For some reason school was canceled in my town. (The storm was yesterday. Go figure!) Early this morning I received a  cancellation call from my ladies’ Bible study group because school was closed. I thought nothing of it because A2 is taking a gymnastics class at the Y for a few more weeks during the time we would normally go to Bible study. I packed all of us up in the car to drop C4 off at preschool and to head to the YMCA.

Sadly, the YMCA canceled classes, Open Gym, and Child Watch today because the schools were closed. I had planned to workout after the gymnastics class. Of course, I arrived at the Y just before the class was set to start. Boy was A2 disappointed and confused! Thankfully, because so many moms had shown up for Open Gym, the staff let us use some balls in the gym. A2 refused to play because she wanted her gymnastics class.

My day went downhill from there.

It was one of those days for us. All of my support programs were not running at a time when I desperately needed the support. I really needed to workout to clear my mind and lift my spirits. I needed some “me time”.

Winter is a tough time of year for anyone, but especially for me. I need exercise and sunshine or I get depressed. Since my kids are high energy, precocious, and strong willed, we need to keep busy. I keep a pretty full schedule for us between school, enrichment classes at the Y, play dates, the library, Mom to Mom, and my ladies’ Bible study. This winter I am taking advantage of the gym for myself, too. This strategy has served us well for the last few years. We all get a break from each other. The kids are able to make friends and burn some energy. I am able to talk with other moms, grow in my faith, and gain support as a parent. That plan only works if the programs are open and you are able to get to them.

Now I think I need to create a contingency plan for bad weather. It has been so difficult for us this year. It is either too cold, too windy, too icy, or too stormy for us to go outside. Besides, A2 hates the cold, and neither of the kids likes sledding. I have tried to get them out there to play, but they never last more than a few minutes. It doesn’t seem worth it to me to drag them out. So we end up stuck inside. We are starting to climb the walls around here!

Moms, what do you do when you can’t take advantage of any of your support in the winter?

Photo courtesy of .Fabio

I just found a post on Baby Crunch about Facebook banning many photos of breastfeeding mothers. According to the statement made by Facebook executives, photos that show an exposed breast violate the Terms of Use.

Hmm…

I’m not so sure that a photo of a mother breastfeeding her child should be compared to random nude photos. A breastfeeding photo is in a completely different class. Don’t you think?

The great thing about Facebook is that you only view what you want to. You don’t have to scroll through photos that you are not interested in seeing. You can block members from your News Feed. If you see breastfeeding photos on a profile and find them offensive, don’t go to that person’s profile. Why complain to Facebook? Besides, aren’t these people your friends? Why not complain to your friends about the photos instead of Facebook? If the photos are that much of a bother to you, “unfriend” that person.

Maybe it’s just me, but I fail to see the problem here.

Photo courtesy of Raphael Goetter

I have been researching snowflakes for our homeschool and for my sister blog, Homeschooling Coach. I am amazed by snowflakes! Have you ever looked closely at the different kinds of snowflakes? They are incredibly intricate, geometric, and just beautiful!

All of this research has made me think about God and His divine design. God is an artist and a mathematician! He intentionally created the shapes of the different kinds of snowflakes; those designs cannot be a mistake. Nothing that finite and meticulously formed can be accidental. He also, for some reason, decided to use the number 6 in snowflake design – six-sided figures, hexagonal shapes, six snowflake arms. Not all snowflakes have the number 6. Sometimes you’ll find a snowflake with 12 arms instead.

I can’t help but wonder why did God choose the number 6?

After doing a little research, I found many websites that state that in the Bible the number 6 is attributed to man (because he was created on day 6) and incompleteness (because God’s work wasn’t complete until day 7). That is interesting to me.

God is a mathematician.

God is an artist.

God’s design is divine!

Photo courtesy of yellowcloud

Tonight I watched 60 Minutes. (Boy, do I feel like my grandparents!) Morley Safer, a 60 Minutes correspondent, reported on the research being done on resveratrol. Have you heard of it? Resveratrol is a chemical found in red wine, and we all know that there are health benefits to drinking red wine. Now scientists are attributing those health benefits to the chemical resveratrol. Back in June 2008 the LA Times also reported on the promise of the health benefits of this chemical. Currently there are scientists in Cambridge, MA who are researching how to use this chemical in a prescription drug to treat the illnesses associated with aging such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.

I also found the following report by Barbara Walters on the same company’s research.

Will scientists be able to cure diseases that shorten our live spans?

Photo courtesy of helmet13

Today was all about spending time with the girls. I got together with a bunch of ladies to scrapbook. It feels so great to have some time off from my family to laugh and relax. For me it was not the most productive scrapbooking event since I didn’t get any scrapbooking done. However, I did spend a day connecting with friends.

I also had enough peace and quiet to do some research for a upcoming job. The women I hung out with are all teachers, so I was able to bounce ideas off of them for the teacher in-service. I am grateful for the time that I had.

On the other hand, my DH was not very happy about spending the day alone with the children! That is another story, though…

Photo courtesy of Alanna George

E and I have been in our house for almost 6 years now. We knew that this home would be a starter when we bought it. We figured that we would be able to move to a bigger home or put on an addition as our family grew. The economy is not doing well, and I’m not sure that we will be able to do either now.

The other problem is that we cannot decide what it is that we want out of a home. You see, our priorities are different. E does not understand why I demand to have certain things in a home, and since he isn’t home all day with the kids, he doesn’t feel the impact of our home’s imperfections. For example, I think that our kitchen is simply too small. The four of us are squeezed in there right now, and it is impossible to feed any guests in our kitchen. Instead we put the table in the family room where the kids’ toys are. It just does not work.

We have finally concluded that we need to find out how much it would cost to do any work on our home. Then we will know if it is feasible to do any kind of project. It is hard to make a decision when you don’t have all of the facts. I am willing to pay Lowes to measure my kitchen and draw up various plans that we can consider. That is our next step.

In the meantime, I suppose I have to find a way to make it work for us!

Today was a monumental day. C4 went on a field trip with her classmates and went directly home with a friend afterward. I actually felt confident with the travel arrangements and that she went on a drop off play date. When I brought C4 home, she and A2 played together for over an hour while I put away laundry. This afternoon I only had to intervene a couple of times to help them work out a problem or two. Even just last summer this would not have been possible.

Just last summer I would have been reluctant to send C4 on a drop off play date. I would not have done the laundry without having the children right with me. Leaving the room would have meant rushing to finish and chancing a problem between the girls. What a difference addressing C4’s issues has made!

I am so grateful that we finally figured out that C4 has SPD and that she goes to OT. Now she is relatively calm, and we have ways to help her now when she is out of control. We are learning so much about what is happening to C4, and I am encouraged that we will be able to address those needs with success, too. I know that there is much more work to be done, but I am relishing the progress.

Photo courtesy of futureshape

Photo by Perfecto Insecto

I just celebrated my birthday, and I always end up reflecting on my life when I blow out those candles. I love my birthday, so it isn’t a sad kind of reflection. I think it is good to take stock of your life every year, though. This year I have noticed that I am not taking care of myself the way that I should. With two small children day-to-day life is incredibly busy, and often I feel like I’m spinning out of control. It feels impossible to do anything extra for myself. I am committing to doing something small for myself every day, though.

Here are a few things that I plan to do to take better care of me. Maybe this list will help you try to do something for yourself every day, too.

~I am going to actually do my hair as often as I can! I have been experimenting with different styles that are quick, easy, and even trendy. It makes me feel good, and people notice that I take the time to style my hair.

~I am going to get to bed at a reasonable time as often as possible. My children wake up before the sun is up no matter what time of night I put them to bed. I need to get to bed earlier so that I am able to function in the morning.. Maybe I’ll look a little younger, too…

~I will drink more water. Being hydrated is great for your joints, your skin, and your body in general.

~I will make an effort to have a beauty night for myself. Back in college my buddies and I would do masks, facials, and nails together. I always felt better after those nights. I hope to recapture that feeling for myself.

~I am going to dress myself better. The “mommy” uniform needs to be tossed out the window. I plan to dress the best that I can now. E has helped me out with this goal by giving me a beautiful winter coat with a scarf and hat set.

~I will have a quiet time every day even if it is a short one. I am going to set an example by reading some scripture when the kids are with me.

Living as a mom means being intentional about taking care of me.

Photo by telachhe

Today was the yearly birthday celebration with my dear friend, K. Every year we go to the Olive Garden for lunch with our kids. This is year 4. Now we have 5 kids between us – all 5 years old and under. We had a great time together today! All of the kids were well-behaved and actually ate lunch. We even had a chance to chat with each other. It feels so great for us to be able to celebrate life together!

Everyone came back to my place to play. No one napped except for the baby, of course. It was delightful to watch the kids play together, though. Somehow they all got along this afternoon. I got to hold the baby and my friend, K, was able to hang out with her older children more than usual. I really enjoyed spending the day with our two families!

I have been praying and fantasizing about having a dear friend move close to me – as in move into my neighborhood and maybe even next door to me. I have two friends who both homeschool their children and share a backyard. Their children are growing up more like siblings than friends, and these women support each other in everything that they do. This is the kind of situation that I would love to have.

It would be amazing of K would move nearby. Alas, her husband is job searching, and they will most likely move far away as many of my friends have done. I will miss them dearly when K’s husband finds a job. Don’t get me wrong. I have lots of friends. I just truly enjoy sharing my life with this particular friend and her family.

Living as a mom sometimes means that I want good friends living nearby to celebrate and share life with. How about you?

Photo by zimpenfish

I had set a fitness goal recently. I planned on going to the gym twice a week and had hoped to see results quickly. I have discovered that getting to the gym is not really the problem. The actual problem is that I cannot get a whole workout in at the gym. Let me explain.

Little Miss A2 has figured out that the child watch folks will come get me after she screams for 10 minutes or if she wets her pants, which she has done promptly after going to the potty with me. Basically, if she has decided that she is not staying at child watch, she finds a way out of there. As a result, I have had very brief workouts. One lasted only 10 minutes and the maximum I have been able to get in is 20 minutes. Give me a break!

E has solved my workout woes, though. He got me a Wii Fit for my birthday. I LOVE it! I like how you play games in order to workout. You can also add other types of activity to your log, and it tracks your progress. This is going to be a great way for me to get fit! I also plan to use our gym, but now I have two ways to ensure that I get exercise without having to worry about child care.

Have you tried the Wii Fit? What do you like about it? Have you seen results from using it?