Poem: Stay at Home Mom... what did you do today?

This Poem speaks my heart....

I heard it this week and it was just perfect so I wanted to share:


Stay at Home Mom... what did you do today?

Today I left some dishes dirty,

The bed got made around 3:30.

The diapers soaked a little longer,

The odor grew a little stronger.

The crumbs I spilled the day before,

Are staring at me from the floor.

The fingerprints there on the wall,

Will likely be there still next fall.

The dirty streaks on those window panes,

Will still be there next time it rains.

Shame on you, you sit and say,

Just what did you do today?

I nursed a baby till he slept,

I held a toddler while he wept,

I played a game of hide and seek,

I squeezed a toy so it would squeak.

I pulled a wagon, sang a song,

Taught a child right from wrong.

What did I do this whole day through?

Not much that shows, I guess it’s true.

Unless you think that what I’ve done,

Might be important to someone,

With bright brown eyes and soft blond hair,

If that is true … I’ve done my share.

Author Unknown

The Pre-Christmas Movie List

Happy Holidays Everyone!

This is the time of year I love most. It's about this time that I hit the most euphoric holiday mood and just go crazy baking and planning and dreaming of holiday memories. This may actually end up being the height of my yuletide spirit since I am sometimes over it just a bit by the time Christmas actually gets here. Once Christmas is upon me I am too busy to feel the fun anymore.

Anyway, while I don't put my tree up until the day after Thanksgiving and don't listen to Christmas music until then either, I do however enjoy some festive holiday movies while I am in the kitchen cooking for my family. I don't want to watch my favorite Christmas movies just yet, I like to save those, so I have collected up a very few movies that I feel are perfect for this pre-thanksgiving time. Some of these actually contain a Thanksgiving scene and most have just a hint of Christmas, maybe in the last few minutes.

Here they are and I hope you will watch a few of them and enjoy! Oh, and you can click to read about them on IMDB

1. Holiday Inn - Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire are funny and entertaining in this 1942 classic. Bing plays a showman who wants to quit and be a farmer but ends up turning his big farmhouse into a club/hotel that is only open on holidays. The musical numbers are great and Fred's tap dancing is terrific as usual. The Fourth of July scene is great and the 'Father Abraham' song has been edited from the televised version because of the blackface routine. This movie features the debut of Bing's classic song 'White Christmas' and there is even a Thanksgiving scene.

2. The Shop Around The Corner - A wonderful black and white movie with young Jimmy Stewart. This movie was the inspiration for 'You've Got Mail' but I like this one better. It's a cute and funny tale with a slight holiday flavor toward the end.

3. By the Light of The Silvery Moon - This Doris Day film is set in the 40's and is charming and fun. It's few musical selections are nice and the side stories are funny. It's like a Norman Rockwell painting come to life and is set around Thanksgiving.

4. Meet Me In St. Louis - Ok, I am just considering adding this one to my list. I have seen it a couple times in recent years and I like the little girl in it. I also love the song 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' which debuted in this movie. If it's not your bag, then go watch 'The Wizard of Oz'. Judy Garland is in both. (and for some reason the major networks want us to watch 'Oz' on Thanksgiving.

5. Stars in My Crown - Just one of the most ignored wonderful movies ever made. Not available on DVD (last time I checked) and a rare glimpse of a movie with major screen stars which glorifies God! It has a really great story and a sweet ending too. If you ever get a chance, watch it! If it were available on DVD I would own it in a minute!

6. It's A Wonderful Life - And finaly, my all time favorite movie! I just can't wait until Christmas to watch this. I usually watch it about once a week during this time. (Not actually sit down and watch it, but you know, have it on in the background while cooking) Only the ending involves Christmas and then only slightly. I know it is a classic Christmas movie, but really it fits into the spirit of the season even as early as Thanksgiving.

Whether you watch these or your own favorites, Have yourself some Happy Holidays!

Busy

What have I been busy doing?

Sorry I haven't been sharing much. I have been busy doing home-school, homeschool co-op on Wednesdays, MOPS every other Monday, Heart to Home once a month, children's choir Wednesday nights, a major cleaning out of my storage building, a garage sale (that flopped) and have begun doing pencil portraits from photos (See Here).

What am I going to be doing?

I will be spending the next two weeks trying to finally get the house back in shape after the garage sale fiasco in time for the big birthday party for my son who is turning 5! Also I will be doing more portraits and preparing for the holidays.
I will get back into the habit of posting very soon, really I will!

Our new family recipe for Sloppy Joes...

These may sound a little crazy but taste great...

McKeithen family's Insanely Sloppy Joes-

Ingredient List:

Hamburger Buns
Plain ruffled potato chips
1 lb of ground beef or turkey
pepper
garlic powder
mustard
brown sugar
2 apples
1 package of kraft macaroni and cheese
1 green bell pepper
1 medium onion



Before preparing meat go ahead and be boiling the water for the Macaroni and Cheese and prepare as directed while working on other elements of the meal...

Sloppy Joe Mix-
Cook about 1 lb of ground meat (beef or turkey)
While browning meat add about-
half a cup of diced green bell pepper
half a cup of diced onion

Once the meat is browned add in

3 teaspoons of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of yellow mustard
1 tablespoon of garlic powder or to taste
pepper and salt to taste
3/4 cup of ketchup

Heat through.

Toast buns if desired, then place a layer of Ruffles chips on bottom buns, spooning sloppy joe mixture onto chips, then spooning macaroni and cheese onto meat. Last, add sprinkling of diced apples and top with other bun. Enjoy!

Homeschool Has Begun!

My little student:

We started school last week. I have been anticipating and fearing this time for many years! I am committed to homeschooling all of our children, but I am a little nervous about actually pulling it off! We are trying Sonlight's Pre-K curriculum this year. Micah is 4 but turning 5 later on this fall. He is already showing signs of being a little ahead of me. I am alredy suplimenting the read-alouds with worksheets I have collected and we are also beginning practicing writing his letters and working with flashcards and other games.

We have been starting around 8:30 or 9:00 each morning and have been finishing before his 2 yr old sister gets out of her crib. She usually hangs out and plays in there till about 9:30. The baby has been getting up with us but then going back to bed a little later. The school times have been quiet and though Micah is usually a ball of loud noise and constant action, he likes the one-on-one time and likes completing the worksheets. The read-alouds are really short so he usually does fine sitting still for them too.

I also like to wrap-up school time with some drawing for fun. I enjoy it as much as he does. Here is an example of one of his drawings... we usually draw on paper and put it up for display but occasionally he and his sister draw on their magna-doodles and we take photos of it to save the art.

I think he is rather talented, but then I may be biased. (and have no other 4 year olds to compare it with!)

We finished our second week today and I am soooo happy I didn't have to send my baby away and entrust this precious opportunity to someone else.

The Simple Life

Our preacher is doing a series of sermons on 'Living the Simple Life'. I was sitting in church the day he announced the name of the series which he would be focusing on all summer. The moment I heard the title I was excited and anxious to hear everything he had to say on the subject.
It is my desire, always, to live simply. To focus on the important things and let the rest go.

The sad part of the story is this. In my busy-ness I have missed all but one part of the sermon series. I was happy to find that each of the sermons are available to listen to online... but still have yet to sit and listen to them.

I guess I really need to hear them since my life is so complicated I can't even find the time to hear about how it needs to be simple.

As I am fast approaching two milestones in my year 1. My Birthday and 2. The beginning of my first year of homeschooling.... I have had many resolutions floating around in my brain.

Two I am beginning today.

1. Drink Tea... Sounds silly but I needed a healthy substitute for all of the unhealthy drinks I have been consuming. For 7 months now I have been nursing a baby and have been thirsty 24/7. I have mostly consumed various caffeine free sodas each day and gallons of chocolate milk with cappuccino flavoring.
Today I am going go begin an attempt to substitute hot decaff tea with honey and lemon to keep my mind off sodas etc.

2. I started a new quiet time in the morning. I should always be doing a daily quiet time but I am terrible at keeping it going. I am starting again again.

There are many more... mostly to do with our scheduling and making this house run more efficiently. (generally it is a train wreck)
So, more resolutions to come!

Make the list!

Achievments Build Confidence
Confidence is required for Achievements

It's the Catch 22!

If you have a goal and you feel that you will never be able to accomplish it. Try achieving other related smaller goals first. As you achieve you will build your confidence for the big stuff.

One great excercise to do now, is to look back on your previous achievements. When I first started to do this list I could only think of maybe a couple of things. I truly don't feel like I have done a lot, and really, these acomplishments may not seem like anything to you or anyone else, but the important thing is that they made a big difference in my confidence levels or I felt very proud to have achieved them. (Note: I don't take credit for most of these, but give the glory to God for blessing me with the opportunities that I had and seeing me through the tough stuff)

My top ten achievements:

Teaching myself to draw (at an early age)
Getting Cody's CD (this is a dog obedience title, hard work involved, did this in high school)
Graduating college (with honors) )more about this another time)
Participating in Summer Missions ( a summer away from home, was scared to death to go!)
Marrying Joey (it was a long difficult journey ... more on that some other time)
Becoming a Mom (I never knew it would be so natural for me)
Passing the teacher's exam (a really really hard test for me!)
Teaching myself to quilt (have gotten infinite enjoyment out of this)
Learning to drive competantly (I know, sounds stupid but I didn't drive until a few years ago)
Illustrating a Book that was published (a small book but it is in book stores)

Hugs for Nurses (available on Amazon.com)

Now you! Make a list of your top ten achievements. Let me know what they are if you do it. Don't be embarrassed if they don't seem big. Some of mine aren't. The important thing is if they meant something to you.

Also, the real bonus of making this list is that it makes you want to add 2 or 3 more really cool things in the future! I know a couple of things I would love to add to this list and I just need to focus and work hard to make them happen!