It's beginning to taste a lot like Christmas

Every year one of Matt's cousins whom I've never met sends us a huge basket of her homemade Christmas cookies.  Yes you read that right, she SENDS them to us.  Her yummy sweets come to us all wrapped up in individual cellophane baggies and packaged in a lovely red basket.  All sent to us from several states away.

Her goodies have been a HUGE blessing and encouragement to me over the years!  Especially so when I was a huge pregnant lady in 2007 and ended up delivering our dear Clive just 5 days after Christmas.   That year I wasn't so much into cookie baking as I was into waddling around.  It was so handy to have those homemade cookies to give out to neighbors and to wolf done myself in my last throes of pregnant gluttony.

This year though, Matt's cousin isn't feeling so hot.  She's been seriously ill for much of the fall and not even able to care for herself.  So I thought it would be thoughtful to send HER a big ole box of Christmas baked goods this year.  Great idea, right?  Yes!  But now I have to find time to do all the baking required to send out this festive cookie box.  THANKFULLY, I have a truly helpful 6 year old and a large freezer.  We've been baking up a batch here and a batch there and then thrown them in the freezer so it's not felt too high-stress.  Not yet anyway.

Here's my cookie baking list:

• Snowballs
• Double chocolate cookies
• Ginger molasses cookies
• Thumbprints (you must try this recipe, it adds cream cheese to the traditional batter and is simply scrumptious!)
• Sugar cookies (decorated by the kiddos of course)
• Cranberry orange cookies
• Fudge (peppermint, chocolate/cherry, peanut butter)
• Puppy chow (not your regular garden variety -- I have a recipe for a super yummy peanut butter/chocolate one)

I feel like I'm missing some obvious Christmas cookie in the above list . . . What cookies do you usually bake up for the holidays?

Caption contest

I think this photo I snapped of my curious Solomon is absolutely roll-on-the-floor hilarious!

Lemme esplain . . . .

I often plant Solomon on the counter while I'm mucking about in the kitchen.  I like to keep a close eye on my busy boy.  Of course, the problem with this counter-top set-up is that there aren't many toys up there to play with.  Believe me, I've TRIED providing Solomon with cars, spoons, bowls, travel mugs and Tupperware to keep him occupied but those items usually don't hold his interest long.

The coffee pot is obviously a different matter.  Since babyhood this boy of mine has always LOVED taking things apart and then putting them back together.  He often sits there happily removing and replacing the coffee pot lid while I'm cooking away. 

As you can see from the photo, Solomon noticed there were some drops of liquid remaining at the bottom of the pot.  And he was thirsty.

Is it bad that I grabbed the camera to capture this hilarious moment before taking the coffee pot away?

So, here's where you come in.  Write a clever caption for my coffee-gulping Solomon photo and you could win a prize!

What's the prize?  An apropos prize would involve coffee, no?  The author of caption I like best will net a bag of locally roasted yummy java beans.  And I WILL ship overseas so international entries are welcome.    I'll keep the caption-writing contest open through next Friday, November 11.

Happy penning!

And the winners are . . .

Thanks to all of you who commented on my recent Christmas Card post!

And I'm happy to announce that the three fortunate winners of 25 free cards from Shutterfly are:

Suzanne Dobbertin
Kelly Glupker
Tracy Hall

My kids chose these names randomly out of a bowl.  Really high-tech, I know.  :)

(I'll message each of you on Facebook with your unique promo code to use at Shutterfly.com for 25 free cards.  Email me at aliciamhorn (at) gmail (dot) com if you'd rather I email the code to you.)

And remember if you're a blogger, you can still register yourself with Shutterfly to get 25 free cards.   Register here: http://goo.gl/DDw7Q

Happy card-making!

A Heinous Injustice

My Solomon hit the 18 month mark a few weeks back.  He's growing and developing in every way imaginable!  He's a spunky (read: a disciplining challenge), independent, joyful, interactive, book-loving, dancing, rough-housing toddler. 

The Heinous Injustice, you ask?  He STILL wakes up in the middle of the night.  And I'm certain it's my fault.

Thankfully, he doesn't wake up EVERY night.  Whew.  And despite the occasional teething or sickness episode his sleeping habits were lovely between 6-14 months. 

But now he's up once a night 2-4 times a week.  For this nap-loving narcoleptic mom that's almost more than I can handle.  It's not like we're up for a long period of time.  Just long enough for him to suck back his sippy cup of milk while we lay on the couch together.

I'm pretty sure the problem with this boy's restless nights is that he's a milk addict and not taking in enough regular food during the day.  This week I cut him off (almost) completely from his sippy cup of milk in hopes that the milk-absence would force him to eat more solid food.  That seemed to help him eat a bit more than usual at mealtimes but still not as much as I expected.  I've also been feeding him a snack before bed in an attempt to fill up his toddler tummy.

The other complication in the Solomon sleep issue is that he shares a room with his older brother, Clive.  So, while I'm a 100% believer in the crying-it-out method my stubborn Solly can really wail and often wakes up my sweet sleeping Clive.  And then I have two boys to soothe back to sleep.  Said soothing sometimes translates as Clive crawling into bed with us.  Which means I end up sleeping on the couch since I don't enjoy being kicked or have my knees used as a pillow. 

All told, I'm not getting as much sleep as I'd like.  :(

HELP!  What else should I try?

Solomon's coffee consumption may or may not be linked to his sleepless nights.

Christmas cards already?

I don't usually start thinking about Christmas cards until mid-November at the earliest.  But this year, Shutterfly is getting me started earlier than normal.  Last week they emailed me offering me FIFTY FREE CARDS if I blog about their holiday card selection.  That's a no-brainer for this cheapskate!  

And the coolest part of the promo is that I get to offer YOU some free cards too!  Three fortunate commenters to this post will be chosen at random to receive a promo code for 25 free cards of their choice from Shutterfly's expansive holiday card collection.

To prepare for this review I spent much time browsing and exploring Shutterfly's holiday card site.  And man was that fun!  Since I want to send out Christmas cards with a strong religious message I spent most of my time searching through the religious section. I wasn't too disappointed.  Shutterfly's religious card section has 68 choices and many include Bible verses.  I'm quite choosy when it comes to religious cards.  I want my card to have a clear, strong and Biblical message.  My favorites were as follows:

Seal of Christ.  Love the red and brown combined with black and white photos.  Sepia photos would look great with this design too.  Also like the cool square shape and impacting cross-centered verse chosen for this card.

Mighty God. This is my favorite one because of the verse choice and light blue paired with traditional red and green.  Now to snap a picture of all three kiddos smiling simultaneously.  That's going to take a miracle.

Open your hearts.  I really dig the personal call-to-action of this card's message.  And I LOVE the rainbow colorful-ness on the black background.

Rejoice.  Brown and light blue is such a classy color combo.  And the verse is a powerful statement for Christmas. 

There are MYRIADS of unusual and vibrant designs at the Shutterfly website.  I'm especially drawn to the colorful and non-traditional color choices of their cards.  There's an entire "Merry and Bright" category of cards that is just that!  Super fun rainbow colors are usually paired with black and white photos to make for playful and festive cards.

And they have some unique twists of format on the traditional Christmas letter.  If you're into writing Christmas letters or family highlights from your year, Shutterfly has some cool options like top 10 lists and story bubbles to position around photos.

I also appreciate how many different ways there are to navigate the options for photo cards at Shutterfly.  You can narrow your choices by clicking checkboxes for 1, 2, 3 or 4+ photos per card design.  You can narrow the choices further by color or collection style.  And if you're indecisive like I am, you can use their "compare cards" feature to select favorites and check them out side-by-side.

To enter my giveaway for 25 free cards from Shutterfly, just answer the following question in your comment: What do you do with the Christmas cards you receive post-holiday?

[I'll pick 3 winners at random by Friday, October 28.  And by the way, Shutterfly did NOT pay me for this review -- unless you count the 50 free cards that is.  These are all my own thoughts and opinions.]

Are you a blogger? Want a chance at 25 free cards this holiday season? Register here: http://goo.gl/DDw7Q

The pumpkin patch racket

Like the rest of America I aim to take the kiddos to a pumpkin patch every fall.  There's just something nostalgic (even though I don't recall visiting pumpkin patches growing up) and so autumn-y about pumpkin places.

After researching various nearby pumpkin spots, I realized what a money-making racket the pumpkin-experience has become.  Every place I checked offered a variety of super-fun fall themed activities but all for a price.  Hay rides?  $3 a person.  Corn maze?  $5 a pop.  Climbing on straw bales, scavenger hunt and leaf-raking?  $5 each for an activity wristband (including accompanying adults).  And of course that doesn't even include the cost of the pumpkin itself.  Ay-ay-ay!

So, instead I found a happy cheaper medium for the pumpkin experience.  I knew the kids would really enjoy a tractor-pulled hay wagon ride -- especially my machine-loving boy -- so we spent the $9 to do that.  The leaves and rakes were available for raking so we did that for free.  There were wagons sitting around for toting pumpkins which functioned as toys for the boys.  Add to that a few cups of apple cider, noshing on cheap cookies and wandering around the pumpkins (couldn't bear to buy any as I know my local drugstore sells them much cheaper) and we had ourselves a lovely morning!

I know I'm an uber-cheapskate but I really am glad folks were dishing out so much moola for the pumpkin pandemonium today.  Way to support a local farm, people!

Have you visited a pumpkin patch yet this season?  If so, I'm curious . . . how much did you pay for your pumpkin?

All tuckered out from the pumpkin morning.

My cutesy Chloe posing nicely for the camera.  Why don't the boys follow her lead?!?

Rakin'

A rock is truly as much fun as a ball.  Just duck when Solomon comes your way.

Who knew raking someone else's leaves could be so enjoyable?

Waiting patiently for the hayride.

Sizing up the tractor wheel.

Hayride!

This boy LOVED all aspects of the hayride!

Wagon pulling and pushing

Pumpkins in a bathtub?  What?

The best shot of the three rascals I could get.

Checking out the pumpkin selection.

Balancing on the bridge over a sea of pumpkins.

Copycat decorating

Last time I visited my sister-in-law I noticed this simple but brilliant way to showcase her daughter's artwork.  It looked simple anyways.  Black metal frames opened up from the outside so you could constantly change up the artwork showcased.

And then I looked these frames up online.  $39.95 for a black picture frame to show off my kids' art?  

I don't think so.  I have so many better ways to spend $40.

So, I scoured the aisles at my favorite local cheapie craft store (namely Pat Catan's for you local readers) and after spending $15 TOTAL I replicated the look!

Sure, I have to actually take the frame off the wall and open it from the back to put the new art in but that's an inconvenience I'd happily suffer to save a few bucks.

And now that we have these hung up in our dining room, it's so fun to see the kids' creations smiling down on us.  Chloe has always been a *prolific* draw-er but even Clive is getting into the artsy habit now that he can proudly see his work on display! 

  

Taming the wild mane

It's no secret that Chloe's hair is wild, thick and easily-tangled.  Poor girl had the misfortune of inheriting my hair exactly.  The color, texture, thickness - everything about Chloe's hair is identical to mine. And since I do my hair in a grand total of TWO different ways (down or ponytail) I'm pretty clueless as to how to manage Chloe's hair.

The mane problem (that's not a misspelling, just a cheesy intended pun) is keeping her hair out of her eyes.  I've done pigtails, braids, ponytails and barrettes to no avail. Sure they work at first but give her hair a few hours and it's bird-nest-city.

Until now that is!  I think I may have finally found the solution to keeping Chloe's thick hair off her face.  The fabric headband!  Usually headbands aren't strong enough to keep Chloe's hair back.  But these fabric headbands really stay put.  And they're cute to boot!  And super easy to whip up in an afternoon (check out the linked tutorial here though I opted not to use interfacing). 

The bonus is that Chloe really likes wearing them.  She helped me pick out the fabric (went with navy blues to match her school uniform ensembles) and even did a little of the sewing and cutting.

Any tips and tricks for me on managing my little girl's hair?  If you'd like to come and french braid her hair every morning I'd feed you breakfast.  Any takers?  :) 

Apple pickin'

Last Friday I impulsively packed the kiddos into the car and drove to a local apple orchard.  It turned out to be a beautiful day for it!  The sun came out, the predicted rain never appeared and the kids had loads of fun tromping around exploring the orchard.

Besides coming away with 2 bushels of apples for only $20, it was lovely to see my three enjoying the outdoors a bit. 

I usually remember to throw my camera into my purse for outings such as these but I don't always remember to snap any pictures.  We were QUITE the sight to see.  I was hollering, leading and instructing three kiddos (one of which is semi-permanently attached to my hip) to the correct apple trees, messenger bag over my shoulder with supplies, two bags in hand for gathering fruit and my camera out snapping photos.

Even the lady handing out bags at the market didn't think I'd be able to swing it.  I told her I wanted two bushel bags.  Simple, right?  But then she saw my crazy wild bunch she said, "I'll give you one thick bag and one thin bag in case you don't fill it all the way up.  These thick bushel bags are really expensive and I don't want to waste them."  My tongue doesn't respond quickly these days (and that's probably a blessing in disguise) so I just nodded, took the bags and escaped her demeaning looks.  [Don't worry, said lady apologized to me later when I came to pay for my two full bushel bags of apples.  She said, "I really didn't think you'd be able to pick so many!"  Just because I have small children doesn't mean I'm not a serious picker, lady!]


On outings such as this, I get a kick out of spying out other young families in the rural setting.  We saw two other families out picking this time around.  The first was a small family with mom and dad and two small girls. They weren't really picking at all -- just taking cute photos and trying to keep the girls clean.  It made me smile.  Especially as I looked at my own children who, by this time, were neither cute nor clean.  The other family we noticed was more of an entourage.  Grandparents, parents and other relatives were all cooing and excitedly helping two small children pick apples.  Again it was papparazzi time as their adorable cherubs snatched apples from limbs and beamed in the sunshine.


I'm not judging here; it truly was sweet to see such doting and vicarious enjoyment in the faces of the relatives.  I have been in those same shoes when I had fewer children and my family was in town visiting.  But usually I'm not in that doting zone and it's interesting to watch it from afar. I'm about pragmatism and survival when I'm out alone with my three short people.  As I kept Solomon from eating rotten apples from the ground, I smiled and was grateful for my dirty happy children.  Plus did I mention we came away with 2 bushels of apples and some pretty cute pictures to boot? 


Chloe especially enjoyed climbing a particularly low apple tree.  In general she likes to be outside but she's definitely more of an indoor cat.  So it was a big surprise to me when she said, "Mom, if we had an apple tree in our backyard, I wouldn't need any toys at all!"

For now we're enjoying eating lots of fresh apples and I'm slowly working on peeling, coring, chopping the fruit for applesauce.  So far I've made two batches of spiced crockpot applesauce, an apple crisp and an apple snack cake (which delectably included walnuts and butterscotch chips).  Yumminess!

Now I just wish I had more time or more hands to get these suckers peeled, cored and chopped so they can get off my countertop!  I sure am thankful that apples have a long shelf life.

What's your favorite way to cook with apples?   I'd love to hear your recipes and get some new ways to use these Jonathans and Cortlands up!

Can you tell she's used to pausing so mama can take her picture? 

The apples were tasty but a bit tough for toddler chompers.

Tree climbing is SO FUN!

These strange-looking apples came home with me too.

Perfectly safe Solly seat!

Solomon LOVED being a big boy sitting in the tree with his sibs!

Classic Clive expression as he expounds and enlightens.

Clive was serious about his apple picking.  For about 1 minute that is.  Quickly he discovered that carrying a bag with more than 5 apples was too heavy for his little 3 year old arms.

What's playing in your head?

THESE.DAYS.ARE.EXHAUSTING.  I thought about blogging a list of all that happened within these four walls today but I couldn't remember it all!  The fluidity and pace of our days keep me hopping and it's hard to slow the moments down. 

What's hardest I think is seeing my own impatience and occupation with the immediate take over my spirit.  Blech.  When I *raised my voice* (that's a nice way to say yelling, isn't it?) at my dear toddler today after he whined at me for the umpteenth time I saw his hurt clearly in his little brown eyes.  He had only wanted to get my attention. I snatched him up, kissed and hugged him mercilessly and tickled that hurt right away. 

During these full full days I often find myself crying out to God for help.  Not just a nebulous warm fuzzy feeling to wash over me (though that would be lovely).  But I'm asking for help in action.  To practice thankfulness, kindness, PATIENCE, gentleness, joy and love.  Mostly to flesh these out for my kids but also in other relationships.  Like to my complaining elderly neighbor who insists on discouraging our schooling choices for Chloe.  Lord give me patience and graciousness!

These are the songs I keep singing to myself during these crazy days of hurry and flurry:

I need Thee every hour

Please be my strength (Gungor)

Grace is sufficient (Shane & Shane - click the "Organic Remix" player link to hear)


And oh, these words have been a comfort to my harried soul!

What's playing in your head right now?

We have a winner!

Jenny Muth is the fortunate commenter who wins the new Shaun Groves cd, Third World Symphony!

Kind of bummed more of you didn't enter my bloggy giveaway.  But that's just testimony to the fact that I need to BLOG MORE to keep you guys reading and commenting.  I'll work on that.  Still wish there was an app which connected my brain directly to blogger.  That would save me so much time and effort.  :) 

Congrats go out to Jenny too on the safe arrival of new baby Cadence!  I've got some other fun goodies to throw into the winning package too.  (Doesn't that make you wish you had entered now?) 

Happy listening!

Family-isms

I am typically AWFUL at recording the memorable tidbits and retorts of my children over the years.  Even though my mom bought me a super cute and helpful journal for doing so, I'm often so busy with daily tasks that I breeze through the moment and neglect to capture the sweet words for posterity.

Thankfully I have this blog to help me record, remember and share these beautiful moments in time.  And hopefully these lovely memories will help me smile when the ugly moments of motherhood come threatening to steal my joy and deplete me of God's good grace.  And believe me, we have PLENTY of ugly moments in the Horn household!

Usually it's my 3 year old, Clive, who is spouting out the cuteness and funniness.  He's a natural chatterbox and his 3 year old *accent* makes {almost} every word that comes from his lips seem like utter adorableness.  This boy who is ever imagining, building and racing cars spills out with pure childish joy.

Lately though, I've jotted down a few memorable exchanges from other members of the family. My husband included.  :)  Enjoy!

Chloe-isms (age 6)
* Chloe has been up and down about the impending start of school. One VERY exciting moment happened recently at a school picnic when we discovered that her very favorite friend from Sunday school, Logan, would be in her class!  Seriously, Logan and Chloe are bosom buddies.  They love to play together and greet each other with hugs.  But her smiles turned to furrows the next day as she thought more about it.  I asked her what was bothering her and she replied, "Mom, I don't know if I want to go to school anymore.  I'll be the only one in first grade with a boyfriend!"  We then had a mommy lesson about what a *boyfriend* really is.  In 6 year old terms that is. 
* Chloe received a phone call recently from her sweet little friend, Grace.  They talked on the phone for what seemed like a long time.  After she hung up I asked Chloe what the conversation was about.  She retorted, "Oh, nothing really.  It's hard to explain."  And that was that. From 6 year old to teenager in the blink of an eye!
* I asked Chloe to keep an eye on Clive in the bathtub while I put Solomon down to bed.  Chloe was not happy about that and huffed her way into the bathroom.  She instantly complained, "But mom, it smells in here!"  (And usually she'd be right but having freshly cleaned the bathroom I knew it was sparkling clean.)  I replied to Chloe, "What does it smell like?"  And Chloe complained, "It smells like . . . water!"  Right, because clean water is SO STINKY.  The drama of this little girl is astounding at times.  And I'm sure I was never that dramatic when I was her age.  (No comments from the peanut gallery, please.)

Clive-isms (age 3.5)
* Clive put on his sunglasses as we embarked for a car ride and announced, "Sunglasses would be no good for caves!"
* One night when the kids were each watching their allotted video for the day, I slipped upstairs to take a cat nap.  Clive came up crying looking for me because something went wrong with the player.  He was really crying hard and when he saw me he said, "Mom?!?  Where were you?  I almost called 9-1-1!"  I, alarmed, responded, "Why would you call 9-1-1?  I was just upstairs!"  Clive responded, "I almost called 9-1-1 because I had a missing mommy!"  Good answer I guess.  We then had a serious conversation about when to call 9-1-1 and when NOT to.  Yikes!
* During playtime, Clive triumphantly came upstairs with his toy ninja turtle in one of my canning jars.  He proclaimed, "Mom, I captured this turtle and now I'm going to put him in jail and do science on him!"  When I inquired as to what kind of science experiment he would do Clive was obviously baffled.  Not missing a beat Clive replied, "I can't tell you mommy, it's a secret experiment!"  Hopefully we don't have a mad scientist in the making here!
* The other day I was fighting insanity after having braved 50 cent Monday with all three children in tow.  It was in a word, HORRIFIC.  Next stop was the grocery store.  I put Clive in the cart to attempt the grocery shopping and felt defeated already.  He promptly gave me a big hug around the neck and said, "Ah, there's nothing like a good mom!"   I.love.that.boy.

Matt-isms (age 35)
* After acquiring two baskets of peaches I was researching what to do with them.  I kept tossing ideas out in the air like, "Maybe I could freeze them whole like raspberries" or "Are these peaches the correct ones for canning or should I look for the freestone variety?" or "I wonder if I could freeze peach cobbler or peach pie filling".  Matt finally retorted, "Or you could just make peach cobbler."  And that's JUST what I did. :)
* Last week over the dinner table Matt suddenly got quiet adding weight to the words he would utter next, "Family, I want you all to know that next week at this time we'll be watching . . . . FOOTBALL."  Crickets chirped.  I think Matt was expecting a rousing cheer of "Go, Pack, Go!" but it did not happen.  We'll be excited come Thursday though!  Already got the green jello bought and Packer shirts ready to wear!
* We raised praying mantises this spring/summer and we've kept one adult close at hand to observe (we named her George).  Matt's been letting her out of the cage more often and after finding her on the sunflowers, he hollered something loudly.  I thought he was directing his words at me since I was standing at the kitchen window and well within earshot.  I shouted back, "What was that, Matt?  I didn't hear you."  And he replied, "Oh nothing.  I was just talking to George."  And then we both laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of it.  Trumped by a praying mantis.  Didn't think I'd see the day!  :)

Shaun Groves Giveaway!

No, I'm not giving away the musician Shaun Groves.

But I AM giving away Shaun Groves' newly released and fantastically crafted cd, Third World Symphony.

I know I've blogged about this before but Matt and I have a very short-list of Christian artists that really move us. There's a power in these guys that comes from their expert blending of truth, poetry, heart-felt sincerity and musicality that is incomparable with other more mainstream Christian artists. 

I won't walk too far down the rabbit trail here but scores of Christian musicians are facing mounting pressure from Christian radio stations which will only play *lighter* music.  The radio stations want songs with softer lyrics which fit a particular soft-rock pop song style.  BLECH.  Thankfully, many Christian artists are still generating music that is weighty, unique, powerful and relevant.  They're just doing so independent of record labels and going "underground" so to speak.  (Read more here and listen to more gourmet Christian music here at Under the Radar.)

Shaun Groves has always been on our short-list.  (Along with Shane & Shane; the Gettys; Andrew Peterson; Seeds Family Worship and Sons of Korah.)  I can't explain why exactly we like his tunes so much.  His heart sings through his words palpably.  You can hear his earnestness and it's urgent and pleading.  It's as though he's just singing to God and could care less about any other audience.  But you happen to be at the door listening in; overhearing the overflow of his heart and blessed because it's also the overflow of your own.

But it's not just his honesty that compels us to listen to his music repeatedly.  His poetry is inspired.  I don't know what else to say about it.  His lyrics are effortless, poetic and infused at every turn with grace.

And the music itself is GREAT.  The fast rolling riffs of "Enough" and the surprising twangy banjo of "No Better" are toe-tapping and enjoyable without distracting from the song messages.

I could say much much more about this cd.  Many of the phrases keep stabbing at my soul and haunting me (in a good way) with the encouragement of God's truth.  Words like this . . .

"When you throw your stone, aim it at the heart . . . where every crime comes from, where every stumble starts and save the next for me . . . We've all got hell to pay and grace pays all we owe.  Lay me down with the liars, brawlers thieves and backbiters.  Lay me down with the others 'cause I'm no better."

"In this brawl between the empires of our good Lord and the liar will you stand?  Please stand with me.  'Cause right now my faith can take it but oh, when they come to break it, will you pray?  Please pray with me.  So we'll stand and pray 'til the dark gives way and we will sing, sing, sing."

"Thank you for daily bread.  Through us fill the empty.  Thank you for bodies whole.  Through us mend the breaking.  All is grace, All is grace, All is grace and grace enough for all."

 
Have I convinced you to buy his album yet?  :)  (Buy it on itunes, amazon or on Shaun's website)

Take a listen below and become convinced!

I'll give away a copy of Shaun Groves' new cd to one randomly chosen commenter.  To enter the cd giveaway just tell me who your favorite moves-you-deeply artist is and you're in!


Third World Symphony by shaungroves

Happy Birthday, dear Chloe!

Chloe turns six today.  SIX!

I can't talk about it I'll just tear up and get my keyboard all wet with my mushy gushiness.

How did she go from this sleeping cheeky peanut to this sweet little young lady so fast?

Praying that God preserves my Chloe's sweetness as she grows another year older and that He roots her sweetness in His love.  I pray that she will learn to love the Lord with all her heart, soul and mind and then give that love away to others.

Super happy birthday to my dear baby girl!   And let the birthday festivities begin!  

The new 6 year old will wear a made-for-her fancy dress to church today (thanks, Abuelita!), receive gifts from family, eat a special dinner (Chloe requested shrimp, pesto noodles, and fried zucchini), and welcome grandma and nana for a week long birthday visit.  This girl sure is blessed (read: spoiled).  :) 

Exploding head

This week has been killer busy.  My online job is picking up.  I've been coordinating meals for a local family going through chemotherapy.  I've been planning Chloe's upcoming 6th birthday party.  I've been arranging travel details and purchased tickets for relatives.  Oh, and somehow EVERY DAY this week we had a commitment on the calendar.

My head is going to essplode!

It's no secret that I am not an organized list-making soul.  I have small piles of papers with jotted notes sitting on my desk to remind my fragmented brain of important tasks.  But dumping the information out of my brain onto small sheets of notepaper doesn't seem to be easing the mental overload.

My poor belabored brain keeps shouting out random unrelated thoughts.  "Don't forget to buy breadcrumbs at Drug Mart" or "Email so-and-so about her syllabus" or "Did I ever look up the instructions for making cake pops?" or "I wonder who's on the leaderboard at the PGA Championship?  I should google it" or "I really need to blog about Shaun Groves' new cd" or "I wonder what kind of butterfly that yellow woolly caterpillar we saw on our neighbor's porch will become after metamorphosis? I should look that up online with Chloe"

These non-essential thoughts keep bouncing around my cranium at 70 mph.  And by the time I settle on one thought and decide to take action, I'm completely distracted from my original task.  Fractured, fragmented and disorderly is my thinking of late.

Has my head exploded yet?

I'm praying I make it through the upcoming birthday festivities with my head still firmly intact.  And hopefully I won't be such a frazzled flake that I can complete sentences when speaking to other adults.

How do you keep your mind organized and whole during these busy days?  My brain needs HELP.  Desperately. 

I'm realizing too that I can't just keep blaming *mommy brain* every time I act flaky or forgetful.  While I do think becoming a mom helped me get to this frazzly point I am positive I can reclaim my pre-mom brain cells.

I know what I need to do.  I need to re-train my brain to focus.  By forcing myself to do SINGLE tasks, reading chapters of books instead of paragraphs in one sitting, and only allowing myself 1-3 tabs open on my computer browser instead of 7-8.  But I can't start right now.  Right now I need to go google yellow woolly caterpillars.

Jesus loves the little children . . . even Solly

By day's end I was ready to offer up my third-born for adoption.  It was THAT kind of day.  My Solly was crabby, clingy and full of impertinent screaming today.  Blech.

I sure hope he's getting sick.  Yes, you heard me right.  That would at least explain the bad behavior.  If he's NOT sick then there are troublesome days ahead for me and monster toddler boy!

Solomon epitomizes the phrase *busy boy*.  My boy doesn't often sit still.  He only remains stationary for really engaging activities like reading books, dismantling sippy cups or digging in the sand.  Even when reading books he has his limit.  I think he might have ADD.  Seriously.  If he doesn't like the book he slams it shut after only a few pages and squirms his way off my lap to choose another book from the shelf.

So tonight after literally wrestling him into his diaper and jammies, we sat down to read our pile of bedtime books.  He was not so cooperative. Solly slammed several books closed after only a few sentences.  UNTIL we came to the book Jesus Loves the Little Children  that is. 

I sang through Jesus Loves the Little Children  all the way through and Solomon sat quietly and helped turn pages.  And then he opened the cover to read through it AGAIN.  His recent insatiable squirminess highlighted his sudden attentiveness.  As I sang through the book a second time, I couldn't help crying a bit as I realized God was speaking.  Speaking soft soothing words to my weary impatient soul and reminding me of the unchanging truth of His love.  He loves the little children of the world -- even my crabby pants Solomon. 

And so should you, Alicia.

God has given Solomon to me as a priceless gift.  I know that's trite but God hammered me with that truth tonight.  Precious, loved, dear and known by God.  I let those words wash away my frustration.  Why was I irritated and impatient with this beautiful bundle of boy again?

I am humbled again and transfixed by the idea of God's unconditional love.  Jesus loves Solomon regardless of his actions and affections towards him (or lack thereof).  That's such a huge thought.  Especially now that I'm momming it to three little ones.  I so often find my expressions of love wavering up and down through the day as the kids please or displease, upset or delight, fight or make peace. 

Lord, fill me up with your kind of love!

A new bloggy look

For ages now I've wanted to change up my blog header a bit to reflect the season and update the pictures of my growing-faster-than-weeds offspring. 

And tonight I finally did just that.  Ahh.  It was so refreshing to ignore the household duties and to waste an hour dinking around with colors, fonts, and photos. 

With the able assistance of picasa and this stellar tutorial by Clover Lane I created the header above. 

What do you think?  Do you like it? 

Next up: serious blog layout changes.  Stay tuned!

What have I been up to?

Not blogging that's fo' sho!  :)

Summer has been glorious, hot, fun and whirlwind-esque thus far!  I WISH there was a way to push the slow motion button on time to soak up these sunny carefree days.  

Here's a photo highlight reel of what I've been doing instead of blogging:

Celebrating my mom's RETIREMENT!  Woo-hoo!  Now if she'd only listen to reason and become my live-in nanny . . .

Swinging.

Praying with all my might that my children won't injure themselves while fishing.  Every time Chloe cast her line into the pond I cringed that the hook was going to snag her skin somehow. 

Gardening, weeding, watering, picking and canning. 

Experimenting in the kitchen making homemade wheat thins, mayo, and wheat tortillas.

Dressing myself and children up like cows to receive free food from Chick-Fil-A.  Moo!

 

Eating at good ole Milwaukee favorites like George Webb, Pizza Shuttle and Kopps.

Snapping self-taken pix with my super cute grandma poolside.

Getting good and sandy on the shores of Lake Michigan.  You're really not having fun until there is sand in your diaper (or underwear).

How's your summer been thus far?