Week of 7/8/12 through 7/11/12

So it's delayed. But.. but...but... welp, here it is.

I was gone for two weeks. I went to my mothers for a week so that they could see Sister Bear. They take Brother Bear for a week every month. It's his time with MawMaw and PawPaw {See, we all have bear names around here!}. It was a nice visit that turned into a really nice visit when Papa Bear came and joined us for the second week.  So yes, I'm behind. But I'm back. So here's what's going on in my world.

Our car broke. Boo. Prayers please that today it gets fixed easily without any damage to our head gasket. Our radiator house blew on our way back from Maw-Paw's house. But thankfully my cousin and her boyfriend came to our rescue that night. Tonight it will be fixed, hopefully. I've let go, and let God take this one. He knows we need to have it fixed. It's our livelihood.

So here's the lists.

To-Do List

1.Canning. I was given some yummy fresh blackberries and they need to become a few jars of jam.

2. Bake a Blackberry Pie from my cousin Chelle's birthday. I won't share how old she is, she might hit me! ;)

3.Fix Car. {See Above.}

4.Finish tagging car. Apparently we thought our Personal Property Tax was more than it was, they send the check back. So it'll be paid by the end of the week and the car will be fully legal!!

5. Purge the children's play room. With a birthday came more toys. I need to get some of their old ones out of there!

6.Blogging, of course! I'm working on a blog about why we choose to not vaccinate. {Just for you Sabrina!!}

Bible Study

Ruth

I'm also suppose to be doing one with KP, but she hasn't got back to me on what it is....

Pantry Clean Out Meal Plan

Breakfast 

Granola Bars

Breakfast Bites

Oatmeal & Berries

Bacon & Eggs

Eggs & Oranges

Pancakes & bacon

Lunch

Tamales

Chinese Noodles with Garlic and Soy Sauce & Veggies

Tuna Salad & Carrots

Leftovers

Sandwich & Chips & Fruit

Noodles & Vegetables

Dinner

Chicken Breast with Carrots & Stuffing

Salmon & Asparagus & Pasta

Pork Chops & Corn & Mashed Potatoes

Brisket & Fried Taters & Green Beans

Meatloaf & Mashed Potatoes & Corn

Chicken & Rice/Gravy & Peas

Snacks

Veggies

Fruit

Chips

Leftovers

The reason this is called Pantry Clean Out Meal Plan is because I am trying to get rid of all the random cans and stuff that we've been avoiding eating because we don't eat it normally. I can't fathom giving it to a food pantry when we can easily eat it. So I'm making one bad week where we clean it all out and eat. Then the following week I will be doing a juice fast. That's going to be hard. Yikes! I'm still nursing so some people will claim that I shouldn't do it, but the verdict is out. I know that she's old enough she won't starve if there is something she doesn't like the taste of. Plus, toxin rich breastmilk is still better than formula any day of the week. So I'm kind of on the fence. We'll see how it goes. Plus there is stored milk in the freezer, I think. It's buried by all the other junk in there! 

**********

 We are also in search of a family motto. This was inspired by another friend. I'd love to use her family's but, our family's are not the same. So though it would work, it's not my family's motto. I'm in search of it. For some reason  I've had Proverbs 22:6 stuck in my head as well though. It could because our downstairs neighbor quotes it all the time. But it's really been influencing me lately. 

Proverbs 22:6

Train up your child in the way he should grow,

Even when he is old he will not depart from it. 

I want to focus on training or raising our children correctly. Which is so hard in our world today. It's hard fighting the fast, mainstream world. Even harder when you've been a part of it for so long and you are trying to remove yourself from most of it. I'm going to continue praying on it. I'm sure I'll find a motto that fits our family. We've been loosely using this one from Carl Bard.

"Though no one can go back and make a brand new beginning, 

Anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending."

I'm working on my brand new ending. How's yours coming?

{Hollea}

 

 

 

I'm tired of the "Mom Enough" battles

It will never end, will it?

What is it you ask? What's driving me to the world's end with exhaustion?

Put simply, it's the, I am a better mom than you attitude. The "Mom Enough". The mommy wars.

I'm done, I'm over it and I no longer care what you think of my parenting style. And I no longer care how you parent (unless you're downright being a neglectful or abusive parents, then I care.), how you raise your littles.

I care less if you vaccinate or not, I care less if you eat whole foods or not, I care less if you circumcise or not. You're the one who has to make decisions based on what's best for your family and their goals. If you need to do any or none of the above, fine.

So why do we succumb to these mommy wars. Why are we so competitive in nature?  Is it really about the other person, or is it about ourselves?

I truly believe it's personal. When we attack someone based on what works for their family, we're not really upset with them. Maybe we're hurt from a decision we made. Or maybe we wish we could be as wonderful as we see them.

Like routine infant circumcision. My son was circumcised. Do I regret it? Regret is too hard of a word for me to use. Do I wish I would have learned more about it at the time. Do I wish that instead of them asking if I wanted it, they would have provided me with unbiased information to make an informed decision? Yes. But that is my burden. My weight. So I find those who are extremist in on area are often dealing with guilt or anger in some area. It might be you circumcised your son and you regret it, so you're now spear heading the intact organization. That's terrific. But please, don't attack another mother because of it.

I don't vaccinate. That's my decision. To tell me that I'll learn when my child dies that I should have vaccinated. Or that my child shouldn't be allowed to take my child in public. You don't know what research or reasons I have for not vaccinating my child.

I breastfeed, you may not. Just because I'm super pro-breastfeeding doesn't mean I'm against you personally for formula feeding. I may be against formula. That doesn't mean I hate the moms who have to or choose to use formula.

See, this list can go on and on. But often the mommy wars start because someone gets upset with what they see others doing because they personally have an issue. Maybe it's jealousy, anger, disappointment or sadness. But it's personal.

We need to remember that.

So let's stop hating. on each other and work on our own personal issues. Let's not judge. Let's teach our children tolerance. No mom is better than the other because her educated decisions vary.

Remember that before you leave a rude or hurtful comment on the next persons post. There is a difference between education and hatred. Statistics and fear mongering. Don't play into the mommy wars. We all want whats best for OUR children. But my children are not your children and your children are not my children. We live different lives with different purposes and convictions.

Help me end the mommy wars. Let's be supporters of each other, no matter our educated decisions.

Keep trucking Green!
{Hollea}