The Combs Krewe

I decided to use this week to start acclimating myself and the kids to an earlier wake up time which will be necessary for school time. Waking up wasn't so hard yesterday because I had somewhere to be by 9:30 but today is my free day--I have NOTHING that needs doing today! I stuck to it though and crawled out of bed when my alarm told me to then I WOKE UP SLEEPING CHILDREN. Crazy, huh? Little did I know, it was the start of a wonderful day.  The kids decided they wanted to color while I fixed breakfast (it was just cereal with a side of cantaloupe so don't be impressed or anything lol). Piper happily shared pages from her coloring book with the boys and then asked, "will you please pass me a crayon?" each time she needed one from Jathan at the other end of the table. She has picked up on the fact that her mama heavily praises politeness.  After breakfast I decided to get outside since it's such a beautiful day. It was in the 60s when we first stepped out! The kids

A friend shared an Elle article about one of Colbie Caillat's new songs, Try. The article talked about how she felt pressure to change her outward appearance. Hair extensions, fake eye lashes, fake nails, photoshopping. It was getting to her. So she was encouraged to put her feelings to music and what happened what a great video.  You can read the article and watch the video here:  http://www.elle.com/_mobile/news/beauty-makeup/colbie-caillat-try-video-makeup-transformation?src=spr_FBPAGE&spr_id=1448_70498785&linkId=8787330 By the time I got to the end of the video I thought, "Wow, I don't even think we know what a beautiful woman looks like anymore." We know what a great dye job looks like. We recognize flawless makeup and polished manicures. But what if we were all stripped of that? Would we see beauty?  I happen to really like makeup and hair (big hair to be exact). I like pretty clothes and painting my nails. I don't think there's anything innately

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard about the Supreme Court ruling in favor of Hobby Lobby today. This ruling was a huge deal in that it supported both religious liberty and personal freedom. While I am very happy with the outcome, I have been bothered with many of the details of Hobby Lobby's stance on contraceptives. See, the whole case is about how Hobby Lobby refused to comply with government mandates on providing certain drugs through insurance. Hobby Lobby does not want to provide "emergency contraceptives" because they believe them to be abortifacients. It is their position that life begins at conception therefore they do not support the use of drugs which could abort a fertilized egg (after conception but before implantation--which is when it's generally agreed upon that pregnancy begins). Here's a screenshot of an article I read where their representatives express this viewpoint:  Specifically they refuse to pay for the c

Two thoughts have been rolling around in my head lately.  First, Proverbs 22:6. "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." If when you look around this world you see a lot of people who are not going the way they should be going, then you can almost be certain that no one trained them as children. Then you should not make that same mistake. TRAIN your children. Every day. Intentionally.  Second, when considering grown ups who make decisions contrary to decisions you would make it's important to remember that they are grown ups. And grown ups have the right to make their own decisions. And most likely that doesn't affect your life as much as your lack of self-discipline and faith. Example: Christians who want to point out how everyone else is not living right but who have yet to ascend to heaven as a result of having achieved perfection themselves. (Talking to myself, too, here.) I say, live and let live. But REALLY live!

I've seen and pinned lots of ideas on Facebook and Pinterest about keeping babies and toddlers busy. I love the idea of sensory bins and busy bags and water tables but today I thought I'd share a few things that have been working for us.  If you have toddlers you might... Keep a basket next to your bed filled with books you'd like to read, your journal, etc. and of course pens.  Skip cabinet locks. Keep your costume jewelry in a low drawer. Hand them a coloring book and crayons. Watch them throw them down one at a time saying uh oh each time.  Sadly I didn't get a picture of their banana smashing adventure or their favorite educational activity: tearing the entire toilet paper roll into tiny pieces and/or putting an entire roll of toilet paper directly into the toilet.  What are some of your favorite ways to keep baby busy?  Anyone want to babysit? 

The kids didn't get to have a 100th Day of School party on the actual day, so I told them we would do it for April Fools Day. Here are some pictures of our revelry!  We started off the day with bacon and pancakes. Then Jathan and I did a 100 number grid activity. This is his super happy face. Yes, he is a total goofball! Next we all headed outside to hit the piñata. It wasn't the prettiest thing in the world but the kids loved it and miraculously it survived several hits from each of the kids! After lunch we sang happy one hundredth day to you and ate cupcakes. Next we used 100 toothpicks and 100 marshmallows to build with.  Here Ryland and Piper are dividing their Fruit Loops up by colors into 10 groups of 10. Jathan ate a hundred fruit loops! I had this worksheet for Jathan and Ryland to complete then Piper really, really wanted one. It was the first time she had actually listened to directions and colored! She didn't complete it but I was totally impressed. Then last nig

I joke with my mom that she has asked me if I'm pregnant every month since I was 15. Five times I've said yes.  A couple of weeks ago my mom shared her heart with me. "I hope you don't have any more," she told me. She explained that she wanted me to have a life of my own, things of my own. "It's a big sacrifice being a mother," she remarked.  My mom is seeing me be a mom. Seeing me struggle. Seeing me feel overwhelmed at times. Seeing me do without. And I know that's hard for a mom to see, because as parents I think we all want our children to have nice things, good experiences, and a happy life. It's pretty common for parents to want "better" for their kids than they had.  For many, "better" means bigger houses, shinier cars, more stuff. If you haven't guessed by now, it's hard to keep up with the Jones with a large family. There are a number of reasons I've heard as to why people shouldn't have "too

I read a blog post the other day entitled, "Toddler Logic." It talked about how like toddlers who don't want to share, adults often have a self-centered attitude. We expect everyone (spouses especially) to cater to our needs. If we get our feelings hurt, we take our ball and go home unless they downright grovel in apology. I have to admit, I am that way.  The next day however I was feeling even more toddler-like. The kids were being difficult; it had been a hard week. At least one person in our family had been throwing up for seven days straight. I was tired. I was cranky. And I was trying to do more than I should have.  During weeks like this I suppose a mama really should just enter survival mode. Lock down and wait for the enemy to retreat. I, however, didn't want to. I wanted things my way--perfect. I wanted to still do school. I wanted to play outside with our new kites. I wanted to maintain a clean house. I wanted to cook hearty suppers. And like a toddler who h

Don't get excited; I'm not pregnant. But a lot of my friends are. Several of them asked for name suggestions, and that got me thinking. I made a huge list of names that I like which I grouped into different sections based on type. (Because even when I'm making pointless lists I must organize!)  One of the groups is virtue names. I really think if I had it to do all over again I would name my children virtue names. I love them so. Here are some of my favorites: Mercy (#1) Miracle Serene True Glory (#2) Justus Ransom Noble Innocent  If I have another baby, would it be weird to name them something totally different than the rest of the bunch?  Did you have a theme in mind when naming your children?

Brooklyn and Braelyn are one year old!  Over the last month Brooklyn has learned to scoot around pretty fast and can now pull up on her own. She has crawled a very short distance on her hands and knees a couple of times. She still nurses throughout the day and night and eats solid food well. She is not picky at all! Her favorite toys by far are balls. She actually has a pretty good throwing arm! Braelyn is a super fast crawler now! She has stood on her own twice. Braelyn nurses more frequently than Brooklyn often throughout the night. She still prefers sleeping with mama. Braelyn is a bit of a picky eater. She has to check out what we are offering her. She loves eggs and peas (though not necessarily at the same time). Like her sister she loves playing with balls. She also hugs and kisses her babydolls.  We celebrated the Saturday before their actual birthday with a princess party for the twincesses! Lots of friends and family joined us. We served crown-shaped sandwiches, fruit kabob ma