A Little Great

A Little Crafty... Turn Regular Jeans into Skinny Jeans

2012-02-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

I found this on pinterest the other day. If you are like me, you have a pile full of jeans. Some of them I wear, most of them I don't. Here is one way to get more use out of those oldies, but goodies. Via Lucky Design.

Before

After

I haven't tried this yet, but I plan to.

A Little Valentine... Oldie but a Goodie

2012-01-15T19:15:00.000-07:00

This Valentine banner tutorial was posted a couple years ago... but it's still as cute as ever!

A Little Beauty... Self Image

2012-01-13T10:47:00.000-07:00

I see their point. I mean, if you can make someone look super amazing with a couple clicks of the mouse, why not? The only problem is that then we, regular women, see these photos and we get all bummed out. And rightfully so. The way they brush them, patch them, stretch them, we simply can't compete. We (and our daughters) are hard on ourselves. Men have messed up ideals. It's pretty much a mess.

I think we all realize that this goes on in fashion magazine and on TV but it's nice to actually see it in action. I for one, appreciate the time and energy the creators of this little video put into helping us realize that it's not real. Not something attainable. But it's still kind of a bummer that they do it in the first place. It's still there. And although we may realize it's fake... somehow, sometimes, it still feels real.

A Little Product Review... Angell Bars

2011-12-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Angell Bars was nice enough to send me some samples of their organic candy bars. They are made with cane juice, which I love. I didn't feel crappy after eating them and I didn't mind letting my 18-month-old participate in the sampling.

This is what they looked like when I got through with them...

I loved the Angell Crisp! It was super yum. I totally recommend having a couple of these stashed in your secret hiding place (every woman has one) for the emergency chocolate craving (every women has them).

Thanks Angell Bar!

A Little Cuisine... Pomegranate Pie

2011-12-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

Do not be alarmed! This is the best pie I have ever eaten! And it is also the easiest pie I have ever made.

Pomegranate Pie Recipe
1 ready-made graham cracker pie crust
1 package of Raspberry Danish Dessert
1 pomegranate

Simply follow the Pie Filling directions on the Danish Dessert box. Add the pomegranate seeds. Pour into crust and let it set up for 4 hours in the refrigerator.

When serving, first cut slice, then add a dollop of whipped cream. Refrigerate leftovers (don't leave it sitting out for more than a few minutes for the crust gets gooey).

Enjoy!

A Little Crafty... Free Christmas Fonts

2011-12-20T08:00:00.001-07:00

Making a Christmas Card? Looking for a fun Christmas font? There are so many options at dafont.com. Just search for "Christmas." Here's what you may find.

Merry Christmas!

A Little Style... Happy Holidays

2011-12-18T23:08:00.001-07:00

I love to dress up for the Holidays!
Cardigan: Oh Sweet Sadie Boutique
Top: a Shade shirt that I cut and added a lace trim to
Necklace: Nordstrom
Skirt: it used to be a dress that I got at a cute little boutique years ago. It was always too short so I dissected it and made it a skirt :)
Tights: H&M
Shoes: J. Crew
Belt: I took it off another dress... cause that's how I roll.

A Little Giveaway... Awkward Family Photos Board Game {Closed}

2011-12-16T16:28:00.002-07:00

The Winner is GOJENGO! Congratulations! email alittlegreat@gmail.com to claim your prize.

A giveaway just in time for Christmas! We all know and love Awkward Family Photos. And now there is a board game! And one lucky reader will own it. $48 Value!

So here's how to win...
1. Leave a comment on this post.
2. For an additional entry "Like" A Little Great on Facebook.
3. Share this link on Facebook or Twitter.
4. Leave a comment about which of the above you things you did.

The winner will be announced Monday the 19th at 8am MST and I will send it just in time for you to play it around the fire with your own awkward loved ones.

Oh, and please enjoy this little video :)

A Little Decor... Christmas Time

2011-12-16T11:54:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Christmas time at my house...

The living room and mantle.

Handmade stockings, thrift store picture frames and fish spray painted white. I made the stockings last year, adapted from this Martha tutorial.

Sofa table in living room. Large vase filled with fresh greens, hydrangeas, and faux pussy willows.

Kitchen hutch topped with greens and handmade mercury glass (tutorial).

Close up :)

Entry table. I love my simple monotone nativity scene.

Last but not least, the tree. This year it's in the front room.

Merry Christmas! from my home to yours.

A Little Cuisine... Coconut Syrup and Free Printable Label

2011-12-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

Click here to download

My friend was making coconut syrup and wanted me to design a label. This is what I came up with. She is working on creating her own recipe but there are several out there, though I can't recommend any because I haven't tried them yet. I may have to since this label is so cute. Please feel free to download. A cute bottle of coconut syrup would make a great Christmas gift.

A Little Crafty... DIY Mercury Glass

2011-12-01T23:24:00.001-07:00

I love the look of mercury glass and I wanted to add some to my Christmas decor, but I didn't want to pay the price. Enter this tutorial.

So far I have tried it out on some old jelly and baby food jars. I plan on hitting up the thrift store for some large glass vessels, but until then, I wanted to share it incase you want to do it for the holidays :)

Start with the Looking Glass spray paint. I hear it can be hard to find but I got it at my local Super Wal-Mart for about $8 a can (spendy). Spray the inside of the glass.

Now, it was cold in my garage and it was taking forever to dry, so I busted out the blow dryer.

The only other thing I did differently from the tutorial that I linked to above is that instead of a paper towel I wore a surgical glove and just rubbed the inside of the bottle with my finger. I feel like it offered better control.

And here is the finished product! When I get around to doing some big pieces I will be sure to post those too!

I really feel like it needs more distressing next time. I think I will use this tutorial... maybe some rub 'n buff (that stuff is super cool). Stay tuned.

A Little Shopping... Black Friday Strategies

2011-11-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

It’s the one-day marathon that shopping fanatics look forward to all year long, and it’s almost here. And with every major retailer advertising unbeatable bargains this Black Friday, how do you know where the best deals really are?

Service strategist John Tschohl, author of The Customer is Boss, offers these suggestions to make Black Friday a little bit more manageable:

· Know exactly what you want, because the best deals are in very limited supply, which is why you should never enter a store and just be “window shopping.” Have a detailed list of everything you want to get. To save valuable time, make sure you know ahead of time the differences in models, if you need to purchase any add-ons or accessories and always have a backup store if your first stop runs out.

· Getting online is not enough. While many shoppers will find some incredible deals online, many retailers are offering even more special discounts to those consumers who follow them via social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Make sure you’re following all the stores you plan to visit.

· Times are changing. It used to be 6am, 4am, and then Midnight, and now we’re seeing more stores opening Thanksgiving night. Don’t only know what time your favorite stores are open, but those blowout prices on hot-ticket items are sometimes only good during certain times. Walmart, for example, might open at 10pm, but the big midnight madness deals on electronics don’t start for another two hours.

· Don’t go it alone. The competition will be fierce, so take the team approach. Shop with a spouse or friend. While you tackle one area of the store, your shopping companion can hit a different department within the store.

· Don’t forget about Small Business Saturday. Many people don’t know about this 2^nd annual event to support small businesses on the busiest shopping weekend of the year, but everyone should check it out as many smaller stores in local communities across the country will be participating and offering some incredible deals. On this same note, don’t forget about Cyber Monday for some incredible online deals.

· If you don’t get the deals you want on Black Friday, wait. Retailers usually run special sales the first two weeks of December. Prices generally go up closer to Christmas for those who wait until the last minute. If you’re eyeing something for yourself, many retailers also run deeply discounted after Christmas sales to reduce their inventories.

Hope you can use these tips from John Tschohl.

http://www.johntschohl.com/

A Little Learning... National Prematurity Awareness Day

2011-11-18T15:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was National Prematurity Awareness Day and my friend Janet, who has two sons that were born premature, wrote this great post. Please visit her blog, Lessons Learning, to read the full post.

A Little Cuisine... Healthy, Home-made Kettle Corn

2011-11-15T09:17:00.000-07:00

I love kettle corn, but I could do without the sugar. Enter this... the best popcorn you will ever make. It's healthy too (serious bonus)!

You will need:

Popcorn
Canola oil
Agave nectar
Sea salt
Coconut oil

Here's what you do:

Heat the canola oil in a heavy stock pot until you see steam rise.
Put in about 3/4 cup of popcorn kernels, cover.
Move the pot around over the stove.
Take off the heat when it stops popping.
Place the popcorn in a large bowl
Drizzle about 2-3 tablespoons of coconut oil, toss.
Drizzle agave nectar (to taste)
Salt to taste.

And there you have it. Now curl up by the fire and watch your favorite chick flick.

A Little Holiday Cheer... Oh Sweet Sadie

2011-11-11T09:18:00.000-07:00

Are you in the holiday shopping mood? Well, this will get you there! The Oh Sweet Sadie Art & Gift Show is going now... just until Saturday. (How to get there)

Here is a peek at the shopping goodness...

Mama Bird pendants. An egg for each of your little ones.

Wish my daughter was little enough to wear these darling lace pantaloons. :(

So many jewelry options.

I bought this teal cardigan (only $25!)

Home decor galore!

Wish I needed a lamp! The big orange one is only $35.

Jewelry made from real butterfly wings! Seriously cool.

These are just cute.

Here are my favorite booths...

Loved this one! Lizzy, the cute lady you see gave me her card so I could link to her etsy shop but now I can't find it! So Lizzy, if you're reading this, leave a comment with your shop link!

Cute stuff.

You are sure to find lots of happy shoppers...

...including myself. Love this purple fringy scarf I picked up ($16 BTW). Aren't I the best photographer ever?

Don't forget the yummy treats. This is pretty much the best salsa ever!

So, don't just sit there! Go! You can thank me later.

A Little Beauty... Easy Hair that Looks Not-Easy

2011-11-09T12:26:00.000-07:00

I am not the type of girl who spends a lot of time and effort on her hair. This is my favorite low-maintenance hairdo. Looks difficult you say? Not so, this do is deceptively easy. When I do my hair like this someone always asks me how I do it.

I found directions to make this headband on pinterest (love pinterest). You can also find directions on how to do this do there too.

One thing you will need is a good hairspray. I used Whitesands Stuck Up Mega Hold Hairspray. They were nice enough to send me a bottle to try (awesome because I totally needed some). I really do think it is "a little great."

A Little Health... No More Mindless Eating

2011-11-03T08:00:00.000-06:00

Sugar Shock: The Scary Truth About Mindless Eating

Halloween marks the beginning of the holiday season, and with this enters the scary truth about mindless eating. With more than 65% of American adults being overweight and obese, it's important to do what you can to awaken and understand what can be done during the holiday season to avoid weight gain and excess consumption of sugar. The most effective way: self-love and self-care—when we shift our intentions behind our thinking, we shift our results.

Mindfulness is the practice that brings the mind and body back to now, peacefully, to the present moment. Every time we practice mindfulness, we bring energy and life force; we come to life again and without it, we live like we're asleep, unaware and unconscious of what is occurring in and around us.

Remember: Mindlessness is the opposite of mindfulness.

Recently, researchers have looked deeply at how mindless eating affects our food consumption, leading to over-eating—especially during the holiday season. Holiday dinners and parties, New Year celebrations and Super Bowl Sunday can cause most American’s to increase their caloric intake by thousands, which will take weeks or even months to burn off.

The cues for mindless eating reach far beyond "portion-distortion" or the size of the plate we use. Unhealthy food such as cookies, cakes, and alcohol release insulin in the body which are then stored as fat. Though many people perceive this as a part of celebrating the holidays, they do not realize the effect their eating choices have on their mind, body and spirit with respect to personal and business relationships.

Comfort foods are not so comfortable. Sugar is not so sweet. Sweets can sour our mood, personality, fatigue, inflammation, heart, memory, infertility, wrinkles, acne, early aging, depression, headaches, brain fog, irritability, blurred vision, temper and more than 150 health areas. Consciously choosing to stay in alignment with healthy intentions and goals for the holiday season is an effective way to avoid easy weight gain.

Try these tips:

ü Eat your favorite pre-planned high protein meal prior to leaving for a party.

ü Skip the fried finger food, which is usually high fat, sugar and full of unwanted calories.

ü Fill up on fruits and vegetables. Most importantly, display portion control verse portion distortion.

ü Set fitness objectives with a trainer and stay consistent with your favorite exercise routine.

With a little nurturing, self-love, and appreciation for self-care and intention, you are easily able to avoid weight gain this year and hereafter.

Remember, with mindfulness... the possibilities are infinite.

Gary Kobat

Gary Kobat is a celebrity integrated performance coach who is devoted to reaching millions with his message of self-love and body/mind/spirit/sport wellness. His a-list client roster includes Jim Carrey, Will Farrel and Kate Winslet. For more about Gary please visit www.GaryKobat.com

A Little Organization... for the Holidays

2011-11-01T11:11:00.000-06:00

I love the Holidays! But you know as well as I do that they can be super hectic if you aren't properly prepared. It's okay to take a little help from your friends...

In this free webinar professional organizing experts Jennifer Ford Berry, author of Organize Now! and Organize Now! Your Money, Business & Career, and Susan Fay West, author of Organize For a Fresh Start, answer your specific organizing questions and offer easy- to-follow tips guaranteed to help you keep your schedule and home organized before, during and after the holiday season.

Date: Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Staring time: 2 p.m. Eastern/11 a.m. Pacific
Presenters: Jennifer Ford Berry, author of Organize Now! and Organize Now! Your Money, Business & Career, and Susan Fay West, author of Organize For a Fresh Start
Duration: 60 minutes
Price: FREE!

REGISTRATION FOR THE LIVE SESSION INCLUDES:

Participation in the Live presentation and Q&A session
Access to the webinar recording to view again as many times as you like
A PDF of the presentation slides for future reference

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Anyone interested in organizing his or her home
Anyone organizing and hosting holiday celebrations

Limited to 1,000 Seats!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THIS FREE WEBINAR

A Little Spooky... Last Minute Pumpkin Decor

2011-10-24T21:24:00.000-06:00

Is Halloween sneaking up on you? For some reason, I just can't get it together! One week from tonight little goblins are going to be knocking at my door and there won't be a single Jack-o-lantern in site. Never fear! Real Simple to the rescue. They have lots of carve-free pumpkin ideas. Thank you! Here are our favorites...

Simple and sophisticated. Spray your gourds in various metallic tones. And done. Works for Thanksgiving too. Two birds, one stone.

How cute! Chalkboard paint and chalk. The kids get to decorate their pumpkin again and again!

A little mod podge and some black tissue paper, and there you have it.

Happy Halloween!

A Little Cuisine... Homemade Potato Chips

2011-10-21T22:51:00.000-06:00

America Now, hosted by Leeza Gibbons and Bill Rancic, is a news magazine show offering you a daily dose of compelling stories, news, lifestyle info and advice from around the country on topics that are relevant and useful. Not only can you find the latest info on health, personal finance, technology, fashion and fitness, but you can also find everyday tips and recipes that will help you eat and live better.

Here is a recipe you can really use – homemade potato chips – from our Food Pro Devin Alexander.
To get started, thoroughly wash the potatoes (“russett” or “baker” potatoes work best) and set them aside to dry. The drier the potatoes, the crispier the final product.

Once the potatoes are dry, slice your potatoes as thinly as possible (about one-sixteenth of an inch).

Then put your sliced potatoes into a resealable plastic bag. Add a small amount of extra-virgin olive oil, a half-teaspoon for every eight ounces of potatoes, and add any kind of seasoning you like (salt, pepper, garlic powder etc). Seal the bag and toss, making sure the oil permeates the raw potatoes.

Prepare a piece of parchment paper on a microwave-safe plate. Lay potato slices flat on the parchment paper and pop them into the microwave for five to seven minutes. When they become crispy, you’ve got a delicious batch of chips for a fraction of the cost and calories!

Devin Alexander, best known as author of New York Times Bestselling series “The Biggest Loser” cookbooks, is a veteran in the fight against obesity who offers a unique approach to healthy cooking. She has maintained a 55 pound weight loss for over 15 years and lives by her message: you don’t have to deprive yourself to be fit and healthy. Now you can catch her on America Now, with hosts Leeza Gibbons and Bill Rancic.

For more tasty, healthy recipes and tips from Devin and the America Now team, check here to find out when America Now airs in your area.

A Little Crafty... Halloween Drink Labels

2011-10-19T20:32:00.000-06:00

This is such a fun idea. But why reinvent the wheel? It's already done for you, by Master Blogger, Kate at Centsational Girl. Images from Centsational Girl.

All these fun, festive labels are yours for the taking. Just visit Centsational Girl to download and print.

A Little Fitness...Be a Triathamom!

2011-08-11T07:02:00.003-06:00

You've got legs.

You've got lungs.

You've got a heart.

You've got little kids that make it tough to try one of the funnest athletic endeavors around, a triathlon.

You've got...no problem!

US Trisports is sponsoring The Utah Triathamom. In this race, you will run, bike and swim (or choose one leg or two legs of the race) WHILE YOUR KIDS CHEER YOU ON. That's right- the race organizers take your children during the race, have them make signs and learn cheers for you- and at the finish line your family is there. Yelling proudly for you!

Six weeks is enough time to prepare for this mega fun event held on September 24th in Herriman, Utah. Registration info is found here.

The race organizers even have personal training and training clinics available for support!

A Little Perspective...Mastering the Art of Starting Over

2011-06-20T07:40:00.003-06:00

As published on Powerofmoms.com.

While nursing baby number four in my right arm, I unsuccessfully try to balance a big book on my other knee and study the text in four minute snippets. I keep thinking to myself, is this really worth it? Other days, I try to study the words from a religious book on my phone. I wonder if I am getting anything at all out of my reading? And, where is my two-year-old?

I struggle with performing tasks when they cannot be done under “ideal circumstances”. Often the things that bring me peace and confidence don’t get done at all because I can’t do them the way I want. Frankly, I make great excuses: this baby is too wiggly, my mind can’t focus or I’ll do it tonight when I can be alone with my pen, paper and hot chocolate. Then, 11 pm rolls around, and my brain is too fried to study. I realize that another day passes without my personal reading (or worship time or exercise or planning session or one-on-one time with my children).

I am a group exercise instructor and see this in my clients all of the time. They have great and hefty 90-day transformation plans or a race training calendar in hand. Then, one busy day turns into another and the training stops. Many refuse to do a 20-minute quick session. I have heard them say, “It’s not real. I could be doing so much more. I am capable of doing a full 60-minute tough run. It’s not worth doing a lame 20 minutes.” I get on these people, telling them that a little something is better than a big nothing. I tell them that the smallest deed is larger than the greatest intention. Then I realize, I am that client!

Do you find yourself neglecting or giving up on activities that bring you joy or peace because you can’t do them 100%? For example: personal worship, planning out your calendar, exercise, dates with your husband, one-on-one time with each child, planning the budget or contemplation.

We put these valuable tasks to the wayside for several reasons. One, you know what you are capable of performing. Anything beneath that potential feels like a personal cop-out. Given an ideal environment (solitude, time, a better computer, a few more dollars) you could do a good job of the task. It makes us feel sub-par to do only 20% of something, so we don’t do it.

Two, we have the mistaken notion that excellence is a series of wins. In reality, achieving a goal or becoming something is a series of consistent tries. It’s like building a muscle. Training for a race doesn’t mean racing and winning each day. It means gradually building cardiovascular stamina one run at a time. Maybe you are trying to build wisdom stamina, child patience stamina, kindness stamina, or gotta-learn-to-be-frugal stamina. Small, daily attempts will keep our muscles warm and the engine going. When we stop at something the machine cools and it’s much harder to start up. That’s why it is worth the 20 minute run or the four minute read each day.

Three, we think it’ll be easier later. The truth might be that it won’t be easier to plan, dream, get the laundry done or have personal reading anytime soon. The “ideal circumstance” is a myth. The perfect time comes rarely. Facing that reality can help us progress amid chaos.

We also need to face the facts of self-sabotage. Maybe some of our priorities are not getting addressed because of our choices. For me, I’ve wasted some of my “prime time” energy dragging all four children to stores, surfing the Internet, or staying up too late. Often my children don’t get my best self; they get my left-overs!

Marie-Annette Brown has said, “We must master the art of starting over.” I am mastering the art of starting over. Some tasks are minute to minute. Each time I get frustrated with the children I take a deep breath, speak in a kinder tone and try again and again. I make eggs for dinner, despite the fact I know I’m a more exciting cook than that. And, I celebrate that I served something healthy. I read while nursing without my beloved notebooks and pens. I do push-ups in my street clothes, help with spelling tests on the way to school and vacuum the middles of my floors. It’s day-to-day progress amid imperfection. And, it’s making me a happier mother.

A Little Organization...Grocery Shopping

2011-06-13T07:00:00.000-06:00

Grocery List

photo: oswaldadventures

One of my least favorite things to do as a housewife is the grocery shopping! I like to make my trips to the grocery store as few as possible in a months period and when I do go I like to be in and out as fast as possible (remember I have 3 kids and I almost always have at least 2 of them with me while grocery shopping). I was talking to my friend the other day telling her how sometimes I see people looking at my computer typed grocery list and they giggle out loud. She asked why I type up my list and I told her it was because I like to keep my list in groups: ie. all the fruits together, diary, frozen foods etc. That way I can go up and down each aisle and not have to make a second trip down an aisle as I get further down my list. That's when she pulled this out of her purse (she was headed to the store right after we were together).

(click to enlarge)

Isn't this a great idea?! Everything is done by categories. This list consists of things she most often shops for. You can change it to suit your grocery needs, print off and off you go to the store.

Click here to download an excel file of the above grocery list. Enjoy!

A Little Idea... Four Keys to Romance in Marriage

2011-06-13T00:20:00.000-06:00

Four pregnancies and nine years after our wedding, I was wondering if romance (or “red hot monogamy”) was something reserved for vampire movies, people who have dated less than a month or cologne ads. I found out the truth about a year ago.

Romance is not an accident.

According to Dr. Harley in “His Needs, Her Needs for Parents,” romance is not something cosmic or mysterious. In fact, after years of study, behavioral scientists have found that if four key needs are met in a relationship, romance will develop. It is possible to have passion in marriages of any length- to be married to your boyfriend and not just be roommates!

The Four Romantic Needs

1. Intimate Conversation. Couples who talk at length and openly about their dreams, hopes, and personal views become emotionally bound to one another. Women in particular rank intimate conversation as one of the most satisfying aspects of a romantic relationship and are more likely to become physically intimate when lots of conversation exists. Make time to talk without the kids and listen without judgment.

2. Recreational Activities. When couples get out and do things together that they love, romance develops. Men ranked this highest next to sexual intimacy in romance importance. Dating, particularly in mature marriages, should not be seen as a luxury. It is a need. If one spouse loves rock climbing, both could learn it. Love to go star gazing, cheese tasting or running? Do it! Budget for dating and make it happen. According to successful family therapists, couples need on average 15 hours of alone time together a week to create and maintain romance. This may seem like a lot, but when you were dating you spent hours together- and you were high on the romance meter. Romance takes a consistent time investment.

3. Intimate Touch. This refers to non-sexual touch. Couples who hug, hold hands, touch arms, give soft caresses and other forms of caring, physical attention create romance. Touch is a basic human need. It is common that one spouse might need touch more than the other; both spouses should learn to ask for, give and receive physical touch.

4. Sexual Intimacy. If the previous three needs are met, then sex tends come naturally in many relationships and be enjoyable for both partners. If this aspect of romance struggles, consider if you have enough conversation, recreation and non-sexual touch. There are very instructive and tasteful books for couples, (and not just for newly weds) including “And They Were Not Ashamed” by Laura Brotherson as well as counseling resources through Wasatch Family Therapy (who offer family and intimacy counseling options all over the U.S.) Don’t be afraid to seek out help; many couples just need someone to talk to get information and share feelings.

It has been a huge influence on our marriage to read positive marriage texts like this one. We read maybe five minutes at night- which has lead to hours of enjoyable dating again. I feel like I've got my boyfriend back!

A Little Clothing...Choosing Clothes for Family Photos

2011-06-09T01:35:00.001-06:00

As you begin planning your families
outfits

consider these 3
questions.

1. Do you feel strongly about matching
your home decor? 2. Is there colors that look best on you
and your family? 3. What is the personality of your family
(sporty, trendy, dressy, casual)?

Here are 3 easy methods to plan
outfits

for your family portrait.

Find one piece of clothing that includes the
colors you would like to use. Plan the rest of the outfits
around that piece. Here are some examples...

Here I chose this darling red, pink and
green girly dress and planning the other outfits around the color
scheme.

Here they coordinated their colors
around that adorable skirt.

Here they coordinated their colors
around the little guys red, blue and gray shirt.

Here they coordinated their colors
around the littlest sweeties top. It had purple, orange and a touch of
lime green.

Choose a color season of colors or a theme
of colors. For example fall colors, bright colors or spring
pastels.

Here I chose fall colors

Here they chose spring pastel
colors

Here they chose fall colors

Here they chose summer
brights

Choose 2 or 3 colors to use in every
outfit. It's a little easier if you choose a basic color like tan,
denim or black and then add your colors.

Here I chose denim, teal and blue.

Here is an example of the real thing.
Notice they purchased the same teal polo for the majority of the little
boys. This really helped pull the look together with this big
group.

Here is another example of denim, teal and
and blue. Notice that the oldest and youngest boy are wearing the same
polo, however, the youngest is wearing a blazer. A clever way of
matching but mixing it up at the same time.

Here they chose denim and white. They also added yellow flowers.
What a fun way to add interest and pull the image together.

Here they chose denim, red and navy.

Here they chose denim, aqua and
pink

Here they chose tan, yellow and
blue.

Enjoy the hunt for the perfect
outfits!!

A Little Perspective...Dance Through Motherhood

2011-06-08T01:57:00.000-06:00

Photo from freedigitalphotos.net, jscreationzs

Blog post as seen on ThePowerofMoms.com
by April Perry

Rarely does a story stick with me for 10 years, but this one (told to me by my friend Pam) has: One day, a boy walked into a room where an older man wearing head phones was dancing like crazy. It was almost embarrassing to watch as he waved his arms, bounced his knees, and wiggled his body with incredible enthusiasm. The boy noticed a second set of head phones in the room, and since this man was obviously enjoying himself, the boy put the head phones on his own ears and tried to replicate what the older man was doing.

He shook his arms, bounced his knees, and attempted to wiggle his body exactly like this man, but after a few minutes, the boy got tired (and a little disgusted), threw the head phones onto the ground, and stomped out the door. What was the problem?

He hadn’t turned on the music.

Can you relate?

I often look around and see “perfect” mothers dancing it up, but when I try to recreate their “dance,” I end up frustrated and exhausted, just like the boy with the head phones.

If you’re like me, you desperately need to dance. There’s something inside you that’s itching to love your work, love your life, and spend your time doing what you were meant to do.

Does that work with motherhood? Yes it does–and since learning to dance and teaching others to dance is one of my main purposes in life, let’s begin.

Part 1: Create your dance floor.

There’s a reason why your Senior Prom wasn’t held in the midst of a crowded warehouse. You’ve got to have space to dance. I’ve spent the past three weeks creating that space in my life, and for me, it involved de-junking my house (and creating a new system to keep it de-junked), spending some serious time doing Mind Organization for Moms, and building reliable (but not unattainable) systems into my life so the everyday routines and responsibilities aren’t such a drain on my dancing energy. For more on that, you can join our Mind Organization for Momscommunity, and I’ll tell you all about it.

Part of this dance-floor creation also involved letting go of unrealistic expectations I’d set for myself. Anna Quindlen, in her book Being Perfect, describes it as “carrying a backpack filled with bricks every single day” (p. 11). Let’s unite here and unanimously agree to set these bricks down.

I’m not the type of person who ever wants to settle for mediocrity, but honestly, some things aren’t worth stressing over (Saren has a great article on that HERE).

Tonight, we’ve invited a family to our home, and the mother is a concert violinist. My husband arranged for her to bring her violin so she could show our children how she plays it. He also arranged for me to play a duet with her (me on the piano), and he’d like to videotape it for our children.

I have been a mess all morning. I’m not a concert pianist. I’ve practiced this piece more than 50 times in the past month, but I keep stumbling over the last two pages. I’ve rehearsed dozens of explanations in my head that I can use when I mess up. I’ve even considered purposely draining the battery on the video camera so my embarrassment can’t be recorded.

But then I realized that it doesn’t matter if I don’t play as well as I’d like. I’ll enjoy the experience, smile when I make a mistake (or 40), and even let my husband videotape the experience so my children can know it’s okay not to be perfect.

“The perfect mother (the toughest of all the ideals to imagine!) makes other women feel like failures simply by showing up and showing off” (Quindlen, p.35). We can help each other so much more by showing our imperfections (and how we try to improve them), than by trying to show everyone how perfect we are. And letting go of this desire to be perfect at everything is giving me space to dance.

Part 2: Hear the music.

Head phones aren’t necessary to hear the music of motherhood, but an open heart is. Too many voices are out there screaming that women are oppressed by motherhood or that the life of a mom is boring, mundane, and only suitable for the uneducated woman who doesn’t know any better. That’s simply not true. It’s just that the women who feel that way are trying to do the “head phone dance” without hearing the rhythm and melody that compels a woman to live and mother deliberately.

Our goal at The Power of Moms is to broadcast the music. I think of the website as a radio station, playing songs meant to strengthen the hearts and homes of women who want to have an incredible motherhood experience.

Reading and listening to resources from The Power of Moms, inspiring blogs, websites, books, movies, and other places, helps me hear the music every day–because I need it every day. I also connect to God each morning and ask Him to help me hear what I need to hear.

The music isn’t that hard to find, but just like a radio, you’ve got to be tuned in to hear it.

Part 3: Develop your core.

“Someday, sometime, you will be sitting somewhere. A berm over-looking a pond in Vermont. The lip of the Grand Canyon at sunset. A seat on the subway. And something bad will have happened: You will have lost someone you loved, or failed at something at which you badly wanted to succeed.

“And sitting there, you will fall into the center of yourself. You will look for some core to sustain you. And if you have been perfect all your life and have managed to meet all the expectations of your family, your friends, your community, your society, chances are excellent that there will be a black hole where that core ought to be” (Quindlen, p. 47-48).

I meet far too many women who say that the moment their last child starts first grade or leaves for college, they look around their empty house and say, “Now what?” If our cores are not being nurtured from the start, there won’t be anything left when we finally have the time to do something with it.

I have to invest some time every day developing the person inside the mom, but that doesn’t mean simply imitating what everyone else is doing because “nothing important, or meaningful, or beautiful, or interesting, or great, ever came out of imitations. What is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.” (Quindlen, p.15)

I like to write. I like to organize. I like to study and learn and then teach others the ideas that have inspired me. I like the energy that comes from gathering large groups of like-minded people together. I like to help mothers change their thinking. I like to do things that leave others feeling surprised and delighted. That is how I take care of my core.

Anna Quindlen suggests this: “look, every day, at the choices you are making, and when you ask yourself why you are making them, find this answer: Because they are what I want, or wish for. Because they reflect who and what I am.”

Certainly, not every part of my life will be fun, but it will have purpose. I clean bathrooms because I want a beautiful home. I get up at 5:37 with my three-year-old because I want him to feel loved and cherished. However, there are a thousand things I simply don’t do because they don’t reflect who I am. I only post a blog when I have something specific to say–even though daily blogging is a “rule.” I don’t sign my children up for lots of activities because it leaves me stressed and anxious, and I don’t think that’s the kind of mom they want to live with.

When we live beautiful lives, reflective of who we are at our cores, we give the world a powerful gift.

Part 4: Dance with everything you’ve got.

Trying to conform to this image of what is perfect “requires a kind of lockstep. Look at the word; imagine it in your mind’s eye, the forced march of the fearful, the physical opposite of the skip and the jump. Doesn’t it sound like something to avoid at all costs?” (Quindlen, p. 35).

I’ve been in this lockstep for too long.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of articles, books, programs, and breath-taking ideas inside me right now. And as I looked closely at the cause of my recent angst, I could see that the pain of not dancing is driving me insane.

I don’t know the “right” way to blog or the “right” way to build a website that’s destined to gather and strengthen deliberate mothers all over the world. However, I know that I am much more valuable to myself, my family, and the world when I listen closely to the music and let myself dance.

George Eliot said, ”It is never too late to be what you might have been.”

I’m starting again today.

A Little Photography... Taking Great Photos of Kids

2011-06-06T02:00:00.000-06:00

Some tips from Photo By Emilie

One of the more difficult challenges when photographing little one is keeping them in one place long enough to snap your shutter. Do you have a busy busy little one? No matter what you do you can't snap quick enough to get a good photo!?! I've got some tricks for you.

Here are a few of my best trick and tips to get great images
of challenging little ones.

1. Bribe Them. There's nothing that gets results like a good old fashioned bribe. My favorite bribing tool are Smarties. Smarties are great for several reasons, there are lots of them per package for a maximum bribe time, they dissolve quickly & don't stain or color little mouths.

Another fun bribe trick are Pez dispensers. If your trim off their little feet they slide right into your camera flash hub. This is an excellent way to keep little ones focused on the camera. Again, lots of them per package for a maximum bride time.

2. For those little runners out there. Kids that won't sit still is one of my most common challenges. My best solution is to put your little ones on a chair. Little legs can't run away if they are sitting on chair. Use the Smarties as a reward for not dashing away.

Here are some examples...

The chair also adds some fun vintage style to this image.

Instead of a chair we used a dresser, same concept.
Look how darling her little feet look crossed like a princess.

2 above images - Same shoot, different chairs,
different way to use the chair both help me control
one busy little boy and a busier little puppy.

Not a chair, but the same concept. This busy little one
can't go anywhere. Not to mention how the cute buggy
really ads to the image.

Again, not a chair but the same concept.

Using a chair in a family image is really fun too.
This little gal was about 1 year old and LOVED sitting in a
chair just her size. She would have sat in that chair
and let me take her pix for hours. I got some great
family shots and then mom and dad moved out of the shot
and I got some real cute smile ones of just her in the chair.

Again, not a chair but the same concept. She was
so mesmerized by this bowl and just sat and let me snap away.

Again, not a chair but the same concept. This is my
nephew and he thought sitting in this tire was so cool
and just smiled and smiled. This tire made my job so
easy and that's what I'm look for during every session.

Doubling up on a chair works great too. Sometimes it's
difficult to get kids to stand close to each other, they
are just too wiggly. When photographing little
ones compositionally it looks better to have them
fairly close together. Having them both sit on a chair
allows you to pose kids close without any effort allowing
them to just sit back and grin.

Need I say anything about this last one?

3. What if they just want to run? When you can't stop them - join them. Find a cute backdrop and turn running a game, have your kids run toward and away from the camera. I think running photos are just darling. After about 15 minutes of this game (and oodles of darling photos) they'll be ready for that chair.

Here are some examples...

RUN RUN RUN!!

Same concept but dancing instead of running.

Capturing Mom and Dad in the foreground and
background tells more of a story.

A whole family walking. This shot also looks so cute
walking towards the camera. I typically shoot something like
this about half way through the session, the kids love it
and allows them a little break from following posing directions
which buys me some additional time.

This is a fun variation, I had these little kids running toward the
camera and this was the last shot I got. Just look at their
faces, they are having a great time.

Here's another variation. The concept is the same to
allow kids to run, move and play. All you'll need to do
is set it up so you can capture a great shot.

Love Love Love this variation.

Line them up and march them. It took us a few times to
get just the right spacing but these kids loved it.

Like this little sweetie, sometimes no matter what
tricks you try they just want to move. I spent most
of the session following her snapping when
she turned my way. I had a packet of smarties in my
hand which dramatically increased the amount she turned
toward me. This image really captures her little free spirit.

Children photography is more than just having a nice camera or perfect lighting it's also about knowing how to create an environment where you can capture the spirit of your little ones. The more tricks you have up your sleeve the more ability you'll have to create an environment where children are authentically having fun and capturing that in your images.
Happy Snapping!!

To See Emilie Blog Click Here

To learn more about Emilie's Workshops Click Here

A Little Contest...Please Help Us Win and Write

2011-06-03T08:13:00.003-06:00

We want to win an inspirational blog contest!

A Little Great is dedicated to sharing with our friends the best of everything we bump into in life. Maybe it's an idea, a product, a habit, or a person that has made your life just a little more meaningful.

Please support A Little Great.com by going to ThePowerofMoms.com and voting for us. We also suggest Hopeforsarah.blogspot.com and Couragezone.com/blog as nominees.

We are currently looking for women who are full of great things you just have to share to write for us. See your experiences and wisdom come to life on the Internet big screen! To apply, please email us at alittlegreat@gmail.ccom for more information.

A Little Crafty. . .Pedestal Birdhouses

2011-06-01T21:28:00.002-06:00

I've seen pedestal birdhouses all over the place, but I first saw them over at the Speckled Dog. I've made several so I thought I would show you how to make your own.

I purchased the supplies at Michael's.

I gave them a coat of paint.

Then I sanded them a bit and added some stain to darken them up a bit.

Use a little wood glue to attach all the pieces together and let it sit over night.

Then it's ready for display.

I ended up making a few others too.

I put them above my kitchen cupboards. I love the pop of color they add.

Kathy Hulse

A Little Health...The Lioness and the Lunges

2011-06-01T01:38:00.004-06:00

Post as seen on Couragezone.com

When I was a teenager, I watched a nature film of a lioness and her cubs. The cubs were crawling all over her, tugging at her ear, and bounding over her. I thought, "When I'm a mom I'm not going to be like that tired momma cat! I'm going to be the mom that throws the ball, tackles her kids and bikes them to the grocery store to get milk!" Truthfully, I now understand the exhausted lioness, and no, I don't bike the kids to get our milk. However, as a group exercise instructor and master trainer, I know first hand that making your physical health a top priority will enable you to achieve many of your family dreams and personal aspirations.

I used to feel like I couldn't realize many of those dreams. I vividly recall reoccurring kitchen table conversations with my husband over the last years. "Rob, I feel so sick and tired. I have no motivation to clean the house at all. I'm not doing any projects with the kids I always wanted to do. I haven't washed my hair in five days. I don't want to cook and I feel guilty wasting our money on fast food. Why am I so unhappy?"

My Prince wisely and kindly replied: "How is your nutrition going?" Crickets. I realize I've been getting my meals from the kids' leftover plates. "How is your hydration?" Crickets. I have been "going for the gold," because urine that color is a sure sign of dehydration. "Have you been able to get out and exercise?" Head shake no; I used that time and energy running an errand. "How is your sleep?" Ugh. I had been staying up way too late surfing the Interet.

I had "don't-take-care-of-yourself-itis."

The cure for this ailment has particulars that can be individually tailored to your likes and lifestyle. However, whether it's walking, dancing, a sport or pilates, the benefits of exercise and proper nutrition apply to every mother because it:

increases your energy levels, allowing you to finally do activities that you want with your children
releases endorphins, making you more calm and clear minded (meaning less anger and frustration)
increases your cardio endurance-- you can do more for longer and it hurts less (chasing toddlers or teens)
increases your muscle strength--you can do more for longer and it hurts less (from heavy groceries to babies to book bags)
allows your mind to function in a different zone, which rests the brain and opens you up to new ideas and perspectives
delivers more oxygen to your brain and flushes out CO2 build up, allowing you to think more clearly, increasing memory
gives you a feeling of hope and confidence, reducing depression
deeper and easier sleep
enhances digestion and ssuppresses appetite
boosts self confidence--your children and husband will sense the new power in you and it will flow to them!
makes us more decisive and affectionate (you can become your husband's girlfriend again, not just roommate).

Sometimes we can't get to the gym, funds aren't available for babysitters or the weather is too cold or hot to run. I tell my clients to do their age in push ups, sit ups, squats and lunges everyday. House cleaning counts-I burned more calories scrubbing walls and floors for our cleaning company than I did in spin class! Turn on any music that you love and just go for it.

Sometimes we don't feel like exercising. How can we keep our physical health up when life gets in the way or our will power wanes? You must plan a regular time to work out and make that space sacred time. Tell the children "I will be a nicer mommy after I do this workout!" Or better yet, invite the children to do the workout with you. I remember the first time I practiced a Zumba routine in my bathroom mirror. My four and two-year old watched me in silence, literally gaping open-mouthed in shock. Then they burst out laughing. And now we dance together.

If you had more energy, what things would you do with your family or in your career? What personal aspirations do you think you could pursue?

Set a specific time each day to move your body this week. In your daily planner or journal, write down all of the food you eat. Look over the list after three days. What patterns do you notice in your nutrition? Introduce one healthy change to a pattern you see, i.e. more water, a better breakfast, more greens, no skipping meals.

Photo from Freedigitalphotos.net/lionessandcub.Rob Bunneywell

A Little Darling...Rag Tie Curls

2011-05-31T07:02:00.001-06:00

What straight-haired girl doesn't love curls? When I was little I would sleep in pink sponge rollers, remember those? I can't say I liked the curlers, but I did love those curls. As cute as my little one looked in her sponge curlers the Saturday before Easter the year she was two, I thought there had to be a more comfortable way. So, remembering a scene in Meet Me in St. Louis where Agnes and Tootie dance in their nightgowns with rags in their hair, I tried rag tie curls and it worked great.

I use fabric selvedges, but any strips of cotton fabric will work.

Section off damp hair. Lay a strip of fabric along your finger.

Wrap a section of hair around finger,

and tie fabric strip in a knot. It may take a couple of tries to get the hang of the tying.

Wrap and tie all hair and let dry overnight.

Then in the morning remove ties, finger comb hair, and touch up any curls that may have fallen out using a curling iron.

And that's it, lots of cute curls.

A Little Tech...Favorite Phone Apps

2011-05-31T00:45:00.000-06:00

Love your smart phone and want to get more out of it? Here are a few great apps!

Wordpress.

Google Translate.

NPR.

The History Channel.

TED.

LiveStrong Food Tracker.

Words With Friends.

Starfall.

Talking Rex.

8 mm Camera.

Allrecipes.com

Netflix.

Photo from Freedigitalphotos.com, by Idea go

A Little Balance...Mother Pose

2011-05-30T06:50:00.001-06:00

Post as seen on Couragezone.com/blog

My first experience with a yoga balance (or pose) was me wobbling on one foot in a quiet room, hoping the other 30 participants in the yoga class wouldn't notice when I toppled over. "Don't fall, don't fall, don't fall," I thought. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. One thud was mine- but not the only one. Others were tumbling too-- and then getting right back up.

Maybe you're a mom like me that feels she is teetering on one foot, trying something unknown with each child's new stage or personality. Maybe you feel like you're the only one who falls. You're not alone! As a yoga instructor here I offer the principles of physical balance. They might help you attempt one of the most difficult and fulfilling balance posture of all- Mother Pose.

Principles of Mother Pose

1. A balance pose a process, not a goal. With each breath we consciously calm ourselves and then reach higher; balancing is a discovery process of our current strengths and weaknesses. Acknowleding the journey of motherhood helps us to be patient with ourselves and gives meaning to the trials.
2. Balance is not just for the flexible or athletic. Accept that anyone, even you, can learn balance. Often we think that powerful mothering is for everyone else, for women who are in some secret club we're not a part of. This is not true. You have the wisdom, strength and courage to become the mother you want to be.
3. You need a safe, accepting place to attempt a balance. Allow yourself and others to make mistakes. Surround yourself with people who are positive and believe in you, like The Power of Moms. If you are lacking support, join start a Learning Circle. [hyperlink to learning circle page]
4. You need a flat surface. Identify what things are stressing you out and tipping you over. Take the necessary steps to reduce or eliminate the stress.
5. We have to fall to make progress. Sometimes in a balance posture we get tempted to jam ourselves in a pose, holding on for dear life, hoping nobody sees us fall. This tendency is steeped in fear- fear that we're not living up to some invisible standard. As a mother, you are not on trial. You are part of a greater process that is refining you. If you reach and fall, you can get back up. Learn lessons from why you toppled and try again.
6. Balances are not stagnant--you are actually moving back and forth, but at a nearly imperceptible rate. Complete calm and peace are unrealistic ends; learning how to calm and gain peace amid the swaying of mothering is attainable. Each day your balance might change; my yesterday may not be my today given a new set of conditions. That's normal.
7. Our eyes can be our greatest tool and biggest enemy. Finding a gaze point, like a fleck of color or light in the room, can stabilize your entire body. However, looking into a mirror during a yoga pose throws your balance off. Why? Our physical eyes deceive us, while "seeing from within" tunes us into the muscles that actually hold the balance. Do your eyes ever throw you off when studying yourself or other moms? We tend judge ourselves harshly in the mirror of motherhood. If we instead can focus our attention on what brings peace, then balance will come more naturally.
8. Balance emminates from your core. Develop a strong center; search out your mothering values. Write them and revisit them often. Make your mothering goals based on those central values and desires.
9. Ground your entire foot: ball, toe and heel, for the more nerve endings that make contact with the floor, the more stable you are. I was shocked when I began planting all of my toes (especially my ring-finger toe). I was going places in balances I had never gone before. Are any parts of your soul being neglected? Address the fundamental needs in your mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, and social health.
10. We tend to hold our breath when stressed. Without air, we aren't going anywhere! We must do those things that fuel us to bravely attempt Mother Pose. What do you need to thrive as a person? Here is a wonderful article from April on identifying the "air" you uniquely need in motherhood.[hyperlink the article Mommy is a person]
11. There is no "right" way to do the balance. Each body is completely different, and therefore your pose it not my pose. Just as we all have different leg lengths and spinal mobility, our children, experience and circumstances are all unique. Your Mother Pose is a beautiful, personal thing and is good enough!
12. Balance postures take the most amount of time in a yoga practice and we start on our weakest side. Balance isn't something that occurs quickly because we may need to strengthen weak muscles or stretch overused muscles in order to achieve a pose. Which areas of your life will need tweaked before balance can occur for you? Address the area that is affecting the others the most. For me, this is regular eating and sleep. When I skip meals or just graze off of my children's plates it's a domino effect. I am grumpy and fatigued. I stop cooking, I overspend on eating out, and let the house go. When I am healthy and rested I am patient, fun, effective and happy.

It may seem odd, but when I'm on one foot, holding a crooked leg up in the air, I feel powerful. I feel brave. I don't know that it's particularly pretty or noteworthy, but I do know that the people around me get more courage to try. Mother Pose is something we are all attempting-- and as we go for it other moms will follow. "Namaste" the ending word in a yoga practice. It means "The divine spark in my acknowledges the divine spark in you."

Namaste.

A Little Photography...Aperture

2011-05-27T07:25:00.000-06:00

If you can master aperture you gain real creative control over your camera. In my opinion – aperture is where a lot of the magic happens in photography and as we’ll see below, changes in it can mean the difference between one dimensional and multi dimensional shots.

Aperture is the size of the opening in the lens when a picture is taken. Aperture is a function of the lens. Lenses contain a diaphragm, a thin light-blocking plate or interlocking set of adjustable plates. The diaphragm contains a small hole, called the aperture. This hole is adjustable in size and allows the photographer to determine and control the amount of light entering the camera. Below is an image of a 50mm lens with the diaphragm or aperture wide open and the aperture closed tight.

One thing that causes a lot of new photographers confusion is that large apertures (lots of light gets through) have smaller f-stop numbers. Smaller apertures (less light gets through) have larger f-stop numbers. So f/2.8 is in fact a much larger aperture than f/22. It seems the wrong way around when you first hear it but you’ll get the hang of it. Here's a diagram to help...

Lower f-stops (wider aperture) give a shallow depth of field (DOF). This allows you to isolate the subject from the background. Shallow focus typically is used to emphasize one part of the image over the other.

Here are some examples...

Shot at 2.8f

Shot at 1.8f

Shot at 2.8f

Higher f-stops (narrow aperture) gives a deep DOF. In deep focus the foreground, middle-ground, and background are all in focus. Deep focus requires more light to achieve than shallow focus because the aperture is narrower letting in a smaller amount of light.

Here are some examples...

Shot at 9f

Shot at 5.6f

Shot at 4.3f

Shot at 8f

Shot at 10f

Shot at 8f

Shot at 4.3f

Shot at 6f

I hope you enjoyed my tip.

This is just one of the tricks you'll learn during my Photo By You Workshop.

My next Workshop will be held Saturday, May 21st.

Cost $225

With Discount $189

Discount offered until Friday, May 13th.

Discount code: springfever

A Little Laundry...Beating the Sock Vortex

2011-05-26T00:40:00.004-06:00

The sock vortex.
The sock monster.
The dog.

Whomever you blame it on, socks disappear for no reason! Where do they get lost from the dryer to the drawers? Your guess is as good as mine. In our home, six people times six pairs of socks equals 72 separate socks that are mismatched, missing and wasted. But no more!

Answer: The little mesh bag. Never lose a sock again! Ever!

Each family member gets a mesh wash bag (also known as a lingerie bag). Have each person put their dirty socks daily their in the bag. Wash the socks in their bag. Dry the socks in their bag. Return the bag to have them sort, fold and put in away directly to the their sock drawer.

Done! Sock peace and no more wasted $$$.
***Idea from a participant at the Powerofmoms.com Workshop.

A Little Reading...Great Budgeting Books

2011-05-25T02:56:00.001-06:00

Love to read? Love to save money? Need to save money? These are four books that were key in getting us through our schooling and four births on a teacher's salary with no debt. Very inspiring and practical material!

The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn. This is the definitive tome on all things cheap- how to make soap last, feed your family on less than $200 a month, have a family yearly clothing budget of under $100 (and she has five kids!), grow a garden and pay off your mortgage.

The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley. This book might sound a bit cheesy, but it is actually a very insightful book about the lives of millionaires- people with a million liquid bucks in the bank. The two authors tracked millionaire behavior for twenty years and then published their findings. For example, most millionaries buy suits at Sears for under $70; most of their wives were school teachers, and almost all of them are business owners. Very fascinating. It also debunks the lifestyles of the seemingly wealthy and gives you the courage to live a frugal lifestyle.

The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. This is probably the book that has had the greatest impact on our financial lives, hands down. We implemented his baby steps and are financially free because of it. No gimmicks, no funky investing. Just old fashioned hard work, long hours, saving and financial freedom.

The Super Red Racer by Dave Ramsey. Our favorite in a series of money books for children, this one teaches how to work hard and save up. Our other favorite is Careless at the Carnival.

A Little Vegetarian...Roasted Veggie Curry

2011-05-24T07:00:00.001-06:00

Photo from Elizadomestica.com

A vegetarian dish that fits my rules: easy prep, works well with whatever I have in my fridge, and my family likes it. Feel free to adapt the veggie list to what you have. I keep coconut milk stocked with my pantry staples for dishes like this. Leftovers are great for lunch.

Roasted Veggie Curry

adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers

serves 4-6

cooked rice

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch chunks

2 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2 in thick rounds

1 onion, peeled and diced

1 head cauliflower, cut into bite size pieces

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons grated ginger root

2 Tablespoons Curry powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 can coconut milk

1 can diced tomatoes, drained (or one or two fresh tomatoes diced)

1 14 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 450. Start your rice cooking. (I prefer short grain brown rice.)

Toss sweet potato, carrot, cauliflower, and onion with oil and salt. Spread veggies in single layer on a baking tray. Roast for 20 minutes, stirring once after 10 minutes.

As soon as .you get the veggies in the oven, whisk together in a bowl the ginger, coconut milk, curry, and salt. Stir in tomatoes and chickpeas.

After veggies roast for 20 minutes, pour the coconut milk mixture over the veggies and return to the oven for 5 minutes.

Serve over rice, topped with cilantro and a dollop of yogurt.

A quick shoutout for my fave vegetarian cookbook Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers. Quick meals, nothing too unfamiliar since it uses mainly pantry staples, and it makes it easy for Meatless Mondays.

A Little Reading...If You Loved Harry Potter

2011-05-21T01:27:00.000-06:00

Here are some books we've read lately on the recommendation of our high school librarian. If you loved Harry Potter, then you might like:

The Magic Thief. A three tome work about grade 4-40 level. This means that although great for child at or above a fourth grade level, adults will find it compelling. The story is about Conn, a young street urchin/pick pocket who unwittingly pickpockets a wizard. He gets much more than he bargained for! Akin to A Little Princess, Sarah Prineas masterfully creates a character that is true to life, endearing, but not hokey. My seven year old (and I) loved this.

100 Cupboards. Two works in the series completed; grade 5 and above level. A young Henry, whose parents have been kidnapped, is sent to Kansas to live with an uncle. In his attic bedroom he uncovers 100 magic cupboards; where do they lead? Where did they come from? N.D. Wilson's descriptions of Kansas, a landscape that reflects Henry's lonely struggle are masterfully woven with the adventures through the cupboards that follow around and in Henry.

The Roar. A little more gritty and akin to The Hunger Games, The Roar is a Jr. High and above level book. Mika is young boy on an Earth that has been destroyed by an animal plague; in the process his sister has been kidnapped and is presumed dead. Mika must harness is new internal powers to fight the government that is enslaving the world through control of its children. A page-turner from page one like The Host or Ender's Game.

A Little Treat...Homemade Popsicles

2011-05-20T01:00:00.000-06:00

Blog Post as seen on PinchingYourPennies.com

Summer, how I love you! Hot weather means cool treats! There is something so satisfying about making popsicles from scratch. Not only are they inexpensive – made from pretty much anything you can freeze into a popsicle, but they can be a healthy alternative to some of the more sugar-filled choices at the store. Here are a couple of healthy, delicious posicle recipes. Please post your favorites in the comments.

And, don’t you just love this cute “shooting star” mold from Amazon? I do!

Grapple Popsicles - Mix together 3 C applesauce with 1 C grape juice & freeze!

Layered Juicy Pops – Pour a favorite juice into 1/3 of the mold, put in freezer until just firm (about 30 minutes) then pour another fruit juice and let freeze, rinse repeat (make sure to put your stick in after your last layer)!

Melon Pops – Puree watermelon (good for those going a little mushy) mixed with white grape juice.

Green Popsicle – Combine 1 ripe banana, 2 C strawberries, 1 C almond milk, loose handful of baby spinach in blender. Freeze! You can’t even taste the spinach!

Jelly Juice Popsicle- When the jelly jar is running low, fill it 1/4 full of very hot water and swish around. Pour jelly water into popsicle mold.

Yogurt Popsicle- When yogurt begins to get a bit runny, pour into a greased mold (Pam spray before).

A Little...Evolution

2011-05-19T06:47:00.007-06:00

I am so excited about the sun rising earlier and earlier each day as we make our way toward summer. Summer is the best!

And this morning I was thinking just that when another idea entered my mind. As much as I love summer (no school, warm weather, swimming, vacations, etc.), I find more satisfaction during the fall and spring. Perhaps you feel similarly.

As I started pondering why that was, I concluded it was because during fall and spring everything outside is changing. In the fall we see brilliant oranges, reds and yellows, while in the spring we see pinks, lavenders, and greens. There is so much beauty in the seasonal changes, and I believe therein lies a parallel to life.

Aren't we all evolving into something? Don't most (dare I say all?) of us hope to become something better than we are? Do we not hope to reach dreams and potentials yet unknown? And while there is great fulfillment in reaching our fondest desires, I believe there is also satisfaction, and even beauty, in the evolution of it all.

In change we are beautiful because we are seeking to discover what the Universe has in store for us. We are trying to ascertain what sort of strength and character we have within us. The many unnecessary and even unhealthy "leaves" of our character may die and fall to the ground, but in the process they are brilliantly green, then red . . . then discarded--just at the right time. Right when we are becoming better; evolving into the people we want to be.

I welcome the coming summer, and do so without ignoring the (necessary and beautiful) process of getting there.

by K Wrede

A Little Parenting...25 Things to Do With a Wiggly Toddler

2011-05-18T07:31:00.006-06:00

I have a toddler boy that is adorable and active! Here are some ideas I've collected to help keep us both sane when he gets the wiggles.

1. Put him in an empty bath tub, give him water colors and let him go.
2. Put rice in a cake pan and let her pour from cup to cup.
3. Put him outside everyday regardless of weather.
4. Give her a small spray bottle of water and a rag. Set him loose on the fridge front, bathroom tile, linoleum, etc.
5. Make homemade play dough; give him a rolling pin.
6. When reading aloud, ask him many questions. Get him pointing, naming, giggling over each picture.
7. Have him run and tag the front door, run back and give you a high five, and repeat. And repeat. And repeat.
8. Find an empty box we can fit in; stay in the room with him to ensure safety- but get that book you’ve wanted to read for a while, because he’ll be busy for a while.
9. Teach him how to build a fort with the cushions.
10. Let her spread the PB and J.
11. Play with her for at least 10 minutes at a game he loves. This will satisfy much of the need for attention that leads to naughtiness.
12. Bubbles!
13. Boys tend to be tactile learners; stacking cups and plastic containers in an accessible cabinet can be fun.
14. Fill the kitchen sink with soapy foam; get out a big ladle and some cups and let her go at it. Let him “do dishes.”
15. If you have a play house, let them throw a safe ball out of it.
16. Find an old spoon and let him dig in dirt.
17. Music facilitates learning like no other activity. Make up silly songs to everything- be silly and tease your children with music.
18. When he is feeling mean and you are feeling mean, tickle him.
19. Don’t be afraid to repeat activities often; if she is getting restless, immediately choose a “go-to.”
20. Let the little guy “help” you in all of your tasks until he discovers his blocks or trains again. You’ll be teaching him valuable skills. This one can be hard because we want to get things done, but the boy will be grown soon and might now want to help anymore. This may be one of the most special times of your lives.
21. Play a favorite dance song of yours; let loose and dance around. Your boy will either laugh or join in; both are fun.
22. Use your pull up bar low on the door frame- and let him swing.
23. Find markers and a notebook; let him go to.
24. Assess his needs- is he hungry, tired, wet, overstimulated, bored, or lonely? Help him fulfill that need.
25. Replace every negative thought immediately with a positive one. Instead of, “My kids drive me crazy” think on purpose “This is a phase; Jonny really is a good kid” or “My kids must be bored. What can I do to help them?” See an article on this here.

A Little Instant Flavor... Squeezable Herbs.

2011-05-17T03:38:00.000-06:00

by Mara

My cooking has been transformed lately by a line of products called Gourmet Garden. Basically the concept is they take all your favorite fresh herbs, mince them, and put them into convenient squeezable tubes. Any time you want fresh flavor in your cooking it is only a squeeze away! It is now incredibly easy to whip up fresh tasting dishes with no problems. For example, I made grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches and spread "pesto" on the bread. The "pesto" was simply 2 squeezes of basil, one squeeze of garlic, and a little olive oil. Mix and spread. You can do the same thing with pasta. I love the taste of fresh basil and these organic products have made it so easy. You can find them in grocery stores in the produce section and here is their website.

A Little Perspective...Realizing Life

2011-05-16T06:56:00.004-06:00

Post from Thepowerofmoms.com by Catherine Averseth

This morning as I nursed my twin boys, changed their diapers, slid bowls of cold cereal onto the table for my three girls, then put the boys in high chairs (for the first time) while making multiple trips to the potty between spoonfuls of prunes because my twin girls decided two weeks ago to abandon their diapers for toilet-training, I thought, “This. Is. CRAZY!”

My life is crazy.

And if I think too much about how crazy it is I might actually go crazy.

But I don’t. (Think about how crazy and hard it is.) Most of the time.

I just do. And do some more.

By 8 am the day is on and we’re in high gear. I move quickly from one necessity to the next. Mostly it’s the basics. Food, clothing, clean-up, laundry. I mediate inevitable conflicts, nurse “owies,” braid a pony’s mane and rescue teething toys from the toilet. (True story.) If there’s a lull in the chaos, we pile onto the couch for a story, or dance to a favorite tune. Not much time for reflection, reading, writing, the things of the soul. Things I crave.

But I also craved children. After years of infertility, my husband and I experienced what we like to call our “family explosion.” Five children in four years, including two sets of twins. Fraternal girls followed by identical boys. Our boys were born one week after our oldest daughter turned four.

It has been exciting, exhausting, intensely joyous, out of control, but absolutely precious.

The boys are now 9 months old and we’re slowly coming out of survival mode. As the pace slows a bit, I’m harnessing more happy moments, noticing more episodes of contentment. Finally finding my groove as a mother of five. (Wow. That still sounds weird.)

So last week I saw Our Town – the great American play by Thornton Wilder. My aunt and her daughter watched all five kids so Doug and I could have a night out. (Yes, it took both of them.) Having read Wilder’s play but never seen it on stage, I anticipated the evening for weeks.

The play began. From spotlight to curtain call I was completely absorbed. All barriers between audience and actors faded away. We were right there in Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire. The actors were so comfortable with their roles, with each other and the audience – there wasn’t a bit of uneasiness. The play was left to work its subtle magic.

Our Town is a love story about George and Emily. Childhood sweethearts who grow up next door to each other. They marry right after high school and begin their family. But during the birth of their second child, Emily dies.

The entire third act is about her transition into death – what she experiences on the other side. She watches her own funeral procession and burial. She sees the faces of those she loves.

“Live people don’t understand, do they?” she asks. “I never realized how troubled and how…in the dark live persons are…From morning till night, that’s all they are – troubled” (96-97). [1]

Then, despite cautioning from those who have already died, she chooses to go back and relive one day of her life. Her twelfth birthday.

“Don’t do it Emily… It isn’t wise… It’s not what you think it’d be” (98) the dead admonish her. Still, she goes.

She steps into her mother’s kitchen, circles the stove and table, watches her mother prepare breakfast. She sees the birthday gift George left on her doorstep early that morning. A post-card album she had forgotten about.

“I can’t bear it. They’re so young and beautiful. Why did they ever have to get old? Mama, I’m here. I’m grown up. I love you all, everything. — I can’t look at everything hard enough…Oh Mama, just look at me one minute as though you really see me…Mama, just for a moment we’re happy. Let’s look at one another” (107).

Finally, she breaks into sobs. Overcome with the grief and beauty of it all – the wonder of her ordinary life.

“I can’t go on. It goes so fast. We don’t have time to look at one another…Take me back – up the hill – to my grave” (108).

Before leaving, however, she wants one more look. Longingly, she says good-bye to clocks ticking, her Mama’s sunflowers, new-ironed dresses, hot baths, sleeping and waking. Then suddenly she throws her arms out wide and laments,

“Oh, earth, you’re too wonderful for anybody to realize you! Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it – ever, every minute?”

“No.” the stage manager (who acts as narrator) replies. “The saints and poets, maybe – they do some” (108).

“No.” That was his answer. And he was right. We don’t realize how wonderful life is every minute of every day. We’re too busy, too hurried, too distracted.

After Doug and I returned home to our five little ones – all asleep – I cracked their doors open and stroked each cheek with Emily’s voice echoing in my head. “Oh, earth, you’re too wonderful for anybody to realize you!”

There, in the whisper of the night, I embraced my motherhood and every bit of tenuous longing I had for this gift.

The next day I moved through the house with different eyes. I saw the busy hum of what we were about with fleeting but tangible beauty. It won’t last – can’t last – and will be gone before I know it. So I began to make note of things I saw, felt, and cherished. A scrap of paper here, a note on my calendar there, and some plinking away on the keyboard at day’s end. It took some time. But how could I not? Writing it down makes it last.

While washing Sami’s hands, I noticed her dented knuckles, the pudgy softness. The way she lets me slap her paws together – blowing suds onto our faces and shirts. I wondered how long her hands will keep that three-year old look, how long she’ll let me hold them under warm water, my body bent over hers, before she wants to do it herself.

I noticed how Ali flutters instead of walks. Sailing from room to room, with a song spilling from her lips, she stretches her fingertips out to catch the wind. Teetering, gliding, dancing on tiptoe. My graceful girl, with wild brown curls – floating through our house.

I smelled Eliza’s hair at bedtime. The scent of gritty playground. Wind and dirt all tangled up in fraying ringlets. I felt the heat rise from her body as I tucked my arms around her and sang. She snuggled into her favorite blanket and quickly fell asleep. I kissed her cheek, wishing she could know how much I loved her in that instant. My oldest. My first.

I admired my boys as they took milk from me in the morning. Their eyes closed, softly caressing my arms and neck. The tender sight of their hands clasped together. This won’t last more than a month or two. It’s the closeness I love, the time alone with them, the giggles and tickling after. A quiet dependent circle, all three of us, needing each other.

And then I saw it. Today. The flash of silver in my husband’s hair – glinting in the light as he tossed Gordon into the air, the two of them laughing deeply. It’s a rite of passage, those flecks of gray. They tell of living – a sign that we are aging. Together. My heart flew to him. Grateful for his arms around my waist when the house is finally quiet.

Writing about these small things seems to freeze frame the joy, slow it down. So I can return to it, handle it, remember.

I’m no saint, but I’m trying to realize you, Life.

One day at a time.

On this earth that I love.

[1] Thornton Wilder, Our Town – A Play in Three Acts (New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 1938) p. 96 – 108

A Little Love...Inspiring Mother Quotes

2011-05-15T22:55:00.001-06:00

Image from Croatia.org

I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life. ~Abraham Lincoln

Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible. ~Marion C. Garretty, quoted in A Little Spoonful of Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts. ~Washington Irving

Grown don't mean nothing to a mother. A child is a child. They get bigger, older, but grown? What's that suppose to mean? In my heart it don't mean a thing. ~Toni Morrison, Beloved, 1987

All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother. -Abraham Lincoln

I cannot forget my mother. She is my bridge. When I needed to get across, she steadied herself long enough for me to run across safely. -Renita Weems

My mother was the making of me. She was so true and so sure of me, I felt that I had someone to live for - someone I must not disappoint. The memory of my mother will always be a blessing to me.-Thomas A Edison

The older I become, the more I think about my mother.-Ingmar Bergman

(A Google search on "Mother Quotes" will list the sources of these quotes.)

A Little Makeover...A Gun Cabinet Turned Kitchen Hutch

2011-05-13T01:51:00.000-06:00

I bought this for only $35.00 at DI awhile back. You have to love having a vision for old things!

How I Did It

First I stripped the whole piece of all the lacquer and stain it already had on it by using my Favorite stripping gel by Citristrip which you can use indoors.

Then I proceeded with my Paint Like A Pro Furniture Painting and antiquing techniques. I used the same color paint, stain, General Finishes glaze, and General Finishes Top Coat that I used for my dining room table since I wanted them to match and look somewhat like a set. Cut a couple boards to be used as shelves, slapped on some bottom trim, backed it with bead-board and it was looking pretty good.

Last but not least I found a cute little old-fashion latch at Lowe's to finish off my gun cabinet transformation. I am afraid it will always be referred to as the "gun cabinet", but that is exactly what I love about my house and the things in it.

The Bird and the Berry.com -- Jill Hutchings

A Little Survival Tip

2011-05-11T07:48:00.008-06:00

By K Wrede

I confess, I can't do it alone. I can't wake up, fix breakfast, get clothes out, brush hair, brush teeth, pack lunches, get clothes on, turn off lights, turn off burners, put on lipstick and remember car keys by myself. Add two kids and a husband into the mix and life just got chaotic. (I know, I know, some of you have even more kids than that and I admire you for it!)

In the hustle and bustle of the morning routine I still want to be a kind, patient, happy mommy/wife, but I don't have that natural ability. (Our little secret, K?)

So I pray for it. Better said: When I remember to do so, I pray for it.
And I get it.

It seems whenever I ask for help to be a better mom/wife, I get it. Ideas come to my mind on what to say, how to act, and I even feel more peace inside, which then allows me to calm down a bit.

Does it really matter if my daughter hikes her mismatched socks up to her knees? Does it really matter that my son wants to wear the same underwear two days in a row?

No, it doesn't. (At least that's what the Universe tells me when I'm willing to listen.)

What matters is the people. What matters is how I treat "the people".

I write this as a reminder to myself and to all of us. Help with family relationships is never very far.

A Little...Homemade Detergent Part 2

2011-05-11T01:11:00.001-06:00

In addition to making my own homemade detergent for clothes, I though there has to be a way to make my own dish detergent. I was especially interested in finding a way to better clean my dishes. I don't know about your dishes, but since the government removed phosphate from the detergent, my dishes have just not been clean. After further googling the subject...I came up with what I think is the best recipe.

Here it is:

1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda (I sometimes do 1/2 cup Washing Soda & 1/2 cup Baking soda)
2 packets Lemonade Flavored Kool-Aid aka Citric Acid (use ONLY lemonade and unflavored to prevent coloring your dishwasher)
1/4 Pickling Salt
Combine all ingredients in a container with a lid and shake until combined. Add 1 tablespoon to each cup of your detergent dispenser. Use white vinegar in your rinse cup.

After much tinkering with the recipe...this appears to be the best combination. No more cloudy dishes or icky residue. And again the best part...I am paying less than 10% than I used to when I was buying store bought detergent. Now that's a little great!!

A Little...Homemade Detergent Part 1

2011-05-10T01:00:00.000-06:00

Our family is currently trying to cut our expenses. In our adventures of trying to become more frugal, we have gathered many tips and tricks from friends, family, and of course the internet. I recently became aware of the idea of making my own detergent. When I told my family what I was up to, most of them said I was crazy. So I figured out I must be on to something. After further googling the subject...I came up with the best recipe.

Here it is:

1 bar Fels Naptha soap, grated
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda
1/4 cup Oxyclean (optional)
All ingredients can be found on the laundry aisle of your local grocery store (I know for a fact Smith's carrries all of them). Mix all ingredients together. Add 1 tablespoon to each load of laundry. (Sometimes I add 2 tablespoons for very soiled loads).

And the results are fantastic!! My clothes are just as clean as when I used Tide and smell fabulous. I don't have a front loading washer, but I hear it also works well with those machines, as it is low sudsing.

And the best part...I am paying less than 10% than I used to when I was buying store bought detergent. Now that's a little great!! Something else I've discovered in being frugal....there is no need to use an entire dryer sheet for each load. I cut mine in thirds and it does the same job a full sheet does. Happy laundry!!

A Little Motherng...The Power of Moms.com

2011-05-05T21:14:00.016-06:00

I used to feel like I had stumbled into mommyhood by accident- I got married and *poof* -four children appeared! There are amazing days of love and fun...and many challenging days in between. What do you do if being a patient,loving, creative, disciplined, organized, sensitive, knowledgeable mother doesn't come naturally? Because it didn't for me.

Enter: The Power of Moms.com.

Within two weeks of searching the thoughtful, realistic and optimistic articles Powerofmoms.com site provides, I gained direction concerning some of the main struggles I am facing as a mother. (The site is free, by the way!) Their learning circles, retreats, and newsletters offer support, training and insight that will lift any exhausted mother soul.

The title of the organization "The Power of Moms, A Gathering Place for Deliberate Mothers" taught me that I hadn't really made the hard and fast decision to mother. I had just kind of fallen into it. Mothering for me now is a conscious choice, and I feel much more full of purpose. Mothering isn't about diapers or errands anymore- it's about relationships and love. I am much happier now with that focus.

"It's going to be hard and that's ok!" is an article that calmed my stressed out heart. "Every stage of motherhood has its ups and downs. Every week and every day has its ups and downs. We might as well accept it and prepare for it where possible. And once we’ve got that acceptance and preparation in place, it’s a lot easier to enjoy our lives."

Do you resent housework like I do? Does that resentment flow towards the family? I had some serious negativity from the laundry, dishes and messes that four small children and a couple of busy adults create. Then this week I read one of the posts- "What's the point of housework?" Wow- what wisdom I gained when the founder of the site, California resident April Perry said! "If it’s just about “the house,” then I really don’t like my job. But if it’s about the RELATIONSHIP, I feel like the most important lady in the world. Funny how one little idea can make such a difference, but it absolutely does." This week my approach to the house has completely changed and my children are much happier. My children actually want to be with me.

Workshops and Retreats

The Power of Moms hosts conferences all over the United States. Themes include:

Taking Care of the Person Inside the Mom (creating margins and balance in your life, finding time to pursue your talents and interests, having more fun, using positive thoughts and realistic expectations to deal with the hard stuff, understanding more about how motherhood can help you become the person you really want to be)

Family Systems (assessing your needs and desires for your children and family so you can create systems that will take your family where you want to go, concrete steps for establishing a family economy, family discipline system and family identity)

Making Great Ideas into Reality (strategies for incorporating what you’ve learned in this conference into your real life, simple ways to organize your time, tasks and space so you can enjoy more progress and less stress in your life).

What are Learning Circles?

part girls’ night out (with a meaningful purpose – in addition to having a great time)

part book group (with a lot less pages to read…yep, you can complete the reading for each month in about 30 minutes)

part support group (we all need more opportunities to learn from, encourage, and even sometimes commiserate with other moms)

part motherhood course (because you deserve a monthly class to help you grow yourself, build your fellow mothers, and shape the future that starts right in your own home)

One of the best aspects of The Power of Moms is that the site invites all women to contribute. They invite everyone to submit articles, become trainers and share wisdom. It is a power and refreshing experience to be surrounded by welcoming rather than competitive mothers!

A Little Health...Yoga Postures for Thyroid

2011-05-05T05:43:00.001-06:00

Guest Writer Denise Druce, from DeniseDruce.com.

Yoga for your Thyroid?

I have just discovered yet another reason to begin a yoga practice if you haven't already...yoga is helpful for thyroid problems. I was diagnosed with hypothyroid 10 years ago. That means my thyroid doesn't function optimally. The thyroid gland produces the thyroid hormone which is responsible for metabolism. According to James Norman, MD, "The estimates vary, but approximately 10 million Americans have this common medical condition. In fact, as many as 10% of women may have some degree of thyroid hormone deficiency." Read more about hypothyroidism here. The symptoms of low thyroid are fatigue, weakness, weight gain or inability to lose wieght, dry hair or hair loss, depression, irrability. The list goes on. If you think you may have this condition, see your physician. And start doing yoga on a regular basis.

Yoga for Hypothyroidism

By stimulating the function of the thyroid, pituitary, pineal and adrenal glands, Yoga normalizes them. It limbers and stretches the neck, as well as strengthens and tones the nervous system. Yoga stimulates the thyroid gland to work at its peak efficiency. Since the pituitary gland also gets stimulated, it helps improve their function. The compressing, stretching and twisting of the Yoga postures is believed to help to massage the endocrine organs. This regulates their function, improving blood flow and nourishing them at the cellular level. Read more here.

The Shoulder Stand is the most effective yoga posture for an underactive thyroid. The Shoulder Stand reverses the normal effects of gravity and lets blood to flow from the legs and feet into the neck, where the thyroid gland is located. Yogis believe that, by sending oxygenated blood to the neck region, the thyroid is nourished and stimulated. This, in turn assists in weight loss, improves circulation and increases one's metabolism.

Another pose for hypothyroidism is Viparita Karani, or "legs up the wall". Lie with your hips close to a wall and your legs extended up the wall. You may want to place a folded blanket or a pillow under your hips. Stay in this restful pose for as long as you like and focus on relaxing your neck and breathing deeply and slowly.

Try also Janu Sirshasana, a seated forward bend. Sitting with one leg extended in front of you and the other leg bent, reach toward your foot. Ust a strap around your foot if you can't quite reach. Pull your torso forward as far as you can, and then lower your head down toward your knee.

Pavanamuktasana, or knees to chest. Lie on your back and hug both knees into your chest. Draw your chin to your chest and squeeze your legs. You're essentially rolling into a tight ball. Hold this position for 3 to 5 breaths, then extend your arms overhead, point your toes and stretch your body out long. Then, relax and breathe normally on your back for a few blissful moments.

A Little...SUMMER FUN!

2011-05-04T05:35:00.000-06:00

I am going crazy waiting for some warm temps. We are all having major smell of sunscreen withdrawals around my house! To make sure we make the most of our summer I always make a Summer To-Do List for our family.

I like to organize mine by month and include fun local activities at the library, community center, church, movie theatres, etc. I also included family specific activities like sports, weddings, reunions and visitors.

Ladybug Release Party at our community garden last summer

I make a final category of random things like go camping, look at the stars, go to the lake, or have a lemonade stand, you know, the things that really make summer THE BEST.

Swimming and Popsicles

I hang the list up in our kitchen, next to our calendar so I can easily keep track of what’s going on and so we don’t miss out on cool things to do!

Here are some examples from other moms:

eighteen25

whatever

Family Matters

What are your plans for summer? And traditions you or your kids look forward to?

A Little Beauty... How to Deal with Adult Acne

2011-05-03T05:12:00.002-06:00

by Mara

It seems that it is still a pretty popular cultural myth that acne is something that happens only to teenagers. It's true, some people are fortunate enough to not have to deal with acne when they are adults, but a lot of adults (myself included) still experience acne.

There is a lot of conflicting information out there about acne prevention and treatments. A lot of websites claiming to have information or resources are just thinly veiled advertisements for a particular product. In this post I attempt to compile helpful information about acne prevention and treatment. Of course, I am not a doctor, so please take my recommendations with the same caution you would use when hearing medical advice from any well-meaning friend.

How Acne Works

Pores are the little holes that are found all over our skin. Our skin secretes oil from the pores. Our skin is also constantly sloughing off little pieces of old skin and replacing them with new skin from beneath.

If the old skin doesn't slough off properly and ends up clogging a pore with some oil behind it, the small grayish plug of dead skin blocking the pore is called a blackhead. If a clogged pore happens to have some bacteria in it, the bacteria can multiply, causing an infection. (It is natural for us to have bacteria on our bodies and usually this doesn't cause us much of a problem -- similar bacteria are also responsible for things like foot odor and body odor.) Our body's immune system reacts to the infection by sending increased blood supply to the area, causing local redness. Also, white cells from the blood devour the bacteria and then die, creating pus in the area of the infection. This red, infected area is a pimple. Hence the redness and pus inside pimples is actually a sign that our body's immune system is working properly to protect us against infection.

But those zits and blackheads still don't look very good! How can we prevent them?

Acne Prevention

There are two major medications that are widely used in anti-acne products: benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid. Each of these medications addresses one of fundamental causes of acne.

Benzoyl peroxide is an antibacterial medication that works by killing bacteria that could infect our skin. So when a potential zit is forming, if the bacteria dies, the pore will not get infected and the zit will be prevented. Benzoyl peroxide is the main active ingredient in Proactiv acne prevention products.

Salicylic acid helps the natural process of skin sloughing and helps to avoid clogged pores. So if clogged pores are your problem, salicylic acid containing products, such as many skin cleansers you will find at your local pharmacy, may do the trick for you.

I think most people know that the best way to prevent acne is to wash your skin twice daily with an anti-acne cleanser, following cleansing with a toner (to close pores) and a moisturizer (to keep skin in good shape). But you might not know that almost all the cleansers out there contain one of the two ingredients I just listed above. When shopping for a cleanser, the most important thing is that it contains either salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide (you should try both to find out which works best for you). In other words, the brand name on the front of the product is probably not as important as the ingredients on the back.

Retinoids help dead skin to slough off better and are often used to treat wrinkles. However, because they can help to prevent blackheads they are also helpful for acne treatment. For example, Neutrogena makes an anti-wrinkle, anti-blemish treatment that contains both retinol and salicylic acid. According to one of my sources (see below) retinols may be more effective than salicylic acid at treating deeper adult blemishes.

Another possible acne prevention you will find in some over-the-counter cleansers is Triclosan. Triclosan is an antibiotic which also helps to kill bacteria on the skin.

Acne Treatment

Prevention is the first step, but if you're like me you still have occasional breakouts that you want to deal with. Here are some tips that may help you.

Antibacterial treatments: Remember that a pimple is basically a small skin infection. So any treatments that would treat bacterial infections will work on pimples. This includes antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin. You can apply this kind of ointment to help the infection (and therefore the pimple) to go away faster. However, the petroleum in the antibiotic ointment might end up clogging more pores in the area. Perhaps a better option is a spot treatment that is specifically designed for acne, such as a spot treatment containing benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid. Again, look at the package to find out what the active ingredient is and how much of the active ingredient the treatment contains. These ingredients can be combined with things like makeup to mask the appearance of the blemish or botanicals that are intended to help heal the skin.

Another antiseptic treatment that I have found effective on pimples is udder balm such as Bag Balm. This ointment is sold in cube-shaped tins at pharmacies. It was originally developed to treat infections in cow udders, but also works great on human pimples. Again, use this product sparingly since it is petroleum based. However, it tends to kill bacteria and bring infection to the surface where you can easily deal with it. Tea tree oil and sulfur have also been found to have antimicrobial properties and can therefore be found in some acne treatments.

To deal with acne redness in the meantime, remember that redness is caused by an increase of blood flow to the area of the infection. This is part of the body's natural immune response to an infection. Believe it or not, eye drops such as Visine or similar products are useful for reducing redness of this type, at least temporarily. Eye drops that are designed to reduce redness in eyes will also reduce redness on other areas of the body. You can just apply drops directly to the pimple.

Don't pop it unless you have a good reason. Popping your pimples will usually cause irritation to the skin in the area, meaning that after the pimple has started to heal, redness will still persist because the skin in that area has been damaged. So you should be aware that popping a pimple will probably cause redness and swelling to last longer than if you left it alone.

What if this isn't enough?

If these tips don't work to your satisfaction to get rid of your acne, talk to your doctor. There are prescription treatments, both topical and internal, that are effective at treating acne. These might work by killing bacteria or adjusting your body's hormones. Or it might be that you have a condition that looks similar but requires different treatment, such as rosacea or eczema. But I would like to remind you that the occasional blemish probably won't affect people's view of you. I always say nobody will notice your zit because they are way too busy worrying about whether you are going to notice their zits!

Here are some unbiased sources of information on acne:
WebMD Acne Center
Treatments for Adult Acne
Mayo Clinic
National Institutes of Health

A Little Poise...How to Walk in Heels

2011-05-02T02:52:00.006-06:00

Photo from caribmuslimah.com

It’s every woman's nightmare.

Uncle Ted has his camera rolling as you exit a reception center's doors. You pose for a few still shots with the wedding party, delicately placing your slippered feet on the granite steps. You bask in the senses of the big day: the smells, sights, and sounds.

Then, your body remembers that it has no idea how to walk in these brand-new heels. On steep steps. On slippery granite. In front of your closest friends.

Your shining moment and the resulting plunge to the steps below become Uncle Ted’s YouTube sensation, with plenty of “LOLs” and “ROFLs” to go around.

And it could have been avoided.

Listed below are some tips that, when practiced, will take you down the steps and through the entire day in heels with grace and confidence.

Wear the heels

Wear your heels ahead of time and often. Putting together centerpieces? Wear the heels. Doing a run-through on your make-up and hair? Wear the heels. Wear the heels at the tour of the reception center, or any time you run downstairs to grab the guest list. If the heels are slippery, buy an adhesive strip for the ball of the shoes…and then wear your heels!

Look with your eyes, not your head

Look with your eyes down the stairs, not with your head. Most women grab handfuls of their dress, hike and then point their nose down the steps to avoid falling. I affectionately refer to this as the “Neanderthal Bride” stance in my formal etiquette training courses.

Rather, stand up straight, lift the crown of your head, glancing downward only with your eyes. With the dress bustled, you are now prepared to descend the stairs and make your grand entrance.

Descending the stairs

When descending stairs, angle your body into your support. If this is the groom, turn your body towards him and place your arm on his for stability. If you are alone, angle your body towards the wall or into the handrail. Then step full foot onto the stairs.

These suggestions alone should keep you upright and your video off the Internet. Now you will be able to enjoy the big day and focus all your attention on your friends and family. And Uncle Ted? Just smile at the camera, confidently knowing how poised and beautiful you really are.

A Little Apology...Saying I'm Sorry

2011-05-01T02:52:00.009-06:00

by K Wrede

Those of us who are married, well, wait a minute, those of us who are in a relationship of any kind understand how effective a sincere apology can be. And, if you're like me, you think it is usually the other party who needs to be apologizing!

My family moved many times when I was a child and, as a result, I didn't really get to practice maintaining close relationships until I was in my 20's. One of the things I have learned about relationships is that it is very easy to allow pride to keep one from admitting fault and apologizing. It takes much more effort and (dare I say) character to approach the other party in a spirit of compromise and humility. I admit, many times I lack the wherewithal to be the first to apologize or try to make amends, but can share that when I am that person, I feel so much lighter and free inside--good karma abounds. :)

For those of you who may identify with me and find it hard to be the first one to try and get past negative feelings and move on, I will say that when I reach out the the Universe for help, I always get it, and the negative energy I am harboring is somehow erased.

The words, "I'm sorry", can be a healing balm to achy feelings between loved ones and I hope to get more practice at saying them.

A Lot Great...Live Like You're Dying: Hope for Sarah

2011-04-30T07:27:00.001-06:00

The mantra of our website is from Mother Teresa: "We can do no great things; only small things with great love." Here are the loves and struggles of a woman who embodies this way of life. Sarah's blog could be about you, your sister, or a neighbor. She has two babies and smudged toddler finger-print mirrors. And terminal cancer. We would like to pass on her blog, and her April fundaiser, because it is changing our lives: HopeforSarah.blogspot.com.

"Have you ever heard of the song written by Tim McGraw; "Live Like You Were Dying?" Honestly, it's gone thru my mind more than once. A couple of years ago I heard it on the radio, at first the lyrics bothered me, the song hit to close to my heart. I'd push the lyrics out of my mind. After a while they began to pierce my heart. Was I living like I was dying? Doing the things that I truly desired to do? My Oncologist has told me that I was "terminal", and not"going" to get better... I of course disagree. It really got me down one day so I called my Daddy to talk about it. he said; "Sarah, aren't we all terminal? We don't know how much time we have on this earth...life can change in an instant for anyone. Live each day." His words rang true in my soul."

"Yesterday, I had a rough day...Today I'm grateful for second chances. I'm grateful the sun came up, and we had blue skies. I'm grateful that I woke up. I'm grateful I could talk to an old friend. I'm grateful my kids could play with there friends. I'm grateful I could go on a drive. I'm grateful my kids were so happy. I'm grateful we weeded the garden together. I'm grateful for the sunshine on my back. I'm grateful for little kisses and hugs. I'm grateful for my better half. I'm grateful I could sit and be still. I'm grateful I could talk to my sister, I love her. I'm grateful I could use my body. I'm grateful for my green shake. I'm grateful for my health. I'm grateful for my voice. I'm grateful for this journey and experiences life is giving me. I'm grateful for the time I've been given. I'm grateful for second chances."

Please consider running Sarah's 5K or donating through her blog. "Donations will be used to help pay the mountain of medical bills, a necessary evil to fight this cancer and win," says her little brother, who spearheads the fundraising efforts.

2011-04-29T04:08:00.001-06:00

I love words. Words have gotten me through so much. I was in and out of the hospital as a child with kidney problems and writing in my journal was therapy. I look back at that little journal and it is difficult to believe it can be called writing (it was while I was ages 4-8) but even still I remember writing in my journal. I won second place in a writing contest when I was in second grade, the winner was a Junior. I was very excited.

The other night I heard my kids on the computer, I got up to go check on what they were veiwing when I heard them reading old excerpts from our family blog. They were laughing at how cute they once were and smiling at the musings of the last three or four years. It made me smile. I can say things to them or about them there that they don't always hear, even if I say it directly to them. It must be the knowledge, "Mom says I'm wonderful not just to me, she is also telling other people how and why I am wonderful" and that sinks in. And they are, wonderful.

But there are other things and people that are wonderful too. Sometimes I want to shout it to the world, THAT'S WONDERFUL! Lately I can barely whisper. I don't know why, it is probably a lot of things. So here it is, my little whisper. Writing is wonderful. Writing is therapy. Write it down. Write to someone. Think it's great, tell someone. Think they're great, tell them. But put it in writing.

A Little Perspective...Spring Gratitude

2011-04-28T00:38:00.001-06:00

by Jaquay Brewster

Here are ideas on celebrating life in good times or in times of adversity and the process I went through to discover them.

1. Start your day with at least one acknowledgment of gratitude or appreciation.
2. Focus on the possibilities, not the impossibilities.
3. Remember those less fortunate and find ways to turn sympathy into acts of charity.
4. Keep a journal and write down what you are grateful for at the end of the day.

I woke up to see the sun shinning through the small slits in the blinds of my bedroom window. My mind began to drift to the thoughts of the snow that had previously fallen for the past three days, never allowing the sun to shine. Instead of celebrating the recent changes in the weather during a walk with my daughter, I passed the weather as a fluke.

While I typically regard myself as an eternal optimist, I did not realize the overcast of gloom I place on what could be a positive highlight in my day. The realization came like the sound of thunder before lightning strikes. As the doors to my daughter's school opened and teachers filed inside, the comments about the beautiful weather came from every direction. In particular one teacher said "It is great to see the sun shinning, but I am sure it will be short lived and we will be back to the cold." I smiled in agreements feeling the frustration with the weather creep into my mind only to be quickly replaced with the frustration with myself for not enjoying what the impending day would offer me.

I think all of us can find instances or periods of time where our life's circumstances fluctuate or change just like the weather. In our lifetime we may experience a loss, a birth, a job advancement, and positive or negative impacts to our finances. What do we do with those snowy, rainy, or sunny days is what matters the most. We can chose to celebrate the opportunites that lie in front of us or we can lie and wait for less favorable circumstances or situations. If we choose to lie and wait for better days we may miss a sunny day. As a vow to myself, I want to seize every moment given to me and look for that "silver lining". The reality is that we are all human and we all have times when we just don't feel that great about life. However, the angle we take can make monumental differences in how we handle situation and our long-term feelings about life.

A Little.....Creativity

2011-04-27T06:15:00.005-06:00

“The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.” -Albert Einstein

Entertain yourself with these creative on-line sources! Photos came from the respective websites.

Create symmetrical art on Myoats.com . Be sure to check out the artwork of others while you are there. (How do they DO that?)

Create flame painting on Escapemotions.com. Cool colors.

Create a tune on ToneMatrix. Just a short little chime-ditty. Anyone can create music. You know you want to. (Sorry, no pics of this)

Create some origami with the Origami Club. Projects ranging from easy to difficult. You'll find something you can do.

Quick spurts of creativity make your day brighter. :)

A Little Perspective...Love More

2011-04-26T07:12:00.003-06:00

By Linda Eyre, as published on The Power of Moms.

About five years ago, we decided to add two more words to our already established three word family mission statement (to be revealed at a different time). These two words: LOVE MORE are so simple to write, simple to say, often hard to put into action.

When everything is going well, the weather is good, the kids are responsive to your instructions, your husband is buying you fun Christmas gifts, your neighbors are bringing delicious goodies, it’s easy to love more. BUT when a child is driving you crazy with incessant whining, teenagers are constantly pushing your buttons and “accidentally” but consistently missing their curfew, when husbands have no clue about what is required to put your house back together after the Christmas extravaganza and is quietly reading a book by the fire or when your in-laws openly disapprove of the way you run your family, then is when “Love More” gets hard!

One summer at our cabin in Idaho where we have a tennis court and where all our children learned to play tennis during the summer with their father as the master instructor, our neighbor across the fence became incensed about the tennis balls that were landing periodically on his lawn. Keep in mind that this neighbor was extremely meticulous. The thought of having the turf on his lawn “dented” by tennis balls was just more than he could take. One morning he came out on his balcony and started yelling, swearing and profaning at our children who had popped yet another ball onto his turf! My husband, Richard, came out of the cabin, just in time to hear the tirade and was equally incensed! A very nasty interchange ensued and everybody was upset.

After the heat of the moment, Richard felt sad about some things that he had said and when we returned home, he found the neighbor’s address and sent him one of the books that he had written with a sincere apology in the front cover. The next time we saw that neighbor at the lake several weeks later the neighbor said with a cold glare, “I burned your book!”

At that point, it was all that Richard could do to keep from laughing, but luckily was able to restrain himself! He realized that poor guy had more going on in his life than we had realized. There were things that we would never know about the hard things in his life, but our job was just to simply “love more” by feeling sorry for him and to honestly be able to say to ourselves that he was a guy who had lots of problems and just needed to be forgiven for his indiscretions. Otherwise, his problems became our problems too!

I heard a wonderful quote this year about holding hard feelings toward those who have wronged us. It goes something like this: “Letting bad feelings fester toward people who have wronged you is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” The perfect antidote is just to “Love More”. One of our daughters who is also the mother of five children actually made a wooden plaque that hangs above their front door that has “Love More” engraved in it. It’s a great reminder as the kids walk out the door, that when they are at school, whether they are being persecuted or just see someone who needs someone to say “hi” to them, those two words are also engraved on their minds as they dive into the world each day.

So here is a challenge for you: Whether the bad feelings are between you and a child who has ADD or OCD, you and your husband who isn’t as supportive as you want him to be, a bully who is making your child’s life miserable, your mother who criticizes you incessantly, a neighbor who wishes your would burn your bikes and scooters or even a dog who has chewed up your beloved new leather shoes, just let those two words cross your mind at the height of your dismay and I can almost guarantee it will bring thoughts of compassion rather than condemnation and peace rather than feelings of persecution.

A Little Crafty. . . Springtime

2011-04-25T01:11:00.002-06:00

I had some leftover wood from a previous project that needed to be used. So here is what I started with:

Scrapbook paper
Black paint
Mod Podge
Springtime vinyl from Utah Vinyl that was only $1.00
A piece of 2x2 that was cut 10 inches long.

Paint your piece of wood and add a layer of Mod Podge.

Cut your paper to fit the wood and attach it. Make sure you get out all the bubbles out.

Add your vinyl and another coat of Mod Podge to seal it.

Then you're done - super simple.

Now it's ready to display.

Happy Spring from Kathy Hulse!

A Little Earth Day...Ways to Celebrate Your Planet

2011-04-22T12:04:00.001-06:00

Guest Post Chantell Adams, as published on ThePoweofMoms.com

Here are some great ideas for your family to celebrate Earth Day and make a difference by caring for our world:

Clean up garbage at a park or in your neighborhood.
Ride your bike or walk wherever you go.
Plant a tree or start your garden.
Make a pinecone bird feeder or other nature crafts.
Go on a nature hike and do a picture scavenger hunt, finding different plants, flowers and animals.
Reduce, reuse and recycle all day long.
Hold a bottle drive or take in your own bottles to the bottle depot and then donate the money to a worthy cause or charity. A great idea would be to donate to the Japan relief effort. Every little bit counts!
April 18-24 is Screen-Free Week! Turn off all electronics for the week: no television, no DS, no X-Box, no Wii, no iPods, no internet. Turn it all off and tune into your family. With out all of these distractions you will be surprised at how much time you have to talk, play and enjoy the outdoors. Make a plan so that the kids aren’t just sitting inside begging you to turn on their favorite show. Take them out for a beautiful hike, go for a family bike ride, fly a kite and do some of the suggestions above to make it a memorable family day. For more information, see the official Screen-Free Week website.
While spending quality time with your family, you will be doing your part to take care of our earth. Together we can make a difference!

A Little Entertainment... How to Hear Lots of Free Music

2011-04-21T05:35:00.002-06:00

Mara Haslam

If you're like me, you love to listen to music but want to pay as little as possible. And as much as I love my iPod playlists, sometimes I want to branch out a little and hear something new. Here are my recommendations for discovering new music for free, based on how you want to start.

I want to discover something similar to a band I like... Pandora is the way to go in this situation. You simply start with the name of a band or song that fits your musical mood and Pandora will create a "station" for you made of music with similar characteristics. You can skip songs you don't want to hear (up to certain limits) and, if your mood changes, simply start another "station" based on another band or song or customize your station. Pandora allows up to 40 hours of free listening per month. I used Pandora to explore the hip-hop of the 90s by starting a station based on one of my favorite artists, Aaliyah, and found out about other similar artists such as TLC and Monica.

I want to discover the music of a certain culture or country... You have a number of great options for learning about what is going on musically around the world. If you would like to learn about more traditional music, look for CDs published by Putumayo, Rough Guides, or Network at your local library. (These labels are easily accessible for purchase online as well.) These CDs are compilations that are meant to serve as a musical introduction to a culture or genre. Through listening to Network's guide to the music of Venezuela, I found out about Lilia Vera, who is now one of my favorite folk singers.

Once you get the flavor for a certain music, you can continue to explore the albums of artists you particularly like by checking out their albums at the library. My local library has its entire catalog and hold system online so I can find items and request that a CD be sent to my local library and held under my name, all from my computer. The library also provides a service called Freegal, which allows members of library system to download three free songs per week, no strings attached (contact your library system to see if they subscribe to this or another similar service). Freegal offers what appears to be the entire Sony music catalog I am a big fan of new wave music, so I used Freegal to find and download songs from the Swedish new-wave artist Eva Dahlgren.

Want to hear what's playing on radio stations around the world? I'm not aware of any more comprehensive website than Mike's Radio World, which is a simple site that provides links to radio stations that provide online streaming. I used this site to discover a radio station from Serbia that is great to listen to while I am working. Here's another list of streaming radio stations including some stations that are broadcast only to the Internet.

I want to make my own playlists... Yahoo! Music offers music videos from a number of different genres. You can make your own playlists and save them with your account for future play. You can watch the most recent hit videos or get a little deeper into the musical past. I found plenty of videos from the 80s that tickled my musical fancy. While it's not quite as customizable as Pandora, as you rate songs you hear on Yahoo!'s streaming radio stations and music videos, Yahoo! creates for you a personal "station" based on things you like. Just choose "Play My Station" or "Play My Video Station" after logging in.

I want to get lots of free mp3s... The iTunes store features new free songs and videos to download every week as a way to promote new artists. Go to the iTunes Store and scroll down to the bottom where it says "Free on iTunes". (To access the iTunes Store, you need the iTunes program, which you can download for free here.) If you like iTunes on Facebook, you will receive occasional updates about playlists you can download for free. You can play your downloads on your computer or transfer them to an mp3 player. iTunes offers not only free songs and music videos but also movie trailers and TV episodes, including lots of episodes that kids would like.

If that isn't enough free stuff for you (it isn't enough for me!) the free mp3 downloads on Amazon.com are next. The Amazon MP3 Store offers a free song of the day to promote new artists. Click here to get to their extensive collection of free downloads, provided by music labels to get you interested in their music for sale. The list is much too big to browse in one sitting, but you can narrow it down by selecting from the genres at the left. I discovered Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, a fabulous funk/soul band, through their free downloads on Amazon.

I want to hear a certain band or artist... Any band or artist who is anyone (or who is trying to be someone) will have a page on Myspace Music where you can stream songs for free. Keep your eyes open on social media sites for occasional free downloads. For example, Coldplay is currently offering a free live album for download on their band website, which I first learned about on Facebook.

I hope you enjoy listening to all this free music! Please share other ways you have discovered great music in the comments.

A Little Easter Lunch Menu

2011-04-20T04:51:00.000-06:00

Easter food traditions? Yeah, I got 'em, too. Surprisingly, none of them are from my family or Mr. Wonderful's. Not even traditional recipes. Just the same food ideas that are prepared differently every year according to my whims. This time I found one magazine article that made me think "aha, this is the menu". Southern Living Magazine won the entire spread (except for dessert, which will be explained later.) As usual, photos are from their respective websites.

Start with the usual deviled eggs and add to the menu......

Cat Cora's Feta Spread (Htipiti) as featured in Southern Living. I love to have olives and something on hand for nibbles when guests come. I'm excited to try this. Another recipe in the same article was pefect for the usual main dish...

Roast Leg of Lamb. It is the only time of year I make something like this. I'm looking forward to trying Cat's recipe. She hasn't steered me wrong so far. If you can't find lamb in your area, she suggests a Boston Pork Butt.

Lemon Roasted Potatoes. It also got an outstanding review by home cooks on Southern Living's website. Don't they look gorgeous?

Oregano Green Beans. Olive oil, garlic, parsley, lemon, and feta. Yes, please!

Pavlova with Lemon Curd and Fresh Berries from Chow.com. Pavlova is a traditional dessert for Easter in my house - a nod to Mr. Wonderful's New Zealand heritage (It is the national dessert of New Zealand). I make individual pavlovas, with a depression molded in the middle to hold the lemon curd and berries. Nice, light, and refreshing. Easy for entertaining because the merengues and the lemon curd can be made ahead.

Happy Easter!

A Little...Family Time

2011-04-19T07:53:00.000-06:00

by K Wrede

A few weeks ago, I was somewhat compelled to take an inventory of my priorities, and was disheartened to learn my current use of time was not in line with some of my long term goals. I realized that I spent quite a significant amount of time each week alone, yet am married with two (beautiful and perfect :) ) children.

Around the same time, my husband was also in place where he saw a need for more family cohesion. He and I have since made a concerted effort to be together more, and though it has only been a few weeks thus far, we have noticed a real difference in our family dynamics. We have more harmony, more camaraderie, and more . . . general happiness. Personally, I feel more of a draw to be with my husband and kids verses staying late at work and/or going to the gym. Though exercise is very important to me, I have decided that with the amount of money I spend on a gym membership, I will instead by my own set of weights and have the family join my workout!

Now, don't get me wrong, I am neither saying that what we've done is for everyone (we're all at different places in our lives and have different needs), nor am I saying that my life is now void of challenges. What I am saying is that spending more time together as a family, including just the mere desire to do so, has brought my priorities back in line with what I want out of life and has increased my family's general well-being.

You know what they say: "Family, isn't it about . . . time?" :)

A Little Crafty... Easter

2011-04-19T06:33:00.000-06:00

I have collected the best the world wide web has to offer (at least as far as Easter crafts go). Enjoy.

Mason Jar Easter Planters

Baa Baa Black and White Sheep Treats

Spring Wreath

Paint chip Easter garland

Happy Easter!

A Little ....Serious Chocolate

2011-04-18T06:41:00.001-06:00

Simply So Good's Mint Brownies and showing off her mad photog skills

This is a dessert you do not want to have around your house when you are alone. This is a call-your-chocoholic-girlfriends-over treat. Serious chocolate. Why the warnings?

Because this involves 7 1/2 sticks of butter.

Pick your jaw up off the floor. It is okay. These brownies will totally satisfy in a little 2" square. You don't need more. You won't want more. Seriously rich.

From Simply So Good. Check out the rest of her blog. I am seriously impressed.

Click here for Simply So Good's Mint Chocolate Brownies.

Chocolate Mint Brownies
4 cups sugar
3 cups flour
2 cups cocoa (dutch process)
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 sticks (2 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, melted
8 eggs
2 tablespoons vanilla

Grease and flour a 12 x 18-inch baking sheet. In a large mixing bowl combine sugar, flour and cocoa. Mix ingredients. Pour in the melted butter and beat just until blended then add eggs and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Cool completely.

Mint Layer:

2 sticks (1 cups) butter, softened
4 cups powder sugar
1 tablespoon milk
¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
Few drops of food coloring (pink or green)

Blend all ingredients until smooth and spread over cooled brownies.

Chocolate layer:
12 oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips
¼ cup butter

Put chocolate chips and butter in a bowl and microwave for 70 seconds. Stir to blend. Spread over mint layer. Refrigerate until set.

A Little Review...Photo by Emilie You and Me Workshop

2011-04-15T01:00:00.001-06:00

I was a "point and hope" photographer. I would see photos like the one above and wonder "Okay, I have a plate, a wall, and a baby. Why don't my pictures turn out like this?!" Well I got my questions answered at the "You and Me Photography Workshop" with Emilie Decker Ralph. Emilie is not only an accomplished professional photographer, but she is a gifted instructor. In four hours I learned:

-the manual settings on my camera (she demystified the DSLR!)
-lighting techniques
-capturing motion, stop motion, and depth of field
-posing
-keys to photographing children, adults, groups
-basic Photoshop strategies

Emilie's teaching style is extremely effective. After a straightforward tutorial, she brought in models that we photographed in multiple situations (lighting, movement, poses). She answered all of our individual camera questions. Perhaps the most helpful aspect was the safe environment Emilie created; we could reveal our camera ignorance, finding out the specifics of how to create the photo we were seeking. (The initial feeling of "why do my photos not turn out?" turned to "I know how to take great photographs now, not just get a good one on accident!")

Emily is offering a discount to all Little Great readers for her April 30th workshop in Salt Lake City; register here using the coupon code "alittlegreat." If you don't live in the Salt Lake area & still want to learn from Emilie you are in luck. She offers a terrific 1-on-1 online workshop.

My own photos went from this:

...to this by using the techniques she taught at the workshop.

A Little Snack Time…Play With Your Food!

2011-04-14T06:32:00.001-06:00

My 5 Year Old: Mom, I’m HUNGRY!

Me: Eat an apple.

My 5 Year Old: I HATE APPLES.

Sound familiar? For the record, he doesn’t hate apples, he gets bored with the same old snack routine. He just doesn’t know how to tell me that yet! So, here are a few ways that I like to revamp snack time so that it is totally awesome (and mostly healthy) and no longer LAME!

1. Relax. I never stress out about my kids eating habits. One day they will be so hungry that I feel like I’m in the kitchen non-stop. The next day they barely eat enough to keep a bird alive. It’s fine. They eat when they are hungry and with kids, sometimes they don’t really need much to maintain. When you stress about food they will too and that can create a larger problem for them down the road in the form of an eating disorder, overeating, emotional eating, etc. If you are ever really concerned with their appetite or lack of one, talk to your doctor to make sure everything is okay.

2. Art/Fun. My kids love when I put a spoonful of peanut butter in the center of a plate with apple slices all around it like a flower. If I stick a carrot on my kids’ plates they will maybe eat it. But if I give them tiny carrot circles with a toothpick for stabbing they get really excited! It takes some extra work with cutting but my kids totally eat it up. Pun intended!

Source: meetthedubiens.blogspot.com via Briton on Pinterest

3. Lax Rules. Let them blow bubbles in their milk. Let them build a tower of crackers and cheese. It’s just snack time. Sometimes I’ll put my kids’ snack in a dog dish (specifically purchased for snacks, no dogs have used them) and let them eat like puppies. Who needs manners? We save them, and the silverware, for dinner time!

4. Choices. Raisins or Craisins? Apples or Oranges? Carrots or Celery? Yogurt or String Cheese? Chocolate Chip Cookie or Toast with Nutella? If they choose it, they will be more apt to eat it!

I don’t do the artsy and fun stuff all the time, just every once in a while, to keep them guessing!

What are some of your kids’ favorite snacks and/or how do you get them to eat up?

A Little Crafty...Silk Dyed Easter Eggs

2011-04-13T07:19:00.000-06:00

Ok, a little more about my love of Easter...
I started this Easter Egg dying tradition about four years ago and I love it! Hope you do too! I have never seen another way to get beautiful, ornate patterns on eggs... and it's easy too. Now, every year I go to the thrift store and pick up five or six ties for dying eggs. So fun!

Tools and Materials
small or medium raw eggs
Glass or enamel pot
Scissors
Pieces and scraps of 100 percent silk -- including cut-up silk ties, blouses, or boxers -- large enough to cover an egg
Squares of undyed cotton or pieces of old white sheets, pillowcases, or tablecloths that are large enough to cover silk-wrapped eggs
Twist ties
3 tablespoons white vinegar
Warm water
Tongs or spoon
Cooling rack
Vegetable oil
Paper towels

Silk-Dyed Easter Eggs How-To
1. Cut silk into pieces large enough to wrap around a raw egg.
2. Tightly wrap a raw egg with a piece of silk, making sure the printed side of the material is facing the egg. Secure with a twist tie.
3. Place the silk-wrapped egg in a piece of undyed cotton and secure tightly with another twist-tie.
4. Place egg(s) in an enamel or glass pot. Fill the pot with enough water to cover eggs completely. Add three tablespoons of white vinegar to the water.
5. Bring water to a boil, turn heat down, and simmer for 40 minutes or longer.
6. Remove eggs from water with tongs or spoon, place on a cooling rack, and let cool.
7. Remove silk from cooled egg.
8. For shiny eggs, wipe with a paper towel dabbed in vegetable oil.
Directions copied and pasted from marthastewart.com

{Read all posts by Aly}

A Little Great Outdoors: Water Works

2011-04-12T10:17:00.013-06:00

by K Wrede

A few nights ago, I was suddenly awakened by raindrops pelting against my window screen. After jumping up to close the window, I returned to bed and enjoyed the sounds of a spring thunderstorm. As I did so, I began to contemplate how comforting the sound of water can be.

In addition to the lull of raindrops hitting a window, there is great solace to be found in the sound of waves crashing against a rocky seaside, or gently caressing a sandy shore. Water, something so ordinary and ubiquitous, can be as powerful as a tsunami or as gentle as a raindrop. I love that. I love that something so seemingly simple can be so versatile in its uses and comforts.

I can't help but also add (as one of my friends is having a baby today) that we all started life in water.

So, three cheers for water! And three cheers for finding beauty in simple things.

A Little Crafty...Butterfly Specimen Art

2011-04-12T07:00:00.000-06:00

There's nothing that says spring more than some cute specimen art. I found some cute butterfly stickers at Michael's ($.49 a package) and thought they would make some great specimen art. I used some scrapbook paper, stickers, circle punch, double sided tape and a frame for this project.

I cut out a bunch of circles with my circle punch.

Then added the cute butterfly stickers.

To attach them to my piece of 5x7 white cardstock, I just used a little double sided tape - I love this stuff.

Made my evenly spaced rows. And I was done - even the kiddos could help with this project.

Super simple, but looks oh so springy.

The possibilities are endless. So go create some specimen art!

Kathy at Dandelions and Dust Bunnies

A Little Fitness... Inexpensive Exercise at Home

2011-04-11T07:00:00.000-06:00

This year I have cut back expenses because I wanted to save money, so I let my gym membership lapse and decided to work out at home. It is easy for me to avoid exercise if it seems like it will take too much effort or last too long. It's been kind of a fun challenge figuring how to get a good, inexpensive workout at home. Here are some of the things that have helped me.

One of my favorite pieces of equipment for working out at home is a set of exercise bands. I happened to get my bands from a physical therapist, but if you don't have some you can get them relatively inexpensively online. Just about any exercise I can think of can be done with the bands. Use your door to hold the band for you. Loop the band around a doorknob and then close the door with the ends of the band on the opposite side. This way, if the band slips off the doorknob it won't come back and flip you in the face. If a doorknob isn't the right height for the exercise you are doing, try the top or the door, the leg of a bed, or a sofa. To see examples of band exercises, clic k here. It's quite a fun mental challenge to figure out how to work a certain muscle I want to target with bands! And other classic resistance exercises don't require any equipment, like leg lifts and pushups.

Another form of exercise that I find great to do at home is yoga. The carpet in my house is a bit slick, but other than the cost of a yoga mat (relatively cheap at stores like Ross and T.J. Maxx) yoga is free. One of my favorite sources of yoga routines is iTunes. I subscribe to a free video iTunes podcast called "Yoga and other useful stuff with Tara Stiles". In this podcast Tara Stiles provides a number of routines that have easy-to-understand names like "Weight Loss Yoga for Beginners" and "Beach Body Arms". Other free exercise routines can be found on iTunes, YouTube, and as Briton recently mentioned, Hulu.

Cardio has been the most challenging aspect of exercise for me to get at home. I don't particularly like running, and weather that is too hot, too cold, too rainy, or whatever will usually keep me inside. So how to do cardio inside? First of all, aerobic routines such as the ones mentioned above on iTunes, YouTube, and Hulu are a good place to start. If you decide to spend a little money there are plenty of great videos out there. At other times I have jumped rope in the garage (the ceiling in the garage is taller so I won't hit it with the rope). And it just occurred to me the other day that it would be really fun to just put on some of my favorite music and dance around. You could create a playlist on your mp3 player or computer with tunes that are guaranteed to get you bouncing and lasts the desired length of your workout. When the music stops, you'll have gotten an aerobic workout and be in a great mood.

Have fun with your home exercise!

A Little Birthday...An Alice in Wonderland Party

2011-04-07T07:21:00.012-06:00

I copied the invitation idea from an Alice in Wonderland comic-con party Disney held. It was easy to find a free Alice in Wonderland font online too. The skeleton keys were a little tricky to find at first. I kept thinking I needed antique ones, but they were really expensive and ranged in price a lot from place to place. Then I tried my luck at Lowes and to my surprise they had the perfect little key. The secret is to go ask the "key making man". They were not out in packages, he just had a little box of them behind his desk. They were about $3.00 each.

Since my prop budget for this party was a little smaller than Tim Burton's I used lots of things I already had and made lots of things out of paper. I stuck cards in my topiary and all around the table. The Butterflies are a Martha Stewart clip-art project that you can get for free online. I changed the colors of the butterflies myself by adjusting the hues in Photoshop so that it would match the colors of my party better. Then I just printed them on card stock, cut them out, and glued them together. Simple rolled scotch tape held them to the walls.

I used some of my antique medical bottles to recreate the shrinking potion Alice drinks. I did one big jar and one small jar to represent the shrinking. I got the colored liquid with just water and food coloring.

I made sure to have random stacks of tea-cups on the table to add to the madness.

Each place setting for the adults also had a teas-cup and saucer and a little stripped straw with a drink me tag on it. I just used regular paper and a stamp set I have to make the tags.

One of my favorite things on the table was these simple and easy to make crepe paper banners with the words I'm Late trailing on them. I took regular crepe paper and folded it in half and then fringed it with my scissors to get these frilly banners. Then I printed the words I'm Late out on my computer and edged the letters with glue and glitter. Then after I laid the crepe paper out on the table I hot glued the letters on.

I also had little round cutouts with Alice in Wonderland sketches on them all over the table. Again something I just did on the computer. For desserts I made blue french macaroons with homemade blackberry jam filling and mushroom cookies. Both were perfect for the look and feel of the party.

Then for an activity us ladies made charm necklaces using the keys I had sent out. We made an Alice shrinky dink charm (get it? shrinking Alice) and a shrinky dink initial charm that looked like a type writer key. The other charms were just discount bags of bird charms that I found at the craft store. While we did that I had the little girls color wooden letters of their first initial. So at the end of the party everyone had their own little craft they had made.

The Bird and the Berry.com -- Jill Hutchings

A Little Beauty...How to Do Your Eyebrows

2011-04-06T07:24:00.001-06:00

When I turned twelve my mother handed me a pair of tweezers and said "Girl, do something about those brows." I have a strong brow line, I admit it. (Maybe something closer to Burt and Ernie describes best what is above my eyes.) And as such, I have sought the counsel of several great brow stylists.

Here are some tips from Master Esthetician Alisha Racker on getting them just right.

1. It is always best to go with your natural shape when it comes to eyebrows. You can't look at a picture of a Victoria's Secret model and say, " I want THAT shape". You gotta work with what you have naturally and clean up the shape.

2. If you have never tweezed your brows or have messed them up at home, I would suggest growing them out, and going to a professional. You may want to see a Master Esthetician to shape initially, and then maintain by tweezing the re-growth at home.

3. It is best to tweeze in natural light( I always have a pair of tweezers in my car so I can tweeze using the rear view mirror).

4. Another rule of thumb is to start the shape of the inside of the brows where your nostrils end( you can hold a pencil from the end/side of your nostril up to get a clearer idea). The arch of your eyebrow should be where the outside of your pupil lies.

5. To trim, take a clean mascara wand and brush eyebrows up. Carefully trim long hairs with small scissors.

6. The most common mistake I see is over-plucked eyebrows. Less is not more when it comes to brows. Estheticians like having something to work with. Many people also forget that triming makes a HUGE difference to the overall look.

A Little Crafty...A Spring Sign

2011-03-31T19:28:00.003-06:00

I started out with a piece of 7x9 inch wood I picked up from the scrap bin at Home Depot.

I painted it Americana Cadmium Yellow.

I also white washed it a bit with some watered down white paint. I ordered some SPRING vinyl from Utah Vinyl.

I added the vinyl and then sanded down all the edges. I put a little stain on a paper towel and then wiped it on.

See how the sanded edges pick up the stain.

I wanted to jazz up my sign a bit so I grabbed a little scrapbook paper, gerber daisy stickers, yellow ribbon, and some Mod Podge.

I attached the paper with the Mod Podge, tied a ribbon around it and added the stickers.

Happy Spring!

A Little Fitness...When You Can't Hit The Gym Hit Hulu

2011-03-31T10:11:00.007-06:00

Personally, I like going to the gym. I drop my kids off at the child watch and then I have some time to think straight...and in longer sentences.

But sometimes I don't want to go. Oftentimes I suck it up and go anyways (I never regret it). But on those days where all my workout clothes are in the laundry, or I feel totally gross, or I don't feel like putting my hiney on display as I jog on the treadmill, or whatever...I turn to Hulu.

Hulu.com has several free workouts in the health and fitness genre. You can start small with quick 5-10 minute workouts, or you can find longer ones that give you a full workout. There are tons of workouts to choose from so you don't get bored and they have yoga, martial arts, dance, etc. so you should be able to find something you love! Click here to check them out.

Here's a tip: If you have a newer t.v. and a laptop you can buy an HDMI cable that connects them. That way, you can watch the classes on your t.v. instead of trying to workout in front of your computer.