Good Enough Mom

Before I became a mom I thought I had motherhood all figured out. I thought that adding children to our little twosome would be a piece of cake. I thought I would just keep working, always have a clean house, cook and bake all while raising my children to have excellent manners.

And then. . .I had kids. I realized that I do not have a Super Woman cape hiding under my clothing. I do not have super human strength and lightning fast speed.
I tried to be Super Mom, but it just was not possible. I want to be a great mom to my kids. But by whose definition?

I am learning that I cannot say "Yes" to everyone and everything. I have learned that some days if I decide to have an afternoon art adventure with my girls. . .the house may stay a mess.

I am going to start making a few changes with this blog and I can't wait to share them with you.

This blog is my journey to helping my children have an unforgettable childhood. If I was trying to be Super Mom I don't think that is the experience that they would have. I think by being a "good enough" mom, we can embark on an amazing adventure.

Stay tuned to some changes around here and don't forget to join my SnazL party on Wednesday afternoon at 3pm EST/2pm CST. It should be a fun time for us to get to know each other better.

Have a great week!

It is Time for a Party!!!

This is your invitation to a party! This Wednesday I am having a party at SnazL.com on Back to School Survival and I would love to see you there.

What is SnazL?

"The power of snazL is that it lets us, the community, create Our Story in real-time. We can watch what’s been shared in sync and then respond by chat; by adding new videos, audio, and pictures live to the snazL story for the community to watch as part of the story; even by drawing. Community members can interact from multiple locations through the snazL: they can take any snazL to their own social networks, websites, and blogs for THEIR friends to discover and interact with. Any changes that are made to a snazL from one location or from snazL.com update automatically to every location where it’s located."--from the SnazL.com blog

I have had the opportunity to party with some of the coolest bloggers around over the last two weeks with SnazL. Heather from The Domestic Diva, Danielle from Extraordinary Mommy, Nirasha from Mommy Niri, Beth from Role Mommy and Susan from 5 Minutes for Mom all hosted parties that I was able to attend with SnazL. I was able to chat real time with them and share my stories.

Here is what I am asking you to do. Check out my SnazL below. Go to SnazL.com and register. On your account you can make an album of your back to school pictures and videos. Below is a list of some of the questions we are going to focus on that day.

It doesn't matter if your kids are in preschool or College. It doesn't matter if your kids go to public school, private school or homeschool. We all have tips to share. You might not even have kids, but I am sure you have stories of your own to share.
What are your morning routines?
How do you decide which activities your kids get to be involved in each year?
What are some of your favorite After School Snacks or lunch box secrets?
How do you prepare your children to deal with bullying?

Oh, and before I forget. . .there will be prizes. Who doesn't love prizes. Stuff for your kids and stuff for you! It is going to be a great party, I can't wait to see you there.

Any questions about how all of this works, send me an email at amy.thue(at)hotmail(dot)com. I can't wait to see what you have to share.

Next weeks topic. . .Marriage.

Give Me Your Best Shot - My Little Monkey

We have survived our first week of Back to School. Nadia misses her sisters during the day, so she will be happy to head to preschool next week. It is hard to believe it is already Friday. Of course we have to start the weekend with a friend sleeping over tonight. (Sleepovers are very important to our 8 year old). I am surprised that they like to do them here, because my husband actually makes them go to bed. He isn't a very fun sleepover dad.

I am going to share one of my favorite pictures of the week with you today. We headed to the park on Tuesday. Nadia dressed herself before we left. Her sisters couldn't believe I let her leave the house dressed this way. I didn't care. At least her clothes matched. She looked better than she does on the days that she is wearing horizontal stripes on top and vertical stripes on the bottom. When I try to get her to change those days she says, "I do to match mom, see stripes and stripes."

She thought she would try to attempt the monkey bars, but this is all the farther she got. . .


I am linking up with Lolli's Give me Your Best Shot today. Head over to her blog to check out more great pictures.

Get Real Girl Goes Green

Okay, I admit it, my family does not live very green. Our town does not have curbside recycling. I bought CFL light bulbs almost a year ago and still haven't replaced the old ones. However, I am trying to teach my Daisy Girl Scouts all about helping the environment so I decided I better start doing what I can for the world.

So as my first "Get Real Girl - Goes Green" post I am reviewing two products from Ecostore USA.

What does EcoStore USA have to offer?
Our eco friendly, plant-based household cleaning products are as effective as the leading supermarket brands, and our body and baby care ranges are gentle on your skin and are simply beautiful to use.
All of our products are made from plant- and mineral-based ingredients, free of toxic chemicals that bring people closer to nature with non-toxic, environmentally safe solutions that also help to reduce our carbon footprint.

Our products also help to ensure value for the dollar for our customers. We know it can be expensive to buy natural or organic products but we’ve found a way to safely super-concentrate our formulations. Our super-concentrates means that a little really does go a long way - saving you money by cutting down significantly on cost per use.

What product did I review?
I chose to review the Aloe Vera Shampoo and Conditioner. My oldest daughter and I are always looking for Shampoo and Conditioners that will add moisture. Both her and I have been using these products for the last two weeks.




What do we think?
My daughter can't believe how soft her hair is and we both have had no problems with dry scalp. We both have hair that requires more conditioner than usual, but this has been with any conditioning product we have used. The product smells good. We both think this product works great and it is safe on the environment.

Would you like to try this product?
Ecostore has sent me another set of shampoo and conditioner that I am giving away to one of you. The only thing you have to do is leave a comment.

The contest will end on Wednesday, August 26th at midnight CST.

Back to School

My oldest girls headed back to school today. They were so excited (I was, too!)

I am linking in with Seven Clown Circus Wordful Wednesday today so I can share our pictures from the day!



Madelyn is headed to her first day of 1st Grade. (I think she thinks when she comes home today she will magically be able to read the books that were too hard for her this summer). She didn't even want me to walk her across the street this morning. I still did, but she was not going to hold my hand.


Taylor headed to 3rd Grade this year. She is excited to learn how to write in cursive.


Nadia wasn't too excited that the girls were leaving without her. She was yelling, "Wait for me!"


The girls were ready to leave at 7:40 this morning. School doesn't start until 8:25. Madelyn's school is only about 5 blocks away and Taylor's is about a 5 minute drive. . .


I love the first day of school!

Makeover Pumpkin Spice Bread

Tuesday's MckLinky Blog Hop is sharing a favorite recipe. I decided to give you one of my favorite bread recipes. This recipe stays moist and it is a favorite of everyone in my family. It is even pretty healthy! I have it on a recipe card in my box, but I got it from Taste of Home Healthy Cooking or Cooking Light. I can't remember which. . .sorry.

Makeover Pumpkin Spice Bread
2 1/4 c. sugar
2 c. flour
1 1/3 c. cake flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
4 eggs
1 can (15 oz) solid packed pumpkin
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
1/3 c. canola oil

In a large bowl, combine the first nine ingredients. In another bowl, whisk eggs, pumpkin, buttermilk, applesauce and oil. Stir into dry ingredients, just until moistened. Transfer to two 9X5X3" loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Enjoy, YUMMY!

Home at Last

Vacation was wonderful, but it is so good to be home. I am working up a few posts, but for now, I wanted to share a few photos with you.

Exploring Sylvan Lake


South Dakota really is a beautiful state!


Cooking at the Campground. For now, our camper is our summer home. (I keep telling my hubby we are going to retire someday at a cottage by the beach!)


Reptile Gardens - touching the Giant Tortoises.

Have a wonderful Monday!