Random Ramblings

I am pumped! Tonight, my baby brother is taking me to dfhcv v h7gyy (sorry, Sunshine climbed up and wanted to contribute) see 

Harry Connick, Jr.! 

This will be the fourth time I've seen him, but the first at the Alabama Theatre, which is one of my most favorite places on earth!

http://www.alabamatheatre.com

I absolutely love Harry (it started my senior year in high school and hasn't quit), and the Alabama Theatre is one of the most gorgeous places ever! 

Plus, my brother and I always have fun, so I know it's going to be a blast.

Other things trapped in my mind today:

I want to take a dance class. If you read my Delhi post a couple of days ago then you know my obsession with Bollyhood movies and the dancing.

So I think either that or bellydancing would be both fun and hilarious to watch (me do).

I want to know how to make daily doses of peanut butter and chocolate chips part of a healthy life program.

I want to write a post on what we look like naked.  (It's not what you think.  Potty mind.)

I want the kitchen floor to mop itself.

So many dreams, so loose a grip on reality.  

I hope that you all have a fantastic weekend, wiggle your hips and have some fun!

a list of things you didn't ask to know

This is a great list that I stole from a great blog I have started following, http://mylipsinstitches.blogspot.com (What a great name!)

I am: not nearly as complex as I think I am.

I think: too much about things that do not matter.

I know: my name. And some days, that's the best I can do.

I want: my kids to know Christ more than I can ever tell.

I wish: that I could take a girls-only trip with some of my favorite gals. (Maybe when the kids are older!)

I hate: my poor self-image.

I miss: opportunities to serve everyday.

I fear: roaches. They are an abomination.

I feel: deeply and passionately.

I hear: a soundtrack to each day in my head.

I smell: not so great sometimes. I'm a mother of toddlers, sometimes it's a day or so between showers. (I'm just saying.)

I crave: attention and affirmation.

I search: for missing socks on an ongoing basis.

I wonder: if my husband still gets weak when I kiss him.

I regret: not talking longer to my Dad the last time.

I love: to teach.

I ache: after "running."

I care: about many issues and I love Jesus, however you will not see me post something on my facebook status or e-mail something to prove it.

I always: eat more than I should.

I am not: satisfied to stay as I am.

I believe: that God has more for me than I embrace.

I dance: very poorly.

I sing: silly songs to make Daddy's Girl laugh.

I cry: ugly, loud and full-body.

I don't always: listen to everything you are saying.

I fight: mean.

I write: different than I speak.

I lose: track of how many times a day my name is called. (But I love the voices.)

I never: want to forget how blessed I am.

I confuse: chocolate for fruits and vegetables all the time.

I listen: to music to match my mood.

I can usually be found: if I am lost.

I am scared: that my house always smells like diapers.

I need: my children to know that marriage can still be passionate after 13 years.

I am happy about: some things more than others.

I hope: this list hasn't bored you.

Hello Delhi, well hello Delhi...

"I'm in love. I'm in love, and I don't care who knows it!" --Buddy the Elf

Seriously, I love me some Bollywood cinema. I don't know what it is about these movies, but they are like crack to me. Maybe it is the technicolor clothing or the hypnotic music or the incredible dancing (seriously, I want to take a class!). Or maybe it is just the fact that the Indian people are GORGEOUS! But I am seriously thinking about hole-ing my self up for a night and doing nothing but drinking a good glass (or two) of wine and watching a whole slew of them!

The ones I have seen so far and love are:

The Mistress of Spices

Bride & Prejudice (can you guess what this is a take-off of?)

and Dil Bole Hadippa! ( However, I am no good at watching movies with subtitles. Especially when people talk so durn fast!)

Anyway, I am hooked on these. And I am especially consumed with my sweet husband who has indulged me by actually sitting with me through two of them.

If anybody knows of some good ones, (especially those with music) let me know! Now I'm going to work on my dance.

Things that are "on my radar"

How the heck does someone from Indonesia find my blog?

Seriously, I am just giddy that people who don't live within 15 minutes of me have found it! I think it is super cool to think that anyone other than my sweet Momma would want to read anything I have to say. I love it! This is one of the most fabulous things to me about blogging. Thanks to friends new and old that actually read this crazy stuff. (As we say here, "Bless your heart!")

Am I just a closet narcissist?

Blogging has caused me to really look inward. Yikes! I am very introspective by nature, and so I tend to dissect every post to see why I'm even out here. Thanks to those who have had such gracious comments about the blog. It gives me a good perspective for writing.

The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve.

Seriously, the principle of service is ringing in my ears. I had good ol' Oswald Chambers bring it up not once, but twice to me yesterday. It's to the point where I want to go, "ok, ok. I get it." But I don't. But I'm trying.

Life is so precious and so short. Eternity is, well, eternity.

There have been several deaths of friends loved ones here lately. And then there was the precious story of little Lacey Grace, a two-year-old with very little time left, that I read last night. These things have brought home the importance of every moment, every action, every word. And living life for the reality of eternity, not the illusion of today.

Beige is boring, and I am not a decision-maker.

On a little less heavy note, I'm ready for some color in our home. However, I have been smacked in the face with my deficiencies as a decorator. I'm hoping for some precious friend to come along side me and guide me out of my indecision. (And poo on all of you little diy blogs with all your fantastic ideas...I am overwhelmed!)

So there you go. Those are just a few of the gagillion thoughts I am mulling over in my tiny little brain. What is on your "radar?"

They grow up so fast.

So Daddy's Girl walks in the room tonight where Mr. Wonderful is at work on the computer, and she asks, "Dad, what are you doing? Are you working on slogans?" (Mr. Wonderful is a PR Director for a local community college.)

Mr. Wonderful replies, "No, why?"

"Because I thought of one."

"Share it with us."

"Community State. You're the fish. We're the bait."

And I thought to myself...marketing...she gets it.

Well, Hi ya'll!

Ever know people who build up walls? You know, the kind of people that refuse to let anyone in or any love out? I just hate that.

Well, I must confess that many times I erect picket fences.

Picket fences are so much less threatening than walls. Everything looks all welcoming and friendly. And I just stand at my fence and wave a nice little wave at you and a "How have you been?" and "Aren't you just so sweet" and so forth. But the truth of the matter is that you still aren't invited inside. And I can stand protected on the other side and grit my smiling teeth at those that I feel threatened by while waving my ever-jiggling arm at everyone and things just look so fine.

But that isn't how it is supposed to be. So I am going to try to swing open the gate first, then hopefully I can kick down the pickets and live the wide-open, fearless life God has always intended for me.

It's Friday night...just got paid...

I looooooooove Friday!

When I was in elementary school, it meant a whole weekend of playing outdoors.

When I was in junior high, it meant sleep-overs and hanging with friends.

When I was in high school, it usually meant a basketball game or some social function.

When I was in college, well, it meant I didn't have to feel guilty about not going to class or working on a paper. And often it meant a trip home.

When I got married, it meant more time with Mr. Wonderful.

Now I have 3 children. It has a totally new meaning.

On Fridays, Mr. Wonderful works a half-day. So Fridays mean I can run errands all over town without the usual
pack the diaper bag,
bundle everyone up,
lock them in their seats,
pull out the super double stroller,
unlock them from their seats,
lock them in the stroller,
run errand,
lock them back in their seats,
put up stroller
(repeat 4 or 5 times).

I just get to go, get out, wander and think. Today I am going to run the obligatory errands and then I might even meander through a hobby or fabric store at my leisure. It may not be everyone's idea of heaven, but it is mine. Whoop! Whoop! Par-tay!

Wordless Wednesdays

Start Something!

The word "start" is on my radar, as a precious friend is apt to put it.

Does anyone else ever feel absolutely overwhelmed with all that looms out there needing to be done?

I know that some of you are absolute, organized go-getters. When you get the bill, the leak, the "check engine" light, you scurry off to do what must be done to take care of it.

But I believe in the vast world of "out there" (gee, I've got a lot of "" marks today!), that there might be one other person like me that shoots so unbelievably high that the thought of getting started is daunting to say the least. And so instead of getting anything done, I whip up a treat of chocolate chips and peanut butter and hunker-down in front of some screen to hide.

Well, I think we just need to start. Something.

For example, when we became a one-income family, we had to make changes. They needed to be big changes. But we had to just start somewhere. Not going out to eat was our start, I think. Now we are beginning to see our sacrifices pay off.

Our yard is a landscaping disaster. Neither Mr. Wonderful nor I are gifted in horticulture, or anything slightly resembling, but after seven-yes seven-years of hiding from the wilderness that is our back yard, we just had to start cutting down some stuff and we hope that beauty follows. We actually let the kids play out there this fall without fear some woodland creature would scoop them up and run off with them.

The house, oh dear. In our minds, we know what we like. We know what we should do. We know we can't afford all these things. But to make it more of "our home" (more "'s) we have to start on something...paint, repair, pick up! We have ousted most of the things we don't like or need and are hoping to take baby steps toward repair in the near future.

I guess I just needed to say that I am finding comfort in the word start. Because starting somethings always leads to something, and I'm hoping that my "starts" will snowball into "finishes."

So today, START:
• cleaning a drawer
• writing a letter
• pulling a weed
• paying a little more on a debt
• reading a verse in the Bible or a page of a book
• saying one less negative thing to your spouse
• playing for five minutes with your kids
• cooking a new recipe
• smiling at one new person a day
• walking 5 minutes

Whatever your end goal, take a tiny step and begin.

I will too.
(And yes, I realize that I have channeled my inner self-help guru on this post...laugh if you must.)

Confessions of a Stay-at-Home Mom

I actually taped my stomach up with packaging tape to go to an appointment after KB was born.

I sort of had a crush on Greg from the Wiggles. And had a brief one on Joe from Blue's Clues although Steve is my favorite.

Two of my favorite sights have become the little yellow envelope on my cell phone and the red notification flag on FB. (Unless the little red flag is there to inform me that your kindergarten teacher's cousin's half-uncle has tagged his dog in a photo.)

I love the smell of Play-Doh.

I am sometimes in the bathroom for a reallllllllly long time, not because of any gastro-intestinal illness, but because I want to be left alone, and no one goes with me to the bathroom--long-standing rule.

I do crafts with my children, not because they necessarily love them, but because I loooooove them. (Bring on the glitter, pipe cleaners and construction paper!)

I have put away dishes from the dishwasher into the cabinets with dried food on them more than once.

I have said, "I do not need to have to change wet pants again today," and was not talking about the children. (Pregnancy destroys the body.)

I have left the house with snot and food stains on my clothes that I hope people will think happened en route.

Just crush me up some Xanax and put it in my drink.

I just finished a fun size Tootsie Roll. Before that it was the half a bag of M&M's. I'm contemplating opening up a bag of chocolate chips, but I know that could only lead to my oldest coming home from school to find her mother passed out on the sofa, empty bag beside her and chocolate all over her face.

It is only 1:30pm. Today's list of insanity included:

• Bolting out of bed when I heard Daddy's Girl mention, "Spring pictures are today." Dear heavens, you have to get everything just right from the neck up or hear about how her best friend was dressed sooooo cute.

• Getting in the car and realizing that I only have 3 miles worth of gas, I'm not wearing a coat and it's in the mid-20's today. (Plus I had that Alice Cooper-just-rolled-out-of-bed-smeared-eyeliner thing going on.)

• Getting the "babies" dressed and ready for a Dr. visit and the "bag packed." (Because packing a bag for the waiting period is way different than say, packing for a restaurant or packing for church. Each has its own list of ammunition. Am I right ladies?)

• Getting my self dressed. (Which wasn't overly complicated since I wore exactly what I wore last night.)

• Hearing the sound of metal clanking, while checking FB and e-mail, and finding Little Prince and Sunshine in the bathroom with a spoon laying in the bottom of the toilet as Little Prince stirs the water with Daddy's Girl's toothpaste tube. Both children had wet hands...both guilty. Which also meant I must change their jackets, since I already had them dressed down to the fleeces to protect them from the bitter cold. (Two lessons from this: 1.) If you get on the internet while your children are awake, God will punish you. 2.) Never try to get ahead by getting your children dressed early. It's pointless.)

• Getting to the Dr. fifteen minutes early. In this case, it is a bad thing. You know you are going to wait an hour anyway. Now it is a guaranteed hour and fifteen minutes wait with two toddlers.

• Sunshine getting not 1, 2 or even 3 shots/sticks, but 5! That's right, five. What a great day to be her or her mother holding her down.

Do you really want to read more? I'm gonna keep going...

• Having to take away Sunshine's first sucker because she laid it on a seat. (I'm sorry, but it is flu season.) Then having to take away Sunshine's second sucker, right before they stuck her again, because she laid it down on the little armrest where they take everyone's blood. But even better, being the recipient of the nurses' judgmental scowls for taking away the sucker (crawling with germs) which made them have to listen to her scream for oh, all of 3 minutes. (They would never last in my world.)

• Watching Little Prince fall on the sidewalk outside the Dr.'s office, scraping his hands and losing HIS second sucker. (I swear I am buying a bag of DumDums to keep in my purse.)

• Getting home and finding only and O'Douls in the refrigerator. (I think you hear me.)

All this said, I know how blessed I am to have my precious life and the dear ones in it. So, I'll skip the chocolate chips for now, but you can bet I'm having a good glass of vino tonight!

Who would have thunk it?

Wow! What a weekend?!

I have been so wrong! (How many of you have been waiting to hear that?)

I really do like hangin' out with women!

I have always said that I'd rather hang out with the guys, and in some respects that is true. I enjoy the lighthearted banter and the ability to eat freely in front of each other! I know I have been part of my share, but I really just hate "women drama." Know what I mean?

But this weekend I had the amazing opportunity to take part in a women's conference (those two words had haunted me all week), and I hope I will never be the same.

Angela Thomas, author of Do You Think I'm Beautiful?, was the main speaker, and she was really good. I definitely had my eyes opened to how God is trying to love on me through my husband and how often I shun that love. But the really amazing thing was to see all the women there who externally seemed to have it all together, but internally have cracks, imperfections and just plain ol' nasty just like I do. How quick we are to judge and how encouraging it was to open up to each other!

I think that so many times as women we are so protective over the areas of our insecurity that we will attack anyone who appears to have that area "together." It just makes us feel better. Oh, if we can ever get to the point where we just understand we are all dealing with something and put down our defenses.

I am so absolutely "in love" with the incredible women I got to know better and knocked on my butt as to how much I really do need other women around me. Thank you to all of you who have been ever faithful friends through the years--you amaze and bless me beyond belief. And to those who I am just getting to know or will know in the future...wow!

This morning

This morning it is raining.

This morning Mr. Wonderful got on my nerves. (Let's not look at his side of the argument shall we, let him get his own blog.)

This morning I have a lot to do.

This morning Little Prince colored his hands with red (non-washable) marker in the van.

This morning I take two toddlers to Daddy's Girl's virus infested school for lunch...in the rain.

Tonight I have to get up on a stage and make announcements followed by two former beauty queens...who are still beautiful...and talented...and younger than me.

This morning I wallow.

These are the times that try mens' (and mommas') souls...

Today is gone. Today was fun.
Tomorrow is another one. -Dr. Seuss


Apparently the good Dr. hadn't had my day when he penned this.

Today began with the normal morning rush, getting Daddy's Girl to school and Mr. Wonderful to work at Daddy-Dome. (We are currently a one-car-family. It makes for a lot of bonding.)

Anyway, Little Prince had a 9:30am Dr.s' appointment (not Seuss-that was later), so I got home and made us presentable, packed a bag with supplies and then out the door we went. The "babies" were really good at the Dr.s' office, and we made it out without much of an incident other than Sunshine becoming a little less "sunny" when she saw that Little Prince had a sucker and she did not.

The real fun began once we got home from picking up Mr. Wonderful (that sounds weird). It is Wednesday night and because we usually go to church, the staple for dinner is fish sticks and french fries. And even though we didn't go tonight, why break routine. Sunshine and I were in the kitchen and everyone else was spread throughout the house. I was getting the plates ready and turn around to see Sunshine-our own personal possum-grabbing some "treasure" out of the trash. She grabbed an old coffee stirrer...that had been in the trash in the car along with a glove from the ER that we had wrapped Daddy's Girl's stitched-up finger in so it wouldn't get infected-a month ago. Well being OCD (not anal...please do not confuse the two in my presence), I could just see Sunshine getting "the staph" from a stirrer that MIGHT have touched a MONTH-OLD glove. I know that it makes no sense to you. But to me, in a weakened state, it is entirely possible.

Well, to make an extremely long story shorter, I freaked out, grabbed the stirrer and proceeded to put hand sanitizer on her hand. Yes, the same sanitizer that everyone warned mommies about in that horrible e-mail. Up to this point I had always been impressed with how Sunshine rubbed in the sanitizer like Mommy, but tonight that was not the case. As I turned from returning the gel to its proper place, I screamed as I saw my baby with her open palm up to her mouth. Well, you can imagine the next hour.

I forced water down her mouth, fed her french fries by the handful (she didn't throw up...must not have been drunk) and watched every move she made. By the way, it is amazing how tipsy toddlers act on a regular basis.

Of course I had to Google it because there is no other authority I could turn to, and I'm pretty sure that the Bible has nothing to say about ingesting 63% alcohol when your under 5 years old...at least not in a way that was helpful to our situation. So, while I'm busy reading what the "experts" have to say, I hear a great commotion from the kitchen, apparently having something to do with seasoning salt. It turns out Mr. Wonderful had told Daddy's Girl "no" to the condiment and she looked right at him and poured it on her fish sticks. That did not go over well. There was "stern" reprimand and many tears, then it was finish-your-dinner-and-off-to-bed-for-you!

And lastly, it was Little Prince's turn at the fun. Today he had to have some spots treated on his leg, and I'm just gonna tell you giving the stuff a name like "beetle juice" or "shark juice" doesn't make the results any more pleasant. They stick tape over the spots and then have you rip it off your kid later and they want it to pull the skin off. (They do this so you will be the bad guy I'm convinced.) Well, poor Little Prince, who already has a behind that looks like he rode a sandpaper saddle because of a little stomach bug, now has raw spots of flesh on the back of his leg. It was pitiful. We gave him ice cream, but if you ask me that's a bum deal.

Sorry that this was such a long post. It was a long day.