Dealing with rejection from other moms

A couple months ago I opened one of my monthly homeschool support group newsletters and found a request for mothers and daughters to attend a mother/daughter group here locally. Each month the moms and daughters would get together to work on homemaking skills such a embroidery, jewelry making, etc. It sounded great! I immediately thought about my daughter but also thought about a 14 year old girl I know who I could bring along. This girl does not have a mom and I knew she would love to join us. I emailed the woman in charge and after explaining that the girl is "a good girl" she agreed to let me bring her despite my not being her mother.

Last week we attended our first meeting. Two other moms and their children were there and everyone seemed to be having a good time. My girls were having fun and thanked me for bring them. We had worked on embroidery together and chatted as we worked. Didn't talk about anything too serious... mainly sewing, cloth diapering, homeschool, stuff like that. After we sewed the kids had a snack and then went out back to play. I chatted with the other two moms for probably a good hour or so. Again, we didn't touch on any touchy subjects such as religion or politics, just had conversations about couponing, our husband's jobs, etc. We left all in good standing and I thought the day was a success.

This morning I opened my email to find a letter from the main woman (the one who puts this group together). Her email went along to say, " While I was looking to expand the Mother-Daughter Co-op, it is important to keep my focus narrow and not to over reach. I am looking for member families who would be the right fit for the co-op as a whole as well as a good fit with other member families who are already a part of this activity."and "We want to be able to fulfil the needs and desires of the ladies involved in this co-op and I'm thinking that we just may not be able to offer you a format that would allow you to excel and grow in your walk with the LORD."

Wow! shouldn't I be the one who decides if a group is able to excel my walk with the Lord? Is it really her right to make this call for me? Wasn't this group announced to a large homeschool community "open for all"?

I replied to this email. I am no dummy and can read between the lines. It as clear as day that an offense was taken in some way. I just can't seem to think what? I asked in my email for her to be honest with me. I feel I at least deserve an honest answer. At first I thought maybe it was because of the 14 year old girl. And how sad that would be. Doesn't the bible teach us older woman to teach the younger woman and doesn't it also tell us to help the fatherless (or motherless in this case)? I don't think it is only the girl though, I had asked for that same woman to email me info. on another coop group that exclusively does field trips and she also mentioned this in her email stating that she didn't feel I was a good "fit" for that either (even though again it was offered to anyone who wanted to attend).

I am having a hard time letting this go. I feel hurt, rejected and very confused as to what I did that was so offensive. My daughter and I were dressed modestly, we behaved ourselves in a mannerly fashion, we were friendly...I don't get it!

In all my 32 years of living, I have never experience anything like this. I no longer wish to attend the group of course, but am hurt by the whole ordeal. Why are people so confusing these days? I find it very hard to make and maintain friendships than ever before. Why can't moms be "real". Why can't we approach each other when offenses arise instead of resorting to excuses (lame ones at that) and not being honest with each other. I don't know these woman, they don't know me. I hate that I was so harshly judged on first impressions.

I just needed to get this off my chest. I had a hard day because of it and have been sad. I don't like being unliked. How do all of you deal with rejection from other moms? Would something like this bother you? I know I am a sensitive person, but clearly I am no longer welcome in this group. I think most woman would be hurt by this.

Anyway....I need some advice!

~Beth

Make your own soda pop at home! Soda Stream Review

My dad used to work in a Pepsi plant and told me a rather disturbing story. One of the pallets containing one of the soda ingredients tipped over. This particular chemical ingredient (I'm sorry, I cannot remember the name) is dangerous if not mixed with other ingredients. When it fell onto the concrete, it proceded to eat through the floor! I have not been a huge fan of soda products since then. I stumbled upon the SodaStream and was surprised to see that it looked to be an excelent substitute for soda. Basically, you fill a bottle with water and then you carbinate it yourself and add whatever flavorings you want. No preservatives, no cement melting chemicals! Soda Stream generously offered to send me one of the Genises starter kits as well as 9 of their different flavorings and 3 water flavors (to see all their different flavoring options, click here.).

It was pretty easy to put together. Just screw the carbonating tube into the lid, put the lid on the stand. 2 step assembly is my cup o' tea! Then you fill the bottle with cold water and screw it into the stand, press the button 3 times until it "beeps" and your water is carbonated and fizzy!

Next, you tilt your bottle and slowly poor in your flavoring of choice (this is the Cola flavoring). The first time as you can see, I did not tilt my bottle and I did not poor in slowly and my soda was flat. The tilting is important!

Poor into a glass and enjoy a nice refreshing drink of guilt free soda!

Other great things about the Soda Stream:

It is a green product! Not only does one carbonating tube save roughly 125 cans, but it also uses no electricity.

It is farely compact. If you don't have much space in your kitchen (like us), this can easily be stored in a cabinet.

The flavors are affordable. They run about $6 each and are really good sized. Depending on how much you use your SodaStream, they should last you a while. There is also a wide variety of flavors. Some of my favorites are Cola, Dr. Pete and Fountain Mist. They even have a natural line called Sparkling Naturals that is absolutely delicious and come in flavors like Black Currant Pear, Root Beer, Grapefruit and Natural Cola.  All natural soda flavoring that tastes exactly like the real thing makes me a happy girl!

I really enjoyed this. It was cool, refreshing and most importantly, had the fiz that makes soda so wonderful! The cola flavoring tasted exactly like a Pepsi, I can't wait to try out the rootbeer flavor with some ice cream for a "home made" root beer float! I love our SodaStream and will be replacing the carbonating filter as soon as this one runs out!

BUY IT- You can purchase your own SodaStream Starter Kits for $119.95 at their online store or to find a retailer near you click here.

Written By Happily Domestic Contributer: Brittney Thompson

Thank you to SodaStream who provided me with the product free of charge for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own and no other compensation was received to conduct this review.

Day Out with Thomas Leader of the Track Tour 2011- My Family's Experience!

I am honored to be one of Hit Entertainments official "Mommy Reporters" for the Day out With Thomas Tour. This month my whole family got to spend a day with Thomas at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado. If you have never taken your children to see Thomas, I highly recommend going. It is an unforgettable experience!

The Day Out with Thomas Tour runs every year from early March to late November and visits more than 45 cities across the USA and Canada. The tour actually visits Colorado twice a year in both Durango and Golden. When my two oldest children were 3 and 5 we visited Thomas in Durango. It was fun to visit Golden this time and compare the differences.

We arrived at the Thomas event parking site and boarded a shuttle bus. The Colorado Railroad Museum was a mile down the road.

My kids were SO EXCITED to see Thomas! They called him "The Real Thomas".

Once we finally arrived at the Railroad, my kids were racing around searching for Thomas. He was out for a ride. When he came back in site my kids were thrilled! It was great to see their faces so overjoyed!

Since we had about an hour to kill before our train ride, we were able to walk around the railroad museum and stop at a few of the stations. Here is Sir Topham Hatt posing for pictures.

Then the kids got some super cool Thomas tatoos!

Baby J fascinated by his tatoo.

Here is Little E's up close

Time for our train ride! We chose one of the closed cars as it was a very sunny day. Both cars had benches to sit on and they played the Thomas music over the speakers as we journeyed around the track.

Here I am with Little E. He was so happy to be riding Thomas.

Thomas took us on three loops around the railroad. Along the way an employee of the museum told us about the history of some of the old trains. It was quite interesting!

After our train ride it was time for pictures with Thomas!

Then we headed off to hear some live music and to see a magic act. Baby J enjoyed the music and got up to dance!

At lunch time we picnicked on the grass and got to see Thomas pass every few minutes. My kids LOVED this! I think this picture is adorable. This was taken after lunch as my boys were waving good bye to Thomas.
After lunch we made our last rounds around the museum. My children had fun looking at all the old trains.

It was very busy so we did not do everything they had to offer. There was a petting zoo, story time at the library, imagination station with toy trains to play with, and a huge display of model trains set up in the middle of the museum grounds. Lastly, we visited the HUGE Thomas gift shop that was set up in a big circus tent. Oh boy, you can get in trouble in there!

Two tuckered out toddlers after a fun filled day with Thomas!

Once again we had a great time at the Day Out with Thomas. I plan to do this again down the road and think every parent with small children should attend one of these events. It is well worth it!

To see if Thomas is visiting your area soon and for ticket information, click here.

Thank you to PR Company who provided me with the tickets for this event free of charge for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own and no other compensation was received to conduct this review .

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Shop Glow Bug Cloth Diapers!

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God's Plan For Flu Season

Well, it's that time of year again! There's lots of beautiful turning leaves, cool, crisp weather and warm pots of soup. I absolutely love it, what an amazing creator we have! Unfortunately, along with all the beauty and cool weather comes... the flu. Along with hearing about how nice this cool weather is, I am constantly being asked if I will be getting the flu vaccine. Sometimes, along with the flu vaccine question, I often hear "Oh ya, and lots of Vit. C!" with a laugh as though this is just an after thought. Since I am one who chooses not to receive this vaccine, I make sure I am arming my own and my family's bodies with whatever I can to keep them healthy. This got me thinking about a few things...

Have you ever noticed that at the time flu season begins many of the most immune boosting fruits and veggies come into season? Think about it... Blackberries are in season until mid September, apples are in season from September to late October, citrus is from November till middle to end of January and don't even get me started on the squash and winter greens! Of course there are many more, which I'll get to later, but why do you think this is? As I began to research all the wonderful fall foods, I realized that God had given us his own flu vaccine. He knew that this time of year our bodies are under attack and we need a little something to help us fight back. In his infinite wisdom he has given us more than we could imagine to take care of our families and ourselves. We often underestimate the power that vitamins, minerals and even our bodies have to fight off illness and disease. Any time I dive a little deeper into things, be it flu season or something else, I am amazed and awed by how much thought our God put into every aspect of life. It's time for us to start really looking to the foods He created and how he wanted us to use them.

I wanted to give you a list of some of my favorite fall/winter foods with their healing properties. I hope you find this helpful!

Apples- Why does an apple a day keep the doctor away? Well, it's an excellent source of zinc, calcium, magnesium, vitamin C and so much more! So take advantage of how sweet apples are right now and enjoy! These are a great way to fight off illness. Since they are in season right now they are quite affordable. For a family outing you can often find local apple orchards that let you pick your own apples for even less!

Asian Pears- These are truly my favorite fall fruit! They taste like candy, I can't get enough! These are high in vitamin C and folate. I find these are a bit pricey so they are normally a treat. Other pear varieties are cheaper and contain similar amounts of vit C. Like apples, you can sometimes find pears in local orchards that you can pick yourself.

Butternut Squash- Now, squash in general is an excellent source of immune boosting properties, so be sure to eat whatever squash variety you like. I just wanted to highlight butternut squash. They are high in phytonutrients and antioxidants as well as beta-carotene (Vit A) and fiber. In just 1 cup of squash there is nearly half the daily recommended dose of Vit C! It also contains B6 which is essential for your immune system to work properly and thats just a few of the amazing nutritional qualities. Butternut Squash is a rich and smooth squash, it is excellent turned into bread (like banana nut or pumpkin), stews, pureed soups and steamed served with a little butter and salt.

Sweet Potato- Sweet Potato is another excellent source for Vit C, B6, antioxidants and fiber. You can get up to 35% of your daily recommended amount of beta-carotene (Vit A). I love the variety of ways to prepare them from baked sweet potato fries to sweet potato bread to plane old baked sweet potato.

Pomegranate- Pomegranate can be a delicious yet time consuming treat and I often just purchase pomegranate juice. Im sure you have all heard about how rich these are in antioxidants, but they also contain folate, fiber and potassium. An added bonus is B3 which is sometimes used to treat depression, this is a great way to help fight off those winter seasonal blues! (I am NOT recommending that you stop taking medication and take B3 or that you take B3 without consulting a professional. Simply that B3 deficiencies can be avoided by pomegranate consumption! :)

Citrus- Oranges, grapefruits, lemons and tangerines are most well known for their high doses of Vitamin C. They are also high in anti oxidants and phytonutrients. Here is something else interesting, citrus, particularly pink citrus, contains components that may help fight off cancer.

Kale- Don't cringe, hear me out! When you mention kale most people I know immediately glaze over. Kale isn't usually a green you get excited about. However, it is an amazing source of Vit C, Vit A, Vit E, multiple B vitamins as well as lots of phytonutrients! This is a food that should be a regular part of everyones diet... If your not a fan (like myself) you might try kale chips. Personally, I like cheesey kale. You dehydrate the leaves until crispy and season them accordingly. They are like a chip! My husbands younger siblings say they taste just like cheetohs, I would agree. Because they are dried, the kale is still raw and you will receive all the health benefits from it.

There are many more immune boosting foods available in the fall. These are just a few I regularly include in my grocery list. To see more fall foods and how to tell if they are ripe, click here. I truly believe that God created these foods for a purpose, they are not just to please our palate! Rather than using "lots of Vit C" as an after thought, lets bring it to the front burner. In all out modern medicine it's easy to forget that God has his own superior tools. Lets teach our children about the amazing things God made for us and how he planned to keep us healthy. Let's show them how loving and caring our God is by showing them how he prepared for our needs.

"And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. " Deuteronomy 28:11-12

Written By Happily Domestic Contributer: Brittney Thompson

Wordless Wednesday- A Trip to the American Girl Store!

Last week we took a little trip to Denver to visit Thomas the train (more about that later) and we also stopped by the American Girl store. If you have ever met my daughter, you know how much she loves American Girl dolls! She has been dying to go to the store in Denver ever since we found out about it last year. I can't even describe the excitement coming from her as we drove up and she saw the building! She was all squeals!

I could hardly get her to stand long enough for this picture before she dashed across the parking lot!

Awe struck by her favorite line of dolls, Kit and Ruthie.

So many books, so little time!

The Bitty Baby room

Checking Ruthie into the Doll Salon

Hey, I'm jealous...I never get pampered like that!

Time for a pedicure

Beautiful Purple Toenails

Hair next... french braids. How lovely!

"Enough of this, give me my doll back!"

Time to decide what to buy. Such a hard decision!

(love the panic all over her face)

Spiffy clean doll, a new Christmas dress for Ruthie and one smiling little girl.

A day she will never forget!

Picture Frame Dry Erase Board Tutorial

Lately I have been in the DIY kind of mood. I feel like for the first time in my life, all my creative juices have started to flow! While on my hunt for fun projects, I came accross a tutorial for a Dry Erase Picture Frame from Make It and Love It (go check out her blog, theres some awesome tutorials on there!). As soon as I saw it, I knew it was exactly what my kitchen needed!

What you'll need:

Picture Frame (glass not plastic)
Fabric (I picked a light blue w/ gray design, but the possibilites are endless!)
Glue Gun and Glue
Scissors


Here's how how I made mine:

First, I laid the piece of cardboard that is the inner frame onto the fabric. Cut about an inch or so around the inner frame. It doesn't require much fabric so you can change this up whenever you want for super cheap. I forgot to take a picture of this step, just pretend there is an inner frame laying over fabric. Next, I took the glue and ran it down the length of one side. Quickly fold over the fabric and run your hand over it to seal it to the glue.

I repeated this on each side, folding over the corners like you would when wrapping a gift. Don't stress too much over this part, you wont be able to see the glue, its ok if it looks a little less then beautiful!

. Warning: Make sure your fabric is print side down! I didn't and ended up having to do it twice. It was a classic moment of air-headedness. Is that even a word?

Next your going to put your "picture" into the frame just like you would normally. Secure the back and Voila! You have a designer dry erase board that you made yourself. This takes about 10 minutes and only cost me 8 dollars for the frame and fabric! If I had been patient, I could have spent even less buying what I needed at Goodwill. If you happen to have this stuff on hand, its practically free. Im a big fan of free!

I put mine in my kitchen but you could just as easily put it in your school room or even your childs bedroom,. It is such a lovely change from the normal white boards. Enjoy!

Written By Happily Domestic Contributer: Brittney Thompson

Weekend Sewing Project- I sewed a cloth diaper!!!!

A couple days ago a friend of mine emailed and said she found a Serger on the Sears outlet page for only $33. Better yet, it was located in my town!!!! First off, this was a TOTAL God thing because my friend was online looking at highchairs and secondly, she said she never goes to Sears website. Not only this, my birthday is in a couple weeks and guess what I told my husband I wanted for it??? A serger! I really didn't think I would get one considering the fact my husband is still unemployed and our finances are unbelievably tight at the moment. Well, at this price, we could afford it!

As soon as we got the email from my friend, my sweet hubby rushed down to Sears and even waitied almost an hour outside their doors until they open (bless his heart). He got it though. YAY! It was a display model, but has never been used. Apparently, a few others had been looking at it but didn't buy it because they had it marked as "missing parts". Their loss was my gain, I suppose and guess what??? There is NO missing parts! It works great!

My New Kenmore Serger

Happy Birthday to Me!

Since my husband brought home the serger, I have been itching to sew a cloth diaper! I had an old delamiated diaper I took apart to create a pattern from (don't worry, I didn't rip off anyone's pattern, I changed it up a bit. Plus, this company is no longer in business either.) I went to a children's second hand store yesterday and bought up a few cotton knit baby blankets and went home and got busy!

I made the diaper with 1 layer of outer print knit (I added 1 layer of knit before adding snaps), 1 layer of inner knit with a ZORB pad sewn in, and an inner layer of yellow knit.

For the inside of the diaper, I also made a snap in soaker pad using ZORB. I covered the ZORB with the same knits I use for the diaper and serged the edges. I like this as it will dry qiucker than having a diaper made with 2 inner layers of ZORB.

Here is the finished diaper (front, side and back)

I just love the retro fabric! So cute.

I made this diaper a one size as that seems the most economical way to make a diaper. My rise snaps however are not snapping the best. I think I should have added 2 extra layers of knit to the back of the snaps before securing them. Those snap pliers can be tricky!

Ta Da! Here is baby J wearing his new diaper. It fits wonderfully. Nice snug fit in the legs, but not too tight. I am still in awe that I actually made this. :-) Can you tell I'm excited?

Hopefully, this diaper holds up. This was my first time ever sewing a cloth diaper. Also, it was the first time using a serger (ever) and also I had no instructions on how to actually make this diaper. I had fun though. I can't wait to make more! Oh, and guess what? This diaper only cost me $2.75 to make! Can't beat that.