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Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Lost..

I lost 4.5 pounds my first week of Jenny Craig! :) I feel awesome about that. Amazingly enough because I haven't been hungry but maybe once or twice. This eating a snack thing... really does work! Amazing!

Right now Drew decided he didn't feel good and wanted to stay home with me. Josh is roller skating around the house and I'm sitting here gloating over the fact that I really CAN DO THIS! :) WOO HOO

Monday, April 13, 2009

"Good Job-ing" your kids to death

A Cub Scout message board I'm on posted THIS link about how people "good job'd" their kids to death so much that they thought everything they did was far beyond anything other than miraculous. It's a good read. I encourage all parents to read it. :)

I can't say I'm not guilty of this -- to an extent. I do believe that CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is a good thing. It's hard to take at any age. The sooner they learn to hear and handle it and LEARN from it, the better off they'll be and the more productive they SHOULD become. Well, in my utopic world, anyway. :)

Saturday, April 11, 2009

He...

The Messiah
A Poem by Debi Jenkins

He loved us
He created us
He gave us life
He chose us
He served us
He honored us
He called us precious
He called us His
He blessed us
He was kind to us
He saved us
He was unselfish
He ministered to us
He had mercy on us
He called us His children
He died for us.

We hated him
We mocked him
We insulted him
We betrayed him
We denied him
We beat him
We dishonored him
We spit on him
We laughed at him
We made him carry his own cross
We put a crown of thorns on his head
We drove sharp nails into his hands and feet
And...we killed him.

After all this, Jesus still loved us.
He arose from the grave as he promised.
He paid the price for our ugly sin.

But...some still hate him
Some refuse to acknowledge him
Some are selfish
Some don't make a church or reading the Bible a priority
Some worship other gods
Some hate
Some take his name in vain
Some murder
Some lie
Some cheat
Some steal
We all sin. But he has redeemed us.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3: 16-17


Political video - Watch this



Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Clarifications on KISS and funny J stories

OK... now *** I *** wouldn't be the one taking J to see KISS... on no. I like them, don't get me wrong. I even had the KISS dolls as a youth... but if you frequent my blog... that's not so much my thang anymore. Nickelback is Saturday...I'm still thinking of going this Saturday. :) I LOVE NICKELBACK! :) ... but no, I wouldn't be the one taking him.

There is a funny story about how J got started with his fascination of KISS. When I first had married Andy and J had shortly thereafter started soccer, it was quite chilly one morning and so I didnt want to take infant D to the field, Andy took him. Being that it was early and J hadn't had a chance to really wake up, Andy said to him, "Come on... lets get some aggressive music on and get our game face on." Some kind of attempt to pump him up and get him ready to play.

radio... nothing... 1st cd... nothing.... 2nd cd... nothing... 3rd cd... KISS -- and what song? Lick It Up. LOL

When I was told about that when he got home... I was just saying, "Dear God please don't let my son go to his private school teacher singing Lick It Up and furthermore, please don't let him ask me what they ARE licking up." Since then, he's grown to appreciate the music, not read so much into it (like I'd be worried about him asking what songs mean) as he hasn't entered that phase of dissecting phrases to pick out the writers true intention. Though I look forward to some fun conversations about that... ha ha... NOT!

Which brings me to how I am parenting him in issues that prove to be a bit uncomfortable to discuss.... taking D to preschool the other day, I turned on the radio to KISS FM 106.1 because they generally have some top 40's music on or some discussion relevant to present issues taking place. Typically they're not discussing something that little ears should be shielded from so it's "safe" radio. I don't worry about them calling someone a bad word or using bad words even in conversation. So the DJs are Kidd Craddock (sp?), Kelly Raspberry, Big Al Mack, Psycho Shannon and ..??? someone else whose name escapes me. Anyway, Kelly has a very country accent. She is quite eloquent, however, so don't let the accent fool you! Typically when they're having a dicsussion about something that Kelly feels so strongly about, Kidd loves to use this voice changing thing and really razzes Kelly. It's a bit he does frequently. . . and my boys just LOVE it. They just roll in the car laughing about the silly things he says when he's acting like Kelly's alter ego, conscious or someone giving her hell.

Well, this particular day (last Thursday to be exact) we were in the car and Kelly was discussing how she went to Target and was just chatting with the clerk. And realized that after all that she purchased, taking them up on their offer -- you know the one you get every time you're at Target, "Would you like to open a Target card and save 10%?" Well, she had about $250 worth of merchandise so that's a full $25 and of course, she took them up on the offer. Again, dealing with a fussy kiddo, filling out application, yadda yadda yadda. Basically when she left, which she was in a hurry to do... she left a bag at the counter. She had to run a couple of errands and when got home, she realized that she'd forgotten one of the bags. She immediately called Target and talked to the very person that had taken the bag.... and had RESTOCKED EVERYTHING IN IT? Who would do that... ??? You do'nt restock merchandise someone had purchased? Anyway, she had made plans to return to Target and meet with the person that had restocked her to get the things that she'd forgotten. She was discussing all the things she'd forgotten. Tampons was on the list. And then she made a comment to the lady listeners about how the ones that she liked were on sale at the time... and how everyone should go stock up if they use them. Kidd, of course, seized the moment... talking about how they were the super absorbant ones... they're on sale... they're so super... they're super absorbant... they could suck up an olympic sized swimming pool. And the boys just laughed so hard thinking that this was the funniest thing ever. I heard several times for the next couple of days my boys best Kidd Craddick impersonation how tampons could suck up an olympic sized swimming pool. (Mind you, you HAVE to say that with the MOST annoying Southern accent you can muster.)

So, when they were repeating this to Andy... he asked Josh if he knew what a tampon was. He said, "No." And offered up that he thought it was a big diaper. Andy then looked at me. I asked him if he wanted to find out later or if he wanted to know the truth. He wanted to know so I told him that the way God designed woman, each month the tissue in their abdomen would fill with blood in preparation for having a baby. If there is no egg implanted in the tissue then the blood is then expelled from her body. He says, "so women bleed out their stomach?" I said, "No." He said, "so where does the blood come from?" And this this look came across his face and he was like... -- oh... OH...OOOOOOOOH! (not that he understands taht there are two pathways down there) And I said, "and that's what the tampons are for -- to absorb the blood." He replied how great it was to be a guy. I just agreed.

Exercise

Need to find a way to get more exercise into your day? WOW... this is amazing...



KISS

How cool is this? KISS is HOPEFULLY coming to town. They're letting the fans dictate where they tour! :) I LOVE this idea! Josh was promised to go to a KISS concert if they ever toured again. So he's totally excited about this!

Monday, April 6, 2009

I WISH we would all unite...

One amazing speech... I agree with 100% of everything he says. 100% But seriously, what are we to do?

Menu Plan Monday

Photobucket

Oh yes, it's that time of the week again! Already ready to start the week all over! WOO HOO! We've started our new workbox system in our homeschool endeavors. Drew is home today -- was supposed to have a park playday at a local park with his class but since this is the FIRST day he's been without a horrible cough, I just couldn't risk it. Yeah, sue me... besides, we like having him home! :)

So today here's the drill:

Monday:
B: Sausage and egg casserole (one of the family favorites)You can find it by clicking here.
L: Subway (promised the boys -- they love to "eat fresh"
D: Fettuccini carbonera, caesar salad, bread with dipping sauce

Tuesday
B: Cereal with fruit or leftover casserole and juice
L: Soup/sandwiches
D: King Ranch chicken

Wednesday
B: A new recipe I just recently received - Sunny Morning Star Biscuits Souffles
L: Frozen dinners, sliced fresh veggies
D: Spaghetti, garlic cheese bread, wedge salad with avocado ranch dressing

Thursday
B: Oatmeal, fruit, toast, milk
L: leftovers
D: Italian roast beef sandwiches (crock pot) topped with mozzarella, chips, cold pasta salad

Friday
B: Pancake Friday with fruit and milk
L: Out and about (we're going to be across town at a movie)
D: Creamy Skillet Lasagna

Saturday
B: Cheese, bacon and egg biscuit sandwiches and V8
L: Sandwiches
D: Early supper at my aunt's (we're having a family get-together for a pre-Easter egg hunt), burgers/dogs/fixins/potato salad/baked beans and family favorites and snacky foods

Sunday
B: Bagels, yogurt, fruit and granola with juice and/or milk
L: At Grandmas with an egg hunt
D: Chicken Alfredo Rice Casserole with a tossed salad and whole wheat rolls

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Home = Haven

One thing I really DO thrive to do is to make my home a haven for my family. . . a soft place to fall. A place where J can learn to roller skate through the kitchen and family room while D chases him wearing yellow gloves calling him an alien while Herbie Hancock plays on You Tube. We get to laugh, we get to love and we get to make memories. This is what family is all about for me.

I was so excited to learn that there is a series called Making Your Home a Haven... just a quit little bloglette to get your thinking in line. Every Monday she'll post a challenge for you. Check it out HERE.


RRR

As Scouts we are to teach young men the three R's in life. And, I'm not talking about Readin', Ritin' and 'Rithmetic... I'm talking about the otherthree R's. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

Reduce - reduce your footprint. Buy in bulk and refill current containers.

Reuse - find a new way to use old stuff so that it's reused and not in a landfill. Reuse your waterbottles instead of buying more.

Recycle - what you can't reuse, buy only what you can recycle.

It seems simple. It SEEMS simple but it's really not! Especially, when Andy's best friend works for a waste management company and he said that over half of what they're taking in for recyclables -- is winding up IN THE LANDFILLS ANYWAY! Why? Because it's expensive to recycle items. How's that for making your day? You go out of your way to do your part, and it still doesn't do any good anyhow!? Grrrrr...

And so now, in that it's in vogue to try to lead a frugal, simple, whole, green life, I've found a fun little website called Repurposeful that I just adore. She gives great tips on how to reuse items so that they're always in vogue. And I'm not talking tin can pencil holders -- I'm talking fun items! :)

Check out her blog HERE.

My favorite item of late on the blog is a link to another site on how to make hoodie towels! I love this idea because my BOYS would love this idea! For a tutorial on how to do it -- SO SIMPLE -- and it's even something I could do: http://www.makeandtakes.com/easy-hooded-bath-towel

So, how are YOU repurposeful?! :)