NO SLAMMING THE DOOR!!!

how many times have i said these words to my children? i’m not sure what it is about the door, but it is just so irresistible to those little hands. which is precisely why i don’t want them slammed … they love little fingers! so, to avoid all finger injuries, my dear friend gifted me with her new creation:
TH E   D O O R   B U M P E R.

at my university, we had a ‘shoe-in-the-door’ policy. when there was a friend of the opposite sex in your dorm room, a shoe should be placed in the doorway as a sign to others walking the halls and for accountability {what exactly would you do if the door was open for all to hear/see? probably not much}. 

while i’m not exactly worried about the dating practices of my four-year-old, i certainly do like being able to hear what’s going on in his room.

perhaps you do too? these door bumpers will be introduced soon by ARMOMMY.COM {i’m just the lucky prototype girl}.

emily
jones.design.company

fun.and.games

over the weekend, my oldest son and a couple of his buddies asked me for two tin cans and a long piece of string to make – yes you guessed it – one of those good old fashioned telephones.  with a little help nailing a hole and threading the string, they were off to the backyard partaking in long distance conversations, thrilled about what they were able to make. this got me to thinking about the toys and games in our home and the ones that my children enjoy the most.  i find it encouraging and refreshing that in a world filled with electronic, noise making, unimaginative  toys, it is the simple games and toys that have stood the test of time that draw my children in the most.  so i have challenged myself to create a list of good old-fashioned activities {if just from my own childhood} that we sometimes play, and others that we have yet to discover.   

1. tabletop football.  this is a family fave.  we play this often while eating out as long as the kids can keep their field goal kicks under control.  all you need are your fingers and a paper napkin or paper kid’s menu.  to learn how to play visit http://www.paperfootballzone.com/home.html

2.  tic.tac.toe.

3.  i spy.

4.  challenge your children to hang a spoon from their nose.  this may contradict the table manners you try to instill, so see if it will keep them busy at the counter while you are making dinner.

5.  make puppets {out of socks, brown paper bags, shadows or let them draw one on their hand using the thumb and pointer finger}.

6.  make paper airplanes.  whose goes the farthest?  whose is decorated the best?  whose can do a loopty loop?

7.  try dropping clothes pins in a milk bottle {or something similar}. 

8.  cats cradle.

9.  chopsticks {the hand tapping game}.  learn to play here: http://www.wikihow.com/Play-Chopsticks

10.  make fart noises with your arm pits {sorry….  i had to throw this one in here.  you may not want them to share their new talent with everyone, but you can’t deny how funny it is!}.

11.  speak pig latin.

12.  scavenger hunt.  you don’t have to write out clues and have an elaborate ending point.  grab 3 or 4 of their toys and hide them throughout the house.  then send the kids on a hunt to find them.

13.  rock . paper . scissors.

14.  write a letter and mail it.

15.  kick the can.  find instructions here:  http://www.ehow.com/how_309_play-kick-can.html

16.  thumb wrestle.

17.  shaving cream fight {outside of course and preferably when it’s hot enough to hose off}.  i played this all the time growing up in chicago.

18.   play mash {mansion, apartment, shack, house…}.  find explanation here: http://www.swingsetpress.com/playmash.htm

19.  try to balance the salt shaker.

20.  see who can keep a straight face the longest.

21.  make a daisy chain.

22.  make a friendship bracelet.

23.  make a paper fortune teller.  learn how here: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/origami/fortuneteller don’t like “fortune” stuff – fill the inside with Scripture.

24.   jacks.  learn how to play here: http://www.ehow.com/how_2964_play-jacks.html

25.  pick up sticks.  learn how to play here: http://www.ehow.com/how_2051017_play-pick-up-sticks.html

26.  marbles.  learn to play here: http://www.ehow.com/how_3999_play-marbles.html

27.  hangman….  as politically incorrect as it is, it’s still a lot of fun.

that’s good enough for now.

comment and let me know if you have any ideas to add!

:: Rae, v.p. + mom, ARMOMMY

totally fly.lady

i love love love having a sparkling home.  bathrooms that smell good, floors + furniture that shine, clean linens, a controlled amount of clutter….  oh, i’m smitten.  however, with three children a husband and a bustling social life, housework is endless and actually having a  perpetually clean home would only be the result of perpetually cleaning the house!  unfortunately for my love affair, my time with my children, husband, work & hobbies are too important.  so, my home get’s neglected and i get frustrated & cranky. 

lucky for me {and those of you like me}, there are some smart, organized people out there that heard my {our} cry for help and created a web site called flylady.net.  the concepts for managing the home are easy, quick and straight to the point.  she has routines, zones, monthly habits and is constantly reminding you to hydrate {which i get a kick out of}.

if you feel you spend too much time cleaning your home, or you wish you had more time to do so, i urge you to visit the site, look around and sign up….  let’s be fly ladies together!

home blessings from,

rae . ARMOMMY . vp +mom

super who?

today i am going to take a page from my friend's blog {http://memeandlulu.blogspot.com/} and post something short and sweet....

i  l o v e  it, i would never change it, but i would just like to say that being a mom is not for wimps.  

{this is what i wanted to do today}

and although i never have and never will claim to be "supermom", i sure wish i had a sidekick.

the end.

::  rae {who will be going to bed shortly}
ARMOMMY
vp+mom

baby . shower . invites

dear friends,

from now until the end of august we are offering 50% off of our design fee.

we create:

. announcements . showers . birthdays {child, baby + adults} .

and much more.

we thouroughly enjoy working with our clients to creat a one.of.a.kind initation that reflects the style + personality of the guest of honor and sets the tone for the entire event.

below are some of our custom baby shower invites.

email me at rae@armommy.com with questions or orders.

the balance of motherhood

being a mommy is what i've always dreamed of. i played baby dolls until i was way too old for it to be cool. my friends and i created intricate 'baby books' for our pretend children {using cut outs from magazines and catalogs of cute children, then naming them, cutting a little piece of my hair to pretend it was my child's, making hospital bracelets, stamping a baby footprint using my own fist and pinky fingers ... we had all the tricks down}. i have always been in love with talking about baby names. i babysat from the time anyone would take me and nannyed for as long as my sweet nanny family would have me. i went to college knowing i wanted to go, but not really sure what to study ... i just wanted to be a wife and mother {my degree is in child & family psychology, go figure}. so now, one wonderful husband and three darling children later, i'm living my dream. i have had opportunities in the recent past to pursue business ventures and just couldn't make that commitment knowing that my real dream was to 'just be a mom'. i love this opportunity to be home with my little ones and willingly and gratefully take on the e.nor. mous task of rasing them {with my wonderful husband, of course}. i really can't complain. but i will for just a moment. raising kids is hard. i'm not talking about the too many sleepless nights, the never-ending messy house to clean, the mountains of laundry to fold, the task of diapering, wiping, dressing, shoe-tying, sippy-cup packing, snack preparing, get out the door and loaded in the car dance that is my everyday life. these things are hard, no doubt. like, for instance, when i've set breakfast out for all the kids and just when i'm finished pouring milk in my own bowl of cereal, one of the darlings spills theirs. and as i am on the floor wiping up the milk, he's asking for more cereal. really? you don't think i'm working on that? do you not see me on the floor wiping up your spilled milk while my cereal is now disgustingly soggy? it's a constant sacrifice of patience, time, energy, and eating soggy breakfast. but, no. that's not what i'm talking about. being a mommy is hard because i love my babies with an incomprehensible amount of love and everything in me wants to protect them. and at the same time, i want to encourage them to grow and master things like independence and responsibility and the idea of consequences. i struggle with this everyday. do i let them ride their bikes ahead of me or should i be right next to them in case they fall? do i encourage them to practice their climbing and reach the tippy top of the playset, or keep them safely on the ground? is it okay for them to play sword fight and get bad guys or should they talk sweet? when the older two are arguing, do i encourage them to figure it out themselves or do i step in? if another child is being unkind, do i take over or let my child face it alone? do we send our oldest baby to public school where he'll be exposed to things i don't want him exposed to, or do we homeschool? is protecting him this way hindering his growth or is it being responsible for what we've been given? i could go on and on. i wouldn't necessarily call myself an overprotective mom, but i certainly don't want to be called an underprotective one either. what is the balance? is there an answer? i kind of don't think so. i don't think there is a formula or a method that will work for every child, every family, every circumstance. {just for the record, i don't believe in relativism. there is truth, there are better ways to parent, be a wife, live your life. i'm just thinking about the details ... how to make everyday, in the moment decisions.} So, this all leads me back to what i know. i can not do this on my own. one of my favorite songs is by shawn mcdonald called 'here i am'. i sing these words often and pray them for my life:

i lay myself at your feet asking you won't you meet won't you meet me i cannot do it on my own i cannot do it all alone here i am, oh, tonight with my arms open wide won't you come inside come and fill this heart of mine i'm in need of you of your touch, of your life, of your love i need you i need you

i think that is my answer. i can never, by myself, even with the help of every parenting book out there, figure out how to be the best mom to my boys. there is no way. i am human and will fail no matter how hard i try. but i have the holy spirit living in me - the one true living god - living inside of me. wanting to direct me. wanting to help me. all i have to do is believe and listen for his guidance.

"but the counselor, the holy spirit whom the father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything i have said to you." john 14:26.

if i really believe what i believe is true, then certainly the god who parted the red sea so that his beloved people could escape slavery; the god who rescued three of his children from a firey furnace; the god who sent his son to be born by a young virgin girl; the god who raised his son from the grave; the god who gave the holy spirit to ALL who believe in him and promised that we'd do miracles in his name; surely, if diseases can be healed, lives transformed, freedom given to the bound, then the same holy spirit can help me discern whether or not my children should climb on a playset. he cares. he really does. and he sees everything we do. even wiping up spilled milk. e m i l y {lexindustries.blogspot.com}