That's What I Get

Today I thought I'd do a good thing and clean the vacuum filter.  It's a messy job no matter how careful I try to be, but it needs to be done every so often or the vacuum doesn't work as well.  So what do I get for my good deed?  The dust made me sneeze, no lie, about 50 times.  One of the sneezes made me choke on my gum.  When I forcefully coughed to expel the gum from my windpipe, it shot out of my mouth and got stuck in my hair.  Awesome.

At least the vacuum has a clean filter, though!

"What Makes You Beautiful"

Right before we left for Leavenworth Mike and I were busy gathering up the last of the stuff and leaving directions for Zach.  ("Don't forget to get the mail and lock the doors and feed the animals and...")  For awhile Drew and Baylee were left hanging around, ready to go.  Baylee asked Drew if, while they were waiting, he would quickly figure out the chords to a song by One Direction, so that he could play while she sings.  He reluctantly agreed to do that, even though he's not a fan of the group and often makes fun of it.  They messed around with it for awhile while they waited for us, and then they did it one more time for me, because I wanted to video.

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Sometimes Being a Mom is Like This...

"Mom, I put hydrocortisone cream on my toothbrush instead of toothpaste."

"What?  Why did you do that?"

"It was an accident.  I wasn't paying attention."

"Did you spit it out?"

"Yeah, as soon as I realized it tasted funny."

"Okay.  Did you finish the job with real toothpaste?"

"No, I'm good for tonight."

Friends

We spent the last couple days up in the mountains with our friends Todd and Kellie and their family and had a great time.  It's VERY snowy and beautiful there, so we did lots of winter-y things.  I'm so glad we got a chance to do it, because (besides spending time with people we love) that may very well be all the snow we experience for the rest of the season.  I took lots of pics, but fair warning:  They're almost all taken with my phone, which means the quality isn't the best.  It's just way more convenient to use the phone, though, when we're doing outdoorsy, active things.

PS:  Zach wasn't with us for this trip, so he's not in any of the pics.  Also, their oldest, Bonnie, wasn't there.

On the trip over, looking out the car windows.

Night sledding in town.

 

Sledding on bigger hills the next day.  It was so much fun, but Baylee did flip out of the sled at one point and bang her face on some icy snow.  She got a massive bloody nose and some road rash.

Todd and Kellie.

Drew.

Drew, Brian, and Bryce.  They were laughing over something Drew made in Garage Band.  It's "Heart and Soul," all done in farting noises.

6 Weeks Update

Almost 3 weeks ago I came up with a 6 week challenge for myself.  Here's how it's going at about the halfway mark.

The bad news:

• One of my rules was that I had to follow Weight Watchers religiously.  I didn't.  I waffled in the first couple weeks between WW, intuitive eating, and doing nothing. 
• The other rule was that I couldn't weigh myself until the 6 weeks were up.  I realized at the 2 weeks mark the problem with that:  It's too far off.  I need weekly reality checks.

The good news:

• I lost about 5 pounds in that first couple weeks, despite being wishy-washy.  My next weigh-in (for week 3) is on Saturday and I'm pretty positive I'll show a loss, even though this was a massive holiday week, because...
• I've really gotten on the ball lately.  I finally switched into that "Okay, I'm doing this" mindset.
• I started exercising a few days ago.  Out of the last 5 days, I've worked out on 4 of them.  I took Christmas day off.  I even bought a new video for myself (Biggest Loser Bootcamp), just to mix it up a little.  I'm kind of excited that if I keep this up, I'll start biking in the spring stronger than I usually am. 

So...shaky beginning, but rolling now.

DDP 25: Christmas Morning, 2012

That was fun!  Now we're going to hang out, eat Christmas dinner, and go see The Hobbit.  Merry Christmas!

DDP 24: Christmas Eve

Helping Mom Out

Everything is ready for tomorrow.  The house is clean, the food is prepped, Patty is here, and the gifts are wrapped and under the tree.  Well, most of the gifts.  Drew's main gift...the only thing he asked for...is on the UPS truck somewhere in Seattle.  Will it get here tonight?  There's only an hour and forty-five minutes left before they stop delivering for the day.

DPP 23: Christmas on the Peninsula

DPP 22: Organized

I'm not sure why, but today was the day I finally organized my recipes.

And when I say "finally" I really mean it.  When Baylee was a baby she got into the cupboard where I kept this and emptied it all over the floor.  I was a busy mom with a 1, 4, and 7 year old, and I wasn't about to do more than stuff it all back in willy-nilly.  That was 10 years ago.  That means that for 10 years I've had to rifle through the entire box in order to find anything.  LOL  Anyway, it's all fixed now.  I even got rid of about half the recipes in it...stuff I know I'll never make.

And a quick, fun Bible verse...

 

DPP 21: Take 1, 2, and 3

Almost Christmas Break -- Part 2

Well, lunch break is over and the school day has resumed.  I'll just say this:  If I was one of those people with a veiny forehead, my veiny forehead would be throbbing right now.

Conversation during math:

Me:  And another thing:  You always want to have the last word.  That's not respectful.
Teenager:  Well, I'm sorry if I thought you were engaging me in conversation.
Me:  See, there's where you're wrong.  I'm not engaging you in conversation.  I'm telling you what to do.

Was I like that as a teen?  Did I think I knew everything?  Argh.  Christmas break can't get here fast enough.

Almost Christmas Break!

Yesterday at dinner we were talking about how today is supposed to be the end of the world.  Zach mentioned something he heard from Kian, who heard it from his Dad, who heard it from his friend, who works at an observatory in Hawaii.  He said that a bunch of light years away a massive planet blew up, and now some of its pieces are hurtling toward earth.  In about 200 years they'll hit us and wipe us out.  That led to some eye rolling and general talk about the universe.  Drew had this to offer, which pretty much ended the discussion:

"Hey, you know what?  If you fart in space, it'll stink in that spot forever."  Then he laughed for a solid five minutes.  We're very intellectual.

It's our lunch break right now, but in just a few more hours it'll be Christmas break!  Woo hoo!  I can't wait to sleep in.  We've got some plans for the break, too.  Besides family Christmas stuff, we'll be spending a few days in Leavenworth with Todd and Kellie and their family.  That's always a lot of fun.

DPP 20: Cute Little Snowman

Yesterday Baylee went outside in the pouring rain and freezing cold, and made this little snowman with the 2 centimeters of snow that fell.

Wednesday

DPP 19:  Snow Day!

Only not really, because we didn't take the day off.  Boo.  We have to get to a certain point in school before we can take Christmas break, so today is filled with lots of work.

Drew went for his evaluation at the School of Rock yesterday and he got into the performance program!  It wasn't a given.  Sometimes when a student starts they get put into something called Rock 101, where they stay until they're deemed ready to perform.  Now that that's over Drew will begin lessons with an assigned private teacher, and he gets to choose what show he'd like to be a part of for the upcoming term:  The Who, '80s A to Z, White Stripes vs. Black Keys, Fugazi,  Pearl Jam, Zappa, or Beck.  He'll be placed in a show based on both his preference and the music director's assessment of his ability.  (For instance, he won't get into Zappa.  That's a very advanced show.)  Once rehearsals start,  everyone in a show is given 2 songs that they're a part of.  Over time they're given more songs based on how much they practice, how prepared they are in rehearsal, and their attitude.  Anyway, it's all a lot to take in.  In fact, they gave Drew an entire handbook of rules and expectations.  I think this is going to be an excellent experience.

Pet Peeve:

People post memes like this on Facebook all the time, and it's just not true.  Newsflash:  You can do the laundry AND have happy kids!  You can mop the floor AND be a good mom!  In fact, it's hard to have a peaceful family in the midst of a chaotic environment. 
 

DPP 18: Punk Edition

And I say "punk" with love, 'cause I really love this kid.  Drew is starting at the School of Rock today.  We're pretty excited for him.  He goes in this afternoon for an evaluation, where I think they're going to decide if he's ready to be in their performance program, and, if so, which band he fits into best, ability-wise.

(these were taken at youth group the other night by John, one of the leaders)

Monday

It was a busy weekend of Christmas shopping, going to a Christmas party, and generally running here and there.  Since I'm an all-or-nothing house cleaner, and since I didn't have much time, the place is trashed.

Yesterday I was walking through the house, minding my own business, when I caught the side of my jeans on a piece of the door that sticks out.  It ripped a gaping hole in my pants.  Mike was like, "You can sew it."  Umm...has he met me???

This morning Zach went to the home of some friends of ours to house-sit for them, just for the day.  He'll be home again after 7pm.  I sent him with schoolwork, but it's still going to put a kink in his last week before Christmas break.  He'll have to do schoolwork in the evenings for a couple days to make up for it.

--------------------------------

I wrote the above this morning, but ran out of time.  Now it's almost 6pm.  The house is clean, school is finished, supper was had, homework is being worked on.

I need to run to the store to buy ingredients to make lasagna (Pioneer Woman's!) for my friend Beth.  She broke her foot falling down some stairs, and the church is bringing her meals.  So I'll conclude with today's DPP.

DPP 17:  Earthworm Dissection Day

It comes in a fluid-filled jar to keep it moist and supple.  Yeah, I just said "moist and supple" and I was talking about a worm.  That's going to haunt all of us forever.  You're welcome.

Best Of: Call Me Ishmael

This is a post I wrote a few years back...

Tonight we all went to a restaurant here in Seattle called Casper's.  Drew requested it because it's the place to go to get fun, weird Southern food. They have ribs, red beans and rice, fried catfish, sweet tea in Mason jars, alligator, sweet potato fries, and frog legs, among lots of other things.  Last time Drew got the frog legs and told us they tasted like a cross between fish and chicken, and this time he was hoping to try another strange dish.  After studying the menu awhile he made his decision.  "I want to try the fried whale."
 
"What?"

"The fried whale.  Look here!  It says fried orca."  He scooted his menu toward me, pointing.

Oh dear.  "Umm...that says 'fried okra', buddy."

After we laughed our heads off Drew admitted his thought process in making that meal choice.  He said since whales are on the endangered species list, he was hoping to get a taste "while they still last." 

DPP 16: Is it weird that we have an ornament for the cat?

Saturday

DPP 15:  Level 5!

Good News:  Baylee passed to level 5 (of 8) in swimming!  Bad News:  Her new friend Gianna didn't.  They're both bummed about that.  I'm not totally sure, but I think level 5 is when they start working in the deep end of the pool.  I do know that her teacher in level 4 really worked the kids hard.  She was out there with a waterproof clipboard, making the kids swim up and down the pool doing the different strokes, calling out corrections and/or stopping the swimmers to fix things.  She was serious about them really knowing what they needed to know.  Only 2 kids passed.

I had an awkward moment today when Baylee and I stopped at Starbucks to get her celebratory treat.  We got in there and the place was packed.  It was just wall-to-wall people.  I happened to spot a man from our church sitting off in the corner, though, and I smiled at him and waved.  Then I realized he was sitting with another man from church, the one whose son died a few weeks ago.  I smiled at him, too.  I had a long time to wait in line...long enough to have an internal conversation with myself over whether or not I should make my way through a million people, interrupt the conversation of those two men, and say something to Chuck.  And then if I did, what would or could I even say?  In the end, though, after we had our coffees and we were ready to go, I made my way over there.  "Chuck," I said, "I don't know if you know me.  My name is Sue.  You were my son Drew's basketball coach a couple years ago."

Chuck stood up.  "Yes, I know you.  Hi, Sue."

"Hi.  Hey, I just want to let you know that I'm so sorry."  And then I started to cry.  Quiet tears just coming down my face.  "That's really all I have to say."

We gave each other a hug, he smiled and thanked me, and I said goodbye to them both and left.  Sigh.  I'm embarrassed a little bit that I cried and went over there with nothing really, as far as words.  That was probably weird.

 

DPP 14: Moment of Sunshine

Misc. Thoughts

During supper tonight we were teasing Baylee about how she has a bad habit of doing play-by-plays of things she finds humorous.  Zach said, "Yeah, sometimes I'll say something funny, and she'll turn around and repeat it to someone, even if they were standing right there and heard it for themselves."

Without missing a beat Baylee piped up with, "Did you all hear what he just said?!"

We all laughed.  I laugh-cried.  Maybe you had to be there.

One school week + one school day until Christmas break.

I'm still sneezy and drippy and hacky.  Today I spent my lunch break zonked out on the couch.  I'll be VERY happy when this cold is over.

Today I was thinking about that moment/those moments in our lives when someone does us a huge favor and lets us know that the world doesn't revolve around us.  It's painful at the time, but later we can see how valuable that info really is.  Do you remember when it happened to you?

I can think of one time in particular that it happened to me.  I was in college and my mom had given me a beautifully put together parcel of clothing.  Actually, to be specific, it was underwear and socks wrapped in tissue paper and put in a flat, white box.  It was obvious she put effort into making it look pretty, not to mention that nice underwear can be expensive.  I was maybe 18 or 19, though, and I guess I didn't think it through.  I figured, "Oh.  Okay.  Clothes."  I didn't even thank my mom or give it a second thought.  The next time I saw her she took me aside, told me to sit down, and she let me know that I'd upset her with my lack of gratitude and my selfishness.  She told me it was time to grow up and realize that the world doesn't owe me underwear or anything else.  I remember feeling ashamed of myself and apologizing, and of course she accepted.  She probably doesn't even remember it anymore, but I do.  It stuck with me.

DPP 13:  Friends on a Rainy Day

Zombie Mouth Breather

I'm tired and my entire head is stuffed.  Therefore, this is all you get.

DPP 12:  My New Favorite Thing

Mike bought this for me recently.  It works so well it's scary.  See, I'm sort of an obsessive vacuumer.  I vacuum ALL THE TIME.  So to have this new vacuum cleaner with the clear canister, making it possible to see how much dust and hair it's actually picking up (a ton), is unnerving.  Was our other vacuum that bad or is this one extra amazing?  Do we just shed a lot or is the new vacuum cleaner slowly deconstructing the very fibers of the carpet itself?

Snot Haze

DPP 11:  Decoration from Childhood

My mom made that stocking for me when I was only two years old.  When Mike and I got married she made one for him, too.  Then when each of the kids came along, they got one.  Mine's the only one with Santa on it, though.

I've got the cold from hell, which is making me not want to spend much time on this post.  I could tell you about the neat writing assignment Zach had in English today.  He had a choice.  He could:

1. Rewrite a poem called "Stanzas on Freedom" (written by James Russell Lowell during the Expansion period of American history.) in prose.
2. Write an essay on abortion using the same reasoning found in "Stanzas on Freedom" and Scripture.
3. Write a poem about abortion, using Biblical principles, logic, and reasoning.

I think I would've chosen the 3rd one, but he chose the 1st.  He did a good job, too.

There.  I guess I did tell you about that.  That's all I've got, though.  Oh!  Except I heard from a really good, old friend out of the blue today.  That was fun.

Okay, now I'm tapped.

DPP 10: A Walk with my Little Buddy

Today during our lunch break Baylee and I went for a walk in the neighborhood.  It was nice to get some fresh air and exercise, and to chat mostly listen.  =)

DPP 9: Sick

I've got a cold.  Blah.  (On the bright side, it's making the first couple days of my 6-week challenge pretty easy!)  Cassy, the mom I made friends with at Baylee's swimming lessons, claims she gave it to me, but actually I think I got it from Mike.

6 Weeks

I've had a 6-week time frame on my mind for awhile now, because of a couple blogs I follow.  The writer of one of the blogs decided to do the Paleo diet for 6 weeks (or maybe it was 4) and the writer of the other blog (my friend, Kellie) decided to do a diet where, as far as I can tell, she weighed and measured what she ate, and cut out all white flour, sugar, white rice and potatoes (I think).  She faithfully blogged about her 1st 6 weeks.  Anyway, I followed their progress with interest over the month and a half.  The first woman lost 10 pounds and Kellie lost 14.  They also went down a few sizes.  It was neat to see how they struggled, but persevered, and how they gained confidence and felt great about their success.

All that to say:  It inspired me.  I know I've said it all before...blah blah...and I could fail.  I've failed lots of times.  Shrug.  I'm still going to try my own 6-week challenge using Weight Watchers Online.  Today is actually day 2.  Here are my own made-up rules for the challenge:

• I follow the diet religiously, just like both the other women did.  They were awesome.  Kellie even stayed on plan through Halloween and Thanksgiving.
• I weigh myself at the beginning, which I did yesterday, and then I don't weigh myself again until the end.  There's no reason for this, except I think it might be fun to see the result all at once.  It'll be sort of like waiting to find out if you're having a boy or girl until the baby is born.

Like I said, I might fail.  I feel like I need to give that disclaimer, because...well...if you've read here for awhile you know me.  You know I can be really dang flaky.  But if I succeed maybe I'll start the ball rolling, and if I keep on succeeding, then I'll set myself up to have a lot of fun this spring and summer on my bike and swimming and wearing clothes and just living.

So.  Here I go.  

DPP 8: The Men of the Family

Mike decided to take the dog for a walk, and the boys decided to go with him.  Drew decided not to cooperate with my attempt at DPP 8.

DPP 7: Tic-Tac-Pho

Memory

Mike's not sleeping quite yet, which is why I have access to the computer.  He doesn't want to be completely nocturnal over the weekends, so he came home from work this morning, and instead of going right to bed, he went out to run some errands.  Later he'll take a nap, then the plan is to go out for pho as a family.  Yay pho! 

I'm not complaining, because this new job of Mike's is the most amazing dream job ever, but, holy cow, I feel pretty out of it.  You might be thinking, "Her schedule hasn't changed.  What's the big deal?"  I know, right?  I mean, I'm not the one working 3rd shift.  And yet I'm really dragging.  It's an adjustment for all of us.  We'll get there.

Today on Facebook somebody posted this meme:

It reminded me of something that happened to me when I was in high school.  I was whispering to a friend in physics class and the teacher saw me.  He stopped everything and asked me to repeat what I was saying for all to hear.  You'd think it would be something interesting or scandalous, but nope.  I happened to be whispering the dumbest thing in the history of the world.  It was, "Have you ever tried chicken divan?"  Haha!  What kind of a dork was I?  I still remember what happened after that.  He was quiet for a minute, then he said, "Okay, now we're even."

You see, a couple weeks before that everyone in class had been quietly working on physics problems and I was reading a book.  The teacher walked over without me noticing and slammed his hand down on my desk,  causing me to jump and drop the book...and bang my knee pretty hard, come to think of it.  I was like, "What?  I'm sorry!  What did I do???"

"Why aren't you working the problems on circles?!"

"I did those already!  I'm ahead."

"Oh.  Okay.  Sorry about that.  Carry on."

LOL  In spite of what it sounds like, he was my favorite teacher that year.  He was a lot of fun when he wasn't giving me a heart attack.

Yesterday Drew did this:

DPP 6: Brother and Sister

It's weird and funny, but they've done this since they were little. They lie under the Christmas tree and talk. Here they're laughing about something together.

DPP 5: Presents from Michigan!

A Bit Tired on Tuesday

DPP 4:  school mascot/foot warmer.

Day 2 of The New Schedule is almost over.  I have to admit that, at least so far, our lives are even more organized than they were before.  Everything kind of runs like clockwork right now.  And because we (I!) have no access to fun stuff like Facebook (well, except through my phone and iPad, which aren't as good, because the keyboards are next to worthless) until the afternoon, since the computer is in the room where Mike is sleeping, I'm way more organized.  I've got more time on my hands!  Supper is planned and started, the house is clean, and school is finished by 3:30.  Bam. 

Mike's doing well!  I don't know if I mentioned this yet, but he really loves his new job.  Really, really.

Baylee slept with her hair in a bun last night and was happily surprised to wake up with the most beautiful curls.

Nocturnal

Today...or should I say last night...was Mike's first day of working 3rd shift.  I think my system is in shock.  lol  I'm sure his is.  It was weird.  Weirdly, it was weirder having him here during the day (sleeping), than it was having him gone last night.  I thought sleeping alone would be the hard part, and maybe it will be in the long run, but right now what really struck me as difficult was keeping everyone quiet and out of our bedroom all day.  It's unfortunate that the computer is in there, because that really threw a wrench in the works.  Each of the kids has to use that computer at different points during the school day.  We're going to have to move it.

Anyway.  Mike says he slept well, so now we've got the evening together as a family.

DPP 3:  World History is more fun with a friend.

 

Sunday Thoughts

I said I'd continue to post regularly, through and around this new little picture project, so this is me doing that.  I've got two completely unrelated things on my mind this afternoon.

I've never admitted this aloud to anyone, but I'll say it now for the first time:  I hate my blog's name.  I didn't start out hating it.  I mean, I was never thrilled with it, but the hate came over time.  Actually the blog started with a different, much better title, but it involved our last name.  That's not really very wise for safety reasons.   So, giving it about .2 seconds worth of thought, I changed it to "Our Little Corner."  Sigh.  How boring.  It especially rankles when I come across a blog with a really cool name, and I think, "Why didn't I think of that?!"

I'm in a book club, and the chapter we're reading right now is on how the wife/mother in the home is largely responsible for creating an atmosphere of grace.  So often the people around us don't deserve it...they can be [fill in the blank...loud, messy, disrespectful, thoughtless...whatever], but we can love them anyway without yelling and anger and drama, because Christ loves us and forgives us of all our sins.  That doesn't mean we allow ourselves to be walked all over.  We still parent.  But through parenting (or being a wife) we actively cultivate peace.  I love that.

December Photo Project ~ 2012

I'm trying something fun this year called the December Photo Project.  All I have to do is post one photo a day for the first 25 days of December.  (I'll blog normally, too, during that time.  This is just something extra.)  If you want to join or if you're interested in seeing the pictures of others, click on the DPP badge in the sidebar.

DPP 1:  Gingerbread fun.  Drew, Baylee, and Rachel spent quite awhile yesterday afternoon decorating this.

DPP  2:  Handmade (by my mom) ornaments are the best.