Babies, Brownies and Blessings

There's been a recurring theme in my reading material lately. Random articles , current Bible study , other blogs ... They've all been intersecting at one point: Speculation. It's a tough subject. It has to do with our thoughts. Where our imaginations lead us. Taking what we know and adding what we think. I don't know about you but what I think isn't always even close to accurate. I send a text to a friend and don't hear back. "Is she busy?" "Did I say something wrong the last time I saw her?" "I'm not really in her league anyway, it wouldn't be surprising if I never hear back..." Now it doesn't matter why she really didn't respond because I think I have it all figured out. And I'm hurt because of it. And feeling a little low on the self-esteem scale. It's not her problem, it's mine. At work we all deal with coworkers and likely some sort of "customer". How easy is it for ...

Most of us wouldn't claim to be lazy. We work hard. Have busy lives. DayPlanners filled with proof of the chaotic pace of our lifestyles. The trouble with lazy is this: It can be masked by busyness. I've noticed lately a few areas where I'm taking the busy way out. The kids want to play a game... I'm too busy lazy. My husband wants a few minutes of uninterrupted time... I'm too busy lazy. There is extra stuff in every room that we don't need... I'm too busy lazy to sort it and get it to Goodwill. It's easier to have stuff to do than do the things you don't want to do. It's hard to put my "to do" list on the back burner. My things are just too important. And I'm too lazy to make the effort sometimes. So I'm trying to be less busy lazy. I'm sitting with my kids more. "Working" on the computer less. I'm taking those few minutes in the morning to love on my husband. And that stuff in the...

There are a few emotions/situations I avoid at all cost. Awkwardness. Embarrassment. Confrontation. They cause my blood pressure to rise. My rate of breathing increases. My heart starts to pound in my chest. It's taken me a few years to stomach The Office. Funny show. Love the characters. Makes me so nervous and anxious while anticipating the words that Michael will say  next, to the point of channel-flipping! If it's a particularly awkward episode I'll just have Bri give me the synopsis and forgo watching. And I've heard the original British version is even more awkward! Yikes! When American Idol first came on I tried to watch it and found I couldn't. There were too many people hoping they were good and finding out (quite rudely at times) that they weren't fit for anything except the butt of a joke on television. Seriously, I feel their pain in that moment! So I don't watch. Ever. I love music, I love to sing, I love to listen to other ...

It's one of those days where I'm wondering what my kids did to deserve me. Not a good kind of deserving. The "I'm going to freak out on you if you so much as think about saying *enter naughty word here* again" kind of deserving. My attitude towards them is poor and I know it. I'm wondering if by putting it in writing I will realize the pettyness of it all. 1 full cup of water spilled. 1 full cup of chocolate milk spilled. Disobedience. No naps for big kids. Little naps for BabyGirl. Not listening. Constantly asking for food. Hot sauce for naughty words. Disobedience. I said disobedience twice and that's not a typo. It's a very disobedient day around here today. This too shall pass. One day I will miss this. I know I will. But today... God needs to give me an attitude adjustment since it is blaringly apparent today that I can only change mine. All the time I've spent trying to force encourage a change in my children's att...

BabyGirl is changing her sleeping pattern. More specifically, her sleeping position. She has taken to sleeping on her tummy but there's a little glitch. Once there, she's not sure that she wants to go right to sleep. This results in a very wet, drooly sheet where she eventually lays her head to rest. We've had a few rough nights as she's adapting, too. She doesn't know how to flip back over onto her back but flips right back to belly if I offer a helping hand. I find myself monitor-watching... I must confess, I'd rather be sleeping. In attempt to discourage this behavior I have swaddled her tightly and snugged another blanket around her. As quickly as Houdini she has her arms out and she's flopped to her belly. So for now we'll just embrace the change and appreciate the value of video monitors!

When the house is quiet children tucked in bed frustrations have eased tension has ceased... I am struck by the beauty of each sleeping child with lashes resting on their cheeks even easy breathing pink plump lips begging one last goodnight kiss... It is now that time could stop Lest they grow and I no longer get to kiss the sleeping faces of my beautiful, peaceful babies... Oh the wonderous gifts of God.

On our way home from church today Sam said, "Mom, Caleb's teacher is really pretty. I can't stop looking at her." Caleb's Sunday School teacher is 17. And quite cute. I'm shocked that he would have noticed as this is CALEB's teacher, not Sam's. I replied, "Oh yeah, she is pretty cute, isn't she?" Too which he responded, "I wanted to say hi but I felt too shy." He's just 5. And I'm still speechless.

I am back in business. The washing business, that is. As you know , my new washing machine broke the day after I got it. On Monday I made a few phone calls and got a repair app t. for Tues. The repair guy would come  sometime  between 8am-12pm. He came at 11:45am. I was working so Bri dealt with it. Turns out the impeller fell off. I know, I totally guessed it would be an impeller problem, too!! Because Bri DOES understand what that means and the ramifications they were able to determine that we needed a new washing machine. Or we could wait for 10 days to get the part. The next day Bri loaded up the washer and brought it back to Sears. He had hooked up our old one so I could wash some of the mountains of clothes that had accumulated. Moving the old one out! Good news! Our new washer was likely on the truck that day, 2 days before they had estimated. And wonder of all wonders, it was! An hour later Bri was home with the new NEW washer and got her hooke...

I have some Christmas money burning a hole in my pocket and I know exactly what I want. Almost exactly. For months now I've been pining for a new necklace. A dear friend sells SilveRado jewelry and I L.O.V.E it. She has a website, Must Have Moxie , from which she sells this awesome jewelry. Originally I thought I'd start a bracelet but realized how infrequently I would wear it at this stage of life. When I saw the necklaces and the beads that could be switched out, I fell for it immediately! This is the leather necklace...  I'm more of a silver gal, though.  My dilemna now is...which bead should I get? I want to get maximum wear out of it a. because it's adorable b. because I'll be investing some $$ into it c. it's made to last so I will be wearing it for years to come Right now I'm deciding between the black focal bead And the white focal bead What do you think? The pictures don't do them justice, I may have to ask Suzanne for a shot of...

I know I'm not alone when I say that meal-time is not my favorite. It's a challenge that I can't seem to overcome. BigBoy #1 is a good eater and can be bribed to take a bite or two if it comes to that. BigBoy #2....he is as stubborn as mule. And apparently he knows just by looking at something that he doesn't like it. Funny, he never knows just by looking that he DOES like it unless it's something sweet. I know, I know, he comes by that honestly. However, we are trying to decide how much to fight. It's hard to remember how much we pushed Sam at the age of 3. Fruit goes over great, veggies- not so much. Today I made Taco Salad and it's really quite yummy. It's made with Doritos and Catalina dressing, how can you go wrong? I guess we went wrong with the lettuce, at least in my little boy's eyes. He saw it, determined he would not touch the lettuce and copped an attitude. We decided he could go to his room, then, until he was hungry eno...

For months now I've been planning for an inevitable purchase. Bri has revived our washing machine half a dozen times. Thanks to his ability to fix just about anything, we've been able to get by with the washer we have. Last week we discovered a "dead spot" in the motor. It caused the lights to flicker and then eventually tripped the breaker. Seemed to me the time had come for a new one! I had been researching the features I wanted and the brand. We have Kenmore appliances and have really liked them. Our dying washing maching was ten years old so I felt it had served us well. So, on my  vacation day with my dear friend, Ang, we checked out the options at Sears. I found THE ONE pretty quickly. Top load, high efficiency, a soak and 2nd rinse option, 4.3 cubic feet, 30% off... Saturday we went and picked it up and I was excited a kid at Christmas! We got it paid for, loaded up, unloaded and hooked up without a hitch. This baby can wash 30 XL t-shirts in ...

I can hardly believe how quickly we zipped through 2010. It was a wonderful, joy-filled year. We were blessed with a beautiful baby girl, the continued health and growth of our boys and we marked the tenth year of our marriage! Claire sporting new clothes from her first Christmas. We ushered in 2011 in true "parents of small children" style. Mindful of the night-time wakings and early risers, we welcomed the new year in a cozy slumber. With fresh sheets for the occassion... I'm not big on New Year's resolutions. I hate to commit to something I know I won't follow through on. So, losing ten pounds and working out every day don't usually make the list. At this point I love Twix too much and take every extra second of sleep I can get in lieu of exercise. One day I might will get back into it... Instead, my goal is organization. It seems life has dumped loads of paperwork, clothes, toys, STUFF into our home and I can't seem to find a place ...