MORE Easter Basket Fun....

I have a few more FUN FUN FUN items I will be stashing in my lil plums easter basket this year,,, Wanted to share my excitement !

CHUMS: What an AWESOME idea,,, I found a company called "Simply Fun" A fellow mom and direct sales rep,,named Rana,, who btw,,, ROCKS ! She and her two awesome lil ones are regular attendees of my bi weekly Barefoot Books Storytimes in my subdivision and one of my BEST customers.Simply Fun focuses on providing families with FUN games that can help teach our kids life shills, help strengthen Family Bonds and provide LOADS of unique social interaction. These games are sure to be ones you wont find on your typical store shelf,,, they go along with my EVER PERSISTENT quest to provide my kids with "unique" non commercialized" products that help nurture a childs unique creativity and imagination,,, This one imparticular is a spin off of the original "go Fish" game of old that most of us are familair with... PERFECT size for an easter basket. Granted my daughter might be a tad too young to grasp the concept of the game but I am SURE she will get hours of fun and entertainment looking at all the unique and cooky fish caricature depictions and hopefully next year will be able to fully grasp the concept of the game and PLAY AWAY !




Magnetic Ladybug Puzzle : Along with fish Lily LOVES bugs,,, she is the only child I know that doesnt RUN from grasshoppers and bugs but actually goes to touch them,,,, this fun puzzle looks like a good hand eye coordination game that will take an ounce or two of patience but Lily ,, like her dad,, loves to fish and this game provides a unique way for the kids to "fish" for lil bugs with a magnetic fishing pole... I cant wait to see how Lily responds to this fun fun game,,



I have to say just a few more things about this AWESOME company,, like Barefoot Books,, this company stands up for more than just "profits" They partner with a wonderful organization called " My Stuff Bags Foundation" this company provides "my stuff" bags to foster and abandoned children. Each year, over 300,000 children in America must be rescued from dire circumstances of abuse and neglect. They often enter crisis and foster shelters with nothing of their own.

The My Stuff Bags Foundation provides comfort and hope to these children through individual duffels called My Stuff Bags. A bag of comfort to a child who has nothing to call their own.
Each customer if choosing, gets to make a donation purchase of a measly $ 15.00 to provide a "my Stuff" bag for a child in need...

Of course last but not least the Obligatory Chocolate Easter Bunny. I planon making a feeble attempt at a home made dark chocolate Easter Bunny for her this yes,,, stay tuned to Lilys Veggie Bites,, my childrens food blog for complete run down of recipe and pics of the final product,,,


So,,, Im HOPING this will be all for now otherwise,,,, we will be in NEED of a BIGGER Easter Basket ! til next time,,,

A DIFFERENT and FUN easter basket !

I LOVE easter,,, I have always loved easter. When I was younger my grandma always made the BEST easter baskets,, my favorite part was the stickers and the books. The thing
I loved most about them is that they were different. I never knew what to expect,, it forced me to use my imagination and creativity . Something BAREFOOT BOOKS always does,, gives our kids the tools to use their own creative imaginations.

Here are a few I have chosen to include in lilys easter basket...


WHOLE WORLD,, FUN ECO ACTIVITIES,,,another activity book that has fun activities that also teach our children about being friendly to our earth,,, in the spirit of Earth Day which is ALSO this month. You can never start too young in teaching your kids how each footprin we leave makes a difference. To care about not only oursleves but the world around us,,,, I will also be giving this title to my niece who is 12. A little too old for a "easter Basket" but a fun activity that sends a positive message too !


TALK WITH ME,, a GREAT NEW title from barefoot books that provides interactive fun for your little one.. sure to keep your little one interested. This book introduces your young one to differnt animals and their sounds and lets your child actively participate by askng them to lift the flaps ,,,,



ANIMAL PLAYGROUND CD,, an AWESOME collection of multilingual animal themed folk songs from around the world. LILY LOVES TO DANCE and I love watching her dance around to these upbeat Puntamayo songs,,, sure to be a fun one to watch her dance to,,,,,

When LEMONS arent always bittersweet

I am AWESTRUCK by my daughter !!!

Everyday she never ceases to amaze me with some of the smallest things
WE like to "learn" as we grocery shop. We sometimes spend an hour in the produce seciton . The lil plum likes to name all the produce. We also like to find exotic fruit she can pick up and smell and touch This is in additon to the weekly regulars arugula, onions, mandarin oranges, bananas ( or nay nay's she likes to call them ) tomatoes, mushrooms,broccoli, peppers etc.. and of course,,LEMONS..!!!! more on that.

Lemons,, if she grows up to be like me she will LOVE lemons. Lemon ANYTHING. I had a good friend Angie who sadly,,, is no longer with us. She taught me something about food and adding lemons and lemon juice to the oddest things. French fries,chicken strips,sandwhiches,, and then of course there is the obvious things like on salad..Its amazing the "little things" and "Small" memories that "stick" with us.It is those that we carrywith us and have the BIGGEST impact in our lives. So naturally,,, Lily has already had her fair share of lemon dishes and has had her fair share of grocery store learning experiences with them.

On with the point,,, We were driving home from Phillips Park yesterday. Lily kept asking for water.. her sippie was empty so I took some from my to go cup and poured it into hers... Mind you,, more often than not,, either a wedge of lemon or lime is always in my water,,,

She took a sip of the water out of her Foogo and she said,,

mmmmmmm yummy "lemons"

WOW !!!!! AMAZING ! A 2 year old that can pick out the taste of "lemon" in water. No way she saw the lemon in the water,, the cup was not clear..
This girl is well on her way to being a "true" foodie and I must tell you I am SO PROUD and AMAZED at how intelligent and receptive she has already become..

aaaah the SWEET SWEET SMELL Of Lemons,,, Thanks Angie who will forever be rememberd not just for lemons but for the small things she left with us
and thanks to Lily for never ceasing to put a smile on my face and pride in my large mommy heart with some of the smallest little things...

Reminds me ,,, never stop remembering every little moment in your life is precious and never stop making every little moment in your kids lives a learning experience that will "Stick" with them. THESE truly ARE the memories that matter the most

March 2nd..

I spent the majority of today absorbed in "Motley Crue",, the dirt. The autobiography of Motley Crue
Thoughtless, entertaining, but mindless reading. .

Anything to keep my mind off of the dread this day brings.

2 years

2 years since my dad died. This days marks the death of my dad and within a week I will be celebrating my daughters 2nd birthday.

It hardly seems fair,, kinda cruel actually.

But,, since when did life become fair ?
I thought it would get easier with time. I must have been kidding myself. It has in fact,,, gotten harder. Thinking about him almost always brings tears to my eyes and hurt in my heart.
I spent the majority of February 2007 at the hospital. Either in the emergency room, with my dad or at one of his many bedsides within those three months prior or in my OB GYN office at my weekly pre natal visits.
Most of the cafeteria and hospital nursing staff knew me by name,, even if they didnt partake in mine or my dads care. Stopping me in the hallways to ask how I or my dad was doing.

At that point I was already dilating , having irregular contractions and was ordered off of work and anticipating the inevitable ealry birth of my daughter in my 8th month of pregnancy. Stay close to home and no strenuous activity.

Try to avoid stress .
HAH! HAH ! DOUBLE hah !

How do you do that when you are taking your dad either to the emergency room, sitting with him day after day by his bedside in the hospital, then in the nursing home and ultimately at his bedside a few feet from your bedroom,, in your home,, watching him wither away on hospice care and trying like heck to avoid going into labor at the "wrong" time. Living with the fear that you may be bringing another beautiful soul into this world ,, all the while your fathers beautiful soul is leaving this workd,, without you by his side.

Avoid stress ? Not a possiblity.

Anyone who takes on the role of caretaker of a dying loved one can attest that you dont think twice about what your doing,, out of love for the other person,, you do it. Without hesitation. You never realize the heartache and guilt and second guessing you endure thereafter when all is said and done.

That last week is like a blur of commotion for me. I followed the ambulance from the hospital to my home,, with my dad in the back. Watched them bring my dad up the stairs on a stretcher and put him in his room ,, on a hospice bed and I scurried to make him his favorite meals.

Five bean soup. Apple Cobbler and home made chili. My house was filled with people it seemed. My brother and his family had come from Tulsa to be with us for part of the time. My sister was there as well. The hospice nurses in and out all day. But the majority of the caretaking had been mine up until that point and I dealt with constant second guesing on what I did wrong to make things happen like they did.
He lived with me. I fed him. I did his laundry. I picked his doctor. I drove him to his doctor appointments. I picked up his prescriptions. I ensured they were all in
the pill box for him to take. I ensured his oxygen tank was working. I ensured he participated in his physical therapy. I waited for him in the waiting room after countless procedures and stent placements. What did" I" do wrong I thought to make this happen the way it had.

This wasnt how it was suppose to be .

He is suppose to meet his grand daughter.

He never did.

But I believe he looks down on her everyday and smiles thinking what a beautiful gift and miracle she is.
He was watching over my son today as he went to freshman baseball tryouts and he was with me this morning when I woke up early,, 5:12 AM,, funny,, right around the time he left this world,, I suddenly awoke and I heard the morning dove outside my window.
I havent heard that dove in months. !
We have had a long long cold winter,,,
But he woke me this morning.
I got my slippers on and a light fleece jacket and went downstairs to see if I could see the morning dove perched out on the porch on the railing where he normally was

He wasnt there,, but I heard him. so I went searching.

He was perched on the gutter ,, right above my dads window.
My dad always loved to sit on that porch and feed the birds with his cup of Mc Donalds coffee in his hand.Perhaps it was just coincidence or it was my own wishful thinking that makes me think in some strange way it was daddy telling me he will always be there. ,, but I prefer to believe the latter.

I guess my point is,,while i havent figured out a less painful way to mourn those you love and I hanvent found a way to make the pain go away,, I have come to the realization ,,,
It shouldnt .
When you mourn someone,, they dont go away. It doesnt get easier,, you dont "close the book" on them. You dont EVER find closure..
As my brother so poignantly said. "why would you want to ?"
As Benjamin Button said,, you have to lose someone you love to truly know how much they really meant to you.

They will ALWAYS be in your life ,, in your memories and,,, .
In your heart.
And if you loved them
Thats how it always should be.