I Gotta Guy for That! December 7, 2009

This weekend was a big weekend for us. I’ve got a new floor, a toilet, and sink in my almost renovated mud room/half bath! Whooo-hoooo! Words cannot express my delight and excitement about this dream room becoming a reality.
What I am most thrilled about is my organizer cubby. My husband and I decided to make a built in shoe rack, charging station (fancy way of saying a place to charge our cell phones) and shelving for hats, mittens, other junk that clutters up my house in a disorganized manner. We decided that we would contract someone to do this project for us due to time constraints…not to mention lack of carpentry skill… I had a few guys come to give me an estimate and I finally found my new guy, Jason Smith from Redefining Interiors. I heard about him from his wife who I see monthly at networking meetings. I’m so glad she told me about him because he came and was wonderful. He listened to what I wanted and then provided suggestions and ideas of ways to improve the project. A week later he came back with pictures drawn up and my estimate! (Unlike the other slobs that came in and had no ideas, and were unimpressive in general.) Needless to say, I gave him a check immediately so he could get started ASAP. Looks like I’ll have a finished mud room for Christmas. I’ll post pictures of the area after it is completed, but I am confident my guy will do a great job!

If you have a renovation or custom project in your home- I’ve got a guy for that! Redefining Interiors, Jason Smith, 267-372-6521. Call him and tell him I sent you! Check back in a week or two for a photo of my finished room.

My new thing! December 1, 2009

For those of you who don’t know me, I tend to go through phases of mini-obsession with whatever it is that I am currently enthralled with. My new thing has been so popular with family and friends that I decided to share it with you. You never know…maybe it will become your new thing too! So here it is:

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

Don’t they look yummy? While time-consuming, they are SO worth it! Plus the kids can help with this project just control the melted chocolate to avoid burns.

 

Ingredients:

• Pretzel rods
• Melting chocolate, white, milk, dark, or whatever you prefer
• Large, multi-colored sprinkles
• Wax paper

Instructions:

1. Gather all supplies needed, spoons, spatulas, wax paper, ingredients.
2. In a large saucepan, begin to SLOWLY heat the chocolate, stirring often. Do not rush the melting process, chocolate burns quickly.
3. After chocolate has completely melted, spoon over pretzel rods, covering completely, but leaving a few inches to hold mess free.
4. Shake off extra chocolate and place on wax paper. If desired, shake some sprinkles on before the chocolate sets. (I found that with dark or milk chocolate, primary colored sprinkles work best, and iridescent work best for white chocolate).
5. After coating all the rods, allow to completely dry before picking up. If you’d like, drizzle some chocolate of the opposite color over the rods for visual appeal.

 

Enjoy! These were a HUGE success with both kids and adults at several parties that I’ve taken them too.

 

It is a messy and time-consuming project, so make a lot while you are at it. A perk is that they keep for a while in the fridge and are a satisfying afternoon snack. Have fun making these!

Happy to be home! August 8, 2009

What a day! I’m happy to be back in Allentown, and I didn’t realize how happy until tonight…more on that later.

Today was lots of fun. After spending the morning hanging out at home, we headed out to Musikfest where CHIP/Capitol BlueCross was hosting a special event for kids. It was definitly a good time, face painting, food, ballon animals, and karaoke for the kids, with the big draw being a dance contest for characters- Dora, Spongebob, Tellybear, etc. YAY! We spent a few hours at the ‘fest walking and enjoying the beautiful day. I filled Madelyn’s stroller up with the remaining summer issues of Lehigh Valley Family and stopped to give one to every family I saw. Walking around with a stroller filled with magazines got me a lot of looks and hopefully a lot of new readers!

After returning home, we decided a visit to church was well overdue. Before we moved we attended regularly, and now that we are settled we plan to do the same. We visited the church where I grew up, Bethany United Methodist in Wescoesville. With the past months being so busy, I didn’t realize how much returning home to this area meant to me. My happiness really hit me while standing in line for communion. For reasons unknown to me, I was suddenly overcome with emotion. It is just so good to be back with my family and friends. The culmination of this move and all the emotions that went with finally hit me. There was something about being back in the comfort of my church family and home, where I was molded into the woman I am today, that was enormously overwhelming, in a joyful way. My husband, Fred, was quite shocked when he noticed the tears streaming down my face.  I was equally surprised by my overpowering sentiment that I couldn’t hold back.

Well, I better go- I have dinner on the stove. The new kitchen is great but I am using the stove the old owners left and the big burner is broken, so I’m trying to cook a huge pan of ground beef on a burner as big as my fist….just so it tastes good, we’ll be okay

For tomorrow: Bake 6 dozen cookies, visit my brother’s family, laundry, unpacking, thank you notes, cleaning, have parents/grandparents for dessert. I better rest up, Happy Saturday night!

 

 

Kim Capers of CHIP, Madelyn, and me!

Madelyn and Fred on the walk back to the car, she loves the view from up there!

Pride, joy, and our America August 6, 2009

This morning I spent a few minutes watching the press conference of Laura Ling and Euna Lee. A lot of things struck me about the freeing of these women from N. Korea. Primarily I considered was a timely story it was. There has been an overwhelming amount of negative news (what I feel is negative) coming from anything government related. While I am certainly not a political history buff, I assume that the hot button issues in our country today are more heated than they have been in years.

 I should preface this post by saying that I have never been interested in politics until recently. I am in the early stages of learning about how the political game is played but I am trying to immerse myself in knowledge so that I can make well informed choices about the future of our country as I am able. In learning about politics, I am sickened by the amount of scandal, hatred, bickering, and bias that we are all bombarded with.

 Regardless of whether we have ideals on the right or the left, I don’t know any American who didn’t feel joy when they heard the news that the two women were coming home. Regardless of their crime or lack thereof ( I don’t know if they actually did anything wrong or not), I think that most Americans have been able to see the situation through the eyes of any family. How terrible it must be to have a loved one imprisoned so far away, with little communication, and worse still, as pawns in a game of power and control. I can’t imagine what they must have gone through.

 It seems to me that over the past months Americans rallied together in hope, support, and prayer for these women in a way that hasn’t been possible over any other issue of the times. Empathy ruled. I didn’t hear anything about their race, their political views, their financial status, their dirty laundry, or any other topic that has been consuming the conversations of Americans over the last year. It was simply understood that two of us were over there and we needed to get them home, ASAP. It certainly sparked some degree of patriotism in many.

 It is almost 9:00 p.m. less than 12 hours after the news coverage of their homecoming was buzzing around us everywhere. While I did not watch the nightly news, I just visited 2 different news websites and neither had the story as a feature. Why have we forgotten the positive and life altering story of the day and replaced it with the stories of shootings, bailouts, and political finger pointing? We do in fact live in a great country filled with great people, albeit different from us.

 I don’t know about you but I am so very exhausted by all the politics, finger pointing, name calling, and childish behavior that are consuming our nation.  This is a phenomenal country housing a phenomenal people and I thank God each and every day that I have the opportunity to live here. Part of what makes us so great is that our country is filled with people with different ideas and different opinions.  Tonight I am desperately wishing that for longer than 2 hours, we as a nation could focus on where we are positive.  

While I’m not suggesting that we stick our heads in the sand, I am suggesting that we simply follow the golden rule, and root for America.

Crazy long update covering April-August! August 4, 2009

Okay, it is the first Monday in August. I realize I have dropped the blogging ball but I hadn’t realized it has been so long. Well, where to start?
A lot has happened since April and my last blog. The biggest event was that we decided to put our beautiful home for sale, yes- the one we had worked day and night on for 2 years straight and finally finished. It sold with unbelievable ease, and we also found a charming house in Allentown that was perfect for us (once we do another 2 years or so worth of work). We have been back in the Lehigh Valley for 2 months now and couldn’t be happier. We moved into our new home this past weekend. We thought we’d have the house ready to live in after 2 weeks of working on it, but then plans changed and we are finally in the house now. Tonight will be our third night. Madelyn seems to be adjusting without any problems. As a matter of fact, I don’t even know that she notices all of our moving around the past few months, she is just happy to explore new places.
Speaking of Madelyn, she turned one in June, so now she is no longer a baby but a toddler who is into everything. Each day I am so amazed at her beauty and intelligence, she is such a blessing in my life and I learn so much from her.
Also, since my last blog, we finally went on that vacation that I had been agonizing over. In May, Fred and I left Maddy with her grandparents and we traveled to Italy for the wedding of Fred’s nephew and one of my most loved and trusted friends. It was such a beautiful trip and ceremony. Italy was beyond my ability to describe how fabulous a country can be. It had everything, architecture, great works of art, history, a beautiful countryside, and a few of my favorite people were there to help me enjoy it. The wedding was unlike anything I could have conceived of. It was a Quaker ceremony, so there was no priest, pastor, or other officiator. Just the bride and groom, surrounded by 12 of their closest family and friends. We stood in a circle around them on a hill overlooking a valley in the countryside. Each member of the wedding party (all 12 of us) said something about the bride and groom, family, or gave marital advice. Then, once we had all cried our eyes out saying how much we loved these people and shared their great joy, they read their vows to each other. It was such a touching experience that I tear up just thinking about it, 3 months after the fact. I will forever remember that experience and I am so happy that I was there to share in the most important day of my friend’s lives.
As for Italy, I learned a lot there. I learned that my hunch was right, Americans are over indulgent in just about every way one could imagine. I loved the sense of simplicity in Europe, and I am hoping to apply it to my life today. Part of our move was to simplify life a bit. I’d really love to start living with less…stuff, but I digress.  When we came home, we found our little girl to be happy as could be, and she probably didn’t miss us for a moment. At least the dog was happy to see us! The trip was really too short for us to fully enjoy much of Italy, but I am so glad that I didn’t let my guilt over leaving my baby girl at home keep me from Italy. I will never forget my Italian experience and I came home refreshed to face the crazy move and renovations facing my family.
That leads me to today! I am renewing my commitment to blog on a regular basis. To be honest, I shouldn’t say renewed because I never gave blogging a fair shot to begin with. So, I am committing myself to blogging, starting this first Monday in August. Hold me accountable! Check back often t

The happy couple moments after exchanging their vows

The birthday girl patiently awaiting her cake!

o read about what is happening in the Lehigh Valley and happening in the life of this Lehigh Valley Family. I am so glad to be back in the area surrounded by my family and friends.

Baby Sign Language Update! April 10, 2009

Well, we have been working on the sign for ‘more’ for almost 3 months now. And just as the book said, Madelyn signed for more recently, just when expected to show her understanding for the sign. At first, I wasn’t certain that was what she was doing with her hands, but soon I realized that she was definitly telling me that she wanted more. More Little Puffs, to be specific. The only problem is that she makes the sign for more after she gets more, instead of before. Close, right? We’ll keep working on it!

So now I need to get back to the book and read about what to do next. I started adding new signs, such as milk, and potty. I’ll keep you updated on the progress!

My biggest fan April 7, 2009

Tonight I was joking with my husband that an older gentleman with whom he works is my biggest fan. About once a week, he will make a kind comment to my husband about my work with Lehigh Valley Family. This man, Jack, isn’t exactly my target audience so it is always surprising to me to hear his feedback. First of all, I am flattered that he reads the magazine, and second of all, that he considers it worth his time to provide feedback to my husband, who then remembers to tell me. (the latter part of that sentence is a miracle in itself!)

Today’s comment got me thinking about how much I appreciate kind words from random people. It reminded me of a journal I kept in high school in which I recorded positive events or thoughts. One of the entries spoke of how much I appreciated some of the kindness shown to me. One example that makes me laugh is that while working as a lifeguard at the Allentown JCC, a swimmer I was watching over stopped in the middle of her laps to tell me what beautiful eyebrows I had. What a random remark! But what I liked most about it was that it was uncalled for, unforced, kind, and above all completely genuine. Every since, I’ve always been particularly confident about my perfectly arched eyebrows. And I will never forget Rose from the JCC for that kind remark. 10 years have passed and I’m sure she long since forgot me and any conversations she had, but little does she know how much that 16 year old girl appreciated her uplifting words.

Now, the point of this post isn’t to tell you about how amazing my eyebrows are. No, the point of this entry is that when you have a kind and genuine thought about a friend, or even a stranger, share it with them. You never know how many years they might carry your positive remark with them.

The world is a scary and uncertain place. Lets make it brighter any way we can- practice random words of kindness.  Thanks for reading this, I appreciate your time!

The Supermom Problem… April 3, 2009

I am exhausted. Eyes hurting, muscles aching, bones tired, I will cry if I think of one more thing to add to my to-do list, exhausted. Like many of you, I have come to associate this feeling of exhaustion with being a mother. How did I let the things I love; being a mother, wife, and my dream job, become such a chore?

 

As a woman, it’s easy to get swept up trying to do more and more, not wanting to rely on others to help along the way. This is mostly just to prove we can juggle everything ourselves. In proving that I could handle anything, I also lost much of the joy that comes with daily living. On a slow day, I love cooking dinner, giving the baby a bath, and rocking her to sleep. But on a crazy, busy day, almost everything is a hassle that just needs to be crossed off the to-do list. To be honest, there are more crazy days than slow days. Suddenly, I find myself the anxious and slightly crabby woman I never wanted to be. How did I begin to lose the joy that used to come so easily? I’m certain most of my readers can relate to my situation. Now that I’ve noticed this behavior and attitude shift,

I have no excuse not to make a change.

 

Much like the change our country is trying make in an effort to improve it’s future and provide a better life for our children, my spring time resolution is to bail myself out. I’m going to find ways to slow down and appreciate the little things. I’ll wake up a few minutes earlier to cuddle with my daughter before we go about our day. I will accept help from others and I will return the favor. After all, it is only when leaning on each other that we may grow stronger together. So let’s work together to step back from our present frenzied state and regain the joy of daily life with our families. Look at the world around you and decide what is most important at the end of the day. Let the laundry sit in the hamper a little longer and take those extra few minutes to invest in your family. Take a moment to inhale deeply, and allow the spring air to breathe life back into your soul. Go for a walk with your kids, enjoy the sunshine, and maybe you’ll notice a new bounce in your step and even more reasons to smile.

 

The Spring Issue of Lehigh Valley Family is out! April 3, 2009

Pick up the magazine at health clubs, preschools, churches, doctor’s offices, at many other locations in your neighborhood. Or, view it online at http://www.lehighvalleyfamily.com/images/webspring.pdf

Baby Sign Language February 3, 2009

I just started my baby sign language endeavor. I’ve heard of and read many articles that state what a success baby signing is. Apparently, one of the biggest areas it helps is that it reduces the child’s level of frustration when they know what they want but lack the verbal communication skills to tell you. However, they are able to sign what they want.

The book I’m working with suggest teaching just one sign until she demonstrates that she can utilize it. The first sign is more. We teach her more when eating and also playing favorite games like peek-a-boo. If all goes according to plan, she should be able to sign for more in about 2 months.

I am interested to hear about any families in the Lehigh Valley who have used baby sign language and if it helped your family or not. Please share your story.