Interesting Stories and Mundane Musings

10 For Wednesday

2012-02-15T16:03:00.000-08:00

So, this was supposed to be a 10 for Tuesday, but wanted to wait till Wednesday.

1. How do you feel about Valentine’s Day?
I love Valentines Day! When I got married it was a huge deal for me to lavishmy spouse with crazy gifts and huge meals. Over the years it has changed, it isnow about my children. They love it. It is fun, they eat a ton of candy and itbreaks up the long stretch between Christmas and Spring break. I appreciate a holidaythat celebrates love.
2. Are you in love?
I am in love with so many things it makes me dizzy. I love my husband so-so-somuch. I am totally in love with my three children. I love my friends, familyeven little Pepito. (Shocking development this love of my pet) and my killer fashion sense.

3. What is your favorite love song?
“Let’s Stay Together”, by Marvin Gaye” (Mark and I’s song), “Son of a PreacherMan”, by Dusty Springfield. Thanks to Glee, I have become totally obsessed with,‘The First Time Ever I Saw your Face.” By Roberta Flack. The first time I everheard Bruno Mars sing “You’re Amazing Just the Way You Are.” I burst into tearsbecause this song could have been written by Mark. This is how he talks to meALL the time. Seriously. Every morning he tells me how beautiful I am. Everyafternoon after a hard day and I be lookin ripe, he tells me how sexy I am.(insert barf #1)

This picture is sinfully unattractive, it is Mark's favorite. He LOVES IT. I posting merely to prove a point.

4. Did your parents do anything for you on Valentine’s Day when youwere a child?
Valentines Day was huge at our house. My parents made a big deal of celebratingwith little gifts and notes of love. Yesterday my parents dropped off a bouquetof flowers to me! They still give us something every year. They are HUGE loversof love.

Thank you for always making Valentines Day Fun!

5. What is your love language? (Click here ifyou want to take the quiz.)
Quality Time. I wonder if this is the case because Mark is not a big giftgiver, so over the years I have lowered my expectation of gifts and learned to appreciatespending time with him. Physical Touch was a close second. I am a hugger ofeveryone. I love being around physical people. I usually associate my physicaltouch with safety. Those people that are safe I love.

I am crack addict addicted to touching and hugging and kissing this baby.

6. How do you celebrate Valentine’s Day? Gifts? Dinner?
It used to be a huge deal, very elaborate meal and nice gifts. Of course thingschanged three times for us, it is more about the kids now. (huge cliché) I usually make a really nice dinner and wegive each other a gift. This year Mark was sick. He went to bed early, after abowl of beans. I am working on a painting for him. He is always complainingthat I make stuff for everyone else and I never make anything for our house.Here is a picture of the rough draft. I am still working on it. I am planningon getting a tattoo, so I told him that would be my Vday/Anniversary gift.

It Is Well With My Soul - beginning stages

7. What is your favorite flower?
Right now, Peonies and Hydrangeas’. I despise carnations. They remind me of afuneral. I also LOVE wildflowers. I would like to have a lawn with one of thosecontrolled wildflower gardens in the front. But, that could be in large partbecause it would eliminate those dreaded six words, “I have to do the lawn.”UGGG! 4 hours of precious Mark time down the drain mowing the lawn.
8. What is your favorite love story? (Book and/or movie.)
I like sad love stories. “Love Story” by Erich Segal. Both the book and themovie. It was the first book that every made me cry. Also sad love story, “VirginSuicides” by Sophia Coppela, Yes, it is a love story about how the boys feelabout the sisters. I also like happy ending stories. Pride and Prejudice. Book andmovie. (Kira Knightly version) HELLO! “FourWeddings and A Funeral.”, “Love Actually”, “An Officer and A Gentleman”, “BrigetJones’s Diary”, “You’ve got Mail.” I like all of them so so so much. I havewatched every one of these movies more times then I care to reveal.
9. What is the most romantic thing someone has ever done for you? Oryou have done for someone?
How do you even answer that? There are so many romantic moments that come andgo. Big stuff? Our beautiful wedding in Lake Tahoefor starters. The amazing spirit of union was so incredibly strong thosemoments we spoke our vows. It was almost like we could touch it. Thank theLord, that spirit has never left us, so there are incredibly romantic moments ona daily basis. (insert barf #2)

10. How did you meet your spouse/significant other?
Mark and I met at work. It is fun and long story. It was most definitely NOTlove at first sight. I had just come out of a bad place in my life and my hairwas dyed jet black and I wore burgundy lipstick. I also happened to be 19 andhe was 28. But, over the next few years my look chilled and I got moved into acubicle right in front of his office. I found myself looking for every excuseto go in there and talk to him, and he did the same. At one point, before we were even dating, I think we were sending eachother 200 emails a day. I would say we were totally, hopelessly and completely inlove before we ever even went on our first date. (insert barf #3)

This was literally our first date. Note VERY short hair and braces. Good thing that skirt was so incredibly short...

My Rock Got Kicked

2012-01-23T09:20:00.000-08:00

Three years and some monthsago our families’ life changed. Mark lost his job. He lost his job of 13 years.He lost the job that brought us together as a couple. It was the hardest thingthat has ever happened to him and me, and like many hard things, it was also the best thing that happened. A yoke had been lifted off our backs.God, in his infinite mercy, removed this job when we could not.

Mark was unemployed for 1month. It was the best month of our marriage. I jokingly tell people everyone should experience unemployment for one month. He belonged to no one but us. He spent time with thekids, he spent time with me, and we enjoyed our family. We held on super tight to one another through an emotional grieving process. There were PLENTY ofnerves, worry and more then a healthy dose of anxiety, that part was not fun. Weknew God had removed the job, so he MUST have a plan for our future.

He took a job. He took a jobat a 20% pay cut, he wore a uniform, and carried a tool box everywhere he went.Mark had no set hours and only 5 days off the entire year, no sick pay. Hewould frequently get up at 4-4:30 to be at a job in the Woodlands then hop inhis truck to Sugar Land then downtown andback to the Woodlands, all in one day. He had to climb ladders, carry multipletools and work under unrealistic time constraints.

About ayear into the job he let me know that people treated him different, secondclass. I was horrified. It made me so sad and angry. It made him sad for the people that were dialuzioned into thinking he was second class, no matter what job he held. He said, and continues to say, that he is so grateful to have experienced that feeling. He knew what it felt like to be shamed because he was not dressed up or "important", and he would NEVER overlook anyone for any reason from that point forward. I loved him more.
Each physically or mentally difficult job he did as if he owned thecompany. He woke up at those crazy hours and never complained. (hardly ever) Hewas my rock.

We would sit and hold eachother sometimes on our couch and say, “This really sucks.” We knew, we so so soknew, that there were tons of people worse off, and it gave us a comradeshipwith those people. Sure, our kids are not homeless and they get almosteverything they want, but this is not the life we want either.

The experience of a bad job was the best thing ourfamily was exposed to. Mark had an appreciation an epiphany; family andChrist is what define me, not my job. We had made it a point to eat togetheras a family a few nights a week before; it became MANDATORY.Every single weekend was precious, every detail of every part of our life outside "the job" was sacred.

I think I would have gonecrazy without his constant voice of faith. He knew this was an interim job, weneeded to be patient. Mark believed God had made him a promise. I had to havefaith.

We got pregnant. We hadSelah. Moses started Kindergarten. By God’s grace, and a village of support, wewere learning to survive.

A little over a year ago, a clientof his company, a law firm, recognized what I saw in him. And just like that,our lives changed again.

I had no idea howmuch stress a bad job was on our family unit, until it was gone. We were so free.FREEEEEE!

“I have it all plannedout—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the futureyou hope for. When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen.” Jeremiah 29:11-12

Chase Tower

Mark loves his job. He wearsa tie, he has a beautiful office on the 42^nd floor, and he hastremendous benefits with ample time off. Sill, it is just a job. I am gratefulfor what we have, today. What is to stop complacency in the future? To start, I need to remember to ask God every single day to remind me how blessed I am.

The Cutest EVER

Great perk to working downtown? Lunch with Daddy!

I never pass up the opportunity to photograph food.

Greek Salad from Niko Niko's!!!

Big Girl Chair

Eating Mommy's Pita

Her First Fountain


I love Market Square Park, and babies...and my boots.

I Will Have to Choose Forgiveness

2012-01-18T13:00:00.000-08:00

Motherhood is funny, sometimes ha-ha funny, sometime not ha-ha funny, more like “is this a sick joke?” funny. I had a baby. I changed. I had absolutely no idea how little I changed, until I had three babies. I lost myself somewhere in the throws of two toddlers. I found myself again while pregnant with the third child. During that pregnancy, I was so overwhelmed with fear I would lose myself again, and God graciously pointed out, I was still lost. I have beaten myself to a bloody emotional mess so many times it became redundant and I had to face my guilt and my glory. The Lord sheltered me, and gave me peace when I was at utter unrest. With His guidance I started looking at my journey thus far with a mindset of joy and victory.

I am a mother, a loving, kind, fun, generous, selfish and sometimes angry mother. Practically, and painfully I have to look back at the times when I was so angry and reflect on that moment of disconnect between rational and rage. What made me so mad? Exhaustion? Fear? Frustration? The horror that this was going to happen tomorrow and the next day, and the next? Telletubbies? I tend to think of that time, or really I do not like to think of that time at all. What a shame. This is one of the things I began to explore when pregnant. WHY was I so afraid of the past? I believe I was so completely convinced I had totally screwed up, that I blocked out 5 whole years? Short, precious years I will never have again, with sweet memories intermingled with sadness. I can tell you this, no matter how many times the people around you say strong willed children are always very-very smart and grow up to be leaders, it DOES NOT MATTER to the mother when two kids are throwing a temper tantrum at the library, the store, the restaurant, the (any public place ripe for humiliation)? It was as if I attached myself so directly to their irrational behavior, ahhh here it comes, I lost myself.

I had a sage piece of advice when Lo was very young. “True, God gives us the right parents, but He also gives us the right children too.” They changed me. They caused me to dig in and be more strong willed then them; I had to finish each punishment down to the letter. I had to plant my feet on Christ, my friends and my family. I had to pray, and pray and pray. I had to get over myself. I needed to be humiliated and disobeyed. My-self, me, Jenny, needed to realize the world is a bigger place then my wants and needs. I needed to realize that I was a child and the kids were taking over my playground, my life.

Most amazing of all this, who would they be without the younger me? Not who they are today. In these many months of reflection I look at my older children and recognize what God had done for them through me. They are brilliant, successful, and independent, they love Jesus!!! They have nice manners and wash their hands after going to the bathroom. They love others. They are not violent or rude. (Most of the time) Their teachers love them, other people love them. I LOVE them. We are all more prepared and comfortable with each other. They have given me a rare gift, a total and complete appreciation for the baby. They have given me perspective. They have lowered my expectations to the best possible end result. They have made me a better mother.

Onward Christian Soldiers. I have forgiven myself; I have allowed Christ to forgive me. Through the grace of God, I move forward and continue to battle guilt and fear as a parent. It will always be there, nagging, questioning me. I will do my best to choose joy and victory whenever possible. When impossible, I will have to choose forgiveness.

10 Silly Things I Complain About

2008-04-28T15:09:00.000-07:00

10 Things I Complain About

1. I hate dial up because it is so slow
2. I do not like having to check my washer because it has to be pushed down to keep it going.
3. My water tastes like chlorine.
4. I HATE walking 20 extra steps in the garage to take the recycling!
5. My car only holds 4 people.
6. I wish I lived in a city with more public transportation, ahhh the burbs suck.
7. My kitchen is too small.
8. I do not have enough clothes. They are to small, to big, to wrong for the season…(this one could go on for TOO long)
9. I do not have cable.
10. My kids end up in my bed EVERY NIGHT!

10 Things I Thank Jesus For.

1. I have a computer to check my email.
2. I have a washer and dryer that wash my clothes.
3. I have water that is not poo poo water.
4. I CAN recycle and feel great passion that everyone should! Halleluiah!
5. I have a new under warrenty!
6. I live in a city that has great schools, great parks, and great people.
7. I do not cook out of one wood heated pot.
8. I have a “wardrobe” of clothes of my choosing.
9. I have 2 TVs
10. My kids have the choice of sleeping their own bed, each other’s bed, or my bed. They do not sleep on a cot, floor or out-doors.

I was rather annoyed by a few of the things on my list tonight. Then I started thinking about what a whiney baby I was being. I was convicted. Hello, really convicted. There is not much more to say.
Tell me your 10 Things.

Kozodoy Christmas

2008-01-14T09:52:00.001-08:00

Every year we go to Mark's mothers house for Christmas Eve. Things have changed allot in the 10 years I have been going. A major change has been the addition of three of their four grandchildren. For years Julian has been the solo kid. Even when the girls were born there was still very little for Julian to do with them. This year though, this year was different. The girls, and Moses, could not get enough of their favorite older cousin. They chased him, attacked him, loved on him, in short he was their hero. I found him hiding from them a couple of times, just to get some rest. He was all the things an older cousin is supposed be, times 10! He was brilliant.

This year was also special because we were all there. Everyone in the family was able to make it, with the exception of our dearests Will and Jim. There were 12 adults and 4 children. A party to be sure.

At times in the past the night could get late quick. This has become hard with the small kids. This year Robbie catered the meal and instead of letting Jay do all the dishes, we all pitched in and finished in record time. We were able to get right to presents, much to the glee of all the kids. This year all the "big kids" gave each other donations to the charity of their choice. It was a great alternative to was has turned into exchanging gift cards.

It was a fun Christmas Eve.

Moses, my baby, where did you go?

2008-01-14T09:22:00.000-08:00

Unlike when Lola was a baby, I never wanted to rush Moses along. I loved the baby stage after being rudley introduced to todderdom.

And yet here he is in full toddlerhood. He throws fits, screams, whines with the best of them. It is ironic that I wanted to keep him a baby because he started talking at 10-11 months, he does things, thanks to his sister, she never did at 2. He is starting to potty train quite well. Judging from the ease in which this is taking place I suspect we could have done this much sooner had I any inclination to do so. Great, so no diapers...weird, no diapers. Somthing that has been in the budget for 4 1/2 years now. The other day I went to Babies-R-Us and felt a deep sense of longing. There was nothing there for me. I have my stroller, my pack and play, my crib...slowly each one of these items are being put up in the attic for the next "round" of babies. Yes, yes, in many ways this is an amazing blessing. They are so so so fun, a totally different fun. Baby fun is mommy centered, two and four year old fun, is two and four year old centered.

Here he is on Christmas Eve while we were waiting for Daddy and Lola to get ready to go to Nana Sheri's. Doesnt he look like a little man? Part of his charm to be sure.

Dare to Repair - A Do-It-Herself Guide to Fixing (Almost) Anything in the Home

2008-01-04T13:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I thought it might be fun to invite a few friends over for a painting playdate. Lola got a new painting kit for Christmas and I have only allowed her to use it once. If you are at all familiar with toddlers and paint, you would understand why I avoid it like the, well in this case, RSV or Rotavirus.

I prepared a spaghetti and crudités with various dips. I thought this would be easy, and a great dish to serve adults and kids.

The play-date was going swimmingly, kids were playing great; moms were enjoying the company and the weather warmed up just in time for our friend’s arrival. We sat the kids down for lunch, all seven kids fit at the table and the worst part of it was trying to supply them with enough baby carrots to eat. Amazing! Next was lunch for grownups. We had a lovely meal, as the children busied themselves outside. There were virtually no fits, I mean that only three out of seven threw a fit, so that is good statistics when it comes to large groups.

After we had finished eating I got up to start clearing the area so we could pull out the paints. Glancing at the clock, I noticed time was getting away from us fast. Most of the kids, well all but Lola, take naps, and we were quickly crouching into naptime. Aka: Fits-Fights-Full on losing it. I threw some noodles and carrots down the disposal and kept right on washing. We were in the throws of one of Cody’s more interesting family stories. If you know Cody at all, you know that ALL her family stories are interesting; so one engaging you more then the rest is a really killer. By the way, I had already heard this one at least twice.

I stepped to the right to grab some dishes and I heard a “squish”. When I looked down the floor was covered in water.

“What the…?” I opened my cabinets under the sink and a huge spray of water was pouring out of our pipes. I think I screamed, I know I shouted one or two “unclean” words…ok, maybe three, and just sat on my heels like a dummy. They all jumped up to have a look. After some exclamation Sarah handed me something to catch the water with.

“Well, does anyone know how to fix a sink?” I said in a sarcastic manner. Sarah, my friend that is 26 weeks pregnant, looks at it, jumps down and says, “I do, this just happened to me last WEEK!”

It was one of the funniest craziest things I have ever seen. There she is squatting down with a huge pregnant belly undoing the piping under my sink. As if my shock at seeing one of my friends do a job that I had chiefly set in my mind was only for males was not enough, Cody jumps in and grabs the pipes and starts helping her. They both knew to take it outside to the hose and clean it out. I do not think Jessica and I had even processed what happened in the time it took the two of them to fix the problem.
In the process of pulling apart the pipes Sarah did remark, “This is the proudest day of my life.” Now some people, men mostly, might think that is a crazy statement, after all Sarah has two children, a Masters, and lives in a beautiful home, but to be able to jump in and fix a leaking sink with SEVEN children in the house, that is a proud day sister.

Cody finished off the job by putting it all back together without one TOOL!

Sigh. Thank God for them. What I was thinking when the water was washing over my feet and splashing my face was, “How can I get Mark here fast enough? Oh Man is he gunna be MAD AT ME!” It never even occurred to me to do anything else. I like to think of myself as this proud, strong, do-it-yourself woman, yeah not so much. As I sit and reflect I do not like, nor do I do, yard work, trash duty, or anything that requires me to step foot near a toolbox or the outdoors. WHAT A SISSY!

I am now going to be woman; I am now going to fix leaky sinks, busted toilets, and paint fascia boards, (Is that how you spell it?) OK, we will see. Now that I am naming all the things I do not like to do, I still have no desire to do most of those things on a regular basis. What I would like is to be able to be 6 months pregnant and stop a sink from flooding a kitchen while my children bite at my feet and my friends ooh and ahh over my many “skills”. Is that too much to ask without having to take out the trash?

.

For the Ladies

2007-12-10T15:14:00.000-08:00

Here I am on the blog again. Been some months. But, that seems to be my M.O. these days. Blog like crazy, not blog. Only when I am truly filled with some sort of overwhelming emotion do I feel the need to share my innermost thoughts with the world. I promise, I am not this cynical. Both babies did not nap today. It is 4:49, to early for bed. Of course-I know! But, we do have to make it till 6:30. They are grouchy, I am grouchy. Poor babies. I promise to write tomorrow when we are all a happy shiny family again.

I am 3.5 hours into the start of my “grandma coming to town”. If I did not have a huge belly and abnormal feet, I would guess I was going into labor. Oh the fun of this first day. Of course the labor pains are a welcome feeling next to the psychosis of the past week. Recently I have developed a drop in my progesterone levels and therefore have strong urges to cry, scream, not do laundry…oh, wait that MIGHT have something to do with my strong aversion to laundry the other 3 weeks of the month. But, who knows? I have piles hidden all over my house.

Is anyone else hot? Because now I feel like I am in menopause?

An Ode.
Oh crazy where are you?
Here you are right in my mind.
Friend of mine you are my bed. Two kids, one dog, husband.
Where is my escape? The shower when will me meet? Tonight you say, sorry to tired.
I will rendezvous with you at 6:30 with the two screaming in my ear, the one rushing for work, the dog sniffing past the curtain.

GET OUT DOG!

Hanita

2007-08-24T07:14:00.000-07:00

And then there is Hannah. Hannah is my blood sister. I do not I know anyone that is cooler then she. If you are interested in how ultra-cool she is, check out her blog. (I have the link under Cool People I know).

Hannah and I have been through every high and every low a sibling can know. We know each other in ways no one else could comprehend, and then many times in our journey as sisters, we have been complete strangers.
She is what could be said as, polar opposite of me. She started building houses out of manila envelopes when she was only 4. She is currently an architect. She started that journey while still in high school. I have aspired to be about everything that involved creativity, never comminting enough time to any one passion to make it my own.
In 7Th grade, the entire year, she made straight 100s. I am NOT exaggerating. She has spent as much time studing as she has sleeping. I am no schlep at school, but studied just enough to get the A. In Utopia, where we went to High School, that did not require much studying. We were not the best of friends at that point.
She lived in Paris for a year and just got back from a 5 month stint in London. She has traveled all over Europe and I think, given the opportunity, she would settle in Paris for the rest of her life.
Most important of all her great qualities, she LOVES the Lord. She is an amazing sister in the Lord. She sends us great scripture at least everyother day. She works 60-80 hours a week, yet still always finds time to encourage us in the Lord.
Today, things are so great. We have such a great time together. We have found a place where we share many things in common, politics, art, I wish I could say travel, lets just say, she does travel and I would love to travel. It is funny because growing up, I think we all thought I would be the one living in New York and she would be the one at home with the kids. (She was pretty shy growing up...yea, not anymore!) She is so articulate, and smart. We have the same facial expressions, the same voice inflections and the same laugh. I love being her sister. I am going to go visit her in New York. I am so thrilled.

She came to visit 2 weeks ago. An interesting, but good visit.

Lola loves "Tita", even though the kids have not spent that much time with her they LOVE-LOVE-LOVE her. Lola thought for a long time Tita lived on an airplane, now she thinks she lives in Central Park, New York.
Moses is not inclined to let anyone but Mark and I hold him, by the 3rd day she was here, Moses was all about Tita. Now he asks to talk to her on the phone all the time.
We have always looked alike, Hannah is ultra tiny, so that kind of gave away who was older. We wore our hair the same for years, in those days people always asked if we were twins.

Crossbridge Cronies

2007-08-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

My friends in my last blog have known me all of my adult, some longer. I have been blessed to find a new set of sisters at the church Mark and I have been attending since January. There are some amazing woman that have crossed my path in the past few months. (Some of them I feel like I have known my entire life) I look forward to growing these relationships into life long friendships that are based in something greater then just similar personality traits.

Cody, very dry, very funny! Could not live without her. Loves a neat house. (Her own, not mine thank goodness.)

Mandy and Amber. Best friends, very sweet. Would like to get to know them better.

Sarah Beth (SB), and Eden. We could have been raised in the same home. Artist, definitely a soul-sister.

Last but not least, Zuzzanna. Cezch. Crazy, has spiced up my life in a great way.

Sisters

2007-08-23T13:01:00.000-07:00

Recently I heard our pastor say he gets weirded out when Christians refer to each other as Brother and Sister. I totally disagree. I was weirded out that he thought that. SB explained that in the Babtist church it is a formality, not a endearing term. Well, it has always been an endearing term to me. It separates my friendships from my family. My family in Christ. My sisters in Christ are linked to me in a way no friend could come close to. I am so blessed to have many of them grace my path on a daily basis. Laura knows me best, she is my person. But, she is hardly the only one that can hold the title best friend. What does that mean anyway? Each of these woman know me in their own "best" way. I would never be me without the relationships of these sisters.

Adrienne and I in Memphis. June 2007.

Laura and I at the Beach. June 2007

My sisters, and also real sisters, Jessica and Adrienne. Been friends since 8th grade!

Charity and I, another of the Memphis crew.

Charity and Adrienne came to Texas when we were 19. My dad gave them each a house to bring back to Texas when they returned. Adrienne returned hers 3 years ago when she came for a visit. Charity still has yet to return, but she has her house!

My crazy best friend Michelle. Girls game night at my house.

This blog looks terrible. But I am sick of playing around with it.

8 Things

2007-08-21T23:45:00.000-07:00

I have not blogged in....to long. My Friend Mel tagged me to blog this, so here it goes. I am only putting down 8 for now, maybe add the other 2 another day.

1). I have read Jane Eyre about 20 times. It is my favorite book. I was nine the first time I picked it up. I think I re-read it twice right after that. I still remember how I felt when Jane ran into Mr. Rodchester long after the fire. I actually jumped up and down and sang Hooray!!!!! I am a hopeless romantic I guess.

This story also arose an early sensitivity to social injustice. I wept for the way Jane was treated by her Aunt. But was far more angered by the Head Master of the orphanage Jane was sent to. He was a supposed to be a minister of God. At the tender age of 9, I was being exposed to the danger and damage of using the Lord to gain power and hurt others. That is what reading will do for you. Not to mention the fact that the children did not eat or were not kept warm. You can see that I still feel quite passionately about it.

2) I have read Little Woman about 20 times, also my favorite book. My entire childhood I was seriously disappointed that Jo did not marry Laurie. I would even stop reading the book at the point she breaks his heart. It was not until I fell in love with Mark did I understand why Jo married the professor.

I have of course always thought of myself as Jo March. One of the times after I read it I went out and cut off all my hair. I think I was around 10. I lived in the lives of my books when I was in elementary and junior high. Homeschooling can do that to a person.

I cannot wait until Lola is old enough for me to read it to her. I wonder if she will have the same obsession about my favorite childhood books? Oh yeah, Narnia is another set that I read and re-read and re-read.

I also love both of the Little Woman movies. There is an old one, Jo is played by Katherine Hepburn. She is excellent, a more hyper Jo then I imagined, but still an excellent depiction of the character. The other Little Woman is my favorite. I have made Mark rent it three times. Josephine is played by Winona Ryder. I was slightly obsessed with the actress growing up, as I fancied I looked like her. The older I got the less and less I looked like her, a major disappointment. I completely identified with most of the woman or girls she played in movies. Reality Bites! Hello, could that be more me? Anyway, she played the Jo that I wanted her to be. I still love the movie, but I do not think Mark will let ever rent it again. He did not read Little Woman 20 times, or even once for that matter.

3) I like to go to bed late and get up early. (Ok, getting up early had to do with kids that I conditioned to get up early) At least once a week I stay up until 1:00 am. Just watching late night tv, reading or writing. I love this time. I can't do any chores since the entire house is asleep, all I can do is nothing. Usually I am ok the next day until around 1 or 2 in the afternoon, CRASH! But, now that Lola is taking naps again I lay down and am fine.

4) I love turning 30, I am finally at the age I think I was meant to be. I had the best birthday ever. Becca and Laura took me to Galveston the week before my birthday for a girls get-a-way. The next weekend Laura insisted she throw a party for me. I insisted it could only be Mark and I, Tom and Laura and my parents. I do not like being the center of attention. That may surprise EVERYONE. She made the most amazing dinner for me. Crazy good, crazy gourmet, cooking is one of Lar's passions as well. It was so much fun, and Amy, Laura's sister came in town, so it was even better! One of the best parts is in September I am going to go to New York to visit my sister! Yippee! That is the only thing I asked for, and my parents gave me a voucher. Yippee!

5) I despise hanging up our clothes. One time our hang-up cloths lay ed out for almost 2 weeks. Now I know that I have to hang them the minute they come out of the dryer, or else...

I do not like doing chores or cleaning in any way whatsoever. I get satisfaction from them being clean, but most of that is due to the fact that I do not have to do again for awhile. If I won the lottery, got a job or Mark hit the big time, a maid is the FIRST thing I would spring for. Most days I do not do the kitchen dishes until around 3:00. Usually I let the house go crazy until late afternoon before Mark gets home, then I make a wild dash to put everything in order. But, for some reason I slightly obsessed with having everything perfect when he comes home. Unless I am really sick, the house is always perfect when he walks in the door. I guess I do have a little Donna Reed in me!

6) I am happy that my Lola is not 2 anymore. Everyone I meet is like, " They grow up so fast don't rush."
I did not enjoy the terrible 2's whatsoever. She is so insanely fun now it is crazy. I was just talking to Laura about this. When Lola was younger, everyone would say, it gets better. You know, it does get better! The Lord not only gave Lola the right Mother, he gave me the right child. I have grown years of patience and grace since she was about 14 months. I know she is such a wonderful girl, but she still has those moments. I rarely feel the anger and frustration I felt for what seemed like years.

Moses is no cake-walk, but I feel like he is amature hour compared to his sister. And I wonder, is it that, or has the Lord expanded me? I hope so.

I have 2 very active, brilliant, strong-willed babies, and I thank the Lord everyday they are mine, and not anyone elses. I cannot wait to see what they become. Can you imagine how much good energy they can put into the body of Christ? It is scary to think of the responsibility I have in raising them, but it is such a comfort to know they are the Lord's and there is not much more I can do but obey Him. So lets see what more I have to say over the years. I refuse to dread them becoming teenagers. I can only pray, wait and see what happens.

7) Sometimes I secretly wish I had a big fat diamond ring. But, then I remember that EVERYONE has a big fat diamond ring. Not to mention the deplorable conditions related to diamond mines in Africa. This is not a criticism to anyone that owns a diamond ring. I saw a documentary on the diamond mines after we decided not to get a diamond. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/programs/transcripts/1209.html
Fact is fact, there is no pretending that there are horrible atrocities related to the diamond industry. If you are interested go to PBS.org and search diamond mines. There is a plethora of information concerning this subject.

8) I am terrified of getting my teeth knocked out. I also share that fear about the kids teeth. It just gives me the creeps all over to think about it. I threw a major fit when I was about 3 years old and was fitted with a tiny false tooth that fit like a retainer. It turned out to be a blessing because all of my top teeth grew in straight, I am pretty sure it is because of my retainer on the top. You should have seen my bottom teeth before I got braces at the age of 19. Very scary. Once this guy in high school told me my bottom teeth looked like an old grave yard. He was a mean kid, but I got braces about 2 years later. Phew! (Of course I am not to worried about losing my teeth in general because I never floss)

Blog Worthy

2007-08-21T23:35:00.000-07:00

Here are some Crazy Pictures of our Super-Ham. It is starting to take everything in the world to get her to take a real picture. She is nuts, nuts I tell ya!

Joel David's birthday Party. She wanted to show me her chocolate cake tounge.

Taking a bath with her boys! Benjamin and Joel David, I think this will be her last "public" bath.

Memphis Zoo. Mark was trying to get a good shot of me with the kiddos. Not so much.

Jakers

2007-07-06T06:56:00.000-07:00

I felt I must post this because Jake us such a cool kid. I love him!

A few weeks ago Laura and Becca, my sister-in-law, took me to Galveston for my birthday. For several reasons we took Jacob, Laura's youngest. He was a brilliant, perfect angel baby. I know that the Lord blessed Laura, and the rest of us, with this perfect child. He is so docile, that I was relieved to hear him throw a fit when he was forced to have a diaper change. That only happened once by the the way, and it was right before his nap.
I took some pictures of us ladies, but the ones of Jake are breathtaking.

Is it possible to be in love at 3?

2007-06-18T18:36:00.001-07:00

This is Ben. He is the 6 year old son of my good friend Becky. We went to Utopia over Memorial Day weekend and Ben was there. Lola's only concern the entire time was keeping up with the whereabouts of Ben. If they were not swimming in the creek, taking a dip in the hot tub, or playing T-ball, they were curled up on the ez-chair watching Shrek 2.
The vacation in general was so delightful because it is the first time since we have had children that I really felt like it was a vacation. The first day we were were there I spent most of the day on the front porch reading my book. I fininished it! How great is that?
It has a great deal to do with the fact that the adult to child ratio was 3-1, there was the "great outdoors" the children were free to roam about, and hey, my kids are getting older!

Giving as much love as possible.

Do they look like teenagers or what?

I really do not think Ben minds the attention.

White Trash Splash Park

2007-06-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

If you know me, you know that I have a best friend Laura. We have been best friends for 15 years.
I think if you have a best friend, I mean a real best friend, you can somewhat understand what Lar and I have. We are closer then sisters, but we appreciate the relationship that the other has with her sisters. It is interesting and complicated. Complicated in a good way, most of the time... I would not be who I am without the friendship I have with Laura. I think, I know it is the same with her.
We are totally different people on the surface.

Her ideal environment would be the county, with animals and stuff. She does not listen to the news that often, she can understand the lyrics to every song, she is so patient with her kids it is unreal. Most, nay all, of these things are not things we have in common. But, I think the person we are on the inside is very much the same. Plus, we now have the Lord to share. A wonderful gift from God to us both.

We go over to Laura's apartment at least once a week for Spaghetti night. Now, most nights we make spaghetti, some we do not. It is just now called spaghetti night. She lives in a great space, but in the summer when it is hot, we needed to figure out a way to entertain the kids and keep them cool. After my experience with ritzy splash parks I thought this was super funny. I know my kids, for sure, had more fun in Lars’s back porch then any swimming pool (Noah's ark the exception) I could have taken them to. Here are some of the GREAT pictures we captured. I did have to do some editing in photoshop, don't want any nuddy picts out there.

Jacob LOVES having water poured on him that is why he is getting splashed the most...

Water Boy.

Yikes-splash shot!

Taking turns at the water.

GET JACOB!

Stephen, thinking it would be funny to splash me...not so much.

Moses is not to crazy about being splashed.

He is such a sweet boy. He has been splashed about 20 times at this point and he is still happy.

And he STILL smiles for the camers. Your killin me Smalls.

Lola getting Stephen.

The Fearless Leader.

Goof-Ball.

"I love attention."

This was definitly a Spaghetti night.

A perfect picture of how we all felt that day.

Mother Goose Mamas

2007-05-30T19:53:00.000-07:00

It has been a few weeks since the last blog entry. I have been consumed with our mini-vacation over Memorial Day weekend.
Before I start on that blog, I wanted to share photos of the New Territory Splash park a few days prior to vacation.
When I first moved to Sugar Land from Houston I was three months pregnant. I felt somewhat displaced and out of touch with the suburban life. To tell you the truth I was a city girl that wanted nothing to do with a simple pre-fab home in a neighborhood filled with snobby, rich, white people. I wanted my kids to grow up with every possible experience, every opportunity to know the city and to love the life of all cultures. As it has turned out, I was the snob.
In the beginning I tuned my nose at opportunities to be involved with the woman that surrounded me. I did not need them then. I had my ultra cool architect sister, my understanding mother and a city not far that was had the ballet, opera and museums to fill my children’s every cultural desire. This is how my puny non-child mentality worked out the details. Then, Lola got older, I had Moses and my “family only” world got turned upside-down.
When Moses was about 4 months old I started attending the Mother Goose story time at the local library. The women that were there seemed nice enough, but our life crazy at the time and I was in no place to make friends. Besides, I thought, they are going to judge me for being a liberal and shun me for my offbeat style. It was an assumption that I held onto, a crutch to assume that people would not like me, so that way if they did not, I was in the clear. After all I was me, and if you don’t like that, so what. Right? The only problem with that mentality is that it starts to get pretty lonely.
In the spring I started to attend on a more regular basis. One mother, Susan, asked me to come to lunch with a few of them. She said that they did this every week, post story time. To tell you the truth I was thrilled. I had been around these moms and I could see that they were cool. Besides, my "city" friends either had no kids, or they worked. After our first lunch, I was hooked. The women I have met are so unique in her own way I feel as if I have grown as a woman and as a person just from being their friends.
All of our kids are far too old to attend the Mother Goose time now. Now, most of us go to the toddler time. Some of the moms do not go, due to scheduling problems, attention problems or various other reasons. But, we are all here for each other. We have created something wonderful for each of us. There are various ethnic, religious and cultural differences between all of us. It is everything that I might want my children to experience anywhere I live.
Some of us are better friends then others; we have made deeper connections past our children, some not. But it has helped me more there any other single thing as a mother. To have the support of other mothers, to be able to talk about your kid’s problems for hours, what would I do without that support? Not to mention the distraction of not having to stay home ALL DAY with 2 toddlers, that can be more then the sanest person can take.
To give you an example of how diverse my group of friends is I will give you a breakdown of Lola’s third birthday party.
We Had:
The Over Educated Mom with her Masters
The Asian
The Muslim
The Divorce
The Handicap
The Older Mom
The Homeschooler Mom with 5 kids
The Liberal Democrat in suburban Sugar Land
The list goes on, but that was 8 months ago…
My point is, I have everything here that I could ever want in any big city. Not to mention all the things that I would lack, such as, a great park at every neighborhood, super awesome grocery stores that sell organic at a reasonable price, the big city is only a 15 minute drive, every possible ethnic group that one might want their children to be exposed to. It is all I ever wanted for my kids only cheaper real estate!
I say all this in the mindset that this is for me. My children love these kids. They talk about everyone constantly. If I mention that we are going to see Ally, Lola wants to know if Joshua is going to be there. Moses is obsessed with Eloise and Owen. I have seen Lola go from being extremely board with the kids a year younger then her, to becoming the surrogate mother to these kids when their moms are talking. She takes ownership of her friendship with everyone in this group. They have now become her babies They are building, what I hope to be, lifelong friendships.
The library is not having toddler time, so we have been getting together on Wednesdays and going to a park. Here are some pictures of last week. We went to the splash park first and then to the regular park.

Moses Enjoying the water!

Lola, my crazy girl.

Mary Evyn. A little princess.
Moses drinking the water...nice.

A good shot of the park.

Moses, checking our "O" Man on the swings.

Lola and Eloise, best buds, who wudda thought?

Our true Mother Goose.

Copy-Kat

2007-05-18T12:39:00.000-07:00

I read the funniest thing on a blog today. This person was asking all of these "why" questions. It served great insight into the person and it was really, really funny. So, I am pulling a copy-kat and doing the same thing. Here are a few random why questions that I constantly ask myself, some are political in nature, (duh, if you know me), some are funny, all are an insight into me.

1. Why do I need to be funny?
2. Why can't I make my three year old take a nap?
3. Why do most Christians believe the Republican Party is God's party?
4. Why do people obsess over a fictional character that tortures people on a weekly basis?
5. Why does my potty-trained dog still pee on our rug, daily?
6. Why, when I start reading a book, I have a very difficult time doing anything else until I have finished that book?
7. Why can't I paint?
8. Why do I feel shy most of the time? (Nobody would know that one!)
9. Why was I so blessed to have a mother that would not let me be shy?
10. Why do I love The Office so much?
11. Why are we still in the war?
12. Why do I listen to sports radio everyday and do not watch one sports event on television, or follow any teams?
13. Why did I suck so hard at sports, even though I am tall?
14. Why do I not care that we do not have cable?
15. Why do I love to talk on the phone?
16. Why has the Lord blessed in every area of my life?
17. Why did I waste so much time in college?
18. Why did I only discover I loved to cook in my twenties?
19. Why do I have a hard time raising my hands to the Lord?
20. Why do I hate southern style cooking so much?
21. Why does the world neglect Africa and New Orleans?
22. Why does Mark have such an innate ability to be a good person and do the right thing?
23. Why do I love dark comedies so much?
24. Why did the Lord give me so many cool experiences growing up?
25. Why Can I do nothing but crop, and reduce a picture size in Photo Shop when I have owed the program for 7 years.

This was a fun exercise.

Noah's Ark Splash Park

2007-05-16T13:10:00.000-07:00

A few months back my moms group was talking about going to this splash park for toddlers called the Noah's Ark Splash Park. Sarah mentioned that she thought, no was SURE, that it was best day of her daughter, Eloise's life. Best day, hands down, most fun she had ever had.
The place opened this Monday and our group decided to go today. Ok, it was just as fun as Sarah said, only MORE fun because I could go down all the slides with Lola.
We had such a great time. This time poor Mosey had to go to Rita's. I was not sure how all the water and two kids were going to work. But, I think it is manageable because I did not have to watch Lola every minute. Which would have been impossible because she was everywhere.
I can't wait to go again!

Here are a few shots I took of what will now be called, "The Best Day of Lola's Life

Here she is climbing up the giant ark. There are three slides on the other side.

The Happy Girl

The Only Way to get the Kids out of the Pool!

My Baby is Turning 2 and my Big Girl is Saying Dad!

2007-05-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

Here are some amazing pictures of the kids. I wanted to share them with all my freinds.

Here is Moses right after he woke up from a 3 hour nap.

He is our tan-man. Mark calls him, "Mr. San Tropaz"

Lolita or Jenny?

Still Mommy's baby. I cherish this time so much.

Hamming it up with the new camera.

There is a little smile!

Papa-Boschy

2007-05-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

If my kids could spend every waking moment with their grandparents, they would. It might have something to do with the fact that the moment we walk in their door the kids are provided with, cookies, salty snacks, juice and the opportunity to watch as much Barney as their little eyes can take. That is just walking in the door.

Grandparents are amazing. They have the patience and longsuffering to play with the kids for hours and hours. My mom will play whatever Lola wants for endless amounts of time. My dad, of weak stamina, will wrestle and jump and carry and fly the kids until I stop him in fear he may have a heat-attack. They give them all the fun that I wish I had the patience and time for. I pride myself on being a very fun mommy. My "funness" pales in comparison to the attention my parents give them.

I had extremely fun parents growing up. My mother would design costumes for the plays I wrote and my dad would wrestle with us for hours. Yet, they were still my parents, and they were pretty strict. I am so pleased that they are now afforded the opportunity to just do the fun stuff. The kids are my gift to them for raising me right and loving me enough to discipline me. Cuz, that is NOT fun, for either party.

The kids are their gift to me as well. I am now afforded the opportunity to understand why they did the things they did. With each “incident” with the kids, I am more in tune with myself.
In short, I appreciate them as much as their grandkids do.

The Reality of Communication

2007-04-02T18:06:00.000-07:00

My Hubbs is amazing. Tonight when he came home I was literally a ticking time bomb. I had about 6-dozen things I was ready to rant and rave about. I was planning to unleash only 3 or 4, but they were going to be doozies. By God’s grace I held my tongue letting my complaints roll over in my head like giant tumbleweeds. Of course by that time the children were so insanely crazy we could hardly talk even if we wanted to. They were exhausted and ready for bed, this was at 6:00!
Fearing complete explosion, I calmly told Mark I needed to go for a drive while he bathed the kids. Poor guy, he took it all wrong, and then I took him taking it all wrong, all wrong. Usual PMS miscommunication was alive in the house just as the bacteria that caused the flu in the kids.
Neither Mark nor I like to fight. We do not thrive on drama or hurt, so we both shut our mouth for a bit to reflect on the exchange. He came in Lola’s room a short time after and apologized for ??? He attempted to understand why I was so mad, but also fully appreciates the un-rational of my behavior. I told him how I felt, why I felt that way, and there were parts that were irrational, but if you read my blog you can understand why I was so stressed out by 6:00.

Usually by this time of the day I am not stressed, but instead focused on getting the kids bathed and to bed. My poor babies are fare more tired then I, so I need to stay focused. As I have said before today was not the usual day.
After I said what I had to say, he kissed me and boy did I feel better. He understands me. He listens to my words even when they are veiled in complicated woman issues. He digs past those issues and tries to see what is upsetting me and how he can best soothe my pain. We are every movie with a happy ending, every love story about "the one", we are perfectly matched. I need him and he needs me. How great God is to gift each of us with the perfect person. Now, I know once you are married, that is technically supposed to be the "perfect person" for you. We have a freindship that surrpasses marriage, we are truley bestest friends. I like him... a lot!

When I went to our doctor recently he asked how Mark was doing. He said, “That man thinks of you as his Sheba, his queen. I have never had a patient with a husband so concerned and in love with his wife.”
Anybody that knows us, knows that to be true.

Please and Thank you

2007-04-02T13:46:00.000-07:00

How is it possible that 29 days of the month a woman can be as sane as a brick wall, and one day, a stark raving lunatic?
I swear today, I feel as if I was somehow misdiagnosed and instead of having hypo thyroid, I have hyper-hysteria.
Where is my Prozac? Shove the Advil and gimme the good stuff, Vicatin.

Today is my one sure-fire day to send the kids to Rita’s. To tell you the truth it is as much for their safety as it is for my rest.
But no, they are recovering. If you have ever had children you will know that “recovery” far out weighs the stress of kids actually being sick. In “recovery” they are physically better, their energy is up, way up, and the parents are forced to contend with every rule that has been broken for the last 7 days. Every extra hour, or two…whose kidding 5, that you let them watch TV, they are begging for an extra 5 more, pretty much in hopes that entire day can be spent with the television on, even if not watched. Every piece of broccoli that was swept off the plate or meal skipped is now a regular routine; instead of not eating, all they want is popcorn or cheese crackers. Talking back, hitting siblings and mis-behavior in general is accepted in their little minds, The New Rule. Lets just say they have been the center for so long, you spend the next seven days reprogramming them to the correct center. That being you and your FREAKING CRAMPS!

I love you kids.
Please don’t shove each other to see who can lay across-on top-sideways over mommy more then the other.
Please don’t throw your full cups of milk on each other at the table.
Please don’t later spit milk in each other’s faces and think it is really fun game. It is not a really fun game.
Please don’t steal the chocolate syrup out of the refrigerator, lock yourself in my bedroom and drink half then poor the other half all over mommy’s sheets and bed frame.
Please don’t completely fall apart screaming and kicking at Wal-Mart because I will not buy you cotton candy pink pumps. (That was Moses by the way)

I love you kids.
Thank you for loving me so much that you fight over me.
Thank you for fighting this Flu/Pneumonia and recovering at home and not the hospital.
Thank you for laughing when I fly you in the air like an airplane.
Thank you hugging me two minutes after I scream at you for stealing the chocolate syrup.
Thank you causing me to grow on a daily basis because I am at a total loss as to what I am doing most of the time.
Thank you for causing me to go to the Lord and say, Help, I need Vicatin…just kidding!

All in a Days Work

2007-04-01T11:57:00.001-07:00

I cleaned the pantry out yesterday. What a job. After I woke up at 6:30, and pondered the condition of human existence I started itching to do something productive.
Prior to having my second child, I was the most organized well-put together person. My refrigerator was always cleaned, my life always recorded in a neat calendar, and my sock drawer looked like a picture. (Ok, that may be a stretch)
My mom instilled a deep need to purge clothes, shoes and junk from every part of our life. Of course that could have something to do with the fact that we moved about the country with the ease of a band of Gypsies. A family cannot have too much on its back if your only mode of transportation is a VW Rabbit, circa 1980.
Since the birth of my dear Mosey, things have changed just a bit.
Laura reminds me, in a nice way of course, that I should be growing veggies in my garden, not at the bottom of the refrigerator. My poor little calendar sits closed at my bedside. The first month I got it I entered the first 5 months with a day or two off. Now I can’t even bear to pick it up. My sock drawer, lets just say there are items of clothing in there that were worn only in the last week or two of pregnancy…ladies, you got me?
Yesterday I said ENOUGH! I will gain back control of my home. Lets start with the pantry.
Now I know why I never do this kind of stuff.
It started out ok at first. I began by pulling out spices that were in complete disarray due to the fact that there is usually four small children in my home and at one point or another have all taken a swipe at the many culinary condiments hanging on the wall.
As the process really started getting more involved, the children inevitably noticed that mommy was doing something unusual, and there were many things that are usually out of reach right in front of them!!!!!!!!
I decided to sit them at the table and let them play with pots and a couple cups of dried beans. They were great, at first. Slowly one bean, then another would bounce to the floor. They paid them no mind until one bounced right back up on the table, SCORE! Pretty soon it became a game to see how far each of them could throw a bean, then 10 beans. I was so entrenched in my project I could not bear to pull myself away and end the beaning. Anyway, I rationalized I started it.
I am not sure what came next, the dried oatmeal all over the kitchen and dining room floor, or the honey squirts all over the carpet? Needless to say, Mark spent about as much time cleaning up from my cleaning up as I did cleaning the pantry.
All in a days work.

Ps. Camera is MIA. To bad!

Africa

2007-03-31T20:02:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning at 6:30. Amazing how early ones body will wake up when one had a good nights sleep. A good nights sleep is a true rarity in our house these days. Of course, it could have had something to do with the fact that there was a tropical storm beating down our windows. Not a true tropical storm of course. Having lived through Tropical Storm Allison, I do know a thing or two about real tropical storms. But, Houston has the most amazing regular run of the mill thunderstorms, or so they seem to Houstonians.
I crept out of a warm bed occupied by my darling daughter and poor hubby. She was curled up to him as close as a cat. He had somehow positioned himself so far on the edge of the bed I could not figure out how the laws of gravity could so obviously be defied. I shall let them sleep in peace. I thought to myself.

The truth was I was wide-awake and could not wait to curl up on the couch alone with a hot cup of Joe. (Another rarity in our house these days, solitude, definitely NOT coffee)
As the coffee brewed I pulled up all the shades up on our windows. I left the lights off and let the brilliant show of lightning cascade through the windows. About every 10-20 seconds I could see the entire span of the living room as if someone has shined a spotlight in our windows.
I was thinking about how grateful I was to be in this huge room with a kitchen filled with food.
I recently finished a tremendous book about Africa; more then once the author referenced storms that seemed to put Allison in the dust. The harder it rained outside the more my heart went out to the actual people living in the horrors of Africa. It was a spiritual moment. The Lord came in and allowed me to open my soul to our starving, beaten misused brothers.
It is such a good thing to be put in your place. To be humiliated by your wealth and circumstance is not bad from time to time. I could not believe that I was complaining only yesterday that my kids could not be sick one more day or I would go crazy.
Today, I thought, how many African mothers would long for their babies to suffer only from the flu. Instead diseases so horrible rack the lives of themselves and their children, I can’t even associate myself in the same world as the maladies that plague those poor babes.
So were does that leave us? Am I to sit in my home in desperation and guilt? No, the only thing I can do is pray. Pray for the darling children dying, pray for the grieving mothers, and pray for the fathers that are and are not.
Christ is bigger then that. He understands their pain, my own self-hatred at being born white and woman.
How to pray? They want do not my life of democracy and easy goods; I do not want their life of work and tumultuous terrain. I pray that they understand something greater then the pain that is inflicted on them and loves them. I pray that one child is spared, and woman is not violated. This is never enough. But, Christ died for all sins, that of the “savage” and that of the “white concurring savage”. It is hard to pray equally for both. As for one I wish to burn in all the fire of hell and the other I wish to rule in heaven. I am not so easy; we humans want to kill even when the law sanctioned the killing.
This was supposed to be a funny blog…..

The Flu

2007-03-30T16:38:00.000-07:00

Moses has the flu.
“The flu?” I ask the doctor
Since Mose is prone to playing in the ashes of my fireplace, I ask about that flu.
“No, your little chimney sweep has the flu”
One Mommy Flu Over the CooKoos Nest.

Turns out the flu is what Lola had to start with and hers turned into pneumonia. How utterly hopeless and helpless we are as parents. The constant rhetoric of, do this, don't do that, we dare not enter the danger zone of the play park in the mall, is everybody well at this party or that play-date?

The hand sanitizer, gosh, we use could fill up a bathtub on the amount of that stuff we subject our children to, not to mention our own wrinkled hands.

No control, is the only way to describe having kids. All the organic dairy products and organic locally grown fruits and veggies in the world could not save my little ones from the flu and pneumonia. Sad. Good thing our life is covered by the grace and mercy of Christ, other wise I might go crazy.

BFF

2007-03-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

Countless times someone at a grocery store or a friend will say, “It is so great they are so close. They are going to be best friends!”

I have actually laughed in their face. So many fights, so little reward, or so it seemed. Oh sure, those early months when they were napping together and they were too far apart to care about the other, were easy times. Then Moses grew up, and Lola got cranky.

Going out in public is always an abundantly tiring affair. That does not stop us, no way. We are three on the move! I do it because I want to teach them how to behave together in public and I want to learn how to manage my troop with ease and care.

There are the usual “2 children in public scares”, no amount of preparation will stop; being terrified they are going to drown when I take them to the pool by myself, losing Lola at the Children’s Museum, (that was a scary day) or Moses eating poop at the petting zoo. It is all worth it when they come home and try to tell Daddy every incident that happened on these many excursions. Our favorite to date is when Lola came home from the zoo telling Daddy all about the "stinky snake" We are not real sure what made him stinky...

With each outing I become more confidant, more daring and dare say, less stressed. I guess it is time to have another one…hahahaha!

Now, now they are friends. Best friends, even a group of girls at a birthday party were unable steal Lola away from her Moe Moe. Of course if anyone with one child mentions having another before the first one turns 2, I scream, "Are you out of your MIND?"

Ode to a Shower

2007-03-30T11:14:00.000-07:00

Every other day you are my friend.
I get my children herded for your bend.
Pre-dawn hours I rush to bloody my legs.
Every day would be nice I beg.
When there was 1, there were naps.
With 2, there could be coronary bypass.
I grew my hair long, no everyday wash needed.
No style has the tresses heeded.
Hot, warm, steamy.
My dear shower you are my McDreamy.

Club Miertschin

2007-03-30T10:53:00.000-07:00

Both the kids have pneumonia. Lola is doing much better today. She has been listening to this great kids cd that Sophie’s DD made. It is full of weird kids songs. Her favorite songs are the theme songs to her favorite shows. I thought she was going to have a coronary when the Dora song came on.
In order to dance properly in house you must first pull off all the couch cushions and jump up and down on them. Then jump from one square on the carpet to the other. Pink happens to be Lola’s very favorite square.
It is very fun to watch and sometimes, most times, I get roped into dancing. If anyone wonders about my weight, they should check out the energy level of my kids, even with pheumonia, they could wear out an acrobics instructor.
Not long into the entire process Lola starts changing the songs after about 2 refrains. This part drives mommy a little crazy. Of course, it would drive me crazier if she played the same song over and over. Which she did do about a year ago. (Thank God that phase is over.)

Moses woke up with fever, and seemed pretty slow. Lola has made darn sure that he gets no rest whatsoever. He was laying on our dining room table chairs after picking at his breakfast. Lola spotted him and aimed to put a stop to that. She turned off her TV; this is unheard of even when the most enticing thing tries to lure her away. She grabbed his hand and the rest is history. I marvel at their newfound friendship. They have both grown up so much in the last 6 weeks.