"everything's going my waaaaaay...."

There was a song sang at the weeklong summer camp I attended every year from 3rd - 12th grade.  It was a camp joke that the early rising senior counselors and staff would go around the campground singing the chorus of the opening song from the musical, Oklahoma:

Oh what a beautiful morning,
Oh what a beautiful day,I've got a wonderful feeling, Everything's going my way.


And then because campers were witty, and, well, it was a bible camp, someone would then quote Proverbs 27:14: "Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, will be counted as cursing."

I haven't blogged much this fall because not much has felt like it was falling into place.  It is easy to blog when things are going well and I can easily report on the successes: so and so is doing this, and we're doing that, and man I can't wait for this!  But this fall, with its new experiences and journey into schooling, has left me a bit more deer-in-headlights and hashtagging "mommyfail" more often than I'd like to admit.  (Let's also just mention for a minute that instagramming is much easier than blogging, at the moment, and requires very little involvement or commitment!  But I miss the art of writing and blogging.  FWIW, you can find me on instagram.com/meganesota.)

I knew there would be a learning curve for having a preschooler who attends school twice a week and then has lesson plans we complete at home two other days a week.  I knew I wouldn't find my groove immediately.  I knew, from listening to other moms, there'd be days where I'd be thinking, why am I doing this?  Totally bad idea, "epic fail."  But there have also been some days where the sun was shining, the lesson plans were complete, my kids fed, and there was a plan for dinner.  Can we get a high-five for those days?? Let's be honest, they don't usually occur on Mondays. 

Look at the whole country.
Look how it's purple, gray, and blue.
Then there's us in all shiny and yellow and orange,
burning up.
Welcome to Florida.
Image via @jonacuff on Instagram  

Mondays, I dread.  Every Monday feels like a case of the Mondays.  Until today.  Sometimes I dislike notifications on my phone because before 12pm you can get 487 notifications from various people and apps about things that aren't particularly important, but today I received a reminder there was a playdate at 10am at a nearby park with friends I don't see very often, and I decided to scrap the morning plans (which usually involve homeschool) and go to the play date.  It was hosted by our local consignment sale planners for Jumping Jeans and the kids were able to do a christmas craft. Anything that says craft (Mia) and park (Gabe) is a win-win for my kids. We headed over there and although the weather is unseasonably warm for us Floridians, it bodes pretty well for park play dates.  The kids had a great time playing with their friends and it didn't hurt that Mia's best gal pals were in attendance.  Being outside this time of year and getting some vitamin D has its therapeutic benefits as well, so we all left happy, dirty and ready for phase II of the day.  Which, as of 4pm this afternoon, I can't believe is already over: lunch, naptime, school for Mia, followed by a short quiet time.  We're on to phase III already (dinner prep, dinner, followed closely by bedtime).  This Monday has flown.  But instead of wallowing in the rapidity of the day, I'm thankful we've staved off the grouchies that sometimes plague our Mondays and we just rolled with it.  *Sigh.*  I'm tired.

Gabe sporting some raw amber.

In other news, get a Baltic Amber necklace if you haven't already! These things are great. I've been wearing an amber bracelet the last month to help with wrist/joint pain and it's helped me tremendously.  I can really tell a difference when I take it off.  So, these puppies aren't just helpful for teething babies, they are helpful for adults too.  And for the next two weeks, InspiredByFinn.com has a coupon code "Megan25," that you can use at checkout to save 25%!  This is a great time to buy as a gift for someone this holiday season, or for yourself.  How might it help you?  According to their website: 

It contains analgesic properties and helps take the edge off of the discomfort and symptoms associated with:  dental issues (such as the emergence of new teeth, orthodontic brace adjustments, TMJ), growing pains, allergies, sensory disorders associated with autism, headaches and migraines, arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, neck and shoulder discomfort, tendonitis, menstrual cramping, restless leg syndrome, back and knee discomfort, joint pain from chemotherapy, and many more.  In order to be effective Baltic amber must usually be close to the site of the discomfort.  For example, a necklace would not necessarily/likely be effective for growing pains in the legs.  For this we would recommend an ankle bracelet. 

Also worth trying? Beaked hazel wood. 

Beaked hazel wood can relieve acid-related ailments such as acid reflux, ulcers, heartburn, and other acid-related ailments. Our necklaces are a great remedy to take the edge off of heartburn and morning sickness during pregnancy.
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Order one for yourself or a friend (or both!) today!  Code Megan25 expires December 23, 2013.  

Strange September

A few years ago Greg and I created alliterations for the fall months...not in order to become a self-fulfilling prophecy but because we thought we noticed a trend. After summer was over, it sometimes just felt like things got harder (usually the back-to-school schedule in graduate school added some challenges).

Anyway, there was "Sucky September" (offensive, sorry!), "Odd October," and thankfully a reprieve, "Nice November."  Since I have young ones now I try not to use the word "suck," so I'm swapping it out for Strange September.  And this September has been slightly strange only in that it's been a very different September than any other!

stitches + a sunburn around his eyes = hot mess

Mainly because we are homeschooling two days a week and Mia goes to school two days a week and our weeks feel busy and full and...different.   And I have a little man who likes to throw wrenches into our homeschool days by falling off a chair the very first day of homeschool, cutting his chin, and requiring 6 stitches (hello, trauma!)  I won't lie, that was a really hard day for this mom as well.  Like, immediate crying in the doctor's office when he told me he would require stitches.  I think it's the mama-bear protection instinct when you just ache inside for your little one.

The other wrench a little man threw into our advent into homeschooling/schooling was when he came down with a stomach bug the day before we were to have our family pictures taken with my girl Laura Hinely before she MOVED indefinitely to NYC 2 days later (speaking of, anyone needing some photos in the Big Apple should check her out!). That meant scheduling was priority and we wouldn't have many options or really ANY option to reschedule.  As a mom, of course I wanted my little man to feel better just for his own sake, but I also was hopeful he'd feel better for the pictures' sake as I didn't want this opportunity to pass by!

Well, as I was simultaneously trying to get things ready for our photo shoot and take care of Gabe, I came across the brilliance that is activated charcoal.  I read about activated charcoal on Wellness Mama's blog and how she used it for teeth whitening, and I'll be honest, my pearly whites were more like pearly off-whites.  They needed some love.  Yet I wasn't keen on the Crest White Strips as I tried them before we got married and they made my gums sensitive and felt really chemical-ly.  So I was excited to see that for less than $8, you could buy some 90 capsules to try activated charcoal in order to whiten your teeth! It looks like you have oreos on your teeth at first but it really works.  It's gradual, but it works.
I assumed activated charcoal had other uses and lo and behold, it can be used for stomach bugs (Gabe's very issue)!  So fascinated about it, I wrote this guest post for Modern Alternative Mama about activated charcoal.  You can read it here:
http://www.modernalternativemama.com/blog/2013/09/21/activated-charcoal-new-must-have-in-my-natural-health-arsenal/

And oh yeah, Gabe recovered in 24 hours and we were thankfully able to get those family pictures made.  Can't wait to see the actual files soon! (These are just screenshots from Laura's computer from her iPhone.)

PS: School has been great for the chiquita!  She's a champ.

Back to School and the Forgotten Blog

haircuts & starbucks!

Sounds the title of an amazing book, right?  It's coming out in September.

Totes joking.


While I've sat contemplating how sad my blog's existence as been as of late, I've felt the need to update it yet feel the words escape me as soon as I put pen to paper, or finger to keyboard, as it were. It's ever so cliche to say "we are busy!" and I really mean it this time (like I do every other time), and so it's true (like it is every other time), but it's becoming busier in another new way.  I feel like we go through mini growth spurts every few months, as individuals, families, and in our roles in those families, and then it seems as if we go through major growth spurts every couple years.  It's been a couple of years now and this next major growth spurt is that our oldest is big enough for school now!  She's going to be a student! The mind explodes.

all smiles at the dentist
{MUCH improved from the 1st visit}

For real, though, our family is feeling the stretch that will come as we Mia starts a community school preschool, where she'll go to school two days a week, and homeschool two days a week.  And Fridays are optional enrichment.  To say the least, this will be life changing. It almost feels like having another kid, the amount of thought and preparation (and total winging it, lemme be honest here!) that will go on.

The the curriculum's been assigned, the books procured, the lesson plans have already been emailed out, and the uniforms have been purchased.  Back to school haircuts and dentist appointments too.  We want to make sure we're ready to go!!  We are in a for a new ride, and we can't wait to see what is in store for Miss Mia, official preschooler as of next week!

We are trying to make the most of our last few days of summer around here.  I know some things will stay the same, but a lot will be changing, so I'm doing what I do where I cling to what I know is good and comfy, all the while getting ready for the next thing.  Getting Older.  It's not for the faint of heart!!

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end

That lyric was the quote used for my senior year of high school back in 2001, from the song "Closing Time" by Semisonic.

We were so "present" back then without even realizing it! ;) Yah, right.

This came faster than I anticipated, but in the past two weeks I've toured two different preschools and had two very different experiences trying to imagine and predict and well, ask for God's guidance in figuring out the right educational option for our almost 4 year old for next year! And yes, this means it's been 4 years now since that picture you see of me & Greg to the left.  Four years ago we stood on a bank by a canal while our good friend snapped pictures of us as we anticipated the tiniest bundle you could think of...

She has always been looking to the future! ;)

The whole "your child is old enough to go to preschool next year" feeling is eerily similar in my estimation to the feeling I had when I was pregnant with Mia and was realizing "you're having a baby and you have major decisions to make!" Birth center, or hospital? Vaxing or no-vaxing? Cloth diapers or disposables? I guess in her case we did a little bit of both, didn't we?!

But with preschool, it's kind of all or nothing. You either do it, or you don't do it, and if you don't, that's fine, because there's always kindergarten.  But we have felt with this particular youngster that is she probably ready for a little structured learning.

Mia at her preschool co-op

Like I said, we've toured a couple of places, and we now have a feeling and a hunch that a certain place might be right for her and for us, but we are waiting a few things out until we know more and more time has passed.  I'll let you know when we know! But we are being very prayerful about this and if you felt like praying about it too we'd gladly welcome it!


What we've been doing this year:
Some may know that this year, we've been participating in a "preschool co-op" with a few other families from our church group.  It's more like giving our children practice at being in a learning environment than it is formally trying to teach them specific concepts or whatnot, although I'm sure they are learning a lot just through the experience. We aim to meet 3 Tuesdays out of every month, and the moms rotate who teaches each month. February has been my month and I have 2 more classes to teach!  It's been fun and eye-opening, and Mia has enjoyed every minute.  The classes only last about 1.5 hours but I was shocked how quickly that time passed when I last taught.

It is just kind of crazy that our little girl is slowly exiting little little childhood and is almost ready for school (hence the title of this blog)!

Well, another new beginning is coming from some beginning's end: Gabe's naptime is over and so must this blog post be.  Until next time...