Pictureless

Well, Thanksgiving and Decorating the Tree Day have passed and I did not manage to get any pictures. Actually, I have a picture of the cake I made for Thanksgiving dessert on my cell phone and I took a picture of the finished tree with my Dad's camera, but that is it.

Once I figure out how to get the picture off of my cell phone and off my Dad's camera I will post them. And maybe even write about Thanksgiving and tree decorating. Or maybe I will just post pictures.

Not Me Monday 9th Edition

So, to join the fun head over to McKMama's and read other posts and link your own. And check out her new header and the cute pics of her kiddos.

I did not pile up my son's peed on clothes for two days instead of washing them

I did not let my husband wash his work clothes this week....twice.

I did not tackle my daughter and have to hold her down to remove her loose tooth that was hanging by a thread. She did not scream like she was being attacked by wild animals, causing my friends to think I was abusing my daughter.

I did not sleep in until 10 AM today making my children snuggle in bed with me, so I could sleep in and hoping they would since we stayed at friends' house until 10:30 PM last night

I did not just write the lamest Not Me post ever.

Nope, not me!

First Snow, Sort Of - November 2008

Yesterday we had some snow flurries. When the flakes were really big and swirling around really fast Kari and Noah went outside for a bit. Here are some pictures.....



Standing still, letting the snow blow by


Noah trying to get snowflakes on his tongue


Kari wanted her snow boots on, but the snow wasn't even really laying on the ground


Dancing in her new hat and gloves and yes, her pajamas

Sad Day

Yesterday we had to say goodbye to our hermit crab, Reggie. Kari and Noah were both upset, but in their parting words to him it was apparent that Noah was more affected by this loss. Kari asked God to help him in heaven and let him believe in God. Noah said, "Thank You, God that he was a fun pet. That he very good manners and that he was a good pet for today."

Bless his little heart.

While we were getting shoes and such on to go outside for the burial, I asked Noah where his slippers were, thinking they would be faster to put on than his tennis shoes. "My slippers!", he exclaimed, "You are not putting him in THERE! He's dead, Momma!"

I think Reggie may have enjoyed his final resting place being some Lightening McQueen slippers. Now if they were Cody's slippers that may have been a different story. Boy has some stinky feet!

I guess this post indicates how attached I was to the hermit crab. I will not be ending my dinner prayers with "and God bless Reggie" like my sister used to for her hermit crab, Bessie.

My Hero, Zero

Today we were going home from Bible study and Noah asked, "Momma, what is the difference between a zero and an "oh"?" I answered, "Well, a zero is a number and an "oh" is a letter." To which he replied, "No, Momma a zero is a stretched out "oh".

Our conversation got me thinking.....

Do you ever feel like a stretched out "oh", like a zero when it comes to your life? Do you feel like on a scale of one to ten in motherhood or being a wife, friend, sister or daughter that you are at zero? Does it seems like you have nothing left to give in all the areas of life that encompass who you are, that you are running on empty or your energy tank is on zero?

I know I feel that way sometimes. I know I have felt that way a lot lately.

It seems to me that when I have too many arrows aimed at the target, none of them hit the mark. Zero bull's eyes. When I am juggling too many things at once, I end up holding zero at the end of the week.

What I am missing is balance. I begin to stretch myself out and try to cover all the areas of my life all at once or in the same way and I end up coming up short, or being too stretched out to do anything well.

I think recognizing this is the first step. Half of the battle is won when we tell ourselves that what we are doing is not working. When we face the reality that things have to change.

Prioritizing is the next step. What is really important for right now? For today? It is wise to have plans for the future but we are not guaranteed a certain time here on earth. But, when we wake up we have that day stretched before us and have to decide how to spend it, who to impact, what to change.

Then we need to delegate. Even though we think we have superhuman powers at times, and although God does sometimes grant us extra amounts of strength in times of stress or when we are in need of it, many of us only have the ability to accomplishment what is within our gifting or ability. There are others that God has brought into our lives to come along side of us - a spouse, a friend, a family member - to help us complete our daily tasks. Many times we rob ourselves and others of the joys and blessings of helping. We live under the false premise that we can do it better ourselves, or faster alone. That is not always true. And even if it is, we are to teach our children to do many of the things we continue to do out of habit or stubbornness. We are to allow others to help us, to bear our burdens, to further the work, our destiny.

So that is what I am doing today, recognizing that I am at zero capability right now, zero productivity, zero impact-ability. Then I am going to prioritize what is important for today and tomorrow and when I am given another day to breathe and move, I am going to do it with purpose. And I am going to do it with the hands of my children and the arms of my spouse and the encouragement of my friends and family around me.

A Bloggy Good Giveaway!

This lovely blog design site is having a giveaway! They are giving away a holiday design and a year of blog designs that is retailed at $400! Isn't that awesome?

Well, it is for me because I have no idea how to design anything for my blog! I am going back to ruby and roja and letting them know that I am spreading the word about their giveaway.

Let the holidays begin =)

Not Me Monday 8th Edition

Head over to McKMama's for a great entry with pictures. She started all of this, BTW!

I did not not go and fix my kiddos' CD player that kept skipping because I was reading Not Me Monday posts

I did not read 20 or so blogs in hopes of getting some more people to come and read mine

I did not get in line at Target to pay for my kiddos' PJs only to realize that I had forgotten to get the birthday gift I made the trip for, to get out of line after getting the gift only to realize that I did not get a gift bag or card! I did not buy myself some Raisinettes to make myself feel better

I did not bribe my children with breakfast at IHOP so that they would not freak out about getting their flu shots

I did not spend too much time on the computer making it too late to fix a proper dinner and feed my kiddos cereal

I did not wear the same shirt twice this week only to remember that most of the people that saw me wear the shirt the second day also same me wear it the second day

I did not wear a baseball cap more times this week than I washed my hair hence the need to not wear the baseball cap

I did not split a Nutty Bar with my daughter and my son telling them they only needed a half of a pack when I had a whole pack between splitting the packs between them

I did not finish the ice cream in the freezer and then act surprised when my daughter said the ice cream was all gone

I did not tell my son all I wanted to do was snuggle with him when actually I knew he would fall asleep if he climbed in bed with me and I would get a nap

I did not wear snowman socks with my dress pants and fancy outfit last night to our church's leadership banquet

And I did not let my husband sleep in the armchair this week because he yells at me when I wake him up. I totally woke him up and made him come to bed so he did not complain about his neck hurting the next day

Not Me Monday 7th Edition

Not Me Monday posts are inspired by McKMama - momma to four of the cutest kiddos on the blogosphere, including McKMiracle, Stellan.

I did not eat two donuts for breakfast and a handful of Doritos for lunch.

I did not let the kiddos finish the bag of Doritos while I was writing this post instead of making dinner.

I did not spend most of my day on the couch, nursing a swollen hand and hearty migraine.

I did not text my daughter's boyfriend for a good portion of the time I was at a sleepover on Friday.

I did not fall asleep at the sleepover while I was suppose to be pretending to be asleep so the older kiddos would fall asleep so I could go upstairs and chat with my girlfriends.

I did not spend two hours cleaning and purging the kiddos' bedroom to still have a good 2+ hours more of cleaning to do in there.

I did not make my husband feel guilty about being on the PC instead of spending time with me before he went on a retreat this weekend and then proceed to fall asleep instead of spend "quality" time with him.

I did not wear my slippers to the grocery store....twice.

I did not let my friend's 7 month old grab a pizza crust and start chomping on it when I was suppose to be watching him and wasn't.

I did not sleep in my t-shirt and jeans on Thursday night because I fell asleep when I was only suppose to lay down with the kiddos until they fell asleep so I could do some cleaning and such without them whining.

I did not eat a large size waffle fries from Chick-Fil-A by myself while I was waiting for a friend at the mall.

What didn't you do??

Not Me Monday 6th Edition

If you haven't gone over to McKMama's blog and read about her miracle baby or the post that started it all, then head over there after you read my blog (and leave me a comment =)

I did not eat several mini candy bars from my kiddos' Halloween stash as soon as we were done trick or treating

I did not let my mom empty, refill and run my dishwasher several times this week

I did not make my husband go to Wal-Mart at 11 PM to get me tortilla chips so I could have nachos at midnight

I did not let my kiddos sleep in their costumes on Friday night

I did not silently rejoice when my friend told me she got fired - I watch her girls on Mondays and I did not want to be able to sleep in on Mondays again

I did not make my husband clean out the chair that my son threw up in at 3 AM on Friday

I did not make my husband sleep on the couch so my sick son and lonely daughter could sleep in our king size bed with me

I did not give my son a large bowl to vomit in during the early morning hours, so I would not have to rush him back and forth to the bathroom while he vomited every hour on the hour

I did not forget (again) to return our library DVDs on time, resulting in several dollars worth of late fees

I did not let my daughter play outside in her Easter dress, complete with purse and hat and my son play outside in his Halloween costume and bare feet on Saturday (it was 70 degrees, BTW)

I did not my husband when he said his fantasy football team was going to beat mine this week

I did not eat my son's soft pretzel even after I had already eaten nachos for lunch

I did not pray bedtime prayers at my kiddos' bedroom door because there was not room for me to walk across their floor due to the toys and books and clothes and just stuff strewn all over their room. At least I think there is a room in there....somewhere.

What didn't you do??

Halloween 2008

So Halloween started pretty early for us...3:30 AM to be exact and it began with Noah having the stomach flu. It has been traveling around our church and finally reached us, well, Noah. He was up from 3:30 - 5 AM so sick and then when he finally fell asleep, he was up every hour getting sick. He finally ate a popsicle at 5 PM and kept it down, so we let him do a bit of trick or treating, but opted out of the CEC visit we were going to make with friends. By the second block he was sitting in the stroller, forgo-ing candy for comfort. He had one lollipop when we got home and was asleep within minutes. Kari was feeling well enough to eat several pieces of candy only to be awake at 5 AM throwing up right next to the trash can in the bathroom. She has not gotten sick since then, so not sure if her vomiting was from the stomach bug or her candy comsumption. My bet's on the latter.

Anyway, here are a few photos from the evening....

The kiddos opted to paint pumkpkins this year. Kari and Noah each decorated their own - Noah's pumpkin was a Daddy Pumpkin with mustache and gotee - while Rick painted Bob and I painted Larry.


Arrgh! Our little pirates!


One of the annual houses we visit. Aunt Loretta's house!


Seems like the stomach bug may have skipped Rick and me, but we'll see. I am making sure I get in as much chocolate as I can before I end up being sick =)