Lip balm and shower tabs

Looking for a homemade, natural lip balm? I ordered some that I love. I ordered two flavors: chocolate peppermint and orange creamsicle. I loved them. The chocolate peppermint gave my lips a little tingle but was not overbearing. The orange creamsicle was mild but both kept my lips shiny and smooth. My girls kept stealing them out of my purse.
I also tried the Vicks shower tabs. The whole family used them. They came at a perfect time. We all seemed to be passing a cold around. The package arrived with two tabs. One got a little crumbly in shipping, but I blame that on my postal service. If you could see the shape just envelopes arrive in, you would understand. One tab lasted several showers. It was soothing and opened up our stuffy noses and helped with congestion. The broken one I used with my two kids. It wasn’t overpowering for them and helped them sleep better.
I can’t wait to try even more products.
You can check out Dawn’s Facebook page, until her shop opens in September.
http://Www.facebook.com/bunnifulproducts

Oh Be Careful Little Eyes

If you follow me on facebook, then you have already seen a glimpse of what I thought about the whole Miley Cyrus/VMA’s performance.  But the more I see about it, the more of an opinion I have.  I was shocked when I watched it.  Not because I didn’t expect it of her, but because this is what so called music, dancing and videos have become.  If you have followed any news about her in the last two years, this was not unexpected.  She has been headed this way for awhile.  But to be honest, look at any Vine video, Utube video, or even instagram video of a high school or college girl and what do you see?  Alot of girls “twerking.”  Maybe not to the extent of Miley, but none the less, girls with their bottoms stuck in the air, shaking it for all the world to see.

     Now are they all doing it for attention or for the wrong reasons?  Probably not.  Its now a trend.  So girls follow the trend, see if they can do it, and then video it.  I am sure some think its cute and harmless.  But then I pose this question.  Who are our girls and guys looking up to?  Admiring?  Copying?  What are they listening to?  Watching? 

     No matter the age, we need to remember the song, “Oh be careful little eyes.”  Whether we are kids, teens, or adults, we all need to be careful or what we see, hear and do.  I think some of you would be shocked if you googled lyrics to the “popular” songs or even songs you hear on the radio and sing and dance along to.  Half of them you can’t understand what they are saying, so we dance along because it has a good beat.  But before we allow music in our vehicles, on our t.v, and in our heads, we might want to know what its saying.

     I had never even heard the “song of the summer” Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke until about two weeks ago.  Someone was telling me how bad it was so I googled the lyrics.  They are very suggestive and condescending to women.  After I read the lyrics, I heard it for the first time the next week on the radio.  And if I had not googled the words before hand, I probably would have never known what he was saying or suggesting.  Its a catchy song with a good beat.  But the lyrics are suggestive and say otherwise.

     So when he comes out on the VMA’s and him and Miley grind and do suggestive things on stage, is it really any surprise?  If you know the lyrics, what they did should be no surprise. The thing that is shocking to me is her mom gave her a standing ovation.  She is 20 and he is 36.  Oh and he has a wife and kids.  So her mom stood up and clapped for her.  Good job mom.  Good job on telling your “little girl” that you are proud of her for parading around of stage with barely any clothes on, for hanging your tongue out the entire time, and for dancing with a married man, in a way that only his wife should do.  And to the guy, great job dad on showing your kids that its ok for you to basically view girls as just a play thing and its perfectly ok to sing about women in a deragatory way and treat them onstage as your play thing.  Thats exactly what your kids need to know.

So who are your kids watching?  Who do they listen to?

Parents its up to us to show them whats right and wrong.  I don’t care if Robin Thicke has 100 hits, he will not be played in my vehicle, we will not watch anything he is on or performing on.  If I get a hint of a song by him, the station will be turned with an explanation to my girls that he says not so nice stuff and acts in a way that is inappropriate.  That my friends is my job as a mom.  We are so surprised by how people dress and act but yet, as parents we allow it.  We tell them its ok.  We say, “Oh its just a song, or just a tv show, or just a video.”  if that was the case then we wouldn’t have girls dressing in a way that tells the world they don’t care who sees their bodies, and any attention is good attention. 

I am a firm believer that we show and tell people how to treat us.  If you want guys to view you as less, ladies, then dress in a way that leaves little to the imagination, “twerk” in your videos, and basically degrade yourself.  If you want guys or anyone to treat you with respect, you have to respect yourself.  Respect yourself enough to be modest and clothe yourself where you are not getting attention for whats showing but for who you really are.  Conduct yourself in a way that shows people you respect yourself, and you give respect so you deserve respect.

I want my girls to learn right from wrong from me and my husband, not from the world.  I want them to know whats respectable and acceptable to us, and in our house, and why.  Because when they get to be an adult, I want them to have a firm, Godly foundation to base their life, decisions, the way they date, the friends they have, and even how they dress on. If we don’t set the standards for them, then the world will. 

Its my job to set the example.  Does that mean they will not rebel or have some not so great shining moments? Nope.  They will mess up and make wrong decisions.  But if we raise them right, be their biggest supporter but also their greatest example, then when they do mess up, make wrong decisions, they will know it because they were raised with that foundation. 

So what kind of parent, aunt, uncle, brother, sister, or friend are you?  The one that gives the standing O even when they have shamed themselves or the one who is the example so the other person would know not to be up there doing it in the first place?

Alone time is not all its cracked up to be

If you have been around me for any length of time, you have probably heard these words come out of my mouth, “why can’t I just go to the bathroom by myself”, or “just one night without interrupted sleep,” or maybe “I just wish I had one day all to myself.”
As a stay at home mom, alone time for me is few and far between. I tell my husband all the time he has no idea what it’s like to get in the shower and be interrupted by fighting kids, or screaming kids. He gets to go to the bathroom and actually shut the door. Sometimes, when I have one of those days that the kids seem to be at their worst, I crave alone time. I have always been a loner. I enjoy being by myself, shopping by myself, sitting in the house alone.
I don’t mean that I don’t love my husband and kids, nor do I mean that I don’t love spending time with them. But once you have kids, your time is not your own. Your life is not your own. And I love it like that, most of the time.
But as I sit at home by myself today, I realize when it comes down to it, those statements that I make often, I really don’t mean. I am at home sick today. The kids spent last night with their grandparents. Today is Sunday. Which is church day. Very rarely does my husband have to go to church by himself. Today he did. I have had a migraine all night. So as my husband went to church, my girls went to their church with their grandparents, I have had a day at home by myself.
And I feel lost. I feel like something is missing. I feel lonely. I feel like my little world is not what it should be. I miss my family. I miss my church family. I missed going to my parents house for lunch, where there was about 13 or 14 very loud people. I am bored. Yes if I felt better, there is lots I could do in the house. But right now, I don’t feel well enough to do any of it. I miss my kids fighting, their laughs, having to give them “those looks” in church. I miss hearing my husband preach, talking to him as he drives, hearing him get irritated at the kids chatter, etc.
Sometimes when we get what we ask for, we learn its not really what we want. You see, I do crave alone time, but my happiest moments are times spent with my family. Times where I feel needed, and those times I feel that mama is the only one that can do it for them. Times where no matter what I am doing, my girls giggling, playing pretend and yes also fighting, is only an ear shot away. Those times when the girls are in bed, and my husband and I are curled up on the couch together, watching t.v. and not having to say a word. Times where on Sunday morning I am running around like a crazy person, getting everyone ready, making sure I have everything, etc. That’s what makes me happy, what makes my life feel lived and what makes me know I am doing just what I am supposed to be doing…….now to go potty by myself and not have to share my snack. Alone does have a few benefits.