The O Show

May 13, 2011

2011-05-13T10:37:00.000-07:00

Another post of random information dotted intermittently with photos that may or may not have anything to do with what I'm writing about. I've decided to stop trying to come up with clever post titles for my randomness.

First off, hapy birthday to my wonderful mother-in-law!! We're having a badminton tournament tonight to celebrate her birthday, how fun is that? From what I hear she used to be a tennis superstar and we had to dumb it down to badminton so the rest of us could hang with her. I really am so thankful for my loving and supportive in-laws. We're blessed to have them!

• We’re closing in on the last week of school and I’ve got mixed feelings about it. We’ve decided that A will go back to school next year mostly for her younger sister’s sake (she kind of got lost in the shuffle this year) and there’s a small part of me that will miss being A’s teacher. I like watching her learn and I like learning a lot of this stuff myself (its seriously pathetic how much of the first grade curriculum was basically brand new information to me: some of the rules of phonics, “Ohhh! So that’s why we pronounce that that way!”, things we’ve learned in science: telling my husband, “I never realized that fruit comes from flowers!”, geography I’m just now figuring out, the list goes on! Who knows what I could learn in second grade!) I’m not all sad about it though, I’ve already got a list a mile long of projects I hope to get done around my house next year when I have my time back and I’m super excited about the one-on-one time Miss C and I will get that I think she has been seriously missing this year. Its just weird knowing this season is coming to an end already.

• I am cracking up at my baby boy lately. His little personality is blossoming and I love it and struggle with it all at once. He thinks he’s such a big boy already. The kid wants to play sports already. There was a free throw competition going on for like eight year old kids recently and L found a ball along the sidelines and was toddling out onto the court with it (someone was talking when he was on baby-duty and I won’t mention who) and got himself right up underneath that basket and you should have seen the look of determination on that little man’s face…he seriously thought he could get in on the action. Again last night we were at a park and there was a group of high schoolers playing volleyball and my boy threw a fit when I wouldn’t let him out there to show his stuff. You can be sure that his daddy is thrilled and can’t wait to see where this is headed.

• I’ve been reading “Forgotten God” by Francis Chan and its given me a lot to think about. It’s a book on the Holy Spirit and how we’ve kind of set him on the shelf in a lot of American Christianity. We don’t take Him up on the power He’s offered to unleash in and through us because we’re scared in many cases of abuses of that power. This book has hit home in a lot of ways. Its made me so much more aware of the fact that the Sprit of God dwells in me! How should my life look if that is true? One quick little story about this. I was driving home by myself about a month ago and was thinking about a wedding I was shooting that was coming up. For some reason I was super nervous about this particular wedding and I had really been wallowing in self-doubt about my photography abilities for a while. I was getting that frozen in insecurity feeling and was just dreading this wedding. I started praying about it and telling God how insecure I felt about all that I don’t understand about photography and how I just felt so ill-equipped to be asking other people for money for doing it. As I was praying, I felt God remind me of what I had been reading about the Holy Spirit and that the Holy Spirit could open my mind and help me understand things that in my humanity I might not be able to grasp myself. It was like He was saying, “Ask me for help to understand what you don’t know. Ask me to physically allow your brain to function beyond its normal capacity”. That sounds so funny now and I realize there are so many other capacities that I need help with brain function in. “Uh, God? Could you help my brain to stop farting? That would be great”. But it was like an "a-ha!" moment and I just felt this peace wash over me. And what is so cool is that He totally did. I felt like He guided me to some things that better helped me prepare for the wedding and reinforced a lot of things I already knew. The wedding was a couple of weeks ago and I feel like it went really well. It was a good lesson for me that I can take even the most mundane, seemingly trivial things to Him and He will walk me through them. Who knows what kind of power He will unleash in me if I will just seek Him and ask for it. God is so good!

• We’ve got this cool little courtyard space at our house that has been nothing but dirt and weeds for the past three years that we’ve lived here. We finally set aside a little bit of money from our taxes this year to do something about it and I’m getting so anxious to get it done. Especially before it turns into a blazing inferno here and we’ll have to wait another six months to actually be out there. We’re struggling with how to go about getting it done though. We got one estimate that was waaaaayyy over what we were thinking we could afford (they would do a really amazing job though) and another guy came out and looked at it and then just never called us back. The third guy we called we’re having a hard time getting a hold of to give us the quote as well. I’m seriously contemplating just doing it ourselves, especially after seeing John and Sherry tackle their patio themselves. They made it look do-able and their budget, while still being a lot more than we had anticipated just for the pavers, is a lot more realistic than the other quote we got. The only problem is Brian and I are not really the diy types. I like trying to tackle small projects myself but I’m afraid since there’s stuff like being accurate involved, this might be over our heads. I don’t know, we’ll see. I just want to get this show on the road already!

• Oh yeah, one final thing. I wanted to give an update on The Shred. I did the full 30 days and I don’t think I dropped a single pound. Might have something to do with the fact that I probably ate back every single calorie that I burned. BUT I did lose some inches and I feel more toned, especially in my shoulders and arms and maybe even in my waist so I feel good about that. Mostly I’m proud of myself for doing all 30 days—I did at least 5 days workouts every week, sometimes even 6 so I was happy with that. Now, I’m still doing 5 days a week and alternating between the Shred Level 3 video and two of her other videos that I can’t think of the names of at the moment. They’re both 40 minutes long and are circuits as well. They’re actually quite a bit harder than the Shred so I feel like I’m accomplishing a lot to be working out as much as I am right now. Now if only I could get my eating under control as well. I need an eating plan that is does not feel mentally like a diet. I hate feeling like I’m restricting myself because it makes me so focused on food and I just count down the days until I can eat what I want again. I need a brain shift—something that’s going to flip a switch mentally for me.

Camera (and brain) Dump

2011-04-11T11:32:00.002-07:00

Went to see Soul Surfer yesterday and loved it. The surfing scenes are beautiful and Bethany Hamilton's heart is amazing.

Now, I can't wait to see Jane Eyre. Its rare to have movies that I'm excited to go see but this is one of them. I just finished reading the book for the first time and loved it. I hope the movie lives up to the book.

The little man got a haircut recently. His hair had gotten out. of. control. I don't know why but it makes me sad to go and get his hair cut every time. I think because it keeps lightening up and it makes me sad to cut off all that dark hair. Here's a before picture I was glad to discover I had when I was getting all the photos off my camera last night:

And here he is, freshly shorn:

March Madness: Brian is so happy to have a little buddy to share his love of basketball with. Brian couldn't be happier than a puppy with two peeters (that's a Brian-ism, btw).

A's friend spent the night about a month ago and we let the girls watch a movie before bed. When I came back in the room about half an hour later, this is how I found the three of them. And I was prepared for hours of giggling and telling them repeatedly to go to sleep.

We took a much-needed family day trip up to Sedona a few weeks ago. Perfect weather+ windows down+awesome playlist=perfect day.

This photo just cracks me up. We had had grand plans of stopping for sandwiches and then finding a beautiful spot to have a picnic but we were so starving by the time we got into town that that plan got thrown out the window in favor of grabbing Subway and eating out of the back of the van. It was just as fun.

I started The Shred last week. Today was day six. I'm liking it so far. Its only twenty minutes a day which feels so do-able after the hour long workouts with P90x. I still like P90x, but was doing three times a week max (usually more like twice a week) and I needed something new to give me a kick in the pants again. We're really excited about a trip to the beach in July and I am bound and determined to get in shape before then. There's nothing worse than feeling disgusting in your own skin at the beach. I have no vain aspirations of having Jillian's body by July but even just to lose a couple of inches here and there and to tone up some would be great. I already feel so much better just from doing it a week. I'll let you know if I see any major improvements at the end of the thirty days.

I've done a little Spring cleaning/sprucing around the house lately. Sure feels good to get the house a little more organized and a little more us.

Added a few more frames to the gallery wall. I still need to get a couple more frames for the left side. Its hard to take a photo of it in our hallway, but I love all the color up on the wall.

Got a new Ikea shelf to get Brian's office more organized. With him working from home for his "real" job and trying to run a small business from our home on top of that, his office was getting out of control. We spent an entire weekend a couple of weeks ago, clearing it out and reorganizing it again. Its so nice in there again.

This is my little office nook off our master bedroom. I've been slowly trying to get this area more organized especially since we started homeschooling this year. I just bought that hanging organizer thingy on the left a couple of days ago. Found it at Goodwill and its already helped a ton. Its amazing what the simplest little things can do.

Speaking of homeschooling, April has been my month to plan activities for our little homeschooling group. Last week we had them all over for a cooking lesson. We made soft pretzels (you can get the top secret Auntie Ann's recipe here--they're sooo good!). It was so much fun to do this with all the kids. A little crazy, but fun!

And continuing on the homeschooling theme, I love to see Miss A becoming an avid little reader. She's just exploded with her reading abilities, I honestly can't believe how far she's come since the beginning of the year. I love to see her carrying books with her now and reading to herself.

Its gotten to the point I can pretty much sit back and eat bon-bons now--I've even got her teaching little sister.

And lastly, just a couple of cute photos.

L is growing up. He can ride his pony like a madman. And he tells me "no" (actually he says it "mmmooooo!" ) all the time. Its cute right now but I can tell we're edging in to the terrible-twos. Which makes me want to scream "MMMMOOOOOO!!!!".

And a spontaneous face-painting session done with paints that were not meant for that purpose which meant my kids looked like this for several days.

And its now been two hours of my life just trying to put this stupid post together. Why is it so hard to move photos around with blogger?? Maybe if I didn't try to put two months worth of photos into one post I wouldn't have these issues. :)

Some Things For You

2011-03-22T19:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, since I am unbelievably boring, let me direct you to a couple of things that aren't.

I've pointed this blog out to you before and a couple of you have thanked me for it. Here's a little gem of a post that made me laugh out loud.

Here's a funny video that will make you smile.

My dog totally does this, by the way. If only I'd thought to record it and slap it up on YouTube, me and my crazy dog'd probably be sittin' pretty about now.

Have you heard of the Christian rapper, Lecrae?

I'm not usually a rap fan, but Brian is and so I've learned to endure it over the past ten years. Recently someone introduced him to Lecrae and I gotta admit, I'm kinda hooked. My girls ask me to play this song every single time we get in the car. Its so cute to hear their little voices from the backseat attempt to hit every word. I love the message of this song.

Ok, I think that's about all I've got for now. I've got some kids to get in the bathtub so that I can then get them to bed. I'll be settling in to watch Parenthood tonight, have you watched it? I think tonight's episode is a re-run but that's ok since I just recently started watching. I think its my new favorite show.

4 Years Big

2011-03-11T23:22:00.000-07:00

We had a spontaneous photo shoot today. I had been meaning to take 4 year old photos of Miss C since her birthday a few weeks ago. Of course I thought 15 minutes before we were supposed to be leaving our house today would be an appropriate time. I just thought she looked so cute today (she picked out her outfit herself) and I knew we should take advantage of the good lighting. I'm lucky she's going through a camera-loving stage. She basically directed this entire photo shoot. :)

Doesn't she look so grown up?

We've Descended a Slippery Slope

2011-03-01T17:20:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I'm about to show you this but it gave me the best laugh this morning (and what's my pride if I can get a laugh?) Really I should probably be crying but I'm afraid I would enter a depression that might not lift if I allow myself to go there.

I present to you two people who have apparently made it their goal to leave their house as infrequently as humanly possible.

Brian started a new job last year that allows him to work from home most days and with me homeschooling this year we just seem to never leave. We even cancelled our gym membership last year when we bought the P90x dvds to start working out from home. A slippery slope, I tell ya.

I had been blinded to how low we've sunk until I walked in to Brian's office this morning took one look at him, then looked down at myself and was shocked at what I saw. What are we wearing? And do we even own a comb anymore? Brian's got a five o'clock shadow at ten o'clock in the morning and his hair looks like he stuck his finger in a light socket. I seriously could be mistaken for a bag lady and neither one of us could remember if we'd brushed our teeth this morning. The worst part is I haven't even left to go grocery shopping in so long my family has been surviving on fruit snacks. I am not exaggerating.

This was my wake up call. This can not continue. At least for the sake of our children. They deserve parents who bathe more than twice a week and use a toothbrush at least as often. In fact as soon as I hit publish I'm headed in to take a shower and put on a real pair of pants. We will make it out of the house today....at least to check the mail.

FOUR

2011-02-27T22:27:00.000-07:00

My little Bam-Bam turned four last week. Four! Look at this sweet little face.....you'd never guess she was a bam-bam with a face like that, would you...

We celebrated last Saturday with a snow party, Arizona style. First we started out with ice-blocking. This is something Brian and I grew up doing at church youth group events except you actually rode large blocks of ice down a grassy hill. A couple of years ago, Brian wanted to try to take our kids to do it but couldn't find a place that sold the large blocks. So he came up with the brilliant idea to throw several bags of ice down and ride a boogie-board down it (necessity is the mother of invention, right?). It worked great and my kids love to do it.

After that we made "snowmen" which meant several of the dads got to get wrapped in toilet paper.

Which of course quickly disintegrated into a big toilet paper fight.

Mostly Miss C seemed a little overwhelmed by all of the activity. This was her first friend birthday party and there were about fifteen kids who came.

I loved her reaction to all the kids singing to her. She just seemed so little and shy all of a sudden with all those kids around her. But I think she really loved it.

I just love this girl so much and am amazed at how much older she seems just in the last couple of weeks. Her face is thinning out so much and she looks so grown up. She is such a fun and spunky girl with a smile for everyone and I just can't imagine life without her.

Can You Still Feel the Love Tonight?

2011-02-15T13:21:00.000-07:00

Is it ok that I'm a little late talking about Valentine's Day? It was a really great day this year. I'm not usually the type who puts a whole lot of thought or effort into this holiday but a fit of craftiness came over me this year. (who knows, maybe its the homeschooling? You have to have a degree in crafting to be a good homeschooling mom right? Oh and wear a prairie skirt and a bun. I'm getting there, slowly but surely.)

The girls and I put together these cute valentines for them to pass out at our home school group's party on Friday. Its supposed to look like A is holding out the lolli-pop (an idea I copied from somewhere else on the Internet).

They were also supposed to bring mailboxes to hold their valentines and this is what they made. I tried to think of a fun way that they could do most of the work themselves and had them paper mache the oj containers with tissue paper--that wasn't the best idea. I think if I were going to do it again, I'd let them paint them. Then they added stick-on animal parts from a Martha Stewart craft we had left over from something else. (This was totally A's idea and I thought it was brilliant).

(I wish I had a photo from this next part but of course I forgot my camera)

Last minute yesterday I decided to participate in a Valentine's Vigil for Victims organized by the Expose Planned Parenthood coalition. They were calling upon people who have been outraged by the recently released Live Action videos exposing PP's lack of response to undercover sex-traffickers to show up and pray outside of local Planned Parenthood clinics. I had wavered on whether or not to participate since it meant I'd have to take my kids with me but in the end I'm so glad we did it. Brian ended up being able to meet us down there and it was such a powerful thing to participate in as a family. Basically we stood on the sidewalk outside the clinic and prayed and the girls were given signs from some of the other participants that said, "I Choose Life" that they carried back and forth. I struggled before we got there with how to explain to my girls what we were doing and ended up just saying that there are things that happen in our country that God calls sin and that we need to stand up for what is right and pray for the people that are choosing to do those things. A did ask me some more questions afterward which led to me sharing a little more about abortion specifically. I tried to be as truthful but discreet as I could be with her since she is still so young. Its such a fine line as a parent. I don't want to shield her completely from the injustices of this world--I don't want her living in this little idealistic, false reality, yet I recognize that she's still so innocent and I don't want to rob her of that either. I guess the only thing to do is to keep praying for wisdom and for God's protection of her heart and mind. All in all, it was a really powerful experience and something I definitely want us to keep participating in as a family.

On to a lighter note. We concluded our day of love with a romantic, candle-lit dinner....

for five.

We had a lot of fun preparing the meal all together (steak, mashed potatoes, salad and sparkling cider) and the girls loved that we pulled out my grandma's china and ate by candle light. It reminded me that we should use our good stuff more often. I've had those beautiful crystal candle holders since our wedding and I don't think I'd ever used them.

Oh, and my sweet honey had those beautiful roses delivered to me during the day yesterday. They're my favorites--pink, orange, and white.

It was a great day and I felt so thankful for such a wonderful family to love.

God is so Good!

2011-02-11T20:02:00.000-07:00

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;

make known his deeds among the peoples!

Sing to him, sing praises to him;

tell of all his wondrous works!

—Psalm 105:1-2

I've still been praying for Joanne and checking in frequently to see how she's doing. She had an amazing day today! Check it out here (her sister's blog).

Monkeybars

2011-02-11T15:27:00.002-07:00

I'm so thankful for my little Bam-Bam who provides endless blogging opportunities. She's got some amazing upper-body strength as witnessed in this video. And listen for her "ta-daa!" at the end.

*And special thanks to my sister and her cool do-it-all fancy phone for capturing this for me since I am basically still stuck in the dark ages with my circa 1999 takes-me-thirty-minutes-to-send-a-basic-text-much-less-shoot-a-video cell phone.

The Good Samaritan

2011-01-31T09:44:00.000-07:00

I asked Bam-Bam last night what she learned at Cubbies (AWANA program at our church) and she told me this story. Some of her theology gets a little dicey there toward the end...

Praying For Joanne

2011-01-22T17:36:00.000-07:00

I don't know Joanne, aka The Simple Wife, personally but hers was one of the very first blogs I started reading a couple of years ago. I went all the way back through her archives over the period of a couple of days and just couldn't get enough. Not because she lives any type of overly-glamorous life or anything but because I just fell in love with her outlook on life. She's a stay at home mom who I felt like I could relate to and who I felt like I could learn a lot from. She also wrote a book that really helped me called, "Living Simply".
Well, I haven't been reading as consistently lately was shocked to find out yesterday that Joanne had a major stroke about a week and a half ago and is fighting for her life now. She is only 38 and is such a healthy, vibrant woman. She's had a lot of complications and her family is praying for miracles.
I just keep praying for her whenever she comes to mind and wondering what God might be doing through all of this. She's got two daughters ages 12 and 8 I think who could really use our prayers too. Will you join me in lifting them all up?

Here's Joanne's blog if you're interested in keeping up with her husband's updates on her progress.

I Prayed For You Last Night

2011-01-21T08:32:00.000-07:00

I have no idea who reads this blog besides my family (who are legally required to read) and a few friends I've made out there in blogland along the way. But I notice that I get a few places that pop up fairly consistently on the feedjit thingy there on the side----------------------> and last night as I was falling asleep I started wondering who those places might represent. Is it someone I know or is it someone who, like me, just skipped around from blog to blog one day and ended up here not really sure now how they found me? Brian thinks its so weird that I keep up with people I don't know and that I know all these details about their lives and they have no idea that I even exist. I tell him its not any weirder than how he stays up reading about Steve Nash and talks to me about his divorce. I'm pretty sure Steve Nash has no idea my husband exists.
Anyway, as I was laying there pondering who those little specks on the map might represent I felt compelled to pray for whoever it is. So whoever you are in Niagara Falls, Ontario, I prayed for you. Prayed for God's blessing over your life. And you, in Fullerton, CA and even you in Florence, Toscana (is that Florence, Italy, btw?). I prayed over all of you.

Even if you are here to spam me. I prayed for you.

Funny Kids

2011-01-20T01:22:00.001-07:00

A recent close call with Miss A:

A: "Mommy, how do you think you get a baby to come to you?"

Me: "Uhhh......ummmm........uhhhhh, well....."

A: "I know! You could put out food in a trail so the baby will crawl to you!"

She was literally asking me how to get a baby to come to you.

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Brian's grandma just passed away before Christmas. She was such an awesome lady and I'm so glad my girls got to know her and will remember her. The night before the funeral Brian got up from the dinner table to go grab his speech that he was preparing and said something as he got up about Grandma Jo. Before he could leave the room, Miss C piped up.

"Dad. I've got bad news.........Grandma's dead."

She was really just trying to be helpful.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

And then there's this little boy. I found him like this the other day with the lid to the honey.

He walked all around the house like this for a good thirty minutes.

Playing Catch Up

2011-01-19T23:49:00.002-07:00

A quick re-cap:

Christmas was great. We had a great time up north with my family and were pleasantly surprised when it snowed one night since the forecast had predicted weather in the 60's. My poor kids, though. We just weren't prepared for the cold and A had to wear the extra jacket my mom brought since I hadn't packed enough warm clothes for her. One of the highlights of the trip for me (besides rockin' it in American Idol wii) was Christmas day when we had our own little church service there in the cabin. My sister played her flute with my dad on his guitar and my mom led us in some carols. Brian and the girls acted out their own crazy (and slightly sacrilegious) version of the Christmas story and my other sister shared some thoughts she'd prepared on the beauty of Christmas. The only sketchy part of the whole thing was the song my dad and I tried to throw together 20 minutes before. It was that really pretty song, "Winter Snow" by Audry Assad and I wanted to sing it. (If you've never heard of her, you should really check her out; I loooove her voice) Lets just say it sounded like we'd put about 20 minutes of time into practicing it. But it was in front of family so they were really nice about it. I loved that we spent that time worshipping together and I hope it'll be a tradition going forward.

Four days after Christmas, Brian and I celebrated our tenth(!) anniversary.

I gotta be honest. I didn't have real high expectations for our anniversary this year since the day before Brian was still asking me what I wanted to do to celebrate. Every year I get a little frustrated that we picked the day we did to get married since it falls right between Christmas and New Year's and can so easily get lost in the shuffle. But it turned out to be a really fun day together and I came to a new realization...I love that our anniversary is right at the end of the year and gives us an opportunity to reflect on the past year and get some focus on the year to come. Its kind of nice that it lines up with the new year and we're in that reflective/ goal-oriented mindset. We didn't do anything fancy this year but it was such a great day. We went rock climbing at an indoor gym, saw a great movie (The King's Speech), ate at one of my favorite restaurants (Pita Jungle) and had fun running around in the rain (it poured that day). It was a good reminder of how much fun we have together and I came to the end of the day loving my marriage and thankful once again for my wonderful husband.

A couple of days after our anniversary we had a fun family time using some money the kids got for Christmas. Brian had discovered that an outdoor ice skating rink had been set up in our downtown so we jumped at the opportunity to go ice skating in Phoenix and headed out. It was a great afternoon. Brian's parents came with us and were so kind to hang out with Mr. L while Brian and the girls and I skated.

New Years was very low key. We had plans to go to a friend's house New Years Eve night to celebrate but as it was getting to be time to leave I was feeling tired and pms-y (how's that for a word?) and asked Brian if he'd mind taking the kids and going without me. I was so happy he obliged and I got to lay around on the couch and watch tv until I fell asleep at 10:30. Pretty lame, but I'm such a loner sometimes and it was exactly what I felt like doing.

Now its already 2011 and even nearing the end of January at that. Crazy! We're back in to the middle of homeschooling and overall I'm really liking it. I like that we get to set our schedule for the day based on what works for us and I like that my girls are really becoming each other's best friends. I've even seen our family draw closer together through this. It definitely has its frustrating points too but its been a pleasant surprise that I've enjoyed it as much as I have. One major perk is that we all get to tag along on Brian's work trip to San Diego next week. We'll just bring some school work along and try to throw a couple of educational outings into it and call it good.

So I think that's it. I don't know what I've been putting this off for so long for. It was really pretty painless. :) I actually get intimidated by my blog when I haven't posted for so long since it feels so overwhelming trying to figure out how to get back on track. There's a new year's resolution for me--let go of my stupid perfectionism and just do what I can!

We'll see, won't we?

Christmas 2010

2011-01-07T12:40:00.000-07:00

A few pictures to appease my angry sisters. Be back with more later......

This is for you, Amanda.

2010-12-03T08:25:00.001-07:00

It dawned on me the other day that the last time you saw this little boy, he looked something like this:

Do you realize that was almost eight months ago?! I thought I should really prepare you for the shock you're in for when you see him in a couple of weeks (two and a half!).....

He's like a real BOY now.

But trust me, you'll still want to nibble on his feet. (Or maybe that's just me, I'm not sure.)

He throws real tantrums now.

And, this is his latest trick, that he's been practicing just to impress you...

And if he's feeling particularly cooperative, I can even get him to say, "ta-DAAA!"

And lastly, I really thought I should prepare you for how Brian and I have changed over the last few months as well. Brian's really been hitting the gym and I've finally lost all that stubborn baby weight (and got a couple of things, ahem, enhanced....

We all can't wait to see you!!!

Shameless Promotion Ahead

2010-11-18T16:23:00.002-07:00

Have you heard that bloggers can get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly? I read about it on another blog and wasted no time in signing myself up. Wow, its pretty generous of them.

It looks like they've got some really cute designs this year and their prices seem really reasonable.

I love the idea of sending out photo cards but have found that most of the cards in my budget (as in, I don't want to spend a fortune on something that most of the people who are going to receive them are going to toss after 2 weeks anyway) are really cheesy. So that's why I'm really excited about these. Totally affordable and not cheesy!

They also have the photo books which I have made a tradition of giving to our parents every year for Christmas (did I just ruin it for you, Mom and Linda?). I think I used Kodak Gallery last year but I'm thinking I might give Shutterfly a whirl this year. It looks like they've got some good deals going on and their program looks pretty easy to navigate.

Wow, and I just noticed their calendars too! This is the genius behind their 50 free cards promotion--now I'm seeing all this stuff I want for myself! Their calendars look really professional and it would be so great if I actually got myself a 2011 calendar before, say, March 2011. :)

So, if you're a blogger, get on it! 50 FREE cards....now I have no excuses!

K Family Photos

2010-11-14T23:08:00.000-07:00

Someday I'm gonna learn how to post photos so that the format looks nice. I hate that these are all over the place but I'm too impatient to figure it out. This is my friend Jaime and her family. Aren't they cute? I am so honored that they trusted me to come and take some family photos for them, especially since Jaime went to so much work to put together such awesome outfits for them all. When I saw how great they looked--and how they all coordinated--the pressure was on. We weren't here to mess around. I just wish I'd gotten some better ones of Miss A, the baby. She wasn't too thrilled I kept getting in her face. J, we'll have to try again with her.

Sugar Sugar......

2010-10-31T23:24:00.005-07:00

Anyone up for another fun-filled sugar fast? Last year for the three weeks between Halloween and Thanksgiving, about ten of us gave up sweets and it was such an accomplishment for me that I'm all geared up to do it again starting tomorrow, November 1st. (Which means I've been loading up the last couple of days (kind of like carb0-loading before a long-distance run is how I like to look at it.).)

Honestly the only thing that kept me on the straight and narrow last year was having that accountability, otherwise I probably would have caved within the first 48 hours. So I'm hoping that some of you will jump on the bandwagon again this year.....please? I promise the pumpkin pie will taste twice as good!

Who's with me?

What's Been Going On Around These Parts

2010-10-19T00:08:00.005-07:00

This is what ten minutes of rain warranted a couple of weeks ago.

It just seems to work out that all of C's friends are boys. She has no problem with this. Notice the look of uncertainty on his face and the look of wicked delight on hers.

Everybody got haircuts a couple of weeks ago. Both girls got bobs and C told me she looks like Ramona.

So much cuteness, I can hardly stand it.

First day of school. This looks idyllic. Our days are normally anything but idyllic.

Pre-haircut but not pre-cuteness.

Showing off her missing teeth. Since this photo she's lost one of her top teeth as well. One of her friends who's a little older was here today and she has her big teeth in already and it really freaked me out how much older it made her look. And on my side of the family we're known for big teeth (big teeth and big butts to be exact. Poor girl's in for her fair share of awkward years.)

I sent the girls out back the other day because they wouldn't stop fighting. When I finally went out to tell them they could come back in, this is how I found them.

Why play with one of the dozens of baby-dolls scattered around the house when you've got a real-life brother just begging to be crammed into your hot-pink doll stroller?

On Growth

2010-09-23T15:49:00.004-07:00

This is my sad bougainvillea vine. These plants basically grow like weeds here, yet I have managed to do this to mine.

Just for the record, this is what a happy bougainvillea looks like:

I have been feeling a little like my wilty friend above lately.

(cue cheesy analogy)

I got a couple of very nice comments on my last couple of posts complimenting me on being "such a wonderful mother". Oh, if only you knew how untrue that has been the last couple of weeks. I'm talking it has been ugly around here. I hate times like that where the ugly mommy-monster comes roaring out of me and I can't seem to exorcise her.

Anyway, it got me thinking. A friend and I were talking the other day, swapping horror stories from our weeks, and she was saying something like, "I can't believe I'm thirty and I'm still struggling with stuff like this. I think I liked myself better ten years ago". I can totally relate; it seems like the older I'm getting the less I've "got it together". I seem to lose my temper so easily these days and cry so much more often than I ever remember in the past. The Megan I remember was even-keeled and laughed easily. Not that I mean to draw some dramatically stark comparison between my life then and my life now as though it were all sunshine and roses then and nothing but gloom and doom now. But my response to my friend's statement was that this season of life--of full-time mothering, and stress over mortgages, and husbands who work too much--is kind of a sifting period for both of us and we're both just seeing a lot of junk surface in our own lives right now. Its easy to have your "stuff together" when there's not that much "stuff" to have together, if you know what I mean. When you can pick and choose when and how you want to be a servant rather than having it demanded from you whether you've got it in you or not. This is the time when I'm forced to see what I'm really made of and I've found in myself, I'm lacking.

Which brings me back to my sad little plant. My vine was shriveling up because of a lack of sunlight. I had it potted up near my front door and for awhile it was fine there. It was blooming nicely and looked beautiful. But over time it started to die because it needed more light than it was getting in that spot. It was literally pushing itself away from the trellis trying to reach the light. So after months of passing that ugly thing on my way in and out of the house, I finally got off my patoot the other day and transplanted it to a place that gets lots more direct light. I'm hoping I didn't wait too long and that it'll come back and be the beautiful creature God made it to be.....

I'm pretty sure you can see where I'm going with this....

I'm like that wilted vine except.....

I need more SONlight! :)

What I'm trying to say is that I don't want to simply wilt from the pressure, I want to grow through it and in order to do that I need more God-in-me than I have been getting lately. It is amazing what a different person I am when I am spending time with the Lord. Ten years ago, it was easy to kid myself into believing that I was a pretty good person on my own. I could make it look that way from the outside, anyway. These days, there's no denying it, I'm a mess without Him. So for that realization, I'm thankful for this harder season. And though I know I'll never "have it all together", I want to be like the blooming bougainvillea plant, radiantly displaying the majesty of God's work in my life.

(aaaaaand......end cheesy analogy)

Bedtime Routine

2010-09-09T14:07:00.005-07:00

Your head fits perfectly into the crook of my neck;

my right hand strokes your hair and my left supports your weight.

Those ever-lengthening limbs dangle all the way to my hips now.

I sway as I listen to the rhythmic little breaths broken intermittently

by the smacking sound of the thumb in your mouth.

Your free hand rests on my shoulder and I relish

the way you reach out to grab the hair that has fallen loose from my pony tail.

You have simultaneously grabbed my heart.

SIX

2010-08-31T22:42:00.007-07:00

I can't believe you're six (and 2 months....I meant to write this back in June....oops!).

Every year I feel like its a shock to my system when your birthday rolls around. How can I possibly have a six year old? If time only speeds up the older I get, I can't even imagine how fast its going to seem when I'm 80 if it feels like a blink of an eye now.

This was a big birthday for you. You got your ears pierced this year. I couldn't believe you were willing to do it since you scream like a banshee if I have to put drops in your ear when you're sick. But you sat right up on that stool and barely flinched when she squeezed the trigger. Since that day, I've overheard you trying to talk your sister into asking to get hers pierced and you tell her that it barely hurts. If only you had those nerves of steel when it came to getting your hair brushed.

You are a very complex little girl. A melancholy for sure. On the one hand I marvel at your maturity and your creativity; you are such a deep thinker. On the other hand, you like life to go a certain way and when it doesn't, well, lets just say that things can turn sour in a hurry. I asked you to let me take some six-year-old photos of you after your birthday and as long as I was letting you pose however you wanted (with a Barbie on your head for example) you were all smiles. But as soon as I tried to push you to do what I wanted you to do, this is what I got out of you....

Which is so funny because it immediately made me think of this photo of you when you were one...

Fortunately, I'm learning better how to handle you. Its only taken me six years to learn that rolling my eyes and demanding that you snap out of it doesn't do a whole lot. Once I got you talking about Barbies and giving me each of their life's story, I was finally able to talk you down off the ledge and we got this beautiful photo of you....

As much as I'd just love for you to be "easy" some days, when I really stop and think about it, I'm glad you're not. You are definitely NOT a people-pleaser and I like that about you. Not to mention how I'm being forced to grow and mature through the privilege of having you for a daughter.

This year we're experiencing the new adventure of homeschooling because God impressed on my heart that it might be exactly what our relationship needed. In just the last few weeks, I've developed a new facet of my love for you. Its such an honor to watch you learning and to be surprised by the things you already know. I'm so thankful I get this year with you and if it ends up only being this year of having you at home for school, I know I really will miss it.

I love you, my precious girl. I'm praying God's grace over your life, especially to cover my weaknesses in parenting you. Here's to you and all that you'll learn and become over the course of your sixth year.

Happy Birthday Babe!

2010-08-20T16:17:00.005-07:00

My husband is an old man of 33 today. He still looks pretty good for his age.

We're celebrating with a night in a nice hotel while my mom has the kids. (I guess I can make the sacrifice.... since its his birthday).

The only problem is how obvious it is that I do not get out much. I tried so hard to find something in my closet that didn't scream, "I'm a mom!" but no such luck. So I pulled on my lucky mom jeans and we're headed out. I'll probably be asleep by 9:00.

But back to the birthday boy....I'm so thankful for the awesome man that God has given me to share this life with. Its been a wild ride so far and there's no one else I can imagine spending it with. He is definitely my best friend. I love you, Honey! Now let's get out there and paint the town red! (does anyone even say that anymore?)

And Speaking of Insecurity....

2010-08-11T21:05:00.002-07:00

..... I just read this hilarious post. I honestly don't even know how I found this girl's blog but she makes me laugh almost every time I read one of her posts. Go read it!

Brandon and Tasia's Wedding

2010-08-10T16:34:00.010-07:00

Some photos from a wedding a few weeks ago. I've been procrastinating on going through these big time because I didn't feel one hundred percent confident about them. But now going through and editing them, I'm happy with them. Will I ever not be insecure? Something tells me no.

More Prayers Please UPDATED

2010-08-07T00:25:00.004-07:00

***Thanks so much for praying. My dad is home now, he was discharged yesterday morning. He'll have a few doctor's appointments and some blood work done this week but so far he seems to be doing so much better. Its been so amazing to see how many people love him and how many people have been willing to pray (many without even knowing him!). God is so good and I thank you so much for caring about us!****

My mom called me this afternoon from out of state to let me know that my dad (who is here in town) was headed to the ER and asked if I could go be with him. Two weeks ago he was diagnosed with a blood clot in his leg and has been on blood thinners since. He had called my mom earlier to let her know that he was just not feeling right and that he was taking himself in. It turns out that part of the clot broke off and made its way into his lung. They will keep him for a couple of days to monitor him and to try to get the dosing on the medication he needs to thin his blood correct.

I really felt so honored to get to be there to help my dad through a rough time today. With my mom not able to be there, I felt like I was able to be a real support to him and it was nice to be in that role. Hard, but nice. Hard because its not fun to see your big, strong dad laying in a hospital bed with anxiety written across his face. But nice because I felt like I was able to comfort him in just a small way in return for all the times he's been such a rock for me. And it was so neat to see how loved he is. He had visitors almost non-stop from the time I arrived until the time I left.

If you don't mind, will you just say a prayer for my dad? Will you pray that no more blood clots would be able to break off and that the doctors would be able to figure out the correct dosages on his medication? Better yet, would you pray for supernatural healing and that there would be absolutely no trace of any blood clots tomorrow when they check him? I'm especially praying that God would use this situation to reveal Himself in a new way to my dad and that my dad would be awed by how much God loves him. And also pray for my mom who is catching an early flight home tomorrow. I know she must be anxious to get here and feeling helpless so far away.

Thanks so much for your prayers. I really really appreciate it.

Changes

2010-08-05T11:01:00.002-07:00

Can you tell what I've been up to? I have to go back to return a couple of things and pick up a couple different things. Two trips to Ikea in two days with three kids. I must be nuts. Or really motivated.

I'm on a new kick and I'm really excited about it. We're gonna homeschool this year! I NEVER thought those words would be coming out of my mouth and that I'd be excited about it! God has done a complete 180 on my heart in a really short amount of time and now I'm scrambling to get everything ready. Hence the two trips to Ikea. I'll be back with more later....

Slip N Slide!

2010-08-01T22:55:00.007-07:00

Getting to sit and watch my kids have this much fun somehow makes the 200° weather bearable. Ok, I might be exaggerating slightly. But only slightly.

(A post with more than 2 words coming soon!)

The REAL Reason I Shop At Costco

2010-07-27T12:02:00.003-07:00

Will You Say a Prayer for My Boy? UPDATED

2010-07-21T16:53:00.004-07:00

My sweet baby has to have a little surgery tomorrow morning. Its nothing too major, but it will require him to be under general anesthesia for over an hour and according to the doctor, he's not gonna be a very happy camper when he wakes up. If you could just say a little prayer that everything would go smoothly and that the doctor would have wisdom, I would really appreciate it.

**Everything went great. Thanks so much for praying. Seriously, I know God was answering them. I was nervous about how he'd do since he couldn't nurse after 4:oo am and his procedure didn't start until 7:30 but he never "asked" once and was just a happy little guy the entire time we sat in the waiting room. I was also anticipating him screaming down the hall as they took him away from me but he didn't even make a peep (I probably would have cried if he had). He was a little grumpy when he came out but so far he's been a champ and now he's laying down for a good nap. I'm hoping to get one too since I've been up since 3:45. God is so so good and I thank you so much for caring about us.

Ok, I'm Not a Wreck Anymore

2010-07-20T21:01:00.006-07:00

I'm so sorry you've had to stare at that ridiculous picture the last month. My toe is finally healed (which means I'm finally back on track to getting ripped) and I'm no longer covered in red splotches. Thank You, Lord! It took something as ridiculous as fracturing my toe and breaking out in a rash to remind me, yet again, how thankful I am to have a body that functions normally (most of the time). I spend so much time being frustrated with the way my body looks that I often forget to marvel at how efficiently it works. Good reminder.

Anyway, I made a little pact with both my sisters that if either one of them would update their blogs, I'd finally get off my lazy patoot and update mine. And it appears one of my lovely sisters has taken me up on it. And since I have nothing astounding to tell you tonight anyway, I'll just use this post to direct you on over to her once-again awe-inspiring words. The girl can write! (The only thing I got on her is cute kids I can shamelessly flash photos of)

I'm Still a Wreck

2010-06-15T14:24:00.005-07:00

So did I tell you that my toe is broken? Yeah, I found that out when I had to go to urgent care last weekend after my toenail got infected (a week after I dropped the drawer on it). So now I get to wear this really lovely black, velcro shoe on my left foot for the next four weeks (six weeks altogether) and I'm not even supposed to take it off to sleep. Its like wearing a tennis shoe on one foot to bed. I've been trying to keep it hanging over the side of the bed while I sleep because it just grosses me out to think of what's lurking on the bottom of the shoe after wearing it all day.

And just to top it all off, I broke out in some kind of crazy red rash today. I'm obviously having an allergic reaction to something but I can't figure out to what. I don't know what I've done different lately other than I've been on antibiotic for my infected toenail, but the doctor's office is sure it wouldn't have been this delayed since I'm on my last dose of it today. Luckily I'm not itching anymore. This morning it was all I could do not to join the dog in the backyard rolling around in the dirt trying to scratch all the places that were itching.

My poor children. They've been asking me to take them swimming but I'm not supposed to get my toe wet (maybe the rash is from the lack of showering!) and now I refuse to leave the house until this rash clears up. This is making for a great summer vacation!

Cheerios!

2010-06-07T22:08:00.003-07:00

I love love love this stage. Those little pincer fingers, the concentration it takes to grab just the right one and then get it all the way into the mouth. He was a pro. Why does everything in me want to eat him up? That's just weird, but it really is how I feel. I just want to squish him and nibble on his chubby thighs and kiss those sweet cheeks. I even had to wake him up last night to get one more fix before I went to bed. Who does that? It really was selfish, he was sound asleep. I guess I'm already getting antsy about how fast he's growing and I'm trying so hard to hang on to all I can. I just love this boy so much.

We're a Wreck Around Here

2010-06-03T08:39:00.005-07:00

Its been a heck of a week over here. Poor A has had a raging ear infection that started Monday night. This is the second one this month. This one has been horrendous. She's been in so much pain and I've been reminded again of how thankful I am to have healthy kids. There is just nothing worse than the helpless feeling as a parent watching your child writhe in pain.

Oh, and also this week? I dropped a drawer on my big toe. This is why I don't believe in karma: I was getting some stuff together to donate to a yard sale for a family who is raising money to fund their international adoption and when I picked up this little desk to move it in to the van, the drawer slid out and landed squarely on my toe. The only things that kept me from screaming out various four letter words (which were playing exploding in my head) were my two little daughters standing there watching me. My toenail immediately turned black and my toe swelled up to twice its size. You know it hurt when I was willing to take a safety pin and hold a flame to it to sterilize it so that I could puncture my toe myself to release the blood and get the swelling to go down (that part actually didn't hurt, it just sounds disgusting).

Poor Brian. Our daughter has been literally screaming in pain every time the pain medications wear off and I haven't been able to do as much since I've been hobbling around on one foot. He's been so great and I am so thankful for how he helps and never complains about it.

Just for fun, I thought I'd draw you a little diagram of what things have looked like around here the past few nights. This is why I keep blogging. Because in the midst of the most frustrating circumstances my one consolation is "at least I can blog about this!".

Someone I Love VIII

2010-05-28T15:15:00.001-07:00

{I started writing this post almost a year ago.

Today's a good day to post it

because it is my sweet friend's birthday.}

This is my friend, Jaime. We've been friends since we were both newlyweds almost ten years ago. We didn't know each other at the time, but we both got married the same weekend at the same church .

A mutual friend "set us up" not long after that because she had a feeling we'd get along really well. She was right. I still remember the first time we hung out--I think we ate at Rubio's and then we talked for hours at Jaime's apartment. I instantly felt at ease with her and knew I wanted to get to know her better.

{sorry your head's hidden behind a balloon, jaime. this was the one i looked best in...i'm kidding. it was the only one not blurry}

Jaime is a one in a million kind of friend and I feel so thankful that I get to know her. Our friendship has been one crazy journey and has included everything from cleaning each other's disgusting houses to helping each other move to driving our husbands crazy with how much time we've spent on the phone.

I got to be at her first birth which was such an honor. I was still breastfeeding A at the time and we laugh now about how I had to leave at one of the most intense moments to go pump. It was so amazing that she trusted me enough to walk through that with her and its a precious memory that I got to be there when her daughter came into the world.

When I went through a miscarriage, Jaime was the first person I called and she couldn't have been a better friend to me through that whole experience. I remember when we got home from the hospital she showed up with dinner and brought me a little keepsake she had made to honor our baby.

Our friendship these days is pretty much limited to the phone since we live almost an hour apart and we're both at a stage where nap times severely limit our social lives. Sometimes our phone conversations are little more than laughing at the ridiculous things we hear come out of each other's mouths. Things like, "Get off the stove!" and "WHY did you pee all over your sister?!". I know there will come a day when we'll be able to see each other more consistently again and actually fit in an entire conversation, but for now I'm thankful we can have our middle of the day phone fests.

{The above photo was taken last week when my sweet mom and Jaime's mother-in-law volunteered to meet at Chick-Fil-A to watch all our kids while Jaime and I went to lunch. It was basically the first time we'd seen each other in almost a year. Thanks again, Mom!}

If I had to try to describe Jaime to you I would say that she is spiritual, compassionate, intuitive, and hilarious. She's the type of person who's willing to do whatever she feels like God might ask her to do no matter how intimidated she might feel doing it. For example she has gotten to know several of the employees of her grocery store by name and felt led to do something for them recently. She anonymously dropped off little gifts for them which included a note about what God has done in her life and how He loves each of them. She blows me away with her love for people. I could go on and on with stories of how she has reached out to people and even gotten burned by it on a few occasions but that has never stopped her from reaching out again and again.

Jaime is such a special person and it is a privilege to call her my friend.

In Case You Care

2010-05-24T14:24:00.007-07:00

One of my favorite things about reading blogs is when I get to peek into other people's houses. (that sounded really creepy, didn't it...) I love seeing how other people decorate their homes and thought I'd give you a tour around our house. I'll do a room or two at a time and hopefully this'll be just the motivation I need to get some projects done around here.

We'll start today with ~~the only clean room in the house~~ baby L's room:

This used to be C's room and right before we found out L was coming along and booted her out I had done a little project for above the crib (which she promptly destroyed, by the way). Since I hadn't done much to create a nursery for C, there wasn't a lot involved in changing it up to become a boy's room. I just painted that one wall brown and my very generous mother-in-law bought us a cute bedding set.

I had asked my dad who is a super talented artist to create some art for above the crib way back before L was born but I have since given up on ever seeing it completed (love ya, Dad!) and put this pennant up instead. I've seen this idea in other nurseries around the web and thought it would be a quick and easy way to get some color on that wall.

I got the big "L" at Jo-Anne's and want to do something to spiff it up but am not quite sure what to do with it yet. That dresser is honestly one of the only brand new pieces of furniture we have bought in our marriage. The crib and rocking chair in this room were hand-me-downs as were so many other pieces of furniture in our home.

I bought the alphabet print in the back from a seller on Etsy and want to frame it properly but for now I'm just happy its up in the room.

So that's the start of the tour. I'll try to get to cleaning and pretty-ing up the rest of the house so that the tour doesn't come to a dead stop here.

(but don't hold your breath)

Good Karma, Bad Karma

2010-05-20T20:05:00.002-07:00

{I don't really believe in karma, but let's just say I do for the sake of this post}

Good karma: I stopped by the grocery store today to grab a few ingredients so that I could make dinner for a friend who hasn't been feeling well. While I was standing in line, a teenage boy slipped past me to bring his mom some eggs she'd forgotten to grab. Seeing the eggs reminded me that we were out and I said something about it out loud. The boy turned around and noticing me with my three kids offered to run back and grab me a carton too. I was so impressed. It seems you're lucky if you get more than a grunt out of most adolescents these days.

Bad karma: Brian just did to me what I used to do to my sisters all the time growing up--- have a sudden, unavoidable need to use the bathroom (and not come out for twenty minutes) when its time to do the dishes.

Anybody Else See It?

2010-05-19T08:55:00.004-07:00

Obviously I think my son is the most handsome baby boy on the planet, but every once in awhile when his hair is especially crazy and he makes this face he reminds me of a certain someone.....

Maybe this will help you out. "Fat guy in a little coat".

We're Gonna Be RIPPED!

2010-05-14T23:23:00.011-07:00

Apparently my husband can't be trusted to stay up late and watch tv alone.

No, its not those channels I'm worried about. Get your mind out of the gutter!

Imagine my surprise when the UPS man showed up at my door the other day bearing a box with the return address labeled "Beach Body" and my husband's name listed as the addressee. Confused and definitely curious I brought it in and held out before him waiting for an explanation. Grinning a little sheepishly he admitted that he'd ordered P90X late one night after seeing the amazing results that could be his after only ninety days of following this miracle program on their infomercial.

He tells me, "Its gonna be so great, Babe! We'll do it together and get ripped!".

Now he's speaking my language--that's just what I had in mind when I told him I'd love it if we could spend more time together.

And getting ripped is definitely at the top of my priority list.

The chin-up bar arrived today. This just keeps getting better and better.

I'm really just trying not to think of the dripping sweat and the dirty tennis shoes all over the living room carpet.

Oh and tonight Brian pointed out the cherry on top...

"Now we can cancel our gym membership and order cable so we can watch the NBA finals!"

Just what we need....more channels offering us endless midnight shopping opportunities!

A Privilege

2010-05-10T08:17:00.005-07:00

I meant to post this yesterday but Mother's Day truly became Mother's Day when my husband had the audacity to wake up with the stomach flu yesterday morning. I was already scheduled to pick my parents up from the airport, so the kids and I escaped to their house for the day which ended up being really nice. My mom and I cracked up at one point when we realized we were in the kitchen cooking and my dad had announced he was going to go in and take a bath and read a book. It was like all of a sudden it dawned on us, "hey, what's wrong with this picture?!". But it was fine. We had a good time together.

Mother's Day this year has made me pause and reflect on what a privilege it really is to be a mom. I lamented to a friend the other night that I never really accomplished anything before becoming a mother since I got started so young. She and another friend who was present for the conversation consoled me by saying that I'll have plenty of time for great accomplishments when my kids are grown since I'll be so young as an empty-nester. While their words were comforting, it dawned on me a day later as I was thinking about our conversation that this role of motherhood is it. Though it rarely feels like it, it is a high calling and if I will be intentional about it, it can be my life's great accomplishment. As I step back from the daily-ness of it and see it in a broader perspective, I am humbled and honored that I get to shape and influence these little people's lives. I want to embrace it now and not have any regrets later.

And now I am off to start the day which will entail finding an elusive pair of panties for a certain bare-bottomed girl running around the house, getting a little man some breakfast, and scrubbing down the bathroom hoping the rest of us don't get the stomach bug. Ahhh yes, it's not always glamorous, but it certainly is a privilege.

Happy Birthday Mi Hermana Pequeña!

2010-05-05T11:30:00.005-07:00

Happy quarter-of-a-century birthday! I still don't really think you're an adult yet. I'm barely an adult, so you can't be.

I hope you know how glad I am that we're sisters. I think Jess and I are finally ready to admit that you're the funniest of the three of us. BUT we'd like to make sure that we receive proper credit for your sense of humor. I couldn't be more proud of how you are pursuing your dreams right now. Can't wait to see where God's gonna take you.

I hope you have a really really great day and that no one yells at you at Starbucks today. And we'll eat some Mexican food in honor of you tonight.

Just Needed to Remind Myself

2010-05-02T01:53:00.004-07:00

Being a Christian isn't that one decision I made that one time more than twenty years ago. Yeah, that was definitely a starting point. But that's not it. Being a Christian means following Jesus in the now, the everyday.

Like right now when what I'm feeling doesn't match up with what I know God commands.
When feelings are saying screw it, this isn't worth it.

Instead I choose to trust. I can't see it but I know He does. And He's good and He's faithful and He has my best at heart. This is just a little detour through the wilderness but He knew it was coming and He hasn't left me here.

This is where my faith takes on flesh.

Snuggleuffagus

2010-04-29T14:01:00.005-07:00

At eight months, Mr. L is going through a bit of a "mommy phase". And being that he is the third, and there's a good chance the last, I'm indulging it. My husband would like me to believe its also because he's my boy and I'm turning him into a mama's boy. Oh well, I'm picking up some invaluable skills; like how to apply my makeup left-handed (the mascara was a little tricky) or how to get dinner going with another human being attached to my hip. Let's be honest, I love having my little friend alongside me as I'm unloading the dishwasher or vacuuming the floor. Those sweet baby-blues make any task more bearable.....

........and I know from experience that mama's boys really do make pretty good husbands.

Broken Cisterns

2010-04-27T16:15:00.000-07:00

{I have been muddling through these thoughts for a good 2 weeks now. I have tried and tried to put into words what I feel the Lord has been saying to me and have several times considered just giving up and throwing a couple more cute pictures of my kids up instead. This is the best I could get it out but know I am still processing through this stuff.}

Jeremiah 2:13

My people have sinned:

They have forsaken Me,
the spring of living water,

and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

What a contrast. An ancient cistern was a man-made reservoir, carved out of the ground meant to catch rain for drinking water. The water would sit and become stagnant if the cistern was able to hold the water at all. Many times a crack would develop in the limestone causing all the water to seep out. Compare that to a spring of fresh clean water bubbling up from the ground.

I recently read an interview at Christianity Today with Jennifer Knapp, a favorite Christian artist of mine from high school, and was so sad to find out that she has been living in a same-sex relationship for the past eight years. I went back to some of her old music after reading the article and could really sense her struggle back then in her lyrics. She seemed to really be wrestling with herself in a lot of her songs. Now it seems she's gotten tired of the struggle and has decided to just give in.

I don't want to be one to cast stones, and I don't mention her story here for that reason. I mention it because I could see clearly in her thinking what I don't always see in my own. And that is the misguided belief that since God recognizes our tendancy to build our own cisterns He is ok with it. My cisterns are not the same as hers but I have dug them just the same. For me they are pride and insecurity, gluttony, and people-pleasing. They are filled with the stagnant water that I keep drawing from. Like her, I have thirsted for the living water but have wanted to have my own stores built up in my man-made cisterns on the side. The thing is, God calls that sin. He is not ok with it.

I sense God reminding me through the verse in Jeremiah that He didn't stop at offering me salvation. There is so much comfort in knowing that He empathizes with my frailty that sometimes I think He's just sitting there alongside me as I have my pity-party about how weak I am. Does anyone relate to that? I cried the first time I heard Psalm 103:14 which says, "for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust" because it was such a comfort. But He didn't just pull me out of the pit, He gave me a firm place to stand.

Psalm 40:2
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

He understands my tendancy to run back to my broken cisterns but He calls it a sin. He says it pretty bluntly in Proverbs:

Proverbs 26:11 As a dog returns to its vomit,
so a fool repeats his folly..

And when I see them for what they really are I am disgusted by them too. They are not so appealing anymore. I begin to thirst for the real thing, the only thing that will satisfy.

Psalm 36: 8b-9a
You give them drink from your river of delights.

For with you is the fountain of life.

Revelation 22:17b

Whoever is thirsty, let him come;

and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift
of the water of life.

Oops

2010-04-27T08:13:00.002-07:00

If any of you use a feed, you might have seen a new post from me. I don't know how I accidentally hit "publish" but its not done yet. I'm still working on it and hope to get the real one finished later today.

Carry on.

The Hot List

2010-04-15T21:36:00.009-07:00

Ok, so the things on my list might not make it into Oprah's next big "favorite things" giveaway episode but here's the rundown on just a few of the things this suburban house-wife deems "must-have":

1. Canned black beans. I buy these by the case. They're so great to have on hand when I have no idea what's for dinner. My stand-by dinner is black beans and rice and luckily my kids love it. We had it tonight, as a matter of fact.

2. The new knife set I got for Christmas. In nine years of marriage, I'd never bought real knives and I finally asked for a set for Christmas. Now I don't know how I lived without a good set of knives--I like to pretend like I'm on a cooking show while I'm making dinner since now I can slice and dice with the best of 'em.

3. Our Honda Odyssey. I (like most other naive, pre-kid people) swore I'd never own a mini-van. Now I embrace it. Its so great to have those sliding doors and to be able to configure the seats so many different ways. There are so many cup-holders and fun little extras (like bun-warmers and a dvd player).

4. Kirkland dried blueberries. My kids LOVE these and I love what a great, easy to take snack they are.

5. The Twisty-Turbie. Try not to be too jealous if you don't already have one of these. This is something I would have made fun of someone else for owning until my mom gave me one she got and didn't want a couple of months ago. I love it. It's so lightweight and it doesn't come unwrapped a million times while I'm trying to get dressed and put on my make-up like a towel wrapped around my head used to. The best part is my husband thinks I look super sexy when I wear it.

6. Mineral veil. I seriously love this stuff. I've gotten a few compliments on my skin since I started using it and I'm always looking over my shoulder like, "who me?" when it happens because I really don't have nice skin. It's all in the power of this make-up.

7. Chai tea concentrate. You just add milk and either heat it up or pour it over ice. Just finished a glass of this. So, so good.

8. Bissell Little Green machine. I'm one of those suckers who will buy just about any doo-dad if you tell me it'll make my house cleaning easier. I bought this thing at Costco a few months back and I really do use it quite frequently. Its a portable steam cleaner that you can use on carpet and upholstery. I use it on all the little spots that end up all over the carpet and its so gratifying to be able to dump all that dirty, nasty water out of the receptacle when I'm done. I've used it on the floors and seats of my car too and it worked great.

So that's my list. You can see what a glamorous life I lead. What about you? What makes it on your must-have list?

An Unfortunate Milestone

2010-04-12T23:59:00.002-07:00

Gone are the days of the innocent, buttered-popcorn-scented newborn diapers for this guy. No more tossing dirty diapers in the kitchen trash.

Now its hold your nose and run those bombs outside as quick as possible.

Ahh yes, the days of solid foods are here.

THREE

2010-04-10T15:18:00.018-07:00

Your favorite word right now is "poopy".

You're a little speed demon on that bike.

Your day hasn't started until you've gotten into a ballgown.

You then proceed to change your clothes about five more times throughout the day.

You're L's second mommy.

You are pretty much obsessed with babies and dogs. Our poor dog now runs with her tail tucked between her legs when she sees you coming.

You've started to earn your fair share of time-outs.

You told me yesterday that the glass of milk I gave you wasn't "tasty".

Where do you learn these words?

You could probably get away with murder when you're wearing pigtails.

You keep me on my toes. Its scary to think of what you might be doing when no one is looking. The other day you came to tell me that you'd just pooped in the sink.

The nickname Daddy gave you couldn't be more appropriate: BamBam. Let's just say gentleness isn't one of your finest qualities.

Our family would be so boring without you.

Where Did the Last Month Go?

2010-04-01T22:32:00.002-07:00

How is it already April???? I didn't really mean to stop blogging for so long; it just seems to be what I do every once in a while. Then the longer I go without blogging, the harder it is to start again. Its a vicious cycle.

I still want to do a post of the photos from C's birthday. She's three and she's starting to become the hard child. She loves to push buttons (I meant that figuratively, but actually now that I think about it, I was all over her to stop trying to push buttons on things at the Dr.'s office today too).

I also need to do a post on the great trip my man and I got to take this past weekend.....except it wasn't my "big man" and I, it was my little man who accompanied me. We, along with my mom, got to go on our first adventure to the Midwest to visit my sister and my aunt. It was a great time and I'm still recovering.

I also want to share all that God has been working in me lately. He's so good and so faithful and I want to boast in Him but sometimes putting the words together just feels like too much. I'll work on that.

Easter's only 3 days away and there's so much I want to do to prepare for it. A couple of cute Martha-crafts I want to try with my girls and I really want to sit down and watch The Passion of the Christ at some point and be reminded. I kind of feel like I have to gear myself up emotionally to watch it.

So those are the things I want to get back to and get this blog resuscitated. I really have been missing it though I've been avoiding it like the plague.

Things to Remember: Feb 2010

2010-02-27T00:03:00.011-07:00

1. A conversation with Miss A the other day that went something like this:
A: "Mom, I know what starts with the letter T...
Me: "Really? What?"
A: "Testicle!"
Me: "What the heck are they teaching in kindergarten these days?!" (Seriously, I have no idea where she even heard that word!)

2. Friday night co-op at our house recently (we rotate babysitting with three other couples every Friday night): we didn't have our kitchen table back yet so we improvised....

3. The beautiful roses my sweet husband brought me home 3 days before Valentine's. I think he thought he'd score extra points for being early (which he did, because then he brought home a single yellow rose the day of).

4. Brian doing a puzzle with the girls before bed. A got this puzzle of the US map for Christmas and honestly, I couldn't put it together without looking at the picture on the box.

5. This little boy turned SIX months old already! I can't believe how time has flown by!

Oh, how I love those cankles!

I realized today that this poor boy is never going to learn how to sit up or crawl because I can't leave him on the floor for two minutes without the worry that his sisters might smother him (in love of course!).

6. Documented the special surprises my kids leave for me to find....do your kids do this?

Hmmmm, why is this laundry hamper sitting here?

And why is this box inside?

Lets pull it out and see what's in it....

Oh yay! Random crap!

Oh, and look another box just sitting over here.....

With MORE random crap inside! Oh goody! (I've learned if we're ever missing something important to immediately begin looking inside any and every bag/box/purse strewn about the house.)

7. And to top it off, this one's going through an interesting phase.....

Yes, those are pants.....on her head.

We've even been out in public like this before. Oh well, at least now nobody's noticing that I'm in the same nasty sweat pants I worked out in two days ago.

8. We also celebrated her birthday a few days ago (its gonna have to be its own post. I've got a million photos of that too)

9. And now, I'll just leave you to ponder this....

Go Read What Darby Wrote....

2010-02-17T09:40:00.000-07:00

...right here.

Finally My Age Matches My Status In Life

2010-02-12T09:31:00.007-07:00

Guess who turned the BIG 3-0 last weekend?

I was ready; it was time. As I've told several people who've asked how I've been feeling about reaching this momentous milestone recently, basically I've been thirty for like the past five years. I've been married for nine years now, I have three kids, and I drive a mini-van..... yeah, its about time.

I had a great birthday weekend. Brian and my mom planned a surprise weekend in San Diego to celebrate mine and my dad's birthday (a momentous one for him too--60!!). Neither my dad nor I had any idea what was going on and my mom's nose should be about a foot long now with all the lies she told to keep the secret. The biggest part of the surprise was going to the airport in San Diego to pick up my sister who flew in from Indiana for a quick turnaround trip to help us celebrate. My other sister, Jess, lives in L.A. and was also able to come down and meet up with us which just made the whole weekend great. The only downside of the whole thing was how fast it flew by. I have to give HUGE and MAJOR thanks to my saintly in-laws who kept the girls for the weekend so that we could go (and I'm pretty sure the weekend didn't fly by for them). The baby came with us and was such a trooper, I don't think he fussed for more than ten minutes on the whole trip. It was great.

*oh, and I got my hair cut while we there. I just picked a place close to the beach, walked in and flipped through a People magazine, and said "give me this". She cut about six inches off which feels so liberating. Its not exactly what I wanted (when is it ever?) but I like it (for at least fifteen minutes after its styled before it deflates).*

Turning thirty has definitely brought about some contemplation lately. I've been thinking a lot the last couple of weeks about where I'm at in life and where I'm headed. I'm definitely the type of person who focuses a lot on what needs to be better, what I need to fix; so I've been trying to push that aside some and focus on how beautiful my life is. I am so thankful for where these thirty years have brought me and I am humbled by God's extravagant blessings in my life. There is so much I want to grow in though. I think I'm finally willing to acknowledge at age thirty that I really and truly am a full-fledged adult (I guess the mortgage, the kids, and the mini-van didn't do it) and as such there are certain childish things in me I'm ready to get rid of. Things I've let entrap me and have a hold on me I'm ready to put aside. I'm ready to grow up and be the woman God's called me to be. Honestly, calling myself a woman is even a huge step for me; I've struggled to stop thinking of myself as a girl for a long time. I guess the fact that I'm starting to get called "ma'am" in stores has been my wake-up call. But in all seriousness, I want to be a godly woman who finds her strength and significance in her savior and I want His peace, love, and joy to flow out of me. I want to be one of those women who radiates Christ's beauty--I know a few of those women and I always walk away thinking, "I want what she has".

So here's to a new decade and the chance to keep growing, to keep learning, and to continue to celebrate the journey God has stretched before me, however long or short it may be.

A Random Pictorial

2010-02-02T23:52:00.011-07:00

I haven't done one of my completely random posts in a while. (I have always thought that was one word--awhile--but recently I keep seeing it as two, guess I've been doing it wrong all this time....oops!)

Sometimes there are so many things I want to share on the blog that I just feel overwhelmed by it and like a true procrastinator, just avoid it altogether. So I thought instead I'd just share some photos of what's been going on around here lately....

The girls had some of their friends over for a play date the other day. We love this family so much and the kids play together so well that its almost an easier day for me when they're here--they entertain my kids while I get some other things done.

They were playing A's newest favorite game: "Raise your hand if __________ (you like cheese, you know how to eat with chopsticks, you have monkey breath, you've ever been in a Turkish prison.....etc.)

We currently don't have our kitchen table.

My wonderful and generous father loaded it up and took it home to repaint the top for me. I'm the one who painted it (actually twice in the last few years) and needless to say I didn't do the most thorough job....I thought I did but apparently it needed a good shellacking in order to stand up to the kind of scrubbing we do to it after our kids eat off it. The paint was coming up all over and since my dad just recently painted their table he's totally a pro and volunteered to do mine. What a guy, right?

What we're lacking in kitchen tables we're making up for with couches. Our living room currently looks like a sofa showroom.

While I've loved our Pottery Barn-esque sectional, I just haven't felt that it fits well in the space at this house (we bought it for our last house). And I've decided I wanted something a little different, style-wise.

I found this couch for a steal on craigslist and bought it two weeks ago. Its from Room & Board which is a pretty expensive furniture store (well, at least it is in my book) but the guy I bought it from kept saying he got it from The Room Store so I don't think he had a clue and he sold it to me for $200. It looks great in my living room (way better than it does in this picture) but now I just need our other couch to sell. I've gotten tons of interest in it but I can't seem to actually get the people to make the next step to come out and look at it. Any professional craigslisters out there? How do I reel 'em in?

Remember these embroidery floss friendship bracelets we made as kids? I've been trying to teach A how to do them this week. She was pretty interested at first but I think I lost her after about thirty minutes. And then what started as a mommy-daughter fun activity turned into me sitting there by myself knotting away while A played Barbies in the other room. I secretly want to make a bunch more of these. I'm not exactly sure what I'd do with them, its just been so fun to relive my childhood.

Made the mistake of buying both of these at Costco last night. I think C and I are really the only ones who like Nutella. What's more stupid than buying a vat of Nutella when you and a two-year-old are the only ones who are going to eat it? I can't think of much.

Speaking of C, I've figured out how to get her to drink this stuff AND to thank me for it afterward.
I fix a glass and start drinking it and make her think its mommy's "special drink" and let her have a sip. Slowly I let her think she's being the sneaky one who's taking over mommy's cup when I'm not looking. Wow, what else will this technique work for? Hmmm......

I've been making her drink it because she's at the start of a cold. She's got the nasty runny nose (that she wipes with the back of her hand and smears into her hair-GROSS!) and she's been starting to cough. I'm hoping to head it off at the pass and clear it up quick.

I thought I'd try to make some homemade chicken noodle soup today to help

Here's my sous chef...isn't he cute?

Here's the finished product. It was really good and pretty easy. Got it here.

Had some really good crusty bread with it.

A had Awana tonight at church. I told her to go in and get some clothes on and this is what she came back in:

This girl does not get the winter concept. I am constantly having to tell her to go put more clothes on. We do have very mild winters here, but not this mild.
(Oh, and she suddenly loves to pose for every picture)

While she was at AWANA, I got to wander through Pier 1 by myself for about an hour. My mom had given me a gift card there for Christmas that I've been hoarding. I have such a weird thing about gift cards or birthday money. It becomes this huge burden on my shoulders to spend it exactly right. I kept looking at things tonight at Pier 1 that I liked and thinking, "oh but I might be able to find that cheaper at Ross or TJ Maxx" and then I had to get a grip and remind myself that it wouldn't actually be cheaper since I didn't have to pay for it at Pier 1.

So here's what I ended up buying....

Whenever we have people over it always seems like I don't have enough serving pieces so I decided tonight that I would get a few more things to help with that.

I found this platter for crudites (or you know, carrots and Ranch dip)

and this fun, big bowl.

(I've got this thing about white dishes. I love the versatility of just having all white but I must admit there were some really fun colorful things calling my name tonight. But in the end, my practicality won out and I stuck with the white.)

I also got these little bowls on the clearance shelf for $1.00 each. I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to use them for yet but I'm thinking to hold little doodads inside of my desk drawer or something like that. I've seen pictures in RealSimple magazine where they used pretty little bowls to help organize drawers and I thought that was such a fun idea so here's my attempt to copy that.

I also got this blue coral sculpture thing that I'm not sure if I'll leave blue or spray paint white. The photo I got of it was horrible so you'll have to use your imagination.

And since this post is just ridiculously long, and its almost 2:00 in the morning!!! I'll close with one final photo, just because its cute.

Love these two!

This Little Man

2010-01-25T22:01:00.005-07:00

is asleep.

And I miss him.

Anyone Want To March On Washington With Me This Friday?

2010-01-19T22:52:00.003-07:00

This is seriously cool. Its times like these you marvel at the power of technology. AUL (Americans United for Life) has come up with a way for those of us who can't physically make it to the march for life event in Washington DC this Friday to still be there. You go to their site and choose your own avatar to represent you in their virtual march.

Here I am. Aren't I cute?

How cool is that? It seriously took me all of about five seconds and now I can be counted as one more person who doesn't want to see my tax money used to fund more abortions. Will you join "me" (or should I say "mii"?

I Lived To Tell About It.....

2010-01-19T12:54:00.002-07:00

Well, I am still hobbling around like an old lady, but I did survive the run on Sunday. It feels so good to know that its behind me. My friend and I started training at the beginning of November and it felt so far away for so long.

It really was a great experience but it was a little like childbirth in that while I was in the middle of it all I could think was, "I will NEVER do this again" but once I got about 24 hours away from it I thought, "well, maybe with a little more training I could do this again next year". (Not that I'm thinking about going through childbirth again anytime soon, just for the record).

The weather was perfect for the run....cool but not cold and a little overcast so no sun blaring in our eyes. The atmosphere was great...I think there were about 50,000 people in all between the half and full marathon. Everyone was full of nervous energy and you could feel it in the air. There were bands playing along the way and people cheering all along the side which made us feel so important. Lots of kids along the way held their hands out for us to give them high-fives as we passed. That made it fun.

The only downfall of the day was that I felt like I failed miserably as a good running partner for my friend. First, I felt like I made the morning start off stressful because I wasn't quite ready when she came to pick me up. I had tried to wait until the very last minute to breastfeed the baby before I left but then it ended up taking too long and I put us behind schedule. That made it stressful trying to get downtown to catch the last shuttle that would get us where we were supposed to be. Strike one. Then, since we were crunched for time I told her I'd grab all of her stuff from the backseat for her so we'd just be able to jump out of the car and go once we parked. Well, somehow I grabbed everything for her but her mp3 player which meant she wouldn't have music for the run--something we'd both relied heavily upon while training (and she'd gone to great lengths to get new music just for the race). Strike 2. Since I kept her from having music I told her I'd go without mine too. I thought I could be fine without it since we'd be able to talk and there would be music playing along the course. Well, as we got into it, I just couldn't chat. We had to exert so much energy trying to move around people and keep out of the way of the other runners that I was having a hard time getting into a groove. So I ended up pulling my ipod out around mile ten and using it. Strike 3. The only way I felt justified in doing that was that she was obviously feeling really good and didn't seem to be struggling like I was. And my mom ended up jumping in to run with us for the last six miles and the two of them started chatting so I didn't feel like I was leaving my friend too high and dry. But still, I just felt like I let her down through the whole thing. She, of course, was totally gracious and kept insisting she didn't feel that way at all which I hope is really how she felt. If we do it again together next year, I am committed to being a much better partner. :)

All in all, it was a good experience. I'm really glad I did it and now I feel motivated to keep running. Five miles sounds like a walk in the park now whereas before that was akin to climbing Mt. Everest in my book. Now, if only I could actually shed some weight from all this running! I guess I gotta stop eating to make up for it.

Bring On The Carbs!!!

2010-01-16T20:47:00.003-07:00

Well, tomorrow morning is IT.....the half marathon I've ~~half-heartedly~~ been training for. I have been working really hard. I mean I never thought in my life I would be able to say I ran ten miles, which I did last weekend, and after tomorrow I'll be able to say I've run 13.1. So it really is a big accomplishment, I guess I still just don't feel like a "real" runner--I guess I thought I would just magically transform into "Runners Worlds'" next cover girl. Yeah, not so much.

So I just finished a nice big bowl of pasta with pesto, spinach, and tomatoes and now I'm headed to bed, hoping I'll actually be able to sleep. I have to get up at 5:00 (YUCK!) and leave by quarter to six.

I'll let you know how it goes......

Urbane

2010-01-09T20:28:00.008-07:00

*First of all (this has nothing to do with anything), I would just like to make a note that my husband is sitting in the other room by himself watching "The Bachelor"* Ok, we can move on now.....

Sometimes Brian has to work Saturdays and we'll meet up with him for awhile in the afternoon so that I don't go crazy at home with the kids (I know that makes absolutely no sense....I'm at home with them the other five days of the week. But somehow since its Saturday, we need a change of pace). So today I thought it would be fun to do something we haven't had a chance to try yet and that's to ride our city's new Light Rail (kind of an above ground subway; really a glorified bus). I'd been wanting to take the girls this summer but thought it might be better to wait until the weather was nice. Now I'm so glad I didn't try to take all three kids by myself. I was kind of a freak about getting everyone off and on--I was slightly paranoid that somehow one of our kids wouldn't make it onto the train before the doors slid shut. I don't know how those big-city moms do it, with the stroller and trying to hold the other kids' hands and somehow maintain their composure. I wasn't meant for it.

We bought an all-day pass so that we could get on and off at different stops along the way. Our first stop was for lunch at The Old Spaghetti Factory

Then we got back on the train and got off downtown. We just kind of wandered around down there for awhile. Our downtown is currently not the most happening place to be (at least when you've got three kids 5 and under) but there's a lot of construction going on so I'm anxious to see how it will grow and what will move in.

We also found a little place that's supposedly known for their cobbler. A was really the only one impressed. (I'd show you a picture, but that one doesn't seem to want to cooperate. I know you're disappointed.)

Then it was time to get back on the train one last time to head back to our car.

The girls felt grown up to be able to stand and hold on while the train was moving.

Brian and I are easily amused.

It was fun for us suburbanites to get a little taste of city life!

I Promise To Actually Post Words Sometime Soon

2010-01-03T21:15:00.003-07:00

Here are some shots from a wedding I did yesterday. I don't do weddings very often and I freak out a little when I do since its kind of a big deal if I screw it up. They really are fun to do (most of the time) but boy is it a work out.

Anyway, just wanted to share a few favorites....

Nine Years Ago Today

2009-12-29T13:52:00.002-07:00

(The end of the night and my mom wanted just one more family photo--we'd taken a million already. So glad we have that moment documented for posterity!)

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T08:43:00.002-07:00

My Kind of Craft

2009-12-19T22:47:00.006-07:00

Remember how I said in my last post that I love the idea of being crafty but I kind of need a nudge (or maybe more like a shove) in the right direction?

Lucky for me I have a friend who came up with this really great kit that allows you to make a bunch of really cute hair clips with and for your girls. A and I did some together today.

We did some for her and C and we did some for her two cousins for Christmas (we exchanged gifts with them tonight; nothing like the last minute, huh?)

It was fun and easy and rewarding to give something handmade. And A really did a good job of putting them together (with just a little bit of help with some gluing).

This is the kit. The packaging is gorgeous.
The name of her company is Kensy Lu and she has poured her blood, sweat, and tears into getting this business launched.

With the kit you get I think eight clips (she threw in a few extras for us--I love having connections!) and ribbons, glue, appliques, and rhinestones in all different colors and sizes. There's even a little instruction booklet to walk you through it if you're like me and want to make sure you're doing it exactly right.

And the best part is, anyone can order one of her kits. You don't have to live around the corner from her like I do. Check her out here.

Getting Crafty

2009-12-16T07:59:00.005-07:00

Along with all of the firsts that have come along with A's foray into the world of school has come the first teacher Christmas gift. I must admit that though this will probably someday become just one more thing on my list of things to cram in at the last minute (when I have three kids' teachers to worry about), this year I was really excited about doing something special for A's kindergarten teacher. We've been really happy with her and she has made A's first experience with school such a positive one.

I decided I was going to attempt to be creative since I've seen so many fun and cute projects out in the blogosphere. I've always had this desire to be crafty and as long as someone else comes up with the project and then gives me step-by-step directions on how to accomplish said project I can live out my crafting fantasies.

So here's what we ended up with:

I painted her initial on this simple little canvas tote (found the idea here--you wanna talk about crafty, this girl eats "crafters" like me for breakfast.)

And made a little puppy-dog applique for a onsie for her adorable little baby boy.

This I just kind of made up based on other appliques I've seen around. Its definitely homemade looking but I think its cute (we won't talk about how long it took me, its pretty ridiculous).

I also included a little box of homemade toffee, but didn't take a photo of that for some reason.

I have a few more things I'm going to attempt to make for Christmas and if they turn out, I'll show them to you. If not, we'll just pretend like this conversation never happened.

Date Night

2009-12-12T20:55:00.002-07:00

My husband is out on a date tonight with a pretty lady.

I'm sitting at home in my pajamas.

I would be jealous except his date is barely over four feet tall.....We were all going to go see the new Disney movie, "The Princess and the Frog" tonight, but unfortunately someone else didn't take a nap like they were supposed to so she was no longer allowed to go.

You'd think that would have bothered her (we were hoping to teach her a lesson).....But her attitude was pretty much, "Oh well, maybe some other time".

Have I mentioned how you just cannot win with this girl? She's crazy but I sure do love her.

So what started as a family fun night turned into daddy-daughter date night. And A wore her princess dress-up dress and her "fancy" shoes and Daddy dressed up for the occasion too. It was his idea and I love him for it.

The movie looks really cute and I like that its in the 'old fashioned' (like the movies I grew up with) cartoon style. Maybe I'll still get to see it eventually....(sigh)....

That's ok, we had a party goin' on up in this hiz-ouse tonight without them....

Well, something like that.

Is There A Contest For America's Gaudiest Christmas Tree?

2009-12-02T23:15:00.004-07:00

Cuz I think we could win....

I'm grumpy tonight. I'm not one of those people who loves to decorate for the holidays. Especially this year. We don't have a ton of holiday decor to begin with and somehow in the past 24 hours, my girls have managed to break I'd say a good 50% of it. And really its my fault for pulling everything out before we were ready to decorate. I'd started the tradition of collecting an ornament for each of them every year and I think pretty much all of A's are now broken. I don't know why it bothers me so much when real stuff (like my keys are missing) doesn't seem to (and should) (I've got a spare car key....if I was stuck without a car it'd bother me a lot more).

The past couple of years putting up the Christmas decorations has really felt like a chore more than anything. It just takes me awhile to get into Christmas; probably because its still basically shorts weather here. Also because most of my stuff is a mish-mash of hand-me-downs and clearance items that I don't particularly love....and I can think of so many other ways I'd like to spend the money I don't have than buying more Christmas decor.

Sorry I'm a downer. I'll be over it by morning. My kids are thrilled with the Christmas tree. In fact, A said it was the MOST BEAUTIFUL TREE EVER! And really, that's what's important. They don't care that Martha Stewart doesn't live here. Someday I'll look back at the photos of my girls' smiling faces in front of the Tammy Faye tree of '09 and I too will reminisce over its loveliness.

Checking In

2009-11-28T11:15:00.002-07:00

Did you have a nice Thanksgiving? We did. It was small this year (just us, my parents, and my aunt and uncle) but it was really nice. My mom is such a great cook. I could single-handedly eat an entire batch of her homemade rolls if I could just keep everyone else away from them for five minutes. And I definitely ate enough to make up for my two-and-a-half week long sugar fast. Let's just say my love for sugar didn't diminish during the fast; in fact it may have only made me want it more. It felt really good to have a little self-control (let's just say that's not normally one of my strongest points) and it really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. And, I think I'm going to try to do round two between now and Christmas Eve. My sister is the one who really wanted to do it again and the only way I could agree to it is if we gave ourselves three free passes to have sweets between now and then. There's just so much fun baking I want to do with my kids and too many get-togethers to cut it out completely.

Speaking of get-togethers, the last couple of years my cousin and her husband have opened their homes for the electric light parade which kicks off the Christmas season every year. Lucky for us, they live downtown right along the parade route and they go out early the morning of to reserve a huge spot for all of us. We meet at their house and eat a huge Mexican feast before the parade and everyone brings Christmas goodies to share. It's become one of my very favorite parts of the holidays and it's next weekend. That'll be my first sugar pass. That only leaves two more and I'll have to use them sparingly! :)

The other exciting thing that happened around here is I finally got Photoshop! I'm so excited about it and I've been messing around with it all weekend. I accidentally stayed up until 2:30 in the morning the other night playing with some old photos I found on my computer that I'd never done anything with. You gotta take that uninterrupted time whenever you can get it, even if you'll want to kill yourself the next day I guess.

Here are the photos I was playing with:

I know I've still got a ton to learn with Photoshop, there's just so much you can do with it. Its actually a little overwhelming to me and I even took a class on it in college (some of the stuff I learned was slowly starting to come back to me).

Ok, off to run. I've been so bad about it this week. Its really hard over the holidays and I'm starting to get a little freaked out that the race (ha, I definitely won't be racing, more like surviving) is just a little over a month away. I guess we're aiming for seven miles today and the thought of that makes me want to poop my pants. I definitely am still not a real runner!

Today

2009-11-19T23:52:00.008-07:00

had to discipline both girls before we'd even had breakfast-not fun.

cleaned out the refrigerator-found some green onions shriveled up in the back of the produce drawer that I can't even remember buying.

did several loads of laundry.

watched Oprah do husband makeovers, wished both my husband and I would get picked for a makeover.

felt my heart melt into a puddle with all of L's sweet smiles.

made dinner out of random ingredients I dredged up from the pantry.

mopped up vomit from all over the bathroom floor (A's--had nothing to do with random ingredients above, she didn't eat with us (just thought I'd clarify)).

discovered C has been coloring all over her sheets with crayon.

finally scrubbed up the film of sticky stuff on the tile in the bathroom where C stuck a maxi-pad to the floor.

nearly had a heart-attack when I walked in to find C in the crib with L, trying to pick him up (and he was screaming).

made a couple of Christmas gifts.

started thinking about how we can incorporate Advent celebration this year.

rejoiced when we got not one but two unexpected escrow checks in the mail.

fought really hard not to eat a Snickers bar in the middle of the day.

cleaned the living room and then watched it get trashed again over the course of the day.

now ready to fall into bed and start it all again tomorrow (hopefully minus the vomit).

*the things I wished I could have added to this list:

showered

gotten dressed

brushed teeth (before 9:00 pm)

**oh well, maybe tomorrow right?**

Check It Out

2009-11-15T01:05:00.004-07:00

My youngest sister, Amanda, recently started a blog. I don't know why I haven't pointed you all over to this little gem yet. The three of us sisters (and our dad) fight pretty regularly over who's the funniest in the family and Amanda just might take the cake (but don't tell her that, she gets a really big head about it). This post in particular was cracking me up.

Accountability

2009-11-12T10:10:00.007-07:00

It's amazing what a little accountability does for a person. I think about ten people agreed to do the no-sugar 'til Thanksgiving thing with me and it has made it so much easier for me to stick with it. Meredith, (who I've never met in person) in particular, has really kept me on track because she's been checking in with me just about every day. I even went to Paradise Bakery by myself for lunch the other day (sometimes lunch by myself is my favorite--I sat there with a magazine (oh, and the baby)) and I specifically asked them not to put one of their delicious chocolate chip cookies on my plate (they include one with your purchase) so that I wouldn't even be tempted by it. But of course they forgot and it showed up on my plate and it was the thought of Meredith, so faithfully abstaining from sugar up in Colorado, that made me put that cookie in my purse and forget about it. (In fact, its still sitting in my purse--that could be bad, its probably a mess of crumbs at the bottom by now. Oh well, a purse full of crumbs, what else is new?)

So even though the thought of no sweets for two more weeks makes me cry a little on the inside, I know I can do it because other people are counting on me to do it. Trust me, I have absolutely NO will power on my own!

I've also ~~stupidly~~ decided to train to run the PF Changs half-marathon in January. Those of you who know me at all know that I AM NOT A RUNNER. But I knew that if I was going to stay motivated to work out and lose some more of this baby weight I needed a goal. Lucky for me I found out a good friend of mine was already training to do it and we're now meeting up once a week to do the long run for the week together. I would have absolutely no motivation to get up and go out to run and probably would have passed the whole idea of doing a half-marathon off as just another silly idea if I didn't know she was counting on me to keep up with her. I can proudly say that I ran the farthest distance of my life this past Sunday.....a whopping five miles. I'm trying not to obsess over the fact that that is not even half of where I need to be (and there are only two months to go).

And over the past couple of days I've found several other friends who are also planning on running it and so now I know I have other people I can train with throughout the week if I need some moral support. I'm actually getting pretty excited about accomplishing this feat knowing so many of my friends will be doing it too.

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If they fall down, they can help each other up. But pity those who fall and have no one to help them up!"
--Ecc. 4:9-10

Are You Smarter Than A Toddler?

2009-11-10T23:00:00.002-07:00

You know how I know God has a sense of humor?

He gave me this girl:

Let me just preface this story by telling you that I HATE potty training. HATE it. I'm sure not very many parents love potty-training but I know that some of us have it far worse than others. I don't know ~~why God hates me~~ what God's trying to teach me through this, but in two out of two experiences with potty-training I've wanted to pull my hair out. (And if its true that boys are harder to train than girls, you might as well just book my trip to the loony bin now).

So anyway, I've been trying for several months now to figure out what its going to take to get this girl motivated to use the potty consistently. She had gone from what I thought was totally trained (like a whole week without an accident nearly two months ago) to increasing the number of accidents back up every day. Bribery wasn't cutting it, threatening wasn't doing a thing, so I decided I was going for something a little more creative. The other day as I was changing her out of wet underwear again, I threw out a little reverse psychology:

"Well, C" I say with a sigh, "I thought you were such a big girl, but I guess I was wrong. I guess you're still a baby"

She plays right into my hands exactly how I'd hoped and firmly protests, "NO, I not a baby. I a big girl".

"But only babies pee-pee and poop in their pants. Big girls go in the potty".

Again she protests. I'm liking that she is fighting to be a big girl and I'm hoping I've lit a fire in her to prove me wrong so I keep pushing:

"Well, I guess we'll just have to put a diaper on you and let you start sleeping in the crib again since you want to be a baby".

She's still arguing with me as my mind begins spinning with all the things I can do during the day to show her that being a baby is really not fun--I'll make her drink from a baby bottle and take a nap in the crib. I also decide that since her big sister is home that day I'll really exaggerate all the things a big sister can do that a baby can't. By now I'm grinning, just so happy with my clever little plan and sure I'll have her back on schedule by the end of the day.

I'm sure you all know where this is headed based on the photo above. I think it started heading south when my little helper, A got involved. She liked the game we were playing and offered C a pacifier. The next thing I know C is being pushed around in a stroller like a little prima donna drinking milk from a bottle and crying for a pacifier. (I'm starting to get a little panicked that now, at almost three years of age, my one child who never took a pacifier, is going to become addicted to one).

From there, my whole plan crashed and burned. At lunch I thought I'd really get her and made her a bowl of plain oatmeal while her sister had a cheese-crisp and tortilla chips. She gobbled up all the oatmeal (while sitting in the high chair that she hasn't used in almost a year) and asked for seconds. After lunch I laid her down in the baby's crib thinking that would really push her to want to go back to being a big girl, but she laid right down and took the best nap she's taken in days. And that night for dinner she ate oatmeal again. The real kicker was when I announced that I was going to make brownies for dessert but only big girls could have one and she responded, "Babies don't eat brownies. Only A gets one". Agghhh! I guess I should be glad that she doesn't live for food, but I just didn't have anything left to hold on to at that point.

At that point I finally just let it go. As much as I hate to admit it, my two-year-old had called my bluff and she had out-played me. My only consolation is that its a funny story.

So at this point she's back to wearing only diapers and I guess we'll give that another week or so and then start back at the beginning, hopefully with different results.

My question is, what do you do when your toddler is smarter than you? She seriously has left me scratching my head and wishing that Bill Cosby was here (he just always had the answers, didn't he?).

I just keep trying to remind myself of two things:

1. I'll never be a perfect parent, I need God's wisdom even in the silly things like potty-training. 2. This is only a season. I mean, she won't still be wearing diapers to school, right? I wasn't so sure with A, but she finally got it so I've gotta hope that C will too....eventually. I mean it's not for lack of brain-power, obviously.

She's Two Alright

2009-11-10T10:05:00.005-07:00

The blog seems to be dedicated to this little rascal lately. She's definitely at that wonderful/horrible age right now which makes for some crazy life but great blogging material. I'll be back in awhile with her latest antics.

Who's With Me????

2009-11-07T09:59:00.004-07:00

Ok, Peeps. I've decided that a little sugar fast is in order around here. As hard as this will be for me, I'm challenging myself not to eat any sweets until Thanksgiving day. The problem is, once I got started eating the candy on Halloween I've just not been able to stop (who am I kidding, I was addicted to sugar long before Halloween but that just seemed to send it over the top!).

AND the other thing is I've decided I'm going to attempt to run a 1/2 marathon in January and at this rate I'm going to GAIN weight rather than lose it even with all the training because I am just so addicted to sweets.

So, anyone with me? I need some accountability and I'm hoping a bunch of you want to do this with me. Think of how we'll thank each other in a couple of weeks. We'll relish that big 'ol piece of pumpkin (or if you're me, pecan) pie on Turkey Day!

Anyone???

PS...In case there was any confusion, I'm just asking you to join in on the sugar fast, not the 1/2 marathon....

Prayer Changes Things

2009-11-05T16:58:00.002-07:00

This article gave me goosebumps. The power of prayer is so evident. Makes me want to get involved.

Lunch

2009-11-04T23:11:00.004-07:00

HAIR Part II

2009-11-04T22:48:00.004-07:00

Miss C got her very first haircut today at age 2 years 8 months. Her baby brother will probably get his first haircut before he's six months.

She looked a little nervous waiting for her turn.
Once she climbed up in that chair she sat so still, just watching everything that was happening.

I really wanted to bob her hair just like her big sister but we thought that might not look so good since the hair in the front is still pretty short and wouldn't match up. So we just kind of evened out the length in the back (and by "we", I mean the very nice hair-dresser; I just stood there with the camera).

Honestly, I'm afraid the new do kind of makes her look a little like a boy but I didn't tell her that. (It probably didn't help that I dressed her in a polo shirt and long shorts today either).

Luckily we had a barrette that we added in the car. I think she'll just have to keep wearing those barrettes (and maybe wear a lot of pink) for awhile.

HAIR

2009-11-02T10:26:00.003-07:00

The comment we get most frequently when people see our baby is "look at all that hair!". Seriously if I had a nickel for every time I heard that I'd have like.... at least a buck fifty or so.

But it really is true. L has some amazing hair. My mom made a good point....how long after conception do they start growing hair in order to have that much at birth? (I'm imagining this little tadpole in utero with a headful of hair.)

The thing that's so great about his hair is it has some wave to it which allows him to achieve so many different looks. He can change his hairstyle to suit his mood. (Or I can style his hair for my own amusement)

And speaking of great hair.....
It just seems to be in the genes.

She's My Girl

2009-10-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

Lately she's taken to retreating to her bedroom for a little alone time--some music playing and a good book. She's my kind of girl.

WHAT is that SMELL?

2009-10-29T15:46:00.006-07:00

**this post is in response to a conversation I had with a friend the other night who said, "your blog is so cute and it makes your life looks so fun!". just thought i'd show her what really goes on here on a day-to-day basis**

We've had a plethora of disgusting smells here at the O house today. My house is actually pretty clean, so of course we can't have all five senses at rest at once now can we?

It started this morning when my lovely husband set out to make a large pot of oatmeal for his sleeping family. He left it to boil on the stove while he went to make a few phone calls and needless to say I woke with a start thinking the house was on fire. So we've had the windows open all day trying to air out the scorched pot of charred oatmeal smell--it lingers still.

On top of that I'd been noticing something stinky in the sink area all day but had been unable to locate its source. I kept assuming it was something in the drain and ran the garbage disposal several times trying to no avail to get rid of it. When Brian got home awhile ago, and we stood in the kitchen talking I kept squinching up my nose imploring, "don't you smell something gross in here?". He kept saying no and implying that I might be loony (he always thinks I have an overactive sense of smell (and an overactive imagination to go with it)). But I wasn't convinced. I just knew there was something hiding somewhere, waiting to jump out at me in all its putridness.

Well, as I was passing the kitchen a few minutes ago, the smell became overwhelming and attacked me in the hall. Now I knew I wasn't imagining that. C was standing in the kitchen and I interrogated her, "did you poop your pants?". She looked at me innocently and said "no, mommy". "Something really stinks!" I replied and that's when she revealed it to me. "It's this" she said holding up two water bottles that she found goodness knows where. As I took them from her I almost passed out from the odor. They were both full of days' old (if not weeks or months old) smoothies. I swear I can't even remember the last time I saw those water bottles. I threw up a little in my mouth just now thinking about it.

So now we've got the glorious combination of burnt oatmeal and curdled smoothies wafting through the house. And I've got one lonely, pathetic scented candle lit trying to mask the smell. (And its not even a scent I like--its one of those generic jar candles that someone threw in a gift bag and brought me when we had them over for dinner--probably re-gifted.)

Just keepin' it real, folks.

M for Megan

2009-10-24T21:41:00.003-07:00

Isn't she pretty? Found it here.

Creations of a Five-Year-Old

2009-10-23T08:51:00.004-07:00

Should I.....

a) be concerned?

or.......

b) start looking into marketing these?

State Fair

2009-10-22T22:10:00.006-07:00

Photoshoot

2009-10-19T14:14:00.004-07:00

Cheyenne and I did a fun photoshoot this morning. She's into photography too so we thought it would be fun to practice on each other. This one was my favorite. It's her son, Riley. I wasn't particularly in love with any of the ones I took of my own kids but I know she got a couple of really cute ones of L and I can't wait to see them.

Loving Sundays

2009-10-19T08:29:00.003-07:00

In this season of our life things are busy. Who can't say that really? Brian is basically working two full-time jobs (he's trying to get his own business off the ground) and quality family time has been harder to come by.

So a couple of months ago, we made the decision to switch from going to Sunday morning church services to the evening service. Not too long ago our church added a third service, identical to the two morning services, on Sunday evenings. This arrangment has worked out so perfectly for our family.

Whereas Sunday mornings were starting to feel like just another weekday morning--trying to get everyone up and dressed and rushed out of the house to be somewhere on time, now our Sunday mornings are restful and relaxing. We have no agenda in the morning and choose our day's activities based on what feels best for that day. A couple of weeks ago, we had a little family meeting at breakfast and each family member got to pick the one thing they wanted to do for the day. Brian wanted to work out, I wanted some help getting the house put back in order, and A chose to get her hair cut (C and L didn't have much of an opinion at that point). We each got done what we wanted and everyone was happy.

Last week we got up and decided since the weather was so nice we wanted to get out and do something fun (the only stipulation being that it had to be cheap). So we found a train festival that was going on across town. None of us are necessarily in to trains but we had a great time--bounce houses for the kids, a ride on a kiddie train, and lots of fun things to look at. It was a fun day.

On the Sundays that we've stayed at home, I've tried to have a big family linner prepared (late lunch, early dinner). The girls have been helping me in the kitchen and it's been so nice to all sit down together and nothing's rushed.

I think we'd all agree that Sundays have become our favorite day of the week. And church is something to be looked forward to in the evening. I find myself more engaged during the service because I'm relaxed and ready to be there. The only downside has been feeling less involved at church. We're currently not really ministering anywhere and not quite sure how to get plugged back in in this new spot. And we miss out on seeing so many people who attend in the morning.

We're thinking that maybe down the line when things have slowed back down for Brian and we can fit family time in on Saturdays again, we might like to go back to Sunday morning services, but for where we are at in this season, this just feels like a good fit.

Funny Girls

2009-10-09T07:55:00.002-07:00

A Conversation with Miss C yesterday morning as I was feeding the baby:

C: "L's drinking Mommy's milk?"

Me: "Yep"

C: "Maybe he wants some of C's milk?"

A Conversation with Miss A last night as I was washing her hair in the bath:

Me: "This is how the lady who cut my hair today washed my hair" (I was holding her head back under the faucet)

A: The lady gave you a bath, Mom?

6 Weeks

2009-10-07T10:11:00.002-07:00

He's already SIX weeks old! I got my first smile from him at about 3:00 am. I think it was his way of saying, "Thanks Mom for the good eat and for changing my pants". It made being up at 3 o'clock in the morning worth it.

Why I Avoid Small Talk

2009-10-05T07:45:00.004-07:00

Last night at church I unwittingly told a woman that her brand new baby girl looks like a boil....

This woman and I were pregnant together and we were seeing each other's little ones for the first time last night. Upon seeing her beautiful new daughter's striking resemblance to her other five siblings I said, "Wow, she looks so much like a Boyle (that's how I was spelling it in my head)". She looked at me inquisitively and said, "What?" and I replied, "She looks so much like your family" and then she replied, "Oh a Boyer I thought you just told me my daughter looks like a boil!".

Oops. That was embarrassing.

Cozy

2009-10-03T21:29:00.005-07:00

Love a baby in feety-pajamas. (Especially fresh from the bath.)

Snuggled up together watching a (slightly annoying) Barbie movie.

A Birth Story Part 2

2009-09-26T08:55:00.009-07:00

*I've been working on this post off and on for about 3 days now. Every time I sit down to finish it either a baby needs to be fed or a toddler needs her rear-end wiped or something. I tell ya, the people in this house are just so darn needy!

Ok where were we?

So we were headed back to the hospital and by now it was about 7:00 pm. The birth center was closed at this point so I couldn't get checked there again, we just had to go to the hospital and hope that going through all the rigmarole wouldn't be in vain. (Just wanted to throw another 'rigmarole' in there wherever I could).

But let me back up for just a sec and give you a little tiny bit of background information. Both of my girls were born at the birth center where I'd gone to be checked earlier. I loved delivering there--it's small and cozy with bedrooms instead of hospital rooms and both times I was the only one there while I was delivering. Unfortunately delivering L there was not possible. They have had to close the birthing facility because their malpractice insurance rates got too expensive which means I was still able to go there for all of my appointments and the midwives now work with the nearby hospital to deliver their patients there. The only reason I tell you all this is because with both my girls' births an epidural wasn't even an option since they didn't have the resources for that at the birth center and this would be my first time going to the hospital where I was keenly aware that I'd have drugs available for the first time. I had kind of been toying with the idea of having one this time but knew in my heart that I'd be disappointed if I did since I'd gone natural both times before.

As we were driving along the freeway toward the hospital I mentioned to Brian (in between intense contractions) that I was strongly considering an epidural at this point (I was starting to convince myself Ihad nothing to prove) and Brian replied that he was totally on board if that's what I wanted. (He's so supportive isn't he? I'm sure an epidural was sounding pretty good to him by that point too).

We pulled into the hospital parking lot around 7:45 and luckily just missed the 8:00 pm cutoff--they lock the main entrance then which means we would have had to have entered through the emergency room (talk about rigmarole!) so I was so thankful to have avoided that. We got up to the labor/delivery floor and into their triage where a lovely nurse handed me a hospital gown and asked me to go pee in a cup. I'm still not exactly sure why. Do you see now why I loved the birth center? They let you wear your own clothes and they never ask you to pee in cups. She asked me about a million questions and then finally showed me to my half-room where she would check me. I was so relieved when she did and told me I was at a five. Glory, hallelujah! I was just so happy to know I wasn't being sent home at that point.

They then sent a nurse to come get me and took me to a labor/delivery room. The rooms there are really nice and each room has it's own jacuzzi tub which was awesome. The first thing the nurse did for me when we got to the room was start a bath and my midwife arrived just before I was about to get in. Since my midwife who I'd seen for all my appointments (and who I love) was out of town, the midwife on call was the one who attended my birth and I'd only met her once before. Her name is Lisa and the first thing I said to her when she walked into the room is, "I'm strongly considering an epidural and I need you to talk me out of it". Let me tell you, she took that challenge head on.

She helped me get in the tub and my mom arrived shortly after that. I basically had an audience crowded into the bathroom with me. It's amazing the things that don't even seem abnormal when you're in labor-- I'm usually about the most modest person you can imagine (I don't even like to see myself naked!). Lisa asked me why I was considering the epidural and I told her I seemed to be having a lot of back labor this time and she immediately started firmly rubbing my back which made a huge difference.

After awhile in the tub she could tell I was getting restless and suggested I get out and lay down in the bed for awhile. This is where my memory starts getting really hazy and I have no clue about lengths of time. I know I labored lying on my side for quite awhile and she would firmly rub my back on every contraction. She checked me again and told me I was now at an eight. Eight just didn't sound far enough along to me at that point because I was really hurting and I started asking for an epidural again. She and the nurse just kept trying to reassure me that things were going really fast and it really would be over soon but I was getting really overwhelmed. (I had had to push for hours with C so I was really worried that I still had hours of pushing ahead of me and I just didn't think I could handle that).

Lisa then got called away to deliver another baby and I didn't think I could handle it without her there. As crazy as I felt even with her there, she was just so calming and reassuring and I really needed her to help me feel like I could do it.

Brian was also with me the entire time, holding my hand (more like letting me squeeze the life out of his hand) and trying so hard to be really reassuring and soothing. At one point I couldn't handle his "help" anymore and socked him in the arm as hard as I could and yelled at him to stop telling me it was almost over since he had no idea. Poor guy, I don't think I hit him during either of the other two labors. He was very gracious about it. :)

My mom was also there and I'm so thankful she was. She just kind of sat back on the sidelines but I could see her praying for me through every contraction. That's one of my most vivid memories now--seeing her with her head bowed every time I'd feel that wave of pain coming, just praying over me and our baby.

Lisa came back after delivering the other baby and helped me through some more contractions (maybe another half an hour or so?) and now she was really putting pressure on my back through each one (which hurt like HECK). She was kind of rotating my hip over through every one and trying to talk me through what was happening. I was so thankful for that because what felt like such intense pain was the baby getting into the perfect position. She encouraged me not to fear that pain but to welcome it since it was what needed to happen for the baby to come.

Finally she said it was time to push and I was still saying I wanted an epidural and that I just didn't think I could do this anymore (I was still imagining hours of pushing). Lisa grabbed my hand and looked me in the eyes and gave me one final pep talk telling me that this baby was going to come very quickly if I could just pull it together and work really hard for a few more minutes. I didn't really believe her about the quick part but told her I would try. She told me to go ahead and push really hard and I did and he was out after that one push. She had all my respect after that!

He was out and he had a full head of hair and they laid him on my chest right away. I wish I could tell you I had all these glorious feelings of love and bonding with my beautiful new baby but honestly at that point I was just so thankful it was over. I think Brian got to cut the cord, I'm really not even sure and I think my mom may have had a tear or two in her eyes.

After that I was no longer the center of attention. I laughed later when Brian, without even turning to look at me, half-heartedly asked me if I needed anything while he and my mom gushed over the baby on the other side of the room. It's ok, I deserved it after hitting him. :)

He was born at 11:30 pm, so from the time I got to the hospital until he was born was only about 3 1/2 hours. Pretty quick. And I really am thankful that Lisa kept me from getting an epidural. I know that some women have some pretty uncomfortable side-effects from having them and I credit bouncing back so fast afterward to not having one. Plus, going through three natural childbirths is probably the greatest accomplishment of my life. It's what I use to talk myself through doing other hard things (like jogging!).

So that's the story. Sorry I dragged it out so long but I knew I'd want to remember as much of it as possible in the future. (So that I won't get any crazy ideas about wanting to go through it again!)

A Birth Story....Part 1

2009-09-21T14:00:00.004-07:00

Wednesday will be four weeks since L's birth. Is that possible? How is it that those last couple of weeks before he came felt like years and now that he's already almost a month old I feel like only a few days have passed? I guess it has to do with the fact that I haven't sat still for more than a few minutes at a time since he was born. But amazingly, it is quiet at my house right now. One kid's at school and the two who are here are actually asleep at the same time. I should be taking a nap too, but this is just too good to miss out on and I've been waiting for a chance to write about L's birth. I think it's finally time.

I had been expecting him to come for several weeks before he actually did. Both my girls came a week early to the day and I was sure he would follow suit if not come even a little earlier. It was all perfectly planned out in my mind--there were so many other things happening during the month of August and in trying to work around all the crazy timing of my family members coming and going throughout the month I was just so sure he would be born early to accommodate it all. So when I got to my due date and no baby, I was a little discouraged to say the least. I was really wrestling with God's timing on top of the pure torture of being pregnant longer than I felt I "should" be. I think I finally came to peace with it as I passed my due date and knew the Lord would bring this baby in His perfect timing, whatever that would be. I had to tell myself to just take it one day at a time and not let myself start wondering how I would take it if I had to go the full two weeks overdue. But let me just tell you how excruciatingly frustrating it was to go to my midwife appointments every Friday those last three weeks and have her tell me that there was absolutely nothing happening--NOTHING. Not even one little centimeter or even the slightest thinning.

The morning of his birth day was a Wednesday morning; August 26th. I was four days overdue and had been having Braxton-Hicks pretty regularly the past few evenings. That Wednesday morning I woke up to contractions at about 3:30 and just lay there trying figure out if this was real. I got up and went to the bathroom and was thrilled to see that I had some of the "show" (By the way, how sick and twisted is it that by the end of her pregnancy a woman is waiting anxiously to start experiencing pain and to find goo in her underwear? It's just wrong). I told myself I'd just lay back down and try to rest before waking Brian to let him get some more sleep, but I was just too excited. I think I lay there for about five minutes before shaking him and telling him that this was finally it. Neither one of us could lay still after that. I got up and started getting things in order around the house--things like making sure the dishes were unloaded from the dishwasher and mopping the kitchen floor--while Brian made sure everything was packed in our hospital bag. By about 5:30 am we both called our moms to let them know what was going on. We'd asked Brian's mom to be on call to come and stay with the girls and I had asked my mom several months ago if she'd like to be with me in the hospital this time to see the baby be born (I hadn't had anyone but Brian at either of the other two births and decided it would be nice to have her there this time). She excitedly agreed to be there so I wanted to give her the heads up that we might be headed to the hospital at any point.

I think we finally called Brian's mom to come around 7:00 am even though we knew we weren't quite ready to go because we thought it would be nice to let her deal with the girls while I was trying to focus through my contractions. This was also open house day at A's new school when she would get to meet her teacher and see her classroom so luckily Linda was willing to take her to do that as well.

I think it was around 10:00 am when Brian and I headed out to circle the block a few times just so I could walk and try to figure out where we were at in the process. (The hard thing about all three of my birth experiences is that I live about 45 minutes away from where I would be delivering so it was hard each time to walk that fine line between not leaving too early and not waiting too long.) I think at this point my contractions weren't completely regular but I was having several in a row that were 4 or 5 minutes apart and would last anywhere from 30-60 seconds each. The things I remember most about that walk is 1. how hot it was that day and 2. how thankful I was for Brian being there and how close I felt to him. He held my hand as we circled that block time after time and let me stop and rest my head on his arm every time a contraction hit. He was just so calming and I was so thankful that he was there with me.

After we'd circled the block about four times I told him I thought it was probably time to go and so we got home and packed everything up in the car and made the 45 minute trek. I would be delivering at a hospital but the birth center where my midwife appointments were held is only about five minutes from there so we decided to go there first so I could get checked without having to go through all the rigmarole at the hospital (did I really just say 'rigmarole'? It's honestly the first word that came to mind). We sat and waited for about fifteen minutes at the birth center before they called my name and that was not fun. Sitting in one of those hard plastic chairs while the other people in the room stare at you through your contractions is just plain not fun. They finally called me back and the midwife came in to check me and to my utter dismay told me I was "maybe dilated one finger tip....maybe". Arrrgggh! This was my third pregnancy which means it was supposed to go fast, right? Now I was afraid I might still have days if not another week ahead of me. She tried to make me feel better by telling me that this really didn't mean anything. It could still happen that day. Sure lady, you've been telling me that for the last three weeks at every appointment. It's taken me almost 41 weeks to dilate to a "maybe-one". I tried not to let it discourage me, but I was definitely disappointed.

So we made the trip back home and at this point my contractions had slowed way down. Now they were coming about every ten minutes if not longer so I was sure that it had all just been Braxton-Hicks and that there would be no baby that day. We got home and I lay down on the couch with my iPod and listened to the music I had selected for labor--a great praise and worship mix--and eventually fell asleep. I was still having sporadic contractions but was able to get some rest despite them. Brian also lay down and took a nap and it was nice to have a quiet house since the girls were still gone with Linda.

Around 4:30 I decided to go and find one of my birthing books and flip through it. I had bought "Birthing From Within" when I was pregnant with C which I found really helpful. It's quite 'new-agey' and I just roll my eyes at some of it but I found the overall message of the book really helpful. I flipped through it that afternoon and read the story of a woman who birthed at home and did chores around the house right up until she delivered. The author was recommending a labor project that would help keep your mind off of labor and let your body do its thing rather than sitting around waiting and timing contractions (which is what we'd been doing all day) since it just makes you hyper-focus on what your body is doing and ends up just slowing things down (kind of like the 'watched pot' thing). So I decided to find myself a project.

I went into the kitchen to see if there was anything I could make to put into our freezer for after the baby was born and ended up pulling out the recipe for a Mexican lasagna. As I began to work to put it all together, my contractions came back and began intensifying once again. They started getting closer together and got to the point that I would have to stop what I was doing and grab the counter top and just breathe through them in between chopping and dicing and trying to follow a recipe. By the time the lasagna was made they were pretty intense and I was thinking we should probably go to the hospital but at that point I had to wait for the lasagna to finish baking. We got all ready to go again and I sat and waited while Brian ate a piece of the finished lasagna and hurriedly wrapped it up and stuck it in the fridge and we headed out once again.

--------------------------

Ok, this is getting ridiculously long. I had no idea it would be this long and it's almost time to get A from school. We'll just call this Part 1 and I'll be back with Part 2 later......Are you on the edge of your seat?

Think On These Things

2009-09-17T09:39:00.006-07:00

I've decided that what I need this morning is to make a gratitude list. I woke up very tempted to allow myself a pity-party day. It's just been a lot the last couple of days....not all bad necessarily, just a lot. I honestly couldn't ask for a better or sweeter baby but he's learning that the place he likes to sleep the best is on mommy's chest which makes it hard to get much else accomplished....things like cleaning up the bathroom the two-year-old just flooded or trying to make sure that same two-year-old makes it to the potty before she poops her pants (again) or folding the pile of clean laundry that's been sitting on my couch for the last two days (and seems to multiply by the minute).

you'd be depressed too if you woke up to this, right?

Ok, it totally sounds like I'm complaining and I'm really trying hard not to. I knew before the baby came that there would be this period of adjustment at the beginning and I knew it would be hard. I'm trying to give myself some room to transition and not to feel like everything has to be perfect which is hard for me because I'm such an all-or-nothing type of person. Once things start slipping out of my control my tendency is to just throw my hands up in defeat and let it all go to pot. So I'm fighting that this morning with a gratitude list: acknowledging the things, big or small, that I can be thankful for today....

1. Miss C went poopy in the potty this morning (despite the daily accidents I really do believe she's well on her way to being potty-trained)

2. It's finally started to cool down a little here--Brian has plans to take the girls out to "play" soccer when he gets home from work today.

3. The girls both slept really well last night which means they're in good moods this morning.

4. We've got a date planned with my mom tomorrow to go to the children's museum and then A is spending the night over there.

5. I got Brian to agree to go see a chick-flick with me this weekend.

6. I've got four new books that I checked out at the library yesterday (maybe if I'm lucky everyone will have a nap/quiet time at the same time and I can read for awhile today).

7. I got a little bit of time to read my Bible this morning (need so much more of that)

8. Brian unloaded the dishwasher for me this morning -what a guy!

9. I think my sister will be here next weekend (yay!!)

10. I'm so so so thankful not to be pregnant anymore--it's glorious to be able to walk and bend over and roll over in bed without huffing and puffing.

11. Making memories with my girls--C helping me in the kitchen this morning, standing on her little step stool in only her underwear and some Barbie dress-up shoes. A with her new sassy bob haircut telling me all the things she's learning at school with a big glob of chocolate on her face.

Philippians 4:8

...Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.

PS. Ok, C just came in and informed me that she just pooped her pants again....I think I already need another list (or a stiff drink)

PPS. I really don't drink, it just sounded good.

Middle Sister

2009-09-08T16:37:00.007-07:00

She's no longer the baby (sniff).

She changed so much between the time I left for the hospital and when I came home with her new baby brother. Ok, maybe it's just my perception of her that changed. Weird how that happens. All of a sudden she's HUGE! And its hard not to abruptly up my expectations of her.

This girl's had a lot of changes to reckon with in the past week. Not only did she get bumped from the baby spot in the family but her big sister went off and started school. So far she kind of seems to like filling the big sister role during those school hours but it's also left her without her constant playmate.

I'm trying to keep in mind that she's going through a pretty big transition right now and that sometimes she's acting like a big poop because she doesn't know how else to deal with it. A special middle-sister/mom or dad date is in order, I think.

___________________________

Funny thing she said yesterday: She was crying as she told me "Annie (our dog) stepped on my toe.......Can we spank her?".

Brunswick Lanes

2009-09-07T21:57:00.005-07:00

I fell in love with my husband all over again today.....at our local bowling alley.

It just made me so happy to watch the way he is with our girls...so loving and patient and always encouraging. Even on the gutter balls (which should have been impossible since they were playing with bumpers...but somehow weren't).

And he brought a smile to my face every time he'd "throw a spin maneuver" on his ball and tried to teach me how too.

But he really made me swoon after the game was over when we were back in those molded plastic chairs getting ready to change back out of our lovely bowling shoes. My sweet husband pulled my foot up onto his lap, first one and then the other, to unlace and remove my shoes for me and put my own shoes back on.

It was a small gesture, but despite my current state of being (tired, emotional, still wearing maternity clothes, hair lucky to have been brushed), he managed to make me feel like a lady.

It's the little things that make me so thankful to be married to him.

One Week

2009-09-02T19:48:00.006-07:00

In the past week I've.......

realized that going from one to two kids was way harder than going from two to three (although I think I really got lucky with an easy one this time).

really tried hard to stay on top of the laundry, yet it seems that every time I turn around there's another pile waiting for me.

remembered how much I love being able to nurse my baby (but trying to remember how long its going to take before it doesn't feel like I've got two rocks sitting on my chest).

been overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness of family, friends, and neighbors who have brought meals, dropped off gifts, and stopped by to meet our baby.

said the words "be gentle" to my middle child more times than I can count and then finally realized she probably has absolutely no idea what those words even mean.

felt so joyously content with my sweet boy snuggled up to me for a nap.

wanted to cry with thankfulness for my husband one minute and then wanted to kill him the next(hello, raging hormones and lack of sleep)

left the house knowing I had a poop-and-spit-up-stained shirt on but not having the time or energy to change it.

realized I need to start planning an extra 15 minutes to get out of the house just to get everyone buckled in to the car.

wanted to give myself a little pat on the back today at our pediatrician's office when she called me "an experienced mom".

wondered how moms of four do it.

never been so thankful for nap-time.

wondered how long it will take before I feel like more than just a milk-producing, diaper-changing, spit-up-wiping machine.

been amazed at the overwhelming and instant love God gives us for our children.

Meet Our Boy

2009-08-29T08:34:00.004-07:00

Luke Duncan O. born Aug. 26th, 11:30 pm. 8 lbs. 15 oz., 21" long

The girls are totally in love with him (in fact, I hope the magic wears off just a little bit). A has been great with him and holds him any chance she gets. She constantly tells me, "Mom, L is SO CUTE!". C is fascinated by him and loves to get up in his face as much as possible. I'm guessing this is what forces youngest children to become laid-back?

Here he is with his great-grandpa Ted Duncan who we got his middle name from. This is Brian's grandpa and he has played such a huge role in Brian's life that we wanted to honor him by passing down his name.
This is the first of my babies to be born with hair. I love it and I hope he keeps it. We've been waiting for one of our children to get their daddy's hair (it's just too nice not to pass on) and wouldn't you know it, of course it's the boy who gets the luscious locks. He'll probably have amazing eyelashes too.
This baby is so sweet and peaceful. I've had a hard time putting him down since he was born. I'm turning him into a mama's boy already. I really want to sit and write about the whole birth experience but I can't decide if I should post it here or just write it for myself somewhere. I know I want to hurry and do it before my memory gets too hazy (I want to make sure I remind myself later what pure torture feels like so that I don't get crazy and think I want to do this again!). So we'll see. I'm off to feed and snuggle my sweet boy some more.

He's Here!

2009-08-28T18:16:00.002-07:00

I'm currently typing with one finger because I'm nursing my not-yet-48 hrs. old-son. So thankful he's here. Love him so much already. Details and pics soon!

Still Nothing

2009-08-19T15:26:00.003-07:00

Still no baby. I'm technically not even overdue yet (my due date's Saturday) but my midwife has now left to go out of town and today's the one day my sister's in town passing through for her big move, so I do feel like we're passing the deadline. Oh well, I know the Lord has His reasons.

That's the biggest lesson I've been getting this past week....having to wait on Him and trust that His plans are better than mine. Seems so silly when I say it out loud but I've really been frustrated the last week or so not understanding why things haven't been going according to my plans. It just all seemed so simple and logical--why wouldn't the Lord want my midwife to be with me; why wouldn't He want my sister to be able to meet her nephew once before moving? It makes me realize how accustomed I am to getting my way and how I turn into a big baby when things don't turn out the way I want them to. I'll be the first to admit I've got a lot of maturing to do. I had to go down to the altar at church on Sunday and spend some time confessing to the Lord how rebellious my heart was getting since He didn't seem to love me enough to follow through on my plans over the past week.

I won't say I haven't been frustrated at all since then but I do feel like a weight has been lifted. I've had a few precious moments to be alone the last few days (thanks to an awesome friend who keeps demanding I hand over my kids) and I've spent them gliding through the lap lane at the pool back and forth so thankful for the weightlessness and the chance to think. He's helped me stop and savor those moments and I know I need to learn how to do that. I'm always on to the next thing in my mind, namely "when's this kid gonna come out and what's life gonna be like when that happens" lately, and I feel like He's helped me slow that speeding train down and notice the simple and lovely moments these last few days.

So anyway, just wanted to let you all know that this baby doesn't seem to have plans to come anytime soon (I know, I know. It can happen at any minute!) but I'm finally at peace with just waiting and noticing the time that's passing now instead of just trying to get past it and on to the next thing.

And by the way, I have to say how much I've needed and gotten the support of my family and friends who've helped me take my mind off the waiting and refocus on the living these last few days. If I just sit at home by myself with the girls, I tend to go a little crazy so it's been such a huge blessing to be able to just show up and impose on our loved ones to help pass the time.

P.S. The baby doesn't seem to be sunny-side-up anymore and his head is down in the right position so that is a huge praise even though I still haven't dilated one tiny little centimeter.

I'm Annoyed

2009-08-11T17:42:00.001-07:00

I'm fat. I'm constantly sweating. And today I found out that not only have I not dilated even one little centimeter but now it appears that this child has decided to flip face-up. Things are not going according to plan....

Welcome August, You Month of Change

2009-08-05T14:53:00.002-07:00

Ok, so it is already August 5th and I meant to post this on the 1st. This week has gotten away from me.

Wow, I never thought we'd make it to August last Christmas when we found out we were (surprise!) having another baby. And yet here it is. And now that we're here, I'm not sure what to think. There's a lot going on this month besides anticipating the birth of this baby and my head is spinning a little bit.

A starts kindergarten at the end of the month which when I ever actually stop to think about it makes my heart pound just a little bit. I have to admit, it's kind of been on the back burner of my mind lately, but oh my goodness! I'm about to have a kid in school. She's never been away from me before--no preschool or daycare or anything. She's gone to programs at church and such but this is definitely new territory. Not to mention that we made the somewhat drastic decision to start her in a brand new charter school that's opening about 20 minutes away from our house rather than the close and oh-so-convenient public school here in our neighborhood. The reason for the decision wasn't anything against our school here--we were just excited about the vision of the charter school and some of the ideas they are going to be implementing. We went yesterday to pick up her school uniforms and then went to get her list of school supplies and it all just got a little more real. I really am excited for her. I know she's ready and I know I'm ready, it's just another period of adjustment.

Also this month, we have the lovely headache of hoping we can get someone new into our rental house. The guy we had living there broke his lease four months early and wasn't it just lovely of him to pick August to leave us hanging? So there are carpets to be cleaned and locks to be changed and all that fun stuff that needs to be taken care of so we can hopefully get the place rented again quickly. (And to my extremely considerate and helpful mother-in-law, this is not my way of making you feel sorry for me so you'll come over and clean out the house! We'll get it all taken care of--hopefully tomorrow!)

Also on our agenda this month, Brian has an interview for a new job next week. We really don't know what to think about it--it might come to nothing. But we've been praying for so long that the Lord would open a new door for him to leave his current job, so we can't help but wonder if this might be it. I'm just so curious to see if this is a new beginning for him.

And then of course, we've got this baby coming at any time. I'm technically still 2 1/2 weeks away from my due date but he really can't wait that long. My parents are leaving town three days before my due-date to drive my sister across country and waiting for them to get back is not an option either (just because who wants to stay pregnant any longer than they have to in August?). My sister, who I'm so proud of, is moving for grad school to study music composition so this is a huge month for her too. It'll be sad to know she's so far away and that's another reason he needs to come early--so she can at least see him and hold him once before she's gone and we don't see her for months. Also my midwife, who I would really love to be here to deliver this baby (she hasn't made it to either of my other two births) is leaving a few days before my due date to drive her daughter out of state for college. So as you can see, there are just a lot of factors at play and when I look at the calendar, I realize I really need this kid to come before the end of next week. Which oh my gosh, is NEXT WEEK!

This post is all over the place, as is my brain. Today has been a very low-key day, so it feels like I'm just sitting around waiting, waiting, waiting for the madness to begin. I'll keep you updated and let you know how the Lord sorts this all out because I'm anxious to see myself what He's got up His sleeve!

Bake My Day

2009-07-25T22:06:00.006-07:00

Tami over at Floating In Winter Creek does this thing on Saturdays called "Bake My Day" (well, apparently not today, but Saturdays past she totally has). She bakes a bunch of stuff with her girls and I love the idea but just haven't been able to join in the last few weeks.

So this morning when we woke up and there was nothing for breakfast, I decided that it was a good day to bake some muffins. I'm bound and determined to stop buying cereal at the grocery store because we go through it so fast--like a box every two days. It's just not filling and you spend a fortune for it. So as much as I love the convenience of pouring the girls a bowl of cereal in the morning, I'm going to try to work around it. We've been eating a lot of oatmeal this past week, which is good and definitely filling but it's just so hot right now for a steaming bowl of oatmeal. I think I'm going to attempt to make my own granola at some point but at the moment I just don't have a ton of energy to spare and I've still got a to-do list a mile long before baby gets here, so that'll have to wait.

So back to Bake My Day... we made two double batches of muffins this morning that I stuck in the freezer so we can pull them out for breakfasts on some mornings.

The first were Health Nut Blueberry Muffins which I'd made before. They're really good and you really do feel healthy eating them because they're chock full of stuff like wheat germ and oat bran and stuff. They do require kind of a lot of ingredients but they taste really good. I also tried substituting the regular sugar for cane sugar which I hope is actually healthier since I spent a pretty penny on it and they turned out great.

We also made Carrot Raisin Muffins from a recipe I just pulled off the internet this morning. We juice pretty frequently and I usually just toss the pulp that's leftover away but got smart the other day and saved all those perfectly good shredded carrots which we used up this morning. These muffins also turned out great.

All in all, I think I got five good sized packages of muffins stored in the freezer (of course after we had our share this morning) and it felt good to accomplish that. It feels like we're doing something healthier and more frugal, I can't say for sure, but I felt a little Martha-ish just getting it done.