Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011

As I sit here and reflect on this last day of December 2010, my heart also looks forward to what God has in store for us in 2011.

I'm not one to make a New Year's Resolution, but I do like to dream and set goals in my life.

Perhaps the biggest goal for this next year is this: my family

These pictures are on what I call my family wall in my living room. I love that wall. It says who I am: a wife, a mom, a sister, a daughter. I love the people on that wall. They are the people who are my life and since November, I've been feeling God call me to spend more time getting to know them. Truly know them. Study them. Enjoy them. Love them.

I've avoided writing about it because I didn't want to feel God's conviction that perhaps other things like house work, laundry, computer time, and even cooking can sometimes come between me and the ones I love. That perhaps somedays I go thru the motions just waiting for naptime or bedtime where I can have "me" time again. But that wall is hard to ignore. Those faces stare at me each day.The pictures are getting older, while the little girls around me are growing up.

Zoelle who is now closer to four than three. Four! That is practically grown up! Meridian who at 19 months can understand and follow all my directions. She is an incredible helper as she toddles away mumbling and shaking her head. And Xiomara, my tiny little girl who is now full out babbling like a big girl and almost half way thru her first year of life.

And my husband, my dear Christer who works hard not only at his work, but willingly volunteers to help me out at home, just to bless me. I need to get to know him again. To know best how I can help him. To love him.

Time isn't stopping as much as I'd love it too. We are all getting older and as I get older I realize more and more what little time I have left with those I love. So I write this post for me. To remind me of what God told me. Put it away. Put other things away to spend time with the girls, with Chris. To show them Jesus so they can show Him to the world.

Do you have goals or resolutions you make each year? Do you typically stick to them?

Wordless Wednesday: We finalized!

Finalization Day!

Today is our finalization of Xiomara's adoption! I'm pretty sure we aren't the only ones excited about it! :)

I have a little girl...

Who is now 19 months old

With big expressive blue eyes

Wild and crazy hair

Wearing piggytails for the first time today

She makes us laugh with her little nods and grunts

She said her first sentence to me today with her little head cocked to the side: "I don't know"

She still loves to nurse much to my surprise

And I'm still very  much in love with this babe who now proudly declares she is one!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from our home to yours. May you feel the love of God and others on this day.

May you take the time to relax, snuggle, and celebrate life as that is what Christmas is all about!

Merry Christmas!

Wordless Wednesday: Snuggled Close

Charlie's Soap Review & Giveaway

Years ago when I first started cloth diapering and was researching how to wash my cloth diapers, I kept running into this detergent called Charlie's Soap over and over again in the cloth diaper community. At the time, I decided not to purchase any of it as what I was using was working. Since then, I've learned that their detergent isn't just for cloth diapers. Instead it can be used for clothes or diapers, and they also have an all purpose cleaner!

Since I was feeling pretty satisfied with my cloth diaper detergent still, I decided to use this instead on my clothes. Now if you remember, I have used and still use a natural cleaner on my clothes. However, my one problem was still having stains. When Charlie's Soap sent along a stain remover, I decided to put it to the test on some of the girl's stained shirts. Oh how I wish I would have taken before and after pictures. I had stains that had been on there for quite sometime that never had come out with even Era, yet the Charlie's Soap took it out in the first wash. My only wish is that it didn't smell like Windex. It is chemical free, but somehow has a bit of a Windex smell to it.

The detergent itself on our clothes worked wonderfully and I can definitely see myself in the future buying more! I love that it is safe, non toxic, and biodegradable.

Buy It!

If you are looking for an all natural laundry soap for your clothes or your diapers, I would definitely suggest looking into Charlie's Soap

Win It!

Charlie's Soap has generously offered one of my readers a grocery tote, a 17 ounce bottle of all purpose, and some laundry powder. Please note the picture above may or may not be an accurate representation of what you will receive.

Mandatory Entry:

Visit Charlie's Soap and tell me something that you learned. Please do me the favor of making sure you leave your e-mail address in the comment if it is not visible on your profile. (1 entry) U.S. only-sorry. :(

Extra Entries:

1. Follow me on google friend connect and leave a comment telling me you are. (1 entry)

2. Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment telling me you are along with your Twitter ID. (1 entry)

3. Follow Charlie's Soap on Twitter and leave a comment telling me you are along with your Twitter ID. (1 entry)

4. Tweet about this contest making sure you include @jewelsntreasure and @charliesoap3 along with a link to this contest somewhere in your Tweet (1 tweet/entry per day)

5. Become a fan/like of Jewels & Treasures on facebook and leave me a comment telling me you are along with your first name and last initial. (1 entry)

6. Become a fan/like of Charlie's Soap on facebook and leave me a comment telling me you are along with your first name and last initial. (1 entry)

That's It!

Winner will be chosen at random from random.org. Winner has 24 hours from being contacted to respond, or else a new winner will be chosen.

Contest ends Tuesday, December 28, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. CST

Congrats to #35-Shanda

*The featured product(s) in this post were provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or pr company representing the company. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by anyone.

The one in which I chose joy!

Have you ever had one of those moments as a parent in which you were proud? But rather than being proud of your child, you were proud of yourself?

Today I had one of those moments.

This morning Chris and I took the girls to church like normal, and then on the way home from church two of the girls fell asleep. Rather then wake them up to go home we spontaneously decided to drive about an hour away to go shopping. We had some returns to do and I wanted to get a few things at a some different stores before Christmas.

Considering I don't do spontaneous, it went awesome. I honestly could not have asked for a better day. We went out to eat, we did the returns, and lots of shopping. Most of all, it was time spent together, having fun. I loved it.

But then Chris dropped Zoelle, Meridian, and I off at Target and my day could have changed.

You see Zoelle was extremely tired (she was the girl who didn't nap)  and while walking in I reminded her to stay holding on to my hand until we could find a cart.

Zoelle had other plans and took off running. People were everywhere and there were actually no carts. I promptly got down on Z's eye level and told her she was going to have to hold my hand as there were no carts. Zoelle in a fit of wanting her own way started screaming.

At the top of her lungs. Did I mention there were people everywhere? Yeah.

Six months ago, I would have been completely embarrassed by her and hid behind my shame by ignoring her. A year ago I would have threatened her and raised my voice with her.

Today I made a choice not to let her steal my joy and I'm glad. I'm proud.

It could have been different.

I could have let her control me. I could have let her dictate my joy. But instead, I swallowed my pride, smiled at those giving us "the look" and spoke calmly with Zoelle. It took about 15 minutes, but we were able to move on, and both of us learned from it.

Praise God for the little steps!

Random Updates!

So I figure it's time for a little updating in different random areas of my life. So instead of doing a whole bunch of separate posts, I thought I would put it altogether in one post titled random updates!

No, no further update on our kitchen renovation that we started back in, uh hum, August. I just asked Chris about it last night and he told me to tell all of you that as soon as he shoots a big buck, he will finish it. Oh, and that he does have everything he needs to finish it too, but again, deer hunting takes precendent! Thank goodness December 31st is coming soon!

Confession: I ran my 5K almost a month ago and besides a few things here or there, I haven't really exercised. Like my sister, I keep coming up with too many excuses or push it aside in lieu of doing something else. Unlike my sister, I do not have my dad's metabolism and breastfeeding makes me hang onto those last 10 lbs. that I am so desperate to lose. Grr!! I had every intention of starting Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred last week, I even posted that I was on facebook, but something came up and I never did. Maybe tonight I will? I figure if I blog it, you all have to hold me accountable. Remember the tootsie roll addiction? It's no more thanks to getting it out in the open! Just don't ask me about my new love of Annie's Cheddar Bunnies, ok?

I think that's it, and I must go because while I typically blog at night when all the girls are asleep , today I decided to blog during the girls naptime, except Xiomara isn't napping, she is sitting in the swing next to me and just started fussing! And in the time it took me to finish editing this and post it, I got Xiomara down. Meridian is now eating a cookie sitting on my lap pointing to the picture of the Cheddar Bunnies and asking for some. Oh and look at that, Zoelle is up! Now I remember why I never blog during the day. Besides the fact that it would take time away from them, I'd never get anything accomplished seeing it took me practically the whole nap time to type this up.

Tchau!

Wordless Wednesday: Brown Eyed Girl

Preschool Homeschool Update

We are now 4 months into our preschool homeschool and I thought for sure this one and the previous post I wrote on preschool homeschooling Zoelle would have come sooner. However, somehow we have gotten busy and I am finally getting that chance to write this now.

What began with a bit of apprehension and reluctance on my part, began with joy on Zoelle's part! There was not one part of her that did not want and crave to learn. It hasn't stopped since then! Each day, Zoelle wakes up and asks what she gets to learn in school today. Trust me, I am taking advantage of this time in her life as it may or may not last.

I am a bit of an organized person, and knew that I would never do school with Zoelle without some sort of curriculum. Yes, she is young and doesn't need one, but I knew that I did. Thus, I happend upon Heart of Dakota Publishing. Upon doing my research, I was impressed with their website and how they have the curriculum broken up into ages.

Although Zoelle is a bit ahead for her age, I decided to go ahead and order the Little Hands to Heaven. One of my favorite things about this is that the lesson plan for each day is layed out neatly for me. I also am able to incorporate art, math, music, bible, and even a bit of science into the lessons. Zoelle loves it! She often asks for multiple lessons per day. I have zero complaints about this curriculum for her. The only hesitation I have is that perhaps I should have bought the next age group up for her as she seems to know most of what is in the 2-5 year old curriculum. However, I feel like it is laying a good foundation for what is to come.

Not the best representation of the letter B, but she got it!

One thing the curriculum is lacking is the ability to teach her a second language. No problem though as I am already sold on using both Little Pim and Boca Beth. Often I will catch Zoelle speaking to either me or one of her sisters in Spanish. Just little phrases, or words here or there, but it is good to know that it is sticking and again laying a foundation for being bilingual.

Watching Little Pim

My original intent was to strive to teach Zoelle at least once a week in school, mimicking how it would have looked had we sent her to the local private preschool that we had considered. However, the curriculum is set so that you teach about 30 minutes each day for 5 days a week. I wish I could say we have been able to do this. Some weeks, we are great, but others just end up busy and I don't get in as much school as I would like. We do the Spanish curriculum much less as I don't really care for the girls to watch many movies. I have been able to pick up Spanish books here and there at garage sales, and I look forward to incorporating them more this year.

Incorporating our Bible lesson by making a rainbow!

By far this has been my biggest challenge thus far in homeschooling. Scheduling! Once we get up, dressed, make beds, eat breakfast, etc. It is time to lay Xiomara down for a nap. Often I try and do school during that nap, but often Meridian, laundry, or housework gets in my way. Then it's back up from nap for Xiomara, and time to prepare/eat lunch. Then nap time in the afternoon for all 3 followed by time to make supper. Before I know it Chris is home, and it's time to eat. If Zoelle wakes up before the other girls from her afternoon nap, we will try and sneak school into there. If not, I try and do it after supper. Not the best time of day for her, but it is getting it in. This doesn't include all the other activities we have on a few other days of the week (like my mom's group Bible study, storytime at the library). I would love to hear from other homeschooling moms with little ones how you do it all? Obviously she is just three, so it doesn't matter now, but it will in the future.

Practicing letters with Meridian looking on.

And me? I'm loving it! I'm proud of my little girl and she thrives on the structure of doing something during these cold, winter days! I thrive on being able to give her something to do and also on watching her little face light up as she "gets it". I have to say it's been a good experience thus far. I'm looking forward to what God has for the rest of the year and I'm praying He still will guide and direct us for next year.



Disclosure: Opinions are all my own. Outside of doing the original review for Boca Beth and Little Pim, no other curriculum was given to me. And I still love Boca Beth and Little Pim and would highly recommend all three curriculums mentioned!

It's My Birthday!

Me at 1 month old

Today is my birthday. I'm 27. I feel incredibly old at 27 because I still feel like I'm somewhere around 16 or 17. That was the age I met my husband and I am in disbelief that it has been ten years! Wow!

Me at 6 months old

So today, Chris took the day off of work, let me sleep in, and we have been hanging out all day. By the time this posts tonight (at the exact time I was born), I will be at a Christmas party for my young married group at church. Typically I don't like to spend my birthday away from my girls, but I made an exception for our young married group as I really enjoy going. We will celebrate tomorrow with the girls by eating my favorite meal (spaghetti), and making chocolate cake, with chocolate frosting, and sprinkles on top (thanks mom for that idea years ago)! :)

Me at 8 months old

For the fun of it, I thought I'd post these baby pictures of myself so you can see how cute I was! Also, do you think the girls look like me at all? When Zoelle was a baby, we only got that she looked so much like Chris. Now that she is older, I get that she looks so much like me. Meridian has since day one been told she looked like neither one of us, but as she got older looked more like Chris. Personally, I think she looks just like I did except with blonde hair, blue eyes. Not to leave Xiomara out, I will say that there are times that Chris and I both look at her and think she looks like or has the same expressions as one of the other girls did at that age.

Me at one year old

Alright, I'm off to enjoy the rest of my day!

Me at three years old

What do you do to celebrate your birthday? Do you have a hard time getting older or do you take it in stride?

Wordless Wednesday: Pinstripes & Polka Dots Oh My!

EZ Sox Review & Giveaway

Zoelle, at 3.5 years old, has known how to dress herself for sometime now. Each night I pick out her clothes (sometimes with her help if she is interested), and then I leave them out on a chair for her to get dressed by herself in the morning. She loves the independence that it gives her, I love the ability to have one less thing to do in the morning (especially on busy ones).

There are a few times however in which she feels frustrated getting her clothes on. One of those times is getting socks on. Often if her feet are sweaty, she gets mad that her socks don't just slip right on. I recently got a pair of EZ Sox in the mail for review. EZ Sox are convenient because they has little loops to help a child pull the sock right on.

Today I had Zoelle try them, and right away she told me two things: 1. "This is easy mom with those handles on the socks, can I wear them tomorrow?" 2. "These are really warm socks." It made me smile, and I told her "yes". Hopefully tomorrow both of us will have a little less frustration because of her Ez Sox!

Buy It!

Looking for a fun stocking stuffer, or a way to help your child get his/her socks on? I'd suggest for you to look at buying some EZ Sox.

Win It!

Ez Sox has generously offered one of my readers a pair of EZ Sox in his/her choice!

Mandatory Entry:

Visit EZ Sox and tell me which pair you would get if you won. Please do me the favor of making sure you leave your e-mail address in the comment if it is not visible on your profile. (1 entry)

Extra Entries:

1. Follow me on google friend connect and leave a comment telling me you are. (1 entry)

2. Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment telling me you are along with your Twitter ID. (1 entry)

3. Follow EZ Sox on Twitter and leave a comment telling me you are along with your Twitter ID. (1 entry)

4. Tweet about this contest making sure you include @jewelsntreasure and @ezsox along with a link to this contest somewhere in your Tweet (1 tweet/entry per day)

5. Become a fan/like of Jewels & Treasures on facebook and leave me a comment telling me you are along with your first name and last initial. (1 entry)

6. Become a fan/like of EZ Sox on facebook and leave me a comment telling me you are along with your first name and last initial. (1 entry)

That's It!

Winner will be chosen at random from random.org Winner has 24 hours from being contacted to respond, or else a new winner will be chosen.

Contest ends Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. CST

Congrats to #9-Andrea!

*The featured product(s) in this post were provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or pr company representing the company. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by anyone.

On how being a big sister is hard

My Zoelle's heart is hurting and it makes mine hurt for her. We've been having some major trouble lately with Zoelle hitting, bossing, or pushing Meridian. Meridian in turn has taken to biting Zoelle back when Zoelle does something to her. Needless to say, we were confused as to why Zoelle has started this and obviously don't want either girl to think it's okay to hurt each other.

Last night however, Zoelle came up to me right at bedtime and said something to make me pause. She said, "Mom, sometimes I'm really sad because you don't give me enough attention". I got down to her level and asked her what I could do to help make sure I'm giving her enough attention. Ever the communicator in our family, Zoelle told me that, "You could put Xiomara down, and not hold Meridian, and just hold me instead". My heart hurt. In 14 months she had gotten not one, but two major life changes in the form of babies. When she was really still just a baby herself at barely three.

Sometimes I look at Chris and ask him if we did the right thing. I know we wanted our children close in age and I know that God gave us the other two when He did for a reason. But, I can't help but look at those with only one child and envy that time again. I want it to just be us (Zoelle and I). For it was when we were the closest. She and I connected like we were a part of each other. When Meridian came along, it changed. While it had gotten much better before Xiomara was here, it still has been tough on her. On me.

If I could do it all over, I would have spaced our children out further. But then, I would not have Meridian, or Xiomara. It's a hard balance to handle and I'm struggling figuring out how to give this little girl what she wants, no needs, all while taking care of the other girls as well.

I don't ever want Zoelle to feel left out, or displaced because of the other girls. I'm trying very hard not to automatically blame her if Meridian starts to cry. Trying very hard not to put all the responsibility on her because she is the oldest. Trying very hard to give her the attention she needs. But sometimes I fail. And then my heart breaks.

I bring it to God. My heart, my hurt, her hurt. And pray that He can fix it and guide both of us in the path we are to next take together.

Did your oldest child have a tough adjustment to being a big sibling? Any idea on how to help one through the process?

All I want for Christmas is a Kelly Moore bag

Seriously. This is all I want and I'll show you why.

That gorgeous bag isn't just any bag. Nope, it's a camera bag. Since my parents so generously gifted us with a DSLR camera after we had Xiomara, we need a camera bag to go with it. So typical me, I started researching and came across the Kelly Moore Bag. I have yet to read a negative about this bag. For either professional photographers or amateur photographers (like myself), this is the bag to have. I've slowly been saving my money and hope to be able to buy one sometime after Christmas. You can be sure that I will be doing a review on it when I get mine. Right now I'm currently just trying to decide which one to get. I really like the B-Hobo bag in red (like the one pictured above, except red). However, this one has caught my eye as well.

It must be the pink! One of my favorite colors. Completely off topic, but I secretly find myself going to the website to not only view the beautiful bags, but also to watch the amazing video at the beginning of the website. I'm in love with the song! Just ask my hubby and kids, I think they have it memorized as well from me listening to it so many times!

So there you have it! My one and really only want for Christmas this year.

What are you really hoping you get for Christmas this year?