Friday, February 27, 2015

Happy Friday!

Funny cats on Friday.You're welcome.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Accountability Rings

We have been struggling in our little family with discipline and yelling. My husband has been failing in the patience department and I find myself struggling there as well. And not just with my son. Intellectually, I know that yelling accomplishes nothing. It isn't going to get my son or anyone else to do what I want. It is just such a hard habit to break and such an easy and comfortable pattern to fall into. 

I have gone back to reading some of my favorite parenting books including POSITIVE DISCIPLINE and I have been trying meditation classes at our local Buddhist center.  Anything to break me of this negative pattern I have fallen into!

Then, I came across this article.  The article talks about how a mom is using a set of rings to stop yelling. All five rings start on her right hand. When she has a setback such as yelling, she moves a ring to her left hand.  I liked this idea of a physical reminder to keep me accountable. 

Like the woman in the article, I am using this set of rings from Stella and Dot.  They are pretty affordable at $39 and I like how simple looking they are.

http://www.stelladot.com/shop/en_us/p/stackable-band-rings-set-of-5?s=lindseygoodwin

My sweet girlfriend knew I wanted to do this and she bought these for me.  I am so lucky to have such supportive friends!

I am not perfect. Far from it. But I am willing to do the work to get better. I want to be a better mom, a better wife, a better daughter, a better friend. I am hoping this is one step in that process.  I will let you know how it goes!

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Happy Valentine's Day with "A Room with a View"

One of my all-time favorite movies is "A Room with a View."  I credit (or blame) this film for shaping my romantic sensibilities.  I first saw it as a young teenager and was convinced I was going to go to Italy and meet my very own George Emerson. 

I headed to Europe at the tender age of 17 and did not find George Emerson. I didn't find him when I returned a year later either. Although my friend and I did enjoy re-enacting many of the scenes from the movie. It took me a long time to find my own George Emerson.  I was 29 when I finally found him.  We honeymooned in Italy and spent one night at the Hotel Degli Orafi where we had a room overlooking the Arno. I can't wait to go back in a few years with my son.  Quite unintentionally, I am raising him just like Cecil Vyse wanted to raise his own children:

“Do you know, mother, I shall have our children educated just like Lucy. Bring them up among honest country folks for freshness, send them to Italy for subtlety, and then—not till then—let them come to London."

 This Valentine's Day, I am going to make my husband watch the movie with me again. And I created this little image because I think it sums up our relationships quite nicely. Because great romances don't stand the test of time without a sense of humor.



Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Valentine's Day

Noodlebug and I used the long rainy weekend to work on valentines. We used the rocket valentine from FAMILY FUN magazine as our inspiration.



We got about six sheets of glitter scrapbook paper from Joann's along with some fat Valentine's Day straws. I believe I got those at Target.  We already had a bunch of regular straws on hand for crafting.  Using the template from FAMILY FUN, we glued our rockets together. The fat straws needed to be cut in half to get the proper length so you get two rocket valentines from each straw. We closed one end of the fat straws with tape and then used tape to secure the rocket to the straw.  I didn't trust glue to hold it together.  We then stuck a colored straw inside the fat straw and we now Valentine rockets that can shoot to the moon!  I was worried that the inner straws would get easily lost so we made another trip to Michael's for some cellophane treat bags. I whipped up a quick bag topper in WORD and we stapled the bag shut. This will also (hopefully) prevent the 1st graders from getting out the rockets during class and shooting them about the room!

I have also thought of Valentine's Day as a day to celebrate lover rather than lovers.  I not only give little treats to my husband and son but I give them to my friends as well.  I used this tutorial and printable as inspiration this year. 

(Image borrowed from and owned by Tatertots and Jello)
I found some burlap pouches in Target's discount bins that had a heart image on them. I filled them with nice chocolates and attached the wonderful printable.  It is a small gesture but I hope it will be a nice reminder to my friends of how much I love and appreciate them!