Zook and Jesus

Can you tell I'm ready for summer?  Yes, I changed my picture to one of my angels jumping into the pool!  My brain is gearing up for my "blog season".  I think winter gives me writer's block!  I log in and start to type, but it's just a sad jumbled mess!  Have I mentioned lately how I despise cold weather and nightfall at 4 p.m.?!!?!?!

On to Zook (actually Zoosk)...I was on the phone with my sister the other night and we were discussing her recent break up with the worst boyfriend ever, and my Beebs was sitting right beside me, of course, eavesdropping.  She immediately perked up and said, "I have an idea!  Nahnie should join Zook."

"Join huh?" I said.

"You know, Mommy, the place on the Internet where you can meet nice dates."  Watch TV much Beebs?  And what channel is she watching to see Zoosk commercials!?  Yep, Mother of the Year right here;).

Lots of my posts deal with Jesus...or should I say, Annie has lots of Jesus questions.  The girls and I went to church without Daddy on Sunday.  It was Palm Sunday and Communion Sunday.  After a brief description (for the 50th time) of the Lord's Supper in the best whisper I could muster up, the Elders distributed the "bread".  Now the bread in our little Chapel is made of Pillsbury Pie Crusts which have been rolled out on a cookie sheet and brushed with butter.  I know, YUMMMMMMMYYYYYY!  My kids love, love, absolutely love Communion because of the "bread" and they get grape juice too.  Beebs went so far as to take two, yes I said two, pieces of the bread from the serving plate.  But I digress.  Right about the time we got our tiny grape juice and Annie spilled a little because she had to get the fullest tiny cup on the tray, she looked over at me and said, "Mommy, did Jesus get married?"  Where in the world did she come up with that in the midst of all the chaos.  It was such a sweet question, but really?  It's Palm Sunday.  Jesus is about to die on the Cross for our sins and then rise on the 3rd day, and you want to know if he got married? 

Lord help me...

Focusing on God during Lent...

I read this Lenten Devotional last night that was included in our church's weekly newsletter and it set the right perspective for me for Lent.  

This year I am giving up something that has been a part of my life for too long and putting my full faith in God that he will carry me through.  I will direct my eyes to Him...  

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. ~ Psalm 51:1

By: Henri Nouwen

Our temptation in Lent is to be so impressed by our sins and failings and so overwhelmed by our lack of generosity that we get stuck in a paralyzing guilt that leads to introspection instead of directing our eyes to God. It is guilt that becomes an idol and form of pride.

But Lent is precisely the time to break down this idol and to direct our attention to our loving Lord. The question is: “Are we like Judas, who was so overcome by his sin that he could not believe in God’s mercy any longer and hanged himself? Or are we like Peter, who returned to his Lord with repentance and cried bitterly for his sins?

“You are dust, and to dust you will return.” This ancient formula will be heard by millions of Christians all over the world this Ash Wednesday as the sign of the cross is made in ashes on their forehead. This symbolic act is both a solemn reminder and an invitation to renewal.

Lord God, this Lent help us to do our best to keep our minds fixed on you and your Kingdom.

Ya gotta love...

when your baby (actually not so much a baby anymore, but my baby) falls asleep trying to finish reading "Ramona the Brave"!  I went in to kiss her goodnight and she begged me to let her finish it since she's had it checked out for, ummm, 3 weeks I think!  She only has 5 pages left, but she just couldn't make it.  Maybe during independent reading time tomorrow before library time?  I mean, she's read 177 pages in three weeks!  She's only in 2nd grade!  That ROCKS!!

when Annie poops in the potty 4 times in one day.  I told y'all she was full of it!  I made the rule that she cannot go on the playground at school with her friends until she poops.  Worked like a charm!  And, I made the rule that she can't play outside at home until she poops.  Worked like a charm...except that it didn't all come out when she was sitting on the potty!  Score: Mommy 5, Annie 2!  I'M WINNING!

when your best friends create the best birthday party ever for you!  My Chickens (official shout out to my angel girlfriends) are truly my sisters!  I love you G & D!  Y'all more than rock!!!  And, all my favorite girls  (Anna, Susan, Dana, Leigh and Emily) and fav hubby's of my fav girls came too!  Even my nephew and his precious angel girlfriend (Emily) came. 

Even though D spied on what I was wearing and decided it would be best if she wore the SAME EXACT shirt, I don't mind...

40 and rockin'!!!!

Things I've learned, things I know to be true, and whole lotta nothin'...

In 40 years...I'm feeling nostalgic this week.  Like the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.  Like I need to go have my roots done real quick.  Like maybe I should do a lot of things different.  I think my next decade will be one of accepting my faults.

I have learned that patience are hard to come by.  It's okay to not act your age.  I have learned how to say no to my kids.  I like vampires named Edward Cullen.  The dollar movie is not all it's cracked up to be even though it's only a dollar.  I have the best husband in the world.  I am not sure how I got so lucky, but God and fate brought us together after 8 years of friendship, 2 years of dating and 14 years of marriage.  I have learned that being married to your best friend makes life way easier and way happier.  I have also learned that marriage takes a lot of teamwork, a whole lot of give and take and sometimes it's best to bite your tongue rather than say what's about to cross your lips!  I have learned to thank God every day for my Mom and to apologize to her every chance I get.  I have also learned that you truly do reap what you sow, so watch out.  I have learned that getting pregnant can take years, being pregnant sucks, giving birth is pretty easy (after the first one that is), and that raising kids is a lot harder than I thought it would be.  Being a Mommy, though, is the only job I ever wanted and it is the most precious job I've ever had.  I know that God intended for me to be the Mommy of girls, my girls, because I wouldn't know the first thing about peeing standing up and playing ball.  I have learned that 40 isn't old at all, it's a little wiser than 20, sounds more fun than 30, and it's right around the corner.

Poetry makes me happy; both writing it and reading it.  Barbie clothes laid out to dry on the bathroom counter crack me up!  I know I never would have made it as an elementary school teacher, which is what I aspired to be my entire life.  Instead, I take care of 1 person who really needs someone to care for him.  Caring for those who really need it is easy.  Having sympathy for those who bring the trials of life on themselves is really hard.  I think it is impossible.  Being grown up is not acting your age, rather taking responsibility.  Each time you buy a house, the mortgage gets a little bit higher.  Eight year old girls are competitive.  Who knew?  Four year old girls still have nap mat fits.  So do 40 year old girls, just not as often.  Sometimes the thought of one more chore is a chore to think about.  Mad Men is an awesome show!  Vacuum cleaners don't last long in my house.  The scent of lemon pine sol is much better than the original scent.  Having candles lit in your home is only for when adults are there.  Carpets should be cleaned once a year.  Toilets should be cleaned once a week or more.  Sheets should be changed once a week or more unless you weigh 40 pounds and sleep on 1 square inch of the bed.  Pets are a precious part of life.

I think it is hilarious when people pronounce words the wrong way and call things the wrong name.  You gotta laugh at something.  Being a smart-ass makes me who I am.  It's part of my coping ability.   I think that families should live close to one another.  Did I mention that I have an amazing husband?

It is very important to work as a team and listen to what others have to say.  Your way is not always the best way.

There are way more (hopefully) things that I have learned and that I know, but right now, what you see is what you get.  I do know that as I put my babies to bed tonight, I made sure to tell them that the two of them and their Daddy are the best people that have entered my life!

I know at 40 I am the luckiest GIRL in the world!!!

The Nanny McPhee Pirate

Yes, THAT TOOTH is loose in my Beebs' head!  This week she has been Nanny McPhee, what with the tooth and all...

Don't you love the mole!?!?!?!

The pirate look comes in because this afternoon as she was sprinting home from the neighbors house, she fell on a stick that poked her in the eye.  The cold washrag (always a cure-all) HAD to be tied to her eye with a rubberband!  Her always resourceful Mommy (patting self on back) of course found a nice elastic headband that works great for that pirate patch (not so much for the hair, but great for the pirate look)...

A pirate in the making!

You know, if that tooth is still hanging on in about 5 weeks, she could really be Nanny McPhee for Halloween!

Baby Chick

This morning as Beebs was eating her boiled egg, minus the yolk of course, she asked me the sweetest question. 

"Mommy, is the yolk where the baby chick was?"

 
"Yes, it is Beebs," only half paying attention...until she asked...

"Well, how do they get the egg back in the shell after the baby chick comes out?"

I couldn't bear and wouldn't dare to tell her that she was eating the baby chick.  It would freak her out for life and she would never eat eggs again, which is the only thing she knows how to cook and someday she's going to have to take care of me!

"Jesus told us not to eat each other's food, MOMMY!"

Yeah, I ate a bite of the Froot Loops, but they looked so yummy.  I have been walking REEEEEAAAAAAALLLLLLLYYYYYY early in the morning with my neighbor, and I am TIRED!  Why in the world is this wearing me out so?  Anyway, Annie and I came home this afternoon and had about an hour and a half before we had to get the Beebs from dance.  So I decided we should lay on the bed and watch Animal Plant (I would have rather watched Friends, 19 Kids and Counting or HGTV, but I needed her to want to stay inside!).  We watched "My Dog Ate What?".  Crazy show, weird stuff that they ate.  Anyway, I promptly dozed off.  Ahhhhhh.  She was very still.  Ahhhhhh.  She woke me up 10 minutes before we needed to leave to pick up the Beebs with a HUGE bowl of cereal.  

"You can't eat that in my bed," I told her.  "Let me carry it to the kitchen for you."  

She handed it over and we headed to the kitchen.  This is where the bite came in.  Dang Froot Loops are good!  They remind me of breakfast at my Granny's.  She would get up at 4 a.m. to make a huge breakfast, but she always gave us Froot Loops too, and a Coke.  She ROCKED!! (More later on my precious Granny, but as a preview, think of the best Granny EVER!  That was her!)

Anyway, she saw me eating her precious snack and blessed me out!  Yeah, she's 4...

"Mommy, why did you take a bite?  Now I have to add 4 more Froot Loops to my bowl to make up for the one's you ate!"  

"Fine," I told her as I was pouring my own bowl of the most delicious kid's cereal in the world.  

"You know Mommy, Jesus told us not to eat each other's food!" 

As I always say, only from the moufs of my precious angel babes!

"No, Annie, Jesus told us to share."

I swear, this kid uses Jesus way too much to get her way.  I am proud of all the Bible verses she's learning in her Pre-K class this year though.  You wouldn't believe what a little sponge mind can remember.