The Suede Sofa Blog

Open Mouth, Insert Foot

Good gravy! The last couple weeks have been bRuTaL as far as putting my foot in my mouth. They were all pretty minor comments, but as I reflected on them later I couldn’t help but do this…

Do you ever have days like that? The other person may not have thought anything of it, but you still WiSh you could take back the awkward, hurtful or unnecessary words that were spoken.

The truth of the matter is, if you are HuMaN and if you are going to be social, you are going to say things that you regret. I guess you could avoid these situations by isolating yourself, never meeting new people or no longer interact with your peers, but that wouldn’t be LiViNg-It now would it?

Next time you catch yourself banging your head against your desk, remember that even though you made a human mistake, it is still better to reach out to others versus doing nothing at all.

*If you are really sick about something you said, you can always clear the air by making it right (click on the bolded words to read that post).

~Lara

Easy Outdoor Game

The hour before dinner in our house is always difficult because the kids can’t help but get restless waiting to eat and waiting for my husband to get home from work. In an attempt to avoid taking out every single backyard toy, I came up with this simple game that kept them busy and didn’t leave the yard a mess for me to clean up!

If you have a walkway similar to mine you can use each stone individually. If you have concrete you can divide it up into squares and play. I used sidewalk chalk to write down the sight words that my son is working on. I also drew some pictures for my daughter to color in to keep her busy. I had my son pick out a rock and instructed him to toss his rock onto the walkway filled with words. Once it landed on a word he had to run to it, say the word, then bring the rock back to me. It was such a simple game, but it kept him busy and helped him practice his words!

You can modify this to any level:

*Write letters on the stones to practice upper and lowercase letter recognition.

*Write numbers on the stones and use 2 rocks. Have your child add together the two numbers that the rocks land on.

*Draw pictures with your kids and have them tell you the first letter for each picture and the sound that it makes.

The possibilities are endless and the only thing you have to do is collect your sidewalk chalk when you are finished!

~Robyn (Jersey Girl)

Doll Shoe Fix

How many times am I going to have to put these doll shoes back on?!!! If that is a question you ask yourself daily, here is a quick fix to keep all of those Barbie, Princess, and Fairy shoes on the dolls instead of all over your house!

I always keep a tube of E-6000 Industrial Strength Adhesive (purchased at my local craft store) around the house for quick repairs on everything and anything that my kids “accidentally” break. I decided to try it on the doll shoes and…not as shoe has been lost since I secured them to their feet!

Make sure you let the glue dry for a few days before you let your kids play with them again, and I wouldn’t suggest trying this if you have kids who put toys in their mouth. My kids are 5 and 3 and have never put strange things in their mouth so I figured I was good to go with this one!

~Robyn (Jersey Girl)

I Expect That from WHO?

Recently, we have been working with my daughter on trying to get her to stop sucking her thumb. She is using a thumb guard that is really helping, but like any bad habit, it has been hard for her.

The other day I told Robynn that my worst habit is eating late at night. It is like clockwork; as soon as I put the kids to bed I’m off to the kitchen searching for a sweet treat. Whether it was college or even my childhood, eating a dessert to end the day was very much the norm!

Then it dawned on me. Why do I expect Leanne to break a habit that she has had her entire life, yet I make an excuse for not breaking mine? Is it because hers is only 5 years of a bad habit and mine is 30? I guess the number of years shouldn’t matter, since for each of us it equates to be our ENTIRE lives!

I talked to Leanne and told her I was going to work on breaking my bad habit too. It has been challenging for both of us, but I know that we will benefit from it. Putting myself in her shoes also makes me more sympathetic towards what she is going through. Before, I would always get frustrated and lose patience when she wasn’t making progress. It wasn’t until I tried to stop my habit that I did a better job working with her. Not to mention, seeing her work hard helps me work even harder when I have moments of weakness!

Is there something you expect of others yet you don’t expect of yourself? Nothing probably comes to mind right away but some time and self-reflection may shed some light on bad habits we can improve in our own lives. Oh….it can be so humbling…but a good reminder to have the same expectations for yourself as you do for others!!

~LaRa

Set Up to Fail

This week my son and I started planting our seeds indoors so that when the weather warms up they will be strong enough to be transplanted outside. Once we had picked out our seeds we planted them in self-watering containers that we learned how to make on Pinterest. With the internet and Pinterest available for gardening tips and ideas it is easy to get started even if you have never grown a single thing before. For some reason as my son and I were working on our self watering containers, I had a flashback to my first year of teaching and a window box planter I painted with my class and attempted to grow flowers in. That was almost 15 years ago and I didn’t have “how to” information right at my fingertips. I didn’t even have a computer with the internet in my classroom at that time. I bought dirt, about 5 different kinds of seeds, and we started planting. I planted all of the seeds together in the windowbox one on top of the other and to my naivety thought they were going to grow into a beautiful garden for my class to enjoy. I didn’t check plant size, seed spacing, and I certainly didn’t know anything about starting seeds in starter pots and then transplanting them once they had matured.

One afternoon after the kids had been dismissed for the day I was watering the windowbox and a veteran teacher (and avid gardener) came in to see what I was doing. I showed her all of the seed packets and told her that I was planting a windowbox garden with the kids. I remember like it was yesterday her smile and words, “I’m sure it will be beautiful.” That was all she said and walked out of my classroom. Looking back, I realize she knew my garden was going to be a disaster and didn’t say anything to me about how to ReAlLy grow a garden. She had a wealth of knowledge and years of experience and made a conscious decision to leave me in the dark and LeT Me FaiL. It wouldn’t bother me so much if it was just me who was going to be disappointed, but I had 18 first graders who though they were growing a beautiful garden. I will never know why she didn’t offer to help, or why she even bothered coming into my classroom to see what I was doing in the first place. What I DO know is this…I will NEVER knowingly set someone up to fail.

This is a lesson I will pass on to my children in hopes that the little voice inside their head will say, “Do the right thing” when faced with an opportunity to help a friend or even a stranger. Life is hard enough when you know what you’re doing…having a little help when trying something new can only raise your chances at success.

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.” Theodore Roosevelt

~Robyn (Jersey Girl)

When You Know Your Family is Complete

I’ve had friends tell me “You’ll just know when you are finished wanting to have more babies.” It seemed some vague to me…you’ll just know. How will I know? Will the two kids I already have drive me to the point of insanity one day and the image of a newborn swaddled in a receiving blanket will no longer seem appealing to me? Or will I wake up one day and realize the indecisiveness over wanting a third child just isn’t there any more and I can finally get rid of all of the baby stuff that is piled to the ceiling in my basement? I’ve wondered this since the birth of my daughter for over 3 years and can finally say I understand the “You’ll just know” feeling.

This past month has been swamped with baby news. Friends have been giving birth left and right and pregnancy announcements have been popping up all over the place. All of this baby news of course made me think, “Maybe we should try for a 3rd.” I went back and forth with it in my head for days even though my husband had put the idea of a 3rd to rest long ago but I just couldn’t come to peace with it. Then it hit me, as I was daydreaming about the possibilities of expanding our family, the black cloud of postpartum depression loomed over me. I suffered from severe postpartum depression after the birth of both of my babies. (Click here to read my postpartum story, Baby Blues to Baby Bliss). It was to date the most difficult thing I have had to face. I started to feel the tightening in my chest and the ache in my heart. I thought of the two beautiful and healthy children that I was lucky enough to give birth to and how I would never want them to see me go through that nightmare again. At that moment I JuSt KnEw that I was done having babies and that my family was complete.

I am sure the “You just know” moment is different for every woman. Whether it is the decision to not have children at all, or to not add any more children to the family you already have. I suddenly feel a sense of peace knowing that my decision is made and will live each day loving my family of 4.

Please share your “I just knew” moments in the comments section!

~Robyn (Jersey Girl)

Just A Little Heart Attack

I wanted to drop you a quick line pointing you toward an excellent video to watch this weekend. Cardiovascular disease impacts 1 in 3 Americans, and is the leading cause of death in the United States – killing more people than the next 5 most common causes combined.

Women’s symptoms of a heart attack are *VERY* different than those of men, and because they often can mimic fatigue or the common cold, many women don’t realize they are having a heart attack.

Now, for some of you, you may think this video is an exact replica of your LiFe each morning (that’s how I felt!) which is even more of a reason that you should watch this!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=t7wmPWTnDbE

Happy Friday,

Lara

Get Your Posse and Get Your {Exercise} Groove On!

If you read Robyn’s post The Weight Is On yesterday, you can probably relate. As spring approaches it is just natural to want to get in shape whether you have gained excess winter weight or you’re just feeling like you’ve been stuck inside for way too many months and are needing a ChAnGge oF sCeNeRy.

Sometimes it can be hard to get started when you see the long road ahead to reach your WeiGht-LoSs GoAl. Afterall, overcoming the inertia can be a difficult thing to do.

On Monday we had a little pep talk and we decided that we would overcome the inertia together. So we made a 2-MoNtH pAcT to exercise consistently from now to mid-May, basically, the beginning of summer. It is actually quite motivating when you look at it in the context of summer being right around the corner.

One thing that really motivated us in our new goal was this website from the National Institute Of Health that can help in your weight loss efforts. Here’s the link: http://bwsimulator.niddk.nih.gov/ . It allows you to put in your weight, goal weight, and a few other items. It will then tell you how many calories you need to consume each day to reach your goal. We played around on it and found it quite addictive.

(You do need to have Java installed on your computer. You can install a free version by going to www.java.com ) Here is what the simulator looks like:

Overwhelmed by the idea of tracking your calories? No worries! Check out this quick, easy and free calorie counting website: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ They also offer a free app for your phone!

So, if you’re like us and you need to overcome inertia, GeT yOuR PoSsE – a group of friends, an exercise group, your neighbors, or family members and get your exercise groove on. After all, there’s only about 60 days until summer!

Lara, Robyn, & Robynn

The Weight is On

As we are approaching the warm weather I once again find myself having to deal with the excess weight that I have put on over the winter. Every year I say I am not going to gain weight during the winter, and every year I find myself in the same predicament. Last summer I reached my lowest weight since having my kids. I was so proud of my achievement, but did that stop me from over indulging during the month-long Christmas festivities…NO! Then once Christmas came and went there was New Years, the Super Bowl, and I can’t forget to mention my new obsession with Golden Oreos. I watched the numbers on the scale creep up until yesterday I realized I had put on a full 15 pounds since the summer and am once again miserable with what I see in the mirror when the clothes come off.

I decided to take out my camera phone and take 3 pictures of myself…front, back, and side views in my bathing suit. What I saw in the pictures was even worse than the image that had been staring at me in the mirror. As I said in a past weight loss post (Put On Your Big Girl Panties and Deal With It), to many friends and family members it may not seem like I need to lost weight, but I know that I can do better. Weight loss isn’t about how you look compared to other people, it is about how you feel about yourself.

Using my pictures as a starting off point, I am excited to get my butt in gear and start working towards the Robyn that I know I can be! With today being the first day of spring…NOW is as good a time as any to change the eating habits that have crept up through the cold. Any readers who can relate…GET OUT YOUR CAMERAS and let’s go!

~Robyn (Jersey Girl)

Italian Knots with an Easter Twist

Every Christmas and Easter my Grandmother would make batches and batches of her Italian Knots. They have always been my favorite cookie and I am so glad that she taught be how to make them. This year I am adding a twist to the traditional knot cookie and shaping the dough into the shape of a bunny!

Click here to see my original post on how to make traditional knots.

Recipe:

4 cups flour

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

½ lb. butter (2 sticks)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

5 teaspoons baking powder

pinch of salt

Dough:

Melt butter, add sugar, eggs, vanilla, baking powder, and salt…slowly add flour. Chill dough in refrigerator for an hour. Form knots or bunnies and bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Icing:

Mix confectioner’s sugar, a drop of vanilla, and warm water until you get the consistency you want (I like my icing on this thick side). Dip tops of cookies into icing and add sprinkles! EnJoY!

~Robyn (Jersey Girl)