5 for Friday: The Longest 5 Yet

1. Baby D's birth parents canceled the visit AGAIN today. Apparently, birth dad is still sick. That means they saw him for FOUR hours total in the month of January. Luke said he thought birth dad needed to see a Dr if he was still sick...and then followed it with "a head doctor." Somedays I DO wonder if I married a comedian.

2. Can I get a "Praise the Lord" for Miralax? Seriously. Baby Girl has struggled with constipation since about 3 weeks old. Nothing has worked, NOTHING. We've tried prune juice, dark Karo syrup and apple juice and STILL she was only going every 5 to 6 days and screaming her head off each time until I "helped" her. Because God is merciful, He created Miralax (not sure which day that fell on) and now Baby Girl is pooping like a champ! She even woke me up at 3:30am to poop. I'm so proud. (Don't worry, I DID consult our pediatrician about giving Miralax to her.) I never knew I'd be so happy to see a poopy diaper. I'm sure the newness of that will wear off faster than yesterday's deodorant.

3. I got this in an email today. Normally, I loathe forwards (hint hint), but since this one was A) from my husband and B) incredibly hilarious I will gladly accept it and now share it via my blog. I choose to do so here because...I loathe forwards but this one is GOOD.

(Here's the reply the teacher received the following day)

Dear Mrs. Jones,
I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer.

I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit. I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that several people were fighting over who would get it. Her picture doesn't show me dancing around a pole. It's supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot. From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Smith

Freakin' hysterical.

4. Luke and I are plotting an evil wonderful scheme to spend 4 or 5 days together, secluded from the "real" world and our kids. If you feel led, please pray this happens soon as my patience and mental capacity are both diminishing rather quickly. I NEED some time away. Not to say I don't love and cherish and adore my kids, but it would be good for us to get away.

5. Here's 5 pics for your viewing pleasure. Happy Friday!

Post haircuts, with the most prized "sutter."

Stylin' and profilin' at the park

Mountain climber.

Momma and the "Mystery Man" who so sweetly obliged me again with a partial face pic.


(No longer the) The Countess of Constipation

5 for Friday

1. Neither Ashlee nor Elizabeth have strep throat. Praise the LORD! Ashlee is running a fever today, but it is easily remedied with some Motrin and snuggles. That means 2 (two) sick kids today. It will be a LONG day.

2. I tried to reformat my blog to have 3 columns and lost EVERYTHING...okay, ALMOST everything. Okay, just the stuff in my side margins. So, that means if my link to your blog in my blog roll is gone it's not because I suddenly don't like you. It's because Blogger doesn't like you (or it doesn't like me, I can't decide). Leave a comment here and I'll re-link you. Unless you don't want me to link to you, in which case, don't comment and I'll forget all about you (and cry myself to sleep tonight).

3. Speaking of reformatting, I'd LOVE your opinion. Do you like the 3 columns or is it just too busy? Does it make the page look too cluttered? I'm still trying to decide which I like best.

4. I'm twittering now. I'm not sure how long it will last. It's over on the right margin if you're interested.

5. I had to start my hit counter over AGAIN...because, well, I lost EVERYTHING remember? This time I started at 29,500, even though it was a smidge over that. You know me ULTRAconservative. Oh...wait.. I can't believe how close that is to 30,000. Wow. I'm flabbergasted. "I'd like to thank the academy, all the people that supported me along the way...."

5 for Friday: This and That

1. Somedays I wonder how this:

Became this:


In the blink of an eye.



2. Ashlee is starting to potty train. Which means I'm seeing more of this:


And less of these:


Thankfully, Ashlee feels like this:




3. Lucas is on steroids right now for a cold that has stirred up his asthma. Usually, he's funny, determined and playful like this:


With that medicine he's more like this:


Which makes me wanna pull my hair out.



4. Baby D is developing quite a personality. He is generally a happy baby, doing lots of this:


And, since I told him I can't put his whole face on my blog, he obliged me with this:

Does it remind you of this? It does me.



5. Baby Girl is getting so big. She's sleeping well at night, only waking up once for one of these:


Which means that I'm seeing more of these:


Which makes me have more of these:

Five For Friday

I have no topic for today's five....

1. Lucas' new word is

"Whhhhyyyyyyyy?"

When my father in law and his wife (Luke's step mom) were in town last weekend, she got me onto saying

"Why not?" in response.

Now his new alternative response is

"Beeeccaaaauuuuuse!!" (because)

2. Tonight we are hosting a middle school girls lock in. That's right, 15 or so middle school girls in our basement. Wanna know the craziest part? I'm excited!

3. Baby D is sleeping pretty much through the night. The last FOUR nights he's slept 6 hour stretches. Yay! Why am I more tired?

4. My husband made a bet with me, which I won and he gave me $500. (Yes, you read that right.) However, because he's brainwashed me with Dave Ramsey I cannot spend it. Okay, maybe I'll spend a little, but I can't bring myself to spend it all.

Yes, I'm serious.

5. I never thought I'd actually make new friends by blogging. But, I've found that friendships have become stronger and I've actually "met" a few new people. As long as they promise not to be axe murderers, I think I'll be okay!

Happy Friday! Have a supremely blessed weekend!

Five For Friday

What's the Point?

These thoughts are sparked when I think of The Thompsons and the people in Nairobi who live, day in and day out in the slums.

1. Is fashion really necessary? I mean, when we're dead, is God gonna stand there and say,

"Oh, you had matching shoes and purses for every outfit. Come on in!"

I mean, when it's all said and done, the cost of runway shows and $500 shoes could have been spent somewhere else. Somewhere where people don't have water or food or clothes or....

2. Why do we continue to freak out about the economy? Don't get me wrong, I know it's important to have a country that is economically stable, but we Americans freak out over every little thing. I think I'll start the freak out when our tap water is unsuitable to drink, or a radical group overturns the democracy. Yes, I think about and, on rare occasion, worry about the economy of our country. But freak out? Not so much. Yesterday, on our Christian Radio Station I heard someone talking about what you should do if your bank goes under. The speaker outlined steps to take to see if your bank is in trouble. Seriously?

3. What's the point of declaring a crisis, if it's not REALLY a crisis? Here in NC, gas prices shot over $4.50 in some places (I'm assuming that's true everywhere in the US today). People are FREAKING out. The lines at the pumps are a minimum of 10 cars deep. This is NOT a crisis. The hurricanes that will hit land and destroy homes, lives and possibly kill many people - THAT is a crisis. I find it hard to comprehend how we can stress about gas prices, but not respond after our neighbors loose everything.

4. Is it necessary to get excessively upset over differing political views? Once more, don't get me wrong, I think the election is important, and yes, I want my choice candidate to win. However, when November 5th rolls around, and a new president has been chosen, God will be the same. It won't make a difference if McCain or Obama is president, God will still be God. I sure wish that people (and politicians) could debate and campaign without slinging mud. It would sure make it easier for me to watch debates, speeches and forums.

5. What's the point of a bib? I mean, I see the simple use for it, but if you've ever actually used one on a child you know that their function is only for minor mishaps. None of my 4 children ever grasped the meaning of "minor." Usually, when the bib was removed, the ONLY clean spot was a semi-circle where the bib used to be. The shirt was still dirty and my child was still covered in his/her last meal. Spit up defies the laws of gravity and gets everywhere BUT on a bib. Who invented them anyway? Bet they were laughing all the way to the bank.

The purpose of this isn't to say that I am perfect or that I am not-guilty of doing/thinking/using any of these things. Lately, everything that I see in my life that others view as necessary (and I even think is necessary) I wonder about those people in Kibera. When I let the water run and get hot so that I can wash my hands or my face, I think about how much I just wasted and how many thirsty children I could have just hydrated. It all comes at me so much lately and I often wonder, What's the point?

Five for Friday

This week's Five for Friday topic is: Grody-ness

1. Fruit flies must be the most annoying insect on the planet. We have them, can't figure out why and don't know how to get rid of them. This evening, I realized that I think they like the left over formula in the baby bottles. It totally grosses me out.

2. A toddler pooped in the kiddie pool at "The Club" where my parents are members. I thought it was pretty funny, especially since the lifeguards had to scoop it out with a net. Even funnier if you picture 1 lifeguard with a net and the other with a LARGE plastic trash bag (toddler poop isn't THAT big). As the scooper guard attempted to scoop, it would float away. Slippery little suckers.

3. I HATE spit up. It's disgusting and feels super gross on your skin. I hate it even more when it is slipping down my bare back. Yuck-o!

4. Elizabeth has gotten to the age where smelling her clothing is no longer a desirable way to determine if it is still clean. I remember my Mom telling me she experienced this with me as well, but I never fully understood. Now I do. From now on, if I think it's dirty, it's dirty.

5. My children's breath is entirely disgusting when they wake up. I don't know why this surprises me, because mine isn't exactly roses. However, my kids have no concept of personal space at 8:00am. Since they are so incredibly happy to see me 1st thing in the morning, and I cannot refuse free kisses, I will be purchasing nose plugs this weekend. Problem solved.

Five For Friday

I stole this from another blog. Five for Friday is 5 thoughts I have rolling around in my mind. This week's are all about events/happenings from this past week.

1. Our family had 2 opportunities to help other people this week (both on Tuesday). Both of the chances to serve were b/c of our van and it being broken/fixed. They were great teachable moments for Elizabeth, and even better chances for Luke and I to see God at work.

2. Decorating with my Mom can be fun.

3. Nothing makes me feel as good as a clean (I mean REALLY clean) house. It's so relaxing.

4. I'm thankful that I have 3 healthy kids.

5. I need to sort through Elizabeth's 24 month clothes for Ashlee. My babies turn 2 in 2 weeks. Where did the time go?