Mrs. H

Dirt On My Shoulders

This morning I read the story of a farmer whose donkey fell in a well. For hours he tried to figure out how to get the donkey out, and finally decided the donkey was old and the well was dry, so he’d just bury the donkey. The donkey of course started braying loudly as the dirt came down, but then he got really quiet, and the farmer looked down to realize that the donkey was shaking off the dirt, and using it as a stepping stone to get out. With each bit of dirt, the donkey stepped higher and higher, until finally it stepped out onto the ground next to the farmer. In Joyce Meyer’s devotional (New Day, New You: 366 Devotions for Enjoying Everyday Life {aff link}), she tied this story to the verse from Hebrews 12:1, where we are told to shake off our sins and to keep persevering, running the race that God has for us. (NIV 12:1-3: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”)

Just before reading that, I had spent time reading 2 Timothy (it’s really a short letter), and I was struck by Paul’s encouragement despite being imprisoned and all but one of his friends had abandoned him. He knew that the end of his days was near, and yet he says in chapter 4, vs 7: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

I think as a mom it’s so easy to look around my house right now and see the dirty dishes, the coffee pot that never gets washed – just rinsed and reused, the laundry piling up and washer buzzing, the art work long since dry still laying on the counter, the blanket wadded on the couch from last night’s tv watching before bed, the library books I had to renew online because I missed the due date… I could go on and on and on. And yet, I must make myself stop. I’m doing something important here, around all the clutter. My desk is overflowing with client information and travel quotes and requests for more. One of our bedrooms is overflowing with clothes being prepped for a consignment sale. All of it is for a purpose. It’s for what resides in the other three rooms. It’s for my family.

I’m not supposed to focus on the stress or the anxiety or the clutter. I’m supposed to keep pressing on. Running the race. Fighting the fight. Teaching God’s children that He has entrusted to our care. They are beautiful. Despite all their flaws. And despite all of my flaws. They are beautiful. They are gifts that have been handed over for a few short years by a Maker who believes that their father and I are somehow the best Earthly parents He could give them. He is equipping us, even when we feel so helpless and clueless. He is teaching us how to deal with anything and everything they can throw our way. And He is teaching me to be like the donkey. To use every pile of laundry, every stack of dirty dishes, every piece of artwork waiting to be hung on the wall as a stepping stone. They aren’t to be weights on my shoulders, pushing me down, but rather I need to view them as BLESSINGS from above. A sign that I have a home full of love and laughter and paint and spit up and food.

We have money for the special formula our baby needs. We have supplies to keep our little brilliant mind always thinking. We have clothes. We have dishes. We have a dishwasher. We have a coffee pot. We have a beautiful home on a gorgeous piece of land. We have. We have. We have. Every single thing we have is not meant to be a burden on me, but rather to be a stepping stone to THANKFULNESS. It would be easy on a rainy dreary day at home in a messy house to just get bogged down and not want to leave the couch. Super easy. Like way, way too easy. But I was created for more. I was created to celebrate the fact that THIS is the day the LORD has made. I was created to REJOICE in all things.

Will I always rejoice? Will I always feel a lack of stress over these blessings that can become dirt weighing down my shoulders? No. But I pray that I may face life as Paul in his 2nd letter to Timothy, and remember that when I am faithless, He remains faithful (2:13) and will be by my side to rescue me from every evil attack. (4:18a). May I not let the blessings God has given me become my worst enemies. And, as Paul said (4:18b), “To HIM be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” coffee and Bible

Gross Motor Strengthening: Bowling/Kickball

All this month on Tuesdays, I’ll be sharing Gross Motor Strengthening games and activities we’re doing to help Becca with her Gross Motor skills. She really struggles sometimes in this area (I did too as a kid), so I’ve been looking for fun new ways to get her moving.

She loves the Amazon Original show – Creative Galaxy. Arty and his friends solve problems through art! In one of the real life craft examples between episodes, some kids were making bowling pins out of water bottles. Well, we don’t have water bottles, but we do have lots of puffs containers from lil Brother’s snacks! So, we decorated puffs containers and turned them into bowling pins! (I taped the lids on with Washi tape and then she added stickers. And… bonus… if you pick 3d stickers to put on them like I did, it takes quite a bit of fine motor control to get them off of the sticker sheet, as well. 😉 I’m a sneaky Mommy like that. ) So to do this activity in your own home, you could easily use water bottles, puffs containers, Pringles containers, or even empty shampoo bottles – get creative! They just need to be tall, skinny, and lightweight so your child can be successful at knocking them over.

We set them up, and she tried rolling the ball to knock the pins over. It worked partially. And then she decided to kick the ball and see if she could knock them over. Success! So, the fabulous thing about this activity is that it includes some art and creativity, and then the pins can either be for kickball or for bowling! One day use it for one, the next day, try it for another! Talk about really working out those Gross Motor skills all with one simple activity! You could easily do this outside on the driveway if it’s a beautiful day, or inside if it’s cold and rainy/snowy! I love the flexibility behind this activity.

Like this post? Please be sure to check out my Facebook page, where I share not only my own ideas, but also posts from other parents & professionals that can help you with your kids! Simply click on over to www.facebook.com/butterbeesandbumbleflies or click “like” on the button to the right.

The Importance of Family Playtime

I’m sure you’ve all read those stories about how to set up the perfect movie night, or how to start having a family game night in your home. If you’re like me, you’ve filed those ideas away for later – when the kids are older. Those ideas sit in your little folder in the “picture perfect middle school family” file cabinet that your brain refuses to realize may never happen, because the “picture perfect middle school family” might just be a pipe dream.

But what are you doing now? RIGHT NOW with your baby bees? I know how hectic the evenings are. Daddy heads home from work, Mommy starts dinner, sometimes family mealtime happens, or maybe you’re frantically finishing feeding the kids when Daddy walks in the door. Or maybe you are a single Mommy who works and when you all finally pile into the house in the evening after a long day of work and day care, the last thing you want to think about is anything other than bath-bottle-bed kinda stuff as you long for a few minutes of “me” time.

Might I just challenge you with this post to set aside 30 minutes. Just 3o. Goal would be every evening, but goals aren’t always attainable. So shoot for every other evening to begin with. And have a family play time. Not only is this good for your older kiddos, it’s VITAL for your Baby Bee. Baby Bees learn best through observation. They’re learning how to move, how to laugh, how to speak, from YOU. So in amongst all the crazy evening schedules, we have worked to build in 30 minutes with our kids. We put our phones away (although Mommy often snaps pictures!), the four of us go into Grayson’s room, we close the doors to contain the savage beast (ha!), and all four of us play on the floor together.

We get to monitor Big Butterfly as she learns to carefully play with Baby Bee, and we also get to interact all four of us together – whether it’s playing with his big Fisher Price train, or reading books, or working puzzles, or building with his tool set, we are in the room with HIS toys that are all safe for him, and we are just hanging out. Both of our kids have benefited from this time all together so much. They often end up snuggling up to us, and wanting to be close. Becca loves to get to play with Grayson’s toys, and to show him how they work. It is a time of the evening that I have come to cherish – when time almost stands still. When the stress and worry of the day gets left at the door, and we just go and laugh with our kids. I hope and pray that you will take time to stop, and start smelling the roses. Don’t miss the opportunity to spend time with your kiddos.

Just keep in mind that your Baby Bees are watching. And learning. Fill up their little love tanks while they’ll let you… and maybe, just maybe they’ll continue to want that play time with you so that you really can become that “picture perfect middle school family.” Because before you know it, it’ll be time to start planning those perfect movie nights, and family game nights will no longer be Memory and Candy Land, but Monopoly and Life and Ticket to Ride.

Baby Food Tips for Busy Moms… from a Busy Mom

Ok, so I had a friend recently ask me how on Earth I have time to make baby food for Grayson. Well, to be perfectly honest, it’s HARD. Really hard. With Becca, it seemed I had endless time while she slept to do anything I wanted. (Well, maybe not really, but let’s put it this way – I didn’t know how to appreciate the time I had.) Now, with two kids who occasionally are napping at the same time, I really struggle to find time to get everything done. My friend has three kids, and she’s really dealing with that pull of always a child who needs her.

Another thing that’s different this time around that I have noticed is that this boy can eat. I mean, big time. Eat. Or, he can be finicky and just want his bottle. I never know what to expect or how much food to prepare. Which is really frustrating. And, there is that little fact that as soon as he starts smelling anyone else’s food, he starts to moan, wail, groan, cry, and make all sorts of frustrated noises – at the top of his lungs – until he is fed. Ugh. Love the boy, don’t love his volume.

So here’s what I do. It’s not the best. It’s not fool proof, but it seems to work ok for our family and the time constraints I’m faced with.

Veggies
Veggies are best purchased in frozen form. Here’s why – as a busy mom, you don’t really have time to spend HOURS making up huge batches of baby food, steaming them fresh and all that junk. Don’t we all wish we had those hours back? Yeah. Anyway, so buy frozen. They are always flash frozen fresh, and you won’t have spoilage because you haven’t gotten time to pull out your produce and do something with it. Also, you can pull out just a handful of frozen peas and stick them in a little bowl with some water, cover with clear-wrap, and zap them in the microwave for 30 seconds. Amazing – steamed peas in 30 seconds! Then whip out a fork, mash them up, pour in a little store-bought unsweetened applesauce (see my section below on what to buy pre-made), and there you go – instant meal.

If you’re gonna have a little bit more time, and have a teether on your hands, a great idea is to get a small bag of baby carrots, rinse, then steam them up whole (about 25 minutes). Put about 3/4 of them in a freezer bag and freeze (you don’t want them to go bad on you before baby eats them!), and stick the rest in a ziploc in the fridge. Then when you need them, heat 2 or 3 on a little plate for 20 seconds in the microwave, and you’re ready to go! They should be soft, but still have a little firmness to them so they are easy to hang onto. Or, you can also take your fork to those and mash them up for spoon feeding.

Fruits
Fruits are so easy. Seriously. If you have any sort of a blender at home, buy a box of strawberries, rinse, cut off the tops, and throw them all in. Puree them up, and stick most of the puree in the freezer. Save a little for fresh mix-ins with veggies or oatmeal within the next few days. Same thing with pears, apples, blueberries – any other fruit can just be used fresh. No need to take time to steam.

Or, if fresh fruit is again hard for you to find time to process, there are a fabulous selection of frozen fruits at your store – and any item that is frozen fresh is likely frozen fresher than what you can buy at your store, and maybe cheaper – I have a HUGE bag of frozen peaches in my freezer that I pull from frequently. Just put on the counter with clear-wrap over top and let them thaw out over the course of the day, and then blend up. Or, if you’re in a hurry, microwave them with clear-wrap on top – they don’t even need any water added!

Note: if you freeze pureed blueberries, they do weird things when they thaw out, so make sure you freeze them alone, NOT with other items.

Also note: If you have a mix that is too runny (for example, pears and strawberries together is really runny, and blueberries turn to water), adding banana will help thicken it up – pureed banana becomes thick when refrigerated. Your puree will turn dark, but no worries!! It still tastes just the same, and freezes great.

When is it worth it to just buy pre-made?
As I mentioned before, I buy store bought applesauce. I love making homemade applesauce, but I just don’t have the time to do all that all the time. Since my store brand applesauce is very affordable and is truly only apples and ascorbic acid (to retain color), we go through a jar a week. Our kids eat a ton of applesauce. It’s much more affordable for me to buy it pre-made – not only b/c of the cost, but b/c of the time.

I also buy pre-canned pumpkin. I would love to serve my kids fresh pumpkin, but 1) we don’t have fresh pumpkin available at our store year round and 2) this Mommy ain’t go time for all that! Our store sells a brand of pumpkin that the only ingredient is “pureed pumpkin,” so that’s what I buy. Grayson loves it. And when I don’t have time for any steaming of veggies, I pop open a can, scoop out some pumpkin, and mix it with some of that fruit I’ve pureed. Takes two seconds, and it’s a healthy addition of a veggie to his diet.

Hopefully these tips have helped! And, as for that busy Mommy? Well, my “me” time for blogging is over for today! But please let me know if you have any questions about making your own baby food! It’s truly a much more affordable and HEALTHY way for your kids to be eating. (Have you ever read the labels on some of the baby foods out there? They add a lot of junk…oh, and… some babyfood pouches might say on the front what’s in them… always read the labels. I recently had to buy some pouches when we were on a trip out of town and I didn’t have enough – again with the big eater – and got back to the house to find that one of the pouches had onion in it… not really something I was ready to feed my 7 month old, even though he was eating the veggies that were advertised on the front of the pouch. ALWAYS READ THE LABELS if you aren’t the one making it.)

Do-a-Dot Butterflies!

As you know from reading any of my posts here (or as you could probably gather from my blog title) butterflies are big around our house. Becca has been fascinated with butterflies from a young age, and we love to do butterfly activities. So yes, I realize that we are stuck in the dead of winter making butterflies… but what does it hurt to dream of spring a little – even if it is January? Plus, the awesome thing is, you can do this Do-a-Dot art and use it not for butterflies, but for your 2016 calendar!! Not sure what I’m talking about because you just happened to stumble across this post? Well, welcome! And check out the info on how to make your own fabulous 2016 calendar over here.

do a dot butterflies

Here’s what you’ll need:

coffee filters (whatever size you have on hand – we used the 4 cup ones)
clothespins (if you’re just doing the art, not making the butterfly craft, you don’t need these)
a squirt bottle with water
Do-A-Dot markers (We have this set:Do A Dot Art Marker Brilliant 6-pack aff link)
Activity trays (or a really good plastic table cloth would work too- but the markers DO bleed through the coffee filters – esp when they get wet)

First, you’ll make your dots, then as soon as you’ve made all your dots, spray the filter with water. Watch the marker spread!

To make the butterfly craft, simply pinch the filters in your clothespins, draw little faces, and hang your butterflies on some fishing line or attach to a photo frame, so they appear to be flying! We hung ours on our art display wall – they are just waiting to help hold up some fabulous art this year!