There's No Place Like Home

Whew.

It has been a whirlwind week and a half.

And it ain't over yet.

Beginning Christmas Eve, Hubby, Lance and I have been on a Road Trip spanning the greater southeast United States. Every other day for 10 days we have been on the road.

Christmas Eve, we drove four hours from our home on the east coast of southern Florida to my parents' house.

The day after Christmas, we drove seven hours to my maternal grandparents' house in the Panhandle.

Two days after that, we drove a couple more hours into Lower Alabama to visit my paternal grandmother and various and sundry relatives.

Today we drove 6 hours from there back to my parents' house.

Tomorrow we drive the final 4 hours back to our own (very-much longed for) home.

Sigh.

It was wonderful to visit with everyone. Lance is the first great-grandchild on my mom's side of the family, and the fourth on the other. None of them had met him before. Why?

Because it's a freaking long drive for such a little guy. (And now a short pause for ranting: WHY is no one else in my family willing to travel???? Grrrr.) I have to say though, Lance was wonderful. He slept an appropriate amount of time, and when he was awake I hopped to the backseat so that I could hand him the toys he would inevitably throw on the floor of the car and entertain him with silly faces and read him stories and feed him snacks. This kept him happy between rest stops and mealtimes. Then he slept some more.

I am sure that someone hates me for that.

That said, it's still not a trip I want to repeat anytime soon. I will look for a flight next time. It just seemed like by the time we get settled in somewhere, it was time to leave. While I know that Lance will have no memories of this trip, I really want him to get to know his great-grandparents, because I never knew mine. I want him to spend time with his aunts and uncles and cousins, because when I was a little girl we lived across the country and I only saw those relatives (at best) once a year.

I took lots of photos, though. (Which I will post here when I am back at home at my own computer.) And I will tell him stories of how he chased his great-grandmother's dog around the house and how his little cousins pulled out their toys to share with him and how the neighbor scared us when he burst out of the bushes and into the backyard. (I'll share that story with y'all another day.)

It was a time to treasure.

But boy, am I ready to be back at home, in my own bed, with my own kitchen to cook in and my routine to settle into.

(Holly! I miss you!)

It ends tomorrow. The last leg of our journey, bringing us home.

There's no place like home!

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas from Guinevere and Lancelot!!!

To Everything There Is a Season

He's growing up.

He doesn't chew on book pages anymore. Now, he brings a book to me, places it in my hand, and crawls up into my lap so I can read it to him.

He helps with the laundry. He pulls clothes out of the dryer, throws them on the floor, then I pick them up and hang or fold them.

He points excitedly to objects that he wants to know the names of. Today he saw several Santas in the grocery store and eagerly pointed out each one.

He tries to say so many words! Sometimes I get the idea of what he is saying. "Bud" means "build" after he heard me say "Santa builds the toys!" "Iss" means "Chris" (which is his real name.) "Ba" means "bathtime" which he says happily as he runs towards the bathroom as we sing his bathtime song to him.

He likes to share his lunch with me. He holds out pieces of food and likes to "feed" me the same way I feed him.

He likes to play ball. If you ask him to bring you "the purple ball" he will find the purple ball, bring it to you, and go after it once you roll it across the floor. Then he picks it up and tries so very hard to roll it back to you, though usually it goes in quite the opposite direction!

My little man astonishes me each and every day with what he is capable of doing.

He can turn on the TV.

He can lift the lid to the toilet and throw things in it.

He can put his toys in his diaper pail.

He can pull diapers out of their basket and drag them around the house.

He can dig through the laundry pile, find my unmentionables, place them on his head, and giggle.

He can wriggle away while I'm changing his diaper resulting in a VERY disgusting mess.

But he can also give wet sloppy kisses and baby-sized bear hugs.

And I am just so in love with him!

20 Items or Less

I had a dilemma.

All was quiet in the mega-store. (For a change.) Not too crowded. I was able to push my shopping cart through the aisles with relatively little hassle. Approaching the cash registers, I counted the items in my cart hoping against hope and wishing against wish that I would be able to employ the "20 Items or Less" line, thus ensuring a hasty departure and a happy return home.

I had 25 items.

10 of them were baby food jars.

Would I sneak into the special line? I glanced behind me, no one else was approaching the queue. The adjacent lines without an item limit were all occupied by people with shopping carts that "overfloweth" with groceries.

Of the 10 baby food jars, I only had 5 types of baby food, two jars each.

So did that count as 5 items instead of 10? Could I get away with it? Dare I try?

My soul wrestled with itself.

"Self, no one else is coming to the line. If someone does approach the line, those extra 5 baby food jars will already have been bagged and no one will be the wiser."

"Yes, but self, I've been behind people in line who tried to sneak through. It's just not polite."

"Who cares about polite? It's a dog eat dog world, baby. Wake up and smell the spilled coffee."

Sigh. What to do?

The polite self won. I stepped in line behind a woman whose Cart Runneth Over.

I felt very pleased with myself.

"Self, when you go up to heaven and your deeds are judged by God, this will be a shining example of doing what is right when no one will see."

"Whatever."

I was still pleased with myself.

I had to stand there for nearly 10 minutes before it was my turn to load my items onto the counter and have them bagged, while I watched 6 other people get through The Line Which I Was Good Enough Not To Enter.

It was the most wonderful 10 minutes of peace and quiet that I had the whole day. I could stand there, breathe in and out, and not worry about a toddler throwing his toys into the diaper pail or pulling something heavy onto his head.

It was blissful.

A World of Good

Hi!

I want to share a great website I found if you still need a few last-minute gifts and want to be eco-friendly and help economies in struggling nations.

www.worldofgood.com

This website sells handmade gifts made by local artisans in countries all over the world. It is a "fair trade" group, ensuring that the workers are given a fair wage and healthy, safe, working conditions in their local area.

The prices are great and the items look fantastic. I just purchased 3 gifts on this site, a necklace, a small purse, and a bracelet.

It feels good to know that not only am I choosing unique gifts for the people I love, but that the money I am spending is going to support people who really need it and not just stuff the pockets of large corporations.

Oops. I'm starting to get on a soap box here!

Anyway. Head on over and see what you can find.

My Little Fireman

He's figured out how to get on and off of his firetruck.

Now I just have to teach him the difference between front and back!

What Holiday Is This?

If you are among the majority of Americans who decorates a Christmas tree, sends Christmas cards, and sings Christmas carols, GO WATCH THIS VIDEO!!!!

http://www.citizenlink.org/Stoplight/A000005834.cfm?eafref=1

New Words!!!

I'm so excited. Lance has uttered his first real words!

He had been saying "mama" and "Daddy" and a variation of "Wow" for awhile, but now he can say "baby" and "up." It's the cutest thing ever!!

We were having lunch and I had the television on the discovery channel. There was something about penguins on, and they showed the baby penguin hatching from its egg. I said, "Look Lance, there's a baby penguin!" He looked at me, then at the TV, pointed at it and said, "Baby!" Melt my heart!

Later that same day, he wanted to be picked up. I was standing in the living room doing some walking-in-place exercises and he came right up to me, lifted his arms in the air and said, "Up!"

I'm just a puddle of besotted Mommy right now. Sigh.

Because I'm Just Mean

I know many of you live in a northerly direction.

Just because I'm a mean, pernicious sort of person, I will show you a photo of how we spent our day today.

Although I'm jealous of you all. What I would give for a fresh fallen snow and a blazing fire in a fireplace, to sit and drink hot cocoa by.

I guess we always want what the other guy has.

Taking a Little Break

I'm sure some of you have noticed that my posts have become less frequent lately. I just haven't felt like sitting at the computer! :) I'll still post every now and then, but I'm pursuing some other interests for a little while now. I won't completely disappear though, I promise!

I'll see ya when I see ya! ;)

Happy Birthday, Lance!

What a busy week it has been! Between hosting Thanksgiving and then having Lance's birthday party all in the same holiday weekend, (NEVER going to do that again!!) I'm exhausted. So I'm going to go take a nap while you vicariously enjoy Lance's party, and I'll tell you all about it later, after I've caught a few zzzz's.

Merry Elfin' Christmas!

Tee hee hee hee...

Click on this link to see my family wishing yours a very merry Christmas. *chuckle chuckle grin*


http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9583603783

Update on Shayna

A few days ago, I posted about a little girl with Down Syndrome who has been recently diagnosed with leukemia and requested prayers. A few of you asked for an update, so here you go!

This is an email written by the little girl's father. It was forward to me from my friend who knows this family.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

In addition to the leukemia, Shayna is having moderate to severe heart
problems. She is having what they call infusion around the heart. There
are other medical issues going on too.

In spite of this, I am not worried because I dreamed this child into our
lives and feel we were meant to spend many wonderful years together. I
truly believe that this is simply another test. I believe Shayna will pull
through all of this. Like you said she is a survivor! She has had several
transfusions of palettes and will continue to need 3 to 4 transfusions per
week. Therefore, for right now the doctors are saying that she will not be
going home anytime soon. The bone marrow biopsy came back and they found the
"bad" blasts (cells) in the bone marrow so they will now decide how to
proceed.

Thank G-d we live in a time when so much technology is available to us. G-d
bless these doctors that they we re imbued with wisdom to understand the
complexities of the human body.

Join us as we send Shayna our positive energy and be ready to expect and
celebrate, with G-d's will, Shayna's quick and complete recovery.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

My Baby is Gone

I'm a little sad. My baby is gone. He's a big boy now. He can walk, he can communicate many many things even without knowing the words, and he's an independent spirit.

I'm going to wallow a bit in bittersweet nostalgia for the days that aren't too far behind me. They might as well have been a lifetime ago.

Ideas?

Hey everyone.

Lance will be a year old on the 28th of this month. (Can you believe it? I sure can't.) Anyhoo, I'm trying to plan a weekend getaway for Hubby and I, and I was wondering what you all thought of leaving Lance with the grandparents for a weekend. We've left him overnight with them before, but never for a whole weekend. (It wouldn't be for a few more months, probably sometime in the spring, so he'd be 15-16 months old by then.)

I'm aching to go see New York City. We have friends who go a couple of times a year and they always have the most fun. I would love to go see the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty, take a walk in Central Park, eat a hotdog from a street vendor, see a taping of Rachael Ray.

It just seems that it would be really tough to enjoy NYC with a toddler in tow. I know people who live there have babies, but because they live there they know how to get around. (I don't want to lug a car seat around and hop in and out of taxis. Ick.)

Anyhoo. Your thoughts? Is he too young to be left with the grandparents for a long weekend?

Prayers Urgently Needed

Hey everyone.

I received an e-mail from a friend of mine today. A young couple, Jeremy and Stephanie, have recently adopted a Down Syndrome baby. Shayna is the 10th special-needs child this couple has adopted. They have recently learned that Shayna has leukemia, and due to laws regarding adoption and waiting periods, they have not yet been able to obtain medical coverage for her.

I don't know this family personally, but as a mother I can only imagine the nightmare it must be to have a terribly ill child and not have the means to do anything about it. Please send up prayers for this precious family!

First Word!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday, November 12, 2007, Lance said his first word:

"Wow."

His first word apart from "mama" and "dada" anyway. I really couldn't say which one of those he said first, because he had been saying them just as syllables for a long time. Yesterday though, he said "wow." It's so cute too, because he almost whispers it and gets this look of astonishment on his face as he says it! I'll try to get it on video for you sometime!

I need to go give him a bottle now. He is so tired and is having trouble sleeping. He caught a little 20-minute power nap in the car on the way home from mom's group which is keeping him from sleeping now, but I know he needs a nice long nap because usually he's had a 2-hour nap by now. Poor little guy!

You know the holidays have arrived when...

1. When The Red Cup is back at Starbucks!

2. When the palm trees outside of your apartment complex have been covered in white twinkle lights. (I will have to post a photo of this later. For those of you who don't live in an area populated primarily by palm trees, it's a sight that brings warmth and joy to your heart. lol!)

3. When you begin rehearsing Christmas music at your church.

4. When all the Halloween candy is on clearance at Target.

5. When you suddenly feel the urge to start wrapping up boxes.

6. When you start seeing ads for the annual holiday specials on television. (It's a tradition in my family to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in the morning while dinner is being prepared, and then to watch It's A Wonderful Life in the evening.)

7. When you attend social gatherings and spiced apple cider served out of a crockpot is a guest of honor at every event.

8. When you pull all your red sweaters out of the back of the closet and start wearing them regularly just because you can.


I know a lot of people think that it's too early to start celebrating Christmas. (I have to draw the line at Christmas music being played in the stores before Halloween. No joke. That actually happened in early October at a local craft store. Anyhoo.) But you know what? I love all the red and green, the twinkle lights, the festive music. I love picking out wrapping paper and carefully selecting gifts for the people I love. I adore the tastes and smells of the season. (While I previously mentioned the spiced apple cider, I do restrict myself to only making it between Thanksgiving and New Year's to keep it special!)

What things put you in a holiday mood?

Am I A Bad Mother?

I desperately need just 10 minutes of down time. Just to sit and breathe in and out without jumping up every 2 1/2 seconds to put back whatever Lance yanked off the shelf.

Just 10 minutes.

So I put him in his crib with his stuffed monkey. He's not too thrilled about being left alone, but y'all, I need some air.

Am I mean?

Ouch!

If you're going to chop up jalepeno peppers for the new chili recipe you're making for dinner tonight, either use gloves or be prepared for the tips of your fingers to be sore and tender for the rest of the afternoon.

I Need Me Some Z's

First of all, noisy upstairs neighbors kept me from falling asleep. I went outside to my balcony, yelled at them, and they were finally somewhat quiet.

Then, Snoring Husband kept me from falling asleep, so I went out to the couch.

It got hot in the living room, so I stumbled back into our room.

I finally fall into a comfortable sleep.

An hour later, Lance wakes up screaming.

And here I am.

Am I Nuts?

I went jogging this evening.

Jogging. Me.

I used to say that the only way you could get me to run is if you were to chase me with a knife. Or throw a snake at me.

However, I recently had the experience of watching some friends participate in a 13K marathon, part of which ran through Disney MGM studios while we were there last week. How fun would that be, jogging through Disney world after hours and the place is SILENT except for the stretch of road they allowed spectators?

Plus they got medals.

It's all about the medals, dude. Duh.

Lance's First Disney Trip!

Sorry to disappear for a few days. We went to Disney World!! Lance had a great time. He especially loved Mickey Mouse! We took him on several rides, including the carousel, the Peter Pan ride, Small World, and Pirates of the Caribbean. He wasn't afraid at all, even when it got completely dark and had a small drop.

Artistic Question

Artistic question. Which of these do you like better and why? (Scroll down to my previous post to see more pumpkin patch pictures.

Lance is sleeping and I actually have some time to play in Photoshop, which is one of my very FAVORITE things to do but I rarely have time for anymore. I like trying to create different emotions by altering the color and brightness of photos.

I'd certainly like everyone's opinion on these two! Thanks!

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

I took Lance to the pumpkin patch yesterday evening! (And yes, it was a very sincere pumpkin patch, one which I am sure The Great Pumpkin would be happy to rise out of. lol!) Friend E accompanied me, as Hubby was unable to. He was very disappointed that he couldn't come, but he had some work obligations and then this evening we're heading out of town for a few days.

Since a picture paints a thousand words and I can be very long-winded, here are some photos for your viewing pleasure.

Award Ceremony

I have recently been given two very nice awards! The first is the "I'm Fabulous" award from Haley. Thanks so much, hon! I pass the award on to....

Damselfly at Growing a Life for being a fabulous real-life friend!

The second award I received is the "Sweet Treat" award from Susan.

How did she know that candy corn is my favorite candy??!! LOL! I'm hoping to meet up with Susan later this week as I'll be in her neck of the woods. I give this award to:

Beck at Frog and Toad Are Still Friends. She loves coming up with adjectives and is just generally fun to read. (Plus, she and I look alike and we both have an amazing pair of kickin' boots.)

Ladies, grab your awards, and if you feel like passing them on, go right ahead!

I have a new friend!!

I'm so excited. It's quite silly, really, but I have a new friend! I've known this girl for awhile, but just casually. She's the daughter of another friend of mine, although she is much closer in age to me, and is actually the same age as my little sister. She's about to go through a nasty divorce, (which is a good thing in her case. This guy is SUCH a creep!!! She found out he was going to strip clubs on his lunch breaks from work and lying to her about it. Ick.) Anyhoo. She has moved back in with her parents for now, who happened to host our small group bible study last night, and I spent much of the evening talking with her. See, there are very few people in our church who are the age of E and me. E's mom, (who is my friend J,) was telling me that E has been very depressed and doesn't really have any friends who are her age and married who can understand what she's going through. Everyone else her/my age are for the most part single and go out partying. That's so not what she needs right now.

So she's coming over tomorrow night just to hang out! I'm excited too, to have another friend close to my age. Among my circle of friends there are only two other gals close to my age (Mistletoe and Roo,) but the rest are the age of my parents. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but I don't relate to them the same way I do to people of my age or who are in the same stage of life. I look up to them as mentors, as examples of Christian wives and mothers. E is a couple years younger than me, so now I get to have a turn at being the older, wiser, woman. She's going to come over and we're going to eat pizza and watch a chick flick and play with Lance while Hubby hides in the computer room! (Not really hiding. He's studying for an exam he has to take in order to obtain certification on some new computer system.)

I feel like a schoolgirl who's just invited her new friend to come over and play. lol!

Mama's Got a Pair of Hot New Boots!

These are my new boots. *giggle*

I call them my "anti-frumpiness" boots.

I've been wanting a pair of boots like these for a LOOONG time. I finally took the plunge. My dear friend "Mistletoe" inspired me. Last week, she wore a pair of boots nearly identical to this. I decided to wait no more. I'm a grown woman. If I want a pair of boots, I can get a pair of boots!

So I took myself to a local retailer and purchased these hot boots. I never thought that footwear could make me feel sexy, but these do! I paired them with a denim skirt that hit just above my knee, revealing no more than four or five inches of skin.

Tee hee hee. I love my new boots. *grin*

Ruminations on Birthday Parties

I've been thinking about something a lot lately.

Birthday parties. Particularly 1st birthday parties. We recently attended the first birthday party of little Cole, who is my friend Bridget's son. (Cole and Lance are pretty close in age.) As Lance draws near to his first birthday at the end of next month, I am starting to feel The Pressure.

It seems that throwing a birthday party is a rite of passage for all mothers. I can recall laughing at another friend who emailed me in a frenzy wanting to know which font she should use on her 1-year old's birthday party invitations. She was completely freaking out about it, and I just didn't get it. I told her that the kiddo was not going to have ANY memories of this party, and if she was so stressed about it, why didn't she just cancel the whole thing?

Now I have a child. I Understand.

A First Birthday Party is so totally not for the kid. It's absolutely 100% for the parents. (This was the fact I failed to grasp when my previously-mentioned friend was stressing about her party.)

Because Lance's birthday is so close to Christmas and our family has a LOT of Christmastime birthdays, we have decided that when he gets older, we'll celebrate his half-birthdays instead, so his party will be in the summer, far far away from any other gift-giving occasion and at a time when a get-together will be WELCOMED by everyone in general because there's nothing else going on. At first, I didn't like that idea, but now as I am realizing just how much many birthday and Christmas gifts we purchase for people in our family every year, and how many holiday parties and get-togethers there are, I'm seeing that people are getting gypped in the gift department and instead of happy party guests, you have grumbly, exhausted guests who don't really want to be there. What fun is that? Another festivity between October and January will not generally be welcomed, but will be yet one more thing people add to their calendars and feel obligated to purchase a gift.

However, this is important. His First Birthday. I somehow know that I will be judged for the quality of party I give my son. Of course no one will admit to judging me in that way, but I know it's going to happen. (Except Bridget. I know she won't!!) In our group of friends, there is a Particular Party Thrower. Every year she puts on 3 or 4 large-scale parties and is known to say, "It's not a party if there isn't something to DO. You can't just serve people food." So I know she will be expecting way more than I am generally prepared to do. There will be one, maybe two other children at this party, and they're also babies. They won't want to play Pin the Tail on the Donkey or whatever it is kids play at birthday parties anymore. I don't want to make my adult friends feel stupid. I've never thrown a party for adults before, being that I'm relatively new to adulthood myself. I've had a few friends come over for dinner, but that is the extent of my entertaining expertise.

(Do you KNOW how much money stupid paper plates and table decorations cost?? Gracious!!! I had no idea that you could break the bank by going as simple as possible with the decorations. The money I spent on teddy bear plates and cups, the tablecloth and a banner for the living room will literally be thrown away after the party. Plus food for everyone? And party favors? The weekend after Thanksgiving? In my tiny apartment that can only comfortably hold 7, maybe 8 people?? What was I thinking???!!!!!!!)

Having a bit of a meltdown here. Gah!!!

*taking a deep breath*

I'm sure it'll be fine. :)

Things That Lance Does Which Annoy Me Now But I Will Miss Later

I know that I only have a short amount of time with my baby before he turns into a "big boy" and then later, a man. So I try not to be annoyed at certain things, because while right now they may aggravate me to no end, I am sure that I will one day miss them. Here is the list of annoying things that I will *hopefully* miss.

1. Lance loves to take off his socks and then proceed to chew on them.

2. He finds it hilarious to try and roll over while I change his diaper.

3. When I lift him out of his crib after naps and in the morning, he pounds my chest with both of his hands (and he's strong! It hurts!), but then looks at me and smiles so sweetly so I have to forgive him.

4. He will not, and I mean will not sit still in the bathtub while I try to wash him.


Here is a list of things which he does now that I do not find annoying and will most certainly miss as he gets older.

1. The way he claps his hands when we cheer for him as he walks.

2. His long conversations with his stuffed Elmo and the way he talks to the characters on TV. He just babbles, babbles away in what sounds like Japanese.

3. How he imitates funny faces.

4. The way he buries his face in my shoulder when I pick him up out of his playpen after I take my shower and am wearing my snuggly soft bathrobe.

5. How he likes to "help" me turn out the lights as I leave rooms and guide the spoon into his mouth at feedings.

6. The way he gives "kisses" by throwing his arms around my face and pressing his mouth into my cheek.

7. The look of pure wonder on his face when he sees something new or exciting.

I could go on and on. I just wanted to get these down so that thirteen years down the road when I'm dealing with an angst-ridden adolescent I can remember these moments of unadulterated ecstasy and delight in my child.

Private Tutoring

If you're here from Tales From the Scales, please scroll down a little for my weigh-in post.

I was given a wonderful idea the other day. It was so wonderful, I wondered why I hadn't thought of it myself! In a passing conversation, someone mentioned that in my region, private tutors receive between $25-40 an hour for their services.

HELLO!!! My background is in education. I have one semester left to finish my bachelor's degree in elementary education. I've already passed the state certification tests, so I'm just as qualified as any classroom teacher. I looked up ads for private tutors in this area, and discovered that high school students are making $25/hour to tutor. High School Students!!! Surely I could reasonably charge $30/hour! If I had only 3 or 4 students at that rate, we could eliminate a bill or two and be able to actually, I don't know, save up for a vacation or something!

If I do it in evenings after Hubby gets home, I wouldn't have to pay for a babysitter (which would take a huge chunk of that hourly rate! Babysitters around here get between $7-10/hour. I think that's crazy!)

So I'm going to take the plunge. I'm going to have some business cards and fliers printed up and take them to local schools. This is something I KNOW I could do, and with very little investment. I have TONS of teaching materials that I own, plus access to a wealth of information through my university.

This is so exciting!!!!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Tales From the Scales Weight Loss Challenge

It was another rough week. Once again I yo-yo'd up and down! I have a net gain from last week, but I have to say I am proud of some good choices I made when temptation was staring me in the face.

This was one of those weeks that for some reason, we either went out to eat or stopped at fast food places WAY more than usual.

So instead of dwelling on the fact that I gained weight from last week, I shall share with you my successes.

-We went out to eat at a local sandwich/deli eatery. I caved in and ordered a brownie for dessert, but I only ate a few bites of it that night, saving the rest for the next day rather than gobbling it up all at once.

- Last night our local pizza place offered two for the price of one, so we ordered two large pizzas. BIG mistake considering there are only two of us. An entire large pizza for each of us? No way. I controlled myself by eating only two slices. Yay!! (Normally I would eat four or five. Yikes!)

-I have been very good at going outside for walks this week. The weather is finally beginning to cool down enough so that I can enjoy being outside. Some days I even took TWO walks. (I haven't taken a walk today because the garage door broke last night and I cannot get in there to fetch the stroller. Must call maintenace to fix it!)

Hopefully I'll do better this week. I will plan to cook more meals at home, eliminating the need to go out so much. That'll help a lot.

I hope everyone else has a fantastic week!

Hey everyone. Go say hey to my new friend Brent. (He's one of Hubby's three co-workers that I mentioned in my previous post.) He's just as much of, if not more so, a computer geek than my husband. (Which is probably why we get along just fine. LOL! Hi Brent!) Prior to the bowling excursion that I so thoroughly enjoyed *snicker snicker* he showed me the ins and outs of Mac ownership. (Very few outs.) He has made a convert out of me! So in a few months when we actually get our new Mac, I'll finally be able to post those videos of Hubby and Lance that I mentioned before. (And everyone will go, "Awww!")

* * * * * * * * * *

For your viewing pleasure, here is a photo of Lance enjoying his new Elmo toy that I obtained for free at a recent Swap Shop held at my church. You can get so much great stuff at swaps. Free stuff is great ANY TIME. And since items like kid's clothing and shoes are only worn for such a short time, things stay in good condition, even through 3 or 4 kids! lol! (That t-shirt he is wearing also came from the swap. And that purple lawn mower which is halfway behind him. Also a toy dump truck and a few other t-shirts, also a pair of sandals.) Lest you think I'm a greedy mommy, I contributed two bags of Lance's stuff for other moms to snatch up, including a bouncy chair and an unused baby photo album. Good stuff.

Note To Self

If I ever indicate that it might be fun to go watch 96 strangers (plus my husband and his three coworkers that I know) go bowling while I chase a 10-month old who has just learned how to walk around a filthy bowling alley while experiencing significant back pain, will someone please smack me??

He's Walking!!

October 9, 2007

Lance took not one, but multiple steps. All by himself. Without hanging on to anything.

He is now a walker. At 10 1/2 months old, my baby has disappeared and a toddler has arrived in his place.

Very bittersweet.

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Tales from the Scales: Look Great in 2008! Weight Loss Challenge

I'm a day late in posting, but I guess that's all right.

This week was OK. Not great, but OK. I went up and down like crazy. A couple days I was a little under the weather, so I didn't get ANY exercise. (I've been weighing myself daily. Even just a 20-minute walk each day makes a big difference in the number on the scale!)

Starting weight: 149.8
Last week: 148.0
Today: 146.4
Total lost: 3.4 pounds

Total lost since May 2007: 10.6 pounds

Why My Husband Is a Good Father

I am married to the most darling man.

I came out of our bedroom last evening to find that he had paused his television show to play peek-a-boo with Lance. Not just normal peekaboo. He had a fleece blanket that he put over his and Lance's head. Lance was giggling and giggling!! (Peekaboo with a blanket over the head is his favorite game. He figured out how to do it himself!! We were watching TV while he was playing on the floor, and we heard him laugh, so we looked and there he was, lifting up a little blanket, putting it over his own head, yanking it off, and laughing! I wish I could have gotten it on video!)

I *did* get some video of the two of them playing, but I have yet to learn how to get video off of my camera and onto the computer. Tonight, we're going to get us a Mac-- so hopefully things like uploading photos and videos will get easier. So I hear from Mac users, anyway!

Anyway, it was so sweet to watch Hubby on the floor playing with our little baby. It made me tear up a little bit!

Sigh. Moments like that are so precious!

I'm Sleepy. Very, Very Sleepy.

*Warning: This is a very grumbly, rantish, tirade of a post. Do not read if you are expecting a warm fuzzy or a happy life lesson, because you won't get it.*

Hm. It would seem that many of you around the blogosphere did not sleep well last night.

Well, at least we were all in good company. Lance and I didn't get much sleep, either. He decided that he would revert to being a newborn and wake up every two hours. I don't know what's gotten into him. I'm very glad that I went to bed early last night. As soon as we put Lance down to sleep, I announced to my husband that I was going to bed, too. (I must have known, somehow.) I went to bed at 9:30 and fell asleep immediately. At 1:30, Lance woke up screaming. I tried several things, but nothing worked until I fed him. (I know he wasn't hungry because he's been sleeping all the way through the night for months now, but I guess he needed the soothing.) Half an hour later he fell back to sleep. I went back to bed to a snoring husband and could not fall back asleep. I laid there for an hour. Finally, around 3:15 I could feel myself drifting off to sleep. Then there was screaming AGAIN. I almost woke Hubby up and told him it was his turn, but I figured I was already awake. If I woke him up, then we'd both be awake and that just wouldn't make any sense. So I got up again. Gave him some tylenol for his teeth, changed his diaper, put him back to bed. He fell back to sleep quickly, but then I still had to deal with a snoring husband. Out of desperation, I stomped into the living room and crashed on the couch at 4:30 am where I was finally able to fall back asleep. (This after being up for 3 hours.)

At 6:30, he once again woke up. Screaming his little head off. Nothing was working. Snoring Husband heard it, got out of bed, came and got Lance so I could go back to sleep. (Darling man! But then he would have been getting up not too long after that, anyway.) I was able to sleep until 8.

So all in all, I got four hours of sleep from 9:30-1:30, two more hours from 4:30-6:30, and another hour from 7-8. So that's seven hours of sleep which is not too bad, but it was a very DISTURBED seven hours of sleep.

Lance has gone down for his morning nap. I'm going back to bed.

Have a lovely day.

Chef's Block

Need to go to the grocery store.

The pantry is getting bare.

What do I have?

I have chicken. I have noodles. I have tomato soup. That's about it. Is there a good way of combining the three aforementioned ingredients into a delectable, mouth-watering, yumm-a-licious dinner?? I suppose I could make some kind of casserole.

Any ideas?

The Things God Does/Weekly Weigh-In

*If you're here from Tales From the Scales, scroll down for my weigh-in post. Thanks!*

Did you know that God does oil changes?

He does. This weekend, we had to take my car in to the dealership for a repair. The door handle on the passenger-side rear door was not working, and as such, I could not get to Lance's car seat. For a few days, we moved his car seat to the other side (behind me,) but that didn't work well as I had to scoot my seat so far forward to accommodate the car seat. Anyhoo.

The dealership had my car for two days. It was nearly $250.00 to fix a door handle. Grr. So we went to pick it up. The service people had all left for the day, so we had to go to a different office to pay and pick up the key. As I got into my car and gingerly turned the key eagerly expecting it to roar to life, instead I heard...nothing. My car was dead. Dead dead dead. Apparently the technician left the interior light on, running the battery down. Of course, without the service people there, we couldn't let them know, so we left the car overnight.

This morning, we went back to the dealership to inform them of the problem. They were just going to get some jumper cables and send me on my merry way, when an angel appeared. :)

Our friend Doug poked his head in the room. He's a mechanic there. We didn't know he worked there, or we would have asked for him in the first place! When he found out our problem, he took the car back to the garage (ahead of everyone else, hehe...) and got it all fixed up. In addition to replacing my battery, he also changed the oil and rotated the tires. All of this for no charge!!! (No one knew he did that extra stuff-- he told me since there wasn't a formal service order put in, that no one would know what he was doing.) Isn't that sweet of him? I don't want him to get in trouble, so I am not identifying which dealership this was.

So God watches over us, sometimes in ways we wouldn't expect!

I had to laugh at Hubby, though. After Doug took my car back, he looked at me with a disappointed, pitiful expression and said, "I was really looking forward to fighting with someone." As though he was a little kid who didn't get to go for ice cream after school. LOL!

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Look GREAT in 2008 weight loss challenge: Week 2!

This week I was a bit of a yo-yo, going up and down by the day. (My cycle started during the week. I'm going to blame that.) While I am only down .2 pounds from last week, if I base my weight loss on the difference between my highest weight of the week and today's, I can say I lost 1.8 pounds. That sounds more fun, so that's what I'll say.

I lost 1.8 pounds this week. tee hee.

Starting weight: 149.8
Last week: 148.2
Today: 148.0

Good luck to all participants on the coming week!

Bless You!

Lance has the cutest little sneeze you ever heard. He also has a "word" that he says. I don't know what it means, he has employed it for multiple uses. The word is "digga." Last night after his bath, I was putting a clean diaper on him and getting him into his sleepers for the night. He let out two little sneezes.

I said, "Bless you!"

He let out a sigh of relief, as we often do when a sneeze finally escapes, looked up at me and said very particularly and purposefully, "Digga."

It was so cute. It seemed just like he was saying "thank you."

Melt my heart!

I Will Not Be A Frumpy Mom

I giggled a lot while writing this. I hope you enjoy!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I'll not go out with face so bare,
I'll not be seen with messy hair.
Spit-up shall not be my jewels,
Cutesy diaper bag? I'll be ridiculed.

Sneakers aren't my only shoes,
"Mom-jeans" make me feel so blue.
Shapeless t-shirts I won't don,
I WILL NOT BE A FRUMPY MOM!!

Little black dress and dainty heels
Aren't just for gals who have yet to feel
The pains of childbirth! We mothers, too,
Deserve to look GREAT and be sexy, too!

I will not, will not, become a mess.
I can not, can not, choose to dress
So fashionless and sloppily.
Instead, I must be fabulous me!
Shapeless t-shirts I won't don;
I WILL NOT be a frumpy mom!!

Because I'm A Bad Friend

Several days ago, Damselfly bestowed the "Nice Matters" award upon me. I ever so dutifully posted the graphic in my sidebar, and completely let the honor go unacknowledged.

(Damselfly, why on earth do you put up with me?? I don't acknowledge your awards, it takes me forever to return things that you loan me, and I barge in on you at your house without even calling first. I don't deserve you!!)

So thank you, dear Damselfly, for thinking of me in regards to this award. Now, it's my turn to pass it on!


Let's see. I'm going to give the award to:

1. Horseymama at A Day in the Life of a Stay At Home Mom because she's another real-life friend of mine, and well, she's nice. Very generous and helpful! Also a person that I know will actually pray for me when she says she will.

2. Mamabear June at the Path to Health, because she always leaves such encouraging comments when I post regarding the weight-loss challenge I am participating in.

3. Anne/kq at Life in the Ketchup Bottle. I've never met her, but I can tell by her writing that she must be a very nice person indeed.



Isn't it nice to get an award for being nice? That doesn't happen often. LOL!

First Baseball Game (plus weekly weigh-in.)

Hi! If you're here from Tales From the Scales, scroll down a bit for my weigh-in post.

Lance got to enjoy his first baseball game last night!! Hubby was able to score some AWESOME seats down on the field right next to the bull pen for the Cubs-Marlins game. (He got them through work somehow. Either from a client of theirs, or someone they are a client of-- I dunno. I get them all mixed up. I think Hubby's company buys software from the company that gave us the tickets, making Hubby's office the client??? Make sense to anyone?)

Anyhoo. It made for a great night out of the house, and Lance had SO MUCH fun!! One of the Marlins players (Miller,) who was hanging out in the bull pen gave a baseball to Lance! Isn't that sweet? We were hoping to get a photo of Lance with Miller, but there was a big sign on the fence between our little area and the bull pen that said "Do Not Disturb the Players During the Game." So we honored that, and just smiled a thank-you to him.

This little area where we were sitting is a pretty fancy-shmancy area. You didn't have to go out to the concession stands because they made hot dogs and chicken fingers right in there for us, and there was someone to serve us drinks. PLUS there were THREE hot-tubs in this area. No one was using them, so we let Lance splash around a bit. He had such a great time! (And got soaked. And got me soaked. And got Hubby soaked.)

Do any of you find an unfair ratio of pictures of your child with their father to pictures of your child with YOU? I'd say ours is about 5 to 1. TONS of pictures of Lance with Hubby, and only a handful of them with me. When he grows up, he'll think I wasn't around. I'll just have to remind him that yes, in fact, I was there because I was the one who shot the picture. LOL!

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Well, it's time for a new challenge. Last week I reported an 8-pound weight loss for the duration of the May Day Weight Loss Challenge sponsored by the ladies at Tales From the Scales. Well, this week we begin a new challenge! The Look Great in 2008! Challenge.

My starting weight for this challenge was 149.8.

This morning, I weighed in at 148.2. Hooray!

Total loss for the week? 1.6 pounds. Not bad at all!!!

Family Mission Statement

I belong to a bible study group composed of moms. We have a very descriptive (albeit not too creative) name for the group:

Tuesday Morning Moms.

I just adore it! Anyhoo, we've just started a new book called Mom PhD and the first chapter compares the running of a home to the running of a business. Many businesses have vision/mission statements, so the author challenges us to come up with a mission statement for our family. This is what I came up with.

Honoring God, Loving Each Other, Caring for the World.

Very broad, I know, and can mean a lot of different things, but when I think about what I want my family to be like and how it will function, I think that's the way it should be. Honor God and His commandments. Love each other. Care for the needs in the world. That also goes along with what our pastor is currently preaching on. She is encouraging us to have a "ministry in the church and a mission in the world."

Yesterday I wrote about how my band played at a local homeless shelter. Well, I'm hoping to begin volunteering there or doing something to help meet that need. There are needs in this world everywhere we look. While it's wonderful for church people to take care of each other, it's so easy to forget that there are people outside our church doors yet in our backyard that need our care.

I hope I can raise a family who will honor God, care for each other, and care for the needs of the world.

What can you do to take care of a need? Maybe you can bake some cookies to take to YOUR local homeless shelter. Do you know anyone who has family in the military overseas? Send a care package. Donate some school uniforms to a school in a low-income area, or volunteer a couple hours a week to do some tutoring.

I've been thinking about things like this all week. What are the two most important commandments? "Love Your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself."

I hope that my "family mission statement" will stir the members of my family to be able to do just what it says:

Honoring God, Loving Each Other, and Caring For the World.

Beware the Babysitter!

This is what happens when you leave your little boy in the care of your friends who have two daughters.

"Mommy, I don't think this blue dress matches my grey and green baseball shirt. Can you please ask my babysitter if she has it in a different color?"

This is also what happens when you leave your baby in the care of your friends who have recently left the baby years, so they clearly miss the days of wrestling squirming, wriggling, infants into tiny little bitty clothes. They miss it so much they keep putting different costumes on your child.

Now that's more like it!


Tee hee hee. Poor Lance.

He spent several hours yesterday afternoon at the home of my friends C and K while Hubby and I were with our church band, playing at a local homeless shelter. We played outside for about two hours. It was quite the experience. I'm not sure if "shelter" is quite the right word for it, it was more like a halfway house. People have to go through an orientation program, and they are required to look for work and find it. As they get more and more on their feet, they "graduate" to nicer living areas.

I think the thing that most struck me was the children. When you think of homeless people, you don't often think of children. But there they were! It was really quite heartbreaking. While I know that God used our band to bring some joy and light into these people's lives, I think we all learned a thing or two as well.

Weight Loss Challenge: Final Results

Well, this is the last week of the May Day Weight Loss Challenge that I joined beginning in May. My goal was to lose 20 pounds. I didn't quite make it, but I have made significant progress toward that goal.

My starting weight was 157. This morning, I weighed in at 149 for a total loss of 8 pounds for this challenge, an average of a half pound a week. I was hoping to do better, but you know the saying, "Slow and steady wins the race." I found that I did better losing weight when I weighed myself more frequently. It allowed me to see the results of the previous day's eating/exercising. I discovered that you can ruin an entire week of healthy, good choices by indulging yourself on the weekend. I also discovered that I am less likely to lose weight in a given week if I drink soda, diet or otherwise.

I learned that "useful" calories are much more filling than an equal amount of "empty" calories. For example, a sandwich made with Pepperidge Farm Harvest 7-grain bread will keep me full for HOURS. The same sandwich on white or even "honey wheat" bread requires additional side items for the meal, and I'll be hungry again sooner. Not only do you feel full eating less food, your body will feel a satisfaction that you don't get from junk food. It's almost like you can feel your body absorbing all the nutrients and putting them to use, rather than storing them up for later or simply getting rid of them.

Fortunately for me, the gals at Tales From the Scales are beginning a new weight-loss challenge, "Look Great in 2008!" I will join in this one as well. If you'd like to be part of a community of bloggers with the goal of becoming more healthy and losing weight, please join in with us! You simply weigh in each week and report your goals, successes, failures, improvements, etc. You do not have to post your actual weight, but instead can just say how much you lost or gained in a given week.

My ultimate weight-loss goal is 120, which is, according to the "charts," a healthy weight for my height and age. That means I have 29 pounds to lose. Let's see how much I can lose during this next challenge!

The three things I am going to focus on for this challenge are:

1. DRINK WATER!!
2. Add fruits and veggies
3. Reduce salt intake

Good luck to all my fellow participants!

First Haircut

Here are pics from Lance's first haircut!! I'll come back later and edit this post with the story, since it's WAAYYY too early in the morning and I'm not thinking clearly yet. :) (Gotta love those wee-hour postings, hmmm?)

An Unexpected Burst of Productivity

Wow. I have been more productive this morning than I am in some entire days.

It's 9:45 am. Already, I have:

-Fed and dressed Lancelot
-Showered (including washing hair, shaving legs, and underarms!), dressed, and fed myself
-Done a load of laundry
-Finished loading the dishwasher
-Pulled linens off the guest bedroom bed
-Written a blog post! :)

It's a good feeling to be productive. Why can't I do this other days? I'll tell you why. I'm not always expecting weekend guests. My parents are coming for the weekend, so I want the house to be in good shape for them! Not that they expect it to be spic-and-span. They're very understanding. The best parents a girl could ask for, actually. Anyhoo. I guess because I know they don't expect my house to be perfect causes me to want it to be nice for them.

It's amazing how much I can get done when I've a mind to. Other days, I wouldn't have bothered showering yet, and most likely right now I would have gone back to bed while Lance takes his morning nap, rather than spending it blogging and continuing clean-up.

I still have left to do:
-Wash the sheets for the guest bedroom
-Clean the second bathroom and prepare it for grown-up use (which means picking up the bath toys and removing the faucet guard, also putting the shower curtain back down. Right now it's looped over the rod so Lance won't tug on it during his bathtime!)
-Vacuum the floor
-Windex the glass-top end tables and coffee tables
-Clear away clutter
-Go to the grocery store
-Get Lance's first haircut. (This one makes me nervous! He really needs to get his hair cut because it's growing down over his ears and is starting to look like a mullet in the back. Thankfully, I have a friend with 6 children who has a hair salon in her home. If I can trust anyone to cut his hair, I can trust the woman who has cut the hair of her own 6 children!) Our appointment is at 3:30 today.

So much to do. I better get my rear end out of the computer room and get to work!!

Wishing you all a productive day!

4 A.M. wonderfulness

It's 4:00 A.M.

I just changed the wettest, soggiest, soakingest, drippingest, heaviest, most dense collection of infant urination that I have ever encountered in my 9 months of motherhood.

Just thought you should know.

Time for a clean sweep!

I have the sweetest, most loving and understanding husband in all the world.

Just last night I was bemoaning my inability to keep the house in good order the way I did before Lance came around. I was on a schedule, assigning specific housecleaning tasks for each day of the week so that grime and dirt never built up. The showers were scrubbed once a week. The kitchen counters were wiped down daily, and weekly they were REALLY cleaned, as in I would move things off of them and clean behind and under appliances and get all the crumbs out of the corners. I even wiped out the inside of the microwave and the refrigerator shelves.

Dusting and vacuuming was assigned to another day. I went through the house with my Swiffer duster. I not only dusted furniture, but I dusted the outside of the air vents and all the blades of all the ceiling fans.

My house was clean. Cluttered sometimes, but clean.

Now, 9 months after having a baby, I've been letting those things go. I might pull out the duster once every couple weeks and quickly swipe over visible places and run the vacuum cleaner in high-traffic areas of the house, but I can't remember the last time I moved things off of counter surfaces or table tops. The space behind the toilets have seen neither sponge nor Lysol in an eternity.

So my husband came up with a fantastic, incredible idea.

We are going to hire a cleaning service to come in and get this place spic-and-span. It's much easier to maintain an already-clean house than to try and start from scratch. And it's just frustrating to only have one room of the house clean at a time. (Which is the way it usually ends up. Every so often I'll find myself with two hours in which to clean, so I'll attack a room with a vengeance. Then I'll feel great about it, until I leave the room. Can I get a witness??)

Isn't he just a darling man? I think so.

I'm over the moon. Going to get quotes from a few places now. Have a lovely day!

Have You Seen This Yet????

A friend emailed this to me. SO CUTE!!

**disclaimer: This is not my video. I do not claim it as my own work, but unfortunately I cannot give it proper credit because I have no idea where it came from. By the time it arrived in my inbox, it had been forwarded multiple times. If you know where this came from, please let me know so I can properly give credit! Thanks!

Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

In some parts of the country, summer is over. The air is turning crisp, leaves are fading from bright green to the lovely palette of burnt oranges and reds signifying autumn. (Hey- I can get poetic when I have a mind to!)

That is not so where I am here in South Florida. The only indication that fall is on the horizon is the fact that my calendar is turned to September and the fall equinox is marked in a box. Additionally, people are throwing their end-of-summer/Labor Day barbecues, one of which we attended last week.

Here is a picture of Lance enjoying a watermelon.

That's my arm there next to him. :)

This photograph tells a story. A story that most likely I will be the only one to remember. Just minutes before this photo was taken, Lance and I took a spill. A nasty spill.

At this particular gathering, there were two other families with young children, ranging from age 2-6. They were running back and forth between the house and the slip-and-slide which is not pictured here. The patio floor, as a result, was wet. I did not know this. As I was carrying Lance out to the backyard to join in the festivities, I slipped in a puddle and the two of us went down. Hard.

I landed on my knees and then toppled forward. Then, things went in slow motion. I saw Lance falling away from me, his head milliseconds away from smashing on the hard tile floor. Then, I heard it. A loud "smack." I saw his head bounce. I was certain that when I lifted him up, I would see blood all over the floor.

Miraculously, there wasn't. Everyone who was in attendance saw something different from what I remember. They all said that they saw me catch him, with my hand behind his head, and that it was my hand that hit the floor.

I'm tellin' ya, they must have seen the hand of the Lord supporting my boy's head, because to my recollection, my hand was nowhere near his head. Plus, if my hand had indeed hit the floor with the weight of a 22-pound baby pressing it down, surely there would be a bruise or something, but no. I felt no pain on my hand and there's not a mark on it.

Someone grabbed Lance from me, and someone else helped me up to my feet. They were all asking me if I was okay, and I was annoyed with them for not immediately getting something to stop the blood gushing out of his head (because I was sure that it was) and/or calling 911. I didn't understand why they didn't seem to care.

It's because they witnessed a miracle. They witnessed my child's life being saved by the hand of an angel. I wish I could have seen it, too!

My knees got a little banged up and bruised, and they're still a little tender, but other than that, we're all fine! As you can see from the photo, Lance calmed down as soon as we gave him some food! I think he was more scared than anything else.


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If you haven't already, stop by Growing A Life and wish Flybaby a happy 1st birthday!



Here is a picture of Flybaby and Lance in adjoining high chairs at a local ice-cream place. Damselfly, J.P., Lance, Hubby and I went out to celebrate with them. His birthday was on Friday, but today Damselfly and J.P. are hosting a party for him at their home. More pictures to follow!

Doin' A Little Happy Dance

YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For those of you who have been regular visitors here, you know that I have been participating in the May Day Weight Loss Challenge. Every week on Tuesdays I report in with my loss or gain for the week, along with goals and ideas for the upcoming week. Well, I haven't been good about reporting in because I was holding my weight steady. I just couldn't get below a particular number on the scale. (while I was grateful that I was not gaining any weight, it was still discouraging because I've got quite a ways to go to achieve my goal.)

To my surprise this morning, when I stepped on the scale I was one pound below the number I previously couldn't break through!! It was a complete surprise. I don't know why we seem to assign magical values to particular numbers, but for some reason I had it in my head that if I get could to the weight I finally achieved this morning, then it would become easier to continue losing. I know, it doesn't make any sense at all, but that's how things work in Guinevere's head.

So now, my total weight loss for the challenge is 7 pounds.

Only 30 more to go. I can do it!!

The Baby Bathtub Has Left The Building

We have retired the baby bathtub. I realized it was time to graduate to the "big kid" tub when Lance tried to crawl out of his baby tub. He would turn himself around in it, lean way over the side to pick up toys that were on the floor, and just generally wouldn't stay put. He loves the big tub! He can crawl around in there, stand up, sit down, turn himself around and do the hokey pokey. This photo was taken on his 3rd bath in the real tub. He just loves it!

(You may have noticed a pirate theme going on in this family. A few days ago I posted a photo of Lance wearing a Jack Sparrow wig and hat, now you see that his rubber ducky is, in fact, a pirate ducky. Wait a second. I have another pirate picture for you!)

I don't know how well you can see, but the shirt says "Pirate In Training" and I bought it at Disney World when he was just a month old.

Arrrr.

The reason for this pirate madness? Well, a couple years ago the men in our small-group Bible Study decided to dress up as pirates and serve the ladies dinner on Mother's Day. (I have no idea why they chose pirates.) So now our group calls itself "Captain Doug's Prayer Pirates." It's very corny, but hey, every group needs a gimmick, right?

Here they are.

After serving us dinner, they chased us around the house and called us "wenches."

We have a fun time at Bible study. LOL!

Sick Day(s)

We've got colds.

Icky, nasty, booger-y, sore throat, head-swollen-up-to-twice-their-size headcolds.

Please say a few prayers for us! I'm not sure how many more times Lance will put up with that nasal aspirator!

Wordless Wednesday

In case there was any doubt that he is, in fact, a male child...



As promised, here is a "princess picture" from my weekend getaway! Details to follow. (I'm the one on the far left.)

Getting Away For the Weekend

Before I get to the main subject of this post, I just HAD to share this photo.

I LOVE "Pirates of the Caribbean." So when Hubby, Lance, and I were cruising the mall last weekend and poked around in the Disney Store, we couldn't resist putting this Jack Sparrow wig on Lance.

Halloween costumes already? Sigh.

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I'm so psyched!!

Tomorrow, I get to go away for the weekend! By myself! (Along with a couple hundred women.) I am attending a weekend women's retreat being hosted by a local Christian musician and speaker. It has become an annual event and I can't wait!!

We're staying in a nice hotel on the beach. We have several sessions with the speaker who will be speaking on "Why We Need Girlfriends." We will have a pajama party, complete with DJ. (Macarena, anyone?) We're having a "Royal Feast" in which we get to wear a princess item. (I purchased a Belle tiara and scepter from the Disney Store. Thank heavens for early halloween costume sales!!)

Of course I'll post a picture of myself in my princess regalia when I return.

I'm just so ready for a little break from the normal everyday-ness that is Mommyhood. I won't be far away, just about 45 minutes, so if something happens, I'll be close enough to return home.

It's going to be great. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Weight Loss Challenge: Week 15

I stink at this.

I've been holding steady around 152-154 pounds for two whole months. I can't seem to get down below 152.

Ah well. No need to wallow. Clearly, I need to redouble my efforts.

This week, I will:

1. Take a morning walk EVEN if it is hot outside.

2. Limit myself to ONE caffeinated beverage a day. (This is a very hard goal for me to accomplish. I've been saying that I will limit myself to one a day for several weeks now. Maybe this'll be the week it happens??!!) This is how I will do it. I will brew some decaf iced tea that I can drink in the morning for something with a little flavor. Maybe I can "trick" my body into thinking that it has caffeine, lol! I will be allowed to drink a Vanilla Coke Zero in the afternoon around 3:30 for a little pick-me up. If I go to Starbucks, I forfeit my afternoon soda.

3. Start going back to the gym. I purchased a Pilates DVD that I have been doing at home in lieu of going to the gym. I'm enjoying it, but I'm not seeing the same results that I got when I was doing 20 minutes on the elliptical machine. If I want to do Pilates, that's great, but it will be an addition to going to the gym.

4. Add an extra serving or two of fruit/veggies. Eat a piece of fruit with breakfast, a piece of fruit with lunch, and make sure there is SOME kind of vegetable with dinner.


Hm. If I think back to the beginning of the challenge, these goals I have set for the next week are things that I previously did regularly, and that was when I started seeing the weight come off. It's so easy to slip out of good habits!!