Tag Archives: children

7 Quick Takes (#1)

31 Aug

7 quick takes sm1 Your 7 Quick Takes Toolkit!

I’m trying something new this week! I have seen so many bloggers who participate in the 7 Quick Takes link-up at Conversion Diary that I decided to get in on the fun myself! Let me know what you think!

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The past few weeks I have been compiling a collection of craft supplies. My 3-year-old is obsessed with “cwaft” projects right now. She would use a glue stick all day long if I let her! “C” looks forward to our weekly Catholic ABC’s time. This weekend we’ll be discussing the letter “f.” I have a lot of the basic craft necessities to do all of these projects and now I just need to get some cheap plastic bins to organize this stuff! My husband is going to be building some shelves soon to store all of these items, so I can’t wait to have everything easily accessible in one place! I see many more hours on Pinterest in my future!

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I love the new Over app for the iPad! The husband of a high school friend developed this app and it allows you to type text over photos. I’ve had fun creating captions on pictures of the girls! Warning: it can be addictive! I will be featuring it heavily in my post next Friday, so check back!

On Notre Dame campus Fall 2011

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I just finished reading the book, The Temperament God Gave Your Kids. It was pretty insightful, but I think I’ll have to wait until the girls get a little older to see how their personalities develop more. I have glimpses of what motivates and triggers them, but I don’t think I know enough to identify their dominant personality-types yet. I do have my husband figured out, though (phlegmatic and part sanguine), but I was frustrated that I couldn’t fully identify with one main temperament. I felt that I had strong elements of 2-3 of the temperaments. I know us humans can’t be categorized in boxes, but I was hoping to gain some more revelations in to what makes me tick! I know for sure that I don’t have a sanguine temperament, though!

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Okay, I just have to throw this one out there. It’s kind of a new pet peeve for me! Maybe some fellow bloggers can appreciate this… As I have been researching marketing strategies for Adam’s music, I have run across some amazing articles about sharing interesting and useful information with supporters and fans. Unfortunately, I’ve read a cliche’ that was used in several of them that I never want to hear again – “content is king.” Trust me, I get the importance of the point, but can’t people come up with something more original to say about it in their articles? It’s a little ironic that I have an issue with the content of articles about good content. Just sayin’… 🙂  I promise it hasn’t ruined my day, though!

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Adam and I are implementing a “we can’t hear whining” policy. As any parent with a 3-year-old knows, this can wear you out! I read about a mom acting like she was incapable of hearing her child when he whined and soon that behavior decreased. It’s not like ignoring whining is a new idea or anything, but if Adam and I consistently stick to this, I’m hoping asking for things politely, etc. will be a more routine occurrence.

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Adam’s parents are coming in town for Labor Day weekend! We’re excited to see them and I know they’ve been missing their granddaughters! I’m working on making my grocery list for meals for the weekend. I always seem to revert back to the same basic, simple recipes whenever I have company. A favorite meal that I like to prepare is White Bean Chili served with tortilla chips. I probably need to try something new one of these visits, but am often too preoccupied to devote brain power to it. If anyone has any simple, crowd-pleasing suggestions, I’m open!

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Speaking of the weekend, it is Notre Dame’s first football game of the season! Go Irish! (I miss northern Indiana in the fall! There’s no place like home! At least our basement keeps us from feeling too homesick!)

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The former man cave – now a “family cave”

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Be sure to check out others’ 7 Quick Take posts today at Conversion Diary. Have a great weekend!

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Marking the Milestones

10 Aug

The spring and summer of 2012 has been full of anniversaries, milestones, and new adventures for a variety of different things in our family.  Here is the rundown:

1. It has been 10 years since my high school graduation and 7  years since I graduated college.

College Graduation Day 2005

2. It has been 10 years since Adam moved to Nashville.

3. Adam and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary!  

Our 1st Anniversary 2006

4. Our oldest daughter, “C,” turned three and is potty trained!

5. Our youngest daughter turned 1-year-old and finally sprouted a mouthful of teeth (after 13 months without any)!

6. It has been a little over a year since I started A Dreamer’s Wife.   Two weeks ago, I made a plan to devote more time to this blog.  My goal is to post each weekend and get more involved in the blogging community.  It has been fun adding more websites to my Google Reader and WordPress Reader – so many great bloggers to follow!  I also officially registered my domain name this week, so now it is adreamerswife.com!

7.  We started the journey of Adam’s career as an independent artist! 

8. I just stopped the bedtime feeding that I had been continuing for the past couple months with “little A.” One of the “girls” became a casualty to the teeth I mentioned in #5 and I decided it was finally time to put an end to this phase of mommy-hood.

9.  It has been three weeks since we discontinued cable – and I don’t mean downgraded to a lower package, I mean we don’t even have the basic channels.  (Boo to missing the Olympics!)  We do have a Netflix subscription right now, so I can’t be too dramatic about this!  It has definitely been a change, but I’ve been way more productive and focused.  I thought I was good at multitasking with the TV on, but maybe I wasn’t as good at it as I thought!  We’ll see how long this “no TV” lasts, though, because football season is about here and I don’t know if Adam will be able to cope.  (He’s already found a possible deal on a cable package…)

10. I recently started a Catholic ABC’s preschool program with “C.” Each Saturday morning we discuss the designated letter of the week, spend time singing songs, making a craft, and learning about the Bible.

“A” for Angel Craft

All of this is exciting stuff to acknowledge and celebrate.  It also causes me to think about making the most of whatever time I have left on this earth. In the past few months, I’ve become more passionate, fearless, and trusting in regards to God’s will, my talents, and my goals.  I feel that nothing is impossible.  I have no idea what the next 10 years (and beyond) holds, but I know that I’m going to be living with purpose each day!  I’m looking forward to my continued growth as a bold, joy-filled, and faith-filled individual!

What is everybody else out there celebrating?

November’s Dreamer in the Spotlight

30 Nov

The young woman that I’m featuring this month is truly an inspiration!  Her name is Katie Davis and  I ran across an article about her story last month in the Tennessean.  She is a perfect example of how God can use each of us to do extraordinary things if we will listen and be open to whatever He asks.  Easier said that done, right?  I’m sure a lot of people were skeptical of her plans and worried about her, but she is making a difference and shedding God’s light on so many lives!

Please click on the following headline to read the online version of “At 22, woman is mom to 13 Ugandan children”.

As the article mentions, she also has a blog called Kisses from Katie and recently released a book by the same name.  I’m looking forward to checking it out when I get some time.  She makes me think about how amazing it would be if all of us embraced God’s plan for our lives! The bible verse “Yet not as I will, but as YOU will (Matthew 26: 39)” is the status on Amazima Minstries‘ Facebook page!

(photo above courtesy of africa via http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1803)

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Side note:  I realized after I published my previous post, that I forgot to include a main part of my sleep deprivation story, so I’ll include it below.  This is just a perfect example of my mommy brain in action!  Here we go…

As I mentioned, I had a week where I was very irritable and unpleasant towards Adam.  That Saturday, while Adam was working, I cleaned the house and did several chores while watching the girls.  I even had time to make dinner.  I felt like I was being a good wife/mother and wanted Adam to feel relaxed when he arrived home.  Of course, shortly after he walked through the door, my attitude and moodiness overshadowed my good intentions and homemaking skills as my exhaustion kicked in after a long, busy day.  I made sure Adam knew what a heavy load I carried and complained about all of my responsibilities.  So much for him relaxing, huh?

The next morning, we went to Mass and the first reading was from Proverbs 31.  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing!  I felt like God was specifically talking to me and I started to cry, because I wanted to be a good wife and was ashamed of how I had been acting.  I had been blaming Adam for not helping me, when I should have been asking the Lord for grace and strength to deal with a tough time.  Sometimes it can be discouraging to just “suck it up and deal with it” when mothers have to continuously sacrifice, but I know that it is a privilege and a blessing to be called to marriage and to be able to raise children.

The sum of all of this is:  Husbands, help your wives get sleep and they won’t be so psycho and will be more appreciative of all of their blessings!  I know Adam has seen the benefits of a more rested wife already!

Doing the Coupon Thing

15 Jun

I started planning my shopping trips more strategically about 2 months ago when our second daughter was born. I, like several others, was inspired by the tv show “Extreme Couponing” to save money to improve my family’s financial situation. I started doing some research online and found the website http://thekrazycouponlady.com.  This site reports the good deals at various stores and offers couponing and organization tips. Since I decided to get serious and down to business, I bought their book, Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey.  It is a very practical, well-written book and I’ve already loaned it to one friend and will be sharing it with another.

Today, I had my own “pick another checkout lane” moment for the first time. I went to Target on my lunch break to do some purposeful shopping. I was armed with my Target web coupons and manufacturing coupons, so I was able to use 2 coupons on several items. Most of the things I purchased are for Christmas gift baskets that I am putting together for my husband’s side of the family. Some of the highlights include:

– six Sally Hansen nail files/toe separators for $2
– Suave lotion for $.60 each
– Sally Hansen nailpolish for $1

I also picked up two 6-packs of Danimal smoothies for $.69 each and two small bottles of Ibuprofen for $.49 each. If it wasn’t for a small package of diapers I had to pick up, I would have saved about 60% on my total bill before tax.

To get to the checkout part that I mentioned earlier, I had a good stack of coupons to go with my items. The cashier was taking her time checking over all of the coupons and one of my Target mobile coupons (they scan a barcode on my phone) was not calculating a discount properly, so she suggested to the man behind me to go to another lane! I asked to see a manager but this lady dryly said that she was “running the front” and did not seem to be in the best mood, so I gave up easily and did not push the issue. I’m sure a more experienced coupon lady would have gotten it straightened out but I didn’t feel it was worth it and I had to get back to the office.

Anyway, it feels good to save money and what woman doesn’t love a bargain (or ten)!

Small Steps

4 Jun

I’ve talked with Adam on the phone a few times this weekend while he has been in North Carolina and he told me about some things that he wants to start doing.  One of the things he is considering being a part of is, the volunteer organization, Musicians On Call.  They have a Bedside Performance Program where artists play songs to uplift the spirits of hospital patients.  To learn more about this neat organization, go to www.musiciansoncall.org. I hope that he decides to do it.  I think it would be a very rewarding experience and people would love to hear his music!

Another thing that Adam wants to pursue to promote his music, is to release a cover song weekly on YouTube.  Adam feels that since he does not fit into the Nashville mold, he has to try to “think outside this town” to bring awareness to his music and his voice.  Adam also tried out for Simon Cowell’s upcoming reality show, “The X-Factor,” over a month ago via a studio audition.  Since so many people tried out using this method and they extended the days that people could audition, it has taken awhile for the producers to evaluate all of the videos.  Hopefully, he will be hearing back soon! And if not, we know that God has another plan…

Adam was able to get some good video of some of his performances from this weekend.  Hopefully I will be able to post some soon!

Changing the subject, but staying with the theme of “small steps,” our 2 year old learned to go on the potty today – 4 times!  Don’t worry, I do not plan to make bathroom talk a fixture in my blog!  I’m just a proud mommy right now!

Enjoy the weekend!

Making an Impact

2 Jun

Lately, I’ve been paying attention to successful artists who seem to have the same goal that Adam is pursuing.  One artist who I’ve listened to since his first single, “Stay Gone,” came out awhile back, Jimmy Wayne, has many positive and meaningful songs.  I have been rocking out to his latest CD in the car for the past several months.  He has a great voice and some catchy melodies.  Jimmy has also used his fame to bring attention to a good cause.  Last year, he walked across the country to bring awareness to foster children who are aging out of the system.  Jimmy was in the foster care system himself when he was younger.  I think it is amazing to see someone sacrifice and give back like that!  Check out http://meetmehalfway.jimmywayne.com to read more about his story and his project.

An artist who recently caught my attention, when I was reading an article about this month’s local celebrity parent in June’s Nashville Parent magazine, is Matthew West.  He is a Christian artist who is married with two daughters.  I checked out his latest album, The Story of Your Life, on iTunes and all the songs were written about the life experiences that he read about in over 15,000 letters.  I sampled a few and was very impressed.  It’s refreshing to hear acknowledgment of real pain and difficulties, as well as hope.  His website is www.matthewwest.com.

Update:  Adam survived his first two full days with the girls – all went well!  I also survived my first couple days in the office.  It’s always a little interesting when you come back to work to find that you have double the responsibility, but I’ve worked in the field of social work long enough to know how to go with the flow… Thankful for the job!

Happy sacrifices

26 May

As I mentioned in my previous blog, I am getting ready to go back to work after being on maternity leave.  I’d love to stay home with my girls, but working a full-time job is a necessity at this time in my life.  (I know I am blessed to have a job in this economy.)  Adam is able to call himself a professional musician, fortunately, but it doesn’t quite support the family yet. Due to pre-term labor complications that required a short hospital stay and being on bed rest, we are not in the greatest financial spot right now, but I know that God will bring us through it and it is all worth it for our newest little angel!

One of the ways that God has shown me that I can help support my family is by using coupons.  I’m sure many of you have seen, or at least heard about, the TLC show, “Extreme Couponing.”  This show debuted right around the time our youngest daughter was born and it got me thinking that I can save money on my grocery bill.  I am definitely not trying to be like these very extreme people on the show who are clearing shelves, but it is fun and rewarding to be able to find a good deal on something that is free or over 50% of what it would normally cost and maybe stock up on a few more items than usual.  I like to call what I do, “strategic couponing!”  I’m sure I’ll talk more about this later in another blog as it is one of the things I am very focused on in addition to my children, working, and taking care of our house –  not unlike many other mommies in America.  It’s also fun, because Adam is now asking me if we have coupons for certain items.  I feel good knowing that I’ve found another way that I can contribute to the well-being of our family.

I know that many families are going through difficult times financially right now.  We, as wives and mothers, need to support each other.  We all make great sacrifices for our husbands and our children.  So often in the media we see women gossiping and attacking each other, but another reason that I wanted to do this blog was to encourage each other in a wonderful mission that we are all striving for – to support our families and help them be the best individuals that they can be.  Hopefully, this blog can become a forum for advice, tips, and encouragement.

More to come!