What Was Lost Has Now Been Found!!

I'm giddy!

My husband found a CD of mine that I have been looking for. For months. I thought it had gone. I searched the box of CDs that we have yet to unpack from our move a year ago. I searched in my car. I even searched my parent's house in case I left it there when I moved out. But alas, it was nowhere to be found.

I gave it up for dead.

I knew I wouldn't be able to find another copy of it anywhere because it was one of those generic compilation CDs and I couldn't even remember the name of it. All I knew was that it had old-fashioned big band music, and even then I only remembered the titles to a couple of songs. There are TONS of CDs like that, but I didn't want just any one. I wanted mine.

And yesterday, my husband found it! He has slowly been unpacking all the boxes in the office full of his computer stuff and techno gadgets, and apparantly my beloved CD found its way in there. (This box has moved with us to three different apartments, and this is the first time it has been opened.) Wonder of wonders!

I was thrilled. I did a little happy dance right there in the office.

It's good to find joy in the little things!

And Murphy Giggled

It all started with my choice of wardrobe this morning.

My new white v-necked tee from my favorite store. I hadn't worn it but once, and was looking forward to going out and about the town in it today. Today is a busy day; Tuesday Morning Mom's Group at church, music rehearsal with friend Missy, then a chiropractic appointment. All of these things are things in which I want to look presentable. I don't want to appear as I do around the house; hair swept up in a messy ponytail, shirt wrinkled and damp from holding a baby and catching his drool.

As I put on my new shirt, I heard a faint giggling somewhere. I ignored it.

I shouldn't have.

It wasn't just any giggle. It was Murphy.

You know. Him. The one whose law states "If it can go wrong, it will."

The first couple of hours went smoothly. My Tuesday Morning Mom's Group went great. Lancelot was in the nursery, so my shirt was as yet unwrinkled or damp. It was lovely. It looked just like a new white shirt ought to look.

When we got home, it was time to feed Lancelot. I selected carrots.

I faintly heard a giggle, but I ignored it.

I shouldn't have.

It was Murphy.

Lancelot eagerly thrust his hand in the little plastic container and promptly smeared carrots all over his khaki pants. (Thank heavens my white shirt was saved. I was smart enough to drape a dish towel over myself. I learned yesterday with my new yellow shirt that babies aren't the only ones who need bibs.) It wouldn't be so bad if these khaki pants belonged to me. No, they are a generous loan from Damselfly. Her little Flybaby wore them, but grew out of them, and as Lancelot is three months younger than Flybaby, she ever so kindly lent them to us. (Thanks, Damselfly! I'll do my best to get the carrot stains out of them...) I immediately took the pants off of Lancelot and tossed them in the laundry pile, vowing to throw them in the machine as soon as he was done eating.

I heard a faint giggle, but I ignored it. I shouldn't have. It was Murphy.

After feeding Lancelot (and when I intended to throw the clothes in the laundry so that the pants that do not belong to me will not be stained,) I realized that the nursery workers who took care of my little munchkin during Tuesday Morning Moms did not change his diaper. He was soaked. Absolutely drenched. So it was off to the changing table.

I have never seen such a wet diaper. All the books say that you should give your child a few minutes of diaperless time to prevent diaper rash and to allow their skin to get some air. I had never done this before, so I thought now would be a good time to try. After all, he had been in a sopping wet diaper for who knows how long, and I could tell by looking at his poor, wrinkled-up skin that he really needed it. So, I grabbed the waterproof cover and a blanket and set him up in the living room. I removed his diaper, set him on his tummy on the waterproof cover which was over the blanket, and put out a few toys for him to play with. I was starving, so I went into the kitchen to heat up last night's leftovers.

Very softly, there was a faint giggle. I ignored it. I shouldn't have. It was Murphy!!!

I was in the kitchen for two minutes. That's all. But that's all it took.

I came back into the living room expecting to see my son happily playing with the little toys.

What I saw instead looked like a sewer that had ruptured underground and spilled forth onto my son, the waterproof cover, the blanket, and his clothes. Of course.

I set down my lunch. (Pork roast and homemade bread from last night. Yummy! My absolute favorite!) It'll have to wait a minute.

And Murphy giggled.

It wasn't just a minute. See, this poo was all over the place. It took about 10 wipes to remove the mess from my son's skin, then there was still his clothes, the waterproof cover, and blanket to take into account.

I put a fresh diaper on the kiddo and yank his shirt off of him. I ball up the shirt, waterproof cover, and blanket into a wad, and add it to the pile with the khaki-pants-that-don't-belong-to-me-but-have-carrot-stains-on-them. Then it's off to the bathroom and he gets a bath. In the middle of the day. He loved it!

And there my lunch was, all lonely and getting cold.

There it is, another giggle!

By now, my new white shirt that I was planning to wear all day to impress my friends with how un-Momlike I can maintain my appearance is wrinkled, damp, and smells of bodily fluids. (Fortunately, no stains. I guess Murphy had SOME mercy on me!)

I removed my new white shirt and replaced it with a ratty maternity tank top. The ultimate in frumpy Momness. Blech. I adored this tank top while I was pregnant. It was great. It kept me as cool as I could possibly be in our Florida heat. But now, I don't want to look pregnant anymore. I'm still carrying around a bit of baby weight, so when I wear the maternity shirts which are cut to allow for extra weight, I look pregnant! Grr.

Murphy isn't giggling anymore. He's laughing uproariously, rolling around the carpet clutching his stomach and weeping because he is laughing so hard.

The little twerp.

Thankfully, Lancelot is now asleep in clean clothes and a fresh diaper. As soon as I complete this post, I'm going to toss my white shirt in the dryer with a fabric softener sheet to freshen it up. (I have so few non-maternity shirts that I can fit into and that look good. This year is the year of wardrobe replacement. lol!)

So there you have it. My encounter with Murphy.

People often say, "You'll laugh about this someday." Yes, that's true. However, why wait? I think I'll laugh about it now, because as annoying this day has been so far, it's pretty darn funny.

And Guinevere Giggled.

I'd like to thank the Academy...

I never thought I'd win one of these! Hee hee! Thanks, Damselfly, for this great honor! I think I'll put mine in my sidebar, too. This is worth keeping!

Let's see. Now I need to nominate some more blogs. I only read a small handful of blogs, and many of them have already received this award, so I think I'll just nominate three.

1. Darlene Schachts Blog.

I've been following this gal for a couple of years now. She's probably won oodles of these. She founded Christian Women Online and can be seen writing in several other places. She has also published a book called "The Mom Complex" which is just simply fabulous.

2. Learning for Lifetime

I found Susan during the Ultimate Blog Party. She writes thought-provoking spiritual lessons peppered with anecdotal illustrations. I love her!

3. Natalie Kale: Unabridged

This is my sister's blog. She's a twenty-year-old college student, and God is doing a lot with her right now. She expresses so well the things He is showing her. Although I pick on her 'cuz she's my kid sister, I've really learned a lot from reading her blog.

Purses and Bags

I love purses.

I simply adore tote bags.

My favorite store always sells tote bags and purses to match the current season's clothing, and I just about can't help myself.



This is the one I've got my eye on at the moment. (They had some other ones in the store today that don't show up on the website. Pooie.)

So when I saw this contest to win a Coach bag, I just had to enter!!

Own the Day

"This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it." -Psalm 118:24

"Say 'hey!' It's a good day, even though things aren't goin' my way. Jesus was born and I am saved so, say 'hey,' it's a good day." -Song by FFH

"Carpe Diem!"

There are so many ways of expressing the sentiments above. Each day is a gift from God. We can't live in tomorrow, or yesterday, or in a day several years from now. What we have is today, and to waste it would be sinful!

Damselfly and I went out today. We enjoyed lunch at a local sandwich-and-soup cafe, then spent a lovely hour at a local park playing with our babies. The weather was beautiful, the boys were happy. It was truly a joyous day. We got around to discussing our hopes for the future. "It'll be so much easier when they can walk and run. They'll play on the playground while we chat." "Won't it be great when they can eat table food and we won't have to worry about baby food and bottles anymore?" "I can't wait 'til they can sit and entertain themselves with their toys so we can get things done around the house!"

Then I realized, yes, those things will be great. But why live in the future? This time of helpless-infants-needing-my-undivided-attention-all-freaking-day-long will not last forever. I thought the nights of waking up 3 and 4 times to feed would never end. I thought that never again for the rest of my life would I get a decent night's sleep.

Lancelot now sleeps through the night. Believe it or not, I sometimes miss those quiet moments cuddling in the rocking chair when everything and everyone else is still.

Yes, it will be fantastic when Lancelot can walk and I won't need to carry him all the time. (My chiropractor will also be glad when I don't have to carry him all the time!) But then, a day will come when Lancelot won't want to be held and cuddled. He'll be independent, doing everything by himself.

It will be incredible when he can eat table food. But then, he will make a mess all over the place or be picky or both or more...

Damselfly and I came to to the conclusion that no matter what stage of life our babies are in, there will always be something that we will be looking forward to not having anymore. So rather than always wishing for something better to come along, we must make an effort to enjoy and cherish the wonderful things we have now because soon they will be gone.

This is true not only in our children's lives, but in our own. How often have we said that things will be better when... etc etc etc? There will always be something that could make things better. There will always be something that could make them worse.

Our planet goes through a cycle of four seasons. These four seasons constantly repeat themselves. It's a predictable cycle. Our lives also have seasons, but each season is a new season, one that we will never experience again.

If you knew that you would only be able to play in the snow for one season and never see it again for the rest of your natural life, would you complain about having to put snow tires on your car, or would you be out sledding and building snowmen at every opportunity you had? If summer only came once, would you complain about the heat or would you build sand castles at the beach? Our lives are like this. Every season is unique, and while they inevitably will have negative attributes about them, it is certain that we shall never see this particular season in our lives again. Ever.

Own the day!

Wordless Wednesday

Early Morning Stream of Consciousness

It's 6 am. My little bundle of joy has woken up. For a little while, anyway. It seems had I checked his diaper when I first heard the screams coming through the monitor, I may have been able to get him back to sleep. Now that I figured it out, (half an hour later and half an episode of "Voyager" watched,) I have gently placed him back in his crib in hopes that he will fall asleep again. While I am awaiting this, I have gone into the next room to write this blog post as I listen for the complaining to subside and sleep to once again fall upon the household. If the complaining does not subside within 5 minutes, I shall know that sleep will not fall upon the household until he has been awake for some time and shall require his morning nap.

Let's see how much I can write in 5 minutes. Join me as I allow my stream of consciousness to bubble forth. Hang on, it may be a bumpy ride.

I want to bake some chocolate chip cookies and eat every single one as soon as they come out of the oven. There is absolutely no point in eating chocolate chip cookies any other way. Maybe I can just make one chocolate chip cookie, that way I won't feel like I'm wasting anything and I won't blow up like a balloon because of all the calories. Speaking of calories, I have another 10 pounds to go to get back to my prepregnancy weight. Yay! I'm joining LA Fitness because they have a great nursery where I am not afraid to bring Lancelot, unlike The Other Gym that I toured where the nursery frightened me. LA Fitness has a water aerobics class that I plan on joining, because I like to exercise but I hate getting hot and sweaty. In the pool, you don't feel hot and sweaty even though you are. It's great. I'm going to the chiropractor again later this morning for my second adjustment. My lower back is starting to feel better, but I can tell some work still needs to be done.

OK, the crying has subsided. Sleep has once again descended upon the household, and yet I remain the only fool not in bed.

Going back to sweet slumber for *hopefully* another couple of hours.

Have a lovely day!