We had a fun fall break trip with just Nate, the hubs and I. We drove all night to Georgia where we visited my sister and her hubby and 1yr old.
Nate was totally stoked to go to the Lego Adventure Center in Atlanta. He said it was the best ever.
The next day we went to a local fall festival with my cousin's family.
Then we went to Myrtle Beach for rest of the weekend. Can you tell Nate was excited to see the ocean for the first time? ;-)
Thankful we were able to have lunch with Isaac's cousin's family!
What is a trip to the pier without a pix with a fake dead fish?
On the drive home we pulled over to look at a cotton field! Totally counts as a field trip. ;-)
Thank goodness for audio books and game boys to help occupy this guy on the 20+ hours we had in the car that weekend! What a blessing to have some quality time with our oldest son!
My friend just threw her sister a baby shower and wanted to make her something special for the baby so we made these awesome appliqued burp cloths. We love how they turned out and so did the mom-to-be!
I have given more thought to mental health in recent years. Not only have my inlaws been in the mental health profession, but there have been times when friends and family members dealing with deep seeded issues that have brought up questions about mental health. And there have been circumstances in my own life that have caused me to ask questions of myself as well.
I appreciate authors and bloggers who open up and share about their struggles with mental health issues. Little Miss Momma shares about something that she has dealt with since she was a child. The Militant Baker opens up about living with Borderline Personality Disorder.
If you are a believer you should seek out a counselor who has a similar belief system as you. Many secular views may conflict with those values that you hold dear. Focus on the Family has some tips on selecting a Christian counselor. Broken Believers helps us understand why we should educate ourselves about Christian counseling.
We had some friends over one beautiful afternoon last week for a craft playdate. Nate picked out a few Dollar Birdhouses at JoAnn's and we just let the kids go to town with the paints. They all were pretty serious about their painting. ;-)
It was a laid back visit. We had a snack and played Quirkle... Not over-planned. Just hanging out and enjoying being with our friends. What a blessing!
Always Looking Up - The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist book by Michael J. Fox - There are many words to describe Michael J. Fox: Actor. Husband. Father. Activist. But readers of Always Looking Up
will soon add another to the list: Optimist. Michael writes about the
hard-won perspective that helped him see challenges as opportunities.
Instead of building walls around himself, he developed a personal policy
of engagement and discovery: an emotional, psychological, intellectual,
and spiritual outlook that has served him throughout his struggle with
Parkinson's disease. Michael's exit from a very demanding, very public
arena offered him the time-and the inspiration-to open up new doors
leading to unexpected places. One door even led him to the center of his
own family, the greatest destination of all. The last
ten years, which is really the stuff of this book, began with such a
loss: my retirement from Spin City. I found myself struggling with a
strange new dynamic: the shifting of public and private personas. I had
been Mike the actor, then Mike the actor with PD. Now was I just Mike
with PD Parkinson's had consumed my career and, in a sense, had become
my career. But where did all of this leave Me? I had to build a new life
when I was already pretty happy with the old one.. Always Looking Up
is a memoir of this last decade, told through the critical themes of
Michael's life: work, politics, faith, and family. The book is a journey
of self-discovery and reinvention, and a testament to the consolations
that protect him from the ravages of Parkinson's.
With the humor and wit that captivated fans of his first book, Lucky Man, Michael describes how he became a happier, more satisfied person by recognizing the gifts of everyday life.
Being part of a family that deals with disability every day I am eager to see how it is portrayed in Michael's new tv show. I hope that they rise to the occasion and show the realness that we all long for in tv. Not the "reality tv" real... but the genuine, heart of the matter real that is so rare in the media. I want to see their struggles and their triumphs. I hope we get to see his faults and his ability to rise above those faults to be a good husband and father.
A couple of other shows I am looking forward to seeing resume this fall are:
Parenthood - My hubs and I watch this show together and frankly... I want to be a Braverman! ;-) But really, it is an awesome show that is full of relate-able characters and relevant storylines. We appreciate the delicate way they have sensitively touched on serious issues like Max's Asbergers, infertility/adoption Kristina's cancer, and PTSD in military personel. Eager to see whats in store for the Braverman clan this year!
Once Upon A Time - This is our girls night show. My girlfriend and my sister usually watch this together, though there has been talk of my brother joining us too since he caught up on the first two seasons over the summer. Its fun to see fairy tales come to life in a little more of a grown up way. And seeing all the intricate connections between fairy tale characters is typical of the writers who created Lost. Excited to see what new characters we get to meet this season!
What shows are you looking forward to this fall season?
Its safe to say we've been through our fair share (maybe more) of cabinet locks, door locks. fridge and stove locks,and other misc child proofing products. Sadly most have been only temporary solutions. Most of them say they are made for use with children ages 6mos-24mos, etc. Joe has gotten stronger and his reach is ever growing and it has become a safety issue, especially in the kitchen. After much frustration, a couple of close calls with the stove and several broken dishes we decide to put in a faux half-wall/bookcase with a gate to keep Joe and Christine out of the kitchen.
It seemed like a simple idea in the beginning but in order to make it sturdy enough to be safe it
became a bigger project than we anticipated. We bought three black bookshelves on Craigslist for $40.
Nate and I painted the back of the bookcase with chalkboard
paint.
Isaac bolted them together, reinforced the bases, bolted the whole thing
to the concrete slab underneath our carpet, and added the modified baby
gate.
So far so good... its kind of a pain in the butt to make sure its always closed but its less of a pain in the butt than worrying about Joe opening the oven or pull a pot of water on his head while I'm cooking dinner. I'm so proud of my hubby and thankful for his hard work making this project happen!
I was recently contacted by Great Products to do a review and giveaway of one of their tshirts. I debated on whether to get one of the awesome shirts they have for moms or to get one for Nate... I figured most of my other giveaways have been ones that related to me, so I decided to let him pick one. He was so excited to browse the wide selection of cool t-shirt designs but he picked the one that I had predicted he would.
If you can't read it, it says "Homeschooler by day, Ninja by night". I mean, what 8yr old boy doesn't want to be a ninja? ;-) Nate loves his shirt and would wear it every day if I didn't have to wash it every couple of days! Seriously.
I was impressed with a lot of the cool designs that Great Products has available. They have Christian and homeschool specific designs too. And the prices were surprisingly affordable! Especially with their $5.99 tshirt special going on right now!
So, don't miss out on this Labor Day giveaway! There are several ways you can enter to win a Great Products T-Shirt via the Rafflecopter below. Giveaway ends at midnight on Labor Day.
One of the hardest parts of going gluten-free is dealing with dining out. There are great resources out there that offer tips on dining out gluten-free. Here is an article posted on Celiac.com that is pretty detailed. And Urban Spoon has a list of gluten-free friendly restaurants.
Olive Garden (one of my long time favorite restaurants!) has a gluten-free menu that offers a good selection of delicious looking items that are safe for gluten-free customers and suggestions on substitutions.
Mexican food has been a part of my diet my entire life. I remember being amazed when I was a kid and watched my mom and my grandmother roll out flour tortillas for family meals. They were so fast and that little ball of dough quickly became a perfect circle under their skilled hands and a wooden rolling pin. So naturally I have a love for Mexican food still. Here is a great post that offers tips on how to ask the right questions when you eat gluten-free at Mexican restaurants. Taco Bell has slim pickings for gluten-free customers but Chipotle and Qdoba offer a selection of gluten-free options including burrito bowls and crispy tacos.
A particularly difficult cuisine is Chinese. Many soy sauces have gluten in them and that makes it very difficult to find menu items that do not contain gluten. Here is post with tips on eating at Chinese restaurants.
How could I do a post about dining out without including pizza?!? The following pizza places (in our area) offer gluten-free pizza: Incredible Pizza Company, Monical's, Rockstar Pizza, Fox's Pizza Den, BJ's Brewhouse, Dominos... we have yet to try them all but don't worry, we'll get there. Maybe I'll do a post comparing pizza places sometime down the road. ;-)
Now I want to emphasize that while a gluten-free diet has been recommended for Joe and Christine because of their developmental delays, none of us suffer from any severe allergies to gluten (that we're aware of). So, we may be a bit more lenient than some int he area of cross contamination and such. If you have serious allergies you may want to consider an allergy card to use when dining out.
Being a part of a Community Supported Agriculture produce co-op this summer/fall has stretched my cooking skills or at least broadened my range. The produce is so fresh and crisp. We have all noticed a difference! Ok, well, maybe not the kids. ;-)
While our summer was not jam packed (not totally by accident) we did have some good times with friends and family. Here was our Passport to Summer craft playdate.
And we went strawberry picking with a few friends...
And enjoyed a couple of fabulous playdates. This one had a lot of water play for the kids! And lounging in the shade for the moms!
We got out of the house for Lunch Bunch a few times. It involves free food and free books so you know we had to go! Once the fire department came and hosed the kids down! Fun!
And we even managed to make it out to the pool a couple of times too.
And, yes, the pool on our deck totally counts. ;-)
What fun things have you done this summer?
“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the
trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar
conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”
―
F. Scott Fitzgerald,
The Great Gatsby
