S Club Mama

I borrowed this movie from Mrs. Spiderleg & have been waiting a week to watch it with Big A. We're watching it, and it's super good. It would be an amazing movie for middle school-aged children to watch, especially if they have bully problems or just general "fitting in" problems (who doesn't at that age?). But (and if you haven't seen the movie...stop reading) then *BAM* she dies. What?!?! I thought this was a happy-go-lucky fantasy movie for kids. I would not recommend this movie to children younger than tween age, even if they are "mature" for their age. I do recommend you watching it, whoever you are. If you need a good friendship story, if you feel like you don't fit in, if you need a creative outlet, if you have a sibling, if you're an only child...mother, father, tween age child, grandmother, grandfather...etc. You get the idea. It's super good. Grab your Kleenex.

Here is my TWLOHA art today. I hope Mrs. S knows this is for her because I'm so proud of her and so thankful that she found Jesus just when she did in life. ---------------------------------------------------------------- So tornadoes tore through my home state of Nebraska last night. Sirens went off in my hometown & the closest "bigger little town," Kearney was hit pretty hard. It's weird to see a town I consider my 2nd home town (as I spent a lot of my growing up life there) on Good Morning America. Apartment buildings where my friends lived and the county fair grounds just destroyed. Surreal. I'm really thankful that there were no deaths and no serious injuries. And my dad works in Kearney, so I'm glad he made it home before the tornadoes touched down. A cell from Kansas was headed towards us. It hit Fairbury pretty hard, I guess. But we just got thunder & lightening. I just cuddled up to Anthony & made him cuddle back. The light was really brig...

Yesterday a friend stopped by to visit, & Moose was eating some Cheerios that I had set on our end table. He was finished & was leaning down to sit on the floor when he hit his head on the corner of our couch (under the cushion). When he got back up, it looked like someone had punched him in the face with a diamond ring, leaving an imprint in his forehead. Then it started to kind of get blood in it (it never squirted or anything). I was like "oh my gosh, baby, come here, let me look." Which of course, he wouldn't let me look. He whined for a few seconds & just wanted to play. I called the doctor because it's his head, for pete's sakes! But the nurse said unless he acts funny or needs stitches, he's probably fine. So I just gave him some Tylenol (which he probably appreciated anyway because of his teething) & let him play. I told him that at least now I had a reason (a good reason) to get a new couch. So hopefully this weekend we'll go up to...

Yes, that's right. He did it. He bit me. Hard. What do you do when a 10-month-old bites you? Sure, you tell him no and that biting is bad. But does he understand? Who knew a little baby bite could hurt so badly? He bruised my shoulder. Want to know why he bit me? He wanted down, I'm pretty sure. BRAT!

I'm participating in To Write Love on Her Arm. This website should explain better than I can. Also, if you have Facebook, check out this page. I don't have a Sunday picture...didn't know about it then. Monday Tuesday Some baby love (He didn't quite know what to think of this....) My "love" writings aren't as creative as some you can find. Check out my link to "In this fallen world," she has some sweet ones. But I know I've had friends who have dealt with depression, suicide, self-mutilation, and other serious issues, so I guess this is my way to show my support of them. *~*LOVE*~*

Does anyone else feel like the cartoon character, Cathy? You know the spunky cute one? Ok, the one who has a few pounds to shed? Well, I do. Each time Anthony randomly brings home comics from his parents' house, I look forward to reading about Cathy's situation that day. Will she be trying on 50 different outfits for an occassion before going insane? What new diet will she be on? The pancake-only diet? The cupcake-only diet? And she just can't seem to find the right diet to fit her lifestyle or the right outfit to fit her hips. I'm writing this after I tried on 4 different tops and 2 different bottoms (and 2 different pairs of shoes) for a wedding rehearsal. I'm not in the wedding...who cares what I look like, right? Ask my husband, every Sunday around 9:00 am I am doing the exact thing. No one goes to church to see what I'm wearing either. Who cares if my khaki Bermudas are a bit s nug just yet. It's not like I'm not working out (I ran/walked 3 miles to...

Big A had today off (as you know from my previous post today) so he spent the majority of it (even skipping the chance to nap with me) calling Forest Service people about job opportunities. After my hair appointment, he went to get his tux with Mr. Spider-legs and Mr. Iowa. He called me for this FS lady's number & then after he'd spoken with her called me back. Him: Do you want the bad news or the bad news? Me: (cringe) both. Him: Well, the lady said she's been looking for someone to fill this position since November and she just filled it May 8th. Me: (cringe a lot more) Him: And she said she narrowed this down to 6 guys & I was one of them, but since I [stupidly] took my application out of consideration, she skipped over me. * the [] are from me Me: (cringe just before tears) Ok Him: We'll find something. Me: (starting to cry) we're going to be here forever Anyway, he comforts me as best he can over the phone; I'm not sure he knew how upset I was. It j...

13 Reasons I Adore Rainy Days: 1. My husband stays home (he works outside). 2. Naps are SO much better when the sun's not shining 3. Rain = no walks = lazy day 4. Everything gets greener outside 5. Movies & popcorn 6. Even the baby seems more relaxed 7. If we do venture out, I don't have to use (as much) sunscreen 8. Cooler weather (I'm a fan of spring, not summer) 9. Getting to show Moose rain 10. Thunder (it used to scare me, now it's almost relaxing *unless it's one of those really loud ones) 11. Rain really brings out the God in everything (more & more life comes out) 12. The smell of it just before it rains (after, it smells like fish/worms) 13. I get my hair dyed today (going back to au natural because I'm too lazy/poor to keep dying it blonde)

SPLISH SPLASH, MOOSE TAKING A BATH LOUNGIN' FEET

I will admit, I am a compulsive snacker. It's not really that I'm bored even, but I really am hungry every few hours. I don't want a lot of snacks, I just want something filling. However, I'm sure that has added up the 2 pound weight gain (double boo, one for each pound). Now I'm trying not to obsess, but it's hard. I think about just not eating at all, but I know that would last until tomorrow when I wake up. So do you have any snack ideas that are low calorie (as in 100 or less?) but still filling??? I really need some guidance here.

Now that Tristan has 4 1/2 (or like 2 full and 3 halves -whatever) teeth, he grinds them. I'm not so concerned with the affects of this later in life...my doctor's nurse said her kid did it and a neighbor said his kid did it. I'm hoping once the newness of the feel and sound wear off, he'll stop. But...the....noise....drives....me....nuts! Seriously, I try to get him to stop because when I hear it, I can literally feel it churning my stomach into tiny little pieces. It's worse than nails on a chalkboard. I shaved my legs last night but after holding Tristan for 2.5 seconds and hearing his grinding, it's like they were never shaved (ok, not that bad, but he did give me goosebumps). When I first heard him grinding his teeth, I thought he'd picked up a piece of gravel off the floor or out of Anthony's shoes and was eating it. No kidding. It's awful. I hate teeth grinding. I'm not a grinder, I'm a teeth clencher. I will wake up and sometimes my w...

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so Much seek to be consoled, as to console; To be understood, as to understand; To be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned. It is in dying that we are born to eternal life. -St. Francix of Assisi I don't know how much this infringes on copyright issues, but I really loved this out of Day 15 of Extreme Devotion. "Despite an uncertain future, we can be sure of one thing: Christ will face it with us . Whether we are going through a private trial or a public grieving, we are never going alone. In contrast, every human companion will fail us at some point. There will be places in life's journey where they cannot walk with us - the water will be too deep...

If you don't mind a bit of nudity (it's a rated R film - both male & female nudity...none of it really needed in the film, but whatever), this is a great film. Normally, we don't get rated R movies, but this was about a boy going to Alaska. I think my husband really wants to end up in AK so we got it. If you liked the film/documentary Grizzly Man , you really will love this. If you love Thoreau or Jack London; also a film to see. Basically it's about a boy whose world was rocked by his parents' past and deception. He was a noncomformist, a modern-day hippie, someone who wanted to make his own rules and not be ruled by the norm. He's a very deep character. The most amazing part is that this is a true story. These events actually happened to Christopher Mccandless . It's seriously worth the rental money.

This was another nice, pretty average weekend. Saturday was the city garage sales in a town about 10 miles away. Unfortunately, there were less than 10 garage sales in the entire town. We bought a Husker t-shirt & body spray for me and 4 cookies for us to share. Wow. We drove up to NC & a Relay for Life team was having a car wash so we stopped. Made a Wal-mart run. Couldn't find a shirt for Moose to wear to the nuptials next weekend so I'm going to have to dig through his 2T clothes & hope I find something appropriate. Today we went to church. I'll tell you that the church we attend is in the midst of a pastor search so it's someone new every week. The guy who spoke today wasn't completely new; he spoke about a month ago or so. He's a good speaker so I enjoyed the service. Music was more off than usual - their monitors weren't giving them feedback at all - but the words are more important than the sound. It's really hard for me to remember th...

I hate the saying, "time flies when you're having fun," mostly because it's true. And that's the worst time for time to fly because you're enjoying yourself. That's how I feel about the last 10 1/2 months. Tristan's first birthday is drawing closer and closer and it seems to be going faster and faster. I know it's because I've greatly enjoyed these months with him. It's hard for me to believe how much he's grown, and I'm having an even harder time trying to figure out where my time went (I think it was school). So, here's a sneak peek at the last nine months so you can see how much my babe has grown. July 2007 - my little moose - so worth the 2 hours of pushing August 2007 - our first family vacation! September '07 - one of my favorite family pictures & times October '07 - the thumb sucking began November '07 - ha! I don't know but his eyes are really blue December '07 - daddy's buckaroo January '...

Seriously, this has been the SLOWEST week ever! I could have sworn that Tuesday was Thursday, but no, that would be today. Moose & I even took a short walk (apparently my husband was wrong & my 3 mile trek is actually 2 1/2) that took FOREVER (just as long as our long walk this week). I hate weeks like this. Luckily, the rest of my week is looking up. Tonight the Spider-leg family is coming for supper! Tomorrow is Miss Innocent's bridal shower. And Saturday my love and I are going garage sale-ing. Yes, that's cheesy, maybe, but we love it. It's nice to get out and browse and other people's old stuff. Maybe I'll even find a new summer dress there or a pair of sandals! And I'm almost always guaranteed to find a good book to sit on my shelves.

Moose & I go on walks (almost) every day. After we found a route that was 3 miles, that was our routine (weather permitting). Yesterday, I ventured to walk 5 miles! That's right - 5 whole miles. Today, I was a little tired so we chopped that down to 4. Here is how our walk went. First, I slather Moose's bare skin with sunscreen (and I mean, slather - we are virtually melanin free people - I'd like Moose to put off getting that first sunscreen). As for myself, I'm okay with getting a little sun after virtually spending the entire summer last year inside. After the SPF 50 is on, I get out the hats. Hats, plural. It's a struggle trying to get him to keep them on. Solution #1: give him a hat to chew on AND a hat to wear. Today (as he does about 10% of the time) Moose wasn't thrilled with being strapped into the stroller. He would rather run around (crawl around) and play - inside or out. So, I bribe him....with food. A little snack of Cheerios never hurt anyone...

So overall, today was a really good day. Besides almost being hit by a semi-truck in town and probably violating traffic laws in order to get my kid home & fed (medium-length story for another time maybe). It was also the last day of MOPS (at least the school-year formal meetings; they have summer meetings but I won't be around for them probably/hopefully). Moose was really grumpy around noon (probably because I woke him up from a nap to take him to MOPS with me) so I put him down for a nap. I ate, then he woke up and ate lunch. Then we took a five mile trek in town. It was such a beautiful day! Moose only needed a sweatshirt (mostly because his arms got cold walking into a slight wind). You should have seen his hair blowing in the wind (yes, he has hair). Then there is this sweet cat on our "route." Moose adores animals in general but especially ones that I let him play with. This cat (mostly black and some white markings) comes up to me and is fluffy and just rubs ...

Sunday we went to the zoo in Omaha. Oh, it was packed! But it was also so much fun and totally worth the crowd. Just to watch his little eyes light up as he saw an animal move or fly. It was quite a feat to get him to actually see what we were looking at, but once he saw things. He would kick his legs and flail his arms like "holy cow! What's that??" One of the first things he saw was a little turtle swimming in a small tank. He made one of his little noises. He kept putting his hand up to his mouth all day like "oh my!" He'd never done that before, so it was adorable. We did go through the jungle but Moose wasn't too thrilled with the howling monkeys. I couldn't figure out what was making this awful loud noise; I assumed it was some birds. Oh no, howling monkeys. Moose started to bawl - poor baby. When they stopped being obnoxious, he didn't mind them. I guess it's not loud enough at our house to get him used to those types of noises. The aq...

Lately, I've been aware of how sweet Moose is. He shares food with me & Big A- even when it's food he LOVES like puffs or grapes. And right now there are these 3 boys playing "golf" on our front porch and my little guy is clapping for them. How sweet it is....

Happy Mother's Day to you. Yes, you! You and I both know you deserve today. For all you've been through, are going through, and will go through. For all you've done for me. And all you will do for me. This day is not just for "mothers" because we all know that some will get celebrated today who really don't deserve it. But you do. And if you're wondering whether or not this is for you, it is. Because you always know when I post about you. I love you, my dearest and most true friend. You need to know: I AM PROUD OF YOU!

I cannot wait to move. I hate apartment living. Honestly, it's like I've never had my own space. I don't mind sharing a house with Big A & Moose, of course. I just feel like I share a house with people I don't know. I lived with my sisters (in the same room - that sucked). I lived in the dorms ( with a horrible roommate, then suitemates - that sucked ). At our first apartment, we lived across from some of the noisiest people ( sorry to Apryl who has to live next to them now ). Now at this apartment, our neighbor to the north has up to 8 others living in her 2 bedroom apartment while our new neighbors to the south have 5 people living in their apartment. How is it that our lease says that we can only accommodate 3 people in our apartment while they have zoos in theirs?? That doesn't seem right, especially with the northern neighbors - that has to be against some fire marshal code, right? What annoys me most are the paper-thin walls. I adore hearing everyone else...

Tonight Big A is helping Mr. Spiderlegs & his brother-in-law move a fridge from the O to down here. That's fine, kind of gave me some alone time since my little guy was especially sleepy early after a 5:45am wake-up. Darn . But A said something about how I'll have him the rest of the weekend. That answer sufficed until...I remembered...he's helping Mr. and Mrs. Beady move tomorrow. Sucky ! I guess we'll at least have Sunday together (if we could ever decide what we're going to do that day). On a sort of positive note, A did figure out why he was failing the basic qualifications for those jobs. He didn't have this special little note thing that says when he worked fo r the FS previously! Oh! Gotcha! So he is going to fax the place in St. Louis to get the note and hopefully that will solve our unqualified mystery. On a not-so-good note, this does leave him unavailable for the Driggs job and the Minnesota job because he would get the little teacher's note t...

For about a month or two, Big A has been leaving me these torn-off pieces of paper in my phone with little sweet nothings written on them. Sometimes they are from him and Tristan; more often just from Anthony. Today's snippet was: "You are so beautiful to me. God is awesome for creating the beauty in you. I love you!" Isn't it fabulous to have such a loving husband? Poor guy has to put up with my crap (and even worse - hormones - which are especially bad about once a month) and he still loves me. And it's not just that A loves me, but he's the nicest person I've ever met . When I complain about someone (like Mrs. Beady) he just doesn't understand. It's not even being naive (which he totally can be); it's just this genuine niceness. I'm just blown away by his kindness even to people I know he doesn't love (like his ex-stalkers who I think are still in love with him). Why aren't more people just sweet like that? I live with the guy ...

I hate staying up late anymore...okay, I lie. I hate staying up late to argue. Otherwise, I am a total night owl! Yes, that's right, A & I do argue. It's just so funny because I remember when we didn't. It's not like our arguments are ever really serious - usually me overreacting or being a baby. I have a tendency to do that, especially towards him. Poor guy. I seriously have to be the most blessed bride because I don't think anyone else would ever put up with me. It's ridiculous how awful I can be towards him...I don't try, I honestly don't. I just sometimes keep small things that bug me inside and then it all explodes, inexplicably during the wee hours of the night. So then I got my sister's graduation card today. I am not even going to tell you the amount of the included check. I have to call her and tell her I will have a hard time taking that much. I know it's totally from her heart since she couldn't be here, but...let's just sa...

So yesterday I told Mr. Spider-legs I wanted him and Mrs. Spider-legs (yes, Laura, you because it's true) to come to supper, then A threw that whole Baxter car thing at me. So we were gone until I don't even know when last night (between 10-11pm). Then I called Mrs. S today to invite them for supper and Mr. was going fishing so Mrs. said maybe she'd stop by. Then our friend stopped by to get his stuff out of our basement. I should have known (but overlooked the fact) that Mrs. Beady and Miss Snoop would stop by....and never leave. I don't understand that (because it tends to be filled with awkward silence) but Mrs. Beady did that at my graduation party (personally, I don't go somewhere uninvited or unannounced usually and when I do I don't stay for hours). So then my adorable, clueless husband comes home and everyone sits around for another hour or so. I ask him if he wants to go for a walk (and with his incredible hearing he does hear me but doesn't acknowl...