Selling a House With Small Kids

Today was the first day that our house was listed for sale. There is good news, we got a showing already! The bad news is that the house was messy (because we had the carpets cleaned this morning and furniture had not been put back) and I received word of the showing while I was at the dentist with kids and had 15 minutes to get home and clean the snot out of the house.

I left the kids in the car, the baby crying, and ran inside frantically trying to hide the dirty dishes (threw them in a garbage sack and hid it in the dog house), make the beds, hide the dirty laundry baskets, stuff things under the beds, etc... I am not going to be able to find anything now! It took me 10 minutes to find where I had stuffed the charger to my laptop.

I only cursed like 25 times... I was sweating like a pig.

We had to be gone for one hour and it was in the middle of my baby's nap time. Thankfully she passed out in the car. I didn't think we would get a response so quickly, which is good news, but I am completely unprepared for when we have to bolt for a showing.

That is all, I just really wanted to share how crazy it was for one single showing...

Motherhood Guilt Be Gone!

My 6 year old boy, E, loves TV. He always has. He began watching Barney when he was just barely a year old. It evolved to Sesame Street and many of the other PBS shows like SuperWhy and Sid the Science Kid. I felt like everything that I would read online about kids watching TV was negative. It was bad for them, it would lead to obesity and possibly ADHD in the future. I had a constant struggle because E just wasn't interested in much else. I would try and limit his TV but I always let him watch more than what was recommended. He liked watching TV, learning about ABCs, numbers, etc... And I didn't want to force him to play with toys. After all, he has never been a "toy kid".

Fast forward to now.

E is so intelligent. He was writing when he was 2. He was reading when he was 3. Now that he is 6, he can do math in his head and read books that should be way beyond his age. He thrives in school. At his pediatrician appointment today, the doctor told me that he can tell that E does well in school just by spending 5 minutes examining him.

I think back on all of the time and energy that I spent feeling guilty about letting him watch TV. So far in his life, it has turned out to be an enormous benefit. Now I find myself trying to get my 3 year old, who is very artistic and creative, interested in watching TV on PBS. She is not. She asks for it, watches a few minutes at best and then wanders off to play. This is good, too. But I do worry with how well she will do in school because she could not be less interested in her letters and numbers. She enjoys having books read to her so that is what we do now.

The moral of the story is that every child is different. They come with different interests and different ways of learning. And that motherhood guilt is rarely productive. Children will never go without challenges and struggles. And as mothers, I think we only have so much influence and control. Our children will not be perfect, no matter what. But ew, who likes perfect people anyway?!

Love Grows Best In Little Houses Print - 8x10, 11x14 and 16x20

I grew up in big houses. My dad was (and still is) a successful doctor and so even though we were a family of 8, most of us still had our own bedrooms and there was plenty of space to play. I remember my mom complaining that we would disappear into the basement and she couldn't hear us or know what we were up to. When my parents sold their home in the suburbs of Chicago, we had to live in an apartment for awhile. And I have such fond memories of living in that little apartment! My home is small. And we enjoy it. And I can hear my kids no matter where they go inside of it. My kids share bedrooms and they love it. I am sure many of you are like me and will also love this adorable little poem. Enjoy!

Available in 8x10, 11x14 and 16x20!

Click HERE to download the above print.

(The prints are in the compressed folder together, rather than posting each size separately)

Why I Don't Sell My Prints...

I have been asked (a lot) why I don't sell these prints to try and make some extra cash. As much as I would love to have extra green laying around, every time that I try to make a hobby into a job, it becomes just that, a JOB. It isn't fun anymore and I do it all out of obligation, not because I want to. I want to protect my art soul by keeping my art to a hobby. I like for it to be fun. And I look forward to making art. I get really excited when I come up with a new idea and I can't wait until the kids are in bed and I can work on it! It wouldn't be that way if I was doing it as a job. Plus, if I want to, I can quit any time. I like that freedom! :) So I will keep doing this as long as it is fun for me and once I stop enjoying it, maybe I will quit. Or switch to something else. In the mean time, I really hope that you enjoy what I am doing!

The BEST Whole-Wheat Waffles Recipe

I have to share this recipe because it has been such a hit at my house! My husband, all 3 kids and I all LOVE these waffles. The waffles are from 100 Days of Real Food, are whole-wheat and there is no sugar, just sweetened with honey. I eat them plain because they have that health-full flavor. Instead of sacrificing health, convenience or money for the ready-made healthy kind, I just make a double batch of these and freeze the rest. I put them in the toaster just like I would with and Eggo. I am in love!

Click HERE to see the recipe! Enjoy!

I Heart Utah Prints

I made a plaque resembling this the other day and made a little brag post to my friends on Facebook. I got a lot of response about this so I thought I would just make it into a digital print that people can download and hang in their homes. I made this print in 8x10, 11x14 11.75x15.75 (the size of the IKEA frames) and 16x20. The download is to a ZIP file where you will find the brown ones in each size and the gray ones in each size.

Since MOST of my friends are here in Utah, I just made it for Utah. I would be quite the task to move that little heart to every state in the US. BUT, if you would like for me to make one for another state (or another country!), let me know via comment and I will try to get that done for you! Enjoy!

To download the I Heart Utah prints, click HERE.

And remember, these prints are for personal use only!!

Free Font - Janda Stylish Script

This is one of my favorite fonts to use and I thought I would share it here since it is free!

You can download Janda Stylish Script by clicking HERE (you will be taken to dafont.com). Enjoy!

Free Digital Scrapbooking Kit From Shabby Princess

I love Shabby Princess and used a lot of their downloads to get started with digital scrapbooking. How cute is this kit??

And it's free! Click HERE to be redirected to download it. Enjoy!