we've got damage

this is what i think... if it's gotta be cold, then it should snow.

i love the snow.

i like to play in it. i like to look at it from the inside... sipping my coffee and eating something full of sugar and fat. i like to watch the kiddos play in it. i like to have snowball fights in it... until i get hit, and then i like to look at it from the inside... sipping my coffee and eating something full of sugar and fat. aaaahhhh. it's so fun.

but, we don't have snow today. we have ice.

ice is sorta neat because it's something different and pretty and very fun to slide on. but oh my, it's dangerous. i walked outside this morning to snap a couple of pics... of our fallen tree.

as i was taking the pictures, the wind was blowing a little; and i could hear the trees cracking. it was creepy. and then, i heard a really big crack... and i went running inside. i ran like i had forgotten that the deck was a sheet of ice... which i had. i didn't fall (i credit all the box squats i've been doing... they've improved my balance). but... as soon as i made it inside, another big (and when i say big, i mean huge) branch fell.

here's another pic... i didn't take many. it's dangerous out there!

sweet, little moments

we spent the night at my mom and dad's this weekend. it was fun. it's always fun there. the kiddos spent time with their cousins. and we got to spend time with the rest of the family. good times, good times.







anyway, our sleeping arrangements at mom and dad's were... the boss, the kiddos, and me in the same bedroom. the boss and i had the bed and the kiddos slept on the floor with a ton of blankets and pillows and "fuzzies". ("fuzzies" are the really soft, special blankets... you know the ones.)







anyway, we were all in bed... the lights were off... and for some reason stone starts talking about how he is scared to go into the dark. little princess tells him that when she is scared she prays and asks God to be with her.







and then she says... it kinda feels like a blanket around me. but, do you know what that blanket is? it's Jesus.







ahhhh... i love that. i love that she is a christian and that she feels the presence of her Savior. i love that she showed compassion for her brother. i love the way she explained the comfort of our God. like a blanket.







i've felt that same comfort.







the same God that comforts me, wraps Himself around my daughter like a blanket when she's scared! wow!!! i will never look at a blanket... or "fuzzy"... the same. praise God for these sweet, little moments!

grocery shopping... alone

ok... i went grocery shopping alone today. i normally don't do the grocery shopping, and i never do it alone. but... i noticed several things today as i shopped, alone.



- i can keep up with how much i'm spending much better. there were no "momma can i have this?... momma will this make me strong?... momma did you see that man?... momma is that a man?" normally while i shop, i'm repeating in my head the amount i've spent ($39, $39, $39)... throw in one of those questions, and it ruins my counting ($39, $39, ...insert question here... $39, wait. no, it was $29... is that right? yeah, $29, $29, $29). that's probably why i always go over my budget.



- i noticed that some people were looking (really it was more than looking... they were glaring) inside my cart. i've never noticed that before... and i felt invaded. i mean, when shopping, you don't look into other people's carts! it's just common courtesy. i think it's the equivalent of going into a stranger's house and searching through their pantry... it's rude, and i don't like it.



- people were not opting out of going down an aisle just because i was on it. that was nice.



- while checking out, i did not have to threaten anyone. that was also nice.



- i was in and out... quick.



- as i was walking out to the car, i didn't have to make anyone hold on to the cart... nor did i get to push anyone while they were riding the cart.



so, these are my final thoughts on shopping alone...



- it's more pleasant and much faster, but not near as much fun.

- if you've never been shopping with three kiddos, i highly recommend it... at least once (my kiddos may be available, if you don't have any of your own).

- and... if you talk to yourself while shopping (as i do), you won't look near as crazy if you have a kid with you.

i love my man

this is the picture i was... was going to blog about (which may have been a little embarrassing for the boss)

but

after the way the boss made me feel today

i had to give him tons of praise!

this morning started off pretty rough for the boss and me. when we got up this morning, the boss noticed that the water line to the ice machine (in our newly remodeled laundry room) was busted. we cleaned up the mess (and when i say we, i mean mostly the boss). then got right to the workout. clearly the boss was irritated by the situation with the ice machine, because (as my personal trainer) he took it out on me.

he made me do box squats... and, i told him last week that i didn't want to do box squats any more. they're super hard and they're getting boring. anyway, i didn't do 10 box squats or 20 box squats or even 50 box squats... i did 60. that's right folks, 60.

what's a box squat, you ask?

well, with your legs shoulder width apart... and holding a 10lb medicine ball... you squat until your bottom lightly taps a box about a foot high. yeah, it's crazy.

and mind you, that's just a portion of the workout... but that was the portion that made me mad.

fast forward to about 9am. i had to call and ask the boss to bring me money. he sweetly agreed. and... instead of bringing what i asked for, he doubled it.

then when i walked in the door after school, i could smell...

coffee. fresh coffee.

but the boss wasn't home, so i was confused.

then i found this...

ok... will you please notice a couple of things in my honey's love note?

-he signed it boss. this is typical... even before the blog.

-he drew himself above his signature. this is also typical.

-he noted the time. this too is typical.

his notes were this way even when we were dating (with the exception of the boss part... he just started that several years ago)! i love it!

but... ahhhhh... fresh coffee and doughnuts. i also love that. and yes, i did eat one... or two. but i did 60 box squats today! i feel i deserved them.

quick funny

the boss and i were talking with the kiddos about their lunch today. who they sat with, what they ate, what they liked the best, etc. this is a portion of the conversation. me... did you eat the beans? stone... yuck, no. little princess... my friends think they're gross; so i ate my beans secretively.
question of the day... if you eat beans secretively, does it make digestion easier?

a volcano for the little princess

she glues a bottle to one of my bowls

she makes the modeling clay

she puts the clay around the bottle

she and her very sweet friend paint the volcano

the finished product... watch out!!! she'll erupt at 2pm tomorrow

she's been reading the blog... so the question of the day is for her... what do you think about little princess' volcano?

quick funny

one of the reasons i wanted to do a blog is so that i can post funny things my kiddos do. i forget so many of them.

so... i'm cleaning the toilet (which i hate). super t walks in and immediately gets a disgusted look on his face. super t... whatch you doin? me... i'm cleaning the toilet. super t (still with the disgusted look)... ew, you know my poop in there?!
side note: in super t language, my takes the place for i... always

question of the day... what's your best toilet cleaning tip or product?

end of the week praise

this week God has blessed me... my top 5(in no particular order)

-we had a great week at work/school
-the weather has been nice enough for the kiddos to play outside
-the boss and i have worked out 4 days this week... bonus blessing: only 1/2 of my body is sore (last week it was more like the whole body)
-i had the opportunity to share my testimony with the kiddos in children's church... there was one little girl who was very interested and asked lots of questions. this is sorta how part of the conversation went: her... what is sin? me... it's when you disobey God, like breaking one of the commandments. the other kiddos... yeah, like don't lie, don't steal, don't kill, don't be jealous, etc. her... i think i've broken all of 'em. it was a very, very sweet moment. she made no decision that day, but i'm sure God is moving
-i've laughed this week... a lot

question of the day: how have you been blessed this week?

stone's prayer

i was putting the boys to bed last night... this is something i don't do often b/c the boss does it most of the time... anywho, we always pray as part of our routine.

stone's prayer: "God, i just pray that you would not let me have any bad dreams tonight. i pray that i wouldn't have any bad dreams. and Lord, i just pray that i would have no bad dreams. God please help me not to have any bad dreams because of what i just watched on tv. amen."

so... you might be wondering what he was watching (as was i, b/c while the boss and the kiddos were watching tv... i was trying to figure out how to blog). he was watching superman. superman!

what is scary about superman?

the commercials! more specifically, a preview for the movie, the unborn.

stone explains: "super t watched the whole thing, but i closed my eyes. i watched a little of it, then i closed my eyes... i was trying to be strong, momma."

you see, recently i talked to the kiddos about only reading good things and only watching good things because those are the things that they will think about through their day. so, he was listening! either that or he knew what was coming and didn't want to see that ugly kid in his dreams... but i chose to believe that he was listening! did you notice that he pointed out super t watched the whole thing?

question of the day... why are horror movies with creepy kids in them always the scariest?

The Boss

ok... so i've decided to do a blog.



and... as a blog stalker, i've picked up many cool ideas from my friends.

i've noticed that some of my friends don't use their real names. i like this... so... i asked the kiddos to come up with their own blog names. after filtering through a few names like super freak and stone boss, then trying to make the baby understand that he can't use his own name... or his brother's name... or a combination of both. they're happy with... little princess, stone, and super t.


there was no need to ask the hubby. he will be the boss. and those of you who know him, may already know about his weird obsession with being called the boss. i don't understand it... i will not call him that in real life... but i will use it here.


so... i'm jumpin in with both feet. i don't know what i'm doing, and it's taken me two days just to get a layout... but... i'm learning.


question of the day... because i'm forever learning, and who better to learn from than your friends... how does a ten year old girl come up with the blog name "super freak"? (i blame her father)