Happiness Is...Contentment...

 Happiness is...

Contentment.

Being at home...

With my family...

My boys...

My hubby...

And my kitty.

Nothing brings me more joy.

Than being home with the ones I love.

ADD/ADHD jokes and cartoons...not cool.

 Before my son was diagnosed with a couple of medical issues, I have to admit, that I was probably unaware of the careless words, phrases, jokes, and cartoons that were out there (or that I may have even been guilty of for that matter).  After a discussion with a friend several months back, she enlightened me to how some of the words that are used can be disheartening or hurtful to people with disabilities of many kinds.  And now that I have son that struggles with ADD, I too have become more aware of the hurtful jokes that are out there.  My son struggles with ADD.  The inability to focus and concentrate.  It affects his memory, causes forgetfulness.  It creates disorganization, losing things.  He does not have the "hyper-activity" aspect of it, which is why he went undiagnosed for so long.  He is quiet, laid back, well behaved...and when I inquired to teachers or doctors, they were like, "No way.  There's no way he has ADD."  So I had to really push for testing.  Come to find out, he has one of the most severe cases our psychologist had ever tested.  Our psychologist couldn't believe he had found so many "coping mechanisms" to get by and make the honor roll, no less!  But back to my point...as we have struggled over the last three years, finding ways to help him remember things, organize things, regulate medication...there have been some...less than kind cartoons and jokes that have been circulating the internet...Facebook, Pinterest, t-shirts, and more.  It's really amazing that more people don't speak out about how hurtful this is to someone who struggles with this.   These are a couple of the cartoons, jokes, and sayings that seem to really be making the rounds on Facebook and Pinterest...

Funny?

Well, maybe you might chuckle...IF...you have never dealt with the heartbreak of watching your child struggle with this disability.  Imagine you are sitting in your high school classroom.  The teacher is trying to explain complex problems in Algebra 2.  You are trying so hard to focus...concentrate...understand.  But a bird flies by out the window...BLIP...gone is your focus.  Someone drops their pencil...BLIP...gone is your focus.  You see someone's watch making a reflection on the ceiling...BLIP...gone is your focus.  All day long.  This is what it's like for someone with ADD.  I have to admit, before my son's diagnosis, I thought ADD/ADHD was just a behavioral issue.  I didn't know it was a real MEDICAL problem in the brain.  It's not that ADD kids don't WANT to focus...they CAN'T...they are INCAPABLE...their brains WON'T allow them to!  Does it mean these kids aren't smart?  NO!  So many kids with ADD are brilliant!  My son generally makes the honor roll!  I bet you didn't know there were a lot of famous people with ADD/ADHD...the following is a list of people who have or believed to have had ADD/ADHD:

Pablo Picasso

Vincent Van Gogh

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Malcolm Forbes

Henry Ford

Samuel Clemens

Emily Dickenson

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Christopher Columbus

Lewis and Clark

Alexander Graham Bell

Thomas Edison

Benjamin Franklin

Albert Einstein

John F. Kennedy

Abraham Lincoln

How about some more modern day ones:

Michael Phelps

Jim Carrey

Jack Nicholson

Ty Pennington

Elvis Presley

Justin Timberlake

Robin Williams

People with ADD/ADHD are very intelligent, creative, and talented!

However...the cruel cartoons, jokes, and saying about their lack of concentration and focus have got to stop.  Most people have NO IDEA how much ADD/ADHD affects the daily life of the people who struggle with it.  I am sure "most" people who post such jokes and sayings, don't mean to be hurtful...which is why I did this post...to educate.  ADD/ADHD is a very real, very challenging, very difficult, very troublesome thing to work through on a daily basis.  The quote in this bottom picture is DEFINITELY a more accutate description of an ADD/ADHD person.  They are smart, creative, hard-working, and talented.  Let's learn to watch our tongues, our postings, and what we share on the internet...because the jokes and cartoons are NOT COOL.

 

 

If you or someone you know has struggled with ADD/ADHD and would like to leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you!

God bless and have a great day!

...and...another little obsession...NAIL POLISH!

 I think it's safe to say...that most people who know me, know that I have an obsession with baking supplies...especially cookie cutters!  Show me the baking aisle at any store, and you won't hear from me for quite some time!

But...

I have another little obsession...

NAIL POLISH!

 Do you think I have enough?

Can a girl EVER have enough?

NOOOOOOOOOO!



 I love experimenting with fun manicures.
And since the invention of  Pinterest...there are a MILLION tutorials out there!

I must admit, I'm not the best...but it's fun to try!

The above picture was a pink and silver glitter.

(What could be better?  PINK AND GLITTER!)

NOTHING beats a french manicure!

 I love the look of a fresh clean french manicure!

 I like doing variations on the french manicure too.

This one was a pink and silver glitter french manicure!

 This one was a fun one...bubble gum pink...

And then I did a little flower with a rhinestone center on my thumb!

 LOVE LOVE LOVE the "crackle look".

I bought two bottles of crackle nail polish from Avon.

(White and black)

This was a coral base and white crackle.

Black with silver glitter.

CLASSY and CHIC!

Confetti fun!

White base and multi-colored polka-dots!

This was a two-tone.

I took my scrapbooking scissors with a scalloped edge and cut out piece of Scotch tape.

Painted the whole nail pink...let dry...then placed the cut tape on my dry nail...

And painted the other half purple!

Voila!

More pink and glitter!

Festive!

Red and gold accents!

Springtime fun!

Polka dots!

Another variation on the french manicure...

Baby blue polish and silver glitter tips!

More crackle...

Coral with white...

July 4th fun!

White base...red, blue, and silver polka dots!

Fall fun!

Gold metallic base...

Black crackle!

Fun with appliques!

Pink and blue base coat.

Butterfly and heart appliques!

Nautical look here!

White base coat, navy stripes, and little red hearts!

Holiday glitz!

Red base coat with gold glitter!

Halloween fun!

Orange base...black crackle!

Dazzle!

Silve metallic polish with silver glitter top coat!

By fluke, I call this the "peacock manicure".

I have a peacock ring and necklace...

And when I went to paint my nails...I found this aqua blue that matched the base of the ring/necklace.

Upon further digging through my polish, I found green glitter!

So I did the aqua top coat and then added green glitter on top!

Purple with pink/purple glitter!

FUN!

If you love fun manicures, check out Pinterest...

There are a million gazillion manicure tutorials!

I have a whole board dedicated to nails.
Come follow me on Pinterest.

You can find me here:

http://pinterest.com/mommicakes/

My name is mommicakes.

I'd love to follow you too...just leave your username in the comments section!

See ya there!

 



Re-Purposed Crayons...(Craft-Time With Natee)

Nate is my crafty, creative boy.

He is always looking for something new to do or try.

Busy busy busy.

That's my Natee!

He saw an idea (I'm not sure where)...

For re-purposing old crayons.

And so we did.

I had received a silicone baking mold as a gift from someone and had never used it.

So we thought it would be the perfect mold for this project.

First he removed all of the paper from his old bits and pieces of crayons.

Then he broke them into small pieces.

Next we melted them in a preheated oven of 225 degrees.

Once melted, we removed them from the oven and let cool.

Then...voila...they pop right out of the mold!

What cute little re-purposed crayons!

You can do solid colors...or mix them together for a rainbow effect like Nate did!

Try it with your littles and leave a comment on how they turned out!

We'd love to hear your success stories!

Snow, snow, & more snow...Old man winter is making up for lost time!

 The last couple of winters, we really haven't had much snow.

We didn't even get a White Christmas...

Which is pretty unusual for Michigan.

 But let me tell you...

Old man winter is making up for lost time!

NO...

These pictures are not "blurry".

These are perfectly clear photos.

 The visibility was "that" bad today.

ZERO.

That's what The Weather Channel app said.

0 visibility.

 Normally I don't mind all of the snow.

I find it pretty.

But today, we had out of town plans...

Which we had to cancel.

 So I was rather bummed.

I always feel awful when I have to cancel plans.

 But once I looked out the window and saw how terrible it was...

I felt a little better knowing we made the right decision.

 See the above photo?

It's not the sky.

It's complete "white-out" snow fall.

It was snowing so hard...

And blowing so hard...

That is what my camera captured.

 My neighbor's house is actually in the background of this photo.

If you look in the center between the two trees, there's a darker area...

That's where their house is...it's just that white-out, that you can't see it.

 Same here.

There is a house in the background of this photo.

Complete white-out.

 This is looking down the street.

Normally you'd see a whole line of houses.

Nothing.

 The back yard.

All you can see if the snow coming down against the trees.

Nothing.

 Just white-out.

Our neighbor behind us...his roof and the sky...somewhere...

Ok, old man winter...we know you're here.

Loud and clear!

It's winter!

What's it like where you are?

It's been a while...

It's winter.

There's snow.

Lots of it.

Winter just seems...

To pass...

There isn't a whole lot of excitement during the winter.

It's a time of settling in...focusing on school, work, just...

Getting though.

I do have a winter birthday.

I celebrated my __x__ birthday on February 6th.

Yes, that's right...we don't tell our age anymore.

The hubs and I say that we are forever 30.

(Shhh, no one needs to know how many times we've celebrated our 30th birthday.)

I got the cutest pair of mittens for my birthday.

I had been wanting some for a long time.

Many people make these.

And my neighbor happens to be one.

Aren't they pretty?

They are wool and cashmere.

She upcycles them from old sweaters.

I love the little rosette on the side.

It has a little crystal in the center.

Very feminine and girly.

They are super cute and super warm!

I am in love!

We ordered my favorite pizza that night for my birthday and got ice cream.

It was a cold wintery night...so it was nice to spend it at home with my family watching American Idol.

I'm very much a "home body"...I love being home.

 

 

Other than all of the snow...and my birthday...

Winter is pretty quiet around here.

But I figured it had been a while so thought I'd better get a blog post out to let everyone know I'm still kickin'!

I found a great sale on nail polish today...and anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE NAIL POLISH!  I totally could have bought every color on the rack...but I restrained myself and only bought seven.

I went with a pretty spring pallette and then some bold glittery shades.

Nail polish makes me happy.

Almost as happy as cookie cutters!

Haha.

And what's a blog post without a picture of Oreo?

I love my kitty-boy.

I can't believe he'll be 8 years old this summer.

He is such a part of our family.

I love him so .

He's my baby.

Well...guess I shall sign off for now.

Just figured I'd pop in and say hi...

"Hi"...hehe!

Hope you are staying warm and toasty this winter!

Stay snug!



My children are examples to me...

You see it all over Facebook.

Parents status updates...

"Johnny got all As on his report card."

"Suzy is in all advanced placement classes."

"Tommy was MVP on his team."

"Mary was in the newspaper for first place on her poem."

While this is all good...

And we have every right as parents to be proud...

I am more pleased at the "inside" actions and the "person" my children are becoming.

They are not perfect.

But I see the young men they are becoming and I admire them.

In fact, I told my older son, I aim to be more like HIM.

They respect their elders.

They are kind, compassionate, caring.

They are good with children and animals.

They aren't judgmental.

They have a VERY diverse group of friends from a variety of ethnic groups, economic backgrounds, etc.

They don't talk bad about people.

They are Christ-followers.

These are the things I'm pleased with. 

Yes, they get good grades and do well in school.

Yes, they are talented (both play in the band).

Yes, they each have unique interests.

But those aren't the things that MATTER in the long-run.

Their hearts are in the right place.

And I am so thankful that God has guided me as their mom in their upbringing.

Not saying our journey is perfect or over.

But I'm so pleased with the way it's going right now.

I can only ask God to continue to be with us as we continue to lead them on the path to adulthood.