Puke in the Pot, Please

My daughter isn't old enough to understand where to puke, but from what I hear from my friends, it takes quite a while to ingrain that in your dear children's heads. I heard a great idea recently! Once your kids are old enough to enjoy money, you can bribe them to puke in the pot!

According to experts (other moms), this works wonders. $1 per puke correctly deposited in the toilet! Brilliant. I chronicle this here to allow other moms to bask in the brilliance of this idea. May all the pukes at your house be properly placed!

Pinterest Addiction

If you have noticed, I haven't been blogging much. I know, you're totally surprised, right? ;) I have been doing a lot of Pinterest searching, pinning, and recently, projects! Here is one.


Here is the pin where I got the idea (click pic for link to blog):




And here is my version for Vera's room:



What do you think? I love it!

Club Project: Are you with me?

Have you ever fantasized about getting big projects done around the house but you just can't seem to find the time/energy/help to do it? I know I have. Here is an idea I saw on Pinterest and I want to get one going here in Huron!

The blog Jilly and Mia shared a great idea about a group they have called Club Project. Here is some info from their site.

"Made up of 6 handy girls, we take turns spending all day at one of our homes conquering things like updating cabinets, reupholstering sofas, wallpapering dining rooms, decorating niches, tiling back splashes, and refurbishing furniture.

Here's how it works.

Every sixth months, each member gets to choose a day that's convenient for her
(it's usually a Friday) and from 8am-4pm she has

a team of design assistants at her service.

The hostess is in charge of beverages, lunch (we break for 30 minutes at noon) and rounding up all the tools/equipment we'll need for the job. If one person can't make it, it's up to them to pay back the hours on their own time."

Love it? I know I do! I'm thinking that we could also alternate where one of the ladies watches the kids (if members happen to have them) each time so that we don't have to worry about childcare. Perhaps we could use our church for the person doing childcare so they didn't have to get their own house all messy.

Here are some ideas I have:
-Organizing/decorating/designing my craft space
-Mural in Vera's room
-Painting my clawfoot tub
-Spring cleaning

What do you guys think? Any takers?

Pinterest Stole My Blogspiration

Wondering where I've been? Well, these days, I find that most of my free time is going to Pinterest and while it is a total time sucker, I also get amazing ideas that save us money and make life with a toddler a lot easier. SO... if you want to join me on Pinterest I would love it! :)

Let me know if you need an invite by leaving your email address in a comment.

After Six Years, A Christmas Letter

Would you like to read our Christmas letter for 2011? I thought so!


Anderson 2011 Christmas Letter


Merry Christmas!

Book Review: Out of a Far Country

The book Out of a Far Country recounts the story of authors Christopher Yuan and his mother Angela Yuan as they deal with Christopher's homosexuality. I thought this book would be interesting because it would offer an interesting point of view on a common issue in our society. What I found, however, was that the book was just depressing. I had to force myself to finish it.

It wasn't the subject matter that was necessarily inherently melancholy, it was that the presentation highlighted the gloom and despair and it took WAY too long to get to the happier times at the close of the memoir. I understand that it wasn't meant to be a happy book, and perhaps I should have read it at a different time, but it just struck me as unnecessarily depressing.

At the close of the memoir, Christopher comes to an understanding of his homosexuality. He believes he needs to be holy in his sexuality, not necessarily heterosexual, but holy. For him that means abstaining from homosexual sexual activities, but he definitely doesn't fall into the "pray the gay away" camp.

It was actually somewhat refreshing to hear Yuan's views on the problem with homosexuality being an issue of holiness rather than physicality. That being said, it certainly didn't redeem the book for me.

I give this book two stars out of five. I really didn't like it.

Note for Full Disclosure: While I do not receive any monetary compensation for my book reviews, I am provided with free complimentary copies of each book. That being said, this review is completely my own, and free from the influence of WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Book Review: 40 Ways to Get Closer to God

I recently have had the privilege of reviewing a copy of 40 Ways to Get Closer to God, by Jerry MacGregor. What a wonderful little book!

The book is designed with very short daily readings followed by an action step that you can do to get closer to God. I loved this design because I get tired of Christian devotionals that focus solely on head knowledge when heart knowledge and action is also vital to a vibrant Christian faith.

One of my favorite parts, albeit silly, was that each day had a short area for you to write notes on whatever "project" you had completed. It also, much to the joy of my anal retentive heart, had a check box for you to mark the project complete. Could you ask for anything more? But seriously.

On another silly note, I loved the size of the book. Not only is it short in length, but it is small in size as well. It fits in my purse, or for guy, it could fit in a cargo pocket. I can easily see myself going through this devotional once a year if not more frequently. It is that much of a gem. Get one for yourself, you won't regret it!

Note for Full Disclosure: While I do not receive any monetary compensation for my book reviews, I am provided with free complimentary copies of each book. That being said, this review is completely my own, and free from the influence of Bethany House Publishers.