I just read the most encouraging thought, and wanted to share:
sometimes people that travel the same paths in life and have to overcome the same challenges and obstacles aren't really strangers......they are just friends that never met
Monday, December 31, 2007
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Lisi Made "ink"
This is the photo that appeared in the local edition of the Des Moines Register this Christmas morning. Click here to read the full story about Attic Door Theatre Company, and Lisi Main as the 'life like doll' the elves designed for Christmas.We are so proud of both of our actors!
Friday, December 21, 2007
Thank You, Santa
This past week was the performance of Attic Door Theatre Company's Thank You, Santa. Civic Center and Broadway watch out...her come the Main Girls!!!
I want to thank ALL of our family and friends who came out to support Isabella and Lisi. I think they had more people in the audience than any other actor!
Isabella remembered all of her lines and made her mark each time. Lisi was very believable as a 'life like doll'.
If you know of any budding young actors, I highly recommend this local theater group. We have attended performances in years past, but this is the first time our family participated. It was a GREAT experience, and you can count on future invitations!!
Mom's Group Christmas Party
The snow and ice almost stopped us from celebrating Christmas with Moms and preschoolers, but we prevailed by re-scheduling for the following week. And I am SO glad that we did!! Not only does this group of kids really enjoy being together, I really enjoy hangin' with their moms:)
Sam, Lisi & Cale getting ready to decorate cookies
Marcie not getting to Sam quite in time to stop him from licking the communal frosting spreader (hee,hee,hee)
Lisi taking a lesson from Sam in skipping the cookie and going straight for the frosting:)
Sam, Lisi & Cale getting ready to decorate cookies
Marcie not getting to Sam quite in time to stop him from licking the communal frosting spreader (hee,hee,hee)
Lisi taking a lesson from Sam in skipping the cookie and going straight for the frosting:)Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Radio City Christmas Spectacular
Thanks to the suggestion of a mom-friend of mine, she and I took our 3 girls to see the Rockettes in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular...and it was exactly that...SPECTACULAR!!!
I really had no desire to see the chorus-line dancing of the Rockettes....until I went to see the chorus line dancing of the Rockettes:)
And the show was so much more than that!
If you are in the Des Moines area, the show is still in town.
If you are outside of Des Moines, check to see if there is a show close to you.
It is definitely worth the price of admission!!
(And BTW, we had 'nose bleed' seats, and it was still amazing!)
Grandparent's Day @ Des Moines Christian
Grandparent's Day is now, officially, my favorite day to be at Des Moines Christian School. What a wonderful experience!!
The music teacher coordinated an amazing program that was performed by K-6th Graders, and families were welcomed with cookies, coffee and punch, and the children's classrooms were open to tour.
I think a really good time was had by all!!!
Lisi, Grammy, Papa, Isabella and GiGi
Lisi and Manndy in the audience before Isabella's performance
Lisi moved a few seats down to snuggle up with Grammy
Isabella (back row, 3rd from the left) singing a joyous song
sweet angel girls in Lisi's preschool classroom
The music teacher coordinated an amazing program that was performed by K-6th Graders, and families were welcomed with cookies, coffee and punch, and the children's classrooms were open to tour.
I think a really good time was had by all!!!
Lisi, Grammy, Papa, Isabella and GiGi
Lisi and Manndy in the audience before Isabella's performance
Lisi moved a few seats down to snuggle up with Grammy
Isabella (back row, 3rd from the left) singing a joyous song
sweet angel girls in Lisi's preschool classroomMonday, December 17, 2007
Does Anyone Else Have A Problem With This???
The Register's caucus endorsements: McCain, Clinton
Isn't there just something inherently wrong with a newspaper endorsing a political candidate???
We (Heart) Huckabee
My girlfriend and I opted to get our Kindergarten girls out of school a couple of weeks ago for the opportunity for all of us to meet Mike Huckabee at a campaign open house. And I have to say is that it was a bigger deal than we even anticipated!
Mike Huckabee signing Ellie's pink diary.
He did the same for Isabella:)
I only wish I knew who all the 'photogs' were snapping pix after pix of our 5 cute kids all wearing Mike Huckabee pins:)
Isabella, Ellie and Owen
Isabella, Ellie and Owen
Mike Huckabee signing Ellie's pink diary.He did the same for Isabella:)
Induction into Girl Scouts
Ellie and Isabella reciting the Girl Scout pledge
Isabella and her "Daisy" Girl Scout vest
Isabella's Girl Scout pinsJim Bakker...who still gives money to this guy???
While we were at Tablerock Lake, MO for Thanksgiving, we took a little roadtrip over to "Morningside"~ Jim Bakker's new "place of refuge". 
a community under construction
a community under constructionOh Christmas Tree
While I was out stamping with girlfriends the Friday after Christmas, Mark took our sweet girls to pick out a Christmas tree. I was SO happy to come home to a flocked tree!
I was totally surprised, and totally happy.
It is one of my favorite memories of Mark's family when I was growing up. His Mom would sometimes have a flocked tree, and I thought it was amazing.
Even more amazing passing on that memory to my own family...
and as if that was not good enough, there was Christmas music playing in the family room, Lisi asleep under the tree...
and Isabella tucked in tight on the couch:)
I was totally surprised, and totally happy.
It is one of my favorite memories of Mark's family when I was growing up. His Mom would sometimes have a flocked tree, and I thought it was amazing.
Even more amazing passing on that memory to my own family...
and as if that was not good enough, there was Christmas music playing in the family room, Lisi asleep under the tree...
and Isabella tucked in tight on the couch:)
First things first....
Lisi getting all of her things back...
taking clothes from our room back to her own room
taking clothes from our room back to her own room
and putting everything away in her roomThursday, December 13, 2007
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Star Bar
How have I gone this long without going to Star Bar on Ingersoll????
I don't know what I thought Star Bar would be like. Well, since EVERYONE has been talking about it since it opened, what, a couple of years ago???, I guess I thought that it would be to she-she for a Mom with 2 kids.
Last night Mark and I found ourselves on Ingersoll around dinnertime, and thought we would give it a try. Boy oh Boy has our FAMILY been missing out!!!
Neiman Ranch porkchop for Mark, grilled veggie and goat cheese panini for me, and a perfect kids menu: penne pasta with butter/ chicken fingers/ grilled cheese.
What a cool, comfortable, hip and yummy menu place!!!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
an e-mail of encouragement from my friend
Good morning sweet friend,
I'm catching back up on blogs (my own having been neglected since before Thanksgiving!) and just read your last two posts. What I want to say deserved its own email and was a little too long for a post. So here it is.
Are you wondering what happened to that picture you had in your head when you were first pregnant? That blissful slice of Americana that caught mother and young, perfectly behaved (dressed, mannered, etc.) child in unending moments of quiet play, sun streaming gently through the window to beam off her golden curls? To be truthful, I still mourn the loss of that picture, because even though both of my girls had their share of curls (if not golden), the QUIET and WELL-BEHAVED part of that scenario never quite played out like I had planned! All that aside, I do want to tell you not to despair.
Motherhood is nothing if not a tug-of-war. You're the little flag in the middle, trying to stay balanced between the "no's" and the "yes's"...between the "I'm too tired to stay firm and consistent" and the "if I 'spare the rod I'll spoil the child'"...between the desire to be their friend and the demand to be their mom. Know that there isn't a mom in the universe that has ever maintained that balanced place in the game all the time. Every one of us has hit the ground with a hard thud, face in the mud, dirt in our teeth. The problem is not in the fall, however. It only becomes a real problem when that mom, defeated, rolls up that rope, sticks it in her purse and camps out on whichever side she's fallen. She not only ends up unbalanced, but so do her kids. The best moms out there are the ones who get back up and keep trying to stand their ground, dabbling a little on both sides, certainly, but keeping their focus on staying balanced till the end.
Your friends are right...you ARE a great mom. You are trying so hard to do things in a godly way and bring your kids up right, and you're doing a great job. Don't gauge yourself on Lisi's demanding personality (trust me on that one - I've been there!) or on Isabella's diet (she's not starving and if the doctor says she's growing and healthy, don't worry about it!). I will give you a couple of suggestions, however, that worked for me most of the time (you may already be doing this).
FOR ISABELLA: I found that if my kids were involved in the kitchen, in choosing the menu and helping prepare it, they ate a lot better. Get a kid's cookbook with very simple, yummy-sounding recipes and let her help you make it and serve it. She will be so proud of herself, she wouldn't think of not at least trying it!
FOR BOTH GIRLS: Instead of taking things away, try some positive reinforcement. Again, you may already be doing this, but if not, and Mark is not all that keen on discipline, this might be something he would be more apt to get involved in and you wouldn't be left feeling like the bad guy all the time. Get a poster board and make a big sticker chart...make a list of good behaviors that you're trying to teach and let them put a sticker on the day's square each time they do it. At the end of the week, if they have at least 5 stickers on each day (or whatever you deem appropriate), they will get a predetermined treat. You can also do this with M&M's in a jar, or coins that they can spend at the end of the week, or whatever you can come up with.
This is just food for thought, but it sounded like you might could use some fresh perspective. Remember that God is the only perfect parent...He gives us the standards to go by, and graciously fills in the spots we miss or mess up. Rest in Him and keep loving those kids the way you so marvelously do!
Love to you this day,
Melinda
I'm catching back up on blogs (my own having been neglected since before Thanksgiving!) and just read your last two posts. What I want to say deserved its own email and was a little too long for a post. So here it is.
Are you wondering what happened to that picture you had in your head when you were first pregnant? That blissful slice of Americana that caught mother and young, perfectly behaved (dressed, mannered, etc.) child in unending moments of quiet play, sun streaming gently through the window to beam off her golden curls? To be truthful, I still mourn the loss of that picture, because even though both of my girls had their share of curls (if not golden), the QUIET and WELL-BEHAVED part of that scenario never quite played out like I had planned! All that aside, I do want to tell you not to despair.
Motherhood is nothing if not a tug-of-war. You're the little flag in the middle, trying to stay balanced between the "no's" and the "yes's"...between the "I'm too tired to stay firm and consistent" and the "if I 'spare the rod I'll spoil the child'"...between the desire to be their friend and the demand to be their mom. Know that there isn't a mom in the universe that has ever maintained that balanced place in the game all the time. Every one of us has hit the ground with a hard thud, face in the mud, dirt in our teeth. The problem is not in the fall, however. It only becomes a real problem when that mom, defeated, rolls up that rope, sticks it in her purse and camps out on whichever side she's fallen. She not only ends up unbalanced, but so do her kids. The best moms out there are the ones who get back up and keep trying to stand their ground, dabbling a little on both sides, certainly, but keeping their focus on staying balanced till the end.
Your friends are right...you ARE a great mom. You are trying so hard to do things in a godly way and bring your kids up right, and you're doing a great job. Don't gauge yourself on Lisi's demanding personality (trust me on that one - I've been there!) or on Isabella's diet (she's not starving and if the doctor says she's growing and healthy, don't worry about it!). I will give you a couple of suggestions, however, that worked for me most of the time (you may already be doing this).
FOR ISABELLA: I found that if my kids were involved in the kitchen, in choosing the menu and helping prepare it, they ate a lot better. Get a kid's cookbook with very simple, yummy-sounding recipes and let her help you make it and serve it. She will be so proud of herself, she wouldn't think of not at least trying it!
FOR BOTH GIRLS: Instead of taking things away, try some positive reinforcement. Again, you may already be doing this, but if not, and Mark is not all that keen on discipline, this might be something he would be more apt to get involved in and you wouldn't be left feeling like the bad guy all the time. Get a poster board and make a big sticker chart...make a list of good behaviors that you're trying to teach and let them put a sticker on the day's square each time they do it. At the end of the week, if they have at least 5 stickers on each day (or whatever you deem appropriate), they will get a predetermined treat. You can also do this with M&M's in a jar, or coins that they can spend at the end of the week, or whatever you can come up with.
This is just food for thought, but it sounded like you might could use some fresh perspective. Remember that God is the only perfect parent...He gives us the standards to go by, and graciously fills in the spots we miss or mess up. Rest in Him and keep loving those kids the way you so marvelously do!
Love to you this day,
Melinda
Monday, December 3, 2007
This is harder than I thought
Being a "yes Mom" is harder than I thought.
Our 2 sweet girls are not content when I give in to one thing. They want to find out if I will give in to two, three, four, or more!
And Isabella and Lisi never being satisfied leaves me running, running, running.
At some point I have to say "no", simply out of necessity because I cannot satisfy their every whim all of the time.
So should I be saying "no" before the 'crazy cycle' begins????
That is what I have always tried to do, but it has left me feeling like the "mean mom", and on my own.
Sorry that I am dumping on you in the blog-o-sphere. It is just what is on my mind right now.
Our 2 sweet girls are not content when I give in to one thing. They want to find out if I will give in to two, three, four, or more!
And Isabella and Lisi never being satisfied leaves me running, running, running.
At some point I have to say "no", simply out of necessity because I cannot satisfy their every whim all of the time.
So should I be saying "no" before the 'crazy cycle' begins????
That is what I have always tried to do, but it has left me feeling like the "mean mom", and on my own.
Sorry that I am dumping on you in the blog-o-sphere. It is just what is on my mind right now.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Just for the record...
I cry "uncle" when it comes to disciplining Isabella and Lisi. I mean, I will still discipline, but not the way that I have in the past. Not in the way that you have seen on this blog. Lisi has all of her clothes back, and her books and artwork are soon to follow. Isabella has Eggos and syrup in the kitchen for breakfast. I totally cry "uncle". I am not happy about it, but I am hoping to have a happier family, and, hopefully, that will have an over-all positive effect.
And just for the record, Lisi's attitude has not had a 180 turn-around, and Isabella is not eating any better. This Momma is simply worn down and worn out. I have a great husband, but he is not so keen on discipline or consistency, and I cry "uncle" on trying to think that I can do it on my own.
So if you see my sweet girls being really naughty, know that this Mom will just kindly smile and look the other way...
And just for the record, Lisi's attitude has not had a 180 turn-around, and Isabella is not eating any better. This Momma is simply worn down and worn out. I have a great husband, but he is not so keen on discipline or consistency, and I cry "uncle" on trying to think that I can do it on my own.
So if you see my sweet girls being really naughty, know that this Mom will just kindly smile and look the other way...
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