Gratituesday

Today I am thankful for my wonderful husband, Philip.

Not only is he easy on the eyes, but he's such a great dad and my best friend!

He does the typical husband duties (provide for the family, take out the trash, mow the lawn, shovel the driveway) and so much more.

On the days I work, he cooks dinner for everyone and has the house clean when I get home. He puts the kids to bed on the nights I have kickboxing classes without complaint.

He bakes the best cookies from scratch whenever we need a sweet treat. He plays Wii with the boys and takes them to playgrounds and chases them around. He's been teaching John-Paul how to catch with his baseball mitt, and plays a mean game of monster basketball with the kids.

He brings me ice water if I'm working on the computer or just watching tv. He lets me nap on weekends with the kids. He does laundry and vacuums if I can't get to it. He rents chick flicks just because he knows I want to see them. He wakes up first almost every morning of the week and gets the kids ready for school. He brings me flowers for no reason at all.

I seriously don't know how I got to be the lucky one he chose, but I sure am grateful that he did!

(What are you thankful for today?)

A Wealth of Information

DID YOU KNOW?

Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to
pick the little 'stringy things' off of it. That's how the primates do it.

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store.
If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil.
It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef.
It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of
spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints
in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste
of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply
chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them
in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350
for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!

Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low
and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on
the cooking channel and it really works.

Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer
for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes
with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

Reheating refrigerated bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in
a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food
moist and help it reheat faster.

Newspaper weeds away
Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers,
put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and for-
get about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not
get through wet newspapers.

Broken Glass
Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.

No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket.
It will keep the mosquitoes away.

Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper.
The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

Flexible vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel
roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt
or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose.
Place pin in seam of slacks and ... ta da! ... static is gone.

Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water.
Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such
as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of
your car . When the window s fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

Reopening envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside,
just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals
easily.

Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and
leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you
bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

Goodbye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar
and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the
cup and gone forever!

Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't
digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works
and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS :

The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the
house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the
dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.)

He took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a
mesh material ... I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. Well ...
the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us
that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit.

You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your
clothes soft and static free ... that nice fragrance too. You know how they can feel
waxy when you take them out of the box ... well this stuff builds up on your clothes
and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to potentially burn your
house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long
time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with
hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months.

He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that!?!
Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that.
So, I thought I'd share!

Friday High Five

(Five tidbits from the week)

1) When I was dropping Eamon (age 2) off at my sister's house, he said "You going to work, Mommy?" and I replied (sadly) "Yes".

He said "You sad, Mommy?" and I said "Yes, Eamon, I don't want to go to work".

He said "Don't be sad, Mommy, be happy for Jesus!!"

2) I gave blood on Sunday, and was completely scandalized by the questions I had to answer. I haven't given blood in about 7 years and can't remember if they always asked such awful questions, or if they have increased their embarrassing interrogations. Giving blood is such a great thing, but just be prepared about the questions.

3) We're still looking at houses, so far we've found houses that are too small, in bad locations, on busy streets, too expensive to heat, in flood zones, and/or need a lot of renovations. I feel like Goldilocks looking for just the right house, hopefully we'll find one eventually.

4) After hearing that Josh Groban was dating Katy Perry, I was relieved to read this:

Singer and songwriter Josh Groban is officially not kissing quirky pop star Katy Perry. A rep for Groban tells "People" magazine his client is just good friends with the "I Kissed A Girl" singer. Luke Burland said, quote, "Josh and Katy are very close friends and hang out, but they are not a couple." Earlier this week, Perry's pal Perez Hilton sparked rumors on his celebrity blog claiming she and Groban were an item.

Phew!! Josh Groban, you are too good for her, you and your buttery voice.

5) I have a new niece!!! Congrats to my brother-in-law Bob and his wife Larisa who gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Rory Elizabeth! She is the fifth child in their adorable family and I can't wait to meet her :)

Thoughtful Thursday

Today I am thinking about moving.



Phil and I met at Franciscan University of Steubenville, and the Catholic community there is just AMAZING!! We live in the Northeast now because Phil went to Providence College to get his masters, and my whole family lives around here. The Catholic community is virtually non-existent here among people our age.



When we go to Mass, there are hardly any young children at Mass, and seeing families with more than a couple kids is a rarity. We do not fit the mold at all, and we often wonder what it would be like to move to a family-friendly, NFP accepting, Catholic environment. We would LOVE to raise our babies in a culture like that and think it would be wonderful for their souls and developing minds. We imagine ourselves being so happy, hanging out with our new found friends who also have a bunch of kids, and joining a thriving Parish with an active social life.



But then, what would I do without my family around? There is such security knowing that if I am in a bind, I have wonderful sisters and brothers who could watch the kids, or pick someone up at school. And it's not just the fact that they are my family, they are my friends too! I love having "play dates" with my sisters so that our children can play with their cousins...something we never had as little kids.



Also, are we supposed to stay and "fight the good fight"? Meaning, perhaps we are supposed to stay in a not-so-Catholic area and try to change it as much as we can? Could it be that WE are supposed to help turn our Parish into the thriving Catholic culture that we crave? Maybe we are being called to stay in this area for a reason?? It would be so easy to run away and live in a Steubenville-like place, but is that living in a bubble? Or is protecting our children from the faithlessness of the real world more important? So many questions, so few answers :)



In the meantime, we are exploring our options, and praying that the right decision will fall in our laps.

Gratituesday

Today I am thankful that in this poor economy, my husband and I have good, steady jobs. We are lucky to feel this kind of security.

We have been looking at a lot of houses that are short sales and foreclosures, and it saddens me that so many families have been forced out of their homes.

Even though we don't have a lot of "stuff", we do have a lot of love, faith, family, friends, and happiness. For this I am extremely grateful, and I pray that those of us who are being hit hard by this economic recession can say the same.

Location, Location, Location

We are looking to buy a house!!

We can not afford a lot, but we need a house big enough for our family of six. We would love about 2000 sq. feet, 4 bedrooms, 2 full baths, a nice size yard, and we don't want to do a lot of renovations.

Sounds like we're asking for the impossible, I'm afraid.

But God can and will provide, so please keep us in your prayers!

Thanks :)

High Five Friday - All About Andrew

Today's High Five Friday will be all about Andrew (age 4) because he has been growing up so fast lately, and really impressing me!

1) Andrew told me the other evening that I am "so lucky because there are two girls in our family and four boys". I guess he thinks boys are better than girls!

2) When he went to the dentist for his 6 month cleaning, the hygienist told him he had to stop sucking his thumb because it was messing up his teeth. She promised him a surprise if he stopped before the next time he came in. And you know what? He stopped cold turkey!! We put gloves on him at night to remind him not to suck his thumb in his sleep, and he tells me everyday that he has NOT sucked his thumb. His teeth are already moving back into a straight line!

3) After I cleaned the bathroom on Sunday, Andrew walked in and said "Hey, why is it so new in here?" Ha!

4) Andrew loves to do homework like his big brother. So when he doesn't have homework from school, we make up something for him to do. The other day, he got out an activity book that had a color-by-number picture, and he colored it perfectly without any help from me. He "read" the directions and used all 6 colors correctly. Here's some of his other artwork:

(this last one is me on my wedding day!)

5) And speaking of reading...Andrew can "read" The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss all by himself. I went through it once with him, and he has been reading it solo ever since. He even told his teacher that he could read it to the class, and she let him! Of course, he is not really reading (I don't think) but more likely has memorized it and looks at the pictures, and figures out the rhyming. When he gets stuck on a word, he does sound it out which is all still very impressive to his mom!

Have a great weekend!

Thoughtful Thursday

Today I am thinking about babies. I don't know if it's the oncoming of Spring or the fact that Maggie is almost 16 months old which makes this the LONGEST I have ever been not pregnant since I got married.

Although Phil and I have many reasons that we probably shouldn't have another baby right now, lately I keep thinking of baby names (Lucy and Brendan are tops) and imagining what our 5th baby could look like.

As for the reasons why we should continue to use NFP as a means to space the next pregnancy:

1) We had four children in five years. I need a break, both physically and emotionally.

2) Phil is a Catholic school teacher, and therefore we are always struggling financially.

3) Because of our financial situation, it is necessary that I work part-time, and I don't really want to have a baby, and then have someone else raise it part-time.

4) I get really sick for the first 3 to 4 months, and it is so hard (as you mothers know) to work and be a good Mom while your head is in the toilet all day.

5) This one is shallow, but if we have another baby, we would need to buy a bigger van and possibly move to a bigger house to have another bedroom.

As for the reasons why I want a baby:

1) I REALLY want Maggie to have a sister. My sisters have been my best friends, and I would love for Maggie to have that bond.

2) I do not want to be selfish/stingy with our fertility. Babies are gifts from Heaven, and there are so many couples that struggle with infertility while we have been blessed with many children.

3) I know that God will provide...He always does. If I were to become pregnant (planned or not), I know that everything I worry about, and all the reasons I have listed above, would easily be taken care of.

Okay, so that's where I'm at. Phil and I discuss having a baby every month (ahhhhh the beauty of NFP!) and for now, we are going to continue to wait until there seems to be no serious reasons to wait anymore. Or until God surprises us with a little one. Whichever comes first :)

Pictures

Here's some of our St. Patrick's Day 2009 pictures.

The first picture is actually my little sister Maura and myself from St. Patrick's Day 1985.

We were 6 and 4 at the time :)

Gratituesday - Irish Edition

Céad Míle Fáilte! That means 100,000 welcomes!! Today I am just about as proud as an Irish girl can get, after all it's St. Patrick's Day and I'm 100% Irish. My Dad was born and raised in Ireland, and my Mom's parents were also born and raised there. So I'm no poser ;)

Here's some great

(for your amusement!)

Murphy's Law:
Nothing is as easy as it looks.

Everything takes longer than you expect.

And if anything can go wrong,

It will, at the worst possible moment.

~

Irish Diplomacy...
is the ability to tell a man to go to hell so that he looks forward to making the trip.

~

The Mouse on the Barroom Floor:
Some Guinness was spilled on the barroom floor

when the pub was shut for the night.

Out of his hole crept a wee brown mouse

and stood in the pale moonlight.

He lapped up the frothy brew from the floor,

then back on his haunches he sat.

And all night long you could hear him roar

,'Bring on the stinkin' cat!'

~

An Irishman's Philosophy:

In life, there are only two things to worry about—Either you are well or you are sick.

If you are well, there is nothing to worry about,

But if you are sick, there are only two things to worry about—Either you will get well or you will die.

If you get well, there is nothing to worry about,

But if you die, there are only two things to worry about—Either you will go to heaven or hell.

If you go to heaven, there is nothing to worry about.

And if you go to hell, you’ll be so busy shaking hands with all your friends

You won’t have time to worry!

~

Irish Blessing:

May the Good Lord take a liking to you... but not too soon!

~

Saint Patrick was a gentleman

Who through strategy and stealth

Drove all the snakes from Ireland

Here's a drinkee to his health!

But not too many drinkees

Lest we lose ourselves and then...

Forget the good Saint Patrick

And see them snakes again!

~

Anyone acquainted with Ireland

knows that the morning of St. Patrick's Day

consists of the night of the 17th of March

flavored strongly with the morning of the 18th.

~

Why should you never iron a 4-leaf clover?

You don't want to press your luck.

~

There are only two kinds of people in the world,

The Irish and those who wish they were.

~

There are many good reasons for drinking,

One has just entered my head.

If a man doesn't drink when he's living,

How in the heck can he drink when he's dead?

~

An Irishman is never drunk

as long as he can hold onto one blade of grass to keep from falling off the earth.

~

St. Patrick's Day Toast:

Here’s to a long life and a merry one.

A quick death and an easy one.

A pretty girl and an honest one.

A cold beer – and another one!

~

It is better to spend money like there's no tomorrow

than to spend tonight like there's no money!

~

May the good saints protect you

And bless you today

And may trouble ignore you

Each Step of the way.

May your blessings outnumber

The shamrocks that grow

And may trouble avoid you

Wherever you go.

May joy and peace surround you,

Contentment latch your door,

And happiness be with you now

And bless you evermore.

Like the warmth of the sun

And the light of the day

May the luck of the Irish

Shine bright on your way.

May your troubles be less

And your Blessings be more

And nothing but happiness

Come through your door.

May the good saints protect ye

And the Devil neglect ye!
May your pockets be heavy-

Your heart be light

And may good luck pursue you

Each morning and night.

and
May you be half an hour in Heaven

Before the Devil knows you’re dead.

~

And now for two of my favorites:

May those who love us, love us

and those who don't love us, may God turn their Hearts

and if He doesn't turn their hearts,

may he turn their ankles

so we'll know them by their limping.

~

and:

If you're lucky enough to be Irish,

You're lucky enough!

Sláinte (cheers)!

Good thing we didn't get a puppy

An Ode to Mr. Buzz Lion Fish (February 19 - March 15):

Ding Dong! The Fish is dead.

Which old Fish? The Lion Fish!

Ding Dong! The Lion Fish is dead.

Wake up - sleepy head, rub your eyes, get out of bed.

Wake up, the Lion Fish is dead.

He's gone where the goblins go, Below - below - below.

Yo-ho, let's open up and sing and ring the bells out.

Ding Dong' the merry-oh, sing it high, sing it low.

Let them know The Lion Fish is dead!

(The kids took it better than expected. Looks like they weren't too attached to him either!)

Arts and Crafts for Dummies

I had a few people ask about these name plaques I made for the kids, so I thought I would tell you how I did it. Let me start off by saying that when it comes to being creative and crafty, I am mentally handicapped, so this truly is Arts and Crafts for Dummies (me being the Dummy).

I bought all the supplies at Joanne Fabrics but any craft store will have these simple supplies.

First, chose a plaque like this one (if there's no hole in the back to hang it up, have your handiest family member make one):

Then give it a couple of coats of this (I actually used white, but this paint is called Candy Bar Brown, so I couldn't resist using this picture instead):


While that is drying (overnight worked for me) start painting your letters:

I also picked up some pre-painted little wood decorations (boat, car, birdhouse, etc).

When both the letters and the board are dry, use some wood glue and start putting it all together.

And then, voila, you're done! Easy, huh?

Frugal Friday

Need some new Spring clothes? How about an Easter outfit for the kids?

Well, you're in luck because here's a coupon for 30% off at Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic.

It's only valid until March 15th, so get out there and help our economy :-)

Thoughtful Thursday

Today I am thinking about the phrases "Please pray for me" and "I'll pray for you".

When you hear about a friend's difficulties and/or they ask you to pray for them, it's so easy to say "Sure, I'll pray for you". It makes the person who needs the prayers feel better and it makes us feel like we are doing something to help.

However, after we promise someone our prayers, how do we actually go about praying for them? Just the other day, I wrote on a friend's blog that I would pray for her to have a safe delivery. Then I forced myself to stop and offer up a prayer for that very intention so that I hadn't just typed false words.

But besides the immediate prayer request I send up to Heaven, I all-too-often forget to pray for that intention again. This is a fault that I definitely need to work on. Even at the bottom of our Christmas cards we usually write something like "Praying for you to have a Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year", but do we actually pray for all those people we send the cards to?

I know I could make it a point to say a Rosary for a special intention, or offer up the Eucharist at the next Mass I attend, or even make a small sacrifice, such as not eating in between meals that day. Yet, I don't do those things often enough.

I know a wonderful priest who keeps a list of people he prays for daily in his pocket, and when the list gets too long to mention each one by name, he just prays for all of the people on his list. I also know a family of eight who has a prayer board in their kitchen as a daily reminder of who needs their prayers. What great ideas, and ones I should be incorporating into my own life.

What are some of the ways you pray for people? How do you remember all the intentions? I would love to hear your advice on this subject, as I feel I have a lot to learn!

Can anybody help me...

...get rid of a certain pet fish

(and make it look like an accident)?

I seriously thought Mr. Buzz Lion Fish was going to bite the dust the day we brought him home. How long do beta fish last anyway???

Gratituesday

Today I am thankful for our playroom. This isn't a great picture but it's the only one I had. Our toy room is a small room right off our family room that was perfect for storing the kids toys.

I love how it's off to the side so it doesn't seem like our whole family room is cluttered with toys. I do wish we had more floorspace in there so they actually had room to play, but it's a great space nonetheless.

We have several storage pieces in the room; one big piece that was mustard yellow and I painted off-white holds a bunch of toys, and the storage unit we got from Ikea is awesome for blocks, cars, and other small toys: We also have shelves up high to store puzzles and toys with small pieces so that the little kids can't reach.

But my favorite thing of all in this toy room are the homemade name plaques hanging on the wall that I made for each of my babies:

So what are you thankful for today?

Meat Loaf, Anyone?

While Kate is giving you a wonderful meatless recipe today, I thought I would share a meat-full recipe that I came across from Alton Brown on the Food Network. I adapted it a little, and it was absolutely delicious!! Here you go:

Good Eats Meat Loaf (from Alton Brown, adapted by moi):

Ingredients:
6 ounces garlic-flavored croutons
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and broken
3 whole cloves garlic
1/2 red bell pepper
2 pounds ground beef (I used 85/15)
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 egg

For the glaze:
1/2 cup catsup
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Dash Worcestershire sauce
Dash hot pepper sauce
1 tablespoon honey

Directions:
Heat oven to 325 degrees F.
In a food processor bowl, combine croutons, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and thyme. Pulse until the mixture is of a fine texture. Place this mixture into a large bowl. Combine the onion, carrot, garlic, and red pepper in the food processor bowl. Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped, but not pureed. Combine the vegetable mixture, ground beef with the bread crumb mixture. Season the meat mixture with the kosher salt. Add the egg and combine thoroughly, but avoid squeezing the meat.

Pack this mixture into a 10-inch loaf pan to mold the shape of the meatloaf. Onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, turn the meatloaf out of the pan onto the center of the tray. Insert a temperature probe at a 45 degree angle into the top of the meatloaf. Avoid touching the bottom of the tray with the probe. Set the probe for 155 degrees.

Combine the catsup, cumin, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce and honey. Brush the glaze onto the meatloaf after it has been cooking for about 10 minutes.

Enjoy!!

High Five Friday

Here are my top Five random stories/moments/jokes from the week:

1) Lent has been going pretty well. Giving up sweets has been the hardest, but at least Phil is suffering with me. The older boys have given up candy, which I think is so cute.

2) I got a great compliment the other night at the gym...a lady who always seems to take the same aerobics classes as I do was complaining that she had gained 8 pounds and now weighs 138. I looked at her thin physique and said that I would LOVE to weigh 138. To which she replied "What???? You look like you weigh in the 120's!" Hahahaha, she's about 30 pounds off ;)

3) A Catholic joke (no offense, alright?):

Two old Jewish men are strolling down the street one day, when they happen to walk by a Catholic church. They see a big sign posted that says, “Convert to Catholicism and get $10."

One of the Jewish men stops walking and stares at the sign. His friend turns to him and says, “Murray, what’s going on?”

“Abe,” replies Murray, “I’m thinking of doing it.”

Abe says, “What are you, crazy?”

Murray thinks for a minute and says, “Abe, I’m going to do it.”

With that, Murray strides purposefully into the church and comes out twenty minutes later with his head bowed.

“So,” asks Abe, “did you get your ten dollars?”

Murray looks up at him and says, “Is that all you people think about?”

4) I brought Maggie to the doctor yesterday for her 15 month checkup and she weighs about 27 pounds. I asked him about her lack of speech (she says 'Mama', 'Dada', and just recently 'nana' for banana). He said that the average 16 month old says 4 words, so not to worry yet. Phew!

5) I am addicted to these lately:

When it comes to addictions, I know it could be a LOT worse, but I tend to eat a whole can in one sitting (unless John-Paul is around, because then I am forced to share). I do rinse them off in water just to reduce any caloric consumption from the light syrup they are in. They are so yummy, and I normally hate canned fruit, but I am so glad I found these. Try them!

Don't be jealous....

... but I just got this beauty for my birthday. My husband is the best!!!!

Check out her blog...

Laura, from Catholic Teacher Musings, wrote about an interesting topic today...trigger words. Read what she has to say here. She's a teacher, so she knows her stuff and she's always right! (You're welcome, Laura)

Anyway, the phrase that can always set my heart beating overtime is "I need to talk to you". Even just typing it gives me a slight anxiety attack. The way I see it is that if someone "needs to talk to you", it can't be about anything good, or they would just tell you right then without having to preface it. I mean, who says "I need to talk to you...you look radiant today"??? Nope, it's more like "I need to talk to you...you're fired!"

When I was giving birth to Maggie, I found out I had another labor-trigger-word. Wanna guess what it was? OK, I'll tell you; "Relax". Sounds crazy, I know, but when I was in the depths of drug-free labor and the nurse/midwife/hubby told me to "relax", I almost punched them out. You try to relax while you're in transition and about to push...it's just about the most un-relaxful time ever!!

Phew, glad I got that off my chest. No I can go "relax" because I don't "need to talk to you" anymore :)

Gratituesday

Today I am thankful for little girls. (and their little ponytails!)

Even though Maggie loves to get into everything, she is still made of sugar and spice and everything nice!

Disbelief

Lately, John-Paul who just turned 6, has been in shock and disbelief whenever I know something he was planning on teaching me. The other day, he said "Mommy, did you know that Saul became a believer and then changed his name to Paul?" (He had just read a book about it).

To which I replied, yes, and then he looked at me incredulously and said "But how did you know that? Did your teachers teach you that? Did you learn it at your school?"

Is it already starting??? Does my son ALREADY think I know nothing? I thought that wasn't supposed to happen until the teenage years. Oh boy, I think I am headed for some big trouble...

My little techies