Really Woolly Bible Stories

I've had a bit of trouble figuring out my blog and how to post things in the different sections. I've wanted to write this review for awhile now but i always end up forgetting

Really Woolly Bible Stories is an AMAZING book. I love to read it to my little one. Over and over we read it and it's a different adventure everytime. It gives you most of the basic stories throughout the bible. Its only flaw is that it doesn't really focus a lot on the stories in the New Testament, but it reflects on some that even I didn't learn as a child.
It is a rhyming book and i love rhyming books. Also, it is beautifully illustrated and you can follow the animals in every story as they lead you through the book. I think my favorite part was that underneath the illustration on each story was the part of the bible in which you could read the entire story. Simply Great! I give it 5 stars!

Updating

I'm in the process of updating and making my blog more interesting. Stay tuned.

Please sign up

http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/judesmommy08

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!! everyone to sign up under my name for swagbucks... I need referrals and more points. Please also tell everyone you know. Already I have received the following things from being a member, FOR FREE

$30 in amazon giftcards which got me:

• 1 christmas present for my mom
• 2 christmas presents for jude
• 1 christmas present for my brother
• And 1 dvd for myself

1 children's cd

It really is worth it, i'm starting already to save up for more points for next christmas. Help me out!

~*~Sigh~*~

Jesus Calling: 365 Devotions for Kids

Each day starts off with a date, title, and verse.
The verse is a reference for the reading and the readings themselves are written as if God is speaking them directly to the reader.
Each devotion ends with verses for you to read in your bible for further reading of Gods' word.

It's a fantastic daily devotional. I got this book thinking it would be suitable for me to read with my young son, however, I think that "Jesus Calling" should be geared towards older children, teens, and even adults.
There aren't really any child specific topics and I was disappointed in that aspect of it.

I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone with young children, but if your teen or yourself is looking for a simple and quick daily read, then this book is for you.

I give it 3 stars

A Christmas Prayer- Amy Parker

Instead of focusing on toys and presents the child in this book goes through each character of the Nativity story. From Gabriel to Baby Jesus, thanking God for the blessings of each.
What a lovely book! Full of colorful illustrations and a perfect, short but sweet, outlook on christmas through a child's eyes.
I definately recommend this book; to anyone with small children who want to teach their child(ren) the true meaning of christmas.
***** five stars from me!

One Hand, Two Hands

I recently received the book " One Hand, Two Hands" by Max Lucado. It is about all different things we can do with our hands, it's a child's book with lovely illustrations. My son enjoyed it and actually sat through me reading it.
The only problems that I have with the book are that the illustrations are just girls.
I have a boy and while he loved looking at it, it's not always his first pick because of the fact that it's "girly".
I also didn't like how some of the Colorful words indicated what the hands were doing, while some didn't. I think they should have made all the words in color, be those that were actions so that the children could identify with what the hands were suppose to be doing.
As always, I thoroughly enjoyed the book i received and would recommend it to my friends and family. Good choice for a children's book.

Howdy

I know it's been awhile since I was last on, but i'm still here. I got a new book from Thomas Nelson Publishing that I will be reviewing for you all in a few days.
I have been sick this past week, my whole family has been sick. I started school and work is kind of crazy. I am going to go to bed soon, so I will update more later.

Trying

I would love for everyone that reads my blog to go to http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/judesmommy08 this link and sign up for swagbucks. It's so easy and it helps me get points. This would be of great help. All you do is sign up and make swagbucks.com your search engine, then it gives you bucks. Not everytime but a good majority of the time it will.
Thanks in advance!

First Hair Cut

His hair was super long and it was annoying both of us, so we took him today to get it cut. He did so great, he only got scared one time, when the lady tried using the trimmer.

We made a big huge deal out of it, told everyone and he got a sticker for himself and Pluto from the greeter man at walmart.

Took him over to the cookie counter at Walmart and got him a cookie, and finally took him to McDonald's playplace for the first time. That went well till some little girl started smacking him, by then i'd had enough of the noise and the bigger kids going nuts with no one watching them so we left.

All in All, it was a good day. He is the best son ever.

Money Saving Tip for Women #1

So, if you shave your legs and buy the ridicuously expensive shaving cream to make them smoother, why not try buying some dollar store conditioner (or an equally inexpensive brand) and slathering that all over your legs.
I just did this evening when I shaved mine and they are smoother and smell better than when I use to use shaving cream!!!
Try it out and let me know what ya think!

I don't think...

I don't think that I ever wrote the review on this book, so here goes...
I loved the fact that this book had a devotional with verses for a lot of different life expereiences. It was interesting to read and I hope to some day, when my son is older, read it to him and then give it to him to read. If you're looking for a good, simple, devotional book for children then this is definately one to pick up.
They make it in the girl's addition too! Good pick.

SwagBucks

I would totally love everyone that views my blog to come sign up. Referrals are Key and it would be awesome if you could sign up. This is legit, not one of those " try me buy me i'm going to haunt you forever" type of deals. I don't like those kind of places and wouldn't support them.




so plllllllllllllllllllease, sign up!

AW so Happy

I am so happy, i have been looking for blogs that are interesting to me, where i could find people that i could actually talk to and what not, so i did this swap and there are so many blogs to look at, it's unbelievable. Not only can we visit people who visited us:

Simply Crazy Life
lilmisspolkadot

madaboutpink

Ramble Time- Reinvented

Cricut Critter

Just Add Water, Silly

sugarcrawler

robotgranny

Kellys Place

Give time or Money

But we can also visit other people, then other people, then MORE people. It's endess and I love it. What a fun thing to do when i'm bored.
OHHH and if you like giving and receiveing, sign up for swapbot while you're there!!!

Lately...

 

 

 

 

 

Lately i've been thinking about all the possibilities of life. I haven't finalized any of my future plans, but i'm wondering if the ideas floating around in my head are that of any worth.

I feel bad knowing that pretty soon I will be not only a full time mommy, but a full time employee and a full time student. As I was watching my son play today the thought came to me " am i doing the right thing" i couldn't help but wonder if i should just slow down and not worry about it till he's older so that I can raise him right and myself, instead of what i feel is pawning him off on my mom. I thought that maybe i would hold off on school and beg and plead for more hours at work so that i could make enough money to support him, but then I think that i wouldn't be that great of a mom to him because I would always be thinking of those " what i should be doing"s.

I'm still not sure though. I'm getting ready to embark on a journey and i'm scared. I'll be the first to admit it, i'm trying to figure out how I 'm going to juggle it all without feeling too guilty or pressured, there's always something floating around in this head of mine and sometimes i wish that it would make sense, but it never does.

Here's what I have figured out this week though:

1. I desire to put God completely first in my life and I am struggling to get there.
2. I desire to make sure my son is raised with love and respect, and that he won't hate me for "not being there" (since i have to work and can't be with him)
3. I am going to school to obtain a certification in administration so i can support my son
4. by the new year i want to have a better paying, full time job
5. 2011 will *not* suck like the last, oh, 5 -6 years have
6. I am not divorcing my husband, i've been reading a lot of what the bible says on the subject and the 2 things that stick out the most are " God HATES divorce " and "love one another as christ loved you"
7. I am still confused as to what God wants and I desire to feel productive, but i don't.

so there ya have it. I'm going to school and i'm not leaving my husband. I am going to leave this blog now though cause i really don't think what i'm writing is making any sense what so ever!

I should update

I realize that i haven't updated since july 3rd. I don't really have the mindset to really sit and write a lot. My brain has been so full of a million different things.
I'm going to school in August, i'm trying to find a new job, i'm trying to deal with the overwhelming guilt I feel everytime i think of divorcing my husband, i'm trying to be a good mom, etc etc.
I'm mostly updating this because I hope to start writing more, once i start getting a little more time to focus. I am working on cleansing my soul of doubts, so hopefully i'll be writing a lot more.
Till then, i can't focus, and will be back soon.

We're baaaaack

We're back from our hiatus, it didn't go as expected. It was supposed to be a year long adventure full of saving money and being relaxed, but there was more drama than one can fathom and people who were so disrespectful and hateful that it was overbearing. I was invited home, "Home" what does that mean? I always grew up hearing my mom say that " home is where the heart is" so i guess in that regard my heart is always traveling because my heart belongs to Jude.
I have moved so many times in the last year that I have lost count. I have lived in nice places, bad places, and worse places. My husband currently lives in jail, there was only one place that i lived that was as bad as that and i was only there 2 weeks, and was allowed to leave.
So now here we are back at my parents. Jude is where he is loved, comfortable, and won't have to have angry mexican women slamming doors in his face.
Mommy is stressed over hours at work. I am going to go back to school in August, for which i am extremely excited, yet nervous about how much time i will be able to spend with jude.
I juggle these emotions all the time... I feel as though everytime i have something i want to accomplish, God tells me to do something different. I no longer know what the right thing to do is, other than making a better life for Jude and hoping he doesn't hate me for it in the future. 90% of me knows he will be proud of his mommy who sacrificed a lot for him, but that other 10% knows he has the genes in him that could cause him to absolutely despise me.
I constantly pray and ask God to help me, help Jude grow into a wonderful, Godly man. Please pray for that with me.
I actually must go now, because he is getting into things he shouldn't be getting into. I have to go but i'll write again soon!

write from the phone

jude and i are beginning to embark on an adventure into a life that is hopefully going to start being full of happiness, fun, laughter, and being a family.
due to not being able to have a computer where we are going i will only be able to blog from my phone until its decided to take the internet off of it, then i will only be able to blog when i remember/have the time to when i am visiting my parents.
i hope to be able to do what it takes to make a life of stability for myself and my son.
wish me luck and keep us continually in your prayers!

Part 10,000

Well my cord finally bit the dust and i had to have my dad get me a new one.
I've been too busy to update because life threw a big curve ball at me and i'm trying to get it figured out.
I will update more soon...

Writers Block

I have so much to say, but i'm afraid of the feelings it would hurt if i let it all come out, so till i figure it out I won't write.

I will say this much though, my mom always says that women are spaghetti (in 10000 thoughts at once) and men are like waffles (in 1 thought at once) well today i've been kind of like spaghetti in a box. I've had a lot of things going on and have not been able to focus on anything.

I have an emotional little boy who wants his daddy, dada dada dada, and daddy just left. Must go comfort him.

We are still here...

Our computer cord is broken so we have the laptop sitting at the kitchen table. I like to write and update my blog here when i am cozy, sitting at the kitchen table isn't too cozy.
The last 2 days I have had a severe headache and just haven't felt like getting on the computer at all. I've also been trying to spend some time away from it.
I have taken a few pics and a video that i want to share, but i am having trouble figuring out how to get the video uploaded onto here, i just don't have the mindset lately to do too much indepth brain using, things on the computer.
I am off on Monday and Wednesday, so maybe i'll get some computer stuff done then, but till then i leave you with this....

This is *not* Shaving Cream...

If you've taken any sort of Child Devlopment classes or worked in any grade school classroom you probably know the Shaving cream trick for cleaning; you take a can of shaving cream and squirt it all over the tables in the classroom, then you let the kids go crazy drawing pictures and smearing it in. Then when it's all gone you wipe the table down and all the gunk from crafts and markers seems to be gone away....

That's not so much the case when the secret ingredient is SOUR CREAM!!!! My little bug decided to decorate the kitchen table with sour cream last night while i was washing dishes. I think that more sour cream got all over the table and him, than in his mouth. All in All, he was pretty darned proud of himself for getting it all over the place and making a kitchen table masterpiece....

But Moms, you must remember that when things like this happen, don't yell spank and scream, grab your camera and give your little bug a kiss! (after the mess is gone, of course!)

Mommy to a Boy!

Every mother of a Boy knows that things like this

can and probably will happen. I have a friend who has had many more adventures like this with her son and  is now starting them with her younger son. Whenever my dear friend shares her adventures with her little boys, i can't help but chuckle and think "that's going to be me some day" and of course, we've started small, but i know that i'm a mommy to a boy, so I will have many more wonderful lessons of patience like this.
I can't help but smirk and laugh with this little boy who is such a blessing to my life...

Ps. this morning at breakfast we found a very, very faint display of artwork on our kitchen wall, courtesy of our darling jude and a black ball point pen!!!

Thomas Nelson Publishers

Many of you don't know, but I from time to time receive free books from Thomas Nelson Publishers also known as Bookfish. I have only received a few of the books and mostly i've tried to get them to be children's so that Jude (and any other children I may have in the future) can have them in their library.
The best part is that the majority of them are Christian. You can get self help books. Bibles. Etc. And they are yours to keep, as long as you write a review on your blog for the book you read.
It actually won't let you select a new book till you have written your review for the current book.

If you like to read and love getting free books, i highly recommend signing up.
Also, if you have any other links for these types of things, please feel free to post them in the comments section so we can share the goodies!

Due to arrive soon:

An Ugly creation turned not AS Ugly...

This is what happens when you have a half oven, that has no temperature knobs:

This is what happens when you're Me and can take pretty much any terrible situation and make it into a good one:

And I must say, it was a pretty darned good cake in the end!

To Do: Lists

My dear husband doesn't always understand the need for me to make a list. He often times gets frustrated when I sit down with my little notebook and my pen, and start to jot down everything that's floating around in my head.
Without lists: I'd be dead. Not really, but i sure would feel like I've lost my mind. My mom says that's because I have a spaghetti brain and husbands have waffle brains. We, as women, have a trillion things on our minds and those neat little $1 store pads of paper come in very handy as we try to remember it all.
Take for instance going grocery shopping with your children, if you go to the grocery store needing to get a b c & d, but have no list, you end up getting e f & g, forgetting a & d, and getting the wrong b or c, so therefore you must list!

I have an ultimate list, it's a list of adventures I want to go on with my children. Sites that I want to expose them to, allow me to share that list with you (before I forget!)

• The Jelly Belly Factory
• Kohl's Children's Muesum
• Police Station
• Fire Station
• Museum of Science & Industry
• A tour of an Ambulance
• Park (we have tons around here)
• Library
• Kid Movies
• Chuck E. Cheese
• Lincoln Park Zoo
• Ice Cream Shop
• McDonald's Playland
• Picnics
• Key Lime Cove
• the Pet Store
• Brookfield Zoo
• Botanical Gardens
• American Irish Mueseum
• Navy Pier
• The Beach
• Six Flags Great America
• The Art Mueseum
• a tour of the Post Office
• Amish Country
• SPCA
• Sledding
• Homeless Shelter
• Military Base
• Holocost Mueseum
• Court House
• Baseball Games
• a Radio Station tour
• a tour of a Resturaunt
• TV Station tour
• Airport
• Christmas lights Lane
• to see Santa at the Mall
• The play place at the local Mall
• Build a Bear
• Pumpkin Patch
• Hay Ride
• Apple Tree Farm
• Starved Rock
• Forest Preserves (tons more of those)
• Circus
• Fairs & Festivals
• VBS
• Kid Shows at an Arena
• State Capital
• Ceramic Store
• Storytime at the Library
• Farmer's Markets

All of these things and more I want my children to experience. And if I didn't have my list, then I wouldn't of remembered half of them.
So therefore ladies, don't feel bad about having a list (or 2 or 3, or 10) cause you and only you know how your thinker works and if you need a list, then by golly make one!!! =)

This Day x Huh?

Motherhood has been rough this past week or so.
My little boy has, over the last month or so, double ear infection, mulitple kissable boo-boo's, and 4 teeth trying to come in. In addition, he has allergies but loves being outside so his nose is constantly running.
I have been with him virtually all week, which is amazing that i get to spend this time with my son whom i've barely seen for the last 8 months. We however live in a tiny studio apartment and the weather's been crappy so we've both gotten cabin fever. We survived though!!!
I lost my client due to his sister pulling him from the company that i work for so I haven't worked since last friday, i was paying for jude to be at daycare so i was struggling with a big decision on whether or not to keep him in it (me being temp. jobless) and i made the decision to bring him home.
Jude had a rough evening last night. He woke up around 2 and didn't get back to sleep till 6, of course mommy is the one who has the soft, patient, heart to deal with a fussy toddler in the middle of the night, so I got to be the one to deal with the tossing and turning of an antsy little boy. He however did finally get to sleep and as the sun was starting to come out i drifted off till the alarm went off a couple hours later.
One thing i've realized being a mother is, we are the first to rise and the last to sleep. And that's okay....
Anyway today jude went shopping with the guys and grammie and I went to a booksale and a rummage sale. I found him some books I use to have when i was a child and some newer ones that i plan to build my children's library with. They have so many amazing children's books and getting them for 25-50 cents a piece is even more amazing!
Needless to say by the time we got home it was time for his invisible nap, meaning: it didn't happen!
I went home after taking Brandon to work and tried to get him down but he wasn't having any part of it and then...... the landlord knocked repeatedly on our door and told me some jibberish about how we need to keep the curtain inside the bathtub cause apparently the ceiling has fell through twice due to water coming down.... odd. okay then.
So jude and i left, got out of the house. Went to target where he shrieked, screamed, and whined the whole time... Some moronic guy decided to blurt out that he "should smack that kid" and... as a mother i had to do my best not to say anything :-X so i did just that, i gave him a kind little "don't you EVER say that about my child" glare and he ran away.
I didn't find anything at our lovely, ghetto, target so i decided to venture across the street to the Dollar store.. Found a couple things there but jude was miserable so i took him home. He cried and whined the whole way here.
I fed him some yogurt, gave him some medicine and let him help shred white chocolate. Adorable, he ate most of the chunk instead.

We then ate dinner which he wanted no part of and bathed. By 6:15 he was out. like. a light.
My point of all this is that i remained pretty calm considering. I texted my mom and asked her if she wanted to take him *LOL* but she declined.
So my little prince is over in his bed, his lullaby's going softly in the background. Everynow and then i'll go past him and see his sweetness and realize that he is miserable with his ears, his teeth, and his booboos, so i kiss my fingers and press them on his little sweaty head. I put back his covers that he's kicked off and tell him I love him.
He is the greatest motherhood roughness there is.....

Happy May...

How amazing it is to see a life you created, go from this....














to this:
















in just a couple years.... It still baffles me, to this day, that I helped create such an amazing little creature... Thank you God for my many blessings. Amen.

Life Is...

I know that i haven't posted more than 1 blog. That sucks because i have so much to write about and tell. It's just been a crazy week. I'm still here though. I will give you a fuller update soon. Life is BUSY!

Introduction 101

First I'll start by just giving you an introduction of who I am and what I'm about.


I am Kirsten Balkom, mommy to Jude (2) and wife to Brandon (29).
I got married July 21, 2007 to my Husband, Brandon.
In october of 2007 we found out that we were expecting our first child. We kept it a mystery as to what the sex was until the baby was born on June 19, 2008. He was, is, a baby boy who will be 2 this summer.
Brandon and I have had many ups and downs during the last 3 years of our marriage, but somehow by the grace of God we have survived them all, and continue to do so.

I am writing because I feel that I am ready to share in the seriousness of blogging. I have been inspired by several sources as of late, to really get into sharing the blessings in my life instead of the bad things.

I am a caregiver for an elderly man who I care about a lot. I work 30 hours a week and have Jude being cared for by a wonderful woman from our church.
I often feel at times like I am not doing the best job I could be doing as a mother because I am not superwoman and don't spend every waking moment with my child, but then I remind myself that there are children out there without mothers who are not even in the picture, so then I don't feel so bad for myself, but for those children.

I plan to homeschool Jude when he is ready for school. Everyday is a learning experience and through this blog I hope that you can share with us some of the adventures we will be going on. I plan to take him lots of places and let him experience the world through hands on activities and tons of field trips.

I hope that you'll come back often and share in the journey of life with us. It will be fun and probably sometimes sad, but most of all it will be a glimpse at the love of a mother's heart....