idriveacamaro

I'm finding recently that I have neither the time nor the energy to compose anything that's vaguely thought-provoking or even moderately worth reading. The words still manage to form in my head, but can't find their way to paper, so to speak. Still, I have a desire to capture our life on the blog, so I've decided to try something a bit different: photographs.

I take TONS of pictures. Of the kids, the hubby, the bunny across the street. Sunsets and cloud formations, the neighbors flowers and the moon. So, I'll be using my increasing love of photography to document what's going on in our lives this summer. I'm hoping to try to post every day, but in the busyness that is our lives right now, who knows? ;-)

So, to kick things off:

Today is a simply beautiful day.

We've had several days of gray cloudiness, followed by several days of rain, so the sun seems especially bright today. The much-needed rain has perked up the grayish grass into a beautiful bright spring green. Our dogwoods are started to bud out and bloom and slews of wildflowers have sprung up all over the yard. It looks like Spring is definitely here!

I had a doctor's appointment this morning at 9, so I let Wesley go with me. He was super excited about hearing the baby's heartbeat. We left early and had breakfast at McDonald's (his choice, lol) and went on the doctor. I had the first appointment of the day, but we were still there for an hour. Ugh. I guess the old saying is true: The worst part of being a patient, is dealing with all the patience.

But, Wesley did get to hear the baby's heartbeat. (And, me, too, actually. Last appointment, I only saw it on the ultrasound.) He was thrilled!! Once Dr. L-W found the heartbeat and that galloping sound filled the air, Wesley grinned from ear to ear. It was such a wonderful moment. :O) I can't wait for the visit after next when I can take Hanna to hear it also. My next appointment is on April 1 (April Fool's Day, anyone? *lol*) for the anatomy ultrasound, when we'll hopefully find out the sex! Just two weeks and we should know whether "Baby Herschel" is actually Caleb Henry or Gracie Helen. I can't wait!!! (Then the shopping can begin in earnest.) ;-)

Oh, and I haven't gained one single pound since last time. Which shocks the heck out of me because I've been eating like a cow! The doctor says that I must be eating really healthy stuff and doing the right amount of exercise. So, yay! for that. :O)

But then, as I'd figured, Wesley cried about not wanting to go back to school. I made sure (or thought I did) that he understood that he'd go in after the appointment. He is such a routine-oriented little guy. Being late just through him off kilter. The entire time we were waiting for the doctor, he worried his little self to death about being so late for school. :-( Bless his heart.

Then, I come home to find my insurance card in the mail--finally! Only it has the wrong doctor listed as my PCP. I went online to change it, but the website is acting funky. I can find my doctor in the list of covered practitioners, but not in the list where I'm able to change it. I can send in the request via snail mail, but I've already done that when I first chose my PCP, and apparently they didn't get it. So, now, I guess I get to call them and stay on hold for 43729 hours.

Then, I had to escalate an eBay dispute into a Paypal claim over a $6 baby outfit that I've never received. It's been over a month since I paid and the seller just refuses to accept that it's probably lost in the mail. :-( She keeps dragging things out, searching for receipts that she can never find. I honestly don't know if she's really trying to do the right thing, or just stringing me along. I hate not giving people the benefit of the doubt. :-( Maybe she can't refund the $6 right now because she doesn't have it? But, I shouldn't be out my money and the outfit. *sigh* I hate disputes.

But, today is still a simply beautiful day. I'm going to ignore all the negative things and only concentrate on the positives. :O)

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it Psalm 118:24

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Today marks the 8 year anniversary of one of the best days of my life: the day John and I met.

I often think about that day and the circumstances surrounding it and can honestly feel the Lord's work at hand. It was no coincidence that we ended up at the same place at the same time, it wasn't fate or destiny or whatever karmic good fortune you may call it. It was God. Something this perfect couldn't be anything other than God. It was my precious Savior setting into motion the plan He had for my life. It was my Lord answering the prayer of a little girl and a wishful teenager and a faithful young woman.

And to think, it all started in a pool hall. The Lord truly does work in mysterious ways, ya'll. ;-)

It was a Friday and the last day of my job as an temporary long-term substitute Pre-K teacher. It was a job that I certainly relished the ending of, but didn't necesarily feel like celebrating. But, thanks to the prodding of my sister and my cousins (and some help from the Big Guy upstairs, no doubt), I gave in and the four of us girls set out for the local bowling alley/pool hall.

It was a stereotypical teen hangout, but the only non-bar place in town, so we went. We played pool, laughed and joked and had the kind of good time that only four young girls can have.

And then John walked in. He came with his cousin also, to shoot pool also, and wanted to use the the table next to ours. The players on the other side insisted the table didn't work (it did; they just wanted the space for themselves and their friends), so John took his custom pool stick and stood over by the corner to wait for a table. Then for whatever reason, I (shy little me) just walked over to where he was standing and told him that the table did indeed work and why the others told him a lie about it. These were the first words I ever spoke to him and little did I know what they would be the beginning of.

He nodded and made his way over to the "broken" table, inserted his quarters and started up a game. As they played and we played, a typical boy-girl banter ensued, flirty words were spoken, and pool-playing challenges were issued. We ended up playing, together, on the same table before long, and John and I began talking and getting to know each other. He asked for my phone number before we left, and then broke every boy-law in the book by actually calling me the next day. We went out that night, Saturday, and have literally been together ever since that day. There was never any "well, lets be friends first and see what happens", it was just me and John, a perfect fit, right from the beginning, always.

Always.

It's not every day you find your soulmate, the one God made for you, and planned for you. But, on this day, 8 years ago, I found mine.

So, I thought I'd post a couple of pictures of us from "way back then", back when we were young and crazy (and skinny and had hair!). I would call those the 'good ole days', but the days we have now--the four (soon to be 5!) of us as a family are the best days I can imagine. So, I'll just designate them the Old Good Days.

 

 

...otherwise known as "The Last Two Weeks of An Absentminded Pregnant Woman".

Yeah.

(and in list form because I'm nerdy like that)

1. My children are currently outside playing wearing only the following garments: silky satin-ish short robes flapping in the wind as they run, and shower caps. Yes, I did do laundry. Just not much of it.

2. I have a complete love/hate relationship with food right now. I'm hungry 99.9% of the time, but there's nothing that I want to eat. Foods I once loved now make me want to hurl. Right now I have chicken BBQ'ing on the grill, but the words "Taco Bell" keep resonating through my head. I'll buy stuff in the grocery store with every intention of eating it, but it somehow manages to lose it's appeal somewhere between the checkout lane and the pantry. This baby will love Gala apples and organic Greek yogurt when it grows up.

3. I'm a total slacker. Much more so that I was pre-pregnancy. It's taken me almost an entire week to even write out this post; it's been swirling in my head during the most inoppurtune times. My laundry has piled up to insurmountable levels. Ditto with dishes. I bought a grill, so John could cook and I wouldn't have to clean the kitchen.

4. Wesley had to take what was possibly the world's most un-nutritious lunch box meal today. I totally ran out of his usual fare: organic berry lemonade, organic chicken strips, assorted organic fruits and veggies (he loves cucumbers and Gala apples), and a snack bag of totally non-organic, not entirely healthy potato chips. Today, however, he was reduced to what we could grab at the convenient store on the way to school. He had a V8 Splash, Funyons, Oreos and string cheese and cucumbers I did manage to have at home. *cringe* And yet, I'm sure that that crappy lunch was immeasurably more healthy and more tasty than the "lunch" they slop on the plates at his school.

5. Last week, I turned in the registration papers for Hanna to attend Pre-K in the fall. *sob* My baby is going to school. She's talking of the Brats lunchbox she'll have and the Brats bookbag she wants (that we'll hopefully be able to gently prod her away from in favor of something a little less hooker-ish). She's extremely excited and I'm beyond excited for her. But, she's my little girl. My little girl who suddenly seems so tall and so smart and wearing clothes in size 5 when it seems like she should still be that chubby little baby.

6. I cleaned out my closet of all the clothes I can't wear anymore. At 16 weeks, I'm not able to button my jeans and my size medium tees are a little too snug and sausage-y feeling. Fortunately, eBay has a veritable wealth of maternity clothes and, in the spirit of being thrifty and wisely economical, I've found super deals on used and new stuff. Which is great, because if I had to clothe my ever-growing belly with the selections from Walmart, I'd be going around naked.

7. The baby is currently 16 weeks along and the most fascinating thing about this week's development is that he or she is finally able to hear things outside of the womb. Wesley is enjoying reading to my belly every night and Hanna has made sure that appropriate doses of iCarly and Spectacular! have been provided. And we're making sure we expose the baby to the best of our musical collection: my compilation of 80s hits, every song the Beatles and/or Paul McCartney ever sang and AC/DC.

Due to arrive around August 21, affectionately known to his/her brother and sister as "Baby Herschel". God is good, indeed! :O)

Whenever my kids get a chance to spend some of their "toy money" or earn a toy treat from the store, more often than not, they choose something "dress-up". They have a massive collection already--tons of princess dresses, super-hero costumes, assorted animals--a few leftovers from previous Halloweens, but mostly goodies from a thrift store or the after-Halloween deep clearance sales. They LOVE to dress up.

I remember doing the same thing when I was a child, though I didn't have such an assortment of costumes. My sister and I simply made our own. It was the mid 80's, so all of my Mama's old clothes were 70's leftovers and my Granny's were from the 50's and 60's. We dressed in bold flowery-print dresses and authentic bell bottom pants, faux leather vests and real "vintage" tee shirts. Our favorite feature of Granny's closet were the shoes. Lord knows Nan Reynolds had a TON of shoes and they were all SO cool. ;-P She also had more than a couple faux fur coats, which were also super fun to wear--I even wore them to school sometimes, lol. :-D

The kids got a "toy treat" opportunity this week and, thanks to the Walmart toy clearance aisle, they both came home with some pretty awesome dress-up stuff. Wesley picked a set of spreadable Batman wings, while Hanna went the High School Musical route. Love that wig!!

And now, for the reason behind this post's title: starting from scratch.



Over four years after we've rid our house of all things "baby", it seems we'll be starting over come September! We've been trying/not preventing since January of 08 and the Lord has chosen to bless our family with another little one!

1. Yes, I know that's a Christmas photo up there ^ , but I love that picture and never got around to using it during the holidays. So, we'll pretend that Hanna's red dress is for Valentine's Day and the garland in the background is made of hearts and the snow globe is a non-Christmas themed, winter-only themed snow globe. It works. ;-)

2. I am in full-force, nothing-can-stop-me-now List Making Mode. Wesley's birthday is coming up in less than a month, so my menagerie of lists have started. Our first list started on a Subway napkin a few nights ago--the most important List of Party Invitees. My child has created a list of around 20 or so young 'uns that he wishes to have at his party. Most of said young 'uns are in their 5's and 6's, and will be dressed as Super Heroes at this lovely Super Hero-themed party, so you can imagine my dread anxiety. But, you only turn 6 once, so what the monkey-man wants, he'll get. Within reason, of course. Because, no, we can't get the real Superman to come.

3. My house is beyond the level of total destruction. Mostly due to my recent not-feeling-well turned now-I-have-a-cold, turned thus-I've-gotten-lazy-about-it form of housekeeping. And secondly because I have a child who likes to "dig". Now, she gets it honest, I will admit. She comes from a long line of plunderers *cough* everyoneinmyMom'sfamily *cough*, so it's no surprise that she likes to "dig", as she calls it. This weekend, she and Wesley did quite a bit of digging in my storage closet where all sorts of cool articles of clothing are located: "Hey, I wore this when I was 2. I wonder if it still fits." and "Are you really saving this little black bikini for me, Mama?" (Oh, heck no--I'm saving that for me when I eventually get back to my pre-babies body--hahahahaha.) They had a blast, no doubt, and sort of put things back, but not really. So, all that stuff is now added to all the other stuff that I have to clean up. It's a never ending cycle of stuff.

4. I'm torn between being simply amazed and utterly annoyed at the frequency that some of my fave bloggers/journal-ers are online. I've been introduced to Twitter and while the idea is nice, holey cow, people how do you manage? I barely have time to post something once every couple of days, much less off and on All. Day. Long. A few SAHM Twitter-ers I've checked out post something at least once a hour. It's unreal. You all must have amazingly well-behaved children. And spectacularly clean houses, suppers that cook themselves, and, well, send me your Laundry Service Personnel, cause, wow! Not that I'm hatin' or jealous. Just sayin'.

5. I have accomplished several things on today's To Do List while I've been online. I purchased some birthday party supplies from ebay (and a few non-birthday, Gymboree-type things, too). I made some hotel reservations at the Ocean Plaza for this summer. Rooms go quickly there in June/July, so had to get those already done. I also browsed ebay for custom birthday invitations, then decided that I could make my own and print them at Wally World for much cheaper. So, I've been doing that, also, and abandoning this post in the process. Thankfully, Hanna is "working" with Papa, so I have some free time.

6. But only for a little while, so I must go. :O)

It was truly a thrilling and touching moment to watch the inauguration of our 44th president today. Seeing millions of Americans come together to share in Obama's hope is a wonderful and beautiful thing.

Hanna reluctantly relinquished her cartoons so that she and I could watch the inauguration. I explained to her the importance of the event: the President being the leader of our country and the fact that Obama is our first black president. She's too young to really grasp the true significance of what happened today, but I wanted her to watch it. I know Wesley was watching at school and I hope it's something that they'll both tell their own children about one day.

She did have one comment, though, when Aretha was making her way to the podium:

"That is a cute hat."

God bless America.

I can't not post this.

Forgive the poor lighting and the camera shaking and the mess you might see everywhere.

This is priceless.

Turn the volume up and enjoy. And Martina, please don't take offense. ;-)

Now, I'm not really a big football fan, unless the Dawgs are playing (and winning) or the Colts happen to make it to the playoffs. Beyond that, it's a total loss for me. No interest whatsoever. I'm more of a baseball-girl. ;-) I'll watch the Braves--even when they lose--and love every minute of it.

But, this year we are rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers and you should, too. ;-) John's high school friend, Nick Eason is a defensive end and is, hopefully, on the way to earning his first Super Bowl ring.

And also, John wants to even the score with me. ;-P His high school is a football powerhouse, whereas mine is a...well, they have a football team. Sort of. :-/ But, one of my friends from high school, Arthur Love, won the Super Bowl his rookie year with the New England Patriots. So, there are definate high school bragging rights going on in our house! We're pulling for Nick to win one!

I realize I've been sorely neglecting my blog lately--and most of my other internet endeavors as well. We've been busy getting back into the back-to-school routine with Wesley and we've all been sick/not feeling well with some little bug or another. I suffered through a week of stomach virus (and the horror of my housekeeping going to pot all around me), only to now get a cold. I'm sneezing constantly and it's Driving. Me. Insane. And the sinus headache...ugh!

I am feeling a bit better this morning. We spent yesterday viewing a house (!) and going out of town to eat at one of our favorite places: Ryan's Steakhouse. It's been a couple of years since we've eaten there and it was well worth the hour's drive to get there.

I'm not sure what will happen on the house front. It's a home that's in foreclosure and the agents we met with believe that the bank will accept an offer considerably less than their asking price. So, we'll see. We still have to check a lot of things out and I'm trying to keep myself from getting too optimistic. The home is over 25oo square feet and on 5 acres, so that really calls to us right now. It's not entirely move-in ready, but that sort of calls to us, too. The work that would be done would make it ours. It was built in 1915 and has loads of original features and tons of character. And a workshop and several "barns". It's sort of like a cute little farm. But, like I said, we'll see. The thought of buying a home (and having that 20+ year debt) is unmeasurably scary to me, but owning our own home is a dream that John and I have had for the past 6 years. The Lord will see to it that the pieces fall into place, if they're meant to. I'm not getting myself caught up into it, I'm content to let Him guide us if He feels this is a journey we're meant to take.

We had a simply wonderful holiday.

The kids were super pleased with their gifts, I was super pleased by having John home, and we all found ourselves immersed in the joyous festivities. My prayers were answered as the true meaning of this season really rang true in all that we did. Wesley read us the Christmas Story from his new Bible on Christmas Eve--which was a total delight! The kids made crafts as gifts for Jesus and proclaimed that my sister's famous Tres Leche cake was his birthday cake. Hanna even asked of the homemade pizza we made for Christmas Eve lunch "Is that pizza for God's birthday?" *lol*

They're understanding--in their child-like way of course--that the Lord is the source of every good and wonderful thing we experience. It warms my heart to see the way they are learning about Him and the relationships that are slowly, but surely, blossoming.

I even received some lovely gifts this year that I am looking forward to using in my ever-constant quest to better know and love our Lord. My sister gave me a study Bible--how did I ever get by without one?!? And my parents gave me Beth Moore's Jesus: 90 Days with the One and Only. I simply cannot wait to get started on it! My wonderful husband gave me exactly what I wanted and I'm wearing it now: a gold cross necklace. He slipped over to our local Christian bookstore on his lunch break and snagged it for me. And gave me the most beautiful card ever written to go with it.

The kids have been busy with their favorite gift: a trampoline. Santa loaded that "cu-mongous" (Hanna-ism) thing right on his sleigh and dropped it off in our front yard! They're in love! As is Wesley with his Heely's and Hanna with her cotton candy pink Leapster. She's not yet fond of her Mickey mammoth Crocs--"the fur feels weird in there", but was thrilled to learn that Santa shopped at Gymboree and brought her new things to match her Winter Snowflake peices. Wesley got real camo clothing like Daddy's and is super proud of that! He also got a blue clip-on neck-tie that he has yet to take off. Yeah.

We've had very unseasonably warm weather this week--which has been great for the kids to enjoy their new outdoor toys and things. Not so much fun for my pocketbook as I've been browsing purchasing spring and summer clothing. But, to my credit, I have found great deals. I've practically stolen some NWT Gymbo from eBay and completely lucked upon the Matilda Jane sale thanks to Becki at Confessions... I managed to snag a couple of knot dresses and hope to pick up more when the site is back at full speed on Monday.

Tomorrow is my 31st birthday. I've been waiting an entire year for it. Seriously. I've been anxious to grow up from 30 to 31. We're having dinner at a Mexican restaurant with the in-laws and I'm baking myself a fudge cake (as if I need it) and I picked up a new outfit last night. John took the kids to the game center and I browsed for new church clothes (Yes--my kids are wonderfully and expensively dressed therefore I shop for myself at Wal-mart).

Wesley felt entirely and appropriately sorry for me from across the table at Ruby Tuesday: "But Mama, if you pick out your own gift, then you'll already know what it is. It won't be a surprise." Lord, bless the tender heart of that little boy. His sister was probably under the table by this point, but bless her, too.

I said: "That's okay. I already know my greatest gifts anyway."

"What"

"They're sitting right across the table from me."

My Secret Santa struck again and--Wow! I was amazed when I opened the package & touched to the point of tears. My first gift from her was a Stephen King novel, which I coincidentally finished the night before.

I knew it was a book when I got the package--media mail, hehe--and the only other book on my list was Multiple Blessings, the story of the Gosselin family. I hoped that was it!

I opened the card first:





It IS the Gosselin book!!! And--"Kate has signed this book for you"--OMG!!!!!

An autographed copy?!?:



Not just autographed, but personalized. To ME! From Kate! From my Secret Santa!! Oh, how I just melted. This was TOO much! Thank you, thank you, thank you, whoever you are!!!! I am thrilled and touched beyond words. Thank you again!

2 amazing things about this picture:

1. Hanna is actually sitting on Santa's knee (!)

2. Only a death grip on one of my hands was required.

Yep, Santa came to church on Sunday night. Following the wonderful Christmas Cantata where we all filled our souls till brimming with song worship and praise for our Lord, we all meandered over to the Fellowship Hall to fill our bellies with goodies and meet the Man in Red.

This is the first year Hanna has actually sat with Santa. Previous years pictures have shown Wesley cheerfully chatting away while Hanna clung fiercely to me on the sidelines. So, I consider this a success! Although she did inform me later that "he's not the real Santa." What!?!

"The real one is in the North Pole, silly. He has a BUNCH of work to do before Christmas."

So, who's this bearded guy in red?

"Oh, he's one of Santa's helpers. Like the ones that go to Walmart and the mall?"

Oh.

"The real Santa is St. Nicholas anyways."

Praise Jesus.

In our quest to correlate the modern day "Santa" with the true meaning of Christmas, we've taught the children about Saint Nicholas. St. Nick was a real man--a Godly man--who is revered for his selflessness and giving. He was a devout Christian who dedicated his life to God by helping others--he gave his entire substantial inheritance to the needy and the sick for starters. He obeyed God's commands to "put others first" and is known for his generosity and most importantly, gave all the glory to the Lord. He is supposed to have accepted gratitude by saying that the thanks should go to God alone. Stories of him also include giving of gifts to those who had none, thus the eventual correlation to Santa.

So, the tradition in our house has become that St. Nicholas was a man who loved God and was blessed by God to give gifts that would glorify Him. When St. Nick, the man, passed away, his memory and the wonderment of his good deeds were passed down to Santa--the fat cartoony guy in red--and Santa continues the tradition of gift giving. The main premise of the story being that, not only is it better to give than to receive, the best gifts have come from God. God is the true hero of this story--not Mr. Claus.

Of course, while the children are young, they get caught up in the "Santa and his reindeer-driven sleigh" thing, but they have a foundation of the true meaning of this season.

My prayers lately have been for the true spirit of Christmas to be heavy around our family, to infiltrate everything we say and do, to Fill. Us. Up. For us not to get caught up in the hurry and stress and worry that often accompanies this season, because "stress" and "worry" don't apply to God. He's the conqueror of all those and they have no place here during the time we celebrate the birth of our Greatest Gift.

John has been very secretive lately about my Christmas gift. He likes talking about it (without actually talking about it, you know) and dropping little hints just to tease me. Just so he can say "I know what it is and you don't". Well, last night, I figured it out! My wonderful husband was planning to buy me a laptop! ♥ I was shocked and excited! I've been lamenting my lack of one--just saying how nice it would be to have one, and that's what he decided to get me! So, we browsed on over to Dell.com and began building a nice Flamingo Pink one.

And then it all fell through. Literally.


So, the funds that would've purchased my laptop (merely a want) will now be used to repair our bathroom (a definite need). John is down in the dumps about it because he really wanted to get me a nice gift, but what can you do? I told him that we'd enjoy doing a project together (even if it is dismantling then rebuilding our one and only full bathroom in the shortest possible time) much more than I would enjoy having a laptop just so I could write more at my leisure. I'll get over it long before he will. He keeps bringing up the $7000 motorcycle I bought for him, and his desire to reciprocate. It's the thought that counts, honey. ♥

--

Final NaNo word count: 34,122. *sigh*

I knew it was inevitable, but I'm still a bit saddened that November ended before I could reach 50K. But, I chalked it up as a learning experience, donated to the NaNo fund, and sent Congrats! out to all my friends who did meet the goal. Way to go everyone! :O)

And, in some ways, I do consider this year's writing attempt to be a success. I mentioned before about my Obsessive Need to Edit and, I'm proud to say that I've somewhat conquered learned to deal with it. It is hard. Bad grammar taunts me. I can't stand to see a comma out of place. My skin fairly crawls when Word's red squiggly line alerts a misspelled word. It drives me nuts. I feel like I have to back and change it. BUT, I've done well with the last 20K or so words I've written. I've just let the words come, ignored the errors (as best I could) and just enjoyed the story.

And it is a story I enjoy. It's been a while since I've written anything that makes me want to hurry up and finish so I can find out what happens next. That, in my book, equals success. I kept writing long after I realized that I wouldn't achieve the 50K benchmark and I'm proud of myself for that, too.

This is the part of Black Friday that I hate.

Never mind all the money saved by getting those Early Bird deals this morning or the camaraderie of strangers bonding over the similar desire for one cotton candy pink Leapster.

It's 9:00am--a good 6 hours since I woke in wee morning hours to trek to Walmart--and my kids are Just. Getting. Up. I'm ready to go to bed and they're raring to get out. *sigh*

Hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving and that your "corn of cofia's" (as Hanna so eloquently puts it) were bountiful with blessings from the Lord. I hope your hearts were full of thanksgiving and, above all, thankful to the Lord for His Son and His wonderful grace.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving: