Today Seth starts 5^th grade – or middle school, as they call at his school.  So, now, he gets to wear the big boy shirt.  Prior to this, he wore a cotton polo shirt that made him so precious.  Now he wears a short-sleeve button-down that he doesn’t love.

“Why does it feel so funny?” he asked this morning.  “It’s so stiff and hard,” as he tried to configure the collar.  This must lend a lot to my mothering skills and the fact that I never make my children wear formal clothing. The guys in my family even wear short-sleeve polo shirts to Easter Mass.

I concluded this morning’s conversation by informing him that men still like to torture themselves by wearing ties and long-sleeve dress shirts in the summer.  Why our society still requires this sadistic manner of dress is beyond me, but he sure did look handsome going to school today.

Well, I turned 40 last Friday.  And it was absolutely fabulous!  I wasn’t expecting to feel any different, but I actually did.  I don’t know if I feel happier or more satisfied, but I feel like this is a whole new decade that I have to conquer.

The 20’s were great, but that decade was spent working hard at becoming an adult.  I loved my 30’s also, but that decade kept me working hard at the parent that I was to become.

But, now, I feel like my 40’s are when the fun can happen.  Get ready 40, here I come.

Wow!  The Rhinehart Reunion was HOT last week but everyone had a great time in the water.  The kids had an especially great time riding in boats, fishing and tubing.

Caney Lake is huge and beautiful.  Even the babies got to feel the wind in their hair as they sped along the lake in boats.  We brought the kids out to the little beach there on the lake and they had the best time burying one another in the sand.

I have to admit, I enjoyed the wonderful air conditioner in the camps and the yummy food.  This was the first summer that I did not get a sunburn.

Wendy and I feel so blessed. We get to work together everyday and we still really like and love each other after a year and a half working in tight quarters.  The second part of the blessing is that we get to do what we are truly passionate about.  Helping moms feed their babies is wonderfully rewarding.
The emails and thank you letters we get, keep us pumped up, even when the economy stinks and the bottom line is more red than black.
Yesterday, we got a really special gift.  The Advocate, our local newspaper, wrote a wonderful article about our company, GotBreastPump.com.

We say thank you and we love you, our loyal readers and customers.

Wendy and Toni

 4 Important Things I Learned From My Daughter

As a life-long hyperactive person I have always overdone things.  I work too hard; I’m involved in too many things. I will, too often, take on too much responsibility.
Wendy has taught me that a patient and wise approach to life and raising kids reaps wonderful rewards. Now, unlike other grandmas, I am not simply prejudiced toward my grand angels. They really and truly are amazing, kind, interesting and funny kids.
And, without question, these young people are a product of a wholesome and thoughtful home life created by my extraordinary daughter and her equally special husband.
So, here I go with my list of 4 things I learned from my daughter.
Patience – When the kids are doing things that I would have monitored too carefully, Wendy uses her relaxed manner to let them learn from their mistakes.  Gabrielle will build towers of unstable boxes and climb to explore.  My old world thinking is to over protect.  Wendy’s philosophy is that kids will be kids and will learn as they go. Her children are easy going and well adjusted sweeties.
Chill/Chill Out – I will never be called ‘chillin’.  I am forever pushing envelopes and myself to make the most of every waking moment. My beautiful daughter will work at her peaceful pace, albeit very long hours.  She will not be swayed by my strong opinions or pushed into doing things too quickly.  She ponders as she works through the many important decisions necessary to keep a young business going.  I find great comfort in her cool style that has taken us so far.
Dirt Don’t hurt – Gabrielle and Seth have always been allowed to run barefoot, even in the winter.  Gabrielle plays for hours in the mud hole that she and the dogs have conjointly dug.  She will come to the back door, so covered in dirt, that Wendy or I will have to pick her up by the under arms and pop her in the shower just to take the big mud off, before we put her in the tub. I actually grew up like this and loved getting down right dirty, but I didn’t let my girls get dirty.  I wish I had let them have as much fun as Gabrielle.
The 5 second rule can be extended based on circumstances. Wendy does not follow my neat nick issues about food on the floor. I never allowed food to be eaten if it fell on the floor.  Again, in my childhood, that wasn’t such a big deal. My mom came up in the Depression. I, unfortunely was strick about food that touched the floor.  The other day, I was very proud of myself.  After school, Seth had put last piece of Wendy’s delicious Biscuit Pudding on a plate, then dropped it on the floor.  He stood stunned and brokenhearted, as this is a very special treat. I jumped up and grabbed the slice of Biscuit Pudding and popped it back on the plate and said it wasn’t even 5 seconds.  It was more like a painful, slow 30 seconds for Seth. He looked at me to be sure that it really was okay and look of obvious relief spread over his face.  And you know what? He ate it and survived, just like I did when I was a kid.

One day, when I grow up, I want to be just like my daughter.