Whittaker Woman

To Keep or To Send?

Le... this one is for you... 

I posted about it here.

But in a nutshell, we (carlos and I) are children of public schools. We love the public school Sohaila is in so there was not much of a decision. If we had the finances to put her in private, if I had the desire and ability to home-school... I still think we would put them in the public school system. However every child is different. Every family is different. Circumstances create different reasoning for every family. I think what works for you and your kids is how everyone needs to parent.  H

What He Is Up To

Amy, Diane, Angie,

This is what my man has been doing...

Reading, which leads to...

Napping

 H

Here We Go...

Some of these were easy! Some questions I have already done posts on.  

Like this one... 

So Tracey and Marna here it is...originally posted here.

??????

What should I blog about? 

I am brain dead. I have no pictures, no big life stories. I am stuck... HELP! H

Confessions Of A Mom

 

I pulled the lazy card today. I kept Seanna out of school, put on a movie and am still in jammies. Some days you just have to be lazy. H

Another Distraction

I found this site this other day... sproost. The first time I did it got me wrong, but I love this definition of my style... Rustic Revival. What's your style? H

When Will It Stop?

When Carlos bought me my camera for mothers day this year, I would have never 

thought my year would look like this. Constant clicking and flashing...BY HIM! 

They all look so nice, but he never shows these... 

And then there was this...

Remember there are always two sides to every story! H

Family Night... Caveman Style

We made a cave and had the kids do some cave painting.

We had dinosaur eggs for dinner and lava juice.

We ate caveman style and used our fingers. 

The men fought over the last bone.

Then we played hatch the dino. I had this little egg that had a dinosaur in it... simple but cute. 

We had such a fun night. It was so simple. Spaghetti and meatballs, some punch and 

a silly dino game and a cardboard box. You can do it, it was simple! 

Your turn...
Share your what your family does to connect. 
1. Simply write about it in a post on your blog.
2. LINK back to this site somewhere in your post.
3. Then put your URL into Mr Linky below. 
I can't wait to get more ideas!  H

Circus Application

My girl is crazy... She needs to be in the circus. She gets about 8 feet off the ground and has the ability to steer herself and land with grace. 

And all in her jammies! H

Twins!

I need someone smart... Can anyone guess the statistics on this one... My grandma was born on 2-22-22... But get this, she is a twin. So there were two on 2-22-22!  What are those odds! 

Happy Birthday Ladies... I hope to be living life like you do when I am your age! 

Their party...

Play Ball!

One is in an apron the other in a wedding dress, and yet look at their athletic abilites! 

Stand back Etsy... Seanna Is On Her Way!

Ms Bean, created her own master piece while she did some sewing today. She got a sewing 

machine for Christmas and this was her first creation... I actually love it. It is so stylish how it 

slings over her shoulder. Love it! Orders anyone? :) H

Nuns Who Diet...

So the winners of the book giveaway are...

Number 42... Maren

Number 2 ... Ladybug Crossing

Send me your address ladies and I will get these out to you! H

I Am OLD!

Ok I am not old, but my body is falling apart. It has been about a year since I have had bad back pain, and today it has flared up. I don't recall what I did to set it off, but man I am walking, no more like waddling like I am 9 months pregnant. I am in pain! Carlos says he likes it because I stick my butt out when I walk... Nice. 

What is your ailment? H

Blog Tour Giveaway!

So... I signed up to do this book tour blogging thingy, and I HAVE FAILED! 

I was suppose to read these two book back in December so I could post about them back in January, and well I have failed. I love to read, but fiction is my game. So even though I can not tell you a lick about the books, I still have a giveaway to do. I have two books to give away. I will post the winners on Saturday morning... All you have to do is comment and tell me if you have a preference on what book you would like.  Have fun! Here are the books,  

Never Say Diet and the Never Say Diet Personal Fitness Trainer

  

Only Nuns Change Habits Overnight... (Catchy Name... I will give it that!)

Nebraska... Where The Tar Are You?

So Boomama... has me sucked into this dumb geography game that is online! I tried it, because back in the day... I could take you all on! I was top at my school. Quick as a bee! I knew my states and would challenge any of you! Well a couple of years have past, and well I am not so hot anymore... Don't try it you will get hooked! H

Oh, and poor Nebraska... I had NO idea where you belong. NO idea! H

Question...

What is your biggest insecurity? 

Family Nights... Gone Wrong

This is for all of you who think it is all so sweet. Trust me... its not! H

Trying So Hard...

I know you have all missed the He's Two posts... but he is almost three and being such 

a good boy! He has been trying so hard to be a big boy like his sisters. He wants to go 

to school. Here he even dressed himself! So sweet. H

Dang You Yahoo!

Grrr... I am so mad! I just wanted to check my email when I saw this...

NOOO!!! Please not Jillian! No! We did not get to watch the Bachelor last night and now I know... Grr. 

But... there are rumors out there, well, I won't spill the beans but maybe just maybe she will come back? She is the ONLY one for him... even if Boomama and I disagree! H

Look at this!

One of these ladies is my grandma... one is not! Actually one is a stranger! Crazy huh! 

Guess who's my nannan! H

Thats What Friends Are For!

Lets just start by saying... I AM IN DENIAL! 

Long story short... Jacinda called me fat! Yep, my BFF called me fat! 

Long story Long... I have been having problems with my pants lately. They are buttoning fine, everything seems normal until I put my shoes on and look down. Every heel I put on makes my jeans look like high waters. I am 5 feet nothing so I always wear heals... except for lately. I decided that at my ripe age of 30... I grew! Seems logical to me. I had a late, very late growth spirt and now I am taller! 

So this morning, on the way to church  I call J to chat about my exciting news. I GREW! After her bout of laughter, she managed to ask me why I thought I grew... I told her... And she replied with " Now I have not seen you lately to tell you if this is true or not, but you know if you get chubby and gain weight your pants get shorter on you"  !!!!!!??!!!!!! Are you joking? Did my friend just tell me I was fat. I quickly told her I liked my reasoning better! But... I guess, that's what friends are for! H

Moments...

My man had a moment tonight. 

I am proud of him. There is a phrase that stands so loud in my soul right now... "you can't change someone until they are ready." I could have beat this idea into my mans head night and day... He would have only tuned me out. But tonight with God's direction he decided for himself that he needs some time to pour his life into the root of his heart. Jesus. 

............. I can not imagine what this will look like, well except that I am sure we will be naked a lot more. :) H

Family Night...Our Love Day!

I thought I would repost this incase anyone wanted to plan ahead. This was our V-day last year.

Were we the only family in Atlanta that slept in a tent in their backyard last night? Because we did and we made it! Well, everyone except the man with the idea. He went in 

around 4...And can I add it rained all night! 

We brought in our bed from the tent and let the kids watch TV while I made

 breakfast. 

Surprise! 

Our Hearty Breakfast!

I had everyone make a love note heart for every person in our family and hung them above us.

Our breakfast was great! We had such a fun lazy day! 
We ended up taking the kids to a movie and then had a hearty dinner too.  

And finally I hit the jackpot when I gave them a small bag of Hershey Kissables
on their pillows before bed. They thought it was the best to get to eat candy when 
they were falling asleep. :) I love my kids.  But I love my man more! There were no
presents, no fancy date this year... but it was not needed. At least not today. We have 
been great with having quality time, speaking each others love languages... and 

meeting each others needs... you know what I'm sayin... every day it's a choice and I

can tell that we have been good at choosing each other lately. 

This v-day was about our kids!  H

Family Night... A Lovely Day!

Shhh, don't tell them but here is the plan for Valentines day, I wanted to tell you before it happened just in case you wanted to do some of the idea's! 
We are planning on doing a camp-out in the back yard tonight... (that is carlos' idea, so he is in charge of our valentines night tonight). And in the morning, my plan goes like this...

Wake Up To a Lovely Day

 I want the kids to know how much I love them so I am going to hang some cut out hearts from the ceiling, each one is going to have their name and a love note on it. It will be from the tent ceiling, but you get the idea. 

 Make A "Heart-y" Breakfast 

The night before I plan on setting a Valentine breakfast table that will surprise everyone when they wake up. We have had a tradition of making pink pancakes and Carlos spells out each kids name... I Love (name).

 

Right before breakfast...I am going to tell the kids to wash up, so they will find the heart-shaped soap I put in the bathroom.

Through out the day we will have little pockets of love...

I will  have a Valentine's Day card ready for everyone. 

At some point we will bake from the heart! 

Lunch time!!! We are going to have a great picnic... Everything red and white!

 "Cup-O-Love" Punch
Freeze fruit punch in heart ice or candy molds.
Make enough for three cubes per child.
Place the ice hearts into clear plastic or glass cups
and add lemon-lime soda  

Draw hearts in red lipstick on the bathroom mirrors that say, "I love you!"
Play love-themed music to put everyone in a holiday mood!

Tell the kids that you have to run an errand and surprise them with a trip to get ice cream!

I am going to play a silly love song in the car.

Dinner á la Heart
Make heartshaped pizza! Check out Brandi and her blog she made them and were so cute!

Take A Cozy Bath
 I am going to dye the bath red! So fun... My friend Jennifer did this and I loved it! 

Sweet Dreams
After the bath its bed time (because mommy and daddy have some loving to do!) Everyone will have a "kiss" on their bed and a sweet note thanking them for their love.

Just By Taking A Step

Just by taking a step and watching this video...

I was compelled to post it on my blog. 

Just by taking a step and watching this video

some of you were compelled to act.

Just by taking a step and watching this video

Milan was compelled to be on a mission... 

Find out what! 

What Is My Problem?

There is something wrong with me... I seem to be loosing EVERYTHING! I lost my razor phone two weeks ago, but was excited because I had an excuse to activate Carlos' old Iphone. And guess what... Yep, I lost that one last week. The razor I found in a coat pocket, but the Iphone I lost at Starbucks. SUCKS! So... I have been without a phone for the past week and... I kinda like it. Now my friends on the other hand are stalking me on Facebook and emails but it has been a needed break. Do you need a break from something? H

Heavy

One word that describes how you feel today?

Mine... Heavy  

Spiritually, relationally, emotionally, and  I might as well add...physically :) 

H

Oh How I Long To Be A Mama

Ok, so I am a mama... but I want to be a MAMA! You see, I have a fascination with two blogs out there. Both happen to be friends of mine, both happen to have Mama in their blog name and both will leave you on the floor dying laughing!

So if you don't already read my fabulous Southern Friend Sophies blog. also known as BooMama, you need to!  She is a crack up! My absolute FAVORITE posts of hers right now are her Bachelor recaps. Everyone in their right mind should be watching Jason and his love affairs and she has me dying as she does a play by play commentary! But what I long for is most is her title talent! The girl has serious skills when it comes to creative lines. You must read her blog! Now, if you follow Boomama you will love Pearmama. She just so happens to be my Southern Californian Mama. They both have an amazing talent in their writing. I feel as if I am on the couch right next to them!  One thing I love about Pearmama is her ability to authentic struggles. I hear people tell me all the time that is why they read whittakerwoman... but pearmama is where I need to be referring them to! Remember Boomama is Southern... Pearmama is Southern California... BIG DIFFERENCE. But they both are hilarious and since we were sharing some link love yesterday I thought I would share with you two reads that I love. H

In honor of the day of LOVE, I thought we'd spread some love here.  Check the side bar... make sure your blog is there somewhere and the link is correct. If it is not listed or there needs to be changes please comment and let me know. Then if you would be ever so kind... Link to me too! H

The Advantages Of Older Children

With Seanna being born when Sohaila was only 17 months, I was never able to appreciate all the things a older child can bring to the table. We will be watching baby Judah on Mondays and I think it will be easier than I thought! H

Friend Night

Last month when the Hales were here we decided to have a Valentines Day Family Night. The only problem was... it turned into a girls night. 

I love this picture of Losiah so sad... I can't remember why he was so sad. 

We made Valentine books and each girl did a page for each other. 

We made the yummy girl scout cookie recipe with ritz crackers but decorated them with pink and red. 

Snack was cranberries, popcorn and sugar. So good! 

What do you have up your sleeve for V-day? My Friend Brandi did a Valentines family night the other day... check it out you can get some great idea's. H

Release the hounds!

I loved this news story... 

"Malaria is spread by mosquitoes," Bill Gates said while opening a jar of mosquitoes at a conference this past week. "I brought some. Here, I'll let them roam around. There is no reason only poor people should be infected." Now that is an eye opening demonstration! Gates waited a minute or so before assuring the audience the liberated insects were malaria-free. But what a powerful point! He went on to say that "There is more money put into baldness drugs than into malaria, now, baldness is a terrible thing and rich men are afflicted. That is why that priority has been set." I love that he calls it out! Some times it takes someone with power to open the eyes of his peers! H

Georgia on my mind

This happens in Cali, but IT NEVER HAPPENED IN SO CAL! 

We skipped ice on the lake. 

You Know What They Say About Opposites...

You know I love seeing how people come to Whittakerwoman, this one made me smile, not because of the words they were searching for, but because it is my life! I am a classic example of opposites attract. Now not everything. I need familiarity. Yet, as I look at who I have picked as a spouse and  as my close friends I see some significant similarities between them that are opposite from me. They all talk! I can carry a conversation and know how to play the game but I am a classic introvert and struggle with conversation. Which leads to all those who are in my inner circle to be outgoing big mouths! :) Hahaha, just kidding. So tell me, are you like me? H

Star Struck!

Over the years at re:create we have met many artist. Lots of "known" people, but yesterday I hit the jackpot. Carlos was so embarrassed that I asked for a picture! Let me give you a hint... MY ALL TIME FAVORITE YOUTUBE VIDEO! We met Blake! :)