Movin' On

I'm full of surprises this week - I've moved! I'm having a little housewarming at my new home myhomesweethomeonline.net. I know it all runs together; what it says is MyHomeSweetHomeOnline.NET

Do you know how difficult it is to find an available URL with "home sweet home" in the title that isn't already taken by a real estate company? Next to impossible. That's actually why I changed the name from Home Sweet Home to My Home Sweet Home a few months ago, looking toward making the change.

The new site is super boring now until I import my template to WordPress, but I want to start using it since I've already imported my posts and comments.

Please stop by the new My Home Sweet Home and say hello!

My Big Announcement!

Except for some very minor tweaks, the website that I've been working on forever is up and running!

I'm pleased to introduce you to Love-Me-Knots boutique hair accessories. One of my dearest friends, Melissa, has been making gorgeous hairbows and accessories for upscale children's boutiques for a three years. She wanted to take her business to the next level through on online store, and I wanted to learn the computer skills and programs needed to create websites. We made a perfect pair: two SAHMs with big dreams and little time or resources for making them happen.

The first week of September last year I ordered two computer books to learn the programs I needed to know, and thus began the long process of building the website. Along the way I started designing blog templates, which I really enjoy have learned so much from doing. Those of you who read my blog with any regularity will have noticed that I have been referring to the website I'm working on for eight months now. I feel like I've just given birth to my ninth child!

The website has taken so much of my time lately that I'm way behind on laundry and my bloglines, my house is a disaster, and my kids are fed up with frozen burritos. I'm looking forward to a little rest and normalcy of routine - however normal our routine may be - but what I would be really excited about is selling some bows! Visit us at Love-Me-Knots and you'll be amazed at the huge selection of top-quality hair accessories.

Thank you for sharing in my joy and my "surprise"!

Update on Heather's Surgery

Heather's brain tumor was removed this week at the Mayo Clinic. Her recovery is going well, although she hasn't yet been able to speak. Please continue to pray for her, her doctors, friends and family. Click the button below for a link to her blog, which is being updated by her husband and her friend, Laura. Janice at 5 Minutes for Mom made the code for the button, which you can get here.

I'm super busy with my "surprise," but you can find me at The Well Drained Mind.

Moments in Motherhood, May 2007

The following is this month's topic for Moments in Motherhood:

What is your opinion concerning girls calling boys? Depending on the ages of your children, did/do/will you let your daughters call boys? How do you feel about girls calling your son(s)?

When I was growing up in my parents' home, it was understood that girls didn't call boys. Any guys that I ever called were most definitely friends only: nothing remotely romantic in nature, only study partners, buddies. I talked to my girlfriends all the time, but I knew I wasn't supposed to be calling boys I was "interested in." It just wasn't proper. Call me old-fashioned (and I'll take that as a compliment, thankyouverymuch), but I still feel the same way.

My 12-year-old son currently has three girls who call him. He was painfully shy for most of his life, but he's come out of it for the most part. Maybe it's that strong, silent-type thing. I don't know. All I know is that he's not doing any of the calling and gets off the phone as soon as I tell him.

I'm still looking for the perfect way to handle this. We've had times when girls have called our older sons. Once I was home sick from church and the only one in the house. A girl whom I didn't like calling our oldest son called around 30 times in a 45 minute period. Since no one was answering (I didn't), I guess she wanted to catch him the moment he walked in the door. It was making me nuts! When my family got home I discussed the situation (not just that day's calls, but all of them) with my husband, and he answered the phone and had a nice but instructive conversation with the girl. She never called again.

I don't know the ones who are calling now very well, but they seem like nice girls. My thought is that their mothers (and especially their daddies) don't have a clue what's happening. I'm not sure if I should talk to their mothers or the girls themselves. I've been in that position before, when someone tells you something that you really needed to know about your child but didn't want to hear, and I don't relish the thought of putting another mom (or two, or three) in that same boat. On the other hand, should I be the one discussing it with the girls? It always catches me off guard when they call.

My oldest daughter is 10, so I haven't experienced this from the other side. I've been giving her fair warning of what's expected, although I'm not naive enough to assume that's the end of the discussion.

What are your thoughts and experiences in this area? If you post something on your blog, please come back and link your post to my Mr. Linky.

The Well Drained Mind

I'm excited to be a part of The Well Drained Mind, a new place for homeschooling moms. Here's a little bit of the philosophy behind this group blog:

"This blog is about how to maintain a sense of self in this all encompassing life altering decision we have each made, for all manner of reasons, to homeschool. There are plenty of blogs out there devoted to being a Mom. There are plenty devoted to the challenges associated with homeschooling. But I think there are few where many voices can speak to how we can maintain and grow as individuals through this process. . ."

I enjoyed redesigning the blog, which has a yummy hot chocolate theme. Okay, so it's coffee; I'm not a coffee drinker so I imagine it as a frothy hot chocolate. Homeschooling moms, stop by and visit: it's a place for you!

[And no, this isn't the big announcement. I'm quite shocked that no one has asked if I'm pregnant (I'm not), which is the usual response when I have an announcement to make!]

Be a winner!

5 Minutes for Mom is hosting a series of Mother's Day giveaways, starting with an Apple iPod Nano that comes inside a box of chocolates!!!!!!! You can get it in silver or pink (which would be my second choice behind the apple green).

Head over to 5 Minutes for Mom for the scoop!

It's easy to assume that you'll never actually win anything, but I just found out I won the April Blog Book Tour prize from SheilaWrayGregoire.com! Three books, people! I won three books! Also, in my mailbox today was Visualize World Geography in 7 Minutes a Day: Let Pictography Take you from Clueless to Knowing the World from Tender Heart Press, a prize from the Homeschool Blog Awards. This has to be one of the most amazingly cool things I've ever seen. Just look at this:

Outline of the United Kingdom (UK)

UK's pictography: Union Jack Rabbit (actual size in book is 8" x 10")

Mnemonic for United Kingdom:

The United Kingdom is depicted as the Union Jack Rabbit, which carries a green Easter egg (Northern Ireland, part of the U.K.) in a basket, and passes them out all around the land in order to unite the kingdom. The United Kingdom's flag is referred to as the Union Jack.

I certainly wasn't that innovative when I taught a co-op geography class, and seven minutes a day is music to my ears. Wait, there's more! In my inbox today was an invitation to choose a free ebook as a prize from Simply Charlotte Mason. Five books in one day! Truly, my cup runneth over. I hope you'll visit these nice people that I've linked to, so I can share the love with those who've been so kind.

Very soon I'll be announcing the biggest thing I've ever announced here. Can you guess? Amber and Barb are already in on it!

An invitation

This month's Moments in Motherhood is this Friday, May 4. Here is the topic:

What is your opinion concerning girls calling boys (I'm talking about our kids, not adults here)? Depending on the age of your children, did/do/will you let your daughters call boys? How do you feel about girls calling your son(s)?

Post on this topic on your own blog, then sign my Mr. Linky on Friday! I'm excited to hear your thoughts.

Because we all need a good laugh

I never fail to be encouraged when I read the writings or cartoons of Todd Wilson. When I read his cartoons, I laugh so hard I cry. Literally. He has a gift for making homeschooling moms feel better when you're having one of those "everyone else teaches/cooks/cleans/etc. better than I do" moments (or days, or weeks, or maybe years).

On another note: Does it make you a bad mother if you tell your daughter that V8 Tropical Splash is mostly made of carrot juice in an attempt to scare her out of drinking it all?