Baby Steps

My friend Aleesa so gently hinted to me that my blog is in need of updating. My last post was before Christmas, so I guess she might be right...

My husband so gently hinted to me that it has been a while since I have shined my sink. The last time I shined my sink was probably around this time, so I guess he might be right...

My parents, in-laws, and siblings so gently hinted that I haven't been so diligent in keeping their picture frames updated. My memory cards are full and my Photoshop skills rusty, so I guess they might be right...

My scale so gently hinted that it has been a while since I've paid attention to my health. Since my treadmill is covered in potential garage sale items and my water bottle is at the top of the cabinet way in the back, I guess it might be right...

My Heavenly Father so gently hinted to me that it has been a while since I have had more than a "hit and run" quiet time. The last time I remember doing that was right before Spring Break, so I guess He might be right...

It has been easy lately for me to beat myself up over the things I haven't been doing or to even air a laundry list of excuses for not doing these things. But instead of beating myself up, I am going to tackle this FlyLady-style: Baby Steps. That involves doing just a little bit of each task each day and taking full advantage of a trusty little thing called a timer!

So here's to finally creating a blog post, shining my sink, drinking more water, opening up Photoshop, and diving deeper into the Word. And all in one week!

Oh, I can't forget a photo of my kiddos. They have grown quite a bit since Christmas!

Wordy Wednesday

Some of my fellow bloggers participate in what is called Wordless Wednesday where all that they post is a priceless picture, usually of adorable children. The photos usually are the kind that speak volumes without the need of a written word. From tickles to tears, I love those photos!

Being the rebel that I am--those who have known me for quite some time now are probably snorting at my obvious misrepresentation of myself--I am choosing to do a Wordy Wednesday. I promise not to crank out a novel (in addition to my totally unrebellious nature, I was also once known for being rather verbose), but rather turn this post over to the hilarious, insane, but often insightful ramblings of my two precious preschoolers.

Are you ready for this?!

A few days ago, my Transformers-addicted son was wondering why one of the animated characters was so rude. I explained to him that the character was arrogant and then proceeded to explain to him what that meant. He went on watching his cartoon, seemingly happy with my explanation. Days later, we were reading the awesome children's book The Rough-Faced Girl. Looking at one of the illustrations, Wesley exclaimed, "Mommy, those sisters are asparagant!" Well, he does love his veggies...


While watching Annie (and no, we don't spend the majority of our time in front of the TV!), Jilly was concerned about the girls not having mommies and daddies. However, she did not understand why the orphans were so sad. In my attempt to teach her empathy, I asked, "Jilly, if Mommy died, wouldn't you be so sad?" Her response: "Yes Mommy, but I just go get a new Mommy at Office Depot."


Gee thanks Jill! Maybe I should go buy a few extras next time they're on sale.

I've got some wordy kids huh?! How about some more!

This next Jilly transaction took place between Jilly and her Mema while they were in the backyard. Mema was blowing bubbles for Jilly to pop, but popping was not on Jillian's agenda. As the bubbles floated by, Jilly watched them dance in the breeze and sighed, "There goes my dreams!" Can anyone say, "Drama Queen?!"


My favorite wordy moment occurred while we were watching (again with the television!) Grandpa & Mema's wedding video, which featured a very young Mommy and Aunt Minda. Somewhere during the ceremony, Jillian queries, "Mema, are you and Grandpa married?" Mema answers, "Yes, we are." The follow-up ensues: "Are you husband and wife?" Again, Mema answers, "Yes Jilly." Very nonchalantly, Wes chimes in, "You get what you get."


Yes, Wesley, indeed you do!

I am alive and Photoshopping!

Looking at my Blogger dashboard, it appears that I have neglected my blog for quite some time! I am here to assure you that we are alive and well, but extremely busy! "Busy doing what?" you might ask. Well since you asked...vacation, Vacation Bible School, visiting old friends (well, not that they're OLD...but I sure do feel old seeing how big their kiddos are now), making new friends, vacation (yes, another one!), and learning new techniques on Photoshop!

Whew! That sounds like a lot, but if you throw in attacking massive loads of laundry, swimming in the backyard, reading If You Will Ask by Oswald Chambers, chatting endlessly with my little sister, and learning Indiana Jones LEGO on the Xbox, it really sounds like I've had NO time to blog!

So just to get back in the swing of things, I'm going to do a hit and run post. After all, I've got photos to Photoshop.

Is that an actual verb?! Well, it is now!

Mckmama gave this Photoshop tutorial on making antique-looking photos awhile back and I am just now getting around to trying it out. Needless to say, I am hooked!

Here are the fruits of my labor:

Before


After

Wasn't that cool! Run on over to Mckmama's tutorial to check out how I did that.

You didn't think I'd write a post without the obligatory pictures of my kiddos did you?!

That would be insane!

Enjoy your weekend! Can you guess what I'll be doing?

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

You know the drill...

• I totally DID NOT fall for it when WGH offered me a Starbucks latte and pumpkin loaf before church as a peace offering for NOT using a short tone with me. Furthermore, I certainly DID NOT start scheming on how to prevoke another short tone for next Sunday! After all, who DOESN'T like Starbuck's pumpkin loaf?! DEFINITELY NOT ME!


• When dealing with Wesley's new-found phobia to the color blue--yes, the actual color along with anything else that hue--I would NEVER behave in a way other than the utmost patience and understanding. My highly trained skills as mother totally prevent me from trying any of the following: logical arguments (did I mention he's 4?!), sweet pleading (again, did I mention he's 4?!), pitiful begging (ditto on the previous two), and eventually frustrated resignation (do I have to repeat it?!). Consequently, I will NOT be changing his navy blue sheets today and hiding his once beloved Thomas the Train pillow (as evidenced by the following photo taken a year ago).

• When someone (or several someones) marvels at Jilly's ultra-curly hair, I WOULD NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS secretly wish that she had "normal hair" because as beautiful as naturally curly hair is, it is even more of a chore keeping it well kempt. When I view the hair of my friends' girls, I certainly NEVER dream of what it would be like to brush smooth, silky hair and arrange it in all sorts of creative and trendy styles. I mean, really, who would ever NOT LOVE this

NOT ME!

Now that I've spilled my guts, go ahead, have at it!

Not Me! Monday

If you're a fan of MckMama or have visited my blog before, you know what today is, so here goes:

• In NO WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM would I enjoy a Mother's Day weekend away from my children. NOT ME!
• And because I DID NOT miss my children, I would NEVER in a million years let my kids play hooky from school for no other reason than so we could just hang out together at the house. Even if it is just preschool...
• If we did happen to skip school (which we totally DIDN'T), I would certainly NOT want to spend that day driving all the way back to my mother-in-law's house to retrieve the purse that I DID NOT leave at her house on Mother's Day.
• And while we WEREN'T retrieving said purse, when the car actually WOULDN'T start, I DID NOT tell my restless and sweating kids (who coincidentally were the reason for the car NOT starting) "Be quite, Mommy is stressing" rather than "Mommy is thinking!" Furthermore, I DID NOT come to the conclusion that had we NOT played hooky, we WOULDN'T have been stranded!
• Because I am a highly trained athlete, I would NEVER complain of aches and pains after playing a family-friendly game of volleyball at my in-laws annual Mother's Day shrimp boil. I definitely am NOT old!
• I would NEVER spend an entire day sewing drawstring bags and baby blankets for my kids and their dolls instead of FLYing!

Whew! I feel better now! If you need some free therapy, run on over to MckMama's blog and check out the rules for participating in NOT ME! Monday. For even more therapy, check out what other bloggers have NOT been up to this week.

Life post-op

Life post sinus surgery has had its ups and downs. Mostly down at first and now definitely up!Since last Friday, I have felt terrific! I truly didn't realize just how much of a toll my situation was on my family until my kids said excitedly, "You're going to church with us!?" Or, "You're not sick today Mommy?!" Ouch, and double ouch! Wesley actually told his teacher "Mommy took drugs and now she feels better." Um, Sheila, I promise I don't have a drug addiction!

The healing process has been so much faster than my previous surgeries. After two post-op doctor's visits, I've been cleared (pun intended!) to blow my nose again and for all intents and purposes, resume a normal life.

Well, if by "normal" you mean spending too much time in pain and in bed, then no thank you!

Maybe we'll try to redefine normal...I have always been one to love change, so I think we'll work on that.

WGH has already noticed a big change in me. Albeit one that he DOESN'T like. It seems that with this new life sans headaches, I have really taken to this whole FlyLady thing. Things that I didn't notice before (or just didn't care) are really beginning to irk me: shoes left in the floor, laundry being draped over furniture instead of being put away, and the mother of all infractions NOT PUTTING DIRTY DISHES IN THE DISHWASHER!!! Short and sweet, anything getting between me and my shiny sink has become a big deal and of course, I would be remiss if I didn't remind him of it--ALL OF IT. Well, nevermind the fact that it might be misconstrued more like nagging. Not that I ever nag,

EVER.

So maybe this shiny sink business isn't such a great idea...

The words sink and Nazi keep running through my head. My kids even have taken up my new mantra: "A clean house is a happy house." They chant it as they pick up their toys.

Seriously.

I feel almost a bit cultish in this attitude. The sad thing is that I haven't even made it through a whole Baby Steps cycle yet!

And I haven't even mentioned my Control Journal yet...we'll save that for another day. It needs a whole post for itself.

The up side to this OCD attitude is that for the most part (the kids' playroom and bedrooms NOT included) at any given moment, someone can stop by and I won't feel utterly humiliated in letting them in my house. So bring on the visitors! We are hoping to throw a mini birthday party for my precious Uncle Ross tonight. Maybe I'll host!

I have millions of pictures of the kiddos to share, but I'll try to keep it to a scant few. These are "Easter" pictures. That means we are pretending that I took these pictures at Easter instead of a week later. Never fear grands and other family. These are also "school pictures" for this year (well, the individual ones are different) because 1) the school pictures were not so hot, and 2) the photographer totally forgot to take Jilly's picture after their sibling picture! Oh well, mine are MUCH cheaper!

While listening to KSBJ the other day, I heard a quote that really hit home for me. So I'll leave you with the awesome words of missionary Jim Elliot:

"Wherever you are,

be all there."

My Valentines

Naturally when it comes to thinking about Valentine's Day, the first person that comes to mind is my husband Kevin, who also happens to be the Best Husband in the World (even though I have no hope for flowers today). Just thought I'd clarify that in case you were under the assumption that your husband claimed that title ;)

However, and I think I can safely speak for Kevin as well, our kids are the greatest gifts God could have ever bestowed on us. The love they shower on us daily reminds me of just how much God loves us and that He gives us so much more than we deserve. They bless our life in so many ways. Just when I think that they couldn't make me feel anymore happy/loved/blessed they go and do something else to make me want to exclaim "My cup runneth over!"

One of the things I love the most about my kiddos is the way they play so well together. That's one of the reasons why we had them closer together (they're 19 months apart). Of course they inevitably resort to fighting when one takes the other's beloved toy (aka the one they have at the moment), but overall they entertain each other in such as way as to secretly entertain their Mommy!

Here they are playing together at the window on a beautiful day that was too windy for us to be outside (who knew living in Baytown would be so windy).

Such moments are very common in our household. Of course I would be remiss if I failed to mention that we have a multitude of meltdowns as well. There are days that we are tested beyond belief and I ask aloud "What next?!" But even in the meltdowns, we are reminded of the incredible love God has for us. It blows my mind to try to even comprehend the extent of God's love for His children. In the midst of the chaos of life, God never ceases to leave us reminders, like little valentines, of his infinite love: beautiful sunrises, randoms act of kindness, sweet kisses from little lips, blooming flowers despite cold weather, laughs around the dinner table at goofy faces made by a silly little girl, the miraculous recovery of an injured loved one, the sacrifice of an only Son for the redemption of the world. This is what love is.

I know that I am loved by my Heavenly Father and that makes this Valentine's Day so much more special.