It's a good thing he's cute.

One snowy afternoon a couple of weeks ago, the kids were outside playing and Joe and I were downstairs in our respective offices, he playing World of Warcraft, me doing some scrapbooking.

The house was peaceful and all was right with the world.

Sitting there, happily surrounded by my photos, paper and double-stick tape, I had a sudden thought:  It's so nice the kids are all finally at an age where I don't have to hover over them constantly; this is wonderful.

Did I knock on wood immediately after hearing that thought bounce around my head?

No, no I didn't.

Five minutes later, Isabel came running downstairs, clearly on a mission.

"Mom, Gabe tore a hole in his window and is throwing toys out into the snow!"

Um, excuse me?  Whatdidyoujustsay?!

I ran up the stairs, with Isabel hot on my heels.  Sure enough, this is what I saw:

I peeked out and looked down, to see toys and pieces of paper covering the ground below.  Whatintheworldwashethinking?!

"Me and Jonah wanted to watch our paper airplanes fly in the snow, Mommy."

I'm sure they made an awesome sight, swirling around in the wind and snow to a safe landing down below.  But seriously, tearing a hole in the screen window?  Where does he come up with this stuff?

It's a good thing he's so cute.  It saves his life on a daily basis...

Half-full or half-empty?

When my phone rang fifteen minutes after Joe left for work this morning, I had an immediate "oh-no" feeling in my gut.

Sure enough, he was calling to tell me he had wrecked his truck.  Snow had drifted onto the road from a cornfield, masking the ice beneath, causing him to slide into a ditch.  There was no way to get him out without a towtruck, so seventy-five bucks and an hour later, he was back on his way to the school.

(Of course, I brought my camera.  What kind of a blogger do you think I am?)

What you can't see is the telephone pole that he missed by two feet.

What you don't know is that no other cars were involved.

Joe forgot his cell phone, but amazingly enough, a man just happened to be driving by right after the accident, and gave Joe a ride to school.  (Not only did he forget his cell, but also his coat and gloves.  That would've made for a very cold walk to the nearest house.)

When the tow truck pulled him out, there was no visible damage to the truck and he was able to drive away without a problem.  The airbag did not deploy, and Joe wasn't hurt at all.

He even happened to have the $75 in cash in his wallet.

On the half-empty side of things, this sucked.  $75 down the tube.  Joe late to school and stressed to the max.  My morning disrupted, muscle max class missed.

But how miraculous is the half-full side?  No other cars were involved, Joe didn't have a scratch on him (and neither did the truck), he had the cash to pay for the tow and was still able to make it to work.  Considerate passersby were there to give Joe a hand when he needed it, and a friendly co-worker gave him a ride home so we could arrange for the tow.

Clearly, I am choosing to look at the half-full side.  I have been praising God all day for having His hand on Joe this morning.  When I took this picture and saw the might-have-been scenarios playing out in my mind, it made me physically ill.

Thank you, God, for keeping Joe safe, and for always taking care of us, whether we notice it or not.  Amen.

Hokey Pokey, anyone?

It was 1984.

I was eleven years old, getting dropped off at Harrison's skating rink and meeting up with my "date", Fred. (I didn't really like Fred, but he was the only boy in class taller than me; good enough reason, right?)

I was rockin' in my skinny jeans, magenta-and-white striped bodysuit, and sporting my own pair of skates.  I'm sure we did the Hokey Pokey, raced under the black lights (that bodysuit GLOWED), and demonstrated our backward-skating-abilities (or lack thereof) under the sparkle of the disco ball.  Prince, Madonna and Cyndi Lauper were the tunes of choice, and we partied like it was 1999 (even if we had no idea what that meant).

Fast forward to 2010.

Now I am the mom taking the kids to the skating rink.  The town is different, but the look is the same.  Neon colors, ugly rental skates, rockin' tunes, hidden corners for making out (not for MY kids, of course!), even the disco ball hanging from the ceiling.

1999 is in the distant past, but they're still doing the Hokey Pokey.

Some things never change.

If only I could find a magenta-and-white striped bodysuit to go with my skinny jeans, I'd be set.

And my kids would be horrified.  A good threat for keeping them out of that make-out corner...

I'm a Blog-trotter...

Blogtrotting rocks!

And if you click on the link, you can see why.

Go check out this awesome giveaway, sign up to be a part of this ultracool traveling "club", and you can be a blog-trotter, too!

Dreams of the future...

What dreams are made of:

Elijah dreams of being a professional baseball player (lefty pitcher, of course!).

Gabe wants to be a police officer.  Or a chef.  Or a golf player.  Or maybe just a police officer.  It's so hard to decide when you're only five!

And Isabel?  She dreams of being an artist of some sort.  Fashion designer, book illustrator or interior design...She certainly has the talent!

I'm not in any hurry for them to grow up, but I can't wait to see what they become!

What do your kids dream of being?  What about you?

Doldrums

I know part of it is the weather.

No sunshine, too much snow, dreary skies and even drearier forecasts.

Another part of it is PMS.  Or just plain MS, as the case may be.

I started the day feeling hopeful and organized, clipping my coupons and saving a bunch of money at the grocery.  By afternoon, I was headache-y and tired, but still okay.

By seven pm, I had officially crossed the line from a little crabby to just plain bitchy.  Even the dog is getting on my nerves.  Downloading songs and making a new running playlist for my iPod took hours, which made me even crankier.

I need chocolate and I need it now!

And a little sunshine, too, if anybody could spare it...

Sigh.

Thank God tomorrow is a brand new day.  I'm gonna go eat a cookie, then run it off tomorrow while listening to my new tunes.  Surely tomorrow will be better, right?

To Fill or not to fill...

that IS the question.

You may remember that at Gabe's last visit to the dentist, they found three cavities on his xray. These are on baby teeth, in the back, not even visible yet.

Of course, they wanted me bring him back three separate times to get each cavity filled.

Now, I love my dentist. I don't feel like they do unnecessary treatments, so I made the first appointment for last week.

Then we got five feet of snow and the visit was cancelled (maybe a brief exaggeration, but still...).

We rescheduled for today. Gabe was nervous, in and out of tears all morning. I explained how he would get "silly gas" to make him sleepy and more comfortable; he was not falling for it. But he put on his brave face and to the dentist we went, without a fit or even tears.

We waited for about fifteen minutes to be called back. At which point, the hygienist came out to tell me they were all out of nitrous.

Come again?

She wanted to know if I thought the nitrous was really necessary. For my five year old who has never had a filling before. Um, yeah, I'm thinking it's really necessary.

Unless filling unseen-except-by-xray cavities isn't really necessary. And in that case, we'll just see you in six months at our next check-up. Seriously.

So, what's your opinion? Do I traumatize the poor boy and get these fillings done, one at a time, on baby teeth, or just wait and see? I'm in a quandary here. Help!

Frugal talk

In keeping with my word of the year, I have been on the search for ways to live frugally. I have checked out numerous books at the library (my current read is "Debt-Proof your Marriage" by Mary Hunt); started clipping coupons (and even remembered to bring them to Kroger with me!); and I've been looking at different websites to help me in the sport of couponing.

Didn't know that was a sport? It may not be featured in the Olympics, but I have met a Gold-medal deserving blogger who is a pro at couponing (yep, I'm talking about you, Brandy!). That girl is amazing at saving money, and she is truly my inspiration when it comes to saving money on household items/groceries.

Another site I've found is this one: Couponing 101. It has a great "getting started" guide, in addition to links to other great sources for coupons and other ways to save money.

I am officially inspired to start saving money. This past Sunday, I did my Krogering and spent only $127 on a cartful of food that normally would have been $200, just by buying sale items and using my coupons. A good start, I think.

Anyone else out there do the couponing thing? Wanna give Brandy a run for the money, or maybe win the "gold"? Have any tips for a newbie couponer like me? Do tell!

Shower gift idea

I was commissioned by a co-worker to make a gift album for a Bridal Shower she was hosting. She gave me free reign to make it however I wanted, with the basic premise of a "happiness recipe book" for the newlyweds. She gave me the wedding colors (black, white and red), a budget, and off to Hobby Lobby I went.

I found a gorgeous album and all the supplies I needed, then I came home and set to work.

Each of the white cards here are the "recipe cards", meant for each guest to write down their recipe for a successful marriage.

I made a few decorative cards embellished with quotes about love and marriage to accent the pages.

Thanks to Hobby Lobby's awesome sales, I got this 12x12 album for only $10! I used rub-ons to decorate and monogram the center part, but the bride could also use that square for a photo.

I used some of the supplies that Katy sent me from Australia (thanks, Katy!), but mostly I kept the decor very simple.

Kay helped me with the title page (she's a Printmaster pro) and with the diecuts using her Cricut Slice machine...it pays to have connections :) I also included some extra pages for photos from the shower, and any momentos the bride may want to keep.

You could totally modify this idea for a baby shower as well, with advice for a mom-to-be. Hmmm, I'll have to keep this in mind.

And if you were wondering, I do hire myself out (for scrapbooking, that is). Email me if you're ever interested!

Day of love.

"Above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."

Colossians 3:14

I wish I could say our lives have always been perfect and harmonious, but that would be a stretch. I wish I could say we have never let the sun go down on our anger, but that wouldn't be honest.

But on this, our fifteenth Valentine's Day together, I can say this: I am happier now than I was on this day, something a young bride would never think possible...

Thank you, Joe, for being my lifelong Valentine.

I love you!

Birthday Brunch

Every February 7th, my mom, my sister, Rhonda, and I go out to eat in honor of my dad's birthday.

This year he would've been 65.

Last Sunday, Rhonda and I drove out to Harrison and took my mom to a local restaurant for brunch. We ate delicious food, talked and laughed, and reminisced about Dad. Mom told the story of the time she shrank Dad's wool sweater when they were first married and we laughed til we cried.

I hope he knows how much he's missed.

Littlest Lost Fan

Until this year, the minute the white letters on the black screen would appear, my kids would run screaming from the living room in fright. They refused to watch "Lost", saying it was too scary. (This was fine with me; I could watch my beloved show in peace, my Mike's Hard Lemonade and homemade popcorn at my side.)

Now the three of them are older, braver, and are as addicted to Lost as I am. Gabe knows the characters by name, loves John Locke the best, and has even started to make Lost scrapbook pages.

He is his mother's son.

Wanna see?

On Netflix, I have started watching all the episodes from the beginning, with Gabe at my side. He turned this scene:

into this:

(The yellow thing on the lower left-hand side is the airplane, crashing onto the island. I didn't know there was an active volcano there, but obviously Gabe thinks so. See the black dot in the middle at the top? That's the hatch. And down at the bottom? That's a dinosaur, like the polar bear or the Smoke Monster.)

He included palm trees and even figured out to make the mountains and trees stand up on the page. This project took hours! He worked on it while I finished up my Disney album.

I love it!

What about your house? Any little Lost fans there?

Row, row, row your boat...

How do you entertain three cooped-up kids on their umpteenth snow day this winter?

Take them sailing, of course!

Gabe and I have made paper sailboats before, last summer. Something reminded him, though, and he wanted to do it again. At first, I was like...honey, it's just too cold to sail a boat. But when I saw that the creek out back wasn't frozen, I changed my tune.

So we set to work, Gabe and I. He picked out the paper, I printed out the instructions (again...memory loss sucks) and while I folded, he drew sailors and cut them out, then taped them to our boats.

Ta da!

The snow/sleet/ice was coming down as we headed out to the creek, so I left my camera indoors. Gabe, Isabel and I each picked a boat for our own, and watched as they raced down to the culvert in the neighbor's yard. Gabe's boat had the lead until the very end, when Isabel's caught up and won the race. Then we headed back in to warm up with some hot cocoa (although Gabe just likes the marshmallows).

Nothing like a little backyard regatta to spice up a snow day!

MIA

I will be MIA these next couple of days.

Why, you ask?

A fun getaway with my husband for an early Valentine's Day surprise? Nope.

An extreme makeover, complete with boob job and tummy tuck? Nope.

Found a great book and just have to finish it before I blog again? Well, I am reading a good book, but that's not it...

The real reason I will be missing in action is that I have my first college midterm this Tuesday evening! I also have to write three journal papers of 1000 words each, reviewing films I have watched. Yep, I'm a procrastinator when it comes to school work; I've kept up on my reading, but I write much better under pressure. The kids being home on Friday put a wrench in my study plans, so I'm hoping for a quiet night at the hospital tonight (although studying at 2am is really hard to do).

I'll be back Wednesday. Hasta luego!

It's coming!

What's coming?

Why, the white death, of course.

The weather forecasters are having a heyday, predicting snow/ice/wintry mix/more snow for our area. Counties to the north (namely us) look to get more than the southern counties.

While the kids (and Joe) have been prancing around, madly hoping for a snow day in the morning, I was busy stocking up on milk, bread and bananas to wait out the weather.

'Cause you know we may not be able to get out of the house for, oh, maybe five hours. We don't want to take a chance that we might starve...

Makes you wonder if the meteorologists are Kroger stockholders: There's a slight chance of snow, guys. Mark up the bananas/milk/bread and quick!

Ahh, I am counting the days 'til spring (and there's way too many!).

Are you in the path of this latest snowstorm? Do you make a grocery run when they're calling for bad weather? Do you even like bananas?

One, two, three?!

Count with me...

Four hours of sleep (after working all night).

One dentist appointment for all

Three kiddos.

Two loose teeth for Isabel, one for Gabe, zero for Elijah.
Zero cavities for Isabel and Elijah.

One, two, three cavities for this guy:

Two more trips to the dentist to fix those three cavities for this one boy who takes after his Big Papaw in yet one more way.

(My dad had to get dentures before he was even in his thirties! Sigh.)

And now one very tired momma, three new toothbrushes and lots of clean pearly whites. Hoping for at least eight hours of sleep for all five of us in this house...

I like big books and I cannot lie...

The bigger the book, the better.

I know, I know, that's not always the case, but I do love me a good, long book. (That's what she said :)

One of my favorite books of all time, Stephen King's "The Stand". I love Stu. Sigh.

Ken Follett's best novel, hands down. Love, love, love this book. I've read it at least five times, and am so excited it's being turned into a television mini-series! Oh, I can't wait!

And my current book, weighing in at 1072 pages (my heart be still!). I love Stephen King, and while Barbie may not be Stu, he is already a lovable character at page 251.

So what about you? Do you like big books, or do you stick to the skinny novels? What book do you wish they would put on the big screen?