Sara - Made a Thomas The Train potty chart for her daughter to encourage her in potty training. Every trip that is successful she gets to put a sticker on the train...when the train is filled up she gets a prize.
Amy - A great tip for cutting preemie/newborn fingernails. Use a jeweler's loupe to magnify the nails & it leaves your hands free.
Megan - Plans her family's meals 1 month at a time. Makes dinnertime less stressful because you already know what you are having for dinner.
Melissa - Looks for easy recipes to make dinnertime a success.
Crockpot Chicken
1lb frozen chicken
2 cans black beans
1c brown or white rice
16oz salsa
Put all ingredients in crockpot & cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4 hours.
Stacy - Decided to make her son's baby food to save money. Bought squeeze pouches to store the food in.
Shelly - Uses Shopkick app - earn points for scanning products while you are in the store. Lets her kids scan the items - earn gift cards. Also uses her notepad on her phone for her shopping list because then you have the shopping list with you when you are out doing errands.
Joy - Made peanut butter play dough for her kids to play with (peanut butter, honey & dry milk). Let kids play with it and can eat it also...put out snack items to go with it.
Ruth - Use stickers to aid in potty training. Spell words to describe character traits for motivation. Found stickers at Dollar Tree.
Monday, May 19, 2014
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
mOmSCARs
I have to admit, I was not immediately sold on this "Mom Oscars" idea.
I don't even own a fancy dress. I would definitely need to get to a thrift store to find someone else's cast-off bridesmaid dress. I also have a new (nursing) baby. How was this going to even work??
I admit once again, I was not sold on this idea at first.
But then I posted a subtle "help me" post on the group Facebook page. And help came. Suggestions, excitement, and a pair of heels were generously given. Yay for you guys! Thanks for helping a sister out!
I went to a thrift store, and not only came away with a dress that I'm sure at one time was some woman's idea of sexy, but also a pair of designer jeans for $5. I might be back there this summer...
Slowly I warmed to the idea that maybe this worn out, post-partum, sleep derived, un-showered mommy of four could pull this off after all. I tried on my dress, deemed it suitable if worn only ironically, and immediately the zipper split. Awesomesauce. Apparently I'm super talented because I was able to fix it well enough that I wouldn't need a replacement dress.
Who am I kidding? I didn't have time to hunt for a new dress! I had to make it work, baby!! <insert maniacal laughter mingled with the promise of tears>
So MOPS day arrived! My husband kept subtly suggesting that my dress might be "hot" and he was excited to see it. I don't know if it met his expectations of hotness once he helped me (very carefully) zip it. But he was nice enough to not say anything too negative and therefore left my precarious self-esteem intact.
I took a couple selfies in the van before I left our driveway, which shall never enter the world of Facebook or Instagram, because no one needs to see that hooey.
I arrived at the mOmSCARS!!! There were bacon maple bars!!!! I ate three!!! Bacon and sugar and fried dough make me so happy, thank you to the mama who made the stop on her way and purchased that yumminess!!
I think everyone felt beautiful, even if ironically. I could see it on every face: the glimmer that is IS possible to don heels on a Tuesday; we CAN fit into our old prom dresses; we DO still have a waist! I'm so proud of us. As far as I could see, everyone tried. Even without taffeta or lace, we all gave it a go. No one showed up in pajamas.
And that makes us all winners, don't you think? We win! We make it through some of the most difficult, tiring, defeating days. We also give life, and kiss owies, and change ten thousand diapers every day, and we still show up. We show up in our lives, and we give everything we have until that last babe is sleeping.
And then we eat ice cream. You know you do it too.
But seriously, every mom deserves a mOmSCAR. If you think no one sees you, that no one will ever acknowledge or understand the enormity of all that you do, you're wrong. Your kids see. God sees. I guarantee you your husband sees. They may not call your name and hand you an award every day, but that's ok. You still win.
Because today you stayed to clean up after and love on and hug. You didn't run away. You didn't give up. Stay strong my fellow Super Mom. And every now and then, put on a sexy dress and remind yourself that you still have a waist. And if you dare, take a couple "minivan selfies." It's fun. And do that pouty lip thing too. You won't regret it.
Epilogue:
I had a wardrobe malfunction at this event. You guessed it, my zipper split apart and my nethers were visible to all. Thank you to my table ladies for helping me to sneak away for a wardrobe change. I guess I need to work on my awesome dress-fixing skills.
I don't even own a fancy dress. I would definitely need to get to a thrift store to find someone else's cast-off bridesmaid dress. I also have a new (nursing) baby. How was this going to even work??
I admit once again, I was not sold on this idea at first.
But then I posted a subtle "help me" post on the group Facebook page. And help came. Suggestions, excitement, and a pair of heels were generously given. Yay for you guys! Thanks for helping a sister out!
I went to a thrift store, and not only came away with a dress that I'm sure at one time was some woman's idea of sexy, but also a pair of designer jeans for $5. I might be back there this summer...
Slowly I warmed to the idea that maybe this worn out, post-partum, sleep derived, un-showered mommy of four could pull this off after all. I tried on my dress, deemed it suitable if worn only ironically, and immediately the zipper split. Awesomesauce. Apparently I'm super talented because I was able to fix it well enough that I wouldn't need a replacement dress.
Who am I kidding? I didn't have time to hunt for a new dress! I had to make it work, baby!! <insert maniacal laughter mingled with the promise of tears>
So MOPS day arrived! My husband kept subtly suggesting that my dress might be "hot" and he was excited to see it. I don't know if it met his expectations of hotness once he helped me (very carefully) zip it. But he was nice enough to not say anything too negative and therefore left my precarious self-esteem intact.
I took a couple selfies in the van before I left our driveway, which shall never enter the world of Facebook or Instagram, because no one needs to see that hooey.
I arrived at the mOmSCARS!!! There were bacon maple bars!!!! I ate three!!! Bacon and sugar and fried dough make me so happy, thank you to the mama who made the stop on her way and purchased that yumminess!!
I think everyone felt beautiful, even if ironically. I could see it on every face: the glimmer that is IS possible to don heels on a Tuesday; we CAN fit into our old prom dresses; we DO still have a waist! I'm so proud of us. As far as I could see, everyone tried. Even without taffeta or lace, we all gave it a go. No one showed up in pajamas.
And that makes us all winners, don't you think? We win! We make it through some of the most difficult, tiring, defeating days. We also give life, and kiss owies, and change ten thousand diapers every day, and we still show up. We show up in our lives, and we give everything we have until that last babe is sleeping.
And then we eat ice cream. You know you do it too.
But seriously, every mom deserves a mOmSCAR. If you think no one sees you, that no one will ever acknowledge or understand the enormity of all that you do, you're wrong. Your kids see. God sees. I guarantee you your husband sees. They may not call your name and hand you an award every day, but that's ok. You still win.
Because today you stayed to clean up after and love on and hug. You didn't run away. You didn't give up. Stay strong my fellow Super Mom. And every now and then, put on a sexy dress and remind yourself that you still have a waist. And if you dare, take a couple "minivan selfies." It's fun. And do that pouty lip thing too. You won't regret it.
Epilogue:
I had a wardrobe malfunction at this event. You guessed it, my zipper split apart and my nethers were visible to all. Thank you to my table ladies for helping me to sneak away for a wardrobe change. I guess I need to work on my awesome dress-fixing skills.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)