear me?!?!?

I stood there in a stupor trying to figure out if I had missed something obviously wrong about this cheese. A store employee was finishing up stocking items there. He said to me, "There's nothing wrong with any of this stuff, you know. It's not even near it's expiration date. We just got too much of it in our shipment and need to get rid of the extras."

So, basically, the same items were over in their usual resting place at full price, and these extras were marked down to dirt cheap.

Needless to say, we are now very stocked up on cheese. I spent $23 and saved probably $50.

All that guilt for nothing!

As penance for being a terrible mother and forgetting to wave, I did make cookies for my children to have when they returned from their first day of school. While they ate I asked them,

"Were you sad that I didn't get to wave? I felt so bad that I missed it!

Them: "What? Wave? We didn't even notice."

All that guilt for nothing!

Now I know why web designers make the big bucks...

So today is the first day of the rest of my life, you know. And what with the kids off to school (with nary a wave from their negligent mother!) this is my first day of getting to dig my heels in more than usual, working on my upcoming business.

Yesterday I purchased my domain and shopping cart, and now have various administrative panels of options at my fingertips. A whole new world of strange vocabulary has opened up to me, and I am already about at my wit's end and seriously considering a nap thanks to it all.

You know it's bad when you can't even figure out how to get your email thingy set up for your new store, right?!

Now I understand why people *hire* others to set up their web sites. I think I am going to have to do the same, or I will probably still be stuck on "shipping options" or "sales tax" come Christmas!

Country Bunny Bath and Body

Hooray! Another product review day!

Awhile back I received some lovely products from Aileen Casillas. She is a rep for Country Bunny Bath & Body, which I had never heard of until recently. Country Bunny has tons of products for every member of the family, with some interesting twists to commonly found products.

For instance, Aileen sent me one of their Lip Bars. This item is a firm molded bar that comes in a little tin. You just swipe your finger across the bar and rub onto your lips. I particularly liked this product because it is unscented. As I've mentioned before, I have a real sensitivity to artificial scents. I appreciated knowing that Country Bunny has some products that are good for people with that issue.


Their lotion bars work basically the same way. Instead of a liquid lotion you are getting a bar sort of like soap. You just rub it on with your fingers or directly. Aileen sent me two samples of their lotion bars. One is grapefruit & lime, the other is sugar sweet pea. Both have an appealing, mild scent and the lotion feels very nice.

For those of you that still want something liquidy to smooth onto your skin, they have that too. I got to try out their Satin Shea Body Butter as well. It has a nice feel to it as well.

My kids had fun using one of their toy soaps. These scented soaps are fun to use because you can see the cute toy inside just waiting for you to use enough soap so that you finally set it free.

Country Bunny products have a very cute presentation that is very appealing. If you are like me and do not do well with artificial scents you may want to stick with the unscented items or ask for samples first to see how you do with these.

As usual, I asked Aileen to share a little about herself and how she got into her business:

I am first and foremost a wife of a United States Marine, we've been married for 11.5 years, together 15. We've been attached to the Corps 12 years now. I am a mom and we have 3 children together-our daughter (7) and twin sons (2). It's been such a wonderful thing to have a family after we were told we shouldn't have any children. Early in our marriage we discovered I had a rare kidney disorder which put having kids on hold. We were strictly cautioned against it but I left it in His hands. I said if it's meant to be then so be it. The twins put an end to creating a bigger family but that is fine with us!! We've got enough!

How I joined Country Bunny Bath & Body

It was a fluke experience happening upon Country Bunny Bath & Body. I had never sold ANYTHING before and wasn't too into the whole party plan scene. I would attend but was never a hostess. One day I am reading the paper and I see this small black text ad that read plainly Country Bunny Bath & Body. So I was wondering what it was and hopped on the computer. I got to their main site and found a rep in my area. Not 5 minutes after emailing her did I get a phone call from her. I met with her the next day. I was adamant that I was not going to be talked into joining. We talked, she sent me home with a bag of goodies, I tried them and fell in LOVE with the products. The thought behind the ingredients, the dual purpose and budget conscious thinking all got me to feeling like this is a company I could be proud of representing. I fell in love with the morals and ethics of the company, of how they do business. I signed just two days later and was in business that night!! My husband was in shock that I actually signed up with a direct sales company. I have been happily with Country Bunny Bath & Body for three years now.

My special: Send orders to Aileen directly (cbbbrep4922@wowway.com) and receive Free Shipping!!! Must mention the Dollymama blog!! Sign up for my newsletter at http://bunnybiz.bravejournal.com and get coupons for $10 off $60 purchase in August. for the month of September Aileen is offering a "Buy a Salt Scrub, get a Spa Glove Free" promotion. Contact her for more details.

Thanks, Aileen, for sending the products and for the great offer! Readers, wouldn't you like to support one of our military families? Go check out Aileen's business and bless both of you today!

They're Off!....and I'm a Terrible Mother

It's the first day of school! My children just got on the bus moments ago.

And you know what?! I missed it.

I was trying to send out one quick email while they waited, and thought they would yell in to tell me when the bus came into view so I could wave goodbye. But they didn't.

By the time I heard the bus and ran down the stairs it was down the road.

How sad! I feel terrible. Didn't even wave goodbye to my kids on the first day of school. L-O-S-E-R.

Modest Mums Nursing Covers

**I just wanted to let you know that I now offer these fabulous nursing covers here. The product line has now expanded to many more fabric choices, including minky fabrics and UV-protective fabrics!

I've gotten behind on my product reviews, but have had a little break in the action around here so wanted to take this opportunity to tell you about a really great product.

If you've ever been a nursing mother you know that although it's natural, beautiful, and necessary, breastfeeding in public isn't always comfortable. A little blanket or burp cloth can be ok for keeping things under wraps, but that only lasts as long as it takes for your little nursling to grow old enough to start flapping their arms around while they eat.

Modest Mums Nursing Covers are the perfect solution to this dilemma. These lovely, reversible covers are well-made, soft, and come in a wide variety of fabric types and prints in order to suit your personality and wardrobe. Although they easily roll right up into a small bundle that can easily fit in your purse, backpack, and diaper bag, it is wide enough when in use to cover you, your baby, and your post-partum love handles as well.

One of my favorite features about these covers is the neckline that features a flexible-but-firm wire of some sort (I assume plastic because it is nicely lightweight) that holds the fabric away from your body so that you can still make eye contact with your baby and make sure they are latched on correctly. I love it that the baby doesn't have to have the fabric sitting right on their face, making them hot. They will get plenty of air flow while cozily tented under these covers.

Most mothers know that babies go through a stage when they are easily distractable while eating. When they hit that stage, even the most modest mother can find herself with her breast hanging out for all the world to see when her little 6 month old decides they have to break away from their meal to check out the noise they just heard. This cover is especially great for that time period, even for bottle feeding moms. Just the ability to cover the baby up, and to block out some of the light and visual stimulation can be a big help.


Since I'm not breastfeeding any more, I passed the cover that Kim sent on to a friend from my church that has a new baby. She had spent a lot of our small group meetings camped out in another room to nurse her baby, or else kept trying to make her baby sling work to cover him up. She was quite thrilled with the nursing cover because all she had to do was put it on and then she was totally covered and able to get her baby all set up to nurse without being exposed at all. She enjoyed getting to stay with the group instead of feeling like she should run off to some other room. She said that her baby loves to be covered up when he nurses, but he gets hot and she can never see him when he's getting latched on. She was really happy with this product.

I asked Kim to tell a little about how she got into her business:

I'm the mother of two boys, ages 11 & 1-1/2 and am expecting my third child in December. I launched Modest Mums in April 2005 when, as a nursing mom, I couldn't find a decent nursing cover in a print that I was really crazy about. It's been a dream to be able to be a stay-at-home/work-at-home mom, and to not have to leave my little one in daycare while I go to work every day. To be able to offer something special to nursing moms, whom I really support, is just another big plus! I believe our Modest Mums nursing cover is different than other nursing covers on the market because of our outstanding and very personal customer service and because it is very important to me to constantly introduce new prints into our line to keep it fresh and give moms a different look than other moms out there.

Kim was also kind enough to make a special sale for DollyMama readers:

Here's my special for your blog visitors: at checkout they can use the coupon code dollymamarocks to receive free shipping on any order AND a Modest Mums burp cloth to match their nursing cover!

Failure to Launch (movie review)

The hubby and I watched this movie the other day and my review for it is short and sweet:

Failure to Launch fails to be funny. And I just do not enjoy looking at Sarah Jessica Parker.

If you want to see the same basic story, but be entertained and laugh, just watch Hitch again instead.

15 Years

Today is our 15th anniversary. We celebrated by going to back-to-school night with our kids. So romantic! :)

Swamped

Sunlight Through a Cypress Swamp with Reflections

Sorry for the lack of whitty posts and so forth. Since returning from our trip I've just been swamped with household, back to school, health, and business issues. Once I get through the current wave of must-get-done items, I will be back with some more product reviews and more of the usual blather that you have become accustomed to.