How Many Little People Animals Can Fit On A Stool?

Today was clean up the playroom day! My husband took the time, while I was at the gym and nursing our youngest, to organize the playroom and weed out a bunch of toys to make room for new ones received at Christmas. I am reluctant, though, that everything will stay in their places and not get mixed up. The reason is that it's hard to keep the house in order all the time. I can see the bins that we have selected won't stay the way they are now. Of course, it's good to instill responsibility in a child that he or she must clean up their room or playroom before receiving a treat or before nap time or bedtime. So, my oldest son's wonderful contribution to all this was taking all the animals, minus about 4, and putting them on a stool I have in the kitchen. There were so many on the stool that they were almost falling off. He even decided to start stacking them on top of each other. My child is definitely NOT showing signs of autism! That's for sure! Ha! I just thought it was a funny moment for our family and that I'd share. Hope you had a wonderful and blessed Christmas, and that the New Year is full of happy surprises!

Bummer Book Signing

One of my favorite tv shows on the Food Network is 30 Minutes Meals with Rachel Ray. She always makes food that looks yummy, and I've enjoyed her bubbly personality and funny quirks. I think I've even caught myself saying "YUM-O!" a few times.

Earlier this week, my husband was out at the mall with our 2 1/2 year old viewing a model railroad at Bass Pro, and afterwards, he stopped by the bookstore to look around. While browsing the store, he noticed that queen of 30 minute meals was going to have a book signing this Saturday (today). Knowing that I enjoy her show, he told me, and this morning he went to the store to get our ticket and buy the book that she was going to sign.

After rushing to get the kids together and putting a little makeup on so I'd look alive in the picture that I'd take of me and Rachel, we arrived at our designated time.

I had no idea that a book signing would be such a rote, cold, routine. . .thing.

After waiting in the line, all excited with book in hand, I got up to the table where she was sitting. I handed hubby the camera, but when I turned around the lady said that Rachel was only taking photos with children. So, I thought, no biggie, I'll just get to smile at her, say hello, and atleast have SOME eye contact. Nope, the woman making the line go smoothly said, "stay with your book, miss" as if we were a roasting chicken coming down a belt in a factory waiting to be packaged up. So, I stayed with my book like I was told, and soon got to Rachel.

You know what?! She didn't even look up and smile at me. She just opened the front cover, addressed the book to me (someone came around while we were in line and wrote our names on a sticky note to post in the front cover so I guess Rachel wouldn't have to ask for spelling), and signed her name. Then, so top it all off, she said "here ya go!" Disappointed, I walked away almost wanting to return my book and get my money back.

I just feel so sorry for Rachel Ray and any celebrity who's got their life so scheduled that she probably has to schedule time to breath. Her life as a celebrity cook must be such a stress for her. Book signings, show taping, photo shoots. . .I can imagine that she's just about ready to blow her top and want to just get it done already!

As I watched her pose with children for a picture, it almost seems like she puts on a mask to cover what's really inside. Her bright, enthusiastic smile fades to a mere cover-up of chaos and stress.

Even though it's probably nice to make 18 million a year cooking your favorite foods, I have no desire to be in the spot light. I love my life just as it is. Two beautiful children, a loving husband, a warm home to rest in, and the occasional bummer book signing. . .

Note to self: in the future, just wait until the book goes on sale and get it later.

What does Christmas mean for you?

Check out the "Conspiracy Theory" post on the blog of a wonderful friend of mine, Wishful Thinking. Click on the YouTube video, and have an open mind. Perhaps it's time for ALL of us to rethink how we celebrate Christmas.

I Found You, Mr. Tasselmeyer!

As we were watching the weather on the evening news, our 2 1/2 year old was watching Mr. Tasselmeyer walked back and forth across the screen.

"Where did he go?" I asked as the weatherman disappeared off the screen.

"He's playing hide and seek!" said James, watching the screen intently.

"Oh, he's playing hide and seek? Where did Mr. Tasselmeyer go?" I asked.

Soon, the weatherman reappeared. Jumping up and down and squealing with laughter, James said, "I found you, Mr. Tasselmeyer! I found you!"

First Taste

So, today was a big day for me.

Since my husband has been home, I've had alot of help, which has been great for my recovery from the birth of our second. I had an (unnecessary) c-section, so I was prescribed no heavy lifting including my two ton two year old. So, since hubby has been home, he's been doing all the heavy lifting and taking on much of the household duties.

But, today was different.

Today, he had to leave at 8am to go to an unemployment workshop, and he didn't arrive back home until 4:30pm. So, I was back to being a SAHM, but now it's not just of one child, it's two. I got my first taste of what life will be like from now on having two children. Thank goodness I had something to do today. Tuesday is Bible Study day, so for half of my day I was learning how to handle difficult people, and James, my 2 1/2 year old, was with Ms. Arka and the other children having a blast. And since I sit at a table of women who love babies, I didn't have to hold my youngest the whole time. There were plenty of ladies oooing and ahhing over Jesse. So, much to my surprise half of my day was great. Despite it taking 20-30 minutes just to get out of the door, life was going great.

And when I got home, it was lunch time, and then it was nap time, and then all hell broke loose. Let's just say, I've been barfed on more times in the past couple days than I could ever want. (Jesse is a little oinker, 11 pounds 12 ounces as a matter of fact, who likes to nurse ALOT, won't burp easily, and as a result, he vomits all the mommy milk right back up again) I've had to place my oldest in timeout probably about 5 times in 30 minutes. And, I've been peed on by my oldest right before I put him in the bath tub. And if you are a mom, you KNOW how much a two year old can pee. It's not just a little sprinkle. It's more like the Mississippi River. And it's just a delight to feel the nice trickle of urine landing on my foot, and because of my lack of sleep, not figuring it out right away. I swear, the Lord has a great sense of humor.

But after all of this, life is good. Life is good because I am happy, and also because I've reinstated ME TIME. So, from approximately 7pm-8pm, I have time to myself. Which is MUCH needed after having a normal day like this. But it's a good normal. Keeps life interesting. Keeps my head in the right place because I found myself praying little prayers throughout the day of asking God to help me stay calm. Before I felt like I was going to blow my top, I would take a deep breath, and pray. Because there's nothing I can't do when I have the Lord with me, right there beside me. What a blessing, to know that He is there watching over me, and that all I have to do is seek Him.

So, was today a good day? I'd have to say, heck yeah! Wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING! Not a thing.

Tough Times

My family is going through a very difficult situation. At least, that's how some people may see it. You see, he lost his job about 2 months ago, and recently I gave birth to our second child. You can imagine how he might feel, knowing that we have decided to have me stay home and raise our children. No matter how tough our days might be or how "hairy" life might get, I always remember to pray to our awesome Lord, Jesus Christ. I try to be my husband's rock during tough times, and even during not so tough times. What's the point in worrying or being depressed? The Bible says in Jeremiah 29:11 "don't worry about the future" and "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Philippians 4:6). So, I choose to lay everything aside and let God handle it. HE is the one who is in control of this situation. It is in HIS time that my husband will be blessed with a new job. So, in the meantime, we just have to wait and continue to pray for anything that comes to our mind because God is a good God and he wants to bless us with the desires of our hearts. That is why he tells us, "but in EVERYTHING, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, presents your requests to God".

No matter how big or small your situation may seem, pray to God. He hears you. He knows your thoughts. He wants to hold your hand through this.

And if you need a little inspiration, check out this YouTube video. It might bring a tear to your eye. I know that it did for me.

Happy Birthday!

We welcomed our second child into this world on October 17th, 2008. Jesse Scott was born at 5:45pm and weighed in at 9 pounds 5.9 ounces and 22 1/2 inches long. :) He's a big boy! Hope you enjoy the pictures! He's been a wonderful blessing to our family, and we are so thankful that he's finally here! Happy Birthday, Jesse Scott!

If You Gave A Toddler A Vegetable

We had tacos for dinner tonight. Hadn't had them in a while, so I thought I'd fix them. The seasoning was very mild, so I thought I'd have no trouble getting my almost two year old to eat one. So, I cut a whole wheat tortilla in half, scooped out some taco meat, sprinkled on some cheese, added a little diced tomato and gave it to him. And what does he do? He turns his head and adamantly says, "NO!" and then to top it off, he unrolls the taco, shakes the insides off the shell, and proceeds to eat the tortilla. Just the tortilla. We tried everything! Giving him his own fork, scooping the insides up and helping him feed himself, letting him take a bite of our taco, force feeding him with arms held down and head held back. Nothing works! And as my meal is getting cold, and I feel like my world is crumbling around me, I think about how I never want to see my child get fat. I don't want to see him have to diet like mommy (even though I did get to goal at Weight Watchers). Why the heck won't this child eat the food I give him? Why won't he eat vegetables? Why why why!? I feel like I've failed as a mother. This child is going to grow up only wanting to eat unhealthy foods. It's just so frustrating for me when all he asks for are cookies and crackers or chips. And I don't give those to him regularly because I don't have them in my home on a regular basis. He does eat fruit, and I only feed him whole grain or whole wheat bread. I just don't know what to do anymore. He knows I'm not a short order cook, so if he doesn't eat what I give him, he doesn't eat. I just wish his child would eat a piece of lettuce and tomato on a sandwich, or some baby carrots with a little dip instead of licking the dip off the carrot and throwing the carrot on the floor for me to have to pick up. I'm at a loss, and I feel like there's no hope for me to get this child to eat his veggies. I mean, aren't these years the building blocks for good nutrition? Am I at a total loss? I just wish I could wave a wand and the Magic Vegetable Fairy would come down and work her magic. Please! Why does this have to be so hard?

Ooohhh baby!

Because I can! That's why.

One Silver Wire

As I was awakened by my wonderful alarm clock this morning, I lay there in bed saying to myself, just one more hour. Then it occured to me that I am scheduled to work at Curves this morning. So, I rolled out of bed, gathered my clothes and staggered into the bathroom. As I turned on the light, through my blurry, goober crusted eyes, I spied a shiny, silver wire sticking out of my head. I leaned in closer to the mirror, being careful not to frighten myself, and was appalled by the sight of an acutal gray hair poking out of my head. I thought to myself, "dear Lord, has my life amounted to this?! Can this really be? I'm 26 years old, for Pete's sake (whoever Pete is)!"

So, I gathered my composure, got ready for the day, and quickly swooped up my sign of aging and shoved it in the trash. No way is a silly little gray hair going to get in MY way!

So there! <>

Best Friends

Isn't there a quote that says "a dog is a man's best friend"? Our son and dog, a beagle named Anakin, have really come to enjoy each other's company. They play together, and my son laughs and giggles and carries on as Anakin zips around the house. Here are some pictures of them just chillin'.

Let Me Be A Light!

Warning: This post might be a bit hard to swallow for some who read this.

My husband and I attend Grace Fellowship Church, a Bible based church that believes in Jesus, the one and only son of God. We have a strong faith. This faith was strengthened by being involved with our Intervarsity Christian Fellowship in college as small group leaders and worship leaders. Strengthened by involvement in small groups at Grace Fellowship Church as members, and most recently we became leaders. Strengthened by Bible study with Community Bible Study and The Bible in 90 Days program. Strengthened through the amazing worship we experience at church, that often brings me to tears. God is so amazingly present in this world. Why can't everyone just submit to Him?

Over the Christmas holiday, we discovered that a friend of mine, lets call her Sally, is attending a Unitarian Universalist church, and recently I decided to do some digging and find out a bit more. First of all, please pray for those who believe in Unitarian Universalism. As I read the website for the church she attends, I had an ill feeling come over me that Satan was very present and real and that he has a hold on those who attend this church. Having a strong faith in the truth that embodies Jesus Christ, I realized that Jesus doesn't seem to be in that church at all, which makes me wonder how it can be called a church. Here is the definition of church: a building for public and especially Christian worship. It really just blows my mind to think how people are so mislead about the truth. That they can find truth in all kinds of deities? That's so completely wrong! Please Lord Jesus, help me to be a light unto this world that they may see You in me and know the truth so they may be set free. I pray that I can be a light to as many people as possible. And please, Lord, give me the courage and strength to tell people about You so they won't go to Hell, because in the end, there will be chosen people and there will be those left behind. It pains me to think about how people are going to be left behind to burn and suffer. I can't reach everyone. Lord, could Sally be one of them? I pray that she doesn't think that she can find truth in herself. Truth is only found in Jesus. Why is it so hard for people to believe that? Don't they want total freedom? Don't they want to spend eternity in Heaven with our Wonderful Father? Father God, help me to see the world as You see the world, so that I may know how to reach the unbelievers so that they can see the truth and believe. Amen!

How To Make A Desk For $100

Supplies: Two assembly-required filing cabinets from Ollie's (one,a lovely cherry finish, the other, black with "alumacast" fronts, oops!), a solid slab door from Home Depot, and some grip liner to hold the door/desk top in place.

Instructions: After hubby disappears to the basement to start a project, suggest that we finally make the desk we've been talking about. After child is put down for a nap, offer to go to Home Depot to buy the door and grip liner while hubby puts the filing cabinets together. Return home with door and grip liner. Argue a bit about how to get the 3,000 pound door inside the house. Finish arguing. Finish putting cabinets together, which takes the longest. Darn you assembly required furniture! Thank God that hubby offered to do it instead of you. Cut grip liner to fit tops of cabinets. Position cabinets so that the door will be directly over top. Lift 3,000 pound door and position over top cabinets. And voila! A huge, brand-new desk for less than 100 dollars! Enough work space to spread out. Enough room for the computer. And enough leg room too! Fantastic! And it even has shiny, new "alumacast" fronts on one side! How modern!

Merry Tossmas!

A friend of mine sent this video to me today. Let us all remember the true meaning of Christmas. It's not about getting gifts, or going into debt to buy gifts, or seeing how much light you can display on your home! It's about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, the only Son of the one and ONLY God! Check this video out!

Just cut and paste this link into your browser thingy:

http://www.citizenlink.org/Stoplight/A000005834.cfm

Nuff said!

A Weekend in Review

This past weekend, my husband and I had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate our 5th anniversary in peace and quiet. We dropped off our son at grandma's and headed out to Mercersburg, PA, where we stayed at a lovely historic bed and breakfast called the Squire Smith Inn. It's owned by a friendly couple, who bought the place 5 years ago and renovated it to become a bed and breakfast. During the snowy season, they have many guest stay who like to ski at White Tail, but this past weekend, hubby and I were the only guests. Much to our surprise, they upgraded us to the biggest and most expensive room, free of charge. Beautiful king size four poster bed. Large windows with lace curtains. Down pillows that hug the sides of your face when you lay down. A crisp, clean bathroom, with pedestal sink and shower. They even had Andes mints on our pillows. And absolutely no television. Thank the Lord!!

We ordered the romance package that included the normal bed and breakfast deal, plus a box of decadent French chocolate truffles, which we devoured in 3 days, a fragrant bouquet of one dozen roses, and a dinner out at a local restaurant of choice.

When we arrived on Friday, we settled in and after chatting with the innkeepers, we headed out to have dinner at the James Buchanan Tavern and Inn. It's right down the street from our B&B, and has a most AMAZING New Orleans style Cajun food. It recently was adopted by new owners, who came to Mercersburg from, you guessed it, New Orleans. For an appetizer, we enjoyed a Chicken and Anduoille Sausage Gumbo sprinkled with white rice and a salad with an interesting dressing made of plain yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, and finely diced cucumber. Very refreshing. For our main fare, my husband enjoyed a bone in pork chop stuffed with a crab cake and I enjoyed crab cakes (WAY more crab than cake, yummy!). Each was served with roasted mashed potatoes and green beans. To top it off, we had their Black Raspberry and Strawberry swirled cheese cake. YUM-O!

After dinner, we decided to walk down to the Star Theater. This old theater used to show silent films way back, and now the owners have added a big screen and sound system, while preserving the charm, and created a movie theater. Can't beat seeing The Bee Movie for 5 bucks each, huh! And the movie treats were no more than 2 dollars.

On Saturday, we got to sleep in a little (the innkeepers asked if we wanted to), and woke up to a breakfast of fresh fruit, blueberry buckle, pancakes, and bacon. YUM! After breakfast, we, even though it was windy and cold, decided to go on the walking tour of Mercersburg. So many beautiful historic homes. And did you know that James Buchanan, the 15th president, grew up there? He was the only president from PA.

After our tour, we decided to go to Hagerstown, the nearest "big" city, have lunch, and go see another movie. Since we loved to see movies at least 2 times a month before we had our son, we wanted to see as many movies as possible this past weekend. So, we went to see the movie Enchanted, which was really cute and just plain fun. If I tried to explain it, this post would be WAY longer than it is already. After the movie, we did a little Christmas shopping and then headed back to get ready for dinner.

This was the evening that the inn was taking care of dinner. So, we decided to dine at Flannery's, an old Irish pub. It was great to had a 50 dollar tab waiting for us, so we were able to pick about anything on the menu. I had a spicy vegetable coconut curry and salad, while my husband had crab cakes served with this sinful ball of breaded and fried blue cheese mashed potatoes. I thought about ordering that as a side, but shuttered to think about how many calories was in that let alone how many I'd already consumed since arriving. For dessert, since we had money left over, we each ordered our own. I had a chocolate moouse truffle and hubby had an apple crisp. We decided to take home the pumpkin cheesecake. We didn't want to have to be rolled out of the restaurant. Ha!

After dinner, we headed up to the Mercersburg Academy to be filled with the music of Mercersburg Orchestra and Chorus. They performed a lovely group of pieces from Handel's Messiah, some Rachmaninoff, and some familiar and unfamiliar carols. It was so nice to listen to this beautiful music and be filled with the spirit of Christmas. It was also nice to just be together as a couple, something we don't get a whole lot having a toddler.

All in all, we had a fantastic, restful weekend. Something we'll probably do in 5 more years, perhaps sooner.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

My son has a funny fascination with my chapstick. I'll find him sitting on the floor with the cap off. Hand to mouth, shaking his head side to side with his tongue sticking out. He's using the cap, not the actual stick, to put the chapstick on. He's a bit confused, so I try to help him by showing how I do it, and then let him let me put some on his lips. He ends up wanting to try and eat it. I get his top lip, but he sticks out his tongue and ends up licking it. I guess that's why they make it taste good?

It's really cute, just as long as he doesn't start rubbing it on the dog's rear end. That would be really gross!

A Mother's Job is Never Over

Note to self: Never change a diaper in the dark to prevent a child from waking up. One must ALWAYS turn some sort of illuminating device on to better see a rear end.

My son woke up while my husband was getting ready for work. I heard him, so I got up, but before I could get to his room, hubby rushed in and closed the door. Apparently he was trying to get him to go back to sleep. Hubby had to change his diaper, which was very wet and poopy. After changing and rocking him, hubby brought our son out with no success. After hubby left for work and our son was fed, I got him down from the booster seat and let him play while I fixed my breakfast. As I was sitting down to enjoy my breakfast, I saw this unusual shadow on the back side of my son's sleeper. I got a little closer, gagged from the odor, and realized that he has messed outside of his diaper. Apparently, hubby, while putting a clean diaper on, managed to only cover one butt cheek, leaving the other free. And now, it was my job to clean it up. Have no fear, supermommy is here! Reminds me of the explosive diapers when he was an infant. I shutter to even think about them. Ahhh, what a wonderful life!

Post Office Angel

This forward was sent to me, and I thought I might share. It is just so sweet and kind, and it put a tear in my eye:

"This is one of the kindest things I've ever experienced.

I have no way to know who sent it, but there is a kind soul
working in the dead letter office of the US Postal service.

Our 14 year old dog , Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey.

She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when
Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that
I thought we could so she dictated these words:

Dear God,

Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday
and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick. I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her you will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

Love, Meredith.




We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredit h and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it.

Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of st a mps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold pa per on our front porch addressed, "To Meredith" in an unfamiliar hand.
Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called,
"When a Pet Dies." Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and thi s note:

Dear Meredith,

Abbey arrived safely in heaven.
Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.

Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for
helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.

I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much.

By the way, I am wherever there is love.

Love, God"

Never A Dull Moment

Well today was an interesting and exciting, to say the least, day. Let's just say that God has a really big sense of humor.

James and I went to the mall to get some new shoes and a belt for him. Note: if you have a Children's Place Outlet near you, you MUST go shopping there. They have the BEST deals on clothes, and now they even have shoes!

But first, I went over to the Stride Rite shoe store to get him re-measured. I browsed around the store, but didn't find anything I liked. Most everything was a little too pricey for what I wanted to spend. Then I browsed around Children's Place, and I bought 2 pairs of shoes for the price of one pair at Stride Rite. Amazing! Where else can you get a pair of nice suede shoes for 5 bucks?!?

Anyways. . .after sharing a yummy Auntie Anne's pretzel with my son outside, I noticed that he needed a diaper change. It was time to go, so I just decided to change him in the back of my van.

Lately, he's been really hard to change, and I practically have to wrestle him to stay still. And, boy, was I in for it today! I imagined someone sitting in their car watching me and getting a huge belly laugh for what you're about to read.

Well, I wasn't expecting a messy diaper, so I just laid him down on the changing pad, ready to just put on a clean diaper. No wipes needed, right? Nope! So, picture this, I was scrambling for the wipes with one hand and holding him up with the other so he wouldn't make a mess. Then, I hear this squeal from James and I look over and he's peeing on himself and it's hitting his face and getting all over my car. He stops finally and I clean his bum off and he wiggles away from me before I could get the new diaper on. The little stinker. I catch him, and then I see this lovely stream of pee hitting the floor. Guess he wasn't done! So I quickly grab the dirty diaper to try and catch it, but the non-absorbent Velcro strap gets in the way and now I have pee running down my hand and arm. So finally he was done, and I got the new diaper on.

Whew! What felt like an eternity was probably only like 10 minutes, but jeez God, could you have picked a better day for this? Never a dull moment! That's for sure!

10-20-30

A friend of mine posted a meme on her blog and I thought I'd partake since I've never done a meme before.

10-

10 years ago I was a love-struck junior in high school. I had been writing love letters to a guy I had only seen at church twice. His sister thought I might be interested so I took a chance and started writing to him and talking on the phone. I was excited because soon I was going to be meeting him officially for the first time. It was his birthday and I was going over to his mom's for dinner for our first date. He was attending Valley Forge Military College, and was coming home for the weekend. Heck of a first date, huh?

20-

20 years ago I was in first grade at The Banner School. My teacher was Mrs. Campbell. Grumpy old woman she was! I remember that our school was in an old white farm house on Patrick Street. Our class room was on the top floor, and we had to go up a long and steep set of stairs. I remember my friend Matt bringing his golden retriever puppy to school and it peeing on the carpet. I remember a little french student named Jean Baptist was visiting with us and he got us into all sorts of trouble. We decided that it would be cool to melt crayons on the radiator and smear paper in it to create art. Mrs. Campbell put all of us in detention.

30-

30 years ago I wasn't even born.

What about you? What were you up to 10, 20, and 30 years ago?