Observations From Today

1. The people who put those tacky plastic coverings on their dining room chairs probably at one point in their lives had a two year old who ate aqua and hot pink Trix yogurt at the dining room table. Need I say more.

2. A TRIPLE whopper? Really? A little bread with your meat? Who eats those???

3. Cheese tots? How DO they get the cheese in those things and what will they fry up next?

4. Ellen Degeneres is the best talk show on T.V. these days. She tops Oprah. GASP. I know, she's a lesbian. But her show is HIGHLY entertaining.

5. I'm in love! With my two year old. Nothing melts my heart more these days than her sweet hugs and kisses, the way she sits on my legs and opens my eyes with her fingers while I'm "resting my eyelids" in the afternoons, the way she opens the refrigerator and grunts and makes gremlin noises while she's picking out what she wants to eat. Don't get me wrong. I love my 4 yr old too, but she's in "a stage". She's too cool for school these days and doesn't want to have anything to do with me. Kind of like a teenager. I hear they go through this in preschool and then again when they hit the pre-teen years. If that's not true, don't correct me. I'm just going to keep believing it will go away.

Lurking Defined

I guess I should have defined "lurking" a little better. A lurker would be a person who I don't know, never met, who reads my blog and NEVER comments. If you've ever commented, you're not a lurker. If I know you personally and I've given you my blog address, you're not a lurker. If I know you personally, but I've never given you my blog address and you've found your way here and NEVER commented, thus meaning that I know you but don't know you read my blog, well, then you're a lurker. Well, that is my definition at least. I guess everyone has their own definitions.

Clear as mud?

And once again, I don't mind lurkers, as long as they don't have ill intentions. And leave a comment every now and then!

Carry on with your commentin' selves. It makes me feel so good! I think I'm getting teary eyed. Not really. But it does give me warm fuzzies! Like all my hard bloggin' work is not in vein! YEA!

Lurking

Today, I was talking to a friend about the subject of blogging and she asked me how I feel about "lurkers". And not that I've never thought about it before, because I know I have lurkers. But honestly, if my life brings that much joy to someone's day, then bring on the lurkers! (Although I can't imagine that to be the case because the garbage man seems to have a more exciting life than I do!) I average 75-100 hits a day and only 5 repeatedly leave comments. Obviously there are lurkers out there. And for what it's worth, you don't have to have a password to leave a comment...hint hint! Let me say that again. YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A PASSWORD TO LEAVE A COMMENT! As for security, I never put our last name on the blog, nor the exact city we live in, or where we go to church, or where my kids to go school, etc. So I think a person would have to try REALLY hard to track us down if they had ill intentions. I know that most people who read our blog are people who love us and just want to know what's going on in our lives. What does bother me just a bit are the very few people who may be reading in a judgemental way, in an effort to scrutinize my family. And I don't know why I care. I shouldn't let it get to me. As a pastor's family, we do live in a glass house as it is. Like it or not, it is what it is. And I've kind of accepted it (though not happily!) And to those people, I would say, I may not be like you or have the same lifestyle or thoughts or beliefs, but don't judge me for that. It's okay for us to be different. God loves us equally and uses us in different ways to achieve His purpose.

So welcome one and all. And don't be a stranger. Leave a comment!

A Florida Tamale???

So I had a Florida tamale today. I know, kind of sounds like an oxymoron to me too. I usually shy away from tamales because typically they are made with pork and I don't eat pork because I'm really Jewish. I'M KIDDING! Although, my father was a Jewish carpenter! But I really don't eat pork. And I've actually MADE tamales before and after you make them, trust me, you'll never want to eat them again! But I used to work with a girl who would bring me BEEF tamales and despite the tub of lard that went into them, they were DEEEELISH! (Do you remember our attempt to make tamales Mom??? I think I was like 10!!!) So before I give you my report on the Florida tamale, I must tell you WHY I had a tamale, because I know you care. I have had the most WRETCHED craving for Mexican food for the past 3 weeks. I've tried to fulfill my craving by cooking fajitas at home, Cary even bought me one of those $1.50 Banquet (frozen) enchilada dinners (GAG) and my craving would not subside. So this past week, I suggested that we save ALL of our eating out allowance and go eat at our favorite Mexican place here, Aztecas. It's not Tex-Mex, but it will do! So yesterday, after church, we went to Aztecas and had A FEAST I tell you, A FEAST! Oh, it was heavenly. Cary brought half of his home, which ended up being my lunch today.

Now, on to the tamale. And let me preface this by saying I KNOW MY MEXICAN FOOD. There was this BIG ROUND thing in the container and I had NO IDEA what it was. I thought, maybe a chimichanga, maybe a burrito??? So I tasted it. And I still couldn't figure out what it was. It was good, but I had no clue what I was eating. I took another bite. And then another. Still, nothing was coming to me. It definitely was not an enchilada. About half way through, I asked him, "Honey, what the heck is this thing???" And he replied, "Oh, that's my tamale!" ("You mean, MY tamale, right?" Heeheee.)

So that was my first experience with a Florida tamale. I didn't even know what it was!!! He assured me it was a BEEF tamale. Shew! Good thing! I wouldn't want to eat Babe. But still, it made no resemblance to any tamale I've ever seen. Except that it was round. And full of meat.

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines

Tonight at church was the annual AWANA Grand Prix. The best way to describe AWANA is to say it's like the Christian version of scouts. They have to memorize memory verses every week and they have short assignments to complete, they get patches on their vests for completing them, they do crafts and games, and have a lesson time too. It's a great program that many churches all around the world have for kids in the community. Anyhoo, Lexi is in the "Cubbies" division and tonight at the Grand Prix the Cubbies raced their hotwheels while the older kids actually built wooden cars and decorated them and raced them. Lexi won 2 out of 3 of her races and (even though there wasn't a 4th place) she came in 4th. (I know this because I was keeping score, cause I'm kind of competitive like that!) COME ON...at least I wasn't chanting LEXI, LEXI, LEXI...okay so maybe I was! Well, still, at least I congratulated the 4 yr old who won. Okay, not really but I'm kind of a sore loser like that. But, really, it's all about having fun right? (We'll CRUSH'EM next year Lex!)

So, here she is BEFORE the big race, showing off her hotwheel, that SHE picked out at the store, Daddy oiled it a little and taped the doors shut, you know, to make it more aerodynamic.

Have you ever seen a cuter cowgirl? Check out those big pink earrings! What can I say, the apple didn't fall far from the tree, folks!

The pre-race prayer. "Dear God, please help Lexi WIN WIN WIN!!!"

She took her first loss pretty rough. I'm not sure where she gets that competitive nature from!

The sympathy/participation ribbon!

Well, hey, we didn't win, but by golly, if you can't win, at least dazzle them with your good looks! Isn't she beautiful!

Zoom Zoom Zoom

So the newness of the big girl bike has already worn off and the item that she once couldn't put away (I think she even asked to sleep in her helmet one night) has now become a distant memory. It's back to ol' reliable. The good old fashion, radio flyer, little red tricycle. And why not? This way, you can torture your sister who is clinging on for dear life while hitching a ride! Yes, the tricycle is MUCH better!

(Click on the picture so you can get the full effect of the look on Ashton's face.)

On My SOAP box (literally)

If cleanliness means nothing to you, please do not read this!

If you LONG to be cleaner and more organized, read at your own risk. You may hate me when it's over.

If you are clean, mean, moppin' machine, read on and give me an AMEN!

Now I may be preachin to the choir, but If I've said it once, I've said it 100 times people...cleanliness is next to Godliness. Okay, so I'm kind of kidding. A little. The topic of my level of home cleanliness has come up at least a dozen times this past month alone, or how I keep my house so clean, and after laughing hysterically at their perception of my clean ways, I often say in a half joking (but really I'm totally serious) kind of way, "Oh you know what they say, cleanliness is next to Godliness." So I thought I'd share my "methods" to keeping a neat and tidy, clean house. HIRE A MAID!!! Ba-da-bing. I'm Kidding! Okay, seriously, marry a man who values cleanliness and knows how to scrub a mean toilet. Okay, again, I'm kidding.

No, really, keeping the house clean is a FULL TIME JOB and requires a lot of work. There is no fairy Godmother, unfortunately, there is no magic wand. Every time my mom calls and says, "What are you doing?" I answer, "vacuuming, sweeping, doing laundry, doing dishes." And you may be thinking, "I don't want to be that way. I don't want to spend my day spinning my wheels. Spending time with the kids is more important to me than cleaning." And to each his own. In my opinion, if the house is a wreck, I'm a wreck (emotionally) so in order to maintain JOY IN MY HEART, the house must be clean and orderly at all times. And when it's not, I'm a grump!

Now, if you have a child over the age of 6, GOD HAS GIVEN YOU A HELPER....put that kid to work honey! And I've heard moms say, "Well, it's not their job to clean house, it's my job." BULL-ONEY! It's your job as the parent to teach your children how to be neat, organized, responsible, task finishing individuals. One way to accomplish that is with chores. By the age of 8, I was cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming, sweeping, folding clothes, cleaning out my closet regularly, and helping with the dinner dishes every night. Not because I was obsessive compulsive (at least not yet), but because those were my daily chores. We didn't leave the house for school each morning until our rooms were tidy and the beds were made. Oh, yes, indeedy, my children, God bless their souls, will be doing chores as soon as they are able. They do attempt to clean and vacuum their rooms, make up their beds, and feed the dog already. Oh, I fully intend to use the help God gave me one of these days. And it is my opinion that children who do chores are less likely to make as many messes. They take pride in their cleaning job and don't want it to get messed up. But since I have a 2 yr old and a 4 yr old who make plenty of messes these days, I thought I'd share my cleaning "schedule". This is just a CLEANING schedule. Not a "what we do all day" schedule. We do bathe, play together, do crafts, play outside, run errands, and such. But here's when I clean.

Morning: Each morning after breakfast, I unload/load the dishwasher, tidy up the house, vacuum, sweep, and almost always fold a load of clothes and put them away. About twice per week, the floors get mopped. I usually spend about an hour each morning on housework, sometimes two. And what are my children doing during this time? Playing independently, artwork, or playdough, and helping me a little here and there. The t.v. is on IN THEIR ROOMS (yes, they have a t.v. in their rooms...gasp...just like I did growing up) but they really could care less. It's just noise. (Sometimes I WISH they would just sit still and watch the dern thing!!!) Basically, they are making more messes as I'm cleaning. It's a vicious cycle, but hang with me here! You can't feel guilty that you're not spending every waking minute entertaining them. If you are, you're setting them up for MAJOR disappointment in life. Playing independently, or with siblings, is a life skill.
Afternoon: after lunch, put dishes in dishwasher, more laundry if needed. This only takes 10-15 minutes to clean up after lunch.
Evening: the children can't go to bed until their rooms are back in order, toys put away and this requires INSPECTING, not EXPECTING...this is a hands on job that requires teaching with modeling. Once again, all dishes are put in dishwasher and the dishwasher usually gets started every night. No dirty dishes are left out. Cary takes out the trash almost every other night. Sometimes I run the vacuum again, depending on how much food and dirt made it to the floor that day. Sometimes another load of laundry is put in and folded. This takes about another hour or so of cleaning at nighttime.

Once per week, I do a deep cleaning where bathrooms get scrubbed, floors get bleached, everything gets dusted, towels on towel racks get washed, and the bed linens get changed. My weekly deep cleaning usually takes about 4-5 hours. I do this when the children are OUT of the house. Most of the time, it's on Mondays when they are in school. But before they started school, I had Cary pick a day or night and he would take them somewhere for that long so I could get it done without a million interruptions. That's what worked best for us. This may not be an option for everyone. But he knows this is what makes Momma happy, therefore everyone is happy!

Once per month, the rugs get washed, windowsills get cleaned, baseboards get dusted, ceiling fans get dusted, etc.

And I admit that some days, the job seems overwhelming and I want to say, "WHERE DO I BEGIN???" I start at one end of the house. For me, it's the eating area. And I work my way from that end of the house to the other, room by room, space by space. When I'm putting things away that were in the living room area, I just go lay it in the room it belongs, and then when I get to that room to actually clean it, the object gets put in its proper place at that point. This is the most efficient way I've found to clean and stay on task. As you get through with each room, you'll feel such a sense of accomplishment that will inspire to you press on!

Working moms obviously cannot stick to such a schedule as mine, but since no one's home all day, things should stay a little cleaner. When I did work full time, I just made sure I went to bed every night with a tidy house. Even after Lexi was born and I was working full time, I would clean up every night which usually took about an hour, including some laundry and vacuuming and doing dishes.

Some may wonder, WHY be so clean, what does it all benefit? Well, in the second chapter of the gospel according to Heather, it clearly states that cleanliness is next to Godliness. I'm Kidding! A clean and orderly home results in less stress for you, better health (dust mites are EVIL), teaches your children organization and cleanliness so they can function in life. I can't tell you how many roommates I've had that couldn't clean to save their life! Momma always did it for them, so they were just slobs. No one wants to live with a slob. Your husband may say he doesn't care how clean the house is. It's not true. You don't believe me? Clean your house. See what happens. He cares, he just may need help realizing he cares. My husband always says he doesn't care if I "let things go" but when he gets into bed after me changing the sheets, he often comments on how good clean sheets feel. He notices and he cares.

I'm PASSIONATE about teaching children the value of cleanliness, can you tell? I know a lady that had her children taken away from her recently because of an unclean home. Now that's extreme. And I'm probably extreme in the other direction. And I often find myself praying, "Lord, help me to not care so much about that spot of juice on the floor, or the playdoh stuck in the rug" because I don't want to be the Natzi Mom all the time. But I hope I've created a balance in our home. Cleanliness at all times. But perfection only comes one day week! (And lasts for about 30 minutes at most!) Now my closets...organized but crammed. And my car...A WRECK! Does that make you feel better?

And this has been your public service announcement.

How Cute is This?

Found this ADORABLE table topper on a new website that Kristi sent me today (mom2iande). www.etsy.com has very unique handmade boutique-yish items. I had one of these round tables in the girls' room and hated the blah white table cloth I had on it. What a cute idea to make it look like a ballerina skirt! Going to have to try to make this idea myself. $149 on this site. Bet I can I can do it for under $50!