"Must-Have" Mother's Day Book for YOU & A Giveaway!!!

Love. Encouragement. Wings.

Those are 3 things that come to my mind when I think about the women who surround me, such as yourselves. Day in and day out, you are giving so much to your families. And with Mother's Day just around the corner, I think it's time to celebrate you.

Last year at this time, I discovered a most wonderful picture book at my local bookstore. What was it? Mom Says I Can by Judy Cooley. The title caught my attention right away. The illustration on the cover had me wanting to find out more. Take a look.

Isn't it GORGEOUS?

I love this book so much, that I wanted to share with all of you more about it. And so I wrote to the author and even had the wonderful opportunity of being able to speak with her on the phone yesterday. I wanted to ask her more about the inspiration behind this most beautiful book in hopes that we can all learn something from her both as a mother, writer, & illustrator.

With her permission, I'd like to share with you some of the magnificient paintings that I know will just capture your heart.

I asked Judy about how she first got started as an illustrator. I found it so intriguing to hear that she actually did most of her paintings while her children were young. She realized that after having her first baby, it was also important to do something for herself. And so her dear husband purchased her some watercolor lessons because he knew how much she enjoyed art. Isn't that wonderful? So what started out as a hobby, then grew. She found a mentor who could offer her constructive criticism, opened up a little art show in her own home with about 40 different paintings, and it went from there. OK, tell me that isn't just amazing. I LOVE A GREAT SUCCESS STORY. LOVE IT.

I asked Judy about what painting from the book was her most favorite and why. She shared that after working on 10 different paintings, she was not pleased with what she had done. She was in a rut. She then called her publisher and said, "I'm going to need another year." Judy saved up her pennies & went to Italy to study some more there. She came home and scrapped EVERYTHING. She started over. Her first painting was the boy in the box. While painting it just came back to her, "I really DO love to paint."

For any of you out there who've ever had to deal with your little "models" not cooperating when you want to take a picture, you will relate very well to this. Before painting, she would take photographs of the little boy she was modeling the book after. Dressed in a variety of costumes and having to strike certain poses...well, I'm sure you can all imagine. Who else has a 3-year-old out there? :) She told me that most of his pictures were actually taken with a mouth full of Skittles! I said, "What a lucky little boy to have himself portrayed throughout the book!" Judy responded, "I don't think he felt lucky at all!" And don't you dare say he was cute. He would respond, "I'm not cute, I'm cool!" And so it goes, that in the book you'll read, "...But today, I'm super cool Max." :)

These are just a few of the illustrations from this beloved book. The storyline is very special as well, and as you read it with your child, you can't help but just want to cuddle in together as you read about Max and his mommy.

Max has an imagination that takes him to grand adventures of being a pirate, a cowboy, a pilot and even a superhero!

And finally, I asked Judy about what her best advice would be to moms out there. She simply said, "Play more." I think that couldn't be more perfectly said. It's so true. Our little ones grow up way too fast!

Thank you, Judy, for taking the time to share with me more about this book, and even more...about YOU! What an inspiration!

How would you love to win a signed copy of this beautiful hardcover book? What a wonderful keepsake for yourself or to give to someone you love at Mother's Day. You can do so through a few different ways!

1. Leave a comment on this post regarding what you think about Mom Says I Can and/or something you found to be inspiring about the interview with author, Judy Cooley.

2. Leave a comment to tell us all something about your own mom! How did she encourage you growing up?

3. Become a follower to my blog! If you already are, let me know by making another comment here!

And that's it! That is a total of 3 entries!

You have from now until Tuesday, May 5 to enter! I'll announce the winner next Wednesday so that there is enough time for you to receive this by Mother's Day! I promise...it's a keeper. :)

Last Night's Story Through Pictures- S'mores & Plan Bs

Today I thought I'd share with you a little story from what took place in our home last night. To explain this ever so simply, I have chosen a few designs from SWAK to illustrate my little story. :)

So the latest buzz in this household over this past week was my little boy BEGGING to make some s'mores.

We have a small firepit in our backyard and for some odd reason, he got this idea in his mind that we needed to roast marshmallows THIS week. Visions of roasting by the fire were engrained on his mind.

So tonight was going to be the night. The night that...

Everything was set out and ready to go when this appeared in the sky... and the rain began to pour!

"Oh no!" he cried. "Mom, isn't there anything we can do?" I said, "Sure,

And isn't that true? We moms always have to come up with a plan B. Sometimes even C or D. :) So I got my cute in the kitchen, and we decided to make s'mores in the microwave! It was so cool! I mean, have you ever seen a marshmallow blow up so big after 15 seconds?? It was great!

Smacked the graham cracker, marshmallow, and chocolate together, and you had a kid who was on 9! Hallelujah!

and And we ended up with the end result of a lovely plate of microwaved s'mores.

Sure, I missed the crispy, brown edges, but hey...it sure is great leaving the smoky clothes behind!
Plan B's work out just fine. :)

Tell me about your plan B when things haven't gone exactly as planned!

Brandon Mull: Author Who Inspires Kids!

Several weeks ago, my middle-schooler was invited to attend a young writers & artists fest. What a thrill it was for her to be selected to attend, but even more was the fact that one of her very favorite authors would be there! If you haven't heard of the book, Fablehaven, then chances are you might not have a 9 to 12 year-old in your home!

I just loved the opportunity that I had to go with her to this conference. Even as an adult, I enjoyed his presentation very much. I left feeling very inspired. But I also left feeling so grateful that there are people out there who enjoy sharing their talents with others, especially young children, as they provide such good role models of what hard work and dedication can do in your life.

A few excerpts that I quickly wrote down and thought these were great things to share with all of my kids. Of course he went into much further detail which was so intriguing. But here are some points of advice...

How do you improve your imagination?

Reading! When watching TV, someone else is doing the imagining for you. But when you are reading, all you've got is the words on the page...and you are free to picture it the way you want. YOU are a part of the creative process. Books don't happen on the page...they happen in the mind of the reader.



And then he shared 5 secrets to becoming an author. Here's a synopsis...

1. Have lots of experiences & pay attention to them. Be an observer of your own life.

2. Exercise your imagination & create stories. You have to write a lot.

3. Read a lot. Read every day. You will sample the different ways authors tell stories.

4. Write your stories down. Share them with those you trust. It is invaluable to get honest feedback from others in your work. We all get corrected so that we can improve.

5. Be persistent and never give up!

Boy, I'd say this is great advice for just about anyone. Off to create! :)

Making Life Easier...One White Sock at a Time

Laundry. It's never-ending. But a laundry basket full of white socks? Dreadful.

Not my favorite way to spend my time.

And where did that missing sock go anyway? M-I-A.

So in an age of automatic bill paying, electronic can openers, and renewing my library books online, I figured there's got to be a more productive way to sort a household of 6's socks.

My solution? A little contraption that has been around since 1849. The safety pin.

I've got a little basket of them by the laundry area and I heavily persuade my children to "pin up" their socks before throwing them into the dirty clothes. The socks then go through the washer AND dryer while still being pinned together.

The result? Matched socks. Speedy finish. Happy mommy. :)

What is a tip that makes your life easier? I'd love to hear!

A High-Five for Gardening with the Kids! *Winner* Announced

It's planting time and if you haven't already begun your garden, or are not planning on doing one, here's an easy activity that will not only help your children learn more about gardening on a small scale, but will also be fun for the family nonetheless! Perfect time to share this as Earth Day was just celebrated!

Materials:

Disposable, plastic, clear kitchen glove
Cotton balls
Seeds of different varieties

What You Do:

1. With a permanent marker, write on each "finger" of the glove what you will be planting. We decided to plant carrots, beans, squash, zuchinni, and lettuce!

2. With a small bowl of water nearby, have the kids each dip one cottonball into the water.

3. Gently squeeze out the excess water.

4. Sprinkle some seeds onto a plate and have each child "collect" several seeds by pressing their soaked cottonball onto the plate.

5. Place cottonball into the cooresponding finger of the glove.

6. Repeat these steps for each new seed.

Once all 5 fingers have been filled with seeds, tape shut and hang from a sunny window!

They'll look kind of funny hanging from your window, but the kids will sure get a kick out of it! The seeds will begin to germinate in just a few short days. Oh, I can't wait to see their faces when that happens! I'll be sure to take a picture or two of the gloves sometime next week!

I first learned about this idea from Ag in the Classroom several years ago while teaching. They have some great follow-up lessons to go along with it if you wanted to take this activity a bit further!

Once they begin to germinate, clip off the ends and go ahead and plant in the backyard! And the best part is, that oftentimes I can get my pickiest eaters in my family to try some new vegetables when they actually grow them on their own and see the entire process from start to finish. They will take great pride in their little gardens and be very curious to how their produce ends up tasting!

NOW...to the winner of the Dripstick giveway! Drumroll please.....

Congratulations!!! May you be blessed with lots of cute ice-cream smothered faces this summer with no icky hands!! :) Thanks everyone for joining in on the fun!

Wordless Wednesday: Commonly Asked Question

"Are you by chance related to the Osmonds?"

View more Wordless Wednesday participants HERE!

Also, if you get a chance, you can check out an interview that LeighAnne from iLashGirls.com did yesterday about Kim and I and a little more about our story behind what we do. There you'll also find the answer to the previous question about the Osmonds. :) iLashGirls.com is also a fantastic place for women! There is such a positive energy from that site & the fabulous women behind it. Read more HERE and be sure to tell LeighAnne and Sherra "Hi!"

*Last day to enter "Dripstik" giveaway! Winner announced tomorrow!

SHE'S HERE!! The Debut of the New Mini-Kimmy!

Do you remember a little pic I posted a few weeks ago giving you a sneak peak at something special? Well, she's finally arrived! The new Mini-Kimmy doll! Isn't she adorable?

So fun! I've now made several of them through the testing phase, and each time I do, I get a little giddy. Darling clothes, various hairstyles, pajamas, & even little undies & shoes!

Made for the 5x7 hoop, she is a fun one to put together! And she's now available at SWAKembroidery.com!

For those of you who don't embroider, she is actually based after the 24" cloth doll found at YouCanMakeThis.com! At Christmas time, I decided to make my 3 girls each their own doll. Being so busy during the holidays, I was quite rushed to finish these. My sweet husband even stayed up with me practically through the entire night on Christmas Eve to help me try to finish. But to no avail, here is what ended up sitting underneath our Christmas tree!

Yes indeed, here sat 3 little wonders....baldness and all. I couldn't pull it off and so the make-shift bandanas would have to do. Adding the hair is still on my "to-do" list. :)

The girls loved them nonetheless. My oldest, being 11 at the time, may have been considered "too old" for a cloth doll at Christmas. But I just had to. They grow up so fast and I wanted her to have a dolly to keep. She loved it.

Here is how cute these darlings can be when they're completely finished!

No TV Week! What will you be doing?

It's National No-TV Week this week! I have to admit, it's not my most favorite occasion to celebrate. Oops. I didn't say that. :) But when your 4th grader comes to you with a note from school about it and pleads, "PLEASE MOM! Can our WHOLE FAMILY participate this year? They are going to have prizes!" ...then what do you do? And no TV week encompasses even more...such as COMPUTERS. Gulp. I think I'm going to break out into a sweat.

FORTUNATELY the letter home had a footnote that did say, "Parents who use the computer for work-related purposes are OK to still use the computer without losing elegibility of family prizes." Oh phew. I'm saved from facing the sured wrath from a 9-year-old catching mom on the computer. This is work, right? :)

But we will definitely hold our end of the bargain this week with turning off the screen for non-work related purposes. That means mom has to put a plan into action. Thumbing through some old files, I found this and was excited to be reminded of something I had published 7 years ago! Yes...7 years....yikes.

I had submitted an idea of a little "bug hotel" to Pack-O-Fun magazine. They accepted! So easy to do, all it takes is an empty spice container and some yarn. Have the kids decorate it, string the yarn through as a necklace, and their hands are free for the catching!

And the best part is that because it is an empty spice container, there are already holes at the top for their new "little friends" to breathe! :)

So I think that is one of the things I'm going to do with the kids this week. We'll probably do a lot of biking, reading, and working on our indoor plants for the garden.

Are you participating in No-TV Week? If so, what are some of your ideas? I'd love to hear!

New Machine Embroidery Just Listed!

Hi all! Just finished some 4th of July designs! The applique is super easy and the "Happy 4th of July" is available in filled or applique! Now available at SWAKembroidery.com!