Two For Tuesday

I'm stealing, I mean borrowing, my sister's cool Two For Tuesday idea where she posts two pictures (usually of her adorable kids because that's mostly what we take pictures of). So here is my Two for Tuesday.

This is Julianna asleep on the couch in October. She was 4 months old. Notice how she fits on one cushion. And notice that sweet little face and the cute green jammies.

Here she is asleep on the couch yesterday. Look how long she is now at 13 months. She woke me up at 5:46 yesterday morning and then promptly fell back to sleep. I, however, did not. It did give me an hour of much desired quiet time. I sat on the porch and prayed and enjoyed the beautiful summer morning. And took pictures of my sweet, sweet daughter.

Happy 3rd of July!!!

This is a day recognized in my family by the following activities. Frantically cleaning the house. Getting out all the yard toys and pools and water guns and slip and slides. Setting up the canopy in the front yard for shade. Spraying off the lawn furniture. Filling two big coolers with ice and pop and water. Counting hamburger patties, hot dogs and buns. Making sure there's enough ketchup. And then cleaning house again (because you know who I live with).

All this in preparation for...

The 5th Annual R. Family 4th of July Extravaganza!

10 Things Thursday

10 things you will always see in romantic comedies...

1. A girl-next-door main character. She will be pretty, but not super modelish. She will have a major flaw. She will be hopelessly single. She will have an eclectically decorated apartment/loft/condo.

2. An unlikely-to-be-the-boyfriend guy. He will be handsome, but not underwear modelish. He will have a major flaw. He will not be interested in being in a relationship with the girl next door. He will live in a professionally decorated apartment/with his parents/with a slobby roommate.

3. A quirky best friend. She will be cute, but not as cute as her main character friend. She will be funny. She will give advice. She will make at least 3 funny/disgusted/mocking faces. She will be the first to know that there's love in the air.

4. An unlikeable boss/coworker/ex-boyfriend or girlfriend. He/she will antagonize the main character and make her life miserable. He/she will get it in the end.

5. A wedding/funeral/party at which the two main characters first realize that there is an attraction between them.

6. Quirky townsfolk/coworkers who add comic relief. One or more will have accents.

7. A fall from a horse/boat/porch/motorcycle. No one will get seriously injured, but one main character will realize that he/she cares for the other.

8. A misunderstanding. Something will happen that will cause the two characters to go their separate ways. Usually involves a kiss/lie/missed phone call.

9. A breakthrough. After the misunderstanding, one will realize that they are in love and go after the other. He/she will run/borrow a car/hurry a taxi driver to get to their new love before he/she gets on a plane/train/boat to start a new job/move across country/marry someone else.

10. Declaration/acceptance of love. One will declare his/her love for the other who will hesitate/question/doubt their own feelings. But then accept that they truly are in love.

Bonus: The kiss. The two will kiss to seal their love while standing in the office/airport/street and while being surrounded by friends/coworkers/strangers.

Ready, Set...

Today is the next to the last day of June. Which means that Wednesday is July 1st. Which means that a month of summer vacation is almost over. And I have done nothing. Well, not nothing exactly. I have gone to the movies and played a lot and read a lot and spent a night at the hospital. But I have done nothing on my mile long to do list. You see, I am going to be teaching this fall. Half day kindergarten. And I know that it is hard, extremely hard, to be a working mom. And I've only ever done it with two kids. Now I have three. But the good thing is, I know it's hard. So I have a plan. My plan is to be prepared and ultra-organized so that things go smoothly. I have about 7 weeks until it's time to start working in my classroom. That's 7 weeks to cross off everything on my list.

The first thing on my list is to be spiritually and emotionally healthier. I know from experience that that makes a world of difference in all areas of my life. So I have been praying and reading my Bible more. I have been spending quiet time outside every day. I have been trying to focus on being who I want to be in those areas of my life. But I know that it's a life long process. I am taking it one day at a time.

The next thing on my list is to make sure my body is healthy so that I have the energy that it takes to be a good wife and mom and a good kindergarten teacher. And believe me, that takes a lot of energy. (Five year olds suck the energy right out of you!) So healthier eating and more exercise are on my list. And that's going to take some adjustment. Why is it so hard anyway?

Next on my list is to get my house in order. I live with at least 3 packrats. (I don't know about Julianna, yet.) So there is a lot of stuff in our house. And I don't do well with clutter and so I HAVE to deal with that before school starts. I have been encouraging the other members of the family to help me with that and they are starting to which is good, but we have a long way to go. I am hoping to throw away, give away, and sell lots and lots of our "stuff." Then I can breathe a big sigh of relief. This will also lead to an intense marathon of deep spring, I mean summer, cleaning. Just thinking of a clean, organized, clutter free living environment gives me a feeling of freedom.

I also want to fill the freezer with healthy meals that can be quickly and easily fixed for my family on school nights so that I don't have to worry about cooking every night. I like to use the crock pot, too, so I want to find some great recipes for that.

And of course on my list is summer fun. Free movies. Beach days. Summer Theater and girl's nights. I won't give any of that up. So I have a busy seven weeks ahead of me.

The last few weeks of summer will be used to get my classroom ready for the school year. I probably need to paint and clean everything as well as decorate, prepare lessons, and all the other stuff that teachers do. It will be so much easier if all this other stuff is done. Wish me luck!

By the way, I would love to hear any suggestions you have regarding my life overhaul. I'll take all the help I can get! :)

10 Things Thursday Double Feature

10 things I learned at the movie theater today.

1. Julianna does not have an 86 minute attention span.
2. She will however sit still for 13 1/2 minutes if I am feeding her popcorn.
3. She loves to crawl on the theater steps.
4. She likes to walk up and down the ramp beside the movie seats.
5. The theater should clean their carpet. (The black on the tops (from crawling) and bottoms (from walking) of Jules' feet is evidence of this fact.)
6. A large soda is enough for 3 kids, 1 mom, and one toddler who loudly insists on sampling it.
7. By the end of the movie, the mom needs to refill said soda cup with Diet Coke that she does not share.
8. I am not the only mom whose youngest child is not interested in movies yet.
9. I'm pretty sure that Patrick Warburten provides his voice for at least 75% of kid's movies these days.
10. Even if I spend most of the time chasing Julianna, I still like going to the movies with my kids.

10 of my favorite animated films (in no particular order).

1. Beauty and the Beast
2. A Bug's Life
3. Monsters, Inc.
4. Lion King
5. Hoodwinked
6. The Little Mermaid
7. Chicken Little
8. Cars
9. Shrek
10. Robin Hood

Don't forget about the Free Family Movies this summer at Regal Theaters. They start at 10:00am. Here's a list of this summer's free movies at Riverstone in Coeur d' Alene.

06/23/2009-06/25/2009
Space Chimps (G)
Madagascar 2: Escape To Africa (PG)
06/30/2009-07/02/2009
Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Veggie Tale Movie (G)
Evan Almighty (PG)
07/07/2009-07/09/2009
Kit Kittredge: American Girl (G)
Nim's Island (PG)
07/14/2009-07/16/2009
Horton Hears A Who (G)
Inkheart (PG)
07/21/2009-07/23/2009
The Tale Of Despereaux (G)
Kung Fu Panda (PG)
07/28/2009-07/30/2009
Everyone's Hero (G)
Surf's Up (PG)
08/04/2009-08/06/2009
Doogal (G)
Journey To The Center Of The Earth (PG)
08/11/2009-08/13/2009
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (G)
Bee Movie (PG)
08/18/2009-08/20/2009
Mr. Bean's Holiday (G)
Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)

Mother Knows Best

So does she? Find out here.

Ramblings

It's been a long week. Long and tiring. And busy.

It all started last Wednesday with Adam going into the hospital. He and I only got a few hours of sleep in that 24 hour period and have been trying to make up for it since.

Thursday we got home at about 1:00 and after a short nap, I took Josh to his first baseball practice. He was thrilled. And he did great. He is really looking forward to the season.

Friday was bike day with our church's children's ministry. It's the boys' favorite Fun Friday. Adam was disappointed because I wouldn't let him ride his bike. (Remember...surgery Wednesday night.) But he did ride his scooter some and had fun anyway.

Friday night was more much needed rest.

Saturday morning we went to a couple of garage sales looking for a used lawnmower. Didn't find one but came home with a pet carrier, a Little People dollhouse for Jules, 13 cd's for Arrty (Happy Father's Day to him!), and....two six week old kittens. Yes, I know, I am officially that lady with the cats.

Saturday night brought our first Summer Theater show. I was so looking forward to it. The show was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I had never seen it before and loved it. What a great show! I love all the styles of music from rap (yes, rap) to country to Calypso. And as usual, the acting was great. I just love Summer Theater!

Sunday was church as usual and then lunch with my dad and my sister's family at Mackenzie River Pizza Company. It was good food but better company. Sunday evening was family time.

Yesterday I was trying to clean since our Bible study group was meeting at our house but I was still tired. I did get it done slowly but surely. We also went to visit Kathy's son Thomas in the hospital. (Mom, she's copying me!!) He has pneumonia. Yikes. Keep him in your prayers. And Kathy, too. She is so bored and they don't have good coffee at the espresso stand downstairs.

Last night I went to bed feeling bad and woke up feeling even worse. Some kind of 12 hour bug I guess. I'm thankfully feeling better now and getting ready to go to my parent's house to see my mom who's been on vacation for two weeks. Welcome home, Mom.

Phew!! Just reading that made me tired all over again. Maybe the next week will slow down. Maybe not. I'll just take a week without a trip to the hospital.

And if the cuteness factor at our house wasn't already high enough...

Appy

Okay, so here's how I spent Wednesday night and Thursday.

Wednesday Adam was complaining of a tummy ache and didn't want to eat (which I realize now started on Tuesday evening). Throughout the day he wasn't quite himself and complained off and on of the pain. I really didn't think much of it. He had a little cold and cough and I thought it all went together. Until about 4:00 when I saw him walking down the hall very slowly, hunched over so it wouldn't hurt. I asked him where it hurt and he pointed to his right side just under his belly button. Uh oh. I felt the scar that I have there just to make sure I remembered right. Yep.

So after Arrty got home I told him what I was thinking and we googled appendicitis. Lower right abdominal pain...check. Loss of appetite...check. Hurts to walk...check. Doesn't feel better after a few hours...check. So Adam and I headed into town to the after hours clinic at 7:00 Wednesday evening. We got right in to see the doctor and he asked his questions and did his exam and told us that he thought it was appendicitis but that we'd have to go to the emergency room at the hospital so that they could do blood work and an ultrasound to make sure. I was worried, but had expected that diagnosis. Adam was worried and did not expect anything like that at all.

So at 8:15 we walked into the e.r. and checked in. I called Arrty, my dad and my sister to tell them what was going on. Then we waited about half an hour before going back to an exam room. During that time Adam asked me how long we'd have to wait. I told him that I didn't know but that we were going to be doing a lot of waiting throughout the night. Once in the exam room, they had Adam put on a way to big hospital gown. (Which, by the way, had a "property of Shoshone hospital" tag in it. Umm...we were at Kootenai Medical Center.) He is very modest and was a little disturbed about being so exposed. I teased him that I would ask them if we could take it home since I knew he loved it so much. From there it was a parade of nurses and doctors and lab technicians. Temperature taken, blood drawn, examinations. I was so glad that my dad had come down to be with us. After the blood test and a very painful ultrasound, they finally determined that it was, in fact, appendicitis. They were calling a surgeon. Yikes. I knew it, but until then I was still holding out hope.

Then the real fun began. They got Adam all set up with an IV, which he was very curious about, and prepared him to go up to the operating room. Dad said a prayer with us and I was glad again that he was there. The surgeon came into the room and explained everything to us. (When the surgeon explained how they were going to remove his appendix, Adam looked at me and whispered, "But I like my appendix." Typical Adam.) Then the anesthesiologist came in and explained his part. They were both really good with Adam and talked to him in words he could understand. Then up we went. When we got to the big double doors, the nurse who had wheeled Adam up told us we should say our goodbyes. No!!! my mind screamed. But I walked over and laid my hand on his cheek and told him I loved him and that it was all going to be okay. Dad kissed his forehead then I kissed his forehead and they wheeled him in. Letting him go was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Just in the doors stood the operating room nurse. And she told us we could come in to the little lobby. I was relieved that I didn't have to let him go yet. But knew that we'd have to go through the goodbyes again. And we did. And it wasn't any easier the second time. The worst part wasn't knowing that they were going to cut into my baby or knowing that he was going to be in pain afterwards. The worst part was knowing that he was scared and that I wasn't there to hold his hand. What got me through it was remembering that he was going to be asleep soon. And remembering that he wasn't alone. I might not be holding his hand, but God was. And better yet, He was holding his heart.

Dad and I went out to the empty waiting room. It was 11:40 pm. We talked and waited. And waited and talked. We met the night custodian and let him vacuum under our feet. And since we were right next to the birthing center, we saw one expectant mom walking the halls to speed things up. And we saw one expectant mom being wheeled in screaming, wishing things would slow down. We reminisced about the five births that we had experienced in the last 9 years just down the hall from where we were sitting. We talked about those children's pasts and futures. And I was glad again that Dad was there with me. And that he is such a big part of my kid's lives. At 12:33, I looked at the clock and told Dad that they had 7 minutes, then I was going in to find out what was going on. Surely an hour was long enough. After two minutes, the surgeon came out and told us everything had gone perfectly and that there was no doubt that it was Adam's appendix causing all the trouble. I was relieved but still anxious to see him. He was going to be in recovery for awhile though. So we waited some more. Dad wanted to be there to see him when he came out, but had been up since 4:30 Wednesday morning and had to be at work by 6:00 Thursday morning, so at about 1:15, he headed home to get some much needed sleep. I was so thankful that he had been there through everything. I don't know what I would have done without him.

Finally, after another 45 minutes, the recovery room nurse came to get me. I had been staring down the hall saying, "come on, come on, come on..." for what seemed like an eternity. I knew Adam was fine, but I wanted to see him and hold his hand again. He was still sleepy. Very sleepy and hardly knew what was going on. They wheeled him up to the pediatric ward and got him settled into his room. He was only half awake during it all even when they took his blood pressure and temperature and oxygen levels. He hardly stirred even when they gave him a breathing treatment since his oxygen was a little low. I just wished that they would leave him alone and let him sleep. At 3:03 am, I fell exhausted on the chair/bed they had brought in for me. But I didn't sleep for a while. I lay there listening to my son breathe and watching the numbers on all the machines he was hooked up to. I lay there praying the prayer of thankfulness that a mommy prays after something like this happens to one of her children. After I was asleep for what felt like a nanosecond, Adam called my name and needed to get up. (I won't tell you why, because he wouldn't want me to mention it. Remember, the modesty thing.)

So at 4:00 am we were up and around. The nurse came in to help. Then she took Adam to Andrea's Closet to pick out a toy. She did not know what she was getting herself in to. It takes this child 5 minutes to decide between a vanilla or strawberry milkshake. And she opened a cupboard with 50 toys and told him to pick. At 4:00 am. When he had just had surgery. And was still medicated. Let's just say it took awhile. He finally chose a building set. And we went back to bed. (I was thankful for that building set the next day. It gave Adam something to do and was a distraction from all the other stuff going on.)

Over the next three hours, I vaguely remember the nurse coming in to check on Adam. All was going fine. At 7:30, the surgeon came in to check on him. I sat up still half asleep and tried to act like I was going to remember what he was telling me. Luckily the nurse repeated it later after I had been awake for awhile. The next few hours went quickly. Adam ate fine and took his meds fine and was up and around so a little after noon, we walked out of the hospital. It was 17 of the longest hours of my life. We got home and all got some much needed rest.

Today Adam is doing fine. He has three little bandages on his tummy, which are annoying him, but isn't in much pain. Through this whole thing, he never shed a tear. He never uttered a complaint. He never whined or argued. It was pretty amazing. He was so brave. I am extremely proud of him.

So I guess I've made it through some kind mommy initiation thing. I just hope I never have to repeat it.

As a very big aside, I have to mention how God was working through all this. We had not had health insurance for the past nine months. Until June 1st when our new policy started. I just knew it was time even though our individual policy is costing a lot. Good timing? No. God's timing!

10 Things Thursday

10 things I've done over the last 24 hours...

1. suspected
2. worried
3. prayed
4. listened
5. held my middle baby's hand
6. waited
7. and waited some more
8. and prayed some more
9. paced
10. breathed a sigh of relief

I'll explain tomorrow after some sleep.

Vision

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I went to Women of Faith and I posted this? Well, in that post, I mentioned Lenah Kavata. Lenah is a 7 year old girl who lives in Kenya. She lives with her mother, sister and brother and is part of a World Vision community. She likes to draw and play soccer and her birthday is in August. Here's how I met her.

Each year that I have gone to Women of Faith, I have walked by the World Vision table and seen the pictures of children from all over the world who are part of the program. They are children who have needs that my own children will never know. They need food and clean water and an education. They need prayers. Every other year I walked by with a little guilt hanging over me. But a few weeks before the conference this year, I had this thought about World Vision. I didn't expect it. There was no reason to think of it. But I did. Then and there, I started praying and soon decided to sponsor a child this year. I knew it would be good for some child far away. And I knew it would be good for my own children to help them practice generosity and gratitude. A lesson the whole family could use a few lessons in.

During the first intermission on Friday, I was walking near the World Vision table and one of the representatives asked me if I would like to sponsor a child. Yes. Yes, I would like to sponsor a child. Then she pointed me toward the table and told me to pick a child. I looked down and was staring into hundreds of eyes. Little eyes like the ones I look into every day, only these eyes were not twinkling like I was used to. For a minute I looked from face to face and could not decide. How could I pick one? How could I pick the child whose life I was going to play a part in changing? The ladies behind the table must have seen my struggle because they tried to help. Did I want a boy or a girl? Did I have a specific country in mind? Did I want a child whose birthday matched mine? None of those things really mattered. So I said a quick prayer and asked God to lead me to the child whose life I was supposed to be a part of. I walked up and down the tables looking at each face. None of them was the child I was looking for. Meanwhile, the lady who had been helping me went behind the table and pulled out some other packets with pictures. How about this one? This one? This one? Wait, that one. Let me see that one. I took the packet in my hand and there she was. This little girl whose eyes twinkled just the tiniest bit. And who was the only one in all the pictures I had seen who was almost smiling. Almost. She was the one.

So I filled out the paperwork and committed to sending $35 a month to a community in Kenya so that Lenah and her family will have food and clean water and an education. Since then I have prayed for this family and for World Vision. I have also learned a lot more about the program. Our family will be able to send letters and small gifts to Lenah. And she will write back. We can also email her at the World Vision center in her community. We can support World Vision in other ways like providing animals and tools and books and sports equipment to communities around the world. It has already been a blessing to our family and will be for a long time.

When I came home and told my family about Lenah, they were very supportive. The boys looked at her picture and were curious and excited. Then this week when we got our welcome packet and learned what we could send, we had a great time shopping for stickers and colored pencils and other small things to send with our first letter to Lenah. And Josh volunteered to write the letter. Josh does not like to write and so I was thrilled with his interest. So today we will send our first letter off to Kenya. And we will appreciate, just a little more what we have here.

If you are interested in learning more about World Vision, they have a great website where you can sign up to sponsor a child or see what they are doing for God's children around the world. Take a look and consider supporting this great ministry.

3:36

I don't really have anything to say. I just wanted to post since it is now 3:36 AM. Julianna woke up about an hour ago coughing since she has a little cold and decided that it was time to play. She is now back in bed, but not sleeping and obviously neither am I. I'm off to rock her back to sleep. Hopefully. And get back to bed myself. I have an early morning meeting with Kathy...and the book man.

Friendship

Can I just say that I love my sister friends? They are the best. They make me laugh. They let me cry. They understand me like few others do. They know that what happens with sister friends, stays with sister friends.

Yesterday we spent the evening together celebrating Marci's birthday. As a change of pace from our usual dinner and a movie, she suggested that we go downtown and walk the Mudgy and Millie trail. We are always up for something new, so off we went. We read the book as we went starting with the oldest reading first and then continuing in order of descending age. I won't list the order, but I will say that I was next to last. :) So, there we were, five grown women standing on Tubbs Hill reading a children's book and then taking pictures with a moose statue. And loving every minute of it. We walked the whole trail without even cheating by walking through the baseball field. As part of that, we walked around the boardwalk where I mentioned that on the southwest point of the boardwalk is where Arrty proposed to me. Ahhh. I know. Very sweet. Well, if you know Marci, you know she loves a good story, so on her suggestion, we sat down at one of the little tables and all shared our proposal stories. By the way, we pretty much did whatever Marci said because it was her night. We even took our shoes off and waded in the lake. Which was cold. And wonderful!

The trail ends at Independence Point which is one of my favorite spots downtown. But the last few times I've been there it has been overrun with teenagers. Now, I'm a little afraid of teenagers. I often joke that I didn't even like teenagers when I was a teenager. I'm trying to like them more by getting involved with the youth group at church more, because as much as I try to deny it, my children are getting closer to that stage by the day. But I couldn't help thinking things like, "Didn't your mama teach you that if you wear a belt, people won't be able to see your underwear?" And, "Aren't you too young to be holding that girl's hand?" And, "Do you kiss your grandmother with that mouth?" And, "Do you know what that tattoo is going to look like when you're 50?" I thought of my own kids and sighed. And prayed.

After our walk, we were going to dinner. Because that's what we do. We had planned to go to a little coffee/sandwich shop that was having open mike night. But when we got there we found out that they stopped serving food at 4:00. So we went to The Beacon, a pub on Sherman, that none of us had ever been to. No one told us, however, that it was a sports bar and that the basketball finals were on. It was a little loud. Okay, it was a lot loud. I thought that we should cheer for the team that everyone else was cheering against, but it turned out that both teams had a pretty good group of fans. So we just ate our food (fish and chips for me) and drank our Diet Cokes (tea for Marci). And laughed. Because that's what we do. I have to admit though, that when the Lakers tied it up in the last few seconds of the game, our table of 30 and 40 something moms, cheered just as loudly as the 20 somethings that filled the rest of the room.

After dinner, we discussed dessert. Because that's what we do, too. Gooeys, 351, Chili's, Applebee's? Someone mentioned Blizzards at DQ. Which is what we decided on. Just so you know, DQ closes at 10:00. It was 9:25 when we got there. If you get there at 9:25 and the girl behind the counter has a too tight ponytail and no smile, be prepared for grouchy to be served with your ice cream. "Can we still get Blizzards?" "Uh, I guess. I was getting ready to clean the machines." "Okay, can I get a chocolate Heath Blizzard?" "SIGH." And so it continued for the other four of us. When I ordered I was especially friendly and overly nice. You know, heaping burning coals and all that. The ice cream was good, though.

It was a great night filled with laughter and fun, just like always. And so much better than sitting in a dark theater not being able to talk. Because, talking, well, that's what we do.

10 Things Thursday

10 of Julianna's nicknames. Yes, she has more than 10.

1. Jules
2. Julesie
3. Jujubee
4. Juje
5. Junebug
6. Juma
7. Snuggle Bug
8. Shnooka
9. Punkin
10. Angel girl

The Big 1

In case you missed it, Julianna turned one last week. On Saturday, we had a birthday party for her. It was lots of fun. Here are a few pictures.

The birthday girl eating lunch.

1st birthday cupcake. She wasn't so sure about it.

Jules wanted to share with Aunt Ada. Aunt Ada decided to get her own instead.

Getting ready to open the presents. I just wanted her to keep this little candle

headband on for a picture, but she ended up leaving it on for a long time.

Cute, huh?

It was a good time spent with family and friends. And Julianna was such a good girl during it all. But as soon as all her guests left, the birthday girl took a well deserved 2 hour nap. And her mommy took a well deserved 20 minute nap. So, until next year, happy birthday sweet girl.

10 Things Thursday

10 places I've been in the last week...

1. in the presence of greatness
2. at the slowest restaurant on the face of the earth
3. to Costco...twice
4. at the center of the universe
5. 900 feet underground in a gold mine
6. in the oldest standing building in Idaho
7. panning for gold
8. hiking on Tubbs Hill
9. to Stickman's house
10. at peace

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Birthday, Julianna!

If you look at the ticker just to the left, you will see that my daughter, my sweet, funny, adorable, amazing daughter, is one year old today. One year ago she officially entered our world and it hasn't been the same since. She is a complete joy. She has been such an easy baby to care for. (Which was my deal with God, if you remember. "Okay, God, if you want me to have a baby at advanced maternal age, she better be an easy one." Yeah, that deal.) And she is so easy to love with all her cuteness and silliness and smiliness. So today, after one year of knowing her, I can't imagine my life without her. She has made my heart, and our family, complete.

In honor of her birthday, I'd like to tell you a little about Miss Julianna.


She is a dancer. Even when I was pregnant with her, I called her my little dancer. Josh was a kicker, Adam was a roller, and Jules was a dancer. Right after she could stand holding on to furniture, my mom asked her if she was going to dance. And she did! I didn't even know she knew that word. And now, whenever she hears music of any kind, she dances.

She loves buttons. Not the kind on the front of a shirt. But the kind on electronic devices. Buttons like you find on a remote or cell phone or dvd player or stereo. And she gets a little irked when she's not allowed to play with those buttons.

She is cute! And it's not just me. Since the day she was born, I have been getting stopped by perfect strangers to admire her in all her cuteness. People always comment on her eyes. They are big and blue and sparkly.

She is funny. She reminds me a lot of Adam. She loves to play and make people laugh. And she has that fun, silly, personality that charms the socks off all who know her.

She is active. She is only still when she sleeps. She loves to explore and move and play and does so all day long. (And sometimes at night.)


She speaks! She says mama, dada, hi, Adam, woof-woof, and meow. (But she only speaks when she feels like it. Not when I ask her to.)

She loves animals. She is fascinated by any kind of animals and loves to look outside at Jake and chase the cats (much to their chagrin). And she loves to hug her stuffed animals. It is sooo cute.

She loves books. Which I love. I'm hoping she'll be my book buddy since the boys would rather be, well, pretty much doing anything besides reading. I'm already saving some of my favorite books for her.

She is a gift. Not only that, she's the best kind of gift. You know when someone gives you something out of the blue that you didn't even know you needed but once you have it you use it everyday. Julianna is that kind of gift. I didn't even know I needed her. But now, after only a year of being her mommy, I don't think I could make it through the day without her.

So, today, as I think about the last year and smile with the memory of those early days, I will also look forward with great anticipation to those to come. Filled with even more love and laughter and wonderfulness with Julianna.

Happy birthday, baby girl. I love you.

Faith

I spent last weekend with some of my favorite people...my mom, my sister, my sister-friend Kathy...and Sandi Patty, Steven Curtis Chapman, Mandisa, Luci Swindoll, Patsy Clairemont, Marilyn Meberg, Sheila Walsh...and 7,000+ sisters in Christ. And I made some new friends. Like Lisa Whelchel (yes, Blair from the Facts Of Life), Henry Cloud, and Lenah Kavata (more on her to come).

You see, I spent the weekend at Women Of Faith. A conference for, well, women of faith. The first year I went was 2006. The Friday four days after my car accident. My back and neck and shoulders and heart hurt. I was scared to death to drive, so I rode with a friend. I didn't want to go...but I did want to go. By the first three notes of the very first worship song I was in tears. And not like quiet running down you cheek tears. Big, sobbing, wish I could sing but I can't tears. Because at that moment it hit me. I had been saved again. I felt His arms around me and remembered that I had felt the same thing four days earlier as my car flip-flopped off the road. So there I stood, with my body aching and my heart beginning to heal.

I've gone every year since and love it. Each year brings forth a different response. But no matter what the topic. No matter what I hear. I am inspired. Inspired to be a better person. And this year was certainly no different. Each person who spoke shared their story and how God was with them through their darkest hours. And even if my darkest hours seem like the middle of the day sun compared to theirs, my darkest hours seemed like midnight with no moon at all dark to me. And so I thought about those times and how now I can look back and see that there was always a glimmer of light. And I realize who that light was. And is.

Okay, now let me say that I want to sit on the porch. Every year that I go and see those amazing women sitting on the "porch" I want to be one of them. I want to travel around and inspire and touch other Christian women. I want to be a part of what is surely life changing for some. And I want to be friends with such an amazing group of sisters. Wait...I just realized that I have a porch. And I have some amazing sisters. Hmmm, stay tuned for more on that thought.

I was struck as usual at Women of Faith, by the goodness of God. Not only by the speakers, but by the mere fact that thousands of Christian women can sit for two days straight and do nothing but praise Him. And by the fact that He is there, working in the lives of each and every one. Wow. But this year, the most amazing and inspiring moment for me was seeing Steven Curtis Chapman perform. It's true that he is an amazing songwriter and performer. It's true that he does wonderful things for God's kingdom. It's true that he supports and advocates for adoptions of God's children. All these things are inspiring on their own. But what got me most was that even though a horrible accident one year ago took his baby girl, Maria, he was able to stand on that stage and sing of the glory of God. That, my friends, is a true testament to faith. And faithfulness.

So another Women of Faith has come and gone. But the wonderful thing is that it's not gone at all. I will ponder what I heard. I will use what I felt. I will move closer to my Lord because of two days of spending time with him. And 7,000 of his daughters.

And just so you are prepared, I have about 100 more posts about my weekend running through my head. Get ready...

10 Things Thursday

10 things I will do each day before I turn on the computer...

1. Pray
2. Read one chapter from the Bible
3. Kiss my husband
4. Hug my children
5. Read to Jules
6. Spend time outside
7. Clean one room of the house
8. Cross two things off my to do list
9. Drink at least two glasses of water
10. Eat at least one piece of fruit

This list came from the fact that over the last few weeks I have realized how much time I spend on the computer and it is entirely too much. Some of the things on this list have been getting neglected because of it. So each day I will do the 10 things on this list before I even turn the computer on. And I will limit my computer time. And have two days a week that I am unplugged with no computer. All things in moderation. Even blogging.

Numbers 6 and 8 on the list led to this today. My little rock garden.

There are flower seeds planted in the pots. Not just dirt. :)

And this one is for Marmie.

Wordless Wednesday

Cat Name Update

Last night, the boys had pretty much decided on Jack and Socks for the cat's names. Then Arrty mentioned that Jack sounds an awful lot like Jake, the dog's name. Adam agreed, so he started again to think of names since he had the job of naming the boy cat. This morning he asked me for ideas so I told him to think of book or movie characters that he liked and maybe that would help. Right away he thought of Luke (as in Skywalker). Then he said, "Luke and Leia. We should name them Luke and Leia!" I thought those names were perfect and told him so. He was very excited, but we still had to get the okay from the rest of the family. Arrty liked it, but Josh was reluctant. He was determined that the girl cat should be called Socks because she has white paws. We discussed it and he agreed, but not happily. I told him that we wanted everyone to be happy, so to just think it over. Arrty later reminded him that Luke and Leia in the Star Wars Movies were orphans and had to be adopted. Just like we had adopted the cats. Josh is very sentimental and family oriented and so that fact sealed it. He then happily agreed that Luke and Leia were perfect names.

So there you have it. Our cats are named Luke Jack and Leia Socks. (Yes, our cats have middle names.)

Today in the news...The demise of Moleville.

First, let me say that I am not a cat person. Frankly, I'm not an animal person. Don't get me wrong. I love, well at least like, Jake, our huge chocolate lab. He is sweet and loves the boys and barks when strangers come. I just don't want him to lick me. Or jump up on me. Or chew on my shoes. Or get hair all over the house. So Jake lives outside. He comes in some during the winter. But he is definitely an outdoor dog. And I tolerate the turtle who lives in the basement. He's quiet and doesn't eat much. And I don't even really mind the mealworms who are metamorphosing into darkling beetles in the hall closet or the snail and centipedes and caterpillars in bug boxes in the living room. And I even kind of like the minuscule sea monkeys just beginning to grow in their tank on my bookshelf.

But still, I'm not an animal person. And I especially don't like the moles who have taken over our yard. When the snow melted this spring, it was discovered that last year's moles were still around and had brought friends. Lots of friends. They had all begun transforming our yard into Moleville complete with malls and condos and trails leading to each other's houses. So we decided that we should get a cat to roam around outside and catch the moles. Or at least chase them to the neighbors' yards. We have been talking about it for weeks. So yesterday when Arrty got off work, I convinced him to take us to the local shelter. So we went in and there in cages, were all kinds of cats. Old cats, kittens, sleeping cats, active cats, friendly cats, hissing cats. Now, we have never owned a cat. So we had no idea about anything to do with them. I fully admit that the kittens were cute and the boys were instantly drawn to them. But I had to remind myself why we were there. For a mouser, not a lap cat. So I avoided the kittens and looked at the older cats.

There were a few that had signs that said "sensitive stomach." I didn't think they would be very fond of moles and mice. There were a few with signs that said, "caution." Not good for my animal loving children. So I looked for help. One of the ladies who worked there asked what we were looking for and I told her. She then took us to meet Ronnie. Ronnie is an 11 year old, big orange cat. He was owned by a family that she knew. The wife had died and the husband moved to Alaska and couldn't take Ronnie. He is an outdoor cat who had lived on a golf course. His story made me sad. To see him there in the cage probably missing his owners. But as much as I liked him, we still needed a mouser, not an old cat to lay on the porch. (If you want a cat, go get Ronnie. He needs a home.)

So we kept looking. As we walked down the aisle, Julianna was looking at all the cats and pointing and talking to them. When we got to one cage, she leaned in and was especially vocal. The cat in that cage came right over and put her paw up for Jules to touch. I was sold. She had sweet eyes and meowed quietly at us. So I asked the cat guy about her. He told us that she had come in as a kitten with her mother and 10 siblings. The price to adopt her was discounted which I took to mean that her time was almost up. There were two of her brothers left, too. One in the cage under her and one in the cage to the right. "Well," I told my reluctant husband, "If we get two, they would have company outside and could catch twice as many moles." He gave me "the look." But he looked at the brothers. One was gray and very hairy and kind of fat. The other looked much like his sister except with longer hair.

We looked some more. I went back to see Ronnie. Then back to the sister and brothers. Then back to Ronnie. Then to a few others. But we kept coming back to White Sox, the sister who liked Jules, and Yankees, the brother to the right. Arrty said that we couldn't get Yankees because, well, he was named Yankees. (The other brother was Astros. Apparently they had all been named after baseball teams.) But even with that name, Arrty seemed to like Yankees. "What should we do?" he asked me. "Well," I said, "we've been talking about it for a while. We might as well do it today." Mostly because I knew that the boys would be so disappointed if we didn't go home with a cat that day. So we made a decision. We were going to adopt White Sox and Yankees. The boys were thrilled. Even though they weren't cute little kittens. They were cats after all, and they've been wanting a cat for "years" as Josh said. So I went up to do paperwork and they got the cats ready to go complete with an identification chip.

It cost $42.50 each, reduced from the normal $65 fee. But taking into consideration that they have had all their shots, have been spayed/neutered, have the chip, and come with a free vet visit, that's a pretty good deal. Still, as I filled out the pages of paperwork, I thought, "Cats? Really? Cats?" But then, I saw the paper that said "adoption price reduced." And I got this warm feeling about saving these cats. Rescuing them after 11 months of being in the shelter. I admit that it felt good. So good, in fact, that I felt bad about not taking home more pets. Like Ronnie. Or the other brother. Or the cute little black lab puppies in the next room. But two cats was already more than we had planned on.

So we came home last night with two cats. So far they have mostly hidden under chairs. But I keep reminding the boys, and myself, that it must be hard for them to leave the only life they've ever known. To move into a house with people. To not being in a cage surrounded by other cats and barking dogs. We'll give them a few days and hopefully they'll love us as much as we, yes, I said "we," love them.

So, without further ado, I would like to introduce you to our family mousers.



And to keep with family tradition, they do not have names yet. It's down to these options. Bonnie and Clyde, Fred and Ginger, Jack and Jill, or Jack and Socks. The boys get to pick and they are leaning toward Jack and Socks.

I never thought I'd be an animal advocate, but if you are thinking of getting a pet, please visit your local shelter. There are so many animals who need good homes. And if you live in North Idaho... GO GET RONNIE!

10 Things Thursday

The last 10 songs heard on our cd player...

1. Don't Stop Believin'--Journey
2. Does Your Mother Know--Mamma Mia soundtrack (Christine Baranski)
3. Big Ol' Truck--Toby Keith
4. Holy, Holy, Holy--Mark Tindle (mountain dulcimer)
5. In The City--Eagles
6. We'll Burn That Bridge--Brooks and Dunn
7. The Difference--Rescue
8. Again--Brooks and Dunn
9. Can't Get This Stuff No More--Van Halen
10. Winter--Antonio Vivaldi

Busy Bees

This past weekend was a busy one. Very busy. Here's what happened.

Friday morning I made breakfast for the family (eggs, English muffins, bacon, sausage, strawberries). Then I frosted 20 cupcakes and finished gathering birthday party stuff. Then I got myself and all the kids bathed, dressed, and ready to head in to town. And wrapped two of Adam's birthday presents. And cleaned the kitchen. And then it was time for lunch. Fed the family lunch (leftover Chinese food). Skipped lunch myself to finish getting ready. Cleaned the kitchen--again. Loaded the van and headed into town.

Friday afternoon we dropped off the lemon bars that I had made for the school auction and while we were there, I laminated the Pokemon bingo cards for the birthday party. Then we went to the park to set up for the party. When people started arriving, the kids played on the playground until everyone got there. Then we played a few games, ate cupcakes, and watched Adam open his gifts. Then some more playground time. I love park parties because there is very little clean up. And the kids have a great time. The weather was good, too, which was great. A little breezy, but warm enough. Which was good, because last October at Josh's party we all froze. Which is not as fun.

Pokemon cupcakes Party fun.Make a wish!

After the party, we went directly back to the school for the auction. We ate dinner (fish and chips) and started checking out the silent auction stuff. They had tons of great stuff. Josh spotted a sports basket right away and asked me to bid on it. (Actually, he asked me what our number was so that he could bid on it. I knew that could be trouble, so I had to set some bidding ground rules. Rule #1--ask mom first.) Adam found two toy dragons that he liked and asked me to bid on them. So I bid on those two things along with a few others, but auctions make me a little nervous with all the outbidding and rebidding. Luckily there wasn't too much of that going on with the items I was bidding on. Here's what we went home with. The sports basket for Josh, the dragons for Adam, a polar bear basket for Jules, a box of sugar cookies (which I unknowingly outbid my sister on but shared with her later), two movie tickets, a Mexican food gift card and free babysitting for me, and a certificate for working with the fish and game department to catch, tag and release ducks and other water fowl (thanks to Adam and Ada). The auction was a success for the school and fun for everyone there. We got home that night at about 10:00pm.

Mirror Lake

Saturday was the day of the First Annual Family Fishing Derby. The boys had gone home with mom on Friday night and they had all headed up to Mirror Lake early to get a head start on the fishing. Pappy, Grandma, Josh, Adam, and Aidan had caught 6 fish by the time me, Arrty, Julianna, Ada, Adam, and Abby got there at lunch time. We ate sandwiches and chips and Gogurts and string cheese and strawberries and sugar cookies. The boys looked for snakes and frogs and turtles, but only found turtles. We laughed the first of the many laughs of the day. Ada, Adam, and Aidan then decided to take the boat out to try their hand at fishing. After a while they came back with a sleeping boy and a picture of one fish. (Not the real thing because that would have meant that Ada with her sleeping cutie, would have had to get off the live well to put it in.) Then it was my boys' turn to fish. To be fair, they were out on the lake much longer than anyone else. And they were all three fishing. And Josh could happily fish all day from dawn to dusk. So, they came back with the six fish caught earlier in the day and 13 more. So, we were the winners of the Family Fishing Derby 2009. (I hear next year there are going to be tee shirts.)

Mirror Lake is where they filmed part of the movie Dante's Peak. They built this cabin for the movie and then gave it to the lady who owns the property and still lives there.

Pappy and Abby

And since my sister handed out her own awards, I thought I would do the same.

Best catchphrase--Pappy (all you need to know is that it started out, "hoochie coo, hoochie coo."
Best future use of catchphrase--Adam R.
Funniest without meaning to be--Grandma
Stickman in the making--Arrty
Most determined fisherman--Josh
Best fisherman without really trying--Adam D
Best reading material that never got read--Jen (so what if I like vampire books)
Best heart attack inducing moment--Ada
Best nap of which the rest of us were jealous--Aidan
Cutest legs ever--Abby
Best at staying awake even though she really needed a nap--Jules

And a special award goes to Pappy for being the Memory Maker Extraordinaire

Catch of the day!

Julianna was here.

We got home that evening at about 6:00. The boys cleaned the fish while I put the picnic stuff away. Then I fried the fish and they ate the fish. Then I cleaned the kitchen and got Julianna ready for bed and the boys showered and ready for bed. Then I sat down on the couch and sighed. And watched SNL that we had dvred.

Sunday was Sunday with church and lunch at KFC. (Free dinners for all of us. I love free stuff.) We then went over to mom and dad's to pick up Adam's new gorilla Webkinz that he had left there the day before. Which had led to tears the night before. They were working in the garden and invited the boys to stay and help. Which they readily agreed to. They love working in the garden. I think it's mostly because it's actually more like playing in dirt. We picked them up Sunday evening and went back to church for a showing of the movie Fireproof. We had seen it before, but wanted to go anyway to support others. We got home a little after 8:00 to turn on the tv and see that we were missing the season finale of Survivor. Luckily the dvr caught it and was recording. So we stayed up until after 11:00 watching that. I love it when the person I want to win wins.

Then all of a sudden it was Monday. I gave the boys the day off from school for Adam's birthday. Then we took him to dinner at Red Lobster (his choice). He had snow crab legs. They sang Happy Birthday to him and gave him a caramel sundae complete with a candle. I think he loved the attention even though he pretended not to.

The birthday boy.

Mmmm. Crab legs.

Julianna knows the camera has buttons. And she loves buttons.

So it was a busy weekend (and Monday). Busy, but wonderfully so. It made me look forward to lots of other summer weekends full of family and fun.

Happy Birthday, Adam D

Today my baby turns 8. When I called him my baby yesterday, he reminded me that he isn't a baby. And I know that. But then I informed him that he will always be my baby. Even when he has his own babies, he will still be my baby. So today my middle baby turns 8.

I remember like it was yesterday the day he was born. His delivery was scheduled so I slept some the night before, got up and took a shower, and headed to the hospital feeling nothing by excited to meet my new son. We were checked in at about 5:30 am and he was born at 7:50. The first thing I asked after they said, "He's out," is, "Does he have hair?" Not, "Does he have all his fingers and toes?" Not, "Is he okay?" But, "Does he have hair?" Arrty said that he did. But when I finally got to see the top of his tiny little head, he didn't. At least not a lot. Just some very blond fuzz. No hair.

I fell in love with him the moment I saw his blue eyes and sweet pink cheeks. (Actually I had been falling in love with him for nine months.) Those first few days with him in the hospital were amazing. He was so little and cuter than cute. He slept and ate. And slept and ate. He liked to eat. One of my very favorite memories with Adam came in those first days. I was nursing him when all of a sudden, he froze. I looked down at him and his eyes were huge. Then all of a sudden he started nursing faster. My milk had come in that very moment and he seemed happily surprised. The look on his face is something I will never forget.

Since that first day, this little person has grown to be almost as tall as me. He has made me laugh more than anyone else. He has made me wonder where in the world he came from and how I got that kid. You know. The kid who is silly beyond measure. Who loves fun more than anything. Who can go from laughing to crying in a mere instant. Adam is unexplainable. I can tell you that he is generous. He is a mediator. He is a thinker. He loves his family. He is very smart and very, very funny. He is, and always has been, cute as a button. But he is also someone who you have to know to even begin to understand. And if you do know him, you are blessed. And I am extremely blessed to be his mom.

So today, on his 8th birthday, I am going to watch him and smile and remember all the days leading up to this day. And look forward to all the days to come.

10 Things Thursday

10 (of the bazillion) things on my list to do today...

1. teach school to the boys...
2. ...while trying to keep up with Miss Julianna who has begun taking steps!!!
3. make 2 batches of lemon bars for the school auction
4. artistically arrange those lemon bars on pretty plates so that they sell for a million bucks
5. make cupcakes for Adam's birthday party which is tomorrow
6. decorate cupcakes to look like Pokeballs
7. gather all the stuff for the party which is at the park
8. cook a turkey that has been thawing in my fridge
9. then make hot turkey sandwiches for dinner
10. watch the 2 hour season finale of Grey's Anatomy

Purpose

Not Me Monday

Not Me Monday was created by MckMama. You are supposed to write about things that you did NOT do (but you totally did) over the last week.

It was NOT ME who bought six really cool baskets at Sears that I really don't need but bought anyway because they were on clearance. (Who can pass up a $15 basket for only $2.50?!?!)

And it was not me who then went back the next day to buy two more baskets for my mom and sister for mother's day instead of giving them the ones I had already bought.

It was not me who suggested that since we were 15 minutes late for Bible class that we skip it and go to the park instead. And then it was not me who forgot a disk for my camera and had to run into Target before church to get one and made us get there just in the nick of time anyway.

It was not me who judged other mothers for the behavior of their daughters at an event I attended. I would never judge other mothers. No, not me. But if Julianna ever acts like that, I'll...

It was not me who let my sons have McDonald's ice cream cones for lunch on Saturday. Furthermore, it was not me who ate one, too.

It is not me who didn't yet tell the boys that we aren't homeschooling next year. Because it's not me who is afraid they will declare mutiny. And because it's not me who is dreading leaving my sweet daughter for only a few hours each day even though she will be with my sister and equally sweet niece.

It's not me who scheduled Adam and Julianna's birthday parties after declaring to my husband that I was planning them without trying to consult everyone about when they would be able to come like I did last year which did not cause me a huge headache. And it's not me who now feels guilty because some people can't make it to Julianna's very first birthday party.

And last, but not least, it was not me who let my adorable daughter crawl around wearing her pajamas like a cape because she wouldn't sit still long enough for me to get them all the way on. And then it was not me who laughed at her when she got her pajama leg stuck on the foot rest handle of the lazy boy when she tried to crawl between it and the end table. And I would never ever consider putting her back in that uncomfortable spot just so that I could take a picture. Nope, NOT ME!

Happy Mother's Day

Today is Mother's Day. As I sat in the park this afternoon with my mom, and my sister who is a mom, watching our kids play in the sunshine, I couldn't imagine anywhere I'd rather be. Or any blessing greater than being a mom. I was thinking about how I was never one of those girls who planned my family and picked out names for my children. (Which is good, otherwise my children would be Fonzie, Richie, and Pinky Tuscadaro.) I was married for six years before I even thought of having kids. When I was pregnant, I was thrilled and loved every minute of it. Well, almost every minute. Then I was pregnant again and had two babies. And I loved that. Then all of a sudden I had two school aged boys. And I loved that. Then, out of the blue, I had another baby in my heart. And then in my belly. And then in my arms. And today she crawled around on a blanket in the park and walked around and around me holding on to my shirt and danced to the music being played by the orchestra. And as I took pictures of her sweet face and the sweet faces of my sons and my nephew and my niece, I thought of what a blessing they each were today. And the blessings they will be in all the years to come.


And in honor of Mother's Day, I thought I would introduce you to the ones who call me "mommy."

This is Josh.
And this is Adam. And this is Julianna.

10 Things Thursday

Ten reasons why I'm getting a new microwave today...

1. The old one quit working yesterday. (It's only the second one I've worn out in 16 years of marriage.)

2. I am having to reheat things in the oven which takes so much longer.

3. Adam thought that we could only eat cold food from now on.

4. I never remember to thaw things ahead of time and always have to use auto defrost.

5. I had to make the kid's quesadillas on the stove last night and burnt the first one. That never happens in the microwave.

6. Even though I darned socks last week, I'm not so good at channeling my inner Caroline Ingalls by having to cook the old fashioned way. (I know, I know. My flat topped stove and self cleaning oven are not the old fashioned way, but you get the point.)

7. You never know when you might have to suddenly heat up leftover pizza.

8. Someone else in the family might want seconds at dinner after I've already put the food away and he'll refuse to let me use the oven to heat it up. (Not naming any names.)

9. So that I can remind Arrty yet again that, "If it involves heat, it IS cooking."

10. Microwave popcorn. Enough said.

Aha!

Things I've learned today...

Julianna thinks that when she is done eating, her leftovers go on the floor.

Little chunks of banana hitting the floor make more noise than you'd think.

The diaper I changed this morning was worse than the one daddy said was the worst one he'd ever seen...according to Adam.

Two little boys who are homeschooled will work twice as hard when they aren't allowed to watch tv, go outside, or play video games until school is done. (It only took me 147 days to learn this.)

You can bid on something on ebay and be instantly outbid. Don't these people have jobs?!?!

Julianna likes ketchup. Especially when she finds it on Adam's plate after lunch and no one notices her little hands in it until it's all over her, the floor, and daddy's chair.

Ketchup is hard to clean off daddy's chair.

You can reheat mac and cheese in the oven...when you have to because your microwave IS NOT working.

The More, The Merrier!

Yesterday I had three new commenters on my post. It was really exciting to know that I had new people stopping by my blog thanks to Not Me Monday. So, this morning I went to my stat counter to see how many people had visited yesterday. The answer...153. One hundred fifty three!! That easily triples my previous highest number of daily visitors! Now I know that there are bloggers, even some I know, who get that many every hour or minute, but to me 153 is very exciting. Now I just hope a few of them keep coming over.

In other news, Happy Cinco de Mayo. Which means, to this Irish girl, that we are eating Mexican food at family dinner tonight. And it means that I am attempting to make enchiladas to contribute to said dinner for the very first time today. Wish me luck. Or maybe you should wish my family luck. They'll be the ones eating them. :)

Not Me Monday

Not Me Monday was created by MckMama and I've wanted to do it for a long time but have never tried it. You are supposed to write about things that you did NOT do (but you totally did) over the last week. So here goes my first attempt.

I did NOT make sloppy joes this week for the very first time in almost 17 years of marriage. And my family did NOT love them.

I did NOT spend my time in Bible class yesterday making a list of possible blog ideas. And the whole list of ideas did NOT revolve around my children.

I did NOT take a nap yesterday afternoon instead of cleaning the kitchen. And I then did NOT spend the rest of the afternoon playing with my kids and still not clean the kitchen.

I did NOT venture for my first ever visit to ebay on Saturday and then spend 2 hours looking for Pokemon stuff for Adam's upcoming birthday.

I did NOT then spend another hour on the computer playing Chuzzle and Zuma.

I did NOT rock Julianna to sleep in the cry room at church and then, instead of going back in to listen to the sermon, sit there with my chin resting on her little head enjoying the feeling of my almost one year old snuggled on my lap.

I did NOT let Julianna pull a dozen wipes from the pack and I certainly did NOT then let her play with them for a lot longer than I thought she would. And there's is NO way that I then put one on my head and let her pull it off over and over and over just to hear her giggle.

I did NOT let the boys go fishing with their Pappy on Friday instead of doing school and I did NOT try to figure out what I could count that for in their curriculum. So of course, I did NOT give them an hour of science time for said fishing trip.

I did NOT buy People magazine just because it was the 100 most beautiful people issue. And I did NOT wonder how Jane Doe* made it into the issue. (*Name changed to protect the innocent.)

I did NOT, nor would I ever, let Julianna taste my Diet Coke. (Settle down, it was just a tiny taste and to be honest, I think she backwashed. That'll teach me.)

Share your own "not me" in the comments if you want. Or...

You can participate in Not Me Monday on your blog. Just follow the link to MckMama to find out how.

11 and counting

If you notice on Julianna's birthday countdown ticker to the left, she is 11 months old today. Which means a few things.

One, she's almost a year old! For almost a year I have had a daughter. I have watched her change from this tiny little stranger into a sweet, funny, active, baby who I feel like I've known forever.

Two, she's on the move. She is starting more and more to let go of the furniture or her brothers and stand on her own for a few seconds or take an unaided step toward me.

Three, I haven't taken nearly enough pictures of her. There are lots, but is there really ever enough?

Four, I need to make some hair decisions for her. Bangs or none? Part or no part? Short or long? I need help here. I never had this problem with the boys.

Five, I have officially decided to give up on her ever using a pacifier. I have tried every kind they make and she just swings it around or hits it on things or chews on the wrong side or throws it behind her crib. At least I won't have to worry about getting rid of it.

Six, I need to start letting her feed herself with a spoon. She prefers finger foods that she can eat by herself, but eventually, like by her first date, she will need to know how to properly use silverware.

Seven, it's time to go through her clothes again to see what she's outgrown. Hopefully she can wear the especially cute outfits one more time.

Eight, birthday party details need to be completed so that I can begin the task of preparation for the all important first birthday.

Nine, I really have to find what I want to get her for her birthday online since I can't find it in town. It's one of those dolls with the button and zipper and shoe to tie. You know the one. Oh, and don't tell her what she's getting. :)

Ten, she is starting to talk. She says "mama" and "dada" and "Mother, could you please ask your sons to refrain from exasperating me." Okay, she really doesn't say the last one, but you know she thinks it!

And eleven, Julianna being 11 months old means that time is going too fast. Just way too fast.

10 Things...Friday

10 things that made me smile yesterday...

1. Julianna reaching her little arms for me when I went to get her out of her crib first thing in the morning
2. Josh saying, "Thanks for teaching me how to make scrambled eggs, mom."
3. Adam reading 120 words per minute when the highest scale for his grade level is 92 words per minute.
4. my dad's email about his new birthday socks
5. sunshine
6. Jason Mraz songs
7. seeing a 12 year old girl wearing two different color shoes...on purpose
8. being told by perfect strangers how beautiful my daughter is
9. tiny, little jeans with butterflies embroidered on the pocket
10. Mallo Cups