Notice DadE holding on to Lubby's hood...just in case he decided to dart out into the road!
1. What makes you stand to your feet and cheer? A parade...a few years ago we taught the kids to stand and salute (cross their hearts) when they saw the American flag. Emma said, "It's the one with all the stars and stripes." I thought that many flags have stars and stripes...but ours is stars and stripes FOREVER!!
2. What's your favorite patriotic song?
God Bless America!
3. Do you believe that opposites attract? If you have a significant other are you opposites?
Yes, most definitely...My Loverbrains and I are certain proof. We have often mentioned that if we'd met in high school we'd have hated each other. I was the intense, dramatic Advanced English, bubbly extrovert. And he was the intense, reserved, Advanced Math and Sciences introvert. We still are those things...but somehow it now works. We've each mellowed a bit too. That helps. Okay, I'VE mellowed. LOL!
4. You're going to get a behind the scenes look someplace...where would you like that someplace to be?
The Olympics? That's a harder question than it at first appears.
5. How far would you have to travel to ride a carousel (merry-go-round)?
There's one at the children's museum downtown...about 20 minutes?
6. When was the last time you saw fireworks? What was the occasion? Do you enjoy fireworks?
Since having little children...we usually see them from the high way as we travel home from our fourth festivities. I'm in a bad mood about all things fireworks because the rednecks around here think it's jolly good fun to set them off for weeks prior (and no doubt after) the big day. All hours of the day and night. I am a much lighter sleeper than I ever realized. GRRRR!
7. Of all the 'beauty products' you own, what item do you consider to be the most overpriced?
Eyeliner...what is it made of...gold??
8. Insert your own random thought here. Thanks for all your sweetness last week regarding Caleb's smashed finger. He's doing much better. The nail is bright purple...and he's annoyed that it has to stay taped to it's neighbor...but other than that he's fine. Praise the Lord!!
I am a homemaker. I joke about being a Domestic Engineer. I am NOT unemployed.
Last week, when my sweet baby boy hurt his finger, I took him to immediate care. One of the first questions they ask you is where you work. FYI, they ask whether you carry the insurance or not. Why do they need this information? I said that I was a homemaker. A few HOURS later when I was asked to sign for my minor child, I read that it said I was UNEMPLOYED. At that point I was too emotionally drained to take it on...but now that I've churned on it for a week...I have stuff to say.
I am not unlike many other Mom's. I greatly struggled (and still occasionally do struggle) with the way society treats Mom's who stay at home. Notice, you won't hear me say that I'm a SAHM...because it feels like a put down to me. I've heard many people question whether there even is a negative societal attitude towards homemakers. I believe that my experience is proof.
Saying that I'm unemployed denotes several things. It suggests that I do not WORK...and that I am LAZY. I'd just like to see them keep up with my kids and my family. I earn my sleep at night, ya'll. It also suggests that whoever is storing this data does not value "the home"...and the making of those homes to society as a whole. And that's sadly the truth about the world. They see no value in what I do...therefore, I am as a good as unemployed to them.
I may not earn a paycheck...but I'm storing up lots of treasures in heaven. If anything...stewing on this a bit has encouraged me to be the BEST Domestic Engineer, MomE, wife, homemaker, SAHM out there. I want to be sure to build up others like me...who are doing their best...and going uncounted. I know it can be a depressing stigma...but...
Don't worry...God knows our hearts...He knows what we do in secret...even if the world says we are IDLE and NOT BEING USED.
He is using me...for GREAT things. How about you?
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11
In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior. ~ Sir Francis Bacon This makes me think of Proverbs 17:9,"Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends." and Proverbs 19:11, "Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense."
"Better beans and bacon in peace, than ale and cakes in fear" ~Aesop And if that doesn't sound like Proverbs 17:1, I don't know what does..."Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife."
...half-versary. We are super excited to be leaving the Sweet Boobahs for a few nights while we go off alone! Our December wedding was beautiful but not practical for anniversary celebrating.
I hope to take pictures...we are planning to investigate some caves and go canoeing. They said not to bring a camera but I'm not planning to tip over, so all should be well! Hehehe!
1. Summer's here-whoohoo! What's your favorite sight, sound, AND smell associated with summer?
The sight of the lush GREEN everywhere....so nice!! The sound of children scooping sand and splashing water...nicely, of course. The smell of sunscreen and happy, sweaty babes during storytime.
2. Fireflies or lightning bugs...what are they called in your neck of the woods?
Fireflies...but I think I called them lightning bugs when I was little and caught them in a jar.
3. What is something from the past week that reminded you of your childhood?
I got out an "old" Bible that I hadn't used in a while...and found feathers and four leaf clovers inside. My grandma started me collected those things...and putting my treasures in my Bible...which is full of info. on eternal treasures. It was fun to reminisce.
4. Define 'the good life'.
When this term is used I think it's usually a slam on the person. They are either living outside of their means or irresponsible or insensitive to the feelings of those around him. I know it's not always that way...but that's what I thought of first.
5. Tell us what we'd see if you took a snapshot of your desk/work space?
My desk is non-existant...I generally write on the screen porch table or my lap...which is usually nestled among a current book I'm reading, a can of coke/ice coffee and my cell phone.
6. Peaches or watermelon...yes, you have to choose.
Peaches...hands down. The more I try it the more I think I just don't like watermelon. It's a texture thang. Peaches...oooo...yummm...drip off your chin goodness.
7. Ever been skinny dippin'? Is that too much for the Wednesday Hodgepodge? Rest assured we won't need details...unless of course you feel you must but remember, this is a family friendly blog so keep it G rated.
Nope...not sharin.'
8. Insert your own random thought here.
My baby boy smashed his finger in the church doors yesterday when I was there preparing for VBS. I usually handle crisis pretty well...but will admit when I saw it's smashed mess I went white and scared. I was grateful that our Pastor was there and took over until I got a grip. It's broken and taped to it's neighbor until tomorrow when we see the orthopedic doctor. Poor baby! Poor MomE...I was keyed up all night...couldn't get to sleep and when I finally did drift off he rolled onto his hand and cried out. He was hurting and confused, "Mom...something is WRONG with my hand!" Poor kid!!
...Sometimes I hold onto these quotes thinking I'll write a post with them...but there are some that are just painful and too deep to explain their effects on the heart.
How shalt thou bear the cross that now
So dread a weight appears?
Keep quietly to God, and think
Upon the Eternal Years.
~E.W. Faber
"I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare…If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us,… they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditures excludes them." ~CS Lewis
In regards to John 21:18-22..."So I was refreshed by Jesus’ blunt word to me (and you): “What is that to you? You follow me!” Peter had just heard a very hard word. You will die—painfully. His first thought was comparison. What about John? If I have to suffer, will he have to suffer? If my ministry ends like that, will his end like that? If I don’t get to live a long life of fruitful ministry, will he get to?
That’s the way we sinners are wired. Compare. Compare. Compare. We crave to know how we stack up in comparison to others. There is some kind of high if we can just find someone less effective than we are. Ouch. To this day, I recall the little note posted by my Resident Assistant in Elliot Hall my senior year at Wheaton: “To love is to stop comparing.” What is that to you, Piper? Follow me."
~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~
{pretty}
I didn't notice the bug until I was loading the pictures. What a fun surprise!
{happy}
A beautiful old copy of The Giving Tree...found on a fabulous date night with my Loverbrains!
{funny}
It's almost naptime...hehehe!
{real}
My herbs are dying so I moved them to the end of the garden bed...and my HUGE tomatoes are now wired up in a doubled tomato cage. I'm not sure they'll stay up in the next thunderstorm...I sure hope the BIG tomatoes are worth it.
1. What is one thing on your bucket list? If you don't have a bucket list let's pretend you do.
Honestly, I had to google bucket list. I've heard Joyce mention her's for a few weeks. I was puzzled but not too curious. I knew from the context that it was some special list. SO, short answer is that I don't have a bucket list because I just figured it out. I have things I'd like to do before I kick the bucket though. Travel is near the top...anywhere really. 2. What makes a good dad?
A man with his priorities in order...God, Wife, Kids...
I love you Loverbrains!!
3. Are you afraid of insects? Which ones?
I'm not afraid of insects per se. I don't want any crawling all over my body or anything though. I kill the ones that bother me. Mostly BIG spiders...ew...AND mosquitoes. Around here they look like little, blood sucking BIRDS this year. HUGE mosquitoes people...HUGE! 4. We're barbecuing...what's on the grill at your house?
Everything but the family dog. Hehehe...just kidding. Mostly chicken in various marinades. We love using Italian dressing as a fast, zingy marinade...or painting it with BBQ sauce and letting it blacken a bit. Yum...I'm making me drool! 5. Do you believe that playing is more important than winning?
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 1 Jn. 5:4-5 ESV 6. Do you tan? Use self tanners? Visit tanning salons? See your dermatologist at least once a year?
Usually, I stay as shaded as possible...and as pale as a ghost all summer long. This year we decided to get a pool membership...so I'm slathering on SPF 50 very liberally. I still got a burn on my back the first day out. Ugh! I don't go to the dermatologist but I should since after 30 my skin has decided to act like it's 16 again. Argh! 7. Five years ago I would never imagine that today I would_be preparing my baby girl to start Kindergarten_.
8. Insert your own random thought here.
Said baby girl got a touch of something nasty. There's nothing like the reality that you are the grown-up MomE...when you aren't sleeping cuz you're listening for that gurgling sound...cleaning up at midnight...and doing nasty laundry all day long with your sleep deprived little mind. Ugh! So far, no one else is sick. That's my biggest blessing to recount for today so far.
In true Father's Day spirit...I'd like to thank my wonderful husband for helping me strip the bed at midnight...and for spraying nasty things off with the hose in the wee hours before he went to work. Thank you honey....SO MUCH!!
I was surprised to discover my salsa plant had produced a nice, long, beautiful pepper. I have no.idea. what to do with it...too hot to put in the salad...no ripe tomatoes to turn it into a mini bowl of salsa...
Maybe I'll slice it up and freeze it for later...Any other ideas?
The prettiest hanging basket I've ever had...so pretty!
{happy}
Organized outside games and toys...and the vintage village I played with when I was a little girl!!
{funny}
We got a Venus Fly-trap...and as I was trying to get it in focus without success...
...SNAP...it ate it's lunch! It made me JUMP!
The next victim??
{real}
My tomatoes are GIANTS...no joke. One is called a Goliath. BUT, they are so tall they are leaning over...probably 2 ft. above my tomato cages. Guess I should stake them?? Any thoughts or advice?
1. Do you and your family enjoy camping? What do you enjoy most/like the least when it comes to family camping? When was the last time you camped?
I enjoy pictures from my childhood of camping trips. In my mind I see it as a way to travel on the cheap...BUT...I'm not sure I can be a camping kind of gal. I don't know...we'll see...as the kids get older and the price of gas and hotels goes higher and higher...and higher.
2. Did you attend a summer camp when you were a kid? Is that a happy or not so happy memory?
I attended a GREAT christian camp when I was growing up. I made a lot of important spiritual decisions and had SO much fun. I even worked there for one year after I was too old to be a camper. Working there was NOT fun...it about killed me.
3. Over the course of your life, what have you probably spent more time pondering than anything else?
The future. Sad but true. I need to work on enjoying the present.
4. Which of the seven natural wonders of the world would you most like to see? There are many lists of 'wonders' but this is the standard natural wonder list-Mount Everest, The Great Barrier Reef, The Grand Canyon, Victoria Falls, The Harbor of Rio de Janerio, Paricutan Volcano and The Northern Lights.
I'd really like to see The Northern Lights...on an Alaskan cruise. Yeah...that sounds nice.
5. What was your first real job?
Probably that exhausting camp job I mentioned earlier. Interestingly, I didn't get another one for several years. Then, I worked in food service for a few summers...and did data entry at the college during the school year. Yup...I'm a worker.
6. Lemonade or Sweet tea...which do you prefer on a hot summer day?
Lemonade...but we usually have both in the fridge...cuz Loverbrains prefers the other. Although...I've cut back his sweetness to 1/4 c. per 2 qts...and switched from sugar to Splenda.
7. What is something that always brings a smile to your face?
Kisses and hugs from my Sweet Boobahs!
8. Insert your own random thought here.
We've been spending lots of time at the pool...and I got some cute pictures of my Sweet Boobahs...
The pool is right by a train track...and the train always goes by about 12...My boy loves trains, planes and automobiles!!
This pool has a fountain area...and my girl loved sitting on the fountains and then jumping up suddenly to get sprayed! Cute!
I know I posted this a few years ago...but it's fun to watch my Loverbrains laugh...
[Close Encounters of the Droid Kind]
You must use the force (repeat ad nauseum)
[Raiders of the Lost Wookiee]
Long time ago, far far away (repeat)
Kiss a wookie, kick a droid
Fly the falcon through an asteroid
Till the princess is annoyed
This is spaceships, it's monsters, it's Star Wars, we love it!
Come and help me, Obi-Wan
X-wing fighter and a blaster gun
Dance with Ewoks, oh what fun!
This is spaceships, it's monsters, it's Star Wars, we love it!
[Super Han]
Get in there you big, furry oaf
I couldn't care less what you smell
I take orders from only me
Maybe you'd like it back in your cell
Your Highness, your worshipfulness, your highness, your worshipfulness
No one cares if you upset a droid
(nobody cares if you upset a droid)
That's because droids don't tear your arms out of socket.
(nobody cares)
I suggest a new strategy: let the Wookie win
That's because nobody cares if you upset a droid.
[ET the DiscoTerrestrial]
Now we listen to Luke whining:
One more season... One more season... One more season... One more season...
I was gonna go to Tosche Station for power converters
Now I guess I'm going nowhere.
It just isn't fair.
[Jaws: the Wookiee]
Woooooookiee (repeat)
Someone move this walking carpet (repeat)
Kiss your brother, Kiss your brother (repeat)
Princess Leia
Well I guess you don't know anything about women.
Who's your daddy? (repeat)
[Jurassic Darth]
Luke, I'm your father
(That's not true!)
It is useless to resist
(My hand!)
Come with me my son, We will rule
(I'll never join you!)
Search your feelings it is true
So you have a twin sister
Who Obi-Wan was wise to hide
(Is that Leia?)
If you will not turn
Then perhaps she will
Give in to your hate
You are mine
Long Long Long Time ago... Far Far Far Far Away
Long Long Long Time Ago, Far Far Far Away (repeat)
Kiss a wookie
Kick a droid
Fly the falcon
Through an asteroid
Till the princess is annoyed
(She's annoyed!)
This is spaceships, it's monsters, it's Star Wars, we love it, it's true
Episode 3
Coming to you
In 2005
So Let's go
(go go go to the movies)
Stand in line
(buy buy buy me some popcorn)
Cause it's al-
(please I'd like extra butter)
most the time
(Join the dark side...)
May the Force be with you all
Cat, n. A soft, indestructible automaton provided by nature to be kicked when things go wrong in the domestic circle. Ambrose Bierce
If only cats grew into kittens. R. Stern
My little garden is growing merrily along...except for the rotten neighborhood cats...
...they think I put a lovely litter box in my backyard...just for them. Now, I'd never stoop to poisoning a cat...but I am at the CURSES stage...and my curses pack a punch...
So, CURSES TO ALL NEIGHBORHOOD CATS...If you keep digging holes and pooping in my garden...May you get fleas and all your hair fall out, so you'll be bald and yowling in despair....
...and may you lick your paws...cuz I've liberally sprinkled the soil with cayenne pepper. I hope it makes you cry!!! May God save your mangee necks if you kill my tomato plants!!!
SINCERELY, YOUR UNFRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD GARDENER (I wasn't sure if one should sign curses or not...but figured just in case.)
My Dad called me this morning and inquired as to why I hadn't been blogging. Grandparents need pictures apparently...even when they've just seen the little buggers. He was teasing (sort of)...but I was a bit crabby so I told him I was dealing with that sad truth that cleaning begets cleaning. I then told him that I'd cleaned my windows inside and out...and all of my blue glass...and the curtains. He laughed and said he couldn't help my neurotic tendencies. Of course, being me...I decided to look the word up to see if it really applied. Humph...
Neurotic- Someone who tendstobeemotionallyunstableorunusuallyanxious. Well...I'm not normally...but when I feel introverted and anxious I do clean...so, there ya have it. And no, I'm not going to share the details or causes of this said neurotic behavior. It happens to everyone...surely. You might not clean but hey...eating ice cream by the gallon would probably be a lot more fun!
I do clean my blue glass collection about twice a year. But...as I was taking them down I noticed the cobwebs extended into the curtains....
....and being in an emotionally agitated mood...I hauled down the curtains and slapped them into the washer quicker than I could think. Which was dumb...cuz I had to iron them later...as I ironed I muttered to myself..."Why do I do these things...argh!"
Oh, and then the windows looked icky...so I filled a bucket and grabbed my squeegee and washed the inside...AND then, since the kids wanted to go outside anyway...I enlisted their assistance (such as it is) and went outside with my trustee step ladder and washed the outside too....(I might have also transplanted some houseplants too)....
When I was outside I decided to go ahead and clean all the other outside first floor windows...SO THEN, I had to come in and wash those curtains too....
And...the kitchen window too. SO...who wants me to come over to their house the next time I'm in a thoughtful (neurotic) mood? Check your windows and let me know.
And before anyone says anything...yes, yes...I know that I haven't posted grandchildren pictures to MomE & Loving It yet...I forgot to take the camera to the pool this morning...then it's batteries were dead...just hunted down batteries and will shoot the little buggers (with the camera) as soon as they awake from naps and do something cute...shouldn't take long. I promise.
