First Haircut

Bam Bam is 17 mo. and got his first haircut last night. We went to a place that specializes in kid's haircuts, but that did not lessen the horror for him. I remember when I took my first child to get his first haircut. As soon as he started to cry, I got so anxious. I didn't even flinch when Bam Bam started to wail. The girl cutting his hair said she was surprised I wasn't freaking out like the other moms. I told her that he cries at home and survives so I knew he'd make it this time too. I miss his baby curls. He looks like a little boy now and not a baby. Kind of sad since he is my last. I will post a before and after pic. later. Blogger isn't cooperating. Here is the video. Prepare to be horrified.

Our Christmas card

I will take ALL the credit for the idea for the Christmas card, but have to give credit to dh who did all the computer stuff on photo shop. He also took the picture. I just made goofy faces behind him to keep baby interested. We probably took 30 pictures before we arrived at "the" one. We told the kids to pretend they were holding big letters. Here is the picture before photo shop:

Notice the look of "uncertainty" in Einstein's (the first one) eyes. He's not too sure that mommy and daddy know what they are doing.

Here is the finished product. We had to cut out the whole Christmas tree to get it to fit on our card. I found some plain note cards at a store that I made into Christmas Cards. Much cheaper that way. I will also show you the back of the card. So consider yourself Christmas Carded

Sending a Holiday blessing your way,
Lifting a prayer for you-
May all your Christmas memories be bright…
May His joy BLESS all you do!


Love,
"DH, Me, Lancelot, Einstein, & Bam Bam"

“Today your Savior was born…He is Christ the Lord!” Luke 2:11

I am technologically challenged

Well, I was getting discouraged because I just didn't have any comments to any of my postings. I know that sounds pathetic, but half the fun of blogging, in my humble opinion, is hearing comments to one's own blogs. So I finally clicked on my actual blogger account and saw that I had 9 comments just waiting to be moderated. I do not know why this setting is on now. I don't remember setting it up like that. Well, thanks folks for caring.

Worlds are colliding

AsManyAsWe'reGiven and her hubby joined me and my dh for a night out without kids. I think it is funny how the guys always say they don't care where we eat, and try to get the ladies to plan the whole thing, but when it came down to deciding a restaurant both males were in objection to all our ideas, and ultimately chose where we ate. I was thinking of a dark romantic Italian restaurant. We ended up in a lodge like steakhouse. I will say the food was really good and I enjoyed the conversation. The picture below is in front of a fireplace at the Gaylord Hotel. We went there to walk around because it was only 8 something after dinner and we were too old to do anything else. I'm talking about me and dh. I suggested sitting in the car and just talking but I was immediately called "lame." So I shut up. Back when both our hubbies were in a band together, I thought nothing of staying out until 2 am. Now I get tired around 9 PM. hahaha! Thanks for the great night, guys!!!!

Stolen tag from Weavermom

TEN THINGS I DID THIS WEEKEND 1. ate way too much at Snuffers (mmmm...cheese fries) 2. dh and I tried to take baby to walk around town center. not exactly the magical moment we had hoped for. He didn't want to be in stroller. 3. remembered why I don't like shopping 4. cleaned house 5. got girl time with friend and saw "August Rush" 6. Went to Target for space heater (no more painful exits from my shower) 7. Skipped Church (not proud of this, but it happened) 8. got donuts instead 9. Returned Heater for a different model 10. Saw "The Mist" with dh. (I haven't seen that many movies in one month in years) 9 things on my agenda this week: 1. start diet back up 2. go to bed by 11 3. get up each day early to do devo. 4. clean out office cabinet 5. take back a cheap phone charger from Dollar General that didn't work (wonder why?) 6. buy plain tshirt for Lancelot's Winter party at school (they are making hand print reindeer) 7. clean out linen closet 8. put away Fall decorations 9. Put up Christmas decorations 8 shows I've watched (last week): 1. TIm Gunn's Guide to Style (thank you Musings of a Housewife) 2. Easy Entertaining 3. Survivorman 4. The View (Hot Topics Only) 5.The Today Show 6. Heroes 7. Journeyman 8. HOUSE 7 things I cooked last week: 1. Pork Chops 2. Teryiaki Chicken 3. Smoked Turkey 4. Pumpkin Pie 5. Golden baby beets (this was new) 6. oatmeal 7. sauteed spinach 6 things I read this week (this one is hard, since I don't read much) 1. My bible 2. My Utmost For His Highest 3. blogs 4. The Grumpy Bird (reading with son) 5. Scaredy Squirrel (reading with son) 6. chats with DH (pathetic list, I know) 5 Reasons to be happy today 1. Since getting back to eating right, I feel awesome--not sluggish anymore 2. My 2 younger boys are napping right now (bliss) 3. My family is healthy 4. Dh's new job is going really well 5. I am hitting a lot of my goals each day (see earlier "Priorities" blog) 4 things I need to buy: 1. Band aids 2. everyday clothes for me (Tim Gunn would die if he saw my closet) 3. Stuffing mix for Lancelot's school food drive 4. Christmas presents 3 people I saw this weekend: 1. Stefani and Jordan 2. Danny ad Glenda 3. all of Dh's family 2 things I am thankful for right now: 1. Health 2. quiet time for me while kiddos nap

It reminds me to be thankful

I LOVE Sara Groves. For some reason every one of her cd's has, lyrically, hit me right where I am at that time. This song 'I Saw What I Saw' is from her latest album, "Tell Me What You Know." My 6 year old came into the office when I was watching this video and asked me about the people he saw. I told him that there were children in this world who didn't have a very fun life. I told him that a lot of them live in countries where there is fighting going on all the time, and the children sometimes lose their parents. I kept it simple, but he wanted to know, and I knew he was ready to hear about it. He just sat there quietly and watched it. I then took the moment to explain that God has really blessed us just by placing us in this country. I think he really got it. On another note, I think God will take me to Africa someday. I just want to go when I can really help. Right now, I would be so overwhelmed emotionally. But someday....

Bringing the bird!

I have been in charge of cooking the Thanksgiving turkey for my husband's big family get together for the last 4 years. And every one of those years I have prepared the turkey using a brine. recipe. This year I am taking it one step further and grilling the brined bird. I have my dad on speed dial for guidance. He is the grilling master. I wasn't thinking, however, and waited until today to think to buy my turkey. As you know, a big, frozen turkey takes a few days to thaw out. I was prepared to buy a fresh one even though they jack up the prices to almost double the frozen price. However, the stores were all out of the size bird I needed. I am cooking 2 14 pound birds instead of one gigantic one. Smaller birds are easier to handle and taste better. I noticed a lot of women around the frozen turkey bin, so I asked if we still could thaw out a bird, safely. The guy stocking the freezer with the birds said, we could let it sit in the bathtub filled with cold water overnight and it should be ready by tomorrow morning. I am cooking the birds on Wed., so that I am not stressed out come Thanksgiving morning. I also have an extra day to buy another turkey (already cooked, of course) if my grilling experience turns bad. So I have this packaged turkey floating in my bathtub. I am going to get fancy and soak some hickory chips to add nice smoky flavor while I grill. I'll let you know how it goes.

Lancelot's first big school project

Only my family will appreciate this. Sorry everyone else. It was Heritage Day at Lancelot's school today, which is a day set apart to honor mainly grandparents. Lancelot has been working on his "Mars Project" all week. It was a big deal because he had to give his presentation in front of his entire class plus all of the parents and grandparents. The assignment was to imagine he was moving to Mars. He had to think of 12 things he would take with him and explain why he chose them. I helped him with the poster, and Dh helped him prepare for the oral part of the presentation. This is what you are about to see. Dh is just a tad proud, and so he took a little time to spice it up a bit.

What are my priorities?

I have been involved in a Bible Study called "Home Experience." We've been learning the value that God puts on our families and home lives. We went through a chapter that talked about our priorities in life. We all say we we have priorities, but after doing a little self examination, I discovered that the priorities (in my head) and my actions didn't match. We were asked to do a journal of a typical day. The things I say are precious and most important to me got the least amount of my time each day. Then the things that are so temporal in the big scheme of things, ended up consuming most of my day. My sister and I were talking and she said something that really stood out to me. She said that the life we dream of isn't just going to fall in our laps, instead, we have to fight and work for it. If it were easy, everyone would have a productive and meaningful existence. No, the life I've been experiencing since my son started school is one of business (and we're not involved in any out of school activities), exhaustion, and doing the bare minimum. I start the day with good intentions, but by 5 pm I am counting down the minutes till the kids go to bed and I can be off duty. I find that we are always so tired by the evening that my husband and I do the bare minimum for bedtime rituals, and other teachable, huggable moments. I finally got tired of being tired of this lifestyle, so I made some goals and changes. I am a list maker, so I made a list of my top priorities in life: 1. My relationship with God and growing spiritually 2. My relationship with my husband/Quality time with him 3. My relationship with my kids. Individual time with each, teaching time with each, reading to each one 4. The health of me and my family which includes exercise for us all (mainly me) and healthy home-cooked meals. Obviously there are other priorities after this, but honestly, to me, if I can only get so much accomplished in a day, the things above need to happen on a regular basis. After my list of priorities, I created a daily schedule to make it a reality. I know enough by now to KNOW that I am NOT going to hit every item on my schedule every day. However, there is a saying that if you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time. Here is my schedule: (I will put in red how it has gone so far) 6:30 Wake up/ Bible & Devotion. (This is huge since I have been snoozing until 7:15 every morning) 7:00 Start coffee and wake up Lancelot. 7:45 Lancelot to school I Eat breakfast 8:15 Dress Boys & Make their bed 8:25 I get dressed and make my bed 8:45 Monday is Library day otherwise errand time 9:45 Take walk to park (didn't happen, had one more cup of coffee instead) 11:00 Make lunch 11:30 play with Bam Bam/Einstein watch show 12:00 Bam Bam nap Einstein work on letters and numbers &Play with mommy (we worked on letters when Lancelot got home from school. Want to have more one on one time with Einstein still.) 12:30 Einstein nap time My computer time 1:00 My Lunch time 1:30 daily chore: ( Mon. was-replace as many batteries as possible. & organize laundry area, ended up putting 2 things on Craigslist for sale instead. However, that proves I was on the computer when I wasn't scheduled to be. hahaha babysteps.....) 2:30 wake up boys 2:50 pick up Lancelot 3:05 Lancelot/mommy play time 3:15 Snack time & homework 4:00 ALL boys go outside to play 5:00 Start dinner/ boys watch show 5:30 Boys clean up all toys 6:00 Boys bath 6:30 Dinner time 7:00 Clean kitchen -daddy play time 7:30 Family devo time (haven't' done this yet. Dh was playing Guitar Hero with 2 older boys instead. Real spiritual) 8:00 Bedtime/ make lunch 8:15 My Weight workout (.....yeah this hasn't happened yet either. Tonight for sure.) 8:40 Shower and lay out clothes 9:00 read or watch tv 11:00 bedtime So, I didn't get everything done, but I did start my day right and spent way more quality time with my kids. I feel like I am on the right track, and am committed to keep moving forward. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

My weekend

Since you are all dying to know what I've been up to this weekend, let me catch you up. I spent all day cleaning my house on Friday because we were having our neighbors from down the street over for the first time. They have 2 kids that are the same age as Einstein and Bam Bam. As you know, cleaning a house with small children at home, is no easy job. Seemed like Bam Bam un-did everything that I had just set in order. I am always so excited to have people over to my home until about 4:30 in the afternoon, when I start to feel the crunch of getting everything done. Then I wonder why we don't just meet at Mc Donalds. It somehow gets done, although not always to the standard that I would like, and I am always glad we made the effort. I made homemade pizza for our neighbors, and got a little help by buying pizza dough from a local grocery store that sells great pizza in their deli. I got that tip from some cooking show. It cut my prep time by a lot. I also made a pumpkin spice bundt cake, and this salad. Everything was really yummy, but the kids didn't care for the cake too much. Oh well, more for me. The kids played really well together, and I enjoyed getting to know our neighbors.

Dh and I had a fancy wedding to go to last night. I was really excited because it was a free date night. The wedding was at a fancy hotel. After the minister announced Mr. and Mrs. "so and so" for the first time, 2 minutes worth of fireworks went off. Did I mention the ceremony was out in the garden? It was a surprise to me too. The invitation didn't mention it, or I would have brought a sweater. I wore my black dress that I showed in an earlier post. Dh wore a suit. It was fun to get all dressed up. The reception was very nice. I had Escargot for the first time. It was one of the appetizers. It tasted like sauteed mushrooms. They had all sorts of delicious cheeses, shrimp cocktail (one of my favorites), and New York Strip steak. The diet went out the window. Come to think about it, the diet has been suspiciously absent ALL weekend. Back to the grind tomorrow. I will post a picture of dh and I, but we forgot our camera, so we had to use our cell phone. I was excited to dance, however, the dance floor was occupied by a 50ish aged "lady" (I use that term loosely) who was wearing one of the shortest dresses I've ever seen. She had her own little party going on by herself on the dance floor. No one else dared to join her. It was quite entertaining though. She seemed to really enjoy the open bar. She did dances I've never seen before.
Today, we went to church. I LOVE my church! I don't know if I've ever LOVED a church before. I know we are right where we are supposed to be right now. Our pastor is such a g: ood communicator and teacher. You can view the sermon here by Monday. I am always so blessed after a service. He pulls things out of the Bible in a way that really makes me think. It isn't the same old regurgitated stuff that one might normally hear. Then our neighbors came back over and we watched all the kiddos play outside. It was a gorgeous day. I think it was 75 degrees. I go to San Francisco this next Friday for a cousin's wedding. All of my dad's side of the family will be there. My sister is going with me and we are leaving the hubbies with the kids for 4 whole days. I haven't left Bam Bam yet. I am a blessed woman to know that dh can handle it. It helps that his parents live 3 minutes away. But he is great with them. Not many wives would be able to say that they are comfortable leaving their kids with their husbands for so long. I HAVE to get some new shoes before I go. I am a weird girl and do not love to buy shoes. I usually wear black flip flops all summer long, and then black or brown boots in the fall. I do have a few dress shoes too. I will let you know what I find.
All for now.

This is what "Happy" looks like to me.....

Apron on, cooking dinner, back door open where I can see all 3 boys playing sweetly with each other; their giggles almost drowning out the old-school Rich Mullins music I have blaring in the house. A cool breeze blowing in just as dh walks in early from work (early for him, anyway). He is smiling and looking devilishly handsome. He gives me a kiss and then heads straight outside to scoop up a youngen who squeals with delight in his daddy's arms. Baby is chasing dh, screaming, "duh--dee!" Dinner is now on and Einstein actually eats the okra I fixed and asks for seconds. Everyone helps clean up kitchen. Baby goes night-night, and we sit and watch, "Pete's Dragon." with blankets and pillows in the family room. Mommy gets some "brain dead" time at Target getting cookies for Lancelot's school carnival tomorrow, and somehow I end up in the makeup section, drooling over aisles of makeup. Back home now, movie is almost over, cinnamon cake cooking in oven (whipped that up right when I got home...also for carnival), and 30 quiet minutes to read new blogs. Life is good!

4 year old in the Hiiisssouuuse!

Today is Einstein's 4th bday. I can hardly believe he is getting so big. He had his party on Sunday at a local Pumpkin Farm. It was one of my favorite parties that our kids have ever had. It was very unique. During our hayride, we stopped and fed some cows bread. It was so funny to see the kid's reactions when that big, black tongue came out. EEEWWW. There was a great corn maze (see above pic) at the end of the party. The kids wanted to "lose" the adults...and they did. I thought we were going to have to have a rescue party come in after all us old folks. He has been a bit spoiled today, and is starting to act rotten. First, he got to go eat breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa at "The Pancake Store" which is a local breakfast place that isn't really called that, but Einstein thinks that's its name. Then daddy took him out for a special "Dude's Lunch." And tonight we are going for ice cream after dinner. Hopefully he'll sleep away the rotten.

On a different note, I am still doing Core, and doing it quite successfully. I am loosing a little each week. I love eating this way. It is healthy eating without feeling deprived. I give myself one cheat meal a week. I am not exercising though. I think I am going to freeze my gym membership for the umpteenth time. I just don't use it. I would do better to just use dh's home weights and walk or bike every now and then. The thought of dragging the kids to the gym and then working out there makes me want to crawl back in bed. Too much work. I know, laziness at its worst. But it is the truth. It has to be fun. I love riding, but it is hard to get out to do that too since we don't have a seat for baby on my bike.

Today mil came over and helped me get all fall clothes out of the attic. That was a job, as you most know. She is a work horse. I am exhausted. We ended up organizing each child's closet.

Sorry for the boring post. More later....

just cuz he's so cute.....

What should I look like?

I know it is long, but read it anyways..... Colossians 3 (taken from The Message) 1 -2 So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective. 3 -4Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you'll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ. 5 -8And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That's a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It's because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn't long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it's all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk. 9 -11Don't lie to one another. You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ. 12 -14So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. I have been struggling with the question, "What does a true follower of Christ look like?" My mil was telling me about her Sunday service at her church, and how the above text was the focus. The pastor was talking about True Holiness. He was basically saying that too many times, Christians replace true holiness with made up religious rules. I admit, I've done this. It is easier to live by rules, than search out the real heart of Christ. Jesus was one of the most Anti-religious characters in the Bible. He was not put off by sinners, nor was he offended by them. He was constantly offended at the hypocritical religious leaders, though. I want to see the world through His eyes. I want to be salt and light to everyone around me. I want people to see Christ living in me, and be drawn to Him. I have never done this type of post. My devotional time is usually private. However, I wanted to write this one out.

my latest project

Here is a picture of the finished lamp. After spray painting it with this aged iron texture spray, I rubbed some brown wood stain over it to give it a brownish hue, since that is what color the shade was. I think it turned out great for $1.50 lamp, and $9.00 Walmart shade. What do you think?

This was my day --ramblings....

Sorry for the bullet point ramblings, but I don't have any catchy thing to write about today. Just a lot of little "life" things. *The scale is not moving. Ugghhh. I am on Core and have been since the Sucky diet ended. I have been reading the msg. board on the WW Core site, and everyone assures me that this is a way of eating healthier and not a diet. The weight willl follow. Several have told me that it took a couuple of weeks to start to see the scale move. And then, it just kept coming off. That is what I am hoping for. I love eating and cooking this way, so I'm not about to quit now. I HAVE to exercise on a more regular basis. I have a gym membership, but it is such a chore to get my 2 younger kids there. They like it ok, although I have been called on the speaker to come get Bam Bam who was exercising his demons out that day. I wish I could ride my bike more often. I could ride more if I got a baby seat for the back of the bike. I am terrified that I would fall with him on there. Any suggestions? Anyone use one of those trailers? * I was in Wal-Mart today looking through the clearance isle for a lamp shade. I will post a picture of my project soon. My sister found me a brass swing arm floor lamp at a garage sale for $1.50. It works, but has no shade. I also dont' like brass. So I am spray painting it with this textured paint. The shade is super cool and I got it for $9.00. Anyway, as I was looking, the baby wanted out of the cart because he saw a toy on the shelf that he had to have. I wouldn't let him out, so the fit started. Mind you, he is only 14 mo., but he is having fits that sound more like a 2 or3 year old. I ignored it, because I was almost done looking. I was probably only in that isle for 5 minutes total. This lady (SHREW) walked by and rolled her eyes at me while she said in a loud/RUDE voice, "Geez, give your child something to hold or something. That is ridiculous!" Then to make matters worse, an older guy walked by right at that moment, heard the whole thing, and gave me that "Bless your heart" look. I got all red in the face. It took all I had to talk myself out of chasing after that woman and asking her, point blank, what she thought I could do for a baby having a fit?? I realized that I could not do this since my 3 year old was looking sweetly up at me. I just swallowed my pride and finished my trip. I ended up carrying baby most of the way while I pused the cart with one hand. Pathetic, I know. I did NOT let the other two act like this. I guess it is training time. I so did not want to be the mom who lets the last one get away with more than the others. Gotta jet. DH just got home from band practice, and I am ready to watch some TV.

Gross dead fish and bike ride...

God gave me 3 boys but I am SOOOO not into bugs, frogs, and dirt. My inlaws took my 2 older boys fishing today at the park. Today is the first time they have ever caught anything. When they got home, they came running into the house yelling, "Mommy, look what we caught!!!" Then they shoved the Ziploc bag of dead fish in my face. They were so proud. I marveled at their fishing talents then discreetly made sure the dead, stinky fish were going with grandma and grandpa.

Then, dh wanted me to go on a bike ride with him. We enjoy doing this together, but can't very often without kids. Well inlaws said they would sit with kids, so we were off. Dh is really into this now. I am proud of him. It is a great way for him to stay in shape and often takes the boys with him. We plan to get a basket seat for bam bam for my bike, and make it a regular family thing. I haven't ridden in so long, and dh was determined to make me "push through the pain." I tried my best to keep up with him. At one point I thought I was going to be sick. He said this was my body lying to me to get me to stop. Once I pushed through that, I felt great. At the end of our ride, a 50 something year old guy rode up with the total biking outfit. I was breathing pretty heavy and feeling strong until he said he had been out since 7am and was just finishing a 98 mile ride. We did 13 in 58 minutes. We did stop a few times for drinks and air. Here is the picture of me right after the ride. I look like I am in pain.

Mama needs some help up in heera!!!!

Dh just got 2 older boys to bed, baby went down about 45 minutes earlier, and I just got done cleaning the kitchen after dinner. I am pooped. When I say pooped, I mean mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted. I don't know what is going on with bam bam (14 mo. old) but he just seems to go from happy to screaming in a millisecond, and then he screams until you figure out what exactly he is wanting. It doesn't matter how productive my day has been, at 5:00 pm, all HELL breaks lose at my house. Dh doesn't get home till 6:30, usually, so we don't eat until around 6:45. The baby acts like he is ready for bed at 5, but I can't put him down then. He has had to adjust to just one nap a day in order to be up in enough time to pick up Lancelot from school at 3. I love to express my creativity in the kitchen, and have this vision in my head of how it could or should be. I always try to hold off tv until that time period, so the kids are out of my hair (except baby who is usually screaming at my feet). But even then, I play referee for the two oldest who are playing ninjas WHILE they watch tv, and inevitably, one of them gets kicked in the head, but what do you expect when you are playing ninjas???? How do you like that run on sentence? I am so tired, I'm not even going back to correct it. I have burned more things in the last 6 mo., than in my whole life. I never get the table set like I want it; it always looks so thrown together. Dh and I always said we wanted meal time to be a time of communicating and connecting, but I my nerves are literally so shot by the time I sit down, that I don't even taste my food. I just sit there thinking about how long it is going to take me to clean the kitchen. Dh has bed duty after dinner, so I don't mind doing clean up, usually. We have everyone clear the table for me, which helps. Dh thinks I should just feed baby early and put him down at 7. I guess he is right. I want us all to eat together, but it just isn't working right now during his phase. DEAR GOD, I HOPE THIS IS JUST A PHASE. You would think that because I have gone through this 2 times already, I would know that it IS just a phase, but I don't remember going through this. On top of that, it is such a beating to get my kids to eat their food. I am no short order cook, and I am committed to eating healthy meals. I don't make them eat salad yet, but they do get the same things we eat. My oldest prayed that I would make more pizza and french fries. hahaha. Any advice to get through this would be appreciated. I am starting to dread mealtimes, which breaks my heart.

Need new clothes

musings of a housewife had this great blog on fashion must haves. I really need to get serious about updating my very shabby (but not chic), dated wardrobe. For the past 6 years I have not really wanted to spend much money or attention on clothes because I knew I was still going to be getting pregnant and losing baby weight for a few more years. Now that I am out of that phase, I feel like getting my wardrobe in order. I need to have appropriate outfits for the different occasions in my life. I still have small children with sticky hands, so I will probably not spend a lot of money on expensive, impractical clothes. I did find a great little black dress at Kohls and it is machine washable. I thought it was going to be hard to find a dress that looked good, but this one hides what needs to be hidden and accentuates my curves.



This dress makes me feel a little like Audrey Hepburn. Now I just need the right jewelry and shoes. Any ideas????

I am going to be seriously cleaning out my closet in the near future. If it is stained (like most of my clothes) or doesn't make me feel good when I am wearing it, it goes to goodwill. I may be left with 5 items, but this will FORCE me to buys something new to replace it. When I am out I may see a beautiful sweater or something but think to myself, "I don't need that because I have that one black sweater in my closet all ready." However, I never wear the one in my closet because it is itchy and the sleeves are too short. Can anyone relate???

Hallelujah the diet is over!!!

Well, the 7 day diet was over yesterday. I had dessert 2 nights in a row because we were at someone's house. And then last night we were at MIL's house and she made sandwiches. So even with the deviations, I still lost 5 solid pounds. Not bad. The last 3 days of the diet were totally easy. I will probably do it one more time before my cousin's wedding in San Francisco. I think the best part is that this diet helped me to mentally jump the eating bad hurdle. Now I am back to eating off the Core food list on Weight Watchers which is just no processed food, and lots of whole foods. The Core diet seems like heaven compared to the strictness of the other one, so I feel really confident. I am also trying to drink all of my water each day. I tasted a diet DP the other day and it tasted so gross. How did I drink those as much as I did?

SURPRISING DATE NIGHT MOVIE

Dh and I got to do a rare thing and see a movie the other night that wasn't rated G. He convinced me to see "The 3:10 to Yuma." It is a western starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. To my surprise, this was a GREAT date movie. It had an amazing story, and no gratuitous violence. My husband loved it too. It was one of those movies that had me replaying certain scenes over and over again in my head....but in a good way. I was shocked that I actually liked it as much as I did.

The diet continues......

Banana and skim mild day ended up being my favorite day so far. The bananas were very satisfying. I was then able to have the soup for supper and then a banana for dessert. Never felt hungry. Yesterday morning I had lost 4 1/2 lbs. and this morning 2 more lbs. gone. I got that sense of well being yesterday for the first time. Today we get meat. I feel awesome. We are going to a dinner party at a friend's house tonight. She is making roast and I am sure there will be salad, so I will just eat that. I am in charge of bringing dessert. I haven't decided if I will have a some or not. Either way, I'll be discreet. I hate it when dieters come to my house and talk about all the stuff they can or can't eat. After this diet, I plan on going back on the Core plan from weight watchers. Core will seem like a "free for all" after this thing.

Day 3 of this SUCKY diet...

DAY THREE

Eat all the soup, fruit and veggies you want. Do not have a baked potato. If you have eaten as above for three days and not cheated, you should find that you have lost 5-7 pounds.

Today has been just "ok." I was able to have a fruit salad for breakfast with my coffee. That was pretty normal. Then my mil took me to Black Eyed Pea for lunch. I ordered their veg. plate. You get a choice of 5 veggies. I ordered the carrots, green beans, Squash casserole, and double the Turnip greens. I asked the 15 year old waiter what was in the squash casserole and he said "just squash." Well that was good enough for me. There were breadcrumbs all over that squash, but I ate around them...sort of :*) And I ignored the bacon floating in my turnip greens. I can't help it if that is how they come on your plate, right? We did tell the waiter not to bring the delicious basket of piping hot rolls. That took lots of will power. I haven't weighed yet, but will in the am. I am pretty sure though that I have NOT lost 5-7 pounds. Dh and I got to eat a hot baked potato last night with real butter, and you would have thought we were eating Lobster the way we were moaning with delight. I'm pretty sure we weren't supposed to down a whole stick of butter between the 2 of us. Oh well, the diet wasn't specific on that rule. It just said enjoy a baked potato with butter tonight. Their words, not mine. Let me show you another quote from this diet: "This diet is fast. The secret lies within the principle that you will burn more calories than you take in. It will flush your system of impurities and give you a feeling of well-being." Well, I have not had a sense of well being. I feel like my brain has disconnected at times, and I've been really grumpy. I really don't know how vegetarians do it. I want meat so bad. Day after tomorrow is meat and tomatoes day. I CAN'T WAIT. Feel free to roll your eyes at my stupidity for doing this fad diet. I know I would if I were on your side of your computer monitor. But, I freaked when I saw that 7 pound gain. It snuck up on me like tax day. Tomorrow is bananas and skim milk day. GOD HELP ME!$#$%%@

A Wedding and a Surgery

You know how when something big happens, you end up telling the story a million times. Well, that is how this whole thing with Bam Bam was. It was a week ago this last Saturday that it all went down. Because I don't want to type the story again (I know, severe laziness) here is my husband's interpretation from his own blog. I will insert my own comments in red:

A Wedding and a Surgery

So we had this wedding to attend in rural, southern Missouri...We drive almost 7 hours and get into town with barely enough time to check into the motel and switch into wedding clothes. When Glory pulls Oliver out of his car seat, I hear, "OH MY GOD JASON LOOK!"...

I scramble over and notice an ENORMOUS bulge on his neck under his left chin/ear. There are a few minutes of confusion as some of her family is leaving to go the the wedding and we are trying to get our pediatrician on the phone at 5pm on a Saturday. (My dad, step-mom, and brother live in KS, so we were meeting them in MO. This was the first time I had seen them since June. I had discovered the bump about 3 minutes before we drove up to motel and see my family standing outside the bldg.) We finally get a nurse on the line and she tell us as long as he isn't running a fever or having difficulty breathing, we should be okay to drive him to the nearest hospital after the wedding. The ceremony is about 25 minutes and we "high tail" it out of town dialing hospitals as we drive.

We find the hospital that is closest, but there is a crazy mix up with some transferred calls and we get directions to a DIFFERENT hospital that is farther away. That turned out to be very fortunate, because we ended up at the only hospital in 100 sq miles that had a pediatric center AND a resident Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. (He says "fortunate" I say God works out ALL things for our good, and HE directed us there. We literally called one number and got directions to the big hospital, thinking we were going to the closer/smaller hospital, which was 30 minutes out of our way).

Long story short - they hook him (as we held him down and he screamed) to an IV and immediately ordered a CT Scan. That showed a definite abcess and they wanted to surgically drain it ASAP. O.R. was booked for the night so they scheduled him for 8 AM sunday morning. Surgery went fine but we had to spend another night in the hospital and finally got back home to TX late monday afternoon...(So, when they told us we would be at least one night in the hospital, I had to think of what I would do with my other 2 kids. They said they would try to get us in the Ronald McDonald house. That just sounded so crazy. My dad said they would stay with us in MO and take the kids to the hotel. Thank God for them. DH and I slept in the room with baby. I slept on hospital bed like when I had him, and dh slept on a rollout bed. Because it was a peds ward, they had a wagon to pull him around the hospital. He is fine now. I just kept saying, "I don't know how we got here." Pretty scary.) Good Times.

Day 2 of my diet....UGGHHH

Let me first say, that I am not a fad dieter, at all. As you have read from a previous post, I used Weight Watchers to get my post baby weight off. I did great at it, and lost a total of 33 pounds. The other day I went shopping to find a dress for a wedding. Much to my horror, nothing that I put on was fitting correctly and there were weird bulges bulging. I did the unthinkable the next morning and faced the scale. I had gained back 7 pounds!!!! PMS had a bit to do with it, probably a pound or two, but I honestly can't give PMS the blame. It was probably the free for all stress eating hubby and I did over the weekend. In another blog I'll tell about our horrible weekend in MO, which included a trip to ER for bab, 2 nights in the hospital, and a surgery. Yes, I was stress eating that weekend. It tasted great, btw. But back to why I am on day 2 of my diet. I really need new fall clothes and shoes. I am not good at shopping for clothes and don't do it very often. I usually wear my clothes until they look really faded or get stained. I do not want to go shopping with this extra 7 pounds. SO, I need to get it off. My father in law told me about the Sacred Heart Diet. He has lost a lot of weight doing it. It is a 7 day diet/cleanse. I know I know, it is a fad diet. But after looking it over, it is just eating healthy food. Hubby said he would do it with me. I also like the idea of not having to think out menus for dinner. I can cook the kids something simple, and then they eat the veggies we are eating. Here is day 1 and 2:

Sacred Heart Medical Diet

This 7-day eating plan can be used as often as you like. If correctly followed, it will clean out your system of impurities and give you a feeling of well-being. After only 7 days of this process, you will begin to feel lighter by at least 10 pounds and possibly 17 pounds, and experience an abundance of energy.

SOUP:

• 1 or 2 cans of stewed tomatoes
• 3 plus large green onions
• 1 large can of beef broth (no fat)
• 1 pkg. Lipton Soup mix (chicken noodle)
• 1 bunch of celery
• 2 cans green beans
• 2 lbs. Carrots
• 2 Green Peppers

Season with salt, pepper curry, parsley, if desired, or bouillon, hot or Worcestershire sauce. Cut veggies in small to medium pieces. Cover with water. Boil fast for 10 minutes. Reduce to simmer and continue to cook until veggies are tender.

This soup can be eaten anytime you are hungry during the week. Eat as much as you want, whenever you want. This soup will not add calories. The more you eat, the more you will lose. You may want to fill a thermos in the morning if you will be away during the day.

DRINKS:

• Unsweetened juices
• Tea (also herbal)
• Coffee
• Cranberry juice
• Skim milk
• Water, water, water

DAY ONE

Any fruit (except bananas). Cantaloupes and watermelon are lower in calories than most other fruits. Eat only soup and fruit today.

DAY TWO

All vegetables. Eat until you are stuffed with fresh raw, cooked or canned veggies. Try to eat green leafy veggies and stay away from dry beans, peas or corn. Eat veggies along with the soup. At dinnertime tonight reward yourself with a big baked potato and butter. Don't eat any fruits through today.

Yesterday was hard. I worked out for the first time in a while too, so I felt a little weird by last night. I am peeing like crazy. Today has been better. I can't wait for the baked potato tonight. I had stir-fry veggies for lunch and got creative and put curry seasoning on them. They tasted really good. I notice I am hungry about every 2 hours. I am about to go have another bowl of soup. This morning I weighed in at one pound less. We'll see...I'll keep you posted.

I am back!!!

I have still enjoyed reading all my favorite blogs, and have had a ton of interesting things happen in the last few weeks that I COULD have blogged. However, I think laziness won that battle. I am inspired to get back to blogging. Let me catch you up on my life in the last few weeks. Lancelot has tolerated 1st grade. Every morning, when I wake him up, he says he wishes he was his sleeping 3 year old brother. He is happy when I pick him up and says he has had a great day. I worry about him making friends. He can be very sensitive and shy, at times. I drove by the school during recess the other day, and he was playing chase with a few other boys. He seemed really happy. His playground is at the corner of a 4 way stop. Just imagine a white suburban driving suspiciously slow past the playground, only to go around the block a few times to drive by again. I am sure the authorities were alerted. I got involved in the Moms In Touch group here. I really like it. I like the fact that by the end of the year each student, teacher, and staff member in the grade school will have been prayed for. Then we pray for specific prayer requests for our own children. I hope to get to know some more moms through this group. I am one of the only newbies, so Lancelot and I have that in common. Today is hubby's last day as a loan officer. A great opportunity came our way from a friend. Dh will be doing sales at his dad's company (where this friend also works). It is a total answer to prayer. Dh had to drive one hour to and from work each day, and the mortgage market doesn't look to be getting any better any time soon. Dh will be completely mobile and will be able to work some from home. This company is the opposite of "corporate" which dh LOVES. As you can imagine, he is really excited for this huge change in his employment. I just worked out for the first time in a few weeks. It felt good. My sister went with me. Hopefully we can make it there at least 3 times a week. Dh and I are also doing this 7 day cleanse/diet called the Sacred Heart diet. Today is veg. soup and fruit all day. So far so good. My mom invited me and sister out for lunch and I had enough will power to just order the fruit salad with no dressing. I usually stay away from these types of food plans, but I've got a big wedding to go to in Nov. and I need to drop 10 pounds. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Here we go.....

First off, I notice everyone has code names for their kids so I will do the same.

Oldest son (6 years) = Lancelot (because he loves to be a Knight when he plays)
Middle son (3 1/2) = Einstein (because he is way too smart to be 3)
youngest son (1 year) = Bam Bam (he is full of energy all the time and very busy)

So, Lancelot started first grade yesterday, and it was our first day of public school. He did great. To say I am not a morning person, is really putting it lightly. Because of this, I did all the lunches (one for kid and one for hubby), had boys pick out what they wanted to wear, and laid out my own clothes the night before. I was showered and ready by 7:30 am, which is crazy for me. I actually have Einstein and Bam Bam napping at the exact same time each day, which means I have a quiet house for 2 1/2 hours a day. I have loved this schedule so far. Ask me in a week, when the newness of waking up early has worn off, and I may not be so excited.

I need some advice on two things. Hubby and I need a good book to read together when kids go down. The last book we read was "The Five Love Languages." Anyone have a suggestion for our next read?

Second question--I need some sack lunch ideas for a kid who doesn't like lunch meat. I can't keep making PB&J and Pimento and Cheese sandwiches all year long. Any suggestions?

Hopefully with my quiet time, I can blog more and read more blogs.

Oh...I almost forgot...I also need weeknight meal ideas to add to our repertoire.

Mountains, Caves, and Tanks...Oh My!!!

I have been absent from the blogs lately because I was getting the family ready for a mini vacation to climb Enchanted Rock and visit Longhorn Caverns in TX. We also spent a day in Fredericksburg where we toured the Nimitz Museum. The museum wasn't that fun with small kids. I would like to go back when I can actually read all the signs in the museum instead of constantly telling someone to not touch or, "Get off of that." A few days before we left, our AC in our Suburban went out (another blog), so I was busy dealing with that too. Every time I would think to blog or read blogs, I was just too tired, and decided to go brain dead in front of the TV instead.
Back to the vacation. We went with my sister, her husband, and their 3 boys. It was SOOOOO much fun. I might have grown up on a farm, but this girl is a city girl through and through. That said, I have to admit that I fell back in love with nature. I still hate bugs and creepy crawly things, but I finally know why God gave us 3 boys. Being able to share climbing this HUGE rock with my boys was such a thrill. They were so excited, which made me excited. We had planned, earlier in the year, to go to San Diego and do the zoo thing, ocean, etc...., but because we are doing this Dave Ramsey class and are so "Financially Responsible" now......we knew we couldn't blow that kind of money on that. My husband is a loan officer who deals mainly with the sub-prime market, so the pickings are slim (again, another blog). Anyway, I never knew Texas had so much to offer. We only took a 3 day trip, but it felt like one of our best vacations. We ate at one of the best bbq pits in the country- Coopers in Llano, TX. The only problem was we ate at Coopers the night before our big climb at Enchanted Rock. My big joke the next day on the climb was that I was sweating brisket. MMMMMM.......BRISKET!!!......
Where was I? Ok, so dh and I are determined to find out all the cool places to see in Tx, and then take little day or weekend trips here and there with the family to see it all. At the end of each day, we felt like we had really accomplished something besides just spending money. BTW, getting into Enchanted State Park only cost us a total of $12. My brother-in-law got a year's pass to all the TX state parks for Christmas, so they all got in free. I now know what I want for Christmas. Being in this financial class has made us search harder for affordable family entertainment, but what I've found is the best things we've done, as a family, don't necessarily have to be in neat, convenient packages. Sometimes it takes a HUNT!

The Jesus One

The Jesus One

4andcounting tagged me for the Jesus meme. I'm supposed to list 5 things I love about Jesus and then tag 5 people. I've been out of town all weekend, so sorry for the late response. 1. Jesus loves me. Sounds so simple and childlike, but I am overwhelmed that even though my love runs cold sometimes, He loves me SO passionately. And when I finally turn my head toward Him, He never hesitates to immediately embrace me. 2. Jesus loves the unlovable. This is an area that I struggle with. The more I read about Jesus, the more I realize most of us "Christians" are focusing on the wrong things. He loved the ones crucifying Him, and spitting on Him. He never thought of His reputation, but only wanted to reach those that no one else thought was worth the effort. 3. He only does what He sees His Father doing and says ONLY what His Father is saying. Too many times, I run on ahead of Him, even with good intentions, but He gently taps me on the shoulder and says, "I never told you to do THAT." He is very efficient and trustworthy. 4. He died for me. Obvious one here. Eternity in Heaven is possible for me because of this. This gives me purpose in THIS life; to tell others of this gift. 5. He said I would do even greater things than He did on Earth. This is still a mystery to me, but WOW! He has offered us so much, and given us every key to expand the Kingdom of God.

My first MEME

This is my first Meme. I don't even know what MEME means. Someone clue me in. I took this from Musingsofahousewife. High School Spirit Meme

1. Who was your best friend? I was in KS for Freshman/Soph. years. Don't know if I had a "best" friend. We all had junkie cars and played chase a lot. Junior and Senior years were in TX. My best friend then was my now Hubby. We were high school sweethearts, and spent all our time together. Looking back on it, I wish I would've had sense to limit my time with him (we were a bit needy towards each other) and developed more girl friendships.

2. Did you play any sports? Sure did. Played Volleyball and basketball. Was Athlete of the year at my school when I graduated.

3. What kind of car did you drive? My dad was kind enough to let my sister (who is only 10 mo. younger than me) share his old work pickup. It was a 1976 maroon chevy pickup. It had a push start button because the starter broke. It used to belong to my grandpa who tore the seat belts out, so it was really safe. Being my dad's former work truck it had a long tool box attached to each side of the pickup bed. Once when I was trying to look cool and impress a boy downtown, the wind picked up at the exact moment he looked my way and the toolbox lids flew open simultaneously. I looked like I was driving a pickup version of the bat mobile. Oh, it had cancer too. We lost a bit of the outside every time we washed it due to rust. My sister left the window down once when it rained, and a little plant started to grow behind the seat. It was a like a wild vine. It refused to die. Very embarrassing driving that thing around a town of only 17oo people.

4. It’s Friday night. Where were you? Usually playing in game and then cleaning up to play in the pep band for the boy's game. The girls never got pep band or cheerleaders. I am still hurt about that.

5. Were you a party animal? No. I was a goody goody too. See question 4. Like I said, to find fun in our small town, we chased each other in our crappy cars or made home movies to resemble an SNL skit.

6. Were you considered a flirt? Nope. Never have been. I am terrible at it, and usually am not friends with the flirtatious types. It makes me embarrassed for them when I see them throwing themselves shamelessly at boys. DH wishes I flirted more with him, so I am working on that.

7. Were you in the band, orchestra or choir? Yes to band and choir. Our town was too small to have an orchestra. I played the saxophone. I LOVED being in any kind of musical program. Jazz band was a favorite. I actually majored in vocal music in college.

8. Were you a nerd? I didn't think so at the time.

9. Were you ever suspended or expelled? No.

10. Can you sing the fight song? Probably some of it, but I'm too tired to think about it. I was always playing in the pep band, not singing it.

11. Who was your favorite teacher? My bible teacher/coach/youth pastor at my new school in TX. He ended up marrying us.

12. What was your school mascot? Ks=Indian, TX=Tiger

13. Did you go to the Prom? Yeah, I went as a soph. with a gross senior. I didn't like him or anything, just wanted to make my ex jealous. It didn't work, and I was grossed out by my date. He had bad breath. Then my TX school was a private HS, so we had a Junior/Senior banquet. I went with DH. I wore a red dress with puffy sleeves covered in sequins. He wore a matching cummerbund, and we borrowed a red Mazda Miata. How lame!!! My senior year, I wore an Emerald green, floor lenth dress. I went with dh again, and we looked a bit less lame. I will post a pict. on Thurs. Good idea, Musings of a Housewife!

14. If you could go back, would you? Sometimes I wish I could go back and make some better decisions or be a nicer person. I wish I would've had the sense and confidence that I have now to be a friend to everyone.. I was too worried about my reputation, at times. I bet we all wish we had more confidence back then.

15. What do you remember most about graduation? We wore royal blue gowns, I sang in a quartet "I'll Keep Believing" by Point of Grace, and also wondered why everyone was crying. I couldn't wait to get to college.

16. Where were you on Senior Skip Day? I don't think we had one.

17. Did you have a job your senior year? 2 weeks at a clothes store. They put me in the changing room putting clothes back on a hanger. It stunk BIG TIME!

18. Where did you go most often for lunch? cafeteria. We weren't allowed off campus.

19. Have you gained weight since then? 40 pounds with each baby. I've lost it each time. I am about 10 pounds heavier than at grad.

20. What did you do after graduation? I don't remember.

21. What year did you graduate? 1994.

22. Who was your Senior Prom Date? dh

23. Are you going/did you go to your 10 year reunion? Yeah, I went to the one in KS. It was so weird. A lot of the old hunks were bald. I felt like I was in a time warp. I enjoyed talking with them all.

You wanna play? Consider yourself tagged.

Run for Your LIFE!!!!!

Mary at Owlhaven is hosting a carnival today called My Childhood Home. I grew up 6 miles outside of a small town in Kansas. My father is a farmer, so, yes, I grew up on a farm. My childhood home was a single wide trailer. I never thought anything of living in a trailer until I hit junior high. Thankfully we moved to town right around then and into a nicer house. Anyway, living in KS meant that we were subject to many tornadoes. Obviously our trailer did not have a basement. We lived on several acres of ground. There was 1/4 mile of wild grass between our trailer and a major highway. There was a ditch that ran between the highway and the grass. So to paint the picture better, it was our trailer, 1/4 mile of wild grass, ditch, and then the highway. Let me just say that the patch of wild grass was so large that we used a tractor to mow it and that still took forever. We were always told that if a tornado came we were to run through the grass to the ditch and get in the "tornado/atomic bomb is comin" position. Did I mention I lived there during my elementary years? Also, remember, there weren't any sirens 6 miles in the country, so the only forewarning one would get for a tornado coming might only be "RUN, THE TWISTER IS IN THE FRONT YARD!!!" To make a short story long, I never had to run for my life, but the trauma still set in. To this day, I still have nightmares of trying to get across that HUGE yard of wild grass to the ditch only to be protected by a small dent in the earth. HOW WAS THAT GOING TO PROTECT US??? I guess the tornado wouldn't see us crouching there, and would move on to to kill other saps who chose to park their trailer too far from a major ditch. This is probably not what Mary had in mind, but it is what immediately came to mind when I thought of my childhood home. I will add the fuzzy memories another time.

Add On to "Start My Diet Tomorrow"

"it really works when you stick to it." That seems so obvious but it really is the hardest part. I got too content with how far I HAD come that I fell off the strict wagon. I fit back into my old clothes, so I wasn't as desperate to finish to goal. I totally woke up this morning hungry and thought, "Ooh, I want a piece of homemade bread with real butter on it for breakfast." But then, I remembered my WW commitment, so I had Fiber One cereal instead, and feel totally satisfied. It is a complete mental decision, at this point.

Ok...I start my diet tomorrow....

How many times have I said that? I usually say it right after a huge, fattening meal. I have been wanting to get back on Weight Watchers for a while now. I have 12-15 more pounds to lose to get to my goal. Weight Watchers works so well for me, personally, that I should probably be able to get it off in about 4 weeks. I lost 33 pounds on it before I quit and I haven't gained any of it back. Mind you, 30 pounds of that was after 3rd baby. I am just so tired of not being happy in my own skin. I remember feeling so content in my skin, when I got married, that I didn't even mind facing the mirror while I ate at the Olive Garden. So, I am posting this to the world ( or the 2 of you that actually read this) that as of Sat. I am back on WW. I have 23 points a day to spend. I will be writing down EVERYTHING I eat. I have a WW journal, so don't worry. You don't have to endure reading how many crackers I had in a day. Feel free to ask me every now and then if I am keeping up with it. I probably will post if I've had a weight loss or gain. And I will definitely tell you when I get to my goal. If anyone out there wants to be WW buddies, just let me know.

poopathon

Why do men get an hour in the bathroom to do their business? It doesn't take me that long, not even close. I get in - I get out! I lock the door because I am not one for a preschool audience. That is where I draw the line. Because of that, I spend most of my time speaking/yelling in a loud voice to whomever is having the current meltdown on the other side of my locked door, that I will be out in a minute, and they better not break my door. Other people in this world (not naming names) feel that the bathroom is a secret hiding place, a haven from the cares of life. Entire Sudoku books have been completed in just a few of these sessions. "GET A GRIP, GUYS....YOU CAN POOP WHEN THEY GRADUATE!" I'm just sayin........

post baby brain dead

My newborn turns 1 July 27. Where did the year go? He is also our last as dh took the plunge and fixed himself. He actually did it right before baby was born. I am ok with it, as of right now. He was so adamant about not having any more kids, and honestly, the thought of doing the newborn thing again right now isn't too appealing. I really want to enjoy the boys now. BUT...I am sad that my newborn is going to be a year old. I am getting off track of my title. I don't know about anyone else, but for a year after the birth of one of my kids, I have the brain power equivalent to a highly trained gorilla. That may be giving myself too much credit. At least the gorilla can be artistic and can paint a little. Honestly, my brain goes out the window. I lose most of my vocabulary and a ton of my creative juices. I LOVE to be creative in the kitchen, but that first year is pretty bland come dinner time. I am lucky to get meat and steamed veggies on the plate. I also have zero desire to do any decorating in the house. I am a minimalist already, when it comes to my decorating style, but during that first year, I can't imagine rearranging the mantel or changing out the kid's pictures. I am coming out of the fog now. I have gone back to baking my famous sourdough bread. My backyard neighbor has been caring for a sourdough starter for 15 years, and a couple months ago, she let me have a cup of it. I am in heaven. I never buy bread anymore. I do it the old fashioned way too. No bread makers here. I love pounding out the dough, but love even more, the smell of the bread baking in my home. I have started to get the kids involved in helping me bake, and have found it to be a great thing to pass on to my sons (since I have no daughters). I also have an apple tree in my backyard and recently started canning Apple Butter for the first time. I have never attempted canning because it sounded so complicated, but my brain works again and I can actually follow written instructions without a mental breakdown. Even the food I am cooking tastes better. Am I the only one who experiences this? I did give myself a break this last child and took it as a year to simplify. I recognized what was happening and just went with it, instead of times in the past, when I thought something was seriously wrong with me. I didn't even go through the whole..." I AM LOSING WHO I AM" syndrome. Come on, ladies, you know what I am talking about. You know the dreaded episode of you sobbing to your husband about losing your identity, and feeling like all you have to offer the world is changing diapers and cleaning up spills. And your husband looks at you with half sympathy and half serious concern that his wife is cracking up, and tries to comfort you by saying how good of a diaper changer and spill cleaner you really are and he would never trade you...GOD HELP OUR MEN!!! (please forgive the major run-on sentences, and poor grammar. My child is officially still 11 months old)

Love Languages

DH and I recently read a book together called, "The 5 Love Languages." He actually got me 2 copies for my Christmas gift because we had a $10 spending limit on each other's gifts, and I have asked him the entire 11 years of our marriage to read a book with me. BTW, DH got a sterling silver ring to replace his wedding band that he lost a few weeks earlier, but that is a different and much longer story. Back to the book...it was great. The book helps you to understand the way in which you receive love and then how your spouse receives love. Some may receive through physical touch, acts of service, gifts, quality time, or affirming words. We usually try to force our love to our spouse in the way that comes most naturally to us, our own love language, but unless they, themselves speak that language, you are fighting an uphill battle. I learned that my love language is Quality Time. This explains so much about me. It explains why I react like I do to flippant friends, and why I get miffed if a parent doesn't connect with me when we are together. But it really explains my relationship with hubby. He was relieved to discover that I wasn't just a needy wife. As most of you know, when you have small children, date nights don't come so easily. We used to go out Friday and Sat. before kids. Then with just one kid, we still got out once a week together. Now we are lucky if we have an actual date once a month. I am ok with this as long as the time we do share, say, after kids are in bed, is, for the most part, connecting time. Well, I was starving for some quality time with hubby. I just missed him, even though we were together all the time. The 2 older boys spent the night at Grandma and Grandpa's and we put baby to bed around 8:30. I had cooked a brisket the night before and had it all ready when baby fell asleep. I resisted the urge to make our plates and plop in the recliner and let my eyes roll into the back of my head as we watch something unwatchable because Lost and 24 are on break. I lit candles and turned on some old standards on the radio. We sat and ate and talked for an hour and a half. It was just as good as being on a a date. Now I feel like a new person. I feel connected and secure with dh, and I feel like taking on the world again knowing I have a partner in this world.

staying above it all

I am a firm believer that Christ came to give us an abundant life while we're on this earth. I am so trying to be an overcomer in this life. I know that life comes with hardships and trials but that the Lord gives us the blessing of His peace, joy, and strength in the midst of the hard times. My issue right now is not being dragged down by people around me who are in rotten moods. In the past, I was easily swayed by the prevailing "tude" around me. My mil has always told me that the woman sets the tone of the home. Notice I am not naming any names of WHO has the "tude" in my home today. hahaha. Anyway, I don't want it to get on me. I want to stay above it. I felt God's presence in such an awesome way today at church. The "tude" had been going on since last night, so I was ready for a break in atmosphere. I heard on the radio that praise brings God near. I like that phrase. ANYWHO...I felt that heaviness lift right off me during worship today. Just focusing on the Lord brought me such peace. I wish everyone around me could've received it......Now that I am back home, I want to keep above the negative. Remember I am trying to tune into His voice more. So I am taking control of the atmosphere. I am getting off this computer, turning off every tv in the house, and turning up some praise songs. Praise brings Him near....

fun night with the fam

Tonight when dh got home we went to Chick Fil A with all 3 boys for dinner. Dh and I are taking a Dave Ramsey course at our church called "Financial Peace University." We are on a really tight budget right now so every penny counts. In fact, we are on a "strictly cash" budget. It feels good to hand someone cash instead of my debit card. ANYWAY, we had 2 free kids meals coupons from Samuel's Kindergarten that we shamelessly used. Because of the money we saved we were able to go get Milwaukee Joe's Ice cream afterwards. Their "Almond Joy" ice cream is the absolute best ice cream in the world. On the way home, the baby decided to be a cranky pants, so we sang silly songs all the way home. Dh found a way to turn the Noah song into a song about poo and toots, so the boys thought it was great. DH and I are going to Cancun in Oct. without kids for a production trip that he won at work. We didn't get to go last year because baby was too young. This means I need to work on weaning baby who will be one year old this month. He rarely nurses during the day, so it should be easy. I also cringe at the thought of being on a beach with my body so un-toned. I'd like to lose 10-12 more pounds and really tone up my arms, abs, and booty. I lost all of my pregnancy weight doing WW but got bored with it and gave it up right before I hit my goal. I could probably lose the 10 pounds in a few weeks if I would just do WW religiously. WHY DON'T I JUST DO IT??? I don't need to go to meetings. I know the program back and forth. I keep mixing up all these other weight loss ideas, which isn't working. Like I take a little from this program, and a little from that. I pretty much eat what I want and am able to maintain where I am at, which makes me feel encouraged that if I could just get rid of that extra 10 pounds that I could then maintain pretty easily. I also want to start doing some sit-ups, push ups, and wall squats each night. That with riding my bike every once in a while should do what I want. But when kids go to bed I am so lazy. I just want to veg. I have at least stopped eating after dinner. This is huge because dh and I love to reward a hard day when kids are in bed with a big bowl of delicious cereal. That was killing my figure. It is a mental challenge to not go get cereal, but instead go to bed a little hungry. I really need to buy some cute sun dresses too, but don't want to spend much money for them. Ok, the reason I am randomly rambling is because dh just put boys in bath, and baby is asleep. I have the whole house to myself and it is so quiet. HEAVEN!!!

Well, here I go

Well, I am the queen of procrastination, but after reading my friend's blog for so long (thank you, Nicole) I feel like this may be a way for me to process my day. I might even see some growth. This summer has been good, for the most part. Having 3 small children at home during a summer of rain almost everyday has had its challenges. My boys have felt caged in, at times. However, I have seen them get really creative and play more using their imaginations. My boys are 6, 3, and 11 mo. The two older ones have warrior spirits and LOVE playing with swords. They also love setting up battles with their castle men, dinosaurs, Star Wars action figures, and whatever else will stand at attention near their Fisher Price castle. Having a baby this last year has been such a blessing. He has been my easiest so far. I think I am much calmer and definitely more care free with my mothering. I have finally gotten good at listening to my instincts. I wasn't around my own mother growing up, so being a good, nurturing mother is very important to me. I am not looking forward to this fall because my 6 year old will start 1st grade at the local public school, which means up early for me 5 days a week. I am NOT a morning person, and neither is my 6 year old. It will be a growing experience for both of us. I look forward to rambling some more later. This is fun!!!

I should introduce myself

I am a 30 year old sahm mom of 3 boys, ages 5, 3, and 7 mo. I have been married for 10 1/2 years. We've been through some rough times, but who hasn't. I am glad to say that we are very happy and secure as a couple now. I am a Christian, and happy to admit it. My faith is a huge part of who I am. I have grown a lot in my faith the last few years. I want to be more like Christ. I hope that blogging will help me to process feelings and thoughts. I feel like I can be totally honest with this kind of a forum. We'll see.