Made just for me

In the paper on Sunday was a list of the 20 most helpful websites. Personally, I didn't think many of them sounded that helpful except for this one:

http://www.runpee.com/

Helping your bladder enjoy going to the movies as much as you do.

Because a bladder is a terrible thing to hold.
Hilariously clever. They take all of the current movies playing, mark the best places to take a quick break, & even give you a synopsis of what you missed! They also tell you if there is anything good after the credits to try & stick around for. Brilliant! If we ever get a chance to go to a current movie again...that's pretty rare around here...I'm definitely checking this site out first.

Addicted...

My friend said just to try it. I was going to resist, but I gave in to the peer pressure. Just once couldn't hurt, I thought. Now I can't stop using it. I think I'm addicted. Hi, my name is Robyn & I'm a WordTwistaholic.

http://www.wordtwist.org/

According to their rating system, I stink. But that doesn't make it any less fun! I've learned a bunch of new words including: qis...a 10 pointer. My best score so far is 119. I won't say how many tries it took me to get a score that high. ; ) Can you beat me?

Just in time...

for formal pictures at my brother's Ordination & Darren's little sister's wedding...
Rebecca fell off the teeter totter bruising the entire left side of her face, poor thing,
& Andrew decided to give himself an oh-so-lovely do-it-yourself haircut.

How do they always know? It seems almost inevitable that someone will have a major cut, bruise, or something when we're bound to remember it forever in photos. I guess Andrew will get that big boy haircut sooner than I anticipated...& maybe Rebecca will get to wear "real" makeup to the wedding. Oh, joy.

Is that just our family or has that happened to yours?

If I had a million dollars...

This Mother's Day I'm thinking about all of the amazing moms that surround me . . . Mom being the shining star of you all, of course. I am so blest by your loving & generous example.

My greatest wish for you all is perfectly angelic behavior & sincere acts of appreciation from your children today & always. My prayer for you is a love of your vocation as a mother even when my above wish is not fulfilled.

Sometimes, just a break like a silent retreat or a day out with the girls can make going back to the chaos so much easier. Right?

If I had a million dollars, I'd spend a day with you

enjoying a bottle of JAV's Edelweiss wine,

eating an Old Chicago's ultimate hawaiian pizza,

& watching Anne of Avonlea,

before our relaxing afternoon at Center Stage Salon & Spa

followed by tea at Ruby & Cordelia's Fine Tea Room.

We'd finish off our day by enjoying your new gifts:
-book "Bless me, Father, for I have kids" by Susie Lloyd
-CD "Momsense" by Anita Renfroe
-image of Our Blessed Mother hanging laundry with toddler Jesus by her side
-beautiful pre-planted pots full of your favorite flowers to adorn your yard

If I had a million dollars, I would. But, I don't. (If I ever win the lottery...)
So, my gift to you is a prayer that Mary Our Mother will guide & protect you in your motherhood always. Thank you for your love & sacrifice.

Happy Mother's Day!

Was that a dream?

One aspect of pregnancy that I've always found fascinating is the way that it affects my dreams. (I'm not sure if it's specifically being pregnant or the fact that I'm usually eating something right before bed. Pizza=bad. Cinnamon rolls=bad. Leftover birthday cupcakes=strange but acceptable. Bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats=good.)

I am a pretty vivid dreamer anyway, well at least compared to Darren, so it's quite amusing to share what I remember with him when I wake up. He probably thinks I'm making it up half of the time but I really don't have that good of an imagination!

Lately in my dreams, Darren & I have gotten married about 5 or 6 times . . . including a reception AT Hy-Vee serving chicken patties & grapes with college friends dancing the tango, random seminarians scrambling to find another vase for the mancala marbles we want up by the altar, high school classmates dancing in the aisles of the Church to Love Shack DURING the ceremony, & Rebecca wearing her new hot pink crocs & sunglasses without lenses to complement her flower girl dress. Other friends have been getting married . . . complete with Transformers attacking at the end . . . announcing pregnancy, taking crazy canoe rides to see very large sea creatures, & just overall surprising me.

One morning I woke up furious at Darren because he had spent $400 on a pair of custom-made leather boots that had a painting of a deer with his name written beneath it. He neglected to consult me, too. The nerve. I had to keep reminding myself all morning that it was only the dream that I was upset in & not really at him. (Just envisioning him wearing those boots snapped me out of it & into bouts of laughter multiple times. Not really his style.)

How about you? Are you a vivid dreamer? Have any fun ones to share? Anything affect your dreaming "habits"? Am I just a crazy pregnant lady? Okay, don't answer that last one.

First Signs of Spring

1. kite stuck in a neighbor's tree
2. swarm of ants on the sidewalk
3. flock of blackbirds at our birdfeeder
4. hand-picked "for my best mommy" dandelion
5. plastic Easter eggs strewn about our home

Mail Call!

One of the best outings of the day is to the mailbox. We all enjoy it. Rebecca looks for puppies, I look for cars, and Andrew looks for #16. He loves to get the mail...mainly because I let him hold REAL KEYS for more than ten seconds. Rebecca can almost open it by herself now, too. My favorite surprise is getting REAL MAIL...not just bills and advertisements. Few things make my day more than an unexpected letter! Maybe it'll kick me back in gear to be a good letter writer again. What an easy way to brighten a day...God is good.

P.S. Thanks. You know who you are. ; )

Psalm 137

"Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you."

The responsorial psalm from Sunday's Mass really struck me. I kept thinking how many times during the day I forget to keep Christ as my focus. If He was there at the forefront of my mind, how many times would I change how I say something or even better just keep quiet? These crazy pregnancy hormones find me flying off the handle or breaking down in tears way too often anyway...I don't need my own lack of prayerfulness to contribute. I think I'll give it a try for today and see.
How do you keep your focus?

I give up!

Well, I finally did it. After years of cleaning our bathrooms & having them smell like chemicals for hours, I've decided to give it up. Using chemicals that is. (Wish I could just give up cleaning the bathrooms! ; ] ) I tossed the Fantastic, Windex, Clorox Bowl Cleaner, & Pledge. I've always been nervous about having the kids come in while I'm cleaning, so I usually close the door, then I'm overwhelmed by fumes. (We don't have any bathroom windows.) That's definitely not good for me &, really, is it good for them? Rebecca is mostly over her licking everything phase...but still.

I have so many friends that "green clean" so I received all the best advice. The book Clean House, Clean Planet was a good guide. I haven't gone gangbusters yet, just my weekly cleaners, but who knows? It's cheaper, smells fresher, cleans just as well or better, & safer. AND I can assign more of it as jobs for Andrew. =] The new line-up: club soda, antibacterial soap, vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda, & olive oil. I haven't gotten any tea tree oil yet, but it's on the list. Now, I don't really desire that my kids get into an abundance of any of those things, but if they do, it won't hurt them! I feel like a better mom & my house smells clean not like cleaners.

Have you tried "green cleaning"? Do you think I'm crazy?

Angst

I remember hearing that word for the first time in college...I think it was popular over at Holdrege. Well, I'm feelin' it and could use your help.

Anyone have suggestions for how to get a 4 year old boy to stop:
1. picking his fingernails, toenails, and any resulting hangnails constantly?
2. missing the toilet way too often?
3. putting up a fight to wear anything but sweatpants?

I know these aren't end-of-the-world worries, but the presence or lack of these little daily frustrations can sure make a difference! I welcome any practical or even silly suggestions...I've definitely learned the necessity of humor in mothering. Feel free to share yours, too; maybe we could help each other out. Thanks!

My Not-So-Small Successes

1. At my wise hubby's encouragement I went to bed at the new time-changed hour last night to awaken this morning along with the kiddos and without so much groggy. It worked! As a result I actually had us all fed, dressed, AND rode the bike AND showered before he left for work. That sure starts the day off better! Now we'll see if I can do it two days in a row...

2. I finally, FINALLY finished hemming two stubborn pair of jeans. They were my first attempt at sewing denim and neither I nor my machine were quite prepared for our 3 week adventure...but half a spool of thread, six drops of oil, and lots of restitched stiches later, we made it! I feel like I just climbed a mountain...a mountain I'd be okay with not climbing again. ; )

3. We've established a new routine to make it to my Holy Hour! I've been swapping kiddos with a friend for almost 4 years to make it easier, but schedules have changed. So, my newest neighbor and I are going to give it a whirl. I always do so much better when it's part of "the plan" and someone else is relying on me. It's such an incredibly important hour in my week...here's hoping for success!

Where have I been?

I gave up Internet...for three days...unwillingly. We switched providers & had some technical difficulties. I returned to an overflowing inbox, which has never happened before, & oh-so-many blogs to catch up on. I don't consider myself an Internet junkie, but I do check it 3 or 4 times a day though usually not for more than 10 minutes a shot. I guess it adds up! Anyway, it's been an eventful week but I'll just give you my favorite three quotes.

Leo, come! Leo! Come! (Rebecca calling to the neighbor's dog who invaded our back yard. It is one of her first two word sentences! Of course she would use it for one of her favorite things: puppies.)

Just a second, I'm choking on a dandelion. (Guess Darren's not a big fan of "field greens".)

What's 4 + 8? 21 + 21 ? A dinosaur + a banana? (Anyone know that answer for Andrew? He's big into adding lately, but after a while his goofiness takes over...I like to think he gets that from me but that might be debatable...)

Take my advice...

never, ever, EVER play Battleship with a four year old . . . who has never played it before . . . who refuses help from you . . . and who has no one to help him but you at home.

I feel my hair turning gray...er.

Clive Staples?

I just finished reading El Viaje del Amanecer (The Voyage of the Dawn Treader) by C. S. Lewis. What a great book! I've read it before...last year actually, but that was in English. I love reading fantasy books in Spanish. It was kind of interesting how much I didn't know...I don't care to read with a dictionary anymore. But it was pretty evident that words like bordo, proa, & velas had additional meanings related to ships. It's a fun challenge for me to see how much I can understand without knowing every word. Anyway, I'm excited to have another Spanish book in my brain.

I'm also reading Ignatius Catholic Study Bible's Acts of the Apostles, Benedict XVI encyclical Spe Salvi, and To Know Christ Jesus by Frank Sheed. I especially like To Know Christ Jesus . I started it during Advent so it was a perfect fit talking about what the world would have been like when Jesus was about to be born. It kind of pulls together what we know about Jesus' life based on the Bible, writings of the Church Fathers, and general history of the time. It's pointed out some seemingly obvious things to me...like Jesus probably knew all of his apostles...maybe was even good friends with them...before he chose them. Growing up in a small town myself, I can't imagine that never really crossed my mind! I love books that help me make new connections. I highly recommend it!

Oh, yeah, and who names their kid Clive Staples? I'm thinking I'd probably go by C.S., too. What are you reading? How do you choose your next book?

Mmm...muffins

I am always drawn to baking when the weather is rainy or snowy...it just seems to brighten our home.

The kids love to help in the kitchen;

Andrew is more real help than Rebecca,

but both make it an extra fun experience.


On Monday, we embarked on a baking adventure for these awesome muffins.

I never thought that pumpkin and chocolate would be a good combo, but they were quickly devoured. Check out the recipe here.

Simple Joys

Simple but oh-so-helpful joys on a way-too-early-started dark & rainy morning:

1. snuggling into a warm new hoodie fresh out of the dryer
2. except for early morning coughs, we seem healthy
3. the invention of easily WASHABLE markers
4. friendly daisies on my counter...for almost 4 weeks!
5. a little acorn shaped plaque from my Grandma's that reads:
"Don't worry if your work is small and your rewards are few.
Remember that the mighty oak was once a NUT like you."

That kind of sums it up. Thank you, Jesus, for today!

And so it begins...

After months of enjoying the postings of many others, I'm finally starting my own blog. I'm excited to share my daily adventures with you. Talk to you soon!