Something New

No one can tell you who to love We fell in love  I fell out of love Listen to your heart Do what feels right This is just a short list of popular phrases about love. Our world basically says: "I will love you if I feel like it." So many people make love out to be some magical thing that you don't have any control over, but that isn't exactly true. We all have feelings that may seem magical at times, but they are feelings, not love. We can't always control what we feel, but we can control what we do with them. Most people will probably be attracted to someone at some point in their lives. God knows I've been attracted to my fair share of men, but thank God I didn't respond/react to that attraction every time. I would probably be a MESS if I had! Love is so much more than attraction. Here is a better list of what love is: Patient, Kind, Not jealous, Not boastful or proud, Not rude, Doesn't demand it's own way, Is not irritable, Keeps...

My mom has always been good at remembering people who help us throughout the year; people who are typically forgotten. As a kid, we had the best mailman. Our mailbox was attached to our house, so everyday he would walk up to our front door to give us our mail. My sisters and I would listen for him and open the door quickly to catch him before he left. He would tell my mom "My, what handsome boys you have!" or some other silly comment. We looked forward to seeing him everyday. Around Christmas my mom would always make him some sort of baked goods, usually cookies if I'm remembering correctly. She would give him a big ol' plate and he didn't care that he was going to have to lug it around with him. He looked forward to the treats every year. Mom also baked goodies for our mechanic (who we saw often with our 1984 Dodge Ram van that loved to break down...are our many other used cars!), and a few others. I have always wanted to follow in my mom's footsteps wit...

10 Old Fashioned Dating Habits We Should Make Cool Again | Thought Catalog This is a neat article. It is interesting how confusing dating can be in today's world and also how special it isn't a lot of the times. -Johanna

This is something that I posted on my facebook a few months ago, but I want to include it in my blog. This basically sums up my view of motherhood so far. Happy reading!  September 20, 2013 Would I do it All Over Again? Having kids is probably one of the most difficult, challenging, and humbling experience a person can have. I have noticed over years of speaking with mothers about motherhood, that many wom en have a hard time dealing with the changes in their lives and bodies after kids. I had a mom ask me, not too long ago, if I ever feel depressed by the changes in my body. That made me want to share my view of motherhood and a bit of my journey of assumptions. Going into pregnancy there were many assumptions that I made about pregnancy & delivery, my life as a mother, my post-pregnancy body, and my life in general. Here are some of them. Assumptions about Pregnancy & Delivery: • I will be tired (check!) and emotional/moody (not as much as I expected gratefully) •...

We got a huge pumpkin this year and were able to make a bunch of puree out of it. After running out of plastic containers and wrestling with a bunch of bags, I figured out an easier way to pack the puree. Most of the recipes I use call for 1 or 2 cups of puree so I used sandwich bags to hold 2 cups each. The easiest way I found to fill the bags was to put them in a cup first. Below are the how-to pics. I hope this helps! -Johanna 1. Write the date, contents, and qty on a dry, empty sandwich bag. 2. Place the opened bag into the cup and fold over the side of the cup 3. Scoop into cup (make sure to measure) 4. Carefully roll up edges of bag and pull out of cup  5. Fold bag in half and push out any excess air 6. Four sandwich bags fit nicely in a gallon size freezer bag. If you aren't going to use it right away, you can freeze it. Having it separated makes it easy to pull out the amount you need and keep the rest frozen. 

I started putting Enzo on the toilet a couple months ago. Now before you start thinking I'm the freak of the week, overachiever, showoff, or other such nonsense, let me explain...  I had a conversation a little over a year ago (when Natalie was 7 months old) about potty training that intrigued me. A friend of mine was explaining how a friend of her's never put diapers on her baby. Her reason was that she didn't want her kid to have to unlearn the habit of peeing/pooping on him/herself. I have also heard lots of parents say that the biggest issue they have faced with potty training has been their kids fear of the toilet. Naturally, I don't want my kids to have to unlearn things or be afraid of the toilet. I  also have to confess something that may shock you. Are you ready? Brace yourself....Ok, here it goes: I don't like changing diapers! Especially poopy ones!!!! All these facts combined have provided me with the motivation to start putting my kids on the toil...