Pooped from Cyber Shopping?

So, did you guys burn up your keyboards
with your cyber shopping today?

"You---your keyboard is on fire!"
(I'm probably the only one here who knows the song I am singing when I sing that line, but I couldn't let it pass. It is enough that it makes ME laugh.)


I never even think about that on this day
(it is today, isn't it?).
I guess if I knew of some astounding deal, I would try to
join in....but I never hear of those. In fact, in all the shopping
craziness recently, I haven't seen a deal on anything
that got me up and moving.

I missed out on the one thing that I kind of wanted
just because it made it so much cheaper with all
my discounts. If I'd gone on the 24th or 25th of November
to Kohl's when the mini Kuerig
was on sale and used my 30% off
discount that was good those days along with the $10
in Kohl's cash that I had, I could have gotten that thing
for about $50.
And I would have been as pleased as punch.
But it required driving all the way to College Town
just for that
and I just haven't had a lot of
energy to spare lately.
I do the necessary stuff
and then I am wiped out.

Like today.
I was very busy today.
Got a lot done.
And now it is six o'clock and the kids are eating
leftovers for supper and I am wondering
if it's too early to put them to bed.
(I think with it getting dark so early right now that
I just think it's much later than it is.)
But it's six o'clock.
I can't put them to bed at six.
They'd be up at 4 a.m.
So I feel a Christmas movie and a bowl of pop corn
coming on for those three.
And I will be sitting somewhere with my feet up.



At least I do have something to show for my tiredness today.
The house is tidied.
Not clean, but picked up. Sometimes picking up the clutter is better than cleaning. And clutter is my problem. It takes over. So maybe tomorrow I will get some cleaning done since I got so much clutter picked up and out of the way today. But it's good to feel tired at the end of the day when you feel like you actually accomplished something.
Don't you think so?

The fall/Thanksgiving stuff got carried back down to the basement this afternoon. Here's the total of my Christmas decorating so far:
I put a new tablecloth on the kitchen table
(and it's a great one---got it at Walmart and I love it!)
and I put the Christmas candle topper thing on the Yankee candle that I keep there.
Oh yes, and there are the two tiny tiny poinsettias that we picked up yesterday at Home Depot; they are sitting on the sofa table in the living room wondering what to do with themselves. I am thinking that I will slowly do like a thing or two each day this week.
Just as I am going to start

wrapping the gifts this week
(only maybe not tonight since I am SO tired),
I will also start a slow and steady plodding pace
of decking the halls.
'Tis the season, you know.
Are your halls decked?

Have you donned your gay apparel?

Have you checked your lists twice?

Are you gettin' nuttin' for Christmas?

What are you doing New Year's Eve?

Laugh Your Mascara Off

I just got back from my "lunch" with an old friend.
It was supposed to be lunch with two old friends (one who lives out of town and the other who lives here but I rarely see) but the out-of-town friend called this morning with bad news. She had to cancel because she had stomach flu and high fevers running through her family. I appreciate that she didn't want to spread the plague to us.

So I called the local old friend and we decided to meet anyway. And I am glad we did. It was so nice to go (just the two of us) and sit and talk and eat and just have a good time. It is so rare for either one of us to be without our children. We didn't have interruptions or anything....just adult conversation. So pleasant. I set my timer on my cell phone for two hours when we first were served our food (I do this so I don't forget to check my sugar---because I would definitely forget if the timer didn't remind me) and I was so surprised that it went off while we were still sitting there talking. We were there a long time. The lunch crowd had gone and the supper crowd was starting to wander in. But we just had such a good, comfortable time.

My friend told the waitress it was my birthday and she asked if I wanted dessert. I told her I couldn't eat it, but she started telling me about this less-sugar-than-normal apple pie they had, and I told her it was a great idea but it had no chocolate on it (and really, what point is there in a dessert with no chocolate?). She said she could put chocolate on it---and I said "Bring it on!" So she did. Of course it was like an ambush when they came out with it. I just thought she'd bring a dessert; I didn't think they did the whole birthday song thing where we were. We were sitting there talking, didn't realize anyone was walking up on us, and the suddenly from behind they were singing happy birthday and putting this pie in my face. I just about jumped out of my skin and they all found this very funny.
It was funny.

I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror
after I came into the house a few minutes ago.
I have mascara all under my eyes like
I have cried or something. But it's from laughing.
So that's when you know you've had
a really good time, right?
When you've laughed enough
to mess up your mascara.

So far, I have thoroughly enjoyed this holiday weekend.
Tonight all three kids are going to spend the night
with my brother and sister-in-law.
This has never happened before.
I hope it will go well.
The kids are definitely excited.
And I am thinking Lloyd Dobbler and I will have to
go rent a movie for ourselves
and enjoy our nice quiet evening alone at home.
Who knows how long it will be before that happens again?

Give Thanks With A Grateful Heart

Well, your faithful Bell is home again, home again, jiggety-jig. We had such a lovely, peaceful Thanksgiving Day. It was just my immediate family and it was just a nice day. We went to my parents house, which we hadn't seemed to have done in a few Thanksgivings, and it was just good.
Wonderful food.
Everyone talking at once.
Laughter.
Rook.
A small nap.
Family fun.

And do you know something that I appreciate
about my family that never even crossed my mind
when I was younger? I am so thankful that my family
comes with no drama, no tension
(except for rare occasions). Growing up that was
not something we ever encountered in our home.
And as I get older and see how some other families are,
I am just thankful for the peacefulness and the
fun atmosphere that my parents cultivated in our home.
We don't have any divas about to go off if somebody
looks at them wrong. We don't have to appease people
or anything like that. We can just come and be ourselves
and relax and have a good time.
And we do have a good time.

I am very thankful for my family!

I had a lovely day with them today.

Lovely K made a fudge pie that was the hit of the day. Everyone loved it. She is turning into such a big girl---certainly a big help to me. Big E got to go hunting with his daddy this morning; they didn't see anything but he did get to shoot the gun a couple of times and they had some good male bonding. And then later my mom taught him how to play Battleship and he liked that. Sweet T was full of oats and charm today---but when isn't he? He had to hear my mom read the book about the icky, sticky frog a dozen times.

I am just so blessed to have such lovely people in my life.
And soon there will be a new face.
Last night I was soaking in the tub
(note: I am also thankful for a large jetted bathtub!!!)
and he poked out either an elbow or a knee---it's hard
to tell for sure---but it was really poked out there.
And I kind of pushed back against it and he moved it
away. It was like our first interaction.
It was neat.
I have probably complained about this pregnancy to you,
Dear Reader, until you are sick of even hearing
about---but I am so thankful for the four wonderful
pregnancies I have gotten to experience.
I remember the years when we wanted a baby
and it just wasn't happening.
Oh, what I would have missed out on if God had not
blessed my life with these four gifts!
Pregnancy always feels to me like a time when
I am working with God in an act of creation.
It's a wonderful thing.
Sure, I am to the point where I am HUGE and I'm never
comfortable and I am so tired of eating and setting
a timer and poking my fingers and looking up how many
carbs are in everything. But you know what?
It has made me very thankful that I didn't have
gestational diabetes in previous pregnancies
and that I am not diabetic when not pregnant.
It has made me very thankful for the energy
and abilities I have when I am normal.
It has made me very thankful for the people around me
who have been so lovely
and helpful
and kind.

And tomorrow I get to have lunch
with two of my oldest friends!
I am excited about that.
I hope we laugh until we cry.

Happy Thanksgiving, Dear Reader.

4th Wednesday of every November

Everyone on Facebook just seems to be blissfully overjoyed
that they are headed into a long holiday weekend.
(Not unlike the blissfully overjoyed pilgrim we see to our left who has snagged himself a turkey and a pumpkin pie which he is not carrying very carefully.)
I know Lloyd Dobbler has been very happy about
this himself. I guess if I had the type
of occupation where
I actually had to leave the house
(which might mean it would be
the type of occupation where
I earned money too!),
I might be right there with them in the
hootin' and hollerin'
over the extra days off.


I am excited that today is the last day of
school for this week. And did I tell you how close
to the end of the semester we are?
I think we have 9 days of school left to go!
Can you believe it?
Now that is something to be excited about for sure!

I am so glad we started earlier than ever this year.
It really wasn't hard to get the kids to work then
(they are always interested
in the beginning of the school year)
AND I had the motivation of
"finish school this morning and we'll go
swimming after lunch."
That's the best motivation in the world.


Maybe I will just start school each year in July.
It has certainly been nice to have the freedom to take
days off here and there
(even a week when the kids went
to their grandparents').
And now we'll be done with this
first semester soon.
A part of me is tempted to try to get a jump start
on the second semester. We are used to always
doing school right up until the week of Christmas
....even the 23rd....but wouldn't it be nice
(especially this year)
to NOT do school that last bit
before Christmas?
We can do some baking and maybe even crafts
(what?!?!?
Bell doing a craft with her kids?
Is the world coming to an end?!?!)
and definitely do lots of read alouds.

I just have this mental picture of me reading to the kids
in the living room with a small fire in the fireplace
and the kids laying on the floor by the Christmas tree
coloring or playing with their toys.
So cozy.
But no fire, please.
It's going to have to get very, very cold
for this pregnant woman to let there be
a fire in this fireplace.
So everyone is scurrying about, making preparations
for this lovely Thanksgiving weekend.
We are too. Mixed in with the school work today is
some housework.
Big E has cleaned up the
downstairs bathrooms
and Lovely K has done some vacuuming for me
(of all the things I am thankful for,
I am very thankful for my two older children
being old enough to help around the house
---how I have needed their help recently!).

I have three pumpkin pies in the oven right now.
We have some errands to run and some more school to do.
But we are pretty much on track for getting everything
on the list done today.
It is a beautiful, sunny day out there today too.
I hope it is this beautiful tomorrow.
My boys will definitely be out throwing the football
with their dad and uncles tomorrow
if it is this pretty.

I hope you will have a lovely day tomorrow, Dear Reader.
Look around you at all you have been blessed with.
There is so much to be thankful for!

Know Your Audience

I just found this amusing and I thought I'd share it with you.

I got this e-mail from Walgreens saying they would give you
a sneak peek at their Black Friday specials.
So I clicked on it to see what they had going on.
The first two things to pop up were
a wheel chair
and one of those walkers
that has the built-in seat.


I know I said I felt like I was getting old,
but you'll excuse me if I feel like the focus group
for the Walgreen ads did not include someone like me.

Are you scouring the Black Friday ads
and planning your day?
Do you go shopping on that day?
I don't enjoy crowds or having to wrestle
someone to the ground for a forty-nine cent hand towel.
I won't be out getting the bargain walkers on Friday.
You go ahead
and call me if you come across something
you think I need.

Won't You Come Home Bill Baby?

A little before 5:00am this morning,
a groggy little seven year old boy came creeping into
my room. Of course my first question was
"Are you sick?!?"
---because wasn't it just last Monday morning when
I started my week out with Sweet T puking on me?
Was that just last Monday?
It seems so long ago.

But Big E was not sick.
He'd had a bad dream.
A really bad dream, he said,
and it was scaring him even then.
So I told him to get in bed with me,
not to talk about the dream,
and if he was still thinking about it,
to pray and ask Jesus to help get it out of his mind.
He must have done this
because he was asleep in just a minute.

Fast forward to this morning.
The boys are bringing down the dirty clothes
to the laundry room
and sacking up the trash.
Lovely K is vacuuming the stairs.
I hear them pause to chat
(which they do as much as possible
---can somebody please pass me
a whip to crack over these children?)
and Big E is explaining why he wasn't in his own bed
this morning when everyone got up.
It was because of the bad dream.
I was not really paying attention until Lovely K asked
what the dream was
and he began to explain.

"In my dream, Sweet T was this evil genius...." he began.
Any dream involving my precious blue eyed baby being
an EVIL GENIUS has my attention.
And who uses the term "evil genius" anyway?
I would say this comes from watching
Batman and Scooby Doo mysteries.
Anyway, Evil Genius Sweet T had invented some machine
in this dream that was supposed to squirt Germ-X on you,
but what it actually did was turn you into a germ monster.
That was the horrible dream.


I woke up this morning with this stuck in my head:
that friend of Harry's in the movie
When Harry Met Sally saying
"Baby Fish Mouth! Baby Fish Mouth!"



I must have dreamed about that movie.
Or else I am anticipating playing games with my family
over the holidays.

Hey, in case you didn't know it---this week is Thanksgiving! Can you believe it? I am already thinking of bringing up the tub for all the fall/Thanksgiving decor and starting to pick up all that stuff. I am never one to put up a tree before Thanksgiving, but I have to admit that I do feel a need to get the halls decked. I'm wanting to get stuff done, be prepared.
This week is also my birthday.
If they thought I had reached Advanced Maternal Age before,
they should see me after this birthday comes around.
I'll really fall apart right before their eyes.
Bring on the dentures and the walker!
Send me some Icy Hot!

It really does amaze me when I sit and think about it....that I can see forty from here (it's in the distance, but it's there, I can see it)....and I am pregnant. I honestly never ever felt even like I was in my thirties until this pregnancy. Now I feel many times a day like I am getting a preview of what it will be like to be 92. I told Lloyd Dobbler the other day that my plan (in case he had forgotten) had originally been to be DONE having children by the time I turned thirty. But God had a different plan for us--obviously. I didn't have Lovely K until I was 27. Big E was born a month before I turned 30.
So the point of that was just to let you know
that your beloved Bell is getting old.
No longer a spring chick.
I'm sure you are SHOCKED.

Only three days of school this week!
Hooray!
Then Thanksgiving and my birthday this weekend
and the local Christmas parade
and I am having lunch with two childhood friends on Friday.

Let's get our clothes on and paint our faces
and get started with this week, shall we?

Oh there's no place like home for the holidays.....

Lloyd Dobbler and I just had to laugh this evening
when it was just like the
ten thousandth crazy thing to happen.
I told him I felt like Job on a MUCH smaller scale.
At least I was able to laugh about it.
It's just always something any more.
But the wonderful thing about this is that when times are
hard and stressful, we always pull together.
We are closer and in better communication
(Lloyd Dobbler and I)
in the hard times than at other times.
Is that true for most couples?
I just know it's true for us.
And I'm very thankful for it.

In some ways,
we got a lot done today,
and in other ways, not so much.
I am having to take this medication now
(just had it for two days so far)
and it is making me SO TIRED.
I take it at breakfast and by lunch time,
I have to lay down.
No choice.
It just absolutely wipes me out.
If it does it the same tomorrow,
I am going to call the doctor Monday
and see if we can't make a change.
I was already just getting by
with the bare minimum,
but I won't get anything at all done
until this child is born
if I have to keep
laying in the bed a couple of hours
in the middle of each day.

So this week is Thanksgiving.
It's almost here. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving Day
this year. We will be at home instead of out of town.
We are going to my folks' for the actual feast that day.
It feels like we haven't done that in recent years.
The first year in this house
(I guess that was three years ago)
we had all of Lloyd Dobbler's family here for those couple of
days. That was an undertaking.
So I get to be home, in my own little town,
sleeping in my own little bed, and I don't have to
cook anything but the pumpkin pies.
I offered to do more, but my mom seemed surprised
that I wanted to even do the pies.
It's not like I'm disabled here.
I can do stuff.
I'm just doing it slower than ever
and it's a little harder for me to
reach the ingredients.

I have to say, though, that I am so not into the baking
as the holidays approach. When I am at the grocery store,
I think of all these wonderful things that I would like
to make....but so many of them are things that I can't
eat right now and since my family is not asking for
any of it....I'm just not getting into it.
I do have the stuff to make several batches of
gingerbread men and I will be making them soon.
I love my gingerbread men
and the kids like them too.
I can't let the holidays come without getting them made.

I also find myself thinking of all these things
I want to make or eat after the baby is born.
We'll have to have a big feast then.
Chocolate covered cherry cake
and Chex Mix and Orange Juice.
Mmmmm.

What things do you make every year
that you associate with the holidays?

I always look forward to the ton of traditional Chex Mix that
my mom makes. We always have it there in a little bowl
beside us when we are playing games over the holidays.
These bags of the pre-made stuff at the store
just could never hold a candle to
the homemade version.
And giblet gravy---few people make this
and few of those make one that is worth eating.
I love my mom's.
LOVE it!
And she will never write down exactly how she makes it for me.
I always tell her that if she dies without writing out
clear instructions, I'll get my favorite aunt
(hello! you know who you are!)
to write out her recipe and that's what I will go by
and my kids will never know their grandmother's giblet gravy
after she's gone.
She doesn't seem very bothered by this threat.
But I want her to write down her exact recipe!

I can remember asking my grandmother
about some favorite thing she made.
If she actually told you how to make something,
it was so random.
Not ever like a recipe you could write down and follow.
She'd say, "You know that big brown spoon I have
with the chip in the handle?
I use about two and a half of those of flour....."
So unless you took her spoon home with you,
good luck with the measurements.

Ooooh, that reminds me--I was going to share
a recipe with you. I made it one day this week.
I used to make it all the time,
but I can't remember the last time I made it.
Evidently my family couldn't remember either
because they were so excited about it.
Lloyd Dobbler was just thrilled.
Big E was the only one unhappy
and that was only when he saw mushrooms in it.
That boy has serious issues with mushrooms.

I'll share the recipe next time.
It's an easy-breezy crock pot recipe.
You'll love it.
So stay tuned....

A Throne of Lies

It's Friday.
(Surely you know that by this late in the day!)

Another week is behind us, Dear Reader.
How was your week?
Did you get through the things that you want to do?
I wanted to have a good solid full week of school after last
week's "break." It's always hard getting the nose back
to the grindstone after a break, but we did it.
We only missed Thursday--but that's because
that day was eaten up by a doctor's visit that I
thought would only be a delay to our morning.

I haven't told the kids yet
(and boy! will they be thrilled!)
but they are going to make up that work
tomorrow.
On Saturday.
Yes, school on Saturday.
They might as well.
I mean, we don't have soccer or anything else going on.
Why not keep on track, make up that work,
and keep plodding through these days?
I'm sure they'll think of reasons,
but I think it's going to happen anyway.


Have you ever had a seven year old son
to get obsessed with Star Wars?
This seems to be the bug that has bitten my dear Big E.
Star Wars, Star Wars, Star Wars.
The force is with him.

Today was our last day of our home school co-op.
I had planned NOT to go, but Lovely K was so insistent that she had to go. One of her classes was singing on stage. So we went. It was okay. It was much shorter than usual which made it bearable. I don't know why I don't enjoy presentation day. I don't stay for the meal. That's always crazy.
Instead, we met another family at Captain D's
(it's a great little seafood place)
because I can eat a 2 piece fish dinner there with green beans and a salad and it falls within my dietary limitations. I don't know if I was overly tired today or if my kids were overly crazed, but I was about ready to kill them at the restaurant.
They were just insane.
Out of their minds.
Hoodlums.
I'm glad the lady we were with was not the type to be bothered by that. But I wish it hadn't been that way. I guess they were just wound up. It's kind of like I don't know now when I am being normal and when I am being extreme. Things REALLY get on my nerves that shouldn't. A gentle breeze is likely to set me off. I've never been like this, and I dont' realize it at the moment it's happening or it wouldn't be happening. I'm sure I am a real pleasure to live with right now.
Lloyd Dobbler will just suddenly pop in with:
"Maybe you should calm down"
and I think,
"AM I NOT CALM?
I AM CALM.
WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?!?!?!"

So I'm trying to be aware of this.
I am trying to give everyone some extra grace
right now. We have all been under so much stress lately.
But at the same time,
we cannot act like animals,
now can we?

I'm so glad that Friday nights have become easy nights. I've instituted "pizza and a movie" for Friday evenings until sometime in 2010. So I don't have to cook. Hooray. And we can just crash and take it easy. Recover from the week. Chill.
Tonight we are going to watch the movie "Elf." I always forget how funny that movie is. I have needed to watch a good funny movie. I need a good laugh
(I had one today when my friend told me her hubby always wanted to play the banjo and the mental picture of that is making me laugh even now--he's the last person I can imagine with a banjo on his knee). So I'm sure after tonight I'll be annoying you with all the phrases from that movie that people quote---all the ones I have forgotten because my pregnant brain has shrunken to the size of a pea.
It'll be like a new movie to me and my shrunken brain.
Not that I have a good memory anyway.

My friend from years and years ago will tell stories
of things from our high school days
and they crack me up because it's like it's new to me.
I have such a terrible memory.
She enjoys telling the stories that way too
because I make such a good audience.


Have a wonderful cozy and fun Friday night, Dear Reader.
And I promise to kill the Thanksgiving Song soon.

No, Never Alone

We all have a lot of "stuff" going on in our lives, don't we?
Even when you strive to remove all drama and stress
and craziness from your life, (as I make it my goal to do for
myself and my family) stuff just happens.
And though I like to rant and complain about the tiny things
in my life that I blow way out of proportion
(especially here on this blog, poor Dear Reader,
where you get to hear it),
there are some big things I can't even begin to address.

This past year (maybe a little more than a year)
has been chocked full of STUFF.
One thing after another.
I would call it trials or testing but it's not like
we've had our backs
beaten raw and been thrown into
a sewer-like prison.
You know what pansies we modern day Americans are.
But to me, pansy that I am,
these have seemed like trials and tests and the like.

It's like we wade through one big stinky mire
and before we can wipe the mud off of our boots,
we realize that we are headed into a much worse
marsh of gray yuckiness.

Here's the thing though:
we aren't walking alone.

What on earth do people do
who don't have God in their lives?
I just cannot imagine that life.
I don't want to know what it is like.
I would be so depressed if I did not have
a relationship with
the Creator of the Universe.
I just really don't know how
non-believers get through life.

God has been so faithful to us.
He has provided what we need when we need it.
He has opened doors and given us victory.
He hasn't plucked us out of the sloppy marsh,
but He has given us great waterproof boots for
trudging through the yuck
and when we get to a particularly difficult spot,
He picks us up and lifts us over the obstacle.
I am just so thankful
for His loving care towards me.

So right now, while I am physically tired
from this pregnancy and from the rest of my life.....
and while I am mentally and emotionally stretched thin.....
I just feel like the greatest comfort is knowing that
I am not alone.
As my hero always said,
"I am loved with an everlasting love...
and underneath are the everlasting arms..."
(I think I misquoted that; don't sue me!)
It is so wonderful to know that God will sustain me.
He will see me through.
I can lean on Him.
And believe you me, I need to do some leaning.

I feel like I have just maxed out in many ways.
I'm kind of at that point where every gentle breeze
might be the straw that breaks the camels back.
I'm trying to be kind and patient.
I'm trying to make the most of
the time and the energy that I do have.
I feel like I'm not getting
anything at all under the sun done
more than fixing us something to eat and
something to wear
and doing school.
But those are the main things, right?

This is not a permanent state.
We won't always be in the situations
we find ourselves in right now.
Things will change.

This too shall pass.

"What have I to dread?
What have I to fear?
Leaning on the everlasting arms---
I have blessed peace
when my Lord is near."

Peace that passes understanding.

Mother of the Year Nominee

If you took Betty Crocker and Martha Stewart
and some really tragically organized home schooling mother
like Terri Maxwell---and rolled them all
into one person----do you think you would get me?

Oh please.
I thought you knew me better than that.
I am so not a domestic goddess today.
My word.
I am so on top of things that for the second morning
there was no milk or orange juice in my fridge.
So instead of using my McGuyver-like abilities
in the kitchen, I just loaded up the kids
and picked up fast food breakfasts.
The breakfast of champions.
The kids ate sausage mcgriddles
and I went to Burger King
for a lesser carb option.

But add the beloved sausage mcgriddle
to the list of things that I am going to eat
on the day this baby is born.
I expect them to cut the cord
and immediately someone will hand me
a huge glass of orange juice.
That is the one thing I am really pining away for.
And every morning
I pour three glasses of it for my children
and it's all I can do not to just
turn up that gallon jug and drink the rest of it.
Every morning.

Lloyd Dobbler asked me if I wanted him to stop
drinking OJ until the baby is born.
While that is a sweet gesture, what would it accomplish?
I told him to drink all he wanted,
just maybe not right beside me.
I'd hate to (in a weak moment)
try to snatch it away from him
and be wrestled to the ground
over a glass of Florida gold.

So, Betty Crocker took her kids to a drive thru for breakfast.
Strike one.
And Martha Stewart has a basket full of ironing
along with the iron and ironing board
making the main decorative statement
in her dining room right now.
At least I could set a cornucopia on the ironing board.
Strike two.
And Terri Maxwell (or whatever home schooling person
who follows a daily schedule broken up into
three minute segments
and rarely strays from the well laid plans)
is sitting up here blogging and calling down
to the children "focus on your math!"
while she remembers in the back of her mind
that she has a doctor's appointment this afternoon
and she needs to put on some make up and fix her hair.....
Strike three.

I'm out of here, people.
Don't think I am discouraged or anything.
I am fine.
Just thought I'd brag on my domestic skills today.
I'll be glad to answer any of your questions
on how to get it all done every single day perfectly.
Just leave me a comment
and I'll let you know how you too
can be as wonderful as me.

Extra 40% off when you find the square root of the original retail price!!!

My father came a few minutes ago and took Lovely K to piano lessons. You wouldn't think that having someone take her to this weekly lesson would be such a big thing, but I am so thankful that Daddy is doing this for me. It is so nice not to have to drag everyone out. It's just like this little chunk of time I have been given---and I will gladly take it. A lot of these Tuesday afternoons while Lovley K is gone to her lesson, I will send the boys out to play together, but today it's nippy and windy and chilly (and many other words that end in "y"). I have made them lay down in their beds with a book and a Jim Weiss CD playing. I think they'll go to sleep. It's just such a good day for napping. So dim and gray outside. So quiet and still with a distinctive chill in the air.

We have gotten all of our schoolwork done for today
(except Lovely K has more Math waiting for her
when she returns, poor child).
I have ironed some clothes and done a load of laundry.
I know what I am fixing for supper.
The house may be a wreck,
but I still kind of feel like I am on top of things today.
I am determined to "finish strong" with this semester.
I weeded out smaller subjects which we are ahead on
(because they are so easy to do)
and have a scaled down yet not at all easy
plan to follow for these remaining days that include
the core subjects which we need to be traveling
through at a slightly faster pace:
Math, Bible, History, Grammar.
So our days will be simpler, but very full.
Perhaps like today has been so far.
Nothing earth shattering.
But progress is being made.
The slow and steady pace of the turtle
just putting one academic foot in front of the other,
plodding on.

I had a second grader learn a lesson about
carefully reading directions today when carelessness
caused him to almost fail a math test.
He's so used to perfect grades; he was devastated.
And I have a fourth grader
who is going to have to buckle down
with her math.
That's all there is to it.
She looks at her brother's work and at least once a day says
"I wish I was still in second grade.
That math was so easy then."
Little does she know she will be pining for the ease
of fourth grade math in the future.

It's hard for me to encourage her with Math.
It's just something
that has to be done.
A necessary evil.
I hated math.
I was an English major.
I like that tee shirt I have seen that says
"I'm an English major---you do the math."
That is a good commentary on my life.
I will ask Lloyd Dobbler the answer to something sometimes
("What's this going to cost if it's
20% off of the clearance price?")
and he usually launches into
"Can't you do that?
What did they teach you in public school?
I can't believe you are teaching our kids
and can't figure that out!"
Well, I CAN figure it out, of course.
But if I am shopping and someone is standing there beside me
bored to death,
why not toss a little math nugget his way?
Gives him something to do
and doesn't cause me to engage that portion of my brain.
I have better things to think about.
But I have to say,
figuring out what the price is going to be of something on sale
is not a problem for me.
I'm as capable as the next person of figuring this out,
but why waste mental energy doing the math
when he can tell me the answer while I continue
to think about the red sweater before me
and what will it go with and is that right shade of red
and should I get this size or a size larger?
And if I go try it on in the dressing room,
will the rest of my family wander off in the store
causing me to waste forty five minutes on search and rescue?


I think I am going to seize the day here
in this quiet moment
and go climb into the bed downstairs.
It's calling my name.
It's so rare to have such a cozy quiet time as this
and I shouldn't spend it sitting here talking to you.
Not that I don't enjoy your company, Dear Reader,
but I am going to excuse myself and go lay down.

See ya.

Welcome to the Jungle Tiny Baby

Since I'm talking about music,
let me go ahead and direct your attention
to "November Rain" over there on the juke box.
It's #2 in the line up.
I know you'll want to listen to my mother's twin
singing the Thanksgiving song first.
But then take a listen to the second song.
Does anybody recognize this song?
I had it playing the other night
and kept saying to Lloyd Dobbler,
"Tell me what this song is."
He would say he didn't know
and keep doing what he was doing
until all of a sudden he recognized it.

If you are anywhere around my age and you recognize this song,
you've got to have a good laugh over it.
It's a Guns 'n Roses song
(for crying out loud!)
from....oh, I guess around the time I was in Junior High.
Do you remember Guns 'n Roses?

If you do remember these bad boys at all,
imagine with me what kind of situation it might have been
for somebody putting together an album of lullabies to say
"We need a good Guns 'N Roses song
for the slumbering babes!"
What even made that thought cross their mind?
It just cracks me up.

What else was on this album?

"Don't Fear the Reaper"
or
"Running With the Devil" ?


Welcome to Bell's Music Store.
May I help you?

Yes, I'm looking for some peaceful lullaby music
to play in my baby's nursery.

Oh, I have just the thing.
There's a new duet by
Ozzy Osbourne and Alice Cooper.....

Could that song be any more annoying?

I hope you are hating that Thanksgiving song
as much as I am.
But don't you think it's funny too?
I had to put that one in the juke box for a while to give you,
Dear Reader, a taste of my childhood.
My mom has always been bursting out in song.
She usually made up songs for every situation
or else just sung the thoughts
that were going through her head.
"What do you kids want to eat for supper?
I can't believe this water bill!"


And she'd clap along with her little ditty.


We became immune to it.
I can remember my friend Gina spending the night with me when we were just kids and as we were waking up the next morning, she was like "What is that?" and I listened and said that I didn't hear anything. She said,
"You don't hear that?
It's sounds like someone is singing."
Oh that. Yeah. That's my mom. She always does that.

And now I do it to my kids.
It seems to happen the most when I am trying
to fix Lovely K's hair and I can see her
rolling her eyes in the mirror.
This just provokes me to sing more.


When they are babies, I am always singing to them.
And a lot of the time it's just whatever is going on,
set to the tune of old hymns most of the time.
"How dirty a diaper, you stinky big boy."
"Go tell your little brother,
tell your little brother to get down here.
Go tell your little brother
that we are going to leave."
(Can you put the appropriate tune with each of those?
Fifty bonus points to you if you can.)
Al Smith would be appalled
at my around-the-house renditions.
But he's dead, isn't he?
We also do a lot of sixties music and some eighties music.
Is it sad that my boys have "favorite songs"
that are from way before they were born?
Big E loves "Evil Woman." Don't ask me why.
And Sweet T sings parts of both
"Jesse's Girl"
(he really just sings "I wish that I had Jesse's girl!"
very loud and very sudden and always when you
least expect him to burst out in song)
and "867-5309 (Jenny)."

But they know songs from the 40's
(Lovely K and Big E went through a spell
where they LOVED Perry Como)
all the way through today.

Except not a lot of doo-wopp-ish songs from the 50's.
That does not really appeal to me.
No do-wop.
And no quartets of men in matching
powder blue suits
singing southern gospel music.
I've had enough of that to last me the rest of my life.


Those Thanksgiving people over there on the juke box,
mainly the woman's voice that you hear above the others,
sounds like my mom's voice a little bit.
And my mom would think that is a great song.
She would want the words written down
so she could remember them.
She'd sing them while she cooks the big feast next week.

This is why I am thankful that my parents have
a technological blight.
They have a computer, but they don't have e-mail;
they don't have the internet.
They are 50% Amish. But I am fine with that.
I will place orders for them on the dangerous Internet.
I will show them the pictures that Aunt Flossie e-mailed of
her granddaughter's new cat.
Because if they weren't in the dark ages,
they'd have a blog about Daddy's pool game statistics at the
Senior citizens center and that new corn casserole recipe
that Mama got from the lady at work
and they would have their own recordings on Playlist
that you could listen to.
Much like the aforementioned Thanksgiving song.
My mom would be just like the woman on the juke box
singing about her turkey-filled wishes for next Thursday.

"Let's all sing Silver Bells so your Uncle Billy
can listen to us all the way in Connecticut.
Wouldn't that be fun?"
my mom would ask as she's passing around
copies of the words to the song so that we have
no excuse not to sing along.

I know some households are quiet.
And there is value to the quietness.
I need it in small doses,
but too much of it makes me crazy.
That's not how I grew up
and not how my children are growing up.

If we aren't playing music,
we are singing.
And dancing.
And laughing.
We have a good time.
I think it's a sign of a merry heart.




"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord..."

Sunday morning, coming down with something

Our smallest cute person is under the weather today
(I have to be specific about which cute person
I am talking about since our home is
jam packed full of cute people).
Today it is my baby.
Sweet T.

(This is not him today.

He's not asleep at the table, snuggled up to a sandwich.)

He lounged on the couch this morning,
watching 2 Larryboy videos and part of Winnie the Pooh
(which I thought would lull him to sleep, but it didn't)
while the rest of the family went to church.
About an hour ago I asked him to go upstairs
to his room and lay down on his bed. I told him he could read
a book or get one toy, but he had to lay down on his bed.
I started getting our lunch ready and it was a good
twenty minutes before I remembered that I hadn't
checked on him yet. So I came up to his bedroom
and found him curled up on the love seat in the boys' room,
fast asleep.
He had pulled a quilt down on one end of the
couch and had a couple of stuffed animals there with him,
giving himself about a total of twelve inches to stretch out in.
But he didn't seem uncomfortable
so I left him there.

Are you ever just enchanted by your children?
I have to say, this child has the power to enchant most everyone.
He is so cute,
so charming,
so precious.
He's irresistible.

Since you didn't ask....

I'm just sitting here because I'm tired of being on my feet.
I have lots I could be doing, but I've been doing all day
and I just need to be off my feet for a while.
So now you will have to suffer for my immobile
boredom. It's one of those question things
that gets passed around....

1. Where is your cell phone? Right here beside me on the desk because little fingers are so anxious to play with my new phone. I will participate in texting now because I can do capital letters and punctuation and all that. I'm not going to write like a barbarian just because I am texting.

2. Your hair? growing like crazy---it's either the vitamins or the hormones---but I'm like that play dough toy where it just comes shooting out of my scalp

3. Your mother? funniest when overly tired

4. Your father? always prepared to be funny, wearing a tie much less as he ages

5. Your favorite food? I have to go with my old stand by, spaghetti. Always in the mood for it.

6. Your dream last night? while I was dreaming a lot there for a while, not so much lately. I think I'm too tired to expend the mental energy even subconsciously

7.Your favorite drink? good sweet tea (I rarely order it out because not many people make good sweet tea---it is safe at Sonic (NO LEMON) and Chick Fillet)

8. Your dream/goal? Being a published author.

9. What room are you in? My Bedroom

10. Your hobby? don't think I have one....does facebook count? Or making countless lists on Playlist to share with my Dear Reader who may or may not even be listening to the dern things....

11. Your fear? fewer of these as I grow older....probably something happening (something bad) to my babes is my worst fear....but one that I cannot control. God holds them in the palm of His hand.

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Still here with my cozy family, only not pregnant and slow and tired.

13. Where were you last night? Snoring in the guest bed

14. Something that you aren't? self-disciplined

15. Muffins? Blueberry

16. Wish list item? lap top, dining room furniture, size six body again

17. Where did you grow up? In this very same Tiny Town where I live now

18. Last thing you did? told my oldest son not to eat Fritos because we're fixing to order pizza

19. What are you wearing? Maternity jeans and fav maternity top

20. Your TV? playing Monsters Inc. for my babes at the moment---we usually crash when we get home on Friday afternoons

21. Your pet? barn cat--oh my goodness, did I tell you guys that he returned? After more than two months of no cat. I was sure he was dead. He showed up meowing his head off on the night of Big E's birthday. So strange.

22. Friends? I have some great ones. So blessed. They certainly have the short end of the stick in this department, but I try.

23. Your life? Blessed beyond measure. And at a very good place at this particular moment in time.

24. Your mood? Tired but happy

25. Missing someone? I wish Tiffany was still local.

26. Vehicle? the lovely minivan---which Lloyd Dobbler would love to be shed of, but I have no problem with the minivan. If I was trying to be cool, I would have been a supermodel.
27. Something you're not wearing? socks

28. Your favorite store? Kohl's right now....because I just always get good deals there and that makes me happy.

29. Your favorite color? I'm really into earth tones right now

30. When was the last time you laughed? goodness....I laugh a lot....sometimes just in my head....

31. Last time you cried? Watching the CMA awards....can't remember who made me tear up, but hey, I am pregnant. I cry about lots of dumb things.

32. Your best friend? I don't know who I would pin that label on right now. Refer to question #22.

33. One place that I go to over and over? the bathroom

34. One person who emails me regularly? I get multiply e-mails daily from my uncle. sigh. Forwards. Political stuff. You know how it works.

35. Favorite place to eat? Demos'. Or Puelos Grille. Or Taco Bell. Or my moms.

No Need To Count the Sheep

This is what is starting to happen to me:
I am getting that wave of sleep that just washes over me.
This always happens in early pregnancy to me.
Just irresistible sleep.
Unavoidable.
I don't remember it ever returning
in the later part of the pregnancy.

But it is certainly here now.
My soul.

Yesterday I WANTED to lay down and couldn't
(the father-in-law was here
and the kids were just getting home
and we were running errands
and then I was cooking--
I never recommend sleeping and cooking
at the same time to anyone).

Today I was fine until supper time.
It was just me and the kids and while I sat there eating,

Sleep walked in and tapped me on the shoulder.
I shoved down the rest of my food real quick
and went over to lay down on the couch.
I had to.
And I was just fading in and out
the second my body was horizontal.
I'd wake up every couple of minutes
to say "Finish your supper" to the kids
and I would immediately fade right back out again.

I did not attack the cross stitching project as planned.
I haven't even unpacked the kids' suitcase yet.
We did get some vacuuming
and bathroom cleaning done today.
I had to run the dishwasher twice
and I did do two loads of clothes.
And make the soup we had for dinner.
That's about it.
But I have a feeling the next month or two
will not be the most
domestically productive
months of my life.

But can I say that Lloyd Dobbler has turned into
a nicer guy than he's ever been lately?
Just when I need him most.
What a blessing.
And a bit of a surprise.
For which I am thankful.

I better go before I nod off here in front of the zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Hardy Har Har

My children returned home yesterday afternoon

and I am very glad to have
all the little birds back in the nest.
While Lloyd Dobbler and I enjoyed those
few quiet days,
it's very strange not having the kids around.

He must have said to me
a hundred times:
"This is what it will be like
when the kids are gone."

Also yesterday I was annoyed
by the medical community.

So annoyed. I had this appointment
with the specialist who was assigned to me
along with my gestational diabetes diagnosis.
The first time I went down there,
this guy gave me the impression they would be doing
so many things.
He talked about stress tests and fetal monitors
and many ultrasounds and more.
I didn't feel a need for any of this,
but I didn't know what to expect
since this is all new territory for me.

So I had this appointment yesterday.
The kids were still gone.
My mom was going with me
(since it was in College Town
where there are more shopping options
than there are here in Tiny Town).

We go to the office,
wait for about 20 minutes
in the waiting room.
A female doctor I had not
seen before called me back.

She began to talk to me in the hallway
---I guess to decrease the length of our visit.
I mean, I must have taken up an entire
TWO MINUTES
of her day.
She must be training for speed visits
in the Medical Olympics.
She had the log of my blood sugars
that they had me to bring with me.
She said everything looked great
and she'd see me next week.
She hardly had time to
completely sit down in her chair
before she was back on her feet,
ushering me to the door.

I was sitting there like "Is that it?"
That WAS it.
That was the entire visit.
And I must have shown mysurprise/irritation on my face.
She asked how long it takes me to get to their office.
Forty-five minutes.
All full of grace, she said if there is a week that is really
hectic for me, I could just fax in the sheet of my
blood sugar log.

I think that is going to be every week.

I mean, my soul---why am I going to find someone
to watch my kids, miss out on valuable schooling time,
wait in their HOT waiting room

(with no magazines--how annoying is that?)
ten times longer than I actually interact with the doctor,
all this to turn in a sheet of paper
that I could have easily faxed or e-mailed to them?

I will go again next week
and if it's another two minute deal,
I will tell them that I am not coming back.
They seem completely unconcerned with the issue
of the gestational diabetes in my situation
because I am staying on top of it
and everything is going very well.
And I don't have time to just run up there
and mess up an entire day for such a little matter.

Did I say how lovely it has been to have the children home?
We really did miss them.
Last night was just a lovely cozy evening.
My father-in-law installed the things in the boys' closet
that we needed so that I can move their stuff to their closet
and out of the baby's closet.
I made a nice hardy supper for us
---French Country Casserole
and salad and bread and a pumpkin pie for dessert.
Lloyd Dobbler got home from the new job
at a normal time and we all ate together.
Then we just crashed for the rest of the night.
It was just nice.
And cozy.

This morning has been nice too. I cooked breakfast (eggs, bacon, sausage, toast) and we ate with Grandpa before he left. He left as soon as breakfast was over. The kids went out to watch him leave and decided they wanted to get on warm play clothes and go outside and play. I let them---I had already canceled school for today. What would the purpose be in doing one day of work in this week? This week has been their big "break" and they might as well enjoy it thoroughly. So they played outside for a while. I made hot chocolate and cheese and cracker snacks for them when they came in, breathless and cold with red cheeks and numb hands. it was like that classic moment of the kids playing out in the cold and then coming in for snacks. If only I'd had on my pearls and high heels, I could have been Mrs. Cleaver.

Have I given you the recipe before for the French Country Casserole? This is a dish I have made for years. I have no idea where I first got the recipe, but it has been one we have always enjoyed. It is so easy to make (you can even do it in a crock pot if you want) and it's just one of those filling, hardy meals that is good on a crisp autumn evening. Yesterday, however, I changed it a bit and I liked it more than the usual. I had this cooking sherry that was one of the many things a friend gave me from her cabinets when she was moving and I had some fresh mushrooms that needed to be used. So I threw in the mushrooms and I used the cooking sherry instead of the beef broth in the recipe (the recipe always says 1/2 cup of beef broth or red wine so I thought I'd just substitute the sherry). Oh my goodness. It was so good. It was the best ever. I loved it!

I just looked and I did share this recipe with you before.
You can see it here. So try it now if you didn't then.
And let me know if you like it.

It's just that time of year for hardy meals, don't you think?

It's time to break out the soups and stews and chilies.
I was looking at my calender for next week and planning
meals. There are so many things
I make that are stuffed full of
pasta or rice;
I'll have to make them after the baby is born.
There are also desserts that I love to make this
time of year---we will be having a lot of
pumpkin pie this month
(that's something I can eat
so I am glad the rest of the family likes it too).

Do you have some favorite hardy meals
you make this time of year?
Feel free to share the recipes.
Your faithful Bell needs some new dishes
to throw into the mix.

Well, I am off to enjoy the rest
of our last day off. I'm going to let
the kids watch the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
video and I am going to attack the cross stitching project
with a fury.

Oooh...I just remembered....another favorite hardy dish
is on the menu for tonight.
It's Helen's Santa Fe soup
and it is one of our favorites.
Mmmmm.

Hope you are having a cozy day too, Dear Reader.