Blocked

It seems I've got a bit of blogger's block. No fun. It's been four days since my last post and I can't think of a single thing that's happened or a single thought that I've had that is worth blogging about since then. So bear with me...I'll think of something soon.

I'm curious...reveal yourself, please

I've been keeping up with my sitemeter and I've noticed that someone from Spring, Texas has been visiting me a few times. I know most everyone from Texas that visits my blog, but for the life of me, can't think of who in Spring knows I have a blog and actually visits. It's been driving me crazy trying to think of who it might be...I suppose there is a possibility that it's someone I don't know. Anyway, if you are in or near Spring and reading this, please leave a comment or drop me an e-mail at alligirl1104(at)gmail(dot)com if you prefer to stay anonymous to the bloggy world. It sure would clear things up for me!

Wordless Wednesday

Hard not to smile at a picture like this!

Something else to pass along...

If you are at all interested in baby slings and baby wearing, you have to check out this website. I got my sling from there while I was still pregnant and I can't sing its praises enough. I don't know what I would do without this sling (or how I got through having two babies before realizing the blessing that is babywearing!). The website is run by a work at home mom of three so she gets what it's really like to wear babies.

You can get a sling in really cool fabrics and all the items the website sells are affordable.

The customer service is superb. There's nothing like getting a good deal on something you really want AND getting great service, too. And the name is just too fun! Iif you're in the market for a new sling, head on over and check her out!

And now we return to our normally scheduled programming...

The Mama to this Bloggin' Mama

Stephanie started this at Adventures in Babywearing. I think it's a great idea!

So here's my mom. We've always been close and growing up, I always knew--and still know--that she's my biggest fan. We may not always agree or get along, but she never lets me forget that she's on my side. I have lots of fond memories of the time spent with my mom when I was growing up. I remember that she never really treated me like a kid and she included me and let me be a part of just about everything she did. Now that I'm a "grown-up", we've gotten to be really good friends. Hardly a day goes by that we don't chat just to see what's going on with the other.

And whenever I need her, I always know she's just a phone call away. The day that I had Marc-Adam is proof. The night before I had been up all night throwing up. Every time I would start to doze off, I would get sick again. Around 1am, I knew that if I didn't get some sleep, I would not be able to function the next day (remember, I was 8.5 months pregnant). At 3am, I started having contractions, and I just felt terrible. I called her at 7:30am and asked to come take care of me and the boys. She dropped everything she had to do that day and in 30 minutes, was on my front porch. She then bullied convinced me to call the doctor later that morning...I was in denial about being in labor. Turns out, I was in labor, and she drove me and the kids to the hospital. She took care of everything for me that day. And I'm so glad she was there with me.

What's really fun now is seeing how much the Sweet Boys adore her. I can see that what she has with each of my kids is really special.

I'm so glad that I've had her support in my life. She's one of the "legs" that holds me up. After all, life is always better when you have your own cheerleader.

Had to share this--The Homeschooling Mom

Ok, I might be late to board this train, but I found a website that is awesome! It's for homeschooling moms and has information on all kinds of things. Even free menu planners and grocery lists! You can sign up for the menu plans to be e-mailed to you. The meals look very normal, too (normal for me anyway, which I'm beginning to think isn't really all that normal). You can also sign up for daily reminders a la Flylady, but you only get one a day. So for those of us that were completely overwhelmed by Flylady, this might be a nice alternative. I'm very excited about this and wanted to pass it on!! Click here to check it out if you are interested.

Better late than never!

So I finally got the pictures of Stephen's birthday party off my camera. And a whole bunch of other great pics, but mainly it was Stephen's birthday. So here's some pics. Stephen and his birthday candles (with a little help from Little Brother Z). And the awesome Larry Boy cake my mom made for him. (If you're not familiar with Larry Boy, click here to see what he looks like so you can see how great this cake really is.)

ABCs of Homemaking

My cousin tagged me for this meme and I was so excited. I've seen it floating around the blogosphere and was secretly hoping I'd get tagged. It looks like fun! Here goes!

Aprons- Y/N? Yes! I have a pretty green one I made and when I think about it, I wear it. I think I'm going to start wearing it more often though. There's a part of me that thinks I might be more productive if I do. I've also made some really cute ones that I sold on eBay.

Baking- Favorite thing to bake? Brownies. Out of the box. With frosting.

Clothesline- Y/N? Actually, one came with the house. The only thing it's good for at this point, though, is collecting spider webs that I seem to walk through every time I go outside. I prefer the dryer or to hang dry in the house.

Donuts- Ever made them? I don't know anyone that's ever made a donut. That thought has never even occurred to me!

Everyday- One homemaking thing you do everyday? Some part of the laundry process. On the weekend I either put a load on or switch a load to the dryer or fold a load. On the weekdays, I do at least one maybe two loads a day.

Freezer- Do you have a separate deep freezer? It's a chest freezer, does that count? So far, the only thing it's been good for is holding food that we don't really eat.

Garbage Disposal- Y/N? No, it's been years since we've lived in a house that has one. But when we remodel the kitchen, that's going to be one of the investments. Until then, we take the trash out everyday.

Handbook- Y/N? If a "handbook" is an unusually large bright red diaper bag, then yes.

Ironing- Love it or hate it? Hate it. Only do it for really special occasions and for my sewing. For hubby's work clothes, two words: wrinkle free.

Junk Drawer- Where is it? In the coffee table drawer.

Kitchen- Design and decorating? There's not much decoration there. White walls, oak cabinets and yellow counters. That'll all change with the remodel though. I think it's going to be yellow walls and cabinets, white counters and brushed nickel hardware.

Love- What is your favorite part of homemaking? Seeing that my hard work pays off. Looking at a clean house and a closet full of clean laundry.

Mop- Y/N? Do I own one? Yes. Do I use it? No. Terrible, I know. Sweet Hubby mops once in a while, though.

Nylons- Wash by hand or in the washer? By hand, when I wash them. Which isn't often because I don't wear them but a few times before I ruin them.

Oven- Do you use the window or open it to check? Open, open, open.

Pizza- What do you put on yours? Beef, extra cheese, easy on the sauce.

Quiet- What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment? Usually read or catch up on my fave sites.

Recipe card box- Y/N? Nope. Just a cabinet full of stray papers, books and a binder that I intended to organize way back when. So I suppose I just have a large recipe box.

Style of house- Standard Texas house, I guess. One story, 3 bed, 2 bath, 1600 sq ft.

Tablecloths and napkins- Y/N? I use vinyl tablecloths on the floor for when the kids play Play-doh or eat out of the breakfast room. Otherwise, that's a big fat NO.

Under the kitchen sink- It's kind of a catch all for the kitchen. It's got some plastic grocery bags, extra placemats for the kids, some yogurt containers and some other random things I haven't thought of in a while. Cleaning supplies are on a high shelf in the utility room.

Vacuum- How many times a week? Can I plead the fifth? Although, I got a little mini-vacuum for Christmas that Stephen loves, so it's happening a bit more often. And will probably happen a lot more when Marc-Adam starts finding things to eat off the floor.

Wash- How many loads do you do a week? About 7 or 8, I'd guess, I've never actually counted.

X's- Do you keep a list of things to do and cross them off? Mentally. A list would probably get eaten, scribbled on, peanut buttered or thrown away. So what's the point?

Yard- Who does what? Sweet Hubby does it all....whatever he wants to do or not do is fine by me. As long as I don't lose the children in the yard, I'm good.

ZZZ's- What is your last homemaking task for the day? Just before I crawl in bed, I fold the load of laundry that got dumped there at some point earlier in the day.

That was fun! Usually by the time I get tagged for these, everyone I know has already done them. So, I'll tag Jenn and LaughterThoughts if y'all haven't already done them and think you want to.

Works for Me Wednesday--my first!!

This is my first attempt at Works for Me Wednesday (click here for some more great tips). I'm not sure if this is really lame, or really cool, or somewhere in between. But since I'm not very creative or original in my thoughts, I was pretty impressed with myself for coming up with this a year or so ago.

We go through an insane amount of yogurt around here. The kids love it and eat it at least every other day. Since they like different kinds and the kind with the fruit, we have to get the little individual serving cups. I felt terrible about throwing those away all the time. It just seemed like a lot of waste. So I started saving them. A lot of them. Too many, probably. And I wasn't sure what I was even going to do with them. Then one day I was setting up the table for a painting project for the kids and was trying to figure out how I was going to do the paint. It drives me crazy when all the colors get mixed together, so I was going to give each color it's own brush. Then I remembered the yogurt cups! So I squirted a little bit of paint in to six yogurt cups and gave each cup a brush. The colors still got a little mixed, but I'm going to have to get over that! And then when we were done, I threw the cups away! Hardly any clean up! It was really easy (and as a side note, I save all of Sweet Hubby's old, holey, nasty, "shrunken" t-shirts for painting, too...I throw them on the kids to avoid getting their skin and/or clothes painted, but I'm sure everyone does that).

Ok, so I only use the yogurt cups one more time, but I feel less guilty about throwing them away.

I also save the little individual serving cups of applesauce. We don't use as many of those, but we do once in a while. They are the perfect size for putting a little syrup in when eating pancakes or waffles. The kids love to dip and we all use less syrup (which means less sugar AND saving money on syrup) because you don't use as much when dipping as opposed to drenching your pancakes in it.

Works for me!

You may have noticed...

If you keep up with my blog, you may have noticed that my last post "Nature calls" is no longer here. After getting a few more hits from questionable google searches, I've decided to pull that post and the post (including the comments) that seemed to be drawing that unwanted attention (sorry, LT!). It came to my attention that there is nothing funny about what these people were looking for. I knew they weren't getting what they were looking for when they found my blog, but it still creeps me out that those weirdos were here.

So, those are gone. And I'll be much more careful about my wording in the future.

Handing it all over

Although I've been a Christian for most of my life, I've always struggled with what it means to have a deep, life-changing relationship with God. The kind of relationship that changes you in such a way that people have to ask, "What is it about you that makes you the way you are?" and makes you live as the person God intended you to be. I've struggled with consistently finding times to sit down and pour over His word. I have no problem praying. That verse "Pray without ceasing" doesn't seem to be a problem for me. Especially since I've had kids. But a one-sided conversation isn't productive and doesn't go very far. And a relationship where one party is selfish and does all the taking and none of the giving is doomed to failure. So all of my ceaseless and, for the most part selfish, prayer has gotten me nowhere in my desire for an intimate relationship with the One who loves me most.

I also think that I have a problem completely trusting Him. I slowly learned to trust Him to provide us with what we need. I don't really worry anymore about where the money is going to come from and if we will have enough left over to get groceries in the last week of the month or to get the baby his medicine. But do I trust him to make me the person I was intended to be? Do I trust him to bless my marriage and help me find ways to put Him first? Do I trust that He will help me raise my boys to be men that love Him, pursue His will and live lives that are full of love, compassion, integrity and purpose? "No" and "Not nearly enough" are the only answers to those questions.

The other morning, I was sipping tea out of my favorite mug. I got it from a Mary Kay lady and it's a cute mug. It has a feminine shape and has sweet flowers and cute little bees all over. It's lovely and it makes me feel fun and cute and feminine everytime I use it. It also has little "inspirational" sayings all over it. I usually ignore them, but that morning, one of them caught my attention. "If it is to bee, it is up to me." No, I didn't misspell that, it actually says "bee"...cute, huh? It was then that I realized that that mentality was my problem. I think that if I want things to be a certain way, I have to take care of it myself. Then another light bulb went off when I realized that the deeper problem was I was trying to make things the way I want them to be. I'm not trusting God's will or His way. "If it is to be, it is up to me." What a nasty lie wrapped up in a cute little phrase. Even cuter when you misspell it and surround it with bees.

I thought on that phrase for a little while. Then a verse came to mind in what I can only believe was God's counter to what I had been living out.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5

The verse doesn't go on to say, "Except you, Alli, because you seem to have things under control." So I've come to a crossroads in my faith. Do I keep going down the path I've been taking (which history in my own life has shown leads to discontent and frustration and is actually a dead-end) or do I hand it all over to God and trust him with my life and the lives of the ones I love and care for? Handing everything over, not just the things I feel I am ill-equipped to handle.

But leaving the old ways behind is hard. And I'm not sure where to even begin except through lots of prayer (and doing a little more listening and a lot less talking) and setting aside more time to read my bible. Taking control of things is like an addiction and I'm afraid I'll just keep coming back to it when things don't seem to be going the way I think they should. I'm amazed at how true strength isn't in the hanging on but of the letting go. And I wonder how strong I am. But doesn't that come back to trusting Him? What an ugly cycle I've lead myself to.

And all this from drinking a cup of tea.

Because things should never be too easy

I meant to mention that we finally got our van back. Exactly one month later. It's all shiny and fixed and smelling like....paint. Yech! I keep asking Sweet Hubby if he's sure the fumes aren't killing our children's brain cells. Not too worried about mine for some reason.

Anyway, even though it's obvious that the lady who hit us was in the wrong, she and her insurance company are refusing to accept responsibility. Her insurance company told me that our statements are "inconsistent and don't match." Well, DUH!! Like the lady would tell her insurance company, "Yes, I ran that stop sign and completely ignored that the other driver the right of way...I thought that we would just simply pass through each other." The lady even called our police dept to speak with the supervisor of the officer who wrote her a ticket for the wreck and chewed him out.

And we had a witness...a wrecker driver who was there on the scene almost as soon as it happened. He was very nice and was making sure everyone was okay and told me he would pull my car out of the intersection for me (at which point I totally blew him off because I thought my car was still drivable). He told Sweet Hubby that he saw the whole thing and that it wasn't my fault. He hauled the thing off to the body shop he worked for. But we didn't want to leave our car there. We live in a small town and we haven't heard good things about this place. So when we tried to get it moved, they hassled and harassed us about it. We finally got it moved though. The other lady, however, left her car there to be fixed. Can I secretly say that there is a small part of me deep down inside that secretly hopes she got ripped off? Not very loving of me, eh?

Anyway, so apparently since her "story" doesn't match mine, her insurance company was going to give the wrecker driver a call and then they would probably have to go with his statement. But guess what? The wrecker driver is now saying he didn't see a thing. He was just in the parking lot across the street and heard it happen. PANTS ON FIRE!! That's a big fat lie and he knows it. But I predicted that would happen as soon as the insurance company said that they were going to ask him...I knew that those guys were crooked and since we didn't leave our vehicle there, they weren't going to help us out.

SO, we had to pay the deductible to get our car out while our insurance company fights hers. And hopefully *fingers crossed* they will eventually accept responsibility and pay us that money back.

Fun stuff, lemme tell ya....

Mystery o' the day

Zachary woke up this morning with a piece of Scotch tape stuck to his forehead.

He had a bath last night so I don't think he went to bed with it. And he still sleeps in his crib, so he couldn't have wandered the house last night randomly finding things to stick to himself (although, he does do that in the daylight hours).

They never cease to amaze me with weird things.

They're always good for a smile

Stephen came to me the other day and said, "I wish I could eat baboon." "Baboon?" I ask. "Yeah," he answers, "like a panda."

While eating pina colada yogurt, he asks me "Where are the peanuts?" "What peanuts, sweetie?" "In my peanut colada yogurt."

Yesterday, he asks for a snack. "I'm finnish" he says. Turns out, he is indeed American....he was just really hungry....famished, in fact.

Zachary (on his own) decided last night that he wanted to wash his filthy, smelly, gag-inducing beloved lovey. He put it in the washing machine, poured in the soap and helped me start the water. I closed the lid and he melted into a puddle on the floor. Turns out, he didn't really want to be without his lovey for the time it took to wash and dry it. But now I have the answer to the age old question "Just how nasty does a child's lovey have to be for that child to decide on his own that it's time for it to be washed?"

Two nights ago, I was taking Z out of the car. I told him I loved him and asked him if he loved Mommy. "I love Daddy," he replied. I ask again if he loves Mommy, giving him another chance. "I love Daddy." "Yes, you love Daddy, but do you love Mommy, too?" Sensing that I was fishing for some love, he lays his head on my shoulder, pauses and sighs..."Yes." I'm so glad he didn't make me look desperate!

And Marc-Adam has begun giggling out loud. There's nothing better than that, truly.

Chuck E Cheese and Tiny Thieves

My oldest (or is it eldest?...whatever) Sweet Boy turned 4 on Saturday. Stephen wanted a VeggieTales birthday party at Chuck E Cheese and that's just what he got. I first thought the whole thing was kind of expensive ($11 per child plus tax), but I think if any of the kids want to do that again, we definitely will. With what we paid for for the Chuck E Cheese party, I could have bought food, utensils, paper plates, decorations and goody bags. And THEN I would have had to clean my house to the "party standard" and then put my house back together after 11 children partied. For some reason, it has rained or been bitterly cold and windy on every birthday Stephen has had so we've always had indoor parties and it takes me several days to put everything back in order.

Anyway, we all had a great time at CEC. It was crowded and I don't really like other people's children all that much (more on that next paragraph), but thankfully, Sweet Hubby enjoys this kind of thing with the boys. So he played with them and followed them around with their little cups of tokens and tickets while I got to sit and chat with my family and feed Marc-Adam.

So, I used to feel guilty about not liking other people's children. I thought that there must be something not human about me that I didn't adore all children. But after an afternoon at "the place where all obnoxious and snot-nosed children go to play", I don't feel so bad. A little while after our festivities were underway, I noticed this tiny little girl wander up to one of our tables. I thought she might be lost so I kept an eye on her for a few seconds so I could step in if she got upset. She looked around a few times and just as I was about to approach her, she stepped right up to the table where Stephen's wrapped presents were, took one off the table and ran. RAN! Never looking back! I bolted after her (later realizing that I left poor little Zachary all by himself...what is wrong with my instincts?) yelling things like "HEY!" and "Stop that girl!!" My bewildered family only saw me go by in a flash and had no idea what had happened. I finally caught up to her. Her tiny little legs were no match for my Mama Bear sprint. I snatched gently took the present from her and told her that it wasn't hers and that it wasn't nice to take things that didn't belong to her.

All that excitement was going on while Sweet Hubby was in the bathroom with Stephen. Sweet Hubby said that a six-ish year old came up behind them while they were washing their hands and told them to "hurry up". That snotty kid's dad didn't say a word about it! Seriously, I would tan my child's hide and all fun for that day would end as soon as those words were out of his mouth.

I love my kids' birthdays and we had a great time, but can I just say I'm glad we don't have another birthday in this house for 9 more months!

This has got to be a milestone

So this may sound a little pathetic, but I'm actually pretty proud of myself....please don't burst my bubble.

I was putting Marc-Adam to bed a little bit ago. He was having a hard time settling down; that seems to be the trend this week. I started thinking about how today was actually a really hard day. I got nothing done and I spent most of the day putting out fires, correcting and disciplining (and listening to A LOT of screaming). But I don't feel ragged like I usually do after a day like today. The thought of putting them on the curb with "free to good home" signs around their necks didn't cross my mind. I didn't turn on the TV to attempt to bring some peace in the house by putting the kids in a Doodlebop-induced trance. I didn't even call anyone today to beg them to take my children for a few hours. I seriously think this is the first Friday since Marc-Adam was born that I didn't do that...and I didn't even feel the need to.

And the way this weekend and next week looks, that's probably a good thing, because I don't think I'll have the opportunity to have a little down time until at least next weekend.

This time next week, I may be asking one of my faithful readers if they would like an extra child or two.

Rainy day

It's been nasty out. Icy, cold, rainy...just nasty. Ice is a big deal in Texas. Things start shutting down when it gets below 32 degrees. No one knows what to do with themselves.

Anyway, we lost power for a few hours early this morning. I was weighing whether we should wait it out, hoping that the power (and the heater) would come back on before we became mommy- and Sweet Boy-sicles or pack up the Sweet Boys and brave the icy roads to head to the in-laws who might not have had power themselves. Finally the power came back on (just a few minutes before I was going to give up and the temp had dropped to about 55 degrees in the house). I decided that we were going to have a lazy day and the kids could watch whatever they wanted and I was going to curl up with the book I've been reading over the last few days so I could finish it today. It's been a really good book. Really good. Probably one of the better ones I've read in a while.

So I was on the couch, feeding Marc-Adam, engrossed in the book. I had about 30 pages left of the 400 page book and I was wondering how all the loose ends were going to be tied up with only a few pages left. Then I got to the end of one page and went on to the next. But it didn't make sense. The top sentence on the next page wasn't a complete sentence and had nothing to do with the previous page. I glance at the page numbers....the page I had been on was page 342. The very next page was 374. The book is missing thirty pages! 30 PAGES! At the end of the book. ARG! You can't imagine my frustration.

I bought the book off eBay and if it had all the pages, I would have gotten a good deal. I went back to look at the listing and it never mentioned 30 missing pages. I've already left feedback, not thinking that I needed to check that all 400 pages were there. I e-mailed the seller, but who knows what she'll do. She's already gotten her money and her positive feedback.

Oh and it's such a good book. I was really looking forward to finishing it today. If the roads weren't so nasty, I'd hop in the car and drive the 25 miles to the nearest Target to buy a brand new one.

I'm so sad...

Perhaps we should have his hearing checked

Another strange conversation with Stephen-

Stephen (from behind me): Hey mom, can you punch out my maggots so I can put them on the fridgerator?

Me (whirling around to see what he's talking about): Oh *huge sigh of relief* Yes, I'll punch out your magnets for you.

A quarter of a century

25 years.

That's how old I'm going to be tomorrow. 25.

The number seems so small compared to an average life span. Then why is it I feel so beyond that? Could it be the three small children? Or is it the minivan? Or the laugh lines I've been developing but have tried to ignore? Or the aches I have and the noises I make when getting up off of or down on to the floor?

Birthdays have really never been a big deal for me and I've never liked being an "odd" number (I know, it's weird), but I'm really looking forward to 25.

I finally feel like my chronoligical age is catching up with the "grown up" I've always been!

Here's to a couple more quarters...

Wordless Wednesday

My littlest loves.

Is that kinda like a hot dog?

A conversation had between Stephen and his Grammy in the car on their way to her house (as told to me by Grammy):

S: Look Grammy! Two dogs!

G: Yes, those are beagles.

S: No, they're dogs.

G: Yes, they're beagle dogs.

S: We had those for breakfast!!


Um, no, we didn't have beagles for breakfast. Those were bagels. Bagels.

I promise.

Gettin' it all over with

It's been a hard week. We're still trying to get stuff figured out with the wreck and all. We weren't sure when we were going to even get our van back, but our insurance is stepping up and paying for the repairs while they duke it out with the other lady's insurance to reimburse them. So that's good.

But Marc-Adam woke up screaming the other night an hour after I fed him. I tried to feed him again, but he acted like he couldn't get comfortable, so I took him to bed with me and he still wasn't happy. I tried for 3.5 hours to settle him and he just wouldn't settle down. Not like him at all. I called to talk to the nurse. I couldn't tell her much beyond something just wasn't right. I think she was getting ready to tell me to call back if he had any real symptoms, but I decided to follow my gut and make an appt with the doctor. I got him in that afternoon. Turns out he has a bad ear infection. Doctor said she hasn't seen one in a baby this young in a long time. Poor baby. He's just now starting to act more like himself. It broke my heart to see him feeling like that.

And I'm just overwhelmed with the kids. Zachary's in the terrible 2s, and I don't know what's going on with Stephen. He's getting really hard to handle. I'm trying so hard to be what they need and to make sure they're all getting positive attention, but it just doesn't seem to be enough. I spend so much of the day in prayer and tears these days. I've been in survival mode since Marc-Adam was born and I thought I'd be way past that at this point. And Sweet Hubby's having a hard time at his work...he's feeling overwhelmed, too, so I'm trying to support and encourage him, as well. I'm not feeling like the wife and mom I want to be. I don't want to spend too much time in survival mode because where's the joy in that?

I'm just hoping we're getting all this unpleasant stuff out of the way so that we can have a really awesome year, like I've been hoping for.

Ringin' in the new year with a crash

I had hoped my first post of the New Year would be a reflection on the past year, and my hopes for the coming year. Bits and pieces of what I wanted to blog about have been floating in my head for days. I was looking forward to the start of the new year. I love the feeling a "new year" brings. I always loved the beginning of the school year when I was a kid. A clean slate. New teachers, new people to meet, new school supplies. A whole world of potential. Now as a "grown-up" I feel that way about the new year.

But lemme tell you how it started.

Last night, we spent the evening with my folks. We had a wonderful dinner, played fun games and ate an awesome dessert. We didn't make it to midnight (except for my dad who decided to go party with the neighbors after we all fell asleep), but I'm okay with that. We got up this morning and it was just as mornings should be...especially the first one of the year. Again we ate great food (a common theme in our family gatherings)....at one point, I thought, "This is exactly how life should always be....all of us gathered around the kitchen, chatting, laughing....my parents loving on my babies, my babies doing silly things to make me laugh, my Sweet Hubby smiling at me from across the table...." It was like something out of movie. We left there to go visit my in-laws. Again, it was a great time with them. It was a beautiful day and while the boys played outside, I sat and read. Later on, my mother-in-law asked if we all wanted to go Walmart, so the boys and I loaded up with her and we headed to town. She suggested slushies from Sonic after Walmart and the boys were all over that idea. After the errand at Walmart, we headed over to Sonic. And we almost made it there....almost.

After pulling through the intersection of the corner that Sonic is on, a woman in another van hit us. Hard. My mother-in-law banged her head on the seat belt adjuster thingy. The kids were fine, but Marc-Adam scared me by immediately falling asleep after it happened. And I did something that I'm so very ashamed of. After making sure the kids were okay (but before checking that my mother-in-law was okay) I hauled out of my van over to the woman in the other van and called her an ugly name and hollered at her that I had babies in my car.

I can't believe I did that. I can't believe I actually cussed at this stranger, who, although was slightly stupid for a second, had no idea that I had kids in my car and certainly had no intention of hurting me, my mother-in-law or my children. Who was I for that second?

I've spent the evening immersed in all different emotions, including guilt and shame. I seriously can not believe I behaved that way. I'd hate to try to explain what I was feeling at that moment for fear that it might sound like justification for my behavior. But I was mad. M-A-D MAD that someone could be so stupid and put my kids at risk. I was so scared for those few split seconds between the time of the crash and the time I knew that the kids were okay, and then I was just mad. And I feel so guilty for not checking on my husband's mother. She ended up calling 911 while I was hollering at the lady. My mother-in-law was bleeding from the head while I cussed at a stranger.

*sigh*

But it certainly has put things in perspective. Stephen, immediately after the accident, was still asking about his slushie from Sonic. Zachary was asking for his lovie. They are fine. Perfect. Beautiful. Absolutely healthy and safe and unharmed. Just a little bit after the accident, I was able to sit down and feed Marc-Adam. Things could have been so different.

So, I don't have a van for a few days. It leaked radiator fluid all over the intersection and the whole front-end is going to have to be redone and realigned. But the start of our new year is great. I'm sitting here blogging while all 3 of my sweet children sleep peacefully across the hall. My mother-in-law, while banged up and sore, is on her way home right now from the hospital. She's gonna be fine. The day and year started off with all the people I love most. And if I can get over who that person was that took over my body for a few seconds, I think I'll look past this accident soon. Or maybe not...it certainly has made me remember what's really important.

May God keep you and your loved ones healthy and safe as we enter another year.

And I'll be adding that post about my goals for the new year soon.

Perhaps we should try something more age appropriate

Stephen received a Batman computer for Christmas. It's a hit. The boys fight over it....alot. Anyway, when you open it up it says, "Batman, online." or something like that. And then it tells you to enter a mission code which is the word BAT and a number for a game you want to play. If you don't enter the right code it says, "Access denied."

This morning, Zachary was playing with it and obviously could not get the right mission code. After several minutes of hearing "Access denied" over and over, I heard Z yell, "NO, YOU DENIED!"

Two months old...

Ok, so Marc-Adam's a few days over 2 months now, but close enough...isn't he cute?? Always free with a smile. And he just seems so wise. He seems to "get" it, know what I mean? Like he knows all about what this world's about. Maybe it's just in my mind...but it just seems like he's so wise and smart that it surprises me when he does things that babies do, like rooting around on something that is NOT going to give him what wants.

Wordless Wednesday

Christmas 2006

Does this make me look fat?

What do you think of my new look? Is it me??

Somebody slap me...

...next time I decide to take all 3 children to the mall (45 minutes away) SEVEN days before Christmas. Seriously.

I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree this Christmas.

I decided that it would be a bright idea to pack up all 3 stooges, I mean, Sweet Boys and haul them (in the rain, I might add) to the mall this past Monday.

The really dumb thing? I wasn't even there to shop.

*sigh* I haven't left the house by myself with the 3 kids since M-A was born. Note to self: things like this should happen in baby steps. Not in big ambitious trips.

My dearest friend, Alison (HI ALISON!!), is in town from Dallas this week to visit her family. We decided to try to meet and I thought the mall with a play area would be a good meeting point. And it would have been, had I not brought all three kids, or had it not been the week before Christmas, or had I been smart enough to know that Zachary would want M&Ms in his ice cream, too.

The whole day was a comedy (I can call it that now) of errors. Starting with the rain and having to park nearly at home and ending with *almost* (and thank God it was *almost*) getting pulled over. And lots and lots of screaming, crying and cleaning up ice cream off the floor in between.

Any ideas as to when this gets better? I thought getting out of the house would solve our "cooped up in the house" issues. But it was much, much worse. Turns out, I had every reason to be very afraid of leaving the house by myself.

It's true

You really can find anything on eBay. I mean, anything.

I was browsing around on eBay, looking for some good deals (did you know you can buy COUPONS on eBay?? why has no one ever told me this?) and I ran across some auctions that made me start looking for weird stuff. Need a 30 lb bag of gummi bears?? No problem. How about 6 lbs of cheese? And this is just weird. And what if you can't get enough Hilary Duff? Now you can have her in your head.

Now I won't feel so weird about selling some of my stuff that I think no one wants. I suppose it's just like a garage sale....someone somewhere will want it.

Help!

I need help.

I've committed to being better about posting on my blog, but I'm afraid that my life is of no interest to anyone but me. So I want to enlist your help.

Tell me what to post about. Give me topics to to think about and post about. Tell me what you want to hear about my life and/or my kids.

I just don't have many thoughts in my head right now beyond who needs to eat or be changed next.

Please help escape from my mommy brain once in a while!

Here's a cute story from lunch this afternoon, though:

Stephen told me he needed to eat all his yogurt and it would go down, down, down to feed Jesus because Jesus was hungry.

I asked him where Jesus was and he told me "In my heart."

That's sweet, honey, but.....

Aw, nevermind.

What child is this?

My sweet Zachary. He doesn't eat any fruit and won't eat most vegetables. It started when he was about a year old....it was a sensory issue. He didn't like the cold wet of the fruit or the mushy of the vegetables. So, I've just kept offering the same things. He doesn't have to eat it, but it's always on his plate. My mantra is that he won't eat it if he never sees it.

A few times over the last few months, he's been getting better. Grudgingly tasting a few bites of various fruits because he saw big brother eating it(Stephen will eat any fruit). He's even eaten a few apple and pear slices. There was dancing the day that happened.

So, the other night, we were having left over chicken and dumplings for dinner. I cooked up some green beans and that was our meal. Zachary doesn't eat chicken and dumplings OR green beans, but that's what was on that night's menu. I plated his dinner and set it down in front of him. He takes one look at and starts whining. That's a common annoyance, I mean, occurence, so I just walked away telling him that this was our dinner. He then pointed to an empty spot on his plate and said, "Salad. SALAD! I NEED SALAD!! NEED SALAD!! SALAD SALAD SALAD!!!!" Dh and I looked at each other and started laughing. WHO was this child? Get the child some lettuce!!

Unfortunately, the only salad we had was more liquid than solid (gross, I know). I hated hearing the words, "I'm sorry, but you can't have salad tonight" come out of my mouth. I won't let that happen again.

Lil' stinker...

Boys....all kinds of...um...weird things fascinate them.

Yesterday, I woke up to a foul smell. Dh had gone to work and everyone in the house was still sleeping. That smell can't be me, I thought. Then I wondered if the dog, who sleeps in a kennel in our room, had a problem some time in the night. I got up and looked and sniffed and didn't notice anything in her kennel.

I left the room to get Marc-Adam and when I came back, I realized how much it stunk. But I still couldn't figure out why...it had to be the dog, but she didn't look all that guilty. I laid down to feed the baby and a few minutes later, Stephen walked in. I asked him if he thought it stunk (wondering if this was all in my head) and he said no. Then he left to get a book and when he walked back in he scrunched up his face and said, "Ewww, it doos (his word for 'does')!" I told him I thought so. He asked why and I told him I thought Jubilee (our dog) had pooped in her cage. I was thoroughly grossed out at the thought....I thought he might be, too. Instead, his eyes lit up and he said, "Can I see??"

Yuck.

Then as I cleaned it all out (it was the dog, she had hidden it in her towels), he proceeded to tell me that Larryboy (from VeggieTales) hates poop and he wasn't going to help me clean it up....it was all I could do to keep from throwing up and this commentary was driving me nuts! So in a *very* proud mommy moment, I yelled at him to just LEAVE!

Immediately after cleaning everything up, Zachary starts walking through the house YELLING, "STINKY! I STINKY!!" *sigh* At some point, we all needed to eat breakfast and at this rate, I wasn't going to be very hungry.

Don't worry, be happy!

Pics of the boys. I have to admit, Marc-Adam spends the majority of his waking hours with that very worried look on his face. You think he knows what he's in for?

In order to keep my pledge and not fall off the wagon 2 days into it, I'm having to post from my parents' house because there's something wrong on my computer. I can't stay logged in to anything. I had some cute pics to post, too. Maybe soon.

I have nothing fun or funny or profound to say. Life is moving at the speed that the holidays bring. I actually got the boys' Christmas presents wrapped this morning, and since they are the only ones we are buying for this year, I guess I'm done! The house is all decorated. I love decorating the tree with the kids. All the ornaments are at their eye level and all on one side of the tree. The rearrange them every once in a while, or start taking all the satin threading ff the satin balls. I love Christmas and I'm so glad the kids are getting to the age that they do, too! And Stephen's getting to the age that he's into some cool things so it's really fun to buy for him.

Tonight we are starting Financial Peace University. I'm really excited about it and hope we can get some good things out of it. We could stand to pay off a little (ahem, maybe a bit more than a little) debt and building up some sort of savings would be a good thing. I just keep thinking that 6 years into being "grown-ups" that we should be better with our money. I'm hoping to meet folks in the same boat as us to make me feel a little better about that.

Oh, Marc-Adam finally gave up a smile. He's so sweet....have I said that, yet?

FINALLY!! And a hello...and a pledge....

Every time I log on to Blogger to post, I check to see if the post pics button will finally work for me...and today it finally did!! Of course, now these pics are kinda old, but I might try to upload our newer pics after I get these posted. I don't want to try to do too much now that I got it to work. I'm afraid I might upset some delicate balance in Blogger. Anyway, THIS is our sweet baby. All these pics were from the hospital, so he's only a few minutes old in the pic of me and Sweet Hubbby and Marc-Adam, a few hours old in the pic of all 5 of us and a few days old in the pic by himself. Please take your time oooh-ing and aaah-ing. :)

So....HELLO! It's been three weeks since I posted. Where.does.the.time.go?? I can't believe my days sometimes...I nurse Marc-Adam, put him down for a nap, feed and/or play with the boys and before I know it, it's time to feed the baby again and then we do it all again. Marc-Adam is 5 weeks today. He's such a sweetie and he's working really hard on getting a smile out...I can tell he's gonna get it any day now. He's doing better at night, but we still have issues with random wakings at random times. Some nights he can go 6 hours, others he'll only go 1.5 or 2. I'm not getting much during the day done. Like I said, before I know it the day's over and I have nothing to show for it. But at least the kids are fed and happy and clean....and most of the time, I am, too.

Now for my pledge. I hate that I've let my blog-self go. So my goal is to post at least every other day (I was going to try every day, but I figured that wasn't terribly realistic) for 30 days. Hopefully that will get me in to a habit. Anyone care to hold me accountable??:)

I'm also going to try to keep up with other people's blogs more...including commenting. The first few weeks after M-A was born there would be times that I would go several days without even turning the computer on, so I just got out of the habit. But it's something I enjoy, so I'm going to try to make more time for that (while I ignore the ever growing pile of laundry in the corner).

*sigh* It's good to be back!

Marc-Adam...

Marc-Adam is such a dream. He hardly cries unless he's hungry, naked or cold (who can blame him?) and he has the sweetest expressions and noises--even his cry is sweet! We're still feeding every 3 hours or so around the clock so I haven't gotten more than 2 hours of sleep at a time since 2 nights before he was born. But he's worth it.

The boys are in love. The first few days, Zachary could've taken him or left him, but he has since warmed up and now he and Stephen fight over him. Zachary calls him "Ad-mom"...somehow in his brain that sounds like Marc-Adam! :) Stephen is in love, and is a better big brother to BOTH his brothers than I ever could have imagined. He loves "watching" Marc-Adam while I step out of the room or go to the bathroom. "Mom, just leave Marc-Adam here for a minute and you go in the other room."

So, I hope I can find more time to catch up on all the blogs I read, but with all my troops leaving me on my own next week, I highly doubt that that will happen in the very near future.

And then there were three...

I am so proud and overjoyed to announce the birth of our third blessing and Sweet Boy, Marc-Adam Garrison.

Marc-Adam joined our family (and took us all by surprise) on October 26 weighing 6 pounds, 8ounces at 18 inces long. We had a c-section scheduled for Nov 2 (he was due Nov 11), but he decided he didn't want to wait that long (or maybe he didn't want to share a birth month with his brother) and I went into labor early last Thursday morning. I was in denial for several hours about it being labor, but my mom and Sweet Hubby bullied me into calling the doctor who told me to go to the hospital. He was born by c-section later that day.

He's got a head full of hair and is so very expressive. He makes the sweetest faces and noises and smells.so.good. Stephen and Zachary are in love, although it took Zachary a little while to warm up to him. They now fight over who gets to hold him and they cover him with kisses. He fits right into our life and our hearts. Even though I've done this twice before, I still can't believe that something I only laid eyes on 6 days ago has already brought so much joy to my life.

I can't seem to post pictures (nothing happens when I click the "add image" button) but maybe I could get my cousins to post some for me and then I can link to them (Kelli, ksl, care to help me with that?).

I can't wait to get to know him more and to show him off!!

Yeah, I know....

I've lost your interest, haven't I? Not posting much and my little blog has become boring. I don't know why...I just haven't been spending much time on the computer. Too busy fluffing the nest, I guess. Exactly 2 weeks from this very moment that I type this, my littlest boy will be in the process of being born (or just a few minutes old). That's so exciting to think about and yet still so abstract.

So here's what's been going on with me. Last weekend I went out shopping with my mom and grandma (*waving* Hi, Mom!!). Grandma paid for a yummy lunch at one of my FAVORITE places to eat (Sweet Tomatoes) and Mom paid for me to get a desperately needed haircut. I had a great day spending time with them and getting out for a day. Little did I know that Sweet Hubby was working his little tail off at home....cleaning.my.entire.house! My house was frightening. Dirty, messy, cluttered....it was terrible. And I just haven't had the energy or strength to do anything about it. I cried about it because I was so overwhelmed and BEGGED for a maid. I wasn't sure how I was going to clean the entire thing (with the two Sweet Tornadoes following behind me) before the baby came. So he left the kids with my dad (Hi, Dad!) and went home and spent the entire day cleaning and surprised me with it. It really is clean. Not just the "It'll do because I don't want to do it" clean. But for real...couldn't (and wouldn't) have done it better myself! I feel like a brand new woman and I've been working MY little tail off trying to keep it that way for at least the next 2 weeks.

After much drama and anxiety, we finally have a new car seat. We weren't sure we were going to have anything to bring this child home in and Target was giving me panic attacks about it. But we have one and it is now ready and waiting in the van. I have the sneaky suspicion that we're beginning to look like a clown car when we go places....

Two cute stories about the Sweet Boys and the things they say...

They found a new pack of stickers they wanted to play with the other day. Zachary loves stickers. Loves them! So I opened the new pack and handed over a sheet. He promptly covered his entire upper body in the entire sheet of stickers. I quickly whipped out the camera...to which he quickly flashed his best smile and said, "CHEERS!" It's 'cheese', honey. Saying "Cheers" too much could get Mommy in trouble....

Stephen's apparently hearing impaired and I had no idea....he was staying with his papa the day Sweet Hubby was earning brownie points and he and Z were watching a movie. Papa was in the other room and Stephen hollered to him that he couldn't hear the TV. Papa told him they could hear it because he was in the other room and he could hear it. Stephen told him he couldn't and Papa asked why. To which Stephen replied, "My ears are too small!" Poor kid....genetics suck, don't they?

I'll try to be better about posting...my life just isn't that interesting. I figure it'll get a lot more exciting in a couple weeks...

Of Elephants, Show and Tell and Being Homeless

You know the saying "a memory like an elephant"? I have no idea what that means. But if the elephant's have an impressive, almost absurd memory, then Stephen fits that description.

Last night in the car, he was almost dozing off and looked at me and said, "Mom, you remember when we did Show and Tell?"

"Um, no." Wracking my brain trying to think of when he did show and tell since he doesn't go to school. Church? The day he went with my mother-in-law to the school she worked at (in February)? I can't think of anything...

"And Zachary slept in the Pack'n'Play and I slept with you."

"What?"

"What's it called? Show and Tell?"

DING! goes my lightbulb!

"Oh, you mean the HO-TEL!"

"Yeah, yeah...the hotel...we stayed at a hotel."

But I'm still trying to think of the last time we stayed at a hotel. Over a year at least. Then he starts talking about his Auntie Alison and the stairs and how she gave him a banana.

"What??"

"And we watched Playhouse Disney! Remember, Mom?"

"No, sweetie, I don't." When did we see Alison while we were staying in a hotel....and why does he remember watching TV?

DING! goes the other lightbulb!

"OHHHH! You mean when we stayed at Auntie Alison's apartment. That wasn't a hotel, that was where Alison lived."

"Yeah, yeah....we stayed with her because we didn't have a home."

WHAT?!?!

"No, sweetie, we had a home, it was just really far away so Auntie Alison let us stay at her home."

This whole scenario had to be a year and a half ago. He was 2. I don't remember half the details of that weekend. But Sweet Hubby is telling me that he's right. He did watch Playhouse Disney and Alison gave him a banana. Not to mention that the whole conversation was kind of random. There was no purpose in that walk down memory lane...I guess it just crossed his mind as he was dozing off.

Makes me worried about what he'll remember about me and his childhood....

That hurts...

I was sitting here yesterday, catching up on reading blogs. I was almost done and Stephen was sitting on the bed behind me. I turned around to talk to him, then turned back to the computer. Just as I turned back, Stephen fell off the bed. He landed flat on his stomach (and the side of his face) and just laid there for a second. He started to cry so I scooped him up and held him for a minute. He calmly and quietly slid off my lap and started to walk out of the room. I asked him where he was going and he said he wanted to lay in his bed. I finished up reading the blog I was reading and went in to check on him. I crawled into his bed next to him and asked if he was okay and he told me that his head hurt. I told him that I bet it did after falling like that. He looked at me with this puppy dog look and those big green eyes and said, "You were supposed to catch me."

Ouch.

Thursday Thirteen

13 Things I'm Looking Forward to After the Baby is Born

I have exactly 6 weeks until we meet our littlest Sweet Boy. I can't wait to meet him. I can't wait to touch him, smell him, stroke his hair. So here's a list of some of the things I'm looking forward to.

1. Donuts!! Ok, some of the things I'm looking forward to aren't deep. You have no idea what I would give for some Dunkin' Donuts (KEP, ksl....it's your fault!).

2. Introducing Stephen to the baby...seeing him hold him and kiss him. He's just so stinkin' excited. He talks to the baby everyday and kisses him goodnight and good morning. He keeps close tabs on my growth and reminds me periodically how big I'm getting. While loving on my belly one day, he stroked it and softly said, "Big fat tummy."

3. Seeing if the baby has hair. For some reason this has always been the first thing on my mind after the birth of our children. The first thing out of my mouth when Stephen was born wasn't "Is he okay?" "How big is he?", etc....it was "Does he have hair?" I had no idea I was so concerned with that until his birth!

4. Seeing Sweet Hubby with our third child. He's just so sweet with our babies. I love watching him with them.

5. Being able to roll over in bed without a huge production.

6. Being able to get up without a huge production.

7. Being able to walk without a huge production.

8. Not having to prick my fingers everyday.

9. Not having to think through every morsel of food I put in my mouth.

10. Being able to cuddle and hold close my two older boys...the belly is just crampin' my style these days. I have no lap for them to crawl up and cuddle in.

11. Nursing another baby....it's easy to forget how special it is to snuggle up with a newborn to nurse. To doze off only to wake up to find that the baby has happily dozed off, too. To see that little milk-drunk look on his face and that little bit of milk-drool at the corner of his mouth. *sigh*

12. Frappucinos.

13. Being the mom of 3 boys. THREE BOYS! Three beautiful boys. How cool is that? If you had asked me 5 years ago what I thought of having 3 boys, I would have said that I could not have boys....I wouldn't know what to do with them and boys have cooties. God knows me better than I know myself. What would my life be without these sweet, dirty, smelly, wild little boys?

Don't let the screen door hit you on the butt...

Stephen's had it. He's moving out.

Or so he says.

While I was making breakfast one morning last week, Stephen came in and asked if they could have breakfast in the living room (something their daddy lets them do when he's home). I told him no (I probably could have been a bit nicer in the way I answered...I was in a foul mood that morning). He huffed and puffed a bit and came back in....

"MOM! I am moving OUT!"

"Really? Where do you think you're going to go?"

"Nonny and Poppy's." (My in-laws)

"Do you think they'll treat you better than we do?"

"Yes."

"I'm sure they would."

And we left it at that. I would have helped him pack his bag, but I guess he decided he liked it well enough here to stay. He hasn't brought it up since.

I remember

Check out Rocks in My Dryer for more rememberances.

I guess I was lucky that day. I was in a little "bubble" that was the baby room at the day school I worked at. We had no access to TV or radio. Just a bunch of baby and lullaby CDs. I played with and loved on those babies ("my" babies) that morning just like any other. I didn't watch all the horror that was to come that day as it unfolded.

It wasn't until a mom came in late to drop off her daughter and said that two planes had hit the World Trade Centers. At that point, that was all she knew. None of us had any idea what that meant. Was it a freak accident? Was something wrong with these planes or air traffic control? It was just so weird.

A little bit later, someone came in and told us the rest. The towers fell...the pentagon on fire....a plane in a field. What was happening? I needed to get in front of a TV. And I needed to talk to Sweet Hubby. I was worried because we lived in a town with a major college. What if colleges were next? But I was a bit thankful that Sweet Hubby worked where he did because he was in and out of all sorts of small towns all day long. I tried to feel safe and secure.

And I hugged those babies. Oh, how I hugged those babies. The day was just like any other for them...they ate, they laughed, they slept, they played. They trusted us to keep them safe. They couldn't have any idea. I just wanted to wrap them all up in bundles and go hide somewhere until their mamas could come and hug them and protect them.

Then I went home. I listened to the local country station on the way home. It was no longer playing any music. It was just a constant feed from a news station. I kept thinking that this had to be some kind of awful nightmare or prank. This couldn't really be happening. Then for the first time that day, sometime around 3pm, I sat in front of a TV. It was all so sickeningly real. I couldn't even wrap my mind around it.

The rest is a blur. I don't remember Sweet Hubby coming home or eating dinner. I do remember Sweet Hubby coming to get me at some point in the middle of the night telling me to turn the TV off and come to bed. I couldn't pull myself away from it. Like a bad car accident, as they say.

One year later, I sat in church praying. For the victims, for their families, for the government, for the safety of everyone else, and for my unborn child. I rubbed my belly and thought of our baby that would be born in 4 more months and I wondered how in the world was I going to protect him from the kind of atrocities that happened just a year before? How would I explain that to him when he got to be 5, 6, 10 and we were honoring the anniversary of the attacks? Thankfully, he's not quite 4 today. He's still in a world where the worst that can happen is a thunderstorm in the middle of the night. And he still thinks that Dad is a hero that can fix anything. One day I hope to do justice to the truths of 9/11 for my children. About the horror that some people can bring on their fellow man. About the hope of a nation coming together...not shaken at the scariest time in our generation. About how for every zealot that is willing to fly a plane into a building, there is another person praying, giving blood, sending supplies, donating money, walking in to fiery and falling buildings to save one more life. That there is hope beyond trials. And that we can't ever forget. We can't let it become a line in a history textbook. If we forget and move past 9/11/01 then we forget what we are really capable of. We forget about true hope and heroism. We forget about what it means to be one nation under God.

We just can't forget.

So I remember.

Three meme

Thanks to ksl for tagging me. I did this before with the Sweet Boys, but have never done my own!!

Three nicknames--Alligirl, "Al", mama

Three people that make me laugh--Stephen, Zachary, Mike Rowe (from Dirty Jobs on Discovery)

Three things that I love--my God, my family, my sleep (pretty much in that order, too)

Three things I hate--rude people in public places, little girls dressing too "sexy", obnoxious children (well, it's not the kids I hate, it's how the parents handle them)

Three things I don't understand--how I can be running out of room to breathe and eat and I still have 9 weeks to go in this pregnancy! how a child can eat nothing but a handful of raisins and a peanut butter sandwich ALL day long, why people always ask me if we're going to try to for a girl on number 4 (um, can I get done cooking this one first?)

Three things on my floor-- a plate, a magazine, a toy block

Three things I am doing right now--this, watching Fox news, listening to Stephen during his "quiet" time

Three things I can do--I've recently remembered that I can sing and that I like it, same for playing handbells (I started doing both at church last week), understand the gibberish of my nearly 2 year old

Three ways to describe my personality--sarcastic, silly, cautious

Three favorite foods--oh, this is not a good time for me to be thinking about this...hmm...just three? Cinammon rolls, barbecue, onion rings

Three foods I do not like--chinese food, cabbage, salsa

Three beverages I drink regularly--water, milk, diet Barq's

Three shows I watch--LOST, House, Dirty Jobs

Ok, my turn to tag...hmmm...I can only tag 2 (everyone else that reads this has already done it) Stephanie at Adventures in Babywearing and My LaughterThoughts.

Wordless Wednesday

It is Wednesday, right? Well, I can't leave these pics without explanation...this is how we make pudding. Put all ingredients in a gallon zip-top bag and let the little ones shake, hit, kick, throw, etc. the bag around till it's ready to empty into a bowl. This time I let Stephen lick the bag. Five wipes, a clean shirt and some clean underwear later, he was good as new!

Bad boys, bad boys, whatchya gonna do?

I felt like I was in an episode of Cops this weekend. For some reason, when they have Cops in Texas, they only show the dirtiest, grubbiest, toothless people they can find....and our experience was no different.

Sweet Hubby and I had planned a nice relaxing morning on Saturday since my folks had the kids Friday night. That was interrupted at 8:20am when the neighbor came to ask about the tree limb (from her tree) that had fallen in our yard. *sigh* That's fine, I needed to get up and eat soon anyway. So we get dressed and head out to the van. When we walked out of the garage, we saw two trucks parked kinda funny at the corner (we live in the middle of three houses on our block, so they were just one house over). Sweet Hubby wondered aloud if they had had a wreck and then he got in the van. I stood and stared (I'm not sure why) for a second and then someone started hollering and screaming. I got in the van and we pulled out and started driving by. Sweet Hubby yells, "They're fighting!"

I thought he meant the two guys were fighting....no....two grown women were in the middle of the road POUNDING on each other. I got out my cell phone to call the police and Sweet Hubby pulled on to the street they were on. I got out just long enough to yell "We're calling the cops!" so they wouldn't kill each other right then and there. I talked to dispatch for a minute and finally one of the couples drove off. The other couple stayed and were hollering at us. Sweet Hubby kept the window cracked just enough to hear what they were saying. They were obviously very drunk. At. 9am. in. the. morning. We wanted to keep them there till the cops showed up. They kept yelling at us to go follow the other people....um, yeah....not my job. He was steadily pulling stuff (empty beer cans and such) out the cab of his truck and throwing them in the bed. Sweet Hubby thinks he wanted us to go follow the other people so he could throw it all away without us seeing. Finally the guy pulls a KNIFE out of his truck. I start yelling at dispatch, "He's got a knife, he's got a knife!" Thankfully, Sweet Hubby had the car in drive the whole time and we could've quickly driven off at any point. But he never approached us with it.

Just then the cops show up. *huge.sigh.of.relief* We pull off to our neighbor's driveway and hang out just in case the police want to talk to us. We watched as they pulled out another knife, more open cans and bottles of alcohol (including a large bottle of whiskey that was half empty) and what, from a distance, looked like some kind of crack pipe...but that could've been my adrenaline-drunk imagination. Finally, the female cop comes to talk to us. During our conversation with her, dispatch came over the radio and said that the guy's license expired in April of '05 and he had no insurance. The cop said they were going to take both of them in. We have no idea what ever happened to the other couple and why they decided to have a Smackdown in the middle of the road to begin with.

So AFTER all this, we heard a bit more gossip about the winners that we encountered. The guy has been in jail and prison several times and has had his license suspended before for DWI. Apparently, the woman was about 30 years his junior and had recently taken to prostituting around town. Nice. I thought she was much older than she is. Must be all the lovely habits she's taken to over the last few years.

So, I hope that some good can come of this nasty situation. I hope that because we were in the "right" place at the "right" time to break this up and get these drunkards put away for a little while that we were able to save them (or some other innocent person, for that matter) from themselves.

It's so weird and kinda scary that this all happened just 20 yards or so from our front door. Where can you go these days?

Infinite Blessings

I know this may seem like an obvious topic to some. And I guess it is to me, as well, but for some reason I just feel like I should blog about it....perhaps someone else needs to hear this....

I've always believed that if I and my family seek God's will and stay in His will, that things will always work out. One of the ways that we seek and stay in God's will is me staying at home with the Sweet Boys. There have been many times that we've discussed me going back to work (and I've even applied to places, with no call backs) because the money crunch just gets so tiring and frustrating. It gets exhausting when for several months in a row, we're just not sure if we'll be able to make ends meet. It gets scary when we have to use credit for normal, everyday things such as gas and groceries. But somehow, we always make it. And just when things get really tight, somehow, from somewhere, we get money we weren't expecting. Or our credit card companies give us a break for a month (that really has happened a couple times over the last couple of years).

Take for instance, last month, Sweet Hubby had a small bonus included in his paycheck that we didn't even know he was getting. And this month, we had an unexpected expense of $90 (which is HUGE in our house) when I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and had to pay for the test strips and lancets. I was sort of panicked about it...where could we skim off the rest of the month....groceries? Yeah, right. Gas, maybe, but that meant that the boys and I would be housebound for the month since there's nothing to do in our town. Then, yesterday, we get two checks in the mail. For real. Two checks totaling $70....now, granted, we were expecting those checks. But we've been expecting them for weeks. And it could have been another couple of weeks, at least, before we got them. But we got them now, just when we needed them. I've also been keeping a little girl after school. Her mom and I agreed on $25/week for the first few weeks. She paid me yesterday for last week and when I looked at the check, it said $45. I questioned her on it and she said it was because I kept the girl all day last Monday. The thought never even crossed my mind that I should be paid more for that full day. She could've paid me the $25 and I wouldn't have thought twice about it. But every little bit helps.

So, let's review. I had to pay an extra $90 last week for my diabetes supplies. Then yesterday we get money we weren't expecting...totalling $90.

What's funny about all this (to me, at least) is that we're better off now than we ever have been. I stay at home, we own our own home, and we have a vehicle that fits our needs and 2 children and we have everything we need and a few things we don't. Before we had kids, we both worked and somehow, the ends didn't always meet then, either. But, I believe, the Lord is continuing to bless us because we're making the sacrifices to stay in His will. We wait for His answers to prayers. We stay put even when we get anxious or things get hard because we know it's what is right for us and when it's time for a change, God will make a way.

Things aren't always easy. But we always have/get what we need and I never cease to be amazed at how He provides for us, in so many ways besides financial. I'm always in awe. Especially, when it seems (to my little brain) that we don't deserve what we have. But I guess that's how God works....

We are so blessed.

Are my hormones thinking for me??

Maybe someone can give me some perspective on this.

I, generally, have never cared what people thought of me. If I did, I wouldn't have made half the decisions I made for myself or my children. But for some reason, this situation has really been bothering me tonight...and I've been stewing over it ever since I heard about it.

A little background--I was in choir all through high school and my director was probably the one teacher who made an impact on me. I had her for 4 years and at one point for my senior year, I had her for 3 classes.

I also got engaged to Sweet Hubby my senior year. I know, I know...I was young, barely 18, but I've always been more mature and when you know, you know, right? At one point, my choir teacher pulled me to the side and said "I want you to prove everyone wrong and go to college." First, who's everyone? and second, why do I care to prove them wrong....unless they care to pay my bills...but I digress...

Fast forward to today. I haven't seen her in nearly six years (none of which I spent in college). I threw a party for my best friend and her new baby...a sort of "Baby Debut" because we couldn't throw her a shower and this was probably going to be the only chance for this set of people to see her and her new baby for a while. The choir teacher was invited (Best Friend had Choir Teacher, too, and they were fairly close). It was great to see Choir Teacher again....I got to introduce her to the Sweet Boys and share with her the great news of the next Sweet Boy.

Later in the afternoon, Sweet Hubby had/overheard this conversation between Choir Teacher and Best Friend's mom:

BF's Mom: Alli and "Sweet Hubby" are living in (insert name of our very small town here)....I don't even think they have a theater there.
Sweet Hubby: No, we have a theater, it just has one screen, though.
(BF's Mom and Choir Teacher walk away)
Choir Teacher: They must have a drive-in.

I know it doesn't sound like much, but does anyone else get the insinuation? I'm guessing it's because I'm getting ready to have 3 kids under 4.

I've been simmering and stewing over this ever since he told me about it. Here are two women I really respect and they're talking about me like I'm some white trash slut who doesn't know what causes babies and that I got myself knocked up in the back seat of a car at a drive-in movie. Am I reading too much in to this?? Am I being too sensitive? WHY do I care what they think? I know Choir Teacher doesn't think I've amounted to much because I didn't go out there and get a degree and a career, but so what? Frankly, I feel like my time and energy have been better invested in my children. I'm passionate about staying at home with them and while a college education couldn't have hurt (and might possibly have even helped) in raising them, I don't feel like I've missed out on much except some school loan debt. College isn't for everyone. And I can see how college was just not in God's plan for me....not yet, at least.

Chances are it could be at least another 6 years before I see this woman again. So, WHY do I care? I haven't been able to let this go and that fact just irritates me more than the comments. Would anyone else be bothered by this? Am I being hormonal? Am I not just as good as my college-educated, working mom counterpart?? I KNOW that my place is at home with my kids. I can't imagine having to go to work every morning and leaving my precious babies in the hands of another person. So why does this bother me??

*sigh* Any comments would be welcome. I just need some perspective on this and the most I can get out of Sweet Hubby (who feels really bad for telling me) is "You shouldn't let it bother you." Thanks, hon.

Take my word for it

So, for some reason (that maybe someone can explain to me) I haven't been able to attach pictures to my blog for a while. But I reeeeaaaallllly want to talk about the project we just completed. Problem is, talking about it just doesn't do it justice. But here goes....and as soon as Blogger will let me post a pic (or someone can tell me how to fix this problem) I will post the pictures.

Except for the very first two months of his life, Stephen has always had an unfinished room. And the room he's had for the last year or so was actually quite pitiful and tacky. The walls were a yellowish white color (called "Popcorn"). The windows didn't have blinds, butroomo darkening shades that were crooked so we had to tape them to the walls so they would actually darken the room. He slept on a mattress and boxspring on the floor (the transition from a toddler bed). When we moved him to a twin bed, we bought him red sheets because we had expected to eventually do his room in a Texan/red white and blue theme. The blanket he had on his bed was just one that we had that my mother in law had given me...it was a quilt with white, light blues, greens and purples. His pillow case was sage green. He also had his old toddler bed in his room in the corner where all some of his books "lived" and that's also where he read them. He had a glider rocker and ottoman in there as well that has been in his room since his first nursery. His lamp had a natural would base with a yellow crescent moon pull and a blue check shade. He had LOTS of little random knick-knacks that we have gathered for one reason or another over the last 3.5 years. A few cowboys (for his future Texan room that never happened), 3 piggy banks, a funny decorative lamp, a memo board, a couple of baseballs from games we had gone to, a couple of decorative lunch boxes with superheros on them, etc.... The only reason I let myself get away with this mish mash of tackiness is that I figured he didn't really care. And he didn't. All he really needed was a comfy bed to lay in with a blanket. All he really needed was a space to call his own and his own place to be alone. And he had that. He never cared what it looked like. But it bothered me nonetheless.

The whole point of me describing (in painful detail) the contents of his room is that now it is all NEW! He got a new coat of paint, new bedding with curtains to match, a cool new lamp, and a great "tent" (that to me actually looks a bit like a manger, but it's still GREAT) where he can play and read or do whatever he wants. All the little knick-knack-y things that were there and didn't match are gone or put away somewhere else. He's got blinds. He's got a frame that sits up off the floor like a real bed! The walls are a camo style green with a bold orange stripe running horizontally. The comforter is reversible with camo on one side and a green plaid with a bit of orange running through it. The sheets are orange and the curtains are a different green plaid that matches the bedskirt. His lamp doesn't give off much light, but is kind of a brushed silver color (very modern looking). His tent that his daddy and grandfather built is also orange with a few throw pillows in there for comfort. The switchplates are black and he has a black S hanging above his bed.

The room is SO cool! It looks like a boy's room. We'll eventually move Z in there with him and I think they'll love it. Stephen loves it already and ever since we finished the room he's included "God, thank you for my new room" in his nightly prayers. He also tries to show it off to anyone who crosses the threshold of our house.

I'm so proud. I want the whole house to be that cool.

If you are still reading, thanks for letting me bore you with that. I'm really excited....now Z's next in line...his room isn't quite as bad, but it's never really been finished either. Or how 'bout the master bedroom...it's pretty sorry, too.

Mom got caught in the "trap"

What is it with boys and certain words? What is it about words like "butt" and "stinky" and "armpit" that makes little boys keel over in hysterical giggles?? And why is it that they seem born thinking those are funny? The adults in this house don't snicker and giggle when we hear the word "fart" (actually, I really hate that one) ...so how do they know or why do they find this the least bit funny?

So Stephen (3.5 years) and I are sitting on the couch yesterday. The TV's on but neither of us are watching it. I'm reading and he's tucked sweetly behind my legs "reading" his magazine. Someone on the TV said "booby trap". He starts giggling and then this is the conversation we had:

S: *giggle* Mama, boooty trap.

Me: No, honey, he said "booby" trap.

S: Boooty trap?

Me: No, boooooby trap (at this point, I'm still thinking of it as the phrase)

S: Baby trap

Me: No, booby, BOOOOBY!

S: *falling off the couch in giggles*


I think it was a set-up.

A mile in his shoes

I always enjoy a day when Sweet Hubby, has to spend the majority of his day taking care of the kids and house while I go off and do whatever it is that I do without kids. I want to make sure he appreciates what I do every day with very little break. I don't get a true weekend or a true lunch hour or a true vacation like one would during a "normal" 9-5 job. That's okay...I don't mind and I try not to complain (too much). I love my "job". Can't imagine doing anything else but raising my sweet little boys. But I want to make sure that he understands that it is actually hard work. And it's even harder to do it well. And I have this insatiable need to be appreciated. He seems to like me a bit more when I come home after being gone for the day or even a weekend. So I think he "gets" it once in a while.

So this past weekend, he had to work on Saturday. He doesn't usually work weekends, but he was doing me a favor by taking off Monday (so I could actually have a bit of a break and go see my friend and her baby) and in order to do that, he had to get work done on Saturday. He insisted (didn't even ask, really) that I go to work with him and help him since he was helping me out on Monday. So we sent the kids with their grandparents and off to work I went. I had a great time spending the day with him and seeing what he really did all day long. I know his job...I know what he does all day to earn us our living. But I didn't realize how hard he worked. I didn't know how hard his job really was...and I didn't know how unpleasant it can be at times. It was busy and constant (I'm used to that, though) and it didn't slow down...everything was the same over and over again and it was very physical. I was so sore the next day. If I had to do that job by myself every day, day in, day out without the company of my best friend, I would go crazy....I would hate my job! But he doesn't...he doesn't complain (too much) and he gets up waaayyy earlier than we did that morning and works twice as many hours as we worked that day.

I walked a mile in his shoes (I would be willing to bet that that is a completely true and literal statement as well as "the old saying"). It was hard. Not fun at times. I'm so glad I don't have to do it. I'm so glad I get to do the job I love....and after coming home yesterday, I thinks he's glad that I do the job I do, as well, and that he has the job he has. I appreciate him more than I have in the past...he's finally getting the appreciation he deserves from me. Here's to you, honey! You are a star!! And you can have your shoes back.

Thursday Thirteen

This is my first attempt at a Thursday Thirteen. Let me know if I do something wrong or if there's some piece of etiquette I'm missing! ;)

Because I've not said much about Sweet Hubby, (except for the fact that he didn't pour out bad OJ) my first Thursday Thirteen is in honor of him. We've been married for almost six years...and six years and 2 (and a half) children later, I've learned some things from him along the way. So I made a list for myself of what I've learned.

Thirteen Things I've learned since being married to Sweet Hubby

1. Although he would do nearly anything for his wife and family, dealing with lizards in the house is just not one of them. Don't tease him about this.

2. He really isn't trying to make your life miserable when he puts the laundry detergent on the very top shelf where you can't reach it without climbing ON TOP of the washing machine to get it.

3. Never ever criticize the way he cleans out the garage, mows the lawn, or takes out the trash--unless, of course, you enjoy doing those activities.

4. Along with #3, never criticize how he makes a sandwich....you'll be making your own lunch for the rest of your life.

5. Always make sure to he goes to the grocery store with a list....

6. ...and never expect for him to come home with ALL the items on the list (or ONLY the items on the list).

7. Always remember Dads do things differently. Even if that includes too much TV, too much sugar, no sunscreen, your white laundry being pink (or your best sweater that now fits your lap dog) and ridiculously dirty children, it's a good thing.

8. Some say it's a myth or a stereotype, but it's true...guys can't multitask--at least mine can't. (Just yesterday, Sweet Hubby called me because he locked his keys in his company car at one of the stores he was calling on...turns out he had tried to pump gas and hang a sign outside the store simultaneously to save time....he waited 30 minutes for his work to bring him another set of keys.)

9. When asked if his hairline is receding, the right answer is always a quick glace and an even quicker, "No! Not at all! " This is the equivalent to "Does this make me look fat?"

10. Always be open-minded to his interests--even if you never thought you would be the girl to see every comic book movie ever made on the day they come out to the theaters (and spending 6 bucks on those questionable hot dogs), you might actually enjoy it (once in a while).

11. Even though he may not seem to have a "quick wit", I've learned to never underestimate his sense of humor and his ability to pull out some really good one-liners (once when I was getting ready to cut his hair, he came out of the bathroom with the "haircut drape" on and asked if he had his cape on right...I still giggle about that).

12. Because of guys like him the term "Family Man" isn't becoming obsolete.

And in honor of my hubby and his interests....

13. NEVER EVER even begin to joke that Batman and Robin might be gay. Any sense of humor he might have had will be completely lost on this joke. The same goes for making fun of superheroes wearing tights...

Where are you from, anyway?

My mom often asks that question when one of my kids says something that doesn't sound like the "Tay-uh-xan" way of saying it. Well, now there's a test at alphadictionary.com (I found it at LaughterThoughts) that tells you how Rebel/Yankee you are based on the way you pronounce/say different things. Some of my answers horrified me as I thought I was Southern/Texan all the way. Shhh....don't tell my dad! I'm 74% Dixie...my neck's a little pink.

Something in the orange juice...(bad mommy moment)

We're running low on rice milk this morning. Both boys get a cup of it first thing in the morning. I knew yesterday that we would only have enough for one to get his cup of milk so this morning, I asked Stephen if he wanted milk or OJ to drink. He chose OJ and I poured it for him. Just after I poured it, I remember that Sweet Hubby had said Saturday that the OJ wasn't good. I couldn't remember if he meant this carton or the last carton, and certainly he would throw it out if it was this one, right? So I tell Stephen that if it tastes funny not to drink it (I hate OJ and don't drink it...not sure if I would know if it was "good" or not). He said okay. A few minutes later, he brings an empty cup to me and tells me his tummy hurts. I ask if it tasted funny and he says yes. *sigh* Then WHY did you drink the whole thing?! Of course part of me wonders if he heard me thinking aloud about the OJ being good or not and is just finding something to whine about. Which makes me feel even worse for doubting him.

Note to self: When in doubt, throw it out....and certainly don't feed it to the kids!