Bathsheba

I was at the grocery store yesterday when I noticed a family walking in together. They caught my eye because the two little girls in this family were absolutely gorgeous. They had long, blonde, curly hair, and cute little pixie faces. What broke my heart, however, was that those sweet little angels were dressed like hookers. Short shorts and halter tops. I was so upset that I actually had to choke back tears. Why do parents see nothing wrong with dressing their daughters like tramps? I mean, do they actually think it's cute? I remember a day not so long ago when I came home with a bunch of clothes that I honestly thought were cute- shorts, tank tops, tight jeans- you know, what most girls wear these days. My daddy sat me down and had a talk with me about how men's minds work- ewww. I was horrified. Needless to say, I returned every bit of it and came back home with clothes more befitting a lady. At the time, I thought my parents were just being sticks-in-the-mud, but now I realize that they were trying to protect me, and I am grateful for it. They taught me that modesty is important, that is does matter how you present yourself. I hear things all the time like: "It's my body, I can dress it how I want." or "If guys want to look at me, that's their problem." or "It doesn't matter what I wear. It's what's on the inside that counts." Yes, my dear, that is true. But when you look like a bad girl, people are going to treat you like a bad girl. If you think for one minute God is not going to hold you accountable for all those men you caused to lust, you've lied to yourself. I became convinced of this years ago- probably not long after my daddy gave me "the talk"- when I came across an article called "The Sin of Bathsheba". You can read it at this link: http://www.momof9splace.com/sinof.html

I hope this article has helped my dear readers to understand my reasons for trying to dress modestly. Admittedly, I have been careless and worn some things I'm not proud of, but I do try to dress in a manner that would please God. That is not to say it is not difficult. I struggle with dressing modestly all the time. I wonder "Why me? Why do I have to know that I should dress modestly? Why can't I be like everyone else and just wear a cute top and jeans? Why do I have to be different?" Just because you dress modestly does not mean you have to dress like Laura Ingalls. You can be "in style" and still dress modestly. You just have to shop carefully, and be honest with yourself when you try things on. Ask yourself, "If I was meeting God today, would I feel appropriately dressed in this?" If you need a place to start, visit my friends' store, Pansy Anne's: http://www.etsy.com/shop/pansyannes

Babies Don't Keep

Just in case anyone was wondering, we still have not closed on our new house. The loaning bank we are dealing with is being impossible. Hopefully next week the house will finally be ours- after that, I fear the sellers will want to move on to greener, less time-consuming pastures.

On a lighter note, a few weeks ago, my sweet Alice started sitting up and crawling, all at once. A few days later, she started pulling herself up and standing while holding onto the coffee table or a chair. A couple weeks ago, she said "Dada"; then, a few days after that, "Mama" (we decided her first word was really "Hey!"). It saddens me to see my baby girl growing up so fast. My mom reminded me just the other night about a plaque she used to have. I looked it up on the Internet, and I want to share it with my dear readers:

I hope that my child, looking back on today

Will remember a mother who had time to play;

Because children grow up while you're not looking,

There are years ahead for cleaning and cooking.

So, quiet now cobwebs, dust go to sleep.

I'm nursing my baby, and babies don't keep.

I am so grateful to my mom for reminding me of it. I have been so caught up in all the cares that life brings that I often forget that my babies are growing up all too quickly, and soon they will leave me. When I am dead and gone, no one will remember me for the clean house I kept or the delicious cakes I baked. But maybe my children will remember me for always being willing to drop whatever I was doing to tend to their wants and needs, and for taking time out of my busy days just to play and read books.

Buying a House

The Campbell family is in the process of buying a new home. I am just tickled pink! It is the perfect compromise to our housing dilemma of what, where, or how to build. Phillip and I were fighting almost every day about the building of a house- we couldn't agree on anything! I never realized how different our decorating tastes are. He likes anything that screams "TESTOSTERONE", and I like everything simple but elegant. Just look at a Pottery Barn catalog, and you will see how I like to decorate; although, I have never even bought anything from Pottery Barn. I look through the catalog and find what I like, then I try to find something similar on eBay or something- tricksie, I am! Anyway, so there we were arguing back and forth about building a house, and my husband runs into a friend at the grocery store, who tells him that his in-laws old house was foreclosed on, and was now for sale. So we thought, what the heck, lets go look at it. We went to go see it, and I FELL IN LOVE! It is so perfect in so many ways. I loved the house for itself, and my husband loves it because it is about 1.5 miles from his parents. We are still working on the particulars of buying the house, so we don't yet have a closing date set. Hopefully it won't be too long before we move in!
The prospect of moving to a new home has me in FLY-ing mode! I have already been packing up some things I don't use very often, and I am accumulating things to have a nice big moving sale. (Because the junk is NOT going with us, one way or another!!) I was letting the de-cluttering get in the way of normal housework, but now I have everything under control again. It is so fabulous to have a shiny sink, no dirty dishes, dinner in the crock-pot, the laundry caught up, the bathrooms clean, and the rest of the house in ship-shape! Now, if only I can teach Fidelis his ABCs and 123s, my day will be complete! Maybe that's aiming too high.... well, my hubby should be very proud of me, anyway. He is really a very simple man- as long as the housework stays under control, he really doesn't ask for much else. Hopefully one of these days I will have housework down to a science.
On a similar note, I have been having the boys do chores every day. They are at the age right now that they actually want to help, so I let them, when I can. Fidelis' jobs have been folding washcloths (which he does perfectly, I might add), and emptying out the laundry hampers. Marcellus' job is to take a Clorox wipe and wipe the floor. I have also started making the boys wipe up any messes they make, and pick up all their toys.

Poor, Poor Blog

My poor, neglected blog! I have been caught up in so many things, I haven't had the time to take care of you! I have been busy with the children, of course. I have had drama coming out my ears. I have been working 2 or 3 at-home jobs, trying to make money to fix up the house we are buying. I have been very tired- today is the first day in a couple weeks that I have been able to drag myself out of bed at a decent time. I have fallen off the FlyLady bandwagon. My house is a wreck. But, I will try to do better. "After all, tomorrow is another day!"

Positive Reinforcement

I used to think "Super Nanny" was a left-wing bonkazoid with her behavior charts. I am now a believer in this sort of positive reinforcement. My husband has a saying that goes something like: "A behavior that is rewarded is a behavior that will be repeated." My eldest is four years old, and I just recently got him potty-trained. I had tried every trick I could think of. I am ashamed to admit that we even tried punishment. "The New Dare to Discipline" by Dr. James Dobson told me that was a HUGE mistake. He said that parents should NEVER use punishment where potty-training is concerned, for the fact of how far it can set the child back in actually learning to properly potty-train. He also said that it can affect the child's mind as well, causing major repercussions where academia and social skills are concerned. All I have to say is "Oops!" and, "I have tried my hardest to make up for it!" I read further in "Dare to Discipline" about the use of a chart-and-reward system that made good sense. So, I went to our local school supply store and bought a packet of cute little charts and some gold star stickers. I explained to Fidelis that he was a big boy, and needed to wear underwear. I told him we were not going to use pull-ups anymore, and I knew he could go potty every time. I further explained that for every day he didn't have any accidents, he would get to put a sticker on his chart; and then, when he filled up his chart, we would go to the zoo. I am delighted to report complete success. From the very first day, he has worn underwear, and has never had an accident. His chart is now full, and we are planning a trip to the zoo as soon as Daddy is back to being off on weekends. I plan to use charts from now on in order to encourage a desired behavior from my children.

Daily Routines and Listmaking.

It's amazing how much more sane one becomes with a set routine. I have read from several sources recently that daily routines are essential for a child, especially toddlers, and most especially, boys. When my children are older, I plan to fashion printed routines for them as well.I have been in routine limbo for over a month while my husband has been on night shift. But there is light at the end of the tunnel! He should be back on a normal schedule this week! Hooray! In view of that fact, I have printed up my routine in a pretty font with a picture that makes me happy just by looking at it. (You should have things like that scattered through out your home by the way- things that make you smile. Makes life less dreary.) For purposes of inspiring you to create your own routine, here is mine:

Daily Routine

1. Wake up, pray, make the bed.
2. Wash up, makeup, hair, get dressed.
3. Wipe down bathrooms.
4. Empty dishwasher.
5. Wash, dry, fold, & put away one load of laundry.
6. Dress kids, feed them breakfast.
7. What’s for dinner? (clean up as you go)
8. Chore of the day (let children help).
9. Playtime and school!
10. Lunch, then nap/ quiet time.
11. Declutter for 15 minutes.
12. Free/ “working” time.
13. Dinner- then shine your sink!
14. Kids- bathe, brush teeth, story time, prayers, bed.
15. Hot Spots for 2 minutes.
16. Exercise for 20 minutes.
17. Lay out clothes for tomorrow.
18. Shower, brush teeth, pampering, bed!


Maybe I am slightly retarded, but I can function much better when I can see on paper what it is I need to do. I keep running lists of things I need to do, places I need to go, etc. As a mother of three children, I can only remember so much at one time, so it is best that I write things down. I have forgotten so many things because I tried to rely on the strength of my memory- not smart. Most of the time I just write things I need to remember on whatever stray piece of paper happens to be within striking range, but it would be nice to have a pretty notepad to write on (another thing to make you smile). I saw some adorable clipboards with matching paper at Hobby Lobby the other day- just you wait until they have 40% off coupons on their website again!

Fidelis' Birthday Cake

I'm pretty proud of this cake I made for Fidelis' 3rd birthday. It was my third Topsy-turvy cake, and the first one that didn't fall apart. You can see here my Fidelis and my Daddy.


Notice the Route 66 sign...

Cactus, roads, clouds, grass.. I went all out. That is how a Mater Truck cake is done, Mr. Cake Boss!