something's got to give

the captain of my own ship

2009-09-06T22:04:00.005-06:00

i'm feeling the need to blog. if only for myself. i'm interested in getting back to basics. i was lured once and now it seems, i'm lured once again. lots has happened in 2009 already. i've been pregnant for a good part of it, and yes, we had our precious baby boy, levi lawe. getting used to three kids, 5 and under, has taken me on another kind of ride. but we are adjusting and i think... well. i like the three kid thing. but it definitely helps that luke is in full time kindergarten, and presleigh goes to preschool twice a week for half the day. i think the key to parenting more than one is scheduling, stimulation, and lots of separation (i dare add mommy-sedation now and again...)

i have been thinking about blogging much like i've been thinking about exercising. this one won out, mainly 'cause i could do it from the comfort of my bed. but it feels good to get back into documenting my little routine and my little thoughts, and trying to fit it all neatly into the story that is my life.

in my long absence, i have to say... thank you blogger for not canceling my show!

all aboard! (okay, maybe it's just me.)

birthday marathon.... go!

2009-02-21T12:38:00.003-07:00

last night started our family off on our annual birthday marathon. it spans about a little over two weeks in length and includes 7 people. it's gotten so bad that we've actually tried to plan the birth of future babies around this time year. we just couldn't handle it if we had to include one more family member. the dates are as follows:

February 10th

February 20th

February 24th

February 26th

March 2nd

March 6th

what i left out was valentine's day. which fits nicely. needless to say it's overwhelming. but we manage to survive and all of those involved get their moment to celebrate.

well we better 'cause my birthday's in their too!

my memory of "must-go's" plus a few thoughts

2009-02-19T14:59:00.008-07:00

growing up, my dad used to call leftovers "must-go's". hence the title of this blog post today. i can't believe how much of a slacker i have been over these last few months. even after i vowed to start blogging again, i dropped the ball. anyway, it may have something to do with my lack of energy, very little patience, husband's new work schedule (which has required him to put in 12 hour days), oh and my third pregnancy (i am now 5 months along). i have had my hands full and my life stretched in too many ways to count. which, in turn, should give me lots to talk about, right? well it has, and even though they are old accounts by now... here's a list of my most memorable card catalogue of "must-go's":

1. christmas came and went. it was nice being home for a change. my parent's came out to spend it with us and the kids were thrilled about that. we told my folks about the pregnancy within days of them being here. it was a sweet moment and we were happy to be able to include them in a personal way.

2. my husband and i celebrated our 12th anniversary on december 28th. a night away from the kids and dinner at one of the finest steakhouses in town, marked the occasion. it's a weird date to celebrate because it falls right between christmas and new years, and most years we are with family. for those of you who don't know our story, that wasn't the original wedding date. in fact we've had two others. one in april and one in september of the same year. the first one we postponed due to wanting to wait until after our college graduation, and then second, well that one my husband is to blame for calling our wedding off 10 days before the date. so after lots of tears and a cross country move back to the east coast... three months later we eloped in reno nevada on december 28th. obviously... we worked out our issues.

3. my daughter is now virtually eczema-free!!!! after going through a second phase of allergy testing, we were made aware of her allergy to eggs (which was significant). so after a long, stressful battle with her skin, due to the absence of eggs in her diet, we started noticing a huge difference in her right away. it's been over two months now, and she has no problems and her scars are healing up nicely. a miracle.

4. in lieu of her skin, my daughter is now fully potty-trained! i kept putting it off because i couldn't let her run around without her pants. she would have tore into her legs and ankles too much. i was in a bind with it. but, as soon as her skin turned around, i jumped at the chance to get her out of diapers. in about a week, she was officially a "big girl".

5. some recent things my son has said to me lately have been: "mom, it's so good to have a momma in the family!"; "mom, that kiss on the cheek needs to go down into your belly for the baby."

6. speaking of my son, the biggest news with him is that he accepted Jesus into his heart! we've talked about Jesus lots over this last year. he's had questions about God and Jesus and heaven. after lessons he learned about in church things were on his mind more and more. so one morning he came into my bathroom. i was getting a quick bath, trying to ready myself before taking the kids to swimming. he started asking questions again and saying that he talked to Jesus last night. I asked him a few probing questions to see just where he was with the topic, and it lead to me leading him in a prayer to ask Jesus into his heart. it was sooo sweet. he went around the rest of the week telling everyone.

7. my husband has been working an ungodly amount of hours lately, in an effort to re-position us financially. three years ago, my husband's employer started having problems paying us and instead of getting paid every two weeks, it went to once a month, and then once every 6 to 8 weeks. his commissions started falling behind as well as reimbursement for health care coverage and expenses. for the past two years, they have jumped between owing us $60-$80,ooo. it's been very hard to make ends meet when someone else is holding on to your income source. that was a big reason why he become an IBO for Jus International. now he's been offered an opportunity to contract with them and head up business development and marketing. it's an answer to prayer for us and with a steady income and hard work, we will be back where we were three years ago... in as little as a year.

..........................

on a more personal note, i need to vent. so here goes. most days i have no energy, i'm stressed, i'm overwhelmed, i struggle with keeping up on my chores, just to name a few. i know that i am blessed, but that perspective takes intention; something i don't seem to have much of. i survive most days. every once in a while, i feel the thrill of "thriving". i wish i felt that more. it's where i am in life. i have a son who is about to turn 5, a daughter who is two and one on the way. i'm right at the point in life where it's hard to keep the floor clean, the laundry caught up, and my hair brushed. and if by chance, i do the above, then it's on those days where my children challenge me the most. i feel like i am disciplining all day and getting no where. i am "that" mom who is walking her children into the bathroom or out of the store, them screaming and kicking, me privately trying to get the situation under control. make no mistake, there's nothing private about it.

i would love a stretch of time with them where i can be the happy-skipping-laughing-carefree-every day is a memory-mom. just one stretch. today was especially hard. i spent time in the tub crying because i could see what the day was going to require of me. i have to remind myself to enjoy these years, but i still can't seem to break out of "surviving" them. if you ask me it's an oxymoron anyway. the only ones enjoying them are the ones who are already through "it". i'm realizing that hindsight has a silent step-sister. one who goes by the name of "amnesia".

.......................

life is good, but life is hard. somewhere right in the middle of that statement is where you can find me.

news

2008-12-26T17:19:00.002-07:00

i just wanted to let you all know that we are expecting our third baby. i am currently three months pregnant and the little one will come in july of 2009. it was fun to tell my folks over a nice dinner out where the waiter said, "compliments of the chef" and then served us beautiful cupcakes adorned with pink and blue booties that i ordered and had delivered on location. they were visiting from the east coast for christmas which is why we kept our secret till now. sooo, here i am. tired, gaining wonderful weight, no extra energy to spare, but feeling very blessed deep down inside.

stock in this

2008-12-03T22:08:00.003-07:00

i should have stock in this stuff. aquaphor. we go through it by the jar. presleigh's got asthma and it's nasty step-sister, eczema, something fierce. we have a routine. two short baths a day. no perfumed washes. no soap. no bubble baths. load her up with aquaphor and cover her skin from head to toe as much as possible. we watch her the whole time so as not to allow her to tear into her skin, which itches all the time. if she can reach it, she can scratch all the way down through all the levels of her skin. she has been known to tell the rest of us not to itch if she sees us scratch anything 'cause she gets scolded constantly for itching. it can sometimes make me nauseous. i know, i'm the mom and i shouldn't say that. but it has caused me more anxiety than i would have ever dreamed.

poor thing. she's got the prescriptions. she's had the blood drawn and allergy tested. cats, dogs, walnuts, peanuts, wheat, and egg whites. that's what we do know. okay. i have had a year to digest this and play the "avoidance" game. but she is getting worse. nothing (yes, i have tried everything) has worked. just when i get her 90 % clear, it seems as though her skin gets itchier and in less than one day she can destroy all of my efforts.

so she's going in to see one of the best allergists in idaho. we are going to find the culprit. i used to spend quite a lot of my pharmaceutical days calling on this office, and this doc, since my specialty was respiratory and asthma/allergy meds. who knew it would come in handy, huh?

i have had a trying week. we are now bandaging presleigh's legs in an attempt to get them to heal up without her causing an infection. she hasn't been able to sit down in the bath water for four days now. she is such a strong little girl. we feel so bad when she desperately pleads with us to itch her itches for her... most days i play nurse instead of mom.

so if anyone out there has any new approaches or perspectives that maybe i haven't heard of please offer them up. but if i get one more suggestion to use aloa vera, aquaphor, or hydrocortisone cream i am going to scream. gee whiz, i should have stock in that stuff.

the request

2008-11-25T08:25:00.003-07:00

last night my son and i where waiting in the truck for my husband to run in to his parent's and pick up our daughter. luke says to me, "mom, i'd like a "wearing suit". i said, "a what?" he said, "you know like when you and dad got married?" i said, "our wedding?" he said, "yeah, a wedding suit." now that was a funny thought for me.

i said, "why do you want a wedding suit?" he said, "so i can wear it when i get bigger."

oh, right. good thinking.

my my

2008-11-20T12:08:00.004-07:00

i don't even know if anyone reads this anymore, since i've been less than connected to my blog these last few months. i have had house projects, and church commitments, and travel which seem to have zapped me of any remaining energy and time. my oh my.

the kids are fiery as ever and the weather is sure turning brisk. my son is confused as to why it's night time so early now (big concept to grasp) and my silly little girl will not give up her pacifier to save her life (ugh, in am dreading the dentist).

lucas is doing well in school. he is asking all the time what things "say"... signs, magazines, shows, mail, instructions, etc. we are working on sounding out small words here at home. he brings home letters every week and they go collectively into his Letter Binder. he's growing like a weed and eating me out of my house. coming up in december, he will be playing a shepherd in his class christmas play as well as participating in our christmas program at church. i tell him all the time that he is like me and he says, "no, mom, i am like me!" (see, he's just like me.)

presleigh can't sit still. she keeps up with her brother and does not miss a beat. she keeps telling me that next year she will be a cubbie (awanas on wednesday nights). i am in negotiations with her to get her ears pierced (we'll see if this month is the "month"). i'm still trying to figure out who she takes after most. most mornings she wakes me up at 6:50 am which means i'm grumpy till about 11 am. she sure is smart, though. her daddy recently took her on a date to get her nails painted and "glitter" makeup put on. oh, did she think she was hot stuff. so guess what is her favorite request around here now? i thought we were close to potty training, but she digressed (or was that me..). soon, real soon.

jake and i have traveled more than ever alone these last two months since having kids. but it looks like we are home now for a nice stretch. we will be here this year for the holidays and that thought makes me happy. my parents will be coming out for christmas; first time since i have lived in idaho (13 years). so lots of things to look forward to.

still can't believe christmas is just around the corner... shouldn't be too surprised, since my kids have been watching all the christmas classics.

that's my stuff, folks. hope all is well with y'all (if i still have "y'all").

my my.

couple things

2008-11-06T21:57:00.002-07:00

first up. last night was a circus. not a real one, just the kind where you gotta get the kids home, it's past bedtime already; it's cold and the back window is stuck all the way down blowing in unforgivingly; they haven't had dinner yet so you pick up food at the mcdonald's drive thru and they forget to put baby girl's toy in her happy meal... gotta get back in line and wait behind four cars. then on way home i get rerouted because the cops have the street completely blocked off for what seems like a problem at applebees, oh, i forgot to mention my baby girl's accident dropping her cold sprite all over her lap and crying incessantly at the top of her lungs. see what i'm saying... circus.

lucas did his best to console her. asking first if she wanted to hold his hand, to which she said, "NO." then he said, "it's okay, do you want me to make you safe?" presleigh, getting aggravated again said, "NO." he mentioned something about mom and dad... trying to find common ground with her... it was a rare moment where he had a chance to try and fix things. very sweet. finally, off in the distance was a tower for the hospital's helicopter pad. it was tall with flashing red lights from top to bottom. lucas pointed to the light and said, "presleigh do you see that red light? that's jesus and he wants to make you safe, okay baby!"

...............

secondly, tonight i was putting my little girl to bed. i usually rock her and we say our prayers and then i sing her a few songs. usually the same ones. "create in me a clean heart" and "won't you come over to my house?" she calls them "clean heart" and "the come over" song. anyways, tonight i had a rare burst of energy so i decided to do motions to the "clean heart" song, making them up as i went. presleigh looks at me and says, "why are you being fun?" it made me laugh. so i hugged her and tickled her and continued with the song. when the song was over, she shifted and freed her hands from under the blanket and started clapping. i got an ovation from my two year old. that was a first.

a wish for you

2008-10-21T08:34:00.004-06:00

happy birthday to you. happy birthday to you. happy birthday dear nathaniel. happy birthday to you. lucas and presleigh can't wait to come to your mario party!

happy 6th birthday to you!

on the record with mommy

2008-10-20T20:54:00.003-06:00

my son comes downstairs after his "quiet time" and says to me, "mommy, guess what sports i want to play when i get bigger?"

i say, "what sports do you want to play?"

he says, "the kind where you use lightsabers that don't make noise to fight with people. i want to play those sports."

trying to hide my smile, i say, "oh, that sounds good. i know you'd be very good probably, huh?"

he says, "yup, look (swinging his lightsaber) i've been practicing all day."

makin' it up as he goes. that's the beauty of being four.

make it work

2008-10-18T14:29:00.006-06:00

i need a little tim-gunn-isms today. i have been looking at the glass as if it's half empty lately and i just decided today that i don't want to be "that person". here's what i do, i say, "beth, you have to make it work!" so far it's been helpful.

i knew watching bravo tv would not turn out to be a waste of time.... jake!

confessions from the kitchen

2008-10-13T15:07:00.003-06:00

i must confess. i must really be lazy. sometimes i surprise even myself. i saw that the dishes in my dishwasher were clean. i had a sink full of dishes that needed to go somewhere... it was a sanity thing. i did not feel like emptying the dishwasher today. there was enough room in there. 15 minutes vs. 5. i loaded dirty dishes in with the clean and ran it over again.

i didn't care. sometimes i just feel like being lazy. i don't feel lazy anymore, just in that moment. i feel like it just may be the one of the "perks" of motherhood. to exercise our right to not do everything, everyday.

i feel better now.

pop the cork. today's the day.

2008-10-09T13:27:00.003-06:00

yup. today, marks my 2nd year anniversary of blogging. now if that isn't a crazy "time flying by at the speed of light" reality experiment, i don't know what is. wow. doesn't feel like two years, but it is. i am happy i tapped into all of you back in 2006. i am happy i took the time to keep a record of my life and what was happening in the lives of my children. i can't get those days back, but i do know where i was, what i was doing and what i was thinking on those days and i think that has value. what a ride it has been. i am proud to live in this country where i can be open about my thoughts and opinions. what a privilege these last two years have been blogging beside you all. i look forward to more great writing, reading, laughing, and sharing as we live our lives parallel to one another.

happy anniversary to me.

oh, bee, gee, why, en

2008-10-08T12:41:00.001-06:00

yup, that's how my day started! gotta love the annual trips we all take. cheers.

number one, and a new number two

2008-10-06T13:43:00.004-06:00

i love perfume. i just do. it's the cherry on the top. it's one of the last things i do before i leave the house. a girl cannot have too much. i, though, have been dwindling away at my scarce collection for the past few years. my goal was to use everything up before acquiring any more. my goal is just about met. i am on my last bottle "pink sugar" about 1/4 left to it's name.

now, if you love perfume, you have your favorites, right? i do too. my all-time favorite is this one:

organza indecence by givenchy. it has been my fave going on 10 years now. my husband buys it for me almost every christmas and the big bottle lasts less than 6 months. crazy. so i've been out forever. last week in vegas, i was on a mission to find me another good scent. sephora's doesn't carry indecence, so i had to plan b it. i looked and looked. smelled and smelled. i am not really a floral or sugary scent (that's why it's taken me forever to get through the one i listed at the very top of my post). i tend to like woodsy, musky, spicy type perfumes. after about 20 minutes, there it was. i have never even heard of it before but i fell in love as soon as i sprayed it on the sample stick.
tom ford's black orchid. dreamy. it's described as a spicy oriental scent. perfect. i rewarded my efforts with a purchase. i had been diligent about not making any new purchases until i made it through every bottle i owned. i was almost finished with the last one and i had suffered enough, don't you think?

oh, finding a good fragrance is the best. wearing it and loving it and getting compliments on your choice is so rewarding. i would encourage those ladies out there that may feel that buying a good perfume is nonsense or frivolous or a waste of money... i would say to you, "do it one time. go on a mission and find that perfect scent that makes you feel like going out on the town. one time". i would venture to bet you won't think it's frivolous after you fall in love!

so cheers to my new number two!

playing catch up some

2008-10-05T08:05:00.009-06:00

first up, luke's first day of preschool. now this was an ongoing conversation all summer. he would be going to cross of christ preschool, and his teacher would be mrs. steinbrenner. he seemed to be fine with that. we even changed his schedule around to exclude a nap, to include a quiet time and to go to bed at 8:00 pm. we told him he was getting bigger. he loved that idea. we got new school clothes, as well as all our hair chopped off. not a problem. i did notice that he looked at himself a little longer in the mirror later that evening.

we signed him up for vacation bible school earlier in the summer at cross of christ lutheran church. he met some of his classmates and mrs. steinbrenner. he got familiar with his classroom, too. then about a week before school started, mrs. steinbrenner payed us a house visit. she dropped off some forms, showed us some of the methods she'd be using to teach the children this year, took a picture of lucas, and was on her way. i loved it. very old school, in my opinion.

so september 8th arrived and we were ready.

luke on his first day

daddy signing lucas in to class

mrs. steinbrenner and lucas

lucas' cubby

presleigh rose thought it was her 1st day of preschool, too.

just like mommy promised. if he did good. if he got up the right way, and cooperated in the morning routine, and did good going into his classroom... he'd get a surprise. a star wars movie. a new hope to be exact. it was his first. around here we celebrate just to celebrate. give me a reason, even if it's small, and we'll throw a party.

so i was a proud momma. of course, i spent the next hour after dropping him off, calming presleigh down. she was very upset about not being able to stay and play in luke's classroom. that, i opted not to take a picture of. hey, it's my right... right?

making history, playing with the big dogs, what do you think?

2008-10-03T21:10:00.003-06:00

the debate. everyone was waiting for this night since mccain announced his running mate last month. people can't get enough of her. critics keep taking punk shots. and there's no end in sight. whether you are a democrat or a republican, if you are a woman, you have to agree that sarah palin is so relateable to so many of us. she is a small town girl who played basketball. she married her high school sweetheart. she's a mother of five children. she started her political career getting involved in the pta. she is tough when it comes to her personal values and convictions and has lived a life being true herself and who she represents. she knows who "her people" are... and has an overwhelming amount of respect for the "idea" that america stands for. she is extremely feminine and seems to be able to attract the crowds with her "down to earth" approach to politics mainly because she has the ability to have a normal conversation. that's probably the most respectable phenomenon about her. she's normal.

the first time i saw her speak, right after mccain announced her as his running mate, i have to say i was sitting in my husband's office, in my bum sweats, with my coffee... and i remember having to fight back the tears mainly because of the fact that i was witness to history and a woman was front and center.

so the debate. the hype. i noticed lots of people were walking around with nervous energy about whether or not ms. palin would be able to play with the big dogs. i had faith in her. she is probably the only candidate that not only could draw a huge amount of interest from both sides of the ticket, but also turn around and go out in heels and lipstick, as the underdog, with the weight of the world on her shoulders and play politics at a major league level.

so i'll put it out there. what do you think? two things you shouldn't ever talk about, religion and politics... oh heck, i talk about my faith all the time, so it's about time to throw around some political opinions right about now. it's being called the most important election of our time.. 5 weeks from now. so i'm interested in what y'all think.

humor me.

vegas

2008-10-02T14:43:00.002-06:00

okay, so i took my camera to vegas last week, but i never took one picture. subconsciously i think i didn't want to carry it around...i had to stay focused on one thing... the shopping. the picture above (one i lovingly snatched off of melissa nui's blog) was taken the second night we were there. what a great bunch of ladies. all, but me, are corporate... that just shows how accessible they all are. we had a great time at our jus international event. what a company. for those of you who read my post about jus back around march of this year, yes, we are still building our organization. i think at the time i was celebrating the fact that we had reached the 100 mark. that was big for us. as of now we are well on our way to the 1000 mark (6 months later) and my husband has been everything from manager, team leader, ambassador, to now being national ambassador (just a smidget away from global ambassador). i am so proud of his efforts and commitment to his family and his goals. he has never lost sight of the prize and his efforts to date prove that.

even during the recent events surrounding our economy, network marketing is growing. people are looking to regain some financial control. the economy might be a mess, but people still need the be healthy. people are still supplementing their diets to reach nutritional guideline goals and to combat stress. the liquid nutrition industry is hot. jus is among the front leaders in this industry at just under a year old. it is marked to surpass those that have gone before us simply because we have the best product. that is what the science says. and as a former pharmaceutical rep, the best part of selling in the health industry is when you get to "ride the science wave" from one call to the next.

it's an exciting time and vegas was just the beginning. looking back, it feels like we have been at this for a lot longer. we have to keep pinching ourselves when we're reminded that we've gotten this far in just 8 months.

it's true....

if you're prepared, and the right opportunity comes along, dreams become very possible.

seriously, this one is getting me down

2008-10-02T10:38:00.002-06:00

i don't think i know anyone out there who likes to loose something. keys, jewelry, tickets, phone numbers... it all throws us off, ruins our day, spins us on our heads. well, i am no exception. and it seems like i have had a week of just that. first, it was an earing (nope, never recovered that one), then, it was a bottle of perfume (this one my husband later found), and now, it's my bible and the bible study book pictured above. i have looked for hours to no avail and this one has me stumped. i would say "pissed off" but that doesn't seem to fit in with the "bible study" thing, but that is seriously how i feel at the moment.

as i type, my group is meeting, thursday mornings from 9:30 to 11:00 am and i am not there. i just couldn't go without my homework ready. to me it would be like showing up for a test without studying and having one big excuse as to why. i didn't want to "be that person". i am out of places to look, people to call, and my chances of finding these things are diminishing by the minute.

this one is really getting me down. and, yes, i have asked God to help me find it. i mean, i know, the bible is the living, breathing, word of the almighty God... but does anyone out there think it it could possibly have a set of feet too?

help.

been awhile, but it's the best time

2008-10-01T14:22:00.003-06:00

i'm back! i have my computer and i am rearing to go full force with my blog.... finally. i obviously missed the whole month of september and since starting to blog i've yet to miss a whole month. until now. geez, i guess we all become slackers once in a while, huh?

but, now's as good a time as ever to start again. why not, it's my favorite time of year. october. gotta love it.

the summer was great. we traveled some (florida, maine, utah and oregon) and hung out at the pool almost every day we were home. my husband and i just got back from vegas two days ago and have a cruise planned to the bahamas in the middle of november!

lucas started pre-school in september and loves it so far. and today, i started potty-training presleigh rose! we haven't had much success... three accidents on the floor with two drips making it in the potty seat. but we celebrate the successes even if their small around here. she got to put two stickers on the chart in the bathroom by herself!

i've been counting my blessings all day. it's just one of those kind of days, ya' know?

it's good to be back!

maine trax 2008

2008-08-18T23:46:00.003-06:00

we are back. from our adventure on the maine coast. surviving torrential rains. tolerating the ever-growing size of the annoying mud puddles and my children's dirty clothes. overcoming the broken dreams of two solid weeks on the beach. creating our "plan b" vacation story together because what choice did we have? waging war on the overwhelming population of mosquito's plotting our bloody destruction.

we are back.

...

it was a great two weeker. not because of the weather. but because we spent time together eating, watching the kids have the time of their lives, catching up on the last 50 weeks of the year, eating, sitting at the campfires until the last flame went out, riding out storms on the beach determined to get some beachtime, shopping, eating, talking, laughing, chilling...often times inside my parent's trailer (7 kids, 9 adults), did i mention eating? we definitely had to switch gears and get creative since the weather gods decided to dump a summer's worth of rain on us. but they met their match. they don't know us grenier's (said "grenya's).

...

we talked about starting our own reality tv series called maine trax (a very good flavor of ice cream found at our favorite ice cream joint, brown's). we think we are on to something. i'd watch. okay, so i love reality tv. get off my back, it'd be good.

...

we are back, y'all. yee-haw.

...

(notice my kids in this picture. nope, i have never exaggerated in my story-telling about my adventures as a parent. why take another picture when this is how it really is?)

extreme times call for extreme measures

2008-07-21T23:14:00.009-06:00

i never thought i'd say this. but, since my favorite fast food choice is chick fil a (i always order the #1 meal with sweet tea...chicken sandwich and waffle fries) and since i moved out here to idaho over 12 years ago, that means i don't have the choice to stop in at a chick fil a on a regular basis..i came across a substitute for my cravings.

...

mcdonald's has the new southern-style chicken sandwich right now. normally, i'm not up on what mcdonald's has that's "new", but since i ran by there today for the kids, i noticed something verrryyy familiar. it was literally an oasis in the high desert. i just had to order it. it's obvious they just copied chick fil a's recipe, fried chicken with pickles on a bun, but let me tell you...it tastes the same. i was in heaven. now they just have to make waffle fries and i'd throw a celebration.

...

i guess until idaho gets a chick fil a of their own...i'll settle for this substitute. i'm lovin' it.

naps....why my kids need them.

2008-07-16T22:18:00.006-06:00

today was not unlike alot of other days we've had this summer. we went to the pool. today's forecast called for 95 degrees. some friends were driving over to enjoy the pool with us. the bag was stocked with snacks. the day would be a success. i could just feel it.

...

so we got to the pool around noon. with the exception of a few sunbathers across from us...the kids had the pool all to themselves. we ate, my girlfriend and i got in the water and played with the kids, we layed out, we visited. no problem.

...

fast forward 3.5 hours. we were still there. kids were still doing great. normally, i would have packed up our towels, changed the kids into dry clothes, and left to head home and put the kiddos into bed for naps. well, that must have been my one oversight.

...

my girlfriend and i agreed that the kids were doing so well...not fighting...playing, not acting worn out. so i just resigned myself to the thought that my kids just would not get a nap today. no big deal. wear them out...feed them...put them to bed.

...

4:45pm i decide it's time to finally leave. remember i got there at noon. my kids are 4 and 2. my son did good. he got out of the pool with no grumbling. my daughter was a different story. let's just summarize it by saying two words: serious fit. so i managed around it. loaded up the car and carried her kicking and screaming to the car. got them home and my son fell asleep on the chair in the living room. my daughter wanted to be wrapped up in her beach towel (which was still wet mind you) and watch blues clues.

...

my son was supposed to spend the night at his grandmother's house with one of his cousins...watch a movie, eat popcorn, sleep in tatee's bed...ooooo. even mommy was excited to spend a night with one less kid. well, he was so exhausted from his long day at the pool and not having his daily nap...that he was beyond miserable. mommy had to make the dreaded call to my mother in law to say luke would not be coming after all.

...

the last hour before putting them to bed...i turned into such a mean mommy. i got frustrated, i was so sick of the whining i thought i'd just walk out the door and let them fen for themselves, i screamed, i threatened to spank (even though i knew it was my fault for not napping them), ...i failed.

...

and to top things off, as i was walking out of my son's room after demanding he go to bed at 8:15pm...he says through his tears,"mommy, you broke my heart." i asked him why and he said,"because you got mad at me." i tried my best to tell him why mommy was frustrated but i just think his eyes glossed over when i couldn't explain it in one sentence or less, which is about his limit. i left and went downstairs feeling like here i was a good mom all day and now i probably got an "f" when all was said and done.

...

ugghhh. seriously, why do we mom's think that for one minute it's ever worth it to "change up" our kid's routines? why? is it ever worth it? i know at least for me, it's never worth it...but it seems like if enough time passes i forget what i already know and i think i can inject alittle flexibility into the day. nope.

...

that would be why my kids need naps.

...

as i write, my son, who was supposed to be in bed...is right here beside me...wide awake.

tomorrow, my kids will get a nap. mark my words.

complete

2008-07-09T23:57:00.005-06:00

several weeks ago i wrote a post about a girl i went to liberty with...ramey reeves. she was diagnosed with a brain tumor back in january. ramey went to be with the Lord today. she was 33. she leaves behind a son, judah, 7, and her husband, john. for those of you who had been following her story, please keep the family in your prayers in the days and weeks to come.

ramey impacted my life. in the short time that i followed her story, i was drawn in. i prayed more in the last month than i had in the last 7. ramey was a mom. i am a mom. ramey loved the Lord. i, too, love the Lord. ramey loved to sing. i love to sing. ramey graduated from liberty university. i did too. we knew the same people. we just never met. but then i had heard of her story and i remembered her. totally random. i remembered her name and her smile. i remembered some people saying nice things about her. she had a good reputation.

i found myself sitting on the sidelines of her life desperately asking God to heal her completely. i went big. i couldn't wait until she woke up and smiled at those in her hospital room, grabbed her son and husband and said, "you would not believe what God did for me!"

but God had another plan. the way her husband penned it today...is the best way to frame ramey's life and now death. i would encourage those of you who have stopped by this blog to visit and read it for yourselves. john shares about a dream his little son, judah, had regarding his mommy. i will never forget it as long as i live. God is good. He loves us. ramey wouldn't come back if we begged her...she is with her Lord singing and dancing.

and she is completely healed.

p.s. when i get to heaven....i can't wait to meet her...esther, david, and daniel will just have to wait.

one month from today

2008-07-02T23:11:00.003-06:00

we'll be here. ahhh.

you know... when you cross over the bridge from new hampshire into maine the sign reads...maine: the way life should be.

so true.

so i'll tell you what i need, what i really, really need..

2008-07-01T23:41:00.002-06:00

a computer. looks like i need to get me a new one. nice. $50 for the powers-to-be to tell me that.

so my posts will be random for a bit. it's hit or miss with my husband's computer...he's either on it or has it with him most of the time (hence the time of night i'm writing this).

i miss you all in bloggerland. don't fret (cause, i know you are!). i'll be back with a vengence. soon. right God? soon?

oops

2008-06-22T14:30:00.003-06:00

sorry for the lack of posts. last week i accidentally hit my coffee cup sitting nicely beside my macbook full of fresh brewed dunkin donuts coffee....yup, all over my keyboard. the computer shut down immediately and i am in the process of getting it either fixed or replaced. so for now i am using my husband's laptop, which i rarely get 'cause he works from it. bummer.

hoping for the best. planning on the worst. "oops" happens.

lifestyle

2008-06-16T11:28:00.011-06:00

this is such an interesting word. a big word really. life. style. we all have one. or, i should say, we all have choices. isn't that what makes up our lifestyle anyway? i got to thinking the other day that i think one of the biggest reasons i shy away from making certain, necessary, important, or beneficial decisions is because, at some point, i will have to "add" it to my current lifestyle and i'm not certain it will work out.

one decision can effect everything. here's a good but silly example: i have been debating on transitioning to all organic food. that means i would have to shop at some new places, it's inconvenient compared to what i am used to, and it's more expensive. what do i do when i go out to eat or eat over someone's house for dinner? will it make me more particular? a food snob? do i want that? so i have to weigh it out. is it worth it? am i willing to change my lifestyle? see, it's never about one thing. somewhere deep inside us, we realize this. we don't say it, but we know what's really at stake. our status quo.

take exercise, eating right, saving money, going to church, volunteering, being on time, phasing out a bad habit, or developing a productive one; these things take energy. time. resolve. not to mention that when you've got little ones.. you might as well forget the style, cause it's all life at that point.

i find it funny how when i want my routine to be simple, i strive to be healthy, i work at being balanced... it can be one of the hardest goals for me to reach? why is that? why does life pull us over to the hectic, unhealthy, imbalanced side so often? i can hear myself saying, "gosh, if only i had a 25th hour in the day, i could start doing... this or that."

i have come to a crossroad of sorts. i have been trying to "dumb down" my life. edit, edit, edit. find time where i didn't know i had any, for the short list of important things i really should be doing. i am leaning heavily on the KISS method (keep it simple stupid... remember that one?) otherwise, my list of resolutions keeps getting longer and more overwhelming. i just got to figure out what my "simple" is and i'll be on my way to the biggest "lifestyle audit" ever.

okay, maybe i'm exaggerating a little.

bring it

2008-06-13T22:42:00.003-06:00

tomorrow's the day. every year, at this time, certain neighborhoods collectively join forces to offer a neighborhood yard sale. it's a concept that has caught on these last few years around town. but i think one of the first, if not the first, neighborhood yard sale was put on by a neighborhood in southeast boise called lakewood. my in-laws used to live there, and i can remember even as far back as 12 years ago, how big of an event this was. popcorn stands, hot dog stands, cotton candy, lemonade on each corner, you name it. the streets were closed off to outside traffic and most of the shopping was done on foot. if you bought something that required a vehicle, you'd come back to pick up at a later time. there were more houses that participated than didn't which added to the affair.

i'll be up early to head over to that side of town to scope things out. i'm feeling it. i am not looking for anything in particular... oh, no, just that one of a kind special "find".

bring it.

"i said...

2008-06-11T16:42:00.004-06:00

no!" or "i said... sit down on your bottom." or "i said... enough!" that was my mantra today. at one point my son looked at me and said, "i want my mommy." and i said, "i am right here." to which he responded, "no, i want a different mommy."

i immediately had the thought, "yeah, i want her too. where is she?"

power, power, wonder-working power... in the blood, of the lamb...

2008-06-07T23:40:00.006-06:00

this is no accident. i had heard about her story through a friend. a girl, just like me, who attended liberty university around the same time i was there. a mother, facing the hardest battle imagineable. this is ramey reeves and she has a level three brain tumor in the back of her head. from what her friends say, she is quite a remarkable human being who is in love with the Lord. her testimony, her spirit, her attitude is what people talk about the most.

i didn't know her at liberty, but i remember seeing her and i was familiar with her name. but when i heard about what she was going through, i couldn't help but be drawn to her. she has been on my mind quite alot lately. i have found myself praying in run-on sentences. i have her on my mind when i am folding my laundry, when i am changing my baby's diaper, when i am combing my hair, when i am singing worship songs at church and when i go to sleep.

i would encourage all of you to go to this website. look up in the right-hand corner for "news links" and once there, look for the video and click on the link "watch video"that will take you to ramey, herself, talking about her diagnosis.

it will move you.

but, most importantly, pray. pray like you've never prayed before. pray for ramey to be completely healed.

i don't believe in accidents. i believe only in divine appointments. fellow believers, join with me in making a mighty roar to the maker of heaven and earth on behalf of our sister in Christ.

because she can say it better..

2008-06-05T23:10:00.004-06:00

i have been reading this book. i am not currently in a pit, but i have been at some point or another and i probably will be again. even still, i learn from her writings. right off the bat, during the introduction she says one of the best things in the whole book. i thought i would post it for you today.

"life can be excruciating. crushing, in fact. the sheer magnitude of our worries can press down on our heads until we unknowingly descend into a pit of despair one inch at a time. something so horrible can happen that we conclude we'll never be okay again. we can blow it so badly we think God would just as soon we stayed under the dirt and out of his sight. but, if we are willing to let truth speak louder than our feelings, and long enough that our feelings finally agree, we can be far more than okay. we can be delivered to a place where the air is crisp, the enemy is whipped, and the view is magnificent."

love her.

the best things in life are free

2008-06-02T16:23:00.002-06:00

i spent the best three hours at the park today. my girlfriend and i took our kids to the park and ate our picnic lunch on our blankets. the temperature was super. nice breeze. nobody got hurt. i actually got to finish my sentences and catch up. oh, they were soooo tired when it was time to go. now, i have them in bed taking naps. it was a gold star day.

but the reason i am posting has more to do with some information i have come by regarding summer activities going on in the valley starting this friday. kid-friendly and free. some of these may not be new to some of you.

1. edward's theater movie morning. every tuesday. 10 am. first come first serve. absolutely free. check out website for movie listing.

2. cable one movie in the park. settler's park in meridian. every friday from june to august (there are some exceptions.) the movies start at dusk (around 9:30pm). they also have a website where you can check out the movie schedule. just bring blanket, chairs, food and your friends. these movies are free to the public.

3. the grove downtown. outside on saturdays. 10 am. art activities for children. things like clay projects, tie-dying, etc. they supply all materials for kids. first come first serve. totally free.

4. owyhee park (this one is over by the airport). thursdays. 1:30 pm - 4 pm. sports and activites for children. they change it up every week. free.

i hope this helps out all you mommas looking for things to do with your kids this summer. maybe i'll see some of you there.

under the influence

2008-05-30T15:54:00.002-06:00

of friendship. is this true for you? do you ever notice that those you hang out with the most, you start becoming like? everything from how they dress, to how they wear their hair, to how they decorate their house, to where they shop, to what shows they watch, to what they feed their family and everything in between. i don't mean a complete metamorphasis, i just mean you start picking up certain traits, interests, styles.

they like something for a certain reason...they influence you because they are always talking about it. they got a great deal somewhere... now you find yourself going to the same place hoping to find some deal too (one that you didn't know you needed). they get great service and food at some restaurant...now you are making reservations one weekend later because nothing beats a respected recommendation. they like to dress in certain colors, with a certain style, and you find yourself wondering if that would look good on you.

have you seen this happen to you? i have. if i hang out with someone who dresses up more than me, i start thinking i should dress up. if i hang out with someone who does the "casual" look well, i start thinking i should collect some cute sweats that go with my nikes. if a friend of mine introduces me to a song or a brand or a great family tradition.. it perks up my interest and i start wondering if that sounds like "me". which is a funny...'cause who are we really?

i still think i am and you are original in our own right. we will probably always lean a certain way. i just find it interesting how much we are under the influence of others...willingly.

"she's come undone."

2008-05-29T15:59:00.004-06:00

i think that's what my new neighbor is always saying of me. it goes like this: i go outside with my kids to let them play, my new neighbor comes out with her two kids. i like this. the kids run around and get all crazy and run off energy. this is good. what isn't good is i always look like i just got raked over the coals. i call it the "fresh out of bed" look, except it's 3 pm in the afternoon. my neighbor, on the other hand, looks beautiful. long brown hair. a face to die for. eye lashes that go to the moon. with baby in arms, she comes across the street, all perfumed up, to visit. finally today, i self-consciously said to her, "gosh, every time i see you, it looks like i don't take showers." she just laughed. probably thinking to herself, "yeah, i tell my husband that all the time."

i laughed and said, "welcome to my life."

mayberry on my street

2008-05-28T10:16:00.003-06:00

i grew up in a log house in new england. we had one tv for years; until my parents bought a small one for their bedroom years later. my mother was very strict about tv: one hour per day. let's just say our favorite program was "little house on the prairie". my mom hung a triangle from one of the log posts on the front porch and she used to ring it when she wanted us to come home.

dinner was always at 6 pm and we used to be able to hear my dad's truck coming up the road minutes before. in fact, we used to see if we could guess the exact time he'd come home... 5:55, 5:58, 6:01 etc. kids love games like that. it often was the highlight of our day...well, that and chocolate icecream after dinner.

for years we got milk delivered to us every week from a local dairy up the street. we had one of those insulated boxes that sat right by the front door. it was a long time before i realized that you could buy milk in the store. i could go on... but you get the picture. those were the days.

i can't exactly recapture those days and repackage them for my own kids. we don't live in a log house. we don't have a large yard that goes down to woods where they can build tree forts and play in the stream for fun. we hardly ever eat by 6 pm everyday. our pace around here is much faster. so imagine my joy when i got a flyer in the mail for home milk delivery now available in my area! i didn't even have to think. it will happen.

how fun is that? fresh milk and dairy products delivered to my door. i can't wait to put the insulated box on my front porch. i'm weird like that.

it's a little like mayberry on my street.

relevant truth

2008-05-25T21:16:00.002-06:00

my sister in law sang this song at church today. beautifully i might add. i love singing it when i hear it on the radio, but in light of the recent headlines regarding steven curtis chapman, i thought it was so relevant.

i had been tempted not to go to church today. jake was out of town, i was on my own with the kids, and i didn't have to sing... so i had the thought that i just might stay home. but, i really wanted to... so i mustered up the energy and managed to get there just about on time.

i am so happy i went. our worship leader, doug connelly, preached today. we all know he can sing, but who knew he could preach. it blew me away. he spoke about God's grace being "enough". that if Jesus came to earth and died for us and that is all he ever did... that would be enough. he defined faith as being founded solely on what Christ did 2000 years ago (death on the cross) and not on our experiences or circumstances. faith is knowing that God is who He says He is and that He will do what He has promised to do.

he walked us through some of the apostle paul's life, a giant of faith, and reminded us that paul carried with him a lifelong "thorn" in his side that God never removed; even after paul pleaded and begged and fasted. the bible never tells us what that "thorn" was, only what God was able to do through paul because of it.

"in our weakness, He is strong." that is how God shows his glory. some of us will never see the other side of our weaknesses or circumstances, but God promises that His grace is enough for us to live in spite of them. if we let Him, He will use our weakness to reveal His divine power.

doug talked about how we can do one of two things: we can shake our hand at God saying we don't want any part of a god that let's bad things happen to good people or we can look up at the face of God knowing that what He did over 2000 years ago was enough for us to trust He is love and He is in control.

i loved it when doug said... "God sometimes gives us miracles; but other times He asks us to be the miracle." that spoke to me because in my life i have waited for that miraculous, beautiful bow to be wrapped around my story, my set of circumstances; somehow in an effort to explain to me why i had to go through... that.

in many ways, i have been waiting for my miracle instead of being the miracle.

in lieu of the recent events regarding steven curtis chapman and the loss of his 5 year old little girl, we can easily find ourselves wondering why God would ever let this happen.. to him no less. this is the kind of thing that wreaks of devastation.

doug challenged the church that if we fall into that way of thinking maybe we should just take out a piece of paper and start writing down who we would like our god to be like. he said we would probably end up painting God more like ourselves...and even on a good day, no one would ever want that.

there is power and blessing in the pain. sometimes we move through the pain and we are healed. sometimes we move through it without being fully delivered because our testimony, our weakness, our thorn is God's "built-in" opportunity to reveal His mercy, grace, and glory to a world that so desperately needs to see Him.

and that is bigger than our healing.

it's okay to question where God is. it's okay to wonder why. but it's better to experience all that life has to offer.... the explainable and the unexplainable, with Him than without Him.

always.

it's as simple as that.

2008-05-23T14:25:00.002-06:00

this is crazy. the weather. i leave town and the weather peaks in the 90's. the day i get back it drops 30 degrees and has yet to get back up. my kids even got to enjoy several days at the pool and now are wondering why they can't keep going.

this morning i was out on my front porch dreaming of warmer weather. i mean, c'mon, we are heading into memorial day weekend! my son comes out and says, "oooo, it's cold. why is it not warm still?" i said, "well, you need to ask God for some more warm weather. it's as simple as that." he says, "oh, i can't do that." then a few seconds later he exclaims, "God... why don't you just let summer go!"

couldn't have said it better myself.

p.o.w.

2008-05-22T13:52:00.003-06:00

pearls of wisdom...a lesson, an idea, a truth. you could say i collect these. i love to listen to the story in someone's life. what makes them tick. why they have a passion for or against something. why they define themselves a certain way. it's all about the story. and a good friend should know yours.

that's the single most important reason i love having girlfriends. when i spend time with them, it's like stepping into their classroom and opening up the textbook titled "this is me, and this is why." it takes time. it's an investment. but if you stick with it, if you ride it out through all the events and varieties of life, if you stay connected, the trade off is.. support.. and you are more the stronger. friendships reinforce our foundation and i strongly believe that having an authentic friend can easily be equated to having the best lifetime warranty on the "truth about yourself".

who agrees that every once in awhile, we need that reminder?

i have some of those kind of friends in my life, one of which i just spent the last nine days with. she "knew me when"... before career, husband, children. we met as young, college girls and we have spent the last 16 years cultivating our bond and recanting our stories over and over. we have the "what" down. we have the "why's" figured out. we don't need eyes to see the truth in eachother. this relationship has traveled many miles. i am better, i am better, i am better... as a result.

i came home with some pearls. on life, kids, age, priorities, time. she's a big thinker. she's a small thinker. but because she does so much of it, i learn.

i got my reminder. my why. my pearls.

thx kim for the memories.

"breaking" away

2008-05-20T22:10:00.000-06:00

i will be up in 5 hours. gotta leave the house at 4am in order to catch my 7am flight out of ft. lauderdale. no complaints. i've had a very nice vacation. we did everything on our list and then some.

it's a tradition to go to palm beach, worth avenue, and spend some time shopping. we managed to work it into our schedule today. we did "hamburger heaven" a little place frequented by jackie kennedy among other celebrities, the famous second hand shop "the church mouse" where all the wealthy people "get rid" of their junk, the very preppy, lilly pulitzer "c. orrico" who was having their yearly 50% off sale, among others. it's such an eclectic mix of wealth. very "quaint" in a old-money florida way. worth avenue is definitely "worth" going to.

the picture above is of The Breakers located right on the water. the plan: in five years, after all our babies are born, weaned, and potty-trained, us girls will meet up here. just us girls... to reconnect. we think it's possible. we've got five years to save up and get in shape. hmmm.

so i'm off. back to my beautiful life and my beautiful children and my amazing husband who is probably the most capable man i know. he deserves a huge round of applause for juggling the mr. mom role for the last 9 days.

he'll be happy to see my smile again, so, i guess all the juggling will have been "worth" it.

a pocket full

2008-05-19T14:06:00.002-06:00

of souvenirs. three years ago, when my son was only a year old, i spent my whole time at the beach trying to keep the shells out of his mouth. i did manage to go home with some and those i had made their way to a little dish on top of the dresser in my room. every time i look at them my mind goes back to that time...

fast forward three years. i had it in my mind to make sure i came home with some special "found" treasures to add to the ones i had grown so fond of over the years.

so in between laying out, talking, and eating on the beach, i was busy scanning the shoreline for the perfect sea shells. i've got a pocket full now. not exotic of course. nothing like the picture above. small and simple. but special because they'll remind me that i was once here...

right about the time when i need another break from my life. ahhh.

flippin' great

2008-05-16T15:13:00.002-06:00

hey y'all! just checking in from the land of sun, sand, and surf. need i say that i am having a great time? is there such a thing as a bad beach? i am wondering now why i brought such an assortment of shoes when all i really need here is my flip flops. if i lived here i'd probably have a pair in every color. my feet are so happy.

yesterday i spent the whole day (8 hours) at a resort spa. just picture white robes, steam rooms, saunas, bathing suits, 4 resort style pools including a dead-sea pool and french-mineral pool, palm trees, gossip magazines (we must be current, right?), comfortable, cabana style lounge chairs, poolside service, spa treatments, luxury showers. we topped it off with cute outfits and dinner. no children anywhere in sight. i soaked it up, smelled the smells, relaxed in the sun, and closed my eyes longer than i should have been allowed. this is not going to happen to me again for a real long time.

this is day four of my 9 days away and this is my first chance to post anything. funny thing is i have not taken one picture yet. so unlike me. it's like i have lost track of time and forgotten all about documenting my trip. next time we leave the house, i have vowed to grab the camera so i can let pictures tell the story.

don't you worry 'bout me... i'm having a flippin' great time.

from one mom to another

2008-05-11T18:27:00.009-06:00

after a nice church service this morning, we all went to eat a little bit of japanese food then headed home to put the kids down for a nap. because i am leaving in a few days, i had some last minute errands i still needed to run, so i headed out for a bit by myself. i was coming up eagle road, still in the turn lane, when i noticed that both lanes of oncoming traffic had come to a complete stop. eagle road never stops. in fact, it should be called eagle expressway. in a matter of seconds it became obvious why.

a mother duck and 6 babies were slowly crossing the street. all the vehicles: trucks, semi's, delivery, luxury, and muscle cars, all waiting on this little family to get to safety. at one point the mom started going back towards the center of the road, which prompted a man to get out of his truck and walk slowly towards them in an effort to encourage them to go the other way. his strategy worked and the momma and her babies waddled up to sidewalk safe and sound.

i thought, "how appropriate on mother's day. this momma duck's got the whole world stopping for her. good for her."

..............

the last few days have been full of one catastrophe after another relating to my children. my son is crying about everything and my daughter has literally thrown some monster public fits. at one point i tried to give her to the first available, capable mom i ran into, with no avail.

i'm at the point where i feel like i don't know anything about how to raise children or at least what i think used to be effective is no longer effective... enough. so it's back to the drawing board, child-rearing books, and parental role models. iron sharpens iron, right? well, this iron needs some sharpening.

being a mother. feels like the dance where you take 2 steps forward and 12 steps back. anyone know that dance? i think it's called the "electric slide right over and stand in line with the rest of us who need the level 401 creative parenting class" dance. if you can't find me, i'm just over here shaking my booty. yeah, that's me, the mom with no hair from pulling every last bit of it out.

i may be a grumpy learner, but i'm headstrong enough to stick with it. one of these days i'll be full equipped. okay that's probably a pipe dream. funny thing is i am pretty determined and strong willed and full of good ideas... all good characteristics for raising kids. i am often heard around my house saying things like, "you don't know who i am." or "you got the wrong mother if you think i'm falling for that." thing is, it never dawned on me that since i have those things in me that would mean my kids have those things in them.... duh... and quite possibly my equal match. so that's the cause of all this fun. life is full of irony.

but i love my kids and i wouldn't trade this role for anything and today made me think about all the things i want to be for them. i just need to find the balance between doing the "math" on my efforts and goals and not being too hard on myself in the meantime.

so happy mother's day. from one mom who is still a work in progress, to you other moms who are relating to me on some level.

we're better together.

i'm it, you're it

2008-05-10T16:40:00.007-06:00

so i'll share a secret with you. i love jeans. it's the one staple in my wardrobe (besides shoes). over the last few years, i have been experimenting with a variety of brands. joes, citizens, tag, seven, paper denim, flying monkeys, etc. since i don't have to dress up and go to work and since my kids don't seem to mind if i get dressed or not, i have found that denim is my best compromise to pulling myself somewhat together.

it's just that there is one rule that's pretty universal when buying them... if you like what they look like and how you feel in them, you gotta get 'em. it's just like the infamous swimsuit shopping mantra: "i don't care what it costs; if it looks good, i'm buying it!" agreed?

my latest new love is the "it" jeans. nice washes, great fit, ( i actually like them better than my citizens) and the price is easier on the wallet. check them out yourself here.

i'm curious... do you have a favorite brand?

he loved being a cubbie

2008-05-09T09:03:00.003-06:00

luke was a cubbie this year at our church's awana program. i was really proud of him. he had to memorize a bible verse each week and i must say i was really impressed that he was able to do it. i looked forward to being the recipient of his little crafts and displaying them at home. i did notice he was asking a ton of questions about God and Jesus as a result. things like:

where is God?
where is Jesus?
mom, did you know Jesus loves me?
God gave me to you, right?
are Hersh and Gracie with Jesus now?
can i pray and ask God for that baby einstein rocket i want?

last wednesday the awana's had their award night. it was too cute--of course luke had no idea what really was going on.. he just liked the goodie bag they all were given. he's pictured above with his best friend, nathaniel.

i am loving this stage with him; the stage where he becomes an official little person and gets to participate in groups and sports and, yes, award's programs!

i'll be watching you

2008-05-08T10:14:00.002-06:00

*special alert*

this just in.

date: saturday, may 17th

time: 7pm

location: west palm beach, fl (outdoor concert)

artist: the police featuring "sting"

...............

my trip just got that much better

perfection has a season

2008-05-07T13:44:00.004-06:00

okay, be honest. which of you out there appreciates neighbors who take good care of their yard? seriously, do you not wish all our neighbors approached yardwork with the same level of effort we do?

the other day i saw my neighbors, directly across the street from us, outside fussing over their yard and it totally made my day. they are fairly new to the neighborhood, since december, and a very nice family. the former owners of the house, also very nice folks, often neglected their curb appeal, so imagine my joy to see some good effort being put forth to keep their yard groomed. i was stoked.

my husband would call me a bit of a "yard snob"... i guess on some level he's right, but only if you live by me and i have to look at your yard everyday. since we are on the subject, i do have some pet peeves regarding outdoor spaces:

1. i don't get why people put furniture on their porches or stoops that are way oversized? you have options people. btw, free-standing porch swings are not for front porches, they are for the backyard. if you are lucky enough to have room for a swing, have it mounted. costs less and looks better.

2. i don't know why a big huge weed growing smack dab in the middle of your landscape isn't noticeable? don't go spraying it... are you kidding me? just pull it. there are so many things in this life that we have no control over, your yard is not one of them. plus, more importantly.... IT'S FREE.

3. can we all say "pruning" together? pruuunnnniiinnngg. trust me, it's therapeutic.

okay, so i am officially a yard snob. i just feel that perfection (i am referring only to yards) has a season and this is it. c'mon... what neighbor wouldn't agree?

....................

*the house pictured above is one we peaked in on last summer while on vaction in maine. absolutely dreamy.

i am due for some good fortune

2008-05-06T22:27:00.007-06:00

sometimes things like this happen. today, i was busy running around. most tuesdays are like that. this one was extra busy. by the time i got to getting me some lunch, it was 2:15 pm.

i ordered my food and drove to pick it up. hmmm. a roasted turkey and swiss sandwich and a side salad. the gal handed me my food and said, "oh wait. you get a good luck fortune cookie too!"

i parked my car and enjoyed my grub. okay, mostly i enjoyed the quietness of no one in the car but me. finally it was time to unwrap and crack open my fortune cookie. i thought, "bring it. i am due for some good fortune". i read the inscription: a fun vacation to a distant land is soon in your future.

how did they know? exactly a week from today, i will be boarding a plane to west palm beach, florida (without kids). hence the running-around-crazy day. as far as a distant land... florida would be considered that from way out here in the northwest.

i got to thinking though. is it considered a good fortune if it was already planned?

next american idol?

2008-05-06T10:53:00.003-06:00

david cook. at first, i thought he was cheesy. history of being a male dancer (okay, wrong on the dancer thing. apparently i've had him confused with the other "eliminated" david. sorry ya'll)... more importantly, the high forehead. but, there is no doubt his image has improved. and that voice.

i would buy his album. this is one of those memorable performances this season. who do you like? who is the next american idol?

55 to 45

2008-05-05T12:10:00.004-06:00

my kids get warm milk in the morning and at bedtime. it was the next step after they finished nursing. it's just been part of the routine. warm milk in a bottle then when they are bigger, we do warm milk in their sippy cups.

when presleigh was born, luke was 2 years and 2 months old, and we were still doing warm milk in his bottle. he took everything else in his sippy cup, but refused to drink milk in his cup. until one day, we gave him a choice: warm milk in his sippy or no warm milk.

it took two days and he converted.

now it's presleigh's turn. about six months ago i thought i would see where she was at. i warmed up her milk, put it in a sippy cup, carried it upstairs with her brother's, where we would all watch a "show" before putting them to bed. she would have nothing to do with it. she wanted her bottle.

so a few days ago i made the decision for her. warm milk in a sippy cup or no warm milk. she kept saying, "i don't like this milk!" but, there was no turning back. it's been two days. i think she's adjusting to the new routine. so it's now 45 seconds in the microwave instead of 55 seconds (sippy cups hold less milk). it may be one small step for mommy, but it's one giant leap for my little girl. she growing up.

now, i just got to wean her off of her paci's... but, that one may require a 12 step program.

sure... why not?

2008-05-03T11:19:00.005-06:00

up until i had children, fridays were the one day i could be spontaneous. movies, dinner, friends, shopping, travel. a evening full of potential and promise. now with the little ones in my life, my standard for the weekend has no doubt changed. i basically have one standard: i don't want friday, saturday, or sunday to feel like monday thru thursday. mostly that just means i like it when my husband is around to help me with the routine.

everything else is gravy.

every once in a while i get the urge to change things up. last night, on our way home from mcdonald's, after my son had his first t-ball game... i pulled up alongside my husband and asked him if it would be okay if i ran to the store for a bit by myself. i had presleigh with me and he had lucas. he said, "sure, but could you help me get the kids home and in the tub first?"

done.

then i headed out for all of what was to be an hour till the store closed. while shopping, i got a call from my friend asking if i would be able to swing by to lend my opinion about a recent purchase. i told her i'd be more than happy to help her out, and i made my way over to her house. we talked a little, both weighing in on her decision, and then it was time to leave. on the fly she says, "why don't you just stay and spend the night?" her husband was out of town and her son was already sleeping.

in a matter of seconds i thought, "i don't have to be anywhere in the morning. my kids are already home and in bed. i'm covered." so i responded, "sure... why not?" i called my husband, who was already half way to "sawing wood", to run my plans by him. he seemed unaffected and more interested in falling back asleep. it was a go.

when in my life does that happen? i felt like i was in grade school all over again. a sleepover. i could do that? we talked, ate, caught up on some shows, laughed, solved the world's problems and when it was time to turn off the tv, we talked until 3:30am. that's what you get when you put two girls who are verbal together. the conversation has no breaking point.

so now i am home, a little tired, but really happy for the time spent with her. i still got it.... even after all the routines, regulations, and rules i stick to everyday as a mom, i still got it in me to be spontaneous!

this frog can't swim

2008-05-01T19:14:00.004-06:00

i can hear her now. my sister going on and on about the coolest little educational gadget she got for her girls. i wasn't feeling it. i think i only had my son at the time and he was maybe 2 at most. not even close to playing with one himself. so my ears were tuned out. sorry sis.

fast forward a year. i was getting ready to take the kids on a trip back east, alone. let's just say i was losing sleep over it. my girlfriend, in her brilliance, reminded me of that little educational gadget... her son loved his and it might help to pass the time on the plane. i was hearing my sister's voice in my head. i followed my girlfriend's advice and we have been fans ever since.

that brings me to today. this mommy needed an activity the two of them could participate in, play some-what good together, and eat up a good amount of time. i needed a break. so i filled up the tub, dumped the toys in... instant good time.

not exactly. they weren't cooperating too well. presleigh was hanging on to the side of the tub for dear life 'cause she thought a piece of fuzz was poopie. there was no convincing her otherwise. so i took her out early, got her dressed and figured i would let my son play for a bit longer. i was in his room, picking out his clothes, when my son came walking in, dripping wet, to tell me that his leapster was broken. i said, "what do you mean your leapster?"

he said, "presleigh brought it in the bathroom and threw it in the water."

i took off running to see if there was a chance he got his facts wrong. nope. it was floating in the tub. i turned to presleigh and asked her what she was thinking. she said, "i did it myself. i naughty, mommy."

......................

i would not have rushed to replace such an expensive gadget so soon, if it wasn't for the fact that my son is using it everyday. it also seems like he is more inclined to learn using it, than listening to me. so i bit the bullet and got him a new one.

it seems that this (leap) frog can do everything under the sun. well, that is, except swim.

somewhere between superman and shrek

2008-04-30T17:24:00.001-06:00

as a stay at home mom, my days tend to run together. i find that i walk 1000 times a day along the same route inside my home. all i do is dish washing, some form of laundering (because we all know it's a three day process everytime), short order cooking, and toy picker-uppering.

when people call the house, often the first question i am asked is," what are you doing?" to which i answer one of the following, "washing dishes", "laundry", "feeding the kids", or "making sense of the explosion in my living room."

often times when i see people out, i am asked what i did that day; to which my response is one of the four listed above. i wish i was more creative in my answers. i'm as bored saying it as the people are hearing me say it. oh well, that's where i am in my life right now.

the other day, i was busy (oh, i bet you can't guess...) picking up toys (ding, ding, ding... we have a winner!) all while talking on the phone. somewhere in the discussion, i was asked if i was having a good day, i looked down at the toys in my hand and said, "yeah, i feel like i am somewhere between superman and shrek."

somedays i hold the world together with my superpowers. most days i feel inadequate, misrepresented, underestimated and just plain bloated.

the bookends of a day

2008-04-29T23:39:00.002-06:00

saturday came. it started out by putting our dog down. and it ended with my son throwing up. everywhere in his room.

but the hours in between were great. ever have days like that? my son's t-ball pictures. carnival atmosphere. a barbeque with friends. beautiful temperatures. church.

most days don't start out or end up with this much drama. maybe, instead of judging a book by it's cover, in this case we could say, don't judge a day by it's bookends.

angelina ballerina.... aka presleigh

2008-04-28T22:01:00.009-06:00

presleigh had her birthday on friday. she was dressed in her ballerina outfit she received as a gift for christmas from my brother and his wife. my sister had made the suggestion that she wear it for her birthday... and so we had been waiting all this time to see her twirl.

i was able to take a minute and get her picture before her guests arrived.

earlier in the day, i was trying give her a little explanation of what she could expect at her party. i got to the gift part, i told her she would be opening up presents, and she said, "mommy, oh my goodness!" i must say that alot around the house.

i am not sure why, but it looks like with all the excitement of singing her happy birthday song, she got so excited she picked her nose. man, the things she's learning from her older brother.

happy birthday roses. we love you and can't imagine our lives without you. you light up our days with your smile and our hearts with your love. thank you for giving us a reason to celebrate!

"i've heard some really nice people live here."

2008-04-25T21:32:00.013-06:00

i can still go back there if i want to. my parent's oldsmobile sadan. all of us three kids skwooshed in the back abiding by the rule that one must not cross the imaginary line between eachother's space.

we'd be on our way home from somewhere, winding along the twisty-turny roads that led to our road, dolan rd, where we lived... the kind of roads that even if you had your eyes closed, half asleep, you'd know exactly where you were because of the bumps and turns... and right before we'd pull in the driveway my dad would say, "you know, i've heard some really nice people live here."

no matter when he said it or how often he said it, my ears always perked up when it was said and i would think to myself, "yeah, hmmmm. we are."

..........

today was my baby girl's second birthday. but for some time now i have been planning to write about something other than her birthday, seemingly unrelated, but deeply connected.

three years ago, i received a phone call that my dad had been rushed to the emergency room because his brain had a bleed. jake and i had spent the night away, the first night that we had been away from our son, and that phone call was what woke us up that morning.

when i heard those words, instantly i forgot about being a wife or a mother, and i became a very desperate, scared, and insecure little girl. i got on a plane with my son the next day. after a cat-scan, mri, and angiogram, the doctor's hadn't found the cause of the bleed but had informed us that, for now, it had stopped.

he was the most heavily medicated patient on the trauma floor. when i went to see him for the first time, the amount of pain he was in was evident in his face. it was an unsettling memory. there was blood on my dad's brain and we don't know why?

the days went on and on like this. we went to see him everyday... the pain, we were told, would improve as soon as his body absorbed the blood. we met with the neurologists, they told us it could have been spontaneous, sometimes that happens, and if they couldn't find the cause, they would be sending him home. they were waiting now to do another angiogram. the first, too much blood. standard operating procedure was to wait 10 days before doing the second one... so my dad would have to stay on the trauma floor until then.

we'd drive back to my mom's every evening not knowing what this all meant. we tried our best to handle the demands of my dad's business, explain to the farmers what was going on, and hold it all together. i don't think those farmers had ever seen my dad sick. people, i had never seen my dad sick. my dad's motto had always been, "i don't have time to be sick."

the day finally came for his second angiogram. my brother had left the day before so my sister and i had gone to see my dad before i drove her to the airport to fly home. we were told that they had an 11% chance of finding anything the second time.

they found the aneurysm. it was at the base of the back of his skull. it's what they call a berry aneurysm. we could now breathe easy, right? they found it. now they could fix it. we were expecting a call the next morning to tell us when he'd have surgery. we were told, in and out, he'll be home in two days max. by now it was just me and my son left with my mom at home. i wasn't going to be okay leaving until he was home. most nights, while at my mom's, i would wake up praying for him. i was not settled about things. i wasn't relaxed. not until he came home, would i relax. this was his brain we were dealing with. this was my dad. nothing was bigger than him. well...up to this point.

he is everything to me. i can remember wanting to marry him when i was little. he was the rock of the family. when things were spiraling out of control, my mom was sick, my sister and i had to live with another family, my dad was the glue. the super glue. he single-handedly kept his arms around it all. i am forever indebted to him for that. during those hard years, and there were lots of them, nothing was more important than the gift of stability and a strong sense of family.

he is our logical, optimistic, okey-dokey, hard-working, fun loving, slow to anger, help a stranger, last on the list, sacrificial, thumbs-up, family man. he is the epitemy of strength. he's the guy who fills your gas tank up unexpectedly, who works his tail off behind the scenes, so that we all can relax on our family vacation. he never complains. never. it's not who he is. he has always been the one constant in my life. he is a giant. to know him, is to love him.

but now the giant was reduced to a hospital bed with a brain aneurysm. the words in the song "unsinkable ship" that go "sometimes the things you think would never happen, happen just like that.." kept going through my mind. my mom, yes, we had dealt with my mom's health for years. my dad, no.

we were waiting for the call, remember the one that would tell us when he was having surgery? well we got a call, but it wasn't that one. it was a call from three neurosurgeons calling to tell us my dad had been transferred to a new hospital where he would undergo a procedure called the coil method. they started out the call by saying," mrs. grenier, this is a very grave situation." they were going to attempt to put a coil around the aneurysm by going up through a main artery in his leg. the problem was the location of the aneurysm. the base of the neck is like a freeway system of blood. there was no room for error. the aneurysm was sitting smack dab in the middle. it was extremely risky. he only had a 50% chance of making it through the operation, and of that 50%, he only had a 20% chance of not stroking and coming out of it without being a vegetable. another mountain they were facing, was the size of it. it was the smallest they had ever attempted to coil. so they were afraid they may not have a coil small enough.

we scrambled. everyone in the car in minutes. off to find this new hospital that was now 2 hours away. the surgeons told us that if everything went well, he'd be in surgery for 4 hours. if things didn't, it would be longer. problem was, we didn't know when it started so we had no way to gage the time. they told us where to go to wait once we got to the hospital. the waiting room was empty except for us. we paced, turned on the tv. i tried my best to entertain my son. that was hard on me, being mommy, and being overwhelmed by the reality, that today i could lose my dad. it was a heavy load to carry. i was the most stressed i had ever been in my entire life. it was almost too much.

we waited. forever. the only people we saw were ones being wheeled on gourneys back and forth through the glass windows. finally, a man in hospital attire came in asking if he could help us. we told him we were waiting to hear about my dad, and he asked us what his name was and then left saying he'd go find out. that was almost my breaking point. i didn't know if i wanted that strange man to come back. i wasn't ready to hear what was going on.

then he came back. he said to us," they are just finishing up with him. he is talking with the nurses." i thought, "no, i don't think you have the right guy. my dad...."

just then a doctor came in, introducing himself as dr. speigle, the neurosurgeon who we had talked to on the phone. he said everything went well. my dad was doing well. then he moved us to a different room to show us the x-ray of the aneurysm and it's location. he said it was the smallest one he'd seen. i hugged him and thanked him for saving my dad's life. he was beaming. he said, "i am glad we saved him."

later we found out that dr. speigle was one of the only neurosurgeons in the country that knew how to do the coil method.

let me stop here and list the miracles that i saw take place over those few weeks.

1. my dad had a bleed, but it stopped.
2. my dad didn't die in the hospital while they were figuring out what was going on.
3. the aneurysm didn't burst again.
4. they had an 11% chance of finding the aneurysm the second time around... they found it... and it was the smallest one they'd seen.
5. he didn't stroke. he had an 80% chance of stroking, and he didn't stroke.
6. my parents had moved up to northern mass. a few years earlier. had they not, he would not have been transferred to dr. speigle. it was a divine setup.

............

God allowed my dad to go through this, but he delivered him through the fire safely to the other side. God blessed me by allowing me to take him home. that was an answer to my prayer.

today was my daughter's birthday. three years ago, today, my dad's brain bled. one year to the day my daughter was born. to the day. april 25th. now that's the sign of a loving God. what are the chances of that happening? he gave me a rainbow. he gave my dad a reason to celebrate that day.

her birth was miracle #7.

.............

just the other night, we were driving home with the kids. we came up on our house, and i said, "you know, i've heard some really nice people live here."

here we go again.

2008-04-21T22:39:00.003-06:00

six months ago we had two dogs. now we have one. last fall we had to put one of them to sleep because she had terminal cancer and had open sores that couln't heal due to a surgery gone bad.

that was hard enough. she was as good as they get.

last month we got news that our male dog, hersh, has cancer too. it's in his lymph nodes and who else knows where. we didn't say anything to our son about it. when he found out hersh was going to the vet to be checked out initially, he started crying and saying that he didn't want him to die. that was before we knew what was going on.

well today things changed. we were all on our way to home teams, lucas was talking about wanting to play with hersh when he got home. i told him that the dog wasn't doing good, that he was struggling to breath, he wasn't eating well, and that he was sick. lucas said, "yeah, that's okay. he'll get better."

i said, "no honey, hersh is dying. he has cancer like gracie did." it kind of just slipped out.

lucas said, "no! i don't want him to die. i don't want him to go away! i love him." there was no turning back now.

i said, "i know, honey. we love him, too."

lucas said, "mom, maybe we can shout to the Lord, and ask God not to take him away!"

(i was thinking... "what did he just say?")

i said, "yes, we can do that. in fact, we can do that tonight."

..............................................................

so now i am preparing for the death topic to emerge in full force once again. just the other night i was putting him to bed, tickling his back. he was mostly asleep when he rolled over, eyes closed, grabbed my arm and said, "no.. i don't want you to die. i want you to be here still and still and still."

it shocked me actually. totally caught me off guard. i layed there wondering what was in his head, because he never really woke up.

he's at that age where he wants simple answers to life's biggest questions. i need wisdom. the object being not to produce more fear as a result.

here we go again.

six months ago we had two dogs... soon to be none.

it's the end of the world as we know it

2008-04-19T22:43:00.005-06:00

my son turned 4 this year. i thought i was doing good keeping him in swimming lessons consistantly, two days a week. so imagine my surprise when i was informed by my husband that he signed him up for t-ball and golf on the same day.

our typical week consists of home team, jus meetings, swimming lessons, worship team/choir practice, bible study, date night, swimming lessons, jus meetings, church (sometimes three services depending on the singing schedule).

now we have added two more days of t-ball and one day of golf lessons then t-ball. and then the schedule changes when the games start. keep in mind he's got swimming lessons two days a week still.

this is all new to me. i am learning as i go. i like my schedule simple... i don't mind full.... but i like simple. i'm sensing a change here. it's the beginning of the "kid schedule". this is how it starts. one day your husband comes home informing you that your son is going to play two more sports...

when we were on our way to his first official t-ball practice, i remember he asked me this question: "mom, is my coach a good guy or a bad guy?"

it's the end of the world as i know it. and i feel fine. probably because he looks so cute swinging a club and a bat!

too cool for school

2008-04-17T10:11:00.001-06:00

a picnic, fat chalk, and sun

2008-04-16T16:08:00.002-06:00

if you had driven by beethoven ave early this afternoon you would have seen it for yourselves. a large quilted blanket, sippy cups, very-cheesy quesadillas, cheezits, sliced apples, and albertson's own chocolate chip cookies, all out on the front lawn. why not? who cares who sees us. it's our yard, right?

we sat. we ate. we "cheered" our quesadillas. and after our bellies were full, we went back inside and got out a new box of "fat chalk" and created masterpieces out on our walk and sidewalk. yup, some even got on us. even the new neighbors across the street came over to join in.

then it was just us again. and we sat back on the quilt, laying on our backs and made decisions about what the clouds above us looked most like.

it was time well spent and i am grateful that the weather gave me an excuse to add a little creativity to our otherwise predictable routine.

bravo, bravo

2008-04-15T23:30:00.000-06:00

i don't know what this says about me, but TRHW on bravo is some good tv. i got hooked on the ladies from orange county for the last two seasons and was very interested in what new york would come up with. at first, it was almost painful to watch. actually, the first half of the season was painful to watch. but then as time went on, it developed into something more. i'm still not sure what that is but it's more.

my favorite personalities are bethanny and jill. i love to watch their personal interviews during the show. they crack me up. bethanny actually reminds me of someone i went to college with. she was not this funny on the apprentice: martha stewart. she is hilarious.

alex and her husband have issues. ramona could of passed for kathy lee gifford's sister... you know the bi-polar one! the countess, we must not forget about her. geez. give me a break. it really would not surprise me if she was really a man in drag.

tonight was the finale. it was good. it had good drama. that's why they do these shows featuring women... cause if the cast consisted of men there'd be nothing for the editors to build a story around. leave it to women.

i hope bravo brings them back for another season. i'm interested now. good tv. goooood tv.

i'm just wondering when they'll do TRHW of les bois... we do exist ya' know!

hey, i thought i was mrs. idaho!

2008-04-14T10:44:00.004-06:00

i wanted to give a shout out to a friend of mine, mrs. angela boyle, for placing 3rd runner up in this weekend's mrs. idaho pageant. we are so proud of her. what an accomplishment. congrats angela!

this first picture is of the top 10. for those of you who don't know her, angela is on the right of the newly crowned mrs. idaho, mrs. meridian.

this picture is of the top 5. angela is to the far left.

i don't know about you, but i think all these women represent idaho well.

it's the most wonderful time of the year

2008-04-13T15:43:00.005-06:00

you wouldn't have caught me saying that a few years ago. i had had enough of my husband's "softball" career. lots of games, lots of traveling, lots of weekends/holidays at the baseball park and i was done with it all. last year he let it go for good. his priorities have changed quite a bit since our first 10 years of marriage. we have kids, he's got his ministry at church, we have our business endeavors. i love the changes.

but this weekend he joined up with his former teammates in one of the big local softball tournaments of the year. and i was okay with it. the biggest reason? the weather was amazing and i knew i could get the kids out to some of the games to take it all in. i love this time of year when i can go outside, sit on my front porch, rock in the rocker and enjoy the mornings or evenings. it's definitely therapeutic for me. so this weekend was the beginning, softball and all.

and so that's where we were. saturday and sunday. at the park. the kids played so well and mommy got some social time. bonus: they both took a 3 hour nap yesterday out of exhaustion.

welcome. home. spring.

for posterity

2008-04-11T22:40:00.001-06:00

i loved it the first time, but was blown away the second time. the fact the producers brought "shout to the Lord" out again was huge.

somebody in a high place is a believer.

cool

2008-04-11T09:04:00.001-06:00

thought i'd share. i saw this commercial while watching oprah on wednesday. for us involved in the business, this is cool. i told you it's not like any network marketing company you've seen before.

also, the same evening, i was listening to the radio and heard a radio advertisement for Jus as well. things are rolling. it's very exciting.

(thanks melissa for showing this youtube clip. i didn't know about it before seeing it on your blog.)

in the spirit of "giving back"

2008-04-10T21:45:00.005-06:00

i am writing this post as a "head's up" to anyone out there who may be looking for a good cause to get involved in. my brother's business partner, carl guouaux, is running a 10k race benefitting the fisher house foundation; a foundation which helps to provide wounded military hero's a "home away from home". in the last 12 months, he's completed three other races raising money for various military causes. his goal is to raise $1000 for this race, and he is currently at $150. let's make sure he gets to his goal.

so this is a call out to those who feel grateful for the freedoms we have and the security we take advantage of everyday; because of those on the front lines who are willing to sacrifice everything for what our country stands for.. those who have it in their hearts to contribute something back.

the process is easy. just click on the link below and you will see where to make your worthwhile donation . please, if you know of anyone who may be interested, it would be appreciated if you could direct them to this site as well.

it's not everyday that an opportunity presents itself to us where a small amount, from the comfort of our homes, can impact a hero and their family forever. you will be blessed as a result.

the fisher house foundation

tricks of the trade

2008-04-09T11:36:00.004-06:00

right now, my son is in the bathtub.... not to get clean (although i hear that's a side effect of baths) but to play. i do that. i put my kids in my big soaker tub, from time to time, just because i need a break (from "time to time" is an understatement). all us moms know that as kids get older, containment gets harder and harder. how else do you think i find the time to blog?

some years ago, before i had children, a girlfriend told me that she gives her kids popsicles in the bathtub. she said it's the best way for them to eat them (who cares about the mess) and it keeps them entertained for a bit.

now that i have my own little ones, i have adopted the same trick. popsicles in the tub. it's great when they are sick too, since their throats need that therapy. my little girl hasn't quite figured out how to keep it out of the warm water. so it shrinks pretty fast. oh well, practice makes perfect. i see lots more popsicles in her future.

today's flavor: cherry

so, i'm wondering. what's your trick of the trade? the best ones are the "tried and true" ones... so share the wealth!

proud owners of.... a nebulizer?

2008-04-08T08:47:00.003-06:00

as of yesterday, we have our very own nebulizer machine. we have officially joined the club of other parents facing childhood asthma.

early monday morning, around 3:30 am, you would have been able to find my husband at the emergency room with our daughter. she was struggling to breath and wheezing very loudly. poor thing. so they gave her some prednisone and a breathing treatment in order to get her heart rate down to normal and her oxygen levels up. they didn't get home until 8 am. two hours later, i had her at her pediatrician's office where they checked her oxygen levels and gave her another breathing treatment. her ped was surprised at how hard she was "pulling" to breath.

we left with a script for prednisone/5 days, albuterol, and a nebulizer (the script said "for life"), a follow-up appt. for wednesday morning, and another appointment next week for a complete allergy panel.

my husband has asthma. he's by no means moderate or severe, but he has it and he remembers all too well what it felt like as a child having to struggle to breath.

so our story continues... in this direction. i am just hoping we can uncover her triggers so we can control her allergies enough to control her "asthma" if, in fact, she that's what she has.

thankfully, she is doing better and back to running our household.

oh, man

2008-04-05T11:33:00.003-06:00

luke had a milestone. the other night he woke up crying for mommy and daddy. the first thing we were thinking was, "great, he wet the bed..."

my husband went on in to tend to him and i heard this:

"hey buddy, what's going on?"
"daddy, i crying."
"i know, i heard you."
"daddy, i had a bad dream."
"oh, you did? i'm sorry. what was your dream about?"
"it was about elmo and the big circle thing."
"oh, man. okay. well, do you want to come in our room?"
"yes, daddy, i scared. elmo scared me."
"alright, come on, climb in bed with mommy."

it made me sad. i'm sure he's had scary dreams before, but this was the first time he woke up crying with one.

i just told him it's okay, he's safe, and that i have bad dreams too. it was just a dream.

................

oh, man.

um, i'll have what their having.

2008-04-04T10:02:00.005-06:00

it's true. i'm often fixing my children simple things in fun shapes. sandwiches in triangles, apples sliced small without the peel, cheese in cubes, little bits of crackers, little bits of fruit with everything. waffles sliced into long strips, pancakes in small circles, etc. you know, the typical momma thing. what i've noticed is when i get finished fixing them their food, i find i'm going back to the kitchen to make one more plate for myself. just like them.

shapes make food look more appetizing. nothing beats a good 'ol triangle, circle or a cube. does a peanut butter and jelly sandwich really taste better cut into a shape? apparently.

that psychology works even on a 35 year old mom.

whatever

2008-04-03T19:12:00.005-06:00

so i'm officially going through the preschool process. who out there is jealous? i was talking with my neighbor last year, asking her what preschool she would recommend. she is a meridian elementary school teacher and has two small boys in preschool. she highly recommended the preschool pictured above. the greatest thing, besides the good teachers, is that it's close enough to home.

lucas was only 3 at the time and i "had the time" to sit on it some. not any more. now it's a race, a competition with every other parent out there wanting to get there kids in the coveted spots. "survival of the fittest" at it's best.

this is what i've been mulling over ever since i got the preschool handbook yesterday. on page 7 right after the table of contents, the message from the pastor, the mission statement, and the curriculum, there's the "is your child ready for preschool" page. then there's this list:

is your child able to:

1. work and play with other students of same age?
2. use the bathroom by themselves and are daytime toilet trained?
3. sit for short periods of time and attend to a task?
4. participate in discussions: one on one, small groups, and a large group?
5. listen to and follow simple instructions?

so here i sit. trying to figure out how creative i need to be with the word "sometimes". how do i explain to the registrar that if you stick to subjects pertaining to dinosaurs, cars, scooby doo, and veggie tales then you'll have his attention for 2 minutes followed by a brief discussion...then again, he might just run off.

as far as sitting for short periods of time, well, yeah, if the tv is on! (wait they don't watch tv in preschool, right? jk) and then there's the listening..... i'm not sure my son's ears have ever worked right since birth, so the "following simple instructions" challenge i experience daily might have something to do with his inability to hear anything. maybe they'll let that slide. mmmmm.

oh, and then there's the issue of it having to be his idea, you know to get him motivated, and his moodiness if he's hungry, and the growling thing.... geez, that wouldn't be smart to bring up.

from the looks of things, it seems that his one strength, based on this list, is his ability to use the bathroom. that's it!!! that's my m.o. i'll just blow smoke about everything else and over emphasize #2 (and #1 if you know what i mean.. ha, ha)

....................

i guess i got my work to do with him over the summer.

....................

then again, he's four. and he's a boy. nothing's kicked in yet.... and he is in the "sometimes" stage.

....................

whatever.

vera who?

2008-04-02T21:35:00.003-06:00

for those of you who don't know, my mother-in-law is in business with a lovely european girl who designs her own original wedding gowns. her name is daciana johnson and she is very talented. the name of the company is daci gowns and i have been one of the lucky girls selected to model her gowns at various shows and events; it's part of the perks of being the daughter-in-law. this past runway show that we did, back in october, i modeled this dress that daci designed for me. she lovingly named it "the presleigh" in honor of my baby girl.

if any of you are in the market for a beautifully designed, one of a kind dress, here is one stop you need to make. keep your eye out for her. we may be able to talk her into trying out for project runway here sooner than later.

fools rush in

2008-04-01T23:00:00.003-06:00

my mom calls today. she starts out by asking me, "guess what is going on?" naturally, i'm thinking the worst. i say, "mom, i don't know, what?" and she says, "sean just called. marielli's pregnant!" (marielli is my sister-in-law) i was relieved that it was great news.

then my brain waves kicked in. wa.. wa.. wait a minute. she just had a baby 9 months ago and that was #3 for them. i couldn't believe it. four? i say, "geez, she must be fertile-mertile!" (this after a long journey to get pregnant and having to use fertility drugs with the first two.) but i say, "well, if anyone can handle this surprise, it's them. they're great parents." she says, "yeah, they are trying to take it all in. it's pretty overwhelming." so we continue to talk about it for about 20 minutes or so---my mom was so excited.

later on that day, i called my sister to see if she had heard the good news. my mom had beat me to it. good news travels----fast.

later that evening, i come home to a message from my sister. sean pulled a fast one, in the form of an april fools.

we got played.

he called my mom and told her and she called my sister who called me. i guess my mom spent the rest of the evening calling everyone she had told earlier that day.

just wait, sean, payback is the name of my game.

my version of editing

2008-03-31T17:16:00.002-06:00

over the last week i have been on a mission. it all started with a jam-packed coat closet downstairs that was full with kids toys. last week i had had enough. i don't think my kids have tons and tons of toys, but since my living room doubles as their playroom (until we add on) i am constantly trying to find good hiding places for it all. but i was running out of room and patience. so it started with the toys. in the end i had 1 bag of things to discard and 3 bags of toys going to good will. now i can breathe.

it didn't stop there. i went through my closet (i tend to do that every six months or so anyway) and my drawers. i gave some things away but most went to good will.

then i went through the kid's clothes. getting ready for spring/summer. it was a good way to see what they were in need of.

last but not least, i just tackled my hall closet last night. i was in the full-on editing mode. i got rid of things i had been hanging onto for a rainy day. it felt so good. now i have room for my christmas decorations, wrapping materials, photos, must-keep yearbooks, files etc. those who know me, know that i don't hang on to things... but even i was surprised at how many trash bags i was able to fill.

now i am thinking of what next. maybe my pantry, maybe underneath the cabinets in my bathroom.

there are few things that feel better than organization. there are some, but they are few.

......

how do i celebrate all my hard work? i take the kids to target for a few hours and i didn't come home empty handed. i need stock in that place.

the lowe-down

2008-03-30T22:01:00.002-06:00

do any of you get excited to see this in the mail? i do. it's just a small magazine full of of fun and innovative ideas where they include the in's and out's of how to go about doing them. best part of all is it's free. if you don't already get one go to lowes creative ideas to subscribe.

oh karen you're so fine

2008-03-29T22:25:00.002-06:00

what a surprise. karen mcaloon's show "find your style" is a hit. at least with me. and it was so unexpected. the other show she hosts, design remix, on hgtv, doesn't do it for me. the worst part of all is the way her voice drones on and on.

"find your style" is really great. i don't think i have seen a bad room yet. i love her approach. i love the way she dresses, mostly in dresses. i love the editing. the show flows and holds my interest and it's very sophisticated.

i love tv designers like sarah richardson and candice olsen, but karen mcaloon is climbing on up there. who knew?

telling on myself

2008-03-28T16:56:00.002-06:00

i have been meaning to do this for some time now. tell on myself. yup. does this sound familiar to any of you: you are driving down the road right before dinner time without one thing sitting out on the counter, without any meal plan, without any of the right ingredients at home, and you desperately need to put a hot meal out on the table for your family... like right now?

this is what i do. i run into the supermarket. i go to the soup isle. i go specifically over to the condensed soup section. and i read the backs of all of them. all the condensed soups have a recipe right on the back label and when i don't know what to do, i often resort to cheating. many, many times my husband is floored by how good the chicken tastes and i often hear, "gosh, it's so moist, what did you do?"

i just smile and say, "oh, the chicken, yeah..... it's just something...food network.... i'd been planning for awhile....rachel ray...... felt like throwing it together..... glad you liked it."

i wish i was one of those women/moms that had her elaborate monthly meal plan put together and laminated. but, i am not. i try to have some idea by mid-morning, but at least two days a week i am shooting from the hip. i am also extremely into simple. 5 ingredients or less are my favorites. i am constantly buying cookbooks that have the word "easy" in the title. that's why i love campbell's condensed soup recipes. super easy. super tasty.

i am a firm believer in a warm meal on the table for my family. i also like those successful shortcuts that make me look like a miracle worker with the chicken breasts!

a date with the sand

2008-03-27T12:16:00.003-06:00

remember when i mentioned my husband got me a ticket down to florida? well, i failed to mention that he booked it around my baby girl's 2nd birthday. he had too many things to keep straight and forgot about her birthday in april. so i just got the ticket changed for the middle of may. that's when i was there last anyway and it was nice and warm.

nothing like a jump start on my summer. maybe i'll just sit on the beach in a chair and read. remember i am not bringing the kids so i can actually see myself doing this.

west palm beach, i'm on my way.

a peak

2008-03-23T21:59:00.000-06:00

here we all are. the one picture my girlfriend managed to get before my kids officially fell apart after church, after the easter egg hunt, just before their naps. i'll be posting more pictures of the kiddos and their easter baskets later. this one is for my family who reads my blog. i miss you.

i've graduated (back)

2008-03-21T23:45:00.004-06:00

for years i have been eating ice cream in a coffee mug.

the thought behind this: less ice cream.
my approach: to eat it slow so it seems like more.

well not anymore!

i've graduated. back.

to when i was a child and i ate as much as my mom would let me get away with....

except i am the mother now.

i am not guaranteed to see tomorrow. there is no time for silly rules.

even the unspoken ones.

he pulled it off

2008-03-14T16:17:00.004-06:00

my husband did. after all the hoopla of parties over the last few months, mine came in at the tail end. i was all partied out. in a previous post i mentioned how my husband kept asking me what i wanted for my 35th birthday. i don't know about you, but when someone asks me straight up what i want for christmas or my birthday i go blank. so after the cloud over my brain lifted you may remember i was able to focus and i blurted out," i would like a shopping spree, a week in florida, and these $500 cowboy boots i've had my eye on."

in good "jake-fashion" he laughed. the kind of laugh with the little voice in it that says,"c'mon hon, we're on a budget, just mention something you know i will get you."

so tuesday, march 4th, rolls around. my husband left early for the airport that morning. he had to go out of town on business for one night. it was a typical tuesday. i had my "tuesday" babysitter coming to watch the kiddos for 6 hours. and so i headed out to take advantage of my freedom. most tuesdays while i am out i call my mom and i call my sister. but this tuesday i couldn't get a hold of either one of them. when i called my folks' house, the machine said, "...until further notice....you can reach me at...." that had me worried. so i called my sister to see if she knew what was up with mom and dad. i never got her, but her husband answered and told me jen was out with the girls. i thought, "mmm....on a tuesday? she teaches 3rd graders. that's crazy." but what did i know. so i let it go.

i continued my attempt to reach my parents with no luck. i was really starting to worry. when jake called later that night, i told him i was worried because i couldn't get a hold of my mom. he shrugged it off and said to try tomorrow, that he was sure they were fine. about 3 am wednesday morning, i woke up with them on my mind. i couldn't get back to sleep. it didn't help that i had to be at the airport at 10 am that morning, with the kids, to pick up jake.

let's back up for a moment...earlier that day, tuesday, i had stopped over at my in-laws to catch up on my american idols which i had missed the week earlier and i wanted to be prepared for the evening ahead. my tivo has been freaking out and for some reason will not record my shows only children's programming. weird.

my mother in law was home and she mentioned that she wanted jake and i to meet them for breakfast after i picked him up from the airport. she said that some folks were coming in to town (they had lived here and then moved) and that they wanted to have breakfast with all of us while they were here. i said that would be fine. and then she asked me if it would be okay if they brought them over to see my house...this lady was redecorating her home and had heard she might be able to pick up some ideas from looking at my house. i looked at judi kind of weird because i was thinking, "i have to get my kids out of the door by 9:30 am and have my house picked up? do you know what you are asking?" but i said that was fine too, i'd love to help her out. (stick with me, it will all fit together pretty soon.)

so i get up. jump in the shower. get the kids up and dressed. i knew i didn't have to feed them because we were going to cracker barrel for breakfast. i ran around making beds and straightening things out. so by the time i had to leave, i didn't have much time for myself, so i piled my wet hair up on top of my head and headed out the door.

on my way to airport jake called saying he had made it in, i told him i was running a few minutes late. then my mother in law called just to make sure we were all meeting them. i told her "yes". then, my dad called. finally. i was so worried by then. he told me mom must have not been home and that he was on the road. that was that.

after picking up jake, we went to cracker barrel. we walked to the back of the restaurant and when i went around the corner....bam. my in-laws were there but so were my parents! you know that feeling...when things don't make sense...and you feel like everything is spinning around you....and you are replaying events from the past few days desperately trying to put the pieces together? yeah, that was how it was. i walked over as if to start yelling at them because of how worried i had been and at the same time i was elated to have them out here in boise for my birthday. just as i was processing the whole thing, a woman came around the corner with a cracker barrel apron on holding a pot of coffee and she asked if she could get anyone anymore coffee? it was my twin sister, jennifer! even my husband, who was behind flying my parents out, was caught off guard. see, after plans were made for my folks to come out, my dad had contacted my sister in north carolina and offered to fly her out (since it was her birthday too), something jake was unaware of.

let me tell you...he pulled it off. my husband and my dad, mom and sister really got me good. we had such a nice time together all cramped in my house, some on the floor and couch. the next day, march 6th, was our actual birthday. jen and i went out and grabbed lunch and then shopped till we dropped. without the kids! that in and of itself was a miracle. i can't remember the last time we had spent out birthday together let alone spent any time together without one of us having our kids with us. that nights we all went for japenese food. it was great.

on friday, march 7th, my husband had arranged a big birthday party for me. with the help from his mom and some friends, they really put together a nice function. after eating and visiting for a bit, jake called everyone in the great room and had me open my gifts. he waited to give me his till the very end. he got everyone's attention and proceeded to give quite the speech about how proud he was to have me as his wife and the mother of his children. at one point, i thought he was going to get down on one knee and re-propose.

then he gave me an album filled with letters from all of my family and friends who were invited to write what i meant to them. that was priceless. i still can't make it through cover to cover without tearing up.

as if that wasn't enough, he had me open one more present. it was a print out of an itinerary for a trip down to florida for 9 days next month. without the kids. remember a few days earlier when i blurted out what i wanted for my birthday? a week in florida was one of them. and i thought he had laughed it off...(btw, my best friend lives there.)

i had an amazing time. it was probably to best birthday ever for me. a few days before everyone had flown in, i was driving down the road and i was feeling a little homesick. i had felt like i wanted to get on a plane and go home to spend time with my parents. then at the same time i thought how nice it would be to go see jen and celebrate who we had become in the last 35 years. who knew i would get both. God knew.

i just wanted to say thankyou to everyone who played a part in making my birthday so special. even after writing all of this, i couldn't even begin to express what it has meant to me. i love you all very much.

pictures from lucas' birthday party

2008-03-14T16:11:00.011-06:00

lucas wanted a veggie tales party this year. notice in the pictures he is wearing a new larry boy t-shirt. it was fun. he had about 14 of his little friends there to help him celebrate. he was exhausted when it was all over. so was i.

redefining network marketing

2008-03-03T21:10:00.008-07:00

that's what this start-up is all about. jus international. we've been business owners since mid december and we've loved everything about the company. based here in boise, the ceo/president, jeff boyle, went to high school and played ball with my husband.

just over two years ago jeff and some of his brothers laid out the blueprints for a concept they had for a dynamic network marketing company. with much ingenuity and research they were recently able to see the concept turn into reality.

recently, we went to vegas, on the company, after meeting some goals. they picked us up in a limo, put us up in a huge suite for two nights, and wined and dined us. we were interviewed and had our pictures professionally taken for an upcoming spread. the weekend was first rate. after being apart of pharmaceutical sales for 7 years, i am pretty experienced on first class accommodations. this was every bit as nice.

that was at the beginning of february. we had a little over 40 people in our business. as of today, we have reached 100. that's huge. my husband has done all the work. but, this time, i've supported his efforts. he's pretty determined to build it big. we are excited about the company and the product (the most powerful antioxidant drink in the world).

while in vegas, jeff had mentioned that one of jus' goals was to redefine network marketing. everything they have done supports that idea. how they have approached the research and marketing has supported that idea. they are different. they are sleek and sexy and smart. the concept, the compensation, the intelligent approach. that is what attracted us the most. it was not typical. we had been involved, years ago, in another mlm. we hated it. we gave it a whirl for a year, and after 10 people in our business and a few $100 dollars richer, we walked away. we've been approached for years with various opportunities. nothing seemed to match up. some things looked pretty good--but we both didn't see a big business out of it.

we see it now.

there are big things happening here for us. big. hint: something about partnering with a legend. i can't mention any more. but i can say that we have been invited in on some big business opportunities that could change our lives. we are excited.

we didn't want to put our extra energies into something that was pretty good. we only wanted to be apart of something that was the best. we could do "the best". we could/can build something that has the market cornered. the company is solid. the financial backing is solid. the product is bar-none. in pharmaceutical sales we would call this a "blockbuster".

this is our go. it could be your "go" too. to find out more check out jus international.

now, you can't say i didn't tell you about it!

4 parties in 6 days

2008-03-01T22:38:00.003-07:00

the planning. the running across town. the cake baking. the wrapping. the reminder emails.

check. check. check. check. check.

4 birthday parties over the last 6 days. every year it's the same thing. as of 3pm this afternoon the sprint was over. all done. secretly, i'm thinking "well done".

maybe i can get a moment of r&r. sometime tomorrow. after church i can take a nap. one of those mommy naps.

-------

on a different note, same subject, my husband's been asking me what i would like for my birthday. i haven't even had the energy to think about that with all the focus being on everyone else lately. so the other night, he says, "you still haven't told me what you want yet." i had a sudden sense of clarity and inspiration. i turned to him and said, "okay. i would like a shopping spree, a week in florida, and $500 cowboy boots i've had my eye on for 6 months."

he laughed. i don't think it's gonna happen. just a hunch.

--------

i was putting my baby girl to bed. rocking her for a few minutes. music playing. making sure she was "cozy". i always sing to her. tonight, she sang with me. in her 22 month voice. she finished some of my lines for the first time, to the song i have been singing to her since birth. i giggled. i remember when lucas started doing the same thing. i just love this age.

today..

2008-02-28T23:50:00.004-07:00

..i needed this.

shopping with the kids. stop by mcdonald's. everything's fine. go to the park. very nice day outside. thought the kids needed fresh air and fun. so did mom.

son decided he didn't want to go poopie, even though his body was convulsing. spent 20 minutes, of play time, in the public restroom trying to convince him why he should go. nope.

big plans for a picnic at the park. not so much. i really needed a big fat "easy button" right around noon today.

i need a raise.

good morning lucas, today you turn 4.

2008-02-26T21:11:00.001-07:00

those were the first words i spoke to my son this morning. he has been asking since last october when he was going to turn four years old. the conversation has been ongoing for some time now. i was happy to finally "permit" the 4th year. i can remember when he turned one... there were only two babies his age at his party, all the rest were adults. things drastically change by four. by four they give you the invitation list. funny.

tonight was the first installment of two celebrations. we had those family members who live here in town over for cake and ice cream. the next party will be on saturday with 15 of his closest friends. an inflatable/rock climbing/kid play zone party. my plan is to run it out of him and then put him to bed for his nap. i think it will work. all you mommas whose kids will be there can thank me later.

i will share a few pictures from tonight.

red velvet cake. and it was good.

this was our present to him. a john deer "gator". my brother's oldest son has one just like it. over three years ago, we were out at their home in ohio. lucas was only 8 months, and i remember ayden, then almost three, was driving it all around his yard, backing it up and handling it like a pro. it cracked me up. right then i decided that my son would get one of those. yes, we waited until he was four. he wasn't ready until now and these things aren't cheap.

he told me tonight, that he would like me to sit in the other seat so he could take me on a date out on our sidewalk. $$$$ well spent.

time is sure flying. my baby is four. tee-ball and pre-school this year.

happy birthday, boogz, you are finally four. i. love. you. with my whole heart. this much.

35 and counting

2008-02-24T22:04:00.004-07:00

35. i remember when my dad turned 35. i was eleven. today my husband turned 35. i get my turn in 10 days. wow. what an age. my son probably won't remember his dad turning 35, he's only going on 4 (remember, two days from now.) we are for sure way behind my parents with the kid thing....

what a nice day. i made his coffee. fed his dog. made him breakfast before going to church. then after church i made his cake. told him to go and hit some golf balls while the kiddos were sleeping, and while i wrapped his presents. and tonight we celebrated with his family for what's become tradition, my mother in law's schnitzel birthday dinner. we all get to eat one when it's our birthday. everyone was there. crazy kids and all. we had a fabulous time.

the picture above was taken tonight. jake got this game from his mom and sister, something about having it when he was little. so of course, he pulled it out and played it with my son. they had quite a blast.

so here's to you, jake. 35 and counting. it's just now getting good.

happy birthday.

plans under way

2008-02-16T22:39:00.002-07:00

my oldest will soon be four years old. plans are under way for his birthday party. he knows what he wants this year and who he would like to invite. seems like yesterday i was gearing up to give birth to my little guy. what a sweet child i was blessed with.

this time of year things get crazy. it seems like everyone in the family has a birthday within a three month span.

december-anniversay, nephew's birthday, dad's birthday. january-mother-in-law's birthday. february-mom's birthday, husband's birthday, son's birthday, nephew's birthday. march-my birthday, sister's birthday, niece's birthday, other niece's birthday! see what i mean?

i'm still looking for a location to host the party. wish me luck. pictures will be coming.

happy, happy, joy, joy

2008-02-14T15:52:00.005-07:00

happy valentine's day. i realize i've been m.i.a. lately. honestly, i was stunned after the patriots' lost the superbowl and that alone was enough to steal my steam. i'm still getting over it. then my husband and i took a trip to las vegas without the kids. after some much needed r&r we are back up and running.

i thought i'd make up for lost time and share some funny things that happened within the last week. enjoy.

1. i made some homemade pizzas for a small get-together at my house. the first one fell as i was putting it in the oven. needless to say it looked like i had decided to cook the pizza on the oven door--somehow i managed to save it. as if that wasn't enough, the second pizza has a story too. as i was getting ready to combine the liquid ingredients (eggs, yeast, honey, oil, butter, milk) into the dry ingredients, the bowl slipped from my hands and crashed into the flour mixture spraying everywhere. it was worse than the first mess. 20 minutes before company was to arrive, still not showered, i was scrubbing the floor, walls, tile, appliances. somehow the pizzas turned out great. i don't get it.

2. while in the airport waiting to catch our flight, i had to use the bathroom. so i put my boarding pass in my back pocket and secured my purse on the hook in the stall. as i was finishing up with "things" i turned to flush the toilet and saw my boarding pass fall into the water.... what was a girl to do? i freaked out and reached in and grabbed the paper pass as the water was circling around and around. gross. i stepped out of the stall and took some papertowels and dried it off as best as i could. 15 minutes later i handed it to the boarding agent at the gate. sorry!

3. the second night my husband and i were in vegas, we decided to give the jetted bathtub a whirl. the tub was filling up fast with hot water (just the way i like it) and we had the jets going full steam ahead. we had to yell across at eachother in order to hear what the other was saying because the tub was huge and the jets were extremely loud. about 5 minutes into our soak, the jets seemed to die down for no apparent reason and my husband said to me, "i think you opened the drain." i looked at him like he was crazy. people, the drain was one of those screw types where it's pretty easy to get it locked into place, but it's really difficult to pull up. i thought, "whatever...my butt certainly couldn't of managed that!" so i ignore him, and continued on with what i was saying.

a few seconds later he stands up and as he does that, the water level drops and the jets started blowing, i'm sorry, pelting hot water directly at my face. meanwhile, he's attempting to figure out what the heck was going on when out of the blue two more started pelting me, four in all! it was like hot, flaming, fiery bullets. by this point i'm standing up screaming, and water is going everywhere. apparently, the drain had managed to lift up, the water had gone down just enough for the jets to begin sucking up the water. mirrors, floors, walls. it had turned into a waterpark. perfect. the way my week leading up to this had gone, i should not have been at all surprised.

...

tonight we have plans with the kids. a picnic on the floor in our living room. haven't exactly planned the menu yet, an erray of kid-friendly foods i'm sure. our entertainment? curious george ($10 at target). should be fun.

i hope you all have a great night planned with your loved ones as well.

sittin' pretty

2008-02-02T22:21:00.000-07:00

i may be the only patriots' fan here in idaho, but i'll be sittin' pretty watching them make history none the less. so, i raise my glass to all new england fans...tomorrow i'll be representin'!

happy super bowl.

quick to judge

2008-01-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

i was quick to judge. my husband left yesterday morning for portland. it had snowed the night before. i was up in my bedroom, making the bed and just generally picking up when i looked out my window and saw my new neighbor brushing off his car. a few minutes later, he was gone, leaving his wife's car under snow and his driveway still covered. i remembered thinking, "geez, the least he could do is shovel the snow off of his little driveway and clean off his wife's car. if my husband was home, that's what he'd be doing right now."

later that morning, i noticed my neighbor had returned and was shoveling his driveway along with his little girl. they looked like they were having fun. okay, so i was eating my words by that point.

as if that wasn't enough, a few hours later i was putting my children in my pathfinder that was parked in our garage because my son had swimming lessons. i pushed the button for the door to open and i saw the same neighbor and his daughter shoveling the sidewalk that wraps our yard. i pulled out and rolled down my car window to say "thank you" to my new neighbor for coming across the street and shoveling for me. at that point i was really feeling badly for my initial thought that he was lazy for not shoveling his driveway and clearing off his wife's car. niiiiccccceee. good going, beth.

it gets better. i came home a few hours later and noticed that my driveway was also completely shoveled. okay, okay, God i get it! i shouldn't have called that one so quickly.

so because i had the eat the same words three times yesterday, i thought blogging about it would be restitution enough. sure...put it out there for all to see... something like that.

lesson learned.

lickin' my day

2008-01-20T20:01:00.000-07:00

tag, your it

2008-01-19T19:47:00.000-07:00

i was tagged by happy hippie. i would encourage you to check out her blog if you haven't already. love her.

A-Available or single? 11 years married, with two little ones
B-Best Friends? my sister, kimberly, lori, steph
C-Cake or pie? i love pumpkin pie for breakfast with coffee
D-Drink of choice? water with a little flavor pouch punch
E-Essential item I use everyday? my macbook
F-Favorite colors? green is my favorite
G-Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms? i'd rather have swedish fish
H-Hometown? millbury, massachusetts
I-Indulgence? designer denim
J-January or February? february (my mom's, husband's, and son's birthdays)
K-Kids and names? lucas eric, presleigh rose
L-Life is incomplete without... Jesus Christ, family, memories, lessons learned
M-Marriage date? december 28, 1997
N-Number of siblings? 2, an older brother and a twin sister
O-Oranges or apples? apples, cut up with lime juice sprinkled on top
P-Phobias or fears? rodents period! i don't like the dark. i have nightlights in every room
Q-Favorite quote? most people are as happy as they make up their mind to be-abraham lincoln
R-Reason to smile? i have my freedom, i have my health, i have been blessed with family and friends who i love and who love me
S-Season? summer
T-Tag? whoever wants to come along for the ride
U-Unknown fact about me? i can't whistle
V-Vegetable that you don't like? eggplant
W-Worst habit? i tend to be too opinionated
Y-Your favorite food? nordstrom cafe's tuna salad sandwich, sushi, my dad's turkey dinner
Z-Zodiac? pisces

everything's better from up here!

2008-01-14T17:07:00.000-07:00

my little girl likes to climb. on everything. most days it wears me out just keeping up with her...and keeping her alive.

she likes to wear dish towels on her head. my son used to like to do the same thing at her age. i'm not sure what it is with dish towels, but everytime i put a new one out, it's gone. only to find it in the toy basket or under the couch later on.

kids. young energy. i could use some of that right about now.

the week's off to a great start. house is clean. i got the kids out to take the truck to get detailed--there's nothing like a clean rig. we are off to home-teams tonight.

and... tomorrow ms. paula will be here to take care of the kids for 6 hours. great start all right!

big year, big trip, big memories

2008-01-08T22:46:00.000-07:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

what matters most

2008-01-06T08:36:00.000-07:00

rest

2008-01-03T19:50:00.001-07:00

we are home. one day early due to forecasted weather in minneapolis. still we spent 12 days in new england--and what a blast it was (more on that later). for now, we are home. the picture above says it all. after all the excitement, pictures, parties, roadtrips, apple cider, presents, family, popcorn, mexican train, snow....lots of snow, sledding, great food, and planes.....we need rest.

oh and did i mention the patriot's perfect 16 and 0 season?

go pats!

good tidings

2007-12-25T20:32:00.000-07:00

we are here, home in new england with my folks. it's the eve of christmas day and i just got finished with some chocolate cookies and milk and we are watching "elf" on the usa network.

the kids have had quite the schedule over the last couple days. the trip out here would have been easy if my little girl would have slept at some point or maybe not screamed the whole way. it was one for the record books. but we are here.

northern massachusetts got dumped with lots of snow so the daily activities have included sledding down the huge hill on my folks property, building snow forts, and throwing snowballs. what seemed like a hefty investment in snow gear for the kids a month ago has seemingly paid off...even if it's taken up most of our suitcase space.

last night we traveled 100 miles to see family and celebrate christmas eve. lots of family to catch up with. some who have never met my children...my mom's side of the family is the Lucas side....hence my son's namesake. it was fun for him to make the connection.

this year my son's big request from santa was for a rudolph the red nose reindeer. for the last 6 weeks, everywhere i've been, i've kept my eyes open for one, with no luck. i was actually trying to prepare my son for the fact that santa may not be able to find a toy rudolf...since even mommy hasn't seen one.

on the way home last night around 10pm, christmas eve, my husband wanted to stop and get something to drink....so we drove up to the cvs in town before getting on 91 north to head back to my folks. as i was walking in, i had the thought that i should check and see if they had something that resembled rudolf since it would be my last chance. a few isles later...i thought i was going to pee my pants. geez, they had all the characters from the original rudolf movie...the classic!!!! so i bought two and floated on my cloud all the way out to the truck. i did it. i found him. who would have thought at the eleventh hour before christmas, at a convenient store, two thousand miles away from home, i'd find what was to be my son's favorite toy this christmas. it was a seriously priceless moment. for posterity, on the way home, i asked lucas again what he wanted santa to bring him and he said half asleep, "mommy, i want santa to bring me a rudolf."

we got the kids home and changed them into their new christmas themed pj's, set out cookies and milk with our note for santa, and put them into bed. jake and i had such fun wrapping and setting up christmas #2 (note: christmas #1 was celebrated before we left this year..traveling only with some choice things for christmas day, having learned from previous years, that it's not such a smart idea to try to travel with everything).

it was well worth it. the kids were so fun. they went crazy for the stockings and their RUDOLFS!!! my folks thoroughly enjoyed the energy children bring to christmas morning. we played, lounged, ate, napped, ate, played, ate....etc.

now i sit. my belly is full. my kids are in bed, happy and holding on to a new toy or two. i am grateful for the blessings in my life. i am grateful for the beauty of a morning like we had today. my happy, healthy kids; my happy, healthy parents; a happy, healthy husband...and me...happy, at peace, and proud....all together in one room. we are here.

i hope you all had similar moments this morning. i hope you were able to take that mental snapshot... valuing those who walk with you in life. we get moments, that's it. christmas is one of them.

merry christmas 2007.

a glimpse

2007-12-18T11:39:00.000-07:00

here's my oldest. this was his first time singing in an organized performance. keep in mind, by the time i got this on my camera it was his third church service and he was just about at the end of his attention span. we were very proud parents.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

my wish, for you....

2007-12-14T23:01:00.000-07:00

i had such a nice time last night, hanging out with my long lost friend from birth. she picked me up at the hotel around 4:30 pm and i got back in the room at 1 am. it was important for me to spend that time with such a special friend. it has been years, too many, since we've "bantered" back and forth. but spending time with kristin, seeing her in her environment and meeting her adorable little girls (and hubby), i remembered right away why i loved her so much.

today is her birthday. 33 years old.

so i wish you, krissy, a very happy birthday. i am so grateful for your willingness to go out of your way for me yesterday. i had a blast. i love your babies, i felt a strong connection to them immediately. from one mother to another, you are doing such a great job with them. from one woman to another, i've missed you.

friends for life. i came back in last night thinking that i wouldn't make the same mistake again. you were one of the good ones from my childhood and i let distance and time create a world between us. not again. life's too short. and you're too important.

happy 33rd birthday. my wish for you is.... that you felt the magic in your special day.