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.