a before and after

Yesterday I spent a big chunk of the day cleaning house. Normally that wouldn't be so thrilling, but life has had it's ups and downs lately. And having a day sort of all to myself and doing things like mopping and cleaning the blades on the ceiling fans that I have saved you from viewing since I didn't take any pics of them...think stalactites was truly wonderful. Oh the glamour. Are you jealous of my exciting life yet?

In raising a daughter, one of the little things I've found myself explaining, is the proper use of the trash can. Kind of like you don't leave your trash on your desk or your night stand or on the floor or where ever. You have a trash can. I think she's beginning to catch on. See?

But there is one little problem with this pic of the trash can. This isn't a before shot. It's a shot of it after I've shaken it to death and nothing else will fall out. Um yeah. What is all of that, you ask? Well, it's just a various assortment of paper and Cheetos and various other bits of nothing stuck together with our little friend, chewing gum! Ick.

So I set out to clean out the trash can. And it wasn't fun either! When I got all the little bits and pieces out, I even soaked it in the sink for a while and gave it a good scrubbing. It was a long time coming. But not something I'm interested in repeating any time soon.

So this is what Miss Boo found in her room when she got home from school.

It's always ok when you end it with Love you, Mom and a little heart. Isn't it?

a different take on tea parties

I can't really decide where today's post is 'going' or what I really want to say. I just have something on my mind and I feel like I need to get it out, if that makes any sense.

Anyhoo....

I've been inundated with emails of late regarding all these tea parties that have been going on. Now granted, I'm all for what these people are trying to achieve. But... and this is a big but here....

Is this what we really need to be about as Christians? I can't help but think that Jesus wasn't political.

And also, more importantly, what if someone were to turn away from God or decide they don't want to have anything to do with Him because of these political agendas. That makes me sad, because when it's all said and done, there will be no republican, or democrat... or even independent. Just His and not His. God is going to accomplish what He wants to do through the prayers of His people. God is the one responsible for changing hearts. Not necessarily activism.

I so often wish the energy the church pours into these political events could/would be poured into seeking His face and yearning to further His name and work to those who need Him. That is all.

Anyway..that's my two cents worth-for what it's worth. Less than a penny these days. See, I'm more 'on your side' than you think. : )

Carry on, folks! Like I said... I know this isn't an eloquent post by any stretch of the imagination, but this is just something that is bothering me. I fundamentally agree with the cause of these protests, just not the raising of this movement to almost equate it with some sort of spiritual fervor and the militancy Christians have attacked this with. And the potential harm to the kingdom of God because of it.

***comments closed on this post***

topsy turvy

Yeah.. I bought one! I saw it at Walmart and couldn't resist.

Does anybody know if these silly things work or not?

Are they a pain in the neck?

Does this make me a doofus... or too old lady for my own good?

Don't answer that!

But I like home grown tomatoes!

it's a mix

We had a wonderful, relaxing weekend. Boo was off for her Easter break, so Friday she and I had a girls day out kinda thing. I took her to see the Hannah Montana Movie. Which we loved! Is it ok for an old lady like me to like a movie for teenagers?? I hope so. It was cute and sweet and well done.

And it was also a complete pleasure just to shut real life out for a little bit too. : )

We found out over the weekend that a girl from my daughter's former school was killed in an auto accident. Boo didn't know this girl, other than recognizing her name. We looked her up in the yearbook so we could both recall her correctly, for sure.

So sad. It shook my daughter up some just because kids aren't supposed to die. Like I need any help with that lesson! But still it's hard for kids to take these things in.

Overall 'things' are still pretty stressful... but I'm doing ok.

Life is just a mix right now.

she didn't 'stick' the landing

Oh my goodness! Those were the first words out of my mouth Saturday morning as I walked past Boo's bathroom and saw THIS!




The cat does this weird thing where she kinda puts one paw on the edge of the box and another more 'in' the litter to umm...do her thing. And then when she's done, she kinda does this Olympic style bunny hop/dismount 'off', shakes her back paws and then darts out of the bathroom like her tail is on fire. Something went wrong.

Terribly terribly wrong.

The judges are gonna have to count off for that!

I talked to Boo about putting the rug back on the side of the tub when she's done taking a shower. She said she understands why she should do that. Now.

Did you notice the roll of tp on the floor? Another post for another day, my friends.

life giving blood

Earlier in the day as I was contemplating Easter and all Jesus did for us, He reminded me of my own words. So I hunted through some old emails and found them. I wrote this on February 24, 2001. In other words, we were a little over a month into Bub's treatments.

We are all doing well again. Friday Bub went for his clinic visit for counts. The girls took one look at him and reached for the cream to get his port ready.. he was white as a sheet. (I think "it's Casper!" was their comment. LOL) Even before his official counts came back, we all knew that Bub would be receiving blood Friday. He was very very white. We did counts, saw the dr, waited for the results, got cream, got matched etc, they sent for the blood, they gave him some medicine before giving the blood, accessed his port, and finally gave him the blood. Receiving blood takes about 3 to 4 hours but the whole procedure takes about 6 hours. We were at the clinic from 8:30 to 2:40. He and I were both sooo tired.

It was strange watching him receive the blood. No one in our family has ever had to receive 'blood products' before. I watched him go from white to pink over the course of the whole day.. and also watched his mood improve! (the nurses explained that low counts can result in a grouchy kid--they weren't kidding--LOL) It was amazing! I am seeing what the blood center means when they talk about giving the gift of life! Wow! It's neat the things God has shown me about the blood since then. How we take for granted blood until we need it. It can't be manufactured.. it must come from living donors. Blood is life! Jesus gave His blood so freely for us and we take it so for granted, and it is Life Giving. : ) How beautiful and precious... how humbling.

I think that about says it all.

frozen toes and walmart

Today has been crazy. Good crazy after all the stressful things that have gone on this week. Boo only had a half day of school today and she's out tomorrow for an Easter break. But it wasn't exactly a thrilling day. She's been complaining of one of her toes hurting. I finally looked at it after just trying to tell her she had a kink in it or that she was being overly dramatic and discovered she had an oddball looking little warty thing on her toe. I felt sorta bad that I didn't realize something else was going on a little sooner.

Mom of the year!

So I took her to the pedi today and she doesn't have just one little warty thing. But two. Same spot on both feet. Great. Make that Mom of the year trophy a little bigger please! So we discussed various way of handling it and what to do etc. Would we just medicate or freeze them or what? We decided to try and freeze the tinier one and medicate the larger one. Freezing it hurts. But it jump starts things little bit so we don't have to do a big routine on two toes. Just one. That sounded great to me. So we decided to freeze the one toe. Did I mention that it hurts a little bit? Somebody polish the brass and engrave my name bigger on the trophy please!

So we froze her toe. Big fun. It's weird because it crackles after she does it, kind of like ice melting in a glass of water. You're welcome! For the record, I'm feeling a little bit bad about the freezing now that it's over. That toe is pretty sore. So much for being mom of the year.

So I bandaged and cleaned and medicated and covered etc and we're good to go until morning. When I have to undo all of that and get it ready for the day. And we'll do that for..oh.. about the next hundred years. And then probably end up seeing the podiatrist anyway.

One of the advantages to this whole toe fiasco was having to made a supply run after her doctor's appointment. I thought we'd try Walmart instead of Walgreens because I can find the pharmacy items much easier at Walmart. Strange, isn't it? The place with pharmacy at the end of it's name is a great place for greeting cards or teddy bears or coffee mugs or Snuggie's... but the drugs are hard to find. That little rant was thrown in just for freebies!

So anyway, we went to Walmart. And we didn't just look at bandaids. I've been having fits trying to find her some cute little tshirts that don't break the bank. Honestly, when I checked out some 'high dollar' juniors stores the other day, most of what was on the rack looked more beat up than what I can buy for $2.50 at Goodwill. So when I found a few cute little tops, I felt pretty good. And she was with me, so we could make a quick run to the dressing room so I wouldn't be making yet another run for returns. I've done nothing but buy and return this whole week. Not a favorite hobby of mine, lemme tell ya!

This one is cute! I found this one for her last week at Walmart.

That's why she's wearing it already! But isn't it cute?!

Love Chip 'n Dale!

And these two are cute. One has Mickey Mouse cartoons drawn on it

and the other is a cute little sleeveless top with ruffly

things on it.

And these two are cute too. Bubble gum is a constant for her.

And the Tinkerbell shirt made us laugh..even though

in my opinion it's pushing the limit as far as sass!

And the pink one is about Sweet Tarts. We looove those!

And the Snoopy tshirt came from Kohls! I have a love/hate relationship with

Kohls and tend to avoid it. It feels like shopping at Marshalls...or is it Ross? Very

messy and disorganized. But sometimes you uncover something

cute! : )

She's mentioned that she'd like to go to 'those mall stores', but she was just as happy with these cute little shirts that are just as silly as the mall tshirts and only cost $7. So there ya go.

Everybody's happy!