Finally Friday

Which means is is finally fall break for us! The kids are now on fall break and do not have to return to school for 2 weeks! I am thrilled! We have some family time planned this weekend and lots of things to do while the boys are on break!

It is so east to get caught up in daily life and miss the fun moments with the kids. I am taking the next two weeks to enjoy life with them. You won’t see me on here much as I will be spending the days with them boys rather than the computer. I will be back soon and I am sure I will have tons of stories then!

Works for Me Wednesday

It finally happened. Last night I had a PTO meeting at Isaiah’s school. No biggie, except that hubby was out of town last night…well for the last couple days. And since I believe that whatever route you choose for shcooling, you should be involved, I was going to that meeting. Have you every tried to take a long, lingering shower with three little boys in the house. If you haven’t, would you trust me it near impossible? Even a quick shower might not fit into plans. So last night I had to get ready for a meeting and I needed to wash my hair. But with an hour to go and three children needing to eat, a shower was out of the plans. I had heard about a quick pick up for your hair if it was look a little greasy or flat. Add a little baby powder to it. So I took a little in the palm of my hand, rubbed it on my hands like lotion and ran my hands through my hair. You defintely want to rub it on your hands so that you don’t end up with a huge white spot in your hair. It worked! I of course came home to take that shower but at least for an hour no one noticed the need for my hair to be washed. Works for Me!

Check back next week as the Works for Me entry will be about asking for advice. I just have to narrow all my questions down to one now! See you then!

Who doesn’t love a little pink?

     I have said before that pink is a rarity in my house. Living with all boys I see mostly blue, black, brown and of course, camo! Trying to stay the woman in the house has recently put me on the hunt for pink items. I quickly will pass up a blue shirt now for a pink one. When I looked at buying a small charge vacuum, I thought about ordering it online – becuase there I could get a pink one! Pink some how evokes this woman inside.

Can you imagine my glee when I saw that 5 minutes for mom was having a drawing for a new Pink Dyson Vacuum. I must admit that I have wanted one of those Dyson vaccums for so long now. But seeing how I am a little daunted by housework, it seems silly to spend so much on a vacuum. Oh, but how a nice pink one would be! I just wonder if it will make we want to vacuum more?

Check out 5 Minutes for Mom for the contest. There are already tons of entries, but hey, someone has to win!

Cancer is Not a Cussword

     Today my mom turns 50. While that us a big accomplishment for many people, it is simply shocking that she reached this milestone. You see, we have been told twice by doctors that she would only have a slim chance of survival. She was diagnosed with Ovarian cancer in 1995. It was wide spread through her body. The doctors told us she had a 50/50 shot of overcoming this. She did overcome it through much pain and several chemo treatments. Everything went along merrily for some time. So merrily, that I sometimes forgot about those dark days. However, in the fall of 2005 and into 2006, it was apparent the cancer had returned. This time, the cancer would try to take everything from us. My mom underwent two surgeries this time instead of one. She was in the hospital more than she was home for a few months. She was sick…and I could do nothing. Add to the fact that I was an hour away, I was pregnant with my 2nd child. I still remember the my OB and I talking at length about scheduling him to come a little early so that my mom could visit him in the hospital before her next surgery. In the end, we decided not to induce and wait. When I went into labor, my mom was at a different hospital. On the day I was released, she was released as well. Because it was a sterile environment, she was able to come and hold my son, if only for a couple minutes. The next few months were scary because I had to face the unknown. I was humbled that my father would allow me to sit with him while he waited for the doctor and would allow me to listen and ask questions when needed. I was awed by my sister and her sense of peace the entire time. I was encouraged by my husband and friends when they would pray the prayers I just simply couldn’t. Then slowly, she started to come around. What day this change started I don’t know. It is evident to me that she has had cancer. I see the age in her eyes. I see how her body has been compromised. However, I still see her. I am amazed at God’s mercy and grace. Mom and I may still have rough patches and rub each other the wrong way sometimes but I am grateful she is in my life, in my boy’s life too.

In honor of her birthday, we threw her a surprise party. It was wonderful and she was completely shocked at it. I had the opportunity to make her cake. I made a red velvet cake with cream cheese icing – her favorite. I also topped it with sterling silver roses. Purple is her favorite color. And when she showed up would you believe she had on her purple cancer survivor shirt! Happy Birthday mom, the guys and I love you.

In case you are interested, here is the cake I made

Helping me to stay Frugal

To those who personally know me, it comes as no shock that my husband is much more frugal than I am. You see, Heath is very wise. He takes time to think about what it would like to purchase. He has never been and I am confident he will never be a spur of the moment kind of shopper. We have been married almost 7 years now and there are days when I still find it difficult o be frugal. However, there is nothing that makes my day more than to call my husband and tell him I just saved over 50% off our grocery bill!

Mommy Zabs is hosting a writing project about three things that make you a better….you fill in the blank. I thought long and hard about that blank. I would try to fill it in but that blank was….well, blank. I realize I am a mom, wife, friend and believer but I was trying to think outside that box a little. Then it hit me, I am also frugal. I have had the opportunity on several occasions to help some of my girlfriends out with a little financial advice. Which to this day makes me laugh. I mean come on! If you knew me before Heath you would never have asked for my advice. I couldn’t save a penny!

However, there are a few things that help me (and my hubby) to be frugal. The first would have to be an envelope system. We really like the one from Dave Ramsey but you could even use plain envelopes. You basically fund your envelope with money for the month for things like groceries, gifts, clothes, etc. When the money is gone you can’t buy any more. It was quite intimidating at first but now we have the hang of

We also do not have credit cards of any kind. I know that might seem strange to some of you but we don’t ever need them. We have debit cards for emergencies but we fund out envelopes with cash needed. We even put away money for our cars. When things like new tags or oil changes come up we already have money set aside. And since we are always putting money aside for our cars and not always needing tags and such, we have a little surplus available for things like new fuel pumps and brake pads!

Finally, and probably the most important thing we have is accountability. It is a little scary I must admit since I like to spend more than save. But Heath is great and saving and keeping things on track in our house. We work together on our budgets. We trust each other with certain things. I handle the grocery money and clothing money because I am most likely to buy those things. He trusts me on that. I trust him on putting aside tax and insurance money.

You see, I may not be the most frugal person. I am sure I give in to lots of whims. But at the end of the day (or sometimes the end of the month) it is my envelope system, not having credit cards and accountability with Heath that help me be more frugal.

Thankful Thursday: Friends

It is Thursday again and this week I decided to focus on some of my amazing friends!

Christy – This last week she went home (8 hours away from her house) to visit her family. Even though we live in separate states we will talk a couple times a week. She called me on Monday to chat. I was so blessed by that call. She took time from her family to talk to me for a little bit. It was a wonderful conversation….and of course, made me miss her much more!

Jen – I took Joel and Silas over for a play date to Jen’s yesterday. I simply love Jen – she is so funny, completely carefree and reminds me that drama in my life is a way to be normal! I often forget how to balance friendships but she never lets me feel bad for not getting together with her more often. I am thankful to have found another young mom in her.

Brandi – Brandi and her boys came over last night. Brandi’s husband is leading a guys small group that Heath is part of and we thought it would be fun for all the kids to play together a little bit tonight. Brandi has silently encouraged me to still be the woman in my house and shown me how to support Heath in his desires. Last night was no exception as I got really vulnerable with her about some things. She listened and encouraged me so much. I also have to mention how much she and her hubby really mean to me and Heath. They are wonderful friends that God placed in our lives when we weren’t looking for a friendship like it. I often can’t imagine what our life would look like with out them in it.

Karen – I love babies and Karen had her third little baby this week. He had a quick birth but you could just hear the joy and mother’s pride as I talked to Karen on the phone. I really love how Karen can see God’s hand in her life. She was already sharing about how much she appreciated a nurse that was in the room and how she was thankful that God had placed that nurse there at that time.

Hope you have friends in your life that make you thankful daily! For more Thankful Thursday posts, check out Sting My Heart’s site.

WFMW – Occasion Cards

Life at my house gets a little crazy at times.

(I will give those of you who know me a few minutes to stop laughing and regain your normal breathing pattern.)

One thing I struggle with is getting out cards for birthdays, an anniversary or some other big even in someone’s life. And it drives me crazy! Before kids, I would addresses cards for the entire month and have them ready to mail on specified days. Now, three children later, I am doing my best not to have to hand write the word ‘belated’ on them. I also like to make my own cards. However, I do not have the time to drag out all my card making supplies every time an occasion comes up.

Instead, I simply look at my calendar for the year in January. I count the number of occasions I know I will have to send a card for and then add to that number just to give me a little extra. I sit down for one evening or afternoon and make all the cards for the coming year. Then I put them in a little Rubbermaid container. They are divided by birthday, anniversary, baby, blank and thank you. The blanks can really be used for anything from a baby to a sympathy card. Works for me.

Thanks to Shannon over at Rocks In My Dryer for hosting Works For Me Wednesday this week. For more great ideas, be sure to check out her site!

Interviews & The Start of Something New

Thanks to Sarah over at Ordinary Days for the following interview questions. Do you want to me interviewed? Simple leave some way to contact you in the comments field and I will send you 5 questions. The only things I ask is that you link back here and that you offer to interview other people on your blog. So on with the interview:

1. Who has been the influential person in the past five years of your life? Well, isn’t this the safe answer – I would have to say that Heath really has been that person for me. When I married him (almost 7 years ago) I was a little girl in many ways and so naive to the world. He has caused me to grow in many ways. Through him I have found strength I never knew existed in me, trust I did not know could run so deep and a consistent challenge to be a better person. To top it off, he has made me much more aware of how my faith affects others and has allowed me to really dig into God at my own pace.

2. How much would I have to pay you to come clean my house from top to bottom today? No, but serious what is your least favorite part of cleaning the house? Obviously you have never seen my house! I really don’t like to clean – and Heath can confirm that.  I try my best but at the end of the day I still feel like I live in a toy store. With all the toys off their shelves and carefully covering every inch of the floor! Honestly, I hate the bathrooms. I really hate to clean the hall bath which is the boy’s bathroom too. Of course, it is the bathroom that always needs to be cleaned the most!

3. You get to go back in time (pre marriage and kids) and go on a date with a Hollywood hunk. Who is it, where do you go and would you do the deed? Hmm…this is tough. I guess mostly because it is hard to remember pre marriage and kids and who that guy might be! I would say Matt Damon simple because I love just about every movie he is in. I would think I would want to go to dinner and then to a pre release viewing of one of his movies. And no, there would be no deed done that night at all.

4. Did you have a ’secret place’ when you were little? Like a fort, treehouse, special place in the back of your closet? When I was younger there was a little fort in the woods near our house that we visited often – mostly without parental approval. As I got older it was my friend Christy’s room that felt more like my secret haven. Even as a teenage I had a secret place – my car. I would be in it often…more often than I think I was home. It was my escape in many ways. I was extremly busy my senior year of high school (classes from high school, a couple college classes, dance classes, working, etc) and it always felt like a relief to be alone in my car.

5. You win a storefront on Rodea Drive and one million dollars start up money. What kind of business would you own? I would open a boy’s clothing shop with a cake bakery inside. I dress my boys like…well…boys. Cargo jeans at age 6 months and all. I never understand the idea that little boys are to look like girls. Now, if you put your child in a satin trimmed peter pan collar that is your deal. I on the other hand think that if my husband isn’t going to wear it, my boys is not either. I would love to open a store that sold clothes for babies that we a little more rugged, tough…more boyish. I also love to decorate cakes. I would love to do it full time!

So that is the interview…thanks again to Sarah for the questions. If you want to know more – just ask. I just might include it in a future post!

And now on to something a little new:

I jumped into blogging headfirst. With no thought of how deep I would plunge into the cyber abyss. Today, I think I may still be plunging but I am enjoying every minute of it. Blogging is quickly becoming something I look forward to each day. Over the last couple weeks I have taken some time away from writing to focus on other things. And while those are things were enjoyable, I really missed writing…because I know you want to know what is trapped in this head of mine!

To further my quest in the blogging world, I decided to give Technorati a try. If you like this blog, please click on the link to the right to let the good people at Technorati know.

Works for Me: Keeping up with sizes

Really, is there anything more frustrating that making the trip to the store to kids socks or other essentials for the family only to come home and they not be the correct size?

I live in a house with three growing boys and one grown hubby. We go through socks, under shirts and underwear often. The problem is that I just have a hard time remembering all those sizes in my brain sometimes. After having to exchange these items so many times it hit me, I just need a list.

My WFMW idea is to place a small piece of paper or card stock (depending on the size of your family) in your laundry room (at least that is where mine is). Write each family members name as well as their sizes and the brand for said items…since we all know a size is not always the same in all brands. This helps me get the same items for by hubby but also allows me to see what to get my kids. If they have outgrown their t-shirts, then I buy the next size up. If they have just ripped holes in their socks, I get the original size.

It makes my trips to the store much more efficient…and when you are a mom of three boys efficiency is necessary.

Check our Shannon’s site for more WFMW tips.

Remembering 9/11

They say that there are times in your life when something happens, maybe wonderful or maybe tragic, that you will remember all your life. September 11, 2001 was one of those days for me. I don’t remember much about other dates in history but that September morning will be forever etched in my mind. I still remember so vividly my boss calling into the office and told us to turn on the TV. I remember thinking it was crazy because I had plenty of work to do without the TV on. As watched the events unfold on the television, I stood silent. I wavered between anger, fear, relief and confusion. Mostly, I stood in numbness. This would be the first national catastrophe I would experience as an adult. It was defining. I stood motionless for what seemed like hours. I remember that the office was eerily quiet. There were no phones ringing, the sounds of typing had vanished. It was as if time was standing still and yet moving all too fast at the same time. The next few hours were filled with tears as I wept for dads, moms, children and others that were giving their life. I wanted to be there. I wanted to make a difference. I did not have children at that time…in fact it was the month before we would find out we were pregnant. I believe God had placed in me a mother’s heart that day as I grieved for the mom’s who were losing their children…young and old.

The most defining moment for me came not that day, but a couple days later. Heath and I were scheduled to leave on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic at the end of September. We were put in  the position of deciding whether to fly out of the country or stay put. In those first few days after 9/11, there was so much hurt and fear in people. It was a gut wrenching choice for us to make. On one hand, we could stay here. We could keep our feet on US soil where it was familiar and felt safe, even if it was a scary time. Or we could venture to the unknown…to the heart of fear it self. We made the decision to go. We had already been to the Dominican Republic once and we knew God was calling us there again. This trip was originally supposed to happen in January 2001 but was pushed back to September. It was if God was placing the pieces together to allow us to turn completely to Him. All our family made it clear that they were worried or scared or just plain didn’t want us to go…at least not now.

We made the decision to go.  We knew God had planned this trip and it was clear in our hearts He wanted us there. The conversation with my grandmother is forever etched in my memory. She had told me she wanted me to stay here and that there were too many unknown risks. I thought for a moment and responded with this: ‘I suppose there are always risks, I am just more aware of them today. But if I know I am supposed to go, then I have to go. And if something were to happen to me, God knew already’. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to say. The words came out easy but in my heart, I believed it. I knew God knew my future. I knew he wanted me to board that plane. I knew.

Obviously, we returned safely and a couple weeks after we arrived home we had a huge surprise…we were pregnant. I again experienced fear of the unknown but I knew God had plans for me…and now our family. I still struggle with the knowledge that God’s hand is directing me and I strive to hear Him daily. It is in times of remembrance that I ponder how God has allowed me to live my experiences and continue to grow in Him…even being the imperfect person that I am.