Archive for October, 2008
Ellie-isms & Zach Attacks for October
Ellie: “Can you guys keep it down? I’m trying to rhyme over here.”
Me, to Zach who was sitting on the toilet: “Did you go?”
Zach: “No.”
Me: “Just a toot?”
Zach: “No. I wanted it to be real poopy, but it was just pretend.”
Ellie: “I think we should go to a restaurant for lunch today.”
Me: “What restaurant do you want to go to?”
Ellie: “The restaurant by the ballet studio.”
Me: “Okay. Which one?”
Ellie: “THE ONE BY THE BALLET STUDIO! Are you deaf, Mom? Can you not hear me?”
Zach: “Mom! Mom! You gotta SEE this!! The couch is all fluffy and when I fluff it, it looks fluffy!!”
Ellie: “Mom! Mom! The man on the radio said there was a mix-up of snow and rain in New Jersey!! We’re going to get snow!!!”
Me: “Well, it’s only thirty-seven degrees here — “
Zach: “I know what ‘degrees’ means. It means there’s a mix-up with winter and we need to stir it with spoon.”
Me: “What are you doing, honey?”
Ellie: “I’m just listening to you. I can’t help myself from listening to you.”
Oh, if only her “listening” actually meant “obeying” rather than “eavesdropping with the intent of sharing all that she hears.”
Me: “Zach, do you need to go potty?”
Zach: (grunt.) “No.”
Me: “You look like you need to go potty.”
Zach: “But I just love it, Mommy! I love going poopy in my pants!!”
Me: “Honey, you’re being very bossy today.”
Ellie: “Yeah. It’s ’cause I know everything.”
Ellie: “Bears have hairy faces, but we don’t. We have skinny faces.”
Me: “That’s right. Our faces are made of skin. What about bears’ bellies? Who has a hairy belly?”
Ellie: “DADDY!!”
Ellie: “Mommy, you look so pretty. Just like a horse.”
Now, these last two are frequently repeated. In fact, Ellie sings her song every morning on the way to school and most Sundays while driving to church.
Ellie’s song, sung mostly to the tune of “Jingle Bells”:
“Tinkerbell! Tinkerbell! Tinker all the way! Oh, what fun it is to ride in a Tinker-horsey sleigh. Hey! I love you (Here is where the tune goes astray.) always and forever because Tinkerbell I love you-hoo!!”
Zach, spoken at nearly every lull in any conversation: “And a DOO-DAH!!”
To this Ellie consistently replies: “What’s a doo-dah? I have no idea what a doo-dah is!“
Zach then starts laughing hysterically and sings a song about silly doo-dahs.
And there you have it, folks. Your monthly glimpse into the soundtrack of my life. Isn’t it beautiful?
PS: Happy birthday to Karen today!!
2 comments October 31, 2008
What you don’t want to hear from the LIVING ROOM.
I was working in the kitchen when I heard Isabel very calmly call me from the living room:
“Um … Mommy? I think the potty’s broken.”
1 comment October 30, 2008
Snowballs
We saw our first snowflakes today. The kids were SO excited!! Ellie wanted to run out and play immediately. Unfortunately, the short burst of seasonal quirkiness ended before we could find her mittens. That’s okay by me. I’m not quite ready for winter yet. Especially if it, in traditional northeast fashion, decides to stick around through March. Besides, today I’m dealing with a completely different kind of snowball.
I mentioned last week about the leaky roof and new ceiling construction. Well, the guys finally finished the job yesterday. Shortly after they left, I got busy preparing the room to be repainted.
Three and a half years ago I decorated the room with trains. When finished, it looked like this.
Cute – right? I thought so. Perfect for Zach’s first room, but not exactly suited for a dining room, which is what this room will soon become.
I started taking down the trains, 3-D wooden things I painted and nailed to the walls when Zach was born. The 12th piece brought with it a patch of wallpaper. You may remember the adventures we’ve had with wallpaper in this house. After finding one too many surprises, I decided to paint over the wallpaper in Zach’s room rather than subject myself to another round of Homeowner’s Roulette. But now, since the train pulled one tiny little piece, this simple cosmetic paint project snowballed into a much bigger job.
I started taking down the wallpaper to find holes. And the snowball grows. Fortunately these are much smaller than the ones we’ve encountered in the past. Then I found this.
Some days I really miss renting. Sure, we had a creepy landlord, but we didn’t have snowballs. We didn’t have the responsibility of caring if there were snowballs. We could make a phone call and forget it. As a homeowner, there is no one to call. Well, except our contractor who, I’m sure, loves having clients like us who buy houses like ours.
But then some snowballs are worth the effort.
“And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope.” – Romans 5:3-4 (HCSB)
This is not hope as in a wish, but hope as in an utter, unrelenting confidence. In other words (my own words), trials encourage perseverance which, when it grows, snowballs into character which, the more it’s tested, snowballs into an undoubtable faith in our salvation. That’s a snowball I’ve love to manage.
How awesome would it be to never doubt your faith? To never think you’re crazy for believing in a God you can’t see or a direction you’re not totally sure He’s given you but you think He might have. These trials are a good thing when they snowball into an unshakable faith. But the only way they can do that is if we persevere. Our perseverance allows the trials to do their work, adding layer upon layer of character to us and our faith.
Sound off. What snowballs are you managing? Are you persevering? If not, what is preventing you from attaining that ultimate hope?
2 comments October 29, 2008
20/20
New contacts day is nice, but it’s nothing compared to new glasses day. I love getting new glasses! Perhaps it’s my astigmatism or maybe a figment of my imagination, but I can see better with glasses than with contacts. When I get a new pair, it’s like the world becomes bigger, brighter and better. Details I previously overlooked scream for my attention. Colors I considered drab are now so vivid they refused to be ignored. Is it possible to hear through your eyes? If so, the static clears. I can see. It’s like life in HD.
Is there a way to get new glasses for your heart? Or relationships? What about life in general? I would love to apply this type of revelation to all aspects of existence. What if I could just buy a hat or something that enabled me to understand people’s motives or to recognize why they behave the way they do? Simple headgear that would prevent me from making wrong assumptions and acting on wrong conclusions. Some goggles that would highlight the perfect path for my life, show me exactly what God wants me doing in this moment and time. Where can I buy those?
“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”
- 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NIV)
Oh, I look forward to that day!
4 comments October 28, 2008
Update on Mom
Thank you for your prayers! I still hate being so far away, but I know God is taking care of her and He’s FAR more capable than I am.
The surgery went well. They were able to complete it laparoscopically, which is the less invasive way. Hopefully this means a shorter, smoother recovery. They did keep her overnight because of her age, but everything seems to be fine. She’s going home this morning and, so far, has little to no pain. Praise God!
Thanks, again, for your prayers, love and support! Stuff like this reduces me to a noodle. And a homesick little girl.
4 comments October 25, 2008
Pray for my mom
Hey. My mom is undergoing surgery this afternoon. She’s been in a ton of pain the past two weeks waiting for this day to arrive so she could have her gall bladder removed. Please pray for her and her doctors, that the operation would go well and that the recovery would be smooth. Pray also that I would trust God for this. I hate being so far from my mom, especially when she really could use some help. Unfortunately, 800 miles does not constitute a day trip. Thanks.
3 comments October 24, 2008
Growing up girly
During our search as first-time homebuyers we discovered an unwritten New Jersey law: every house must have at least one pink room. When we purchased this house, it had two and a half pink rooms, a mild selection compared to our other choices. The bathroom has pink tile (Granted: a subdued pink, but pink nonetheless). It also had some paint-splattered pinkish wallpaper above the tile. Yum! One of the bedrooms had pink diagonally-striped wallpaper (this has since been eliminated), and the kitchen had pink countertops (also now eliminated).
I hate pink. Okay, maybe that’s a little strong. I don’t hate pink; I just really would prefer to limit its reach to my daughter’s clothing and live flowers. Even within those realms, I like to keep pink minimal.
Lately our house has been in a bit of turmoil. The roof started leaking in Zach’s room. Our contractor fixed it from the outside, but that turned out to be a temporary solution, so he had to go through the ceiling to really fix it. Before he could do that, we had to move Zach and all of his things upstairs. That’s when the turmoil really started.
Ellie has the biggest room on the second floor. She’s been in that room for three years, but as soon as Zach moved into the glorified closet across the hall, she grew discontent. She wanted the small room! We toyed with swapping, but she has more stuff than he does and switching would just be too much work. Cut through all the drama and tears to this week. We persuaded (bribed) Ellie to stay in the big room by offering to redecorate it. She confessed she wanted the small room so she could make it “girly.”
Five years ago I spent a lot of time choosing the bedding for our firstborn. I wanted something feminine, but not too over-the-top girly. I did NOT want pink. I chose a lovely vintage floral quilt of delicious cranberry, sage and butter colors. Her crib converted to a full-size bed and, miraculously, I found the same floral fabric to make her a matching full-size quilt. When we moved here we painted the room a subtle cottage stone color (aka taupe). It was a beautiful room!
Now, after Ellie’s makeover, it looks like this:
Yup. A Pepto Bismol explosion. I have no idea how I got such a girly girl! She really wants to paint the walls, too, but I just don’t think I could handle that. The pink curtains already make the walls glow a little too pink for me. I also stopped shy of the “fairy canopy” she wanted suspended over her bed. As it is, the pink quilt, shams, pillowcases and curtains are added to the other confectionary items already cluttering her room. Like this.
And this.
And this. (Notice: even her polar bear is wearing a pink fairy dress.)
Oh, and this, which appears larger than actual size.
And here is her most favored possession, since it contains a bundle of pink jewelry. (Notice again, the fairy princess theme.)
But then she took the pink a bit too far.
The sacrifices parents make. I may *gulp* have a pink room in my house for the next five to fifteen years. *Deep breath* But look at that smile. It’s worth every color-cringing moment.
For more non-scrapbook worthy blog posts, visit We Are That Family and ‘Fro Me to You Carnival.
5 comments October 23, 2008
Solomon Summaries
Just last week I was looking for a book to cover a rather specific topic. I found one that, according to the description offered, was exactly what I wanted. I ordered it and waited eagerly for its arrival. After reading the first chapter I discovered this book wasn’t at all what I needed. I invested time and money into something I really didn’t want and now I’ll have to invest more time and money to find what I thought I had already found. I hate that!
This is why I am SO EXCITED about Solomon Summaries. A brand new service by husband and wife team, Chris and Heather Goodman, Solomon Summaries is something like Cliffs Notes for Christian books. You’ve seen my stacks of books. If you’re anything like me, with more books to read than time to read them, you’ll love this service.
Here’s how it works.
- They read the books then write an an 8-10 page summary.
- They email you when new summaries are available (one each week = 52 books a year).
- You log onto their website whenever is most convenient for you and read, print or listen to of the books that interest you.
- If you want to read more, you can order the book directly through their site.
That’s it. Pretty cool – huh? It’s like a screening process done by your own personal assistant. No more buying the wrong book or investing more time than necessary into reading the wrong stuff. No more reading extra fluff when all you really want are the key points.
Now here’s the really good news:
You can try it FREE between now and December 1st! Also, you will be entered into a drawing for a stack of books with your subscription, all because you heard about it from me through this blog tour. Just make sure you give them my name in the “how did you hear about us” section.
Want to see a sample summary? Here’s one for Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis and here’s one for The 10 Commandments of Marriage by Ed Young.
Want to learn more? Check out the website at www.solomonsummaries.com.
Want to hear what other people think about it? Check out some of the other stops on this blog tour!
AKA Lewis Theodore
A Peek at My Bookshelf
A Prisoner of Hope
Aspire 2 Blog
Bible Dude
Blame it on the Loud Mouth Gene
Fictionary
Gatorskunkz and Mudcats
Geaux 2 Girl
High Calling Blogs
In.A.Mirror.Dimly
In the Dailies
Leap of Faith
Michelle Pendergrass
Morning Cup of Coffee
One Glory
Portrait of a Writer . . . Interrupted
Relevant Blog
So You Wanna Be Published
The View From Here
To participate in future blog tours, visit The Blog Tour Spot to see what’s upcoming.
1 comment October 21, 2008
Resonant Chamber
This is so super cool.
Isn’t that awesome? If you want to watch it again (I’ve watched it, like, twelve times!), go HERE instead. It takes much longer to load than youtube (about 4 full minutes), but the quality is FAR superior.
2 comments October 20, 2008
Finger Puppet Theater!
One of my first writing projects was “100 Days with 2 Toddlers and No TV.” I started the manuscript after realizing that my hatred of cold temperatures would force me and my two cherubs to stay in the house through four months of winter every year for as long as we lived in the Northeast. Turns out there are literally hundreds of books inspiring parents to spend creative quality time with their kids, so my book never made it to print. In fact, I never got past a detailed chapter outline. Maybe someday. In the meantime, you, my precious blog readers, will be subject to all my splendid parental epiphanies. Here’s my most recent: Finger Puppet Theatre.
The kids found some finger puppets at the bookstore. They were only forty-nine cents a piece, so for less than $5, I bought a mini Noah’s Ark: two lions, two tigers, two giraffes and two zebras.
That same day we received a lovely package from Grandma. No one really cared about the contents (Sorry, Mom!), but we all loved the box. And that was when I had my apostrophe, when lightning struck my brain! (I’ll give you 100 points if you can name that quote.) In short order we turned a boring cardboard box into this:
Just markers, scissors, some packaging tape (to stabilize), scraps of fabric and hot glue (to adhere the fabric — keep away from the kids!!) … My two have been playing with this for four days straight! They even pulled out a flashlight to serve as a spotlight during shows. It’s fantastic. The kids have had so much fun.
Here’s my girl helping decorate the stage. (This was on Wednesday, long before she got sick.)
“The Boy” found more interest in his snack (notice the Cheetos residue around his mouth) and being goofy.
Once the theater was finished, the shows began!
Ellie’s shows, for some bazaar reason, always involve death. This has been a fascination of hers since Easter. I told Spaghettipie the other day how Ellie used to think everyone who died did so on a cross: Great-Grandma D., Great-Granny, my old dog … But finger puppets, seemingly, always die from eating snails in the grass. My favorite story of hers was performed on Saturday night:
“Once upon a time there was wee little tiger who was a little bit dead. The end.”
LOL! It still cracks me up!
Zach, always one to be unique, chose to hold all of his shows behind the curtains. We couldn’t see anything! This shot shows me peeking through to disturb the backstage drama. He promptly shut the curtain in my face before continuing his play. I told you before about how Zach Stories always have aggressive crocodiles. Interestingly, when he has puppets on his fingers, all the stories are about loving mommies and their babies. I think I should get more puppets.
The other day a friend and I were talking about how much time we actually spend playing with our kids. Our experiences were very different. Her kids don’t really expect her to do that while mine never get enough of it! Her next comment stuck with me: “They must think you’re one of them.” Now, my kids know I’m their mom. They know their daddy and I are the authorities; we’re the ones in charge. But they also see us get down on the floor with them. They see me put on silly costumes and funny voices and run around like one of them.
It makes me think of 1 Corinthians 9. Paul talked about became like those whom he wanted to reach with the Gospel. I don’t want my kids to see me as their peer, but more than anything I want to show them Christ’s love. If spending a day making a simple puppet theater will do that, I’ll do it every day. If my being child-like helps them to become Christ-like, then I gladly accept the challenge. May God be glorified through our play.
“To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. And I do all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may become a fellow partaker of it.”
– I Corinthians 9:22-23 (NASB)
4 comments October 20, 2008
