Getting Used to It

I'm getting used to using the laptop. The thing is, it has to be flat and stable to stay connected to its power source, and we don't have wireless internet, so it sits on my desk. Meaning it sits a little high to be comfortable when typing. But I'm adjusting, because I need my internet.

So the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival has been going on all week. I missed two full days of entering contests, and by the time I got back online I was too overwhelmed to spend much time participating. But I did get my name in the mix for some things. I went in for any gift card to Target or Amazon, thinking I could use them for Christmas shopping should I be fortunate enough to win. One contest for a Target card required the winner to agree to give the gift card away. How fun would it be to walk up to a stranger in the store and hand them a gift card? I know if it happened to me I would probably cry.

The other thing I have been trying desperately to win is some personalized stationery. There is just something about personalized note cards, especially flat ones (rather than folded), that oozes class and elegance to me. I want to be the kind of person with her own classy stationery. So I'm hoping to win some. If I don't, maybe I can get some for Mother's Day or my birthday next year (Husband and I are forgoing Christmas gifts for ourselves due to the job situation). So here are some places you can visit if you want to get some personalized stationery for yourself or others. Paper and Ink Studios has many options that are very classy. I like these. A Touch of Whimsy has some cute stuff too. I especially like these. These are nice too, especially in purple and white with all three initials. Another fun stationery vendor is The Note House. I would buy these, if I could. Or for something fun but still fitting, these would be great.

Also, I ran 4.5 miles today! I am a runner! It felt soooo good when I was done--what a sense of achievement. And, Aunt T, the Scottoberfest post will have to wait until we have our PC back, since that is where all my pictures are. So hopefully next week.

Happy Halloween!

Absent

My home computer is on the blink. Husband took it in to a geek service to be looked at. It might be a week before we get it back. I'm using his work laptop right now. Since I don't use a reader (curse me for my stubborness) I won't be reading all my usual blogs. And I won't be using the computer much. I don't have a lot of patience for the laptop lately. So, if I seem strangely silent, it is because I more or less am. I'll hopefully be back posting next week, but in the meantime will be laying low.

Bad News/Good News

Hi y'all. Let's play a little game of bad news/good news.

Bad News: Husband still does not have another job and his last day at his current job is November 7.

Good News: He has interviewed with some companies. They are very interested in hiring him, but have no openings right this minute. But they might by the time Husband is done at his current job. Also, he can always do the mortgage thing full-time while looking for another job.

Bad News: I only went to the gym three times in the last two weeks.

Good News: I went today and did not die in the boot camp class, despite the instructor's best efforts to kill me.

Bad News: I had to get gas today, which was frustrating because we had planned for me to only need to get gas twice this month.

Good News: Gas prices have gone down, so I did not have to use the debit card. I had leftover money in the gas envelope and used that. Also, it was only $2.04 a gallon!!

Bad News: I have no idea what I am going to wear to a wedding in November.

Good News: We are going to a wedding in November in Austin. Two of my college friends are getting married and we had been planning to go. When Husband got laid off we thought we were staying home. But I have awesome friends and one friend has parents that live south of Austin and have a little guest house we can stay in for free! So while I don't know what I'm wearing, I know I will be at the wedding and that is really all that matters.

Clearly the good outweighs the bad. We are getting used to living on less and being grateful for the abundant blessings around us. While it is a little scary now, we know Husband will have a job eventually and that regardless of when it happens, God is providing for us along the way. Plus, the Cowboys finally won again.

Meanwhile, Stars and Stripes Forever Played On

I voted today. It was not my first time to vote, but something about it felt different. I guess because regardless of who wins, real history is going to be made in this election. I opted for the paper ballot, because I wanted to fill in the square myself, not push a button on a screen. It felt so good. Thankfully the wait was minimal and my kids were very cooperative. They drew many admiring glances from those around us, especially the senior crowd.

I'm not the only one who felt a certain sense of excitement I don't think. Grown men and women made sure to get their sticker that said "I Voted" and put it on. The election volunteers were all very friendly and seemed happy to be a part of the process.

Buddy is terribly confused about what was going on; he kept asking if we were going to the United States. I told him I was choosing who I wanted to be the leader of the United States, but he did not pick up on it. Oh well, at least he's seen democracy in action, right?

And, completely unrelated, I bought these shoes (at Payless) for Butterfly because her socks insist on coming off. And oh my goodness I can't stand the cuteness.

Date Night

Husband and I had the pleasure of a date night last night. We are in a couples group and most of the group had seen Fireproof and wanted to discuss some of it, possibly, at our next meeting. One of the couples was kind enough to babysit for us so we could see the movie. I even had free passes, so it was a free date!

Given all the goodwill and freeness, I would have been happy with just about anything. I went to the movie with a bit of skepticism, despite all the good things I had heard. I was afraid it was being over-hyped just because it was a Christian movie. It drives me crazy that mediocre music/entertainment gets huge praise just for being Christian. It is as if Christians can't be talented or something.

Okay, moving on from that tangent.

Go see this movie. Whether you are married, dating, single, whatever, go see this movie. I won't lie--you will recognize that it was not made with millions of dollars and the only face you are likely to know is Kirk Cameron's. It doesn't matter. There are times when the acting is a little flat or a little overdone. It doesn't matter. The message of this movie is important enough to overlook those minor quibbles. It is an honest story of a marriage in crisis. The couple in question does not know Christ and are ready to call it quits. The movie opens with a tense fight, that definitely made me cringe, as Husband and I don't fight, ever. But I know people do yell at each other, and I think that is what made me so uncomfortable.

I liked that the story does not place all the blame for the pending divorce on just one half of the couple. It makes it clear that both people are at fault for the problems and that both people have to want to make it work. The supporting cast does a good job, although at times they are a little distracting. There are odd bits of humor throughout the movie, and some fire rescue scenes that I guess were necessary, but only as fillers. While not perfect (what movie is?), this movie deserves your time and money. I'm so glad we saw it.

Homework Musings

I can't think of a good title for this post. So I'm writing first, and adding a title at the end. Not that that means I'll have thought of anything.

Princess was doing homework today after school. She's been bringing home books to read for a few weeks now, but today she had some written work. She had to write a book review about one of the books she read last week. It was very interesting and somewhat exciting to watch her work. She wrote out the name of the book and the author and then started her summary. She can write whole sentences and spell all (or most) of the words correctly, with no help! I knew she could do this, but I had not had the opportunity to sit and watch her work. It made me a little sad that someone else is doing the bulk of the teaching. Moments like that make me question whether or not homeschooling would work for us after all. I have many, many friends that homeschool their children. I keep asking if I feel led to it because so many people around me do it, or if so many people around me doing it is a sign that I am led to it--if that makes any sense. Anyway, it is so awesome to see her growing in skills and knowledge.

I also got to see the first signs of similar learning strengths and weaknesses between Princess and me. She loves to read and write. She has excellent skill in those areas. But as I was looking over her math work and asking her to explain what went wrong, she got very quiet. Later she told me that she doesn't like math because it is hard. I could definitely feel her pain. All through school I did well enough to be on the advanced track, but was always at the back of that pack. So I told Princess that I understood that it was hard. But then I told her that sometimes, when we work at something that is hard for us, the feeling of success when we master it is even better than the feeling of doing something we are already good at. I know she doesn't really understand that idea yet, but I know that I will have to repeat it many times in the future. As for now, it looks like we'll be doing some extra math practice at home. She is way too young to be turned off a subject because it does not come as easily.

This school journey is just beginning, and I look forward to where it will go.

Booger Suckers and Other Torture

The fact that I used the word 'booger' in my title should give you all pause about ever reading this blog again.

Butterfly is sick. Stuff is pouring out of her nose without end. She wails when we use the nasal aspirator (isn't booger sucker a much better name?). Tissue is not soft and soothing, it is sandpaper coated with steel wool, judging by the reaction of my baby girl. She spent yesterday crying and sleeping and sometimes eating. She had a very clear pattern. Nurse, cry, take Tylenol, sleep on Mommy, wake up and play, then sleep in the car seat. She did allow me to get several hours of sleep in a row during the night. Generous of her, I thought.

We are going to the doctor momentarily. And tomorrow I get to take the boys for their checkups. I tried getting them in today, but they are already booked. Nothing says fun like going to the doctor two days in a row. Not to mention the round of flu shots we will eventually get. It is that time of year folks.

We had a great Scottoberfest. I'll probably post some pictures and stuff tomorrow. For now, I must prepare to further torture my daughter with the throat stick and other medicinal tools. What does your family call the nasal aspirator?

Oh, and p.s., when searching for a picture of said object, I found a listing for a battery powered aspirator! Seriously--that is some serious sucking. Please keep all crude and inappropriate jokes to yourself (or in the comments).

Frazzled Friday?

Okay, once again the blogging has been subpar. I guess I should stop apologizing and realize that y'all don't expect anything different. I need to just accept that I'm no blogging superstar. I don't know if my ego can handle that.

Let's be thankful first. I had hoped to be posting about a job offer for Husband, but not yet. He had a great interview this week and feels good about it. We're grateful that he has had interviews at least. Also, he is definitely going to work part-time for a mortgage company here. The owner is extending him an incredibly generous opportunity to work as much or as little as he can, so Husband will try to get one to two loans a month working his past database and any referral business. If he can get one or two loans he can supplement his full-time income without having to work a lot of hours in a part-time job. Yea! Also, the owner and his wife are great people. They took us to dinner last night and we talked about family a lot (they have seven kids!) and it was just nice. Perhaps this will turn into something greater in the future.

I bought another nightgown. Well, a sleepshirt, technically. I searched lots of stores and ended up back at Target buying another one on sale. I can't wait to be done nursing so I can wear it earlier in the evening. Seriously, so comfortable and I feel feminine without feeling like a grandma. So yea for sleepshirts or nightgowns or whatever.

We have Scottoberfest this weekend. This is our annual fall birthday barbecue to celebrate the many fall birthdays in our family. The weather is supposed to be pretty much perfect. It will be a lot of fun. But my house is a wreck and I should be cleaning instead of blogging. Still working on my priorities, obviously.

I only went to the gym twice this week. Apparently my four mile benchmark was my peak and it is all downhill from here. Monster had a flareup with his breathing troubles yesterday, so I couldn't take him to the gym and today I'm supposed to be cleaning, as mentioned. The good news is I can go back next week and get back on track. And undo the caloric damage of the unhealthy things I have been eating this week. At least that is what I am telling myself.

We forgot to record The Office last night. I tried watching it online, but it was not streaming cleanly and I have no patience for that. I will download it when it becomes available. Husband and I just started watching this show this summer and love it. We now wonder why we didn't watch it sooner.

If you have made it this far you deserve a prize. You rock. Prize awarded.

Happy weekend!

Six!

I am a delinquent parent. I got so distracted by my four mile achievement yesterday that I forgot to recognize IndieGirl's birthday! Good thing she doesn't read the blog. So she is now officially six. IndieGirl is just like her name says--independent. She marches to her own beat, most of the time. She likes to do her own thing and is happy to play by herself. She has never met a stranger--she wants everyone to be a friend. She makes us laugh with her silliness and energy. Those who know us say she most resembles me, out of all of our kids. In personality she is more like her dad, but she does love to read like her mom. She celebrated her birthday with a dinner of cheesy chicken and presents. Happy birthday IndieGirl!

Progress Report

My girls just completed the first six weeks of school and we had parent-teacher conferences. I figured I could do my own progress report here, because I know y'all care so much about my exercise and whatnot.

First of all, I have not stepped on the scale since our contest ended on August 30. I decided to face the music today. I expected weight gain, as I have been slacking on the cardio big time. So I was not surprised to see that I was back up about 1.5 pounds. No worries though, because I am still at a great weight.

Now for the exercise update. I ran four miles without stopping today!! That is the first time in my life I have ever done that. I used to hate running. I avoided it as much as possible. Now, I actually like it. Well, not so much the running as the feeling I get when I am done. And I'll tell you this too: When I was on the treadmill today, knowing that if I could get to four miles I would have something to post on the blog totally motivated me! That's right--telling complete strangers about my achievement motivated me to go farther than before. It may be silly, but it was totally worth it. I have exactly two months to prepare for the marathon relay. I think I need to work my way past six miles, so that on race day six miles does not seem so hard. I'll keep y'all posted.

So, if you are starting a new exercise routine, or just thinking about it, do it! Start small and give yourself credit for every step in the right direction. It takes time, but you will eventually like to exercise (or at least not hate it!).

Lessons from Princesses

My girls have been clamoring for nightgowns lately. I had no idea why they were so obsessed with them, so I finally asked them (yea for being a parent). Turns out, one of the Barbie princesses in a movie wears a nightgown and so of course nightgowns are the only reasonable sleepwear option. I indulged their princess obsession and bought them nightgowns for their birthdays (Princess was last Friday, IndieGirl is tomorrow). They love them.

I decided to check out this nightgown idea for myself. The Bullseye had a nightgown on clearance, so I bought it. I really wanted a pink one, but there was not one in my size, so I got blue. I came home and put it on as soon as Butterfly nursed for the last time for the day. Obviously I can't rock the nightgown while nursing, that would just be indecent. Anyway, I put it on with great expectation. And I was rewarded! Why have I not tried this novelty out before? Of course I wore nightgowns as a kid, but I had not worn one in years. I associated them with children or old ladies I guess. But there are cute ones to be had. Husband liked it too. He pointed out that he has not seen me in a dress-like garment in years, except for formal occassions. So the novelty of me walking around in something resembling a dress (it could totally be worn in public if I was so inclined) was enjoyed by all. The only drawback is that it is long-sleeved, and I prefer sleeping in sleeveless shirts. So I'm on the hunt for some cute racerback style gowns I think. Perhaps I will learn to sew and make my own.

Ha ha.

That was just one part of a happy weekend. Well, mostly happy. The Mean Green lost (again) and the Cowboys lost (played like the Mean Green). That was bad. But soccer went well (improvement!) and thanks to the generosity of a family member (Hi Dee Dee) we took the kids to the place with the overpriced pizza and giant mouse (pictures in the mail soon) to celebrate their birthdays. How many more parenthetical references can I make? I better stop now.

Seven!

Princess is seven today! When she woke up and I told her happy birthday, I tried to insist that she only be three or four years old, because surely I am not old enough to have a seven year old, but alas, she is in fact seven. And hopefully not creating such run-on sentences in her writing. In the picture above she is modeling her favorite activity, playing mommy. True to the oldest child stereotype she is a rule-follower, nurturer, organizer and all around leader. Like her mother she has a fondness for clothes and shoes. Like her father she can be very silly and funny. She looks like just like her dad. I never imagined I would have blond haired, blue-eyed children, but I have three just like that. She has taught us many things about ourselves, as we parent this oldest child of ours. She wears her emotions on her sleeve and I am constantly challenged to tread carefully in our disagreements. Tonight we are having spaghetti and meatballs by request. She'll have cake on Sunday with her sister (whose birthday is next Tuesday), but open her presents tonight. She's a sweet, caring girl and she surprises me every day. Happy Birthday Princess!

Running, Not Just Good for Your Body

In honor of my decision to skip the gym today, I'll share with you some brief thoughts from my treadmill time earlier in the week. Perhaps that will lessen my guilty feeling, which is a scary indicator of how much I've come to appreciate the gym.

I was running on the treadmill, listening to my iPod. Now, I've had the same music on the thing for the year plus I have had it. I've added some music, but I tend to listen to the same stuff. While exercising I usually keep it on my praise and worship playlist, just to give me something positive to listen to while running. So, I've heard the songs on it a million times. But sometimes a song speaks to you in a way it didn't before. This week, it was "Keep Waiting" by Stavesacre. I have it on my playlist because it is a good workout song, at least to me. But a lot of times I don't pay attention to the words. This time I did. And it repeats these two things several times: "Keep waiting. I'll be right on time."

And it hit me. Hey--this song is about God! Okay, so I already knew that. But the particular message had not really sunk in in the past. I guess our present circumstances have finally made me aware. All God asks of me is to endure, to hold on to the faith that He will be here, and He will be. It will not be on my time. There is a purpose to the waiting--God will come when the time is right. So, in light of the job situation, we must not lose hope. We must trust that God will provide a solution in His timing, and that the difficulties in the meantime are to prepare us to more fully receive His grace.

Keep waiting. He'll be right on time.

Wordless Wednesday: Our Own Special Package

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

Pleasantly Surprised

So usually tailgating is our chief couple time. We look forward to the five home games for UNT all year long. We don't take the kids. We willingly cough up the dough for two babysitters for several hours. Well, that obviously had to change. There was no spare sixty bucks for that this weekend. We had to take the kids with us.

I envisioned a not altogether fun time with five kids, who had already spent several hours at the soccer fields for pictures and games. Butterfly had already missed one nap in her quiet, well-ventilated, dark closet. We came home from soccer (which is going much better) and helped the kids get in their game day gear. Husband loaded up the truck while I gathered up the food, and made another round of baby food and cereal for Butterfly to eat at the game. We were home for about forty minutes before we left again.

We arrived at the campus, and the two kids with me walked down to the stadium. We had to take two cars, because all the tailgating gear only fits in the truck, but our family does not all fit in the truck. I showed the kids where I used to go to Mass (hello C friends!) in college. Friends and family were gathered already. We unloaded the truck and got set up. Food was cooking, kids were playing and I was feeding Butterfly. My MIL kindly offered restroom assistance to Princess (first port-a-potty experience for her, and I've decided wipes are the best invention ever). It was so nice to have friends and family to help out.

We fed everyone and had to start packing up. The kids did great in the parking lot. They took walks with Grandma, played some football, and ate a lot. A generous friend provided tickets for the kids, so there was no extra expense there. We went in and found our seats and sat down to watch what we hoped would be a good game. Well, that hope was quickly dashed, but the kids were great. We had nice weather, Butterfly flirted with everyone in sight, and the other kids did a good job not bothering anyone. We left at the first half and went home to watch the rest of the misery on TV.

So, this was a really long post to say that things went way better than I thought. I was getting all down that Husband and I would not be getting our couple time and that it would be stressful and not fun for us. But it was fun. The kids were well behaved and not bored. We had good company with us. And once again, God's grace and blessing was evident. I have got to stop thinking things are going to be terrible. I'm just going to try to go with the flow and not worry about what I think I'm missing out on.

Now if only the Mean Green could find a way to win.

Friday Thankfulness

My friend over at Planted in the Valley has a good idea. She's thanking God on Fridays on her blog. Of course it is not just Fridays that we are thankful, but that is the day for posting it. So I'm going to do the same, because I think no one wants to read about things that suck (sorry for being crude).

• Free tickets for the UNT game tomorrow. We already have season tickets, but since we have to save money, we are taking the kids. A friend of ours very generously gave us some extra tickets. Now we just need the Mean Green to win. I don't think Husband can take much more.
• A happy 5 yo son. He was more than pleased with his McD's birthday dinner, Mean Green cake, and inexpensive gifts.
• A mobile baby! Butterfly is not crawling on all fours, but has begun to show her skill at the army crawl. She's following a family tradition, as all my kids executed the army crawl quite well.
• Husband's interview today! Yes, just one week after receiving the news of the layoff he is already interviewing! Also, he is actually going to stay on at his current company through November 7. They need him around to help with the busy end-of-year time, and that means our insurance will be paid for through February.
• Babies! One friend had a baby this week, one had twins two weeks ago, another had a baby last week, and we have lots of friends expecting children.
• God's grace.

Y'all have a good weekend!

Five!

Buddy is five today! He's so excited it is his birthday. His day started with a card from Grandma, featuring Superman. He loves it. He is a fan of all things superhero. He's a little small for his age, but he doesn't know it. His dad is his best friend. He loves his baby sister (and probably his big sisters too). He definitely likes being the older brother to Monster. Buddy is a sweet kid. He makes us laugh every day. Like Monster, I want to just freeze him at this age, because it is such fun. Happy Birthday Buddy!