Bento Baby!

In addition to sending Amelia off to kindergarten and Greta to preschool, I have embarked on a another new adventure this fall. Bento lunches! What are bento lunches? They are based on Japanese box lunches that are made with yummy things like fish, eggs, seaweed, and rice. They are lunch boxes that divide into little compartments. This blog is a great overview of Bento lunches and I'm getting lots of inspiration from her! The idea is to send your kids with something more nutritious and to cut down on waste. It's GREEN! I know what you are thinking~who kidnapped Jen and replaced her with a tree-hugger?! I'm all about cutting down on waste if it saves me money. Less ziplocs to buy more cash for. . .um. . .the Gap?So here's Amelia's for today~ham chunks and colby-jack chunks, whole grain crackers, grape tomatoes with ranch dressing, one lone baby carrot, 3 organic oreos (do not laugh), and a small bag of pretzels for snack time. They eat one snack outside so it has to be in a disposable container.

Caroline's was a bit funner! She has Granny Smith apple slices, sliced mozzarella cheese, & whole grain crackers. She made these into little sandwiches which are super good! She also has grape tomatoes and organic oreos.

And They Are GONE!

I won't re-write my same post from the past 2 years. You can read them here and here. Nothing new to report this year except we did have our first case of nerves. Amelia melted down during the lay-hands-on-the-teacher-and-pray portion of the Open House last night. There was no stinkin' way she was going to TOUCH some person. Oh well. She'll do well in the CRC.

So here's the pics of the morning.

Scaling Back

One of the greatest things about being a mom of school-age kids is that you get to do the New Year's Resolution thing 3 times. For me, the start of a new school year is about as blank slate as you can get. So here I sit starting 180 days in the face and trying to re-vamp yet again. What do I want to do this fall? How do I want things to go? What are my goals? Why do I think in Dr Phil's voice? I have literally lost sleep trying to organize my thoughts and plans. I struggled with answering the questions "What do I want our family to be like? How do I get there? What is standing in the way that can be altered?" Here's what Dr Phil's voice said.

1. I want our home to be warm and peaceful. Not necessarily quiet but peaceful.
2. I want our house to be organized and have routines that are well-run.
3. I want our marriage to be strong and to work with our personalities and not try to be the couple we are not.
4. I want our kids to love being at home and want to bring their friends here.
5. I want to parent my kids not just react to them.

So now that I figured out what I want I needed to figure out how to get there and what was blocking it. I have come to this stunning conclusion. I have too much on my plate. Many are great and wonderful things. Church things. Things other moms can easily do without disruption to their families. Things I enjoy. These are things that are keeping me from being the mom I want to be. One example? Feeding these people. I love to cook and nutrition is a passion of mine. (As is double cheeseburgers but that's another post!) I rarely cook a big meal b/c I am so busy doing A, B or C that I'm too tired or we get home just in time to throw a pizza in the oven. Some things can't budge. Tim's work schedule has no flexibility. The kids have to go to school. So what goes? Everything else that I don't love. That leaves Ebay and Bible study. I love doing Ebay. It provides me a "thing" that is all my own and lets me shop! It also covers a big chunk of our tuition so Ebay will continue! My Tuesday Bible study at church is also great. I love the study and time with grown-ups. Everything else? Gone. I need to be at home. Period. I can not accomplish the goals I want by doing 700 other things at once. While driving.

So as we start this new school year I have to be prepared to say "No." "I'm sorry, but now isn't a good time for me." "Thanks for thinking of me, but I really have to pass." While I understand lots of other moms can do 700 things at once and do them well, I can't. I'm done trying.

Jose Cuervo Would Have Stuck His Landing

We are down here in Hilton Head having a swell time! We have swam (or is it swum?) til we're prune-y, eaten copious amount of food, had Happy Hour every day, and gone to see the jerk under the tree. Last night was a first for us. We went on our first Adults Only dinner and followed it up with Adults Only games~not THOSE games. . .get your mind out of the gutter. We had a bottle of tequila and a few limes and Olympic womens gymnastics. What a great combo. When the US women stuck their landings, we drank. When the Chinese women fell, we drank. By the end of the bottle, we drank cuz we liked the Russian girl's leotard and b/c Tim Daggett said "Beautiful body line." too many times. We might try it with swimming tonight.

Dude, She's OLD

Happy birthday to my beloved oldest daughter! Caroline is 10 today. Eek. I am old. 10 is old. I REMEMBER being 10. It involved a lot of back talk and singing of Barbara Mandrell songs. She has spent much of the day complaining about how much her birthday sucks. We are leaving on vacay in a few days so I'm doing laundry, cleaning, packing, ect. She is PO'd that the rules of the house still apply and she is not the queen of the world. All in all, she's a sweet kid who is developing the life skills of shopping and golf. She's also a crazy White Sox fan. . .she actually shed tears last week out of fear that her beloved Nick Swisher might get traded. So happy birthday Caroline Rebekah. You've got 8 more years of free-loading and then you're out on your ear.

Amelia-isms

Our lovely second daughter Amelia is what my grandma would call "full of the dickens." She just spouts off whatever comes to mind. Out loud. At that moment. Here's a few of her most recent gems.

Upon hearing an organ for the first time in a traditional CRC
"MOMMY! WHAT is that NOISE?!?!"

Upon opening her birthday present from Aunt Seana and Uncle Jeff
"I am the luckiest girl in the world."

At our family reunion she got a pin with her name on it and picture of her Great Great Grandma on it. She walks up to the hostess of the reunion and says,
"This is my grandma who is dead."

Is It Just Me?

• who goes to bed thinking about what I get to eat tomorrow?
• who is finally sick of Jon and Kate + Eight?
• who wishes summer was less busy?
• who has a drink after VBS?
• who checks the radar every 20 minutes in case a storm cell develops? Oh wait. That's not me~that's my husband.
• who hates Wal Mart but loves Target?

Friday Fun

As a corollary to the Hair Metal, here is a fun QUIZ. I got all 10 correct. I think I am embarrassed to admit that.

FRIDAY FIVE

FIVE BEST HAIR METAL BANDS
1. Def Leppard
2. Poison
3. Warrant
4. Winger
5. Guns N Roses~~I hesitate to include them since they really aren't "hair metal"

FIVE THINGS I MISS ABOUT MY HIGH SCHOOL SUMMERS
1. My thighs
2. Hiding in the dining room to talk on the phone since there were no cordless phones!
3. Cheerleading camp
4. Cruising Bremen mall to pick up boys from the public high school (gasp!)
5. Seeing every movie that came out

FIVE THINGS I MISS ABOUT CAROLINE
(She's away at camp this week.)
1. Having another non-toddler in the house.
2. My gopher
3. Someone to share my excitement over the new fall clothes popping up online.
4. Her sweet willingness (well, most of the time!) to help her sisters
5. Her chores being done. I have had to unload the dishwasher all by myself! :-)

The Boy is One

This was the little peanut last year. SO teeny and cute cute cute! Wyatt Nathan was only
5 lbs 2 oz and 17 inches long~the smallest of all my babies. It is a miracle that he has survived his sisters' "love" for an entire year. To read all about his birth story GO HERE.

Here is the big boy now. Of course he is nowhere near walking or even standing alone but his sisters were late to that party too. He crawls faster than I can run and screams like a girl. He was a great eater but lately has been on a hunger strike. I don't know if he's protesting high gas prices or lack of cheeseburgers for each meal but he eats like a bird. I'm not too worried since as Aunt Kim says, "Well, he can live off his own fat for a few days."

And so with this picture you can see my first boy mom dilemma (well, other than my constant worry that his boy part doesn't look "right") What to do with his hair? It is starting to get long and girly looking. As my ever-hip dad said, "That's the way the kids are wearing it these days." I am aware of the return of surfer/skater hair for boys but Wyatt has no curl or wave. Just stick straight locks. I really want to trim it so he can sport a faux hawk or at least get some product in there to wave it up. Hmmm. . . .

Here's one picture of Wyatt opening a present from Grandpa and Grandma up at the lake. He was pretty interested in the whole operation but his sisters were much more into stealing his toys and fighting over them. Ah, the story of his life. He will have a party at the end of this month that he will get to share with 2 of his sisters who also have summer birthdays. Just a small family thing~no ponys or jumper things. I still don't even have a menu.

So to my sweet baby boy Happy First Birthday! We're so glad Amelia hasn't scarred you for life. Yet. We all love you!

Clarifying and De-Junking

First off for today, I want to clarify my last post. I wrote it after reading a magazine article about how kids don't have enough time to play and it got my brain churning. I was truly surprised that "lack of free play time" was a big enough issue that I was reading a magazine article about it. I wasn't trying to be negative about kids being in sports and activities but that's totally how I came off. SO sorry about that. I think sports are GREAT for kids to be involved in and as mine get older I'm sure we will. I was just stating why at this time in our family's life, it doesn't make sense for us, time-wise, financially, and otherwise. I'm not saying we CAN'T afford it, but just that it makes more sense for us to spend our cash on things we can all do together. With 3 little ones, schedule is huge. If we get off kilter for more than a day or two, Mommy pays dearly!

Moving right along, I'm on a quest. I have been reading a lot of labels lately and I'm getting serious about removing junk food from my kids diet. Now, I'm not going crazy and outlawing McDonald's or anything but I want our eating at home to be as healthy as possible so that things we have elsewhere are a treat. My first goal is to remove refined sugar from our house. It is SO much harder than I thought. Sugar is in everything! I have started with the basics~all natural peanut butter, applesauce, yogurt, ect. I am trying to get rid of the high fructose corn syrup type sugars. Some things like dried fruit are higher in sugar but are also high in vitamins and fiber. I'm also trying to keep all processed foods to an absolute minimum. Things like hot dogs, Spaghetti Os, and such.

I want to get some breakfast, lunch and snack ideas for summer and for fall lunch boxes. Breakfast is the easiest but snacks are killing me. Once you get past fruit and veggies there is not much left! We already do things like low fat string cheese and yogurt. The big girls love hummus with whole wheat pita chips.

The other big challenge with healthy eating is the cost. It is more expensive to go all natural for many reasons but so far in my experience, the biggest reason is the removal of generic products from the mix. We go through applesauce like crazy here but only Mott's makes a "No Sugar Added" applesauce so I'm stuck.

So throw some ideas at me! What healthy snacks do your kids love? What healthy options are good for lunch boxes? Do you have budget friendly tips?

If Play Is the Work of Childhood, How Come None of My Kids Gets a Paycheck?

"Children today do not have enough time to play."

"As difficult as it is, we must encourage unstructured free play for our kids."

Am I the only one who finds these quotes a bit, um, nuts?! All my kids DO is play. Not one of 'em did a lick of work today. Not one of 'em earned a paycheck. Not one of 'em did a single thing to earn their place at the dinner table. They are a bunch of free-loaders.

I have never been a joiner-type mom. My girls have never taken dance. No one in our house plays soccer. They wouldn't know a T-ball if it hit them in the face. Gymboree is a store we shop at not a place to have "Mommy and Me" class at. I don't like chaos and all these activities would seem to bring a whole lot of unwanted chaos to my world. I like days at home. I like all my ducks in a row.

My other issue is money. All these things cost lots and lots of cash. I don't want to spend my cash until I am totally convinced that it is something they will truly love and benefit from. Stalin-esque mom that I am, I also require them to kick in some funds for an activity. Yep. Caroline is forking over some of her allowance for this week's golf lessons. I'll probably let 'em hit VBS for free being that it's spiritual enrichment and all that jazz.

So back to unstructured free play. Um, I guess I'm a good mom cuz I spend most of my day saying, "GO PLAY!"

Not a Baby

It's a Garage SALE Not a Garage GIVE AWAY

I survived Day One of my garage sale. Heck, I thrived on Day One! I cleared just under $1000 and I am pretty cleaned out. People were buying things as Tim pulled them out of the basement. My glider that has rocked four babies~2 of whom had reflux~sold as we carried it out the front door. The funnest part was by lunchtime I had people showing up telling me their friends were calling them to come to my sale. Hee, hee. I'm famous.

Lady #1~How much for the glider?

Me~Um, $45?

Lady #1~Sold. Just keep walking it to my truck.

Me~Okie dokie.

The one thing I hate? The barter. I do make offers when I go garage sale-ing. If my pile is $12 I will offer $10. I had a lady this morning and it goes something like this:

Lady #2~Can you add me up? (As she drops about 15 outfits at my feet.)

Me~Sure. Add, add . . .$48.

Lady #2~Will you take $10?

Me~Uh, no. I'll take $45.

Lady #2~Well, all I have is a $20. Will you take $20.

Me~No, I'll take $45. You can come back Saturday afternoon and I might take $30.

Lady #2~Fine. (All huffy.) Here. (shoves $45 at me.)

Evidently, It IS a Toy

My sweet baby boy is a man. He has discovered his winkie. Last week at a routine diaper change, his chubby little hand accidentally ran into the member and The Boy broke into a huge grin. Now any time he can, he shoves both chubby little hands into his Manland to play. He giggles. He squeals with delight. He yanks, pulls, and twists. I get a little green just thinking about it.

FRIDAY FIVE

FIVE BEST STORY SONGS
1. Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves~Cher
2. Dead Man's Curve~Jan and Dean
3. Leader of the Pack~Whoever sang it?!
4. Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun~Julie Brown
5. Mr Roboto~Styx

FIVE REASONS I'M GLAD SCHOOL IS OUT
1. I don't have to get dressed til lunchtime.
2. Caroline is here to play with her sisters.
3. It's warm.
4. I don't have to remember to read 900 papers every night.
5. School lunches.

FIVE REASONS I'LL MISS MY BFF WHEN SHE'S GONE
1. Who else will I talk to at 7:30 am?
2. She gets me, man.
3. She doesn't laugh at my strange quirks.
4. She reminds me that my house really isn't that small. :-)
5. She goes shopping with me in the "backroom"

Wearing Her Wooden Shoes

My conversation with Caroline this evening while listening to the Sox game.

Caroline~How many people in baseball are named Cabrera?

Mommy~Lots. In the Spanish speaking world it is like. . .

Caroline~Van Drunen?

Preschoolers and Baseball Do Not Mix

We took the girls to the White Sox game today. THAT was an experience. Some dreams were fulfilled and some went unrequited. Amelia was begging to leave in the top of the 2nd inning and Greta slept from the 4th to the 6th. Yep, you read that right. She slept. Not even Alexsi Ramierez's 3 run shot complete with fireworks could wake her up. It was Kids Day so the girls got to meet some players and get lots of "phonographs" (as Amelia referred to it as!)

Too bad Tim and Wyatt aren't in the pic~this would make a great Christmas card! Well, at least Mark Buehrle and I look good!

You can't see his face but at this moment Caroline's dreams are coming true~Mark Buehrle is signing her jersey! Other girls dream of meeting Miley Cyrus, mine dreams of baseball players. She was positively star struck.Greta on the other hand was not. She asked every player she saw, "Is you Bobby?" Lucky for her, they either laughed or didn't speak English. Unlucky for her, no one could point her to her beloved Bobby.

Ah, the ballpark hot dog. At least Tim got Greta's order of "plain" correct. Somehow my request of "Polish with onions" was heard as "hot dog with mustard." I hate mustard. Always have.

Just plain pre-nap cuteness.

Amelia was true to form. She either loved something or wanted to go home. She cried when she heard AJ wasn't signing today but perked right up when she got a bottle of Gatorade. She was too hot, she was too cold, it was wet, it was boring and on and on and on. . .Nighty, night.

New Summer Resolutions

So tomorrow is the last day of school. Yay! I think. . . I am so excited about sleeping in~if you can call 7:15 sleeping in~and not having to go go go. I am not so sure I want 4 kids in my face ALL. DAY. LONG. This is the first summer in eons that we are FREE! It's been a long time coming! Summers past. . .

2002 My mom died in June so that was kinda a crazy summer.
2003 Amelia was born in June
2004 I found about I was expecting Greta in early June and spent most of that summer puking and sleeping on the couch.
2005 Greta was a teeny baby and I was post-partumly messed up.
2006 We moved in the middle of July.
2007 Wyatt was born in July.

SO 2008 is going to non-stop fun and games! I think. . . This is my solemn vow.

I will take the kids to the library once a week.
I will cook a real dinner 4 times a week.
I will do a fun craft/activity with the girls once a week.
I will say "yes" to more sleepovers.
We will all make our beds every day.
I will make a new chore chart next week. (Stay tuned for that post)
I will put sunscreen on everyone every day!
We will have ice cream for dinner once.
We will play in the sprinkler.
I will make lots of healthy snacks so we don't eat junk all summer.

Check back in Sept. . .

Jesus & Joanna, Sunburns and Plaid

We were at my niece Joanna's Profession of Faith all day on Sunday. At the risk of sounding totally cheesy and old, she's growing up so fast!! Joanna was born right before Tim and I got married. She was my first niece and I had so much fun with her! She's almost 15 now and so pretty! And TALL! She's a sweet girl and totally lets my girls look up to her. They think she walks on water so hopefully she'll be the perfect teenager!
Yes, I am aware that sun causes sunburn. Ouch. I was so comfy in my chair at the party after church yesterday. Wyatt was sleeping in the house and the girls were playing in the barn. I was so relaxed and now I'm paying for it. Ouch again.My children have been taken over by a strange plaid virus.

Meal Plan Monday---On Tuesday

Monday~~Sweet and Sour BBQ Chicken
Sweet Potato Fries

Tuesday~~Bar Louie $1 burger night

Wednesday~~Sonora Chicken Casserole
Rice and Beans

Thursday~~Dr appts for the girls~SHOTS! so leftovers

Friday~~Skillet Shrimp and Rice

Saturday and Sunday~~Going to Michigan for Joanna's Profession of Faith on Sunday~might leave Sat, might just go for the day

FRIDAY FIVE

FIVE LEAST ANNOYING KIDS SHOWS
1. Kai-lan
2. The Upside Down Show
3. Zaboomfoo~Whatever happened to the HOT Kratt brothers?!?
4. Sesame Street
5. Super Wy!

FIVE BEST 80's TEEN MOVIES
1. Can't Buy Me Love~He is NOT McDreamy. He is Ronald Miller.
2. Say Anything
3. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
4. Back to the Future
5. Less Than Zero

FIVE BEST GIRL NAMES I NEVER USED
1. Grace
2. Scarlett
3. Bronwyn
4. Charlotte
5. Reagan

FIVE BEST BOY NAMES I NEVER USED
1. Wilson
2. Hudson
3. Jack
4. Patrick
5. Reed

I Have the Asian Typhoid South American Parasite Tapeworm. . .Or Something Like That

I have been fighting this weird thing for 5 days now. According to WebMd, I either

A. am Lactose Intolerant
B. have just returned from a third world country
C. have an intestinal parasite
D. have a tumor
E. have scurvy or dysentary
F. am going to die

Hm. . .I really don't like any of my options. All I can say is that the 7-Up and Chicken Soup diet had better get me to my goal weight.

I Hate Mother's Day

There. I said it. I hate Mother's Day. For years I hated it because I wasn't a mom. I tried so hard for years and nothing. I lost my first pregnancy at 10 weeks on May 1, 1997 and week later was Mother's Day. I cried a lot and I'm not a crier~ask my BFFs, they'll tell you. Then later after I was granted temporary earthly possession of my babies, I hated Mother's Day because I didn't have my mom. I miss her. She should be here to laugh at her granddaughters falling into the pond (story for another blog) She should be here to yell at me for not watching her granddaughters and allowing them to fall into said pond. I miss having a mom. I have a great stepmom. Judy has been a great addition to our family~she truly has a gift of being a grandma to my kids without making me feel as if I can't miss my own mom. She has never once tried to mother me~which I appreciate SO much cuz I really don't like to be told what to do. (I needed to add that in case anyone was unaware!) Today I hated Mother's Day b/c it was the same as any other day. I got up and made the kids breakfast while Tim slept. I put them all to bed and did 90% of what happened in between. No rest for me! Amelia and Greta fought all evening, Wyatt fussed and refused to sleep and Caroline "forgot" her homework that is due tomorrow. Ugh. Would I trade back to Mother's Day 1997? Nope. Not in a minute.

FRIDAY FIVE

FIVE PEOPLE I HAVEN'T HEARD FROM WHO NEED TO COMMENT HERE
1. Candi
2. Laura
3. Carol
4. Kim
5. Melissa

FIVE REASONS I HAVEN'T BEEN TO THE GYM IN 4 DAYS
1. Wyatt is covered in snot
2. PMS
3. The anorexic runner girl hogs the treadmill
4. I haven't done laundry so I have no clean work out clothes.
5. I don't wanna

FIVE REASONS I STILL LIKE ER
1. Linda Cardellini
2. Uncle Jesse as a Bad Boy Doc
3. Mekhi Phiefer~Yum
4. They still turn medical cases into thinly veiled political statements
5. I wanna be a doc

FIVE REASONS TO VOTE MARTY OZINGA FOR CONGRESS
1. He's been in charge of Ozinga-land so why not more?
2. Red and white will be come the official colors of his district
3. Ruth throws sweet parties
4. Because we all need one more reason for people to say "Are you related to . . .?"
5. He can't possibly do a worse job than some other IL politicians.

Can You Hear Them?

The angels. They are singing. Loudly. The Hallelujah Chorus. Why? I'll tell you why. This is no longer our house. It is done. The very nice people moved in today. I love them. We are now the proud owners of only one home. Yippee.

Of Sliders and Sox

Oh what a week! All kinds of fun and games. Things have been pretty stressful around here with the house not selling thing and business woes so some fun was just what we needed! Wednesday I blew off all my chores and went to meet Christine for breakfast and to shop ALL ALONE at The GAP. Oh the fun. Got some great deals for the kids for summer~gotta love those clearance racks. Now for the fun with pictures!

On Thursday night we met Dad and Judy at the Cell for a Sox game. They had the tix and parking passes so we needed to figure out a way to meet up. Dad called Tim's cell as we were coming up to the Dan Ryan and asked where we were. We told him and looked out our window and they were right behind us. Couldn't have planned that if we tried! Anyhoo, our tickets were for the JIM BEAM CLUB. The pic above is the view from the seats. Even better, it's all you can eat and drink! I think I slipped into a food coma somewhere around the 6th inning. The cherry on top? The Sox beat the Yankees! I hate the Yankees.

It was a week of firsts for Wyatt. We took the kids to White Castle for the very first time. Everybody but Greta loved it. She was very put off by the lack of cheese and small square burgers. Here is the Boy with his new favorite food~sliders. He scarfed almost a whole one all by himself.

Lastly, Caroline and I went to the Sox game on Sunday afternoon~great tix again courtesy of Dad. We were right by first base and had a great view of the game! Only downer was I believe we were seating in the Ligue Family section. Holy drunk dudes, Batman. Since we were right near the visiting dugout all the drunk folk from all over the park came down to heckle the Orioles. We got there a bit too late for autographs but Caroline did get to run the bases!

The view from our seats.

AJ Pierzynski with a bit of a lead.

All the kids running the bases. Caroline is there with the Schutt boys.

GO SOX! Caroline got really good at screaming all of her favorite players names. Over and over and over. She also truly believed that the Fan-O-Meter would go up if she shrieked loud enough.

We had passes to the Stadium Club so we went to share some nachos and hot chocolate before the game. I *thought* I saw Ron Kittle at one point so I ran around like a crazy woman trying to find him. I know I can stalk him out here but hey. He's my fave.

Here he is.

Creed~Not Just a Really Cool Band

The Apostles’ Creed

This creed is called the Apostles' Creed not because it was produced by the apostles themselves but because it contains a brief summary of their teachings. It sets forth their doctrine "in sublime simplicity, in unsurpassable brevity, in beautiful order, and with liturgical solemnity." In its present form it is dated no later than the fourth century. More than any other Christian creed, it may justly be called an ecumenical symbol of faith.

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic* church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

_________________________________________________

I had a very interesting, very brief conversation the other day about the Apostle's Creed.

Person A, speaking of someone else~"They go to one of those super conservative Christian Reformed churches where they say stuff like the thing. You know the 'I believe in God' thing."

Me~"You mean the Apostle's Creed? 'I believe in God the Father. . .'?"

Person A~"Yeah, that thing. I think it's wrong that they put things like that ahead of the Bible."

Me (trying really hard not to call her/him an idiot)~"The creed is a centuries old statement of our shared Christian beliefs. Completely and totally based upon the Bible. I grew up in a very traditional CRC and no one there put it above the Bible."

Person B~"Yeah, I'm glad we don't do that kind of stuff here (my church). The only reason I have even heard of it is from that Rich Mullins song."

Me~"Um, we totally do. Our church's foundation is built upon that creed as a summary of what the gospel teaches. I wish we studied the foundations of our faith more."

Person B~"But people in THOSE churches just recite that stuff from ritual. It doesn't mean anything."

Me~"Perhaps some of them but not the majority. There are lots of people in our church who have no idea what they believe other than that they love Jesus."

Person A~"Isn't that all that matters?"

At this point we were interrupted by someone else and that's where the conversation ended. It has bothered me ever since. Have we really gotten so "back to basics" that loving Jesus is all that matters? "Love the Lord your God" is the very first commandment but do we not have a responsibility to understand what it is God did for us on the cross and how our lives should look in response to that gift? I love my church and it's heart for sharing grace with the people who have not found it yet, BUT I do miss the foundations of my youth. (Good grief, I sound like I'm 80.) I have often blamed my church for their "failure" to teach these things to the new believers who join our church. I really think the blame doesn't really rest on the church leadership completely. Could they do a better job at offering classes and preaching from Lord's Day 1? Absolutely. Can you force people who do not feel it's important to attend? Nope.

I think I have such a hard time understanding this because I am a researcher. I would never make a major change in my life without weeks of Googling and reading and talking to people "in the know." It floors me that people would make a decision to follow God and join a church without understanding what that church teaches or believes. I think that is one of the reasons why lots of churches today struggle with a revolving door membership. People's hearts are touched and they get all excited and join. They don't get involved or deepen their understanding and relationship. So after the novelty of the church thing wears off they are gone~onto the next new thing.

So my question for you is loving Jesus all that matters? My answer? Yes and no.

Who Says You Can't Say "LORD" on American Idol?!

OK. I confess. As soon as my Chris Daughtry was done singing we switched back the White Sox slaughter. (Gulp) I missed this. What do you think Simon thought of THAT?!

It's Baseball Season, Baby!

My White Sox started off the year yesterday with a bang. It was a great game which ended with Caroline in tears and Tim swearing at the TV. So we are officially tied with Detroit for last place. Ah, baseball has begun!

We also had a baseball related moment on Saturday night. Since we didn't go to Memphis for Spring Break like we usually do, Tim and I decided to go away for just a day~without the kiddies! We both have lost some weight since last spring and needed some pants that would not fall off our new slimmer hips. Part of the fun was going to be using our Lettuce Entertain You gift cards from Christmas for dinner at Maggiano's with friends from church. Long story short, they ended up having to cancel due to husband-wife non-communication (like that NEVER happens to us!) so we were looking for somewhere else for dinner. We discovered Holy Mackerel. Being fans of great seafood we figured we'd give it a try. It is connected to Harry Caray's which gave us the heebie-geebies but for good fish, we'd get over it. Well, turns out we were grossly under dressed for Holy Mackerel but not Harry Caray's so we took a table and opened our menus while surrounded by Ryne Sandburg's jersey and Mark Grace's glove. Ick. That was the first problem. Second issue, we were sitting in the laps of the people next to us. They don't separate the tables there, just sit you down so you are in essence sharing a table with strangers. Cub fan strangers. Third problem. Price. Dude, I think Dutchie is living high on the hog with this racket! So unless we were going to split a cup of minestrone we needed a plan. Tim is firm that he is not getting up and leaving. People would see him. Good grief, you would have thought Linda was sitting with him. So I whisper, "Follow me in 2 minutes." Watch how cool I am.

I reach into my purse and press the button to make my phone ring. I "answer" it and leave the table. While walking away, I call my sitter and starting saying things like, "What's wrong?" "Do you need us to come home?" while standing right by the hostess stand.

Hostess: "Oh! Is everything OK?"

Me: "Oh yes, but that's our sitter. We are going to need to leave. I'm so sorry."

Hostess: "Oh no problem! I'll tell your server you were called away."

Me: "Thanks so much!"

Tim slinks out through the bar and we make our escape. We are so smooth. We went to the Reel Club instead and had a fab dinner and we were able to use our gift cards. We will go back there soon! We will not be showing our faces at Harry Caray's again. We are a class act!

Happy Ressurection Sunday!!

As all you old Faith folks know, Rev O taught us that it's Resurrection Sunday. Easter is a pagan holiday. :-)

We had a fun day~church was good, our friends with no local family either came over for dinner. Even though it snowed, it was a nice day!

FRIDAY FIVE

FIVE BEST 80'S TV CHARACTERS
1. Alex P Keaton
2. Alex P Keaton
3. Ricky Stratton
4. Becky Connor
5. Blair Warner

FIVE BEST THINGS AMELIA HAS SAID THIS WEEK
1. "Is this where Jesus roseded?"
2. "I need to see my poopies."
3. "OH NO GRETA! Here comes mommy!"
4. "I need to dress like a farmer's wife. Only boys are farmers. That's what my teacher said."
5. "I don't want to and you can't make me."

FIVE BEST THINGS TO EAT
1. Philly cheesesteak
2. Pizza
3. Fajitas
4. Chili's white chocolate molten cake
5. French fries

The Chef Has Returned

I posted a new recipe over on my other blog. I am going to try to post one a day til my recipe box is empty! Lofty goal. Check it out.

Cheez Whiz and Taxes

I have not fallen in a hole. I am not trapped under something heavy. I have not been sucked into the parallel universe known as Facebook~well, not totally. It is Ebay listing time! AND corporate tax time! My least favorite weeks of the years. Ick. Good news is I made oodles of $$ on my listings and taxes are off in the uber-capable hands of Bert the Wonder-CPA.

I got a call from my sis-in-law Cindy Lou Who (she HATES it when I call her that!) on Tuesday. Seems that one girl from their group dropped out of their trip to the Hearts At Home conference and did I want her ticket? Honestly, I was torn. While a weekend away sounded awesome, I wasn't sure I wanted to go to a Rah Rah Mom event with a group of women I had never met and who would probably be offended by my eye rolling. While I cannot gush that the conference was so awesome and I loved it and blah blah blah, I am glad I went. If you could cut through the cheese, there were some great things. We heard some speakers who cut through the cheese and reinforced the value of days spent wiping behinds and hiding in the pantry for a moment of peace. The biggest thing it challenged me to do was to spend more time with my kids. With 4 of them and running the trucking company and church and school activities, it gets really easy to say "Go play!". And now with the addition of Facebook to my life. . . The other great part of the weekend was I met Cindy group from her church. I was bit worried that they would be all like Cindy. I love my sister in law, she is truly a great mom and friend, BUT I don't know that she and I would have sought out a relationship if I wasn't married to her brother. We are very different people with very different opinions and reactions to things. Turns out, the girls were all really nice. They went out of their way to include me which I really appreciated. I specifically hit if off with 2 of the girls~Judy and Sara. Sara and I decided we were twins separated at birth. We liked the same things and often the same comments would come out of our mouths at the same time. It was neat to chat with her and hear that she was worried that I'd be just like Cindy. We had a good laugh over that one!

The weekend ended somewhat abruptly as Judy got a call that her 10 yr old son, Brandon, had been accidentally hit in the head with a golf club. They took him to the hospital and discovered a brain bleed. They sent him up to the larger hospital and did surgery Sunday morning. He is doing well but will probably be in PICU for a few days. Please keep Brandon in your prayers.

So this may be my last post for awhile. It's March Madness. Yee Haw! Go Hooisers!

Hello? It's ME you're looking for. . .

OK, time is short but I had to talk about this. Who saw AI last night?!?!? Oh my Lionel Richie. David Cook is my new favorite. I did mention he was a fave from his first audition but last night sealed it. Anyone who can make THE WORST SONG EVER into a cool tune deserves to place 3rd or 4th. Not win cuz then he'll sing some awful AI song like Taylor Hicks and we'll never hear from him again. Go David Cook.

Shameless Idol Worship

I love American Idol. I know, I'm a total geek. I realize it's cheesy and very possibly rigged, but I still love it. I have had my share of AI crushes over the years but only 2 have stood the test of time. My first one was this guy on Season 4. I shamelessly fell in love with Constantine. He was just so cool. Totally the kind of guy I would have dated in college if I was much cooler.

Then came Season 5 and I found a man to hold a guitar pick, er candle, to my Constantine. Chris Daughtry. Yumm-o. I loved every single thing he sang. Everything he did was SO COOL. Then they did his hometown interview and his wife looked JUST LIKE ME! She was not model-hotness. She was a cute average American woman. That was just the bees knees.

For those of you who don't know, last Sunday was the Big Bon Jovi Girls Nite. With the addition of my tag-a-long husband. Tim and 10 chicks in a limo. He was in his glory~girls who were forced to sit and listen to him talk! I loved Bon Jovi. They were awesome as usual. When we first got out tix last fall we had heard that BIG AND RICH were going to be the opening act. While I would have LOVED to see John and Big Kenny, I was over the moon when I heard Daughtry was the official opener. Purrr. . . . He was awesome.

So now I can not decide if Chris has actually de-throned Constantine but it's pretty dang close. This season? David Cook is probably my favorite guy singer but he's kinda dorky looking so we'll see. There is no hotness to touch Constantine. I think I'll convert to Greek.

**Thanks to Leenie for the great Daughtry pic**

Who Says You Can't Get Somethin' for Nothin'

Check this out. I am going to McDonald's for breakfast Thursday AND Friday! Meet ya there.

It Was Not Supposed To Happen

It happened. I have an affliction. One I swore would never happen to me. I am a good girl. I plan. I prepare. But this little thing b____ slapped me upside the head. I was watching an old episode of "Dharma and Greg" with Dharma taking care of her new baby brother. I have baby fever. My baby is huge. He is ready to leave home and take a wife. I need a new one. I think I'll go have a drink until this feeling passes.

Influenza

Get your flu shots. We didn't. Doc said it was a "hit or miss" year. Our insurance didn't cover it so we skipped it. That was dumb.

Fab Deal ALERT!

If you love J Crew~and what Calvin grad doesn't?~click here for a great deal! Error on their website and they are honoring the price til it's fixed!

Not a deal anymore! They were $5.25 last night with free shipping.

FRIDAY FIVE

Five Cutest Things About Wyatt
1. He sits up now.
2. He has 2 little teeth.
3. His expansive wardrobe. Who says boys are no fun to shop for?!?
4. The endearing way he yanks on my hair.
5. The 5 am giggling wake up call.

Five Reasons I Am Done with Winter
1. I hate wearing a coat.
2. Static-y hair.
3. My kids are inside ALL. DAY. LONG.
4. My car is gross.
5. My skin is gross.

Five Greatest Valentine's Day Songs
1. Love Stinks~J Geils Band
2. In Your Eyes~Peter Gabriel (The even-a-loser-can-get-a-girl song)
3. Makin' Love Out of Nothing At All~Air Supply
4. I Want Your S__~George Michael (Don't want words picked up on searches!)
5. With or Without You~U2

I Have Found My People

I was at my happiest in the 80's when argyle and monogrammed sweaters were all the rage. I lived in layered polos with the collars up, my sweater thrown jauntily over my shoulders and docksiders. I never embraced acid washed Guess jeans and IOU sweatshirts~I wore turtlenecks with college sweatshirts and pearls. Ah, those were the days. So imagine my unadulterated JOY when I entered the mall and found THESE for my little man.



And THESE for my big man.


And THESE for my girls.






And for me? Nothing. I still need to lose like 30 pounds in order to wear this~~and yes it IS that tiny!


I am SO thrilled to see preppy coming back in a big way this spring. I just adore it and probably always will. So what's one thing you'd LOVE to see come back. A whole look or just one piece you loved? The banana clip? Tight-rolled jeans?

Campaign Promises

We were driving home from Bible study this morning and listening to talk radio. They were discussing the new economic stimulus plan. Rush was talking about the senate version and said "We don't need more money for food stamps!" Greta pipes up from the back, "Yeah! We don't need more money for fruit snacks!" There you have it voters. If you elect Greta she will veto any bill that proposes more money for fruit snacks!

I Dare You

Go ahead. Tell me I don't have the cutest baby boy EVER.


OK, so he does look a little bit like Squiggy. But Squiggy was cute. In his own special way.




He is just yummy. And 6 whole months old. He's 18 pounds and finally learning how to sit up. Sort of.

Aim High

In typical mother-of-four fashion I neglected to post for Greta's 3rd birthday a few days back. Miss Boo hit the Big 3 with much fan fare in Hilton Head. She told me today she was "sad because for my birthday we did not have a cake and lots of peoples like my friend Olivia." (Gee, thanks Shawnie!) I then reminded her she had cake and lots of peoples in Hilton Head AND she got a bike which she could ride because it was warm in HH. She giggled and said, "Oh yeah. I forgot. So when do I get another cake and another lots of peoples?" When you turn 4.

Here is Miss Boo assuming her favorite position, learned by her dear Aunt Kim. She got very mad when I interrupted Dora for a photo op.

Greta has grand plans for life. When asked what she would like to be when she grows up she answered, "The lady who gives kids cheese at Stracks and a princess." Well, we figure she'll be successful as the Princess of the Kingdom of Butt Crack.

Happy Late Birthday Boo! We do love you!

WWKD?

So I know y'all have been waiting with faded breath to see what decisions I came to regarding chores. I really couldn't decide which way to go~though I loved reading everyone's ideas.

**Note to self: If you are short on comments, give people an opportunity to tell me what to do. Most comments I have had since the Baby Naming Fiasco. Another example of y'all telling me what to do! :-)**

So I did what my wise sister would do. I actually have a bracelet that says WWKD? I watched lots of TV to come up with my answer. I hit everything from the beloved Supernanny to Kids by the Dozen and my favorite for household inspiration~The Duggar Family! OK, so the mom has a fierce she-mullet but she runs a tight ship and I want to learn from her. So here is what I have come up. Much of my plan is shamelessly swiped from the dress-wearing homeschoolers. I do not want to wear a dress or homeschool, but WOW. They are some smart chicks. :-)

In addition to the kids having specific chores, we all have our own area or jurisdiction. Everyone is responsible for their own stuff but each person checks their jurisdiction before stories can be read at bedtime. Here's the breakdown.

TIM
Lunches~helping the girls make lunches for school
Kitchen~clean up after dinner

JEN
Breakfast~planning and prepping
Dinner~planning and cooking
Office~straighten up, filing
Staircase (things pile up there during the day)
Laundry~'nuff said
Master bath~wipe down any gobs of toothpaste, clumps of ick

CAROLINE
Hall bath~clean once a week
Kids' bath~clean once a week
Hallway (another place things pile up)

AMELIA
Family room~put away magazines, books, afghans, pillows, and the remote in it's home

GRETA
Mudroom~make sure all shoes are in cubbies, hats ect in the basket, coats on hooks

WYATT
Working on sitting up, moving to crawling

DAILY~the girls will unload the dishwasher, set and clear the table, and make sure their backpacks are ready and clothes are set out. Keep room neat and bed made~except Greta til she gives up her nap.

WEEKLY~put dirty laundry basket in hallway, put away clean laundry, take out trash.

So that's my plan. We discussed it at dinner and all were excited. Especially the little girls since we starting by telling them only Caroline got jurisdictions cuz she was big. They fell right into that trap! Stay tuned for Post #2~Theories on Allowance

Did you do your chores?

I love Supernanny. She is so cool. I also love to watch because there is something gratifying about seeing people more screwed up than you! Tonight's episode featured a family with kdis who werew 7, 11, and 14 and had never done a chore in their life. Not one. Spoiled kiddos. The parents meant well, wanting the kids to be "happy" and have a nice life but in the process failed to teach them any life skills or values. Among my many pet peeves is helpless kids. Drives me crazy when I see moms at school carrying their 5th grader's backpack and coat for them. Are their arms broken?!?!

One of my New Years Resolutions this year is to re-vamp the chore list. Or to actually have one. The girls have to help with things~set and clear the table, clean up rooms, put away their laundry~but there is no specific list or jobs for them. I want to change that. My dilemma is what is age appropriate for each kid. I tend to expect too much of Caroline and not enough of Amelia and Greta. I also grapple with my slight leaning towards perfection. I kinda like things a certain way so I just end up doing it myself so it's my way. I know this helps no one. So I'm asking y'all here. What do your kids do? Is it posted, specific chores or more of a "we all help out" kind of thing? At what ages do you expect your kids to do certain things?

Another thought for comment. Are chores in your house tied to allowance? Should they be? I already have an opinion on this but I'd love to hear others.

I Have Been Remiss

Sorry about the lack of reading material. It has been C-R-A-Z-Y! We spent the Christmas holiday running from family party to family party. Lots of fun with 4 kiddos! They actually did pretty well. We spent the week in between in Hilton Head~post later on that.

The sad news of the week was this DUI crash. The mom~Bethany Griffin~was an internet friend of mine from my Gymboree/Ebay chat group. We had just spoken about trading some outfits as our girls were close in sizes. She had just emailed us all a pic of Vadie's new nursery the week before Christmas. She and I bonded over our political views~she had 2 dogs named George and Laura so you can draw your own conclusions there! Bethany had been thru a tough divorce but had just remarried and had Vadie with her new husband Danny. She was a great person to do business with, always adding socks or hair stuff to an outfit as a freebie which is a big deal in the Gymbo~world. She will be missed in our group and by her family. Also killed in the crash was her 10 yr old daughter Haley, 8 yr old daughter Lacie, 8 week old daughter Vadie, and 10 yr old step-daughter Jordan. Surviving the crash was her husband Danny, son Beau, and step daughter Sidney. Bethany's oldest son Brett was not with them at the time. You can visit the memorial website here.

Please keep them in your prayers. I know it's so over-said but please don't let someone drive drunk. This guy was so wasted that employees at Taco Bell noticed and tried to stop him. His family was with him when he was drinking and didn't stop him from leaving.