Molly Piper

Since all the major retailers are telling us what to buy for the Haaallllidayzzz, and giving us all kinds of crappy ideas for things we don’t really need…I figured I’d put my recommendation (which isn’t crappy) into the mix.

Ladies and gentlemen…

Wait! Wait! let me rephrase…

[Ahem]

Ladies and the people who buy for them…

May I present the Makita BCL180W!!!

 Now you might be thinking, “Really? a vacuum? for Christmas?”

Let me just counter that with, “No, really…a vacuum…for Christmas.” (See how easy that was?)

 I got mine 2 Christmases ago and still use it multiple times a day. If you have hardwood floors, it’s amazing! It’s seriously the best practical gift I’ve ever been given.

I haven’t actually done this yet, but every time we leave the house to go on a trip I consider packing it to take along, that’s how much it’s a part of my life. I’ve even thought, as I’m happily vacuuming along, “I’d like to be buried with this here vacuum.”

 Why I love this Makita Vacuum

• It recharges quickly. I just disconnect that black battery and slide it onto the teal battery charger thing, and it’s done in maybe 15 minutes, max (just enough time to clear the dishes, load the dishwasher, and deal with the leftovers).
• It holds a charge for awhile. I probably charge mine every couple days (more if I’m using it more heavily).
• Great swivel action. (And we all want a little swivel in our lives, ifyouknowhatImean).
• You can take that long part off and use it as a dust buster thingy. Or attach the pointed part for corners or couch cushions. Basically all the parts are interchangeable for whatever your vacuuming needs may be!
• The filter thing on the inside is washable, so therefore, reusable. BOOM!
• This thing is a Makita power tool, so it’s really tough. I think they market it for construction dudes, but I think it’s a miracle product for moms.

And if I didn’t convince you, let the good folks at Makita try (**SPOILER ALERT!** Rad metal music and awesome feats of vacuuming strength to follow!)

This vacuum sucks in all the right ways. (I’ve been waiting to use that line for the whole post! I know, total dork.)

(Now for the fine print: Makita has no idea who I am or that I’m insanely happy about this product. They have offered me absolutely no compensation for this post. So you might be wondering, “Why are you doing this, Molly?” Basically, I’m just a woman who can’t help recommending awesome things to her friends. I hope you get one for Christmas!!!)

Grateful tears this morning over my pile of potato peels while this song plays again and again:

Thank you for the way you make the flowers grow
Up through the cracks in my fractured soul…

Whispers of thankfulness today for so much.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Listen/watch the new Ben Kyle album (one of my favorite Minneapolis musicians).

Kingdom Undone is a beautiful, well-acted piece of theater happening in the Twin Cities through Easter Sunday (April 8) at the Southern Theater. I hesitate to call it a Passion Play, simply because I don’t want people to dismiss it right off the bat, but that’s what it is–a theatrical account of the last days of Jesus Christ.

This is a brand-spankin’-new play written by homegrown talent Jeremiah Gamble of Theater for the Thirsty. Their website describes Kingdom Undone as follows:

When revolution spins out of control, Judas Iscariot, and a young Zealot named Isaac rush toward their ultimate liberation, or their undoing. Kingdom Undone merges earthy drama, music and unexpected humor with the passion of Jesus’ final days and the messy justice that turned the world on its head.

The acting was fantastic. The man who plays Judas is just awesome, and Jeremiah Gamble plays Jesus, and does so with such grace and strength. It was phenomenal to watch him bring that character (of all characters to have to try to play) off the pages of our Bibles and attempt to convey his heart in flesh-and-blood form.

For me, I love a reminder that the people I read about in the gospels were actual people. They had inflection. And voices. And mannerisms. And personality conflicts.

And Jesus himself truly was a God-Man! He had an actual, physical voice and warm-blooded hands that touched the poor and needy and unclean.

I’ll admit that in reading the same gospel accounts over and over, it can become kind of rote and unimaginative for me. And therefore kinda heartless. So I’m thankful for people like Jeremiah and his cast and crew who take the risk and put these sacred words into human form for us to remember.

I’d never seen a Passion Play before and I’m so glad this was my first. It stirs the heart. It sparks the mind. It feeds the soul. Loved it! Five stars!

I’d also not be giving the show enough credit if I didn’t mention how awesome the actual stage is (the Southern is a really cool space), how creative the set was, how moving the music was, and how stunning the lighting was. I could go on and on. Really, this is all-around a beautiful piece of theater.

They also have a Facebook page to peruse, so go ahead and do that on your journey to purchasing tickets!

[image via]

I’m subscribed to Dr. Joanne Cacciatore’s blog. She came to my attention after I read a book called Stillborn: The Invisible Death. The book is out of print now, but you can sometimes find it. I emailed the author of the study, Dr. John DeFrain, after I finished it back in 2007 or so, to tell him how much I needed his book.

In 2007, I didn’t know a single person who’d had a stillbirth. At least I didn’t think I did when it happened to me. I remember returning home from the hospital, and in the few days before the funeral, furiously scouring the internet for something…anything…that would help me not be so alone with a 39-week death. I don’t think I even knew I had a “stillbirth” at that point. (By the way, I still don’t love the word “stillbirth” or “stillborn,” but at least it’s a descriptor.)

So this book, this study, was done by researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and was basically a survey of a few hundred families who’d suffered a stillbirth.

For me to find a few hundred people…read their words…know I wasn’t alone…know I wasn’t stupid or negligent…broke through like nothing else did at that time. I craved their stories and their experiences like a starving person craves food. I would sit with it and gorge myself until I purged, stuck in the horrible paradox of being without for so long and then not knowing when the next would come.

So I told Dr. DeFrain all that, more or less. And he told me about one of his former doctoral students, Dr. Cacciatore. I found her organization, the MISS Foundation. I found her blog.

I don’t know where I’d be without those voices and stories. I needed them to teach me how to swim. There were a lot of people who came alongside and taught me. I would have drowned otherwise. Thanks be to God, I didn’t.

Oh, you grievers out there, how I pray that you have people teaching you how to swim.

Super cute bracelet, right?

My friend Tiffany makes these! She co-operates a wonderful company called Legacy Bracelets. When Felicity died, she offered to make me one to honor the family God had given to me.

At first glance you’re probably thinking, “How does that bracelet represent your family?”

Oh, just wait…

The bracelet actually flips inside-out to display whatever images you select! It’s a portable brag book. Or a portable honorarium. Or maybe both.

You can visit their website and read their FAQs, but the basic concept is:

• You browse the pattern selection and choose the design you want for the outside of the bracelet.
• You submit your photos and/or text you want included to Legacy and give them any special instructions (there are 7 tiles in all).
• They do all the cropping and color treating.
• You get your bracelet shipped to you!

I seriously love mine. If you’re trying to think of a creative, heartfelt Christmas gift, this might be the one. Their order deadline for Christmas is 12/10, so order one SOON!

PS-I have the classic design, the Tiffany.

PPS-They didn’t ask me to blog about them. I just wanted to. That’s kinda how I roll on this blog anyway. And I really love this product (“I love your product, man,” in my best Melissa McCarthy voice).

‘Tis the season for giving, right? Well the folks at Fair Trade Services are giving to the readers of MollyPiper.com!

[image via]

Anyone want to win a copy of the new Sara Groves album Invisible Empires?

Yeah, I thought you might.

I have 10 copies to give away this week!

Here’s how you can win:

Simply “Like” the page for this site on Facebook.

You can visit the page or just click “Like” below!

See how easy that was?

On Friday I’ll pick 10 winners from the people who’ve “liked” and send you a message with your download code!

If you had already “liked” my blog page on Facebook, but don’t want the album download, just give the code to someone who does! Merry Christmas!

I’m very excited about this particular giveaway. I first heard Sara Groves at a concert I went to back in 2008, right in the early days of fighting through depression and PTSD after losing Felicity, our daughter.

As I moved through that very painful stuff, God ended up bringing particular songs into my life that hit me right where I was, right with what I was dealing with. I ended up compiling quite a playlist of these songs and they were a lifeline for me. Not surprisingly, for those of you who know her music, Sara Groves made it onto that list a number of times. I love that she doesn’t bypass really hard things in her lyrics. She even takes on bioethics on this album. Not many people singin’ about that, I imagine.

You can hear for yourself what was on her mind in crafting this new album:

PS-She gives props to Laura Ingalls Wilder in the interview. Remember how we love her???

My favorite songs on the album are “Miracle,” “Open My Hands,” and “Finite.” Any of you want to share your faves?

Thanks so much for reading and supporting this blog. Hope you win!

I have horrible dry patches on my hands in the winter. There are a couple isolated spots that get really irritated and sore (probably eczema).

Of course it doesn’t help that I have to wash my hands every time I turn around, changing 2 sets of diapers and taking Morrow to the potty (and then there’s cooking, doing dishes, taking myself to the potty…). You get the picture. My hands are wet all the stinkin’ time.

I’m trying to use rubber gloves while doing dishes to see if that helps at all.

But I’m also considering trying those overnight moisture gloves. Have any of you tried them? Do they work? I think you put some lotion on and then put the gloves on?

I have to be very careful with what lotion I put on my hands, as well. It can’t have any fragrance or dyes. If I use regular lotion on my hands in the winter it burns like crazy!

A friend of mine suggested shea butter for lotion, but I don’t know if that has fragrance. If so, it’s a no-no. (ha! a rhyme!)

Anyone have a good fragrance-free, dye-free lotion for hands they’d recommend?

Also, don’t forget to weigh in on the gloves! Should I try them?

I haven’t done a “Blogs I Read” post in a really long time. Time to change that!

I’ve been telling my friend Jill that I want to link to her blog for ages now! I’m just waaaay behind on all my blogging goals, so here it is at long last.

If you like children’s literature (or your kids do), you should check out Orange Marmalade.

(Jill is the third from the left. Aren’t they a great-looking crew, by the way?)

Why you should check out Orange Marmalade:

• Jill’s really smart about lots of things, including children’s literature.
• Jill has had a faithful career as a home school mom to those four kids, and they did lots of reading together.
• She showcases a wide variety of books for kids, most of which I would’ve never heard of without her!
• She offers suggestions for poetry, nonfiction, holidays, etc.
• She writes thoughtful posts about plot and why she likes the book.
• She usually includes what age she’d recommend the book for.

So hop on over and check out her literature selections for kids. I think you’ll be really happy you did.

So I got an email the other day asking me what double stroller I use for my twins. I was going to write that person back, but figured I might as well make it into a post!

Here’s what I used/use for twin strollers!

Infant Phase

When your babies are using the bucket car seats, it’s so nice to have a double Snap & Go stroller. Actually I’ll just go ahead and say it’s a necessity.

Because it’s really impractical to have to carry two infant car seats into the doctor, into the grocery store, anywhere really….

After you graduate from the infant seats, you move on:

Toddler Phase

I know there are so many options out there for a double twin stroller. This is only what I use. I chose to go with the Combi Twin Sport.

(except mine's red)

Here’s why I chose it:

1. It’s a lot lighter than most double strollers.
2. I like the side-by-sides (especially for twins, who I think will want to see each other, since they’re together all the time).
3. It collapses pretty small (compared to other doubles) so you have more room in your trunk.
4. It’s affordable.

I imagine some people object to the Combi because:

1. The baskets underneath are small. (I remedy that with The Mommy Hook.)
2. It doesn’t “handle” as well as some of the other high-end side-by-sides. I didn’t really care about that as much. If I lived in New York City and used my stroller daily, then perhaps it’d be worth the extra cash for better handling. Wasn’t worth it to me.

So there ya go! MollyPiper.com is (un)officially endorsing these products! ;)

So obviously we’re gonna need some sort of packing solution for our minivan for our upcoming trips. 7 people and all our gear is not going to fit, no matter how much swagger is in our wagon.

We bought one of those old boxy car toppers at a thrift store (we even got it half-off), but I’m a little doubtful that we’ll have all the pieces and/or be able to figure out how they all go together without the manual. I’ve scoured the internet for any instructions for the darn thing, but can’t find anything.

In the course of researching that, I found this:

It’s called a saddlebag, but I prefer to think of it as a backpack for our van! So cute!

Why I think I might get it:

• better gas mileage without something on the top of the car.
• Stores in a very small space when you’re done with it because it’s collapsible.
• It’s much cheaper than most car toppers.

Do any of you have one of these? Do you think it’s a good purchase? HELP!