Anyone Still Here?

So I guess it's been a few years since I've been here. I'm still alive. I facebook often. I've had another baby and in the process of moving. VERY BUSY. Just thought I'd check in and see if anyone still visits my lonely little blog. Maybe I should spruce the place up a little, eh?

Wordful Wednesday Fishing

Parson had a little bit of money saved up and decided he wanted to buy a fishing pole. I am so not into fishing. Matt grew up fishing with his grandpa and was kind of excited about the whole thing. They bought what they needed and headed out on a fishing expedition. Parson caught his first fish within about a minute of his first cast!! He was so excited! He caught two more that day.

Any guesses about what he ate for dinner that night??
He has been talking a lot about it and can't wait to go fishing again!

Helping Kenya and Basa Body Review

Most of you have probably seen the ChipIn widget on my sidebar. What exactly is it for???? Let me tell you.

Yehu.org works with Basa Body and Coast Coconut Farms to help women in Africa work to support their families and get out of poverty. This company is "for the poor, run by the poor." To read more about this process, go here. Mom It Forward and 12for12k are currently running this fund raiser to help out Yehu.org, thereby helping Moms and families in Kenya to become self reliant.

I was one of the lucky people that got to test the Basa Body products. I have to admit, I was a little nervous when this cute little package showed up at my door. I knew I had to try it and write a review on it. What if I didn't like it? What would I write? Well, I can assure you, that didn't happen!


First of all, look at this soap. Could it be any prettier? And if you could smell it...Mmmmm! It lathers up nicely, it rinses away easily. I really like it!

Next, I tried the Basa Body Natural Coconut Oil Lotion. It has a nice light fresh smell I noticed right away. It's a great every day lotion--not too thick or greasy.

Then there's the Basa Body Stick. This is the heavier stuff. It works great for drier skin like knees and heels. My son has really dry hands. His knuckles get so dry that they crack and bleed. I have tried all kinds of stuff on him and most of them sting really bad and he gets mad at me. He lets me put this on him without complaint. It helps give his hands moisture and it never stings him at all. Love it!


These Basa Body products all have organic virgin coconut oil and they are 100% natural without any artificial ingredients. I think that's awesome! They also donate 10% of their profits back to Kenya.


They have a Mother's Day Kiss Me pack right now where you get two of the soaps (in two different yummy scents) and one each of the lotion and body stick for $29.99. Between now and May 12, you can use the promotion code "momitforward" to receive an additonal 10% off the Kiss Me pack purchase. Also, anyone that purchases any Basa Body or Coast Coconut Farms product by May 12 will automatically be entered into a giveaway and will have the chance to win one of three prizes: 1) a $250 Disney Gift Card, 2) a $150 amazon.com gift card, and 3) a $100 Target gift card. You will also be entered if you make a cash donation of $20 or more.

Easter Weekend

We had a very busy and exciting Easter weekend.

Friday night, we colored a bunch of eggs with the kids. They loved it and had a great time. Sadly, I didn't think to take any pictures. The kids did a great job and we only cracked a few of the eggs.

Parson, my oldest baby, was baptized on Saturday. It was wonderful. He is such a good boy and I am so very proud of him.


After, we had a big family dinner.

After that, we had a huge egg hunt. We usually do it outside, but the weather here hasn't been that great, so we did it inside. It turned out really well. The kids loved it!


It was funny to watch my girls. Abbie caught on right away to the whole "hunt" idea and was picking things up right and left. She was getting so upset that the eggs were falling out of her bucket because it was too full.


Ellie, on the other hand, wanted to open each and every egg that she picked up. It took some coaxing to get her to keep going.


And as soon as it was over, she plopped herself down right in the middle of the floor and enjoyed the contents of many eggs.


We had a wonderful day on Easter sunday, as well. The Easter bunny came and brought the kids some great stuff. Everyone was happy.:)

Hope yours was great as well!

Encouragement

Matt and I have been playing on a coed soccer team the past few months. My kids don't get to come to very many of the games, because they are usually too late. They have come to a few, though. When they do get to come, I am yelled at every few minutes, "Mom!" (wave). Once while I was sitting out, Joshua came over by me and said, "Mom. You're losing. But you're still really good, and I still love you." My favorite, though, is when he gives me a thumbs up and winks at me. I get this a lot lately at soccer and at home. It cracks me up. And I love it.

Vent and Puppets

First of all, thanks everyone for your concern and well wishes for my girls and their awful mouth sores. As an update, Ellie (who was in the picture) is doing SO much better. Her sores are mostly gone and she is eating and acting like herself again. Abbie is in the middle of it and is hating life. Can I just tell you, this has got to be one of the most vicious viruses ever. If I make it through the next week I will consider it a victory. I am so tired of sick, miserable kids! Especially when (like I said in my last post) there's absolutely nothing I can do about it! Holding them and rocking them just isn't cutting it. And I know I am looking at this all wrong--I should be glad I'm the one they come to--but why, oh why, can't daddy be good enough? Why does mommy have to do EVERYTHING?! Matt tries to help and the girls will not let him! And by evening time, I am so frazzled and headached with all the whining and crying that I need a break!

What's that? You're tired of my whining? Yeah, I kind of went off there, didn't I? (Can you hear the fiddle in the background?)

Well, on a more positive note, I did something fun and somewhat crafty with my kids today. Joshua asked if I would help him make some paper bag puppets. I ended up helping him make a few and the girls helped make some, too.


I can't even tell you how long it's been since I've made, or even seen, a paper bag puppet. But it was fun. And the kids loved it! And it provided hours of entertainment. I'm sure there are much better templates available out there, but we just crafted our own--nothing too fancy.


When's the last time you made paper bag puppets?

Miserable!! (Graphic Photo Warning)

I hate cold sores. It's the worst when small kids are so sick and sad and you can't do a darned thing for them. It's such a horrible, helpless feeling. Luckily the fever has let up, unfortunately my baby girl still looks like this...

Ugly, nasty, mean, miserable cold sore. What'd she ever do to you?
Go away, go away, don't come back another day!!