Celebrating Home

Today I'm linking up to Kelly's Korner for Show Us Your Life Friday: Show Us What You Sell!

Most of you may not have heard about Celebrating Home but you have probably heard of Home Interiors or Home and Garden Party. Celebrating Home is both of those combined! I began selling Celebrating Home at the beginning of Februrary this year. I love the opportunity to meet new friends and showcase great products that I love. Celebrating Home is a Christian based company that sells home decor, fragrance items such as candles and warmers, gourmet food, and an exclusive line of pottery and stoneware.

Celebrating Home is known for our pottery. My favorite pottery line is the Simply Summer design. Its bright, fun, and cheery and classy all at the same time.

My favorite product and probably the most talked about the product is the Bean Pot. Here it is in my favorite pattern. (There are so many other patterns that you can see HERE.)

What is a Bean Pot you ask? This product has changed my life! Its an easy, quick way to cook and serve meals or dishes. Its oven, microwave, freezer and dishwasher safe. Bake cakes in it, cook chicken in it. There are so many ideas that I can't even begin to share them all here. Place it in the oven for 20 minutes to keep items hot for 2-3 hours or in the freezer to keep items cold for 2-3 hours. You can also order a carrying basket for it (shown above) to make it easy to take to picnics or church functions.

These two items, in the Simply Summer collection, are on my wish list:

Our featured deal this month is our Fragrance Collection which is all 20% off this month only. (Ends in three days!)

These floral candle rings fit perfectly around the Raspberry Lemonade candle (purple) pictured above!

Most everyone has heard of Scentsy. Our fragrance warmers are similar except that we use a lotion-like gel rather than the bricks. You use 1 tablespoon of the gel, warm it, and it crystalizes when it's finished warming, making for easy clean-up.

A few more favorite items from my latest parties:

Celebrating Home has a great line of products that I love. I featured some of my favorites in this post! Feel free to shop HERE for Mother's Day or a treat for yourself! For those of you that made it to the end of this very long post, you should be rewarded. :) Leave a comment saying what your favorite Celebrating Home product is (you can browse HERE) and you will be entered to win the Raspberry Lemonade candle and floral candle ring, pictured above. Questions? E-mail me at tl_pollock@hotmail.com.

Jaelyn Funnies

I haven't done this in awhile so I figured I better write a few things down because I know I will forget all of the funny things my Jaelyn has said in a few days. I already find it funny to look back at previous posts to see what she has said, not remembering she has said it until I read it.

We were running errands the other day and Jaelyn had been asking for ice cream since we got in the car. I was trying to explain to her that we had other things to do but she just didn't get it. We live right by a Baskin Robbins and as soon as we drove by she said, "Look, mom! We can go get ice cream at Basket Rabbits!"

Jaelyn had a friend over yesterday for most of the morning. They were playing with a light-up sword that Jaelyn's aunt Melissa had gotten for her. Her friend was calling it a light saber and Jaelyn argued back that it was just a sword. They practically had a 20 minute conversation over whether it was a sword or a light saber. Later that night I was playing outside with the girls and our neighbor boy was outside too. He gave Jaelyn a Life Saver candy and when he told her what it was she excitedly ran over to me and said, "Jake gave me a light saber! Can I eat it? Can I eat it?" In her mind she thought she had figured out what her other friend, Mark, was talking about when he thought her sword was a light saber.

Somehow Jaelyn and I had been talking about babies. I asked her if she ever wanted another baby brother or sister and she proceeded to tell me she wanted a baby sister. I then asked her what would happen if this baby that she wanted ended up being a boy, a baby brother. She thought for a minute then said, "Well, we'll have to tell them that we wanted a baby sister and they will have to get out their make-up so that the baby can be a girl!" I'm glad she has no clue how it really works and I plan to keep that way for atleast a little while. :)

We went to see a friend the other day during nap time so I had the girls take their pillows and blankets so they could lay down and rest while my friends children were also resting. I told Jaelyn that "Miss Tiffany" would let them know where to lay down when we got there so that everyone could take a nap and she quickly responded, "Well maybe Miss Tiffany will say 'Don't worry, they don't have to take a nap, Miss Tanna.'" Since I called her Miss Tiffany, she just knew Tiffany would call me Miss Tanna. :) She just knew my friend wouldn't have them take a nap since she isn't a big fan of them!

My mom told me that when I was little I would always call my grandma's under arm area her angel wings. I think my brother started it all but anyway, my girls also call that part of my mom's arm her angel wings. One day, Jaelyn grabbed my mom's arm and asked her if she could fly with her angel wings.

An Article on Parenting

At my last Mops meeting, my friend read this article and I wanted to share it. In my opinion, it holds a lot of truth. Parenting is hard and we can all use a laugh. Enjoy!

To the Parents I Knew Four Years Ago:
I'm Sorry
I have come to realize many things since having three children. For example, I now know that I can read "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" seven times in a row without going insane. No matter what people say, throw-up is throw-up and I don't care if it is my daughter who is throwing up but her throw-up makes me want to throw up. I am a really fast diaper changer. And it's true: love does not split, but grows with additional children.
But perhaps one of the biggest realizations I've made as a relatively new parent (my daughter turns 4 in March, my twin boys turn 2 in May) is how incredibly judgmental I was pre-children.

You, the woman at Kohl's who pushed a cart with your screaming toddler draped on the rack underneath it, ignoring her as she scraped her feet on the floor because she couldn't have the toy she wanted: I judged you.
Girlfriend with children who had Nick Jr. on the entire time I visited: I judged you.

Parent at the park who did not pack an organic, free-range, all-food-groups-represented, no-dessert lunch complete with sandwiches cut in cute little shapes, who instead fed your children chicken nuggets, cold French fries and (gasp) chocolate milk? I judged you.

Not out loud, of course. But internally, I was smug. I thought things like I would never have children who would behave in such a manner in public. Or, Doesn't she know the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no TV until the age of 2? Or, How can he possibly be feeding his children that crap? Has he not read any of Michael Pollan's books?
And what's worse, now that I'm a parent, I realize internal smugness isn't so internal. As a parent, I know when I'm being judged. I can sense it, even when nothing is being said out loud. It's in the look. The double-take. The whisper to the companion they're with.
It's hard not to care about what other people think. But still, that quiet judgment can sting, especially on days when my nerves are shot and my children are in the worst moods -- a combination that often leads to a situation judge-worthy by many.
But now, as a parent, I do things judge-worthy even when my children are being good. Last Thursday is a perfect example: My son had a physical therapy appointment a good half-hour drive away. On the way back from the appointment both of my boys fell asleep -- we had eaten lunch out, complete with Oreo cookies and Popsicles for dessert, (judge!) after the appointment and it was close to their naptime. Of course they fell asleep. My daughter, however, who has long given up naps (!), was still awake.
When I pulled into my driveway, I had two choices: Wake up the boys and deal with their short tempers having only slept for 25 minutes, or sit in the van with them while they slept, bribing my daughter with apps on my iPod and promises of candy once inside if she would just sit and be quiet for a half hour longer (!). I chose option B without blinking. And I left the car running (!) the entire time.
When the boys woke up, they were furious because of the cricks in their necks -- thanks to the car seats we bought without good head support to the side simply because they were cheaper (!). My daughter was at her wit's end with being trapped in a car seat in a car that wasn't going anywhere just because I wanted some peace and quiet (!). I took everyone inside, plopped them on the couch, got out some gummy candy and turned on "Little Bear." Two episodes. (!!)

Pre-children: I was going to cloth diaper.
Post-children: I did with my daughter, sort of, but not with my twins.
Pre-children: No TV until age of 2 and then only 30 minutes a day.
Post-children: Ha.
Pre-children: Only organic, healthy, homemade food.
Post-children: My kids love Wendy's.
Pre-children: Public tantrums are unacceptable.
Post-children: Removal of the child is only sometimes doable; predicting when a tantrum is going to strike is often impossible.
Pre-children: Complaints about childrearing and its hardships annoyed me (this was your choice, no?) and saddened me (parenthood is supposed to be a wonderful thing!).
Post-children: Parenthood isn't wonderful 100 percent of the time.

My day-to-day routine isn't what I envisioned it would be four years ago. Some of the things I imagine I'm judged on now are minor, others, a little more major. But mostly they are simple faults and I now know that they don't make me a bad parent. Sometimes I leave dirty diapers on the changing table. My children's socks don't always match. I forget to brush my daughter's hair. I use TV as a way to take a breather. I utilize the fast-food drive-thru. I bribe. I'm sometimes too easy. I'm sometimes too hard. I sometimes make the wrong decision, give the wrong punishment, ask too much, ask too little. But within all these minor and major faults is a singular truth: Most days, I'm doing the best I can. And I honestly believe that's a truth that can be applied to most parents: Most days, we're all doing the best we can.
Because here's another realization I've made as a parent: Everyone's situation is different. There is a story behind every action and inaction. Every parent has his or her own style. Every child has his or her own temperament. What might be a stellar day for my family has been a downright awful day for another -- perhaps the parent's job is in danger, their parent is sick or they just had an argument with their spouse. Perhaps the child is failing math or being bullied at school, or the toddler hasn't slept for two weeks. This can explain the short-temper in the grocery store or the harsher-than-necessary punishment, or the lack of care when it comes to sweets or TV or a late bedtime. We don't know, can't know, someone's entire story.

That said, I believe there are absolutes in parenting so yes, sometimes, I still judge. (And I realize that the irony of this piece is that in writing about not judging others, I'm now judging those who judge.) I know that, for some, it's impossible to provide their children with life's basic necessities: food, clothing and shelter. But I believe we, as parents, must try. I believe we must do what we can to protect our children from harm. I believe we should always love our children, even when, especially when, we don't like their actions, we disagree with their decisions or we're just having a difficult day with them.
But everything else is minor. Everything else doesn't matter. There are children who are abused, who go to bed hungry, who have never known love, and four years ago I was judging the toddler who watched an hour of "Sesame Street"?

I feel bad about my pre-children smugness. I feel bad about the sting I may have, unknowingly, made another feel. I feel bad -- and laugh out loud at the thought -- that I, at one time, before I had children, believed I knew better. Parenting is difficult enough -- there's no reason we should judge one another, not for the things that don't matter, anyway, and not for the things we see a snippet of rather than knowing the full story.
So to the parents I knew four years ago, I'm sorry. I know better now.
By: Kara Gebhart Uhl

I found this article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kara-gebhart-uhl/mom-judgments_b_1319775.html

Happy Birthday, Jaelyn!

Jaelyn,

Happy birthday, princess! You are five-years-old and have become quite the little lady! You are sassy, beautiful, girly, and love a good joke (just like your dad). You are one of the funniest little girls I know and you are always making me laugh with what you say and do. You are learning so fast! You know all of your letters and can recognize a lot of words. You love to "read" and make any kind of artwork. Icecream and chocolate are your favorite treats, just like they are mine! You love going to church and MOPs and you love your friends and making new friends. You have turned into a social butterfly. You love learning about Jesus and citing bible verses. You are quite a scholar, if you will, and I know you will LOVE school. Kindergarten round-up is tomorrow and everytime I think about it, I don't know whether to be sad or happy. You are so excited to start kindergarten but I'm not quite ready to let go of you just yet. One of the hardest parts about being your mommy is learning the difference between holding your hand when I need to and letting go so you can learn on your own. You are quite a challenge for me but I love you more than I ever thought I could. Thank you for making me a mommy five years ago...you are a blessing to so many! You're my princess, my babe, and my world and I hope you know how much I love you!

Happy Birthday!

Love,

Mommy

Candy Land: The World of Sweets

We celebrated Jaelyn's birthday this weekend with a trip to Candy Land. She loves candy so it only seemed fit to involve lots and lots of candy! Here's a short recap for you through pictures:

The most important part: the candy table!

Jaelyn's cake. Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Topped with Kit-Kats and M&Ms.

I ordered these cute plates and napkins online and the coordinating fabric my grandma had passed down to me.

After giving them tons of candy, we gave them toothbrushes so that I would hopefully redeem myself with their parents after sending them home all sugared up! :)

Cake time! She was so excited! Birthdays keep getting more fun as she gets older.

Blowing out her candle! Here's to being a 5-year-old.

Presents!

Mark, Isaias, Finlee, Jaelyn, Zech

Jaelyn and her friends. She's grown up with most of these boys. And if you're wondering, Jaelyn really doesn't have any girl friends her age but its okay, she'll be tough and hopefully thankful for her little sister!

Happy Birthday, Jaelyn!

Summer-like Spring

Its Springtime here in Topeka even though it feels like Summer outside. Spring is my favorite season. I love the bright colors and the weather that brings with it but most of all, I love that we can get out of the house after (usually) a long Winter. The weather has been different this year. The days are usually either warm or rainy but the evenings have been gorgeous! We took advantage of the beautiful weather this weekend and decided to take pictures of all three of our kids together for the first time by the tulips in Gage Park.

Chaseton is a very loved baby and he handles it pretty well!

They are all growing so fast, too fast.

My three muskateers.

My beautiful princess is turning 5 this week. I still cannot believe it.

She's such a smart girl and my biggest helper.

Matt and I were talking tonight about how pretty she is and its true, the older she gets the prettier she becomes. She starts kindergarten in August and even though the days can be long, the years are so short and I'm not quite ready to let her go.

My Finlee-Grace. She is so onery.

But she is as sweet as can be!

We always joke that she is our "Sour Patch Kid"..she's sour, then she's sweet!

Chaseton is almost 9 months old and such a good baby!

He's easy going and puts up with just about anything!

I always say how fast my girls are growing but he seems to be growing so much faster.

I'm so thankful to be their mommy!