It’s been about four months since I first joined Pinterest and boy has it changed my life for the BeTtEr! The ideas just keep coming and I can’t get enough of them! The first project that I tried from Pinterest was this simple fingerpaint technique shared by .
EnJoY!
~Robyn (Jersey Girl)
Filed under Inspiration, Inspire, Kid Stuff, RANDO•RAMA
Since school started in September we’ve been driving past the same crossing guard four mornings a week on our way to my son’s school. About a month ago my son decided he was going to start waving good morning to this man on our way to nursery school. So I’m driving my bright-eyed, excited, 4 1/2 year old waving and shouting “Good morning” through my mini-van window and to my surprise he received absolutely NO response. Nicholas turned to me and grumbled, “Mommy he didn’t wave back to me.” I thought fast and replied, “Well maybe he didn’t see you today, you can try again tomorrow.”
After days and weeks went by with no waves being returned I was out of diplomatic responses. I had already used up…
“Maybe his glasses are so dark that he couldn’t see you.”
“Maybe he was too cold to lift his arm.”
“Maybe he was too busy talking on his phone.”
What I ReAlLy wanted to say was, “Maybe he’s just not a nice person and can’t take two seconds to wave back to a 4 year old!”
OK Robyn…deep breath and pull it together!
I finally decided that instead of making up silly excuses for this man who I don’t even know, I was going to be honest with Nicholas. On the next drive to school when the crossing guard didn’t wave back to Nicholas, I didn’t make up my usual white lie. Instead I explained that there are all different kinds of people in the world with lots of different personalities just like the seven dwarfs in Snow White. I told him that he was like the dwarf named Happy and the crossing guard was like the dwarf name Grumpy. Nicholas started naming all of the other dwarfs and we talked more about different kinds of people. I told Nicholas that it made me happy that he wanted to wave good morning to a stranger even if that person didn’t wave back in return and that I hope he stays as friendly as he is now….AlWaYs.
Filed under Hard Reality, Life, Parenthood, Relationships, Uncategorized
If there was one thing my mother made sure my sister and I learned growing up it was that if someone does something nice for you, you need to say ThAnK YoU or write them a thank you note. Our house growing up was a center hall colonial and at the bottom of the stairs my mom would leave reminder notes for the two of us. After birthdays or holidays we always knew one of the notes written in dark black sharpie marker would say, “Girls, don’t forget to write thank you notes for Aunt Pat, Uncle Steve, Uncle Cliff, ect.” Writing the thank you notes drove us crazy and we just couldn’t understand why it was such a big deal to our mom.
It took a long time to admit, but in my twentys I completely understood why my mom had stressed the importance of thanking friends, family, and strangers for gifts big or small. Not only is it important to show gratitude when someone does something nice for you, but it also lets that person know how much you ApPrEcIaTe them. My sister and I still tease our mom about her black sharpie marker notes at the bottom of the staircase, but we will always be grateful that she instilled in us the importance of letting people know when they have made a difference in our lives.
~Robyn (Jersey Girl)
Filed under Getting Real, Life, Parenthood, Relationships
{Subscribers–if your email link did not work today, we apologize. Tomorrow it should be back up and running!}
Our family is planning a BiG trip to Disneyworld this summer! It will be the first visit for both of my children and we can’t wait to see the excitement on their faces as they meet their favorites…Tinkerbell and Mickey Mouse! With a big trip like this comes a BIG price tag. I don’t want my kids thinking you show up to Disneyworld and say, “HeRe I Am!” I want them to understand that our family has worked hard to save and plan for such a special trip.
Like many kids, mine have so many toys they don’t know which one to play with first. For upcoming holidays and birthdays I have asked my family to give my children Disney gift cards instead of toys. I bought each of them a small Disney sandwhich keeper at my local dollar store and my kids now use them to save all of their “DiSNeY MoNeY.” Between Halloween and Thanksgiving they already have a nice collection of gift cards from family and any money they got from trick-or-treating went into their sandwich keepers too.
We’ve been discussing different things they can use their “Disney money” on when go on our trip such as souveniers, special snacks, extra activites, etc. As young as my children are they are really understanding why they are saving their “Disney money” and it makes me happy to know that they are learning such a ValUAbLe lesson so early in life!
~Robyn (Jersey Girl)
Filed under Finances, Life, Parenthood, RANDO•RAMA, Relationships
I’m writing this post today with a scratch in my throat. No, not a scratch due to a cold, but a scratch due to raising my voice to get my kid’s AttEnTion or tell them they need to stop doing something for the 20th time! Can you relate?
I remember my teaching days and how I learned in college that no good teacher will YELL at their students to get them to listen. I just had to LaUgh when I thought of that today. It is amazing what situations can make you ScReAm, regardless if you are a “good” parent or not.
When I reach the point of YELLING it is an instant reminder that I need a B R E A K. I need to ask for help, get a babysitter, or take a night off and distance myself from the kiddos so I can sort out my thoughts and relax. When I do, I am much more patient with the kids and it makes me feel like a better Mom because I can handle frustrating situations with more ease.
No one wants to be the yelling Mom…so the best thing to is find a SoLuTion to the problem…see you after my nap ;)
~Lara
Filed under Parenthood, Relationships
•For more “I Am…” stories, click here!
•Do you or someone you know have a story that could inspire other women? We would LOVE to feature you! Email us at suedesofa@yahoo.com
Ever since I started dAtiNg Doug, we have always tried to read a daily devotion from our “Word Among Us” booklet we get every month. I remember how SimPle it was to get this task
accomplished in the dating and pre-kid days. There was very little room for excuses on why we couldn’t find a few minutes to do this together, especially when the booklet was always left where we read it the day before.
Fast forward 7 ½ years and for some reason the little booklet gets moved all around the house, with little fingerprints as the EvideNce on why it ends up in the toy box or jammed in the VCR. Every night when we go to bed, I reach for it on the nightstand, and sure enough, it is missing once again. I always tell myself that I’ll try to “find it tomorrow” and put it in a more hidden place, and then we roll over and fall asleep.
We all know how EaSy it is to push some important priorities off to tomorrow, but the sad thing is tomorrow turned into months and because of that it has caused us to not be as diScipliNed into praying together on a nightly basis. So TODAY, as I happened to discover the booklet once again, I made a point to tuck it underneath the mattress so no little fingers could find it. What a simple SoluTion to something that I put off for months, and I immediately feel like I have a better balance in my life by a small change I made in a matter of minutes.
If there is something important in your life that you “should” be doing, but you keep pushing it off for tomorrow, I encourage you to mark it down on your to-do list for TODAY. If the priority needs to be done on a daily basis (such as taking daily vitamins, putting on moisturizer, writing down what you spent the day before, etc) take the extra time to make sure it is ConveNient to accomplish so you aren’t so quick to push it off for tomorrow…
~Lara
Filed under Faith, Getting Real, God, Life, Marriage, Relationships
I don’t know how many ConveRsatioNs I’ve had with Robynn about the importance having a good balance in my life. Balancing my business and watching my kids….balancing trying to achieve goals but not letting them consume me…balancing housework, family time and ME time…
I have always been a black and white type of person, so as you can iMagiNe, balance is hard for me. I’ve realized that when I have the right balance, I experience the most PeaCe in my life. For example, my business. It brings me JoY because it gives me ownership in something and it provides supplemental income for my family. BUT because it is a GrowIng business, too many orders at once cause me STRESS. When I have good BALANCE I only accept the orders I can manage, which allows me to make money and be available to my kids. I may be turning away extra money by limiting my orders, but having PeAcE is WoRtH MoRe than being stressed and missing my kiddos.
Balancing areas of your life may mean making sAcriFices, but in reality you are probably spending more time doing the things in life that MAtter Most!
~Lara
Filed under Getting Real, Hard Reality, Life
•For more “I Am…” stories, click here!
•Do you or someone you know have a story that could inspire other women? We would LOVE to feature you! Email us at suedesofa@yahoo.com
Of all of the great words of WiSdOm given to me by parents with years of experience, the best AdviCe was this: Always give ultimatums that benefit YOU!
This advice is something I utilize numerous times a day. When my kiddo doesn’t want to take a nap I ask, “Do you want me to read some books before your nap oR do you want to go to bed without reading a book?” She always picks the books and without her realizing it, her reSisTanCe to nap is derailed.
Life is so much eAsieR with this method and I can’t imagine parenting without it. Hope it can make your life a little easier too!
HaPpY PaRenTinG!
~Lara
Filed under Parenthood, Relationships
laraonthesuedesofa
robynjerseygirl
robynnonthesuedesofa
suedesofa
