I hear myself saying I can’t wait for spring. (Because I am tired of the winter)

I can’t wait until its summer. (When I get to go to Israel for the first time. Yay!)

I am looking forward to fall. (When I get to see both my sons both play football)

Then I have to stop and remind myself to enjoy the present. Stand still and take it all in.

The dinners with my family. The lounging in bed watching espn and sports center with the boys. The family vacations. The laying on the floor petting our loyal Labrador retrievers.

Why am I in such a hurry for the future? Why do I always yearn for something else and not what’s currently happening in our life?

Maybe its because I am so used to running from activity to activity that I don’t have time to stop and enjoy it.. Our life is an endless series of basketball, football and baseball in the form of practices, lessons and games. And looking at schedules and planning out our next week of commitments.  Our kids love it and seem to be flourishing. That’s all that matters, right?

I just finished reading The Gift of An Ordinary Day by Katrina Kenison.  It was so relatable and an incredible read.

She has two boys and they are getting older and moving further away from her. (Figuratively and eventually literally) As she says, “Pay attention to the moment at hand- the worn wooden table still scattered with breakfast crumbs, the breeze coming through the open door, the stillness of late morning, my nearly grown son sitting at my side, waiting my response to his work.”

I see this happening in my life too, of course.  My sons are getting older and becoming young men and I am merely the vessel that is carrying them through this journey.. They will eventually be making their own choices and hopefully the guidance we have given them will have some effect on them.

Kenison continues and quotes poet Kahill Gibran. “Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They came through you but not from you and though they are with you yet they belong not to you.”

And my favorite quote from the book.  “We have all been so busy- doing our work, growing up, being a family. Soon it will all end. All this striving, accommodating, juggling, will be the past…No more college applications to proofread or loads of sweaty t-shirts in the hamper. No more enormous sneakers to trip over as I walk through the back door.  And I will miss all of it. The beauty that I love is the life that we live, the four of us together, now, this moment, with all its cluttered complexity and inconvenience. The beauty that I love is the gift of every ordinary day that’s left to me. “

So I am trying to stop and smell the roses as they say. (or as one of my incredible mentors has said to me many times) Slow down. Enjoy each day. Relish these moments with my children. Be present. The spring, the summer and the fall will come soon enough. And another year will have passed.

Enjoy the ordinary moments. Life is good.

Kim Gellman is the owner of Artisticsensations.com, a fun and hip website that sells kids furniture, bedding, and room decor from baby to college age kids. She is the mother of two boys and enjoys every moment of life and all its adventures!

@silverpeanut cheers back to you in reply to silverpeanut #

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Should you let your daughter blog?

Blogging is no longer limited to adults. Children are hopping on the information superhighway and heading for venues like MySpace and LiveJournal. Both of these providers offer blogging services to children over the age of 13. And kids are taking them up on their offer. According the latest research by WiredSafety.org, an estimated 6 million children under the age of 18 have blogs through these services or others like them. Many of these children are also doing so without their parents’ knowledge.

Blogging, a published online version of a personal or professional journal, has quickly become one of the top forms of communication and information sharing on the internet. Allowing your daughter to blog certainly has its’ benefits. It can provide her with a wonderful creative outlet to express her inner thoughts and feelings. In addition, blogging can help improve her writing, social, internet, and technical skills.

But as is the case with most social media outlets, blogging can also open the door to dangerous liaisons with internet predators or cyber bullies. Online safety often becomes the central issue when children blog; which begs the question, should you allow your daughter to blog at all if she is under the age of 18? And if you choose to let her enter the blogosphere, how can you make sure your teen is safe?

As with most things involving your daughter connecting and sharing information with others online, there are things you can do as a parent to help.

Blogging Safety Guide:

• Break out the “Rule Book.” Parents should establish rules before allowing their teens to blog a single sentence. You may want to prohibit personal information such as her real name, address, phone number, etc. from being used on her blog to ensure no one she doesn’t know has access to private information. Pseudonyms are commonplace in the blogosphere for this very reason.

• Find a reliable blogging service. Choose a blogging service that allows your daughter’s personal information to be pass word protected so only her close friends can view her blog. Blogger and Wordpress are both popular blog services that offer additional security measures.

• Read her blog. Don’t let your daughter tell you that you are “invading her privacy.” The truth of the matter is that as many as 700 million people online may have access to the information she publishes. Reading her blog is not the same as digging through her drawers for her private diary. As a parent, it’s not only your right, but arguably your duty to occasionally browse the content of her blog. This also ensures that she is following the blogging rules you’ve agreed upon.

• Talk with her. Chat with your daughter about her blog. Ask her questions and listen to her answers. Use her blogging experience as a way to connect with her about issues that matter to both of you (yes, there are some of those even though she’s a teen). Make it known that you routinely read her blog and let her know what you enjoy about it. This will also help remind her that whatever she publishes online will be read by you. She may think twice about writing about inappropriate subjects.

• Google her. If you are ever in doubt about what your daughter’s really up to online, you can always “Google” her name. This internet search will give you a fairly complete picture of her online activities.

• Investigate questionable content. Trust is often the determining factor in whether or not parents allow their children to blog. If you stumble across a post that you have “questions” about, try not to jump to any conclusions until you talk with your daughter. Teens, by nature, tend to embellish their thoughts and feelings to impress their friends. That being said, if there is questionable content on her blog, it’s important to confront her and get to the bottom of the issue. Whether the content is a case of embellishment or indicative of a more serious problem, it’s important to address the issue promptly and directly.

• When to pull the plug. If you suspect or discover any information on your daughter’s blog that “breaks” your rules or is too revealing, it’s time to pull the plug for a while. It’s important for your daughter to understand that there are consequences for her actions and that you mean what you say. Take her computer privileges away and disable her blog until she can prove she’s trustworthy again. It’s true that she may find other ways to chat online but it will make access to a computer much more difficult.

The Writer:

By: Elizabeth Donovan, M.A.

ParentingPink.com

The Collaborator: Kim Gellman is the owner of Artisticsensations.com, a fun and hip website that sells kids furniture, bedding, and room decor from baby to college age kids. She is the mother of two boys and enjoys every moment of life and all its adventures!

	The Ultimate Rock Star Girl Nap Mat! What’s more plush than sleeping on minky fabric? The Rock Heiress Nap Mat is sure to please even the pickiest young diva.
	Inspired by French scenes of the Eiffel Tower and an adorable French Poodle, the Parisian nap mats plush pink swirl minky blanket and fuchsia with chocolate brown polka dot minky nap mat will envelope your little princess for dreams of Parisian adventures.
	After a big set, your little rocker needs a place to catch some Zs. What’s more plush than sleeping on minky fabric? The Rockin Out Nap Mat is sure to please even the busiest young star.
	After a busy day of wranglin’, every little buckaroo needs a comfy place to catch some Zs. The Buckaroo Coywboy Nap Mat is sure to please every cowpoke on the range.

Kim Gellman is the owner of Artisticsensations.com, a fun and hip website that sells kids furniture, bedding, and room decor from baby to college age kids. She is the mother of two boys and enjoys every moment of life and all its adventures!

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Here are some other quick and inexpensive tricks to liven up a child’s room décor:

1. Spray paint some children’s or doll’s chairs (they’re often seen in thrift stores) in bright colors. Mount them on the wall as unique shelves to display toys.

1. Customize a piece of furniture over and over again, by papering a motif over the drawers. In this example, I used an old shower curtain cut into pieces and secured it around the drawer with duct tape in a matching color so that it would stay yet still be removable later. Once the drawer is in place, the tape is invisible. Before you adhere the covering, remove the drawer pulls and replace them by piercing the paper at the right spot.
2. For wall décor, purchase a set of inexpensive plastic children’s tableware in the desired theme and mount the plastic plate and bowl on the wall – the advantage here, is that the objects are light so if they should fall off, injuries are unlikely to result.
3. Or, many themed bedding sets come with a flat sheet that goes unused by most children. Cut the sheet into sections and frame them or staple them over a canvas – and voila!Nicole Wexler is an Interior Decorator and Home Stager Follow her on twitter at @turquoisedecorKim Gellman is the owner of Artisticsensations.com, a fun and hip website that sells kids furniture, crib bedding and room decor from baby to college age kids. She is the mother of two boys and enjoys every moment of life and all its adventures!

@thepioneerwoman Spanx is a product that a man invented to torture us more. as if miracle suits to suck in all weren't enough in reply to thepioneerwoman #

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Artisticsensations.com is excited to be teaming up with Annie Foonberg and The Real Mom TV to help decorate the nursery for Future Mama with bedding, room accessories and wall art.
The readers on both Jenn’s blog and Artistic Sensations Blog along with The Real Mom TV will be offered several choices and be able to vote on what their favorites are.

We will documenting each step of the contest with photos, videos and articles. We offer three choices of the product or colors and let our readers vote on which color/product they like.
Every month starting in March and for the next four months, we have a new offering for Future Mama’s nursery on our websites. We will discuss on twitter, facebook and The Real Mom TV’s internet show and look forward to our reader’s comments. Then we will have a second leg of our contest and offer all of the same items for customers to enter in the fall.

Stay tuned for more details.

Kim Gellman is the owner of Artisticsensations.com, a fun and hip website that sells kids furniture, crib bedding and room decor from baby to college age kids. She is the mother of two boys and enjoys every moment of life and all its adventures!

Recently, I was thinking about one of my best friends when I was growing up “M”. We grew up in the same neighborhood and played together often. I have a lot of fond memories of her and looked up to her. I would go to her house regularly and her mom would feed me. Yes, feed me. M was tall and skinny and I was shorter and had “more meat on me.” M’s mom had all kinds of goodies at their house that we did not have. Ding dongs, twinkies and cookies were in regular supply and did not exist in our household.

Why you may ask. Many of our family members had weight problems and my parents did not want their darling little girl having the same problem. Which in itself created a whole other problem. (That will be another post for sure)  I liked sweets and I was going to find them. So I would sneak off to M’s house and get my treat.

There was also a candy store at the community center where I went daily, many times with “M.” I remember one time I was not suppose to buy anything there so I just took it.

“M’ and I were on the phone talking and she said, “I can’t believe you stole that candy bar.”  At the same point, my mom happened to pick up the phone and hear this conversation. Not a good thing. (I don’t think she happened to pick up either. She often listened to my conversations to make sure I wasn’t getting in any trouble!)

The minute I hung up the phone,  my mom proceeded to march me up to the community center and make me give the candy back and apologize to their entire staff. It was probably the most humiliating experiences of my life. And I never stole anything again.

M and I remained friends as it was not her fault.

The following year I moved to a different area and M did too. Our parents remained friends so I always got updates on her but eventually we lost touch as we met new people and time went by.

Then about ten years later, we ran into each other and decided to get together.  It was incredible. We picked up right where we left off and became fast friends again. We both met our husbands and fell in love. She stood up in my wedding. We have watched each other raise our own children and go through life’s up and downs. We live about 20 minutes apart and our kids are in different activities in different communities so its sometimes difficult to get together. But we try to make it work.

I feel very fortunate to have her in my life. She is a treasure. Our friendship has come full circle and I am so blessed to have reconnected with her. I love that saying we use to sing when we were little girls. “Make new friends and keep the old, one is silver and the other gold.” So true. I love you M.

What old friends do you have in your life and what makes them special?

Kim Gellman is the owner of Artisticsensations.com, a fun and hip website that sells kids furniture, bedding, and room decor from baby to college age kids. She is the mother of two boys and enjoys every moment of life and all its adventures!

RT @ZenMommy: R birth story. @riasharon @kidsroomdecor @zenmommie @vespers1005 http://bit.ly/cQx9CU SO BEAUTIFUL!!! #

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