Lists to Live by for Smart Living

We have several in a series of books called Lists to Live By for various scenarios. I read a good list the other day called Life 101 and some of those line items I just had to echo here.

I'm learning...

* that a good sense of humor is like money in the bank. In life. On the job. In marriage.

* that a good attitude can control situations you can't. That any bad experience can be a good one. It all depends on me.

* that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

* that if I'm standing on the edge of a cliff, the best way forward is to back up.

* that you don't fail when you lose; you fail when you quit.

* that too many people spend a lifetime stealing time from those who love them the most, trying to please the ones who care about them the least.

* that having money isn't nearly as much fun as I thought it would be when I didn't have any. That money buys less than you think.

by Phil Callaway - Condensed from Who Put the Skunk in the Trunk?

Over the Weekend

• Took Anna to dr. for her 9 mos. check up: 70%ile height, 10%ile weight = Stringbean.
• We left Thursday for Alabama for a couple days:
• Took Noah to the Kiddie Carnival there in Athens.
• AC in the car started acting up: ugh - fortunately it is still under warranty.
• Drove to my beloved Unclaimed Baggage Store in Scottsboro: I got 14 books there (for only $60!) and Josh got 2 more train cars.
• Made plans to go to Chattanooga this week: Gonna hit the Aquarium, Discovery Museum, and Ruby Falls, and of course, the pool at the hotel
• Watched Inkheart on Demand: eh, it was ok.
• Anna walked with her push walker for the first time.
• We officially stopped doing night feeding with Anna: We top her off before we go to bed, and so far so good...then again, it has only been 1 night. :)
• I am working on printing my blog in book form year by year: it is so easy to do and will be a great keepsake to have in case the blog world ever loses all these posts.
• We decided when and how and with whom to proceed with the next adoption: We are going to go through AGAPE for a child between the ages of 3-12. Our next immediate steps are getting our home study updated and going through PATH training again in the coming months.
• Kids played in the pool again: all Anna did was try to crawl out the entire time - story of her life - never sit still.
• Our church cancelled all 3 services on all 3 campuses today for some of that flu outbreak happening to an increasing number of the middle and high school campers that just got home from camp.
  
• It was funny to me when I overheard Josh telling Anna on the way to the changing table that her poopy diapers were unbecoming.

Kiddie Carnival: Take 2

Noah had himself some fun when we took him to see his Mimmie and Papa this weekend for Papa's birthday. It just so happened that Thursday was opening night for the same Kiddie Carnival we discovered late last summer, so we got there as soon as we could once we made it to town. Such a fun, inexpensive, light-hearted time. Noah rode everything, stayed up waaaay past his bedtime, and had cotton candy, coke, and a giant pickle along they way. He was one little boy livin' large indeed....and he still got up before the sun the next day.

Noah Come Lately

Lately, Noah is particularly ... well ... particular. Here are a couple of examples of what I am talking about.

He has renamed each of us as a certain monster. Josh is Cookie Monster, Anna is Crawling Monster, and I am Tickle Monster. He has yet to decide what monster he is. I am ever so interested to see where he lands on that one.

Noah has begun to negotiate punishments. If he knows I am coming to spank him, he offers a time out and runs to that spot. Other times, he will spank himself first (perhaps thinking I will find that a sufficient substitute). Worse even, now he runs like a rocket away from us. I won't even tell you how mad that makes me. And he hasn't picked up on the fact that that only makes it worse.

When we watch Caillou, Noah will let me know when Caillou is misbehaving - usually at things I have pointed out to him before (because we don't want Noah to mimic the behavior he is seeing)...things like talking back, stomping feet, being selfish. He will say "Caillou pank you" which means Caillou needs a spanking. He says "pank you" because he always hears it worded that way when we tell him "If you do this or that again I will spank you." So pank you it is.

Noah always, always, always wants to see Anna's dirty diapers when I am changing her. He even grabs his camera to photograph those dirty diapers.

Because he's no taller than my rear, it is not uncommon in our household to hear me telling Noah to "Stop taking pictures of my butt."

He calls everyone "Dude" lately, except it comes out sounding like "Toot." Examples: Ok, toot; Bye, bye, toot. Often he says the word just to be silly and not even in reference to anyone at all. But it really took the cake the other night when he finished his prayer with "Amen, toot."

Noah went through a phase in his potty training for the last two weeks where when I told him it was time to go potty, he would furl his eyebrows and tell me that he has already pee-peed 2 times today - to which I was compelled to remind our budding pottier that we go potty more than 2 times a day. He doesn't care for that fact.

Watching Noah pull Anna in the wagon is too precious. He pulls her 5 feet and then puts the handle down, runs to her side, and puts his arms around her carefully and hugs and kisses her. And repeat and repeat.

Every time I tell Noah to do something lately, he requests a countdown. Why, you ask? Well how else can he be like Special Agent Oso on the Disney Channel. Watch one episode of that and you will understand.

I had a headache the other day. Noah had a solution. "Noah kiss it" he says and grabs my face and pulls it down to remedy my ache with his love. Didn't work, but it made me grin.

Every time Noah keeps his pull-up dry and uses the potty, he gets two pieces of candy. And lately, he immediately holds one of his candies up to me and says: "Ha go, Mommy." (Here you go, Mommy) That sweet baby hands over half his potty booty every time and it just melts my heart to see him be so unselfish.

Every time Noah gets his potty reward candy, he asks for 2 green ones. Always, green.

We ate at an italian restaurant the other day. On my toasted ravioli were little green pieces of parsley or something or other. Noah looks at my dish and, as serious as anything, asks me if that is grass.

Noah does not enjoy getting his allergy shots. But he enjoys getting to the allergist's office thanks to the "abbaytor," (elevator) and it doesn't hurt either that Ms. Millie supplies him with "two pops" (lollipops) right after the shots are over.

Farmer Brown

Noah brought in 14 tomatoes today from his garden with his Daddy. I was sure impressed! And no sooner had my proud little harvester come in the door and handed them off to me than he was sitting at his picnic table telling me to bring his "ahtemos" (tomatoes) to his "tabbo" (table) so he could eat them. Uh-dorable. Fortunately, he was very understanding when I explained they needed to ripen a little more before he could gobble them. Thankfully, there were two left from this weekend that were red enough for him to eat whole...which he did. And then we took this shot of Noah with his precious crop.

Josh says we can expect about this many every 2-3 days. I was quite surprised by that number and Josh just laughed at me saying I have clearly never planted tomatoes before. And he would be right. I am the kinda girl who grew up in cities and on air force bases. That is a lotta concrete ground!

Cutie Pie Clothes Collage 1

Can you tell I just learned a new trick on Picasa? :)
Anywho - this is the first installment of pics of some of my favorite outfits Anna wears. I can just feel myself slipping back into the 3rd grade where all I ever wanted to do was dress my Barbies and brush their hair. It's just one of the perks of being Mommy to a little girl, I guess.

Fathers Make for Happy Days

Daddy makes us safe.
And Daddy is so much fun.
If we could pick any Daddy in the world,
You would definately be the ONE!
We love, love, love you, Daddy - Happy Father's Day!
Love, Noah and Anna and Mommy, too

Weekend Again

This weekend's highlights:

Josh got home Friday midday

We kept Noah up Friday night to see lightening bugs

I got to sleep in again on Saturday

We yanked some plants outta our yard that we have been meaning to get to (and by we I mean Josh)

Noah wanted to go see the baby chicks again, so he and Josh went

Josh got TWO Father's Day naps

We reorganized the living room

I got the last of the clothes together for consigning

We made a Target run to buy a kiddie picnic table

Kiddos got to swim again (and by swim I mean splash in our sad little inflatable pool)

I jetted out to see The Proposal last night....so good!

To beat the 95/97 degree heat, we ate homemade popsicles and some watermelon


Noah got eaten alive by some critter


Josh and Noah's Garden's Firstfruits - 5 pretty little tomatoes

Got Noah a Bean Bag Toss and Velcro Darts - which have turned out to be great toys for a kid his age. I totally recommend them.

Redneck Just Happens

Yesterday Josh was setting up some new thing we got for Noah and there were parts and cardboard, and directions, and plastic all over the room. By the time Josh was done with the assembly, we spotted Anna eating paper...well, having already eaten the paper, from the directions. We laughed about how it's usually paper or monster truck wheels that she goes after. Josh shook his head and said, "The redneck just happens!" to which I cackled and agreed and we listed more ways that this has come true in our days lately.

Here's How the Redneck Just Happened To Us:

The token kid wearing only a diaper
Noah wears a shirt and a pull up, no pants, lately. Potty training is on full force and we don't have time for shorts or pants when we are home. And also, when we let the kids play in the pool yesterday, Anna only wore her swim diaper.

Patio furniture inside the house
That thing Josh was assembling for Noah was a kiddie picnic table and it is situated in our living room.

Walmart is your family outing
Our big trips to town usually consist of going to Target or Walmart, or if you are Josh - Lowe's or Home Depot.

Chew toys....for the kids
Anna's favorite toy to chew on is a dog collar that we bought for that very purpose. No lie. She loves that strap material, something we finally picked up on after she was drawn like a magnet to the straps on her changing table, high chair, car seat, and stroller.

Cut-off Jeans
Noah's got 'em. Just keepin' it real and saving money on play shorts by using his worn-out-kneed jeans from the fall. I ain't too proud to say so.

Frequent farm animal encounters
Entertainment on Saturday for Noah was another trip to go see the baby chicks at the Farmer's Co-op. His request.

Keeping a goat on your property
I will refer you back to the part where our baby girl likes to eat paper and gnaw on the wheels of Noah's monster trucks...and dog collars.

Monster Trucks. Enough said.
Noah has more than I can count on one hand and we still have Monster Truck Rallies on our DVR for easy access.

Plastic stuff in the yard and Tornado Sightings
Our silly inflatable pool blew over our fence and into our neighbor's backyard during all the dramatic twister sightings in the area this past week. You'd have probably seen me on the news in my pj's being interviewed about it if I wasn't already engaged in driving over landscaping, sidewalks, and curbs already mentioned this week. :)

Wisdom from Ozzy

There are several thoughts that have lingered in my head and in our conversations lately. Then they were quickly and directly answered when I read some pages from My Utmost for His Highest the other day.

THOUGHT: I have felt like I don't do anything of importance. I just keep up with kids and routines day after day. ANSWER: Then I read this from Oswald Chambers: The great hindrance in spiritual life is that we will look for big things to do...There are times when there is no illumination and no thrill, but just the daily round, the common task. Routine is God's way of saving us between our times of inspiration. Do not expect God always to give you His thrilling minutes, but learn to live in the domain of drudgery by the power of God.

THOUGHT: We have wondered how to speak about and encourage adoption more effectively. ANSWER: Chambers put a clear point on how we are to just let our lives and our testimony speak for themselves: Never make a principle out of your experience; let God be as original with other people as he is with you. If you abandon to Jesus, and come when he says "Come," He will continue to say "Come" through you; you will go out into life reproducing the echo of Christ's "Come."

THOUGHT: We told ourselves we would start the next adoption when Anna is so and so years old, or when she is potty trained, or this or that, so that our hands and time would be more freed up for all that a foster child and the adoption process will need. In all our neat and tidy convenient-for-us-and-the-way-we-would-like-things-to-fall-into place planning, we have begun to grow restless. I do not sense that this restlessness is for nothing. We have been challenged recently to get a move on and get to bringing our next baby home (and by baby I mean kid, not baby as in baby baby). ANSWER: And then I read this from Oswald Chambers and I do not think it was a coincidence. I trust these chances and timings to be from the Lord. I know it is. We need to get a move on now!: [It] is an impertinence. It does not matter what our circumstances are, I can be as sure of abiding in Jesus in them as in a prayer meeting. I have not to change and arrange my circumstances myself...Think of the things that take you out of abiding in Christ - Yes, Lord, just a minute, I have got this to do; Yes, I will abide when once this is finished; when this week is over, it will be all right, I will abide then. Get a move on; begin to abide now.

Smitten with my Anna

Anna, I love you. Oh my goodness, how I love you. You are a treat...a precious treat to us from the Lord. You are downright funny, and precious, and innocent, and trusting, and perfectly lovely. I adore you in a million little ways.

I wonder if I treasure you too much. Am I too overcome with joy in you and getting to be with you and getting to watch you grow? It just feels like this happiness is too wonderful to possibly last. I already contemplate how we will relate when you are a teenager and an adult and I pray our experiences together as you mature do not mirror those I had with my own mother. I wonder if I will ever measure up for you when you are grown enough to take that sort of opinion. I hope I can bless and challenge and lead you in a way that causes you to rise up, not rebel. I know you and I will have some clashes ahead in our path. Goodness knows we have enough already and you are but 9 months old! But oh, the little thing that you are stirs an emotion in me that is hard to express and I just know it will always be there no matter what comes of the days of your life.

Anna, I love you. I will always love you. I am your biggest fan.

I find in these baby days of yours that I am in love your soft white skin and the gentle curve of your legs to your heels to your feet. I love our quiet moments in your bedtime routine. I am growing more and more fond of your clingy/cuddly moods ... complimented that I could possibly settle your heart and calm your mood. I love how curious and therefore aggressive you are for such a little thing. I love how you obey, or not, and the look on your face when you do or don't yield. I love how you have inspired me to love pink, love dressing you, and love having a baby around again (maybe a little because I know we won't do this baby thing ever again). I love the shape of your little lips when you cry, the twinkle in your eye when you smile, and the relief and expectation on your face when I come in your room to get you out of bed. I love the roll of your laughter when you play with Noah and how you squeal and coo to yourself when you play alone. I even love your piercing exhale that sounds like some squawking shrieking pixie. I love how you do it just because you can, just to remind us you are in the room. I love how, like clockwork, you konk out at bedtime while I feed you. I love how you look me dead in the eyes with those eyes of yours that look like mine. I love how your hair is finally growing and gets so easily mussed up. I love how you love Noah and I love how he just can't keep his toys, hands, head, and feet off you. I love how you grunt and huff when you are trying to pull to standing. I love how you yank your daddy's glasses off his face in a split second. I love how you always have your feet crossed whether sitting or laying down. I love how you play with your ears and pull your hair when you are sleepy. I love your pure, warm breath. I love how you try to kiss back...except your little mouth is wide open and all drooley. I love how you chuckle to yourself when you sit up after you have just eaten. I love how you don't pay any attention to the TV. I love how you hold the bottle with your feet sometimes. I love how you play with my face and my hair while I feed you. I love how calm you are when you are outside. I love that you still don't have any teeth. I love how excited you are to take a bath. I love how you like to swing real high and how you love to play Airplane Anna chasing Noah with your Daddy. I love how you twist right out of my arms to reach your daddy. I love how your face lights up when he gets home.

Anna, I love you. Oh my goodness, how I love you.

Stressed Out

Josh left today and won't be back until Friday. That in itself stresses me out not a little.

Then today we got blasted by some severe weather and tornado warnings that left me calling Josh almost in tears while I drove home not knowing whether to pull over like everyone else was or turn around and go back to Noah's school or press on and try to get home before it got worse. It came that quickly. I had the wipers on full blast and it didn't even put a dent in the sheets of water on the windshield. I could only see the lights of the car out in front of me. And I could only feel the wind pushing and pushing my car over where I was not meaning to be. So stressed.

Then once the storm died down, we had to get to Noah's first session of allergy shots today. He got tense and cried of course while the shots were administered, but in truth, I was way more tense than him. One, because shots, needles, and all that stuff make me queasy myself. And two, this was my poor baby starting a long haul down a road of many more shots...and he is only 3. It just isn't fair. He shouldn't have to get used to needles and shots. Makes me wanna cry just thinking about it again. We go back on Thursday for some more.

Then on the way home I about ripped out the bottom of my car and called Josh again all frazzled and afraid. He thinks I just scratched the frame underneath and he is probably right, but it doesn't take away how embarrassed I was to have ended up straddling a curb that was sandwiched between two different levels of concrete and some landscaping, too. Oh, so embarrassing. And I just had to power through and keep driving til I reached the end of that strip for fear that if I stopped my car would be stuck - well that and being afraid to face anyone who may have witnessed the spectacle that was me and my car. The only comic relief was Noah in the backseat, confused by all the wobbling and scraping and jerking of the car and saying, "Ah do-ning, Mommy? Ah do-ning?"

WPTM #12: Distractions

What Parenting Teaches Me #12: Distractions

When we took Noah to Monkey Joe's the other day, after about 30 minutes it happened again. He got distracted from the main event - that being all the giant, blown up, jumpy, climby, slidey things. He got distracted by the silly, cheap, and stupid flashy light quarter slot games and other such rip offs. He would climb off a jump and then be drawn (as if by hypnosis) to the side of the room with the machines and whack-a-mole type stuff and point to them longingly. We would shake our head and try to get him back to the playing (which was already paid for, mind you) on the big jumps. Alas, once he got those silly quarter machines in his brain, he could not get them out, so we just packed up and headed home.

Do I even have to explain the parallel for us Christians? Distracted by cheaper, less fulfilling, temporary flashy interests when the real fun, real life is already paid for and right in front of us?

It just reminds me of a sermon I once heard where the speaker pointed out how small we pray, how we limit ourselves and we don't even realize it. How the things we ask the Lord for (and sometimes he lets us have, sometimes not) are so much less than what he can and wants to pour out in our lives. Oh, Lord, forgive me for my weak will, my wandering eyes, my less than spirit-filled interests that leave me broke, out of time, and less satisfied than all your good and perfect gifts, you Word, and your kingdom have ever made me.

Weekend Happenings

This weekend we have been up to ...

Jumping: We went to Monkey Joe's on Friday. This time it was a treat to get to let Anna participate to a certain degree. Mostly Anna and I just followed Noah and Josh to whatever jump they headed to and then we cheered and giggled them on. Anna was most amused by watching them climb up and away and then slide back down to where she was. But she was also ready to try her hand at some of the fun as well. Here's Anna in the "Under 3" play area.

Rearranging: Moved a computer to Noah's room as well as his little trampoline. His room is looking so good even I like to spend time there now.

Swimming: Well, swimming in the little turtle pool only so far, but we did sign Noah up for swim lessons for July.

Snoozing: I slept in til 9:30 Saturday morning and the kids were out with Josh til 11:00. Bliss.

Watching: I tried to read Lonesome Dove about a month ago and had to abandon it because I was pretty bored. BUT, now it is playing on the AMC channel this weekend. Sadly, Josh says watching the mini-series does not count toward my annual book count. Too bad.

Watching Noah: Noah asks us to watch him all the time lately... watch what he's watching, playing, or attempting to do. Currently, he likes to attempt this sort of twirly karate kick type jump ... thing.

Training: Noah is making big gains in the potty training department. And for ONCE, we have chosen and love to use a Pampers product. We like the Pampers Easy Ups much better than the Huggies Pull Ups. The Pull Ups kept leaving a sticky grit all over him if he wet them. Easy Ups don't. And Easy Ups have a nice smell to them.

Discovering: It's the M and M's that have been causing Noah's breakouts on his face. Luckily, M & M Kissables do not. Makes for a happy substitute for the aforementioned potty training.

Gathering: A ton of clothes and books for Amvets Donation.

Riding: Noah got to ride a pony. He calls himself a brave boy now.


Connecting: Tried a Connect group at this newest church we are trying. REALLY liked it.

Going Out: We went to a church picnic tonight and I was so nervous to go. Afraid we would not know a soul. But right away we were spotted by one couple from the Connect Group from this morning and from there we met and talked to so many people. Even better, so many couples in our life stage with little ones the exact ages of our two. One girl and I are going to try to get together this week, too. Tonight was a really good sign and good step for us finally. I think we won't be needing to try any more churches. I think we found our church home here and that feels really good. House home, check. Mexican restaurant home, check. Church home, check!

Suspecting: We fear Anna has another ear infection. Going to the dr. tomorrow to confirm.

Shopping: I went shopping with Noah to get Josh's Father's Day gift. Noah decided on cookies and a race car for his Daddy. But with a little mommy help, we picked out something else...except we did still get the cookies after all. Daddy really likes his cookies and Noah was very persistent about it.

Dressing: Adored my girly in her lemon suit. Matches her sourpuss moods...or are they just ear infections. Someone please tell me!!!


Goofing Off:



IRR-UH-TATING. I have no idea why this post is in a million different fonts. Blogger is on crack today I think.

One Leggy Girl