This week has been full of wonderful rays and I’ve learned that you soak them up when they come because the sun has a way of keeping on the move!

First, I’d like to congratulate my wonderful hubby for his recent successes. He’s really making those dreams come about and I’m so proud of him. This week has been a big one for his Google Gadgets. I have the distinct feeling that the tanks are fueled and blast off may be just around the corner. Google rocks and I’m so tickled that they recognize my hubby’s talent.

Second, I’ve just been informed that I resembled two classic movie stars and that I rock. Thanks Mert! And this rock’n award is going right back at ‘ya!

In honor of sharing the sunshine I’m tagging these wonderful blogging ladies:

Kate Baggott is one of the first bloggers I met through a blogging group of women. She writes a wonderful blog on motherhood called Babylune and she is a gifted writer.

Kelly Curtis is one of my first blogging buddies and she’s amazing. She is such an inspiration in all she does and I love reading her blog.

Kat Kat is another of my favorites. Aside from sharing religious views she’s a great lady who shares some of those “so relatable” (that’s my own word) life events on her blog.

Kailani is a blogger that my list wouldn’t be complete without. She’s such a loyal and faithful blogging friend and she’s always coming up with some of the best stuff!

Joanne Grego was recently referred to me by another rocking blogging chick, Wendy. Joanne writes such meaningful articles on adoption. She’s one of those bloggers I instantly connected with.

Hueina is one of my favorite uplifting bloggers. She shares such practical and fun coaching tips for personal growth. She definitely rocks.

There are so many more I’d like to add but I’m out of time and patience (IE has crashed and frozen my computer three times already this morning…grrrr.) So I’ll end with this short list and the final ray of sunshine being that our vacation is only 4 days away!! Yay!

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Sharing Potential Relationships Success Blogging

I recently joined Facebook. I have to say that in a short time I’ve been most impressed with their system. It’s by far one of the best social networks I’ve encountered…and I’ve encountered a bunch! It has a better security set up, a more meaningful network of contacts and friends setup and a more visually appealing layout to me. It’s been fun to find people I’ve known. It’s even more fun to try and figure out how some of us know each other or why we’d have ever sent an e-mail to each other! It took a few messages before one gal and I could pinpoint where we’d met and discovered it a was a shared interest group online. The crazy thing was a few weeks later she sent me a message asking if I knew or was related to a Blake Schwendiman. I wrote back that he was my better half. She responded with a small world connection that her mother had just sent her a link to an interesting article on his blog. How’s that for bizarre twists?

Well, this morning I got a new message from someone I recognized from my high school. We weren’t in the same class and honestly I didn’t know much more than a face and name but there was a message saying he’d added me to his friends. That was fun. It got me going on a small journey checking out the names and friends that some of my friends had on their list. I found a few other people I’ve known but not talked to in years so I sent them some messages too. Then things got interesting because I decided I’d go look for someone. I typed in the name of an old high school buddy, Mike Bond. Pages (and I mean pages) of profiles matching that name came up. Out of curiosity I typed in my own name - I was the only Holly Schwendiman. However, when I typed in my maiden name which I’ve always thought was a bit more unique (I mean, how many Mormon ‘Popes’ do you know? *snicker*) I was blown away with how many pages of matches came up. I almost sent a message to a few of them just to let them know they had a cool name, but I lost the guts (and time.)

Facebook is living proof of how small and large the world really is. It’s worth checking out. The Internet has sure brought about some fun changes for getting in touch with people!

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Relationships Blogging

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Family Sharing Wordless Wednesday

Well, I just bought 4 tickets for “The Lion King” Broadway show next week. No turning back now. I can’t wait! I think the kids are going to love it. And like the hubby says, what better way to enjoy some of those once in a lifetime moments?

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Family Parenting Travel

You know you’re a real parent when you get to tackle the really tough subjects. Contrary to the terminology so common around adoption, I am very much my children’s real mother.

My nine year old is giving me ample opportunities lately to tackle some tough subjects. She is so wanting to be a teenager. In the past three weeks she’s really taken to her room for a lot of time alone - well with her TV set and Hannah Montana. When I go upstairs I’m immediately inundated with the smell of body splashes and perfumes, not to mention the constant glitter everywhere. She’s also recently given up the kid’s toothpaste for a tube like mom and dad’s. I catch her wearing her swimsuit tops under her shirts to mimic a bra (and always in hopes mom won’t notice or understand the secret purpose) and she’s spending a lot of time and energy with her hair and clothes lately too. When I tucked her in bed a few nights ago she asked me when she’d grow boobs and how she hoped she grew big ones. It was hard to choke back the laughter and harder still when I answered her questions of how long it can take and saw the “holy crap” facial response.
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I like it when things are moving - preferably forward. At the end of last week I was so tickled to get a few more files up. They’re in the Parenting Helps page of my Sharing section. Now if I could just find the time and energy to keep that motion moving forward!

It was fun to put them up, remember the times when I created them and what life was like then. I even found myself thinking about the future and what types of parenting hurdles lay ahead. Of course that only took a moment to freak me out and land me safely back at today’s doorstep.

This is our last full week at home before our trip to Long Beach Island. The kids are so excited they can’t stand it. We’re all looking forward to a fun and relaxing vacation. This time I’m especially excited because I won’t be traveling with diapers or any other mammoth sized luggage full of baby and toddler items. Now it will be gameboys and swimsuits. We’ll be taking in a few days in NYC, and a few in Philadelphia with an entire week at the beach house just chill’n. Man, is it the 4th yet?

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Family Parenting Sharing Motherhood Travel

It’s nice when ideas work out. At the start of the summer I shared how the crazy schedules were taking their toll. I knew I had to come up with a few things to help me save my sanity. I needed to come up with things to address filling their time as well as behavior and helping out around the house. As most of what we’ve implemented has been working I thought I’d share.
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Do you ever see a picture of yourself and stare in disbelief at the results? Asking if that can really be you? It doesn’t look like the you you remember and it certainly doesn’t look like the you that you feel.

Well, that’s been my experience lately. I let my daughter snap some pictures of me at her request. It was only fair as I was taking them of the kids. But I seriously deleted the first two and told her to keep trying! Now sure, I’d like to blame lighting, angles, etc. but the reality is the me I see staring back is changing. The changes haven’t been extreme nor have they really been very fast. But I see the change and I don’t like it. I see myself getting older - gravity working against me and that muscle tone…well, what’s that again? Too bad you can’t see your brain or intellect to balance the positive aspects of time and experience….*giggle*

It’s funny, I never pictured myself changing as I grew. Of course, I suppose I never really pictured myself growing in the aging sense either. I know I should be totally revelling in the now because in another 10 years I’ll be kicking myself for how good I have it now. I seemed to only find things to complain about 10-15 years ago about myself and now I wish I’d appreciated what it was then. But it’s easier said than done. For now, I just keep looking at the pictures of me wondering who that really is.

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Sharing Emotions Perspectives

Well, it was time for haircuts again. Cidnie has been bugging me to put in highlights for a long time and her ends were in bad shape. She’s all about growing her hair out and she was happy with the results (so was mom because it wasn’t anything drastic.) Tay on the other hand decided he wanted “spikes” like dad:

They sure grow up fast. He’s already deciding on his own clothes and he’s only 4! I think I was partial to his hair longer - he looked younger to me. But you can’t argue with a smile and eyes like that! So now he’s all BOY with his “spikes” like dad. Now they need to invent hair gel with SPF because he’s bound to get a sunburn now!

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Family Sharing Motherhood

On Friday I took the kids to do some Father’s Day shopping at their request. It was so much fun to take them and see the number of things they’d pick up and talk about how much dad would like this! I’d laugh and say, “Oh yes, I’m sure daddy would love that Hillary Duff CD, etc.” In the end, we ended up getting a Spiderman super soaker toy that Taylor picked out and an electronically password protected journal that Cidnie picked out - both uttering their assurances of how much daddy would like having turns with these items. *laugh*

On Saturday they went to a church group activity where the kids decorated ties and made cards for their dads. Daddy proudly wore his all through his church meetings yesterday.

What I love about my husband and our experience as parents is summed up in his reaction to the kids gifts. As I knew he would, he smiled so big and told the kids that they were the best gifts ever and exactly what he loved about being a dad. It was 100% genuine and it was why I let the kids get themselves something when we were shopping. Maybe it was all those years wanting, waiting and wondering if we’d ever be parents or maybe it is just the desire to soak it all in now that we finally are. Whatever it is, we both understand that these days are much bigger and deeper than honoring the role of a parent.

So here’s to many more Father’s Days with kids toys. *wink*

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Family Parenting Sharing Positive Impact Relationships