Monday Morning Meme...On Tuesday Morning

1. Who would you rather be seated next to on a daylong bus trip: an irritating talker or a quiet starer? What’s your rationale? Tell us about your most horrifying and/or uncomfortable travel trip. I think I would rather be seated next to a quiet starer. I just don't think I could hold it together listening to an irritating talker all day, but I could just look the other direction and ignore the quiet starer. My worst travel trip was the time that I was taking Amtrak back to southern Illinois. I had a sleeper car, and the attendant was supposed to wake me when we got to the Carbondale stop. He woke me after that station had come and gone. I was furious! Thankfully my friend's dad, who is an Amtrak engineer, happened to be on the train that night even though he wasn't working. He had them stop a train in the middle of nowhere that was heading back towards Carbondale. I quickly switched trains, and I finally made it home. My poor roommate was frantic wondering what happened to me. It was quite an experience!

2. If time wasn’t a factor or your physical health weren’t an issue, would you rather be a member of a world championship sports’ team or be the champion of an individual sport? Why? Which sport would you choose? Why? I think I would rather be on a team. I'm a pretty good team player, but I don't feel I always do well (sports wise) on my own.

3. Would you accept $1,000,000 to leave the country and never set foot in it again? Explain, please. Is money or love more important to you? How much money would it take for you to step away from your current life? I'm assuming I would have to leave my family, so the answer is a big ol' NO!!! Money is great. I enjoy going out and spending it when I have it...just ask my hubby. However, love is much more important. It wouldn't be any fun to spend that money without having my hubby or kids to spoil. I don't think there is any amount of money that would tempt me to step away from my current life.

4. Which sex do you think has it easier in our culture? Have you ever wished you were of the opposite sex? If so, list your reasons. If not, tell us why you like being the male/female you are now? Well, the grass is always greener on the other side, so I am going to say that men have it easier in our culture. Men seemed to be looked at as more of an authority in many areas. I have never really wished I was a man though. I enjoy being a woman. Of course, I picked professions (teacher and housewife) that are female dominated. Plus, I picked a husband that values my role in our life, so that makes my life easier.

Snowman

My mom took Ali & Josh outside on Sunday to build their very first snowman. We got the snow on Saturday night, and it was perfect for building a snowman because it was a really wet snow. They were pretty proud of their final product.

They used radishes for eyes, a carrot for the nose, food coloring for the mouth. I know it looks like the poor snowman is bleeding. They used rocks for the buttons. I asked them if their snowman was smoking, and Josh told me, "It's Frosty!" It took me a minute to understand that the stick in his mouth was supposed to be a pipe. They are clever!

Now, I am not going to lie. I am hoping that this was the final snow of the season. I am not used to it snowing in the final days of March. I am so ready for spring weather, and I am very happy that the snow melted quickly.

Friday Fill-Ins

1. "In a hole in the ground there lived a great big grandaddy worm."

2. "I may not be beautiful but that ain't no matter."

3. "After dark the rain began to fall again, and my home was washed down the road."

4. "I slyly stole some goods and gold from the hold of the Spanish galleon."

5. "There was a hand in the darkness, and it reached up and turned on the lights."

6. "Accidents ambush the unsuspecting, the people just like you and me."

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to working out and going to a party at my friend Valerie's house, tomorrow my plans include attending a Jews for Jesus Seder event at my church and Sunday, I want to go to church and possibly do my grocery shopping!

Grilling Goodness

1. Do you prefer to write with pen or pencil? I actually like both. It really just depends on what kind of writing I am doing. I have to have a sharpened pencil though. I really don't like writing with a dull point.

2. What was off limits to you growing up that you do all the time now? I can't really think of anything. Climbing trees was off limit when I was a kid, but I still don't do that. I guess I'll say staying up late, but I did get to do that occasionally as a kid. I think I had a pretty easy life back then. ;-)

3. What is the age difference between you and your spouse? He is 2 years older than me.

4. Did you hurt yourself in anyway this week? Well, my upper arms hurt, but that is just from working out. Other than that, I am hurt free.

5. Do you like wallpaper enough to hang it in your home? No!!! I really don't like wallpaper at all, and I am struggling to find time to get the wallpaper down in our kitchen. We moved in here 7 years ago, and it is still up. Ugh!

6. What do you need to do that you've been putting off? Organize my office, clean my house, get some scrapbooking done...and probably a ton of other things.

7. What did you do this week that you wish you hadn't? I ate a bunch of junk food. I don't know what my problem is, but I just don't want to give up the foods I like to eat.

8. Did anything keep you up late this week? Actually the book Glorious Angel by Johanna Lindsey kept me up late a couple of nights. I loved that book!

Food 4 Thought Friday

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Breakfast ~What is the last thing you ordered on-line? I ordered stuff earlier this week online for my mom. Does that count? She bought my hubby a pair of boots, and she bought Ali a twilight ladybug for her birthday.

Lunch~What is your favorite dessert at a restaurant? Creme Brulee!!

Dinner~What is the funnest game you have played recently? I really enjoyed playing Trivial Pursuit on the Wii by myself. I am a dork like that!

Midnight Snack~What job(s) did you have while in high school/college? Oh gee, I worked at Hardees, Steak 'N Shake, Subway, Piercing Pagoda, Claires, Frontier Fruit and Nut, my college's Bursar's office, First National Bank, and Charter Bank, which later became Magna Bank....I think.

Recipe of the Week~Instead of your recipe for life, what is it just for the week? This week I am focusing on working out at the gym, so my recipe is all about being a healthier me. Now, if only I could get my head wrapped around eating better. ;-)


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Wordless Wednesday~St. Patrick's Day

My St. Patrick's Day Cuties

Josh...He is proudly wearing the watch daddy gave him the night before. :-)

Ali...She is getting to be such a big girl!

Josh & Ali together...They have a love-hate relationship. Thankfully here it is all love. ;-)

Meghan...This is the first picture of her in her new glasses. Isn't she adorable?

Monday Morning Meme

1. For a person you loved deeply, would you be willing to move to a distant country knowing there would be little chance of seeing your friends and family again? Explain. I love Jeff deeply, and I know if he asked me to move to a distant country, I would go. So, I will have to say yes. I do know that it would be hard to leave my mom, friends, and extended family, but it would be worth it to be with Jeffrey. I won't lie though. I would pray (without ceasing) that God would bring us back to our country, but I would try to have a good attitude while I was there.

2. Do you believe in ghosts or evil spirits? Explain, please. Would you be willing to spend a night alone in a remote house that is supposedly haunted? Have you ever seen, or thought you’ve seen, a ghost or evil spirit? If so, what did you do? If not, how do you think you’d react? I believe in the devil, and I do believe he has a whole team of people on his side. I steer clear of all that stuff, and if I ever came in contact, I would turn to God to protect me. I know I would be scared out of my mind!!

3. If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would you most regret not having told someone? Why haven’t you told them yet? I would probably regret not having contacted my half-sisters and seeing how their lives were and telling them that I love them simply because we are related. I have a very deep love for my family...all of my family! I haven't told them, because I haven't seen or talked to them in over 25 years. That is really sad to me, but at the same time, I don't want to open up a can of worms either. Call me a chicken!

4. If you could spend one year in perfect happiness but afterward would remember nothing of the experience, would you do so? If not, why not? I think I would opt out. I am a firm believer in your experiences making you who you are, and to go this route would mean I wouldn't remember exactly who I was or why I was the way I was. Does that make sense? I may not be happy 24/7, but I am happy with my life (and who I am) as a whole, and that is what matters to me.

Our Menu For 3/16/09 to 3/22/09

Monday~Pork Chops, Lima Beans & Sugar Snap Peas
Tuesday~Corned Beef, Cabbage & Carrots
Wednesday~Reuben Sandwiches with Chips
Thursday~Chicken Burgers & Corn
Friday~Mustgoes
Saturday~Beef Stir Fry with Botan Rice
Sunday~Grilled Steaks & Fresh Asparagus

Heads or Tails

TAILS - "Springtime Memory"

This picture is one of my favorite springtime memories. It was taken back when my oldest, Ali, was about to turn one. We were out in our yard, and she was exploring all that Spring had to offer. I love that she started smelling the flowers. She was just so inquisitive.

Ali's birthday falls in Spring, so those are always fun memories too. I am making birthday scrapbooks for all of the kids, but I am super far behind. This past weekend I finally scrapbooked Ali's 4th birthday. She is about to be 7! Yikes!!

This was the last birthday party that my dad was able to attend, because he passed away about a month after this party. This was also the year when we had just started adding onto our home, so the kids enjoyed playing King of the Hill on the mountain of dirt in our back yard. LOL! Jeff grilled out burgers for us, and I made Ali her butterfly cake. It was a good birthday, and I am glad that I finally got around to scrapbooking it.

Spring is a wonderful season of hope, fresh starts, and new life. It is a welcome change from Winter, and I am anxiously awaiting its arrival.
:-)

Why In March??

I took my oldest daughter, Ali, to her doctor appointment yesterday. While we were waiting to be seen, Ali quietly and calmly said to me, "Is Santa real?" It's March people! That question came to me out of nowhere, and I didn't know what to do. I stared at her with the deer in the headlights look, and I quickly said, "What??" She repeated her question, but to the end she added, "Tell me the truth. I want to know the truth."

Well, I am a person who prides myself on being as honest as possible. So, when my oldest tells me to tell the truth, I see no way around that. I asked her, "Are you sure you want to know the truth?" I realize that question probably clued her in to the answer, but I wanted to be sure she really, truly wanted to hear me say the truth aloud. She then told me that she already knew he wasn't real, because a kid at school told her. Ugh!

So, at age 6 years and almost 11 months, I had to tell my daughter that Santa indeed wasn't real. I explained to her about St. Nicholas and how he once was a very real person that gave gifts to people in need. At Christmas, we carry on his giving nature. To all of this I added that Christmas is, and always will be, about Jesus, since that is the day that we celebrate his birth. God gave us all such a precious, wonderful gift!

She handled the whole thing very well, and I am very glad that I told her the truth. I never want her to think that she can't trust me or count on me to be honest. She even seemed to understand that she can't tell anyone else. I just had to share my milestone moment with you all. I still can't believe it came in March...out of nowhere. :-)

Monday Morning Meme

1. You’ve been invited on a talk show (which talk show?) to explain your job to the hosts. What would you say you do on a daily basis? (And yes, stay-at-home mom IS a job!) Oprah has been hounding me for years! She is so interested in the life of a stay-at-home mom married to a workaholic. ;-) I would tell her that I...

~Get up at 6:30 and beg the kids to not whine while they get ready

~I make breakfast for the kids around 7...nothing gourmet! I doubt Oprah even knows you can buy frozen pancakes at the store.

~By 7:45 I am motivating my kids to finish getting ready so they won't be late for school, which basically means I am screaming, crying, and praying...lots!

~We are out the door at 8:00. I drop Ali off at school, and on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday I drop Josh off at preschool.

~I am back home by 8:30. I spend the rest of the day cleaning. Basically just picking up the same toys over and over and over.

~Every other Monday night I On Wednesdays I work with reading groups in my daughter's classroom for a little over an hour in the morning, then in the afternoon I take my son to speech class, and later that afternoon I take my daughter off to dance class.

~At 5 I am frantically trying to get dinner done.

~We eat by 6, and then we work on baths if needed, getting homework done, and getting ourselves ready for bed.

~At 7:30 (promptly!!!) I get the kids in bed, so that I can go veg in front of the tv or read a good book.

~I am in bed by 10:30, so that I can get up and do it all again tomorrow. :-)

2. What words do you hate? Why do you hate them? Well, for starters, I hate the word hate! I'm not saying that I never use that word, but I try hard not to use it in regards to anything but inanimate objects. I also don't like the word stupid because it is mean and belittling in my opinion.

3. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received. What’s the worst advice you’ve ever received. This question kept me from posting on Monday. I had such a hard time coming up with this answer. I think the best advice I ever received was to treat others the way I want to be treated, which is a principle that I use in my home every day.

The worst advice is what I really struggle with. I can tell you that it was probably given to me during my drug and alcohol days, but I have no clue what it would have been. Maybe it's because I just don't want my mind to travel back there right now. ;-)

4. Bailout shmailout! What this country needs is God!!!! Why does it need this specific thing? God clearly teaches about money, and more specifically debt, in the Bible. He also teaches about being kind to others, loving one another, and many other wonderful principles. If we followed His lead, we would be living in a much better place.

Friday Fill-Ins

1. I can't remember what was my last random act of kindness. I know I brought my mom home a Frappuccino from the store the other day, just because. I know it is horrible that I can't remember. I promise I am kind, but I don't really keep track of what I do. No hating on me!

2. Another place I would love to be right now is St. Thomas. The hubs and I could use a romantic getaway. ;-)

3. Scriptures can speak truth to us in matters of the heart.

4. Coffee, tea or water are three things I rarely, if ever, drink. I am a Pepsi girl!

5.Lately it feels as if my husband and I are on separate paths. We are working on that though!

6. Our whole world reminds me that there is a God out there, and He loves us all very much. Look at a sunset tonight and tell me that isn't true!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to taking Ali to the dr. after school, as well as having a scrapbooking night with the girls at my house, tomorrow my plans include going to get my hair done, cleaning at the church, shopping a bit, and having a family night out...probably bowling and Sunday, I want to go to church, fix a chicken dinner, and possibly go to the grocery store!

Back From China

Jeff got back from China late Sunday night, and he brought gifts for the kiddos. On Monday morning, the kids quickly found their gifts in the living room. What did they find? Chinese silk jammies! Meghan and Josh put theirs on right away, but Ali had to wait since she had to get ready for school. However, last night they all got to put them on, and we had a little photo shoot. Here are the shots...

Here is Meghan being all cheesy in her light green jammies with pink trim. These actually match her bedroom walls, which means she can be a chameleon in her room.

Josh is one cool dude in his pale yellow jammies. Check him out!

Ali absolutely loves hers because they have a true Chinese feel to them. They are red with a gold trim. She thinks she is fancy!

After getting shots of them by themselves, I tortured them with a group shot. You never know what you are going to get when you put 3 little rascals in one picture. Here Meghan is trying to get rid of Ali. Apparently Ali was smothering her.

Here you get wild-haired Meghan with sweet Ali and stud Josh.

And here you get sweet Ali, cheesy Josh and cheesy Meghan.

I gave up trying! With my kids, you get what you get, and you love it no matter what. I think I am going to have the middle group shot framed!
:-)

Heads Or Tails

The theme/prompt for today, March 3, is:

HEADS - "Getting There"

When we had our third child, it became apparent that we were going to need a bigger vehicle to get us places. I couldn't manage to comfortably cram 3 car seats in the back of my Ford Taurus. Of course, my darling husband, being the procrastinator he is, didn't come to this conclusion until our baby was about 6 weeks old. At that point, I had been driving my mom's Lincoln Town Car and she was driving the Taurus.

It has now been a little over 2 years since we bought our Kia Sedona. I never pictured myself driving a minivan, but that baby gets us everywhere we need to go! Last week, I took the van in for it's 30,000 mile maintenance. While that was being done, I got the van detailed. I'll admit I am not one to clean a car out on a super regular basis, but in the 2-years it had been picked up MANY times and thoroughly cleaned a few times. Needless to say, that baby was filthy! I was actually embarrassed to have them see how dirty it was. You could tell they were a bit overwhelmed by my vehicle.

When I got the van back, I was so impressed with how clean it was. It looked like a brand new (used) car. ;-) I told my kids that they were no longer allowed to eat in our van. I'm sure I will have to adjust this rule when we go on long trips, but I no longer will allow my kids to eat in there just to go across town. I am ashamed to say that I found hard french fries, petrified hamburgers, and many other goodies in my van. No more! The van will still get us where we need to go, and it will do it without being trashed.

How are you with cleaning your vehicle? Have you ever found anything disgusting in your vehicle? Share your story!

:-)

Next Time I Will Just Feed You Liver & Onions!!!

I swear I can't win when it comes to dinnertime. It is inevitable that one or more of my kids isn't going to like the meal. It's not like I cook gourmet stuff around here. Our menus always seem pretty kid friendly to me. If you want proof, just scroll on down a post. There rests our menu.

Anyway, dinner tonight was about as kid friendly as I could get. We had grilled ham and cheese sandwiches with chicken noodle soup and a little bit of kiwi. Here is how it went...

Ali drank her milk. Oh, and she took the tiniest bite out of her sandwich as possible. Do you know what is funny about this? She likes bread, butter, cheese and ham. Hmmm, what do you think a grilled ham and cheese sandwich is made of? Bread, butter, cheese and ham! She even really likes kiwi. Apparently not tonight.

This is Josh's plate. Don't look too closely because you just might see the kiwi he spit out onto his plate. He ate some of his sandwich. He won't go near the crust for some reason though. He did eat all of his soup though, so that made me pretty darn happy! Oh, and he too drank his milk.

Now, here is Meg's plate. She didn't eat any kiwi, no chicken noodle soup, and she only ate some of her bread off the sandwich. She, like her brother and sister, drank her milk. I guess I don't have to worry too much about their bones!

You would just think that with such a kid-friendly meal as the one I served tonight, that I wouldn't have any hassles at dinnertime. Heck, I have always loved grilled cheese sandwiches! And what's not to love about chicken noodle soup or kiwi? Any suggestions about dinnertime from you moms out there? Any words of encouragement? I am all ears! :-)

Our Menu For 3/2/09 to 3/08/09

Monday~Grilled Ham & Cheese with Chicken Noodle Soup
Tuesday~Porcupine Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans
Wednesday~Hamburger Chop Suey, Botan Rice & Fortune Cookies
Thursday~Impossibly Easy Ham & Swiss Pie with Pineapple
Friday~Pig in a Blankets with Mac 'n Cheese
Saturday~Mustgoes
Sunday~Whole Chicken, Baked Potatoes and Sugar Snap Peas

~~~Food Holidays~~~

This week:

March 2nd~National Banana Cream Pie
March 3rd~National Cold Cuts Day, National Mulled Wine Day
March 4th~National Pound Cake Day
March 5th~National Cheese Doodle Day
March 6th~National Frozen Food Day, National White Chocolate Cheesecake Day
March 7th~National Crown Roast of Pork Day, National Cereal Day
March 8th~National Peanut Cluster Day

Next Week:

March 9th~National Crabmeat Day
March 10th~National Blueberry Popover Day
March 11th~Oatmeal-Nut Waffles Day
March 12th~National Baked Scallops Day
March 13th~Coconut Torte Day
March 14th~National Potato Chip Day
March 15th~National Pears Helene Day (I had never heard of this, so I had to do a little research. It sounds good. Here is the recipe.)

Monday Morning Meme

1. What is something that you forgot once, but will never forget again? What happened when you forgot it? In the first month of our marriage, I forgot to deposit Jeff's paycheck into our checking account. However, I had written it in, and I was paying bills and shopping as if the check were in there. Oops! Thankfully the bank called me because they knew this was not a normal thing for me. They knew something must be up. We got it taken care of, and nothing actually bounced, but it did cost us around $150 I believe. Maybe slightly less than that. I have never done that again!! It's funny because I had worked as a teller for years, and I was very cautious with my account. I would balance my checkbook almost everyday. I guess the excitement of marriage just clouded my reality at the time. ;-)

2. How do you handle hateful comments or emails? How do you handle someone who annoys you in real life? I am pretty non-confrontational. I might tell them how I feel in a reserved, polite, yet clearly annoyed way. That goes for both hateful comments, emails, and real life. If someone is saying something hateful on my blog, I would probably remind them that they don't have to read my blog.

3. How often do you change the furniture around in your living room area? How often do you rearrange other rooms in your house? Tell us about the last time you rearranged a room - were you by yourself? Did you have help? Was it a pleasant experience or did sparks fly? Were you satisfied with the end result? I know I am weird, but I don't like to rearrange rooms. I like to find a way I like it and leave it that way. I did recently move the bed in my oldest child's room, and I also rearranged my son's bedroom, but those were both done to accommodate a new piece in the room...a chalkboard. :-)

4. Is it better to never be married, or married badly and divorced? Why?. In my humble opinion, I think it is better to never be married than to be badly married or divorced. Marriage is hard, but divorce is even harder. From what I have seen divorce stays with you for years and years, because of the hurt the person has endured.

Of course, what some people consider as married badly, isn't really so in my opinion. I think too many people are selfish, which doesn't usually make for a truly happy marriage. Many more people need to figure out what real love is, which is beautifully defined in the bible.

1 Corinthians 13:4-13 (New International Version)

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not envious, boastful, proud, rude, self-seeking, easily angered. If people kept all of that in mind when they got married, maybe they would think long and hard before making that final step. If they kept all of that in mind while married, maybe they wouldn't have to think about divorce.

I just think too many people rush into relationships these days. Far to often those relationships are sexual, and quite often the sexual relationship produces a child. Some people will choose to marry just because of that child. Not a good foundation for a marriage. I am not saying that marriage will fail, but I am saying that they will probably have to overcome great challenges.

Okay, I could go on and on, because marriage is obviously a topic that is very important to me. However, I will step down off of my soap box now. :-)