playdate at our house today

with sweet Angie, Olivia, Henry, Grammy AND Mitzi, Mia and Abbey. Poor Chrys and Oliver, we missed you two!

in case you were wondering...

the smore's gang sign:

the british school boy look is so in.

while the cat is away...

this mouse and her little mice play.

Watching Sesame Street at Angie's. Asher hasn't quite discovered the greatness of Elmo. Have I mentioned he loves his momma? The girls really tore it up to a Michael Buble song. So much so that nothing was in focus and i figured pictures of their blurry backs wouldn't hold your interest - sure didn't hold mine.

Later that day, a project.

I will put this in print: I WILL NEVER PAINT WITH RED AGAIN!

Welcome Spring. Stay awhile. You're a welcome sight.

Since it is now officially Spring, we officially enjoyed the wonderful Spring day with a walk to the neighborhood playground.

The hat lasted long enough to take the pic. isn't he just yummy? and guess what - I'm his most favorite thing right now!
The girl is growing like a weed (we should know, our yard is filled with 'em).
Avery tends to get a bit distracted when riding her tricycle. Daddy's solution - a leash. Works like a charm - notice how focused she seems. Oh, and notice the aforementioned weeds. They line the sidewalk like peasants at a coronation service.
Our destination: the playground. Of course, how could you know. I didn't seem to take a telltale photo. No pictures of the swings, slide, or the bratty kids fighting over um, everything. Just my cute boy in a sea of woodchips. Not sure why a billion splinters is used as "cushion" in a playground. Chewed up tires seem much more logical and feet-friendly.

GRRRR!

I just wrote the wittiest, funniest, entertaining post EVER! Compelling stories, movie reviews, record breaking events, questionable namecalling...and the proper use of the word "procure".

I accidentally typed an "A" in Link and did not delete before clicking on "publish".

My greatness is now gone, flushed down the toilet of cyber-stupidity.

I've lost the will to blog tonight.

Good thing Readers Digest showed up today. Hope lives on in Humor in Uniform. I salute you, our brave soldiers who sacrifice all for a funny antecdote. I'm proud to be an American...and a Readers Digest subscriber.

Toodles!

Accident report

I’m at the closest Starbucks right now. I’ve been here about 15 minutes. I’ve already received two phone calls from my husband. Did I mention this is designated time for me to write? Alone? I’ve got the computer out (obviously), my Grande, decaf Cinnamon Dolce white mocha and petite vanilla scones. My Bible is ready to be referenced. Let the words flow.

The phone rings (for the second time). The first call, Shawn is wondering if I’ve been propagandizing our daughter. She wants a “treat”. Daddy says “after lunch”. She asks for ice cream. My husband explains “daddy’s tummy doesn’t handle ice cream all that well.” Avery says, “Well, God made girls to like ice cream.” You go, girl!

The phone call:

“Hello?” I say wanting to remind him I’ve only just left the house.

“Hey, your daughter wanted me to call you and tell you that we were playing chase and she fell down and skinned her leg. It hurts pretty bad.” He says all of this in one breath so I won’t hang up on him. I’ve got just a little bit of a soft spot for the kids so I’m inclined to listen.

“Were you guys outside?” My mind is wondering where he’s left the baby.

“No, she ran into one of the columns.” Decorative columns in the living room that separate the hall from the living space, the breakfast room from the living space, and apparently skin from my daughter’s leg.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” The next statement I make, I’m only half-joking: “You better fill out an accident report.”

A little background information for you: Every time I leave Shawn with the kids, Avery gets hurt. I can safely say “every time” because, well, it’s true. The gusto with which he attacks playtime cannot quite be matched by my 3 year old. Daddies are wired to be fun, daddies wrestle and toss and chase like no mom could do. And daddies unwittingly knock their kids around. Avery has been dropped off of a bed, bumped into another infernal column, and tripped by big ol’ feet. If that man had any money, we’d be in small-claims court by now.

Now back to the conversation at hand.

“Give her a hug for me. What’s little man doing?” Need to make sure he’s still alive…or at least within earshot.

“I just laid him down.” Muffled to daughter: “Mommy wants me to give you a hug.”

Alright, so are we done? “Okay, talk to you later!”

We’ll see if another call comes in over the next hour. I can only hope he’s the one that collides with that darn column. Avery knows how to call me. I wonder if she can dial 9-1-1.

Gladys, Jesus and Ellen

Ellen talks with Gladys

batteries still charging

that's a good sign! my last charger would "charge" the batteries in about an hour. yeah, right. I would take one picture and the dumb camera would shut down. hence, my dire need to buy new batteries. it's been hours, so i'm thinking i'll have lots of photo power.

I hardly ever watch the Ellen Show, mainly because we don't have cable. Really, we don't have many channels. Actually, two. and one of them doesn't include the english language. BUt for some reason, NBC is coming in (which means I can make out basic shapes through the snow). Anyway, Ellen is talking to this old lady named Gladys Hardy from Austin, TX. OH MY! She is a hoot. Ellen is rolling. So am I. Quotes from Gladys:

"Well, you know, I love Jesus, but I drink a little." (Maybe you had to hear her say it).
"I like to stay local. Around here, they'll pull you over if you've had Listerine." Are you sensing a theme?

Ok, so you probably did have to hear her.

O'Malley from Grey's is up now. He's a cutie.

On a siiiiiddddeee note, what is a "boyfriend trouser"? Angie, Gap Expert, answer please.

AND, how do you get birds to visit a birdhouse? Do they have aversions to certain colors? Do they take bribes? A very excited three year old has been glued to the back door, waiting.

fashion maven in the making

I dunno who she belongs to. The girl is so not my daughter. Any person that willingly changes clothes FIVE times in one day defies logic...

Now, it might take me awhile to find something to wear each day, but you better believe that once it's on, it's not comin' off until bedtime - or until the smell of spit-up sends me over the edge. No lie, just a little while ago I'm driving home from a quick jaunt to the store. I have the window cracked and I think to myself, my what an odorous evening! There's skunk, fertilizer and this persistent sour smell. I'm stumped. What is it?? I lean a tad too close to the shoulder that had supported a very sleepy baby head not 30 minutes earlier.

Bingo.

Yuck. I so stink. And I was out in public, stinking. AND I ran into a neighbor sporting Eau d'Asher puke. Not good.

Grrr. I will NOT miss the day that boy stops sharing his meals with my clothes!

A serious digression. Was I not talking about my un-daughter and her clothes-changin' mutated gene? I know you moms of girls are smiling and saying "it's a girl thing". You might even be thinking, "aren't you a girl?" Well, yeah, I am. Just not a girly-girl. And oh, how Avery is...a pink-lovin', dress-up wearin', high-heeled, make-uped, bejeweled princess.

Makes me laugh. Mostly at her daddy. Who swore she wouldn't wear all pink. All the time.

We were out of the house most of today so Avery's desire to change wardrobe was hindered. BUT, when it came time to go to my parents, Avery approached me with a "I need to change clothes. C'mon. Let's go." There is a clean pile of laundry on the chair closest to me. "How about something in here?" I ask, hopeful.

"No, I need something sparkly." I'm crestfallen, my face falls. The girl is on a never-ending quest for sparkly clothes and there just aren't that many in the house. We comb through the closet, we find a suitable outfit - one that meets the "sparkly" criteria:

A sparkly red velvet Santa dress complete with fur trim...and flip flops.

Ho-ho-ho.

Chh-chh-changes

Transition, thy name is Davis.

Cue David Bowie. Bring on the comfort food. Things are changing around here...

We just don't know how...yet.

It's official - the band is done. It's bittersweet. I'm thrilled at having Shawn home more often, but I'm sad that he's not getting to do something he loves.

We've been asked, "Now what?". We don't know. God continues to provide work for Shawn through The Whetstone, so we'll keep that up for now. Neither one of us is too gifted in the admin vein, but God has used our weakness in this by proving faithful to sustain us for the past 4 years through Shawn's freelance work. And the taxman hasn't come a'knockin' so hopefully we've done things right.

Our prayer is to hold on loosely to what we do have. We know God will provide for us...it just might not be in the way we think, in our current home, with our current "things". That's okay, though I will miss my rockin' minivan if i must say goodbye. Sign me up as ubergoof, but I LOVE that thing! Grocery trips? No problem! Roadtrips? Bring 'em on. The longer, the better! Joovy Caboose, bags of clothes for Goodwill, an insane amount of stowaway toys, booster seat AND carseat? Still got room to pick up the grandparents for an afternoon of fun. Ahhh, the tears will flow.

We would appreciate your prayers. A portion of Proverbs 30 is our hearts' cry and will continue to be, no matter what our circumstances:

"There are two things, Lord, I want You to do for me before I die: Make me absolutely honest and don't let me be too poor or too rich. Give me just what I need. If I have too much to eat, I might forget about You; if I don't have enough, I might steal and disgrace Your Name."
verses 7-9

This morning, as I enjoyed a few precious moments of quiet time, I poured my heart out before God the best I could because I was feeling anxious and distracted. What came to mind was a childhood song:

"In His time, In His time.
He makes all things beautiful in His time.
Lord, please show me everyday, as You're teaching me Your way
That You'll do just what You say, in Your time."

Now, hopefully those are the right lyrics. Either way, it's the way I remember it and it spoke to me.

To all of you waiting on the LORD, peace.
simri

no pics

my stupid camera sucks the life out of batteries. my stupid "rechargable" batteries don't. my stupid brain won't remember to pick up new ones - i was at Walmart TODAY!

getting old sucks.

writing a post when grumpy doesn't suck for me (maybe for the reader, eh?).

using the word "stupid" a lot rocks.

eating ice cream during all of this rocks.

peace and quiet right now so rocks!

what is it with this country???

I am listening to talk radio right now and they are going on about Cheney and his blood clot. I am disgusted by certain people wishing he would die - are you kidding me??? Have we lost all sense of decency and respect for human life??? I feel like screaming. Or cussing.

Big fat guys get paid millions of dollars to play a game, Anna Nicole's sad life is newsfodder for weeks, and I'm sick of the Obama vs. Clinton deal. We've got to put up with this day after day! The media just shoves this crap down our throats and we sit there like baby birds, taking it.

I'd say we are quite worthy of a good smiting right about now.
Father, forgive us all.

I did it!

I decorated the kids bathroom for the grand total amount of $35.67. Actually, $1.98 + tax was for other items. So, the grand total is...less than $35.67. I don't do math.

I should take an "after" shot. Of course, a "before" shot would be helpful. Hindsight: 20/20.

AANNYYWAY, it's cute, i like it, i'll take a pic.

80-80-80-80

Hit the 80 posts mark. yay me. four score. only 20 more til the century mark. then i'll throw myself a party...by posting 101. 99 will be the rehearsal, got to be ready for 100. 98? probably won't even notice when it comes around. i'll be too excited. like i said, yay me.