Brown Mama Enterprise

7 Tips on making the Family Portrait Stress FREE

2014-01-23T13:48:00.002-08:00

Photo courtesy of recruiterpoet.com

A couple of weeks ago, a favorite photographer of mine was running a special on family portraits. I, so badly, wanted my family to get one. The deal was he would snap about 5-7 photos and edit the best one. Then he would my post them online to a password protected site. It only cost us $30! This seemed like a great idea. He is a great commercial and family photographer. His work has been featured in National Geographic, New York Times, and he is a chosen photographer for the Clinton Library. I tell my husband this and he's like - SO? He's got a camera and he takes pictures - Big Deal! I really try to breed culture into this family of mine but they constantly just let me know that NBA on TV, burgers, Xbox and Disney XD will suit them just fine. The Struggle is real!

The last time I tried to get my family to take photos, my middle child was 3 months old. Now that he is 7 and there is an extra child in the mix, I figured it was about time to do it again.

When we last took a family photo, my husband and oldest son complained...and…complained... and complained.

Why are we wearing blue?

I don’t want to wear blue.

You don’t have blue on…why?

Why are we wearing church clothes?

How long is this going to take?

I planned everyone’s outfit and yet, it still took us a longtime to get ready. I was determined to be better prepared this time around. Here’s what I did and my advice on how to make your family photo shoot less stressful:

1. Scour Pinterest for ideas i.e. clothing, color, theme, setting, etc. You get the picture. I based our outfits from my husband’s peach long-sleeve button shirt. Make sure your other family members have outfits to go with your inspiration. My daughter and youngest son had nothing. I had to buy my daughter a new outfit and my youngest son wore one of his brother’s old shirts. It was kind of cold and the shirt I found for him was short-sleeved. That meant that he was going to have to be cold for those 5-7 shots and the during time waiting for the photographer to call us prior to the photo. I am a terrible mom but it’s all for the sake of a great family photo. Who knows when I’ll get the energy to force these people to do this again?

2. Make sure all clothing is clean the night before. Don’t wash any part of said outfits with black sneakers the night before. I made the mistake of washing my husband nice shirt with my son’s black Nike’s. Epic FAIL! I really don’t know why I did it. Trying to kill two birds with one stone, I guess. It looked like a bicycle tire had invaded my husband’s neck and arms. I ruined his shirt, the shirt that I based everyone’s outfit on! I discovered this tragedy an hour before we were to leave for the photo. He was upset but promised he’d improvised. Oh boy!

3. Have everyone eat BEFORE they get dressed. My kids are messy eaters, even the twelve year old. They were all dressed in record timing. I knew they’d be hungry but they could eat later, or so I thought. They all wanted to eat jelly toast. Yes, people – JELLY TOAST. Last time I checked, jelly is not invisible. Like I said before – THE STRUGGLE! When I discovered my 12 year old had made the others toast for breakfast - I, figuratively, skipped a 4 foot distance to intercept those jelly toast plates of destruction. Oh no! Not in my our award-winning-photographer-low-cost-but-good-quality pictures. Catastrophe evaded….WHEW! He would have never tried to be so helpful any other morning.

4. Know the photographer’s location at least the day before the shoot. I kind of knew where the photo would be but I didn't. Yeah, I know – NO CLUE. I knew the vicinity but that was it. Needless to say, we were an hour late. We drove to the park where I thought it was, but it wasn't. I mentioned the park name to my husband and he immediately knew where and so did my oldest son. I always underestimate my husband. I should give him more credit. The photographer took us on. He was still there in between shoots. It was a family photo day. Good thing because tardy was our name that morning. Why I never referred to Google Maps, I'll never know.

5. Steer clear of dog poop walking up to the photo shoot spot. Pet owners you ‘gotta’ scoop the poop. I fussed at everyone this particular morning about applying lotion to elbows, rubbing Chapstick to lips, and keeping food away from clothes but I really didn't think about having to yell to my husband to catch my son from stepping in the doggy do. We were walking up to the photo shoot and because I was on a quest to block all things that could ruin my our family photo, my super mom senses laser-ed in on the poop pile. I yelled to my husband and I swear this scene happened in slow motion. He grabbed my son around the waist just as he was about to ruin his shoes in the "prize" and whirled around in a circle like a ballerina and her partner and then ever so gently tiptoed over it himself. Yes, ladies and gentlemen - my husband is superman.

6. Give your youngest time to warm up to the photographer. She was mean-mugging through the whole session. I guess the 5-7 shots were good for everyone else but not her. She needed time to warm up to this stranger pointing a camera at her family. This stranger that kept repeating her name was not cool with her. The evidence is in the picture.

7. When taking pictures outside make sure that it is not too bright that your family cannot open their eyes. The sun was really nowhere to be seen but if you already have tight eyes, it won’t take much to make them squint. It was a bright beautiful day. When I saw the picture, it looked like we are all struggling to open our eyes while smiling. This was clearly a forced picture.

Even though it took an act of congress to get this picture, I am glad we have one. There is record that my family exists and we exist together - even if my husband and oldest look dorky, my youngest son was cold on his birthday (Yep - I did this to him on his birthday), my daughter was a mean toddler and I had too much going on around my neck (frills on blouse and a scarf – fashion NO NO). I’ll take it because I know everyone will have the memories leading up to the moment of the photo. We were happy to be together.

Turning 34 is Not So Bad

2013-12-03T09:32:00.002-08:00

I had a birthday on Sunday which marked me being Randi's daughter for thirty-four years. I did nothing special. My husband bought me shoes and the kids gave me Happy Birthday serenades. Although it seemed like a pretty ordinary day, I noticed a perk in my step. Cooking dinner was no problem. Kids wrestling and running through the house did not bother me. Every TV we own turned to Disney XD was no bother either (I guess the kids were making sure they could catch pieces of their shows as they scrambled through the house). I was telling friend how I had this certain perkiness about me and during that conversation I believe I realized it was because I am on a path to doing what I want to do with my life.

I used to have reflection and new goals on the blog whenever milestones happened. When life changes, goals change as well. Now is as great a time to project new goals and restart a new tradition.

1. Finish grad school – May 2014, whew! I see the light

2. Began freelance writing - specifically topics pertaining to community/economic development (I’ll have a masters catered – see #1) , business, careers, marketing and obviously parenting. So if you need web or article content, I am available for hire. I would also like to guest post for other blogs.

3. Obtain certification in the Community and Economic Development field.

4. Take this blog to the next level – I have many blog idols.

5. Help my children define income streams of their own. I want to teach about money and entrepreneurship.

6. Be a better wife and mother in God’s eyes.

7. Help my son attain his sports dreams.

8. Write a book.

This is what is currently on my plate and all can conquered. Since the New Year is coming up, I am sure you have some outlook and reflection on your horizon. What are your goals?

Dealing with Family During the Holidays

2013-11-27T18:59:00.000-08:00

What is it about the holidays that make it hard to deal with family? Here we are the day before the Thanksgiving and I have already heard two stories about family members are mad at each other. One was over a pan of dressing and the other was over a crockpot. We should take a step back and ask ourselves if we are really upset over that pan of dressing or a crockpot or if we are living in a false realty.

During this time of year there can be an extreme amount of pressure to make everything perfect, including our family. It's completely understandable why we strive for perfection with the Hallmark channel showing sappy Christmas movies since Halloween turned the corner. There is commercial after commercial showing families sitting around a table laughing, looking flawless and eating the perfect meal. Our psyche is constantly being fed that we are imperfect and need to strive for a Walton Family Christmas. When dealing with family for the holidays, our outlook needs to be kept in perspective. Expectations should be realistic.

photo credit: www.someecards.com

Expectations of others need to be at a minimum. Everyone is trying hard to please others. If they overlook you and your needs, give them a pass. Remember, it is a time for sharing, forgiving and loving. Plus, it just isn't the time bring up the fact that you and your family member should have gone to counseling years ago because "said person" actually does not meet your expectations anytime of the year.

Expectations of you need to be at a minimum, too. You cannot do it all. You cannot buy, cook, visit or help everyone. Keep tasks at a minimum in order to enjoy the holidays. Running around trying to be everybody's somebody will wear you out and make you the least favorite person at the holiday party because your energy level is 0.

Finally, don't give others the impression you can do it all. People will take advantage of you and they will not have any shame in doing so. When in the company of your family, talk about how simple your holidays are going to be. Your hints will give them the idea that you are not the "go-to" person this year. The word "NO" needs to be a regular part of your holiday vocabulary. If it seems harsh when relaying it to someone else, just follow it up with how simple your holidays are going to be and that would hinder your goals. Invite your family members to join in your idea of simple a holiday season. It may be a winner among the rest of your loved ones.

Dealing with loved ones during the holidays always puts us on edge. Keep it easy going in order to avoid the argument over the pan of dressing or the crockpot thrown out in the trash. Put on your duck armor and let the small things roll off your back. Enjoy the time you have with your loved ones and forget about the perfect memories. Just make your memories, true.

Getting Your New Business Right for the New Year

2013-11-26T12:50:00.005-08:00

Halloween is past and Thanksgiving is right around the corner. And Christmas will be here before we know it. It’s getting close to a new year which means I am getting close to the end of my graduate program. The end of one life event and the beginning of another often prompts reflection. I believe there is motivation in reflection. If you haven’t gotten around to what you feel like you should be doing by now, don't sweat it. I tell my children every night, if there is something about this day you did not like, you'll get a chance to do it over tomorrow. Many will decide that the big step into entrepreneurship is what they want for themselves. There will be new business owners in 2014. Maybe you or someone you know will need some tips. Here’s how to be a “small business super star“ with your start-up during the beginning phase of your business:

1. Plan to fail. Yes, expect failure. You can have a business plan, marketing plan and even an emergency plan, yet failure will creep up on you. Stuff happens. When failure appears, this is the opportune time to see what you as the business owner are made of. Will you stick you head between your legs and shy away? You better not! This is what your naysayers are waiting on. The haters will be in full effect when you open your business. They will be waiting on your fall. However, failure is not bad. It’s how you handle failure that will determine if you are the rock star business owner you aim to be. Keep your head up, shoulders straight, and move forward.

2. Develop a business alter-ego. When Beyoncé walks on stage, she becomes Sasha. We stop and we give Sasha the attention she commands. Everyone needs to know that you are serious about this your new adventure. You cannot give away your product for free to Aunt Sally or your cousin Gina. Being “nice Natalie” does not turn a profit, but “Decisive Debbie” gets the job done. Don’t be a push-over. If you don’t respect your business, neither will anyone else.

3. Get Social. You need to socialize every chance and everywhere you can. Get involved with the chamber of commerce, the local library, churches, charities and make friends with other business owners. Build an online community, as well. Respond to your customers or clients in all media forms. Don’t be scared of how technology can keep you close to your customers or clients. Your company’s presence should be easily felt, seen and heard. Your clientele needs to know you care about your community by seeing you involved in it.

4. Give the red carpet treatment. It does not cost money to provide stellar customer service. It can be as simple a quirky “thank you” given each and every time a customer or client visits your business or that special thank card slipped in each shipment. This will keep them coming back and making referrals. When you visit businesses, start paying attention to how they handle customer service. Decide how it could be better and implement that in your business. Go out of the way for your customers or clients. It will be worth it in the end.

5. Get your money right. Kanye West said it best – Wait ‘til I get my money right. It would not be smart to start a business and your financial affairs are in an uproar. This means that if you don’t know how you are going to pay for the first month’s lease payment on your store, then you might need to wait until you have the cash to invest in your dream. Once you have the cash that is necessary to make your vision a reality, it is still necessary to know your next financial step. Always, stay ahead by making moves with your next financial step while executing the current one.

These are among a few tips that will help you with your next phase of life as small business owner. Keep in mind that it will be hard, but nothing worth having is always easy.

So now that I have given you that push, what are you waiting for? Get busy! January 1^st is right around the corner.

Spooktacular Halloween Family Fun!

2013-10-30T17:28:00.002-07:00

Guest post by a friend - Kendra Thorton

https://twitter.com/KendraThornton

It might be hard to believe, but it is already that special time of year when delicious treats are in abundance as well as lattes that feature flavors like pumpkin spice. Besides this, there are cornucopias wherever you decide you go. The fact is that one my favorite seasons of the year is Halloween. After all, the Halloween season has so many fun activities for my family to enjoy and there are plenty of tasty foods in which to delight for the children and myself!

My children like to create their own Halloween costumes, but at the same time, they prefer some assistance with this endeavor. In addition to this, we work together in making delicious foods such as apple crisp, which has always been one of their favorites.

As they are out and about on Halloween night in trick or treating, I make sure they have a delicious treat when they come home such as some warm apple cider or some delicious pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, which is always in popular demand. When my children get home, there is much time spent by making trades with each other in terms of the candy they have and the candy that they want! Since I make it a point to go through their candy and treats before my children make their infamous candy trades, it really does not bother me. What does concern me is an opened or homemade candy that is brought to our house. It is truly priceless to see how my kids organize and trade the candy that they have acquired from a successful night of trick or treating.

As of this year, my kids and I will be spending time in my hometown of Chicago celebrating Halloween. I am waiting with anticipation for this delightful experience. At the same time, there have been previous years where my children and I have not stayed in our humble home. In fact, on a trip to the city of Orlando during Halloween not too long ago, we stayed in a hotel. I do understand that my children were not very enthusiastic about these accommodations on Halloween night, but I did have a plan in what to do to make it a fun experience for them. To begin our Halloween experience in Orlando, we started by decorating some of our pillow cases that we brought from home. We decided to design each case after various Halloween themes. Our experienced continued with my children going around various places in the hotel wearing their costumes that we designed together.

To assist with my plans, I found Gogobot.com’s Family Traveler’s tribe quite helpful for this endeavor with the helpful ideas and suggestions that I received. I followed some of the advice and the result was truly warming. Guests in the hotel were extremely kind and gave Halloween candy as well as treats to all of my children. Believe it or not, we were able to go from room to room in search for Halloween treats for the kids and it went really well. Our time in Orlando was certainly a distinct and memorable experience for that year. At the same time, is created a memory that I will treasure for the rest of my life and I believe that my kids will treasure the experience also.

Check out Gogobot here: http://www.gogobot.com/blog/2013/10/11/legends-history-5-haunted-u-s-hotels/

I am thrilled that I can celebrate Halloween 2013 this fall. The main reason for my excitement is the fact that I will be having some family over to my home for a visit. This delightful fact means that I will be looking for some new and terrific treats and goodies in which to serve my special guests. As I look for new delicious dishes and tasty treats, I have found that Pinterest is a fantastic resource in which I find what I am looking for and so much more! How about you? What seasonal holiday do you enjoy to celebrate?

The Stay-at-Home Mom

2013-10-15T13:47:00.000-07:00

About a few weeks ago my six year old and I were in the car having a conversation about what I do. I immediately assumed he meant what kind of job do I have. I guess he realized he had not been by mommy's office to wait on me to finish up a project or send a quick email after I picked him up from school or how I haven't closed my bedroom door in the evening after we get home to get some work caught up.

My kids see what my husband does for a living. He owns a business and when someone or something goes wrong, he has to go fix it. He's the boss. He’s had much more flexible time than I because he’s his own boss but there are still customers to satisfy. Needless to say, my husband works crazy hours.

I reminded my six year old that I was in school full time and staying at home to continue education and making his life much more easy at home. Words have to be chosen carefully when talking to a six year old. I had to say 'continuing college' because he believes that I completed college which I did and earned a bachelor's degree - years ago. I have been slowly having the conversation with him about how you can go to school and continue to learn. Learning is ongoing is what I always tell my kids.

So, that conversation brings me to my thoughts on staying at home versus working outside the home. There are trade offs to each. Some good, some bad. Either could be viewed differently depending on your home situation or your finances.

Time Factor

When I worked outside the home I was always in rush. And I mean, ALWAYS. I would hustle the kids out to school in the morning. I felt like every second counted. Every millisecond counted when thinking ahead to the traffic I would get ready to navigate through. Rush, rush. Hurry, hurry. Drink the juice, eat that food. Chew and swallow. Yes, I am guilty of asking them to rush the chewing and swallowing. I was so engulfed in my work that while I should have been talking to them in the car on the way to work and school, I was, instead, checking my email while driving (guilty, again) or sitting in my own silence planning out my day at work. I was a total grump during morning rides in the car. I usually growled at them in the car and suddenly - because I felt like I was supposed to – I’d tell them to have a great day at school when we arrived at their destination. I am sure they thought I was crazy. (I was.) It was a forceful goodbye but only because dropping them off interrupted my work thoughts. You see, I was at work before I ever arrived at the building.

My husband use to pick up my oldest because his school let out later. My youngest school age child went to an after-care program at his school. I worked around the corner from his school but always managed to either pick him up late or barely make it there in time. I would have good intentions on picking him up early but work always held me hostage. By being at home I have time to prepare better meals. We go to bed on time. Everyone is much more rested, me included. (Yes, LAWD!) I was never able to give the kids school work the attention it needed. I made decent money but not enough to pay a tutor and keep up our regular two parent income expenses. I'm so much more involved today.

Look at what my big head and I did together. It may be some ugly cake with flags to you but this was quality time spent together making a model of an animal cell.

When I worked, we use to eat out often. I would call in a to-go order from some restaurant and make sure I had the kids a decent vegetable as one of their sides so I could brush away the guilt of not preparing them a wholesome meal. And forget going on field trips with them or getting by the school to at least have lunch. I was far too busy to do such things. Now, I can do those things without a conscious. I live in a less time-sensitive existence.

Money (Isn't that what we all think it comes down to?)

With my husband and I working, our income was nice. We could afford to eat out, go to a movie, buy things off aisle caps in the stores - the aisle caps still get me. At my last job, my salary was the highest it had been in my working career. It was good pay but I definitely worked for it. Because my time was limited, I was always spending money. But, it was not much of a worry. At least at the time I didn’t think so. If the kids needed something at school, I'd just go to the bank and get the money to pay for it. Never mind that I realized the “said” need at the last minute or that I could have budgeted better and paid for said need in advance. Let me be the one to tell you that the "Last Minute" mentality is expensive. Many people have it but don't recognize it because they have the money to spend on it or they think they have the money to spend on it.

Gone are the days that we just frivolously spent money. I thought I was budgeting before but now the budget is super tight and I try not to deviate from it. I cook just about every day. This has given a chunk of our family time back to us. Guess what? We, now, talk to eat other - go figure! These kids use to talk to me before (except in the mornings - see paragraph #4) but now it’s on another level. We may eat out twice a week which consists of a fast food meal (weekday) and a sit down meal at a family eating establishment (Saturdays). This has given us more family time.

We plan dental visits around a budget. No longer are we just scheduling appointments on a whim. We make extreme calculated moves. We plan the kids’ activities around our budget. We are thinking so far ahead to how we will get new floors, make home repairs and even how and when we plan to buy a new house. Sure, I miss the extra money. I miss Starbucks frappes'. I miss quick weekend shopping sprees. I miss spur of the moment weekend activities. But I love my sanity.

When I first became a stay-at-home mom people used to make comments like, "Wish I could do that" or "Must be nice." It used to make me feel uneasy. I never knew how to respond. It sometimes made me feel guilty for my fortunate situation. On Monday one of my friends asked me how was the home life. My reply, "It is pretty darn good." I have to own this stay-at-home status. Even with all the missed caveats of a career on hiatus, it is pretty darn good. Whatever the next phase in life brings me, I'll have to own that, too.

While, I know I am painting a picture of how it is best to stay at home, please note that is not always my true opinion. It just happens to be my circumstance at this time in my life. I know at some point I must go back to work. Whether that be away from the home is up in the air for now. I know that when I did work, I ROCKED! I also know when I worked, I STRUGGLED. Every time I won, I lost. I was never fully on top and nor was I fully on the bottom. I still have days where I crave the praise of a job well done but for now I'll settle for getting the kids to practice on time.

Creeping Around the Corner

2013-10-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

I have been unemployed since May 31st of this year. I have worked a job since it was legal for me to have employment which has been since I was sixteen. Right about now it feels strange to not be earning a paycheck. I am blessed that we can afford to handle this life situation and it is not forced upon us like those affected from furloughs due the 2013 government shutdown. So what has been going on for the past couple of years? Well, to start off, I snagged a job that paid me the most I had ever made when I was employed, I hated that job and then, ultimately, I quit that long-hours-a-day-no-one-cared-about-me-uber-boring-life-sucking-cubicle job. It was just that serious. I have also committed myself to completing grad school in May 2014. In the past few months, I have picked up running, again. Running makes me feel good. The OWN Network (Oprah's TV Network for those of you living under a rock) is still on TV and I am still enjoying it. I have a 12 year old, 6 year old and a 2 year old. I am still married and live in the same house. Blah, blah blah…. Now back to the unemployed part. I really miss earning a paycheck and having regular money to spend. I don’t miss the daily grind or the rat race. I talk to my friends about their work life and I am relieved that right now I am unemployed. Whew! Now that I am unemployed I have been more conscious about my spending habits. I thought I was a nitpicker about expenses but now that I live in a one income household, I realized that before I really wasn't as conscious as I thought. Truth be told, we could all be a little more discipline in our spending habits. Right now, I am on my way to seeking happiness without being a slave to the paycheck. I am in paycheck rehab at this current moment, looking for other income streams. That's not so say that I may not get a job in the future but if I can help it, I won't. Since I'll have a master's degree, I plan to look into teaching some college courses at a local 2-year school. We’ll see. Since being at home, I have had some time to know what I'd like to do and that is to write. That is the main reason of why I am blogging today. I miss it. What I do know is that the more I write the better I should get. So bear with me for the time being as I transition my blog into something better. I know I love to read about small business success, community success, parenting, marriage, and innovation. So maybe you will see more post from me about these subjects so that those of you who like reading about the same topics can get my view on them as well. For now let's just roll with the punches. The only promise I can make is that I will be writing.

Boy, have I missed blogging!

2012-07-06T14:45:00.002-07:00

I have been having a serious tug to start blogging again. Events in our lives have been happening and I think, this so blog-able. Then I say to myself - to bad I don't blog anymore. But you know what? I do still blog. I still own a blog and I still read blogs. So yes, I am back to blogging. I'll try to recap what has happen with my crazy family in two years but I that will come in several blog posts. In the mean time I will just post pictures, so you can at least remember we are a good looking family, aside from the circus that seems to appear wherever we go.

The Boys

Our latest addition

It's me again.....Happy News Years

2010-12-31T20:40:00.000-08:00

So it's 10am on New Year's Eve and I am reflecting on this past year which in my opinion was just not the best. I really let myself go mentally with this new job. It affected my family and my marriage. The best thing was they knew I was suffering and loved me in spite of. I am not saying everything is just great but it is getting better.

A new year is upon us and I already have something things to look forward too. Grad school is on the horizon and so is a new baby due to arrive this summer. I have made no resolutions this year. I am simply just hoping for God to shine an even brighter light on me, my family and friends.

On another note:

Oprah's OWN channel starts tomorrow! I am so excited! Inspiration all day long.......(sigh)

The TV show "The Game" is coming back on the air after 2 years and complaints by fans because of its cancellation

Income tax season is upon us.....$$$$$

Here's to hoping everyone has a great beginning to a new year. I have resided with the fact that hope what I am taking with me into 2011.

Happy New Year's Everybody!

I use to blog here

2010-08-16T19:03:00.000-07:00

I guess I still do. When I get wrapped up in my feelings I tend to get lazy and eat. So obviously, I took a break from blogging and fattened up, almost re-entered grad school and I got a new job. Yes, ladies and gentlemen.....I finally found a new place to call my work home. Sometimes you have to be careful what you ask for because I am not extremely fond of the new gig. I have learned quite a bit about myself through working at the new place. I like controlling my time. I don't like short travels. I LOVE MY FAMILY TO DEATH. I am selfish. I am a bit shallow and high maintenance. I would love to write for a living and just be mom. I love being heavily involved in the community. I love people. I would love to volunteer in stead of work because when i am done i can quit. I like quitting (I don't do it enough!)

Enough about me.....

I changed my oldest son's school and I am pleased about it....OVER THE MOON!

It was also extremely HAUTE here in central Arkansas, like 107. HOT!

Oprah is showing way too many reruns......

The summer is almost over and I welcome the school year. I miss my time alone after 9:00pm. I forgot all about that one hour I took for myself. The kids are starting bedtime early this week. I love it!

Until next time!

My Favorite iPhone Apps

2010-05-06T06:36:00.001-07:00

As promised I said I would give away my favorite iPhone apps. Before I had an iPhone, I had a pretty basic phone. It took pictures but there were horrible. It had a speaker option but the quality of sound was not great. Let me not even speak on the texting capabilities. I'll just say I had them but they were limited. So without further ado, here are my iPhone favs:

Facebook -- this is obviously one of my favorite apps. I can look at Facebook at anytime, anywhere. It is safe to say I have not given up on Facebook but I have made some refinements.

AllRecipes.com's Dinner Spinner -- this app has helped me out on many days that I was not sure of what I was cooking. You simply pick choose what type of entrée you want to cook like Main Dish, appetizer, bread, etc. Choose a main ingredient such as beef, cheese, vegetable, etc. Lastly, select a time frame you want to finish your meal preparation. And just like that you'll have recipes at your fingertips. This is great for a horrible cook like me.

Shape Builder Lite -- My 3 year old uses this app. He can work my iPhone better than my husband. This app allows him to place shapes in contiguous sequences to form pictures of fun things like a violin, a donkey, letters and even kiwi. It really enhances his spatial abilities. When he gets a "puzzle" correct, he hears children cheering him on. The creator of this app really had kids in mind.

Walgreens -- I can refill prescriptions, upload pictures, look at the weekly ads and even find information on products they carry in the store. This app is a true gem. I can be at the park with my kids and fill a prescription or order pictures. Every retail outlet should take a note from Walgreens with this one. Good Job!

The Weather Channel -- This is app is self-explanatory. I can find out about the weather anywhere. I can look at maps and videos. This helps with travel plans.

OverDrive -- Now this is the newest app I've discovered. Did you know that you can check out audio and digital books from almost any library in America? With this app I can download audio and digital books from public library. I don't have to worry about late fees because once my time is up on a book it will delete itself. This is good for long car rides with family. There are only so many times you can sing "Yes, Jesus Loves Me"

I have become an iPhone junkie. I love finding out new ways to use new technology. I feel it enhances my life. I have yet to pay for an app. Each one I’ve listed here is free. So, I hope you will enjoy them and share your favorites in the comments below.

Oh Blog Dee Oh Blog Dah!

2010-04-07T14:30:00.000-07:00

I have missed the land of blogs. I have had a great break but unfortunately the laundry won. It is still piled up but as of March 4th my Christmas Tree is in the attic! You'll never guess what else we are doing? Painting! It is very therapeutic to paint with my husband. Who needs to pay a therapist when you can get a gallon of paint for $24.99 at Home Depot.

I managed to get a much needed break from the kids for a weekend (Thanks to my mom and her husband), read all of two books (I know I said I was reading but 2 books was the best I could do). I really missed blogging and I missed visiting every one's blogs as well. My iPhone has been capturing pictures so of course I will end this post with some great pictures and notes on posts to come.

Future Posts:
Rethinking Facebook
Great iPhone Apps
The Public School System in Central Arkansas
Going back to School
Great Books

Here is a little bit of what we have been doing:

Easter came and my little man's school did their won rendition of Easter morning. it was cute. I was a proud mama! He, of course, had to make this silly face right before the picture. He's still cute though.

We make Oreo blast with my magic bullet. We call it being economical. Who needs Sonic except for the Route 44 Cherry Limeades during Happy Hour?

We had visitors for Spring Break - my husbands niece and nephews. I really enjoyed them. I was tired once they left (total of 5 kids for 4 days) but I must say I really enjoyed them. I hope they enjoyed themselves as well. The following pictures are of them climbing the mountain. They fared way better than my husband. I saved him the grief of taking his picture.

Heading to the top

Made it to the top

Almost back down - look at those tired faces!

Look whose playing soccer! My baby is growing up so fast!

I will be visiting everybody's blog. So please start back by visiting me.:)

It a bloggy blog world!

I'll be back in April

2010-03-08T10:29:00.000-08:00

I am so sorry I have not held up my end of the bargain. You know the one I am talking about. I blog and you read. I have been overwhelmed with laundry, job hunting, kids and just life in general. I have taken up some book reading to calm my nerves and it is somehow working for now. I will get back to blogging but probably after I have had a much needed break from work and laundry. I am sorry. Come back in April when I am refreshed and back to my old witty self.

Come on SPRING!

Things I DID get done

2010-02-17T13:46:00.000-08:00

I actually did knock some things off my to do list:

~~blog (not sure this post will count)~~I have been informed it counted!
finish a book
~~I started reading (it seems to be pretty good so far)~~This book is a good informative read.
~~get rid of these clothes I am consigning in an event by next Wednesday~~
throw away my VCR/DVD combo player (I don't know why I still have this)
~~drop off my Goodwill donation (Should have done this before taxes)~~
spend time on my twitter account --I am still trying to make sense of it.
~~watch my recorded Oprah shows (I have 18 episodes to catch up on)~~I have four more to watch and then I am caught up, thus my excuse for not blogging.
~~load the dishwasher~~This has been done too many times since my last post.
~~find/buy a new cell phone charger (I am really hoping it turns up before $$$ is spent)~~Of course, I bought a new one and found the old one 2 days later. I couldn't take the new back because I threw away the box.
Get the Christmas tree box out of my hallway -- I don't want to talk about it.

I am late on the Crazy Weatherman--Jim Kosek

2010-02-05T20:41:00.000-08:00

I have relatives on the east coast. One of my co-workers told me I should see this forecast to learn their fate.

This guy is too much!

Things I need to do but not today

2010-02-04T21:16:00.000-08:00

I am in need of some rest and relaxation so I decided that the things on my to do list are not getting look at until this weekend:

blog (not sure this post will count)
finish a book I started reading (it seems to be pretty good so far)
get rid of these clothes I am consigning in an event by next Wednesday
throw away my VCR/DVD combo player (I don't know why I still have this)
drop off my Goodwill donation (Should have done this before taxes)
spend time on my twitter account
watch my recorded Oprah shows (I have 18 episodes to catch up on)
load the dishwasher
find/buy a new cell phone charger (I am really hoping it turns up before $$$ is spent)
Get the Christmas tree box out my hallway

We'll see what happens

2010-02-03T12:13:00.000-08:00

I am little bit behind but I still have time.

Visit NaBloPoMo

Our Weekend Recap with the Ice Storm

2010-02-02T18:00:00.000-08:00

We experienced icy, wet, slick, and semi snowy weather here in Central Arkansas this past weekend. We were all stuck in the house--husband, thing #1, thing #2 and me. It was actually really cool at first. I use my free time to get some clothes washed and put away. I cleaned the kitchen. I put away too little clothes and prep them for an upcoming consignment event. The kids played wildly. My husband played the Wii. Everything was all good.

That was Friday at 1pm. By 3pm we were all growing restless.

We began to do switch task. My kids played the Wii, my husband cleaned and I slept. This cycle went on until Sunday afternoon. The kids' cabin fever drove me crazy. All of the cleaning was starting to be done in vain and the laundry was never caught up like you thought it would be since there was more time to focus on it. After this weekend I have discovered the secret to laundry---go naked! I know. I know. It’s an unlikely solution but we can all dream. It’s clear, I hate laundry and even after this past weekend when we practically had the same clothes on for a couple of days, the laundry never caught up.

My husband had to get on Saturday for his business. I was left alone with the boys for most of the day and on into the evening. We watched movies OnDemand and finally opened one of my oldest son's last Christmas presents. It was a train set he received from my father-in-law. While it looked like a really fun and neat gift, it also looked like something my three year would destruct. There were some small pieces involved. I knew this from looking at pictures on the box. I made excuses from Christmas Eve up until January 31 for why it was not good time to open it. That is a record for me. I am usually the push over.

We put the set together and it was really great for the kids. They both loved it. It was a mock train of the Polar Express, so it had all the bells and whistles. We put it back in the box after we finished. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was. Once we all had the whole train experience, cabin fever set in again. Here is what Cabin Fever looks like in case you’re wondering:

And, no, it is not complete without lotion and deodorant.

I don't usually let them do this but when you are stuck in the house anything goes. Superman costumes and all!

Once Sunday came I decided we would get out of the house, no matter what. The roads outside my house looked safe, so I thought it couldn’t be too bad. I, also, discovered that the library was open. Great! Now, I just had to figure out whose accounts had the least amount of fines due. We each have a library card and we use them all. Sometimes if there are hefty fines on one and I don't feel up to paying them, we just move on to the next card. My husband says it is the equivalent of having a light bill in your kids names. I don't care. I think it is just an efficient way to gain the best experience of the library.

Once we got there, I found out we had these fines on each card: $9.70, $18.40 and $12.30. At our local library when you have fines you are allowed to pay them down to $5.00 and then you can begin borrowing again. I decided I would pay off the fines from the card with $9.70. The lady behind the counter tells me that all month long 100% of fines collected will go the UNICEF. I say, "That’s great! Here is my $9.70 contribution." Her face looked disappointed. She told me all my fines would make a great donation, as if to nudge me to pay them all off. I kindly responded, "I think this $9.70 will do just fine today." Once I paid the fine she kept making remarks about the children in Haiti and how our local library was so generous and how it patrons should be the same way. She was trying to pull a guilt trip over me. Can you believe that? I had to ignore that smug look on her face in order to let her finish checking us out. Sheeesh, lady! I don't have to prove anything to you!

We wrapped up our little library trip with a visit to Wal-Mart and the Golden Corral because mama was not cooking!

It iced, snowed and sleeted the whole weekend and we did not once get out and play. I was not interested. I didn’t even take pictures of it. I have decided after this past weekend that I am SO OVER winter.

Photography Skills at Their Best

2010-01-28T08:32:00.000-08:00

Basketball is in full swing for my 8 year. I try to make it to all the practices to show him my support. I come late but I make it. While I am there, my three year old needs to be kept occupied. I occasionally let him play with my iPhone. I know it sounds crazy but he will sit still and (sometimes) not drop it. There are plenty of great apps for preschoolers.* He can work my phone so well. He knows exactly how to use this phone and where "his" apps are on the phone. These new age technology kids will blow us away ten years from now, I 'm sure.

I use my phone to take plenty of pictures. I barely take my "real" camera anywhere anymore. Many pictures on this blog are taken with my iPhone. I love to look at pictures of my kids so from time to time I look at them on my iPhone. I found great surprises in my photo album when I looked at it last night. You see my 3 year and 8 year old love to take pictures of random objects. My three year old seems to mainly take pictures while we are at basketball practice. Take a look at his photography skills:

What is practice without an unhealthy snack!

Got to get the picture of the team....or at least their feet.

Well here is a better one...you can see the coach (my husband's butt).

I guess he couldn't leave out his floor cleaning partner (they slide on the floor, a lot)and germ sharing partner (they share snacks). I am assuming she gets dragged along to her brother's many activities, as well.

I suppose my son has an affinity for her grandma, too, just not a very good angle!

*One day I am going to do a post on great apps.

Help Haiti

2010-01-14T14:06:00.000-08:00

This is a simple request.

When Katrina happened I was angry. I wanted so badly to go to Louisiana and just help. I wanted the schools in Arkansas to shut down and house all the evacuees. I am having those same feelings now. So, I found something I can do.

Let's do our part:

The Clinton Foundation – Text “Haiti” to 20222 to donate $10 or go to clintonfoundation.org.

The American Red Cross – Text “Haiti” to 90999 to donate $10, visit redcross.org or call (800) RED-CROSS.

Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti Foundation – Text “Yele” to 501501 to donate $5 or visit yele.org.

The Clinton Foundation – Text “Haiti” to 20222 to donate $10 or go to clintonfoundation.org.

I keep staying with the times

2010-01-13T10:39:00.000-08:00

Look up.

Look down.

Look left.

Look right.

Yep, I have officially joined twitter.

Now follow me.

What are little boys made of?

2010-01-12T07:21:00.000-08:00

....Frogs and Snails, and Puppy-dogs Tails

I have boys. I have wild boys. They are messy, sloppy, wasteful, and dirty. It's an on going struggle to keep up after them because they are always on the go. They go to school, practice, (sometimes) church. They visit with my mom. They go visit with my dad, my father-in-law and my mother-in-law. We go to the zoo. We go to the museum. We go, go, go.

My oldest son plays sports all year round. This means I am constantly washing jerseys, and sports bottles, as well as packing bags and keeping up with mouth pieces. Let's not even touch on keeping up with his glasses or trying to make sure they stay in one piece. I think we can easily say that he keeps my husband and I ripping and running around town, a lot.

Then there is the little one who is by far the wildest one of the two. Did I say wildest? I meant to say rowdiest. My mom nicknamed him Tasmanian Devil when he was about nine months old. He is annoyingly destructive and loud. When we are running all over town for my oldest, the little one is being dragged along. It is mostly me who is there to mangle him while my husband (the usual coach of said sport) is working with the oldest son. I become a multitasking phenom of sorts while trying to watch the game, watch him and chat with the other "said sport" moms.

At home is where the rowdy activity festers. For some reason someone decided that the light saber would be a great toy.
Mr. Toy Maker, did you even think about my son's glasses? Did you think about
my laptop? And what about my TV? Exactly what did you think kids were suppose
to do with those? Swing them around and not hit a thing? Mr. Toy Maker, how
was my mother suppose to not walk out of the store with one for each of her
grandsons who love Star Wars?
Batman, Spiderman, Super Hero Squad, and legos rule the land at my end of the cul-de-sac. There is nothing like walking in from work, taking your shoes off and walking towards the kitchen and your foot meet Batman's motorcycle with one wheel. Ouch! While recovering from the encounter you come across the kool-aid infested shoe because the little one wanted to try his hand at pouring his own drink and for some reason or other thought that drinking out of his shoe would be the best idea. Oh, do I have boys or what!

When I look back at all the mess and noise, I wonder what it would have been like to have girls instead. I, then, step back and remember myself as a kid over analyzing and over reacting to everything and decide that my boys are okay. No, they are great! Spill something......walk around it. Break something.....keep it moving. Loose a toy....pick up another. I can learn some de-stressing strategies from them.

I love them!

What's in there?

Oh....Mr. Freeze.

Batman must have trapped him.

Probably because he made this mess.

With plenty of help from Buzz Lightyear, obviously.

Parents just don't understand

2010-01-04T20:42:00.000-08:00

This post may open up a can of worms (later) but it's been stirring up in me for the past year and last night I have may shown the wedge that I knew and recognized existed between my father and I, that he didn't acknowledge. You see, we have a rocky past. It is mostly all his doing. As a grown child I still believe he is the reason our past relationship was rocky. However, as much as my mom hated him she always preached to us "Honor thy mother and thy father and thy days will be long." So, therefore, I have always had a constant struggle with my feelings about his past choices and lifestyle as I became older and more mature. At the age of twenty-one, after the birth of my first child I began to put those angry feelings aside and that open the door for my son to have a wonderful Pawpaw and later my second son. I thought I put quite a bit of it behind me, but the past has a way of creeping up on you when you least expect it.

I began to notice little things about him during '09 that just annoyed the hell out of me, like trying to give fatherly advice or sticking his noise where it was uninvited. I wanted to yell out to dude, "Just be the grandfather. Too late for Daddy."

He recently answered his calling to preach. I believe he was called but I don't believe there is much of a change in him except for his lifestyle but not his thoughts or beliefs. I don't even think he even acknowledges his past wrong doings toward others. I accept his calling but I don't kiss his you know what for it either. It is what it is.

He called me yesterday to say he was staying with me for 3 days while he attended a church conference. I didn't want him to stay but I never interjected to say he couldn't. So, he thought he could stay. I have to add that there have been some things that he has done to my husband in the past to make him feel uncomfortable but my husband tolerates him because he loves me and he knows the relationship with my dad is weird, at best. I knew my dad staying would make my husband uncomfortable in his own home and I just don't trust my dad to be that close to me in my life to stay at my house for one day, so certainly not three. The strange thing is I will let my kids stay with him. They love him and trust him. I respect their relationship. Something about him being in my environment bothers me. I don't mind going to his because I can leave or take my kids out of it. It probably has something to do with my childhood memories of him with his relationship with my mother and possibly something to do with him picking up with another family after he and my mom finally called it quits.

Well, I thought about those 3 days and decided I am not enough of a big girl to suck it up and let him stay. I gave him a BS excuse about it not being a good week for overnight guest, I hadn't discussed it with my husband and that we really didn't have a place for him to sleep anyway. It was obvious that it was BS but I wanted to be nice about it instead of bring up old horrible memories in which he probably has buried away but I for some reason this past year fought to push away. No sense in both of us being upset. When I gave him the excuses his response was a very dry, "Oh."

The man had the nerve to sound as if he was mad. I offered to help find a hotel and he dryly declined. This made my decision feel right. Still the same guy who thinks his kids owe him something.

Here it is 5 days after the New Year when I decided to take on NO STRESS and he unintentionally brings it on me.

All day I have been saying to myself WOOSAH! WOOSAH! Work through these emotions. WOOSAH!

I told my husband that the situation didn't bother me but obviously it does. He knew I was lying.

WOOSAH!

Back to Business

2010-01-04T10:58:00.000-08:00

Christmas came, then went. I spent it with family. We relaxed, watched some basketball and played some serious Wii. My eight year killed everybody in Super Mario Bros. vs Sonic Olympic Games. His nickname for the day, given by my mother was "Little Nerd Boy". She called him this after he dusted her in table tennis. Can we say Sore Looser!?! He took this name with pride.

New Years came, then went. We spent this day with friends and family. The night was spent playing a major Connect Four tournament. We had a bracket and a $10 pot. It was good fun. The kids and adults had a great time. I am not a drinker but I am told that Connect Four was fun because it was mixed with Margaritas.

I am still alive and kicking. I still have a job. I still have Facebook. Life is in auto-pilot.

However, I did make a few resolutions for the year. None of them are major because my number one resolution sort of cancels them out:
NO STRESS! I am like a duck this year. You all can stand by and watch the *ish roll off my back, 'cause it's not staying with me. One more time: NO STRESS.

I did make a few fun resolutions like get back to being more fashionable, be more green, and try to get back to exercising again. Other than those, I am pretty much on an easy track, except for those new, oh so, minor life goals I created back in December.

So, therefore the new years resolutions are purely minimal as opposed to what I really need to be working on. Yet, NO STRESS is my theme in 2010.

FYI...
I was off from work for the past 2 weeks and loved every minute of it. The vacation led to the NO STRESS attitude. It was eye opening.

I researched blogs while I was on break, too. Got some changes in store for this site. Be on the look out. You may return one day and feel slightly refreshed.

one last thing-
Sadly these are the few pictures I took over the break.

The culprit on the left only helped clean the icing bowl...with his face.

Please don't dog my tree. I get better every year.

I love it when he plays copy cat. He loves to pretend to be his big brother. What do you think he's really reading?

Here he is again, seriously at it!

I must take more pictures in the future. I am usually better at capturing my useless time.

TMI, but bare with me...

2009-12-14T11:56:00.001-08:00

I had a great interview on Thursday. It was so good that, immediately after, I was asked to come back on Monday morning for a second interview. I had to turn that time down. It was too short a notice and she said it was the only time. I had an important meeting scheduled with my current job at the same time. I hope the company I interviewed with will have a heart and realize I would be an asset and call me back. We shall see. Yet, Thursday was, still, a good day.

Later that evening I went to my oldest son's basketball practice. When it was over my husband ( he was already there because he is the coach) walks up to me and gets ready to speak but looks at me strange and says "Look at the big hickey on your neck! Looks like someone thumped you on your neck!"

WTH?!?!

I felt like a teenager coming home from a school basketball game, whose mother just confronted her about where she'd really been and who with because the evidence was all over her neck (disclaimer: this never happened to me.....)

Well, I go to the bathroom and there it is.

(the picture does not do it justice which is good because I don't want you guys to think differently of me)

Yep, my husband put a nice one on my neck and I interviewed with it stamped on my neck, "You had a good time before you came to this interview!"

I am so embarrassed because I hope to schedule a another interview with this company. I don't guess my impression was too bad because they did want me to come back but I am still embarrassed, nonetheless. (Just not too embarrassed to post about it, ha ha!)