Beep...Beep...Beep

Warning...God talk ahead... :)

In the next two months, if you happen to be near me and hear "Beep...beep...beep", it's not because I need to be reminded of the time, it's because I'm "checking in" to God.

Our church is reading a book - Soul Revolution - and with it trying the 60/60 Experiment. Every 60 minutes for 60 days, we stop and pray.

Sounds radical? Crazy?

It's been one of the best experiences of my life (and it's only been 5 days) and has shown me that there is nothing better I could do with my time then talk a few minutes to talk with God.

Things I've learned in these 5 days:

1. I found myself checking my little 60 minute stopwatch to see if it was "time to pray" yet. What?! I can pray whenever I feel like it, that's the amazing awesomeness of God. I had to laugh at myself on that one - I'm sure God was laughing a bit too.

2. God isn't fooled by my rehearsed, church-speak prayer. He doesn't want to hear the thoughts of someone else, he's only interested in sincere thoughts from me. I can talk to him normally, without the catch phrases I've picked up from other's prayers. I can be real with him. Because, honestly, it's not like he couldn't read my mind anyway. I guess God got a good chuckle out of that one too.

3. God is the only purpose of my life. The rest of my life is as easily lost as gained. Even noble pursuits like love can be tainted by the harshness of this world. I cannot find my fulfillment in another human being. As humans we are frail, weak, and prone to disappoint. Even the best of us will one day die, so to build my life on another person is futile. (That is not to say that building your life with someone is bad, relationships are where it's at!)

4. I can trust God with my life - and not just the scary parts.

5. I have to lay down my pursuits for happiness. Satisfaction and contentment do not come from obtaining every goal, material possession, or achievement I desire. Yes, pleasure and even momentary happiness may be had from these, but it does not last. The new car gets a dent or is wrecked, the beautiful house starts looking less beautiful to you, and the new job is not quite as exciting as you thought it would be. My pursuits were, first, weight loss. I thought losing all my excess weight was the key to being "happy". More confidence, clothes fitting better that this would make me happy. This was my "idea" or "plan" to achieve my happy, contented life. I had to lay this plan of mine down to God. If he wants me to lose weight, I will. And I can lose weight, but not as a means to happiness. It should not consume my thoughts day and night. I should not be obsessed with it.

So I set that pursuit down and prayed. I am not in control here - and from my numerous struggles with weight my entire life, that is pretty obvious. God is in control. Of course, I'm not going to run out and stuff myself with every fatty/carby/unhealthy food item in sight. But I'm going to give my day up to God. I prayed that He would direct me to foods that are healthy and keep my away from foods that do not nourish my body. I prayed that food would not be a struggle for me anymore. That I would not hold beauty/thinness up as an idol above Him.

And not that it matters, but it was quite surprising, that I lost 2 more lbs after that. Considering I hadn't been obsessing over my weight this entire week - no counting calories, or thinking about fat content, or planning out my meals, not even exercising - it was refreshing to put my worries and burdens in this area on Him.


Anyway, I'm sure there will be much more learning to be had while I am doing this "experiment" - which I hope turns into more of a habit, since I don't think I'm ready to ever end this experiment.

I need something constant in my life, because everything changes and everything I grasp onto so quickly slips through my fingers in this world. God is that constant, and I am so grateful for Him.

Crying Out

You say you're falling apart
Reached the end of the line
Just looking for your place in an ordinary life
No one calls you friend
No one even knows your name
You just want to feel loved instead of all the pain
You no longer have to say
No one's listening anyway
Come here and cry on my shoulder
I'll hold you 'til it's over
I'll rescue you tonight
Let My arms be your shelter
Your hiding place forever
I'll love you more than life
You're wearing a frown
Given up on hope
My heart is reaching out
More then you will ever know
Is your burden too much?
Is it more then you can bear?
I'll help carry the load if you're willing to share
You have had some hard times
Had thorns placed in your side
I know about what you've been going through
Tears of pain are falling down
It hurts so bad you're crying out
Your problems won't last forever
Let Me put you back together

~Overflow/Cry On My Shoulder

Dragging...

That's a word that sums up things right now. Everything is...well...dragging.

The installation of our tile floors is dragging on and on. They supposedly will be doing the grout on the tile tomorrow.

The installation of the rest of our kitchen is dragging on and on...I don't even think about finish dates anymore.

I'm dragging...between taking care of the kids (who are going stir crazy and just out of sorts with all the upheaval lately) and dealing with doing life without a stove, microwave, sink, or washer/dryer...I'm definitely ready to get my life back.

Although I went to a friends house and spent all morning doing 3 loads of laundry, I still have a mountain of it stacking up. I'm so sick of eating out - luckily tonight I made a slow cooker meal recipe I just got, it was yummy!!

Other than that...nothing going on here. Not much living to be done when you're living in a demolition zone.

Wishing...

It is cold here...like near freezing cold. And it is raining.

Maybe it will get really cold and SNOW!

And maybe my darling Mark will not have to go into work tomorrow and get to play with us ALL day.

And maybe Hayden will get to play in the snow with his Daddy (but not his Momma cause she hates the cold).

And maybe I'm just dreaming (cause I think we might only get a wee bit of ice on the overpasses)...but wouldn't that be nice?

A girl could use some sweet dreams - I think I'll take this one.

Making Lemonade

Yes, life has given us a few lemons this past week, but I'm refusing to get negative. I briefly mentioned some of the bad stuff in the last post, but I hate whining about things, so I'm not going to go in all the gory details. Let's just say, I could probably top most of your "bad day" stories.

Kitchen is not done (of course), and the guys are not even working on it today (not sure why). But in lieu of that, I decided to take this opportunity (since we are back at home) to take down the wall paper in the kitchen. This is probably one of my least favorite home improvement tasks (not that I actually have any favorites) since in this house the wallpaper has been chemically bonded somehow onto the dry wall. In essence, I can only take the wall paper off in layers (the top layer, then the paper layer, then the glue layer) and it takes a long time.

I've been working all morning and afternoon and only have one half wall to show for it! At least I know I've been working hard, even though you can see much progress.

The tile floor has been put in (although still not grouted yet), so we can finally walk around our house! Yay!! I really love how the tile looks and can't wait for it to be completed. Our kitchen is still completely gutted - but I guess the plus side is that it's easy to take down the wall paper and paint later without working around any cabinets.

I found some great colors at Lowe's for the kitchen and dining room, but now that I'm looking at them I'm not sure I still like them, HA! I want to do an olive green for the kitchen. I had picked a color called Sunkissed Vine, but it seems a little dull now. Argh, I hate decisions. Is there just an easy button and poof kitchen is done and looks just how I like it?

How the Zavalas Roll...Exile Style

This is how we roll...

Zavala's current residence: ExtendedStay
Number of days Zavala's are exiled to ES: 4...or more?
Number of days remodeling crew has been trying to remove gigantic chunks of old grout on our floors: 3
Number of family members with stomach virus: 3
Family member to obtain bug first: Melissa
Family member to obtain bug last: Mark
Family member with the most bugs: Hayden with strep and stomach bug
Number of times I've cleaned up puke: 3
Number of times Hayden has vomited in the car: Once, while waiting in the drive thru at McDs...yummy.
Zavalas favorite beverage of choice: Gatorade please!
Zavalas food of choice: Chicken noodle soup
Hayden's food of choice: popcorn
Number of days without checking email: 2!!!
Days it took for ExtendedStay to get there internet/phone/cable working: 1
Signal strength of their wireles: Very low
Book I've engrossed myself in for the last day: Twilight...oh Edward!
Number of diapers I've changed today: 15
Food that most reminds me of puke: Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal
First food I craved post puke coma: Animal crackers
Number of hallway walks Hayden and I have taken today: 3
Number of cameras that are not lost, but not "findable" either: 2, located under 3 sheets of plastic in our living room
Number of ECI appointments cancelled due to illness:2
Number of other events cancelled this week: 4
Number of meals eaten in the last 2 days: 1, and oh how good it feels to eat again

Hayden Update

Well we made it through the night. His temperature has been kept in check by alternating Tylenol and Ibuprofen every 3 hours. We had a 105 temp early this morning, but it seems to getting better now. His last dose of Ibuprofen was at 7:30am this mroning, and at 11am I checked him again and he was only 99, so the alternating is over. I'm just going to give him another Tylenol dose at 2:30 if his temp is still spiking.

In general, I don't give fever reducers for fevers under 103, as fevers are our body's natural way of fighting infection. But with an out of control fever that could spike to 106, I always keep him on some form of fever reducer until his body starts regulating better.

He's playing and eat today so it's obvious he's feeling a lot better - yay!

Mark and I were supposed to have another date night tonight, it's been rescheduled to the 30th. Which will be nice, cause we also have a sitter on the 31st! Two nights in a row?!!?!! Oh yeah!

And now, I leave you with some pics of our last 2 days:

Earning my Mommy Bucks

Yup, I'm definitely earning my "Mommy Bucks" today. What are mommy bucks you ask? You know, the invisible money I get paid for mommy-ing two kids. Hehe. Ok, so there are no mommy bucks, but, if there were, I'd definitely be getting time and a half today.

I have to admit, some days are EASY. Kids take a longer than usual nap or sleep in - Sah-weet! Sadly, this doesn't happen that often.

And then...there are days like this one. Days in which:

• You are awoken early to find out that you will be taking care of a sick child today - and on less sleep than usual.
• Your child scares you to death by running a 106.5 fever - no I'm not kidding...
• You freeze your buns off on a cold tile floor in the bathroom while your child takes a 2 hour sponge bath
• You cry in relief when the temp goes down to 102.
• You cry in desperation when your child is fighting you over taking his medicine
• You pray to God that he will NOT spit out the medicine, that his fever will go down, that he will be ok.
• You quietly watch your child like a "bomb" waiting for the fever to rise again.
• You let your child eat goldfish in the bathtub because ... at least he's eating.
• You've never been more happy to see your child splashing in the tub, cause that means he's feeling better.
• You watch Disney movies ALL day with no guilt
• You forgo naptime (your absolute favorite time) because your afraid his fever will rise again and he'll have a seizure and you won't know it.
• You can't wait until your hubby gets home - so you can take a hot shower and de-stress.

All this blood, sweat, and tears must be worth something!

It is.

A healthy child.

Sick Friday

Mark and I were awoken in the wee hours of the morning by a screaming child. Hayden was practically inconsolable and it was obvious he had a fever. Sickness has come to the Zavala house. Mark, being the angel he is, did all the care taking while I pretended to sleep on the couch. We put on Disney's Robinhood to distract him. As soon as the Dr.'s office opened I called in and made an appointment. I also had to cancel Hayden's ECI appointment today since they have a "No infectious contact" policy.

I thought he probably had an ear infection since he had gotten some water in his ears last weekend. He'd been playing with his ears a little, so I figured that was it. I was wrong.

I knew the appointment would be awful. Hayden hates doctors. He hates them even more when he's sick. There was much holding down and screaming. At one point she asked me if he does this in all situations. I'm like, no just for doctors. I have to admit I'm not fond of people sticking things in my ears and throat either. Especially that strep test swab. Yuck!

The verdict: Strep throat. The test was "borderline" so there's a possibility it's just a virus, but they are going to treat him for strep just the same. I went to the pharmacy to drop off the prescription, of course it wouldn't be ready until 30 or 45 minutes later. I thought I'd treat Hayden to some french fries, but poor baby is so sick he didn't want them. :( He ate his banana and cereal this morning, but has shown no interest in eating since then. He seems to be getting sicker.

The fact that he's just sitting here next to me on the couch watching his movie says a lot. Hayden NEVER sits still. And now that I look down at him I see why - he's fallen asleep. He never falls asleep outside of his bed. But I guess if you've been up since 4:30am you'd be tired too. I hope he gets lots of rest today and his little body will fight off this nasty bug!

Having two children somehow has made caring for a sick child easier. I know that doesn't sound possible, but it's true. See instead of just sitting around "watching" and worrying about my sick child, I can't - I still have to take care of Corbin. Less time to worry about all the "what ifs". That must be God's blessing for parents with more than one child. You get more work, but the ability to put sickness in perspective since it seems like someone is ALWAYS sick. But they do recover. I've taken him to the doctor, administered the medicine and tylenol, offered water, juice, and food. Now all I can do is love and wait.

Happy Birthday Baby

Here's a big happy birthday to my love:


The man who still rocks my world (wink wink):



The only person who could rock this celebratory pose and still look cool:


The man who's always making me laugh:


Remember when you wore this?

So here's to you baby,


my love, my darling


my sweet, sexy man:



I love you today, tomorrow, and always:

The Fine Art of Patience

Guess what's NOT happening right...

Yup, no kitchen remodel. Apparently our guy hurt his foot yesterday and is headed to the doctor today. So he gave us a choice. We could:

A.) Have all the demolition work done, but have no kitchen over the weekend and they'd finish up next week.

or

B.) Wait until Monday and they would have it done by Friday.

We chose B. Spending the weekend with no kitchen didn't seem like fun. Especially since we have a babysitter this weekend (I love babysitting swapping) and I didn't think they'd appreciate sitting in one corner of the living room surrounded by debris.

What's hilarious is that before finding this news out, I completely emptied the dining, kitchen, and utility areas. Our living room was pretty much one large pile of stuff. ARGH! After all that I gave up and met a friend at the Domain for tea. When I got back Mark had sweetly rearranged EVERYTHING so it would be livable for the next 5 days.

So yeah Monday...or next year...or never...ONE DAY I WILL HAVE A NEW KITCHEN, but that day is not today.

Blah blah, in other news....

My new favorite place is fast becoming the Steeping Room at the the Domain. We had a delicious Strawberry green tea - wow I loved it. And after working all day on the house, I ate dinner there too - I had the roast beef sandwich on whole wheat and it was awesome!

In diet news, I think I've lost my next two pounds. I'm still consulting the scales to make sure - hehe. Last nights roast beef (and scone ACK) probably didn't help much on that front - but other than that I've been doing great. 94% Fat Free popcorn is my friend!! I'm also enjoying pomegranate juice (1-2 oz) mixed with sparkling water! My new "soda". Today is day 3 without drinking ANY sodas. I'm on a roll. I'm really hoping to lose my "holiday" pounds by the first week in February, so I'm trying to lay off the snacks!!

Anyone have any good (healthy) snack suggestions? What do you eat when you're feeling those between meal munchies coming on?

I've just started introducing solids to Corbin. He's sort of getting the hang of it, but mostly he grabs the spoon and just likes to gnaw on it. He gets really angry (like crying tears angry) if you take it away - even if it's just to refill the spoon. HA!

Hayden is very into Elmo these days. Everywhere we go he points out all the Elmos - there are more than you think. Sheesh. I hear ELMO! all day.

Well I think I've spent enough time on here. I decided to have a Harry Potter marathon to console me about not having my kitchen started today!

So What Do You Do With Them?

Boy is that ever a question I ponder! Some days I really don't know what to do with my kids who are very DIFFERENT ages and both want Mommy time (at the same time of course).

I've found a few things though, so I'm going to share those - and maybe you could share yours?

• Recently, I've found that Corbin LOVES to be up high in the high chair watching all the action. I set out 2 toys for him to play with and he's happy. He usually doesn't even play with the toys because he's so busy watching Hayden and I run around. It's a view he doesn't usually have, so he really likes being able to see everything.
  
• I also took advantage of sibling rivalry and used it to occupy Hayden. Once Corbin starts to get tired of the high chair (which is usually signaling naptime), Hayden wants up in the chair too! So I put Hayden up there with some playdoh.
  
• A trick I've learned with the playdoh - I put 4 containers of playdoh in a plastic bin with a folding lid. He then spends time opening the bin, pulling out all the playdoh and any playdoh "utensils" I've thrown in there (like plastic toddler forks or cookie cutters). Then he might put them all back in. Eventually he'll say "Open" or lately "apple" (don't ask) and want the lids off the containers. I only open the one he shows me. So he plays with that for awhile, then asks for the next and so on. Then he plays with the playdoh. I've instantly added an extra 15 minutes! (I'm usually doing dishes during all this high chair time).
• A good "supervised" activity is the piggy bank. I pull out a bunch of coins and let Hayden put them all back in. I say supervised because if you don't watch out he'll be sticking coins in all kinds of places (think VCR, random holes, etc)
• Corbin is really into just rolling around on the floor right now, so he's pretty well entertained. I've also limited his toys to just 3 items. So he's busy exploring all that those 3 toys can do. Right now he has a stuffed crab toy (actually a bath toy, but we just use it for a toy) that makes bubble noises, a sun that plays classical music, and a Bee that has crackly wings and lots of places to push to get music/feedback.
• Corbin also enjoys it when you make funny faces at him or play peek-a-boo or clapping songs. He particularly enjoys watching you chew gum - he tries to copy the chewing motion, HA!

Anywho, those are just a few of ours. What do you do?

So much to do...so little time...Let's Blog about it!

I'm trying to find the energy to start clearing out areas for tomorrow. While my coffee brews (which should give me a little energy) I'll just complain about it on my blog! Er, I mean, list out the tasks I need to complete today (minus all that kid stuff I do - which YOU KNOW doesn't take ANY time at ALL).

1. Wash the few remaining dishes we've been using over the past week
2. Take the last dishes upstairs
3. Decide if we should keep any of those dishes downstairs to use during the week.
4. Do the laundry before we have to unhook the washer and dryer.
5. Clear off the counter tops and bring that stuff upstairs
6. Haul the rest of my cookbooks upstairs
7. After laundry is done, bring laundry soap/stain removers and whatever else is on that shelf into the garage.
8. Pick up all the stuff that's collected in the entry.
9. Pull things off walls that might get knocked down in the commotion.
10.Clear out garden window of junk.

I think that's it - hey now that I've written it all out, that doesn't sound too bad. Time for coffee!!

Anyone have any coffee recommendations? I'm wanting to try something new!

Mel

One more day until kitchen demolition...I know I've been saying that for the last month...but this time it's FOR REAL. I think. Hehe, no, dude it better be for real, or uh I'm gonna have to get mad and you don't want to see Mel mad...I think a small few of you may have seen it...

Apparently, I'm really into "..." today...hehe.

Corbin is growing like a weed, I can't believe he'll be 7 months on the 24th. I completely stopped keeping track of how many weeks he is, I guess that's a first time mom thing, haha. Now, I'm just like, uh what day is it? Oh, then he's 6 months.

I went to the birthing center to get my girlie parts checkup. When I walked in, the receptionist, who knows me by name now that I've had two babies there in 2 years, was like oh your having another baby? HA! I'm like uh, I don't think so - I'm taking the year off. I'm just here for my yearly.

And just for your information, everything looks good down under! I'm always cautious about these checkups since my mom had pre-cervical cancer and had a hysterectomy in her 30s. So I try to stay on top of that kind of stuff, and I'm super aware of my time line for having kids. My grandmother also had similar issues, so it's definitely a hereditary thing.

Oh, and in fun news, Jenny and I rocked our first wine tasting adventure. Neither of us had ever done wine tasting and I'm so glad we picked a good place for our first experience. They were extremely informative and super sweet - not at all intimidating or snobbish about anything. I loved it! I'm not really a wine person as of late - considering I've been preggo or nursing most of the last 2 years, but it was a great experience. And Jenny and I had a blast just hanging out of course. Mark was the BEST husband in the world and stayed home with our two critters, so I got a solo afternoon/evening. Seven WHOLE hours to myself! Wow. I have to admit though, I was missing my family big time by the end.

I'm totally becoming a homebody. Nothing more I love than being at home and enjoying my family. Hayden with his crazy antics - always making us laugh; Corbin being so snuggly and smiley; and my sweet hubby, one of the few people on this earth that really GETS me and my humor. Yeah, these are my people, hehe.

It's nice to see your comments on the weight loss front - feels less lonely when I'm arguing with myself over picking up some fast food or just coming home and eating what I had planned. Which I won by the way - no fast food for me today. I've found a new love - Spicy Thai Bumble Bee Tuna kits. Oh my goodness - so delicious.

And in most wonderful news - NieNie will be back Jan 16th! Her link is on the side, I encourage you to read through her archives. She makes me want and strive to be a better mom. She's been through more than any of us could imagine, yet she plans on continuing her blogging torch. I look forward to her posts and daily appreciate her insights into motherhood, wifehood, sisterhood. On the days when I'm getting down in the motherhood dumps, I recharge by reading over a few of her archives. She's made me appreciate my children more, love my husband dearly, and just be glad to be a woman. Read her, really read Nie and you won't regret it.

Where are my Dieting Divas?

I know some of you have wonderfully slim silhouettes, but there must be a few of you watching those calories/carbs/fat/sugar/etc. I count myself as one of those counters. I took the holiday season off and paid for it with 8 not so glorious pounds. I've laid out a whole plan for weight loss, and with each 5-10 lb chunk of weight loss adding a new healthy habit I want to learn.

My first goal is to lose those 8 lbs I gained from Thanksgiving-New Years. The habits I've paired with that are a reduction of the diet (and especially non-diet) sodas I drink daily, as well as staying away from sweets. Instead of stocking sweet "treats" in the house, I've included only one sweet item - a bar of 80% dark chocolate for the week. The chocolate is SO rich, there is no way I'd ever gorge on that and it gives me the sweet fix I need to keep going. Since the Pantry Cleanout of 08', I don't keep more than a weeks worth of groceries around, so weeding out the sweets wasn't hard.

The sodas are almost gone now, I've reduced my 6 soda habit down to 1-3 depending on the day. Now we're down to the last 2 liter of diet coke. Once that's gone, I don't plan on buying anymore. You can't drink what's not there.

I've already chosen my "habits" for the rest of my weight loss journey, but I'll talk about those when I get there. Which, accordingly to my calculations, should be sometime in February!

I've also been food journaling - which, let me tell you, is AMAZING. Having to think back over my day and remember everything I ate, and then analyze what I could have done differently. I look for where I went wrong, or what I could have done differently. Did I go too long without eating and then gorge and overeat later? Was my lunch not filling enough? Do I need more protein? Did I have too much sugar or carbs? How did I feel? Etc. It's been a great tool to help me see what works and what doesn't.

For instance, I've found that cereal for breakfast doesn't work for me - I usually want more than one bowl and am not left feeling very full. I have found that oatmeal works great, leaves me full, and I don't feel as hungry later. But cereal works as a great afternoon snack that really curbs cravings. Tea and coffee also work well to help with cravings, I notice when I don't have any I usually end up overeating that day or trolling the cabinets looking for snacks.

This has been week one and I did lose my 2 lbs. So now I'm on to the second week. I'm kind of looking at this as a very long uphill battle, not a short sprint. No crash diets, low-carbin, drastic calorie reduction, or eliminating whole food groups. Just eating healthier, going more organic, and eliminating some bad habits and throwing in some good.

For those on the dieting journey, what are your methods?

A Shoutout

Remember middle school? Or High school? When you called in and dedicated a song to someone?

This ones for YOU:

Dont worry about a thing,
cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin: dont worry about a thing,
cause every little thing gonna be all right!

Rise up this mornin,
Smiled with the risin sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin, (this is my message to you-ou-ou:)

Singin: dont worry bout a thing,
cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin: dont worry (dont worry) bout a thing,
cause every little thing gonna be all right!

Rise up this mornin,
Smiled with the risin sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin, this is my message to you-ou-ou:

Singin: dont worry about a thing, worry about a thing, oh!
Every little thing gonna be all right. dont worry!
Singin: dont worry about a thing - I wont worry!
cause every little thing gonna be all right.

Singin: dont worry about a thing,
cause every little thing gonna be all right - I wont worry!
Singin: dont worry about a thing,
cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin: dont worry about a thing, oh no!
cause every little thing gonna be all right!

The late, great Bob Marley's Three Little Birds

End of a Long Week

Highlights from this week:

• Hayden's new infatuation with kissing (even the TV got some love)
• Finally painting my toes and shaving my legs (lower body check! How do your toes look girls?!)
  
• Hayden waking up with a massively dirty diaper 30 minutes before ECI was supposed to get here
  
• Corbin finally learning how to grab the fish on his swing and make the music play! Go baby boy!
• Only drinking 1-2 sodas a day (down from about 4-6)
• Having our first "scaled down" day and survived
• Making tea in my bathroom
• Serving dinner and heading to the bathroom, Mark asks "Where are you going?", I respond, "To get the paper plates!"
• Hayden's toe nail is falling off from a massive door opening collision - ewwwww!
• My new head standing kid - every 2 minutes Hayden is trying to do a head stand.
• Corbin finally got a bath - Stinkers is now squeaky clean
• Experience an awesome group night and discussion
• Enjoying the wind chimes on my porch that I got for Christmas (I got my own white elephant gift wooot!)
• Experiencing 3 days with contaminated water. We can stop boiling our water at 5pm today!!! Our pastor is in India right now and water was one of the issues they have to deal with, so in a small way I'm right there with ya Brady!
• Actually creating something - I haven't gotten to be creative in a LONG time. It feels good to do something that's not just about being a mommy.
• I got in a few hot showers!! And one bubble bath (that Hayden crashed). I got use my way awesome bath pillow (but I inflated it too much and it was a bit large, haha)
• Hayden started using the words "Help", "Up", "Open" and "Mama" functionally.
• I lost 2 of my holiday pounds.
• Corbin's constipation ends (for this week) in a crazy diaper explosion. That boy needs some fiber or something.
• I get my kitchen cabinets cleared out.
• We finally get a date for the demolition and installation (next Wednesday) of our kitchen.
• Hayden is in training for becoming a pack mule. First he helps me haul the kitchen stuff upstairs, right now he's bringing ALL of the water bottles in the kitchen to the living room.
  

Tastes Soooo Good...

My amazing Husband (who hates coffee, even the smell!)



Got me some of this....for Christmas.

And it was soooooooooo yummy!!

THANK YOU!

All The Time in the World

Yes, that is my son "pumping" with a plastic martini glass.

Last night at community group we had an amazing discussion about time. The question was: If you had unlimited time what would you do differently?

Our host had an amazing answer. He said to imagine those times when you were having a great night or conversation with friends. In eternity (with unlimited time) those visits could go on forever until we were through. There would be no having to go home to work or relieve the babysitter. No leaving a wonderful night because of an obligation. We could enjoy each other as long as it took.

How amazing to be able to really concentrate on someone without a dozen other "responsibilities" on our mind. To enjoy and cherish another person. To listen fully. To laugh and love. Unending. To have all the time in the world.

It was a great group conversation last night, and how most things end right now, we had to leave before we wanted to pick up our kids. But one day we'll be able to stay and enjoy...forever.

What would you do with all the time in the world?

A Recycled Project

Every year I get the most beautiful Christmas cards and pictures. But what do you do with them all? It feels like a waste to just throw them away. Usually I just stack them somewhere to be thrown away 2 years later.

This year I finally figured out what to do with them. My walls are in desperate need of more art, why not a collage of this years cards?

So this morning (at the expense of my wee ones and my couch...and vcr...and...) I actually started (and finished) a project.

Tuesday...What does one do on Tuesday...

It's only noon and I'm wiped out!

Today Hayden and I had fun clearing out the kitchen!

I took all the "breakables" and Hayden took all the plastic and we brought them upstairs. We must have made about 50 trips. Okay, maybe 30, but still!!

Drill Sgt. Hayden made it a particularly good work out by:
1.) Rushing me to hurry so he could make another trip!
2.) Making me carry his 30 lb butt down stairs every time while counting 1...2..3..for each step.

My arms and legs are like rubber.

And Corbin provided moral support by snoozing in the swing.

I'm glad Hayden and I could take a break from our "battle" to have a bit of fun. What "battle" you ask? He he he.

So when we start spending the day without a kitchen, I will have no microwave (ours is the kind that hangs from the cabinet). So chicken nuggets will NOT be an option. So I'm trying to get him to eat a turkey sandwich and it is not going well. He's on a hungry strike! Sustaining on only milk, water, a few crumbs of bread from his sandwich, and his morning banana!! Argh, I think I may give in. I gave him a sandwich for lunch yesterday - refused! I gave him a sandwich again for dinner thinking surely he'd be hungry enough to eat it - refused! He got his normal breakfast this morning which he ate. I offered another sandwich for lunch -refused!

Bah! I cannot keep this up. I'm thinking this little bugger is not going to eat turkey sandwiches. Dang it. And PB&J is not an option with his allergy. So that leaves...fruit? crackers? Hmm...I could probably make mac&cheese on my electric burner. What a food snob. I cannot believe that I will be making mac&cheese in my bathroom on an electric portable burner. Guess I better dig out my strainer.

Anyway. I'm still not done with the kitchen. I still have all the plasticware/baking dishes left. Hayden was super helpful, but let's be realistic, he can only carry so much. He did get to practice his balancing skills, sorting skills, walking up stairs without crawling (taking a step at a time), and even practiced one of his new favorite words: "Up" - as in pick me up and carry me downstairs wench and be snappy about it!

I also need to do some dishes - I don't think I'm allowed to leave dirty dishes in the sink and dishwasher. Yeah, uh, just work around those, thanks! Put them back in the new sink when you finish, since that's what it will look like soon anyway. Hehe.

I've started making some priorities and changes in my schedule lately. I know...that was an awkward transition....speaking of priorities (which I wasn't speaking of)...hehe... I recently took on an additional responsibility at church - leading up the Nursery-PreK Children's Ministry Team. It is as big a job as I thought it was, maybe even a bit bigger. But I really enjoy it. I love working with all the sweet teachers because they are AWESOME! But it has it's challenges. Obviously, I won't be talking about my work in CM on my blog, but just know it's something else going on in this crazy life!

So, to compensate for that extra responsibility, I've had to cut some other stuff. My family comes first and I am barely handling that (or am I handling it) as it was. In the fall I stepped down as co-leader of Evangelism/Assimilation - I just didn't have the time this ministry deserved. I am sitting this semester of Conversational English out. Two of my three students had to stop coming, and the program seems to have more volunteers than students this year, which is unusual. Mostly, I think the economy is really affecting the program. We used to have a lot of Korean women whose husbands came to the US to work for tech companies like Samsung. Now, those companies are scaling back.

I've also stepped down from baking bread for Bridgepoint. Bridgepoint is our church's way of thanking new visitors for checking out our church. We want them to know they were noticed and we give them a loaf of dessert bread as a thanks! It's a ministry I LOVE, but with the two little ones and these extra responsibilities, I needed to take a break for awhile. I hope I can return when I get things more under control. I might still bake every now and then, but just not make the commitment to bake. Between HCBC NW (our old church) and CrossRoads (our new church), I've been baking now for 3 years! I totally would recommend this ministry to anyone looking to serve with love! Just put a little love and prayer into your batter, and you have a loaf of love!!

Hopefully, with those to responsibilities set down for now, I can feel less overwhelmed and have more love and energy to serve in this new role! I definitely would love your prayers for a calm, quiet mind, lots of patience, grace and mercy, as well as to always look to God to fill our needs. Just in the past week, I've needed all of these!! It's always challenging to see the "inner workings" of a church and not just have the "sit back and enjoy" experience. I know God is going to grow me tremendously by experiencing this. I definitely have grown over the past year after joining the Core and beginning CrossRoads. I went from a "sit back and enjoy" person to a "get to work and make it happen" person. And whoa, was that a big transition! But so worth it.

Just last Sunday I saw God "work" in Children's Ministry. I was sitting in church thinking about a need we had and how in the world we were going to fill it, and when church was over I walked back to CM (childrens ministry) and God had provided!! It was definitely humbling. Here "I" was trying to make it happen and God stepped in and said...Hey, just let me work woman! As a rule I'm choosing never to discuss details about CM on this blog or to anyone else, so forgive me if I'm vague, but trust me it was a true need met!

Okay, so now your eyes are bleeding from reading such a long post...maybe you should go take a nap!

Your Daily Dose of Cuteness

Things I need to get done this week:

- Remove all the dishes from my cabinets
- Clean out my pantry
- Move all my cookbooks upstairs
- Survive my period
- Give Corbin a bath, he's cute, but stinky
- Clear off my dining room table. I hate tables with stuff all over them, and mine is like that 24/7
- Stop drinking so many sodas
- Stay away from sweets!!!
- Catch up on my stack of magazines
- Play WoW!
- Stay warm

How about you?

Five Minutes...All To Myself

Oh my goodness! Was that blur of lights, packages, and sweet treats Christmas? Cause I think I blinked and missed it.

Is it really January 2009? Noooo, it can't be!

Did anyone else gain 8 whole lbs over Christmas? Anyone? No? Just me? I was shoveling in those Christmas cookies like a chipmunk on crack.

My house is quiet for the first time in 2 weeks. Out of town family has gone back out of town. Kids are down for a nap. Husband is getting a haircut. I finally get to blog and sip some raspberry leaf tea.

It's the first week of the month again...ugh. If you don't know what ugh means, well I'm glad you're not THAT in tune with my life, cause then you must be like my BFF or a dedicated reader.

My kitchen is getting remodeled this week (i think). I still haven't removed all my crap from the entire half of my house. Since we're tiling the kitchen, dining, utility, and entry - that means I'm way behind on getting ready.

Hayden, Corbin, and I will be living in a scaled down version of the house soon. Only Hayden's room, the bathroom, and our bedroom will be accessible while the house is "Under Construction". No stove, no microwave, no TV. I bought a portable electric burner to use during this time. I need to create our "new house" in those 3 rooms today or tomorrow.

I'm actually very excited to try out this scaled down version of us. I think it will give me time to read my enormous stack of magazines, detox Hayden from Xmas TV overdose, and spend quality time with Corbin. Less to keep clean and organized, and less to distract me. I can't wait. Maybe we can all benefit from this.

Did I mention I'm getting a new kitchen? YAY!!!!!!!!

Hmmm, it's a new year. I guess this is my time to post about resolutions...but...I don't do resolutions. I'm a horrible resolution keeper. Never kept a resolution in my LIFE, and probably am not going to start now.

But like last year, I do do New Year's themes. Last years theme was Right Now. I've though long and hard about this and my theme this year is Held.

We are all Held in God's hands. He created us. He protects us. He has saved us from ourselves. He sees every minute of every day. He knows the path He has chosen for us. Why do I try and carve out my own path, when I know He has already made one for me? And His path is so much more wonderful than anything I could have created. Why do I not look to Him for guidance on the smaller things of my life? I trust Him with my family and health, but not my daily struggles? He is there listening and wanting to guide me if I would just look to him and not myself. He has grand plans and miracles waiting for me, if I would only trust in Him.

So this year I will be Held. His life, not mine. His will, not mine. His time, not mine. His world, not mine.

And now for five minutes...all to myself.