Welcome Back...

TO MIDDLE SCHOOL !

(Just an FYI- the song that is accompanying this post is 'hip' 'cool' and 'tight'. Don't be a 'tool'. Listen to it (and if you don't know the Souja dance, you can totally you-tube it and learn it. Trust me, you wanna do the Souja!) Seriously ya'll. I am so.old. I simply cannot keep up.

This week was Spirit Week where I work and I must admit that it's my civil and professional duty to PULL.OUT.ALL.THE.STOPS to make sure these kids feel PRIDE in what they do, how they act, and where they go. The whole entire week is one big blur- with all the counting and stressing- and questions (can I wear my boxers on the outside of my jeans??? Wha? Huh?). I literally lose sleep and DREAD this week alllll year long {but I must admit, it's totally worth it}

We kick things off with a schedule of dress-up days:

Monday : Hat and International

Tuesday : Patriotic and Sunglasses

Wednesday : Fav. Team and Duct Tape

Thursday : Miss-match and PJ

Friday : BLUE and ORANGE

(Oh, come on...you know you miss this stuff).

In addition to this daily competition, each teacher (and his or her class, of course) was responsible for a "Giving Basket" with some kind of theme to be given to the Agape House. The theme for my basket was 'bathroom' and kids brought soaps, toilet paper, toothpaste, ets. Some other really fun ones included the following themes: 'Koolaid' , 'School Stuff', 'Books', 'Canned Foods'. We collected 12 Giving Baskets and they are already on the footsteps of the

Agape House!!!!

Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of kids dressed up OR pictures of the "Giving Baskets"- my camera was MISSING all week long and I found it just in time for the Spirit Assembly.

See my pain? Do you seeeeeeeeeeeeee these starved little eyes? They are pumped with excitement, let me tell you. They've heard about our assemblies. They don't know what to expect (because of course, it's different every year) and they are just WAITING....all 321 of them!!!!!

Waiting. Wondering. Wishing. Wanting. (ugh....the pressure).

The first activity was a relay, of course. Relays are great for involving as many kids as possible. Rules? 'Swim' on this scooter while laying belly-down on the floatation device, wearing a life jacket and swim goggles (which are actually science lab goggles because it's tough to find swim goggles in January- who'd a thought?). Our principal was kind enough to demo it for us. Isn't she cute?And here are the kids in action. That lady over there on the right- the one with the hair that is waaaaay too short and dark? Yeah, that's me. I'm keeping track of points cause it's a competition and competitions need POINTS!!!! See the 'advisor' on my shirt? Yeah, that means 'if this sucks...it's totally your fault'. The PRESSURE. I know this one is blurry, but come on! It's hysterical!Next up? The 'Chariot Races'. This idea came from my good friend, Maegan. Basically, the kids pull one another on sheets. It is pretty fun, I must admit (cause last night at 9pm I just HAD to find out if it was 'safe enough' so JD and I - and the kids - came down to the school to try it out). The kids loved the strawberry shortcake, cars, and dinosaur sheets!!!Then....the bowling game. Each pin was worth 10 points in this competition- and there she is again with that dark, short hair- ugh. Don't forget that there is mind-thumping, dance-hopping, get.in.your.face music BLASTING at this point. (Have I mentioned how competitive I am?)
And you guessed it....we bowled with frozen BUTTERBALL turkeys!Fun stuff. And just so you know, we raffled off the turkeys to our staff after we bowled with them. The kids thought it was totally gross but I must admit, I was hoping I'd get one (didn't).
Last, the staff competition- and let's face it, the pictures speak for themselves.

Isn't Mr. Lee ripped? Yeah, the 8th grade girls are totally 'ga-ga' for him! lol.

So there you have it. A day in the life of a {middle school}-er. Admit it. You wanna go back, huh? So go 'crank that Souja boy' and while you are doing that, I'm going to take a bath in Epsom.

Little Steps II

First stop? Train puzzle: Next? Tweezin' plastic ocean creatures. Seriously, why didn't I think of that?

'counting mats'...

Red wagon? $24.99

Disgusting dirty green bucket? Probably free

Green Light Saber? $9

Red Cowboy boots? I dunno- gma and gpa got 'em

This picture? Priceless

I just love the imagination Ryan has. It's one of my MOST favorite things about him.

Too Much; Too Little (and cheap therapy)

Ever feel like a 'Jack of all Trades' (and a master of none)?

Ever feel like things are crashing down around you and you're just standing there watching it happen?

....like you have too many things to do and not enough time, energy, or even ability with which to do them?

Ever feel like a rat in a cage? Ever wanna claw your way out?

...and then you open the $200 heating bill...and the $150 electric bill. ??? It's not that I {can't} pay it; It's just that I don't wanna. I'm eating rice and beans (and beans and rice) because Dave Ramsey said I can get my house paid for in three years. He never mentioned having to pay a bill that is three times its budgeted amount.

Ever feel like there are lessons to plan, bulletin boards to make, kids to snuggle, games to play, books to read with 'umph', songs to sing, laundry to wash (fold and put away), dishes to do, meals to cook, floors to mop, books to read, bible studies to complete, lawns to clean up, car to fill up....????

The end of my week was:

tough.
rough.
harsh.
frustrating.
unpleasant.
exhausting.

I got home and spilled my guts to JD on the phone (cause that's what couples who hardly see one another do- talk on the phone). I could tell that he wanted to laugh (because sometimes it's not just the stupid small stuff....it's the small stuff compounded)but I could also tell that he realized he had better not laugh. It was no laughing matter- I was losing my mind and my ability to
{cope} and {prosper}, as I like to call it.

Then he uttered these words that have stuck with me all week,
"Don't worry baby, I'll take care of you"
and in a very little girl-ish kind of way, I really, really, really needed to hear that. I was feeling like things were spinning out of control and I wan't on top of ANY game, let alone my own.

Then I got sick.

My body has this funny way of holding things in - and then releasing them - and somehow I always end up sick (and tired). I spent the whole weekend in my jammies next to the fire with the healing power of a Slurpee at hand. JD even took the boys for a good long while so I could sleep {and recover}. He sure knows how to take care of me. And you know what? It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

So today I'm feeling better and I'm reminding myself to slow down and take it easy- do what I can but not do it all. Hopefully you can too- take care of someone you love today- even if it's yourself.

blogging...cheap therapy (ahhhhh).

Wanted:

1. Vitamin D. I can't take much more of these gloomy days. It's sapping all my spunk and let's face it, there's not a whole lot of it left after Christmas. I slathered myself in self-tanner tonight. Maybe that will help. (side note- why does self -tanner always STINK? Seriously, it's so gross it wakes me up in the night!).

2. About 4 hours added to the end of my day. :)
Maybe then I could fit some things in - like, I don't know? Exercise and flossing??? Reading, maybe? Or possibly some good ol fashioned organizing...

3. The button to be turned off- you know the one? It craves diet Coke and cupcakes. On second thought, maybe I'm the only one I know with that pesky button. At any rate, I would really appreciate it if it could just get turned off. And the sooner, the better. I'm thinking now's good.

4. A fabulous pair of jeans. I am so over the muffin top teeny bopper jeans. I'm totally open to suggestions if you ladies have a pair you love. My circulation thanks you.

Octopi, Parks, and Dog Beds...

A simple recipe for a great weekend :)

My nephew, Clayton, is chillin' with us for three days. Last night, we decided to make some octopi (from this month's Little Steps packet).

Here is Ryan's finished product:
Here's Clayton's:

And here they both are - coloring their little hearts out:

The park was COLD. (mental note: Trex decking would make a fabulous ice skating rink)

And not everyone had a good time:

But for the most part, it was a success:

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, meet our dog- Sadie. I must admit that I'd prefer her to be an outside dog but even I can't scoot her out on frigid days like today. A few weeks ago, we picked her up a new bed from Costco and I think she likes it:

So does Gage:

1. Rootbeer floats after dinner.

2. Air matress sleeping - campin' style 2nite.

3. French toast for breakfast

{and me...watching these boys grow together...and laugh together...and play together...and argue...figure it out...and feeling Clayton rubbing his hands through my hair and sayin' "I like you".

life is {sweet}

a story about BEAUTY (in a BIG nutshell)

I realize now, that defining something such as 'beauty' can feel a little like a set-up. And I apologize because it wasn't really meant to be that way. But I have something to share with you all that is so exciting I'm literally busting at the seams here.

I've enjoyed reading your responses. I really have. You are SO insightful.


Last Wednesday, I took Ryan to KidZone like I do every (pretty much every) Wednesday. He loves it. It's a WONDERFUL program and so many awesome women and men volunteer their time to teach my child about Christ. I'm so, so, so grateful that Ryan is a part of KidZone.



Normally, I go to the women's bible study while Ryan is at KidZone but I have to be honest, I've been slackin'. Just before Christmas, I quit going. It wasn't the study (it was great). It wasn't the people (they were/are great). It was me (I suck sometimes and I can be a total slacker).



But on Wednesday, something was different. My plan to drop Ryan and sneak away to get some grocery shopping done with Gage, suddenly changed. I can't explain it really, except to say that I was knocked out, possibly drugged and placed in a chair in the women's bible study without a book OR a bible. There I was. Keys. Wallet. Sweats. Not prepared at all.



Do you know what it's like to be the one in a bible study without a bible? It's embarrassing!!!! It's almost as embarrassing as the time I showed up for a softball game and forgot my mitt! Ugh.


So there I was.


What now, God? Don't you know I've got eggs to buy?



The title of the study? "Being a Woman is Tough" by Beth Moore. First of all, Beth rocks. She's just amazing. She's a girl's girl and well, I'm a girl and I like her A LOT.


The study takes a look at the book of Esther, which I've read a time or two so it didn't seem like anything really new. But Beth puts a creative spin on things and well, her spin was new to me.


Esther is an orphan. An orphan- no mother, no father. And she's raised by her MALE cousin, Mordecai. Could you imagine coming into womanhood without a mother?

Esther is lovely- but she's sent away for months to become beautiful. So that brings to surface the question, if Esther was already lovely, then why was she sent away to become beautiful? Is there a difference? What is beauty if you have to be sent away to 'get' it?


This is where I agree completely with Lindsay and Halo's comments: beauty is not seen at first glance. It is something that is observed from within. It's something we learn. Learn. Learn. Learn. It's grace. It's learning to {be} content. It's learning when to help people and then...helping them. It's loving ON others WITH others.

And if I had to define beauty in one word, it would be LIGHT.


I feel beautiful when I get out of the way and let God light my life.

I feel beautiful when I let the light of God shine through me.

I see beauty when I look at my family and can find the face of God.

I see beauty in sunsets- where I feel like I can literally listen to the light of the Lord.


It's true- beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Trust me when I say that I want my husband to think that I am one hot mama. Lucky for me, on most days, he does. But today, I'm realizing that the beholder is Christ. I want to be beautiful for Him and it starts in my core and ends in my skin.



Ugh, can't I apply a miracle cream to become patient? Can I not sweat through a video to become generous? Or how's about some good old fashioned water? Won't that wash my 'not-fairs' and 'I-don't-wannas' away? Hmmm...



So today, I'm workin' on it. And for what it's worth (ironically), I'm still totally addicted to Mary Kay (baby steps, right?) and must admit that my favorite beauty tip is ... (right after you remind yourself that beauty starts in your heart)...

1. Wash your application brushes regularly with baby shampoo.

2. Eucerin Aquaphor makes the best lip balm ever :)

Cheers to beauty ladies. Cheers to beauty.


1 Samuel 16:7 - "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (NIV)

Proverbs 31:30 - "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting: but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."(NIV)

Ecclesiastes 3:11- "He has made everything beautiful in it's time" (NIV)

1Peter 3:3-4 - "Let your beauty not be external – the braiding of hair and wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes – but the inner person of the heart, the lasting beauty of a gentle and tranquil spirit, which is precious in God’s sight" (NIV)

Beauty Advice

Alright, so this is going to be kinda different. Maybe a little uncomfortable. Weird, possibly.

If you have the time, could you do me a favor and respond to these two questions?

1. How would YOU define BEAUTY?
2. What is your favorite beauty 'tip'? (need not apply to question 1)

You're probably thinking I'm a total nut- hanging out in left field, even. But I'm curious. What do you think?

I promise that this will make sense soon...

4 Goodness Sake 2nite

Tonight we're chillin'- literally. I'm glad the weather is starting to warm up so we can go back outside, but...it's still pretty darn cold. It's just nice to be back in the backyard :) Remember what exercising looked like before kids? Dumb bells. Treadmills. Well, let's just say that things have changed and now it looks a little bit like this- what I like to call add-a-kid-pushups:

As for me, I'm trying to adjust to my new hair cut but...well...it'll grow back :)

I am also fighting the urge to rip up my new insurance card into a million pieces and send it back to where it came from. (they aren't paying many of my {our} bills...)

A post about nothing...

...other than the small things in my life right now.

1. I have decided to 'refine' my giving up white death. I like yogurt and the occasional mocha java (Obies is theeeeee best), so I'm giving up white death Mon-Thurs. On the weekends, I'm being 'careful'. I think I can live with that.

2. I am totally in love with Selah right now- can't get enough of their music.

3. I lost 5 of the 8 pounds I gained between Thanksgiving and Christmas this week (yeah) and can now fit back into my work clothes. WHY do I do that EVERY year?

4. JD and I just got back from watching Valkyrie (The Nazi movie with Tom Cruise). First, kudos to me for going to {another} war movie with my husband. And second, I believe it will be my last. I just can't take it anymore. I hate to watch people kill one another for whatever reason- justified or not. It literally shoots darts at my soul to see it.

5. I got off the phone with AES on Friday to learn that my unsubsidized federal loan balance is now $0 (thank you Jesus) and my subsidized is half the amount it was this time last month (thank you Jesus). It's a for-sure deal, baby :) (Yip-yip-yipeeeee)

6. I'm super excited to be starting probability this week with my classes.

7. My sweet friend, Lindsay, created a fabulous new banner for my blog and I totally love it.

8. The kids are napping...3 loads of laundry are awaiting my putting away...and I just created what might very well be the most boring post ever :)

Bethlehem Boy and the After Christmas Program

You wouldn't know it talking to my boy, but he's kinda shy. Actually, he a big 'ol jabberwakie when it's just him and a few others. But get him up in front of people and he kinda freezes. He's not quite sure what to think of it all. At this point, he was still scanning the audience to find 'home'.

You should have seen him when he saw us- it was so darn cute. He got this big ol grin and instantly it was 'all good'. Course, I didn't capture that moment because I was wavin' like a crazy woman :)

I tried to squeeze this video in between two onlookers so it's not the greatest. I think it's funny how Ryan realizes he's standing in front of a bunch of people and then stops. And...it appears as though our bedtime needs to change as well ;)

A man of few words

This is a cutsie video of Gage repeating random words. It's dark, so I hope it works :)

I just love this little man!

Who says?

This last weekend, I went to Target. I love Target. It's so {friendly} and {clean} and {organized} - a few things that, well, other stores lack. Plus, Target's popcorn rocks.



It seems as though whomever is in charge of sales at Target read my mind too- he or she (probably she) marked down ALL the organizational type stuff. Mind-reader, I tell ya. My heart started racing as my mind clicked through all of the junk I could organize in my house- starting with my colossal PILE of shoes at the bottom of my closet. Side note: my feet have grown exactly one half size with each time I've given birth and no, I have not filtered through the shoes that no longer fit. I just can't, okay. My point? I have shoes that need to get up off my closet floor.



So back to being totally 'jacked' about organizing ... I bought this shoe organizer thing. It's super cool- has a bunch of compartments and it's made of wood (well, particle board woodish stuff- wood in my book), which means that it'll last a while. Exciting.



Life is good. Organizing is fun. It gets me all pumped. This, however, does NOT excite me:



This makes me feel a little better: What can I say? I'm a visual person.

This makes me feel like I'm about to accomplish something BIG and FABULOUS and STRONG and DURABLE:

This almost got the best of me:

[but Ryan showed me how to use it- I know, I'm lame] I've never used a not-already-set-up-and-ready-to-go drill before. I know they can go in reverse but I just couldn't get it to HAPPEN.

By the way- just so you know- when you're putting these kinds of things together, it's best to hold it all up and SEE it together so you can make sure all the finished edges are facing out. That's a free tip. That's a free 'you-won't-have-to-unscrew-all-the-screws-like-I-did' free tip. Cheers.

I just feel so durn excited!

Guess How Many???

Guess how many of these I ate on Monday?

If you're thinking one, guess again.

If you're thinking two, guess again.

Three is getting closer- now double that.

6

I ate 6 delicious cupcakes all by myself.

All of them- not a crumb left over.

And no, they were not miniature-sized.

I made them for my class because we missed our Christmas party before the holiday break and well, I guess I made a few too many. Six too many, to be exact and then they were just sitting there, on my desk. Calling my name. Invading my olfactory factory. Devil's foodcake with powdered sugar frosting. Divine. Simply scrum-dilly-umptious.

But now it's Wednesday and I'm realizing that it's quite possible I do not have any button that looks like this when it comes to cupcakes:

Which makes me wonder if I have that kind of sign in other areas of my life-

a question I'm going to tackle a little later on.

For now, I'm realizing that I crave too much of this so I'm giving it up completely:

I'm calling it "WHITE DEATH". It's sugar.

White death makes it sound less tasty.

I'm on day two of no sugar and so far, I feel a whole lot better :)

Tonight

Thoust made the world • too beautiful this year;

My soul is all but out of me. ~Edna St. Vincent Millay



His beauty is truly amazing.


Be thou my vision...

Sunsets are one of my MOST favorite things.

Thank you God, for sharing your 'music' with me.

A New Year

A new year...a new blog 'look'...and new blog title :) (thanks for the great ideas Crystal!)

Several of my blogger buddies have posted about a word that describes them in the impending year. At first I thought, "great idea..." because I've not been much for New Year resolutions. But as I was watching Ryan play one day, I was struck {again} by what I was learning.

I'll give you a hint: it starts with an [L].

Lego.

There you have it, my 2009 word.

Lego of regrets.
Lego of excuses.
Lego of strongholds.

Lego of {me} and let God.


Happy brand spankin' NEW year friends!