Pros and cons

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Things that suck:
  • Burning a hole in my son's brand new church pants with the iron before he's even worn them.
  • Having to replace my son's new church pants that I JUST BOUGHT.
  • Monday mornings.
  • Laundry.
  • Four bathrooms that somehow have pee on every toilet seat.
  • Having a rock flip up and crack the windshield of my car no less than three weeks after replacing it BECAUSE OF ANOTHER ROCK.
  • Weight training.
  • My brother Dan.
  • Cellulite.
  • Hannah finding my secret stash of protein bars and eating all the best ones.
Things that don't suck:
  • Dry cleaners that come to your house (who will now be responsible for the boys' Sunday pants)
  • My new mudroom (and the fact that I haven't stepped on a coat or pair of shoes for four days now).
  • The cardinal sitting on the tree outside my window.
  • Sunshine on my shoulder (makes me happy...).
  • Quoting John Denver songs in a blog post.
  • A projected high of 71 degrees today.
  • Having the willpower to throw away the leftover cookies instead of eating them.
  • My brother Dan.
  • New moisturizer from Origins (Thanks, Holly!).
  • Bryan Peterson photography books.
  • Diet coke on a Monday morning.
  • A new, pretty calendar for 2008.
  • Baby clipboards.
  • Happy, healthy babies.
Oh, all right. I have nothing to complain about today. The pros have it.

Reason #85 why I'll keep him

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My mudroom has been the bane of my existence for several months now. I think it has actually caused my OCD brain to seizure when I walk by it. I am so fed up with stepping over coats, shoes, boots, and backpacks.

My eye twitching and Tourette's-like swearing made it clear to us that the current organizational system wasn't working.


So what to do? Well, first The Husband was home for the long holiday vacation with not much work to do. He starts by tearing out the old hooks and shelves:


He draws up some plans, gets all the supplies, and starts to build some new lockers and shelves. I have seen his work before and do not doubt his vision, even if he won't let me touch the hammer or drill, no matter how much I beg. I guess I am content to be just the apprentice/laborer:


After two days, some paint, and about six trips to Home Depot, I now have this new piece of organizational bliss. There is plenty of shoe space at the bottom. Each child has a locker (designated by their initial) and on either side of the lockers are a set of shelves where I can put things.

Like chocolate. Or money. Or buried treasure I find out in the backyard.

The point is -- I have somewhere to put things! Yay me!


There are days I might consider selling The Husband. Today is not one of them.

Resolutions

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(McKay, Chase, and Hannah ringing in the new year with sparklers)

I saw on another blog (can't quite remember which one) a list of resolutions that I actually liked. It was not a list of new things that were going to be done this year, but a list of old habits that would NOT be done. I figure I generally give up on new habits after about a week, but could possibly work on not doing some less-desirable things I do instead.

So, for 2008:

I will not eat so much cookie dough.

I will not stop exercising, even though there is nothing on my TIVO because of the writer's strike.

I will not ignore the books on my nightstand anymore.

I will not start smoking.

I will not spend so much of my husband's hard-earned money on cheap plastic things at Target.

I will not criticize myself.

I will not compare myself to others.

I will not be afraid of learning Photoshop CS3 (especially if I can somehow learn how to erase all my freckles from pictures).

I will not say stupid substitute curse words like "frick" and "shite" anymore. (I can't promise I won't say the real ones instead, however).

I will not kill Sir-Croaks-A-Lot on purpose.

I will not expect perfection of myself or others.


So how about you? What are you NOT going to do this year?

Lest we forget

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Due to a tragic, colossal error on my part, I overlooked telling you about (according to The Husband) the most important part of our mini-holiday to Branson. No, the children frolicking on the shore of The Lake! was not the most important part. Our family spending quality time together? Nope. Not even getting out of our church talks could overshadow this monumental event that I somehow forgot to tell the internet about.

Did I forget because it was at the near-end of our journey, on the way home, and I was too busy basking in the glow of incredible fun we'd had together?

Apparently not.

I think I am probably still reeling from the trauma of the illegal U-turn made on the freeway -- not once -- but TWICE for this blessed event. Perhaps I was just trying to block it out and never think of it again.

So what was this most special part of our weekend that all of the internet must know about?

This:

Yeah, that's it.

While I am definitely awed at the sight of a bald eagle in the wild, I am afraid that my fear for our safety during the aforementioned two illegal freeway U-turns clouded my appreciation for nature of this sort.

Call me a wimp, but death by 18-wheeler just so I can catch a glimpse of a bald eagle isn't really a good trade off.

But that's just me.

Oh, the blog, I have missed you

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Merry belated Christmas, bloglings! I have missed you. I purposely took a break from blogging this week. I really wanted to just unplug and watch my babies play with their new toys. I did sneak a peek now and then at some of my favorites, but spent most of my time away from the computer. Santa was very good to our family (in spite of the fact that I'm perpetually on the naughty list) and the kids still aren't tired of their junk.

Christmas Eve was spent with some very special old friends that live here in MO. We enjoyed a live Nativity put on by the children. Very spiritual. It was especially touching during Mary's serenade to the baby Jesus when the sheep (age 2) climbed on back of the stuffed pony and wanted to go for a ride. I'm sure that totally happened at the real thing, too.

Here are some highlights (feel free to skip it if you're not a grandparent...or even if you are):



After Christmas, we were looking for someplace to get away for a few days. We had been asked to speak in church and just weren't quite ready for that kind of commitment (don't worry - they got us re-scheduled for mid-January) so we packed up the car and headed south to Branson.

Have you ever been to Branson? We hadn't either. It was a strange combination of worlds. Picture a bizarre mix of the Osmonds and Las Vegas. That's Branson. Only without the gambling. But with extra helpings of old ladies and a disturbingly large number of wacky theme-restaurants.

It was about what you'd expect it to be.

We spent most of the time at our hotel on the lake (never did find out the name of this lake -- everyone just called it The Lake! The Lake! We're going up to The Lake!) but the weather was glorious and we spent hours outside exploring, hiking, and throwing rocks into The Lake! We only ventured indoors briefly, and that was for some swimming when we tired of all that fresh air.

Here are some highlights:



Yeah, I'd totally do it again. Might have to. Say, maybe Sunday, January 13th.

Anyone care to join me?