The Unconventional Doctor's Wife

And Baby Makes Three

2011-12-09T08:33:00.001-06:00

Today I turn 35. How is that possible?I have been thinking about how blessed my life has been for all those 35 years and I want to say that those blessings began with my parents making the hard choice to become parents at a really young age. I scanned all the photos that exist of my mom and dad when my mom was pregnant with me. All two. I am so blessed when I look at those photos and so glad that someone took them. I see a young lady on the brink of motherhood but still a kid herself. I see the anticipation of what is to come. I see someone who has no real idea what it is going to take to be a mother and a wife. (As if anyone can really know what to expect!) But most of all, I see a young woman who stood by her convictions that life is precious and to be treasured even when it comes at an inopportune time.

I see a young man who was honorable in his responsibility and had no idea what blessings would come from doing the right thing by my mom and me. He had no idea how hard marriage and parenthood would be. He had no idea how the future would turn out or the pressure he would feel to provide for a family. But he loved my mom. And he loved me. And he chose to love us forever. There wasn't any question of what he would do in the situation. They got married in July.

My dad was the quarterback for his high school football team that took state that year. My mom stayed home from the game and listened to it on the radio because she was very pregnant by that time. I was born in December and the high school basketball team for which my dad played, came to visit us in the hospital on the way home from a game. Weird, right? But somehow, I love that part of the story. The way my parents were still kids but also parents. I have always wondered what those guys stood there and thought as they looked at me as a tiny baby and saw my parents for the first time as parents.

The point of all this is to acknowledge that my blessings for these last 35 years began with the faith and the good choices of my parents. It is God who made it possible for them to stay together and love each other even through the hard times. It has been my honor to grow up with a legacy of truthfulness about the beginnings of our family and the knowledge that my parents chose the hard road and it paid off. They didn't have any guarantees, but they had their relationships with God, each other and their stubborn wills to stick it out. They are a testimony to the fact that God can redeem our mistakes and make our lives beautiful if we choose to follow Him. And I just want to say to them...

Thank you, Mom and Dad. You have blessed me and covered me in prayers from the very beginning. You have loved me fiercely and taught me to love God and to love others in the same way. I could never ask for better parents, grandparents to my children and friends. I am so blessed and I thank God for you!!

Short and Sweet

2011-10-09T20:33:00.000-05:00

There is good news on my horizon...my laptop that has been acting very naughty is getting fixed. That means I will soon have all my photo programs and stuff back!!! Yay! I can't wait! Back to blogging!!

I added a few new blogs to my sidebar! Check them out!

Also, raise your hand if you are addicted to pinterest. *hand raised*

Recent Motherhood Moments

2011-09-15T23:47:00.000-05:00

Moment 1:
Bub:"Mom, you need to homeschool me next year...or at least before 3rd grade."
Me:"Umm, why do you say that?"
Bub: "From 3rd grade up, you have to wear a belt with your uniform."
Me:"So you would give up all your time with your school friends because you have to wear a belt?"
Bub: "Yes. You know I hate wearing belts, Mom!"
(I do not have any idea where his relatively new aversion to belts came from. I've never even made him wear one before. Perhaps fear of the unknown?)

Moment 2:
(Taking the two littles into Bub's school to bring clothes for him to wear besides his uniform because I forgot it was picture day...duh.)
Me:(running my fingers through the tangle in Ladybug's hair)
LB: "Mom, I got a MOLE."
Me: "You have a mole?"
LB: "Yeah...right in my hair."
Me: "OOOhhhh, you mean you have a rat in your hair?"
LB: "Yeah, a rat."

Moment 3:
Lou, SG and LB went with me to Target. SG and LB tried to talk me into bubble bath which turned out to be body wash. I told them no and to put it back on the shelf which, in turn, caused a HUGE melt down in LB's world. She was WAILING and walking in front of me and Lou when all of the sudden she wailed: "BUT I DON'T HAVE ANY WASH TO WASH MY BOOOOOOODDDDDDYYYYYY!!!!"

That's right Target shoppers...I am a crazy mother who does not allow my child to buy soap to wash her stanky body and by the way, you might as well know, she also has a mole in her hair.

Random Thoughts

2011-04-29T19:36:00.010-05:00

1. My "baby" is now 3 and is doing all sorts of big girl stuff! She started taking a dance class and I've never seen her happier than when she is with Ms. Elizabeth doing twirls, spins and leaps across the dance floor. She is also potty trained and I have officially ended my NINE AND A HALF years straight of changing diapers. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Except now I don't have any babies, which is kind of weird.

2. When I met Birdie, her oldest daughter, Mermaid, was Lou's age now. Mermaid is now driving, going to college, and working. She is having her graduation reception this weekend. I'm wondering how that is possible and thinking that I will turn around and Lou will be a full grown, beautiful WOMAN just like Mermaid. Congratulation to you, Mermaid. I'm so proud of you!

3. My Bub is 8.5 days away from finishing his Kindergarten year. My how time flies. (See numbers 1 and 2).

4. On a totally different note, I am feeling a intense urge to create. To make things. Now this is unusual for me because most of my adult life I have been busy creating babies or taking care of recently created babies, so that kind of took the place of crafting. Sure, I've made some things here and there but mostly because I needed or wanted something that I couldn't find in a store like I pictured in my head.

5. My intense urge to create is being fueled daily by PINTEREST. A dangerous little website that can suck away hours at a time but is oh. so. awesome. If you hate buying magazines for one idea and pitching the rest, this is for you. LOVE IT!!!

6. Doc and I and my parents are going to see James Taylor in concert this weekend. I think he is pretty awesome. I'm pretty stoked!

7. I have the music taste of a 45 to 55 year old man. Willie Nelson, Jimmy Buffet, The Eagles, James Taylor, Billy Joel, on and on I could go. I blame my Dad. He gladly takes the credit... especially since I asked him to go with me to see Willie a month or two ago.

Doc told me to buy tickets and go, if it would make me happy, but he had two stipulations...1. He wasn't going and 2. I couldn't buy a t-shirt. (To see his "lovely bride" in a Willie Nelson t-shirt would be more than he could take.)

Dad and I had a FABULOUS time. Willie is awesome.

8. I love Friday nights. I hope you all have a great weekend!

Life Ain't No Fairytale

2011-04-15T09:04:00.008-05:00

Once upon a time, there was a queen that lived in a castle with her husband the King and her beautiful children the little princesses and princes. They all adored the Queen. When the Queen cooked pot roast they all raved about how wonderful it tasted. When the Queen did the laundry they all happily put theirs away and thanked her profusely for washing the dirty clothes. When the Queen asked them to pick up their belongings, they immediately jumped up from their Nintendo DS or Wii games and made the room sparkle. The Queen worked very hard each day but she didn't mind because all the hard work was rewarded with gratitude. She loved seeing her family happy and well taken care of! And not only that, she had plenty of time after her work was done for blogging, jogging and all her various other interests and hobbies. She and the King made sure to have weekly date nights where they were always reminded how lucky they were to have each other as partners. Her life was blessed and happy and fulfilling.

Don't we all wish.

I think most of us have at some point in life have fantasized about how life would be or (more dangerously) should be. As any grown up can tell you, life ain't no fairytale. So let's talk about this...

I think most women are vulnerable to this sinking feeling that life ain't all it's cracked up to be. I've been reminded this week about how stinking hard life can be sometimes. We got news that a couple that we know are divorcing. I got a facebook message from a sweet, new Mommy friend asking if I had any advice because whenever she lays her baby down, the baby wakes up, leaving someone having to hold this precious bundle of joy constantly through the night. She and her hubby are exhausted.

Life is hard. (I love it when people state the obvious.)

I have struggled this week, too. Not with big stuff, but I think that we can become discontent in the little stuff. With six people in my family, if I don't do at least 2 loads of laundry a day, I get behind. It quickly piles up and it literally takes DAYS of constant laundry to get it all done. Oh and by the way, IT IS NEVER DONE. While you are finishing that "last" load, you and everyone else in your family are wearing clothes that will need to be washed. When it comes to dishes, it is the same story, second verse. Throw in all the other tasks that it takes to run a household and let's face it...it is hard to do. Even harder to do JOYFULLY.

I don't know about you, but for me that is a recipe for disappointment with myself and my job. Now, add to that the pressure that many of us perceive from outside sources to look a certain way, to always be kind (even when you feel like popping a cork on that rude lady at the Y), to be a "good" Christian, to raise well rounded children, to participate in the PTA, to be a girl scout leader or coach soccer, etc., etc., etc. We all have our lists.

Where does that leave us? Wasn't this what we all dreamed of as little kids? Ummm. No.

I've been doing a Bible study called Me, Myself and Lies by Jennifer Rothschild, with a group of girls from church. This last week, we talked about guarding the door to our "thought closet." As I've been processing this stuff I'm learning, I've thought about this, the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 10:5 "...we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

Which means when an idea knocks on the door of your thought closet, you need to decide whether that thought is of Christ or not. We are to judge those ideas by Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

If a thought or idea is not one of those things, we are to make it obedient to Christ. Get rid of it. Replace it with truth. Let me give you an example...

This week Satan (dressed in an outfit of empathy and understanding) came knocking on the door of my thought closet and said, "DW, Doc should know by now that you have a reason to do things the way that you do. He has questioned the way that you have done things several times this week. He must not trust that you are capable. He doesn't think you are trustworthy. He has no idea what you do for him and your family." Hmmm. I thought, as I considered opening the door to this idea, maybe that's right, let me hear more..."Well," said Satan, "you know all that you have done this week, all the balls you have juggled and kept in the air. All the things that you HAVE done well. He doesn't appreciate all those things....he just sees the one thing you didn't do well. That isn't very supportive. How would he like it if his boss came in everyday and picked out his failings and pointed them out to him. He wouldn't like it either. Why does he do that me?" (Notice that things change from "you" to "me" here. As I started opening the door and thinking of letting those things into my thought closet and keeping them as my own.) "Well", I said to the thought, "you sound reasonable to me. Hold on, let me see if you are my size. Let me ask you a few questions...
"Are you true?" I asked. "Don't I sound true?" said the thought.
"Are you noble?" I asked. "Well, noble? hmm. I don't know."
"Are you right?" I asked. "You seem to think so." replied the thought.
"Are you pure?" I asked. "Umm."
"Are you lovely?" I asked. "Well..."
I could see at this point that this idea, though appealing was not going to be able to pass the test.... it was not admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. It did not bring me closer to Christ or my husband. It was NOT truth, though I could have let it in and hung it up and kept it for my own. It was my job to take that thought captive and throw it out because it was not obedient to Christ.

All too often we accept these thoughts. You have them. I have them. They knock on the door of our thought closets and if we let them in, they become bitter roots embedded into our hearts. They grow into weeds of discontentment and dissatisfaction, unhappiness and bitterness. Think about that for a second. Have you ever gardened? Isn't it much easier to PREVENT the weeds than to pull out those deep roots of established plants?

This takes work, friends. Lots of purposeful thinking. But you know what? It is the good kind of work that yields benefits to you and those around you. And let's face it, we all think everyday. What are you going to think about? As Grammy used to always tell me when I was a kid, "Trash in, trash out." Meditate on truth, on things that fit with that list from Philippians 4:8. I promise you that it will become easier, the more you practice. And know that when a lie does make it through, when you hang it up in the closet and call it yours, that is not the end of the story. God is a god of redemption. Recognize those ugly, lying outfits. Take them to God and tell Him that you want to get rid of them. They don't fit and they don't make you look lovely. He will forgive you for ever hanging them up and he will work with you to replace them with outfits that ARE lovely...and a lot more becoming!

Bacon. Lots of Bacon.

2011-04-12T23:09:00.005-05:00

On a lazy weekend morning a while back, Doc and I were sitting on the couch, reading the paper, having a cup of coffee and enjoying not having anything that we HAD to do. Apparently I just THOUGHT I had nothing I HAD to do because Bub came and sat between his Dad and I and said this to me....

"We need breakfast. Immediately- that means right now. We want eggs, bacon, pancakes and toast. And bacon, LOTS of bacon. Can you do that? Can you do that by yourself, Mom?"

That kid...what am I going to do with him?
I guess the answer to that question is feed him. Then 10 minutes later, feed him again. And again. I'm going to be in trouble when he gets to be a teenager. Anyone know a chef that works for free? And specializes in bacon. LOTS of bacon?

Stepping Back in Time

2011-03-19T21:35:00.006-05:00

A few weekends ago, we went to my Grandparent's house out in Western Kansas. I love the little town they live in. I love driving over the hill and seeing the water tower, passing the beautiful tree lined road leading to the cemetery where Pop's parents and my great grandparents from both sides are buried, and on into town where, with the exception of a few things here and there, it is pretty much the same as it has been my whole life. When I was a kid, we moved around a lot and to return to a place where things remain much the same is always comforting.

My grandparents' house has changed a bit over the years but the smell is familiar, the feel of my grandma and grandpa's hugs are warm and loving, and it is the only place where I can still go with tangible memories tied to it from the time I was born. I love to lay in bed and look at the wallpaper that was there when I was a kid. I love to see the photo of my Grandma, when she was a little girl, that hangs on the wall. I love to walk by the collage that includes pictures of my Grandpa in his military uniform and family pictures from my mother's childhood. I love staying up late and visiting with my Grandma and seeing my kids sit on my Grandpa's lap and giggle at him.

It was special to take my kids there tell them stories about my childhood, like how we used to fly kites in the pasture or how Aunt Farmchick tried to rescue a baby bird under the evergreen trees and got caught on the barbed wire fence that ran next to the trees.

While we were visiting, Nana (my Grandma) told them about my uncle building a tree house in the tree at the bottom of the pasture. One day it was cold outside and he found an old stove and put it in his tree house. He built a fire in it and when it was dinner time, he left it unattended and the tree caught on fire while he was gone. The tree survived (and apparently my uncle survived his punishment, too). I asked them if they would like to go climb the same tree, just like I did when I was little!

So we walked down the pasture...

And they ran to the tree.

They found the bridge that runs under the tree that leads to the golf course...

and then they got down to business exploring...

and climbing!

I remember sitting right here and looking out, past the bridge, toward the 7th hole of the golf course just exactly like Bub is doing in this picture.

After they climbed the tree, they decided to head down the creek and see what they could find.

At one point, Bub was way up ahead of me and stopped to look at something. It appeared to be part of a dead deer. I was hollering at him to leave it alone when I saw him raise his foot to stomp on it. I yelled, "NNNNOOOOOOOO!!!!!" and took off running towards him only to discover that it was actually the hind leg of a deer TARGET that had somehow ended up in the creek bed. Imagine my relief, especially after picturing Bub's shoes covered in dead deer goo. EEeewww.

Shortly after the "deer incident," they discovered a path up the creek bank and decided to follow it to see where it went.

It was a challenging climb for their little legs!

And imagine their surprise when they discovered that their great adventure brought them right back to Nana and Grandpa's pasture...just in time to run back to the house for lunch!

Good stuff for them and for me!

Word To The Other Mothers

2011-01-21T18:32:00.001-06:00

A prime example of the part of parenting that makes me crazy. Really crazy.

Not A Post I Wanted To Write

2011-01-05T07:30:00.002-06:00

Sometimes God asks us to be obedient for reasons we will possibly never understand and that is what this post is all about. I was laying in bed this morning, after Bub and SG woke me up earlier than needed, trying to go back to sleep. I was talking to God about my plans for the day and He laid it heavy on my heart to share something from my past. I said, "God (in my best whiney voice), I don't want to share that. It isn't pleasant to think about and I haven't even blogged in a long time and I have all the pictures for a cinnamon candy tutorial, now wouldn't that be nice, Lord, a nice cinnamon candy post instead???" The answer I got back was, "DW, you need to obey me in this. You will miss out on the blessing of obedience and someone needs to hear this today." So I got out of bed, made some coffee and here I sit...reluctant to share but obeying.

When Lou was 2, I got pregnant again. I was elated! I had a strong sense of mother's intuition telling me that the baby was a boy. I was very early in my pregnancy and Doc was always guarded in his excitement because of his job. He had walked through a lot of miscarriage situations with his patients. None the less, we were excited. We were going to make a trip to the big city to tell our parents our happy news on a Saturday. That morning, I got up with a sinking feeling that something was wrong. I felt a little crampy. I didn't say anything to Doc because there wasn't really anything to tell. We got around and right before we left, as Doc was outside getting things loaded in the car, I went to the bathroom and found I was spotting. I knew something was wrong. I went out to tell Doc. He asked if I wanted to stay home and I said "No, I'll just sit around and stew and if something is wrong, we would tell our parents anyway. So let's just go." We loaded up Lou and went to the big city. We told our parents that I was pregnant but we needed them to pray and not say anything because things didn't feel right. We came home on Sunday and on October 13th. I miscarried.

Now, I struggled with the loss, not only of our baby but of my confidence in God. After all, we had, had a pretty good deal in my mind and I had upheld my end of the bargain. My experience had shown me that there was consequences for bad choices so I had been careful all my adult life to make good choices. Since I was making good choices, God's end of the bargain was to insure that nothing bad would happen to me. So when it did, I was shocked. I know how stupid that sounds, now, and it wasn't really a verbal agreement that I had thought through. It was more of an agreement that I had made in my heart and soul.

What I found was even more shocking to me, God provides. (I know, again, shocking.) He provided everything I needed. He insured that someone who had walked through the experience before came to sit with me when I needed her. She shared scripture and truth with me that was comforting. He allowed my Mom to know that I would benefit from her comfort and she showed up at my door holding a perfect white rose (that somehow stayed perfect for 2 weeks). He showed me that though I was walking through a tragedy, He was there. And He showed me who He really is. Not the god of my bargain but the REAL God. The one who provided joy in my sorrow. Who provided comfort in my emptiness. Who provided TRUTH in my lies about Him.

See, my perception was that God's goodness towards me was dependent upon my goodness. WHAT A LIE!!! God is good, period. The scripture says, "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever". Psalm 107:1 It doesn't say that he is good when you do what is right. This truth hit me like a ton of bricks. I had been tiptoeing around God for fear of upsetting the applecart of his goodness and I was thinking of myself more highly than I ought, as if God's actions depended on mine, because nothing too terrible had happened in my life! Wow.

This verse spoke volumes to me during that time...
Romans 12:2-4 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

Boy, I wanted to renew my mind. I didn't want to have the responsibility of keeping God's foot from falling and squashing me if I made the wrong choice. And moreover, it wasn't my choices anyway, but God's grace that had carried me that far!

The next year, I was in labor with Bub on the anniversary of my miscarriage. And two years later SG was born on the day before that anniversary. How faithful and loving is God?!

My point is this, God used a really painful experience (note that I didn't say caused a really painful experience) and his faithfulness afterward to show me His goodness and to reveal to me the truth about who He is. My faith was renewed and we began a deeper relationship that is based on love (not based on me fulfilling my part of a dumb, imaginary bargain). And trust me, I was thankful for that new and firm relationship this summer when Bub was hospitalized in Colorado. I was able to stand firm in His love for me and my family when we were on the verge of losing our son. It makes me think of the hymn that says, "On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand."

So there you go. I don't know what God has intended for this story but I'm praying that it serves its purpose and brings hope and comfort to someone who needs to hear it.

It's A Very Jayhawk Christmas

2010-12-17T07:56:00.005-06:00

We are serious about a few things here in Kansas. One of those things is basketball. The game has its roots here. The CREATOR of basketball, Dr. James Naismith, was KU's first basketball coach. Every Kansan is familiar with the famous Rock Chalk Chant...

Doc is a KU grad. This holiday light display so stinkin' cool in our opinion...

Oh, the things we can accomplish with too much time and money on our hands!

Girls' Night Out

2010-12-08T04:15:00.001-06:00

Lou is growing up so fast! It seems everytime I turn around, she has grown another inch and needs new pants because the old ones are now capris. So I know that our time with her is flying and I need to look for every opportunity to do things with her and make those memories!

Last month, we left the other 3 kids with Doc, loaded into the little car (since we didn't need all those car seats), turned on the radio to Christmas music and went out for a night on the town!

Our destination was Intrust Bank Arena and we had our hot tickets in our very cold hands!

We went in, bought ourselves some over priced drinks and made our way to our seats!

We were VEEERRRYY excited for the show to start...

because we were there to see the...

And they did not fail to entertain us! It was an awesome show!

The best thing was seeing Lou delight in every sparkly detail. The truth is, her eyes were the sparkliest things there that night...that is what I will remember the most!

Have I Told You...

2010-12-07T14:24:00.005-06:00

how much my kids love their Daddy?

He is the best comforter...

and makes everything OK for them (and for me)!

He is silly and gives them a run for their money in the fun department.

He has a wicked tickle that brings out the best giggles!

And he has an ability to lead them, teach them, and love them in this amazing way that makes them understand what unconditional love is!

So please allow me to state for the record...Doc is an awesome Daddy! I am blessed to watch him be a father to our children.

A Cautionary Tale...

2010-12-03T23:00:00.000-06:00

just in time for your holiday get togethers.

One time Doc and I went to a party with some people we don't spend a lot of time socially but had been around professionally. These types of get togethers have a lot of potential for awkward moments in general.

So, we were sitting on the couch and a certain person noticed a photo collage on the wall that had various family photographs. There were two photos of the hosts' kids at their weddings that caught this person's eye.

The following is the conversation that ensued:

Person: You know it's sad...we had our family pictures up like that with our 25th anniversary photo and our kids' wedding photo, but we had to rearrange them and take down *Steve's picture because his wife decided she wants another life.

Doc: Oh, that's too bad.

Person: Yeah, he found out on the Internet. He found emails about her seeing some other guy.

Me: How long have they been married?

Person: Four years. He told me that she spent the night twice with this other guy but she says they didn't sleep together.(I kid you not. He said that right in the middle of the party. Then he continued on...)Steve says he believes her. I told him that, of course, he had to believe his wife.

Doc: Hmm. (Desperately looking around for someone else to engage in conversation with...)

Person: Steve did everything for her. Steve's sister says his wife will never find another man that will take care of her the way Steve did.

Me: *Squirming and turning to the conversation back to Doc* Wasn't that broccoli and cheese soup good?! That was really delicious.

Doc: Yeah, that was some good soup.

Now, what in the world are we supposed to do with that? Why would you tell virtual strangers something so personal about your kid in the middle of a party? Does Steve know his parent is running around using his painful divorce as party fodder? Geez. Emily Post would turn over in her grave. (Assuming there was a real Emily Post and that now she is dead.)

I would like to put this statement out there...Perhaps this person thought that he/she was being "real" by sharing what was on his/her heart. Maybe. Perhaps he/she is so uncomfortable in social situations that their brain's internal monitor becomes disabled. Probably getting closer. But having been around this person in similar situations, it is more likely that he/she needs to learn which topics are appropriate to talk about in any given social situation and which topics make people so incredibly uncomfortable they want to run to the kitchen and eat more soup for emotional reasons. I'm just saying...THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK, PEOPLE. There is only so much soup in the world.

*Steve's name has been changed for obvious reasons that his parent wouldn't understand.

Randomness

2010-10-19T08:50:00.008-05:00

Hello, Lovelies. I know you probably thought I disappeared off the face of Kansas but, alas, I am still here. Thought I'd share some randomness from my brain today. I have big plans for lots of blogs but no energy for them today! So without further ado..here are my random thoughts...

1. My sister, Rockstar, takes the most amazing, beautiful, gorgeous photos ever. I love that they are not too posed and natural. Like this one...

I cannot tell you how much I heart this picture. It is the epitome of the joy that exudes from my children.

2.On the same subject, I cannot wait for part two of that photo session...the whole family and me and Doc together.

3.If you haven't checked out the Four Sisters Farm blog, do. Our cousin, "Hollywood," just finished her first marathon. She had some amazing motivation for running. It is a wonderful two part post on her story!

4.Speaking of running. I have accomplished something I NEVER thought I'd do. I ran 8 miles a few days ago. I'm training to run the Turkey Trot 10 mile race. My sisters and I ran the 2 mile Turkey Trot in the past. You can read about it here. Seriously, I think I'm in better shape now than I was in High School. Unfortunately, when you are thirty-three and in great shape, it is almost too late. The stretch marks and cellulite show no mercy. But it feels good to be fit and healthier anyway. By the way, keep Pop in your prayers. He was training last week to run it with me and tore his calf muscle. He has to get an MRI on Thursday to determine the extent of the tear. Hopefully it is minor.

5. Bub and SG turned 6 and 4 last week. I kept thinking about how incredibly grateful I am that Bub is around to celebrate another birthday after our trip to Colorado this summer. I am so thankful for this little boy and being able to experience his wiggly tooth and adventurous spirit!

6. We celebrated with a Camping Birthday Party! It was a blast! We ate hot dogs, roasted marshmallows in the woods and made s'mores and then we watched a movie in the backyard after dark. What a memory for the kids!

7. My desk is a hot mess. There are papers and junk piles as far as the eye can see. My closet is awful, too. BAD. Poor Doc. These are two areas that I share with him, the office and the closet. I'm glad he loves me anyway but it is even annoying to me to look at. Better put those at the top of my to do list.

8. Speaking of things to do...Lou is going to have to start washing her own laundry. The sheer volume of clothing that this family runs through in a week is astounding. I am buried. It's about time I had a little help here. Time for a lesson in taking responsibility for our own things. (Because judging from my closet and desk, I am SO VERY GOOD at being responsible for my own things. I guess I'll be trying a little harder to be a better example in this.)

9. That makes me wonder, am I really irresponsible or do I just put myself last? I don't know. I think it depends on the day. But my kids are always well taken care of, have clean clothes, food to eat and my house is USUALLY fairly picked up (last week excluded). I think I stay so busy with those things, that I put my stuff at the end of the list. And sometimes Doc's stuff ends up there, too.

10. Speaking of getting things done and organized...I have got to get on it, Christmas is right around the corner. Really. I am going to get things in order and ENJOY this season.

11. Has anyone else been feeling overwhelmed with stuff and the thought of more of it at Christmas? I really like the idea of Samaritan's Purse. I think our kids are old enough to really get that we have been blessed far above the average person in this world. Just being born in America puts us ahead of the game in almost every aspect of life. Maybe we'll buy a goat...How else can we make Christmas more focused on Christ instead of gifts and hoopla? Any ideas?

Talk amongst yourselves. I have to get Lou to gym class at the Y! Let me know if you have any good ideas about Christmas.

Monday Laugh!

2010-09-13T08:35:00.003-05:00

This is just hilarious. (A little disclaimer...I know nothing about "church on the move" that produced this video so, do not consider this an advertisement! But, it is stinkin' funny, so enjoy!)

Breckenridge Stables (aka The Closest to Heaven Lou Can Imagine)

2010-08-30T07:33:00.001-05:00

I know we've been back from vacation for a while, but I wanted to go ahead and post about the fun horseback riding adventure we had. All the fun we had kind of got lost in the aftermath of Bub's ordeal! So, I'm going to focus on the fun stuff we did!

We went Wednesday morning for a ride. Doc and I had to check in and the kids headed straight to the main event!

Everyone was assigned a horse and Tara was our wrangler! She was awesome and gave us a little history lesson on that area of Colorado as we rode.

Bub's horse was named Dewdrop. Lou's was named Eclipse. Doc and SG were on Captain and Ladybug and I brought up the rear on Pie.

The scenery was breathtaking!

I was thrilled for Lou Lou to live out her dream of riding a horse! She was SOOO excited!

When the ride was over, the kids went to visit the other horses.

SG surprised me with his bravery! He wasn't intimidated at all by the huge animals!

Of course Lou had the hardest time saying goodbye!

The New Normal. Again.

2010-08-26T09:10:00.004-05:00

Life changes constantly. Schedules change. Kids grow. Hobbies develop. Tastes change.

And after each shift, there becomes a period of "normal". The normal routine. The normal facts of life.

I cannot stand the shifting part. I am not necessarily a person who must have routines but I don't like to feel insecure. If I could jump from one normal to the next without the figuring out part, I would be really happy.

We are smack dab in the middle of a figuring out part:

School started for Lou. Nothing new there, but a change none the less. We are still home schooling this year. But she is signed up for an outside class that meets 2 times a week starting next week.

School started for Bub. He's going to public Kindergarten. School starts at 8:30 and doesn't end until 3:57. Really?! They need THAT much time with my 5 year old. Ug. We had him going only a half day for the first couple of days (to make sure he didn't get worn out after last week). Today he pleaded with me to let him stay until after snack, which is practically at the end of the day anyway. I called his Dad and asked his opinion. We decided that we would let him stay the whole day. But I can't bear to let him ride the bus yet.

Next week he will start to ride. That means he will be gone from our house from around 8 until around 4:30. That is 8 and a half hours. For a kindergartener. Seriously. I told Doc last night that it seems like school is just for occupying our kids' time. I don't need someone to occupy him for that long. I don't mean occupy in the sense of keeping them busy and learning. I mean occupy as in "do something with my kid so I don't need to mess with him or worry about him." I like my son. I enjoy spending time with him. I miss him. It doesn't sit well with me.

Anyway, I totally digress.

The schedule shifting thing...my point is, we won't have all the pieces to our schedule in place til Bub starts riding the bus next week and Lou starts her class.

I also am dealing with the post traumatic bubble burst. My make believe bubble of "nothing bad has ever happened to my kids so it probably won't ever happen" has definitely burst. It is requiring a lot of trust on my part in the goodness of my Heavenly Father. Good thing He's trustworthy. I just have to constantly remind myself of that.

My brain feels all wonky. I feel discombobulated. And my house is a mess.

I seriously need some order in my life and another cup of coffee.

The What Ifs...

2010-08-24T06:14:00.001-05:00

With Bub's hospitalization, I have had moments where I was haunted by the "What ifs"...

What if this had happened when we were on a mountain Monday or Tuesday?

What if it had been when we were horseback riding and he was on a horse by himself?

What if it had happened when I went for a jog and left my phone in the car and Doc was alone with the kids?

What if I had decided to get a massage that afternoon instead of stay and take a nap in their room?

What if Mom and Dad hadn't met Rebecca's husband while they were on vacation?

What if those people who helped us didn't take the time to do so?

The resounding answer to all of these "what ifs" is this...IT DIDN'T HAPPEN THAT WAY.

God had it under control from the beginning. He prepared our way and walked it before us. He was not caught off guard or shocked when Bub stopped breathing well and started turning blue on that living room floor. He knew how things would go down. He always knows. How freeing to know that whatever life brings, there are some constants. His love and provision for us is always there. Even when things don't go as planned. (Even if things hadn't turned out as well as they did.)

He is always there.

I know that He will be there today, with Bub, as he starts Kindergarten but my Mommy heart wishes I could stay there with him and sit next to him and make sure everything is alright.

Oh, How He Loves You and Me Part 2

2010-08-23T09:25:00.004-05:00

This post has photos of Bub in the hospital. They are difficult to see and if it may bother you, you might not want to read this one. However, I want to remember every detail and this blog is my place to our store memories. So it is your choice to read or not...

If you didn't read part one, you can catch up here...

I told Rebecca goodbye and hopped in the SUV and headed to Denver. I called my Mom and thanked her for calling Rebecca. She had called my Aunt Susan who lives an hour and a half away and asked her to meet me at the hospital to help with the kids until Doc's parents got there. They had left Wichita that afternoon and drove straight to Denver.

I busied myself with making and receiving phone calls as I drove to Denver, I talked to my Dad, Birdie, our pastor's wife, my sister in law, and a friend through Birdie who lives in the area (who was sitting in her car when she called, ready to come to my side if needed.) I was overwhelmed with support and love. And convinced that God had our situation under control.
Doc called me and told me that the helicopter had landed safely and he was at the hospital with Bub in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (the PICU). They were hooking him up to an EEG which is a test where they put little electrodes on his head to monitor brain activity in order to make sure he wasn't having any more seizures.

I got to the hospital and met Doc outside the PICU. My Aunt and Uncle arrived about 5 minutes later. Doc and the crew went downstairs to get a bite to eat. I went into the PICU to see Bub. Nothing can prepare a Mommy's heart to see this...

He was sedated but periodically woke up and tried to get to the tubes in his mouth. His arms were in restraints so that he couldn't pull them out.

That was hands down the hardest part...when he woke up. The nurse would give him a bolus of one of the sedatives and he would fall back asleep. Our only consolation was that we knew he wouldn't remember any of it.

After Doc and the crew grabbed a bite, we left and went to a hotel where Doc had rented a room for the kids. We got the kids tucked in and my Aunt and Uncle stayed with them while I ran and got diapers and wipes at Walgreens.

It was so surreal. Doc and I had no idea why this had happened. And let me tell you, when Doc doesn't understand something like this, it makes me panic. He is a virtual dictionary of medicine. Through out the whole thing, even in the panicky moments, I had an inexplicable peace over all.

I hurried back to the hotel and soon after my Aunt and Uncle left to go home and my In-Laws arrived. I headed back to the hospital. I had packed a bag for Doc and me and had packed Bub's little Spiderman backpack full of the stuff he would need. I got out of the SUV and grabbed the bags and headed into the hospital. As I crossed the street, I thought to myself, "I should have grabbed my bag with my hair stuff in it. My hair feels gross and I really need a hair band." I took two steps and looked down. There was a blue hair band right there. I stooped and picked it up and it hit me like a ton of bricks...

God had this thing. Every. Little. Detail. Down to my stupid hair band. He would provide all our needs according to his riches in glory. He had been faithful up to that point and it took something so silly as a hair band to make me realize that God was in the DETAILS. His hand was over all this. Not that he made it happen or wanted it to happen but he provided what we needed to get through it. I made it to Bub's room and told Doc about the hair band. He smiled and teared up, shaking his head.

We made up the extra bed in the hospital room. I took the first 4 hour shift by Bub's bed and Doc took the second. I held his little hand and prayed and dozed off and on. We always made sure to hold his hand because as he would come out of sedation, his little fingers would twitch first. We knew it was coming and we would motion for the nurse to give him more sedation. Then we would calm him and help him keep his head on his pillow until the sedation kicked in. He would gag and look at us and tears would run out of the corners of his eyes and our hearts would break in a million pieces. But, we knew a couple things...one, it had to be done for the EEG. And two, he was indicating he was having normal responses to the situation which was a very good thing. I would tell him to lay back down and he would shake his head "No". His nurse said, "He's feisty. Even under sedation. That's good." He even mouthed to Doc at one time, "I want Mommy." All we could do was comfort him in those moments and assure him we were there and he was safe.

The next morning around 5 am they came in and took off the EEG stuff. The test was completely normal. Another good sign.

The last test would be an MRI. We had to keep him sedated for another 5 and a half hours because the test wouldn't be done until 10:30. That did not please Doc. Especially when we found out that the patient before him in the MRI was there for an ankle injury. The MRI would check for masses or abnormalities. I went down with him while Doc returned the rental car. Bub's nurse Chip was such a comfort. He was seasoned, calm and funny. Just what we needed. Chip gave Bub a bolus of his medicine and they put him in the MRI machine. I sat in the room for 30 minutes pushing in my ear plugs to try to block more of the noisy test and watching back and forth between my little boy's legs (making sure he wasn't flinching and waking up) and the radiological tech and Chip's faces for any little sign of concern.

By the time the test was over, I was pretty confident that things were ok. They were joking and smiling. But I didn't ask them the results. They couldn't have told me anyway.

Doc met us back in the room after the MRI. They let him come out of sedation and he did quickly. And he wanted those tubes OUT. We were so relieved. All of us. He asked his Daddy, "Where am I?" Doc let him know that he had gotten sick and he was now at the hospital. He asked if he could go back to the cabin now. He also wanted to know why his throat was scratchy. And we explained that he had, had those tubes down there to help him breathe and that his voice would be back soon. Especially if he ate some popcicles.

He had oxygen on for a short while and he didn't even really need it. The neurologist, Dr. Parsons, was amazing. She came in and told us that the MRI was normal. She talked to us about what she thought had happened. She surmised that he had a perfect storm of Altitude Sickness, a bit of dehydration, over exertion, and maybe even a shortage of sleep caused some brain swelling that triggered the seizure. He had no signs of Epilepsy or any other problem that would indicate more seizures.

They kept Bub and monitored him over the next night. They also gave him an anti-seizure medicine called Keppra. Which we kept him on until we made it back to Wichita (we didn't want him to have another seizure on I-70 in the middle of nowhere). Then promptly tapered him off of quickly because he acted completely drunk when on it.

Chip was truly wonderful. He picked up on the things that were important to Bub. He got Bub a Star Wars character, coloring book, crayons, and a Lego kit to put together. What a guy! He was also the most amazing patient advocate!

Here's some shots of the hospital. It was an amazing place and Doc and I felt confident that if things had taken a turn for the worst, we were at the very best place possible!

One of our nurses even found a pillowcase that was bright and cheerful for Bub. It was his favorite colors (orange and green) and had monkeys on it. He kept saying he was a "monkey lemur" while he was climbing the mountains. So it was perfect. See what I mean. There was nothing random about our experience. It was just what he needed.

When it was time to be released, Bub was goofy from the Keppra but completely happy to go home. He had been crying for his siblings that morning.

We escorted him out of the hospital in a wagon.

I rode with him in the back seat all the way home. His memory was all there but everything was a tick s-l-o-w. By Saturday, we were convinced that we needed to get him off the medicine. Even with a half dose, he couldn't walk a straight line and was completely goofy. By Saturday evening, he was MUCH better. And by Sunday morning he was asking to go to church and wanted to go swimming that afternoon.

He is sleeping in our room, not that we expect him to seize again, but it makes both Doc and I feel a little better. And he's supposed to start all day kindergarten tomorrow. Both of us are nervous about that. We are going to pick him up early this week and have him only go half a day for the first week. I don't like the idea of sending my kid to school with a "seizure action plan" but if God walked with us this far, he will be faithful from here on out. No reason not to trust him.

God is good. If you don't know him, please ask me, phone me, text me, email me, message me, facebook me or talk to someone else that knows Him. Seriously. He loves you and wants you to know him intimately. He's awesome. And life with Him will not magically become perfect but you won't have to do it alone. He is always there.

If you are already in "the family," please make yourself available to be God's hands and feet in this world, like so many people did for us. We can love each other and be His love to those who don't know him. What a privilege to give and receive that love.

Oh, How He Loves You and Me

2010-08-22T21:03:00.018-05:00

As some of you know, our vacation to Colorado did not end as planned. Our sweet boy, Bub, ended up really sick and in the hospital in Denver. But let me start at the beginning...

We left Kansas on Saturday morning and made it to Denver that evening. We stayed a night in Denver (to help us flat landers get acclimated to the altitude) and then went on the next day to ride the Georgetown Loop train...

and then on to Breckenridge, Colorado where we had rented a cabin. It was a beautiful place to stay with rocks for climbing, paths for hiking down to a creek. It was close to town but felt secluded. We couldn't have asked for more.

Monday, during the morning, I went for a LONG run. Hoping to relax and let go of some of the tension that comes with a 12 hour car ride with 4 kids. Doc graciously took care of the kids!

Then, that afternoon, we went hiking. We intended to go to Boreas Pass but missed the turn and ended up hiking at the Hoosier Pass at the Continental Divide.

Bub was in his element. He ran ahead, never getting out of breath.

The next morning we got up and headed here...

We climbed this mountain. See the tallest rock peak...

this would be Bub on the top of that rock peak. He was a wild man! Just completely in his element!

Here he is resting on a rock waiting for the rest of us to catch up!

We were so proud of him! High fives flew and it felt good to reach a goal of making it to the top of the mountain as a family!

The next morning, on Wednesday, we went horseback riding. It was Lou's dream come true!

It was Bub's first time riding and spent half the trail ride being led. Then he told the wrangler that he wanted to do it himself. He could not have been happier!

When we got finished with the trail ride, we went home, changed into some shorts as the day had gotten warmer and I made some lunch. We ate and Bub begged his Dad to go to Wal-Mart and buy some camping equipment so they could spend, "just one night camping and hiking". We laughed and told him not right now and marveled at his stamina. The rest of us were exhausted! He sat down on the couch and played Sonic Rush on his Nintendo DS for a few minutes until I told him it was time to go upstairs and take a nap.

Doc asked me if I wanted to go get a massage in Breckenridge. Now normally, I would have jumped at that opportunity! But for some reason, I told him, "I think I want to take a nap. That sounds more decadent to me today!" I gathered the kids and ushered them upstairs. The boys had gone through their clothes and made a huge mess. I picked up and folded all the clothes and put them back in their suitcases and only left out their pj's for that night. Then I tucked them in and decided that I would lay down and nap in the boys' room which is totally out of character for me. If I'm going to take a nap, I'm going to go AWAY from the kids! But for whatever reason, I felt kind of compelled to lay down in there and make sure they took a good nap! Doc even came up and offered to rest in there and I told him that I would stay in there and I sent him downstairs.

The boys and I drifted off and a while later, Bub stirred on the top bunk and woke me up. He said, "Mom, I need to go to the bathroom." I said, "Ok, Bub" and he came towards me at the end of the bed. He said, "Get out of the way, SG." Who was soundly sleeping in bed and I said, "Bub, come here. SG's not in your way." Then he kind of leaned off the end of the bed and into my arms not even attempting to climb down the stairs. I stood him up and got him headed down the hall towards the bathroom. He saw the plant in the hall and jumped up against the wall like he saw a ghost. Then his eyes diverted to the right and I thought to myself, "He's sleepwalking!" So I helped him move into the bathroom and his eyes stayed focused out of the right corner of his eye. He started to kind of choke and gag a little and I said, "Bub, are you going to throw up?" He told me, "Just a minute, Mom, the bugs, the bugs are coming." I thought he meant he was having tickles in his throat, so I sat him down on the bathroom floor and called up Doc who was at the bottom of the stairs on the couch. When Doc made it up the stairs, we turned our attention back to Bub whose tongue was going wildly around his mouth.

Doc tried to talk to him and he didn't respond. So we (still thinking he was asleep) brought him back into the bedroom and Doc tried to rouse him awake. At this point we knew something was wrong. Doc picked him up and brought him downstairs and I started to look for the address of an acute care center. Then Doc said, "Go load up the other kids, we've got to get him seen." So I ran upstairs and got Lou and told her to get Ladybug up and ready to go. Then I heard Doc yell that Bub was throwing up. So I ran downstairs and Doc said, "He's seizing and he's not breathing well. We need to call 911." His breathing was irratic and I watched my husband check my son's pulse and try to rouse him by rubbing his knuckles on his breast bone. There was no response.

I had 911 on the phone and sat down and put Bub's head in my lap. Doc thought maybe he was hypoglycemic and put some sugar in the side of his mouth. For just a moment, he came to, looked at me in the eyes and I asked him if he saw me. He said, "uh huh". Then his eyes rolled back to the side and he was gone again.

The ambulance and fire truck got there quickly. I happened to remember the address because there was a carved sign with the house number outside. 225. The street was "Protector Place." I don't have to point out the irony there.

We stripped his clothes off because they were covered in vomit. The paramedics and firemen came down the stairs and one of them said, "It looks like altitude sickness." They put oxygen on him and scooped him up and carried him up the stairs and put him in the ambulance. I handed Doc the pj's I had laid out for Bub before nap and he hopped into the front of the ambulance. There were 3 guys in the back working on Bub. He ended up seizing in the ambulance. Then they gave him some valium to stopped the seizing but it didn't work to bring him out of it.

Meanwhile, at the cabin, a fireman gave me a map to the hospital where Bub was headed. I called to Lou who had witnessed the whole thing from the top of the stairs. We started gathering things we needed and getting the littles dressed to go to the hospital in Frisco. I called my father in law and told him what was going on and asked him to pray. Then I called Pop. He was in Chicago getting ready to board a plane. I asked him to pray, too. We loaded the littles in the SUV and took off down the mountain towards the hospital.

I got a hold of my Mom and filled her in. She said that when they were on vacation the month before in Breckenridge, there was a pastor who lived in Frisco that they met. She asked if she could call him and see if he and his wife could help us at the hospital. I agreed. Then Doc called. He told me that they were going to fly Bub to Denver to the Children's Hospital there in a Life Flight Helicopter.

We rolled into the parking lot and I went into the ER area. The receptionists were amazing. They got my kids stickers and got them settled into the waiting room and found them some cartoons to watch. And then I saw Doc. He came out of the back and told me that they were getting ready to intubate Bub and he couldn't stand to be back there. Bub was sedated by this time, thank the Lord. I went and held his little hand and watched the ER doc put a tube down my little boy's throat and hook him up to a machine that breathed for him. Doc came back in. He had already arranged to rent a car to drive to Denver. We couldn't go with Bub in the helicopter. The staff at the Frisco Hospital was awesome. There was an employee who was going to Denver that offered to drive Doc all the way to the Children's Hospital but he asked her to drop him at the car rental place...I don't think she could have driven fast enough. The ER doc ordered a CT scan and doc left before the results came back because he knew it was an hour and a half drive. And only a 45 minute flight.

I stood in the hall waiting for the CT scan to get done. A chaplain came and asked me if we were people of faith. I nodded and she asked if she could pray with me. I nodded again. She was finishing up her prayer when my cell phone rang. I answered it and the sweet voice on the line said, "DW, this is Rebecca. Your mom called me and told me you were here in Frisco at the hospital. I have a word for you, I don't know why but I'm supposed to tell you that everything is going to be ok and our Father has walked this before you. I'm at work but I can leave. What do you need?" I asked her to meet me at the hospital and help me with the kids and then help me pack up the cabin so we could go to Denver. She said, "I'm your girl. I'll meet you there."

Bub came out of the CT scan and the scan was completely normal. I stood by his head and stroked his hair and prayed and prayed and prayed. The flight crew said it was time to go to Denver. I kissed his head and headed out to the waiting room to gather the kids. I came around the corner and saw Rebecca sitting with my kids. She met me with a big hug!

We jumped back in our cars and headed to the cabin. I was overwhelmed walking back into the cabin. Rebecca and Lou headed upstairs to pack the kids' stuff. (Remember, I had just packed up the boys' suitcases before all this happened so she literally had to zip up the suitcases in there and get their stuff that they sleep with off the beds. What a blessing!) I cleaned up the mess from earlier as best as I could and called the property manager to tell her what had happened. I told her to have the carpet cleaned and send us the bill. She was gracious and told me to do what I needed to do! So Rebecca, Lou, and I packed everything up and loaded the SUV.

Rebecca gave me a hug and encouraged me. She said, "Family is family." See, we were sisters even though we didn't know each other before that day. We have the same Father God. I told her, "Thank you for being my sister!" The thing is, I know that she was obedient to Him that day. My Mom called her and caught her off guard. She could have said, "Sorry, I'm working." She could have written it off and gone on about her day. But she didn't. She loved me with the love of Jesus. And allowed herself to be the tool that God used to provide me what I needed that day.

Let me tell you something... God loves me and he loves you. Not in that far off, impersonal way but in a VERY personal and relational way. He wants to hang with you, talk to you, provide you with what you need and most of all the God of the Universe wants to LOVE ON YOU and wants to be LOVED BY YOU. I have never been more convinced that he has a plan and a direction for my life than I am right now. And the same is true for you.

Because blogger doesn't like my huge post, I'm going to make this story into a couple posts. But trust me...you will see what I'm talking about. He walked before us in all of this and provided us exactly what we needed to get us through.

Who Am I And What Have I Done With Myself?

2010-08-17T19:01:00.004-05:00

In the last 48 hours, I...
1. went running. In the rain. And enjoyed it. Even though it felt like I had asthma because the elevation is so much higher than Kansas. I did not use the rain as an excuse not to go. Doc even asked me why I wasn't relaxed and the words that fell out of my mouth were, "I think I just need to go for a run."

2. mountain hiked on the Continental Divide at Hoosier Pass. I carried one of my two littlest children off and on, on my shoulders part of the way and I actually enjoyed the adventure.

3. mountain hiked, a second time, this we reached the peak of one of the mountains at Boreas Pass. Again, I carried one of my two smallest children on my shoulders part of the way up. And had fun doing it!

P.S. It's really windy at the top of mountains.

4. peed in the woods.

5. ate waaaaaay too much home made butter pecan ice cream to reward myself for 1, 2, and 3.

(The butter pecan was good but Bub made the choice of the day of Funfetti Birthday Cake Ice Cream. I have found a new culinary challenge. How do I make this wonderous stuff at home?)

Anyway, as I thought about our last couple of days, all I could think was, "What in the heck happened to me?" I don't even know who I am anymore...but I think the old me is proud.

Except that peeing in the woods thing. I'm not proud of that. But there was no. other. option.

Colorado is breath taking and feeling strong enough to tackle it is awesome!

Story Telling Blocks

2010-08-09T10:57:00.004-05:00

We are going on vacation to Colorado next week and in anticipation of the LLOOOOONNNGGG drive, I have been trying to come up with fun activities for the kids to do in the car. I came across this post and decided to make my own. (PLEASE don't compare her's to mine. I didn't want to spend days on this, so I did my best to draw pictures that my children would at least recognize. I did not go for artistic points!)

The other easy way to make these is to cut out pictures from magazines and decoupage them on the blocks. (Family Fun is a good magazine to try!)

I'm going to toss them in a couple little bags and we'll be ready to play!

It is a really easy game... you pull a block out of a bag, roll the cube and begin a story that includes the subject that landed face up. Stick the block back in the bag and pass it to the next person who does the same thing only adds onto the story that was already begun by the first storyteller.

The story possibilities should be as endless as your child's imagination! Not only that, it is super inexpensive. The 1" blocks came in a package of 13 at Michael's and it only cost $2.99!

Skit-tels Is Really Good

2010-08-08T05:36:00.003-05:00

Sometimes you unintentionally expose your children to things that impact their lives and end up in the culture of your family. Thanks to Pretty Princess, who loves Skittles (and yes, I know it is misspelled in the blog title) the following youtube video has invaded our vocabulary and humor and life in general. And yes, I'm kind of ashamed to admit it. "Not a choice favorite." as Trale Lewous would say.

So anyway, Doc picked up a big bag of skittles, of course, because they're "really good" and was going to share them with the kids as a little treat here and there. At some point they (the skittles, not the kids) disappeared. I didn't notice they were gone until Friday night when we had friends over for dinner. The kids were playing downstairs when SG started screaming bloody murder. I ran to the stairs and saw him holding his mouth, coming up the stairs, bawling, with red stuff (which I assumed was blood) streaming between his fingers and down his arm (all while dressed as Yoda). My friend went downstairs to find out what happened from the other kids and I quickly scooped him up, grabbed a washcloth and asked him what happened. He told me he bumped into his little friend and hit his mouth. And as he was talking, I noticed he had something in his mouth. "What are you eating?," I asked. "Skit-tels. They're really good." he said with a grin. Then it dawned on me that that was not blood coming out of his mouth but red skittle slobber. He didn't have any injuries. Just slobber.

Turns out, Bub was hungry the night before and had discovered the bag. He took it in his room and had eaten a few. He kind of forgot about them until his friends were over and being the consummate host that he is, he decided to share with his brother and little friend. They downed the WHOLE bag.

Let me do a little math for you...there was approximately 1870 calories in the bag, 22 grams of fat and....

341 GRAMS OF SUGAR. That's a lot of sugar.

But, on the upside, as Doc's friend pointed out, at least there was ONLY 20% more in the bag!

Doc and I were hopeful that they hadn't eaten them all. This was all that was left...

Saturday morning the boys were sitting at the island eating cereal and I looked at the cup and said, "Bub, that wasn't a good choice." He looked at me in all seriousness and said, "What do you mean, Mom? I put them in a cup WITH a lid." I just started laughing, shook my head and said, "I mean EATING THE WHOLE BAG OF SKITTLES, not putting them in the cup!"

He said, "I know Mom, but Skit-tels is...(then he was joined by SG) REALLY GOOD."

Slime Time

2010-08-05T10:36:00.005-05:00

One of my favorite blogs is called The Idea Room. Amy has lots of fun kid activities and recipes on there! I decided to try making slime with the kids! It was really fun, although I think I made ours too stiff! It was more like a bouncy ball by the time it was said and done but Ladybug wouldn't touch it when it was gooey!

Lou's Room Tour and Projects To Finish

2010-08-05T07:53:00.004-05:00

Lou is getting to be a big girl these days. She will be 9 next week! So her new room needed to reflect that change. She has her own opinions and turns out, pretty good taste! This is the widest shot of her room I could get. I put the art piece in the shot so you could see how it jives with the stuff that was already in there.

She needed a bookshelf and I couldn't find a decent one for under 100 dollars, so I had this idea to spray paint a set of garage shelves that Doc didn't want anymore. I got out the leftover silver spray paint from her headboard/footboard redo and went to town on the ugly black metal.

I found the globe at the Goodwill and couldn't resist the vintage cuteness! It even has the name "Miller" engraved on the base. I think it must have been a classroom globe. She also has her books and horses on the shelf.

We had a little couch in the reading area of the 3rd floor at our old house. I (with Grammy's help) sewed a slipcover for it! Lou loves curling up on the couch and reading Nancy Drew!

Here is the circle art in its home!

The toy box is project one. Doc made it for Lou when she was tiny and I painted it and stenciled the butterflies. We're going to paint it out the same blue as the wall.

But it was important to Lou that the butterflies stay, so I guess I will leave that little border.

Project number two is this little side table. It is getting a fresh coat of white paint.

Project area three is the desk area. I bought some white floating shelves for the wall and I'm going to try to find a mini chandelier to hang.

She'll be glad to get the shelves up so that she can put her really important things up like these things...

and some photos of her friends in some purple frames I got her at Target! It is coming together! It seems like the projects never end in a new house, but I'm glad that we are making progress!

Art for Lou's Room

2010-08-04T08:08:00.003-05:00

I bought a big canvas for Lou's room. She enjoyed the circle art project we did and I thought it would be fun to paint her an art piece with the colors that are in her room. So I used the same process only I used a large plastic (disposable) bowl as my circle form.

Then I filled in the background with a lime green color.

Then I just went to town choosing colors, as I went, from my palate.

Tomorrow I'll post a little mini tour of Lou's room. I'll share the projects we have finished and have yet to do for her decor.

I've Come A Long Way, Baby

2010-08-02T07:17:00.001-05:00

I decided to start running again after a LONG break. You can read my thoughts about running when I first began here. I began to think that I needed a goal. Something to work towards. So I looked up the races in my area and decided to run the 10 mile Turkey Trot in November. Now, to me, 10 miles might as well be a marathon but I know myself well enough to understand that if I can squeak through, I will. If I can jog a little and then complete a 2 mile race, I will only do it half- heartedly. So it had to be big. Something that I can't do only part way and get it done.

I am up to 4 and a half miles now. And I'm almost ready to croak every time I get past about 2 miles. But I'm running 3 to 4 times a week. Mostly out of fear. Fear of failing miserably. The benefits have already been great! I am losing a little weight, slowly but surely but the thing I love the most is that I feel strong. Remember that feeling when you were a kid trying to decide between being a policeman or a fashion designer or a mom or..... That time when you thought, no KNEW that you could be anything you wanted to be before the reality of talent, skill or education played into the decision? If I can run 10 miles, I think I might just be able to do anything I put my mind to and in some little way, that does my 5 year old heart good to think about!

Star Wars and SG

2010-08-01T08:17:00.000-05:00

SG is obsessed with Star Wars. He still wears his Yoda outfit from this post last September and now he has added Han Solo, Luke, Storm Troopers, Darth and the bounty hunter to his repertoire. He also LOVES the music and frequently sings the songs to himself as he plays. I wanted to post this video because it is the cutest thing ever, but more than that, I wanted to post it so that I remember.

Ladybug's Singing Debut

2010-07-30T22:51:00.003-05:00

This video makes me laugh every time that I see it. The singing is funny but watch her reaction to the bird that flies by when she's singing. It's so funny!

Fruit Loop Color Fun

2010-07-29T09:37:00.005-05:00

Last week I did an activity with the kids to teach them about colors. All you need is a box of fruit loops and some string cut long enough to tie into a necklace. Bub and Lou were old enough to "get" the color thing but the it was also good for the little ones' fine motor skills to try to string the cereal on the string and everyone had a great time snacking.

(This would be a great place to add an extra activity. You could prepare 3 glasses of water in clear cups. Mix drops of primary color food coloring to make the secondary colors appear in the glasses. Or do the same with white frosting. Or mix primary colors of paint to make secondary colors on a piece of paper. Any of these ideas would serve to reinforce the idea of mixing primary colors to create secondary colors.)

Happy learning, crafting and eating!

Mistakes

2010-07-27T22:26:00.005-05:00

I was in a hurry. (Imagine that!) Trying to get the kids to bed for a nap so that I could do other things. I flung open the refrigerator door, grabbed Ladybug's medicine and started shaking it up so that I could give her a dose. The lid came off with the first shake but of course I didn't realize it until I shook it a couple more times.

I ended up with it all over myself and the kitchen. I was aggravated to say the least. And sticky. Really sticky. I immediately started in on the kids..."Who messed with Ladybug's medicine? Was someone playing with it?"

Then I realized how dumb that was...the medicine was on the top shelf, with a child safety lid. I was the only one who had handled it. So, I looked at my kids, shook my head and said, "I don't think I got the lid back on right the last time I gave it to her. I guess sometimes even Mommies make mistakes, huh?!" The kids, wide eyed nodded their heads, not sure if they should laugh at the sight of me or stay the heck out of my way. Lou handed me paper towels as I stood there with the pink medicine streaming down my legs and soaking into my socks. I thought about how I shouldn't be so quick to get fired up at them. Lesson learned (again). Everyone makes mistakes...even their "perfect" mother.

Chitty Chat and an Art Project

2010-07-27T07:59:00.004-05:00

Sooo... I've been trying to be a busy bee. I finished my pillows (which make me smile whenever I see them)! And I caught another mouse. And I've been doing lots of laundry since I cleaned out the laundry room and actually WANT to be in there!

This morning was a nice cool morning and we took the time to have breakfast on the deck! Why is eating outside so fun?! The kids went nuts when I told them we'd eat out there! That reminds me of another project, we have these sad, empty planters outside on the deck and they are in desperate need of some flowers or something. Better put that on the list.

For you Mamas out there with a little bit older kids, I wanted to share an art project which I first saw on here, on Meg's site but she got it originally from here, on the Frugal Family Fun Blog.

You need watercolor paints and brushes.

You also need paper that will stand up to watercolors and a plastic cup and a sharpie.

The prep is kind of fun. I took my sharpie and cup and made intersecting circles on the papers. Some of the pages had circles that I very carefully placed and some had completely random circles. Whatever makes you happy. (The girls that did this project above used black paint and cups to make a sort of stamped circle effect. I didn't want to wait for that to dry!) When you have your paper with circles all over it, have the kids start painting the sections different colors.

Lou loved the challenge of selecting just the right colors.

Here is her's mid-project...

Here's Bub's mid-project...

As you can see, each kid was at a very different level of painting skill! But they all turned out so cool in their own way!

Even Ladybug did her project!

Lou asked why little kid's watercolors always turn out black! I cracked up! (It's the same reason they always have holes in them!)

If you have the luxury of leaving out the supplies, the kids will come and go and work on it whenever they get bored. Lou and Bub worked off and on for a couple of days!

I loved how this project turned out so much that I'm going to do a large canvas version for Lou's room with her colors.

I've been trying to have activities for the kids to relieve some of the summer time "Mom, I'm bored." complaints. It's a little hard to find things that will entertain an almost 9 year old down to a 2 year old. But we've had fun so far! Tune in this week for another project!

Good Times in the Big City

2010-07-26T08:57:00.008-05:00

Now that we live closer to the Big City, we try to take advantage of the fun kid stuff available there! We called up the cousins and invited them to meet us at Old Town to play in the fountains! The cowboys, Farm Chick and Pretty Princess met us there!

I managed to get one group photo (minus Q who was in his stroller)....

before the lure of the fountains became to strong...

to resist any longer!

It was HOT!!!! I don't blame them for wanting to cool off!

We brought the sponge balls that we made last summer! Click here for directions!

They became weapons in a war!

We brought a cooler full of Gatorade to keep them hydrated!

Bub made time to entertain Q! He loves his baby cousin! And Q loves him too, smiling and cooing at him!

We also brought bubbles which Ladybug promptly spilled all over the sidewalk creating a REALLY slippery spot. So if you were walking through a puddle by the fountains that day and slipped, I'm really sorry.

I had to put this photo in because it makes me laugh! I don't know what he was doing but the expression on his face is priceless!

We were all starving and decided to head here for lunch!

There was a bit of a wait, so we hung out together until a table was ready!

The kids were really good, coloring and entertaining each other until our food came. This is Bub's roller coaster! Pretty good, huh!

We had such a great time together! It is so wonderful to be able close enough for impromptu play dates!

Organize Shmorganize

2010-07-24T13:37:00.001-05:00

Don't you love an organized space? One that has everything in its place?

There is only one problem. To make one space clean and tidy...

It must first vomit its contents all over the adjoining areas...

And that totally defeats the purpose.

I'm going to attempt to tackle the mess. You may need to send help. And coffee. And maybe a Heath Bar.

Randomness

2010-07-23T08:14:00.005-05:00

Things on my mind...
1. I caught 2 mice in the last 24 hours. I wonder how many are in a litter(?) because they were both the same size and little. I wonder how many more are scampering around in the basement. Eww. The timing is ironic because we just got two kittens who will be outdoor kitties which we acquired hoping to control the vermin around here. Unfortunately they aren't big enough to do anything about the mouse situation, yet.*

*I googled "how many mice in a litter" and the answer is not good. 8-12. Mice. In my house. Probably. I need more traps.

2. One of the mice was in Lou's room stuck on a spider trap. I'm going to buy some more today at Lowe's. They apparently catch more than spiders.

3. It took me 4 hours to clean out and re-think the laundry room. I actually WANT to be in there now, so I guess it was time well spent. The laundry has really been backing up lately.

I think it is time for new photos!

4. I'm going to run a 10 mile race November 20th with Rockstar, Pop and some other family members who are crazy enough to join us. That being said, I think I better cut back on the calories. Mama likes to eat. Last year we ran the 2 mile. You can read about that fun, here.

5. There used to be wild flowers growing along the back tree line. Doc never mowed them because he new I liked them. They were yellow. Were. The landscaper who is saving our lawn from becoming a river every time it rains had to cut them down yesterday. I'm sad. It was like having fresh flowers from my hubby everyday when I looked out the window. But maybe we won't be able to tube through the yard next time it rains.

6. Speaking of tubing, we are going to the lake this weekend for a family get together. It should be fun, but I'm not much of a fan of 100 degree heat.

7. Cleaning out one section of the house inevitably leads to another. I have also cleaned out the pantry and have started on the storage room. The storage room is going to take a while.

8. The kids are crazy today and Doc is going on a pre-family gathering fishing trip tonight with my brother in law. May be a long day. How early is too early for bedtime?

9. I LOVE the photos that Rockstar took of our family. I put my favorite one in the laundry room to help me remember that when I am folding clothes and doing other chores, it speaks love to my honey and my babies.

10. My sister in law is awesome. I did some computer work for her and she cleaned my house. She loves to clean and organize. I love her to clean and organize. It works out well.

11. Today I am going to finish my pillows that were inspired by this post. I love them and they feel like I want my house to feel. Comfortable, cozy and cheery! The quilt is the front and the denim is the back! I got the quilt top at an antique store already put together. I love it when the hard work is done for you!

12. Farm Chick and EJ are leaving for take two of their cruise today. The first one was canceled while they waited at the airport. You can read that story here. Have fun, you two!!

Missing These Guys

2010-07-13T11:09:00.003-05:00

You Are Welcome For Cleaning Up Your Puke

2010-07-10T22:28:00.000-05:00

Sweet little Ladybug got a little tummy bug when we were at the farm last weekend. She threw up twice but then slept through the night and was fine the next day. I hoped it was just something she ate that didn't settle right.

Unfortunately, a few days later I realized that it was not just something she ate but rather, something contagious. Bub woke up from his nap glassy eyed and proceeded to puke twice and then 6 more times later in the evening. Now, the thing about Bub is that he is crazy but he has his moments of brilliance. He was sitting on a leather chair when he threw up the first time and actually held it in his mouth until I grabbed him a trashcan so as to avoid getting it on my chair. I'm sorry to share the details but considering what happened later with his sister, it is rather impressive.

Lou Lou had been at her cousins house playing and when her aunt brought her home she said that Lou had been complaining a little about her stomach hurting. Uh oh, I thought. You see, Lou is not a good puker. Seriously. She didn't throw up even once in her life until I was pregnant with SG, when she was 5. But she made up for lost time because she had eaten Spaghetti O's for dinner. Let me tell you, Spaghetti O's, the second time around, may be the worse kind of throw up to clean up. G.R.O.S.S.

Anyway, Lou went to bed and came up around midnight or so after having thrown up. "Did you throw up in the trashcan or the toilet?" I asked her.

"Weeelll," she said, "I kinda didn't make it."

So I go downstairs to assess the situation.

"Lou, what did you eat that was blue?" I asked, as I see the bright blue mess on the carpet (RIGHT NEXT TO THE TRASHCAN). Seriously. Right. next. to. the. trashcan.

"Um, a blue coconut slush from Sonic." she says.

Well, leave it to Lou to find the one thing WORSE than Spaghetti O's to eat before throwing up. Impressive. So, I shampooed the carpet and her dad changed her sheets and then we went back upstairs and fell into bed.

The next morning, I was TIRED. Very much. I stumbled out of bed to the sound of crazy yelling children and went into the kitchen to get them breakfast. Lou bounced up the stairs all happy and feeling better.

She looks at me and says, "MOM, you look tired. Like really tired. You have black circles under your eyes like you have a black eye."

I look at her in the eyes and say, "REeeALLY? Could that be because I spent part of my night cleaning up Blue Coconut Slush PUKE from your carpet instead of sleeping? Shut it."

And you are welcome.

Butterfly Palace: The Good Part

2010-07-08T22:03:00.003-05:00

Now the good part of the Butterfly Palace...
The kids were excited to see the butterflies!

The hunt was on with Tony leading the expedition!

Ladybug was on the search, too, but she was closer to the floor and noticed other things...

like these funny little birds that were running around everywhere!

The kids looked all around with their binoculars which they really didn't need considering....

they got an up close look at many butterflies!

And in some cases, a REALLY close look!

There were lots of different kinds of butterflies and the kids (and adults) thought it was pretty cool to see them fluttering around!

So, to the Butterfly Palace...

P.S. The butterfly part almost made up for the tragic 3D movie. Almost.

Butterfly Palace: The Bad Part

2010-06-21T09:34:00.003-05:00

Dear Butterfly Palace,
Taking into consideration the fact that it cost us sixty dollars to walk amongst your butterflies, I sincerely wish that you had put a disclaimer on your 3D movie that warns parents that the sweet little butterfly in the movie will be eaten at the end by the praying mantis. That knowledge could have helped me make a better choice for my 3 year old. Then, maybe, I could have avoided having to explain the fact that the praying mantis apparently does not enjoy eating the wings of the butterfly for lunch, only the body.

Sincerely,
The Unconventional Doctor's Wife

Lake Adventures

2010-06-17T09:30:00.007-05:00

Doc is in heaven! We have finally reached the point where our kids are old enough to get on a boat and do fun lake things without their mother being a wild eyed crazy protective nut.

This week we are spending time with our friends from Indiana! We rented a house in Branson and have been hanging out and enjoying the heck out of each other! Wednesday we rented a pontoon boat and of course took Doc's fish and ski boat and spent the day on the lake!

We had a blast swimming in the lake! Tablerock is such a nice clear lake that it doesn't freak me out so much to swim where I can see my feet! SG braved the water and actually swam around without holding on to anyone!

Even Ladybug braved the water and came swimming!

Pretty soon everyone was tired and ready to load back on the boat for a snack!

The little ones enjoyed riding on the pontoon boat and...

feeling the wind blow through their hair!

The bigger kids were out for adventure so they took turns testing out their mad tube riding skills!

They didn't mind when it wasn't their turn because they got to ride on the "fast boat"! Check out those speed demons on the front deck!

The kids had a blast and made good use of the hand signals (with the thumbs UP being the most frequently spotted...meaning GO FASTER!!!)

They would wave to their adoring fans as they sped past other boats!

In the afternoon, after a LONG while tubing, they started to get a little tuckered out!

They dropped like flies and took great naps on the pontoon boat under the shade!

Little did we know that we had an adventure waiting on us...

You see, there was this 40% chance of showers that actually ended up producing storms while we were on the lake! At first we thought we'd just see them go by...

but we quickly realized that we were going to experience them up close and personal.

We ended up at a marina (the What's Up Dock) where they were gracious enough to let our whole brood wait out the storm and have story time with Aunt Laura in the beer and oil section of the store! Lest you be judgmental of the half naked bud light ad in the background, I can truly say we were thankful for the shelter!

The guys spent the time looking out the window, pacing and checking the weather radar.

We ended up finding a window and quickly loading the boats and taking off towards the other end of the lake where our cars and house were! This is the last photo I have but let me tell you, the adventure was just getting started. I put my camera in a plastic bag so that it wouldn't get ruined!

We put the kids on the pontoon and Doc and Greg loaded up into the fish and ski and we took off. About 5 minutes out, Doc flagged us down and changed the plan. We loaded the three moms and all 9 kids up on the fish and ski and put the other two guys on the pontoon so that we could go faster. Doc sped across the lake as fast as that boat would go. We had pelting rain and scary clouds and kind of scared but VERY brave kids! We made it to the dock, unloaded the kids and loaded them up in the car and got them home and warm! I think it will be a story that will be told over and over again in summers to come!

Vegas Synopsis

2010-06-14T13:47:00.007-05:00

I realize that I never delivered on my promise to blog in Vegas (Thanks, to my cousin Carrie, for pointing that out)! So I thought I'd catch everyone up with the highlights! We stayed in the Palazzo which is the same hotel we stayed in the last time. Maybe that is boring but I'm the type of gal that finds something that works and sticks with it. Plus, I knew that there was an awesome spa there, too!

A little side note here...I found my calling. My dream career, if you will. So what if that means I would work at an airport. It would be worth it to work here...

We got to the hotel and checked in for a little relaxation. It is always cool to see the new sights of a new town. New faces, new places, that kind of thing!

Vegas is the ultimate in seeing unique sights! For example...Cher was playing at Caesar's. We had an up close look at some of her costumes. I think it would be really weird to have people stop to look at and take pictures of your clothes.

Then again...I think it would be really weird to have these babies hanging in your closet!

We stopped to drool over this... a real life guitar from the Joshua Tree tour signed by all the members of U2. Doc told me if we happened to win five grand, we were coming back to buy this baby! Needless to say...it is still in the store.

On the airplane ride, we watched a travel channel show on Vegas and they talked about the neon signs that they refurbished. We headed downtown to Freemont Street to check them out and see the new sites. We've never made it down there out of all the times we've been to Vegas!

We discovered some other interesting sights down there, too! For example...this dude who sculpts a bust of someone out of clay, on the spot! And really, who wouldn't want a bust of themselves if they looked like this guy with the flowing, long hair!

Also, I think Vegas is the only place that you would run across a showgirl posing with 2 brides while the two grooms take their photos.

And I saved the best for last. I've never seen anyone with toes so long. If only he had an opposable big toe....

So, there you go...the highlights from our trip! Or at least all the weird stuff. Hope you enjoyed!!

Inspiration

2010-06-01T23:45:00.000-05:00

Even after my Ralph Lauren post, I've still felt a little lost on the decorating front. I love the look of the rooms in that post, but it feels a little too wintry and heavy right now.

So I decided to randomly pick pictures that spoke to me. I mainly found them on the Country Living website because it is my FAVORITE magazine! I did collages because I wanted to see the big picture of all the images together. When I looked at the photos together, I realized that I love a neutral color palate with pops of red and yellow!

Love Is The Thing...

2010-05-30T17:54:00.007-05:00

Love is the thing that enables a woman to sing while she mops up the floor

after her husband has walked across it in his barn boots.

– ~Hoosier Farmer

Love is the thing that enables a woman to laugh while she pushes the
back of the lawn tractor after her husband gets it stuck in the mud.
- ~DW

Mama Needs a Break

2010-05-17T14:43:00.002-05:00

And she's gonna get one. We are going to Vegas!!!! Doc has a conference there this weekend and I have an appointment with the spa and the sunshine. The last time I got a break from Mommy duty and got some one on one time with my man was last August and I am THRILLED to get away!!

Grammy and Papa are watching the kids and I'm doing laundry and cleaning house so that everything will be prepared!

I'm planning on bringing my laptop and camera, hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in a few blog posts between hanging with Doc, napping and tanning! Sometimes I LOVE my life!!!!!

New House Decorating Thoughts

2010-05-14T09:05:00.011-05:00

So, we've gotten all moved in. At least all of our stuff is here. I now realize that the accessories and stuff that sat around my house in the small town doesn't do much for this house. That house was far more traditional having been built in the 1920's. This one is new, neutral and a big blank canvas. So I'm left with a clean slate and am trying to figure out where to go from here.

This house feels like it should sit on a lake. It is on 5 acres with a big sweeping window in the living room. Doc and I feel like it lends itself to a more "cabinish" or "lodgey" look but how do you do that without going overboard on the cheese factor. I don't want fishing poles hanging on the wall when we don't have a lake to fish in. You know, I want it to be us and real but still jive with the property and bones of the house.

I told Doc that I want it to look like Ralph Lauren. Classic America. A little of this....

A little of this (can you say juxtaposition, boys and girls)...

Mostly this...
And a dash of that...
Now, what does that translate into for decor? Well, fortunately the man also designs home decor!

Here is our starting point..

Entryway. Love the light fixture. Not crazy about the door but it works and it stays for now.

.

Here's the view in from the entryway...

And the dining room...

Now, here's what I've found from Mr. Lauren that inspires me...
1. leather chairs with red and black plaid (I also dig the wicker dining chairs)

2. Native American type tapestries (again lots of red)!

3. Leopard prints thrown in here and there

4. Pheasant feathers (we had one run across the front yard the other day!)

Now, does that sound like an odd mix or what? But I think it works! Weird, quirky and strangely classic.

Here's what we have going for us...

I'm thinking that I could change out the heavy plaid and tapestry look for quilts in the spring and summer with lighter and brighter colors. And also, we must have denim. I think it would work!

Oh, how my wheels are a turnin'.

I'm linking up to Melissa's Inspired Room. Go get inspired!

The New Normal

2010-05-08T08:35:00.005-05:00

You know when you have a major life change, like going to college, getting married or having a baby, there is a period of time when you miss the old life and are not quite comfortable in the new one. Then after a period of time you get settled in and reach what Birdie and I call "the new normal." It's that time when you realize that this is it. This is how things will be.

I think I've finally come to grips with the new normal.

We sold our old house. The timing could not have been any better. We closed 2 or 3 weeks after moving in here. So all that is behind us.

This house is starting to feel like home. My kids are playing frequently with the kids across the street. They are even getting bored (a sure sign that the newness is wearing off.) Doc mows the lawn and takes out the garbage. I have cleaned the bathrooms enough times that I'm starting to lose count. You know...we are doing normal things.

The best part of the new normal is when you realize, "Hey, this new life is going to be alright." I've been having more and more of those moments. I felt that way when we stopped by my sister-in-law's house on the way home from running errands, on a weeknight, and watched the kids play in the yard while sitting on the patio visiting. I feel that way every time I walk into a Target store...there are benefits to living in a bigger city (or at least in the country by the bigger city.) I felt that way when Doc laid his head on the pillow last night and said, "I love this place." And I'm sure I will feel that way when my in laws all come over for a Mother's Day celebration we will be hosting on Sunday.

I love those moments. They let me know I can breathe again.

Yesterday, I had a group of girls over (the bridesmaids from my sister's wedding) to make cupcakes for her shower. Grammy and Nana were also here and as I looked around in the chaos of the 10 children, (thanks PhoJo for being on kid duty) smelled the yummy aromas in the oven, saw beautiful pink cupcakes all lined up, and watched Lou Lou sprinkle sparkly sugar on the top, I felt thankful. Thankful that I now have a big open kitchen and living area to accommodate all these special people and a location close enough to be a meeting place and thought to myself, as Grammy often says,"This is good stuff."

I think I'm going to like it here.

Couldn't Have Said It Better...

2010-04-19T08:29:00.003-05:00

So I won't. Click here to here to see my former neighbor and forever friend, Kim's blog about us leaving the hood.

I promise I will start blogging again, soon! My new house is almost together enough to start living a normal life.

Excuses, excuses

2010-03-09T07:20:00.003-06:00

I know that I've been a less than consistent poster here lately but I really do have a couple dozen good excuses!

1. We are moving. That is, we hope it all works out. We waited 2 months to hear back on our offer as it is a short sale. Then after hearing back that they accepted our offer, we have to close by the 19th or be charged $50 a day. The thing is, it is kind of hard to close if the seller won't get his tukus out of the house because he's out of town on business, oh yeah, and by the way, he owes the neighbor lots of cash because they had a deal to share a pond and our seller apparently didn't pay his portion. Oh and the neighbor put a lien on the house, oh and the seller agreed to deed 2 acres of our property to the neighbor as payment but apparently wasn't going to tell us. I suppose he thought it would be our problem if we closed and didn't find out about it in time.

Details shmetails.

2. We have a rather large house, right now, which means an awful lot of packing.

3. We've lived in our house for 7 and 1/2 years and have accumulated a lot of (as Lou says)...C*R*A*P (because apparently a bad word isn't so bad if you just spell it.)

4. We have 4 children and home school our oldest.

5. We have 2 sons that are obsessed with dressing up in superhero/starwars character costumes which in and of itself isn't a problem. The problem is that I am picking up Darth Vader masks and Superman capes, light sabers and Spiderman's deflated body all day long when I'm supposed to be cleaning/packing.

6. SG has had a rash for almost a year that will NOT go away. It's a viral thing. Medicines so far haven't helped one iota. I know he will one day kill me for making that public knowledge but my point is that now we have to squeeze another doctor's appointment in today so that we can be referred to a dermatologist before we move and have to start the process of treatment all over with a new doctor in the big city.

7. Doc drives for a grand total of 2 hours and 20 minutes each day. That is a lot of time that could be used in other ways so it is a bit frustrating to him.

8. I'm sucked into my world of packing/cleaning out. Not a problem except that I am an all or nothing type of gal meaning if I'm ALL about packing, I'm doing NOTHING else...like laundry, or scrubbing toilets, etc. MUCH to Doc's chagrin. Poor guy. He did all the laundry this weekend because he's nice like that (and can multitask a little bit better than me, sometimes.)

9. The moving company lady came to the house yesterday. I told her that Doc's contract allowed for a certain dollar amount for moving expenses. She said we would be over that amount. We will be charged by weight on the truck so guess who will be doing a lot of heavy lifting. We will be shuttling the books, dishes, mirrors, mowers, and anything else that might be a bit on the heavy side. At least we don't have to move the furniture.

10. We are setting things aside for a MASSIVE garage sale. I detest garage sales.

11. McDonalds had the audacity to put Star Wars toys in its Happy Meals. Random, I know, but this now has "forced" me to purchase exactly 3 Happy Meals at least 2 times a week to avoid a mutiny. ("PUHLEEEESE, can't we just have Happy Meals today for lunch, PUHLEEEESE?")

In the interest of time and pure boredom on your part, I'll keep the rest of the excuses to myself. Just keep us in your prayers. Especially that our house here would sell quickly.

I promise I'll post more when I get a chance!

Tough Firemen

2010-02-22T08:20:00.001-06:00

We took a family outing to the Home Show in the big city. The highlight for the kids was the display by the Wichita Fire Department. The kids got to climb all over the fire truck, hang out with the heroes themselves and best of all, dress up like a fireman.

The guys had their gear set out and helped the kids get all decked out.

Bub was first.

The fireman had to shorten the suspenders just a bit!

Then it was SG's turn.

He put hoods on them and then told Lou to hold SG so he didn't fall over. The boots were up to his upper thighs!

SG watched intently as the fireman told them all about why he wears each piece of clothing.

Then it was his turn to get decked out.

When they were all dressed, he told them to make their best.....

tough fire fighter face.

Their faces made one REAL tough fire fighter crack up!

The boys were thrilled and we were really impressed with how kind and patient the guys were, explaining everything to our kids! Thanks to the Wichita Fire Department! You guys did a great job (especially our special teacher featured in these photos! I wish I had paid attention to your name! You rock!)

As If Candy Isn't Sweet Enough

2010-02-20T08:08:00.000-06:00

A while back, I was making cinnamon rolls and I got to the part where you sprinkle sugar on the dough. I went to the cabinet, got out my sugar container and got ready to make some tasty rolls.

At first I thought I had a real problem with bad sugar.

Then I realized there was a bad problem...but not with the sugar.

The problem was that a naughty little Bub can't get enough sweets.

Apparently the candy wasn't sweet enough on its own. The kid has a killer sweet tooth. We may have to check him into rehab.

A Real Life Mystery

2010-02-19T07:40:00.005-06:00

Lou Lou loves reading Nancy Drew, so you can imagine her excitement when we discovered we had a real life mystery on our hands. I was putting some stuff away in Bub's closet and noticed a little box in the corner. I had been in that closet several times and had never noticed it!

It looked like a jewelry box. I opened it to find this inside...

A little wedding ring. And I mean little. Here it is compared to mine which is a size 6, so you can see that it was meant for someone with tiny hands!

Here it is on little Lou's hand. What fun to try on a real life wedding ring that almost fits you when you are 8!

So here's the mystery. Where did the ring come from? Why was it left in the closet. And who was Marsha? And why isn't the ring still gracing her tiny finger?

Grammy came up with a wonderful theory! She guessed that the ring was someone's first ring and she "upgraded" to a bigger diamond. She probably put the ring back in its original box,taped the top to the bottom, wrote "Marsha" on it and put it aside for this Marsha person. Somewhere along the line, it was forgotten.

I think it sounds like a great story!

The box appears to be from the 70's. It is similar to Grammy's wedding ring box that was purchased in the 70's, too. If I'm able to locate its owner I'll be sure to let you know!

I Am In Auntie Heaven

2010-01-19T11:11:00.000-06:00

As most of you know, my sister, Rockstar, just had a gorgeous baby girl in December. Last night, we got to welcome another brand new addition to the family. EJ and Farm Chick are in the process of adopting a precious baby boy. He came home from the hospital on Sunday and his adoption will be finalized in about a month.

I call them "Money Penny" and "Q". If you are a Bond fan, you know the references.

They are both precious, perfect additions to our family and now you know why I'm in Auntie Heaven! Love. I'm just in love and I don't care who knows it. Seriously.

Just Like Grandma's Biscuits

2010-01-18T13:40:00.002-06:00

When I was a kid, we'd go to my grandparents' house (on my Dad's side). Among all the reasons we loved to go there, my sisters and I would look forward to my Grandma's cooking...specifically her breakfasts! She made a little dish called Biscuits and Chocolate Gravy. She would also serve Sausage Gravy and eggs, too, but her biscuits were out of this world!

I must put a little note here...I don't have my Grandma's exact recipe. This is as close as I can get without having her's written down. Now, my aunts can make mean biscuits, too, and I need to ask them if I'm missing anything but, they taste the same to me, so I'm happy!

Without further ado....

(The full recipe is at the end of the post!)

Preheat the oven...

It is much easier to measure with these handy, dandy blocks of Crisco. I always use these! One block is a cup. Cut 2/3 of a cup and set it aside.

Then cut the 1/3 cup piece in half again. Set the little blocks aside for use later.

Add 4 cups of self-rising flour in a large bowl.

Add 1 Tablespoon of baking powder to the self-rising flour.

Stir the dry ingredients together.

Add the 2/3 C. block of Crisco into the flour and cut in using a pastry cutter or forks.

Continue to cut it in until the mixture is uniform in texture...

and looks like this.

Then add 2 C. of buttermilk.

Stir the ingredients together with a spoon until it comes together...

and looks like this.

Then dump the mixture out onto a lightly floured counter top.

Gently knead the biscuit dough until it comes together and incorporates all the dry bits and pieces and looks uniform (but don't overdo it!)

It should look about like this...

Now, take a break from the biscuits and pull out your cast iron skillet...you do have a cast iron skillet don't you?! Put one of the little pieces of Crisco in the skillet and...

melt it in the oven while you finish your biscuits.

Back to the biscuits...take your rolling pin and roll out the dough to about 1 inch thickness.

Using a biscuit cutter or glass rim, cut out the biscuits.

When you can't cut anymore, squish your left over dough together and...

roll it out again until you use up all the biscuit dough.

Now, take the skillet out with the melted Crisco and bring it over by your biscuits.

Put a biscuit into the Crisco and then...

flip it over and dip the other side in the melted Crisco.

Continue with the process until you fill up the skillet with biscuits.

Then put them in the oven...

for 11 minutes! When that timer goes off, pull those babies out of the oven.

Have a plate waiting...

and turn them out of the skillet onto the plate. Now, I'm sure they taste just as good if you just take them out and put them on a plate right side up but this is how my Grandma did it and so I do it that way, too!

Now, you want to take the skillet, put the other small piece of Crisco in to melt and start the process over with the other half of unbaked biscuits that have been waiting patiently.

Once you get the other batch in the oven, break open your fresh baked biscuits and enjoy!

And if you are really wanting a treat, whip up some of Grandma's Chocolate Gravy to go on the top of those yummy biscuits! For that recipe click here!

Just Like Grandma's Bicuits

4 C. self-rising flour
1T. baking powder
2/3 C. Crisco
2 C. buttermilk
1/3 C. Crisco (cut in half)

Preheat oven to 425. Stir together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut in 2/3 C. Crisco until flour mixture has a "mealy" texture. Add 2 C. buttermilk and stir until mixture is moistened. Melt 1/6 C. Crisco in cast iron skillet in oven. Turn out biscuit mixture onto lightly floured counter top and lightly knead until uniform in texture. Roll out dough to 1" thickness and cut biscuits out. Take skillet out of oven and dip both sides of biscuits into the melted Crisco. Arrange biscuits in skillet with sides touching and bake for 11 minutes.

Chocolate Gravy Goodness

2010-01-18T13:38:00.002-06:00

Along with my Grandma's biscuits, she would serve Chocolate Gravy! Most people snarl their nose up and think it sounds gross...until they try it! It is really easy and really rich!

Here are the ingredients. (The recipe is typed out at the end of the post!)

First, add 3 Tablespoons of cocoa powder to a medium sauce pan.

Next, add 3 Tablespoons of flour.

Then a cup of sugar.

Stir all the dry ingredients together...

until it is uniform in color and texture.

Then add 2 cups of milk...

and stir.

Once you have everything stirred, turn on the heat to medium and keep stirring. It will go from this consistency...

to this consistency...

to this.

Once it is nice and smooth, it will thicken up. You will know it is done when it is thick enough to coat a spoon like this...

Take your Chocolate Gravy and pour it over buttered biscuits. (For the best biscuits ever, make these!)

Admire your work and hope you can get a bite before...

someone steals your plate and devours it!

Chocolate Gravy

3 Tbs. cocoa powder
3 Tbs. flour
1 C. sugar
2 C. milk

Add dry ingredients to a sauce pan. Stir until uniform in color and texture. Add milk and stir. Turn on stove to medium and stir (approx. 10 minutes) until it is smooth and thick enough to cover a spoon.

Putting Things in Perspective

2010-01-14T08:11:00.005-06:00

We made an offer on a house on December 14th. We still have not heard a response from the mortgage company that "holds the power". It is a messy situation and is requiring more patience than I usually can muster. Immediate gratification is my middle name. Even through all this God is working. He's telling me that he has it all under control and is working it out for our best. He's also trying to teach me that I need to grow a little in the patience department.

I learned a very effective lesson last night. I have been struggling to take my thoughts captive and not be irritated about "our" house and then I found out that some of our friends from Indiana, Tony and Kristin, have a sister-in-law that landed in Haiti for a missions trip on Monday. As you all know by now, there was 7.0 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday and Colleen nor anyone in her group have had contact with their families since before the quake. All their families can do is wait. My Mom said, "Sometimes waiting can be a form of suffering." I think that is true in their situation. I can't even imagine the uncertainty and helplessness of having no way of knowing if your loved one is ok or not.

Suddenly waiting to hear about a house doesn't seem so painful.

Please pray that they are alright and that they will find a way to contact their families soon.

UPDATE: THE GROUP WAS FOUND TO BE SAFE AND SOUND AND HAD EXITED THE BUILDING THEY WERE IN JUST MINUTES BEFORE IT COLLAPSED! WE ARE THANKING GOD FOR THEIR SAFETY AND FOR PROVIDING INFORMATION ON THEIR WHEREABOUTS!

One More Use for Duct Tape

2010-01-12T05:00:00.002-06:00

Ask any man about duct and you'll hear something about how it can fix anything.

I am now a believer.
It started with a little trouble maker we call Ladybug. She started taking her pants off when she woke up in the morning and then if we didn't hear that she was awake and get her out of bed fast enough...everything else came off, too.

After some trial and error, we discovered that two pieces of duct tape, strategically placed could stop her derobing. Now it is just a part of her before bed routine.

The duct tape is her friend. She asks to play with the "tape."

She gets very upset when I take the tape away and actually USE the tape.

I tell her, "Ladybug, let me use the tape and then I'll let you hold it."

I have to give her a piece to play with appease her.

This is the fully duct taped Ladybug, ready for bed.

The only way that I can get her to forget about the tape is to trade her for her "bear" (Yes, I am fully aware it is really a lamb but I cannot convince Ladybug that it is anything BUT a bear! So "bear" it is.)

She may also require her "bankie" for a fair trade. That duct tape is worth a lot, you know.

Once the trades have been completed and all parties are satisfied, she can finally be tucked in!

We really should write the makers of duct tape a thank you note. Seriously. It has saved us the trauma and drama of cleaning up further unsightly (and majorly stinky) diapie messes! It really can fix anything!

Too Cold To Go Out

2010-01-10T16:17:00.008-06:00

On Friday, it was REALLY cold (like a windchill of -14 cold). I had determined that there was no way that we were leaving the walls of our house but at 10 in the morning we hit a wall of boredom.

School was done.

We had already watched Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs.

And the only other "project" type thing to do was put away all the Christmas decor, which didn't sound fun at all.

So I pulled up an online project from Cheeky Magpie and we went to town making crowns.

Although we had our problems...

namely a little Ladybug playing with a black ink pad...

the final products turned out awesome!

They spent the whole rest of the day playing prince and princess (and superman prince).

And it all concluded with a ball before nap time!

After they were all tucked into bed for a royal snooze, it was quiet and peaceful and then I realized that the maid better get to work...

because there was a ROYAL mess.

I guess it was a small price to pay for all the fun!

Inspiring Gift

2010-01-05T05:00:00.001-06:00

This is my inspiring gift from Birdie! I think I have written more handwritten notes since I got this little goodie box of note cards than in the last year combined! Can you believe she found paper clips to match!? It's the little things! I just love it!

Creative Tattling

2010-01-04T22:00:00.000-06:00

You may remember that SG has a penchant for creative tattling. I discovered this when I downloaded pictures from my camera last January and you can see the evidence here. So I was not surprised when I downloaded the most recent batch of pictures and found this series of photos...

I assume that this was the last photo that SG took before Bub realized that the gig was up. It must have been just after he bailed off the countertop.

I can just imagine him turning around to SG taking this photo....

Realizing he had been caught red handed and there was evidence...

He fled the scene of the crime!

So...I think SG has a portfolio started on my hard drive if, when he grows up, he wants to be:
a. a private investigator or
b. a paparazzi

Which may be better than Bub's apparent career path of
a. a burglar or
b. a competitive ice cream eater

I'm so proud.

Happy Christmas Memories

2010-01-03T14:03:00.002-06:00

New Year Wishes

2009-12-31T05:32:00.002-06:00

As we bid goodbye to 2009...

And step into a new year...

From our family to yours...HAPPY NEW YEAR! May God's abundant love and blessings be poured out upon you in the coming year!

Peace,
The Unconventional Family

My Wish for You

2009-12-24T10:19:00.002-06:00

On this Christmas Eve day, I wanted to share our family photo that went out in our Christmas cards. My sister, Rock star, took these photos at Four Sisters Farm in the fall. She is an amazing photographer!

What I really wanted to share with you is that I have realized that everything does not need to be perfect. In fact, there is more beauty in being "real" than having everything appear perfect. I missed out on some opportunities to make impromptu memories with my kids this month because I was too busy working on things to make Christmas perfect. How ironic.

Don't get me wrong, we had fun...lots of fun! We did lots of activities together and spent time with family and all that good stuff, but I know that I missed the mark on a couple things.

As I was looking through the photos for the picture above, I came across the ones below. They are PERFECTLY IMPERFECT. When I look at these, I see joy, love, silliness, orneriness, and us. Perfectly imperfect us. And I wanted to share them with you and tell you that I hope your Christmas is full of YOU...not the you, you want everyone to see or think you are, but the REAL YOU and your perfectly imperfect family.

It is my hope to keep my focus on this...
James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above...

Notice it doesn't say every good and perfect gift is from ME. I am incapable of perfection but I can love and be loved and revel in that fellowship with my family and that is what I plan to do and that is my prayer for you this Christmas,that you would set aside the drive for a perfect Christmas and enjoy loving and being loved, especially by God who sent His son who is, of course, the reason for the season!

WE MET PW. Fo Rizzle.

2009-11-28T18:16:00.012-06:00

Today, me (UDW) and two of my sisters...

Farm Chick...

and Pretty Princess, loaded up in the car and headed South.

Destination: Brace Books in Ponca City, OK.
Mission: To meet Ree Drummond and obtain her autograph in our nice and shiny new copies of her awesome cookbook.

We decided to get there early for two reasons. First, we did not want to be at the end of the line and wait for hours in a line to get a chance to meet her (although, we probably would have) and second, there is a coffee bar in the bookstore.

The Brace Bookstore was brilliant. They handed out these nifty numbers and everyone shopped and milled around until their number got close and then got in a short line to meet Ree. It was much better than waiting and getting irritated at line cutters and place savers.

I might add that it was also a brilliant marketing move for the bookstore. The women passed the time browsing books, picking out Christmas presents and drinking coffee, in short, spending money that would have stayed in their pockets if they had been forced to stay in a line! Bravo, Brace, Bravo!

While we hung out, I jotted a note to Ree, just thanking her for making my morning coffee a much more entertaining experience because I get to read her blog!

Then, I stuck it with a little package of LOVE cookies and a cookbook that has our family recipe for the cookies in it! Pretty Princess said I was bordering on being a crazy fan by bringing her a present. If bringing people love cookies is crazy, break out the straight jacket, I'm certifiable. I say, "Spread the LOVE people!"

Farm Chick was anxiously waiting!!! Finally, Ree entered the building! She is just as charming in person as I imagined!

We got a kick out of watching people. The guy there in the ball cap didn't seem like a typical PW fan but upon further observation, I noticed that indeed, he was toting around a couple of copies of the cookbook.

I had to giggle when he (and his wife) got their turn to talk to Ree. He told her, "I'm missin' an important ballgame right now."

Which reminds me, to pass the time (and admittedly, to amuse ourselves), we decided to write down the crazy things we overheard, including...

(Things said to Ree...)
"I made your Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti last night. We cook just like you do!"

"I found a typo."

"If I'd have realized you were going to be here, I'd have brought the 3 cookbooks I have at home!"

(Things said by women standing in line...)
"My nervous peeing will probably kick in when I get up there."

"I just went in the basement and started drinking."

(Don't ask about that last one. I don't know.)

Anyway, back to the book signing, someone brought out the big guns...two babies (which is Ree's weakness) dressed in her honor. Notice the P and W on their shirts. Way too cute!

Their socks alone were too sweet.

Really, whoever came up with those little socks that look like shoes...just precious.

When it was our turn to get in line, we passed the time playing with the toys on the wall. There is nothing like a good Viking hat. Everyone should have one.

Farm Chick was surprised by a little tug on her hair.

Princess thought it was stinkin' funny to be able to pull her older sister's hair from a distance. If only we had, had this toy when we were kids!

It doesn't take much for us to entertain ourselves. Sad. I know. At this time you may want to say a little prayer for our significant others who have to deal with our cheap humor all the time.

Finally, we got to the front of the line!

Ree was awesome and signed our multiple copies of her book. She chit chatted with us about our families and sent her best to our missing sister, Rockstar, who is about to deliver our little niecey pants any day now and couldn't make the trip!

Ree also brought along her oldest punk! I was so impressed with her grace and poise! She seemed comfortable visiting with crazy women, who love her Mom, and graciously signed the page with her photo in our cookbooks!

She also put up with us making her take a picture with us! So sweet!

So, thanks to Ree for writing an awesome cookbook and giving us an excuse for a girls day out!

We did indeed "Enjoy!" and I'm sure we will continue to do so every time we cook one of her recipes!

GET IT OUT....

2009-11-20T07:42:00.005-06:00

The same afternoon that we enjoyed the family togetherness from my previous post, I took this photo...

It reminded me of another moth encounter...
Two summers ago, we were vacationing with our residency friends, in Tennessee, at a vacation home. Doc and I went out to the car to get some stuff, late one night. On the way back inside, Doc suddenly stopped in his tracks and started yelling and shaking his head furiously. He shouted to me, GET IT OUT!!!!

Now, it is a little known fact that I struggle with a severe case of Inappropriate Laughter Syndrome. It just jumps on me and is uncontrollable at the most inopportune times. Turning around and seeing Doc jumping up and down, banging his hand on the side of his head and then shaking it furiously like he was a man possessed, triggered a laughing attack like none I'd ever had. As you can imagine, the laughing did not help. It made Doc even more aggravated which in turn made me laugh even harder.

Finally, he said, "HELP ME...A MOTH FLEW INTO MY EAR!!!" Fortunately, among our friends that were there, 3 of the 4 were also doctors. I ran in and got our friend Kristin out of bed...

Me: "Kristin,(haaaahaaah) are you awake? (haaahaaa)"
K: "Yeah."
Me: "(Haa Haaa) Doc, he (hhaaa haaaaaaa) has a moth (hhaaaa) in his (heeheeeee) ear. He needs help to get it out! (HHHHHAAAAAAHAHhAAA)"

Doc had made his way to where we were, by this time. Kristin hopped out of bed and found some tweezers. She reached into his ear with the tweezers to try to extract the moth but unfortunately when the tweezers touched the moth, it sent it into a flurry of wing flapping against Doc's ear drum. Doc yelled, "IT DOESN'T LIKE THAAATT!!!!" which made me laugh even harder. By this time, Kristin was trying to control the laughter, as well.

Kristin told us that the tweezer method wasn't going to work. "If I were in the ER and saw this, I'd use a syringe to flush it out," she said. Tony, Kristin's hubby, came out of the bedroom and we started rummaging through the closet. He found a first aid kit on the top shelf. By some miracle, there happened to be a syringe in the kit.

We made our way into the kitchen where Kristin filled the syringe with water and squirted it into Doc's ear a couple of times until the moth moved out enough to get a good hold on it with the tweezers. She slowly removed the moth, who was wet and maybe a little bit waxy, but still flapping like mad.

Doc was so relieved and could finally join us in our amusement at the situation. Seriously, how often do you see a moth fly straight into someone's ear! How weird is that?!

Enjoying Fall Family Moments

2009-11-18T07:20:00.009-06:00

Last month we raked and played in the "North Yard" (which is a phrase that must be uttered with a fancy southern accent) on a beautiful fall afternoon. Everyone who was anyone was there. Bub in all his "safety first" gear, Buzz Lightyear, the very fashionable Lou Lou, and little Ladybug!

Doc gave the kids underdog pushes, free of charge, on the tire swing.

SG was brave and swung higher than ever before! Can't you just see the delight on his face?!

Ladybug got miffed that Daddy wasn't paying attention to her. So she came to me to complain because it is a well known fact that Mommies can fix anything and make Daddies do the right thing.

I called out to Daddy and he came running in to save his princess from despair!

She already knows that she has Daddy wrapped around her little finger.

She was Daddy's girl until he decided it might be fun to let Ladybug "jump" into the leaves.

He did not quite get the response he was expecting. "What? You don't like the leaves, Ladybug?" Apparently he had forgotten rule number one in Ladybug's world "NO ICKY." Leaves equal ICKY on her clothes!

Mommy got to save the day. I brushed all the leaves off and gave her a squeeze and smooch. I am definitely enjoying this phase. I know from experience that the chubby little baby running to me will, all too, soon stretch up and become a long legged young lady. I'm relishing this phase with my last baby!

A Really Annoying Problem

2009-11-12T08:08:00.005-06:00

Ladybug is a girlie girl. She loves purses, hats, sunglasses and dresses. She does not love being dirty.

That aversion led to a very annoying situation at the pumpkin patch.

There was a lot of hay. Now the hay was meant for good, to cushion little bodies from falls in the playground areas...

But it sure was annoying to Ladybug when it got stuck on her clothes!

I bet I heard the word "Icky" 75 times during the hour we played on the playground.

"Mama, icky. Icky, Mama." And it was very important that she did not throw the pesky hay back on the ground with the other hay because it might find its way back onto her pants. So I would take each piece of dirty, icky hay she handed me...

and wait until she wasn't looking before tossing it back in the pile! Poor little Ladybug. If she only knew the betrayal....

Pumpkin Patch Fun

2009-11-11T07:38:00.009-06:00

Because I haven't had time to blog lately, I thought I'd better catch up a little! So travel with me back to October....
We met the home school group from our area at a Cox Farms in Wichita!

There was a menagerie of animals, much to the delight of Bub and Lou Lou...

and much to the dismay of Ladybug who thought the Llama looked vicious and clung to me every time she caught a glimpse of it!

Birdie and her kids were there too! She helped Lou get used to the idea of feeding the goat out of her hand. She really loves Lou. She must to get her hands slobbered on by a farm animal.

I think the next thing out of Birdie's mouth was, "WHERE'S A WIPE AND THE HAND SANITIZER?"

After petting and being slobbered on by the animals, the kids headed over to pick out their pumpkins.

Then, because boys are weird, they took the opportunity to pretend like they were gorillas at the pumpkin patch.

After being slobbered on, picking out pumpkins, and turning into wild animals, we took a hayride around to the corn maze!

Now, the corn maze was big. The man in charge said it would take about an hour to go through and being the realistic mother I am, I decided to let Lou go with her girlfriends. I didn't really think that an hour of being lost amongst plants would be real fun. I was picturing trying to keep up with an adventurous five year old while carrying a tired 3 year old and 18 month old on each hip. Call me crazy. It just wasn't that appealing.

So the four of us headed to the playground! Well, five, if you count R2D2 who (of course) needed to come to the pumpkin patch with us.

Bub met a new challenge. He loves challenges. The boy needs adventure like I need coffee.

I will say that he was a bit intimidated at first. He asked me to come catch him. It's nice to be needed, even if it is only for the first slide.

After that, he went up and down that thing for the next hour non- stop except for the occassional King of the Mountain display of power on the hay bales!

Someone else was King of the Mountain, too. Never you mind that her mountain was a wee bit shorter!

We managed to squeeze every little bit of fun out of the morning and Lou's pretty face appeared out of the corn maze just as it started misting. Fortunately, we got loaded up before it really let loose and started pouring! What a great day!

Lou's Trip to the Dentist

2009-10-29T09:33:00.005-05:00

Lou has a lot of big teeth and a little mouth in which they are all supposed to live. Unfortunately, she had to have two baby teeth removed because the big teeth came in behind them instead of under them. Thankfully her dad was able to take her. I do not do well with teeth. Seriously. I can clean up poo or vomit all day long. I can deal with blood, scrapes and hangnails but if you show me a wiggly tooth, I'm nauseated. I know it's weird. I think I remember the feeling so vividly from when I was a kid and had loose teeth that the memory comes rushing back. I hated having loose teeth. Liked the tooth fairy money but not the feeling of having a body part loose and hanging by a thread. (Insert willies here.)

Anyway, here's the after shot...

and the close up!

She was a champ and back to her usual perky self by the afternoon!

An AWESOME weekend: Sunday

2009-10-24T08:07:00.000-05:00

Sunday was a bit of a difficult day. We didn't realized that we had left Doc's keys with Grammy (my mom) at the farm. So we spent part of Sunday morning looking for them. That's always a frustrating thing to have happen. We were headed to Norman, Oklahoma for the U2 concert which was a long time dream come true! We decided to get the keys when we returned. So we loaded up Grammy and Papa's (Doc's parents) vehicle with some stuff to drop off at home on our way south into Oklahoma. Unfortunately, we realized after we got all the way home (an hour away) that I had left my keys and my truck for Grammy and Papa to drive with the kids' car seats in it. So, we had no set of keys and thus...NO HOUSE KEY! It is a pretty sad state of affairs when you have to break into your own home.

We managed to break and enter and get the things we needed. Then we were off to Oklahoma. The trip went well until we got into Oklahoma City. That is where we ran into the traffic jam from beyond. It was one of those traffic jams that takes about an hour to get 10 miles and then when you reach the area causing all the problems, you realize it is just a little road work and should not be such a problem except that people are stupid and drive like they have no brain. After that, we were headed south and ran into more road work (read traffic jams) through the town of Moore, OK.

Now normally this wouldn't have been such a big deal but like I said...the night was all about making Doc's dream come true and there seemed to be road blocks popping up everywhere.

We made it to our hotel, checked in really quick, threw our luggage in our room and headed off to the Oklahoma University campus. Fortunately, we had some real time advice on where to park via facebook (thanks Jennifer)! We didn't have time to eat, so we had to settle for a pizza at the stadium. After literally fighting our way through the crowds, we found our seats in Section 28!

We settled in to listen to the opening act...The Black Eyed Peas. My apology to Fergie for the bad picture. She really is pretty!

After the Peas got the crowd warmed up, we all waited for the stage change and the main attraction!

The stage set up was awesome. It was a 360 degree stage set in the middle of the football field! As Bono said, they were going for "intimacy on on grand scale" with the design!

People were very excited and waited breathlessly for U2 to appear!

Finally...the screen lit up and then the stadium went dark as the show began!

They put on a great show, probably one of the best live concert experiences you can possible have! They are just as awesome, if not better, live!

This is the face of one HAPPY man! How could he not be with Bono singing right in front of him!

One of the things I like most about U2 is that they seem to be one of the few bands that really take their fame as a responsibility. They understand that with the blessings come opportunity to inform people and inspire change. They preach it in their music and they live it with their lives.

They try to bring awareness to injustices around the world. This screen showed a photo of Aung San Suu Kyi who was elected Burma's leader in 1990. She was placed on house arrest and kept from taking power. She has been detained most of the time since 1990.

We had the most awesome time ever. It was one of the few experiences where the actual experience is even better than the anticipation and expectation!

An AWESOME weekend: Saturday

2009-10-20T15:01:00.006-05:00

We had the best weekend last weekend! It started off Saturday morning at Four Sister's Farm with a Fall Party! We ate a delicious breakfast and then our kids and all the nephews (soon to be one niece in December) dressed up in their Halloween costumes for a parade! The Unconventionals were Star Wars characters!

Lou Lou was a good sport and led the dancing, party parade in front of the house for the grandparents to watch!

Pop, Romeo and EJ built this awesome hayrack ride trailer and Pop was excited to take everyone on a ride!!!

It was a well built, sturdy trailer...we had 28 people loaded on there! It was awesome!

Our hay ride around the farm ended with a stop at the pumpkin patch! Unfortunately we had to "import" pumpkins because a nasty swarm of bugs got a hold of the ones that were growing in the patch!

Farm Chick had decorated all the pumpkins for the kids. They were delighted with their pumpkin animals!

After the Fall Party, we broke into another party...a birthday party for the Unconventional boys...guess what the theme was??

It was a fabulous day! MANY thanks to the Farmers, Pop and Grammy, Pretty Princess and Romeo who all pitched in to throw the best Fall Party ever!!!! Also, thanks to Farm Chick for graciously allowing us to bring a birthday party with us! I love our family!!!!

A Night Out And A Fresh Perspective

2009-10-05T14:51:00.006-05:00

Blessings are everywhere in my life. Sometimes I choose to focus on them and sometimes I'm so stuck in the muck and mire that I can't see past myself long enough to focus on them. I love it when God so blatantly gives you a blessing that you can't deny its existence. Usually I've noticed that it is worked out through a series of circumstances that are obviously not a coincidence. That happened to us this weekend. Doc and I were wanting to go out on a date on Saturday.

We had nothing in mind but usually we go see a movie or get dinner or something local. I texted our babysitter on Friday and asked if she was free. She was and so I called Doc and told him we had a green light to go out. He stopped on the way home and picked up a "Big City" paper and brought it home. We looked through it and discovered that "randomly" one of our favorite authors, Donald Miller was going to be in the city speaking about his new book. Birdie introduced me to Blue Like Jazz and Doc loved it just as much as I did. We were stoked to hear him!

It was not only a happy coincidence that he just happened to be speaking in our city and it happened to be a time when we had already decided to go on a date. And we both were excited about it even though it meant Doc would have to drive to the city on a Saturday when he already did it the five days before for work. It was a blessing! I knew that God had things in mind for us to hear!

We showed up at a little theater that we didn't know existed and joined the ranks of listeners in the most diverse group of believers that I'd ever seen. I mean dudes with spiky hair and tattoos sitting next to little gray haired grannys. There were well dressed business types and teenage girls so conservative that they had head coverings on. I looked around and thought, "So...this must be a little sample of Heaven only multiplied exponentially!" It was really cool! We were all gathered to hear about this book and ultimately had one thing in common...our Father!

Long story, short...Donald Miller was funny, engaging, and very thought provoking. Basically his book is about his life after he wrote Blue Like Jazz. He had fulfilled all his previous goals for himself including having a book on the best sellers list. Now what...he felt he should have been happy and fulfilled but didn't know what to do with himself. It took a guy who wanted to turn his book into a movie and going through an editing process to discover that he wanted his life to be a really good story. What did that mean? How should he go about writing it? What makes up a great story.

Miller applied his life lessons to our lives. We don't have to settle for a life that is less than a page turner. God has written us into existence and has great things as possibilities for us. What are we going to do with all that potential?

Needless to say, his talk and his books are infinitely more entertaining and thought provoking than my little description but we were blessed to be there and to meet him in person!

At the risk of sounding a little too much like Reading Rainbow...next time you are looking for something to read, please check out one of Donald Miller's books. They have really given me a lot of things to think about while making me laugh out loud!

Star Wars: The Current Obsession

2009-09-26T08:24:00.005-05:00

The kids were introduced to Star Wars at an early age but the boys are just now grasping the depth of coolness that is Star Wars. They are going to have a Star Wars birthday party in October. They are dressing up for Halloween as Darth Vader and Yoda. Anything with Star Wars on it is the ultimate cool. We found Bub this shirt at Old Navy and he was in hog heaven...

Southern Gentleman may be taking things a little too far with his obsession. We made the mistake of buying his Halloween costume early and he tried it on when we got home. Since then, the Yoda hat has become part of his daily apparel.

Since he is my 3rd kid and I've already discovered that I'm not the perfect parent and never will be, I allow him to do things I would never have allowed Lou to do. Like go to Wal-Mart in a Yoda hat...

I got more than a few strange looks but at least he made some people laugh and brightened their day!

Yoda checked out the vitamins (I wondered if he was feeling bad...he did look a little green) and then he checked out the toys.

Then he moved on to the books. He looked and looked but couldn't find exactly what he was looking for until...

He finally hit the jackpot.

So...how many days until Halloween?

How Can You Keep A Straight Face?

2009-09-24T19:19:00.000-05:00

First I smile...

then I get that warm fuzzy feeling...

then I giggle...

and laugh...

until my sides hurt.

Seriously.

The Common Neighborhood Occurence

2009-09-23T19:00:00.001-05:00

This is a common occurrence at my house. I see this almost daily...my crazy boy standing on the curb, yelling towards the house across the street.

Usually the kids that live there are standing on the curb yelling back and let me tell you, it is a real bummer not to be old enough to cross the street by yourself when your buddy is over there on the other side!

This particular day, I couldn't see who he was yelling to...until I looked a little closer and heard Bub yell...

"HEY, ASK YOUR MOM IF YOU CAN COME OUT AND PLAY!!!!"