Wait a Stinkin Second!

OK, we've experienced first at our house, and I thought I'd share this first experience with you. Yesterday was my husband's 30th birthday. On your birthday, you get cards, phone calls, presents, etc. because it's your birthday. So, he opened his card from one of his aunt's on his father's side, and inside there was a $20 bill. However, that $20 was not for my husband (whose birthday was yesterday, remember); no, that money was for the KID on her father's birthday. We had a mini-discussion about this, and have decided that if things are going to start heading downhill like this and she starts getting our birthday presents/money, Christmas presents/money, we're totally sending her back. She can't take over like that! (If you don't know I'm just KIDDING), but seriously, how does she get money when it's not even her day? I guess this just proves our theory even more that she IS a princess! We got quite a laugh out of that one!

Chocolate Covered...

PRINCESS!!!

<--------- THIS is what happens when you're trying to be a good teacher, and make your class cupcakes for the Coffee House idea you stole from a friend. And, when you put the "cockate" icing down then forget to pick it back up, little hands are sure to get wrapped around that container! Chocolatey goodness, and sweetness. The mess was fun to clean up, too!!

Not Me! Monday

I am absolutely NOT too lazy and exhausted to write down all the things I did not do this last week..... wow, what a day. Teaching 4th graders on the week of Halloween is NOT a fun experience. Especially not when the weather is changing, which makes them crazier anyway. I promise I will not do a better post next week!

Head on over to MckMama's blog (Stellan comes in 2 days!!!) to see more interesting posts of people who aren't taking the lazy way out how I am doing :o)

I'm "in Love"

Good things come from being a lurker of other peoples' blogs!!! I found a song by Warren Barfield, and I'm hooked! Many of you have probably heard it, but I just came upon it, and decided to share! The song is called "Love is Not a Fight". First of all, here is what Mr. Barfield had to say about this song, which I think is amazing~


Here is a little insight into how some of those thoughts and ideas took shape to become my song “Love is Not a Fight.” The word love as defined by our culture confuses me. I have a close friend who told me he was in love and was engaged to be married, then in a matter of days he broke off the engagement and was “in love” with someone else. I’m confused. Another friend found out his wife of seven years, the mother of his three children, had been having an affair with a co-worker for a couple of years. Everyday she threw “I love you” around while destroying everyone who she said it to. I’m confused. The stories go on and on and get closer and closer to home. Love is all we need? I personally think we could all use a manual to go along with it as well.“Love is Not a Fight” is my conviction. I saw the abuse of the word love all around me, but I wasn’t one of the abusers, was I? One night during a fight with my wife I saw myself. “Love is Not a Fight” is my confession. The fight started over something very small and insignificant but quickly grew into a battle. In the middle of the fight I said, “I want out. You can have everything; I just want out!” What is love? That night my love was prideful, selfish. It flew off the handle listing all my wife’s wrongs; it failed. By the grace of God, my wife and I survived that battle. “Love is Not a Fight” is my conclusion. There is a definition of Love that is very different than the one given to us by our culture. It is seen in the person of Christ. It is the opposite of all the things I was that night. I learned through a fight that Love is not a battle. It isn’t angry. It isn’t a fight, but it is something worth fighting for. I want to be fighting for my wife, not fighting with her. Christ is the ultimate example of what it means to fight for love. He accepted blame that wasn’t His, and gave His life for the ones He loved. I want to follow His lead and exhaust myself for Love. I hope the song encourages everyone that hears it to fight for Love. I have received story after story of how the song is at work in people’s lives. I pray it continues to do its work.



Secondly, if you haven't heard it, go here to YouTube, and listen. Seriously LISTEN to the words ~ The Lyrics are below, so you can read them, too


Love is not a place
To come and go as we please
It’s a house we enter in
And then commit to never leave


Lock the door behind you
Throw away the key
We’ll work it out together
Let it bring us to our knees


Love is a shelter in the raging storm
Love is peace in the middle of a war
If we try to leave, may God send His angels to guard the door
No, love is not a fight but it’s something worth fighting for

To some, love is a word
That they can fall into
But when they’re falling out
Keeping that word is hard to do
Love will come to save us
If we’ll only call
He will ask nothing of us
But demand we give our all

I will fight for you
Would you fight for me?
It’s worth fighting for






Six months after being married, my husband did something I thought I'd never have to deal with (I'm not going to say it on here because it's still painful, but it's also private). It tore me to pieces, and it broke my heart. After six months of marriage, I thought I was done. I couldn't believe my marriage was going to last for less than a year. It was something I had been waiting for forever. I had waited to marry him forever. And, he went and did what he did to me? I thought I was going to be married for the rest of my life to one person, and then in one second it was all shattered. I will tell you what got me through this time. Prayer. Trusting in God. Knowing that HE would see me and us through. God is what got me through that time. God and Love. God showed me that love is bigger than any problem. That HE is bigger than any problem. This song touches my heart so deeply because it is so true. What would have happened if I had just lost faith and given up? It's been hard to deal with, still after 4 years, and it will probably remain hard to deal with for a long time. The scar is still there, and the pain hasn't gone away. But, man am I glad that I trusted in God, prayed to Him, and let Him help me see that my love was stronger than any problem Adam and I came across. I don't regret not leaving. I'm glad I stayed because my love for my husband has grown in leaps and bounds in the last 3 1/2 years. I never thought I could love someone this much. And, we wouldn't have had our precious girl if I had just decided to give up on him, on God, and on love!

Just remember to always trust in God, give any problem to Him. No matter how big or small your problem is, He will take care of you. His loving arms are wrapped around you, to comfort you, to hold you, and to show you the way. God is so amazing, and I can't imagine living my life without Him being my top priority!

What The...

I do not know how in the heck my information is under my blog posts. Any clue at all how to get it back on the right side of my blog????

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 4th wedding anniversary. I can't believe I married the most incredible man 4 years ago already!! On November 7, it will be a total of 9 years since we've been together! Almost a decade!!!

Happy Anniversary, AT! You have given me more love in these last few years then I ever thought I'd receive from someone in a lifetime. Thank you for loving me, caring for me and our girl, for putting up with me, for being my partner in everything, and for making my life complete. I'd be lost without you; you make my world a better place!! I love you with all my heart, soul, and being!!

<3>

And the Foot Went DOWN!

My husband's choice of television isn't exactly what I like to watch. He enjoys the Simpson's, Family Guy, American Dad, all those dumb, disgusting shows. Well, the foot recently went down on good 'ol Daddio because our little one has started picking up some things that Mommy doesn't like. Daddy has been told that he is allowed to watch those shows in the bedroom with the door closed. No kiddo in tow.

Usually I am able to keep the munchkin distracted while her father is watching these shows, but we've taken a turn that has Mommy quite displeased. My punkins started calling Family Guy "movie" because the first line says "It seems today that all you see is violence in MOVIES". It bothered me that she recognized the show, and got semi-excited that it was on. Yes, she watches other cartoons (children appropriate, mind you), but I didn't think she'd get that excited over a show.

The next step in my realization that my child need not be present while her father is watching these shows is when she actually called the cartoon by its real name. Then, she cried when "Famy Guyyy" was on a commercial. Not good! Daddio was told that he was going to have to start watching the show elsewhere, but he didn't think it was "that big of a deal".

Finally, the clincher (and it's a good clincher) to my realization that my 19 month old daughter should in no way, shape, or form be exposed to this show is when she started repeating what Stewie (the baby in Family Guy) said. As she was playing, the show was on, and it went to a commercial. The next thing I hear out of her precious little mouth is "ass ball", which is exactly what Stewie had just said on TV! My child repeating cuss words from an inappropriate television show? I THINK NOT!

Daddio was ever so politely TOLD that the viewing of these shows will no longer take place in front of our child. If he wants to watch them in the bedroom, that's fine with me. I wasn't allowed to watch these shows growing up, and now I see why. My child will also not be allowed to watch these shows!

<3

I gotta brag a little on my hubster (especially since I will make him look like a jerk in the next post. He's not a jerk, really he's not, he just likes stupid, inappropriate cartoons). First of all, his birthday is next week (the big 3-0)!!! My parents have decided that our birthdays are going to be our big gifts, and then Christmas is going to be small so they can help needy people out at Christmas time by donating the money that they would have used to purchase us presents. I love that idea! Anyway, my husband asked for a new set of good knives, some new clothes, and a waffle maker for his birthday. When I asked him why he wanted a waffle maker, his comment was, "So I can make my girls waffles in bed every Saturday morning". How insanely sweet and cute is that? <3

Then, we were discussing what we were asking his mother for as gifts this Christmas. We give her a list of stuff, then she gets most of what we want, and then gets small surprises, too. In a previous post, I said that my "big" gift was going to be a Nintendo DS with the game Brain Age 2. My hubster, however, wants a gift card to go out to dinner, and for his parents to babysit our munchkins so he and I can go out alone. He said that he doesn't want anything else other than dinner and babysitting because "spending time with his family is the greatest gift he could ever receive". It melts my heart!! Then it makes me feel guilty cuz I want something for my own pleasure, and he wants something that deals with our family!

I do have to admit, I am pretty blessed in the husband department. While we don't always get along or see eye to eye (who does?), he's one stinkin awesome guy! :o) <3

Not Me! Monday :)

It's that time of the week again! I think this is the only reason why I actually look forward to Mondays!

So, this week ~

I did not put off grading papers to spend time with my little punkins in the evenings, then have to delay sending interim reports home (that were supposed to go home two Fridays ago) until tomorrow.

I would never have not been paying attention, and flipped out at a kid because I thought he was being disrespectful to me. Then I emailed his mother to tell her how disrespectful and rude he was!!! When if I would have actually listened, how I tell my kids they need to get better at doing, I would have known he was telling a classmate to hurry up instead of being nasty to me. *I did admit my fault, and apologized to him and sent a note home admitting my fault to his mother!

I didn't take a gazillion pictures of my baby girl yesterday because she looked insanely adorable in her outfit I put her in for church.

I also didn't make her sit in church instead of going to the nursery so tons of people could see my insanely adorable child.

I have not been desperately awaiting the arrival of Thanksgiving and Christmas so I can have some student-free days.....

I have NOT been a bad mother, and not replaced any of the batteries of my childs' toys that have croaked this week. Because my ears weren't bleeding from constantly hearing "The engine on the bus goes round and round, round and round, round and round, round and round and round and round and round......................." Ahhhhhhhh sheer peace and quiet. It's nice at times!

I have not let my house get so disastrously messy that it looks like a tornado went through the entire thing. And, now it seems like it's going to take forever to get it cleaned, and I don't want to think about touching it because I know how long it's going to take to get it back in order. (Anyone know a cheap maid service??)

I did not tell my child that all of the N and Nm's were gone because I couldn't stand the fact that she was covered in colors (Melts in your mouth, not in your hands, right?), and couldn't bear to think that the colors were going to get all over her new dress!

And, last but not least, I did not tell my husband that I was "doing something for school" on the computer when he needed to use the computer to do grades when in reality I was actually looking at blogs!

Making Progress....

Our punkins has been trying to use the potty the last couple weeks. She has started telling us she's going to use the bathroom in her diaper before she actually does. So, we thought we'd give it a go because she hates.being.dirty. (loathes is more like it) ~ even with just tinkle. It's getting to the point that she will go to her door, pull on the knob, and say "potty pease". And, twice now, she has peed on the floor directly in front of her potty..... couldn't she have waited until she went back just a couple more inches?? cuz she peed on carpet! Hopefully in the next couple of months we'll be a potty going princess. We're still not totally pressing the issue, and are happy to see that she's actually asking to go.

Excuse Me?

Lately, our little munchkin has come up with a new phrase that she says every time she gets in trouble or when she's mad. My husband and I were kinda taken aback when we asked her if she wanted to be put in time out for being mean and we got the response "I don't care". We were both kinda like... did she just say that?!?!?!?!?! She's 19 months old; she can't know what that means, can she? But then again, she uses it appropriately! She's getting too big for her britches!

Caribou, Please :)

I needs me a fix..... soooooooon!!!! A Ho Ho Mint Mocha with extra peppermint sounds divine!!! Only 42 days to wait! :o)

Is It Just Me.....

or does it totally weird you out while someone is carrying on a conversation with you while you're trying to pee? During my break today, I needed to use the potty, and in walks one of the cafeteria ladies. She's nice, and all, but she was ready to have a full converation with me. I may be weird, but I'm not big on conversing while using the restroom. That time is private time, in my opinion, and I don't want someone asking about my business while I'm taking care of business.

How are you?

........ great

How's your husband?

...... um, he's doing well, too

What about the baby?

..... yeah, she's doing wonderfully


Did you have a nice fall break?

..... sure did (I wanted to say ~ yes I did because I was able to pee in peace!)

Not True!

Um, the "Not Me! Monday" statement of 12lbs. is not true! It's actually 15 pounds!!! YAYYYYYYYYY You do not know how happy, proud, elated, ecstatic, enthusiastic, excited, encouraged, etc, etc, etc, etc. I am by this number!!!! Hopefully I will have more good reports in the coming weeks. We'll see!! :)

Viewer's Choice

You, my blog readers, get to vote on which hat I will be purchasing for my punkins this winter. Her coat is a puffy hot pink number, and I just can't decide which hat to buy to go with the coat. The first one is from Children's Place, and the other two are from Target. Hopefully enough people will respond. By the looks of my ClusterMap, I have a TON of people reading. But, by the look of my comments, I only have a few. Don't disappoint me! :o)

Confessions of a Bad Mother ~ Second Edition

So, you know you're a bad mother when your sleepy I-did-not-sleep-a-wink-at-all-at-Mingie-and-Papa's-house 19 month old is screaming for oesh (Cheerios) and she has to keep screaming because you CAN'T.FIND.THEM.ANYWHERE! And, of course, the sleep deprived child has no clue that you are trying your hardest to find her oesh so she can chow down; which causes her to scream louder!


I also did not attempt to put a long sleeved, heavy cotton dress on my kid today in the 85 degree weather just because I knew she'd be adorable in it (and I wanted her to sport her spiffy new bargain clothes from Gymboree). HMMMMMM.... sounds like the makings of another "Not Me! Monday"! :o)



Oh, the woes of being a "bad" Mom!

Not Me! Monday :o)

* I did not spend a ton of money on my daughter this weekend at the outlets in Lancaster. Especially not in Gymboree getting her tons of sweet, adorable dresses with leggings for insanely good prices!

* I also did not purchase my daughter her first pair of Nikes, which also means she has fully outgrown her Stride Rite baby walkers. And, it did not kill me at all to know that she's not so much a baby anymore! :(

* I did not finally stick up for myself at work last Friday. The nagging and criticizing wasn't too much, and I didn't just finally explode because I couldn't take it anymore. Nope, not me.

* My wish list for Christmas from my in-laws does NOT include a Nintendo DS Lite Rose Pearl. Because I did not enjoy playing my MIL's Brain Age 2 all day yesterday. Not even the teeniest bit. Making the batteries croak doesn't prove it either, does it?

* I have not lost a total of about 12lbs. in the last two weeks. And I don't plan on going to the gym this week to make that an even bigger number. Nope. Because I want to stay the weight I am, and be miserable forever!

* I did not harshly scold my father for picking up his grand-punkins this weekend after he had neck surgery, and wasn't supposed to lift anything! No matter how cute the object is that he's picking up!

That's all for now!! :)

Little Break

We're headed up to Lancaster County again for our long weekend/fall break!! The colors on the trees should be beautiful, and I am looking forward to our drive home through the mountains. I love going to my parent's house!

Suggestions, Anybody?

OK, I need help! I need MAJOR HELP! We are spending approximately $600-700 (or more) a month on groceries! It's getting ridiculous, and we need to come up with ideas to help cut the costs. We have a 19 month old, and she's still in diapers, but not on formula anymore... thank goodness! We have a budget set for about $100-120 a week, but it's just not working. Everything is so expensive. We want to include fresh fruits/vegetables in to our meals, but they're getting insanely expensive, too! So, can anyone please give meal ideas, budget ideas, WHATEVER ideas to HELP US CUT OUR GROCERY BILL DOWN! Thank you in advance :)

A 3 Thing List (Including a Letter)

Numero Uno ~

Our punkins doesn't have walking pneumonia (she had all of the symptoms except for diarrhea, and I was a little worried)!! Yay!!!! BTW, isn't she just a teeny bit cute?? :o)

Numero Dos ~

Yes, "Obbypiss" is octopus. I didn't know what it meant right away because she said it like 10 minutes after I told her what she had seen. And "appyoss" is applesauce, which is something she LOVES. My dad guessed octopus right away, too. We're not teaching our kid swear words (I thought it kinda sounded like "I'll be pissed" as did other people).

Numero 3 (Letter time)~

Dear Lady in the Huge SUV that We Were Following Yesterday,

I just thought is probably a little imperative that you find this piece of information out soon. When you want to switch lanes from the fast lane to the slow/regular speed limit lane YOU USE YOUR RIGHT TURN SIGNAL ~ NOT YOUR LEFT. Your right turn signal is UP and your left turn signal is DOWN! Although you gave me quite a laugh (tear inducing to be exact), it can be kinda dangerous. I guess whoever taught you to drive should either be fired or banned from getting behind the wheel of a car. That's all.

The End

BTW.... we're having a semi-Thanksgiving like dinner tonight. But, my dad's stuffing and turkey are better than mine (and his mom's is even better than his)

Test Yo Skillz!

Can you speak "toddler"?? My kiddo learned a new word yesterday. The new word is "Obbypiss". Do you know what "obbypiss" means??? Let's see how good you are at guessing :o) Another one of her favorite words is "appyoss"... know that one??

Mennisin Pease

How many 19 month olds do you know that come up and ask you for "mennisin pease" (medicine please)?? Probably not many. But, mine comes carrying her medicine, asking nicely if I could please give it to her! Hah

Are You Serious?

While doing my coming home from school ritual of getting on the Internet to check blogs, email, Facebook, Myspace, and People.com (see another "Bad Mother" strike against me), I read some news on www. people.com that I found to be quite ridiculous. Oprah Winfrey's mother owes a store money to the tune of like $175,000. This store is suing her because she has failed to pay them, and hasn't met the $2000 minimum monthly payment. The kicker is that Winfrey's mother is counter-suing the store because they raised her credit limit; which in turn made her spend more money. Supposedly they'd had problems with her being indebted to them before, and it was ruled that the woman was not allowed to have a store credit card anymore. But, can you imagine..... you elevated my credit limit, which made me spend more money, so I am going to sue you?? I guess that means that I can start suing all of the credit companies that raised our limit, because they made us spend the money and become more in debt. Seriously, what is up with America these days?