Because It's My Job to Know These Things

For the record...


Prince Eric is Ariel's Prince.


Prince Phillip is Sleeping Beauty's (aka Aurora) prince.
(And my favorite of the Disney princess movies. He's drawn the handsomest and Aurora has the best songs.)


Snow White's prince is just "Prince."


And it is Cinderella who ends up with Prince Charming.





No, I did NOT spend an hour I should have used cleaning the house looking all that up because Michelle and I couldn't figure it out on our own when Lucy asked.

Yes, I AM a liar.

Distracted By the Lemony Goodness

I was in bed on time. WAS.
But then I saw Part One of a Two Part "Different World" where Whitley is getting married to that stuffy serious man but Dwayne Wayne shows up and realizes how much HE loves her. Sigh. I sat there. I knew I should turn off the TV and go to sleep. I made a promise to myself to be responsible. After all, this was just Part One ending. I was going to get the "To Be Continued" message any minute. Wait, what was this? PART TWO! Coming on RIGHT NOW?! Woo Hoo!

But I knew that 25 of the 30 minutes would be filled with indecision. Whitley would cry to her Mama, Dwayne would flip his flip up glasses a few times and mope about. So I had time to kill, a new biiiig bottle of lemon juice in the fridge, and a dirty shower door to tackle. (Love the lemony goodness of cleaning with lemon juice!!)

I scrubbed, I rinsed, I cleaned.
I missed it.
When I came out of my bathroom, the credits were rolling and now I sit listening to Dwayne and Whitley talk about their honeymoon.

Tomorrow-er, this morning-when I am most likely late for Worship team rehearsal, I am not so sure that the band is gonna be on board with my reasons for oversleeping my alarm.

Hang on to Your Ears

This is one of those days when I wish I had a blog where I could anonymously post and whine about everything that is bugging me right now. I don't mean share my troubles and ask for uplifting advice either. I mean whine. And I can get a good one going if I want. Where the pitch and timbre of my voice will cause all the fluid in your ears to vibrate and next thing you know, you are completely deaf.

And you'd be happy you were deaf because then you wouldn't have to hear me whine.

Instead I pose these questions for discussion:
When did I get old and stop liking cold pizza?
and
Does the fact that I eat pizza for breakfast (but heated up) cancel out the un-cool of heating it up and leave me where I already was on the coolness scale?

Happy Reason to Eat Cake!

aka: David's Birthday

Hubby's Birthday was yesterday and we kept things low key with the classic cake and pizza.

Actually, I should say that after Lucy and I took Nathan to school we blew through Starbucks and delivered breakfast in bed to David who took the morning off and got some much needed rest. Lucy insisted that the Starbucks Breakfast Sandwich have a candle in it so we sang him awake and we all had breakfast in bed.

When David went to work, Lucy and I made his cake. We had so much fun and I enjoyed showing her all the settings on the mixer. So much so, I set the mixer to high for the 4 minutes it was supposed to be just mixing on medium. All my eggs were whipped into a frenzy that no longer resembled cake mix. We'd used all the eggs, were running low on time so into the oven it went!

The outcome was...not awful. And, franky, it was still cake. With homemade buttercream icing. And that's all that matters, right? Even Ella reeeeeeaaaallly wanted some!

Happy Birthday to the man who changed my life for the better. To borrow the overused lyric from Juno, he's the cheese to my macaroni. Without him, I am just plain noodles.

AND....I should say that I looooove cake.
So so much.
And when I saw this, I laughed out loud and watched it again. Enjoy!

One Day Down...12 First Days of School Left

Well, all the dry runs of years past made today just any other "First Day of School." He was an expert at posing on the front lawn, he ate a healthy breakfast, he woke up at God Awful:Thirty begging me to let him get dressed.


It all sounds about right!


There isn't a whole lot to tell: We dropped off, we said goodbye, we did our best to not trip over the little girl who was hiding under the table. (Seriously.)


I could barely hang onto him as he ran off to join his classmates on the rug with his teacher. I don't think David even caught a kiss. Lucy was too busy trying to steal the crayons. (They were brand new, I am sure they were calling to her. I completely understand.)



When we walked out I was fine. When we crossed the street to the car I was fine. It was when we climbed in and realized I forgot to pray with him that I started crying. I was mad at myself for forgetting that.



We dropped David off so he could go to work, and The Girls and I went to the Original Pancake House and drowned our sorrows in carbs and syrup. It really was the only solution.



After school, I was greeted by a smiley faced boy who likes school but said that pre school is more fun. I got a report about a gingerbread man story and how Nathan is going to suggest a camp out to his teacher. In tents. To see if the gingerbread men escape in the night.



Here is the media coverage of Nate's First Day......

The Backpack...Jansport. Simple. Star Wars Patch Necessary.

He looks so little heading into school....

...but he came out looking so much older.

He was even just a little happy to see Lucy.

I think we can declare school a success.

Totally NOT Freaking Out

Tomorrow is The Day.
I have warmed up a couple of times and gone through drills and treated them as if they were the Real Thing. But who was I kidding?

This is it. No turning back now. So many things to say goodbye to and yet so many things wait for us on the horizon.

I guess there is no more to say.
Tomorrow, we will start Kindergarten.

Something Isn't Right Here.

The kids just spent the last 30 minutes working together to clean Nathan's room.
They didn't fight.
They didn't argue.
No fists flew.
No Toddler Obscenities ("Poopy Face") were exchanged.

When they were done, Nathan walked over to Lucy, gave her a hug and said, "Thanks Luce. I never could have done it without you."






OK, WHO STOLE MY KIDS?!?!

All I Need is a Sharpie to Make Things Cool

Do you ever look around and realize you are missing something and you have NO idea what happened to it?

I am not talking about thinks you may have lost recently, maybe while pregnant, like 2 cell phones, a pair of Padre tickets, your wedding ring set or sanity. (NOT that I ever lost ANY of those things! No way.)

I mean things that you maybe had as a kid that were in your room one day and gone the next. Favorite board games, a doll or a book you used to read?

There is a picture of me with my broken arm wearing a shirt that had the sketch of a girl's face on it. It was Very 80's. Very Max Headroom. I don't know what happened to it. It was lost somewhere between Long Beach and San Diego when we moved.

And my backpack from high school. It was cool. It was a Jansport. It was FOREST GREEN-THE color of the 90's yes?-with the leather bottom and single pocket on the front. It had adjustable straps so that when it was cool to wear it slung as low over your rear end as possible, it complied. And then, when it was cool to wear your backpack up high on your back, the straps adjusted right where they needed to be. It was cooler than your backpack. Oh yeah it was. Wanna know why? Because I took a Sharpie and drew flowers all over the outside of the tiny pocket. Helped me find it in the sea of FOREST GREEN backpacks on my campus.

Where is it?
I want it.
I don't really NEED it, but I want it. It was cool.

No doubt the shirt fell victim to the Mommy Cleaning that all moms do in the middle of the night while you are sleeping so you can't be reminded that the pair of rain boots that are too small and hiding in the back of your closet are your all time favorites as she carried them to the Goodwill pile in the garage. But my backpack? Mom, you never could. It was too cool for that. It deserved more than that.

Is there a heaven for backpacks? Make sure it ends up on the cool side.

Ten on Tuesday...La La La La

I am thankful for the letter L...here are 10 reasons why (in no particular order)...

1. Lucy. Lucy. Lucy. Lucy. You are trouble. You just came inside soaking wet to tell me you were watering my flowers with water you got from the fish tank. But you also snuggle with me. You make me laugh and you want me to play tea party with you and you sing. Always sing.

2. Liz. She's my bosom friend and always will be. Stick us in a room with only each other and I promise we will be laughing within 5 minutes. She has also journeyed closest to me through one of the darkest times of my life and held my hand the whole time.

3. Lemon....Its my favorite Yogurt Mill yogurt flavor and is perfect when mass quantaties are squeezed into iced tea...

4. ...Lipton brewed fresh only thankyouverymuch

3. Back to 3. Lemon: When in juice form, it cleans all KINDS of stuff! Especially when you let your shower head soak in it. Amazing!

5. La, la, la, la! I looooooove to sing.

6. Love. Speak the Truth in...Live your life in...And the greatest of these is...
I will leave the very eloquent dc talk to say it for me. :)

7. L-Series Lenses...ohhhhhhhh yeaaahhhhh baby. That little red line around the end? Hottest thing I have ever seen.

8. Little...I love things that are little. Know the extra tiny boxes of things like laundry soap and crackers you find in 7-11? Ohh I want them all. Once, on a road trip, I paid full price for a box of Cheez-its that was about 1/3 the normal size. It was so cute. It held about 20 Cheez-its.

9. Lines on the freeway...it keeps me where I am supposed to be.

10. Ladies...as in my ladies. The ones I roll with for things like Denny's, yogurt, movies and all kinds of adventures. Love you girls!!

You should SO do this too!! Check out Crayl's Luscious Ladies and Lads Linking the Letter L!

There's a Party in Heaven!

Meeting the new neighbor, she said that Jesus was going to be coming back for her soon.
The neighbor asked, "For you?"
"No!" she replied, "for allllll of us!"


And now, she has officially joined the ranks.
Welcome to the Family of God, Sweet Lucy Goose.

Hey Lady, Ever Heard of a Deadbolt?!

There is a story in our family that is filed under the "famous" catagory. Each family has that catagory...stories that are told and retold and known by all members of the family as if it happened to them. Last year I spoke of one that also was filed under "most embarassing moment." But this one is one that is just soooooo sweet...

I was a Toddler. The toddling age or possibly just emerging from toddling. Say 3-5 years old. (Maybe my mom can clear that up in the comments.) My dad and his dad had recently taken me to the park where the ducks were and we all took pictures. It was a fun day.

My dad had just left for a morning run and being the early riser that I was and also given the fact that apparently my father couldn't as much break his sleeping breathing pattern without waking me, I was awake in our house. My mom and my new-ish little sister (the one who slept in) were NOT awake.

The story goes that I gathered my toy camera, my sock monkey and a blanket. Did I have a blanket too? Hmm, I don't remember. But the mental picture is waaaay cuter if I have a blanket so I am going to say I had one with me. OK, camera, sock monkey and blanket in hand, I left the house on a search for the park where we fed the ducks. I believe it was my mom who woke up feeling that "something is wrong" feeling when she found me walking down our block.

How cute is that?! I just wanted to take pictures of the duck! Oh I love that story. It's precious. It's adorable. I have always felt that way.

UNTIL TODAY.

I started the "awake" portion of my day today seeing that I had a missed call from David on my cell phone. I called him back and the first thing he asked was:
"Is Lucy in the house?"

Uhhhhhhhh....

"I got a call this morning from Kim [our wonderful salsa making neighbor] saying Lucy was at their front door ringing the doorbell."

OHMYFREAKINGGOSHICANTBELIEVESHELEFTTHEHOUSEAND-

"Sweetie? You still there? Kim said Lucy told her that her mommy was sleeping but it was OK for her to come over. Kim walked her back to the house, locked the screen and called me. So I thought I'd call to make sure Lucy was still there."

My mind is spinning and the moments it slows down and allows coherant thoughts, it really isn't very comforting....
-We live on a busy street she could have just walked out into traffic
-I didn't even HEAR the door open or close and it isn't a very noisy door. My Mommy instinct must be off.
-She probably woke the neighbors up since their vacation just started this week.

And the most fun thought of all?

The fact that I KNOW Lucy changed out of her pajammys into a dress she found in her closet that was waaay too short. And that she wasn't wearing any underwear. She was going commando.

Lets reflect on the story of me as a child once again...

MOM, I AM SO SORRY!!

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!