The Smoo-Dee Dance

The kids and I have started a tradition. On Friday mornings when we don't have any plans, we drive over to Jamba Juice, get an all natural, no sugar added, Orange Refresher smoothie and dance in the store!...Well, not me...I don't dance. God forgot to give me rhythm. But, my kids, they dance their little hearts out while drinking their smoothies!!! They love it and I love watching them be free, innocent, and precious. They also put a smile on the faces of anyone who walks in the store.

2 1/2 Going On 30

The scene: Mom is stressed out because nothing seems to be going right this morning. She puts in a phone call to the hubby so she can whine and cry about everything that is going wrong. He doesn't answer. She sighs and growls in frustration....

Noah: What happened mommy?

Mom: Daddy didn't answer his phone.

Noah: (To an imaginary daddy) Awww babe! You're supposed to answer your phone when mommy calls you. Why didn't you answer it?

Mom: (Laughs hysterically and no longer feels the need to whine and cry)

Clean Clothes are SOOOO Last Year

Do they have a therapy group for those of us who can't seem to get a handle on laundry? The kids have been out of clean clothes for awhile now and yet I can't seem to get around to doing their laundry or my own...because if I put it in the washer, then I have to remember to put it in the dryer, and if I do actually remember to put it in the dryer, then I'd have to fold it and put it away and that process is just so daunting.

I think that my family is going to jump on the grunge look that is in right now...think Brad Pitt with a scruffy face, disheveled hair and a beanie. Now add smelly, dirty clothes and that completes the look. That style is "in" right now, isn't it?

Dear Jillian Michaels

Dear Jillian,
I received your 30 Day Shred workout video for Christmas and first of all let me say thank you for not yelling and cussing at me like you do to your Biggest Loser contestants. I am on about Day 20 or so (I lost count because I had a concussion, the stomach flu, and one day I just chose chocolate fondue over you) and yesterday I decided to try Level 3. I am unhappy to report that after finishing that particular 20 minute work out I was dry heaving, seeing stars, crying, and about to recieve another concussion from passing out. While I want to thank you for making my work out worth it, I would like to ask you to re-do the DVD with the following changes:

Please put a disclaimer at the beginning of both Level 2 and Level 3 stating that just because you have mastered the previous level does not mean that you will not die at the end of the succeeding level.

Please stop using the phrase, "Do NOT phone this in." I don't really know what that means and it's dangerous to hear you say that when I am dripping sweat in the middle of minute 12 while doing a squat and holding my weights. I have almost thrown my weights at the television upon hearing that phrase come out of your mouth for the 15th time.

Please include a bottle of painkillers with the purchase of the Shred. I have been sore every single day that I have done the work out.

Finally, thank you for making me a believer in short work-outs and starting me on my journey back to my pre-baby body.

Your Truly,
Out of shape mom of 2

The Art of Peeing

You would think that by now I would have mastered the art of taking my son pee standing up.

At 12:30 a.m. the other day I was unpleasantly awoken by a little voice in the other room saying, "Mooooommy, I have to go poooootty!" I stumbled out of bed and made my way to get my son to the potty before he peed in his jammies.

The goal was to get this done the quickest way possible so that I would not have to fully wake up. This way I would go right back to sleep.

I decided to stand him up as that would be much quicker. But, as soon as he started to pee I heard a loud tinkle to my left. His pee stream was completely missing the toilet and instead going into the bath tub and all over the floor. I realized my mistake and tried to correct my aim which ended up in a spray of pee all over the seat and a puddle of pee on the floor on the other side of the toilet. I let out an "Oh NO!" and Noah started to cry. I tried to calm him down so as to not wake up the rest of the household. When he was done he let me know that we had "Made a biiig mess." I took him back to his crib and went back to the bathroom to clean up and disinfect my entire bathroom. By the time I was done, I was wide awake and ended up going to work the next morning very sleep deprived.

The moral of the story? Well, if you have little boys that have to go pee in the middle of the night, just stand them up in the bath tub and let them pee. You can do this in the dark without having to fully wake up and it will all wash down with a turn of the faucet.

Wordless Wednesday

That Guy...

I always get annoyed when I see those guys standing in the middle of a public place yelling at the top of their lungs that people need to turn to Jesus or burn in Hell. I just don't think that Jesus would really approve of that style of witnessing... and how effective is it really? I've never heard of anyone turning to Christ because of the crazy guy yelling at him on the street corner.

But...I may have a problem. You see my son has no shame when it comes to praising Jesus. In fact, the other day we were at a public place and he found himself a "stage." He got up on that stage and began to sing "Jesus Loves Me" at the top of his little lungs. I thought a vein was going to pop out of his neck because he was singing so loud. Then, at the end, he looked at me with a proud smile.

I may just own one of those "crazy guys" that irritate me so much! The good thing is that he is too cute for anyone to get annoyed and he is not condemning people to Hell!!!!

Here it is for your enjoyment!

Taking Care of Mama

It seems like my house is cursed with sickness. Every day for the past two weeks at least one family member has not been feeling well. Last Wednesday evening was my turn. I spent the entire afternoon and evening in the fetal position on the floor or on my knees in the bathroom puking. Not fun. The good thing is that I now know that I can count on my 2 little munchkins to take care of me. While I was hunched over on the floor, they were making sure I was warm and "comf-terble!" They wrapped their blankets around me and asked, "You warm now mommy?" Or they'd say, "There, now yer comf-terble." They were so sweet.

Disclaimer: Sorry, if my appearance scares you! I had to post these pictures because my kids were just so cute...even if I was not!

Balloons

Who knew that balloons could cause so much drama in the life of toddlers...and their parents? The other day we took a family trip to Trader Joe's to do some grocery shopping. As soon as we entered the store, the kids began relentlessly begging for a "Bah-yoon." Upon check-out, the nice lady gave Noah a blue balloon and Maia a purple one. Ricky tied Maia's to her clothing which she was not too happy about and I cautioned Noah to hold onto his tightly so as not to lose it.

As soon as we got to the car. I heard a loud traumatic cry from my 2 year old. I turned around to see him reaching for his blue balloon as it drifted high in the sky away from his little hand. He was screaming so loud, you would have thought that he'd just watched his mommy get hit by a car. I couldn't help but laugh because it was just so funny that he was so upset over losing a balloon (bad mom, I know). Ricky, finally got him to calm down by getting him another balloon.
This time, he tied it to his car seat to insure it's safe keeping. Noah frantically ordered us to close the windows so that his balloon would not fly out.
In the midst of our drive home, Noah began to get upset that the balloon was tied to his seat. He cried and whined and let us know that he did NOT want the balloon attached to his seat! To appease him, Ricky yanked the balloon free from the seat ripping the string and causing Noah to fly off the handle once again. "Daddy BROKE my balloon! Fix it daddy, fix it!" By this time, I wanted to pop the balloon and drop Noah off on the corner . We listened to our little boy cry the whole way home, asking daddy to "put tape on it."
Then, as if Noah's balloon drama was not enough, as soon as we get home Maia pops her balloon and runs over to me in a panic crying and screaming, "My Bah-yoon POP! Skeer me! I want Wo-Wah's bah-yoon!" (My balloon popped. It scared me. I want Noah's balloon). Ay yaiy yaiy!
Needless to say, we will be steering clear of ballooms for awhile. My family is still in recovery from this experience.

You Know Your Kids Are Well-Churched When...

They ask you to pray for every character in the movies that they watch. For the villainous characters, they specifically want you to ask "for Jesus to come into their heart."

They get on their "stage," they fight over who gets to be Natalya. (Worship leader at church) "I'm Natalya." "NO, I'm Natalya!" I finally settle the argument by telling them they can both be Natalya.

Someone sings, the kids say "church" and raise their hands in the air.

At grandma's house, they grab their play microphone and tell grandma to sit down because they are going to "tell her about Jesus like Guck at church!"

I Am No Evil Knievel

After my last trip to Glamis, I was in no hurry to go back, however my hubby thought I should give it another try. So, I agreed to go, on one condition: he arrange for me to have something to drive in the sand. I was not fond of always being a passenger. If I had my own toy to navigate, I might enjoy Glamis. Thus, he brought his brother's quad for me to ride. I was so excited and a little nervous as I had never really ridden a quad before.

The first day was a lot of fun. I didn't get to ride the quad but I did get to ride shot gun while Ricky drove the sand rail (Ricky's version of heaven)! Watching him have such a good time made me happy. We hung out with our good friends, ate a lot and rode through the dunes. I was sandy and gross which is not my cup of tea, but I could handle it for a day.

The next day we were planning one long ride which was a straight sandy road, no dunes to navigate through. This was going to be my chance to ride the quad. That morning Ricky took me out and taught me the basics. How hard could it be? It is a 400 pound machine on 4 wheels going down a straight sandy road...piece of cake. Ricky promised he would ride his dirt bike behind me so that I wouldn't feel any pressure to keep up with the rest of the group. But, I was determined not to be "that guy" that everyone feels like they have to slow down for. So, after about 10 minutes into the ride, I pumped that thing into third gear and determined to keep up with my friends in front of me. I did notice that the quad wasn't as steady as I assumed it would be. The sand would make it veer off to the right or to the left or I would feel the back end swing back and forth. But, I was not going to slow down.

I was riding along at around 35 mph when the front end veered over to the right and I noticed I was heading for a bush, that is the last thing I remember....

I woke up about 15 to 20 minutes later and I was in the back seat of a sand rail with Ricky sitting next to me and my friend Jen in front. I felt so tired and confused. I thought, I think I am dreaming that I am out in the desert. I know that we are supposed to go there this weekend with friends. I must be dreaming about our trip. Then, I closed my eyes and just heard people talking to me or about me. It was such a weird dream.

When I finally came to, I was in our friends' RV and I remembered where I was and I wondered how I got there. They explained everything to me and I asked the same questions over and over again and started to get a really bad headache.

Apparently, I had hit that bush, flew off the quad into the sand, and the quad rolled over me. I was unconscious for 2 to 3 minutes. Once I woke up, I was not really fully coherent for another 30 minutes or so. The only injuries that I sustained were a deep cut on my arm (which we cleaned and super glued together), major bruising on my leg from the weight of the quad rolling over me, and a concussion. God is good!

Looking back, I realize that I had no business riding a quad at 35 mph when I had no clue what I was doing. I also realize that my injuries could have been much worse; a more severe concussion, broken bones, or a snapped neck. I thank God for sparing me and my husband. My poor husband watched the whole thing happen. He was the first to get to me when I was on the ground and when I didn't wake up, he just about lost it. He felt so guilty for trying to prove to me that Glamis was fun! I also am so thankful for my awesome friends. They took such good care of me and their relatives who were there even prayed over me while I was unconscious.

This definitely made Ricky and I us appreciate each other more, and made me realize that no matter how hard I try, I will never be a cool mom! I have two toddlers at home who would rather have an alive and healthy mom rather than an Evil Knievel Mom! Here are some pics of my injuries and the trip.

Before my accident! Ready to ride!

Me and my hubby! I felt like such a supportive wife, taking part in one of my hubby's favorite things! If I only knew what was to follow!

Day one- trying to keep the sand off of me!

Jen and her cute niece.

Ricky in Heaven!

Me and my love!

Picture of the Week

This just makes me smile!

Liz

I met my friend Liz about a year and a half ago. Liz is a gorgeous young mom of two kids who loves Jesus. When I met her she had just begun to have health problems. For awhile the doctors could not quite diagnose her. Me and a group of other moms would pray for Liz weekly. One day she came to our Mom2Mom group and let us know that the doctors had diagnosed her with Pulmonary Hypertension, a disease that will kill her in anywhere from 5 to 20 years. It is completely unpredictable as far as how long it will let you live but it is predictable in the sense that there is no cure. I was devastated for her. There was no reason for this to happen to Liz. She had none of the risk factors.

However, God is always good. Liz has inspired me and many other women to live life to the fullest and to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind no matter what the circumstances. She is an amazing woman. I am lucky to call her my friend.

Phew! I wrote all of that to say checkout her latest blog. It is an inspiring must-read as we head into the New Year.

Keeping the Kids Entertained

Sometimes you gotta do whatever it takes to keep the kids entertained. This is what we do around here when we want to try to keep our house clean and our kids contained.

Reflecting On 2009

I know I am kind of a day late to be reflecting but I don't care, I am going to reflect on 2009 on the first day of 2010 because I am a mom of toddlers which means it is impossible to be on time for anything!

Accomplishments of 2009:

Read the whole Bible in one year and spent time with the Lord in a daily quiet time for 340 days out of 365.

Marked 2 items off my bucket list; sky diving and eating a gourmet meal Iron Chef Style

Co-wrote an article that was published

Sang in front of people for the first time in 4 years

Became a part of a small group Bible Study which has greatly improved my marriage

Potty trained a child

Resolutions for 2010:

Be in the Word 365 out of 365 days.

Finish the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred

Run a half Marathon

Read to my kids daily

Cook one successful Rachael Ray recipe for my family per week

Love my husband in his love language which is gifts! This is tough because I am the worst gift giver ever!

More girl time with my friends. (This is hard for a working mommy of young ones. But I need to cultivate my friendships more)

Be more diligent in writing down the funny things my kids say. They always say things that crack me up and I forget to write them down!

Monetarily give to the Lord more than we gave in 2009 and watch Him stretch our money like He always does! (Give beyond our tithe)

I'm Not A Complete Failure After All

I'd like to announce to the world that I finally was successful at cooking a Rachael Ray recipe! I made her spicy chicken tacos and the whole family loved them. Woo hoo! I will not be hanging up my cooking apron after all! I am hoping that this is only the beginning of many successful meals and not just a one time fluke.