I'm Not Just Talking About Pumpkin Spice Lattes

Okay, so you know how I have this little thing for Fox News. I watch it and read it all the time. I just can't miss a thing. I have to know what's going on in the big world.

In this, you can basically guess that in real life I'm freaking out a bit (aren't you?) about the state of our economy and all the presidential (and vice presidential) stuff. I'm into it. I know what's going on. Even though I don't talk about it a lot over here, cuz I like to keep it all light and fluffy, I do have all that real life stuff in my real life, ever swirling in my head and threatening hives at any moment.

I try not to live in la-la land (my blog) all day long. It's tempting though. Very tempting, cuz the stuff out there in real life is pretty Scary Larry. I see a connection though of how it all fits in quite nicely with the Dave Ramsey class, Financial Peace University, we're taking. The class is about going back to the basics (a term I've heard a lot of the last couple of days). Basically no credit. You actually save up for stuff you want. All the while building up your savings (and emergency fund) and getting rid of that (dreadful) debt.

This change of lifestyle and thought has been extremely good for us. And hard. It's so sad saying goodbye to my friend, MasterCard. We've been through so, so much. Vacations. Concerts. On-line Christmas shopping, and many, many other important things. I scratch it's back, MasterCard scratches mine. Already, this class (along with what's happening in the economy) has been a huge reality check for us of how much money we actually don't have (this is the part I warned you about where I come on here all huffing and puffing and whining...don't let me get away with it). It's depressing and I just want to bury my head in the couch cushions and pretend like we don't need to do this. I mean Starbucks has their Pumpkin Spice Lattes out now and they are one of my very, very favorites (stomp, stomp, stomp). I look forward to them (but I look fooooorward to theeeeem). There might even be a countdown involved. I'm not saying I'm giving up the Pumpkin Spice goodness entirely, but do I really need to have one every day (as a celebration of Fall)? No. I know, it seems I'm making light of all of this. I'm not. Of course I'm not just talking about Pumpkin Spice Lattes. I just have to make it funny, or I really will cry, cuz this is haaaard. It's so hard to say goodbye.

It does feels like we're being smarter about the money now though. As much as it hurt to say "no" to TWO invites to the beach this past weekend, it felt pretty good afterwards (after the weeping), knowing we did what we were supposed to do. The Right Thing. We would not have given it a second thought three weeks ago (pre-class). Now we give it about ten thoughts. And then talk it up and down and around and around and then still say "no". Such a grown up thing to do, isn't it? (please say it is) We are going back, to the back, to the back to basics. It made me feel good to hear, today on the radio (the news), that Dave Ramsey had an opinion about the economy and what to do (what to do, what.to.do.). I know (of) him. I love how that all works together. I notice those things.

So to get my mind temporarily off the economy and Pumpkin Spice Lattes, I've started volunteering at my girls' school. I love seeing the world at knee-high level. So, yesterday I was reading a Junie B. Jones book to this little girl. She's listening very intently and seems to be really enjoying and comprehending the whole story. Just following along.



Out of the blue, she politely interrupts me and asks, "Did you just have a bath?" (that totally cracked me up in my head) I smile at her and say, "Why do I smell good?" She nods her head and smiles. WHEW! Cuz that totally could have gone another way.

So back to Junie B. for about another paragraph and she politely interrupts me again and states, "You're sweaty." Okay, so I totally had to laugh out loud, cuz I totally was sweating (it was a 90 degree day and it was sweltering inside the school), which is why that bath comment could have totally gone another way. She touched my nose and said, "shiny." Ha ha...you just have to laugh, right? Shiny. At least my shiny smells good. And, that laugh was completely free.

Take Another Ride Down The Sunshine Highway

So, I know it's been just about a week since I've been around, but I've been busy. Oh, so very, very busy. Busy with what, I don't actually knoooow, but busy, busy, busy. Whatever it is though, is seriously cutting into my blog and Facebook time (grumble, grumble, grumble).

But what I typically say to my friends when they e-mail and write to me in Caps Lock (aka...type/yell at me) for not being a good keeper-in-touch-er is that it's not cuz I don't love them (cuz I loooooove you)...I'm just easily, easily distracted. Easily.

And lately, I've felt that if I wrote daily about what's going on you would be bored out of your mind and go find other friends. So, I figure if I kind of put it all together, it seems much more exciting that way. It's all an illusion, folks. I'm tricky.

Anyhoo...just to give you a little run down, here's what's been a-happening over here.

I know this makes no sense whatsoever, especially since I was doing this--I'm a Eucalyptus Loving Sucker--last time I talked about this, but I got my haircut the other day at the saaaaaaalon. I went back, y'all. I know, it makes no sense. Well, it kind of does. See after the last haircut I had, I went and got bangs. I went to the place that is not a saaaaaaalon. You know, the place you can get a haircut, perm, and color for under $10, and they have coupons too? So yeah, I went to the wrong place. The bangs were a mess. Totally weird holes everywhere. I tried to get them fixed twice more. So all in all, just to get my bangs done, I went to two hair cut places(yes, I even went to another "$8.85" haircut place, not a saaaaalon) and had them done three times, and still was not loving the bangs. So I just gave up. This time around I thought I'd give the saaaalon a try. After all that, $40 didn't seem so much.

I'm sooooooo glad I did. Best haircut ever. Serious. This time it was an actual haircut (a styyyyyyle--I brought pictures), and not just a trim. "Ciara" shampooed (yes, w/the Eucalyptus shampoo), blew dry, straightened and then cut my hair. No one has ever done all that before just to cut my hair, but no one will ever not do it again, cuz it worked. AND I'm never leaving Ciara again. What was I thinking?! I'm committed now. I swear. Finding the perfect hair stylist is a little like finding your true love, isn't it? I swear, there were fireworks and a chorus singing in the background when she was done and I looked in the mirror. It was magic.

After I glided home, I had to take a million pictures of myself--my new hair--, cuz I had to document how cute I looked. I mean how cute my hair looked. I was all, "I feeeel preeeeeetty....oooooh soooo preeeeeeeeetty..." and looking at my new hair at all different kinds of angles and such. Totally getting all vain ("Yoooouuuuu're sooooo vaaain..."). So much that I had to start taking silly pics to not make me feel so vain.

It's just that my new hair looked so good and I knew that it was never, never, never, never going to look like that again, cuz I just don't have skills. Ciara doesn't live with me. So, I did my best Marcia, Marcia, Marcia impersonations for the rest o'the day. I swear, my new hair felt longer after I had it cut too. My hubby said I looked "Rexy". Ha ha...that means, "Pretty."

But it's over now...I've showered and am back to my boring ol' frizzy haired self. But here's proof, that I had pretty hair, if only for a minute--

And I almost caved and got the Eucalyptus shampoo and conditioner, but that purchase would have cost me $60--just the shampoo and conditioner. What the fruit loop? Cuteness is so dang expensive. Be proud of me though...I'm still using my Pantene.

So, you know when you get back from the saaaaaaalon and you feel all new and pretty, you want to um...not go home. You want to go...out. So we did the next best thing, we took the kiddos here--

and did a little of this--


Roller skating! Oh yeah! One of my girlie-O's was at a sleepover, so we brought the cousin over and had a sleepover of our own. We wanted to be fun so we had plans to take the girls out on the town.

Pizza at Pietro's with a little Deal or No Deal as a bonus--


Then we ran into some vampires...

And then proceeded to hug the carpet wall the rest of the night--

This rink is seriously like 1000 years old--it has the looks, smell and darkness to prove it. Despite how creepy it is, it's still way fun. There are some serious roller skaters out there. Like, they are out there training for the Olympics. Back skating to the Bee Gee's is for sure going to be an event. The uniform will totally have legwarmers. And it will be a rule they they have to exit the rink via the splits. I'm just saying...

And hubbs and I further confirmed that we.are.old. We had like instant shin aches. I was rickety, y'all. Rick.e.ty. But all that counts is that the girls thought it was the best. They loved it right up until we exited via the splits. Right as we got off the rink to go home, A-girl fell and hurt her arm. She didn't break it, but I totally thought our next stop would be the ER. So we stopped and got ice cream to make her arm feel better. It worked.

This is what the end of the day looked like--

Sleepovers are awesome.

Yesterday we decided at the very last minute (cuz that's just how we roll) to get rid of some stuff and have a garage sale. It was very much needed. And according to my girls, so was this--


They seriously made more money than our garage sale did. Pretty good for their first job!

Then last night we had a very enjoyable time with some good friends. They fed us. And gave us beverages. And we totally snuggled up and watched music videos with them all night. It was entirely just what we needed. And now I need to go out and get two new Cd's. Let me share with you my new favorites--

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93OTv6Cjk6U

Looooove that guy's voice. Do you *even* know how many times I've listened to this song today? (((siiigh)))

And this--

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtAGU0G-xx0

I love how these boys are *such* boys. Loooove it!

There's more, but if I tell you about how my dog keeps peeing on the carpet (grumble, grumble, grumble), it might totally push it. So, I'll leave you with Sunshine Highway and share more of my life another day.

Keep Your Lips

It's Monday already. That was fast. How did your weekend go? Here's a summary of mine--

* Fri.--Hubbs, My Dad and His Dad (it takes a village) finished putting a new floor in the bathroom.
--Hubbs went to Reserve Duty for the weekend.
*Sat.--My Dad (aka. MacGyver) finished up the bathroom.
--Spent too much money at Walmart on CLEANING supplies. Hate that.
--Dinner at my Mom and Dad's. Yum.
*Sun.--Church
--Drop kiddos off at Gma and Papa's
--Go to lunch/movie w/my sister-in-law and Baby Girl's Mom

No wonder it's Monday already. But I can't complain, I have a new bathroom floor. My kiddos joyfully exclaimed, "WE HAVE A NEW HOUSE!" Yes, they get just as excited about tile as I do.

We got the tile a year ago. Yes, a year. Last November we replaced the--ugh--carpet in our bedroom bathroom and it only took us another year to get to the "main" bathroom. Next up, laundry room. Hopefully, I won't be telling you about it a year from now. It's just how it is because you gots to have the time, money and energy to do it. And sometimes it takes a while to get those three things all at once.

It would help if the hubbs was home for more than two days in a row. Or should I say, 8 hours in a row? That's my (little) vent for the day. Hubbs got home from Reserve duty last night at around 8 p.m. He left for the airport at about 3:30 a.m. this morn. This is my life. His life. Poor guy. I don't know *how* he does this. And how does he look so darn good doing it? I get seven hours of sleep instead of eight and I look like a werewolf! I think work (projects/deadlines/travel) chaos is COMPLETELY different from home (kiddos/wife/dog/cat/bathroom floor) chaos for him. He thrives under the work chaos. Loves the challenge, I think. He sleeps under the home chaos. And what I mean by "sleeps", I mean, "goes in the garage". He sleeps at church.

Speaking of church. Yesterday we found out church is starting up a children's choir. Awesome. The only problem is, that it's for 1st grade-6th grade. Good for O, bad for A-girl. This has become a new issue for us. We'll call it, "Things That O Can Do That A-girl Is Not Big Enough To Do". Yeah, my little one is having a hard time with this. Besides the fact that she thinks she is a 15-yr-old girl hopelessly trapped in a 5-yr-old's body, she just adores her big sis and hates to be without her.

Recently, O got invited to her first birthday sleepover. We've managed to avoid the sleepovers for a while now. She actually got invited to her first one in Kindergarten. Even though we knew the people really well, we felt like this was something O could wait for. She was too young. So (what felt like way back then), we told her we'd talk about it again when she was seven. It seemed so far away. Well, now she's seven and we are there again. And since we know the family very well, and their kids basically live here and vise versa and they live very close (in case we have to make a 2 a.m. trip to pick her up), we've decided she can go. This is not going over very well with A-girl. It breaks my heart, but this stuff just isn't going away. It's the first of many, many times we will have to deal with this. So we vowed to make it a special time for her at home with boring old mom and dad. We'll try to keep her good and happy (distracted) with a cousin, bowling, ice cream and possibly a clown. We finally talked her down from that, and now the church choir. Poor thing.

I know that the sleepover thing is controversial. Because I think I am THE ONLY one that is freaking out about it. I feel like a major strict mom, cuz I have waited FOR SO LONG to let my kid go to a sleepover. But looking back, I didn't go to my first sleepover until I was in like 5th grade. Of course, it could be that I didn't have friends before then, but I'm sticking w/the "not until your old enough" bit. AND when I think back, I probably should not have been allowed to stay at the house I stayed at. I. would. never.

But anyway...I know what a big dealie the sleepovers are. They were my favorite growing up. I think they are a right of passage growing up. I literally gasped when my hubbs told me his mom never allowed him to stay the night (we won't say "sleepover,"--it just sounds too weird when you're referring to boys) at anyones house. Ever. I feel bad for him (he's seems to be okay with it though). But maybe it wasn't such a big deal with boys. I have no idea. It WAS a huge deal for girls though. Can you say "Request and Dedication", make up, manicures/pedicures/facials (yes, it's just like "Grease"), BOY TALK, movies, eating pizza, popcorn, ice cream, cookie dough, BOY TALK, MTV, staying up all night, lots of giggling and drama and more BOY TALK? It.was.the.best. That was in Jr. High and High School though. What the heck do they do in 2nd grade? I'm scared.

This is bringing back some memories, y'all. I think I'm gonna have to blog about the sleepovers more at a later time. When I'm just talking about ME and not my *gulp* daughters.

On a completely other note...I saw The Women yesterday. It was aaaaaaall riiiiight...you can guess it's a chick flick. Lots of women. Everyone is in it. There is a lot of plastic surgery going on. Not so much the theme of the movie, but HIGHLY noticeable. Let me just say....I cannot get past Meg Ryan's new lips. What the heck? WHY did she do that?! WHY, WHY, WHY, WHY, WHHHHY?! Bette Midler was FREAKING ME OUT too. It was no Mama Mia (See--I'm In Looooove...And Other Things). Well, because nothing is Mama Mia, except well, Mama Mia. Not even close for me. It wasn't a bad movie (everyone did a good job in it--you go Annette Bening!), but I will say there was a bit of relief when it was over. It might be cuz it was ALL women (go figure). Not a man in sight. I think I missed the men. REALLY missed the men. I don't even know who. Just mens.

I did leave the movie wondering who I wanted to be more like...Meg Ryan's character or Debra Messing's (I tend to do this--that and wanting to live in the house that was in the movie). There is one part where she is in labor that is flipping HILARIOUS. I'm laughing out loud right now as I type this out. You might have to see this movie just to see that part. HILARIOUS. She did good. I like that Debra Messing girl. She is adorable. A big reason could also be that she still has her own lips.

I Don't Have Bugs On My Coffee Table

I talked to Baby Girl's mom and she was very good about relieving me of my sleepless nights. Baby Girl is slowly but surely adjusting to life at child care. Her teachers love her (of course) and she is bonding with them (I might be a little jealous over this). And I was relieved to hear that they had a Plan B...a nanny waiting in the wings if they needed her. But they are hoping that they can just keep her where she is, and avoid any more change. I'm praying for that too. They want to wait out the month anyway, so I'm thinking she'll do just fine. She's such a great baby!

I don't know where all that worry came, but boy, it sure consumed me that night. Sort of knocked me over the head. I thought for sure I was getting ESPN vibes from Baby Girl's house (she lives near me) or something. Or the Man Upstairs was speaking to me, telling me to serve.

Thank you, thank you, thank you those of you that offered up encouragement and advice. I really appreciate it. I was truly torn. I am so loving how things are in my own house right now--this new chapter we have with both girls in school. A-girl is only in school for 2 1/2 hours this year, but I am enjoying getting to know myself again within those precious hours. Or catching up on laundry, grocery shopping and pulling weeds, or other things on the "to do" list. I feel like I'm all here now, if that makes any sense at all. So that's it for now. As you know, things change daily. Tomorrow I'm probably taking care of Baby Girl, cuz she went home sick today and she can't go back until it's been like 24 hours since the fever ended or something. So if she's feeling up to it tomorrow, I get my Baby Girl-fix. See how that works? Lovely.

On another note, guess what we're up to? Last night, at our church, we started the first of thirteen weeks of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University class. This will probably be a good chunk of my blog for in the next 13 weeks. The whole idea is to build up an emergency fund, pay off debt completely, and pay everything with cash (or check or debit). Build savings and actually save money for things that we want, rather than using credit. Novel idea, isn't it? I seem to remember this from um...back in the day. There was life pre-credit cards. Ramsey doesn't much care for the credit card. It makes sense.

Ramsey warned us that hubbs and I will get into arguments. To be gentle and calm with each other.That this will be touching on some emotional nerves. I'll say. It's frightening to give up our emergency credit card. Frightening to not have our emergency pizza/home decor/Christmas presents go to. But we are so excited to do this. So when I come on here and vent, whine and probably cry about how much I miss my relationship with MasterCard, please help a sister out and don't let me cave. Don't.Let.Me. You know how I am.

Little tip here that was suggested last night (that sounds a little less Scary Larry than actually cutting up the credit card, we are sure Ramsey will be suggesting any day now)-- to freeze your credit cards in a pitcher full of water. That way, when you get the urge to use it, it is not so easy to get to and by the time it were to thaw out, you hopefully would've talked yourself out of using it. Cool, isn't it?

After class we're driving home, still high-five-ing each other (yes, hubbs and I do that) and buzzing off the excitement of the class, and O started freaking out in the back seat. She was all, "What is that big red thing in the sky?!" I'm thinking UFO??? Cuz of course I go to worse case scenario. But what it ended up being was the moon. Sure enough, it was all orangery-red. Hubbs and I had to agree that we had never seen that before. Perplexed is what we were. I thought I was maybe, might, could be, on-the-tip-of-my-brain, remembering something about an October moon. But I'm pretty sure I'm making it up.

After much pondering, hubbs suggested that it is probably from the wildfires burning near Mt. Hood. That the smoke is making the moon look like it's all orangery-red. Regardless, if it does it tonight, I'm totally taking a pic. You've got to see it. Freakity.

And now I'd like to share with you what is on my coffee table. Like how I didn't transition at all there? It's how I roll. It was an issue in college and apparently it still is. Sorry. I'll work on it. I just have so much to say and sometimes you can't just transition well from red moon to coffee table. But anyway! My friend Rena, over here--Rena Jones--had a little bit on her blog today about what was on her coffee table. She has bugs on hers. You should check it out. But she asked the question of what is on your coffee table. Followed by a question of what is a one-of-a-kind thing of yours that you cherish. I thought I'd surprise her and answer her over here. So I'll start with the coffee table. Today, A-girl and I had games on our coffee table. We were playing these--




The "Please" & "Thank You" and sharing has become quite the discussion in our house lately and I found these games are fun and sneaky supplements to our (consistent and exhausting) teachings of these values. Thank you, Noodleboro!

So that's what was on our coffee table this morn.

As for the one-of-a-kind cherished thing. I have many of these, but the first thing to come to mind was this old cigar box full of vintage gumball machine toys and prizes, my mom had collected as a little girl. Somehow I was the lucky one to end up with them. They are so special to me, because I imagine they were precious to her. Important, as things like that tend to be when you're little. The box is full of tiny, delightful trinkets. I ripped my bedroom apart looking for the cigar box, so I could show you, but it is still packed away in a box in the garage from our move a year ago. To be continued on that one. They are pretty cool, I totally have to show you now.

Well, I had a lot to say up there. I could so go on, but figure you probably need to leave now. So until next time...

Let's Start With Tall, Dark and Handsome & End With A Song

I might've had a good dream last night. It might've been retired Yellow Wiggle related. I debated whether or not I should just keep it all neat and tidy up in my head or share it with the world! I'm not gonna get too detailed here, cuz even in dreamland I tend to be a little G-rated. Or PG-13. Okay, maybe a little Lifetime Channel-rated. And if I got detailed here, you might be all, "That's it?!...That's all you've got?!" And it would burst my dreamy dreamland bubble. Plus I like the idea of leaving it up to your imagination. It's probably better than mine.

OR

I could totally be not telling the truth ("lying" is such a harsh word) and the dream was Awesome! (siiiiiigh...why oh, why oh, why must I wake up?!)

Let's just say the boy better never show up at my door and profess his love to me. His height and Australian accent alone would be nothing but t.r.o.u.b.l.e. Don't you do it, mister! I am a good girl. A GOOD GIRL. You hear me? (i love you)

Okay, so enough of that! How is everybody? Now leave a comment and tell me, cuz I'm seriously hearing crickets over here in the comment department. I know I need to leave some comments in a big way as well. So let's all work together, mmmk? I kid, I kid (I am so not kidding).

Anyhoo, onto some other stuff...So I hit the garage sale jackpot the other day! 2 lamp shades, a cute shelf, a folky pic, and little wooden village, all for the I-so-happy discounted price of $26! (i could cry)

And for more random bits of the past week, here's a pic of our first ever garden! I know it's no Better Homes and Gardens, but it's ours, all ours! And I vow to be all crazy garden girl next year and do better. I'll even have a plan. But I'm so excited I actually grew something!

I am excited for this bad boy!

This is what I hope will end up a big ol' beautiful pumpkin. Wish us luck!

This would be A-girl just a-swinging!

Another little pic out of our life this week--we had a cook out at Auntie's house the other night and grandma brought a little craft for the girls to work on. They were in pine cone/birdseed/peanut butter heaven!

This is another shocker for me...flowers! I'm usually very good about growing green leaves. Flowers are so much better!

And for more randomness, I thought it would be fun to show you what was in my purse. I'm thinking of making this a weekly blog event (?) as the turnover is huge in my purse and you just never know what's gonna be in there! You like my green ear plugs? I swear those aren't to drown out the kiddo noise (though I'm not hating that idea either)--they were left over from my big ol' 17-C (typed backwards) ride (A Plane, A Baby & Ear Muffs). See all the lip stuff? And the dog biscuit? Don't ask me. I think A-girl was involved though. See that cutsie pic of hubbs and I? That's like 11 yrs old. It was our 1st year anniversary pic. Don't we look like we're 12-yrs-old?

And one more thing! I can't talk about (my) retired Yellow Wiggle without mentioning my friend, Hill. So I wanted to dedicate this next bit to her as this post of hers-- A Great Childhood Love--reminded me of something I cherished from my childhood. And I never heard of Sneaky Snake, Hill, but I sure had that song in my head all day. Now here's a little something for you to have in your head all day. Can you say, Captain Kangaroo? Thank me later, y'all for bringing back the memories...

And a little Bill Cosby...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWg0U3fi7sE

I loved Picture Pages. The song alone is very comforting. And don't you loooove Captain's jacket?

Thanks for staying with me during this (wild and) crazy (and pretty darn random if you ask me) post. You are still with me, right? Okay, you may now return to your regularly scheduled life.

A Little Help Here?

I think I might need some help here. I'm on the line with something and need a little push.

Last year I was blessed to take care of a baby full-time. I started taking care of her when she was 5 months and had her until right after her first birthday. We got very attached to her over here. The girls love her and she fit in just wonderfully. It didn't feel like work, it felt like we had a baby in the house.

And in that it felt like we had a baby in the house. Meaning, my main focus was on Baby Girl. Of course...it had to be, she's a baby. They are little and they get into things. I like to hold them.

I've been so blessed to be able to be a stay-at-home mom since I've had my babies. Somehow we've just made it work. I love it. And watching Baby Girl, my girls had no complaints. They just jumped in with me in that orbit around Baby Girl. No jealousy or anything. Baby Girl was just one of us.

But I missed that one-on-one time with my own girls. I missed the focus being on my own girls. I missed my girls, if that makes any sense. So at the end of the year, I decided I wouldn't continue to take care of Baby Girl. I felt very torn about that too, because we love her and I am very attached to her. And I love that she is to us too. It was good timing though, because her mom had the summer off anyway, so it was a good transition.

Well, now Baby Girl has started child care. They live on our street, so we get to see her often and get updated on her life. Well, she's having a hard time adjusting to being in this new setting of child care. She's starting her third week there and she has still not settled in. And from having worked in the day care setting, I know that this is normal--this adjustment period. The transition. The fact that she had her mom all summer. The fact that she's one and separation anxiety is a big part of this age. I know all this. I know in time, she'll settle in. BUT, I hate hearing she's having a hard time. She's even stopped sleeping through the night, because she just wants to be with her mom and dad. I hate hearing that. She was doing so great here. I feel so bad. I feel like I let her and her parents down. I feel so selfish.

So last night, I'm laying in bed trying to read and I'm seeing the words, but nothings going in. I am suddenly very consumed with Baby Girl. I even wake my hubby and have this huge talk about if I should start watching Baby Girl again. The pros and cons. I mean, I love this new found freedom I have now that both my girls are in school. The fact that my list of "things to do" is done by the time they get home and I'm all theirs. I love volunteering in their school and being involved that way. I feel like I'm connected again. But I seriously lost some sleep last night over Baby Girl. I actually got out of bed at 11:00 p.m. and e-mailed Baby Girl's mom to let her know I was praying for her and thinking of her. Asking her all these questions about the day care situation (that is really none of my business) and fishing to see if they needed me. I mean, I was looking at high chairs on Craig's List at Midnight. What the heck?!

I don't even know if this is really what I want to do. I really like how things are with my family now. Not that I didn't before, but it was seriously like we had a baby in the house. You know how it's like when there's a baby in the house. Your life is completely broken down by the minute. Schedules. Naps. Teething. Everything is completely baby proofed. Sticky. Messy. Not done. And wonderful.

But I finally am at a point in my life where my babies aren't babies anymore. I don't have to do all the baby stuff. There is a huge amount of freedom in that and freedom on many levels. Freedom to do something else. To not be all mom while the girls are in school. Those hours I get to figure out, remember, get back in touch with who I am outside being "mom". And my house is so clean. And our dinners are so good. And when they get home, that running list of "things to do" takes a major hiatus, cuz most of it is done and I can just be. Just be with them. That has been very, very good.

But I'm feeling this pull--over here too. I'm dreaming Baby Girl and when I'm not dreaming Baby Girl, I'm losing sleep over her. So like I said, I'm on a line here. I'm not sure what to do and really just want someone to go ahead and tell me what to do. That would be awesome. I know that's not how it works. But let's just pretend it is.

Friday's Foto Finish Fiesta

Okay, so we're nerds. You know this, I know this, why try to hide it? These are from a bday party we had a while back--a Hannah Montana bday party to be exact. We might have got a little carried away. Or something.

Hubbs doing his best Robbie Ray impersonation...he kind of looks more like a Mario Bro.
My brother looking um...what's the woooooord?
A-girl...need I say more?
Two Hannah Montana-a-likes and one Snow White.

To participate in Friday's Foto Finish Fiesta (and you must, you must), go to:

http://carriestuckmann.blogspot.com/

I Think, I Thank, I Thunk

I'm not gonna freak out. I'm just not. I've been reading about this for the last couple of days--

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,419404,00.html

and this--

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,420062,00.html

So I've had all these thoughts swirling around in my head. So I took them to the blog. I don't have anything against science. It's important. But this story concerns me. I might get over it. It might stay with me for a while. But I'm not gonna freak out. Even if we have four more years until the end of the world. Even if Nostradamus and the Mayans predicted correctly. I'm not gonna freak out. Because of this--

"Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night." 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2

and this--

"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, not the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Matthew 24: 36-39

and this--

"So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." Matthew 24: 44

Plus, I know where I'm going anyway. It's better than this. Even though I have plans--watching my girls grow through the years, experiencing that with them. College. Weddings. Grand babies. Travel. Writing. Swimming in faraway oceans. Gracefully, peacefully, growing older and even more feisty with my hubby. Even though I have plans, regardless of if I get what I want, I know I'm going to get what I need. Because of this--

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4: 6-7

I totally didn't mean to go all Bible Thumper. (I did warn ya though) I just sat down and this is what came out. And I know that given my great ability to know a little about a lot, I will stop here. I think I needed to remind myself of all of the above more than anything.

I will say that lately (before I even read the Big Bang story), I have been having some seriously bad dreams. I need to stop eating Butter and Cracked Pepper popcorn right before bed or stop watching Fox News for a while or something. So now I'd like to interrupt this service announcement and tell you about my dreams.

So the first one was bad. I'm just gonna tell it like I saw it. My family and I were at the park. It was a beautiful day. The grass was extra green and the sky was extra blue. We were near a soccer field. The park was on this slope and the soccer field was at the bottom of the slope. All of a sudden, all these helicopters start flying in and landing on the soccer field. Army helicopters. A lot of Army helicopters. It was loud and hectic. Everyone started running over to the soccer field to see what was going on. People were running out of their houses and stopping their cars in the middle of the street and coming over. Just as my family and I started coming down the slope from the park. There was an earthquake. And everything went dark--like night. I was second guessing it, cuz I could see fireworks in the sky. I even have denial in my dreams. And as we're walking down the slope in the darkness, the ground starts to give underneath us. A landslide. The ground is literally moving under my feet. It is at this point, I realize I am holding a baby. A newborn. Just then, I feel the ground meet my back. I didn't fall, it was just dirt rolling down behind me. The next thing I knew, the dirt was going over my family and I. Over our heads. We were being buried in the landslide. Horrible. It was incredibly real and vivid. I felt that, this is it, moment. Seconds later, I could hear muffled voices, and screams. It was of course all the people around us and above us. Somehow, and I remember feeling great relief, I pushed myself out of the dirt and found my hubby and girls. I still had the baby. We were okay. That was my last thought before I woke up. I have not stopped thinking about that dream. So real.

A couple nights later, I had the worst dream ever about one of my family members. I don't want to go into detail, but one of those dreams that takes the breath out of you and leaves you feeling incredibly sad. For days.

I mention this next dream because it kind of ties in with the one above, where I had the newborn. I had a dream last night that I was pregnant and about to be induced. The doctor said at 10:00 a.m. I remember being very surprised I was about to have a baby, obviously unaware that I was pregnant. I didn't really look pregnant either. My body was pretty smallish (something that my body is very unfamiliar with). I remember rationalizing how I hadn't even felt the baby move or kick. I was feeling my stomach, trying to find it. Sure enough, I found two little feet and ankles, assuming their position at the bottom of my ribs. I got excited about that and it really hit me then, that I really was about to have a baby.

Also in the dream, we were getting ready to move back to San Antonio. I think I even mentioned in the dream "Let's get the show on the road" (aka...Have this baby) , because we were moving the next day. I was thinking about where I'd want to live this time in San Antonio. Thinking of neighborhoods I'd seen. But at the end of the dream, I was walking through my house, pregnant, and crying about leaving. See how I am?

So, I've been a bit of a mess lately. More so in dreamland though. I just over analyze when I'm awake. What does this mean?! But yesterday I put my thoughts on hold, when one of my favorite people in the world called me up and invited me to hang out with him that afternoon. My dad. This is a rare occurrence, getting my dad all to myself. I felt maybe around 10-years-old again when he asked me. Not a bad feeling.
(this was my dad and I when we went camping last summer...don't do this at home kids...or camping!)

Anyhoo, yesterday we went to Mike's Second Hand Store up in Estacada--

--I picked up a Visitor's Guide that had an article about Mike and his store. It was chock full of junk. Good junk. And that Mike guy is real particular when it comes to his junk. It has to be good junk. And he keeps it as neat as can be considering how very loaded up his shop is. There is actually great order and thought put in to it. It's an organized mess. He has notes all over the place telling you to put what you pick up right back where it was. Lots of notes. Lots. He has a good sense of humor. Mike had a sign that said: "Warning! Studies have determined that junk buying can be extremely hazardous to your health and pocket book. It's addictive--and expensive--know when to say when. With love, Uncle Mike."

I don't usually go to junk stores like this, but it was actually pretty neat. I might've had more to do with the fact that I was with my dad! Just me! And he was having fun too! It was just fun tinkering around the place. You had to go real slow, cuz you are totally going to miss something. You're gonna miss something anyway, cuz there's just so much. I was so bummed that I missed these two hurricane lamps this lady found...two of them, only $35 a piece! They are hard to find. My hubby's mom has one I love and I've been trying to find one like it. I was totally bummed I missed it. My dad found sand paper,and these big clips for his work table. He was thrilled. I found two cool rolling pins. Cuz that's just how I roll (ha ha).

Mike had all these antique irons. I loooooved them. I wanted to get one to use as a door stop (Yes, my hubby rolled his eyes at me too, it's okay, I understand). My dad told me he had one he could give me that was his grandmother's. Awesome. I'm 10-years-old all over again.

So given that most of this post is a bit doom and gloom, I hope you see the positive in it too. The good stuff. And if you don't then please feel free to check out these guys--

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrO4cDJxKyw

That Might Hurt A Little

I love those survey thingies that have that question of what would be the one thing you would have to have with you if you were alone and stranded on a deserted island. I always answer "my lip stuff". Not matches, food, water, a bow and arrow, a pillow, a man (what am I thinking?! Do I know me at all?!), but my lip stuff. I'm pretty sure if my lips went 30 seconds without being hydrated I would die on the spot.

So it got me to thinking (cuz I am sooooo deep) of what my things were I just could not live without. Well, after much pondering, I realized I *probably* would not actually die on the spot if I didn't have my lip stuff. Though my lips would dry up, crack and be prone to infection, so really...I could die without it, but it wouldn't be on the spot, it would probably take a while. Okay, so seriously...I could live without it. But it would hurt a little. So I thought I'd instead think of things that I could live without, but it would hurt a little. Here goes--

This would be my lip stuff. Muy importante in my little world. Oooh, and it freshens breath! Bonus!

Ahhhhh, my books! I love them. They entertain me. Feed me. Take me away. Notice the two Bibles in the bunch? Yeah, I could be a Bible Thumper. I refer to my Bible often. It's full of stuff that helps me. It might hurt a little if I didn't have it. Little bit.
Oh, my Little Green. Thank goodness for this. I have gotten my money's worth out of this little baby. Can you say...doggie w/a very small, infection prone bladder?
I loves me my flip flops. I'd prefer to go barefoot (got a little Cherokee in me), but you know there are quite a few places that don't let you in without shoes. The whole no shoes, no service bit. So to me, this is the next best thing. I totally need to live somewhere tropical. And my Tevas are like walking on a little piece of Heaven.
Where would I be w/out my cookbooks? At Wendy's, that's where. See I love to cook, but I'm no Rachael Ray (though I do have her cookbook) and I just have to follow a recipe. I'm a follower not a leader. Just tell me what to do.

Coffee. The most important meal of the day.

The news. Specifically Fox News. I have to know what's going on.

Home decor magazines...well, they just make me giddy!

I love to say things. My computer is very near and dear to my heart. My friends live in there. And by typing, I can actually keep up with my brain. And my computer is a good listener. Love that.

And these guys...including the man holding them...It would actually hurt to live without these guys! They are good for me!