New link...

Notice the new link to the right?

I started a "photo a day blog" for the last 306 days in 2008.

Log on tomorrow for numero uno.

I will post a pic a day, I will post a pic a day, I will...

Leap baby...

Well...almost.

Forrest was born on March 1, 1994. Had he been born in '92 (which would have made me 14...as if 16 wasn't bad enough) or in '96, he would have been a Leap Baby.

Every year, we have the "How old would I be if I were born on a leap year" conversation.

Hmm...he would be 3 or 4 this year.

That would explain a lot.

She's got a point...

Background: Cammie is obsessed with why God "gave" us things (and death, but that's a story for another day). She is constantly asking us why God wanted us to name her Cammie, why God chose Forrest to be her brother, why He wants us to live in this house, why He gave her freckles...and on and on and on.

Today...in the car... Cammie is wearing a blue hoodie sweatshirt that she forgot that she owned. It has little flowers embroidered all over it, and she loves it.

She says "God gave me this hoodie because He loves me and wanted me to have it, right"?

I say "Welllll, no baby. Mommy got you that sweatshirt because she thought you would look cute in it". (In my mind, I was thinking that technically He gave us the funds to purchase the sweatshirt, but I wasn't realy in the mood to get into the in depth discussion that was sure to follow if I mentioned that).

Chloe says "Actually, He did. He gave us the cotton that made her hoodie".

How clever is she?

Snow day...

The kids were excited to wake up and hear that they were out of school for the day.

Cammie loved watching the snow from inside the warm, dry house. Forrest is really the only one who enjoys romping around in the frigid air with snow dampened clothes on. Cammie and Chloe went out on the deck when it snowed a few weeks ago. Within minutes, they were back in the kitchen, peeling off their layers of clothing with numb fingers.

The girls went to their friend Madeline's for awhile this morning, leaving me to my book.

Forrest wandered down, looking bored, so I challenged him to a game of Scrabble. I have a history of winning...not that I'm competitive or keeping track or anything. This time, he came close to winning. The score was 277 to 285. I must admit, when he laid down the word "starch", I was impressed. When he added "corn" to it for a score of 58 points, I was very impressed.

I've been thinking about starting another blog...a 366 photo blog. Only, mine would be like a "9 months of a photo a day" since I am obviously behind. I began taking a picture a day on January 1st. By January 15th, I was off the wagon. I enjoy looking at a few others, especially Renee's, and that has almost inspired me to start back up. I think in the beginning, I was making it harder than necessary...waiting for the "right" shot for the day, instead of focusing on the mundane things that make up our life. Hmmm...not sure yet. If I do, I'll launch it March 1st...that whole OCD-start-on-the-first-of-the-month-thing and all.

Anonymous...

I want to apologize for not updating on more frequent basis.


Before the apology, I would like to explain why I don't post on a regular basis... (I actually do post on a regular basis...every two weeks or so, but I realize that may be less regular than some would like).


In general, I am a perfectionist with Obsessive Compulsive tendencies. At some point, I got it into my head that I should only post in these three instances:


1. I had something important to report.

2. I had something witty to say.

3. We (our family) did something fun and interesting and worthy of sharing.


And, if you have OCD, you know that it is very difficult to override something that you have "gotten in your head".


There have been a few times over the last few days that I have thought about posting even though my criteria were not met.


Actually, my last post didn't meet the criteria, but I was frustrated, and thought that this would be a great place to vent and posted anyway.


So, today, I was getting my hair "done" (by my wonderfully talented, extremely cute and wildly entertaining sister...yes, that was a shameless plug for her business...email me if you want her business card)...


Where was I, hair, oh yes. So, she mentioned that she had showed my blog to our cousin. (This was a good sign that she found my blog mildly entertaining and therefore worth sharing...hmm...maybe I should post more often).

She goes on to say that the post about Hot Yoga made her laugh out loud...more than once. (Yes, I should post more often...).


And then, she says "That last thing you wrote...the thing about the cookies?"


Me "Yeah"?


She "That one wasn't funny." (Oh yeah, I'll definitely be posting more often).


Me "Well, sorry I disappointed you".


She "Don't worry, I'll still read it (gee, thanks) , I'm nosey".


Not sure if that conversation has helped me decide to post more often or not...


Moving on...


Okay, so, what can I report on...


Family outings:


When we were at the circus last month, we saw an advertisement for the Toughest Cowboy Rodeo. We had never been to a rodeo before, so we decided to take the kids. They LOVED it. Especially the horses. The lighting was off, so I didn't get many great pics...but here is one I like:

Cammie had Pajama Day at school. She looked exceptionally cute, if I do say so myself...

We went to orientation at JPII earlier this week. Due to his report card grades, we were expecting Forrest to be placed in the CP (college prep) classes, which are basically regular high school classes. We were surprised to find out that he was placed in ALL Advanced classes. Evidently his scores on the entrance exam were phenomenal. This means that he will be able to take AP classes beginning next year for college credit.

Now, if we can convince him that it is actually necessary to complete and turn in homework, we'll be all set.

Hmm...what else...oh, tomorrow is our last day of cookie booths. After tomorrow, I will be able to park my truck in the garage again, and other than a few more money things, and deposit things, we will be FINISHED with all things cookie.

And now, for that apology...I apologize. I will work on being a better blogger.

Cookie Monster...

If you are reading this, and your mom was ever your Girl Scout Troop Leader, or the "Cookie Mom" for your troop...STOP reading, GO to the phone, CALL her up and THANK HER PROFUSELY.

Seriously, when I signed up to be the Co-Leader of Chloe's troop, I had NO idea what went into it. Now, I know it's things that I didn't have a lot of to begin with.

Things like:

1- PATIENCE. Now, this may come as a complete shock to some of you (yes, that was sarcasm), but I was not at the front of the line when the good Lord was passing out patience. This has never been more evident than when I am faced with 16 K-3rd graders that are loud, lacking self-control of any sort and hyped up on sugar every other Tuesday for two hours.

2-TIME. When I was asked to co-lead, I thought, sure, no problem. Two hours a week every other week, how hard is that? Well...no one mentioned the hours that go into planning the meetings, the hours of driving here, there and everywhere to acquire things for the meetings, hours on the phone trying to coordinate field trips, hours at training sessions, and HOURS dealing with all things cookies.

Last Saturday, Rachel (the other leader) and I spent 3 hours at the cookie distribution center sorting out our cases of cookies and loading them onto a cart. Then, having them recounted by a "cookie person", then, loading all 180 cases into my truck.

Next, we unloaded all 180 cases into my garage, sorted the cases into a stackfor each of the 16 girls, then rechecked the leftovers for future booth sales. We spent the next 4 hours, distributing the cookies to the girls in our troop. That evening, I sorted Chloe's 382 boxes of cookies into piles...church, family, friends, school, etc.

Sunday, there was a line down the center aisle after church. It took an hour to hand out about half of the cookies that everyone ordered. Came home, and for two hours, distributed more cookies to troop girls. Back to church, another hour of distribution.

Monday was spent driving around delivering cookies, and then two hours after school of troop distribution.

Today, 3 hours of driving around delivering cookies.

Tomorrow, 2 hours of driving and distributing.

Tomorrow night, we have two hours of booths.

Saturday, 6 hours.

Monday, 6 hours.

And, now you see why I am turning into a Cookie Monster (translation- grumpy due to cookie exhaustion).

On a happier note...I am getting to spend a good bit of quality time with Chloe, she loves that her mom is the leader, and she is the Top Seller in our troop...which means that she gets a patch stating that fact and a stuffed poodle for all of our hard work. Yay for quality time and stuffed poodles.

Too strange...

My friend Rachel happened to be in the car with me while I was doing the school pick ups yesterday. When we picked up this guy:







we happened to be talking about voting. He listens for a minute and then says "You know, I'll be voting in the next election".



What????????



There is just something wrong with that.



Never mind that he doesn't even pick out his own clothes. Forget about the fact that if not reminded, his teeth would go unbrushed for an indefintate length of time.



How has time passed so quickly? Where did the last 14 years go? Everyone says "they grow up so fast", but in reality, they grow up in a second.



In four years, not only will he be voting, but he'll be out in the world, making decisions. Decisions, that he may or may not allow me to vote on. Strange. Scary.



Jesus, cover me with grace. I pray for that grace to fill in all of the gaps that my inadequate parenting leaves behind. Keep him for your purpose and glory Lord.

Lost and found...

We are not into TV. If you've ever been to our house, I know that may be hard to believe. Three fairly large television sets would seem to suggest that the inhabitants watch a large amount of TV.

If you count Hannah Montana, Charlie & Lola, and Dora, we are guilty of indulging.

What I'm talking about here though, is actual regular TVviewing... by the adults in the house. And that just doesn't happen very often. Mostly, this is because TV in general is full of garbage.

Mark and I like to watch The O'Reilly Factor a few times a month, we like the auditions of American Idol and then the last 4 or 5 episodes...and that about sums up our TV time.

Two years ago, my friend Amy told me about this show she had heard about. How she had rented the first two seasons and watched them in one weekend, and how much I would like the show.

Now, I understood how someone could get attached to a show...I had that same attachment to Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place back in the day.

Somehow, watching back episodes of the same show hour upon hour in order to "catch up" and be able to understand the current episodes just seemed like too much trouble.

Fast forward two years (that would bring us to last night)...I was sitting on the couch, researching things to do in St. Louis. I had the TV on, watching for school closings (so my poor son didn't stand at the bus stop freezing to death while waiting on a bus that wasn't coming...again).

The news goes off. The show that fills in what had happened in previous seasons comes on.

I found LOST.

Why didn't someone tell me what I've been missing??? (Okay, I know, I was told, why wasn't I told again)???

Mark came in half way through the premier. He smirked when I told him what I was watching. After changing clothes, he plops down on the couch and proceeds to question me about what's happening in the show (thanks to the pre-show, I was able to help fill him in).

So, what's a girl to do when she realizes she is 3 seasons behind? Well, she begins by spending 4 hours on the internet reading the background of each character. Then, she goes out and rents the first 12 episodes. Her husband picks up chinese take-out for dinner and they spend a fabulous evening getting a start on catching up on the last 3 seasons so that they are prepared for next Thursday nights show .