Mom vs. the Dot: Making it COUNT!

 The time I burnt a plastic storage container to the stove because I turned on the wrong burner while doing 10 other things... I just have to blog about For The Love by Jen Hatmaker one last time.  Buy this book - it's perfect.  You need it.  It will make you laugh, it will make you cry.  It will make you dig deep and think about why you do what you do.  Add it to your Christmas Wish List!  Really. Here's some of the good stuff from her book: ----- "The only thing worse than this unattainable standard is the guilt that follows when perfection proves impossible.  Sister, what could be crazier than a woman who wakes children up at dawn, feeds and waters them while listening and affirming their chatter, gets them dressed and off to school with signed folders, then perhaps heads to a job to put food on the table or stays home to raise littles who cannot even wipe, completes one million domestic chores that multiply like gremlins, b...

What happens when you tell your child, "Don't touch that!!" Uh huh.  Same with our kids. So early in March, we were soaking in some fresh air and pseudo-sunshine today in effort to beat the winter blahs.  If it's gray and slightly bright, indicating the sun is trying to shine on Western Pennsylvania, it counts.  I decided it was time to clean off my kids' old play kitchen that had been in storage.  Spring might come soon and I wanted to have the kitchen ready for play when that blessed day arrived. That meant turning on the hose (that we left out in the yard all winter - yep - we're those people) and what do you suppose happened?  Well, first hose-shaped ice shot out in 3 to 4 inch pieces, then came a blessed gush of icy cold water.  I rinsed the storage dust off the little kitchen and wiped it down with paper towels. Meanwhile, my hose-crazed 3-year-old came by to investigate.  If he hears anything interesting - a drill, a hammer, or es...