Miss Caroline got glasses this week and she is so excited about the new fashion accessory in her life. She is planning every outfit around them.
7 Day High Protein Diet Meal Plan
1 day ago
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Four Eyes
Miss Caroline got glasses this week and she is so excited about the new fashion accessory in her life. She is planning every outfit around them.
The Master Bedroom
I am desparately trying to find bedding to do in our new bedroom.
**NOTE TO HECKLERS~~I have not bought new bedding in 4 years so shut it.**
I found this set at Kohls~I'm not a huge fan of Kohls but this caught my eye the other day. The pic is kinda small but you can view the larger photo. Whaddaya think? My walls are almost that exact shade of blue. And you gotta love a comforter the color of dirt. How gross can it get from 3 little girls on Saturday mornings?
**NOTE TO HECKLERS~~I have not bought new bedding in 4 years so shut it.**
I found this set at Kohls~I'm not a huge fan of Kohls but this caught my eye the other day. The pic is kinda small but you can view the larger photo. Whaddaya think? My walls are almost that exact shade of blue. And you gotta love a comforter the color of dirt. How gross can it get from 3 little girls on Saturday mornings?
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Where the Heart Is
I had a very interesting meeting at church this week. It was kinda of a leaders meeting with everyone who heads up a ministry involving women so with MOPS I guess that's where I land. It was really neat to share our ministries with each other because while I had a bit of an idea of what they were doing they had no clue what MOPS even is. I was the youngest one there by like 10 years so MOPS just isn't on their radar screens.
In the course of our meeting we veered into a discussion of quality and excellence in our programs and balancing that with what is real and messy~life. While we all agreed quality is important, it needs to address the needs of the women in whatever group it is. It's so easy to get caught up in who is bringing food and did that person get a call and who is doing this and that. We so often get so full of the mechanics that we forget the heart.
We also talked about how we need to not let our particular talent or passion (single parenting, music, motherhood were the ones represented at this discussion) become the thing that is glorified. While it is definitely a God-given passion of mine for moms, that is not where the glory should lie. One woman was talking about how in her passion of music~she is starting a woman's worship night~it is easy to focus on the music because that is what moves her. Myself and another lady there~who I think is the only person who is a worse singer than me~tried to explain to her that while music is pretty, it doesn't move us in the same way. She was having trouble understanding that we weren't really interested in singing for 2 hours straight. Applying that to MOPS was a bit harder. I know that every woman does not have preschoolers, but I do get blinders about the ones who do. "It's been great for me therefore you should come too. And love it as much as I do. " They were telling me that even though I want to run through Target and hand out MOPS flies to every woman with a baby, not everyone is moved by that. It was one of those meetings where I really didn't learn anything I didn't already know in my head, but I didn't always get it in my heart. To have other women taking something that was so obvious to me (music) and pointing out the parallel in something not so obvious (MOPS) it kinda took hold a bit more.
So I am prepared to not sob over every mom who says "no" to MOPS. I think. We'll see.
In the course of our meeting we veered into a discussion of quality and excellence in our programs and balancing that with what is real and messy~life. While we all agreed quality is important, it needs to address the needs of the women in whatever group it is. It's so easy to get caught up in who is bringing food and did that person get a call and who is doing this and that. We so often get so full of the mechanics that we forget the heart.
We also talked about how we need to not let our particular talent or passion (single parenting, music, motherhood were the ones represented at this discussion) become the thing that is glorified. While it is definitely a God-given passion of mine for moms, that is not where the glory should lie. One woman was talking about how in her passion of music~she is starting a woman's worship night~it is easy to focus on the music because that is what moves her. Myself and another lady there~who I think is the only person who is a worse singer than me~tried to explain to her that while music is pretty, it doesn't move us in the same way. She was having trouble understanding that we weren't really interested in singing for 2 hours straight. Applying that to MOPS was a bit harder. I know that every woman does not have preschoolers, but I do get blinders about the ones who do. "It's been great for me therefore you should come too. And love it as much as I do. " They were telling me that even though I want to run through Target and hand out MOPS flies to every woman with a baby, not everyone is moved by that. It was one of those meetings where I really didn't learn anything I didn't already know in my head, but I didn't always get it in my heart. To have other women taking something that was so obvious to me (music) and pointing out the parallel in something not so obvious (MOPS) it kinda took hold a bit more.
So I am prepared to not sob over every mom who says "no" to MOPS. I think. We'll see.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Wowie Kazowie!
Just had to share my joy. Look how well my Ebay auctions did this back to school season! I am SO excited! This is the best per auction haul I think I've ever had. And now Caroline won't wear Gymboree anymore. Boo hoo says my wallet.
Now for a moment of complete randomness. . .
Amelia Age 3 says "I want to eat Hot Pockets when I get big like a person. I not a person now. I a girl"
Okie Dokie.
Okie Dokie.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Hallalujah and Praise the Lord!
Today was the first day of school and to quote my good friend Kary "Yippee skippy flapper doodles!" I love the start of school. It's such an opportunity for organization! I know some of you have been sad about time marching on but quite frankly, I'm really happy about school. Caroline adores school~at least the social part of it~and her school is awesome. Even if there are 250 kids packed into a small little church. So here's my little bookworm decked out in her new Old Navy outfit and PINK camo backpack. Notice the layered polos with the collar up~how cool is that?!? 
And we also have 2 little girls who cried when they did not get to stay at "big kid school." Amelia was very much not happy.Sunday, August 20, 2006
Now for something educational. . .
School starts this week so I'm in a learning mood. There are a handful of blog I like to read on occasion and Holy Mama! had a great post this week reminding us all to do our monthly self-breast exams. Through that post I found this great video all about Inflammatory Breast Cancer which is what my mom died of in June 2002. If you don't have speakers, check out IBC Research. It is one of the best pieces I've seen about IBC and what it can do. Take a look and pass it on. Then go feel your boobies.
Friday, August 18, 2006
And the Oscar goes to. . .
OK, not so much. But I could think of a cute title. So, here's the answers that a few of ya wanted to know.
1. North to pick up, south to drop off.
~Mr. Mom. When Michael Keaton drives carpool the first day he goes through the line backwards.
2. I carried a watermelon.
~Dirty Dancing. When Baby first is introduced to Johnny.
3. Don't f--- with the babysitter.
~Adventures In Babysitting. When Kris encounters gang bangers on the El and they say "Don't F with the Lords of Darkness" that's her answer.
4. If you guys know so much about women, why are you at the Gas N Sip on a Friday night?
~Say Anything. Greatest movie ever. Or at least one of them. Lloyd says it to a group of guys bragging about how the chicks love 'em.
5. Strange things are afoot at the Circle K.
~Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Tim's favorite movie ever. Bill says it to Ted when they first meet Rufus in the time machine.
6. Kmart sucks.
~Rainman. Raymond to Charlie at the end.
7. You can't say lesbian~it's women in comfortable shoes.
~Good Morning Vietnam. Adrian Cronhower during a weather report about it being rainy enough to need dykes.
8. I've just been felt up by my grandma.
~Sixteen Candles. Samantha's grandma points out her "boobies" to her whole family and then grabs them.
9. My dad was a peeping tom!
~Back to the Future. Marty sees his dad in a tree with binoculars.
10. I will not be ignored.
~Fatal Attraction. Glenn Close (I can not remember her name!) says it to Michael Douglas (Dan)
11. Orange whip, orange whip, orange whip, 3 orange whips.
~Blues Brothers. John Candy when ordering drinks at the Blue Brothers show.
12. No dancing? Jump back!
~Footloose. Ren (Kevin Bacon) to Willard (Chris Penn) when he finds out dancing is illegal in their town.
Thanks for playing. Johnny, tell 'em what they've won. . .
1. North to pick up, south to drop off.
~Mr. Mom. When Michael Keaton drives carpool the first day he goes through the line backwards.
2. I carried a watermelon.
~Dirty Dancing. When Baby first is introduced to Johnny.
3. Don't f--- with the babysitter.
~Adventures In Babysitting. When Kris encounters gang bangers on the El and they say "Don't F with the Lords of Darkness" that's her answer.
4. If you guys know so much about women, why are you at the Gas N Sip on a Friday night?
~Say Anything. Greatest movie ever. Or at least one of them. Lloyd says it to a group of guys bragging about how the chicks love 'em.
5. Strange things are afoot at the Circle K.
~Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Tim's favorite movie ever. Bill says it to Ted when they first meet Rufus in the time machine.
6. Kmart sucks.
~Rainman. Raymond to Charlie at the end.
7. You can't say lesbian~it's women in comfortable shoes.
~Good Morning Vietnam. Adrian Cronhower during a weather report about it being rainy enough to need dykes.
8. I've just been felt up by my grandma.
~Sixteen Candles. Samantha's grandma points out her "boobies" to her whole family and then grabs them.
9. My dad was a peeping tom!
~Back to the Future. Marty sees his dad in a tree with binoculars.
10. I will not be ignored.
~Fatal Attraction. Glenn Close (I can not remember her name!) says it to Michael Douglas (Dan)
11. Orange whip, orange whip, orange whip, 3 orange whips.
~Blues Brothers. John Candy when ordering drinks at the Blue Brothers show.
12. No dancing? Jump back!
~Footloose. Ren (Kevin Bacon) to Willard (Chris Penn) when he finds out dancing is illegal in their town.
Thanks for playing. Johnny, tell 'em what they've won. . .
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Just Call Us Betty Crocker
Today was the day. Kary (Circus Girl) and I baked. And baked. And baked. In 4 hours we made 8 dozen brownies, 8 dozen Tollhouse bar cookies, 3 dozen blueberry muffins, 3 dozen apple-cinnamon muffins and appx. 300 pancakes. We used mixes for the brownies and pancakes but everything else was from scratch. Ain't we domestic. We froze everything for breakfasts and school lunches. So now when Tuesday (pancake day) hits, we just pop 'em in the microwave. We've got yummy muffins too. And brownies. Yumm-O. We were both exhausted when we were done but SO glad we did it! Next time we will tackle dinner. We are going to shoot for 10 meals~5 for each of us.
Monday, August 14, 2006
New Auctions!
Some of you have asked so here it is. My newest Ebay auctions are up. I will be adding more size 6-8 plus some hair bows (I think) in the next few days. Link is in my sidebar. Bid 'em up gals!
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Cinematic Fun
I'm working on a few games for MOPS and I get SO sick of the same 'ol ice breaker games. SO in the next few weeks I'm going to try a few out on you guys. Not the full games, just some ideas I'm experimenting with for possible usage. W
80's Movie Fun
What movie are these quotes from. And if you can, name the character who said it and the setting.
1. North to pick up, south to drop off.
2. I carried a watermelon.
3. Don't f--- with the babysitter.
4. If you guys know so much about women, why are you at the Gas N Sip on a Friday night?
5. Strange things are afoot at the Circle K.
6. Kmart sucks.
7. You can't say lesbian~it's women in comfortable shoes.
8. I've just been felt up by my grandma.
9. My dad was a peeping tom!
10. I will not be ignored.
11. Orange whip, orange whip, orange whip, 3 orange whips.
12. No dancing? Jump back!
80's Movie Fun
What movie are these quotes from. And if you can, name the character who said it and the setting.
1. North to pick up, south to drop off.
2. I carried a watermelon.
3. Don't f--- with the babysitter.
4. If you guys know so much about women, why are you at the Gas N Sip on a Friday night?
5. Strange things are afoot at the Circle K.
6. Kmart sucks.
7. You can't say lesbian~it's women in comfortable shoes.
8. I've just been felt up by my grandma.
9. My dad was a peeping tom!
10. I will not be ignored.
11. Orange whip, orange whip, orange whip, 3 orange whips.
12. No dancing? Jump back!
Please Pick Up Your No. 2 Pencils
I went to Target today to get Caroline's school supplies. Shoot me in the head now. Why oh why do these teachers have to be so stinkin' specific?!? We needed 2 boxes of 12 Ticonderoga No 2 pencils. No generic Rose Art will do. And what does Target have 5 billion boxes of? Rose Art. Not a Ticonderoga in sight. Same with CLASSIC Crayola markers. Gobs of BRIGHT and BOLD. Nary a CLASSIC. If every teacher demands Ticonderogas and CLASSICs, why for the love of Pete does Target even carry the other kind?!? And BTW did our founding fathers fight with Daniel Boone at Fort Ticonderoga just to make pencils? Maybe the Hooker can answer that after her family field trip.
So now I get to go to Walmart. Ick.
So now I get to go to Walmart. Ick.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Kiss Your Husband First
As Dr and Mrs Beautiful and have been waxing poetic about each other and the man/woman dichotomy all week (and making the less-mushy among us nauseous), my brain has been churning. So henceforth, I feel the need to throw my two cents in. I know you all have been on the edge of your seats waiting.
A few years ago I attended a MOPS convention out of state. We all met at one girl's house to drive down and dragged our husbands and children to see us off. In the midst of all the tears (by the toddlers, not the dads) and quick "discreet" groping (by the dads, not the toddlers) I noticed something. Most of the moms spent a lot more time playing huggy-kissy with their kids than with their husbands. While some of this may reflect the fact that the major huggy-kissy was done earlier in private, it struck me. And so I began to think and that led to a somewhat heated discussion on the L-O-N-G ride to St Louis.
**Central Question**
When we become moms, do our babies become the center of our affection instead of our husbands? If so, is that wrong? Is it the reason so many marriages~even those among our Christian world~fail?
Some of this displacement is inevitable. When we have a newborn~especially a breastfeeding one~they suck the very life-blood out of us. God created us moms with a fierce love and all-consuming drive to Be the Mommy. Without this, so many of us would succumb to the sheer stress of new motherhood. We are so touched out by the end of the day that any physical contact makes us run for the hills. But as the baby grows and sleeps and becomes aware that they are indeed their own person, mom sometimes doesn't get the memo. Instead of reaching back towards our husbands many of us fixate on our kiddos. Each of us has a tank of different needs and us moms tend to fill our need for cuddling and smooching and all that with our kids. While we love our husbands, we often turn into roommates who occasionally have sex.
Awhile back Oprah did a show with the question, do you love your kids or husband more? I was amazed at how many women were SO passionate about the fact that they loved their children above all else. "It's my BABY! Of course I love her the most! Anyone woman who would put a man above her child is not a good mom." I think the question is wrong. It's apples and oranges. I do not love my Pookie more than my Princesses. I love them differently. Tim is my best friend, makes me laugh all the time, is my partner in all we do, and well, ya know, the other fun stuff. The girls are each gifts and I adore them all as the individuals they are. The best way to love my kids is to give them a solid home to grow up in and that means a strong marriage. Even though we will snark at each other about how to cut up a pizza or whose fault it is that the paperwork is missing, there will be no divorce here. I would contend that is why divorce is so common. Mom is showering the kids with her attention and affection and Dad gets none. So Dad finds himself a little Pop Tart who will shower him. (See Dr Beautiful, I do agree!) Not that I am by any means excusing Dad from his tryst, Mom needs to be aware that she choose him to be her partner and lover, not just sperm donor.
So feed the kids some generic mac and cheese, call a sitter, and go out to dinner. Go out to Target. Go out parking. Go makeout in a forest preserve. Do something to show your hubby that he rocks your world. And always kiss him first and the most.
A few years ago I attended a MOPS convention out of state. We all met at one girl's house to drive down and dragged our husbands and children to see us off. In the midst of all the tears (by the toddlers, not the dads) and quick "discreet" groping (by the dads, not the toddlers) I noticed something. Most of the moms spent a lot more time playing huggy-kissy with their kids than with their husbands. While some of this may reflect the fact that the major huggy-kissy was done earlier in private, it struck me. And so I began to think and that led to a somewhat heated discussion on the L-O-N-G ride to St Louis.
**Central Question**
When we become moms, do our babies become the center of our affection instead of our husbands? If so, is that wrong? Is it the reason so many marriages~even those among our Christian world~fail?
Some of this displacement is inevitable. When we have a newborn~especially a breastfeeding one~they suck the very life-blood out of us. God created us moms with a fierce love and all-consuming drive to Be the Mommy. Without this, so many of us would succumb to the sheer stress of new motherhood. We are so touched out by the end of the day that any physical contact makes us run for the hills. But as the baby grows and sleeps and becomes aware that they are indeed their own person, mom sometimes doesn't get the memo. Instead of reaching back towards our husbands many of us fixate on our kiddos. Each of us has a tank of different needs and us moms tend to fill our need for cuddling and smooching and all that with our kids. While we love our husbands, we often turn into roommates who occasionally have sex.
Awhile back Oprah did a show with the question, do you love your kids or husband more? I was amazed at how many women were SO passionate about the fact that they loved their children above all else. "It's my BABY! Of course I love her the most! Anyone woman who would put a man above her child is not a good mom." I think the question is wrong. It's apples and oranges. I do not love my Pookie more than my Princesses. I love them differently. Tim is my best friend, makes me laugh all the time, is my partner in all we do, and well, ya know, the other fun stuff. The girls are each gifts and I adore them all as the individuals they are. The best way to love my kids is to give them a solid home to grow up in and that means a strong marriage. Even though we will snark at each other about how to cut up a pizza or whose fault it is that the paperwork is missing, there will be no divorce here. I would contend that is why divorce is so common. Mom is showering the kids with her attention and affection and Dad gets none. So Dad finds himself a little Pop Tart who will shower him. (See Dr Beautiful, I do agree!) Not that I am by any means excusing Dad from his tryst, Mom needs to be aware that she choose him to be her partner and lover, not just sperm donor.
So feed the kids some generic mac and cheese, call a sitter, and go out to dinner. Go out to Target. Go out parking. Go makeout in a forest preserve. Do something to show your hubby that he rocks your world. And always kiss him first and the most.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Say Cheese
This is not the actual pictures~just ones from when we got home so you can see the cute tops we found. Greta was not stopping for the paparazzi this afternoon.
I took the girls for pictures today. What an adventure that turned out to be. Caroline loved getting her pictures taken~she would actually throw a fit if we walked past the Picture People with out getting pics. Because of this I was always very smug about getting great photos of kids~"What do you mean little Susie hates picutres?" I thought it was obviously the mom's fault that her kids didn't cooperate. And then came Amelia. That girl has hated every camera ever pointed at her. Where Caroline would ham it up all over the place, Amelia scowled and pouted. Her 2yr pics feature a pose of her sitting on a stool with her legs so wide open she looks like she is sitting on the can. And Greta you ask? Greta is in between. She likes the attention but is easily overwhelmed by too much of it. She was standing on her head in waiting area but refused when the camera tried to capture her 1 yr old silliness. What I really wanted was a great pic of all 3 girls and one good one of each. I kinda got that~only after much bribing and my lap becoming the "stage" I have to give a shout out to Glamour Shots~they rock. They use digital so they took about 50 shots and they will do them all together, alone, whatever I wanted. They also curled Caroline and Amelia's hair which rocked their world. They even went as far as to re-do Amelia alone after we saw the proofs and didn't have a great one of her alone. I love them. I ended up with a 10x13 of all 3, a 8x10 close up of each girl, a 8x10 full-length of each girl, and 3 5x7s and 48 wallets for $208 total~including handle fee and tax. Pretty good deal for all they did. And they are SO nice and helpful. Only thing I don't like is I have no online proofs so I can't post 'em here for you all. So you will all just have to wait for Christmas. Or Kwanzaa. Or Hanankah. Or Ramadah.
I took the girls for pictures today. What an adventure that turned out to be. Caroline loved getting her pictures taken~she would actually throw a fit if we walked past the Picture People with out getting pics. Because of this I was always very smug about getting great photos of kids~"What do you mean little Susie hates picutres?" I thought it was obviously the mom's fault that her kids didn't cooperate. And then came Amelia. That girl has hated every camera ever pointed at her. Where Caroline would ham it up all over the place, Amelia scowled and pouted. Her 2yr pics feature a pose of her sitting on a stool with her legs so wide open she looks like she is sitting on the can. And Greta you ask? Greta is in between. She likes the attention but is easily overwhelmed by too much of it. She was standing on her head in waiting area but refused when the camera tried to capture her 1 yr old silliness. What I really wanted was a great pic of all 3 girls and one good one of each. I kinda got that~only after much bribing and my lap becoming the "stage" I have to give a shout out to Glamour Shots~they rock. They use digital so they took about 50 shots and they will do them all together, alone, whatever I wanted. They also curled Caroline and Amelia's hair which rocked their world. They even went as far as to re-do Amelia alone after we saw the proofs and didn't have a great one of her alone. I love them. I ended up with a 10x13 of all 3, a 8x10 close up of each girl, a 8x10 full-length of each girl, and 3 5x7s and 48 wallets for $208 total~including handle fee and tax. Pretty good deal for all they did. And they are SO nice and helpful. Only thing I don't like is I have no online proofs so I can't post 'em here for you all. So you will all just have to wait for Christmas. Or Kwanzaa. Or Hanankah. Or Ramadah.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Sweet "Baby" Caroline
Caroline was looking at my blog and saw all the baby pics of Amelia on her birthday and as per usual I heard a refrain of "It's not FAIR to ME!" Well, sweetie, I did not own a digital camera til Amelia was 3 months old so there are no baby pics I can put up of you. SSSSSOOOOO. . .here's my attempt at "fairness"~~she's 5 in these pics, baby enough I guess!
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Caroline is a Tween
My baby girl is officially no longer a little girl! We have entered the tween years~those exciting years between sweet little girl and sullen teenager.
She loves American Girl dolls and the White Sox. Playing in the dirt and shopping with mom. And the saddest of all for me, no more Gymboree! boo hoo. Oh well, at least I have 2 more to dress as I like.
So Happy 8th Birthday Sweet Caroline! Mommy loves you.
Friday, August 04, 2006
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
