When I'm Not Sure What to Write...I Write Everything

As always, the most "cooperative" photo subjects around.  Ha.

I have done a dozen or more of these kind of "general update" posts in the past and I'm afraid that's what you're going to get from me this time.  I have such writer's block lately!  So for those of you who like to know basically what's going on with our family currently, this is a post for you.

Guest Post: Head Over Heels

Today, my husband offered to do a guest post here at Mama Flock.  It is S's 18th birthday today and he offers a unique perspective on our lives with our daughter that I enjoyed reading.  I hope you do, too...

Head Over Heels

I knew this girl once. She was eight years old and had just come to live with us. She was a foster kid and we were foster parents. A good match at least on that count, I suppose. Her two younger brothers lived with us already so, you know, it seemed like a good idea to keep the family together. They’d already lost so much.

Lent, My Day 20

If "My Days" of counting Lent were actually real Lent days, we'd be only twenty days from Easter.  But actually, there's almost a week more on top of my count.  So you don't have to panic.  You can still enjoy most of March and St. Patrick's Day and then figure out what everyone is going to wear for Easter Sunday.  It'll be fine.

So yesterday, my day 20, was really super special.  It was the first Monday of our new schedule and I heard that D got tons of stuff done at home (her girls shared with me today that she did all their chores for them before they got home from school -- what a treat!).

A New Look

I was getting all jealous of the cool look of my sister's blog and so I made a comment there about wanting a banner like hers for my birthday.  And it was like a couple hours later (and nowhere near my birthday) and she had not only designed the cutest blog banner I could never have dreamed of for Mama Flock, but also, she got in and changed my whole layout to match the banner's style (with my blessing, of course -- she's no hacker).

Is she not the best, most gifted, graphic design artist sister a person could ask for?!

What do you think of the new look?  (But know that even if you don't like it, I'm not changing it for a long time because I heart it too much.  So there!)

Also, she's added a feature on the sidebar there where you can sign up to follow me via email.  I'm just learning about all this stuff myself, so I would have never thought of it on my own!  Feel free to sign up and see what comes  in your email inbox from my blog.  I didn't know my blog could write to people for me ... wow!  Technology astounds me.

Thank you so much, Jessica, for the fresh, new look at Mama Flock and the generous gift of your time and talents.  You are awesome.

I Added a Widget!

So, I'm still figuring out all the ins and outs of blogging and what works and what doesn't (thank you for your patience).  Today, I discovered a widget that I'm trying out and I successfully installed it down below.

Scroll down to see the new way I've posted my favorite books.  Let me know what you think.

I'm just impressed I was able to figure out how to do it without my husband's help!  Wild.  I feel so tech-y now.

I just wish I could figure a way to link them to my posts about those books. :-\  One thing at a time.

Dire Consequences: Foul Language

With five very unique children and all of their unique issues, we are often forced to think outside the box (hey, can anyone think outside the box and come up with a new phrase for that because it's tired now) when it comes to disciplining them when they act up.  There have been people who wince when we share stories and there are those who applaud our creativity.  So at the risk of severe judgement and readers peering down their noses at us, I'm going to occasionally share some of these ideas here.