Don't Pee on the Bee

A Wealthy Dirty Face

One of my goals for March--besides getting back to the gym--is to finish posting about Nurture Shock!  Of all my posts, those are the ones that seem to get the most blog traffic.

Alpa recently commented on one of those posts, so of course, I headed over to her blog to check it out.  Read this post about  Fiction Writing and Gujarati Proverbs.  This literal interpretation of one of them is my hands-down my favorite:

When the goddess of wealth comes to give you a blessing, you should not go to wash your face. 

Love it!

Storms

 
  
 "I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning how to sail my ship."

 --Louisa May Alcott

Thanks to Spirit Booster's blog for this!

Don't Just Eat the Marshmallows!

I reread yesterday's post and realize that I am deeply in need of some quiet time to renew my springs!  And not  quiet time that includes laundry, housecleaning or bills!!!  But that's not really in the picture quite yet.  And if you are my mother, my mother-in-law or my children, anyone from the Parent Teacher Group, my new boss or a writing deadline, it's really nothing against you!  I just feel close to being maxed out right now even though I love and appreciate all of you very much!

So I decided to take a minute this morning and read an email I get  called 5 Minutes for Faith.  If I'm complaining about not having any time, five minutes seems like a good place to start!   After reading it, I "borrowed" her post title and am sending you her way.  Click here to read "Don't Just Eat the Marshmallows!"  If you're not particularly religious, you will probably still enjoy it.  Let's just say she talks about Lucky Charms, marshmallows and good-for-you oats--AND being a banner-waving mama which I think is pretty funny!

I hope you're happy wherever you're at today!

Nannies Galore

I was fortunate last week to meet and interview an amazing woman, Tamara Mickelson.  She recently started a website called Nannies Galore where nannies and babysitters in the U.S. can register their profile for free, and then prospective parents can review the site, looking for a caretaker.  If parents find a match they like, then there is a small fee for further information which includes a background check.  This mom is also a cop, so she knows that background checks are important!  She's the kind of person you want to be friends with because her energy is so infectious!  Plus she cries when watching American Idol--just like me! 

Check out her website, and if you know anyone looking for a nanny or babysitting job, or if you know a family who is looking, let them know about her site.  It's new, so there aren't a ton of listings yet, but if more people check it out, it will get bigger and better!

You'll be able to check out my article about her in the March issue of Sacramento Parent magazine.

Note:  Oops!  I wasn't clear about the background check.  The nannies can choose to have a background check done, and Nannies Galore will post their score.  It is up to the nanny as to whether or not she or he wants to have their clearance posted.  If they DO have a background check done, the one that Nannies Galore uses is one of the most thorough ones that can be done.  (Nannies Galore does NOT conduct the background check.)

A Moment of Grace

When I was at Santa Cruz last week, there was a moment when I was sitting on the beach, back against a rock, feeling the sun beating down on my body, and listening to the waves.  I was absentmindedly running my fingers through the sand when I became conscious of that feeling and realized how really good it felt to have my fingers in the sand!  It made me think, too, how much of my kids' lives revolve around touching and feeling, but mine really doesn't.  So I vowed at that moment to figure out how to work some "sand play" and "feeling" into my life.

A few days later, I was reading my daily email from 5 Minutes for Faith.  As I read the post for that day, A Moment of Grace, I got a chill and realized that those hugs from my kids are plentiful (most of the time!) now, but one day will not be as frequent or cuddly or unconditionally loving.  It was a bittersweet moment.   And I realized that that moment at the beach with my hands in the sand was some of God's grace as well.  It was a beautiful moment.

Happy day!

Butternut Squash and Blueberries--NOT Together, Of Course!

The other night I made the most delicious dinner!  It was from a recipe I had ripped out of the November 2009 issue of Parents magazine--Butternut Squash Casserole.  Unfortunately, there is no link to it, but I can give you some of the details!

Essentially, you just bake some cut up butternut squash.  Cook your pasta (whole wheat elbows or whatever you have!)  Then make a cheese sauce, mix it all together and bake it until it is warmed through.  It was sogood!  The butternut squash (which I happen to love!) was so carmelized and yummy!  I will definitely add even more squash the next time.  And I'll probably play around with the cheese sauce to make it less fattening.  Either way, it was immediately a fave in our house!

If you need more details, let me know!  But this is definitely a dinner worth trying on one of these cold, rainy nights!

Today is a "stay-at-home day" in our house, and I am feeling like cooking and cleaning!  (What's wrong with me?)  We're going to make this yummy blueberry cake recipe from one of my favorite blogs 101 Cookbooks.  Not only does she make great food, but she takes beautiful pictures as well!  (This cake will be gone before the end of the evening!)

I hope you enjoy whatever you do today!

Blog, blog, blog

I have to admit that this morning, as I was paying bills and putting away groceries, I was wondering just exactly what I was going to blog about today.  This doesn't happen very often, so it kind of took me by surprise.  I figured I'd go back through some magazines and find something in there that would inspire me today.  I also found a Trader Joe's receipt that I thought I might use!  How's that for hard up???  (Actually, it's a quote from Dr. Seuss.  "I like nonsense.  It wakes up the brain cells."  I think all of us parents should try and remember that when our kids are falling off their chairs, saying silly words that make no sense, but laughing from their bellies like there is no tomorrow!  Shall we thank them for helping wake up our brain cells instead of yelling at them to knock it off?)

But back to my dilemma . . . so I finally got into my office and sat down at my desk.  Decided to check my emails first.  Having quite a dilemma with the pizza orders at my kids' school!  You know, important stuff that I need to deal with!  But in my In-box, I found a blogging treasure!  A comment from Bernadette at Slow Family Living, a website/blog that I posted about recently.  Please please please check out this link to her personal blog.  If I had been coherent enough this morning, this is the post that I would have blogged!  Even if you are tired of the holidays already, I believe it will truly inspire you again--to continue to think about doing it differently, to get a few easy little ideas (I loved the gift categories--connection, physical play, creativity), and to realize that we all think that "it's not enough" even when we are being truly conscious about it.  I just added this blog and her website to My Favorites!  I hope you will too!  And thanks to all of you who are emailing me about the Hundred Dollar Holiday posts and how they affected you.  I would love to see some of them as comments so that others can see that we are all in this  together!  Thanks for being a part of my life!