My Favorites - A Flourishing Rose

My Favorites for August 2019

August 29, 2019

The month of August has gotten away from me. I’ve been busy and overwhelmed with work stuff. The drama there never seems to end, but I’m making big plans. I have an interview next week and if all goes well, I may be self-employed by January. I don’t know what that will mean for the blog because I will have to get used to a new schedule, but I’m sure I will have plenty of material. For my favorites for August, I have a book, a tv show and some articles.

Book

In June, I wrote a post called, 10 Summer Books for Your Beach Bag. One book I included is, I’ll Never Tell by Catherine McKenzie. I wasn’t sure I’d like it, but the Audible version was included in my free trial of Kindle Unlimited, so I gave it a try. I’m glad I did. It was an entertaining summer read.

Description

Deeply buried secrets make for a disturbing family reunion in bestselling author Catherine McKenzie’s tantalizing novel of psychological suspense, named one of the Hottest Books of Summer by Goodreads.

What happened to Amanda Holmes?
Twenty years ago, she was found bludgeoned in a rowboat at the MacAllister family’s Camp Macaw. No one was ever charged with the crime.

Now, after their parents’ sudden deaths, the MacAllister siblings return to camp to read the will and decide what to do with the prime real estate the camp occupies. Ryan needs to sell. Margaux hasn’t made up her mind. Mary believes in leaving well enough alone. Kate and Liddie—the twins—have opposing views. And Sean Booth, the groundskeeper, just hopes he still has a home when all is said and done.

But it’s more complicated than a simple vote. The will stipulates that until they unravel the mystery of what happened to Amanda, they can’t settle the estate. Any one of them could have done it, and each one is holding a piece of the puzzle. Will they work together to finally discover the truth, or will their secrets finally tear the family apart?

Tv Show

This show is definitely not for everyone, but if you enjoy trashy reality tv where people always seem to make the wrong decisions, this show is for you. I came across Love After Lockup on Youtube while looking for something else. It was entertaining, so I kept watching. To summarize, the show follows couples where one of them is either in prison or recently released from prison. The couples have either never met in person before release or they have only spent time during visitation. Most of the couples started off as pen pals. So much can go wrong here! Anyway, if you are interested, here is the first episode.

Articles

If you’re a mom to be, this article is for you! Stephanie from Dresses and Dinosaurs has put together this roundup of the most useful tips for new moms. I want to also thank Stephanie for including me in her post.

Sometimes, the best company we can have is ourselves. Check out this list of 50 ways to spend time alone. Whether you need self-care, some self discovery or just a break from other people, there’s something on this list for everyone.

Family traditions are important. Not only can they make parenting a little easier, but they can be fun and make memories that can last a life time. I usually think of traditions in terms of the holidays, but this post from She Rocks A Bun shows us that little daily rituals can become family traditions as well. Click here to learn how to create your own family traditions.

Trina from Picking Up Your Craft has created this amazing list of tips, products and activities to keep your toddler busy! This list includes a bit of everything. Play-dough, fall crafts, and even my list of quiet activities for toddlers. Thank you, Trina for including me in your fantastic list!

If you hate cleaning as much as I do, you’ll definitely want to check out this post. I’ve heard of some of these products, but haven’t had the opportunity of trying them. If there are any amazing cleaning appliances or products that save you time, let me know in the comments. Check out this list of 7 must-have time saving household appliances and products that clean your house effortlessly.

Back to school hasn’t started for all of us. If you want some fun last minute summer activities, check out this list of summer ice cream activities.

To wrap up this post, I’ll leave you with this thoughtful perspective on friendships. This is especially important for us who are raising girls. Band of Besties: Teaching our daughters how to navigate healthy friendships.

As always, thank you for reading my blog. I’ll have some fall and Halloween related post coming up throughout the month of September, so be sure to check back! Enjoy your final days of summer!

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My Favorites

My Favorites for July, 2019

July 29, 2019

It’s been a busy month for me, so this list will be short. I have a recipe, a couple of books and some favorite articles to share. On the blog this month, I accepted my first guest post! I’m happy with how it turned out. The perk of letting other bloggers write for you is that you can take a break from creating content. The second change I’ve made is behind the scenes. I have a new blogging schedule. I’ve been using Saturdays and Sundays for writing new content. I try to write two posts per weekend. During the week, I add images, affiliate links etc. This has taken a lot of the stress off and while I was on vacation in June, I was able to write several posts, so if I’m not feeling up to writing posts on a certain week, I have some content ready to go.

For my favorites for July, I have the basics, a recipe, a book and a few articles. Enjoy.

Recipe

Rosebud happened to see them making an ice cream pizza on one of her favorite shows. She seemed excited about this, so I asked her if we should make our own ice cream pizza. We tried this simple Ice Cream Pizza recipe. Rosebud helped make it and of course, we enjoyed having it for dessert. This recipe would be great for a pizza themed party.

For toppings, we used chocolate sauce, M&M’s and chocolate chips, but you can include any kind of toppings you want.

Books

This time, I’ll include two books that can be used as resources. The first book I found by accident. There was a two books for one credit sale going on Audible. It was an educational themed sale, so most of the books were from the Great Courses series. I wanted to take advantage of the deal, but had no idea what to get. Time was running out, so I ended up choosing The Addictive Brain, by Thad A. Polk. This isn’t something I’d normally read, but I chose it because I wanted to understand. Addiction has been a problem in my family and I guess I wanted to try to understand what was behind their behavior. While people take different stances on addiction, this book focuses on the science and the genetic component of addiction. I tried to keep an open mind while reading it and it actually made a lot of sense. Overall, it was an interesting read and I learned something.

At the beginning of July, we had a new baby start with us at the childcare center where I work. He is the sweetest baby ever. He’s happy, cuddly and playful. He’s also deaf. unfortunately, this makes it harder to communicate with him. He doesn’t sign yet, but we are all learning. As someone with low vision, this is even more challenging for me because most of the time, I can’t see if someone is signing. I’ve been learning a couple new signs per week to practice with him. Since he’s usually laying on the floor in front of me, I can watch his hands closely or feel them, but he doesn’t sign back yet. At least he’s getting language in some form. I know it’s probably not good enough and that frustrates me. I want to do more and be able to communicate with him, so I’ve gotten a couple books to learn the basics. The most useful book I’ve found so far is Baby Sign Language Made Easy, by Lane Rebelo. It’s been the most useful for me because of the large images and good descriptions of the gestures. I need detailed descriptions, especially for the subtle visual things. I know it’s better to learn in person, but now this is where I have to start.

I like that the signs in this book are actual ASL and not made up baby signs. I have some ASL guides as well, but they are not as descriptive. This particular book is mainly for parents who want to sign with their hearing babies, but I’m using it since the signs would be the same whether the baby is hearing or deaf. If I’m showing him a sign, I show him the object right before and after the sign. If it’s a more routine task like a diaper change or nap time, I find that more difficult. I’m hoping that if I use the signs every time we do that activity, he’ll start making the association. If you are interested in teaching your baby to sign, this book is a must have.

Articles

An informative article about the dimensions of self-care. This article dives deeper into self-care going beyond the typical self-care rituals to explore the why and the how.

Work Life Balance: Could It Be a Myth? I think we all are looking for this balance, but maybe it doesn’t really exist?

How to Get Baby to Sleep in the Crib Through the Night.

Are you having trouble getting your baby to sleep in his or her own crib? Are you thinking of transitioning your baby to a crib? This post is definitely for you. It’s packed with tips and tricks for baby sleep and one of my posts is featured!

How Your Negative Self Talk Becomes Your Child’s Inner Voice.

A reminder that we need to be kind to ourselves. Our little ones are always watching.

There you. have it, my favorites for July 2019. I’ll be back next month with more, but come back to visit throughout August. You’ll be seeing some back to school posts and other fun surprises.

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My Favorites

My Favorite Things for June, 2019

July 1, 2019

If this is the first time you are stopping by, at the end of each month, I post a quick recap of any blog changes or accomplishments plus my favorite things for the month. I share a variety of things like books, recipes, beauty products etc. I always share a bunch of links to articles that I either find useful or meaningful. Now that I have the explanation out of the way, I’ll be sharing a book, a recipe and several articles that I came across this past month.

Blog Changes

This is just a quick note about the recent schedule change. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, I’ve been mostly posting on Tuesdays and Fridays, but recently I’ve switched it to Mondays and Thursdays. It seems to be working better with my morning and nightly routines. I don’t find I’m so stressed about posting. Also, there isn’t as much traffic over the weekend, so my Friday posts were getting lost in the shuffle. This may change in the future, but I will try it for a while and see how it works in the long-term.

Book

Friend Request by Laura Marshall

I read a few books in the month of June, but this one was the best. It has been sitting in my Audible library for a while and I’m glad I finally read it. It was one of those books where you actually want to find out what happens. Here’s the book description from Amazon.

Maria Weston wants to be friends. But Maria Weston is dead. Isn’t she?

1989. When Louise first notices the new girl who has mysteriously transferred late into their senior year, Maria seems to be everything the girls Louise hangs out with aren’t. Authentic. Funny. Brash. Within just a few days, Maria and Louise are on their way to becoming fast friends.

2016. Louise receives a heart-stopping email: Maria Weston wants to be friends on Facebook. Long-buried memories quickly rise to the surface: those first days of their budding friendship; cruel decisions made and dark secrets kept; the night that would change all their lives forever.

Louise has always known that if the truth ever came out, she could stand to lose everything. Her job. Her son. Her freedom. Maria’s sudden reappearance threatens it all, and forces Louise to reconnect with everyone she’d severed ties with to escape the past. But as she tries to piece together exactly what happened that night, Louise discovers there’s more to the story than she ever knew. To keep her secret, Louise must first uncover the whole truth, before what’s known to Maria–or whoever is pretending to be her is known to all.

Recipe

Here’s a delicious blueberry cake recipe I found a few years ago. I had a ton of extra blueberries this month, so I made this cake. It never lasts long! It only takes about 15 minutes to prepare, a half an hour to bake and then it’s done.

Alice’s Easy Blueberry Cake Recipe

Articles

As promised, here are my favorite articles for the month of June.

I love this nustalgic article. It brings back memories of my childhood. Our children are missing out on so many of these valuable experiences. Click here to learn how you can still raise your children like it’s the 90’s.

Honestly, here’s where I’m at these days. If you are feeling super stressed, are having unexplained health problems and or are simply exhausted for no particular reason, maybe you are suffering from burnout. Click here to learn how to Recognize, Prevent and Combat Burnout.

Are you feeling that mom guilt over not throwing a huge birthday party? I haven’t thrown a big party for Rosebud yet, so reading this post was a relief. Head on over to Awaken & Begin and read, We Didn’t Do a Big Toddler Birthday Party, and This is Why.

Going back to the theme of stress, I saw this post in a blogging group. Learning To Be Free has this wonderful list of 10 Fun Stress and Anxiety Relieving Activities and Products.

Why Are Introverts Often Misunderstood?

The Introverted Mommy has a wonderful answer to that question. Being an introvert myself, I can definitely relate.

I’ll leave you with this wonderful post about beauty and motherhood by Living On Grace. I think any of us who are raising girls can relate.

Looking at My Daughter, Looking in the Mirror.

I’ll be back at the end of July with more fun finds and great reads. Until then, enjoy the month of July and don’t forget to stop by for more summer posts, blogging tips and stories about Rosebud.

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My Favorites

My Favorite Things for May 2019

May 31, 2019

My list of favorites for this month will be a little different. I’m going to simply link to several articles. I will also include links to a recipe, tv shows and the books I read this month so you can check them out. My blog accomplishments this month consisted of writing a few posts and actually clicking publish. As I mentioned in a previous post on blogging burnout, I’ve been unmotivated and overwhelmed, so I’m trying to get back into the swing of things. Anyway, here is my list.

Articles

Everyone wants to be more productive and less busy. Check out these Simple Strategies to Have More Free Time in Your Day from Cute Little Paper.

If you are a parent of a child with hearing loss or want to know what it is really like to be a parent to a deaf child, read this post from MeaganDeal.com. The more we talk about disability, the more aware people are. One day, I’m hoping that awareness will turn into acceptance.

Here’s another post from my friend, Meagan Deal. If you are short on time and don’t want to spend all day cleaning, here are some Cleaning Hacks for Busy Moms. I’ve been featured on this post as well.

Are you desperately in need of some alone time? If so, you’ll definitely want to check out this list of 30 Mom Me Time Moments for Relaxation.

Finally, are you wondering what art supplies your children need? Are you crafty and looking for inspiration? Here’s a list of the Top Art Supplies for Kids put together by an art teacher.

TV Shows

I don’t watch much tv, but here’s what I’ve been watching during the month of May.

During a group discussion on Facebook, someone recommended Switched At Birth. It’s about two families who are thrown together when they realize that their teen girls were switched at birth. I was originally watching on Netflicks, but since the show is older, it was removed in the middle of the month and I was only on season 3. It was more enjoyable for me on Netflicks because of the audio description feature. I don’t usually turn it on, but since this show has quite a bit of sign language, it was really helpful. Now I’m watching on Amazon, but they do not include the audio description. If you are interested, you can check it out. Here’s an episode from the first season.
  
The other show I’ve been watching is 90 Day Fiancé. Honestly, I’m getting bored with it because they’ve been focusing on the same couples for so long and it seems more scripted than ever. I prefered it in the beginning when there were new couples and it was less about the drama and more about adjusting to life in a new culture. There is a new spin off starting in June called, 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, about people who are leaving America to start new lives abroad with their partners. I’ll check it out.

Books

These are the books I’ve read this month, but I wouldn’t say any of them were my favorites. I think I’ll get back to nonfiction for a while.
   

Recipe

I tried one new recipe this month. It’s this Famous Mac and Cheese recipe from Savvy Mom Survival Guide. It took about an hour to make from start to finish. I doubled the recipe and I thought it came out pretty good. Unfortunately, Rosebud wasn’t a big fan. Usually, she doesn’t like to try new things even though she loves macaroni and cheese. She was interested in the sea shell noodles and picked at the cracker crumbs on top, but only ate a few bites. The cracker crumbs gave it that extra crunch!

That’s all I have to share for this month, but I’ll be back in June with more. As always, thank you for reading.

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Blogging, My Favorites, Parenting

My Favorites for April 2019

May 4, 2019

It’s better late than never, right? Here are my favorite things and blog accomplishments for the month of April. This time, I have another book, a fruit smoothie recipe, Peeps play-dough and several articles.

Blog Accomplishments

I’m so excited! I made enough Amazon affiliate sales to get my account approved. For those who don’t know, you need three sales within the first six month period or your account gets closed. My first time around, I only got 11 clicks and no sales. This time, I’ve gotten 69 clicks and five sales. While the clicks are minimal compared to a lot of bloggers out there and the commissions are small, it’s something. I have to start somewhere. My second accomplishment this month is the increase in traffic. It’s not a huge amount, but it’s slow progress.

Fruit Smoothie Recipe

I’m always looking for tasty recipes that Rosebud will love and if she can help me in the kitchen, it’s a bonus. We were making pretend smoothies in her toy blender and I had just bought a bunch of fresh fruit. She had never had a smoothy before, so I asked if she wanted a real one and she did. I made smoothies often before she was born and here’s the recipe we came up with.

Ingredients:

1 cup yogurt,

1 cup almond milk,

1 banana,

1 half cup blueberries,

5 strawberries,

A handful of grapes.

Directions:

Chop fruits into smaller pieces and add to blender.

Blend until you get the desired consistency. I have a smoothie setting on my blender. It took less than a minute. I’ll try it with different fruits next time.

Book

I only read two books in the month of April, so there wasn’t much to choose from when picking my favorite. I enjoyed Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. There were a variety of stories. Everything from his speech therapy lessons as a little boy to his days living in France while trying to learn the language.

Peeps Play-dough

I had been seeing Peeps play-dough pins on Pinterest for a couple months now and knew that we had to try it. Here is the recipe we used.

I used five of the pink bunny peeps. I added four table spoons flour and one table spoon crisco. Melted it in the microwave for 30 seconds and then mixed it up. We ended up with a small ball. I was hoping there would be more play-dough, but there was enough to try it out.

I started out with big Easter themed cookie cutters, but there wasn’t enough play-dough for that, so I took out the plastic eggs instead. We have two different sized eggs and she liked rolling balls and putting them in the eggs. Eventually, she was pretending to cook, breaking up the play-dough and putting it in her mixing bowl. This play-dough dried out quickly, but it was a different texture and fun to experiment with.

Favorite Links

This first link definitely struck a chord with me. As an early childhood educator, I see the consequences of this every day. I see the kids who have no idea how to play. They wander from place to place not sure what to do with the toys. they don’t understand that they can pretend. A box doesn’t have to be a box. The kids get frustrated quickly, have super short attention spans and for some of them, their time in our program is the only time they play outside. This article is a good read.

Loss of Childhood – Are We Pressurizing our Children Too Much?

Another related article I saw in April was, My Childhood vs My Kid’s Childhood.

I could totally relate as it was a throw-back to the 90’s. I wrote a similar post last year. If you grew up in the 80’s or 90’s, I’m sure it would take you down memory lane.

One of my sensory bins was featured in this post. Are you not sure what to do with all those Easter eggs? Check out this post for some fun ways to repurpose those plastic Easter eggs.

Since many of us have lost the fine art of socializing, I thought this article about internet friendships was a good read. I think that you can develop a real friendship online, but of course it helps if you can eventually meet them. There’s nothing like sitting down with a friend for a chat. Online friends can be a good source of support and sometimes they can break some of the isolation.

Since spring is finally here, I’ll leave you with this amazing list of 60 fun summer activities for kids. There are so many cool ideas that I’d love to try with Rosebud. There’s something for every family and I was lucky enough to be included in the round up.

As always, thank you for reading. I’ll be back next month with another round of my favorite things.

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Blogging, My Favorites, Parenting

My Favorites for April 2019

May 4, 2019

It’s better late than never, right? Here are my favorite things and blog accomplishments for the month of April. This time, I have another book, a fruit smoothie recipe, Peeps play-dough and several articles.

My Favorite Things for April, 2019 pin

Blog Accomplishments

I’m so excited! I made enough Amazon affiliate sales to get my account approved. For those who don’t know, you need three sales within the first six month period or your account gets closed. My first time around, I only got 11 clicks and no sales. This time, I’ve gotten 69 clicks and five sales. While the clicks are minimal compared to a lot of bloggers out there and the commissions are small, it’s something. I have to start somewhere. My second accomplishment this month is the increase in traffic. It’s not a huge amount, but it’s slow progress.

Fruit Smoothie Recipe

I’m always looking for tasty recipes that Rosebud will love and if she can help me in the kitchen, it’s a bonus. We were making pretend smoothies in her toy blender and I had just bought a bunch of fresh fruit. She had never had a smoothy before, so I asked if she wanted a real one and she did. I made smoothies often before she was born and here’s the recipe we came up with.

Ingredients:

1 cup yogurt,

1 cup almond milk,

1 banana,

1 half cup blueberries,

5 strawberries,

A handful of grapes.

Directions:

Chop fruits into smaller pieces and add to blender.

Blend until you get the desired consistency. I have a smoothie setting on my blender. It took less than a minute. I’ll try it with different fruits next time.

A Pillow with glasses and a book ready to be read.

Book

I only read two books in the month of April, so there wasn’t much to choose from when picking my favorite. I enjoyed Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. There were a variety of stories. Everything from his speech therapy lessons as a little boy to his days living in France while trying to learn the language.

Peeps Play-dough ball

Peeps Play-dough

I had been seeing Peeps play-dough pins on Pinterest for a couple months now and knew that we had to try it. Here is the recipe we used.

I used five of the pink bunny peeps. I added four table spoons flour and one table spoon crisco. Melted it in the microwave for 30 seconds and then mixed it up. We ended up with a small ball. I was hoping there would be more play-dough, but there was enough to try it out.

Peeps play-dough and cookie cutters

I started out with big Easter themed cookie cutters, but there wasn’t enough play-dough for that, so I took out the plastic eggs instead. We have two different sized eggs and she liked rolling balls and putting them in the eggs. Eventually, she was pretending to cook, breaking up the play-dough and putting it in her mixing bowl. This play-dough dried out quickly, but it was a different texture and fun to experiment with.

Boy floating in cardboard box reaching for a glowing star.

Favorite Links

This first link definitely struck a chord with me. As an early childhood educator, I see the consequences of this every day. I see the kids who have no idea how to play. They wander from place to place not sure what to do with the toys. they don’t understand that they can pretend. A box doesn’t have to be a box. The kids get frustrated quickly, have super short attention spans and for some of them, their time in our program is the only time they play outside. This article is a good read.

Loss of Childhood – Are We Pressurizing our Children Too Much?

Another related article I saw in April was, My Childhood vs My Kid’s Childhood.

I could totally relate as it was a throw-back to the 90’s. I wrote a similar post last year. If you grew up in the 80’s or 90’s, I’m sure it would take you down memory lane.

One of my sensory bins was featured in this post. Are you not sure what to do with all those Easter eggs? Check out this post for some fun ways to repurpose those plastic Easter eggs.

Two women smiling

Since many of us have lost the fine art of socializing, I thought this article about internet friendships was a good read. I think that you can develop a real friendship online, but of course it helps if you can eventually meet them. There’s nothing like sitting down with a friend for a chat. Online friends can be a good source of support and sometimes they can break some of the isolation.

Since spring is finally here, I’ll leave you with this amazing list of 60 fun summer activities for kids. There are so many cool ideas that I’d love to try with Rosebud. There’s something for every family and I was lucky enough to be included in the round up.

As always, thank you for reading. I’ll be back next month with another round of my favorite things.

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