Comedy from our house

~ My favorite memory from Christmas this year: Sweetheart was opening a present, which was toys in the store's packaging. Even though he could see the toys in the box, he jumped up and down shrieking, "A BOX! A BOX!" He was so giddy over a box. Too cute.

~ Sunshine said of her daddy when he was goofing around with a lampshade on his head: "Look, Mom! Daddy's lightbulb is burned out!"

~ And when Sunshine was asked why she was picking at her food, didn't she like it, she replied with, "Not excessively."

Whew, dodged a bullet this year

My shopping was done about a week ago. Got it all done in a couple hours.

Now before you turn green with envy, let me say that I only had to buy for my kids this year. Hubby and I are not exchanging gifts, nor are we giving gifts to extended family. It's just a rough year financially, so we are keeping it simple.

And may I confess a guilty secret? I am relieved that I don't have to buy a gift for hubby. Okay, do you think I'm totally awful?

It just that the man is horrible to buy for. Horrible. The only things he would be thrilled with would be waaaaaay outta our price range - expensive man toys, you know. Like firearms. Seriously. Even my sisters and parents struggle with buying for him.

One year I just said straight out for him to tell me what he wanted for Christmas that we could actually afford. So he picked an electronic gadget that he said he would get lots of use out of. Perfect. Only he never used it. Not once. It has long-since disappeared.

I used to get super stressed over his gifts, planning even sometimes a few months ahead to find the gift he would surely like. Other years I procrastinated in dread of the whole thing. Either way, it has turned out the same. He is neither impressed nor depressed over his gifts. It's just something he opens and then simply says, "thank you." That's it. And then he never uses them. LOL

So the last year or two I gave up. I started just walking through a store and if I see something that seems decent and might get used, I get it. I think the most successful gift I've given him is an insulated coffee mug. LOL

So does this make me a horrible person? I hope not. Because we're still young, and I have lot of Christmases and birthdays to shop for!

"When I was your age"

We all heard lots of those sorts of things from our parents and grandparents when we were growing up, right?

Well, in my house, you get to hear it from your older sister, who is a mere 6 years old. LOL

The fun of pretending with Sweetheart

When I was growing up, Dad said he loved to sit and listen to us pretend. I have only sisters, and Dad says that none of us ever wanted to be the daddy when we played house. It made him laugh, but I'm sure part of him would have loved to hear one of us be excited - or at least willing - to be the daddy.

Well, it has been more of the same around here, until very recently (the last week or so) when Sweetheart started being willing to pretend with his sisters.

The first time he was pretending to be Daddy, complete with a military outfit. He was actually lowering his voice a bit to be Daddy! He walked around holding Sunshine's hand as they pretended to be married.

And today, he was pretending to be "Papa" as he calls my dad. I just had to call Dad to tell him. As you can guess, he found that pretty cool. This new little "Papa" was reading books to his "granddaughters" and tucking them in. Pretty sweet.

Update on why I'm not here much lately

We finally got my computer back from the Geek Squad a few days ago, and they found absolutely no problems. I have no idea how they did that considering it is still crashing! So we will be taking it back again and telling them to look again. The beef I have with them at the moment is that when we picked it up, they said, "Well, you should be able to get on the internet now. We fixed blahblah setting." Um, I could get on the internet before. That wasn't the problem, folks! Did they write down ANYTHING I told them?

Anyway, so with the crashing and absentee computer, I'm limited to dh's laptop, which means I'm limited in how often I can get on here. The man lives on his computer, and even takes it with him at times, so that is why I just am not posting much. But I promise... we get that computer fixed, I'm back, baby!

Hope to see you SOON. *mumbles under breath about the mixed blessings of computers*

To those whose blogs I frequent

I'm sorry I haven't read anyone's blog lately... which means I haven't commented, either. See, my computer has been with the Geek Squad for about 3 weeks now, and all my favorites are in that computer. I'm using hubby's laptop, so the links to your blogs are lost to me right now.

Just wanted you to know that I'm not being rude, lazy, or neglectful. Just not able to get to most blogs now.

Hugs to all... and you could say a prayer for my computer! Sniff.

Sleeping... Beefcake?

Last night, our two girls (ages 5 and 4) decided to put on a play for us. This was their first time, and I knew it was likely to be comical, but it was beyond hilarious.

First, they each took a part - one took Sleeping Beauty and the other took Snow White. Snow White had her turn first. She was to sit down and scrub the steps and sing. Well, the scrubbing lasted 2.4 seconds, and then she was off singing and just kept walking until she completely left the room... and never came back. (Snow White is our 4 year old.) This frustrated Sleeping Beauty very much!

Well, then it was Sleeping Beauty's turn, and she enlisted the help of her 2 yr old brother to be the Prince who kisses her - but she insisted it be on the cheek, thank you very much. He walked over to her, looked down at her and said, "No kiss," and walked out. More frustration from Sleeping Beauty.

So Sleeping Beauty asked her daddy (who was in the audience) to be her prince. He walked over, kissed her on the cheek, and then proceeded to fall over limply next to her.

"Daddy, what are you doing? Are you dead?"

And Daddy, keeping his eyes closed says, "No, I caught it from you and now I'm Sleeping Beefcake."

I think I might have found a groove

The routine that has turned out to be working isn't one I'd choose. But if it works, you go with it, right?

• More serious homeschooling on 3 days a week, with a laid-back fun art and music day on Saturday
• Tuesday is library and errand day (full day! includes taking all the children grocery shopping)
• Cleaning marathon on Friday

Also, I'm sad to say I've discovered that having an actual school room doesn't work for us! GASP! At least, not now with so many other tiny ones about. Surely one day it will, right...? I do so love the idea of having an entire room dedicated to school - bulletin boards, charts and dry erase boards, etc. Ahhh, one day when they are older.

And maybe it's because the room is in the basement right now. But I'm chasing my tiny ones up and down the stairs and can't see what they are getting into, etc. No real way to gate off the stairs, you see. So it will wait.

Also, our daily routine is looking different than I thought. But it is flowing and that is the important thing!

Now, if I can just figure out a magic solution to all this laundry...

Twins? Update

I won't keep you in huge suspense... only ONE baby in there. Whew! The thought of twins was so overwhelming to me, so I'm relieved.

Dh said he wasn't nervous or scared, but when I came home grinning, his eyes got HUGE and the look on his face was saying otherwise. His shoulders dropped in relief when I said, "Just one!"

It's not that we don't know that twins would be loads of fun in some ways and two babies - why, that's twice the blessing that one is! It's the knowledge that twins are also a lot of work and take real adjusting, at least by watching the few other people we know with twins, anyway. My father is a twin, and my grandma has some stories, I tell you!

Anyway, I had joked with the tech that my theory was that my muscles were just waving the white flag, and she laughed in agreement. Turns out, it is my uterus itself that is larger this go around. It is just already "in the groove" and knows what it is doing! So that is why I'm showing earlier, etc. I truly am bigger, but not because of fluid or two babies, or anything. My body is just a pro at this.

I do have one funny for you - *embarrassed cough*

There was a second sac-looking thing next to the sac the baby is in, and when it wasn't in focus, the different markings I was seeing DID give me a bit of a shock, and I did ask her, "was it that?" Thinking, oh my... there IS a second baby. She just waved it aside and said, "Oh, that's gas." Well, it didn't LOOK like it! LOL

I got the usual picture to take home, and it is a good shot (I think) - you can see the baby's face and a little hand. I had told the children before I left for the appt that I'd have a surprise for them when I got home. (Even though I'm showing already, they did not figure out yet I'm pg.) So they were very excited, jumping around me, "What is it? What is it?" I showed them the face and the tiny hand and the baby's body, and my 4 yr old did not make the connection even after I giving her some clues, but my 5 yr old did right away! She started grinning and looking "knowing" if you know what I mean by that. She touched my belly, hugged it and said, "But I wanted TWO babies!" (She has been saying for weeks that the next time we have a baby, she wanted twins.) We laughed and told her sorry, God only sent us one this time. I'd share the u/s pic, but my computer is in the shop, and dh's laptop won't work with my scanner. Sorry!

YAY!!

I went this morning and bought a dryer! And they are delivering it today!! I expected to have to wait a couple days - not a couple hours! Praise the Lord!

I don't think I've ever been happy to do laundry before... LOL!

Things are a little off-kilter here

My dryer is no longer usable, and we have no laundromat in town, according to the phone book. Can you believe that? What town has no laundromat? So limping along until this weekend when we can hopefully find a cheap dryer.

I'm trying to find a good groove for us, and it is still eluding me. So I think we will stay home today from our library plans and just work on stuff here. Gotta try to get some stuff under control in the housekeeping department.

Also, I had all but decided to get rid of 90% of the kids toys. They just don't play with them. They have their favorites and that is all they play with. But dh wants me to just pack them up and stick them in the garage. So, that is what I will do. I'm hoping to do that today...

We are down to a very little tiny bit of food in the house, lol. It's comical when I go to the kitchen to fix a meal. I need to go to the store, just haven't made it yet. Maybe this afternoon...?

Oh yeah - and my computer is down, so I'm using hubby's laptop. As I sit here at the table, my youngest (14 months old) is eating toast and making a fiiiiiiiine mess of herself and the toast. She is cracking me up - letting the whole piece of toast hang from her clenched teeth while she growls. What a NUT.

Got a giggle for you!

While at my appointment the other day, I saw this hanging on the door:

When I was a kid, I went skinny dipping, but now that I'm older, it's called chunky dunk.

News on the pregnancy front

Am I carrying one baby... or TWO?

I'm 14 weeks at this point, and at my appointment a couple days ago, I was measuring nearly 18 weeks. Also, I typically do not gain any weight at all until a bit into my 2nd trimester. Um, I've already gained 5 pounds. And dh says I'm already showing. Also not normal for me.

So... I have an ultrasound on the 10th to find out what exactly is going on. If it isn't twins...?
Honestly, I'm just hoping it's a lot of fluid or that this pregnancy is different. I'm overwhelmed at the thought of twins...!

Some "chinese" funnies

For some reason, Sunshine is a bit preoccupied with the Chinese. I am not sure where it came from, but it sure is giving us some laughs!

First, she keeps leaving the final "z" sound off the word. Pronouncing it "Chinee." Giving us lots of giggles.

Yesterday, I was dressing her little brother for church, and she bounces over, "Hey! He looks kinda Chinee in that outfit!" LOL, which he did NOT. I'm really not sure what her line of thinking was there. He was wearing navy pants and a light blue dress shirt...? But - this made her little brother pipe up indignantly, "I not Tinese!" Well, Mommy begs to differ. While he may not be Chinese, he certainly IS Tinese! (If you are having trouble seeing the humor, think "tiny" in association with Tinese. He is a wee boy.)

And a final funny, Sunshine was acting out some scene in her imagination with a bunch of animals, one of which was a moose. Her daddy was sitting close by, and after she had said something apparently in her own little form of Chinese, Daddy said, "I didn't know you knew Chinese!" Her reply was, "Oh no. That wasn't me. That was [insert name of moose, which I can't remember], because he is a moose." Ahhhh. Because, all moose naturally speak Chinese, right? LOL

Had to expand modesty discussion with my oldest

We were reading yet again the story of creation. And of course, there was the pic of Adam and Eve naked. Well, we've pushed modesty so much here at home with the girls that she was appalled that they were naked together. She has always pointed out the fact that they are naked, and I'd always sidestepped the issue.

But today she pushed it, so I just took a deep breath and told her that it's ok for husbands and wives to be naked together. Which led to the *very simple* discussion that God says husbands and wives are one, so it's ok. She asks if she can be naked with her husband one day, and I say yes. She had a bit of trouble understanding, but the simple answer seemed to suffice her, anyway... it's just that these sorts of things tend to come out in her play, so I know I'll be hearing her say to her little sister, "You be the naked husband, and I'll be the naked wife." I know I'll deal with it when it comes up, but goodness.

"If I've told you once,

I've told you a thousand times...!"

We probably heard that a time or two growing up. We might have even said it to our kids. I personally haven't yet, but then, my oldest is only 5. Give me time.

But the thought occurred to me today: what if God were to say that to me? How would He finish that sentence?

Hmm. So here is my list, in no particular order. I'm sure it would be even longer if I mulled over it for a few days.

"If I've told you once, Lily, I've told you a thousand times; _______________ !"

1. Meditate on Me, not those things around you like inconvenient circumstances, annoying people, and wrongs done.
2. Stop lecturing people in your head. Let Me deal with them in My time, My way. You mind your own problems. You've got enough of your own sins to be concerned about.
3. Talk to Me first, before friends and family. You'd be surprised with how fully I can satisfy your need to "get it out." Release it to Me. Let Me be your everything.
4. Live in the present. Remember you don't know how many days I will give you.
5. Be patient with your children like I am patient with you.

So how about you ladies? What would your list look like?

Happy update on the vacuum!

Well, I'm not so incompetent after all.

It took 3 men and a half hour to figure out how to put my vacuum back together! They had trouble getting the panel back on, too, and finally wound up replacing two of the screws with better alternatives. And... the best part?

It didn't cost me one red cent. They didn't even charge me for the screws they used. Happy day!

And, my pride is fully intact. No wonder I struggled - 3 men who are handy at this sort of thing had trouble, too!

Errands and vacuums: someone rescue me!

I'm so tired of errands!

First it started with Sunday - HAD to go grocery shopping, no choice. Was also out of important stuff that had to be gotten at our little town's version of Walmart. (That's right - no Walmart/Target/Kmart in my town. Gotta drive for that.)

Then yesterday I had other business that had to be taken care of on yesterday, no other choices. And today? The same.

I also have vacuum woes. The belt on the brush broke, so I took the vacuum apart to replace it. No big deal - only 4 screws to remove and one panel. Very easy. But to put back together? Night.mare. It will NOT go back as it came off, and while putting it together again, I lost one of the screws. I was so careful to keep track of it, but somehow it is gone. I have searched the floor like a crazy woman, and even looked inside the vacuum. No luck.

So guess what one of my errands will include today? Taking my vacuum to our local friendly hardware store, so one of the fellas there can be my hero.

Have my hubby fix it you say? Well, I would, except the man is out of town on a mission, as the military calls it. And I need to vacuum. Badly.

The cute thing is I called the hardware store and talked to one of the guys there, and I admitted that I felt very foolish for not being able to put the stupid thing back together. When I asked him how much they charged for that sort of thing, he said, "Oh, it should be less than $200." LOL - I told him I should hope so, or I could just buy another vacuum. He did assure me it couldn't possibly cost me much for putting in 4 screws... but I have a sneaking suspicion that it will cost me a bit of my pride.

"Hello, I'm a mother of 4 who daily navigates the complexities of rearing children and managing a household. I can follow a recipe and solve the world's problems with a kiss - but I can't put a few screws back in an appliance."

MIA no longer

Since hubby was home recovering from surgery, I didn't blog at all. It was a lovely time, once the first few days of recovery were behind him. Thank you for all the prayers!

Stuff is gonna get busy around here soon... my parents will be visiting the first weekend in September. We're starting school Sept 5th, or at least some day that first full week of September. And then the last week of Sept, my inlaws will be here for a week.

Prayers would be appreciated for Hubby

He had eye surgery yesterday and the pain is supposed to be bad today, but then horrible tomorrow. He has very strong meds right now, but they've been wearing off before he can take another, so he is in lots of pain. And, too, last night he got a tiny fiber or eyelash or something in his eye, and it was even more painful, of course.

Could you please keep his pain level and recovery in your prayers? He's around the house for at least a week to recover. (And pray for no more things to get into his eye!)

Did she redeem the earlier comment?

Sugar-n-Spice told me tonight:

Mom, you are a strong lady. You are a beautiful lady.

I'd much rather hear that stuff, lol.

Yet another blow to my self-image

Says Sugar-n-Spice to me tonight:

Mom, your butt is huuuuuge! It's the biggest I've ever seen!

Hmm. Perhaps I can hang my hopes on the fact that she just hasn't seen that many derrieres, at the ripe old age of 3?

It's ok. Revoke my membership.

I think I must be a freak of girlish nature. At least when it comes to movies, anyway.

I prefer comedies and drama. There are a few rare romance movies that I like; although, of course, most movies have some level of romance in them because... well, that's life. Right?

Take last night. I went out with a new friend to a movie. The only real choices (in our opinions) were The Bourne Ultimatum and No Reservations. She was completely up for either one... I was not so much. Though I would have watched No Reservations if that is what she really wanted. Thankfully, we watched the Bourne movie.

I'm just not up for the average chick-flicks. The sappy, real-life-isn't-like-this stuff just irritates me. Makes me roll my eyes. Now... I do love Pride and Prejudice in just about any rendition, which seems to violate my rules, doesn't it? I don't know... it is somehow different. Maybe because most of the movie they hate each other, LOL! But this latest version that was out a couple years ago, with what's-her-name who always sits around with her mouth open... oh, what IS her name??? Keira Knightley! (Why do they insist on so many shots with her mouth slightly open??? Doesn't matter what movie she is in... ok, I'm digressing.) Anyway, this last version I liked until the very end. Kissing her fingers, Mrs. Darcy, Mrs. Darcy, Mrs. Darcy... ad nauseum for moments almost unending. I think I remember saying something like, "Oh hurl." Yes, I'm 10 years old sometimes, I think. LOL

I know I will forever ostracize myself with the following statements, but... *deep breath**... here goes anyway. I do not ever want to watch Steel Magnolias again. Nor Forever Young. Nor Stepmom. Nor Beaches. Nor Always. I think there are a few more, but you get the idea. And some of you are lying panting on the floor right now, gripping your chests, not even reading this sentence because I've just sent you into cardiac arrest. I'm sorry. I'm sure I just broke some horrible code of womanhood or... something.

It's not that I can't see they are fantastic movies. They ARE. Some are classics. Some are just so doggone funny! Like Steel Magnolias... so many great lines have come from that movie. And yet, I despise how hard it makes me sob at the end. I'll never watch it again.

So, I suppose this is where I turn in my membership card to the Normal Women Society? I promise, I won't reveal the secret handshake.

New blessings, new beginnings!

I am very happy to announce to you gals that I'm expecting another wee blessing. According to every due date calculator I can get my grubby fingers on says that the due date is March 22, 2008. My first spring baby!! No going through a hot summer while sporting my best hippo look! LOL

This baby is a baby of new beginnings, new promises, new hopes. Isn't God GOOD?

Inexcusable vs Unforgivable

"You can't forgive him! If you do, he's getting away with it!"

That's what I heard every time I felt convicted about forgiving someone who hurt me. It's certainly what it felt like. But thankfully, as a wise friend once told me, emotions are not truth. Just because my feelings tell me he gets away with something if I forgive him doesn't mean I have to believe it. Because it's not true.

Really think about those words: inexcusable... unforgivable. Are those words interchangeable? Well, some people use them as synonyms, but they aren't. Inexcusable means there is no excuse, that it can't be waved away as if it were nothing.

Forgiveness does not magically turn their sin into something that was alright to do. Is that God's attitude when He forgives us? That it's only a sin until you're forgiven, and then it's just unfortunate? No. It's a sin before and after the forgiveness. The difference... is in the forgiveness.

The first thing I did, when I realized that forgiveness wasn't making those sins against me "ok" was I said it out loud. It was so freeing to do that! I said it over and over. It was WRONG. Inexcusable!

"But not unforgivable!" says another voice.

To forgive someone is to not punish them for their wrong. To allow them the grace and room to change. And if I didn't forgive him because I thought he shouldn't be let off the hook, well, then whose place was I in?

Punishing his sin isn't my job. It's God's. Those who wrong us aren't getting away with it; He knows, is watching, and is working, though we may not see it.

Forgiving someone isn't easy, especially the deeper the hurts go. But it isn't impossible. It starts as an act of the will. "I choose to forgive him. I choose to lay down my anger, and I will not punish him, not even in my mind." And at first it has to be done at least once a day. In cases like mine where that person is such a basic part of your life, it has to be done many times a day. Oooh, that just was hard.

But soon God begins to soften our hearts. The anger and hurt begin to fade, and eventually those painful memories become facts, not open wounds.

Forgiving isn't easy. But who wants to shrivel up into a bitter old woman? And if I want to be a sweet old lady someday, I gotta start being a sweet young woman today.

How it went: entertaining

It went really well!!

Of course, things went wrong (don't they always), but I found a way around it. I had baked banana bread, but it didn't cook all the way through. The center was still pretty raw. It's a new oven to us, so I have some tweaking to do. I just ran to the store and picked up a cheesecake and topping. Wala!

She arrived at 1:00 on the dot, with beautiful flowers in hand. She had done her hair up in rollers and was just a cute curly guest! But her hubby wouldn't come - said it was a "woman thing." LOL So when the afternoon was over, I sent some cheesecake home with her for him. Turns out the kind I served is his favorite and the only kind he will eat. (smile)

We chatted nonstop for 3 hours! We laughed and laughed, and laughed some more. It really was fun. And she read books to my kidlets, which I wondered who it was more fun for - her or the kids? Her grandkids live far away, and she just ate up my little crew.

When she was leaving, she kept saying again and again how we have to do this again because it was so much fun. And it was! I'm very happy with how things went... just really enjoyable and relaxing.

Entertaining tomorrow...!

It's been on my heart a lot lately to be hospitable. I came upon a verse about hospitality in the Bible that just really grabbed me. It is a simple verse, and the wording doesn't seem to be something that would convict a person, but it convicted me. "Use hospitality one to another without grudging." - 1 Peter 4:9

Within days of feeling the pull from that verse to entertain, I found the blog 4 Reluctant Entertainers, written by Sandy, a fellow Christian woman. Her blog is just loaded with examples of being a hostess and full of lots of encouragement. It will be a long time before I can aspire to her level of hostessing, but after this post especially (on Irish hospitality and pride), I was encouraged to just jump in, with SIMPLE being the thing. We're finally settled in our new home, so now is a good time, right?

Here is the invitation I made to a sweet couple who live two doors down. They are a retired military couple (well, he was the soldier, but hey, we wives are "in" the military, too!), and I simply invited them over for goodies in the afternoon. I think I said, "cookies and milk." Although we are also gonna have banana bread. Also on the invitation, I invited them to "chat the afternoon away" with us. It'll be my kiddos, the neighboring couple, and myself. Hubby will still be at work.

After making the invitation, the kids and I walked to their house and personally delivered it. Since then, we've seen the wife out in the yard, and she was so excited! I've never seen anyone in their 60s so giggly before! It was the sweetest and most wonderful reaction. I never would have thought that cookies, milk, and conversation would bring such a response. She said she "can't wait!" I can't wait, either, and I will definitely let you know how it goes!

Wordless Wednesday

How a boy plays house...

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, click on the button to the left. It's lots of fun! And you just might find a few cool blogs to enjoy.