It's Friday already?!

I'm not sure where my week went.

Monday, we went to the zoo.
Tuesday, I'm not sure what we did.
Wednesday, we went downtown.
Thursday, we had MOPS and then met That Man for lunch.

And here we are at Friday. I have sick kiddos, so that means we're off to the doctor's.

Also on the agenda: Find a sitter for Sunday, get my bio sent out, work on picking up the house, work on edits for the Genesis, and try not to kill anyone. LOL Maybe not. I'm not laughing. I just found out that a project I worked HOURS on got destroyed by a computer glitch and I have to re-create the entire thing.

The good news is that a couple of things I was worried about remembering to get done have been completed, so I've got those items checked off the list.

Alrighty then, Mt. Laundry has yet to come alive enough to do itself, and I've still got a couple of hours left before we have to leave. If you don't see me soon, send a search party. You have no idea how out of control Mt. Laundry is.

What's eating you?

For the past week, I've been trying a new approach to my stomach ailments: changing my diet. I've gone on a detox diet in hopes that it'll clean out whatever is messing up my system.

List of things I CAN eat:
whole grains
chicken
turkey
fish
vegetables
fruit

List of things I CAN'T eat:
processed food
dairy
beef
pork
salt
sugar
anything that tastes good
oil of any kind

Until I started this diet, I never thought I was ruled by food. However, I am going NUTS!! I do not use salt in my cooking, so I didn't think that would be a big deal. Except that salt is in just about everything. I rely heavily on processed food-quick meals to get my family going. And dairy?! I could care less about milk, but losing my beloved CHEESE is killing me!!

It's also the simple things, like being able to make and eat a simple sandwich. No mayo, mustard, ketchup, or any kind of dressing for me. ICK. Why bother?

There's also a lack of variety. On one hand, it speaks of my inability as a cook, but on the other hand, I've been searching for good recipes with foods I CAN eat, and there's not a lot out there. We've eaten so much rice, I think my kiddos are going to be speaking chinese any day now. My husband even gagged down some mahi-mahi because fish is on my list and I was getting sick of poultry.

Mostly, though, I miss things like the occasional bit of chocolate or sweet treat. I miss the crunch of all the "bad" snack foods. I miss the way carbs fill me up. I miss not having to eat every couple of hours because health foods just don't last as long.

Fortunately, it's only a two week cleanse, and even though I had a day of being "bad" on Saturday (one doughnut, two slices of pizza-hey, I was at work! It was free food!), I am officially done THIS Saturday. I won't go back to being completely bad, and it was nice finding out things like making my husband eat mahi-mahi really won't kill anyone, but dangit, I'm going to eat me some REAL food!

Look! There I go again!

Can we tell I'm not doing much stopping lately?

The good news is that tomorrow night I am getting a massage. YAY me!

I don't really have anything to blog about, just a few thoughts that are still in germination process. It's hard for anything to take root when you don't take time to slow down. Which is probably a good topic to talk about. In my last blog, I mentioned how my daughter was so quick to show signs of "mommy neglect". I think, though, we often fail to recognize "me neglect".

And yet the signs are there: fatigue, feeling run down, being stressed, getting sick more often than usual, being irritible, and feeling overwhelmed.

So when you're rushing to and fro (like I seem to be doing all too often!), take some time to slow and down and take care of you.

Where have I been? And Perspective!

This week was our MOPS group's annual toy and clothing sale. I've been madly getting things ready to sell and then WHAM! Time to work my little tail off. The trouble was, I didn't take enough time off work, so it's been dashing here and there at five hundred miles an hour.

When I got home last night, I had to have a "talk" with the bigger child about some rules she'd broken during my time dashing about. We talked, I grounded her, and then she ran into her room, crying. Then the baby came to see me.

"Mom, you have to have a talk with me."
"Why?"
She snuggled up to me, batted those sweet little lashes, and said, "Cuz I been bad."
"What'd you do that was bad?"
"I bad. You have to talk to me."
I realized then that it had been almost two days since I'd taken the time to snuggle with my little one and just talk to her. But I also thought it hysterically funny that she'd come to the conclusion that since "being bad" had gotten her sister some one on one time with mom after two days of nothing, that she'd give it a shot.
"What did you do that we need to talk about?"
More snuggling and batting of eyelashes. "I bad."
The resident suggested that perhaps the "bad thing" the baby had done was drive her nuts. I asked the baby if that was what she'd done wrong.
In a very earnest voice, she says, "Yes. I do that. I bad. I grounded, too?"
This is about the point where we all had to fight to keep from breaking out in hysterical laughter.
"You're grounded too."
Just like her sister, she jumped up and ran to her bedroom, crying.

After we stopped rolling on the floor, I had a sobering thought relating to the lack of time I'd spent with her. Two days. That's all it took for her to figure out that being bad would get her "mommy time". And it's true that the less time I spend with them, the worse they behave.

I know I'm not a perfect mom, but I'd like to think that I'm pretty good at the job. As much as I think that these guys are my priority, it amazes me how something so simple makes me refocus. An innocent girl, willing to claim she did something bad just so she could get some one on one time with mommy.

There are so many things on our to-do lists. But the one thing we need to make sure doesn't get shuffled out of the picture is that special time to let our families know they matter. It's easy to say we're doing it for them-working extra hours so they can have nice things, or volunteering to help out on a project that raises money to help them. But ultimately, none of those things matter if our kids don't have us.

The results are in.... sort of

I forgot to say, until Rae asked on my earlier post. So since I know she and a couple of lurkers want details, here they are:

Blood test results say my white blood cell count and bilirubin count is on the high side. My hemoglobin was off, too, but I can't remember if it was high or low-she said it meant I was dehydrated.

For the non medical types (aka me), it means that she thinks I may have gall bladder issues, but it's most likely minor, as my symptoms are not as severe as really bad cases would indicate. Sooo... on Monday, I go in for an ultrasound to be sure.

In the meantime, I had to go to the chiro to get adjusted for normal stuff, and I mentioned to him what was going on. He worked my gall bladder pressure points, and while I'm not feeling 100%, I am definitely feeling a lot better.

Shopping!!

We're having our annual Reader's Choice Awards, and in the spirit of cyber fun, I'm searching for the perfect dress. And because I'm cyber shopping, I have all the money in the world. Which means I'm shopping Saks.

So here are my choices: (sorry for no pics, couldn't get it to work. You can see them on the links though)
Dress One
Dress Two
Dress Three
Dress Four

Any Favorites? I admit to being fond of the long flowy styles, but the short one seems kind of fun. Of course, I'm not into the whole fashion thing, and I never know what looks good on me. I'm mostly a jeans and t-shirt short of girl. But sometimes, it is fun to take a look and see what it would look like if I were a more girly girl sort of girl.

Ooops!

So what happens when you finish your taxes and find out that you owe the IRS?

A recent article in our local paper gave some information about what happens when you owe. Unfortunately, it had a lot of misinformation and one of my coworkers sent a letter to the editor to (hopefully!) correct it. So here's my stab at clearing up a few common misconceptions about owing the IRS.

If you owe the IRS, it is NOT better to mail in your return. You should still efile. Unless you have to do a paper return based on forms that can't be efiled, ALWAYS efile. I've talked to people who've seen the inside of the IRS mailroom. Um, yeah. Efile. Please.

Also, if you owe, even if you efile your return today, you still have until April 17th to pay. So don't delay filing just because you owe money.

Finally, if you owe money, there are different ways to pay the IRS. You CAN set up a payment plan with them. OR you can also pay by credit card. Don't not pay them because you don't have the money. Send what you can. If you don't make an attempt, that's when you face the scary stuff, such as having future refunds taken away, or having worse things like tax liens happen.

To take my mind off of things until Monday...

I got a voice mail from the doctor-my test results are in. She says, "there's nothing I'm overly concerned about, so we can talk Monday unless you feel worse."

Could someone please tell me what a doctor means when there's nothing she's overly concerned about? The whole "overly" bit has me a little nervous. Does that mean she's concerned about something, but since I'm not in imminent danger of dying, it can wait until Monday? Because the other doctor in the office will usually call and say, "Your test results were normal," if everything is just fine.

So what is wrong with me????? Why couldn't she say on the voice mail? I'd really like to stop feeling so icky soon.

But, because I don't want to keep worrying about this (even though you know I probably will), and because my sweet sister is on strike until I share more pics, here's some fun pics to enjoy.


This is actually a funny story. We were at a friend's house, and the baby was sitting there, playing pinball, and I hear this sound of spilling water. I ask her if she spilled her drink. She grins and says, "No Mom, I peed." So I was more than a bit mortified, but the people were very nice about my daughter peeing on their upholstery. Sadly, I hadn't brought her diaper bag, since it was her first accident in weeks. So, we rigged up That Man's coat to cover her parts. However, on occasion, the back slipped, revealing a rather cute bottom.



And today, we went to the park. It was such a beautiful day, so after I ran errands, we went to play. Gotta love those girls.

Thursday Thirteen #2

Thirteen Places I'd like to Visit



1. England
2. Europe
3. Madagascar
4. Joni's farmhouse
5. Israel (again!)
6. Turkey
7. Japan
8. China
9. Russia
10. Egypt
11. All the hot springs in Colorado
12. All fifty states
13. Africa



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All I need to know I learned in Kindergarten

I've been making some observations about kindergarten, and the more I see, the more I realize that it truly is the foundation for the development of our children.

You'd think that kids have a whole lifetime to develop who they are. What I've found is that even in kindergarten, it's pretty obvious who's going to succeed and who won't. Maybe some of the kids will beat the odds. But sadly, I think a lot of the kids are stuck with the lot they drew unless something changes. I don't think this is because of some natural talents they do or don't have. It is completely due to their parents.

I help out in the classroom a couple times a month. What I have observed is that the children who are the smartest, the most adjusted, the best behaved, and yes, advanced, are the ones whose parents are actively involved in their child's education. The kids I see struggling the most are the kids whose parents do not help in the classroom. And yes, I know, not everyone can take time off work, etc. But the sad thing is, those are the kids who also don't bring in their completed homework folders. Every day, we drop off and pick up the kids from school. The parents I know by name, or at least by sight-their kids are the "smart" kids. The kids who struggle-I've never seen their parents. Or, as is the case of one parent I want to kill, they stop in the middle of the street, open the car door and shove the kid out.

I think about that mom a lot. I think about her kid a lot. I pray for them. See, mom is relying on the school system to raise her child. It's the school's responsibility to teach the child, to socialize the child, to tell the child what's important. We have such a sense of entitlement-that the schools and teachers are going to give our children what they need because that's their job. This child never brings the homework folder back to school. I know this because I've never seen the child carrying it, and the child does not have a backpack. Just walks in to get educated. The trouble is, if you aren't doing the work at home, even though it's not graded, you don't get the practice needed to move ahead.

But even more than the academic development, I've had the opportunity to witness the social development of these children. My daughter is not afraid of sharing her faith. I've watched her friends ask her (and me!) questions. It's amazing the sort of things a child will share while coloring a picture. One little girl touched my wedding ring in amazement that I would have such a beautiful piece of jewelry. She was even more amazed that my husband would give it to me. Adding to her amazement was that we'd gotten married before we had our daughter. Being around this little girl gave me the opportunity to show her a side of life she had no idea existed. It was outside her paradigm to think that people got married and then had children. I didn't have to preach Jesus at her (and you should definitely be careful doing so in a public school setting), but I still was able to show her a different side of life.

Another little girl asked me about church (the kids have sharing time, and my daughter shared what she did in church the previous day). She told me that church was a boring place where you had to sit still and listen or else you got in trouble. She was amazed to know that it could also be a fun place. And that Jesus wasn't just about following the rules. I didn't have to preach to her-but when she asked if there really was a church where you could have fun, I gave her an answer. I know the kids in my daughter's class who love Jesus, because they all proudly told me that after my daughter shared her day at church. I even know the ones who are cynical about Jesus. How sad that 5 and 6 year olds have developed that cynicism.

I say these things because I want to let you know how important it is to be involved with your kids. Even in kindergarten, I am learning about the facets of these kids and their personalities. I see what my child is growing up around. The opinions that are being shared with her. How she handles and influences those opinions. Even in kindergarten, there are the kids who begin to conform and find the group of friends to do everything exactly alike. I can see the rebellion already forming in some of these kids.

I can't protect her from all the dangers of the world. When she grows up and is facing challenges on her own, I can't shelter her from the wackos out there. But I hope that I will have given her the right tools for dealing with situations outside her normal scope of life. I hope that she will be equipped to be a positive force for change in the world around her. But I also hope that by being there, some of the kiddos who would otherwise not have hope would have a spark of something good in their lives.

Yick Yick Yick

Today I'm doing the mega scrub and clean house thing.

For the past month or so, I've been really sick with a horrible stomach yick. Just when I think I'm feeling better, BAM! It's back. So yesterday, when it was worse than ever, I went to the doctor (finally). They quickly ruled out pregnancy, and then took a whole lotta my blood to the lab for testing. I won't get the results until Friday, but here's hoping it's nothing serious.

The depressing thing about going to the doctor is that they always weigh you. Fortunately, they were too worried about the fact that I can't seem to keep my lunch down for more than a day or so to notice that I've gained 6 pounds. Wahoo. Now I need to lose 16 pounds. Maybe I can get some of it off before I get yet another lecture. Yick.

Could someone explain how, after spending the past month puking my guts out every couple of days, I can GAIN weight? Yick.

And so, in the interest of being proactive, and given that I feel well enough to get out of bed today, I'm cleaning. There will be no germ left alive by the time I get done. Ahhh, the sweet smell of disinfectant...

I want my lithium back!!!

Hubby and I went out of town over the weekend. We visited Hot Sulphur Springs , which is a special place for us-we spent part of our honeymoon there. As we were checking in, the lady in front of me was going on and on about how she was so glad to be there for a spa day to get away from the kiddos. The nice man at the counter smiled and said, "Our water has a lot of lithium, so after a while of soaking, you'll be feeling great."

He wasn't kidding.

I think I forgot what it felt like to so completely relax. There's a lot of merit in taking time to go someplace where you have no choice but to relax. The resort has no television, no Internet access, no phones (although my cell did have a signal), just nice hot springs and comfy beds. I didn't get most of my Thursday Thirteen list done, but since I couldn't do a thing about it, I didn't care.

It felt so good to just relax with my honey. Even though it borders on TMI, I will say that we had a better time than we did on our honeymoon. A MUCH better time ;)

And then I got home. The house was still a mess, the kiddos were still screaming, and I still have to go to work tonight. The list of things to do did not change, but you know, I feel a lot better about doing them. Although it would be really nice to have some of that magical water bottled up so I could dump it in my bathtub for a reminder soak now and again.

Thursday Thirteen

ThirteenThings I have to do tomorrow 1…. Go to the bank 2. Pay bills 3. Remember to send kiddo to school/pick kiddo up at the right (special) time 4. Laundry 5. Pick up house 6. Buy groceries 7. My JOB! 8. Work on Bible Study 9. Get things together for Purim/bake cookies 10. Get ready for romantic weekend 11. Shave legs 12. Order books 13. WRITE!!! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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