Two Peas in a Pod

I have had the privilege of having a little company lately ...

These two peas in a pod are together quite often. In the bright pink jacket (and purple sweater) is Gracelyn, my niece. She's almost two and has the spunk that typically goes along with that number! Or does that come from her mom? Hmm. Maybe her auntie. Well, anyway. Not only does she have spunk, but she also knows the sounds that every animal I can conceivably think of makes.

You say, "Gracie, how do dogs go?" and she will quickly follow with a "Woof! Woof!" etc.

Now Jocelyn, the blondie in the light pink jacket, is Gracie's friend that her mom babysits. She's also two ... and she also has spunk! I'm not sure if she knows her animal sounds or not, but as I was quizzing Gracelyn about how pigs, cows, and ducks go, one of Gracelyn's sisters said, "Ask Gracie how Daddy's go."

So I did.

"Gracie, how does Daddy go?"

Blank stare.

"How does Daddy go?"

Two blank stares.

Then Jocelyn threw her hands palm up and said in a voice that made me feel like I needed to go back to Kindergarten, "Daddy go work!"

Silly me. Of course Daddy goes to work!

We won't reveal what Gracie normally says when you ask her how Daddy goes, because, well ... that's a family secret. But at least one record has been set straight ....

Daddy. Go. Work! 

And now that we all have that down pat ... here are a few pics of the two peas.



Gracie wasn't sure how she felt about the snow sprinkles.

After we came in to warm up ...

Eenie Meenie Minie Moe. Which one is the sassy one?

My, what big teeeth you have!

My, what big eyes you have!

Play ball!!

The end.

cast on, cast off

I bet I lure a lot of knitters in with that title, huh?

Unfortunately, I'm not talking about knitting. I'm talking about arm casts. And Andrew's is about to come off - in a little less than a week.

This is particularly good, because it's beginning to look rather dingy. And I think he's weary of wearing a trash bag in the shower, and not being able to catch a baseball properly. It was nice of the doctor to provide a nice, blue cast that perfectly matches his baseball outfit, but I think we're both tired of it.

My real reason for mentioning any of this, of course, is to keep my word and spill the beans about what I wrote on his cast. None of you were brave enough to guess ... only brave enough to say "Gee, with your sense of humor, there's no tellin' what you wrote!" Ha! That made me laugh. Mostly because I realize you all thought I probably wrote something extremely funny or rude or embarrassing.

**Long pause

Ok, so maybe you were right with the rude part. I dunno what do you think? Is "Smooth move, ExLax!"  rude? 

**Longer pause

Yeah, you're probably right. But what I really wanted to write was "Roly Poly, Pell Mell, Tumble Bumble!"

Why? Because he looooooved that book when he was little. I'm positive I read it to him at least 3,486 times. And - since he truly did go roly poly, tumble, bumble, pell, mell down the hill, it seemed quite appropriate.

As did strawberry shortcake, rice pudding, and chocolate custard...........

Ahem!

However, when I told him I was going to write a portion of The Poky Little Puppy, he said, "Mom. That's too long. Ya' gotta save room for all my friends."

Psh!! Ok, fine. I see where I rank.

So the ExLax comment is what ya' get if you reject the cute comment. To sweeten things up, I did add "Love, Mom" and "Romans 8:28" to the signature.

See. I'm a great Mom.

Right? 

where i've been

*peeks around corner

Hello! So nice to see you again!!

Yes, I've been away, for a very long time. The good news is that I am not deceased. The bad news is that ... well, there is no bad news! I've been away from home for the last (almost) three weeks, taking care of my mom-in-law while my dad-in-law was out of town on business. And while it's been a little bit crazy, I am home safe and sound, and catching up on rest, laundry, cleaning, and getting to know Jessie again. :-) We plan to reacquaint ourselves this evening, while we watch American Idol and just ... veg.

My refrigerator is chalk full of science projects, but I'm not dealing with that until tomorrow. And yes, I said that yesterday.

Other than that, there isn't a whole lot going on, other than normal everyday life. Baseball season has started for both the Rockies and Andrew. I'm soooo excited!! I can't wait until it gets warm enough to go to a game and get toasty fried in the warm sun! And yes, I know all about skin cancer. I just happen to not care. I'd rather remedy my low vitamin D than worry about something that may never happen. But I am kidding about getting toasty fried. I know that's not a good thing.

I'm also in the midst of starting a blog for the ladies at our church. Unfortunately, it won't be something that non-members will have access to, so I won't be able to point you to it. But I at least had to share, because I'm so excited!!! It's an opportunity to write more, encourage more, and get to know others at my church more. Nothing better than that! I can't wait to see what kind of input and feedback the ladies will give.

Bedee, bedee, that's about it, folks! Oh! Forgot to tell you that Andrew broke him wrist while we were gone. He went on a three day youth retreat, and got into a tubing pile up. Ha! He said all of them were going down the hill, and all of a sudden, the tube flipped and all three of his buddies had landed on his arm while it was twisted behind his back. He said he went face first, with his cheek bouncing up and down on the ground all the way down. And then he said, "And Mom! Michael landed right ON my face. I mean, like, ON IT." Michael weighs about 220, so ... ahem ... I can't imagine that was too pleasant, and it made me wonder how his nose didn't end up getting broken also. ;-)

So, he's in a cast for four weeks, and a splint for two. Baseball practice started the night he got the cast on, of course. Thankfully, it's just the start of the practice season, and he should be good to go as soon as the games start up. And thankfully, it wasn't his pitching arm. Thank you, Lord!

Thanks for stopping in again, assuming I'm not talking to thin air. I'm sure I've lost most of my readers by now. If you did stop in, leave me a little comment and let me know if you have any guesses as to what I said when I signed Andrew's cast (I'll reveal the answer in the next post).

Any guesses?

Anyone?





Anyone???

crickets, christmas, and mrs. c

For all of you just dying to know what Christmas with Mrs. C (that's me) is like .....

*crickets chirping

Ok, so  nobody's dying to know such information. But Mrs. C (remember- that's me!) is dying to tell. So here's my 2010 Christmas story thus far, in pictures:

Did anyone here know that Andrew is a juggler? He has a part time job with the circus.

Just kidding.

But he IS pretty good at juggling. Even pine cones!

Here's a few goodies I've made along the way. Chocolate covered popcorn, and a cheese spread to put on some delish crackers. Actually, that popcorn is covered with chocolate and peanut butter chips. I had a lot of fun drizzling. In fact, I may have gotten just a little bit carried away when I flung some clear across the kitchen, and hollered out to Andrew "Hey, this drizzling stuff is pretty cool!"

Those little things that look like deer pellets are capers. I didn't know what capers were until I made this recipe. Wait - I still don't know what capers are.

You don't know what deer pellets are?

Well, I don't feel so bad then.

Shaun and I at a Christmas party. No, we did not match on purpose. We're just hip like that.

*more crickets chirping

 Jessie and Riley at the same Christmas party. Funnest night of the season so far, but the season is far from over!

Santa's lil' helper. Cough, cough ...

And yes, those bulbs are actually hanging from her ears. Yikes! 

We decorated Mom before we decorated the tree. Just to see which one would be cuter.

The tree won.

*crickets

Once Ashlee and Daniel get here (Five more days!!!), I'll have a ton of things to show and tell. *claps hands in excitement

Until then, I have toilets to clean, laundry to do, presents to make, presents to buy, and one sick boy to take care of. Here's to hoping the rest of us (and you!) stay healthy and robust through the Holiday.

Merry Christmas to all of you!!!!
 

This is why ...... 

........ I enjoy making quilts for people I love.

cheese, quilts, and reading

As you read in my last post, I wasn't feeling very well in the first part of the week. The second part of the week, my cold got better, but then I ate some cheese, and I've been feeling very sluggish because of it. This is what happens when I crave something that is "legal" on my diet, but still doesn't sit well with me. I take a few bites anyway - and then suffer.

For three days.

The question is: Will I ever learn?

The answer is: Probably not! :))

But in other (good!) news ... Next week is Thanksgiving, and not long after that, it'll be time to start getting things ready for Christmas! Ashlee and Daniel are coming and will be here three or four days. I'm so excited I might just wet my pants stay away from forbidden food that makes me feel awful.

We plan to go see the new Narnia movie, Voyage of the Dawn Treader while they're here. Can you believe I've never read the Narnia series?

Biggest crime for a reader, I know. However - in celebration of the new movie coming out, I'm going to read as much of the series as possible. 

How 'bout you? Are you doing anything special to celebrate the Holiday Season? Leave a comment and tell us about it! Or - tell me what you're reading and whether you would recommend it. I'm always on the lookout for great books!

One more bit of good news before I go. I finally finished Jessie's Coca-Cola quilt!! This is the good part about being down with an illness. You tend to get a lot of hand sewing done. :)

I could have wrapped it up and given it to her for Christmas, but since it's been hanging on the stairwell for three years (cough, cough!), I didn't figure it would be much of a surprise.

Next post, I'll show you her reaction to (finally) getting the quilt.

 

P.S. I chose Coca-Cola because 1.) She likes Coke! And 2.) Her bedroom is decorated in Coca-Cola garb. Her bed cover is red, and her sheets are black. Her curtains are also black, so it goes well with what she's put together. Not sure how we coordinated so well ... I guess we're just awesome like that. 

*rolls eyes

happy biptiday

Three years ago, I made Andrew a birthday cake and decorated it - all by myself! Only thing is ... it said "Happy Birtday."

H's are highly overrated anyway, right?

Pathetic little cake, isn't it?

Ahem ... well ... for Jessie's birthday this year, I wasn't sure what to do. She doesn't like cake, so that wasn't an option, but I wanted to make her something. So we decided on cheesecake. Cherry cheesecake, to be exact.

You can't very well ice a cheesecake, so I decided to buy some nifty letter candles that spelled Happy Birthday.

At least I thought that's what they spelled ...

Until I opened the package and saw that two of them were broke. They're wax, so I couldn't do much about it. The only thing left to do was to have one heckuva Biptiday. 

The good news?

Jessie did have a Heckuva Biptiday. 

See?

I guess she'd rather it be PAYDAY though ...

This is our good friend, Riley. After he ate a ton of turkey and mashed potatoes, he leaned back in his chair and moaned and said, "I'm sooo uncomfortable!! I can't even swallow!"

Snort! I love to feed people.

All in all ... a successful Biptiday! 

welcome back, me

Hey, hey, hey! Guess who's back home from vacation?

Me! That's who!

Don't have a lot of time to write now, but I promise to later this week. In the meantime, here's a few pics from the trip. I did a photo shoot with my nieces and nephews at my Grandma's house. Beautiful fall colors, beautiful kids!

Enjoy!

 

pooh bear

Today I'm joining MamaKat at Mama's Losin' It. Each week, she sends out writing prompts, and we get to choose which one we'd like to participate in.

I chose writing prompt #1:  In what way were you labeled as a child and how did it affect you?

My Dad had a real knack for doling out nicknames. I swear (but not really) that he's the best I've ever seen at renaming people. Not that the people ever ask for it, mind you. But nevertheless, his talent far outweighs any other.


For example, I have two older brothers. Bob and Larry are their real names (and no, they are not a tomato and cucumber). But according to Dad, they're Mort (short for rigor mortis), and Leapin' Larry Lizzard (or just Lizzard), respectively.


And our friend who stuck a rock up his nose and had to be rushed to the doctor? Twenty years later, he's still not referred to as Michael. He's Rock Beak.

And me? Well, I'm Brenda Pooh. Or Pooh Bear, Pooey, Pooey Looey Fooey, or any other funky combinations.

How did that label affect me as a child? Hmm. Well, I was also known (by my teachers) as being "drifty," a daydreamer, one who would forget her head if it weren't screwed on .. and even stupid. (To this day, I hope the teacher who told me I was dumb either got fired or retired. She truly had no business being a teacher.)

Maybe if the label Pooh Bear was my one and only label, I wouldn't have thought much of it. But group that label with the other labels, and I think it somewhat made an impact on my ability to believe I was intelligent. I mean, let's face it. Pooh Bear's dumber than a rock. A "bear of very little brain."


I do confess that I am a daydreamer. To this day, I find myself in a group conversation, but thinking about something completely different. Or watching tv, but not hearing or seeing anything I'm looking at. Not constantly ... but it is definitely a battle.


Does that mean I'm stupid?

No, it does not.

But it took me a couple of decades to overcome believing that I was. You don't have to hear something over and over for it to make an impact. Sometimes, if words are hurtful enough, you only need to hear them once before the damage is done.

Where does one turn when their "self-esteem" is ripped away or severely damaged?

All I know is that eventually, you have to turn to someone other than the flawed people whom we live with on this planet. And I eventually came to the conclusion that it only matters what my Creator thinks. Scripture has taught me that "I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps. 139:14)" and that I am "loved with an everlasting love (Jer. 31:3)". Not only that, but I am "precious in His sight (Is. 43:4)."


Does realizing these truths mean I don't have challenges?

No.

Does it excuse me from trying my hardest, and learning to concentrate better?

Nope.

But it does validate me as a person who is loved by my God, with an everlasting love. He created me, and I am precious in His sight.


If that doesn't boost a gal's feeling of self-worth, I don't know what will.

I'm reminded of the old sing-song "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."

That's the biggest lie I've ever heard. Words do hurt. Words have incredible impact. So please ... think before you speak, especially when you're speaking to a child.

I asked my Dad a while back whether I was nicknamed Pooh Bear because I was a "kid of very little brain." His answer made me smile. He said, "Noooooo!! It was because Pooh Bear was so cute, and so were you!"

Fortunately, I never realized Pooh was referred to as a bear of very little brain until I was older.

And fortunately, Dad still calls me Brenda Pooh. 

maybe it's monday ...

This is a perfect reflection of me today. 

It must be Monday! 

something to be thankful for

I'm thankful for people who come along and encourage when I'm having a rough week. Last weekend, and this entire past week has been challenging to say the least.

Sometimes God puts a friend in our path to lift us up, and sometimes He uses our own kids. Of course, He is not past using multiple methods to accomplish His will for us, whether it be people or Scripture, or .... fill in the blank. But my point is that for me, this past week, He placed just the right people at just the right times in my path.


Just like a good Daddy would do ... 

Sunday evening, a friend approached me at church to ask me how a certain situation in my life was going, and she assured me she had been praying, especially the last two weeks. I think I may know Who burdened her heart to do so.

Then on my 21st wedding anniversary, my daughter (Ashlee) wrote this on my facebook wall:
  
So. My parents have been married for 21 years today. And since I'm married now, I'm beginning to respect that more and more...and more. :) Thank you God, for giving my parents the strength to persevere, no matter how hard it got, and thank you Mom and Dad for being willing to defy all odds and still love each other deeply after 21 years. I love you two! :)

And since I serve a gracious God, I also received this pleasant surprise on our dry erase board when I went into the schoolroom to fetch my cell phone:

 

And my response was:

Good timing, indeed.

Thank you, Lord.

pleasantly disturbed - baseball, men, chocolate, bacon, and cholesterol

I'm linking up with Duane Scott today for Pleasantly Disturbed Thursdays. Not that it has to be Thursday to be pleasantly disturbed, you understand. It's just the day we choose to flaunt our disturbing mindsets. And uhh ... our pleasantness.

You want to know what disturbs me?

Exercising. I can't seem to get motivated to do it. My cholesterol is rising, rising, rising, and yet I can't seem to get the gumption to do anything about it. The thing is, I'm afraid if I burn many calories, I'll lose weight. And that's something I really don't need to do. Also, it does not give me energy. I'm more tired when I exercise! Perhaps I haven't done it long enough to see the benefits?

Ho hum. Whateva! 

Speaking of cholesterol. And Duane Scott. Yes, Duane. The chocolate covered bacon is a heart attack waiting to happen. So dig in! What are you waiting for? You're young! I'm sure your cholesterol is nice and low, ya' big stud. So bring home the bacon. Fry it up in a pan. And dip it in chocolate! You'll feel like a man!

Speaking of men ... I just don't understand them. Sometimes I envy them. But only because they don't have female health problems. Oh yes, and because they seem to get better looking as they age. Women? The only thing we have to look forward to in our old age is not having our monthly, gray hair, road map faces, and saggy chesticles.

Big. Honkin'. Whoop.

Speaking of whoop ... Andrew's baseball team got their booties whooped last Sunday. It was just one of those games where everything that could go wrong did go wrong. We normally coach him to learn from his mistakes he made in the game. This game? We said, "Forget it all. Erase if from your mind!! Throw it in the trash. It's gone. Done with. Finished!"

Speaking of finished ... I am almost finished with three, count 'em, three quilts. One big one, one table runner, and one mini-quilt. All I have to do is tack the binding down. Pics will be up as soon as I'm done with each. I know, I know .. you've heard it all before. But really. I AM almost done.

Speaking of finished (again) ... I'm finished with this post!

Want to show off your ability to be pleasantly disturbed? Link up with us right here!

big sister, little brother

By the looks of the pics, I should title this big brother, little sister! But I'm going by birth order here, not who is taller. Jessie is actually wearing tall high heels, so this picture doesn't really do Andrew's height justice. I'm three inches shorter than Jessie, so you can imagine what I look like up against Andrew. 

Sigh ...

Jessie took Andrew on a date the other night, so I'm simply posting these pictures as proof that just because babies grow up ... they don't lose their cuteness. 

Amen? 

 

You don't suppose this post had anything to do with the date idea, do you?

Nah. Me either. 

And I'm posting this one to show off for your viewing pleasure. 

I Heart Faces - Smirk

"Smirk" is the theme this week for I Heart Faces. We must be a smirking family, because I had plenty of smirky photos to choose from!

This is my niece, Gracelyn. The pic was taken in a photo shoot I did with her and her sisters. I'm not sure what she's thinking here. Something along the lines of "Can we pleeeeaaaase be done with this photo shoot!"

simple woman's daybook

I'm celebrating simplicity with many other ladies today. Go to the Simple Woman's Daybook to see other posts and link up with us!

Here goes:

Outside my window... Smoke, from a nearby forest fire. I don't know whether the details I've heard are accurate or not. But if they are, nine firefighter's have lost their homes (but continue to fight the fire around the clock), and four people are missing. It rained a bit today, but I'm praying for more.

I am thinking... I better go to bed soon, so I have energy to do my mommy thing. :)

I am thankful for... So many things! I'm seriously considering a Polyanna post later on entitled "The Glad Game."

From the learning rooms... The American's Creed, Phil. 2:4-11, and the names of all the oceans and seas, to name a few.

From the kitchen... There's one more piece of apple pie. Any volunteers?

I am wearing... Blue knickers with a blue and white hooded sweatshirt. It's Autumn!!

I am creating... A table runner. Hopefully pics will be up soon! I just need to finish a bit of quilting and sew the binding on.

I am going... Somewhere special for my anniversary. But it's a secret for now. Tell ya' later ... with pictures, of course.

I am reading... Be Still My Soul, by Elisabeth Elliot. Also Sinners In The Hands Of A Good God by David Clotfelter (I won't actually start reading this until tomorrow).

I am hoping... My back feels better tomorrow. I feel like someone beat me with a baseball bat. Ouchie.

I am hearing... Nothing but Andrew watching a survival show, but I'm doing my best to tune it out since they're eating dead rabbits.

Around the house... The dishwasher is fixed, thanks to a husband who is an awesome fixer upper dude!

One of my favorite things... Talking to you. Even better when you talk to me. ;)

A few plans for the rest of the week: Grocery shopping. Love to grocery shop.


Here is picture for thought I am sharing... This is a picture of a little girl at the swimming pool (obviously). I don't know her. I was just stalking her while Andrew and his cousins swam. Do me a favor (insert picture of me on my knees begging here) and let me know which coloring you like best? 1, 2, or 3?

1. 

2.

3.

homeschooled terrorists

Sometimes ... when homeschoolers get a day off ...

They work up these crazy scenarios ... 

Like they are terrorists ....

Or more like some of them are terrorists ... 

And some are good guys

And it's all fun and games ...

Right up until you lose your pants.

**Disclaimer: No homeschoolers, parents, or animals were hurt during the making of this blog post.