Getting His Logic from the 5 Year Old

He says, "Hey Mommy, this guy here? He lost his arms and legs in a shark attack. His name is Kevin B."

She says, "Yeah Mommy, Kevin B."

He says, "See Mommy? I am putting him in the back of my truck now. Ohhh noooo, we have to hurry him to the hospital. Get the chopper!"

I listen to about 10 minutes of continuous dialogue on Kevin B. (and a few of his friends,) his unfortunate meeting with a shark while swimming in the ocean and how he is now limbless.

I send a text to David, wondering if he knows what fueled the surge of shark attack victims in my home. I get back:

"'Shark Attack' on Discovery"

"Why did you watch that? Why not the Padre Game?!"

"Because it's SHARK WEEK!"

Thank you Discovery.

Ten on Tuesday, Juh, Juh, Juh...J!

The following is a list of TEN things I am thankful for all beginning with the letter J!

I should say I have always been a fan of "J," it is one of my favorite letters to write. Tidy, yet allows for an artistic flair. So here you go. "J," in no particular order...

10. Joy....of the Kristy and Lucy variety.

9. Jib Jab.com...MAN there is funny stuff there!!

8. Joey Tribbiani..."How YOU doin?" "Not just a hat rack my friend." "I'm Chandler, could I BE wearin' any more clothes?" "That's how they do pants!" "You don't own a TV? What's all your furniture pointed at?"

7. JPEG's. Because it means I have taken a picture. And I looooove taking pictures. (Although technically I am shooting more RAW these days....but I will save that one for "R.")

6. Juice...Cranberry is my favorite with Orange coming in at a close second.

5. Jelly...I don't eat it very often but when I put it on toast, it is perfection.

4. Justice and Jesus...Justice is something we seek on this earth but because of Jesus, we never have to fully recieve what we deserve whenit comes to eternity.

3. Jokes...particularily the "knock-knock" variety. I am living in the land of knock-knock jokes and they ALL have the same punchline. The formula is as follows (write this down, it will be a HIT at your next party!)

Knock-Knock
Who's there?
(Insert any object here...we are going to choose SUNGLASSES)
Sunglasses who?
"Sunglasses or no Sunglasses, I'm going swimming!"

See how that works? You can use anything in there. Pants, milk, Darth Vader...that is the BEAUTY of the joke!

2. Jim, my Uncle Jim... Amazing man, wonderful teacher and knower of all things Monty Python and GOOD humor. Jesus called him home before we were ready but we honored his memory appropriately in the laughter before the memorial service and watching a certain Johnny Knoxville show at my aunt's house afterwards. (That link is PG-13.) The Big Red Chair was my uncle's and my cousin was so kind to let me have it in my home. I miss you, Uncle Jim.

1. James Bond...I have spoken before how much I love him but I also love him for bringing my friends together and creating memories that I cling to when I am in a dark time of life. I guess if I REALLY wanted to be dramatic (and who doesn't?!) then I could say

James Bond Saved My Life. Thank You James.

There is the J for me!
Hey, this was fun...and you should TOTALLY do it too! Type it up and then go see my friend Crayl and you can plug your site in and be on the OFFICIAL list for this Ten on Tuesday. You want to be offical, don't you?

Growing Up in a World Without "Silver Spoons"

Her name is Ella.
And the most exciting thing she saw today?
The closing credits to "Crimson Tide."

In addition to having great taste in movies that include a small part for the beloved and still continuously adorable Ricky Schroeder even though he is billed as "Rick" in this film, she's quite charming, no?

Greetings and Salutations

I am happy to welcome my dear friend Missy Shell to the world of blogging.

(And I'd love it if you welcomed her too!)

http://snowcomesup.blogspot.com/

Can I Just Tie Them Up for the Next Month?

Play-Doh everywhere.
Colors mixing.
Mom twitching.

IS SUMMER OVER YET?!?!?

Ten On Tuesday, The "Huh" Edition (That's me making the sound of the letter H)

10 Things I Am Thankful For...
(in no particular order...till you get to number 1)

10. Honey-it doesn't make sandwiches messy, it helps clear the yuckies out of your throat when you drink it in tea

9. Hearts...if you put hearts on anything, Lucy will like it waaay better.

8. Hootenanny...cause it's like, the BEST word ever.

7. HI-larious Friends...most of mine are. You can read one of them here.

6. Hulu.com....oh my gosh have you been there yet?!?! You can watch full episodes of TV like Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore! It is so awesome! I need 2 computers now: one for surfing and one for watching REAL classic television. And, its FREE!

5. Harry Connick, Jr. I have forgiven him, by the way.

4. Handmade Cards. The kids make them all the time. If you get one from Nathan, it will have your name written on it and often also a picture of himself. Lucy will cover every inch of cardstock with stickers. Even puffy ones so the card won't close. And then she will get frustrated...and possibly get on time out. But you can be sure your card was made with PASSION.

3. Hands. Carol's. specifically. (She does massages. good ones!!)

2. Han Solo. Oh Han, give me a chance and I will tame your wild ways. We will live happily ever after in our intergalactic lifestyle ridding the world of evil and you teaching me how to do the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs. (In the Millenium Falcon of course.)

1. Hubbies. Mine is particularly wise. We have had some situations in the last number of weeks that I have had to rely completely on his wisdom and his direction from the Lord. And every time I follow his lead, I find that we have done exactly what God would have wanted us to do. Last night I got the chance to thank him for his wisdom and dedication to being the Spiritual Leader of our family. That's why he gets the Number One spot. Because while I loooooove me some Han Solo, it is David who will always have my heart.

I Write These Down So You Can Appreciate Your Life Better

My Night Last Night...

8:30pm Nathan falls asleep after crying for over an hour. He is fried from a full day of fun with Grandma Sisi and Grandpa Tim.

All is mostly well and quiet on the homefront. But this is the calm before the storm.

2:30am Ella wakes up to eat. This was to be expected since she fell asleep earlier than usual last night.

3:15am Lucy is now awake. She wants to sleep in bed with us, "in a room with a Mommy and a Daddy and a Baby."

3:30am Lucy is still awake

3:45am Whew! Rubbed Lucy's head till she fell asleep-it worked!

3:50am Nope.

4:00am Tucked Lucy back in bed. Realized Ella and Nathan and I didn't have any clean clothes to wear to church tomorrow. Went downstairs to start a load of laundry.

4:15am And check my e-mail

4:30am Oh look! It's Lucy! She's awake!

4:35am Lucy is tucked back in bed. And I take a hot shower to try to clear the throbbing earache I have.

4:55am A nice peaceful shower. Everyone is where they should be. I lay down and David sits up to ask me if I feel better. He also scares the crap out of me.

5:00am Have listened to grumpy husband explain how Lucy was up twice AND she woke up Nathan who climbed into bed with Nick who was unhappy about all of that and was crying himself.

5:15am Ella is awake again.

5:35am I lay back in bed.

5:45am As I drift off to sleep, I am suddenly awoken by the crowing of a rooster.

Wait, that can't be right. I live in the city.

Oh! It's my DAUGHTER and she is CROWING LIKE A ROOSTER OUT AN OPEN WINDOW!

5:46am I find my daughter in Nathan's room sitting on his bed with Nicholas. Both Lucy and Nick are wide awake and trying to wake up Nathan who does NOT want to be up yet.

5:55am Ella is still awake from eating and is playing quietly in her crib. But if I climb into bed, she will see me and possibly want me to pick her up. I wait.

5:58am Ella fills her diaper....about 5 times.

6:00am I finally drift off to sleep. I hear kids getting up again. I ignore them and instead wake up my husband and beg him to deal with it so I can get some sleep.

8:00am After about 90 minutes of very interrupted sleep, I get out of bed and go to church.


I am happy to report the following...
-I didn't fall asleep in the middle of the worship set this morning.
-Although it meant I missed morning rehearsal, I had a delicious Iced Green Tea Latte and bacon breakfast sandwich-Starbys saves the day
-Lucy is still alive...but barely.

No Comment.

Seen on a license plate frame today:

We don't sell...We satisfy

Anyone think there may be some sort of questionable car salesmen in the San Diego area?
Hmmmm.




ps: Got some new shots here that I am kinda proud of.

Hey You, Cook Me Dinner

I am participating in a Blog Carnival today. And while I was disappointed to know that this carnival does not include bearded ladies and rides whose structure I find questionable, I am relieved to know there will be no Blog Carnival Clowns. I can't handle clowns.

Today I am gonna tell you What Works For Me because today is Works For Me Wednesday. This is where I extol the brilliance of my own brain upon you, the humble readers and hopefully improve your hum drum lives in some amazing way and thereby leading YOU to thank me forever and ever. (Should you decide to erect a statue in my honor, let me know when it will be dedicated because I will make a personal appearance.......for a small fee.)

On to the brilliance!

What Works For Me...what makes my life easier? I have OTHER PEOPLE cook dinner for me.


Thank you folks! Good night!


Well, I should probably explain...
I, like many of you, read the hilarious Dawn who auctioned her kids' Pokemon cards on EBay and she spoke of Supper Swapping once. It was an interview with someone who wrote a book on the whole concept. I called a friend who called two friends and now we swap!



I'll be here all week!


Ok, that's getting annoying...sorry.

So, every week, I cook dinner for 4 families (including my own) and deliver it to all of them (we live in a 15 mile radius of each other) and in return, I get dinner delivered to my doorstep 3 times a week!

We deliver the main course and on occasion, a side dish. But, in general, we take care of our own sides-veggies, rice, potatoes etc.

When you set it up with other families, you have to find a family that matches yours in size...if you have 8 kids, don't call the new mom in your church to participate. She's busy being a new mom and trying to remember how to style her hair and apply makeup. But once you have even 1 more family, give it a try! Before you do that-wait, come back!-lets go through just a few suggested guidelines...

-Be HONEST about likes and dislikes. Also be honest if a dish just didn't work out. I recently made a meatball soup for the first time and I let the uncooked meatballs float around in the soup overnight before I delivered it. Then, when my gals crock-potted (why does that make me laugh?) it, the meatballs had kind of disintegrated and there were bits of raw beef floating around in the soup. Ugh. I am gonna stop-I am grossing myself out. Anyway, no one complained when I said I wasn't going to bring that again.

-Stock up on aluminum cooking dishes or disposable plastic containers to trade back and forth. This way you don't have to keep track of who has your mother's mother's orange Tupperware container that may or may not actually be microwave safe. Plus, when Target has the ones with the pink lids on special, you can use those and feel cute.

-Deliver ON TIME. This means YOU Bethany! (Wait, that's me!)

-Work out a system for when people aren't home. Swap keys, build a fake door on the side of your house that opens directly into the back of the fridge or break into your supper swap people's homes in the middle of the night for a fun surprise!

-Remember that you aren't competing for the Top Chef title. This doesn't have to be the best meal you have ever cooked. It should be enough for everyone in the family and it should be yummy. In our group, grabbing a package of Chicken Parm and mashed potatoes from the deli section of Price Club is not frowned upon. Frankly, if food is showing up at my house that I don't have to cook, there is very little that will cause me to frown.

When you think you have your Swappers all figured out, have a 2 week trial period. Then evaluate and see if it's gonna work or not. Maybe this is a once a week thing...maybe you only swap with one other family...let me tell you this, I don't have to cook 3 nights a week! It's great!

I use my extra time to feed the poor, clothe the homeless, minister to all the unsaved souls in Africa (you should see the frequent flier miles!) and then, of course, SNOOD!

And that, my readers, is What Works for Me!

Hey, the brilliance is not limited to just me! Check out more geinus at Rocks in My Dryer...she's the carnival ringmaster!

Oooh! Oooh! Oooh!

I am such a geek.
But I love Bond.