Little Mouse's House: October 2012

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

hurricane sandy

as you know, hurricane sandy devastated the east coast over the past few days. we are praising God that we are safe and sound, though without power and unsure of when it will return. many friends and family are posting pictures of the aftermath. our old street in ocean city was 6ft underwater. homes are floating down the street, as are cars, people in boats, and tons of wreckage. trees and power lines are down everywhere. I haven't seen a single boardwalk still in tact. this is the worst storm we've ever experienced in our lifetimes.

my husband, Norah, and I have traveled south to his parents' house since they have power. we had to wait in a line 45 mins long just to get gas on the parkway. but now that we are here, we are in a warm house and we have working phone/Internet service so we can at least be in touch.

though our family is ok, many are not. the news report yesterday said 3 million people are without power and I'm sure the number has gone up since then. many people are returning to their shore homes today to find there is nothing left. it's such a tragedy, and so very upsetting knowing your childhood home, the place you grew up, the place your memories were made, the place you live and love is just...gone.

again, my family is extremely lucky to only have experienced loss of power through all of this. many many people have it so much worse. please keep our communities in your prayers.

***the following are a few pictures I took with my phone yesterday. we drove around our neighborhood just surveying the damage. no flooding in our town, but lots of trees and power lines down.

on a car

there's a house under there

another tree on a house

right around the corner from our house

through the roof

fallen tree blocking the road

another fallen tree

the line for gas....we're halfway there

Monday, October 29, 2012

cara box reveal!

You may remember that I posted about Cara Box Exchange a little while ago. Well today is the big reveal! {For more info about the Cara Box - visit Kaitlyn over at Wifessionals}

I was partnered with Jen of That's What She Read. I didn't know Jen (or her blog) prior to our pairing but it has been so much fun getting to know her and reading her blog! I love her "It's OK Thursday" posts and now I also know where to turn if I ever need a good book recommendation :)

Jen sent me the sweetest box:

first look!

very sweet handmade card :)

pretty pumpkin!

pink goodies. october = breast cancer awareness month!

yummmm!!

a few goodies for norah!

plus a pretty headband

All her gifts were so thoughtful and I'm so happy we were paired up! Thanks again Kaitlyn for organizing the exchange! I look forward to participating again :)

Norah saw the cat costume and immediately wanted to wear it, then immediately threw a fit when I tried to take her picture. I did the best I could.

I actually chased her into her room saying PLEASE just smile one time for me and this is what she did.

Future beauty queen / model / professional smiler right there.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

atlantic farms (again)

linked with:

bree: his honey and her mommy

live and love outloud

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

breaking the trance

something that drives me absolutely nuts is when a crying baby or toddler is consoled with technology. think: yo gabba gabba on an iphone, a toy that makes noise or has blinking lights, a DVD player in the backseat of the car...

don't get me wrong, there have been desperate times when i too have resorted to using the yo-gabba-gabba-trance to calm my daughter. but, every time i see it happen i always wonder what people did before this technology was available? what did our parents do? our grandparents?

there is a lot to be said about how we raise kids now vs. how the last generation was raised. but more and more i find that i am nostalgic for my own childhood. i like "old" things. i like vintage. it makes sense to me that i would be drawn to a different style of parenting than what goes on today (*please know that i am speaking very generally here. i am well aware that there are thousands of different styles of parenting. this issue is just something i see quite often*).

the real problem i have with using technology (to CALM a child. not in general. heck, i'm on my computer right now) is that it is simply a distraction from the real issue. instead of trying to understand what's wrong with the child or help him/her express themselves we just shove a phone in their face and say, "shhh...watch gabba." how will we ever know how to properly care for our children if we ignore the underlying issues? in fact, flashing lights and lots of noise can actually make the problem worse. "The proliferation of technology...further handicaps children in their quest for calm. Computer games, with their beeping and flashing and demand for tight electronic focus, further compromise community and core brain calm." (source). wouldn't it be more beneficial to us AND our children to actually parent them than to just treat the "symptom," not the problem? kids cry for a reason and it's our job as parents to understand why. it's our job to help them understand themselves why they are upset. and then it's our job to comfort and console, not the TV's.

to those like me, who resort to technology either every once in awhile or everyday, i propose a challenge: let's go ONE WEEK without entertaining our kids with a TV/computer/phone screen. just ONE week. let's see what we learn about our kids, and ourselves, in the process. we can do it! plus, think of all the one-on-one time you'll get with your child(ren). all the time that may have been spent watching TV or playing a computer game will now be spent with you. what a blessing!

a few good related reads:
-are we overstimulating young children?
-kids and overstimulation
-the rise of ADHD: is technology to blame?

Friday, October 19, 2012

family pictures

last saturday our good friend abby took some family pictures for us. we went back to the tuckahoe train station, where abby had taken our engagement photos three years ago. i am blown away by her work and i am so thrilled at how these photos turned out! THANK YOU, abby! we love them!

all four at the pumpkin farm