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By TaderDoodles, on August 31st, 2010
I do not buy fancy clothes, not even on sale.
By ‘fancy’ I mean clothes that you would wear to a typical desk job.
Or dressier.
I hardly even buy myself new non-fancy clothes (sweats, jeans, t’s) for a couple of reasons.
My size keeps changing.
It would probably require dry cleaning or ironing, both of which I am allergic.
It would be covered in drool, milk, or marker in under 60 seconds.
It would probably make me sweat more than I already do.
It would probably be constricting and uncomfy.
I would probably need new shoes.
New shoes would mean a new purse.
I rarely leave the house and when I do it is with all my children in tow which means I’m going to look like a sleep deprived stark raving mad lunatic so I might as well be comfortable right?
But then days like last Sunday come along.
There was a company picnic. All the other wives would be there in their fancy duds. They will have gotten their mani-pedis and be sporting the latest sandal trends.
(Have I mentioned that I can’t wear sandals because they don’t make them for short fat women with Flintstone feet? mmm.. yea…)
Their hair will be finely styled with no frizz.
Their clothes will be ironed and buttoned properly.
Their children will stand in line perfectly like a scene from the Sound of Music and all be clean, ironed and matchy matchy.
Trying to prepare for this picnic was overwhelming. My closet was filled with clothes as old as my marriage yet I had to somehow find a way to look appropriately nice. Not because I cared what they thought of me. I cared what they thought of my husband. I wanted to look nice for him.
I want to thank all of my twitter buddies for sending hugs and support that morning while I tweeted my tears out over what to wear. I did eventually find a clean shirt. I attempted to iron an old jumper-style dress that would allow me to nurse Peanut. I half way blow dried my hair and then figured the humidity would only destroy my efforts and gave up.
I was clean, semi ironed, mostly dried, my shoes were white (it IS before Labor Day ya’ll), my baby was decked out, and my husband looked handsome. This would have to suffice and it did.
We spoke with three people. His boss. His boss’ boss. Some big wig… and we left. Hubby’s social anxiety issues kicked in and we snuck out past the bounce house and went for a margarita. He made his appearance. I showed off the baby. We came, we saw, we got drinks.
I’m not sure why I got all worked up in the first place.
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By TaderDoodles, on August 26th, 2010
Like most moms I had a couple (read: 4!) baby showers when I was pregnant with my first child. With child number two, I didn’t have any parties nor did I expect to have any. I did receive a few group gift bags from my work and hubby’s work, and a few gifts from close family and friends but no ‘showers’. Maybe I’m old school, but the very idea of throwing me a shower seemed silly and selfish. It wasn’t like it had been ten years since my last baby. Add to that I was having another girl, so we couldn’t even say we needed ‘boy’ stuff.
With baby number three, I reluctantly let my mother throw me a baby shower. I wanted it small because I still felt it was greedy of me to have one. But, we had recently sold all of our baby things in a yard sale because we weren’t expecting to have another baby any time soon.
By baby number four I think everyone was a little bored with the “look Lisa is having a baby” routine! (That is until they found out we FINALLY had a boy)
Between my first child and my last child I participated and/or hosted more baby shower then even I want to remember. I’d like to share with you ten tips for having a unique baby shower the mom is sure to remember.
- Invite HER friends- Even at a workplace shower, it’s always nice to have her bff there, or maybe a sister. It’s a sweet surprise to walk into the room and have one of your closest buddies there to share it with you. If you can’t get the best friend try for the mom-to-be’s mother!
- Do games that create memories- Make a poem with the babies name, Draw pictures of the ‘baby’ on paper plates on your head, Have everyone sign a mat that can frame the baby’s first picture.
- Theme the gifts- Depending on the size of the party, and the relationship of the guests, you can theme the gifts for added fun: homemade items, gift cards, diaper/wipe parties, or ‘stuff for mom’ !
- Cool, Cool, Cool- Pregnant women, in my experience, tend to be on the warmer side. Make sure the location is air conditioned, or if held in the winter time, make sure the heat isn’t up too high for the mom-to-be.
- Invite hubby!- My favorite shower was the one that included my husband. He spent most of the time standing in the back with the rest of the men but it was nice to have him sit next to me as we opened presents together.
- Cake not required- Remember that pregnancy reeks havoc on your body and your taste buds. While I can’t imagine NOT liking cake, I do have a few friends who don’t care for that dessert. If the mom-to-be is having issues with gestational diabetes then eating cake would be a bad idea. Don’t get caught up on traditional party foods and get what the mom-to-be wants and needs.
- Surprise! – If you’re planning a surprise shower, consider sending her off to get her hair done before the party. It’s an easy way to help her look and feel wonderful before she finds herself in a room of picture-takers.
- Quilt it! – Ask the guests to bring in a quilt square. At the shower the group can take turns stitching the squares together to make a quilt cover! Maybe someone can volunteer to help back and quilt it.
- Blogger mom-to-be? Instead of baby gifts, go online to her blogger world and find her some guest bloggers to write some posts for after the baby arrives!
- For the future – If the mom is pretty set on baby things, plan her a shower that focuses on the future. Include a piggy bank for college funds, bring gifts for an older baby or toddler, and coupons for future free babysitting!
Keeping the party focused on mom is the most important tip I can offer, and that means letting go of what YOU think is the perfect shower and focusing on what she likes, prefers, and plans on doing as a mom.
To get your party started on the best foot, get your party invites at Tiny Prints!
“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Tiny Prints blogging program, making me eligible to get a $50 Tiny Prints Gift Code plus 25 FREE Tiny Prints Greeting cards (valued at $149.75). For more information on how you can participate, click here.”
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By TaderDoodles, on August 26th, 2010
Not the kids. I already know how many of them there are.
They qualify for this list, but they are obvious additions.
I’m trying to be more specific for today….because I’ve been a bit of a downer lately….feeling “crispy” as my friend Sunday would put it.
I feel the need to remind myself of the little things I have been blessed with today.
In no particular order:
- I instant messaged hubby that I didn’t know what to fix for dinner and he read between the lines and picked up my favorite ‘tv dinner’….and cooked it for me….and served it to me…..and then made chocolate chip cookies.
- He did all this while recovering from a severe sinus infection, after working all day, and knowing he had to go to work again tonight at 1 am.
- Each of my children smiled at me this morning when they first saw me.
- Our troubles with the old house (can’t make payments, renters left, need to short sale etc.) may provide us an opportunity to help my mom out of an abusive relationship, even if it’s only for a short while.
- Even though I’m sweaty right now (not in a good way either), it’s because the sun shone today.
- If I really wanted to I have air conditioning that I could turn on, a lot of people in hotter places don’t have that option.
- I may be behind on my blog reading but I can read, and the fact that my reader is full of posts means I have lots of bloggy friends out there writing great, helpful, frugal, inspirational and funny things….and sharing them with me.
- It also means I can read.
- I have TONS of laundry. I have been blessed that my friends, family and hubby’s job that has donated, shared and bought plenty of clothes for all of us.
- Our tiny house. Ok, it’s not tiny, but it seems that way to us. There is no where to hide, to get away, or to have alone time. While at this ‘crispy’ moment this doesn’t feel so much like a blessing I know that it is. It means we can’t hide….I get to see hubby and the kids get to see me and I get to see them and hubby gets to see us. We see and hear and talk and share and hug and sit close and laugh at how loud Daddy snores because there is no way to NOT be present.
God sent me my husband, perfectly created for my chaotic personality. Then God sent us four adorable and different children. I pray that I can glean from the trials of today the lessons He is showing me. Apparently when it comes to lessons in patience and mercy I am a slow learner. 
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By TaderDoodles, on August 25th, 2010
In my post Downsizing our Homeschool I mentioned that I wanted to implement something similar to Amy’s Assignment Binders and I finally have the chance to post about it.
Three weeks into our school year and so far I am finding this much easier then our workboxes.
I started by buying them each a 1” binder with the clear covers so they could decorate it as they wished. Next year they can create new covers without me having to buy a new binder!
I found a pack of 5 plastic dividers that had pockets on each side. I labeled them Monday through Friday.
The blue file folder in the inside left pocket has their pen pals addresses written on the inside. They store their pen pal letters in here and use it on Tuesday’s when we write our letters.
In the front pocket of each day’s tab, I put their work for the day. It may be an empty page with just a heading. It might be a complete worksheet. Sometimes it’s the supplies they need, paperclipped to a notecard with the subject written on it (and “With Mom”).
This one is forever in their Friday pocket.
When they finish, they move the page or card to the back pocket. On Friday I gather all the times out of the back pockets to my file folder for grading. Which I am going to do at some point… and probably should do today.
That is when it will get hole-punched and moved to our big yearly binder. A big honkin’ 3” thing that stays on the shelf so Principal Daddy can check out what we’ve been up to.
In my nifty (and heavy) crate of file folders I have five labeled with the days of the week. I can put worksheets and such in there that will be needed in future weeks. This makes the filling of the binders on Sunday night a breeze.
Do you do binders? File Folders? Workboxes?
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By TaderDoodles, on August 25th, 2010
I’m not sure if my Taderbug is just a very ‘active’ kid
I mean she flippin’ jumps up and down like a yip yip dog while trying to ask you for a bowl of cereal
or, if maybe she’s got a little too much dye in her diet but we’re going to try something even if it’s wrong.
Two weeks ago, we took the girls to the grocery store and let them pick out some flavored water. We avoided aspartame and kept an eye out for too much herbal extras. Our focus right now isn’t on avoiding sugar, it’s on avoiding food coloring and after choosing a couple different varieties we headed home with about $40 worth of WATER in our cart.
I HATED spending that much on water BUT if it broke her from her normal drinks then it was worth it.
and it did…
which means now this frugal momma needs to find a way to NOT spend $40 in water at the grocery store.
Today we are drinking cucumber lemon water… no sugar… and she IS DRINKING IT!
I filtered the water through my Brita pitcher, cut up a small cuke and shot in a squirt of lemon juice. (My midwife says the lemon is good for the liver.)
Tomorrow, we’ll try cherries and frozen berries!
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By TaderDoodles, on August 24th, 2010
Once again we are trying something new.
A new curriculum, a new technique, new game plan, new planning style…. It will probably change again before Christmas.
Life changes and homeschooling gives us an amazing opportunity to change with it; to make adjustments that keep us working effectively no matter what the circumstances.
I knew having a new baby in the house would mean a few more ‘frazzled’ days then usual. Planning would be hard. Being the ‘fun’ mom would be hard (as I would be tired). I also knew planning our school work would be overwhelming. I felt that feeling coming on long before the baby arrived last June.
So instead of giving up, I changed the game.
I broke the year down into tiny pieces that were more manageable. (Funny, I broke it down into the same bites as the public schools )
I’m planning in SIX 6-week sections. I have a composition notebook for each six weeks. This way if I don’t like my method I only have to put up with it for a bit, then I can change my mind.
See my little tabbies? They are mailing labels, folded in half over the edge of a page. I skipped 6 pages (one for each week for notes and such), tabbed our first subject, and left 6 pages in between each tab. Each page lists the objectives, work, ideas, etc. for that subject for that week.
Some of them specify a day to do the work. Some of them are blank waiting to be filled with the title of the book they read, or the recipe they learned.
Last week, I sent it to my mom’s house with the kids and their binders (I’ll show them in another post). She LOVED it! She knew exactly what the goal was, and had a place to write notes to me about how they did, or what she had to change.
We’re on week 4 this week. At the moment, I think I’m going to keep it this way for another six week period.
How do you like to plan your lessons?
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By TaderDoodles, on August 5th, 2010
It’s 6:20 pm.
I can’t get off the couch because I’m pinned down by babies.
Hubby is cleaning the garage.
My kids WON’T STOP TALKING TO ME.
I can’t fix my plate for dinner because the baby is on TOP OF ME.
All I can do is type. One handed.
But twitter is down.
The big whale fail.
WTH?
How am I supposed to shoot 140 character tidbits of crap that my tweeps pretend to care about if twitter is down?
I blame BlogHer 2010.
(ok, not really, I just said that cuz I’m jealous, I’d rather be there right now)
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By TaderDoodles, on August 5th, 2010
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By TaderDoodles, on August 4th, 2010
I slowly working on getting things made for my new etsy store! While I sew, I need to get the store itself set up. The first step has me stumped. Soooo, I’m asking for help.
I need a name. I’ll have baskets (my mom makes them!), baby things, girl things, boy things, gifts, and other random fabric crafts.
Please vote in the poll, or leave a comment with your own suggestion!
What should I name my etsy shop?
- Chaotic Craftiness (50%, 4 Votes)
- Momma's Midnight Makins (13%, 1 Votes)
- Sew Randomly Sweet (13%, 1 Votes)
- The Naked Turtle (13%, 1 Votes)
- Left a suggestion in the comments (13%, 1 Votes)
- Tader Bugs and Bubba Girls (-2%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 8
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By TaderDoodles, on July 31st, 2010
This year I turned 35.
I’m officially on a one-handed countdown to 40 and I’m actually kind of excited about it.
Between now and 40 I’m going to be working on a gift.
A gift I’m going to give myself.
The gift of acceptance.
I have a miserable self esteem. (I think that is the proper term)
I desperately want to be accepted by others, to be ‘good enough’, to be approved. Problem is I am… but I can’t accept that I am. I make up excuses for why someone would lie to me and say nice things (oh, they’re just trying to be nice).
Now that I’m not in an town full of judgemental hypocrites I’m starting to see that maybe I AM a nice person. Maybe I am occassionally funny, or at least fun to be around. Maybe I am crafty. Maybe I could make something worth having or *dare I say* buying!
Maybe I really can cook decent food. Maybe I am a good mom. Maybe I am a good friend.
Maybe I didn’t get to sing at church just because I was the ONLY one willing to do it, maybe it actually sounded nice.
Just because I’m not going to be the next Martha Stewart, Gordon Ramsay, or Alicia Keys but that doesn’t mean I can’t craft, cook, or enjoy a little karaoke.
Just because my kids hates doing Math, doesn’t mean I’m a bad teacher.
Just because I decided that I didn’t want to work in the accounting field doesn’t mean I wasn’t a good accountant.
And just because I’m overweight now, and have been most of my life, doesn’t mean I can’t turn it around. I was on my way to a healthier lifestyle before I got pregnant with Peanut, I can do it again.
Understanding the importance of this gift, and making it a priority is the first step. It is my gift to me this year. I have five years to work it out.
I’m not sure why this is such a hard thing for me but it is.
I cried Thursday night (my birthday) as I read over all the facebook posts, emails and tweets wishing me a Happy Birthday. The sweet words that blessed me that day were just what I needed to help me start on my journey to self acceptance. I am blessed by knowing each and every one of you! *sniff*
God loves me, He made me special, with a purpose…. a GOOD purpose. I should be able to accept that. It’s time to practice what I preach.
So for this year, inside my birthday box is a note to myself that reads “You are Good Enough”
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