Those babies.

Those babies.

Nothing has ever shaken me quite like this has. As I am sure is true for most of you.

I won’t put into words what I see when I imagine the events of last Friday—they’re too horrible. As mothers and fathers, I think we have all projected ourselves into that situation, and we are left with questions with no answers: How will those families ever go on? How will those sweet, innocent survivors ever be able to sleep at night? Why them? Is there anything we can do?

I wish I could take the pain away, I wish I could give them hope, I wish I could run to them, and tell them they can lean on me.

All day on Friday, I kept thinking of how those little children, at the start of their day, were filled with wonder and anticipation for the holidays, and then they saw things no one should ever see in a lifetime.

Through my tears and agony for the terrible loss of their innocence, my mind kept turning to another child, whose life we celebrate at this time.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been planning on some fun additions to the sophistimom website. One of my ideas is to add a style and fashion category. When I told my friend about it, she just stared for a minute, until I quickly added, “Oh . . . well, I’m not planning on writing it, I was going to have someone else write it.” Then she laughed and told me that would be a good idea.

I think good taste, though, right? I’m just usually little too chunky to pull off the outfit I want or I just can’t afford my style. Every time I see the perfect dress in a magazine, it’s always over $1200.

Well, in the meantime, before I get someone to write my style and fashion articles, or before I lose that last 12 pounds, or make a million dollars, I’ll let my daughter show off some clothes from the Skylar Collection (inspired by Skylar Lewis from Kickin’ It on the Disney channel) she loves* and plans on wearing to party in all December.

Read the rest of this entry »

I recently spoke on the phone with Sarah Carey, Editor-in-Chief of Everyday Food and host of Everyday Food with Sarah Carey. I’ve been a huge fan of the Everyday Food publication since it first came out, and now have a whole shelf at my house dedicated to a long row of the magazines with their multicolored bindings.

As Sarah and I spoke, our conversation naturally turned to our children. She has a boy and a girl. While both help in the kitchen, her daughter is particularly fond of cooking. She loves to make salads, salad dressings, and specialty drinks. Sarah expressed how important it is for children to help in the kitchen when they show an interest, as it gives them empowerment and a great sense of accomplishment.

Sarah herself owes her love of cooking to the idea of taking care of people and making them happy through the food she creates for them. On her new web show, Everyday Food with Sarah Carey, Sarah has a short video recording of something delicious everyday. We’re dying to try her Red, White, and Blueberry Pops this weekend, along with her Pinto and Rice Burgers, and her Vanilla Sheet Cake with Malted-Milk-Chocolate Frosting.

Last week, the kids and I tried her Creamy Orange Pops, which are a healthier version of Creamsicles.

After we watched her video, we tried making them at home. We even made a little video. It’s not nearly as beautiful as Sarah’s—ours is very home video looking. Plus, I’m not wearing any makeup at the beginning, and at the end, when I am wearing some, it looks like I went crazy, which I didn’t. But I look like a hoochie, and that wasn’t the look I was going for. But anyway, here goes.

Isn’t my little guy handsome? I asked him to look tough for that picture.

One of the most important things I can do for my children will be to teach them the value of hard work. I admit, though, it’s not my strongest area of parenting. It’s much easier to clean up a mess myself than to ask my child to do it, show them how to do it, and then watch and wait while they get it done. But I guess parenting isn’t easy, is it?

When ARM & HAMMER®* Baking Soda asked me how I used their Baking Soda around the house, besides just baking or sticking a box of it in the fridge, I thought immediately of how I love to sprinkle it on my carpets right before I vacuum. It helps lift up the dirt, and freshens even the most dingy carpets.

But I don’t have carpets where I live right now, so I couldn’t demonstrate that for you.

I have been wanting to do a post on encouraging kids to do chores around the house, though, and since ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda has such a multitude of cleaning uses, I thought I could teach my kids how to use it to do their chores.

The beauty of using ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda as a cleaning agent is that it is 100% safe for children to use. It won’t scratch or corrode, and, most importantly, is non-toxic. That’s something I can really feel good about.

My oldest son used it to scrub the kitchen table which had little bits of food stuck on it since breakfast.

My daughter used it for the bathroom—in the tub and in the sink. She discovered it was great for scrubbing all the grime in the sink and making it shine.

I would have had my youngest scrub the baseboards with it, but he said he was tired and just wanted to hold the box for the picture.

Never said I could teach them to love cleaning overnight. But this was a start.

What about you, what do you find are the tougher things to teach your kids?

And what do you use ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda for? What are your secrets? If you have one you’d like to share, be sure to share it in the ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda/Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Sweepstakes, which you can find out all about here.

*As a Martha’s Circle Blogger, I have been compensated for this post, but all views and opinions are my own.

The last few weeks, I have been having an age crisis.

My niece just turned eighteen, the very same one I taught in Nursery at church. The very same one who, when she was a year old, I remember pushing her in a shopping cart, when she rubbed her sweet little hand over mine. Her skin was so impossibly soft, that the moment left an indelible impression on me.

Next, my son will be turning twelve on Friday. How in the world did that happen? Add greater significance to that, my youngest child just turned six, which means he only has twelve years until he’s eighteen. And though I know one never stops being a parent, this month marks the technical mid-point of raising my children.

Then of course, yesterday was Valentine’s Day. And I was feeling very thirty-six, and very single.

Read the rest of this entry »

Rag curls always remind me of A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett. In the movie I used to watch as a girl, Sara has her hair tied up in rags when she finds out her father is dead and she is to work as a servant girl at Miss Minchin’s school for girls. I had always wanted to try ragging my daughter’s hair, and a few months ago, I decided to search it on youtube. I was not disappointed. There were dozens of how-to videos, and within a week, I got the process down pretty well.

Of the videos I saw, however, I didn’t see many that focused very well on the actual rolling-up process, which is why I decided to make my own.

Hold on to your hats, kids. This is the very first video I have ever posted on sophistimom. I am neither a talented film maker, nor do I know how to use iMovie—I didn’t add any music or text, so what you see is what you get.

Maybe one of these days I’ll sit down with my kids so they can show me how to edit a movie, but until then, I can at least show you how to make some rag curls. They’re a lot of fun, cheap, and perfect for the holidays.

Some of my kids’ other ideas for naming this were “yucky goo,” “slime chunks,” “goblin guts,” and my favorite: “ghost barf.”

I think it was my brother who came home and showed me this trick when I was a kid, and once, when I homeschooled my oldest son (for all of about five minutes), we tried it making it at home. It was once included in a Martha Stewart Kids magazine (September/October 2004), and was called “Cornstarch Quicksand”. Oh, how I miss that publication. That’s where my kids saw it this week and begged me to make it.

For about 20 cents, this stuff will keep my kids occupied for a good hour. I imagine it’s a fantastic stress reliever for grownups, too. All you need is some cornstarch and water, and you end up with a strange substance that oozes when you handle it slowly, and tough and resistant when you try to force it quickly.

Read the rest of this entry »

My son is made out of rubber bands. I think.

Read the rest of this entry »

Are your kids getting bored yet? I don’t know how many more episodes of Phineas and Ferb we can all take. A few weeks ago, I found this recipe for sidewalk paint on the internet. It amazes me how clever some of these mommy crafters are. All it is is a mixture of water, cornstarch, and food coloring. It was so simple, we had to try it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Be curious, and be inspired.

A short time ago, the people at Avery* mailed me an assortment of labels to try out with different craft projects. You know me and food, so the natural thing for me to make was some sort of treat with a label to go with it.

The labels that stuck out at me first were these tags (label number 22802). How perfectly they went with my bottles filled with homemade lavender lemonade!

Next, these square labels (number 22805) were perfect for some edible thank you notes I was making.

Read the rest of this entry »