Feisty's Best Friend

Feisty has a best friend. A best friend, besides of course, her mommy, daddy, sister, brother and grandparents. Her best friend is not two, three or four. Her best friend is not an animal or a stuffed toy. It's not a binky or a blankie.

Her best friend in the whole world is the nursery worker at church. Her best friend is Sandy.

Shortly after Feisty was born and I was on maternity leave, I began attending the young mom's Bible Study at our church. Almost more for an opportunity to get out my house than anything else. I didn't think I would be able to continue going to the Bible Study after my maternity leave was over, however a schedule change at work allowed me to be able to continue going.

The lady who was doing the child care at the church for Bible Study didn't even attend our church. She's actually Catholic but came to one of our events for children and was later asked if she would be interested in covering nursery duty for our Bible Study.

Over the course of the last three years, Sandy has become a very integral part of our children's lives at church. She now is our full-time nursery worker; there for every single service as well as Bible Study.

Sandy and Feisty formed a bond very quickly. As a matter of fact, Sandy's 8 year old son fell in "love" with Feisty when she was just a baby and still vows to this day that he will one day marry Feisty.

Sandy treats Feisty as though she is one of her own. And without Sandy, church would be a rather difficult thing for Feisty. If there is ever a time when Sandy is not there, Feisty usually ends up in Sunday School with me. Sandy's absence is cause for major crisis in Feisty's world.

In a little over a month, when Feisty turns three, she will "graduate" out of the nursery and move onto the pre-school class. I'm beginning to mentally prepare Feisty now for the fact that soon she will no longer be in the nursery with Sandy. I dread the day. If it were up to me, Sandy would move up with Feisty all the way through her high school graduation. I have a feeling that to Feisty and Sandy, it will be something akin to a divorce.

I am very thankful for Sandy for she has given Feisty a wonderful friendship and cared for her wonderfully over the past few years. I hope their friendship continues once their time together in the nursery together comes to an end.

Thanks, Sandy! You're the best friend a two year old little girl could ever ask for!

--------silence-------

My Bible Study group is currently watching a group of DVDs done by a man named Rob Bell and a company called NOOMA. Each DVD is short and concise and the only person who appears typically in each DVD is Rob Bell. While they are short, they are thought provoking and power-punching.

Todays DVD was about 10 minutes long and the topic was "silence". The majority of the ten minutes we sat staring at a TV that was silent and dark with an occasional phrase that would flash across the screen. Phrases such as:

*Do you own a cell phone?
*Does your cell phone have voice mail and email access?
*Do you own a TV?
*Do you own more than one TV?
*How often do you find solitary moments?
*Is there a connection between our noisy lives and the inability to hear God speaking to us?
*Looking at your life, is it a life that says that you want to be able to hear God speak to you?

There were many more, but that is just an example. The silence in the room we sat in watching this was deafening. Which is, I suppose what the point is.

Why are we, as a society, uncomfortable with silence? Because it requires us to think? Because we are so accustomed to business, chaos and noise that silence is unwelcome? Because we may actually hear God speaking to us in His still, quiet voice? All of the above?

When the TV was silent, the room dark and no other noise could be heard except the muffled noise of the kids downstairs in the nursery, it was rather un-settling.

Silence is difficult to achieve. But it is highly under-rated and sorely under-utilized. How easy is it to have moments of solitude without any noise with young children running around consistently asking for things, or just being children? When our cell-phones are on, our TVs are on, the radio is on, the traffic is roaring, the computer is on. Pretty much impossible.

My life has been difficult lately. I have been searching for ways to make it easier. To make things less complicated. Maybe the answer has been staring me in the face all along. Silence. To hear God's still voice. Without all the noise.

I turned off the radio in my car on my way to work today. Silence was still difficult to achieve. My thoughts still raced through my head. Like all things, I suppose, silence will take practice.

As I got close to my office, in my effort to achieve silence, I barely noticed a car in front of me coming to a screeching hault. As I braked hard to avoid rear ending it, my eyes fell to a bumper sticker stuck to the car. The message? Silence is Golden. Coincidence? You decide.

Be still and know I am God. Psalms 46:10

(**side note: Care Bear has a new post up today. She enjoyed reading all the nice comments she got on her first post. Thanks for saying hi to her.)

Some Assorted Randomness

I was typing on my blog the other day, which I am known to do, and Care Bear came up to me and wanted to sit on my lap while I was typing. She likes to "write" letters to people on the computer. Usually they look something like this:

kjfa;lskdjfslkdfj;slkdfj;aslkdfjsdlkfj
as;ldkfjas;kdlfjkjckjl;,3m32;ljclj;aslkdfjkc
jkkvj;zpoiwer;lkd';lkcxvlk'lk

Care Bear

And then she wants to "send" them. Since she's usually typing these letters in Word, I click on a button and pretend to send them on. I also usually "interpret" the letters that she writes based on what she is saying while she is writing them.

Today while I was composing my blog post, she announced that she wanted me to make her a blog. "How cute", I thought to myself. And then I thought, "why not"? So, I set up a blog for her. There, in her own blog, she can "write" all the letters that she wants, interpreted, of course, by me, and readers out there can be treated to a four year olds interpretation of life. Her blog is called Care Bear's World. You can find it here. Be a nice blogging friend, why don't ya and go tell her "hey!"

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So, I went and got a Chipotle burrito today. Have you ever been there? Do you know how huge their burritos are? Well, usually I can eat an entire burrito, and it satisfies me for the rest of the day. Since the great stomach flu outbreak of 2007, I can only eat 3/4 of a burrito. Take a moment and mourn with me, please. (Or perhaps I am just tiring of them).

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My job consists of a lot of time on the phone and on the computer. Ever tried typing on a computer and holding an old fashioned phone with an actual cord on your ear? Not exactly ergonomically correct. Oh, we've got headsets. But every now and then you forget you have the headset on and start walking away from your desk. I know what it must feel like to be a dog on a leash. So our office purchased us a nifty new "toy" that we are told to lock up every night or risk penalty of death. Wireless headsets. It's that toothbrush looking thing you see to the right of you.

Go on. Tell me how utterly ridiculous suh-weet I'm gonna look walking around my office sportin' that bad boy! At least I have long hair. It'll cover up most of it.

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So, the worm story didn't generate too much interest. You all must either hate worms as much as me and couldn't stomach reading the thing, or something. Can't say that I blame ya.

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I decided not to do a huge AI Celebrity News Post this week. But I will make a few comments.

SANJAYA-- Good grief, the hair. Again with the hair. Do I focus too much on people's hair in this show? Perhaps. But he looked like a peacock. Or one of those old Roman soldiers with one of those goofy helmets on. Or some sort of wierd bird ready to take flight. Oh, the humanity! Who could possibly focus on his singing when we had to be subjected to that freak show?!

HALEY-- Well, Haley. I don't know. The voice was alright, but as Simon said, forgettable. I have a feeling you might be in the bottom three this week.

GINA-- It's no secret she's my favorite of the females. This week she proved herself in my opinion. Great performance. She'll stick around.

LAKISHA-- I actually didn't get to see much of her performance. So I can't really comment much about her, but I'm sure she did fine and I'm sure she'll be back.

BLAKE-- Yeah to Simon for finally saying what I knew all along: He's the top male contender. Duh! (As Feisty would say). And yeah to Paula for saying she wants him in the finale. Not like too many people take too much stock in what Paula says these days.

CHRIS S.-- Uh oh. I have a bad feeling about him this week. Wasn't good much. I think he'll be in the bottom this week. Bummer.

JORDIN-- So she was trying to kiss Miss Stefani's hiney by singing one of her songs. It was too low for her in my opinion. And I thought the outfit was ridiculous. But I'm sure she'll be back. Still like her, though.

PHIL-- Loved it. Of course, anyone who can sing that classic Police song and pull it off is OK in my book. Yeah Phil! You'll be back.

CHRIS R--Liking this guy less and less every week. I didn't like this week at all even though the judges mushed and gushed all over him. Last week he was in the bottom two. Curious to see what happens this week.

MELINDA-- I don't really have anything different to say about her than I have every other week. She's talented and deserves to keep going, but she needs to start acting like she knows she's good. I guess that's part of her appeal.

My guess for the bottom three:

Sanjaya, Chris S., and Haley. It'd be nice if I was ever right.

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So, that's it. Adios.

You Mean I Shouldn't Put Worms There?!

I haven't spoken of the "Blondies" in quite awhile. If you don't recall hearing previous stories of the Blondies and their parents who I not-so-affectionately refer to as "Barbie and Ken", you can find their stories under my label "Barbie and Ken" on the sidebar.

The Blondies have been scarce for quite awhile. Partly due to weather and holidays, partly due to Barbie having them off and about to places they probably shouldn't have to be. But the weather is getting nice and Barbie seems to be sticking closer to the homefront lately, so the Blondies have been showing up again.

The Blondies are sweet girls. Sweet, cute and for the most part, polite. But they've been through some pretty wierd stuff in the last year or so. Mike and I have noticed changes here and there in their personalities and in their manners since they've been coming around again. They are not quite as polite. They seem quieter, and not quite as happy and free as they used to be. Sometimes I wonder if Blondie 2 even knows how to talk. You say something to her and she just stares at you with a "duh" sort of look on her face.

I'm happy the Blondies have come around again for my girls' sake in that they have someone to play with. However, I'm starting to wonder how good an influence they are on my girls. Nothing inappropriate is done when the girls are playing together. But Care Bear seems to forget every rule and manner she's ever learned when the Blondies are around.

For instance; when those girls are at my house, within a matter of minutes, my house looks like it was hit by four very small, yet very strong tornadoes. When they are asked to clean the mess up, the tornadoes suddenly disappear very quickly and I am left with the aftermath.

This past weekend, we got a lot of rain around here. It was nice. The grass is starting to look like green, velvet carpet. But when I walked out of the house the first time after the rain, my nose burned with the pungent aroma of worms. They were everywhere. I.Hate.Worms. I think they are one of the most disgusting creatures the good Lord ever created. And what is with gummy worms?? Why on earth would anyone ever want to eat a candied version of that nasty, vile creature??

I digress. Blondie 1 has always been fascinated by bugs. Of every kind. Worms, apparently, are not excluded from her fascination. Saturday, Blondie 1 and Care Bear came running into the house. Care Bear was flush with excitement.

Care Bear: "Mommy, Mommy!! Can I have a pet worm? I found a worm and I want to keep it."

Me: "No, Care Bear. You absolutely can not have a pet worm."

Care Bear: "But I could keep it in a bowl in my room."

Me: "NO."

Care Bear: "Oh, OK".

She and Blondie 1 ran upstairs. I went about my business. A feeling of dread all of a sudden washed over me. That was way too easy. Care Bear never gives up that easily. They ran up those stairs awfully quick. And Blondie 1 has been known to bring her frogs and other creatures into my house. Crap!

Me: "CARE BEAR! You don't have a worm in the house do you??"

C.B. "No."

Me: "Are you sure?"

C.B. "Yes."

Me: "Where did you put the worms you said you caught?"

C.B. "They're in my coat pocket."

I suddenly felt like I was moving in slow motion looking for that coat with the offensive creatures living in the pocket. With the coat located, I picked it up with my thumb and index finger and tossed the coat out into the rain. It still sits there. Most likely with dead shriveled worms in the pocket. Sorry, but I don't do worms.

For future reference, Care Bear: Don't follow Blondie 1's lead when it comes to bugs. And no....worms do not under any circumstances, belong there. Or anywhere except in their holes in the dirt.

I'll get you a new coat soon.

I've Been Customized!

Na na na na na na na na na na
She's got the look! --Roxette circa 1989

I've been blogging now for over a year...technically almost two if you want to count the six measly posts I did in 2005....and I've always wanted a custom design. Oh, I tried myself here and there....dabbled a little bit. I even had a couple of "tweaked" templates that didn't look too bad. But then Blogger screwed me up royally when they decided to go switch everything up on me. New blogger templates? Yeah, I can't even attempt to mess with those. So, I decided it was time. Time to admit defeat and go to a pro.

Enter Susie. Of Bluebird Blogs. I've seen her designs everywhere and have loved everyone I've ever seen. So I contacted her. After working with her for awhile, she installed my new design last night. Color me excited! What do you think? I love it. I like to just stare at it. People who can do this awe me. I aspire to be one of "those people" someday. (But by the time I do figure it out, blogs will probably be passe).

So anyway, if you're looking for a custom design and want to work with a very sweet and professional person, Susie is your gal. I think she's actually not taking anymore requests until early April, but I'm just putting a plug in for her. She's great!

Fabulous Bedhead

This is what Saturday night baths result in on Sunday morning:

Thankfully, mama had almost 3 hours to get them ready for church since they woke up at the crack of dawn. And believe me.....I needed the time! Do you see that hair?!

Oh, and the flu update? Anakin's at home from school today. Not throwing up, but I had to open the windows in my house to air it out. Peeeeeeewwwww!!

Oh, BARF!

Literally. On Tuesday, I told you the pukies had arrived using Feisty as a host. She threw up one more time that day. I held my breath for the next couple of days waiting for the rest of us to start puking, or otherwise. By Thursday evening, nothing had happened. I was feeling pretty confident that my obsessive sterilizing and cleaning on Tuesday evening had warded of the germ. But Murphy's Law got to me. Start feeling too confident about something, or that you've escaped something and it's sure enough to backfire on you. And it did. Yesterday morning I woke up throwing up and spent the entire day laying in my bed in the fetal position. By last evening, Feisty was puking again. I'm not going to say that no one else has started puking because Murphy will curse me again.

Feisty made it through the night with no more vomit and while I have no appetite yet to speak of, at least I can stand upright without feeling like my insides are trying to work their way to my outside.

On the bright side? (If there is a bright side to the evil puke monster)....I got through half of the first Harry Potter book yesterday. And yes....you all were right. I'm hooked. Those Dursley's make me so mad. And I think I know who Professor Snape really is. Don't tell me if I'm wrong, though. Between sleeping, I was reading. I suppose today since I can stand upright, I should try to get something done in this pit I call a house.

Anakin was beyond thrilled to see me reading H.P., and a little shocked I believe. He's already read the first one, so I'm trying to catch up to him. He keeps asking me where I am in the book, like every five minutes. I think this is a good thing for he and I.

It's raining here today. I love it. The grass is getting green. After praise band practice, I would love nothing more than to hunker down under a blanket and find out what's going to happen at Hogwarts next.

Happy Saturday.

Harry Potter?

Recently, Anakin has found a new hobby: Reading! I do have to say that I heartily approve of this new habit of his. It's been like pulling teeth to get the kid do sit down to do his reading for his monthly reading calendar for school. But all of a sudden, he likes to read. Instead of sit at the computer; instead of parking his rear in front of the TV, and instead of tearing around the house like a wild monkey. It's pleasant. His literary masterpiece of choice? Harry Potter.

In recent months (and in some cases, recent days) two of my cousins have insisted to me that I absolutely must read the Harry Potter series. Book seven (the last, apparently) is coming out this summer. And according to Nick, if I don't read the first six before book seven comes out, I won't know what's going on in the world. I certainly do not want that to be the case. So, I'm pondering.

To say that Anakin and I don't have a lot in common is an understatement. To say that we've had our rough patches over the past few years is an even larger understatement. Within a very short time span, he has begun reading H.P., and I'm being bugged relentlessly by my cousins to read H.P. Hmmmm.....maybe I should pick one or two....or six....up. We would have a common ground on something. And I would have something to read.

But here's the thing:

Fantasy is not typically a genre I enjoy. Give me a good mystery (or just plain wierd books) like Stephen King, Dean Koontz or Tami Hoag) and I'm good to go. Throw in a fluffy romance novel in every now and then and that's great. But fantasy? I just don't know. According to some people, you don't necessarily have to enjoy fantasy to immerse yourself in these stories.

It would give Anakin and I something to enjoy together, and me something to read, but I'd like some input. Any of my readers out there read the series? And if so, do you typically enjoy these types of books? Are they they kinds of books that someone like me (someone who likes enjoyable books, but that are somewhat easy to follow) would enjoy?

Input, please! And Allison, if you have the books, can I borrow the first one? :-)

Celebrity News by Kristen--American Idol Edition #3

Volume 1: Issue 9
Doing My Part to Keep Bloggy World Informed

**Disclaimer: I have nothing personally against any celebrities mentioned in "Celebrity News by Kristen". It is only for fun and only opinions. Please do not sue me.

So here we are at the final 11 contestants. I thought I'd do something a little different this week and post my opinions about the show pre results and then just do a little post either tomorrow or Friday after we learn the results. So without further ado....

HALEY SCARNATO

I found Simon's comment about Haley being a "naughty little girl" humorous because Haley's performance last night was definitely not in her typical fashion. I thought it was pretty good, actually, and seemed to redeem her a little bit after last week's debacle. While she still does not remain one of my favorites and while I believe her time in the top is very limited, I think she will be "safe" this week and get to tour this summer with the top 10.

CHRIS RICHARDSON

Chris, Chris, Chris....I'm just not sure quite what to think of you. I slated you early on as one of my favorites, but I've changed my mind a couple of times since then. I'm back and forth with you. You chose a more "mellow" song this week to prove that you can actually sing and not just jump around the stage like a chicken with your head cut off. I have to disagree heartily with the judges that this was your best performance yet. I actually prefer your ADHD like performances rather than this more mellow ones because I believe those camouflage your extremely nasal voice. Dude. You were nasally. How the "expert" judges did not hear that is beyond me. I have no doubt you'll still go through, but take it from me; stick to jumping around. At least then there's some focus beyond your voice.

STEPHANIE EDWARDS

No offense, Steph....but I'm just not a fan. Nothing personal. I think you have a decent voice, but to me it's just not memorable. I don't think that the songs you choose are good. Granted, the past two weeks the "themes" you have had to work with have been less than desirable. However, your competition is far exceeding you. I also think you will remain for another week, but as the numbers get smaller, the less your chance of remaining in the competition will be. Did not like the performance last night.

BLAKE LEWIS
Still my favorite male contestant. I absolutely love that he puts his own spin on everything he does. My guess is that Blake has to struggle from losing his lunch every week when the theme is announced. Must be hard for him to be singing Diana Ross and songs from the 60s. He is very apparently a current kind of guy. In ten years, he'll put a current spin on the music of today. Guarantee it. What can I say? I like him. I want him to be in the finals. But I never get my way, so.....I'm sure he won't be. Just because he's unlucky enough for me to have picked him as my favorite. Poor guy.

GINA GLOCKSEN
Gina, Gina, Bo-Bina, Bananafana Fo-Fina, Me My Mo-Mina....GINA! Well, the judges were less than complimentary towards her last night. Hmmm....they're just a bunch of sour grapes. Whatever. She rocks. Literally. Gina, you can read my blog, because I Love You. Keep rockin', girl. You'll be there next week. And so it will be.

PHIL STACEY
Yeah. I have a feeling that Phil may be in the same situation as last week...in the bottom three. If Sanjaya's luck keeps up, he could even be the one to go home. Not that I would be particularly happy about that. I sincerely like the guy. I have since the auditions. Mainly because in the auditions we saw him holding his brand new baby girl for the first time and missed the birth of his baby to be at the audition. Who couldn't pull for a guy like that? I mean, if he had to miss the birth of his baby, the least we can do is put him through to the top 10 so he can tour for cryin' out loud. But this week was not really good for him. I'm crossing my fingers for you, dude. But I'm worried for you, too.

LAKISHA JONES
Eh. Didn't like it. But she'll be safe. She has nothing to worry about. She'll be back next week.....and the next.....and the next.....(unless she suffers a fate like Mandisa last year during dreaded country week....).

CHRIS SLIGH
Feisty's reaction to Chris when she saw him? "What is that hair on the TV??" I was laughing so hard I almost missed the whole performance. I did catch that he mingled with the crowd, and seemed on tune for the most part. I like the guy. But I have to agree with Feisty. Something needs to be done about the hair. I know he can't do anything about the curli-ness of it, but maybe tone it down a little a la Timberlake? Remember the fro that dude used to sport? But maybe he shouldn't touch it. There is a fan base out there called the "Fro Patrol".....He won't be in the bottom three this week.

JORDIN SPARKS
I like Jordin. She's cute. She's perky. She's got talent out the wazoo for a 17 year old. She fully deserves to be where she is and will definitely be around next week. I don't see her winning the whole thing, but she'll be around for awhile longer. But while I like her cuteness and perkiness, I think maybe she now and then should show a little more edge. Maybe just a teeny bit more.

SANJAYA MALAKAR
Please don't laugh at me. I thought Sanjaya was cute this week. He was trying so hard. If nothing else, you gotta give the guy props for taking the judges words to heart and doing what they suggested he do. I thought his performance this week was OK. But more than that he was really trying, looked like was having fun and how cute was he to go give that girl in the audience who was a blubbering mess a hug? Yay Sanjaya. I would say, despite that, that you'll be gone this week, but you must carry a three leafed clover in your pocket or something. So all I'll say is that I'm sure you'll be in the bottom three.

And last, but most definitely not least....

MELINDA DOLITTLE

Well, there's no one in the world who can deny that Melinda is talented. No one in America can deny that she will make it to the finals (would be my guess). She's fantastic. Great voice, great presence, great personality. (Although, she could start acting like she deserves to be there and not so surprised whenever she receives applause). I still want one of the "not so predictable" contestants to win it, but Melinda does have the right stuff. Unless pigs learn to fly overnight, she'll be around next week.

So, there it is. I'm done with this re-cap. In review, I believe the bottom three will be:

--Sanjaya

--Phil

--Stephanie

What do you think? There's a poll. Vote. If you want!

Care Bear Prayer!

qRemember Care Bear's Prayers? It's been awhile since I posted one. Here's her prayer from last night:

Dear Jesus,
Thank you for this day.
Help me to sleep good tonight and not have any bad dreams.
Help all the people I love who are sick to get better.
Help Kevin and Sema, Grandpa S and Feisty, Micah and Emma Grace and Amy.
And please help me to see a shooting star so I can wish on a shooting star.
You are my favorite spirit, Jesus.
Please come down to our world and take all the people who love you to Heaven with you.
I love you, Jesus.
Amen.

'Nuff said.

The Pukies Have Arrived

Feisty woke up in the middle of the night covered in vomit. Fun times. I'm currently taking bets on how long it will take for the rest of the family to start in on the fun. Woohoo!

Charley Girls Birthday Party and Assorted Randomness

Oh, yes, we partied hard at the Golden Arches and beyond this weekend for Brooke's baby girl Charlie who turned two. The last time I went to a birthday party at McDonald's was for my brother's birthday when I was about five years old. I didn't even know McDonald's did kids' birthdays anymore. I threw up after my brother's birthday party. Good memories.



The birthday girl looking at me thinking to herself, "Ummm...I think I know you. You look vaguely familiar. I seem to recall seeing you at various family holidays, but I don't remember your name." Trust me. That's what she said.

"Who are you??"

"NO, who are YOU?"
"Wanna play?"
"Uhh, OK."

"Quit licking the candles off of my cake Oliver! Whose birthday party is this?? Hey! Do I look diva-licious in these glasses or what??"

"Right on! A Dora doll! Next present, please!

"Do I have to wear this hat? Really?""Duh, Feisty. Of course you do. Besides, it's a rad hat! But can we go party at Oliver and Charley's house now?? Puuhhllleeezzz?"

"Rad train-set Oliver. I really like the word Rad. Do you like the word Rad? RAD!"

Hey Oliver! Throw some of that pizza over here! Charley and I are hungry!

And now we must roll around on the floor, cuz we're cool like that! Hey! Grab my mom's camera. Self-portrait time!

Oh.My.Word. Mom, you are soooo not rad!

Hey, Brooke! Can you toss me my Diet. Dr. Pepper, please? I need some caffeine and quick. Or maybe I just need my bed.

Sadly, though, through the 1.5 hour drive home, my girls did not fall asleep. An hour after we got home, they were still wide awake! As I have said before, my girls are the ultimate party girls. Give them some cake, some lollipops and a good dose of caffeine and they'll party all night long. Hour and a half drive or not!

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And let the Randomness commence..
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I hate my hair. No. I hate my bangs. Why, oh why did I get bangs? I hate them every time they get them. Maybe because when I decided to get my hair cut with the gift card my mom got me I felt like I needed something to show for the haircut since I refused to get it cut short like she wanted me to. But I.Hate.My.Bangs. Time to break out the barrettes until they grow out again. Bleh.
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I'm doing an overhaul of my closet and my kids' closets to make room for all the clothes we have. Currently, all of the clean laundry is folded in piles on the floor. Clothes that no longer fit or are being un-worn are occupying closets and drawers. In doing this, I discovered that out of about 12 pairs of jeans, I currently have three pairs that don't have holes in the knees or in the rear. My rear is too bony I guess. I can't exist on three pairs of jeans. Time to go shopping I guess.
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I can see my grass! I can see my grass! I can see my grass! The snow is GONE. For now. Let the rummage sale begin.
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Wanna see my band? Wanna see my band? Here we are. Yesterday before we performed in all our glory. It's kind of dark. Sorry. (And yes, *shocker*, I wore jeans to church yesterday. Hey, I have to dress up every day for work. We play for the "contemporary" service. I wore jeans. )

Anakin enjoyed watching us play as he made a rare appearance at Church yesterday. His mother unexpectedly dropped him off at my mom's house while we were still in Denver partying so that SHE could go out partying for St. Patty's Day. Oh, yeah. I'm nominating her for Mother Of The Year.

And I think I'm done. This post has worn me out more than the birthday party! Crappy Happy Monday!

Anakin's B.M. (biological mother for those who aren't familiar with her) left a message on our phone the other night informing Mike that his wife is "ugly".

Later in the evening, Care Bear told me I'm "beautiful". Whether or not it was appropriate, I told Care Bear that Anakin's B.M. doesn't think I'm beautiful. She told me, "Well, Mommy...we need to pray that Anakin's mommy likes you.".

From the mouths of babes.

On a fun note....I get to go to a raging birthday party tomorrow afternoon for Mrs. Suburbia's daughter who is turning two. It promises to be fun. I will be posting pictures from the event. Happy Birthday Miss Charley!

Celebrity News by Kristen--American Idol Edition #2

Volume 1: Issue 8

Doing My Part to Keep Bloggy World Informed

**Disclaimer: I have nothing personally against any celebrities mentioned in "Celebrity News by Kristen". It is only for fun and only opinions. Please do not sue me.

Yep. That is what I think about this week's American Idol Results. What else can I say? Stinkaya is still in; Brandon OUT. This is wrong on so many levels. I don't even know where to start. The judges ripped on Brandon because he forgot his words. When the results were revealed and Brandon discovered he was el-finito, he was very gracious and very mature and not a bit surprised. He was expecting it because, as he pointed out, he forgot his words. So, what's your point Brandon? So did two other people. I don't see them packing their bags and taking a midnight train to Georgia! The mere fact that a 28 year old professional back up singer is out and a 17 year old kid who shouldn't even be on that stage is still in speaks volumes to me on who is actually doing the voting. Teenagers. Teenagers, I tell you! Wow dude. To say that I was shocked at this turn of events is an understatement. I don't know why I was shocked to tell you the truth. Something like this happens every year. But it still reeks of stinkiocity! For at least one more week we must be subjected to Smellaya's interpretation of talent and witness yet another disastrous hair-do. I don't care what Randy says: The dude does not have it going on where is hair is concerned. Give the boy some scissors. Better yet, I'll send Care Bear his way. She'd have a hay-day with that head of hair!

If Sanjaya wasn't going to go, it should have at least been Haley. She forgot her words, as well, and is biding her precious time, in my opinion. She's hanging by a thread.

I really don't know what else to say.

This year's top twelve leave much to be desired in my opinion. From here on out, I will be surprised at nothing that happens.

NOTHING!

The rest of the contestants were mediocre at best in their performances the other night. My favorite, Blake, in my opinion did a great job of changing up Diana's song. The judges irritate me. They speak out of both sides of their mouths. In one breath they tell the contestants, "Make the song your own! Be creative!" Then in the very next breath they are telling them that they shouldn't change a classic. So, which is it? Blake, my man, I thought you did great. Keep it up man. Do your thang!

It goes without saying that Lakisha, Melinda and Stephanie rocked. Although they are not my favorites, they definitely deserve to be where they are. So, I really don't have much to say where they are concerned.

The rest? Hand me some No-Doz, please. These are supposed to be the top 12 singers in the country right now. Huh.

I can't discuss this anymore. I'm getting verklept. There's a poll. Vote. If you want.

Mommy....

I've been a mommy for less than five years. Yet hearing the word, "Mommy" still makes my heart flutter. Especially when I hear my two year old daughter tell me as she's falling asleep, "Mommy....you're the best Mommy ever!"

So, veteran mommies...do you ever tire of hearing that word come out of your children's mouths? I don't think I ever will.

Five Years

I Kristen, take thee Mike
as my wedded Husband, to have
and to hold from this day forward, for better
for worse, for richer for poorer,
in sickness and in health, to love and to
cherish, till death us do part,
according to God's holy ordinance; and
thereto I plight thee my troth.

I Mike, take thee Kristen as my wedded
Wife, to have and to hold from this day
forward, for better for worse, for
richer for poorer, in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish, till
death us do part, according to God's holy
ordinance; and thereto I plight
thee my troth.

Five years ago today, my husband and I spoke those words to eachother in the church I grew up in. My grandfather performed the ceremony. My other grand-father (now deceased) prayed for us. My cousin Karen and my sister-in-law Sema stood up for me as bridesmaids. My brother and Mike's brother stood up him as groomsmen. My mother-in-law sang; my parents sang; Sema and Kevin quoted the love chapter from 1 Corinthians. Anakin was our ring-bearer. My father-in-law was our photographer. Mike's sister and his brother's wife were our candle-lighters. It was a very family oriented ceremony.

The day of the wedding was busy and bustling. I spent the afternoon with all of the female members of the wedding party at a local tea-house. I got my hair done. It was a very busy and un-restful day. By the time the wedding actually arrived, I was exhausted. It didn't help that right as Mike was to be taking his place at the altar, Anakin decided to start giving us trouble.

Five years ago today. The time has flown. I look back on the past five years and wonder where it all went. In our five years of marriage, we've had sickness and health; good times and bad; better and worse. But despite the tests and the difficulties we still love eachother.

Five years. I wonder what the next five years will bring. Hopefully more health than sickness; more good times than bad; more better than worse.

I love you, Mike. Happy Anniversary.

Results Of The Name Guessing Poll--Sort Of

Last week, I posted a poll in which I challenged you to guess Care Bear's name; which she shares with one of the remaining female AI contestants. Remember that poll? If not, here it is. It was real fun to see how you voted and what you picture in your head as Care Bear's real name. After I posted the poll I couldn't decide if I really wanted to reveal her name or not. In a way, it seems cruel to post that poll and have everyone curious about her real name and then not tell you what it is; but at the same time, her blog persona is "Care Bear". So, I've come up with a compromise.


I will tell you that it is one of two names. One of the names is her real name, and one of the names is a name we were considering for her. The spelling of the AI contestants names isn't how we spell her name or would have spelled her name. Both of these names have various spellings, and the way the contestants spell their names are different, but nevertheless. So, Care Bear's real name is one of these two:

JORDIN or HALEY

(which we do spell or would have spelled Jordyn or Hayley).

So, there ya go. I will still refer to her as Care Bear on my blog, though.

Thanks for playing along!

Woman to Woman: In This Skin

My fabulous aunt Morning Glory and my fabulous blogging friend Lei have teamed up together to start a new bi-weekly blogging series entitled: "Woman to Woman". Every other week, a new topic will be introduced and we are to write on the topic for that week. There are two buttons to choose from to add to your sidebar or in your post and there will be a Mr. Linky on both of their blogs to link to your post for that week. For details, go to their blogs. This weeks topic: "In This Skin".

In This Skin

I am 32 years old. By most standards, that would not be considered "old". I don't consider it old, but I am definitely "aging". Aging is a difficult concept for me. I still remember my high school days like they were yesterday. I look at myself now as an "in her thirties" woman with three children, a husband and a "real job" and I often wonder to myself, "Where has the time gone?!"

I work in the Admissions office at a very large state University. Every day I deal with and talk to students who are desiring to enter our school to further their education. A large amount of those students are graduating high school and will be entering as new freshman. Talking to these students every day is a large reality check on exactly how quickly I am aging and how quickly time is passing.

On my way home last night I realized that this May will be my 14th anniversary of graduating from high school. This means that the kids who are graduating in May were four when I graduated. That is Care Bear's age. Wow. Talk about a reality check.

On a daily basis, I don't think about the fact that I am getting older. I don't obsess about it regularly. But every now and then when I look in that mirror and see another wrinkle around my eyes, and the fact that my skin in general isn't as tight and smooth everywhere like it used to be, it becomes apparent to me that I'm not that 16 year old I once was.

You know that saying, "You're only as old as you feel"? (I'm not sure if that's exactly how the saying goes, but something to that effect). I truly believe it. There are days when I really do feel like I'm still a teenager. I feel young, free, alive and spirited. Especially when I am with my kids and watching them play and enjoy life. Then there are those days where I feel like I could be 80 years old. The weight of the world and the challenges I face make me feel like I've lived the longest life in the world and I should have many more wrinkles than actually show on my skin.

Obviously, aging is a natural part of life. If we weren't getting older, life wouldn't be moving. And I am truly grateful that I am not 16 years old again. You couldn't pay me enough to be a teenager again.

While aging brings a whole new crop of challenges in life, challenges we have never faced before, I wouldn't want to be in any other skin than my own. Truly I am not uncomfortable with aging. I don't know what the future holds for me as I continue to age and move from chapter to chapter in my life, but I embrace it and all that aging will bring to my life. I have a lot to look forward to as I continue to watch my children grow and age and become who they are in their skin.

So here's to life; to aging; and to being who I am, In My Skin!