Guinevere's Thoughts on Nothing in Particular

In Loving Memory of my Unborn Child

2010-10-12T17:38:00.002-05:00

I lost my baby this week. I was 10 weeks pregnant. While I can't prove it for certain, I know in my heart of hearts that the child I carried was a girl. I named her Rachel Olivia. She was so very, desperately, wanted.

Yesterday I learned she had other plans. She preferred to skip over this life and go straight to the one where there are no tears nor sadness. I know Jesus is holding her in His arms, as I am unable to.

Last night, I told my husband I wanted to go to the beach and listen to the waves come up & down. We have very dear friends who live near the beach and we called them to let them know we were coming. Within 15 minutes of our arrival, a number of our other friends came as well, to join us in our time of suffering. We sat under the beach, and our pastor came too and brought his guitar. We were singing songs of praise to our God, who "works all things together for the good of those who love Him." We don't understand why this happened, but we also know that God doesn't waste a hurt.

While we were singing under the starlit sky, listening to the waves crash upon the shore, I glanced heavenward. I saw a shooting star at the same moment I felt a sharp pain in my womb. I believe it was my daughter, letting me know she had arrived in heaven and was there watching over us.

It to my daughter, Rachel Olivia Swanepoel, that I dedicate this poem.

I saw her in a shooting star

The night I learned she had gone from me

My unborn child, dearly loved,

Shooting across & above the moonlit sea

I saw her in a shooting star

As friends of my heart sang around me

The precious soul, carried inside me

For such a brief time, yet I know it was she, when

I saw her in a shooting star.

Theme & Variations on Alfredo Sauce

2010-08-17T19:23:00.002-05:00

We had unexpected guests at our house this evening.

Well, I didn't expect them. My husband did. But not for an hour. One of them showed up while I was not, ahem, decent so I had to run out of sight quickly to fix the problem because this polite gentleman walked in without knocking. But I digress.

With unexpected guests coming at dinnertime, I felt obligated to prepare some food. Because I was raised in a southern family, and you just quite simply do not have people in your home at any time of day without offering some form of refreshment. Oftentimes a bag of chips will suffice, but they showed up at DINNERTIME! Being a resourceful sort of person, I surveyed the contents of my pantry. Not much. (I had been planning on doing grilled cheese sandwiches but there wasn't enough bread for everyone.) I found a small jar of Alfredo sauce and half a box of pasta. Looked good. Not quite enough sauce, though. It was a very small jar. Then I remembered that I had 3/4 of a jar in the fridge, as I had opened it the previous night to dip breadsticks in!

Now, not being as talented as my good friend Jessica, the Novice Chef (I quite happily admit that I am much novicer than she.) I needed to improvise a bit. My husband is the cook of the family and he is very particular about his sauces. Opening a jar and dumping it in the pot doesn't quite cut it around here.

SO-- I improvised. I combined the two small jars. One was "sundried tomato alfredo" and one was "romano and parmesan." I didn't stop there. I also added a splash of white wine. I didn't stop there, either. Also in my fridge, I found some already-cubed-up grilled chicken, so I tossed that in for good measure.

Anyone who didn't know that jarred sauce had been present wouldn't have figured it out. It tasted completely homemade and delicious. I was ecstatic, being that I am the novicest chef.

Then I announced that dinner was ready. And these gentleman, who showed up at my house unannounced and with poor timing, informed me that they had plans to have dinner with some other friends later, but they were thankful for my offer. Grmph.

I guess I'll just have to go for seconds!

I've Moved!

2008-08-01T15:28:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone!

For those of you who haven't yet updated your blogrolls or readers, please take note of my new URL:

http://gmeadow.blogspot.com

I will be blogging over there from now on. Thanks!

-Guinevere

To My Friendly Starbucks Barista

2008-07-26T11:27:00.002-05:00

While I was in my hometown this week to be with my family while my mother was in the hospital, there was a bright spot. A bright, shiny spot which made each day of my visit a little more pleasant.

Starbucks. There is a relatively new Starbucks not far my parent's home, and I was a frequent visitor during the 3 days of my stay. On my way out to return home, I went through the drive-thru to get myself juiced up for the 4-hour drive. As I pulled up to order, a very friendly voice greeted me.

"Hi, and welcome to Starbucks on this beautiful evening! My name is Josh. How can I help you?"

Josh sounded like nothing would make him happier than to take my coffee order. I could tell by the sound of his voice that he was smiling.

"Hi Josh! I think I'll try one of those raspberry brownies that the lady ahead of me ordered, and I'll also have a Grande Raspberry Mocha Frappucino."

"That sounds DELICIOUS! A themed dinner?"

"That's right, Josh!"

"It'll be $6.23."

"Thanks!"

I pulled up to the window where I met Josh in person. He was delightful! I could really tell he was having a nice time at his job. Most drive-thru people barely look at me, they just want to grab my money, throw my food at me, and send me on my way. Not Josh! He took some time to make pleasant small-talk.

What Josh didn't know was that I really needed something like that. I was on my way to the hospital one last time to see Mom before I drove home. I was very worried about her, as I'm sure you remember from the updates I posted. I was afraid I was going to be too late and they wouldn't let me in, and I was afraid that if I didn't get my coffee, I would fall asleep on the drive with Lance since we only left at 9 pm, ensuring a peaceful, quiet drive.

But Josh's friendliness and his smile, his thoughtfulness, really helped to brighten that evening.

I told him that he was the friendliest drive-thru person I had ever met. He seemed surprised and pleased by this. Then I told him I would write about him on my blog. I told him the URL, and I hope he manages to look me up!

So if you're here Josh, please know that your kindness made a huge difference to this mommy during a difficult time in her life. You didn't just give me coffee and a brownie, you gave me a reason to smile when there was none.

Thank you.

2008-07-25T18:25:00.002-05:00

I type this from a laptop while lounging in bed. My mouth is filled with gauze, I'm snuggled up to a bag of frozen peas, and the remains of a few jello cups are littering my bedside table.

I think I'm gonna enjoy a few days of being an invalid! My husband is taking such good care of me, too! He went out and bought yogurt, jello cups, and pudding to feed an army. He also bought me some Starbucks Frappucinos, since I'm not supposed to have anything hot for a few days.

He's taken Lance out for the evening, so I'm enjoying some nice quiet time. He won't be out for long, but it'll be good for Lance to run around and play at the park while Daddy has his softball game. (Our city has several softball 'leagues' of which our church members make up 3 of the 4 teams! lol! They play every Friday night.) Fortunately some of the other players on Hubby's team have teenage daughters who just adore Lance, so they're going to help out with him. The best part? I didn't even have to arrange it!! Hubby called the parents of the teenagers to ask if they would please bring them along tonight.

I was knocked out for the surgery. I remember a few times I would wake up a little bit and could hear what was going on, but not often enough to remember the details. Although at one point I heard the doctor say "oops." That wasn't good! I was under for an hour, but I only have a few minutes' worth of memories of the procedure! The IV stick was the worst part. I'm such a baby when it comes to needles!

Whoa...the phone just rang. Apparantly talking is something I'll have to refrain from as well! I seem to be fine when I keep my head as still as possible!

Cheers re-runs, here I come!

In Which I Say Goodbye to Wisdom

2008-07-25T08:40:00.004-05:00

My wisdom teeth will be coming out in a little less than two hours.

Goodbye, Wisdom. How I shall miss you.

In the meantime, I'm finding it rather difficult to refrain from eating and drinking, especially when Lance doesn't finish his breakfast.

Plain toast never looked so good, until you're not allowed it.

I expect I'll be spending a lot of time this weekend on my computer! I'm gonna milk it, baby.

Today's Updates

2008-07-24T15:45:00.001-05:00

Hello, Blogfriends.

Here are the updates on mom. I hope you don't mind that I just copied the e-mail I sent out to our friends and family.

Hi everyone.

I saw my mom yesterday evening. It was good to see her. They have figured out that her stomach is not emptying AT ALL-- it is full of fluid, although she hasn't eaten anything for several DAYS. I had previously misunderstood and thought they were witholding food from her, but the truth is she can't keep anything down. One of the days she *did* have to fast because of a procedure they needed to do. They had her on clear liquids the other night, and she only took a few sips of juice, and it made her throw up a lot.

They are going to do more tests today to figure out the cause of this. Something similar had happened before, and they discovered a bacterial overgrowth in her small intestine. Hopefully the tests today will reveal what it is THIS time. There is talk of transporting her up to Mayo clinic.

My dad will be going to the hospital this morning so he can talk with the doctors and find out more information. At this point, we're all wondering why they haven't given her any nutrition intravenously, since they know she hasn't eaten anything in the three days she's been there. They have her on a saline solution and electrolytes so she won't dehydrate, but she isn't getting anything else.

While I'm relieved that they have figured out SOMETHING, it's scary to think that my mom has not been getting any nutrition for several days and is basically slowly starving. I don't like that thought AT ALL. Hopefully Dad will be able to get them to give her something in the IV. They won't release her from the hospital if she can't eat. Mom would prefer to have Dad drive her up to Mayo rather than have the hospital transport her, because that would just be a ridiculously huge (and unncessary) expense.

Please continue praying- now, that the doctors will be able to fix the problem they have found, and that my mother will have some measure of comfort. I will be returning home to Coral Springs tonight. I wish I could stay longer, but I'm having my wisdom teeth removed Friday morning.

Thanks and God bless

Hi again,

Mom has now received an IV with nutrition. They are also draining the fluid from her stomach. Already she looks a little better- not so pale, and she looks like she got some rest. They have decided to transport her via ambulance to the Mayo clinic in Jacksonville, but we're not sure yet when they will do this.

Thank you all for your prayers- we are beginning to see them answered! In addition to praying for mom's healing and wisdom for the doctors, please pray also that this will not become a financial burden for my family. My parents have a fairly good insurance plan, but it doeesn't cover everything. An ambulance trip to Jacksonville is going to be a significant cost, as will several days of hospital stay.

I will be going to visit Mom once more, on my way home tonight. I hope to have more information then. I know the are going to do more x-rays later this afternoon to see if her small intestine is working properly.

I can't begin to tell you how much your support means. You are all family to us. Without your prayers and moral support, I'm sure things would be much different right now.

God bless

In Which I Depart From My Most Recent Subject

2008-07-23T16:24:00.002-05:00

This post has nothing whatsoever to do with my mom in the hospital. It's time for something fun and lighthearted.

I give you...

Lance! In the kiddie pool! Completely dressed! With a popsicle stain on his face!

This afternoon I was filling the kiddie pool that my parents have at their house just for Lance's visit. He was standing there eating a popsicle while I filled it. My grand plan was to take him inside and change him into his swim trunks when he was done with the popsicle.

Toddlers don't worry too much about their parent's plans. He just clambered right over the side of the pool, went down on his hands and knees, dripping with popsicle juice.

And I stood there and laughed like I haven't laughed for several days.

It was good.

Update

2008-07-23T00:51:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone. I'm up in my hometown to be with my family. I packed up Lance and we left our house at 9 pm. He slept ALL THE WAY HERE, a 4-hour drive. When we arrived around 1 am, he of course woke up when he saw and heard his Aunt and Grampa, so I let him stay up and play for awhile. Hopefully he'll sleep a little longer in the morning for me!

The gastroenterologist came to see my mom this evening, but we don't have any answers yet. Tomorrow, Mom is having a stress test and a bunch of other tests including an endoscopy.

I'll be sticking around the house, holding the fort down here and taking care of some stuff that my parents haven't been able to take care of, like following up with the TV repairman, doing some housework, preparing meals, etc. I'll go to the hospital when I can, but that might be tough with Lance. Not even sure yet if he will be allowed in the cardiac unit; will check on that tomorrow.

And again, thank you for all your prayers. Keep 'em coming.

Update

2008-07-22T08:51:00.004-05:00

edited to add:

The cardiologist came, and there is no indication of any heart problems, praise God! They are waiting on results from a thyroid test, and are waiting for the gastroenterologist to come. Whatever happens, she will be in the hospital at least one more night.

Hey guys.

Thank you all for your prayers and kind thoughts as my family goes through this scary time.

Mom was kept in the hospital overnight and is waiting to be seen by a cardiologist and a gastroenterologist. The worst of her pain has subsided, but they still don't know what caused it. They ran tons of tests on her, but everything came back normal. I suppose that's a good thing, it rules out all the "biggies" but doesn't help us to figure out what to do to make her better.

I'll keep you all updated as I get more information.

2008-07-21T16:57:00.003-05:00

*Edited to add: As of 10:45pm, my mom is still in the hospital. She is on morphine to relieve the agonizing pain, but all her tests came back normal, so they still don't know what has caused the pain. They are going to keep her overnight for observation. My parents don't have much of a support system, so please keep my dad and sister in your prayers, as well, as I cannot go to be with them and help them through this difficult time.*

I just received a phone call from my dad. My mom is in the ER for severe chest and abdominal pain.

Please pray NOW.

In Which I Reveal How Pitiful I Am

2008-07-21T15:11:00.002-05:00

I told you yesterday about my crazy injury when I got involved in a fist fight with a tough latina chick.

This Friday, I am having my wisdom teeth out.

You know it's time to have your wisdom teeth out when chewing a soft chocolate chip cookie causes agony.

And since the wrist is still sore, typing is causing another kind of agony. Going to the doc tomorrow for the wrist.

Crazy week, huh?

In Which I Explain My Injury

2008-07-19T21:20:00.003-05:00

I could tell you that Lance hit me with a hammer.

I could tell you that I slipped and fell on a wet pool deck.

I could tell you that I dropped a bowling ball mid swing.

I could tell you that I was performing some complicated gymnastics excercise.

But all of those would be dirty, nasty lies.

I was practicing piano. I was trying to play octaves, and my hand just isn't quite large enough. So I strained my wrist. It's been hurting for a week. Some of you may remember when I tweeted about it last week.

That wrist brace makes lots of things difficult like typing, and even lifting Lance.

So like a fool, I took the brace off so I could write this post.

Already I am regretting that decision.

Bye!

In Which I Contemplate the Imagination of Children

2008-07-19T07:38:00.003-05:00

Overheard on the playground:

"If you BOYS want to play with us, you have to be my minions 'cuz I'm Evil Girl."

"Last one there is a rotten picklehead!"

"What's a rotten picklehead??!!"

"He's gonna DIE!"

Playground antics sure have changed since I was a kid.

Or HAVE they?

Fun With Language Acquisition

2008-07-17T20:07:00.001-05:00

Lance is 19 months old. Every day, he learns or attempts to learn new words. Lately, he has been fascinated with the magnetic letters we have on the fridge for him. His favorite letter is "E." He calls all of them "E."

While I am lying on the couch watching TV, I can hear the sounds of the magnetic letters clicking agianst the side of the refrigerator. Then the sound changes to the padding of his bare feet across the tile floor, through the kitchen, to me in the living room.

He looks at me with a very serious face.

"Eee..babble babble...Mama...babble babble...Eee....elp...oom...mama...babble..Eeee!"

He looked so concerned, and he was plainly trying to tell me something which needed my immediate attention.

"Show me, sweetheart!"

He took my hand, and led me to my bedroom, where the letter "E" was hidden in the darkness. He was trying to tell me that the letter E was in Mama's room, and he needed help getting it because it was dark.

How about that!

In Which I Expand My Blogging Universe

2008-07-17T15:12:00.004-05:00

Hi everyone!

I have begun blogging over at MomsMiami.com. (Oh, and I don't attempt to hide my true identity. My user name over there is "JenKSwan" if you want to find me!) It's a great new site for moms in the south Florida area to connect with each other. There are blogs, forums, galleries, and local resource information galore. If you're a south Florida mom, please come join us! Blogger Holly of Tropic of Mom also blogs over there, and last night she and I had the pleasure of attending a meet-up of some of the MomsMiami bloggers.

We met up at the Mr. Foods No-Fuss Meals. It was a TON of fun! If you're not familiar with it, it is a place where you go and assemble meals which you then bring home to cook the next day, or freeze and keep it for later. I had been wondering what all the fuss was with Mr. Food. I thought, surely it couldn't be much different from just going to the grocery store and making your stuff at home! Boy, was I wrong!!

Here I am with my completed Brocolli Ham and Cheese Quiche while I will be cooking tonight. My dear friend snapped this photo, and in her caption, she called me a "Rachael Ray Wanna Be." LOL! I just need some EVOO and to throw some salt over my shoulder!

You could select from an entire menu of what meal(s) you'd like to prepare. For this event, we were all allowed to make one meal for free, other bloggers chose to spend a little more money and do more. The ingredients are all laid out for you, and instructions are posted. I chose to make the "crustless brocolli ham and cheese quiche." It couldn't have been simpler! The instructions went something like this:

1. Put gallon-size ziploc bag inside tub
2. Add 1 level scoop of cheddar cheese
3. Add 1 level scoop of swiss cheese
4. Add 1 cup of pre-beaten eggs (which were stored in something like a salad dressing bottle, I simply poured into the measuring cup provided!)
5. Add 1 tsp onion powder (the onion powder already had the measuring spoon inside it)

and so on and so forth.

Once I assembled all my ingredients, I placed my sealed ziploc bag with my quiche innards into a refrigerator, and then I got to enjoy free wine and snacks.

Here I am with blogger Sherry North, who is the author of Because You Are My Baby.

I would highly recommend Mr. Food's No-Fuss Meals for people who like to cook but don't enjoy the planning and preparation. For me, the hardest part of preparing dinners for my family is NOT the actual cooking part, but trying to decide what meals to cook, and on which days to cook them so I don't waste ingredients. For example, there is a chicken dish I like to prepare that calls for chopped green onion. If I'm going to prepare that meal, I need to make sure that a couple other meals during the week also called for chopped green onion, because at my grocery store I can't buy them individually. Only in a large bag full, and most of the time I end up throwing them out because green onions aren't something I use a whole lot.

That problem is eliminated with Mr. Food.

It's also a fun thing for a girl's night out, or as an alternative for a baby shower. A couple weeks to a month before a woman's due date, get all her friends to chip in for a few week's worth of meals. All of you head on down to Mr. Food, enjoy each other's company while you prepare meals for the mom-to-be to take home and freeze. Then she'll have plenty of food available to her.

Anyhoo. It was a lot of fun, and I'm sure I'll be going back!

I'm Teething! And, Friendship is Awesome! And, Blogger Meetup Tonight!

2008-07-16T14:52:00.002-05:00

Hello, Blogfriends! What a nutty week it's been. I trust things have been going well with all of you?

I'M TEETHING!!!

A week from Friday, I am having my wisdom teeth taken out. And none too soon, either! For the past twenty-something years, these teeth have just been hanging out inside my gums, minding their own business, not bothering anyone. Every dental check-up, the doc would take a look and would say, "It's not time yet! Let's just leave them alone and see what happens." Well, at my most recent visit, he said, "It's time. You better get this taken care of as soon as possible."

Boy, he wasn't kidding. My wisdom teeth are starting to poke through, and golly gee whiz does it hurt!! All four are coming in simultaneously. My jaws will just throb in a pain and pressure which radiates through my entire head, behind my eyes, down my neck and into my spine, leaving my whole body feeling like there's someone scratching a chalkboard all day long. Know what I mean?

Our poor kiddos, they go through this for the greater part of their first few years of existence. What a rotten welcome to the world.

FRIENDSHIP IS AWESOME!!

Last night we had some friends over to spend the evening with us. Two of the four friends moved away about two months ago, but came into town because Mr. Friend had a business trip in the area, so he brought Mrs. Friend along with him. The six of us Friends used to hang out together a lot, and we were beginning to miss it! So although it's only been 6 weeks or so since we all hung out last (we all went out for a good-bye dinner when Friends #5 and 6 moved,) it felt like we had been reunited after years and years of separation. What's funny though, is that we Mrs. Friends might often go a couple months without all getting together because we were all so busy. One of the Mrs. Friends said that it took one of us moving away in order for all three of us to drop everything to spend some time together! To my surprise, it was true! So we enjoyed each other's company and had a great time. The three of us Mrs. Friends had also gotten together a couple days before to have lunch at the other Mrs. Friend's house, which was also a very sweet time for us to celebrate our friendship.

BLOGGER MEETUP TONIGHT!!

I am very excited to be attending a blogger meetup this evening. Our local newspaper is sponsoring an event for mommy bloggers in our area, and I have been invited by another blogger to attend! We will be meeting up at Mr. Food's No-Fuss Meals. There will be free wine and snacks, plus we get to put together a meal for our family at no cost. It's gonna be fun!! I'll let you guys know how it goes.

What a Day!

2008-07-09T13:14:00.002-05:00

We're back from our trip to grandma's! We had a very nice time, we did a lot of fun things, but I have to say it's nice to be home again, too.

At least, it was. Until this morning, when I tried to leave the house to go to the home of my tutoring students. My car didn't want to start. After a few tries, it started up just fine. Then I started driving and realized that my brakes are in pretty bad condition. I hadn't realized it before, but after a week of driving around a rental car, a 2009 Hyundai Sonata, I can now tell that my brakes are pretty much non-responsive. Not wanting to drive across town in a car that might not start up again and in which the brakes might decide to fail, I called the mother of the child I tutor.

"Can you bring your kids over here today for their tutoring session?"

"OK, but I can't do it now. I'll call you later. Will you be free this afternoon?"

"Sure."

"Great. I'll call you when I get back from my errands and we'll schedule a time."

Shortly after this conversation, Lance decides to go down for a nap. I decide to take a snooze, too, since I'm exhausted after all the travel. My phone rings while I'm sleeping. I don't answer it because I know Lance won't sleep very much longer and I will call the person back then. I close my eyes and drift back to sleep.

15 minutes later, a knock at my door. Bleary-eyed and fuzzy-tongued, I answer the door. It's my students and their mother.

"I called you and left you a message to tell you we were coming!"

"I was sleeping. I haven't checked my messages yet."

"I'm so sorry! Should we skip it?"

"No, come on in."

Her 4-year old bounds into the house screaming and yelling, and wakes up Lance. Grr.

While I am busy with her 8-year old, I have Lance eating his lunch in his high chair. Because he's all confused and doesn't know what's going on and I am in the other room, he starts fussing and squirming in his seat. The mother of my students thinks he must not be hungry, so she takes Lance out of his high chair, and...

She lets her 4-year old eat Lance's lunch!!!!!!

Can you believe it?

She could have asked me if her son could have a snack; after all, she saw me get out the huge container of goldfish crackers. We would have been happy to share. But no, she just gives her child Lance's lunch. Additionally, when we go to their house for the tutoring session, she doesn't so much as offer me or Lance a drink of water, so why should it be acceptable for her child to eat my son's lunch when she's at my house??!!

I managed to get through the tutoring session without anyone getting hurt. The 8-year old wouldn't keep her focus and only got through two worksheets when I had planned for her to do 3 math pages and 2 handwriting pages, in addition to going through her multiplication tables, which we are usually able to do in our hour-long session. So she got homework. Chuckle Chuckle Snicker.

Lance is sleeping again. I still have to unpack, make a grocery shopping list for this evening, make arrangements to get my car fixed, apply for a student loan for next semester, and find an oral surgeon to remove my wisdom teeth.

That's a lot to do in a short naptime.

Have a great day!

2008-07-06T20:54:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone.

Those of you who are of the praying sort- please send up a prayer for me! The last couple days I have been suffering from heat exhaustion, which is very unusual for me. It happened yesterday when my mom and I took Lance to see the aquarium and he was running around in the outdoor water playground. I became very faint and weak and we had to leave early. It happened again today when my sister and I were in the pool with Lance. Fortunately I recognized the symptoms, so I got myself inside into the air conditioning and drank some water immediately.

This is weird. No, I'm not pregnant-- just finished my cycle yesterday. Will schedule a checkup with my doctor when I get back home. In the meantime, I'm going to drink lots of water and try to stay out of the sun for prolonged periods.

Thanks!

When Hubby's Away, the Wife Will Play

2008-07-04T12:38:00.002-05:00

Hubby has gone off with my dad and a bunch of other friends to the 145th anniversary of the Battle at Gettysburg. We're civil war reenactors, you see. I would have gone along, but it's a long trip for Lance, and Gettysburg is *such* a big event. 40,000 reenactors plus their families, in many cases, all in identical white canvas tents. If Lance were to get lost out there, we wouldn't find him for days.

So I elected to come spend the week with my mom and my sister. So far, we have:

1. Made homemade play-dough and spent hours squishing it and rolling it into balls and snakes
2. Played with bubbles
3. Ran through the sprinkler in the front yard
4. Visited the swans and geese at the lake in the center of town
5. Had a "Sister's Night Out" in which grandma stayed here and put Lance to bed for me

Later this afternoon, Lance and I will accompany my sister to a 4th of July party held at the home of the pastor of her church. This particular gathering is the "young adult" group, so there will be people of my age there and a few who have children of their own. There will be pool volleyball, possibly jet skiing, and fireworks!

To come later in the week- a trip to the box office of our performing arts center to buy tickets for Craig Ferguson and Pink Floyd, a shopping excursion to the Downtown Disney Marketplace, and hopefully a visit with an old friend I haven't seen for nearly a year.

Oh and of course, lots of trips to Starbucks. Normally, Starbucks is a once-in-awhile treat. I figure, though, if Hubby can spend hundreds of dollars on train tickets to go do something fun without me, I can blow some cash on expensive coffee every day for a week.

So there.

2008-07-01T22:43:00.001-05:00

Visiting my parents for the week while Hubby goes to shoot Yankees.

Not the baseball players.

He's a civil war reenactor and it is the 145th anniversary of the battle at Gettysburg.

Lance and I are staying with my mom and sister, and we have big plans.

Aquarium, museum, parks, old friends...

It's going to be fun.

I may be absent from Blogland for awhile. Then again, maybe I won't.

See ya!

In Which I Prove AGAIN That I Am A Dork; Or, What's In A Name?

2008-06-29T21:38:00.003-05:00

I am such a dork. A big, huge, ridiculous, dork.

I believe I have mentioned once or twice that I'm in a rock band. *grin* Well, we rock band members often communicate via e-mail. Just a few moments ago, I received a message from one of the band members. The email was sent to the entire group although the content was directed at one member in particular. This member's name is Jon. My name is Jen. (I just like to pretend to be Guinevere Meadow. It sounds so much more mysterious and foreboding.)

Anyhoo. This email said "Hey Jon, please send us all the pictures you took at such-and-such an event last week."

Because I'm a dork and I didn't read carefully, I thought the message said, "Hey Jen, please send us all the pictures you took at such-and-such an event last week."

Trouble was, I wasn't at this particular event. I certainly didn't take any photos.

So I hit "reply all" and proved to the whole band that I can't read. I said something to the effect of, "Hey guys, I wasn't at this particular event, and I certainly didn't take any photos."

I am sure I will be mocked mercilessly for years to come. They're still mocking me for the time spell-check changed "Jen" to "Ken" and I didn't catch it.

To try and desperately recover some shred of dignity, I sent the following three emails to the group once I caught my blunder:

****
Oh for heaven's sake. I'm such a dork.

Ignore me, please.

Jon, Jen, Ken....

****
And would it trouble you all to know that just prior to reading Ivy's message and mistaking "Jon" for "Jen," I was writing a lesson plan to teach a kindergarten student about phonics and letter recognition??!!! Yes, I really was...

The letters are just swimming around on the screen. Perhaps I'm slightly dyslexic.

Ken, I mean Jen, I mean Jon, I mean Ron, I mean Rob, I mean.... who the heck am I??!!!!!

*****
and finally,

I hereby insist that we change the spelling of Jon's name to "John" so that I won't get confused again. Or maybe we could just rename him to something else entirely that won't be confused with anyone else in the band. "Eugene" perhaps, or "Geraldo."

-Jim Ken Jon Jo-Bob Billy Sue Luanne Suzy Q.

LOLOLOLOLOL

I'm glad I have a sense of humor and can laugh at myself.

In Which I Explain The Economics of Guinevere

2008-06-27T11:48:00.003-05:00

I am helping to improve the economy.

How? you ask.

Excellent question.

I am diversifying!

I used to shop for clothing at one store. Just one store. It was my favorite store. (Pay particular attention to the past-tense "was.") The sizing was always accurate, the clothes were of high quality and lasted, and were just trendy enough to stay in style for several seasons. I got lots of wear out of everything I purchased there.

I don't like them anymore. The last 5 times I have been in there I have been appalled at the rudeness and inconsideration of the store employees. Their promotional materials lie to me about what is and is not on sale. They advertise 2 skirts for $25, yet if you just want 1 skirt, it costs $29.50. HUH??!!

So I have been spreading my dollars to other sectors of the clothing market. I am helping to provide jobs for whomever it is that makes the clothing which ends up in my closet.

The great thing about it? At these other stores, I am one size smaller.

Makes it all worthwhile, doesn't it?

In Which I Contemplate My Dorkiness

2008-06-26T14:07:00.004-05:00

I am such a big dork. Allow me to tell you why.

I've never been one of these I've-got-it-all-put-together-and-I-always-dress-well-and-I-remember-everything moms. I am rather disorganized, in fact, which kind of surprises me because when I was a full-time college student, I was *very* organized. Then I had a kid and it all went out the window. I leave the house without checking to see that I have diapers in my diaper bag. I tell someone I'll be somewhere, then I forget about it completely. I freak out because I've lost my keys when they're actually in my bag the whole time. I meet someone out in public who obviously knows who I am,but I am completely clueless.

Well all this is going to change because as of today, I have something that those other moms have.

A calendar in which to organize myself.

Do I hear giggling?

Giggle away. I belong to a mom's group that meets weekly. (Well, we've taken a break for the summer but that's neither here nor there.) At least half of the moms who belong to this group are the moms who appear to have it all together, arrive with every hair in place, lost keys are never an issue, their diaper bags are well stocked AND they have a spare in the car just in case they have an extraordinarily rare lapse of thought, they always remember my name, and...they all have the same exact calendar. (Amy Knapp's Family Organizer.) I know this because our group is very active and we often do things outside of our regular weekly meeting. When it comes time to plan events, all these moms whip out their identical calendars, check their schedules which have been handwritten with perfect penmanship, color-coded for each family member, and I sit there and watch and hope I'll remember whatever it is we're planning. If I'm lucky, I've got the back of a receipt from the depths of my purse that I can scrawl down a date and time if I'm also lucky enough to borrow a pen from one of these super-moms sitting near me.

Today was my lucky day. I decided to take an outing with Lance to the bookstore because I received a 25% off any item coupon in my email inbox this morning. I decided to take the plunge and use that coupon not on the latest novel I'm dying to read or the new CD by my very favorite artist, but on something boring, practical, and very grown-up: a calendar.

Ha. Try buying a 2008 calendar in the middle of June.

I was about to be disappointed when I found it. At the very end of the shelf, trying to hide from me: The Amy Knapp Family Organizer. It was not a 2009 calendar like all the other ones around it; well, not completely. This calendar begins in July 2008 and goes through December 2009! SCORE!!! I'll be able to start using this calendar in about a week and a half. I'll definitely need it come August when I begin my internship.

So now I'm one of the cool moms. I'm a member of the club of moms-who-have-the-potential-to-have-it-all-together.

See? I'm such a dork!

In Which I Write a Week's Worth of Posts in a Single Day

2008-06-24T14:38:00.004-05:00

Well, I haven't been at my computer much this week, but I've been writing blog posts in my head.

Here is the reader's digest version. If it's possible for me to be succinct, that is.

* * * * * * * * * *

"Magnetic Monday"

I've been having so much fun with this magnetic poetry! Even though I have yet to actually make it on a Monday. LOL!

"If some were to demand that religion shimmer in electric glory, then they would never learn to whisper in patient belief."

And once again I am surprised at what my subconscious brings up when I write these. I had nothing in particular in mind when I stood at my fridge arranging words!

* * * * * * * * * *

"The TiVO Generation"

It becomes evident that your child belongs to a far more technologically advanced generation when at 18 months old, your son brings you the TiVO remote control because Elmo isn't in this particular scene of Sesame Street. No joking, this happened to me this morning. He knows that the remote control can fast forward the TV. All the other monsters were on the screen except for Elmo. Lance looks at me, points to the remote control, says "Elmo!" emphatically, and is only happy when I forward to the "Elmo's World" segment of the show.

* * * * * * * * * *

"In Which I Break Out of My Comfort Zone"

This week, my church is participating in a week-long event called Festival of Caring. Every small group (bible study groups, committees, musical groups, etc) in our church is performing a deliberate act of kindness for the community during the week, and on Friday we are hosting a gigantic block party for the whole city. (Amber, I bet you would ROCK at organizing something like this!!) Anyway, during the week they are asking church members to go door-to-door inviting people to our event. We are Methodists. Door-to-door stuff freaks us out. We just don't like it. Fortunately, they have brought in a team of people from all over the state who are trained to do just this sort of thing, so they pair us up with them. I did this Sunday evening. My husband and I, along with a trained team member, canvassed a street in our neighborhood. We passed out party invitations, asked if there were any prayer requests, and were on our way. I was surprised that I was actually able to do this! No one was rude to us. People were often cautious at first, but when they realized we weren't selling anything and were just inviting them to a party, most of them were very gracious. It was kinda fun to do something so out of character for me!

Tonight, my bible study group is preparing dinner for the trained team members who are camping out in our Sunday school rooms for the week! I've got a veggie casserole baking in the oven as we speak. Yum! I hope they like it.

* * * * * * * * * *

"In Which I Prove Once And For All That I Am, In Fact, A Rock Star."

The band that my husband and I are in will be playing music at this Festival of Caring block party, as described above. One of our other band members designed a poster to promote the event with a picture of us on it. It is a very professional-looking poster. (Nice job, Ivy!!) The posters have been hung in various places of business where people will see it and come hear us play. Only rock stars have their pictures on posters that people will see to advertise concerts. The fact that I am in this picture proves that I am a rock star. My face is all over town. Behold.

(If you can't make it out, the band's name, emblazoned across the top of the poster, is "Renanah." It's a Hebrew word that means "joyful singing and praises." Appropriate, no?)

* * * * * * * * * *

And there you have it. In which I write a week's worth of blog posts in a single day.

Bwa-ha-ha.

Am I Awful?

2008-06-20T12:32:00.002-05:00

It's 1:30 pm.

Lance is napping.

The housework is acceptably caught up.

There is a thunderstorm outside; no chance of me driving anywhere for the next couple of hours.

Can I have a glass of wine?

Magnetic Poetic

2008-06-17T11:03:00.002-05:00

OK, OK, so I know it isn't Monday. You can pretend it is just for the sake of this post. Yesterday, I just didn't feel like sitting down at the computer. It was a rainy, dreary afternoon meant for napping, so when Lance took his nap, I decided to have one, too, rather than blog. (Yes, I'm afraid napping is a priority over blogging. At least it is on rainy, dreary, afternoons.)

Here is the gem of the week:

She creates symbols of fiery grace with original rhythms and canvases of radiant color.

Once again I got a horribly lousy photo, so I decided to make it black and white and all contrasty, just for fun.

I got to thinking about what goes on in my head when I write these. Usually, I don't have any particular meaning in mind when I start playing with the words. I just pick out a word, find another word that sounds good with it, and then build it from there. I'm often surprised, however, at what I end up with. The subconscious mind is a very powerful thing. I think this Magnetic Poetic is my favorite so far. I think it sort of describes me. I sing in a Christian contemporary band, and our songs are often about the grace of God. I think anyone who knows God would agree that He is both graceful, and fiery at the same time. While I can't claim to be an artist creating original paintings, I do enjoy photography, so I often find myself capturing images of things in nature that make me think of the things of God.

Hmm. Very interesting.

Trouble With Checkups

2008-06-12T09:31:00.002-05:00

Today was Lance's 18-month old checkup. Up until now, he was a model patient. All the staff at the office just loved it when he came in because he didn't fuss or squirm or scream.

All that has changed.

I had to bring him in last week to have a burn checked out. The Dr. wanted me to bring him back this week so she could check to make sure it was healing well, and also to do his well-child exam at the same time. I think he was traumatized from last week's visit, and as soon as we walked through the door from the waiting room to the exam area, my easy-going, well-mannered child became a screaming, clingy monster. He screamed his little head off the entire time-- while he was being measured and having his temperature taken; when he was being weighed; when the doctor checked his eyes and ears.

Then they wanted to administer vaccines.

I said no, not today, thank you very much. My child is obviously very frightened.

One thing I like about my doctor is she values my opinion as a mother and doesn't fight me on things like delaying vaccines for awhile. ( I have been vaccinating him, but a little bit behind schedule. I don't want him to have too much too soon.) However, today they had to do a finger prick to check his blood for lead. We were supposed to do this at his 12-month visit, but things got crazy and I never made it to the lab, so she had the nurse do a prick today.

I don't know why this particular nurse is in pediatrics. She's apparently afraid of children and has little patience with mothers who want to hold their children on their laps instead of just dumping them on the table. Argh.

I didn't schedule his next checkup. I'm going to find another pediatrician. I like the doctor all right, but her staff is awful and her office is not well-supplied. It's dingy, smells bad, and since we've moved it's a half-hour away.

Sigh. We came home and I let Lance have a popsicle and watch Sesame Street. Now he's taking a nap.

Poor little guy.

My New Hobby!

2008-06-10T09:42:00.005-05:00

Now that I have a yard in which to plant things, I have decided that I want to try my hand at gardening. The previous owners left a very neat and tidy yard, with a nice privacy hedge about 7 feet tall on one side of the yard. The other sides are hedged on the neighbor's side of the fence, but there's still some privacy there.

In this hedge can be found a variety of butterfly and dragonfly species. Blogger Holly from Tropic of Mom, who also happens to be my very best friend in the whole world came over yesterday and gave me some ideas. She has a lovely wildflower garden in her backyard, and as far as I am concerned is the foremost expert in native Florida plants.

She suggested I plant a butterfly garden! She told me that to have a successful butterfly garden you need to have a variety of plants: the larvae/host plant for the caterpillar to eat and in which to build a cocoon, and the nectar plant for the adult butterfly. Fortunately for me, the nectar plants are gorgeous flowering varieties that grow very nearly year-round in our tropical climate. Woot! (Is that the correct usage of the exclamation "Woot!" I've seen it used around the blogosphere, but I can't say I know the exact definition.)

To begin my butterfly garden, I have planted two blue porterweed shrubs. Right now they are very low to the ground, but they should get taller and they will bloom with purple flowers that butterflies like to sip on.

It doesn't look like much yet, but I've seen these fully-grown and they are very nice! In case you're wondering why I put rocks all the way around it, it was because our landlord pays for a lawn service (thanks, landlord!) and I didn't want them to mow down my brand-new plants. I didn't dig a bed for these because there were already a couple of "dips" in the ground that we had filled with rocks to prevent ankle-twisting, so I just got a shovel and deepened the existing holes a bit. Once they get a little height, I'll take the rocks away, and maybe lay down some mulch.

Just to the left of this shrub, which is not shown in the photo, is the perfect location for me to dig a flower bed for a full butterfly garden. I have a great view of this area from my patio and from the window of my breakfast nook. It's a rather large area and will be a big project to prepare the soil, so I'll probably wait awhile. I also need to check to make sure it's OK to dig so close to the pool and find out if there are sprinkler lines down there.

Anyhoo. Holly loaned me a big stack of gardening books and I have been devouring them. I've learned which plants attract which butterflies and have figured out from there which of those plants would flourish in my yard. I'm so excited! Hoping to make a trip to a local nursery to see these plants in person, get an idea of price, etc. I'm thinking of growing the butterfly plants from seed in order to save a little money; we'll have to see!

Magnetic Monday

2008-06-09T12:38:00.005-05:00

I *love* Magnetic Monday!!

This week's gem of brilliance:

I want to believe in a silhouette of peace

Profound, isn't it?

And now.....the WINNER of the Magnetic Poetry Kit is...

Brento!!!

He had the coolest idea to use the magnetic poetry as "eco-friendly spray paint" and use it to write graffiti on bathroom stalls. He promises to photograph his "Magnetic Graffiti." He also left me the best wacky sentence:

Guerrilla poets wage war on dark, dank spaces.

So Brento, guerilla poet that you are, if you'll be so kind to email me your address, I will mail you your very own set of magnetic poetry. I'll be interested to see what sort of graffiti you can create with words from a Christian-themed set...lol!

To Nap or Not To Nap...

2008-06-08T16:21:00.002-05:00

...This is the question.

Lance can't seem to make up his mind if he wants to take one nap a day, or two. He's in that pesky sleep-transition stage that I just simply detest. I don't care either way, I just want him to make up his mind already!!!

Yesterday he only took one nap. For 3o minutes.

Today he took an hour nap. We didn't think he would go down for a second nap, but sure enough he did, and he's been asleep for another hour now.

I know I just need to be patient, that he will settle into a routine, just as he did when he went from napping on and off all day as a newborn to taking 3 naps a day: morning, afternoon, and a little evening snooze. Then, there was another awful transition time when he gave up his evening snooze and went to just a morning and afternoon nap. Now we're in another icky transition.

I'm a creature of habit. I know I should have learned by now that with a young kiddo, routine and habits are irrelevant. But I can't help myself.

Sigh. I'm sure in another week or so he'll get himself settled into a new routine. For now I'll just grit my teeth and get through one day at a time.

Another Fun Morning

2008-06-06T11:24:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, I had a fun morning.

Today, I had a fun morning! This is a good trend.

I met up with blogger Holly from Tropic of Mom for an impromptu mall outing. A few days ago, I saw a skirt I absolutely loved, but decided to wait a few days to see if I still wanted it. (Trying to stop my impulse buying!) Well, two days later, I still wanted it. I also had a gift card for Bath and Body Works that I was saving for their annual summer sale which is going on now. So I called her up this morning, found out she was planning on going to the mall anyway so we decided to meet up and do our shopping together.

I haven't had so much fun at the mall in a long time! Lance is at that stage where he no longer wants to ride in the stroller, but doesn't have the self-control for me to let him walk next to me. He'll run off, or yank things off the shelves. Today however, I kept him contained with goldfish crackers, a sippy cup, and a blue rubber ducky from Bath and Body Works. (It was $2. I think $2 is a VERY good price to keep a toddler happy in a stroller!)

It seems everyone is having their summer sales right now. The skirt I wanted was on sale, so I bought two of them. (I kind of had to, because they only gave you the sale price if you bought two. Grr.) I found flip-flops for Lance that were 2/$5. I got a pair of swimming trunks for Hubby that were also on sale, and then I made out like a bandit at Bath and Body Works. My gift card went a loooong way with all the great deals that were in there! I only had to pay $1.06 out of pocket for 11 items! It was great!

Lance is sleeping now; time for me to do a little housework and get some exercise. Have a lovely day!

A Fun Morning

2008-06-05T12:22:00.003-05:00

I hosted my very first playdate today!

A few times, I've had one of my girlfriends over with her child. That's different.

Today, I had three girlfriends over with their four children, ranging in age from 16 months to 2 1/2 years old. It was a blast! We all splashed around in the pool for awhile, then when the kids got hungry, everyone got out and we all sat down to lunch together. The kids all played in the house while the mommies got to chat about grown-up things. (It's nice to not have to refer to yourself in the third-person!)

I think we'll be doing this often! Lance and I get in the pool pretty much every day anyway. My friends all brought their own lunches over, so the only work I really had to do was, um, open the door and let them in.

They all had a great time, too! It's nice to have a break from your routine, especially when you are a stay-at-home mom to a very young child. It is work to keep up with a toddler all day *and* care for your house, so when the kids have friends over, they keep each other entertained so your mommy brain can get a little rest!

I have come to realize that caring for a toddler is much more mentally exhausting than physically exhausting. I realized this when I was washing dishes. Previously, washing dishes was a fairly mindless activity. I could sort of just "shut down" and put myself on autopilot, allowing my mind a short respite. Now with a toddler underfoot, your brain is always on the alert. Always paying attention. You don't realize how important those few minutes here and there of brain-rest can be until you don't have them anymore!

Anyhoo. It was a fun morning. Our kids had a good time, we got to laugh and chat with each other.

A very pleasant morning indeed.

Bob

2008-06-04T21:02:00.002-05:00

When I can't think of a good post title, I'll just call it "Bob."

I really want to write something fun, lighthearted, and witty, but I can't think of much to say, so I'll just ramble on and maybe something going on in my head will be of interest to you.

I can't stop thinking about chocolate cake. I'm craving a gigantic hunk of gooey, moist, chocolate cake with chocolate icing and a scoop of chocolate ice cream on the side. There's only one time of the month that I crave chocolate like this. Unfortunately, there is no chocolate cake in the house. There *is* a brownie mix, though. Is it crazy to make brownies at 10:00 pm?

Lance is figuring out how to pit one parent against the other. Oh, dear. Tonight I put him to bed. He quite willingly went into his crib, but he took offense to being left alone. (Most of the time he puts himself to sleep just fine. He might fuss for a few minutes.) Tonight though it was an all-out war. "DA-DDY!" "DA-DDY! Come rescue me from the evil Mom-lady!"

The man is weak.

But Lance is sleeping.

Did you know they have an American Idol game for the Nintendo Wii?? It has a microphone and it can analyze your pitch accuracy-- and you get feedback from the judges!!! SO COOL! Husband made fun of me, but if he's allowed to play Guitar Hero, why can't I play American Idol?????? I'll be dropping hints for this year's Christmas gift. lol!

There is an ant crawling around on my computer screen.

Speaking of ants, I occasionally find them in the bathtub. Why there? I would expect to see ants in the kitchen, but the bathtub? I don't get it. Maybe they're just particularly clean ants.

That's all I've got for now. Good night, world!

Update on Lance

2008-06-04T15:27:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, I posted about how Lance got hurt in our church nursery. (Since then, our senior pastor, our "education director" and one of the nursery workers have all called me personally to apologize and to assure me that nothing like that will ever happen again. It's very nice of them to apologize, but really? Too little, too late. I'm not the sort of person to hold a grudge, but it seems to me they're just trying to cover their bums.)

I took Lance to his doctor this morning and she confirmed that it was a 2nd-degree burn. She encouraged me not to keep it covered with a band-aid but to let it "breathe." However, in the car on the way home, Lance bit the blister open so I decided not to do as my doctor ordered. I brought him home, put more neosporin on it, and promptly covered it with band-aids. I left it loose right over the blister though, so some air will still get in.

He doesn't seem to be in too much discomfort, thank heavens! He doesn't like having his bandage changed, but once it's on, he seems OK.

I'm still fuming about this whole thing. I know nobody was trying to hurt my son, but that doesn't change the fact that someone hurt my son because they weren't thinking. The nursery worker who called me today admitted that she was the one who brought the glue gun in and left it unattended for a few seconds while all the kids were playing in the back corner. It seems she was trying to blame Lance for being a curious toddler and running up to examine the mystery object while her back was turned. She then proceeded to tell me how bad the other nursery workers are, how they don't pay attention to Lance, how they don't give him his food, how they don't see when he gets hurt, etc etc., trying to make herself look good. That doesn't exactly inspire confidence in the rest of the nursery workers!!

This is the same woman who is supposed to watch Lance for me 3 days a week while I do my student teaching.

I'm starting to rethink that decision.

Some Good News and Some Bad News

2008-06-03T20:54:00.003-05:00

The good news?

I found out where I'll be doing my student-teaching internship this coming fall!! I also got the grade I requested! (5th.)

The bad news? It is neither the school I requested, nor is it in the city I requested. We are allowed to make requests, and they say they will honor them if possible, but it's not guaranteed. I knew this going in, but...

I requested a particular school that is very close to my house. Additionally, I said that if I was not able to obtain a placement at that school to please place me at a school in my own city because I would be having to take my son to a babysitter every morning.

They put me in a school in the next city over. Grr. Now, it's not really that far because down here, the cities sort of bump right into each other, but it happens to be in the opposite direction of the babysitter's house.

Good news? Hubby said he would take care of dropping off Lance in the mornings so I wouldn't be in a mad rush at 6:30 am. (So Holly? You'll get a little longer to sleep each morning!)

I'm happy to know where I will be, just a little frustrated that they didn't honor either one of my requests. Did they even read my "special considerations" portion of my application? I think not. College faculty just aren't friendly towards students who have children.

Ah, well. It will be over before I know it and I will be a college graduate.

Yay!

Argh!

2008-06-03T14:53:00.003-05:00

Argh, grumble, rant, grumble, argh, bad words. Lots of bad words.

Is it too much to expect basic competence out of the people who care for my child while we're at church? We have a lovely nursery, staffed with lovely ladies who truly care for the children, but...

It seems there have just been too many "mistakes" as of late. I can forgive a mistake or two. I know that accidents are bound to happen whenever at least one child is in any given room. But when bad things continue to happen to my kid because someone didn't take the time to think something through, well, then I run out of patience.

This morning during my Tuesday Morning Moms group bible study, one of the nursery ladies came in to get me. Lance had gotten hurt. "Don't panic," she said. (Anytime anyone begins a conversation with the words "don't panic," PANIC!) "He's OK, he just stuck his fingers in the hot glue we were using for our craft today."

Ummm, excuse me? Did I hear you right? You're using a hot glue gun for a craft project for toddlers!!?? Yep, sure enough, they were. According to the official accident report, the ladies were working one on one with the children gluing macaroni onto something or other. Lance went up out of curiosity to the hot glue gun that was placed within the reach of infants and toddlers, stuck his finger in the glue that was dripping out of the end of it, and the end of his finger is now blistered and swollen.

I took him home right away, of course, and did my best to settle him down. A bottle of chocolate milk and lots of cuddling finally did the trick, but he was in some serious discomfort for a long time before he finally succumbed to sleep.

In what universe is it okay to keep hot glue guns in the reach of small children? They might as well have left matches and knives lying around.

Maybe I'm overreacting. This is the 3rd "incident" in recent weeks that has resulted in my child being hurt due to someone not thinking. A couple of weeks ago, he was scratched by another child. I realize that the ladies couldn't have prevented it, but they could have come to get me. They didn't think it was worth it. We didn't see him until he had been in the nursery for two hours and his face was scratched and red.

Not too long ago, I posted about the incident in which a nursery worker was found with a gun on his person.

I don't think I can trust the church nursery anymore. Isn't that a shame?

Magnetic Monday: Experiment With a Psychedelic Masterpiece

2008-06-02T09:33:00.004-05:00

It's that time of the week again! Magnetic Monday!!! Below is a photo of this week's magnetic poetry creations by me, Guinevere Meadow. (It is not one long poem, just several random phrases that I came up with during the week.)

Since they're kind of small in the photo, I'll translate for you. ;)

experiment with a psychedelic masterpiece
throughout my absurd waste of glory are metaphors of graceful passion
would my brother ask for every humble strength
the dark inner song

I am having a devil of a time getting a good photograph of my refrigerator. Trying to photograph white magnets on a white background in a dimly lit room is a challenge. I tried using the camera's flash, but it just reflected off of the fridge. Surprisingly, my pitiful camera phone was able to get a better photograph than my big, expensive, almost-professional level Nikon D70s.

Have you entered my contest to win your very own set of magnetic poetry? Hurry on up! To double your chances of winning, go visit my good friend Damselfly who is my partner in crime, er, in poetry...she's also giving away a set!

Do you already have a set? If so, please use it and photograph your work for us that we may all share in the fun that is wordcrafting. If enough people join in, I'll start a Mr. Linky. :)

He's All Boy

2008-06-01T21:42:00.003-05:00

Have you entered my contest yet?? Go check it out!

He's all boy, my little man. While he may occasionally pick up a doll to play with or want to wave a pom-pom in the air, it's things like this make me secure in the knowledge that my little guy is all man.

This evening, we were hosting our weekly bible study. There are 5 couples in the group who gather to have dinner together and discuss things of God. We're currently reading a book called "God Is Closer Than You Think" by John Ortberg. I highly recommend it. Anyhoo. As everyone was arriving, Lance comes into the family room and announces "I gotta BUG!" (Well, maybe not in those particular words, in fact it was more like "gibberish-gibberish BUG!" even though everyone in the room knew exactly what he was saying.) In his hands, he held a small dead lizard that he found in a windowsill. The men in the group think it will be funny if they encourage him to bring it to me. I hear a chorus of "take it to Mommy!"

Since Lance is such a compliant, willing-to-please child, he did so. He walked right up to me holding this dead lizard waving it around in the air, and...

drum roll, please....

He put it in his mouth.

I uttered profane, blasphemous things and somehow I managed to leap over the ten people who were milling around in my kitchen and land in the opposite corner, far far away from such disgustingness without hurting anyone.

All the women shrieked along with me. All the men starting guffawing and chuckling.

Thankfully, someone nearby to Lance was able to extricate the ex-reptile from his mouth.

That's my boy!

A Prize! A Prize!

2008-06-01T12:27:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone! Many of you seemed to enjoy the new blog feature that my friend Damselfly and I have begun: Magnetic Monday. I was very pleased with the reactions I got from everyone!

Except for one: too many of you bemoan your lack of a set of magnetic poetry.

So I plan to fix that.

One lucky blogger is going to win a set of magnetic poetry from me!! I purchased a Christian-themed set, the same one that Damselfly gave me as a housewarming gift, and I want to give it to one of YOU!

Here are the qualifications:

You may not already own a set of magnetic poetry. If you have one that you haven't used for awhile, dust it off and join us on Mondays!

You must leave a comment on this post or the next Magnetic Monday post letting me know you want a shot at the prize, and,

In your comment, you must prove that you have the wordcrafting skills necessary to fully appreciate such a prize by leaving me a creative sentence or phrase. See my very first magnetic poetry post for some ideas.

You may still enter even if your fridge is not magnetic. I'm sure you have some magnetic surface in your home- a mirror, your dishwasher, a filing cabinet?

The winner need not necessarily reside in the US. I know a handful of you live in other countries. You are absolutely eligible for this prize!

May the best writer win!

Letter to Lance

2008-05-31T12:32:00.004-05:00

My precious, precious boy,

A couple days ago, you turned 18 months old.

It's taken you months and months, but you have finally learned to call me "Mama." I wondered if you would ever figure out that "Daddy" was not my name, too.

You love to look for bugs when we go outside.

If we would let you, you would climb on all the furniture. You're such a little monkey!

Your favorite way to spend the evening is in Daddy's lap, drinking chocolate milk that he made specially for you. Then you climb out of his lap, climp up into mine, and we read stories together.

You love to fall asleep to the sounds of Norah Jones, Petra, Kenny Loggins, and Sting.

You have a whole roomful of stuffed animals, but your favorite is a small teddy bear that belonged to me when I was a little girl.

Your vocabulary has expanded to include the following words:

dog
duck
horse
bug
two
go
eat
up
sky
ball
book
drum
baby

You used to like going to Miss Beckie's for a haircut, but for some reason, you're afraid of it now.

You're also afraid of the vacuum cleaner, when it runs. If it's not running, you think it's great fun to pull all the attachments off of it and hide them around the house.

During a thunderstorm, I take you to the back patio and we sit under the screened-in porch and watch the rain come down. If it starts lightning, only then do we go back inside. Then we stand at the window and watch the storm pass by. Sometimes you get scared and you want me to hold you close, yet you can't take your eyes off the sky because it fascinates you.

The ladies who work in the church nursery just love you to pieces.

I can't say that I blame them!

You make my world a sweet place to be. Nap well, little one, and when you wake I shall scoop you up in my arms and kiss you, and you will smile at me-- the kind of smile that fills a mommy's heart with warm sunshiny love.

I've Had It.

2008-05-29T13:17:00.003-05:00

Enough is enough. I've had it.

People can be so inconsiderate it just makes me sick. It seems that I have had a personal, face-to-face encounter with every single person who never learned how to behave in public.

The last few days have been fraught with rudeness. The last straw today was when I was ordering my lunch at Chick-Fil-A, my favorite fast food place. I was standing there, placing my order, the cashier was pushing the buttons for "#1 combo with fries and large Coke" when someone walked right up and demanded a soup spoon.

Hello? Am I invisible? Am I mute? I'm in the middle of a word here, people, and this very impolite individual just barged right up without any consideration whatsoever. While I'm not saying she should have waited in line again, could she not have waited the 15 seconds for me to finish speaking? All I could do was stare at this person. Where are all the good comebacks when you really need them?

I wouldn't be surprised if when that person was a young child, their school report card said "Does not play well with others."

Guinevere's Thoughts On Shoes

2008-05-29T08:42:00.005-05:00

I am not like most women in the United States. (I am not familiar with the shoe-purchasing habits of women in other countries, but I imagine it is similar in other civilized Western nations. Please forgive me if I have offended a nationality by my comments on shoe purchases.)

I do not enjoy buying new shoes. Shoe shopping, to me, is a chore. It is something to put off until your other shoes have fallen apart. I do not have fifteen bazillion pair of shoes. A pair of sneakers, a couple pairs of sandals, one pair each of black and brown "dressy" shoes, and a pair of spiky-heeled boots for when the tigress in me demands to come out. ;)

Yesterday, my third pair of sandals fell apart so it was time for some shoe shopping.

If I didn't enjoy shoe shopping before toddlerhood, it is even much less enjoyable now. At least before I had time to stand still, my eyes savoring the sight before me, analyzing the pros and cons of each possible pair of shoes. Would they be comfortable? Would I be able to wear them with the clothes I had, or would the purchase of a particular pair of shoes necessitate the purchase of additional clothing?

Now, however, I have a squirming toddler in the shopping cart who doesn't like the cart to remain still. (You should see us in the grocery store. It's like those game shows where the people run up and down the aisles, throwing their items in the cart at lightning speed, not caring if they smush the bread with the three dozen eggs they just tossed in.) Yes, I buy shoes in stores that have shopping carts. Most specifically, Target. I hate shoe shopping, so I hate spending a lot of money on them.

But I digress. I am pleased to announce that yesterday, in record time, I found three pairs of shoes that are comfortable, will go with the clothes I have, look cute, and are comfortable. You see, the last couple of times I purchased shoes they looked fantastic but they blistered my feet beyond recognition. Why do we do this to ourselves? I don't get it.

I found a pair of simple black ballet flats,

sorry- this picture just did *not* come out well

some sandals with a low heel (some may call it a "wedge"- I'm not up on current shoe terminology),

and a fantastic leopard-print pair of flip-flops.

I live in South Florida, so flip-flops are a necessity. Additionally, my house is mostly tile floor, and tile can be really rough on your back. My chiropractor encourages me to wear shoes even when I'm in the house, and I've found that it really does make a big difference. So you see I love my cushy flip-flops. I'm wearing them right now, in fact.

So there are my thoughts on shoes.

Thanks for listening.

Fun With Daddy!

2008-05-28T14:15:00.005-05:00

Yesterday evening, Hubby wanted to go swimming. Since we have moved into our new house, we have spent many evenings together splashing around while the light of the day faded into a glorious sunset.

Last night, however, the water was just a little too chilly for my comfort. I decided that it would be a good opportunity to take some photos of my boys!

Daddy, throw me up, up, up, in the skyyyyy!!!!

What an impish little grin my boy gives me! I took care not to let any splashes ruin my digital camera!

We found this little fish toy at the local grocery store (weird) and Lance thinks it's great fun to chase it around the pool. He can't quite pronounce "fish," it comes out more like "bush" and is rather funny, as it goes.!

I love the expressions on their faces here! Lance is obviously Daddy's boy. (To my husband's extraordinary relief!)

Magnetic Monday: Never Create Sacred Moments Badly

2008-05-27T12:10:00.004-05:00

Remember when I talked about the magnetic poetry kit my good pal Damselfly gave me as a housewarming gift? Well, she had the fantastic idea that we should start a new weekly blog feature called "Magnetic Monday" in which we share our creations.

I know it's not Monday, but I had a party yesterday (which turned out to be lots of fun after all!) and didn't get around to it. Please forgive the poor picture quality; Hubby has still not hooked up our card reader to the computer (it is still residing in an as-yet-unpacked-box somewhere in this quagmire he calls an office,) so I have been relegated to taking a photo with my phone's camera which is pretty pathetic.

If you've got a set of these, feel free to join us every Monday (or whatever day you feel like it) in sharing our magnetic poetry creations!

It's My Party (and I'll cry if I want to!)

2008-05-25T16:55:00.002-05:00

Feeling bummed out. Hubby and I are supposed to be hosting a Memorial Day BBQ/pool party tomorrow for a large amount of our friends.

Two days ago, we found out that the vast majority of the people who were planning on coming over here decided to ditch us and go to someone else's party instead.

Are we in middle school, people??!!!! This party was primarily for the people in our bible study group. They were going to come over at 4, we would BBQ, play in the pool and enjoy each other's company, and then break off to do our bible study. We also invited some of our other friends from the church that are not in this particular study to join us for the BBQ. This was going to be the first party we threw at our new home. We were really excited about it; D and J do a Christmas party every year, we all celebrate New Year's at B and R's place, H and J have a 4th of July shindig, so we thought our house would become the place to be for Memorial Day.

So imagine my disappointment when I am informed by someone in the bible study group that "the group decided to go to C's BBQ instead and then we'll come to your house for the Bible study."

What!!!! I'm sorry, how can someone else cancel my event without asking me first or giving me a reason?

As I make phone calls to get to the bottom of this, I find out that C's BBQ has been planned for months and was also a surprise birthday party for one of our group members. C was supposed to call everyone in our group to remind us of this, but apparently she didn't because last week when we planned this whole thing, no one said , "Hey, don't forget about C's BBQ next week that we're all invited to." She certainly didn't call me, which is highly inconsiderate since I'm the one hosting the Memorial Day BBQ!

So I've been a little grumpy. Trying to take things in stride, but ya know what? It hurts my feelings just the same.

We're still having our party. Three people are coming.

We're going to have the best party ever, darnit!

That'll show them.

Mom SOS

2008-05-23T11:31:00.002-05:00

*warning: this post is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach.*

I need help from all you more experienced moms.

Lance seems to have a little stomach bug-- he woke up two nights ago vomiting, and he's had diarrhea for two days now. I can't get him to eat very much solid food AT ALL. I managed to get him to eat a few grapes earlier, but that's all he's had all day. I've been trying the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, apples, tea and toast,) but he'll have none of it. So in lieu of food, I've been giving him lots of liquids- mostly milk and gatorade, for the electrolytes. Should I worry about him not eating, or is this normal? Aside from the messy diapers, he doesn't seem to be in any discomfort. He's just as energetic as always!

This is the first time he's been sick like this- even as a newborn, he was never a pukey baby. Hardly ever spat up. So I'm at a loss for what to do!

Thanks in advance!

Random Blah-ness

2008-05-21T15:03:00.003-05:00

If you've been following me on Twitter, then you know that I'm sick. Nasty sick. Bronchitis, sinus infection, sore throat, etc etc etc. I like to call it "The Crud."

Anyhoo. I have been prescribed four medications to get me out of this crud: an antibiotic, an inhaler, a decongestant, and a nighttime cough syrup. I didn't have them all filled, just the antibiotic and and the inhaler because, hello? My medicine cabinet is stuffed full of decongestants and cough syrups and I am morally opposed to spending money on unnecessary medication.

I think I might audition for American Idol this next season if they hold auditions in Miami again. Just for fun. And heck, maybe I could land a record contract.

If I actually do this and make it to the finals, I would want to go on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson because he's just stinkin' hilarious. "It's been a great day for America, everyone!" "Has there been a MURDER??!!" "Have we got a picture of Paul McCartney?" So Craig, if you're reading this and I audition for American Idol next season and make it to the finals, please let me come on your show! Oh, and I'd also have to go on Rachael Ray because she is just awesome. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't know how to cook. At all.

The AC repairman is coming later. Our AC is working fine, but the unit is leaking water all over our garage. In the heat and humidity of Florida, I am assured that this is a common and easily fixable problem. (SO glad we're renting!! Landlord can foot the bill on this one!)

I guess that's enough Random Blah-ness for one afternoon. Lance is sleeping, time for another dose of meds.

Have a great night and tip your waitresses!

The reason I am not in bed right now...

2008-05-17T22:09:00.003-05:00

...is because this evening, the minister of music at my church asked, no BEGGED, me if I could please, please, help him with the conducting for tomorrow's choir and orchestra production. They did a performance tonight, and I thought it was remarkably good compared to previous performances by the same group, but he has to conduct both the choir and orchestra, which is quite a laborious task. (I apologize for that horrific run-on sentence. My brain is fried.) It's always best to have two conductors. I have filled in for him in the past when he has been gone for a weekend and I can read music. However, the Reverend must think much more highly of my musical ability if he thinks I can learn an hour-long choral production in one night.

So here I am, sitting at my computer with the CD in the CD-ROM drive (because the only other operational CD player in the house is in Lance's room) with my head buried in this music, circling the dynamic markings, checking for the repeat signs and codas, looking for time signature changes and praying to high heaven that I will be able to make sense out of this and be useful tomorrow.

(Here comes the part where I get all childish and whiny.) Tomorrow was supposed to be my day to sleep in. (My husband and I generally attend our church's Saturday evening service.) I've been battling an icky cough and I was really looking forward to relaxing tomorrow, but it was clear from the performance tonight that the choir really does need the extra help, so I agreed.

Maybe if I start saying "no" once in awhile, people will stop asking me to do outlandish things at the last minute like this... don't get me wrong, I like helping out, but this is a very big job and I have a small child to care for and a sore throat to nurse. Grumble grumble groan bad words.

Hopefully my bad attitude will be gone by tomorrow. Thank goodness for blogs, I can get all this rubbish out of my system and arrive at the church with a much better spirit.

A Peek Back in Time

2008-05-16T14:20:00.003-05:00

Lance will be 18 months old at the end of May.

I spent part of today going through my photo files. I was just uploading some new pictures, and decided to go back into last year's May folder to see how much Lance has changed. It's quite a shock. He went from this:

To this:

My smiling, joyful, full of bursts-of-sunshine boy.

Don't grow too fast, sweetheart. I don't want to miss anything.

Persecute Majestic Fish with a Loud Trumpet of Death

2008-05-14T13:46:00.004-05:00

Some very dear friends of ours gave us a set of "magnetic poetry" as a housewarming gift. (For those who don't know, it is a set of magnets. Each magnet has a word on it, and you can make up all sorts of sentences and phrases on your refrigerator. It provides hours of amusement.)

This was a particularly appropriate gift. You see, these friends have the same thing at their house. Whenever I go over there, I like to leave them a surprise. Sometimes it takes them a long time to notice that there is a new phrase on their refrigerator door.

I would like to share with you now some of the truly inspired words I have come up with. This set was themed to be "Christian" so it has words like majestic, eternal, heavenly, sin, God, etc. I intend to keep a running list, as I need some of these words to make more sentences and phrases, but I don't want to lose my work. Some of them are profound, some of them are just downright silly, and some may even be sacreligious.

not too patient she is
gentle and almost righteous
forgive everything
persecute majestic fish with a loud trumpet of death
they who teach weeping daughters will inspire eternal beauty through lessons of everlasting kindness

My sister left me the following gems on her recent weekend visit:
preach in a whisper
jesus save this bad man from hell
I command you to embrace only red singing angels and believe in radiant bread

tee hee hee. I can't wait until Lance is older and has writing assignments to do for school. Or when he has to write sentences using his vocabulary words. It'll be loads of fun.

As soon as Hubby gets my camera equipment hooked up to the computer, I'll take a photo of the side of my refrigerator and show you these works in progress. :)

To My Friend

2008-05-12T10:21:00.004-05:00

There was a misunderstanding this week.

We didn't realize how important it was.

Things you said were misunderstood. Things we said were misinterpreted.

It was awkward that evening, no one knew what to say.

I miss you.

2008-05-07T12:48:00.003-05:00

Maybe I'm a little too ambitious.

Maybe I just want yet again to show off the genius of my son.

Maybe I'm just sick and tired of changing diapers, but...

We're beginning to potty-train Lance. Not serious, hard-core potty training, but we're starting to introduce him to the idea. We bought him a little potty chair which we keep in the bathroom next to the "big potty," and we're starting to teach him the words associated with it. (He now points at the bathroom door and exclaims. "Pot-TY!" ) I change his diapers now in the bathroom, and have him sit on his potty for a minute. He seems to enjoy sitting on his potty, he just hasn't figured out yet what he's supposed to do in it!

I very nearly purchased pull-up training pants in the grocery store today, but I thought that might be taking it too far.

In a couple of months, I will be returning to school for my internship. It will be the equivalent of working a full-time job. Lance will be in the care of two very loving people during the day, and I would really like him to at least be on the way to potty-trained by that time. Many people tell me that boys don't usually train until they're 3 or 4, but I've also heard of many people whose little boys trained at 18-22 months.

Lance will be 18 months at the end of May.

So maybe it's not too ambitious.

I'm just not going to get stressed out about it. We'll see how it goes.

"Don't rub that sausage on your face!"

2008-04-30T13:15:00.003-05:00

Ooh boy, I'll get some interesting google hits on this entry!!

The other day, we were expecting to have some guests over for an evening meal, so we prepared some appetizers: chips and dip, veggies, and my personal favorite party food- cocktail wieners in BBQ sauce. We ended up not having the guests over because I hurt my back and had to go to the doctor right away (everything's fine now,) but anyway, we had a huge crockpot full of these little bitty sausages.

So we served them up for our own dinner. We cut them up even smaller for Lance and put them on his high chair tray. He devoured them. There was BBQ sauce dripping all down his face and down the legs of the high chair.

He got full, and then bored, so he decided to play with his food. He must have seen me putting on my makeup that morning, because I look over at him, and he is rubbing his face with one of these little sausages. All over his little face. BBQ sauce everywhere.

And then I utter a phrase I never thought I would hear myself say:

"Don't rub that sausage on your face!"

What are some of the weirder things you have said now that you have become a parent?

If It Were a Snake, It Would Have Bit Me

2008-04-29T16:51:00.004-05:00

It's been one of those days. One of those terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad days.

It all started innocently enough: a good friend suggested a fun outing. A local ice cream place was offering free ice cream cones today. So we packed ourselves up, strapped the kids in, and made the trek. We arrived, and they weren't open yet. Not for another hour.

So we decide to have lunch. The mall in which the ice cream place was located had a fun, kid-friendly place to eat complete with a play area!! Lance eagerly hops out of his stroller, starts to climp inside the tower, realizes he can't see me anymore, and freaks out. I have to climb up this toddler-sized tunnel and rescue him. I feel like a big old beetle trying to squirm through an antfarm.

Time to eat; Lance doesn't want to stay in his high chair but wants to sit on the booth next to me. OK, no problem, let's ask the waiter for a booster seat instead.

He climbed right out of it, over, under, on top of, and around, me. Made it impossible to carry on any kind of conversation with my two friends.

The check arrives! Thank goodness, let's get out of here, swipe my credit card, sign the receipt, pack up the diaper bag.

My keys have disappeared.

This is not good; I am at a MASSIVE shopping mall which is in fact a tourist attraction, I am over half an hour away from my house. Am I stuck??

Well, no, praise be to Lord Almighty that I have a spare key in my purse. This in itself is a miracle; I never carried my spare key before; it always hung on the peg by the door. When we moved, I stuck the key in my purse, and thankfully, it was still there. I would also be able to get into the house because I know the code to open the garage, but how embarassing to call my landlord less than a week after moving in and beg for a new key?? I dread making this phone call.

I ask every restaurant employee if someone turned in my keys. I leave my phone number at the front desk. I ask the guys at the cell phone kiosk if they've seen my keys. We beg the employee who is climbing around the play area to clean up after a kid who peed inside of it to look for my keys, the sweet man does so, but finds nothing. We scan the parking lot. We go into a neighboring restaurant, inquire if anyone turned in some keys, I leave my phone number there too.

Friends and I head out of the mall back towards the ice cream shop for our free ice cream, since it should be open by now. I'm not in such a good mood. There's a little black cloud hovering over me. I get my ice cream, offer some to Lance, he's not interested. I head back to my car, hoping against hope that my keys are inside of it. When we arrived at the mall, Lance needed to be changed so I plopped him on the front seat and could very easily have set my keys down on the car floor.

Grumble, grumble, bad words, they're not there. I walk back toward the ice cream shop where friends are keeping Lance entertained. I report that my keys are still gone. They give me appropriately sympathizing looks and assure me it will all be OK.

After friends finish their ice cream, we all head back to the cars because both babies (Lance and my friend's kiddo) are ready for their naps. Friends take a turn looking in my car for my keys. They don't find them either. One of the friends says, "Let me take a look in your diaper bag." I say, "Go ahead, I looked in there three times. Knock yourself out."

Wouldn't you know it, she found them??!! There they were, that whole time, in the bottom of my diaper bag, underneath a white plastic thingy that I had mistaken for the bottom of the bag, so I didn't look underneath it.

I felt immediately and terribly remorseful for leading my friends on such a wild goose chase and for being in such an unpleasant mood. Friend #2 is moving away in a month, so what could have been a fun afternoon turned into a miserable search with a grumpy stick-in-the-mud. (Me.)

My mother and sister must be laughing at me. Ever since I can remember, my mom has teased me for not finding things that I think have gone missing. One of her favorite phrases is, "If it were a snake, it would've bit ya!"

(So uh, Natalie? Please don't tell Mom about this...)

Oh and by the way, I injured my back a few days ago doing laundry, so any time that once would have been dedicated to blogging was instead dedicated to laying down on an ice pack. I've got a lovely bruise from where my chiropractor had to dig so deep into a muscle to get a knot out. So that's why I still haven't brought you pictures and stories of the move.

One of these days I'll get my head screwed on right.

Until then, I promise to always carry a spare key in my purse, and the next something goes missing, I'll ask Friend #2 to come find it for me.

All moved in!!

2008-04-25T21:29:00.002-05:00

Finally, at long last, we are moved in. As I type this, Hubby is over at the old apartment, gathering up the last couple boxes of random stuff and also painting the place back to white. Most of the boxes here are unpacked, though things aren't arranged exactly the way we like.

Pictures and stories to come. Going to bed now.

Moving Day Cometh

2008-04-19T10:42:00.002-05:00

Moving to the New House on Tuesday...busy with packing...and unpacking....and painting...and replacing cabinet hardware...and packing...and keeping Lance out of the pile of boxes...and packing...and cleaning...and keeping Lance out of the pile of boxes...and figuring out what to make for dinner when ALL my cookware is packed...and keeping Lance out of the boxes...

I'll be back in a few days, mmmkay?

hugs and kisses

2008-04-14T20:51:00.002-05:00

Lance is such an affectionate little boy!! Right now he loves to come up to me and hug my leg while I'm standing in the kitchen, cooking or doing dishes. This evening, my husband was making himself a sandwich, and I was standing in the kitchen just chatting with him about the day. Lance went back and forth between us, hugging Hubby's leg, then coming over to me and hugging mine. He probably did this 15 times! It was just so cute, Hubby and I were both laughing so hard!

He doesn't just hug. He looks up at you, into your eyes, and lets out a contented sigh. "Ahhhhhhh..."

He also likes to give kisses!! There's one little boy that Lance plays with several times a week. He tries so hard to give his little friend a kiss, but the friend freaks out a little bit. I imagine him saying. "Hey man, don't do that..." lol!

Tonight we were reading a bedtime story called "Babycakes." One page says, "Kiss my little babycakes on the nose." Usually at that point, I kiss Lance's nose. Tonight, he leaned into the book and kissed the picture of the baby!! Every time I turned the page, he leaned over and kissed the picture. It was just adorable. How I wish I could have gotten it on tape!

Florida Parenting Blog

2008-04-14T20:22:00.003-05:00

Hey, all you Florida moms--

My good pal Holly has started a blog for us Florida mommies. It's called Tropic of Mom and it's super-fantastic. (I hope she'll let me write over there! Please, pretty please, Holly? With a cherry on top??)

Grumble, Grumble, Moan, Grumble

2008-04-12T11:10:00.001-05:00

I have to get my wisdom teeth taken out.

Wah.

Of Drop Cloths and Good Intentions

2008-04-11T08:54:00.002-05:00

New house. New carpet. New owners=new paint jobs.

Paint jobs= drop cloths, painter's tape, levels and pencils (for marking off tape lines to create a cute little paint effect a la "Trading Spaces")

Ladders, trays, rollers, brushes...

Drop cloths.

Useless.

Big blue spot on new carpet in new house.

Painter's tape + popcorn ceiling = tape falling down around me the moment I step off the ladder. 20 minutes of my life wasted.

Useless.

Completely useless? No, I suppose I burned a few extra calories going up and down and up and down that stupid ladder.

Fallen tape?

Big blue spots on popcorn ceiling.

Argh.

It's too bad nobody had a hidden camera in there. I could have won a lot of money on America's Funniest Home Videos.

Update

2008-04-08T11:33:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I wrote about a troubling situation that occurred in our church nursery. Today, one of our pastors came to our weekly mom's group meeting and we discussed in detail the facts of what actually happened.

I am happy to report that much of the story that I heard and shared with you was blown way out of proportion. While I disagree with the church's decision not to inform us sooner, I also understand that they didn't want to cause a panic over something that really wasn't as big of a deal as it has been perceived. (I know there are some who will disagree with me about that last statement.) There were also some legal considerations they had to deal with.

The church has taken steps to ensure that things like this will not happen again.

Unfortunately, stereotypes, racism, and sexism are alive and well in our society and even in our churches. Those issues combined with a specific situation caused fear, panic, and anxiety. Some people have chosen to leave the church as a result of misinformation regarding this situation.

I believe that Lance is as safe as he can be in the nursery, and is cared for by people who truly care about him. While it's true that at any time something tragic can occur, I will not allow myself to live in fear of what might happen. If I did that, I would never step outside of my own front door.

I am, however, going to write a letter to the proper administration informing them of my displeasure in the way the situation was handled. They waited way too long to inform the parents of what happened, and action was not taken soon enough to rectify the problem.

Can This Be Real?

2008-04-07T12:31:00.002-05:00

I'm in a state of shock.

I found out this morning that recently, one of the workers in our church nursery brought a gun to the nursery and was showing it to the children.

He was told not to bring it again. He was not immediately fired on the spot, even though such a thing is a crime. I have heard that he no longer works in the nursery, although I don't know if he was eventually fired or if he resigned.

I don't know if this happened when my son was there or not.

Tomorrow morning during our weekly mom's group meeting, someone from the church office is going to come and give us the facts of the situation. Unfortunately, rumors and gossip have already made the rounds and I've heard a few different stories about this particular nursery worker.

I want to withold judgment, but at the same time, I'm a little bit scared to take Lance to the church nursery. If my son isn't safe in a church nursery with me in the next building, where is he safe??

Please pray that God will give me wisdom and discernment to see the truth through the lies, and also pray for the children's safety tomorrow. I don't want to live in fear, but neither do I want to put my child in danger! I will update you with more info as soon as I have it.

Run, Lance, RUN!!!

2008-04-04T08:50:00.001-05:00

Last night we attended the Mercedez-Benz Corporate 5K Run. Hubby and I were "support staff" for the runners-- he manned the food table, I took a few pictures and recorded everyone's time. We brought Lance along with us-- the race site was in a lovely park in downtown Ft. Lauderdale along the Intracoastal Waterway. I knew Lance would enjoy seeing all the big yachts going by.

Here is a picture of Lance and I sitting comfortably under our team's tent. Yes, he has a monkey on his back. (I just love baby leashes! It was nice to be able to let him down and walk around without being afraid that someone would snatch him or that he would wander away from me. For the most part, he stuck close to us, but he liked seeing new people and exploring the park, too!)

There was a little stage area where a DJ was set up. Lance likes to dance to music, so I took him up onto the stage during "I Will Survive" and he was a little dancing fool. Unfortunately I have no pictures of it, but it was just too cute!

Stop the world, please...I'd like to get off...

2008-04-03T11:23:00.002-05:00

My head is spinning. Whirling around wildly, threatening at any moment to liberate itself from the confines of this mortal body.

Yesterday: Doctor appointment in the morning, trip to the New House to drop stuff off in the evening.

Today: Music rehearsal with kid in church band.

Tonight: Participate in Hubby's Corporate Run; I'm taking pics of the athletes, he's running the food table

Tomorrow: Hope Pregnancy Center fundraising benefit dinner, must make hair appointment and find shoes to match dress, arrange to pick up babysitter sometime between the two.

Saturday: Work at New House (painting, install new cabinet hardware, drill hole in pool deck for the baby gate, put up curtain rods) Church service in the evening

Sunday: Band playing at local homeless shelter

It usually takes me a whole month to do all that stuff. This is going to be one memorable week.

Ride, Ride, Ride, Hitchin' a Ride

2008-03-29T20:50:00.002-05:00

My little boy is growing so fast! *sniff sniff*

2008-03-27T12:16:00.002-05:00

WHO is the person who developed sliding doors?

They obviously didn't have a toddler. Even with a stick of wood jamming the door, Lance can open it. See, he's smart. He simply picks up the wood, drags it through the house, hits things with it, then smears his grubby hands all over the glass, licks it, then finally opens the door. Yes, he can reach the lock and has seen how to open it. Clever little kiddo!

Or in his room-- his closet is sliding mirrored doors. I was very foolish to place his crib up against the closet doors. (At the time, I thought, "if I put the crib here, then he won't be able to get into the closet.") Now I'm thinking that would be preferable to him standing in his crib and opening and closing and opening and closing (I mean slamming) the door to protest his naptime.

Someday I'll look back on this and laugh. But not today.

Chiropractic GENIUS

2008-03-26T09:20:00.002-05:00

I stopped by my chiropractor's office yesterday. Not for an adjustment (although I'm due for one soon,) but to look at a piece of furniture he's giving away. He knows that we are getting a new house, and he had a cabinet that he was going to be getting rid of. He asked me to come by and take a look at it and see if we could use it.

We can.

But that's not the point of the story. While I was there, I mentioned to him that Lance had a little bit of a cold.

Did you know that chiropractors can greatly relieve cold symptoms with a few spinal adjustments??? For BABIES??!! I held Lance, and the Doc gently worked the muscles around Lance's spine and also some in his neck, effectively allowing all the "gunk" to drain away. Lance was much better afterwards! I have not had to give him any more cold medicine. His nose is still a little drippy and he still coughs now and then, but he's improved immensely since his adjustment.

I wanted to share all of this with you because not a lot of people would consider chiropractic care for things like colds and flus. I didn't know about it myself until I met my chiropractor at my church. I started going there because my back and hips got all torn up after having Lance. In this last year of going there, I haven't been sick once. At the first sign of a cold or sinus infection or whatever, I make an appointment, the Doc works his magic, and I am better.

I wish more people knew about this. My primary care doctor never suggested chiropractic care. I guess some people are a little leery of "alternative medicine" but if it works, I say go for it!

Doc says the reason chiropractic care is effective for colds is that the nervous system runs through the spine, so if something in the spine is out of alignment, your nervous system won't work effectively. Makes sense! So while I can't say that my cold (and Lance's) was wiped out immediately, Doc made it so my body was able to heal itself much more quickly, and without the use of chemical medication.

I found this website that answers some basic questions about chiropractic care. Let me know what you all think!

Thanks!

2008-03-21T10:23:00.002-05:00

Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday!

Remember awhile back when I posted a picture of this shirt? Well, Hubby got it for me for my birthday! He also bought me two other shirts, one that has a diagram of a chocolate molecule, and the other one that has binary for "Mommy" on it. (He got matching t-shirts with binary for "baby" and "Daddy.")

Yes I am a geek.

But I'm a geek with a cool shirt.

Happy Birthday To Me!!!!

2008-03-20T09:42:00.002-05:00

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Guinevere....Happy Birthday to you!"

I'm 26 today.

Birthdays are fun!!

Going to hockey game with Hubby and Lance tonight, then Sunday night Hubby's taking me out to dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant! Friends treating me to lunch at a fancy "tea room" where we have to make reservations and get babysitters! Yeah!!!!

Lance is sleeping now, so I'm going to go make myself a cup of coffee and watch TV. Because I can. Because it's my birthday.

Teething!

2008-03-18T12:59:00.002-05:00

Poor Lance. He's working on four teeth. Simultaneously. Along with the pain, he also suffers from a runny nose while teething. I don't know why this is, but every time a tooth is about to poke through, the kid turns into a faucet.

On the brighter side, once he gets a few more teeth, I can start giving him more and more real food. I'm sure his digestive system is ready for him to eat more than he does, he just doesn't have the teeth for it! Although his gums are awfully strong!

Gotta run. Having guests over in a little while. Have a lovely day!

Oh, the Fatigue

2008-03-17T10:45:00.002-05:00

I can tell it's been awhile since I've done any regular exercise. How, do you ask? Well, because I feel completely exhausted and without energy. It's just mean of nature that when our bodies most need exercise, we absolutely Do.Not.Want.To.

I was so good for awhile! Lance and I would take nice long stroller walks in the morning, and during his morning nap I would vigorously do the housework that needed doing, and I had tons of energy. Then I got sick for a couple days, broke the pattern, and now I sit around in my PJs all morning until he goes down for his morning nap, then I go back to bed, and inevitably when we wake up, I feel worse than I did before. By then, the day is half gone. I'm so lazy!

I need some motivation. Help!

I Heart Yard Sales

2008-03-15T09:45:00.002-05:00

Yard sales ROCK. (I've been using that word a lot lately. In my last 3 comments to other bloggers, I said that something-or-other-in-their-post-that-inspired-me ROCKED.) Mourning my youth, perhaps?

Anyway. Our church youth group does an annual "garage sale" in our fellowship hall. (Why don't they call it a "Fellowship Hall sale?" lol!) I went over there this morning, and found a fantastic chair and ottoman for the grand total of $20.00. The chair is a beautiful navy blue, is in great shape, and is comfy! Best of all, it coordinates with the furniture we already have. It is going to be my chair. Hubby has a hideously ugly (albeit super-comfy) beige recliner which I always sit in during the day when he's not home, so now I can have my own chair.

Sweet!

Oh, I also scored 4 hardback books for $.50 each. That also rocks. See, I'm a bit of a book snob. When possible, I prefer to buy hardback books. Why, do you ask? Because when I find a book I like, I read it over and over and over again. There is one particular book that I have had to replace three times because I wore it out. So while it's true that paperbacks are cheaper than hardback books, by the time you have purchased a third copy, you might as well have sprung for the hardback.

It's been a pleasant morning.

(I'll post a picture of the chair later on. I have to send Hubby back to the church to go pick it up because the chair wouldn't fit in my teeny tiny car!)

On Being a Trekkie

2008-03-14T12:51:00.004-05:00

Tee hee. I'm not the only one!

Apparently among mommy bloggers, there are many of us who enjoy the same guilty pleasure. Many more than I would have imagined!

There are Trekkies among us. In my blog party post, I mentioned that I liked to watch reruns of Star Trek: Voyager. I was amazed at the number of comments I received from people who had similar likings to mine! (And yes, if you so much as know what a tribble is, you are a trekkie, whether or not you want to admit it! lol!)

Why have we not discussed it before? Why are we afraid to admit it?

I'll begin.

Hi, my name is Guinevere.

Hi, Guinevere.

I'm a Trekkie.

I don't think there's a 12-step program for us. We just need to be woman enough to admit that we have a problem!

Maybe it's not so much of a problem.

So I get excited by things like temporal anomalies and stellar phenomenon. Yes, I wish someone would hurry up and develop transporter technology. And a holodeck! Apparently you do too!

Tee hee. Glad to know I'm not alone!

Live long, and prosper.

Ultimate Blog Party 2008!!

2008-03-13T10:28:00.002-05:00

I can't believe it's that time again! In fact, I almost missed it! The Ultimate Blog Party 2008!!

I do believe that I met most of my regular readers at last year's party. Wasn't it fun!!

Anyhoo. For anyone visiting for the first time, WELCOME! My name is Guinevere Meadow. I have a wonderful Hubby and an adorable 15-month old baby boy I like to call Lance. Currently, I stay at home with him, but I have plans to return to school this fall and finish my degree in elementary education.

I am short with brown hair, and I like strawberry banana smoothies. I sing in a band at my church and Hubby plays guitar. I was a big dork in high school, but I earned myself a full-ride scholarship with the grades I earned because I didn't waste my time partying with people who are miserable and sad.

I like to cook and to take pictures. I sing whenever I can, whether or not anyone is listening. I like to watch reruns of Star Trek Voyager. (I guess I'm still a big dork.)

Now tell me about yourself! I hope we can be friends!

Daddy's Boy

2008-03-13T10:13:00.003-05:00

There's no question about it, Lance is a Daddy's Boy. This kid loves his daddy like nobody's business. Here is a picture of them wearing father/son t-shirts. In case you can't tell, Hubby's shirt has "v1.0" and Lance's has "v2.0." Did I mention that Hubby is a computer geek for a living? Those shirts came from a website called thinkgeek.com.

From the time Lance was a newborn, he would always go to sleep for Hubby much more easily than for me. Hubby had the knack of holding him just the right way to get him to sleep. Even now, most of the time it is Hubby that puts Lance down for the night. I do the bath and jammies, but Hubby takes him into his room and puts him in his crib.

Two nights ago, we switched. Hubby did the bath, and I put Lance to bed.

Lance took offense to this. Usually, he goes to sleep without too much complaint. He may whimper in his crib for a few minutes, but then he quiets down and settles himself to sleep. Not so this night. As I closed the door to his room, the wailing began. Lance's wail sounds eerily like an ambulance siren. (So much so that one night an ambulance actually went by, we thought Lance was crying so we went in to check on him!) Anyhoo. Between siren-like wails, he started calling for Daddy.

He has never done this before. He will say "Daddy," but this was the first time he called Daddy. It was a call to be rescued from the evil Mom-Lady. "Daaaa-ddyyyyyyyyy.....Daaaaaaa-ddyyyyyyyy."

Just heartbreaking I tell you. Lance was very unhappy that Mommy was the one to put him to bed.

After a couple minutes though, he quieted down and settled himself to sleep.

Good boy.

Bragging About My Son

2008-03-11T14:34:00.003-05:00

Here is a list of things that Lance can now do that make me very proud of him:

1. He can draw a picture! We bought him those new crayons that look like an egg so the kid can wrap their whole hand around it. While he enjoys eating the tip of the crayon, he also likes drawing pictures. I've written the date on the first picture he drew and I will save it forever.

2. He misses me when I'm gone!! Lance never exhibited any kind of separation anxiety, which while on one hand I am very grateful, I couldn't help but wonder why he was not upset that I was leaving. Now, when I go to pick him up from the church nursery or a babysitter, he drops when he was doing, runs over to me, throws his arms around my head and gives me a big hug! It's the sweetest thing.

3. He can point to various body parts. He can show you his nose, his ears, his mouth, his tummy, and his head. Oh, and when he shows you his mouth, he opens wide and says "Ahhhhh" a la dentist visit.

4. He can get himself up and down the stairs with minimal assistance! This is important because we live on the second floor, and it was getting very hard to try to carry him in one arm and the diaper bag and my purse and anything else that needed transporting in the other. Getting up the stairs after a grocery shopping trip was particularly anxiety-ridden. He still needs to hold my hand, and it takes forever, but he can manage the stairs now. Yippee!

5. He likes curry. I was shocked. Hubby made a South African dinner for us a few nights ago, a dish called "bobotie" which is heavily seasoned. We gave a little bit to Lance to try, and he gobbled the stuff up! Go figure. (He won't touch plain old potatoes. The kid likes his food to have flavor!)

This photo was not from the curry dish. This was from lunch today, some left over pasta and meat sauce. My little spaghetti-face!

I am so proud of my little boy. *smug grin*

Google Searches

2008-03-06T11:15:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone.

(No, Anne and Amber, the ants did not "et" me. We have called a cease-fire. Currently regrouping!)

Sorry to disappear for a little while. I've had a number of projects to work on which has taken time away from blogging. We're getting ready to move in a couple months, so there's lots of preparations, and I'm also working on putting together new music for our band to do for Easter. It's taking more time than I expected.

Anyhoo.

Here is a list of recent google searches that have led people to my blog.

cake stuck to pan crumbled recipe

pickles and ice cream baby shower theme

can you feel dilation and effacing

2 cm thin cervix blogspot

sipping pina coladas

things that go with easter

im sleepy

guinevere blogspot

I never cease to be amused by such things.

Must get back to work. Things should quiet down once we get settled into the new house. I'll be popping by as often as I can!!!

They're BUGGING me!

2008-02-27T14:12:00.003-05:00

Hello blogworld. How are you? What's new? Anything exciting?

I've just been so busy this last week. Crazy busy. Working on some new music for church, making plans for the new house, going to various appointments, and just generally keeping the house running.

Speaking of keeping the house running, I've had to call the pest control people out twice and I STILL HAVE AN ANT PROBLEM. It's driving me crazy. We've been living here almost two years, and only in this last month have ants been a problem. If a crumb of food falls to the floor and stays there for a maximum of ten minutes, the ants have already found it. That just seems a little extreme. We're talking a single cheerio here, people. Lance drops one. I don't notice it, so we go play in the other room for awhile. The other room gets boring, so we go back to the living room where a veritable colony of ants have descended upon this single, lonesome, vulnerable, unprepared cheerio.

Or imagine for a moment that I have used a knife to slice up a block of cheddar cheese. Since Lance is hungry, I immediately go feed him and I leave the knife laying on the cutting board while he eats. In 15 minutes I return to the kitchen to clean up, and there are ants crawling all over this knife trying to get up the last bits of the residue clinging to the knife for its very life.

First, the pest control people squirted this goopy stuff in corners of the kitchen. Apparently it was food for the ants which they would take back to the nest, share it with the queen, and everyone would die.

They didn't.

Then they came again at the end of the week and sprayed some icky, smelly chemicals all over my house.

Those ants are still alive and kickin'. I swear, they have a conspiracy against me. They just won't die!!

I guess the only good thing to come out of this is that I have suddenly been forced to become a much better housekeeper. I'm using up an insane amount of Clorox disinfecting wipes, and I ensure that all leftovers get packed up or thrown away immediately. After Lance eats his meals, I lay down on the floor and wriggle on my belly like a snake, examining every square inch of floor to make sure that not a single stray crumb is allowed to draw the attention of The Ants. After I slice cheese, I immediately rinse off the knife and submerge the cutting board in hot, soapy water.

I declare war.

Aggravation. Grr.

2008-02-21T21:08:00.004-05:00

edited to add:: *Warning: It's my blog, and I'll whine if I want to. Lest you think I'm a spoiled brat, please know that when I wrote this last night I was bone-tired and patience-less. I realize there are women whose husbands are serving overseas and they are totally alone with their kids. I completely admire and support these women, because after the 4 days described below, I know how difficult it is to be the only adult in the household trying to care for a young person. Also, please know that I am not angry with my husband. It is not his fault that the leaders of his group imposed three nights of rehearsal in a row.*

/end soapbox

I'm aggravated.

Aggravated, irritated, all-twisted-up-in-a-knot ticked off.

Hubby has joined another music group at our church. (Gasp! How horrible! Just kidding. That's not why I'm frustrated.) He's been a member of this second group for a number of months, and it's been great. He's had a wonderful time. This week, though, has just been tough.

This is the fourth night in a row he has been away at practice and has not returned before Lance goes to bed. The first night, Monday, was the rehearsal for the band that Hubby and I are both in, and for which we hire a babysitter. Tuesday and Wednesday he had extra practices for band #2 and tonight was their regular rehearsal. The Tuesday and Wednesday practices were supposed to be "just a run-through of one song." Both nights he was gone for over an hour. Tonight is the group's regular rehearsal which runs 2 1/2 hours.

I don't want to begrudge him his church involvement, but I've felt like a single parent all week. I was telling a friend about this and she started laughing at me. She works nights and was saying that she never sees her husband, and she was totally unsupportive. I know she wasn't trying to be mean, but my feelings were pretty hurt by this. She has chosen that lifestyle of working nights and not seeing her husband. But she is not alone with her one-year old for fourteen solid hours.

I'm okay if once in awhile Lance and I have a long day together. Maybe I'm spoiled. Hubby gets home at 6:30 each day, and just simply having another pair of eyes and set of arms makes a HUGE difference. Hubby often will do the bath and bedtime routine so I can get a bit of a break in the evenings. Lance usually goes to bed at 9:00, so it's only 2 1/2 hours of my day that are any different when Hubby has these long days, but let me tell you, those 2 1/2 hours certainly make a HUGE difference!

Now, though, after 4 days in a row of this, I'm beat. Purely worn out.

I want my mommy. Waaah.

Wordless Wednesday: Day at the Zoo

2008-02-20T21:10:00.003-05:00

Lions and tigers and bears...who cares? The water fountain is *much* more exciting!

Although it sure was fun to feed the giraffe!!

Dude, look at that!

Yeah, I saw some of those in someone's yard once. Or twice.

But those didn't move.

Dude, you're right.

Awesome.

Our House is a Very, Very, Very Fine House

2008-02-18T10:24:00.004-05:00

...but there won't be two cats in the yard!! (maybe a dog, later on.)

I am pleased to announce that the Meadow family is getting a house!! On May 1st, we will be moving into this lovely 4-bedroom 2-bath house with a lovely backyard and swimming pool!! We will rent it for 2 years, and then we will be able to buy. A friend of ours owns the house, so we're getting a really fantastic deal. A portion of our monthly rent will go towards a down payment. Plus, we're locking in a purchase price now, which will most likely save us a ton of money, as the housing market is expected to go back up by the time we'd be able to buy. I'm SO PSYCHED!!!

(Those are our friends Ivy and her son Cole. She's going to help me plant a garden!)

Where Have All the Naptimes Gone?

2008-02-14T20:02:00.003-05:00

It's my own fault. I didn't appreciate it when I had it. How does the song go, "Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone..."

If only I had known, I wouldn't have stood over your crib, begging you to wake up...

It was too late that I learned my new philosophy. "Let sleeping babies lie!"

I think one of the naps is being phased out. I've been very spoiled by Lance. At 14 months, he still takes both a morning and an afternoon nap. Each nap is between an hour and a half and two hours. I'm one lucky mama.

Not so the last few days. He's still taken two naps, but each day they grow shorter and shorter. It seems like he is on the verge of phasing out a nap.

There are upsides to this. I have more freedom to do things during the day. My schedule does not revolve around naps as much as it used to. Also, on the days in which he has napped less, he has gone to bed earlier. Tonight he went down at 8:00, a full hour earlier than usual. He was so exhausted, I didn't dare keep him up just for the sake of enforcing a bedtime. (I just pray he doesn't wake up an hour earlier tomorrow morning!! I can wake up any time as long as the sun is already up. An hour earlier than his current wake-up time will still be dark, so that just won't work.) Along with growing out of naps, Lance is growing more and more independent, so I can do things that before I could only do while he slept. Thus, his lack of sleep is not as detrimental as it would have been.

But oh, how I shall miss those two long naptimes during the day!

Whenever baby #2 comes along, I will make sure to rejoice in every single minute of napping that occurs.

There are just so many things I would do differently if I had only known...

What I'd Wear Wednesday: Blogging T-Shirt

2008-02-13T10:00:00.003-05:00

Damselfly is hosting "I'm Sincere!" week over at her blog. In order to facilitate the communication of our admiration for fellow bloggers, we are asked to write a blog post in the style of a blogger we admire.

Since I admire Damselfly in so many, many, ways, I am writing a post in honor of her.

What I'd Wear Wednesday!

This shirt from Thinkgeek.com. In classic black and white, it sets the world on notice that anything that is seen, overheard, or eavesdropped upon is fair game for blog fodder.

How many times have you been at the park, in the mall, or someplace else equally public and seen something incredible, and your first thought was, "I've GOT to blog about this!" It's happened to me fairly regularly. With this shirt, everyone has fair warning.

If you'd also like to write a post in honor of a blogger you admire, go visit Damselfly and get your instructions. Also, if you write a post, you get to snag this button:

Buttons are fun. Also make sure to let the person you're sincerely imitating know that they are being sincerely imitated!

A Birthday Surprise!!

2008-02-11T14:22:00.000-05:00

Today is my husband's birthday. He'll be 36!! ;) I am very proud of myself because I have planned a lovely birthday surprise. Well, it's not a surprise anymore because a couple people let the cat out of the bag, but it'll still be nice!

I've arranged to take Lance to a friend's house this evening so Hubby and I can enjoy a nice meal together. I am going to prepare Chutney and Cheddar-Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Smashed Potatoes.

I have never made this recipe before, but I watched it on Rachael Ray, and I think I can manage this one. It looks SO YUMMY, and Hubby loves anything with chutney in it. He's from South Africa, and they use chutney very frequently as a condiment or sauce. ANOTHER thing I'm proud of is that I found a very nice South African wine. Hubby always checks the wine aisle at the grocery store and even the liquor stores, but he has a hard time finding good ones. Well, I went to a small market called The Fresh Market (I don't know if this is a major chain or just something local to my area) and they had a display of South African wines. The particular kind I got was made in limited quantities and flown over specially for this market, so I hope I'll earn some brownie points with the wine!! (On a side note, Hubby works for a wine distribution company, and not many places import South African wines. I don't know why.)

Anyhoo. I am very excited. We haven't enjoyed a romantic evening together for quite some time. Please pray that I won't severely mess up our dinner!!!!

2008-02-10T16:34:00.000-05:00

My dear sweet boy,

You are 14 months old. It is amazing what you have learned in these last few months, how much you have grown. You understand so much of what we say to you! You can point to your nose, your head, and your tummy. When we tell you that it's bathtime, you eagerly run towards the bathroom, ready to squirt and splash! You love to play outside, and find endless fascination in things like leaves, fences, trees, sand, pine needles...

In the photo above, you learned how to go down the slide all by yourself!! You had a marvelous time and wanted to do it again and again.

You have an impish little grin that makes everyone who sees you fall in love with you. You're going to get away with all sorts of mischief when you get bigger! Especially when you and James get together. Your Aunt Holly and I are going to be on our toes!

I love you so very much, my precious baby. You bring joy and delight to every day. I am so very, very blessed to have you for a son. As you grow up, I pray that you and I will be able to keep this very special relationship that we have. Don't stray away from me, small one. You will always be my Punkin-Boo-Bear!

love love love

Mommy

I'm getting sleepy. Very, very, sleepy.

2008-02-08T09:18:00.001-05:00

For heaven's sake. No matter how much sleep I get lately, it just isn't enough. After a good night's sleep AND an afternoon nap, all I want to do is crash.

So I'm going to. Lance is napping. I shall follow his lead.

The laundry can wait.

For the Love of Diapers

2008-02-07T09:43:00.000-05:00

(Hey, I just noticed that I passed the "200 post" mark. I missed my 200th post!! This is the 202nd!! Go me!)

Back to our regularly scheduled posting...

Lance has decided that diapers are evil. He will not, can not, stay still for a diaper change. I beg. I plead. I offer distractions of toys that light up and sing. I sing. I jump around and make silly noises. I cajole. I bribe.

Doesn't work. He insists on rolling over the instant he hits the changing table. Or the bed. Or the floor. Or the couch. I have learned that a change of location is futile. The little guy is suprisingly strong, too! I used to be able to hold him down. (Gently, of course!) Now, I feel like I am exerting a tremendous amount of force in order to keep him still, and I am afraid that I may be hurting him. He screams and screams as though he's being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment.

I've learned to put a diaper on him while he's sitting up. It's not as neat and tidy, but at least it's on.

Has anyone else experienced this? Please tell me that it is just a phase. Perhaps he's ready to start potty training??? (Totally wishful thinking, here. He's only 14 months old.)

Sigh.

Let's Play a Game

2008-02-03T17:51:00.000-05:00

Take a look.

Take a good look.

How much did all this cost me?

$1.78

Yes, you read that correctly. I have begun playing the "CVS Game" as Crystal from Money Saving Mom likes to call it. (Thanks Jessica, for posting your CVS savings-- I found Crystal from one of your posts! My husband thanks you too, he just doesn't know it yet...lol!) I signed up for the CVS ExtraCare Rewards program. This was my second shopping trip on this program, and only my first using ECBs (Extra Care Bucks) I earned previously. How did I do it?

$5/$30 CVS coupon
2 different $4/$20 CVS coupons
$6.30 in manufacturer's coupons
$6.00 of ECBS

for a grand total out of pocket of: $1.78

Oh, plus I earned an extra $15 of ECBs for next time!!

This rocks. This is so fun.

(I did want to note that my ORIGINAL transaction also included a Maybelline eyeshadow, which was advertised in the CVS flier as $5.49 with an equal amount of ECBs earned). When I saw my receipt, it rang up at a higher total and gave me no ECBs. When I asked the cashier about it, he said, "sorry, there's nothing I can do. It's all in the computer." So I just returned the Maybelline.

This is really a fantastic way to save money. As you earn ECBs, you use them to purchase items which will earn you more ECBs. Additionally, you can use this as a ministry. Considering I spent less than $2 on all of that stuff, I am going to donate one of the toothpastes and one box of Excedrin to our local homeless shelter.

I still can't believe that I got all of that stuff for less than what the Starbucks Frappucino alone would have cost me.

This is awesome.

A Description of the Cuteness of My Child

2008-02-01T22:38:00.001-05:00

I have the cutest baby in the world. He's been doing some really cute things lately, so I want to write them down so I won't forget them!

His new favorite game is "Boo!" We'll chase each other around the house, I'll duck behind the couch or hide around a corner, and when he "finds" me, I say, "Boo!" Then he giggles and giggles, and runs the other way. I follow him, then he'll turn around, look at me, and then he'll say "boo!"

He also has a version of hide-and-seek. He has figured out how to open up his closet, get inside, and close the door again. He'll go in there, shut himself in, and stay there until I open the door and find him. If I wait too long, he'll open the door slowly and peek his head out to see if I'm still there.

He is learning to feed himself using his spoon. Now that he has somewhat figured this out, he does not want to be spoon-fed by us anymore! I gave up trying to "help" him use the spoon. Now, I just put a bowl of something on his high chair tray, give him the spoon, and let him have at it. He usually does pretty well for the first few bites, but then he wants to start experimenting. "What will happen if I wave the spoon around in the air?" "Maybe if I just bang my spoon on the food, it'll work." "I think I'll smear a spoonful of oatmeal in my hair." After awhile I will get tired of this, so I take the bowl away and give him some finger food. I realized I just had to pick my battles. Each time he manages to get one or two more bites into his mouth, so I guess we're making progress!

Lance just loves his Daddy! When Hubby leaves for work each morning, Lance will hold out his arms to him until Daddy picks him up. Then Hubby hands him back to me and we have a "family hug." Hubby kisses me goodbye. As he pulls away, Lance will reach up to Hubby's face and draw it back to mine until we kiss again. SO SWEET!

That's it for now. Lance is asleep, Hubby is out of town for the weekend, and I have the house to myself.

I'm going to go have a glass of wine and watch one of my chick flicks.

Have a lovely night.

A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Polls

2008-01-30T15:05:00.000-05:00

I don't know why Florida has such trouble with elections.

Yesterday I had to drive all over the place just so I could vote in Florida's primary elections. (See, we decided to hold our primaries early, which caused the democratic party to withdraw delegates from our state PLUS the candidates couldn't do much campaigning here. I don't know what that means, but it seems to me that preventing voters from getting as much information as possible is just not the smartest move in the world.)

Anyways. It was my fault that I didn't send in my change of address to get a new voter registration card in time. The day before the election, I called the elections office to find out where I was allowed to vote. Could I vote in my new precinct, or would I have to drive three towns over to go to my OLD precinct? No one answered the phone there. After awhile I was prompted to "press 1 to leave a voicemail." So I did. I left a message, but no one called me back.

I decided first to go to my *new* precinct, which is just around the corner from where I live. I got Lance all ready to go, attached his kid leash to him so he wouldn't run off, walked into the precinct, explained my situation, and was told I couldn't vote there, that I had to go to the other precinct where I was registered.

I was a little annoyed, but I understand that rules are rules. Later in the day, I went to the old precinct. They were very confused over there. I explained what happened at the new precinct, showed both my voter card and my driver's license, and then I found myself surrounded by 6 elections officials who all had a different idea what I should do. People were waving pieces of paper in my face, some of them telling me to take this paper to the new precinct, and then someone else would promptly yank it out of my hand saying it wasn't necessary. (This happened about 4 times.) I just stood there with a bewildered expression on my face. Finally, I said, "I JUST WANT TO VOTE!"

Someone finally took me over to a voting booth where I was able to cast my vote.

It was crazy.

And they wonder why people don't turn out to vote. They make it such a hassle!!!

Guinevere's Chicken Enchiladas

2008-01-28T14:25:00.000-05:00

Some of my best recipes have been ones that I have stolen from some of you, dear blog-friends!

So I'm going to share one of my recipes. This is a recipe for Chicken Enchiladas that has become a staple in my house. It's one that has enough flavor for Hubby (he grew up in South Africa and they cook with much more spices and flavorings than the average American. He finds much of our food bland, so when I find a recipe that he doesn't have to add anything to, I consider it a success!!) PLUS Lance likes the chicken mixture. He still only has 4 teeth, so instead of wrapping it up in a tortilla, I just set aside some of the meat mixture, plop it down on his high chair tray, and let him have at it. He loves it. Here ya go!

Chicken Enchiladas
(I modified this recipe from the magazine Every Day with Rachael Ray. The original recipes calls for the tortillas to be dipped in the sauce, but I can't stand a soggy tortilla, so I put the sauce in the meat mixture and just drizzled a little sauce over the tops of the enchiladas before baking.) I also removed the jalapeño peppers because last time I chopped jalapeños, I ended up with nasty burns on my fingertips. A few drops of hot pepper sauce would work well if you just really love the flavor of the jalapeños!) You can find the original recipe here.

3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely chopped (I prefer red onion for this dish.)
3 tbsp flour
1 29-oz can tomato sauce (use whatever you like when you make pizza or spaghetti!)
1 tbsp chili powder
2 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp salt
2-lb rotisserie chicken, meat shredded
(Last time I made this recipe, I just boiled 3 chicken breasts, then chopped them up finely. Another time I cooked a whole chicken in the crock pot, and just pulled the meat off the bones. As long as you have basically a whole chicken's worth of meat, any way you want to cook it will be fine.)
about 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
3 chipotle chilis in adobo sauce, seeded and finely chopped.
(These are sold in cans. I found them in the "ethnic foods" aisle of my grocery store. It is VERY IMPORTANT to cut open the chili and scrape out the seeds, because the seeds are where the heat "lives." Remember, Lance loved this recipe, so they're not TOO hot!)
12 6-inch flour tortillas

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add 2/3 of the onion and cook until softened. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups water and the tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, chipotle chilis and salt, bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Preheat the broiler. In large bowl, mix the cooked shredded chicken, 2/3 of the cheese and 2/3 of the sauce.

Fill each tortilla with chicken mixture, roll up and transfer (seam side down) to a 9 x 13 baking dish. Top with the remaining sauce, cheese, and onions.

Broil until golden, 5-7 minutes. (If your chicken was cold when you made the meat mixture, turn off the broiler and leave in the oven for a few more minutes until heated through.)

I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you decide to make it, let me know how it turned out for you!

Midnight Rant

2008-01-27T00:44:00.000-05:00

I can't sleep. Grr.

It's not because of Lance. He's sound asleep.

It's not because Hubby is snoring. He's not.

It's because I drank caffeine with my dinner tonight. Not a lot of it, mind you. Just a kid-sized soft drink (Diet Coke specifically) from Boston Market on our way home from church tonight. I thought it would be harmless.

Nope!

I broke my own rule. I know that if I consume caffeine past 4 p.m. that I will have a miserable time getting to sleep without additional chemical assistance. (By which I mean Benadryl.) I don't like taking Benadryl just to get to sleep. I don't think God designed our bodies to absorb all these chemicals all the time. (I'm not anti-cold medicine when I need it, of course.)

But ya see, I haven't had a Diet Coke for several days. I'm trying to wean myself off of the stuff because I know it's not healthy. But when we went to pick up our dinner and ordered Lance a kid's meal, it came with a drink and I didn't want to waste it! We knew we would be giving Lance milk at home with his dinner. We didn't order drinks for ourselves for the same reason. The kid's meal just comes with it. I can't help it if the people who plan the meal combos decide to put a drink with a kid's meal but not with an adult meal!

So it's their fault.

Can you sue someone for sleep deprivation?

Hee hee. Before you know it, the soda cups will have this warning label printed on them:

WARNING: If you use this cup to consume caffeine in the late afternoon/early evening, it is possible you will have trouble falling asleep. By purchasing this beverage, you agree to hold (Name of Our Restaurant) and its affiliates, parent companies, and subsidiaries harmless for any damages or losses suffered due to sleep deprivation. Any disputes arising in this matter will be adjudicated according to the laws of the state of (Name of Your State or Province If You Are One of My Canadian Readers).

LOLOLOLOLOL

I crack myself up sometimes.

Sleep deprivation encourages hilarity, I suppose.

Maybe I should be a comedian.

Maybe I should forget going back to school and start a career as a comedian.

So I wonder if I can get That Restaurant to pay off my student loans since I won't be needing my degree to be a comedian.

Because it's Their Fault that their menu planners include a drink with a kid's meal and not with the adult meal, and thus I am awake at 1 am contemplating becoming a comedian.

Now we have to edit the warning label as follows:

ADDITIONALY, the consumption of caffeine at a late hour may also cause you to doubt the course of your future. By purchasing and drinking this beverage, you agree that you will not hold (Name of Our Restaurant) responsible for any debts incurred while pursuing your education, which you no longer need because you're going to become a comedian.

And Now Let's Break for Adulthood

2008-01-26T10:13:00.000-05:00

Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles.

I had lunch with a friend a few days ago. (That's not the miraculous part. In fact, it's a fairly commonplace occurrence between me and this particular friend!) This friend also has a young baby.

We actually had an adult conversation that did not involve poopy diapers, naptimes, what new foods our children have eaten and their newest accomplishments. (Although Lance recently ate the chicken mixture I made for enchiladas the other night, which was seasoned with chili powder, cumin, and even had some chipotle chilis in adobo sauce. And did I mention that Lance can say a few new words, and he will remain sitting in the bathtub when asked to do so?)

We discussed politics. We discussed stuff happening at our church. We bounced ideas off each other for a girls-only camping trip. We threw around words and phrases like "demographics" and "standardized testing" and "environmental policies."

We debated whether or not it was the place of government to enforce moral issues. We tried to decide which was more important: does the leader of the free world need to share our religion and ethical ideas, or can those be set aside in favor of things like the economy, education, and national security? (Because to me it seems like there is not a candidate that matches me both in religious/ethical ideas and all the other stuff. Please correct me if I'm wrong!)

We didn't really come to any conclusions, but let me just tell you it was nice to use words with more than two syllables on a regular basis!

Of course we're having this discussion in between singing silly songs to our kids to keep them quiet and happy and rescuing bits of food that were "liberated" from our children's plates onto the floor.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I watched the Republican presidential debate on television last night. It was very educational! I want to encourage all of my U.S. readers to get yourselves informed about the presidential candidates and the issues facing our nation today. A few days ago I posted about how I was woefully unprepared regarding current politics. I've been doing some reading, been watching the news and most recently, the debate, and I now feel pretty caught up. After watching the debate, I found myself changing my mind about some things. As the candidates explained the ramifications of particular decisions, it helped to open my eyes.

Whether you are Republican, Democrat, Independent, or something else entirely, it is so important to be a well-informed voter.

I can recall hearing a statistic that more people tuned in to watch the American Idol finale than turned out to vote in a recent election. That saddened me. (I was one of those people at the time, I'm sad to say. It was pure laziness on my part.)

Enough of my political soapbox. I don't intend for this blog to become a political forum by any means. It's just a current interest of mine, so you may see a post here and there regarding something of a political nature! I also don't want to alienate anyone. I know that people have lots of different ideas regarding politics and the running of the country, and I certainly don't want any bad blood here. Feel free to share your ideas (nicely, please!) because the only way to learn about the political scene is to really get into it, to ask questions, and learn from others.

Have a great day!

Adventures in Baking (Or, "My Failed Attempt at Domesticity")

2008-01-24T11:20:00.001-05:00

I laugh at myself a lot.

Particularly yesterday.

See, I have some friends. Some wonderful friends whom I adore and admire. I attempted to imitate one of them.

This particular friend (We'll call her "Ivy") often takes it into her head to bake something from scratch for no particular reason. Sometimes it's just to do something nice for her husband (whom rumor has it adores dessert,) and sometimes it's just because she feels like it.

About a week ago, I had the pleasure of partaking in one of her delectable chocolate cupcakes, made from scratch from Ghiradelli cocoa. (It was divine. Heaven in a cupcake.) I also stood and watched her make icing from scratch. Perfection. Pure, unadulterated, perfection.

I love this friend so much I decided once again to copy her. (Ivy hon, I'm sorry. I just can't help it! You are my role model.)

I baked a cake.

I have not baked a cake in years. I'm the one who goes to the grocery store bakery and buys a cake there, and then only for special occasions.

While perusing my pantry for items needed to make dinner, I found a boxed cake mix. I have no idea why it was in there. (They must have been two for one or something like that. Hubby made a cake awhile back, so maybe that's where it came from.) So I decided that I would bake a cake. Just because I felt like it.

Mistake #1: Using the wrong bakeware.

I have a Pampered Chef stoneware baking dish. It's fantastic and I use it for all sorts of things. Lasagna, chicken, casseroles, pretty much for anything one would use a standard sized baking dish. When I attempted to remove the cake from the pan and place it on a wire rack, it made a big, gigantic mess. The stoneware is very porous, so even though I used cooking spray, the cake stuck. I tried to unstick it from the sides using a knife and that served to loosen it just enough for half of the cake to come tumbling out of the pan. I then proceeded to use a spatula to loosen the other half of the cake from the pan. It came out in crumbled bits.

(At least the crumbled bits of cake still tasted great!)

Mistake #2: Trying to make icing from scratch.

I phoned my dear friend Ivy and asked her to tell me how to make icing. She told me, I followed her directions precisely, and I ended up with a gooey, lumpy, drippy, mess.

(At least the gooey, lumpy, drippy mess still tasted great!)

I do not blame Ivy for this. I must have skipped an important step, or set the mixer to the wrong speed, or added the ingredients in the wrong order. (So maybe I didn't follow her directions precisely...) Or Perhaps Ivy assumed I knew a thing or two about baking, so she left out something obvious that anyone else who had ever baked a cake in their lives would know. (Have you ever played that game where you tell someone how to make a peanut butter sandwich? You say, "put the peanut butter on the bread" and the person picks up the jar of peanut butter, and sets the jar down on the whole loaf of bread? I need specifics here.) Again Ivy, not your fault, babe.

A few moments ago, I trashed the cake. I should have photographed it for you all to gawk and point fingers at, but I'm not quite that willing to undergo that kind of humiliation. You'll just have to use your imaginations.

Lessons learned?

Use a plain old baking dish.

Buy a tub of store-bought icing.

Or, just go to the grocery store bakery and buy a cake.

2008-01-21T09:47:00.000-05:00

Thanks, Brento, for reminding me about the website that you posted about and I commented on regarding the presidential candidates.

The Minnesota Public Radio website has a section called "Select-A-Candidate" in which you can take a quiz to determine which candidate most closely aligns with your views, and you can also see each candidate's answers to the same questions. Click on "candidate positions" to see where each candidate stands. (No, I do not think each candidate took the quiz, but their answers were taken from various debates and public statements they have made. Very often, they will link to the candidate's own websites, in which you can delve in more deeply to see where they stand on each issue.)

I find the site to be very objective and informational. For anyone who is a little confused about who is who and what they stand for, this is a great place to begin!

Thanks Brent!

Politically Ingnorant

2008-01-20T22:44:00.000-05:00

I should really be ashamed of myself. I haven't updated my voter registration in several years. My current voter card lists the address of our very first apartment when we got married three years ago. (That was three addresses and a couple of counties ago.) Yikes!

I was equally embarrassed when I realized that Florida's primary elections are being held later this month and I didn't have a clue who the candidates were other than Hillary and Obama, let alone the Republican party!

SO...this morning I purchased a newspaper. (You know, where they print out all the news stories for you so you don't have to do it yourself!) I spent a couple of hours happily thumbing through it.

There's a whole lot going on in this world that I had no idea about.

Like an art festival a few miles from here, an airstrike over Gaza, a local grant to provide restaurants with equipment that will reduce their use of water and electricity, reasons why I should (and should not) say "yes to Amendment 1!" and most importantly to me, information on the presidential candidates.

Last night I obtained the paperwork necessary to update my voter registration.

(Why is it you can renew your driver's license online, make payments for everything online, but you can't register to vote online?)

Anyhoo. Now that I know I will once again be a participating member in the government of our country, I decided I needed to educate myself about what is going on.

I'm WAAAAYYYY behind.

So I'm starting with baby steps. I read the feature in the paper that listed each candidate's strengths and weaknesses. The article gave a website for further election information, so I've been digging through that for awhile.

I feel much more informed now.

After 2 hours of reading up on election info, I can say with total confidence that for the moment, I am going to support John McCain.

That could change. It could easily change.

Because I am only 2 hours into my presidential education.

Thoughts, anyone?? Is there a website with objective information about each candidate and where they stand on issues?

It's Official.

2008-01-19T16:58:00.000-05:00

It's Official.

The application has been submitted.

Childcare has been confirmed.

I WILL be returning to school this fall!!! In December, I will finally, finally, have my bachelor's degree in elementary education.

Such a weight off my shoulders. All this time being one semester away from graduating. So close, yet so far. When looking for a part-time job earlier last year, my lack of a degree was a significant hindrance. No matter that the coursework had been completed. No matter that the state's certification tests had been passed.

I didn't have the piece of paper from a university that said I was qualified to be a teacher, so nobody thought I was.

I'll show them.

Ha.

Why?

2008-01-17T14:01:00.000-05:00

I don't get people sometimes.

Why do people assume that because I choose to stay at home with my son that I must be a poor, uneducated, drudge of some kind?

It doesn't matter to them that I am one semester away from earning my college degree. I may as well have dropped out of high school.

I look very young, so they assume I "got knocked up" and am now burdened with the trials of raising a child. They don't know how much I longed for a baby, how much I prayed to be a mother. They don't understand the encompassing love that I have for this small person.

Which is why I am grateful for all of you! You are very special women to me. I get you and you get me. We all understand what it is like to love a child. We don't think of it as a terrible sacrifice to spend time raising our children. We are intelligent, well-read, and we all have an excellent grasp of the English language as shown in our ability to construct (for the most part) grammatically correct sentences with correctly spelled words (thank you spell-check!) which people find interesting to read.

I'm just in a funk today I guess. It's a bit of a blustery, gray day and I didn't get enough sleep last night, so I'm savoring a crabby mood.

I really should get some housework done, but I'm not going to. I'm going to take a nap.

Ta-ta.

I Won! I Won!

2008-01-17T13:59:00.001-05:00

For the first time ever, I have won a bloggy contest that I entered.

I won this card-making kit given away by Haley!!!! Thanks so much, hon! I really enjoy scrapbooking and card-making, but assembling everything you need for such a project is exhausting when you have a toddler. Kits are fantastic!!