Make Your Own Toys

Recently, I saw this water table toy on Amazon that I thought my son Matthew would really enjoy. The problem is that we live in a condo, and don't have room for toys like this because we only have a balcony and would have no where to put it in winter. So using the idea of a friend who lives close to me, I put water in the bottom of a flowerpot, but I put it up on a chair since my son is almost one and wants to stand and do everything. The other benefit of this is that the water never gets dirty with rain, sticks, etc. I got thinking about the other toy and how would you ever empty it from the dirty water?

Hope you find this useful...

Organic Farm Produce

Today is my 2nd delivery from Maple Creek Farm (www.maplecreekfarm.com). This is a farm in Michigan that delivers fresh organic produce weekly. I am splitting my share with a friend, because both of us only have a husband and baby to share or food with and one share would be too much for us. Last week was lots of lettuce, some radishes, and some Garlic scapes (that I thought were Chives). This week more lettuce and beets. I have no clue what I am going to do with the beets, but I am sure I will figure something out.

Visit the Farm

I saw this link in the Free Press a few weeks ago. You can go to this website and look for farms where you can pick your own fruits, visit animals, etc. It is Strawberry time in Michigan, and I am going to look for a strawberry farm so I can get some fresh berries. I love the berries from the farm because they are small. Those big berries they sell at the grocery store are all white in the center and are mostly flavorless. The small berries have flavor all the way through!! Mmmm.

http://www.michigan.gov/mda/0,1607,7-125-1570-15576--,00.html

Unsolicited Advice

I admit, I am a little proud when it comes to listening to other people's advice, but the other day this lady in the store gave me so great advice. I was telling Matthew not to do something by saying "no." We started talking about something else, and she said that she never told her kids "no". She always said something like "Don't climb on that," "Don't touch that," "etc." She did this for two reasons 1) "No" wasn't the first word they learned to say 2) Her kids knew what they were doing wrong. I have added an addition to her advice. I tell my son what he shouldn't be doing, but give him an alternative. "Don't touch the TV, come here and play with your toys with me." It seems to be working well. So thanks to the lady from HomeGoods.

The hardest job you will ever love

My mom always told me that being a mom is like being in the Peace Corps...it is the "hardest job you will every love" It is the hardest job because my son makes physical and mental requests of me from the time he gets up to the time he goes to bed. It is the job I will love most because everyday brings more rewards.

New Love Everyday

When I was pregnant, my sister-in-law told me that the first year she spent with her son was like falling in love every day. As my son approaches his first birthday, I can say that this happened to me over the course of the last year. Some days are hard, but even on those days, I just look at him and my heart melts.

To Work or Not to Work

I have many thoughts on this subject that are hard to sum up logically in paragraph form, so I am just going to give a list of a few thoughts I have on the subject.

• Moms have been working since time began....but in the house. They weren't there to spend every single moment with their children because they were busy cooking for their large family, taking care of animals, etc. They didn't leave the house to work, but they were working around the house while their children were occupied by each other, chores, or other family members.
• I don't think limited daycare exposure is bad. I have a noticed a big different in my son's social skills and openness to other people since he started going to daycare 3 mornings a week. I think he is learning to relate better to people outside our family.
• Some Christians say that women shouldn't work, but what about the woman in Proverbs 31 who works?

Those are my thoughts for now...more to come.

First Post

I have a blog on for my business http://juliemagro.blogspot.com but I thought I would start blogging for my personal life too! The name of this blog is Mom of One, because right now I have a 11.5 month old son. He is almost a year. His 1st birthday is on the 4th of July!