New Motivation

The girls are super-excited about their newly arranged room. They're so excited, in fact, they even made their beds this morning! And I didn't ask them too.

Turns out I love the new arrangement also. I hope their excitement never wears off!

More Trash?

I got the girls a new/larger dresser to share. They both had their own, until now, but Mae's dresser has been too small for her for quite some time. Anyway, since I'll be moving the new dresser into their room after I've freshened it up with a coat of paint, Mae has decided that she'd like to rearrange the room (she must get that from me, I've always liked moving my furniture around!).

So, this is a good time to clean up the room and go through the unwanted stuff. I gave the girls a trash bag to use as they make their way around the room and into crevices not seen in many months.

And I just want to note that I have thrown away one very-full trash bag and they are not done!

Did we not just move and go through this process seven months ago? What's up with all the garbage???

I Wanna Rock Too!

Mae earns money for doing certain chores around the house. Right now she's saving up for a pair of legging shorts, which will only take her a few unloads of the dishwasher (according to Target's pricing). This evening I happen to have a dishwasher in need of an unloading, so I turned to my in-need nine year old to help me out. Afterwards, I thanked her, and this was the conversation;

Me: Thank you Mae!

Mae: You're welcome (inwardly thinking 'where's my money?!')

Me: You totally rock!

Mae: I know.

Isabel: I wanna rock like Mae too!

Isabel doesn't like to be left out. She has always wanted to be just like her big sister and brother. Good thing is....she does, she totally rocks! Even if she doesn't unload the dishwasher.

500 - Triple Chocolate Cookies

Yesterday I made my first recipe from my new 500 Cookies recipe book. I chose the triple chocolate cookies for the maiden baking expedition. They did not disappoint (but really, I'm not too surprised).

The triple chocolate cookie is not a super-sweet cookie, as one might think with there being chocolate in there three ways. But a cookie doesn't always need to be sweet to be enjoyed and called delicious.

The only thing to do now is to pick the next recipe. Hmmm.....shall it be the peanut butter cookie? Or the variation thereof, the peanut butter chocolate? Decisions. Decisions.

Something New!

Recently, I was at the bookstore and came across a recipe book that I felt I 'had to have'. But it cost more than I was willing to spend. That always happens to me. So I turned to my ever-helpful Amazon. And was not dissappointed. So I ordered the lovely book. Then waited for the mail man to hurry up and bring it already!

It came yesterday!

I flipped through the pages and found many a delightful cookie. I am perusing it again this morning, for Mae needs to take a treat to an event tonight. My only problem, I think, will be choosing just one to try. I'm giddy with anticipation!

Casts And Socks

The funny thing that happens when a child has a cast on their foot is that it cuts down on the laundry of socks. By about half.

But then it gets weird, or maybe annoying.......do I take the clean/laundered unpaired socks and just throw them in the drawer? Or do I take the time to match them up only to have them taken apart again so one of them can be worn?

Nine

Happy birthday Mae!!!

Wow. Nine years goes by fast. Never thought I'd say that! One day I'm large with child and making my way to the hospital, and the next I'm blowing up birthday balloons for a nine year old.

Another strange thought is that in 365 days, we'll be celebrating the big 1-0. Which also means that this is the last year of being a single digit. But I'll hold onto nine as long as I can, for it will slip through my fingers just as quickly as the past eight years have.

This Time He Choose Camo

I have a son. He's seven. And is now breaking in cast number two. This makes me wonder how many he'll have in his lifetime.



It happened Saturday night, at church. Caleb says he was running and twisted his ankle. He got a good-sized goose egg of swelling on the injured ankle and had to hobble around a lot. I figured it was just a sprain and put ice on it, but I had no plans (or desire) to take him to the doctor. Ryan insisted I take him in anyway. He said that a break could still be there even if it appears to get better. So, being the ever-dutiful wife, I took Caleb to the doctor yesterday. Sure enough, there is a teensy little break. And that calls for a cast for about 3 weeks.

The moral of this story?

*don't run in church

and.....

*listen to your husband (even when you don't want to)

Can I Get An Amen!

I woke up feeling oh so much better this morning. *whew* The flu is no fun, but it does make me appreciate how great feeling normal really is! It makes me appreciate other things too.....things like good friends willing to help out. Friends who take my kids to and from school. And entertain and feed my youngest so I can rest. Lovely ladies that come and bring me get-well food and drive from far away places to provide dinner for the healthy (and hungry!) people in the house. And for all the others that I may not have known about that prayed for me.

God is good. Even when I feel like crap. Because even though I prayed for immediate grace, He gave me love and provided for me and my family.

So yes, God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good!

Amen!

My Thought For The Day

....the flu is a terrible weight loss plan.

'nuf said.

Lost and Found

I vacuumed the couch last night. I did the usual take-off-the-cushions deal and then proceeded to get the usual suspects; crumbs, stray raisins (was it a grape when it first made it's decent below the cushions?), and not-too-surprising-whatnots. My next step is to put the angled hose into the cracks of the couch, but this time I decided to go a step further, just in case. And the things I pulled out were amazing and at times embarrassing.

Here is what I found, things that would never have been pulled out by the vacuum (which makes me wonder how long they've been hiding out in the bowels of my couch....but maybe I don't want to know);

2.5 pairs of socks
A necklace jewel in a little ziplock baggie
Hair band
Business card (from Portland!!)
Game piece
Wadded up Capri Sun
An extra Capri Sun straw
Puzzle piece (that's been missing since Mae was TWO!!)
full-size pencil
Wii sports booklet
2 combs
Reciept
Candy wrapper

My only comfort is knowing where that missing puzzle piece went! (I wondered where that was!!!) Ok, fine, my comfort lies in knowing that my family can now sit upon a couch that is throughly and utterly devoid of any clutter and/or junk. We can all wear clean matched-up socks and have nicely combed hair.

Ahhhhh.......peace, at last.