9.29.2010

Taking Time To Renew

When you're busy taking care of everyone from your kids to your husband to your family and friends, your co-workers and bosses, you sometimes forget to take care of you. We often get tied up in life and don't realize how important it is to take a moment out of each day to breathe and satisfy our needs. There isn't enough time in a day to get everything done. There isn't enough hands to be here and there but somehow, as a mother I find that doing everything all at once and tending to their every need is crucial. I jump when they call for me or if I hear them get up or cough at night, I'm right there. I ask them repeatedly if they're alright, if everything is okay, if they need anything. It's overwhelming how much I nourish them but I do it because I don't ever want them to feel neglected or unprotected. I want them to be happy, safe and guided, without them ever feeling an ounce of reject.

I put on this happy face each day for my kids and show them how important it is to be confident. I want nothing more than joy and proudness. But at the same time, life brings sadness and heartache. When I hear things that I don't want to know about, it makes me angry and more deeply, sad. My heart aches for the innocent children. My anger is towards the adults with no brain. I stand strong and hold it in. But at some point it has to be set free.
Sitting alone, I look around and wonder what his plan is for us. The thoughts I have brings tears to my eyes. Imagining how things are going to be without certain people in your life is sad. You can't help but wonder why things happen the way they do. It just is. Each and everyday, my focus is on my girls. The ones that I gave life to. Whom I created. I can't wait to see their pretty faces after school, feed them, bathe them and sing to them. Share smiles and stories with them. It's an everyday joy for me. and ninety nine point nine percent of the time i don't let what goes on in someone else's life affect mine. I often tune things out and carry on.
As I sat in the shower and let the water rain on me, I cried my soul out. And as the water got cold, my body formed goosebumps. But I needed to cry. For them. For me. I needed to melt and the car wasn't the place. The place was here. Here in my home where I felt safe and where I could finally let it all go. It was a time to bleed for them and although they may never know, I do.
I'm taking the time to breathe. To renew. To let it all go. Standing alone and free. Free from heartache, from a life of pain. I face the days God gives me and will wrap them with thankfulness. His way is my path. My road to satisfaction. My road to freedom, love and happiness.

and he's my ONLY cup of tea.

9.27.2010

A Moment

Sometimes you just need to vent, delete and carry on. {For those that read my post yesterday, Thanks for the kind words.} I've been up all night with my baby. She's going to the doctors here shortly but I just wanted to say that blogging is not my life and as much as I love writing posts for myself and others, I need to get me back. I need to figure out what I really want this blog to be because lately I feel like I've been all over the place. I have  a hard time saying NO to people and in the end it makes me feel out of place. So I will talk to everyone soon. Have a nice week!

9.26.2010

Time to Dance- The Rattles "Rattle On" Music Review and Giveaway

When both my girls were babies, I played Mozart all day. In the car, in the nursery and the living room. The music I chose for them to listen to was important in their growth and development. Now a days, we parents are thrilled to find great music for our children. Music that motivates their mind, body and spirit. We can get into the groove and dance with them. Spending the days listening to encouraging noise is rewarding.


I'm proud to introduce you to The Rattles. A group of fury, animated characters that will have your children dancing to the beat as soon as they hear the first word.. The energetic cast, Gus, Kitty, Sal and Hal are sure to form a bond with music lovers of all ages. Hal the Hippo plays bass, Kitty the talented Drummer pounds a beat like no other and Sal shreds the guitar while Gus plays lead singer.

You can officially meet the intriguing cast here. Rattle On was released last month and to give you a taste of these lively critters you can listen to their video....:


With a fresh, modern fusion of classic rock and power pop, similar to The BeatlesThey Might Be Giants, and The Monkees, this colorful quartet has set themselves apart from the average children's music group by creating a listening experience that parents and adults can enjoy as well. Similar to the music of Yo Gabba Gabba, this project is about creating music EVERYONE can groove out to! Take a listen to the lead single, "Wavy Lane" and other songs on the official website: http://rattlesrock.com/MusicVideos.html

Time Out Kids Gave this bunch a glowing review here.

The Rattles are featured on The Muse Box as well as Blog Critics

To get your paws on a Full CD soundtrack of THE RATTLES 


Enter Here:

You MUST Leave a comment telling me what you love about Kids Music

Extra Entries: (Leave separate Comments for each)

Follow Freckles and Fudge (1)

Vote for us once a day by clicking here: Each day is One extra Entry


Follow THE RATTLES on Twitter (1)

Leave this comment on The Rattles Facebook Page (2): Thanks To Freckles and Fudge, I Love THE RATTLES

Tweet 1 x day: The Rattles "Rattle On" CD Giveaway @taylordates http://bit.ly/baBL5l Enter to #win by 10/13

Be sure to leave your email in the comment if it's not on your profile. Have fun and boogie to the furry musical.

Winner will be chose at random on 10/13/10


9.25.2010

Flowers & Feeling Kinda Nerdy








I grabbed some clearance tanks at Kohl's because even though it's Fall now, we can still wear them under our cardigans. I love this floral spaghetti strapped tank with lace. Super pretty and goes perfect with this purple cardigan. And the grey cargo pants I received from my aunt who raised me. She's a toothpick and when I was in NY, she gave me a huge bag of clothes. See. There's something great about having a huge family. She rocks. The elegant flower hair accessory (it's a barrette)  is from the awesome Sucre Lulu. There are several ways to use her pieces.

And I just felt like a nerd. I do wear prescription glasses when I need them. But I feel like a goob.

Hope your having a nice weekend loves. 

This Pretty Woodpecker


After school yesterday, the girls and I walked home. Each day we listen to all the birds singing and they really sing with us. We whistle and chirp and they talk to us.


This beautiful bird walked home with us. She flew to every other tree until we got home. Pecked here and there. As soon as we walked by, she flew to the next tree. It was really amazing how well she interacted with us. 

The woodpecker I posted before was pretty but this was just Gorgeous. Made our walk home so sweet.

9.24.2010

Funky Shapes {Booties Giveaway}


I just about fell in love when I saw these precious handmade baby booties. Funky Shapes is an adorable Etsy shop that offers the most incredible designs for your little bundle of joy. Each pair of booties is created with tender, love and care. Materials are harmless. No glue, no hazardous decorations, no internal seams, no lumps or ridges. Your baby's feet will be perfectly snug. 


The variety of styles to choose from makes Funky Shapes super awesome. 


With the Limited Edition Series, Holidays and Everyday snug, your baby will be in complete style all year round. They are also unique baby shower gifts. 


and last but not least they can come in this sweet little box. 


Enter to Win A Pair of these Most adorable Shoes for your Little Angel

Check out Funky Shapes and tell me which item is your favorite. 

Winner will be selected at Random on 9/30

I forgot to mention that the set available is the Grey and Fuchsia Pair {Girl}-sorry

Update Winner: Maureen

Friday Feature: Ur Gonna Love Her

Welcome. good Morning. Glad your here, thank you all for joining. Friday is our feature days. So grab a cup and hang with all the fabulous blogs we have going on here. We're all about support and community. I recommend going through the blog pages under the header to find ones you love. If you haven't been listed there, simply leave a comment on that page.


Well. I don't know about y'all but I'm so glad it is Friday. Today we are featuring a blog whom I love, so  I know you'll fall right in love with her if you haven't already.

A Whole Lotta Love is an inspirational blog. Whenever I feel lost or need a smile, she's there. Her photography is something I admire. Her encouraging words and quotes are a warming.


Be sure to stop by and leave a little note. She's a whole lotta love.


I had to add this: I need a piece. 


Enjoy the day-Be Free, Fabulous and Encouraging.

{Pics}

9.22.2010

Guest Post: Simply Kate

I'm taking a moment today, so the fabulous Kate is guest posting. She's awesome so please be sure to stalk the you know what out of her. Thanks lady.



Hey! It’s Kate from over at Simply Kate! If you haven’t guessed already, I’m a Guest Blogger!
Being a Guest Blogger is exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. When you write a blog, you can write whatever you want. You don’t have to worry about compressing everything you are about into one post. You can fill everyone in over the course of time. But as a Guest Blogger, you have a limit. One post. One post to talk about you.

I’ve decided to use this post tell you all a story about myself. A fairly embarrassing one. (That’s what makes it fun.)

I was in 8th Grade and we were doing a production of School House Rock LIVE.



My favorite number was “Do the Circulation.”


We dressed up in red turtle necks and red poodle skirts made of shimmery felt and danced around a scrawny, pre-pubescent Elvis.



Yes. That’s me that Elvis thinks is a Hunk-a-hunk-a Burnin’ Love.

The dancing was so much fun, and flirting with Elvis was a blast.

Unfortunately, I was in the scene just before this one, in a completely cowgirl outfit. I had to do a super quick change backstage. Because the buttons on the skirt were giving me so much trouble that I was missing cues, the seamstress came up with the idea to just Velcro it.

This worked great… until Opening Night.

I was on stage dancing like I had Saturday Night Fever, and the mixture of movement and the heavy felt material popped the Velcro open.

The skirt fell around my ankles and the audience got a good view of my flowery panties. I hiked up my skirt, my face as red as my outfit and finished the dance, one hand holding my skirt around my waist.

Once the show was over, I had an abundance of old men comment on how they didn’t know School House Rock would be so risqué.

This moment is one that has shaped me into the quirky, cute and maladjusted individual that I am today. God bless Velcro and creepy old men.

Head on over to my blog. There are many more posts about my simple life and the funny things that happen in it.


Thanks again Kate. I hope you all have a fabulous day. We're halfway through the week. Woo.

9.21.2010

Panama Hats


Howdy lovely people. I'd like to introduce you to Panama Hats. The place to go for attracting, fashionable hats. They offer a variety of styles and collections for all of us hat lovers. These Classic Fringed beauties are perfect for sun protection and wind. The pastel colors are delightful and the options are limitless. The CoolMax Sweatband makes for a comfortable fit and keeps you dry. These are Genuine Panama Hats, made in Panama. 



If your more into the elegant look, they have these Panama Ribbon Rays, available in multiple colors. The crushable ribbon hats feature the stretchy Coolmax bands and  UPF 50+ sun protection. Nice, comfortable fits.




The Cowboy-Western Country Style Hats are beautifully handwoven with a touch of leather lace. You'll be ready to rock that southern, western country look and have all eyes on you. The options and styles are endless. I personally love the sun hats. They go perfect with a long dress. Or jeans, knee high boots and a flannel.

So tell me, are you a fan of Panama Hats. Or any hats for that matter. Do you love the Western feel. I'd love to hear. 

Men and lady styles are available. You can read more about the background on these hats here.    

Daily Photo {Flower By Hannah}


My baby stayed home today. Not feeling too well but she's been doing drawings all day and sending me notes. Love her. Makes my heart melt.

Handmade Musical Instruments { Kids Crafts }

Hannah made the best instruments ever. This kid size drum was easy breezy. She used scraps from leftover art supplies and created her Hello Kitty Drum.

What You'll Need:

-Coffee Can with Plastic Lid
-Construction Paper or Any kind of Paper(We used Hello Kitty)
-Crayons, Markers or Paint
-Tape
-Scissors
Cut the paper to fit around the can. Tape it. Decorate.
She put stickers on the lid.

Beat Rhythms on Your Drum (Lid) You can use sticks too.

Then she made her shaker.

You just need a paper towel roll. Decorate it. Tape one end with (we used a piece of paper towel), Fill with Macaroni (We had a ton), Beans, dried Rice, etc.....
Leave room to make noise. Just fill halfway up. Tape the end closed. Decorate some more. Add strings to the ends. Viola. Shake, Rattle and Roll.

9.20.2010

Daily Photo {Baby Myana}


Meet Baby Myana. How pretty is she. I love her to pieces. This is exactly why I must move home.

365 {Routine}

I have no idea what the next weeks theme is, so I'm continuing on with my routine. Here in FL we get some big buggers. I had to get rid of this one because it was right by our door and front window. Ordinarily, I would just let them be but this one was bugging me.



and the babies came gushing out. crawling around like they owned the place. i was too busy swooshing them off the deck to take a pic of the babies. ughh.

Mama Turtle

This weekend was wonderful. My girls and I had such a blast spending the days together. M and I went shopping at the mall on Saturday night. We stopped to visit this mama turtle walking the streets.


I always gotta play with nature, so of course I get out to inspect her. We have so many lakes and ponds in our community but this was the first time we'd seen one walking the streets. Dad picked the baby up last week. Of course we put him back. But we love the wildlife here. 


A wee bit slimy. i kinda get nervous when getting my hands dirty but I like to play. We ended up putting her on the grass and faced towards the pond. This bird was singing very loudly, they do that often.


and then M gave her some flowers and we left her to do her thing.:)