Shop Memento is providing a yummy and adorable personalized Mommy & Me matching cupcake apron set for a special mother and daughter, complete with embroidered cupcake appliqué and name or monogram. Mommy and her little kitchen helper will have fun baking and cooking in their matching mommy and me aprons this Christmas. Perfect for Matching Sister Aprons or for Grandma and her granddaughter(s). And don’t forget these playful monkey measuring spoons donated by Bread & Butter with standard measurements and fun faces that make them just right for little bakers. Follow Shop Memento on Twitter.Follow the Shop Memento blog. Opening bid starts at $10 and can be increased at $2 increments. Happy Bidding! Please add your email address so we can contact you if you win your item,especially if you comment anonymously! Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate […]
(Little Aloutte teether) (Punchkin wear) The top pictures show a handmade teething ring as seen on Dooce, created by Little Alouette: Over a decade ago a handsome British boy and an Ohio lass met and fell madly in love at first site in a sleepy university town. The boy was a classically trained master carpenter and the girl a writer with a bit of wanderlust. They worked together creatively through the years on many projects involving woodworking as they restored and remodeled homes together. The boy taught his love about trees on their land in the country and how to use power tools and the girl read poems to him while they worked. They started a journey of following their bliss and eventually brought two wee ones into the world and began creating wooden toys for them. They decided to share these wee wooden toys with the world and Little Alouette, LLC was […]
Monday~December 7, 2009 I’ve written quite often about how surprising the blog world has been for me. Through blogging I’ve learned that I can make authentic connections with people around the world that I never would have known any other way. I’m so thankful for that. I’m thankful for so many of you that have taken the time to get to know me, to care about my family, and to allow me to get to know you. We read about one another’s greatest accomplishments, we celebrate the highest highs and we grieve the lowest lows. I’ve mentioned Anissa Mayhew in a previous post, and many of you know her. For those of you who don’t, recently Anissa, a witty blogger, wife and mother of three, collapsed after suffering a massive stroke. Her family and friends are devastated. One minute her husband was talking to her about which hotel they could stay in over […]
Tuesday~December 1, 2009 Every time I hear someone say Haiti my heart jumps. I’ve never even been there but I believe one day I will go. I’ve been talking about this mysterious connection to this foreign-to-me place for many years. So when I received an e-mail from Heartline Ministries, asking me to share something with you, I was more than happy to do it. I absolutely love programs that empower people, teaching them skills to make life better for themselves and their families. This is what Heartline Ministries is doing. Their Women’s Program provides teaching with classes like Prenatal care, Early Childhood Development, and Literacy. On top of that, they are helping women earn money by teaching them sewing skills. “None of the women that started the program were able to provide for their families before the class.” * Now that is something, isn’t it? Just think of it. One skill learned and […]
Saturday~ She’ll make you laugh over and over and then give you a peek at her very large heart. They will leave you wanting to gobble more words, astounded at the way those words are strung together, making you feel totally understood right through your computer screen. Short and sweet, she will have you giggling and then wondering what it’s like to be in her creative mind, full of silly analogies and hilarious stories. She will tell her past stories in a way that makes you feel like you were there, and then she’ll bring with those stories what she’s learned and tell you how she loves. It’s beautiful. You’ll feel her heart by looking at her pictures and relating to her while she weaves together words in a way that’s her very amazing kind of own. I could go on and on…. I just want to sit and talk with them in […]
Wednesday~November 11, 2009 I opened an email the other day to see THIS: It was terrifying. You see, I had 777 followers on Twitter and I was thinking that was a really great place to stay. Just look at that beautiful number – 777 – it’s perfection, so safe and strong. But the person who sent me that picture above thought it necessary to sabotage my Twitter number happiness, and sent out many tweets asking people to follow me, therefore increasing that number and changing it. Rude. (Okay, fine. I had done the same thing to him in the past.) (Hence the terrifying Mel Gibson Payback photo above.) I’m sharing this with you for a few reasons. If you read my post a couple of days ago, you’re aware that I wasn’t having the best day. So the truth is, I needed the silly Twitter banter to cheer me up. That’s one of […]
Thursday ~ October 15, 2009 So, we’ve been really busy over here, right? And now that old saying “haste makes waste” keeps going through my head because I was hastily doing all sorts of things, and then I broke myself. Haste makes waste. Of my foot. So now I hobble while I try to get things done. That’s the riveting update from here. What you will find below are a couple of things that make me cry-laugh. I hope they make you laugh too… If you haven’t seen this, watch it before the other video. Please.(You’ll understand why later) OK, now watch this one. Hilarity, I tell ya.(Especially if you love Twitteror love making fun of Twitteraholics, including yourself) P.S. I was not tweeting when I broke a bone.(But I will admit that I did immediately tweet that I broke myself.) Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and […]
Wednesday~October 7, 2009 Yesterday, when I asked you all to share your favorite blog posts (of your very own) with me, (which you can still do here) a few of you asked me to share mine. And then I stalled. (Sorry ’bout it.) But you see, I knew that katdish was going to be sharing one of my favorites over on Hey look, a chicken! today, so I wanted to wait. If you’re still curious, you can head on over there for my favorite post. It comes to mind when thinking of a favorite simply because it literally wrote itself through the people around me. I had never had that experience before, putting words together without ruminating over how to do it, and then I loved the way it turned out. It taught me a lot about how good writing can be when you take the second-guessing out of it. I have to […]
Tuesday~ October 6, 2009I’ve been blogging for two years as of last Sunday. So today, when I realized the two year mark had come and gone, I went to look at my first post. It was a post that simply announced that I was new to blogging, that I’d been inspired to start a blog by my friend Kelly, and that I had no clue what I was doing. It was riveting. There were two comments. I remember being completely confused by the first comment: “It is customary in the “Blogging-Post-Commenter” community for a commenter to declare a sort of ownership of newly scripted blog posts by racing to place the first comment to said post. (Think explorer erecting flag on North Pole, Moon, etc…) Typically, this braggadocio is rendered through a rather obnoxious, utterly avoidant of topic, singularly worded comment containing only the utterance: “FIRST!!!!!!!!!!” Since you are sponging up info on […]
Friday~October 2, 2009I’m over at Moms Without Blogs today. Lee runs that joint, and let me tell you, she’s one lovely person, that Lee. She was even patient with me saying that I was going to write a post about blogging and then changing my mind at the last second and giving her a favorite from my archives instead. She’s become a friend to me, one that listens to me ramble in emails and over the phone, laughs with me, and encourages me to follow this writing dream of mine. (If you’re here from MWOB, thank you for taking the time to come by. If you’d like to read some of my more presentable posts, they’re up there at the top, just a click away under Hits.) Here’s my teaser, you know, the one that will surely send you over to Moms Without Blogs to finish reading…I’m starting to think there can be […]
Wednesday~September 30, 2009 I’m having a crisis of blog. A crisis of B-L-O-G is what I’m having. I started out skipping along with a tra-la-la in this whole blogging thing and then people started calling me a writer and I was all really? It’s a nice thing to be called, but I’m still not sure I have my mind wrapped around what it means for me. I guess I just can’t figure out how to do this anymore, or how I want to do it. (Blog, that is.) Which is why I nearly up and closed this baby down the other day. (I know, GASP! How would life go on?) (Please note my sarcasm as you read that last sentence.) I absolutely loved Maggie’s post Evolution of a Blogger. It said all that I could say here. You should read it, it’s just plain excellent. To be completely cheesy, I want to do […]
Friday~September 18, 2009 Wanna see/read some cool stuff? Okay then… Amy Turn Sharp of Doobleh–Vay put up a post last Friday called while they nap I should be working. It made my day. Go ahead and watch her short video clip, it’ll make you feel all happy.(Check out some other posts while you’re there. If you think her lip-syncing is good, you should read her posts with her own words. She’s absolutely positively talented, that lady.) Then over at Moms Without Blogs, I was moved by Lee’s post about the small moments gifted to us by our children, the ones that help us realize we’re doing okay even when we haven’t felt at all like we’re succeeding. It’s a beautiful heart-felt post, giving me just the reminder I needed at just the right moment. COMMENTS ARE OFF ON THIS POST.(Not because I don’t care what you have to say,I just want you to […]
Friday~September 11, 2009 Remember when September 11th was simply September 11th? Me either. Now we say the number nine and the number 11 together and it only means one thing. 9/11 Terror. Memories of exactly where we were on that day, the surreal slow-motion day that changed how we think about our safety. Now 9/11 rolls off the tongue and brings memories, and that’s just as it should be. To forget would be a disregard for the lives lost, and a slap in the face to those who are grieving and always will be grieving. We talk about it and remember so that it will always help to color the way we live, embracing every day. I figure today is a perfect day to share some powerful posts with you about redemption and hope. Check these guys out, you won’t be sorry: A very public experiment: last one by Mike Adamick at Cry […]
Monday~August 31st, 2009The boys and I absolutely love to read picture books. I have a bit of an addiction to them, and love to hear of new authors and titles that I haven’t come across. So thank you all for your recommendations in the comments of this post. We’ve added some new favorites to our library, and we’re not even done working our way through your suggestions quite yet. I’ve compiled a list of the books we’ve read (or had already read) so far from your comments. I’ll do another post with more after we’ve made more trips to the library to read them. Obviously not all the recommendations were available when we looked for them the first couple of times. So, if you don’t see your recommendation, it will be coming in the next installment (I’ve only added the ones we’ve found so far in this installment.)The following has been painstakingly alphabetized […]
Sunday~August 23, 2009I’m helping Asher because he’s eating a snack right before dinner and it’s messy and it’s everywhere. I take a towel and wipe his face and the towel gets all gooey so I throw it down the stairs. I’ll wash it later with the rest. I pick him up and think about how heavy he’s getting and we wash silky smooth hands at the kitchen sink. He starts to say fish, fish, fish, over and over while he watches the fish in the window above the sink. I need to feed the fish, I think. He’s begging and so I say no gum you just had some, as I pinch fish food. He cries with that deep crinkling line between his brows and my heart hurts but he still just had gum. There’s a mess on the floor from the late snack so I sweep it. I hurry because I hear […]
Thursday~August 20, 2009 We Minnesotans (and former Minnesotans) have a lot in common.When we meet, we almost always have at least one mutual friend.We have (or had) the accent. MINNAHSOHTAHMany of us are blue-eyed blondes (or former blondes).And some of us blog.And then we meet.And it’s good. Meet Sara (in the middle) of Domestically Challenged.And then meet (on the right) Beth of Manic Mother. We met for dinner the other night.We talked like we’ve known each other always.Which means we talked a lot, and it was good. Uff da! Beth is no longer living in Minnesota (not for now anyway) so she’s here for a visit. I’m so glad I got to meet her. She has two boys that are the same ages as Miles and Asher (4 and 2). She brought her 4 year old along on this trip, but she couldn’t bring her 2 year old Ezra. He’s the beautiful boy […]
Saturday~ August 8, 2009 There’s a possibility that my friend Susan thinks my house is some kind of catastrophe-inducing vortex. She and her two boys were over last night, both of our husbands were busy, so we decided to have a movie night together. Of course, four boys under 5 years of age don’t actually just sit and watch a movie. But it was Friday and Susan and I were tired, so we had high hopes for an opportunity to sit at the table, eat, have some wine and talk. We were making the mistake of desperately hoping that our four small boys would sit quietly and watch a movie. You know, for two full hours or so. But it wasn’t to be. I know, shocking. We tried, we really tried. We would start a conversation, standing in the kitchen and peeking in on the boys, wherever they had roamed, every few minutes. […]
I find it more than humorous that while at a blogging conference, there is little to no internet service. SO, I have only a moment to highlight a few things before my connection will surely slip away. My favorite thing about the BlogHer conference, by far, is the surreal experience of seeing the faces and hearing the voices of bloggers I’ve come to know and love but had yet to meet. I’m sharing a room with Kim of Prairie Mama (I would link, but I don’t have time) and her sweet, edible ten month old Libby. Something I didn’t know about Kim before? She’s really really funny in real life. Her gestures and expressions give her humor that extra kick that you can’t see on-line. She is absolutely lovely. She also snores. For two minutes. For real. It’s like she has to get some grandpa snores out and then she’s just done. (I […]
Wednesday~July 22nd, 2009 I was leaving my friend’s house tonight, exhausted from a day of trying to make up for procrastinating, when I passed through the living room and just plain wanted to sit down on the couch. No one was in there, my friend and her daughter were upstairs, getting ready for bed. But the TV was on and America’s Home Videos was just starting. I had been running at such a fast pace all day, I just wanted to grab a pillow and curl up in a corner of the couch and then laugh at “The Silly Show,” as Miles likes to call it. I just wanted to relax, sit still, and let my brain shut down for awhile. And then I really missed Miles because I knew he would love to sit and laugh with me. Before we unplugged, he really liked that show. So I hopped in the car […]
Tuesday~July 21st, 2009 I don’t own a cocktail dress. Heck, I hardly even own any jewelry. Pretty much any earrings make my ears red with burn. I rarely wear high heels because I don’t like to have my toes pinched and I especially don’t like blisters. I magically received a perfect bra in the mail a few weeks ago, or I wouldn’t even have a good one of those. It’s not that I don’t care at all about how I look, I guess it’s just that I don’t care all that much about how I look very often. So when there comes a time, or an event such as BlogHer, I don’t even know where to start. I look in my closet and am suddenly reminded of how utterly normal I am. I stop and think about my style, re-frame it in my mind a few times, and then I stroll through shops […]
Monday~July 20th, 2009 Summer is much the same as the everyday beautiful of motherhood-goodness wrapped in hard work. The drying of towels, the sweeping of sand, the packing and unpacking, the bucking and unbuckling, the in and out and up and down…The things that wear us out, but bring with them the very best kind of satisfaction. Yes, I do believe Summer and Motherhood are holding hands, sharing their little secrets of light, and defying common sense. In the summer we hustle here and there, we travel and we get tired. The wind blows up the dust and it dirties our legs. The sun shines bright and tires our eyes. We laugh and our bellies hurt. Our hands are sticky with the goodness of it. Asher on his second birthday. The past weeks have been so packed with goodness. I feel like we’ve been everywhere. Except to the moon. I’m almost positive we […]
At the end of a loooong winter, I started to have a really hard time as a stay at home mom. I was struggling to keep my cool and basically losing my mind, feeling kind of suffocated and lonely. Many of you will remember that I emailed my friend Debbie (of Suburb Sanity fame) and poured my heart out all over the screen, begging for her to tell me HOW to do this. Then she gave me great advice (you can find that here). One of the main things I took away from Debbie’s advice was to get out of the house for some kind of activity every day. She talked about how it was the only thing that saved her sanity when her kids were really small and needed a lot of entertaining and direction. Of course, this is something I was aware of, but it’s easy to forget during a Minnesota […]
Thursday~June 18, 2009I mean, if He did have that talk with me, either He’d tell me how smart I am…OR, He might just remind me that it’s not that good to manipulate my children through prayer. You see, it’s quite possible that I ramble on and on during bedtime (and nap time) prayers with the kids, thanking God for a whole lot of things regarding sleep and how wonderful it is. And maybe I do this to the extent that I mention the super powers that rest can bring. I also just might thank God that Henry and Wes and Olivia and Max and…are all snug in their beds, fast asleep. You see, Miles has been known to fight sleep (big time), especially naps, as he gets closer to the age of “rest” time rather than nap time. And this prayer technique is really helping him actually sleep rather than just dumping every […]
Friday Look! I’m blogging on my non-blogging trip! Our friend Ben brought his fancy computer, and the fancy cabin we have the honor of staying in has wifi. I wasn’t even going to get on-line, but Ben plopped his computer on my lap just now and said, “Get your fix.” So this isn’t my fault. And for the record, I have NOT played Word Twist even one time. This place is beautiful, the sun is shining, the lake is glassy, the trees are tall. It’s heavenly. The kids still get up at the very first sight of light here in the North woods, just as they do in the city. Go figure. Oh well, I suppose this means there’s more time for fishing, hiking, shopping at cute little shops, hammock dozing, and s’mores. I’ll have tired, puffy eyes while we do all these things, but it’s still going to be a great time. […]
Monday~May 25, 2009 Isn’t the beginning of SUMMER great? Most of us think so anyway. Back when I was a social worker, I learned that most suicides occur in the Spring and early Summer. Experts assume this is because of the inevitable comparisons hurting people make. They’d watch everyone else bloom, all happy and excited, and feel even worse over their own despair. And yes, the clients that did commit suicide back in the days that I worked, did so in the Spring or Summer. Not the most uplifting thing you’ve ever heard, huh? Well, I wrote something in response to those thoughts over on the Highway blog today. It has a more positive perspective, I hope, about how our love for each other really does make all the difference. See you there. If you want. (Grandma, you can put your arrow on the “See you there” and then click to get there) […]
Thursday~May 7, 2009 See this little guy? And this little guy? I miss them. I know I’m with them all the time, but I still miss them. We were trying to get out the door this morning, to bring Miles to preschool.I was barking orders, frustrated, reminding Miles for the fifth time to put.his.shoes.on. I was rushing around like a headless chicken, pulling Asher’s shirt over his head with a flourish.I was stomping my foot at the dog because she wasn’t walking to the door fast enough. I tried to push it out of my head, but there it was, too big of an elephant to be ignored. Our being behind schedule was not about shoes or the dog or even disobedience. It was because of me. I spent so much time in my own head space this morning, formulating this post, returning emails, peeking in on Twitter…I didn’t look at the clock […]
TUESDAY~ May 5, 2009 Remember that time we raised $380 for Little Miss Tuesday Fiona Whitt? Yeah, that rocked. Well now there’s something else going on. Something very special, in honor of Tuesday, and it starts today. You MUST check it out. GO! CLICK ON THAT PICTURE!HAVE FUN AND DO SOMETHING GOOD AT THE SAME TIME! SEE YOU AT THE PARTY! (Comments are off. Go ahead and use that time to visit Tuesday’s party.) Thank you for allowing me to pop up in your inbox and for reading my words, silly or serious. I appreciate you. ~Heather
Friday~May 1st, 2009 The last twenty four hours have consisted of: the stomach flu, a fight with my husband (don’t worry, we made up), four eye teeth poking through at once for Asher, the mud room looking as if someone has actually mud wrestled in it, a catscan with way too much barium involved, A LOT of food ground into the carpet, and too many dirty dishes that will remain dirty for awhile (I have absolutely no dishwasher detergent OR dish soap.). I’m resting my arms on a stack of bills that need to be paid and paperwork that needs to be done as I type this. This is one of those days when, even though I know there’s no way to stay on top of things that have no top, I wish I could at least start the climb. So what I’m about to say might be totally insane… I love my […]
Sunday~April 26, 2009 YES, IT’S ME! These are my new digs! And I dig them! It’s me! The same Heather, only with some work done. But, Heather! Where did everything go??? Well, friends. It’s up there, inside those buttons that say links and hits. You see, it’s all really good stuff, but it’s also lots and lots of stuff. So I cleaned house. I simplified. And man, it feels good. (Doesn’t it, Tonggu Daddy?) I’ll be working out the kinks for a few days, adding things, removing things, and generally moving things around. You know, pressing out those fine lines and wrinkles. Sure, I really hope you like my new look, but if you don’t, you are not allowed to tell me. It would hurt my new blog’s feelings. Blogging reminded me that I love to write, and then it surprised me with these genuine connections, friendships I’ve made that totally rock the […]
Friday~April 24, 2009 Do you remember that time I made a fool of myself at IKEA? No, not that recent thing where the boys fell over in the cart, that was a different time. I’m talking about the time I was rapping. Well, if you don’t know that story, you can read it over at 5 Minutes for Parenting today. It’s the funniest story you’ve ever read in your whole entire life! (Or something.) (You could go over there and read it and maybe even leave a comment if you want so I don’t look like a total loser.) I haven’t had much computer time this week (like hardly at all), and so I’ve been doing lots of thinking about technology and relationships and true connection and all that. I’ve got an intriguing post on the subject brewing. So wait on pins and needles for that. Happy Friday! Thank you for allowing me […]
