Brownie Batter Beauty

Coffee addiction and its effect on your children.

Today at school, J's class came into my music class and I took one great big (much needed) gulp from my Monster Mug of coffee.
One of the students asked, "Is that coffee? My dad drinks coffee."
I said, "Yes, I gotta have my coffee."
Then J. stood up and said, "Yes, but coffee has caffiene and that has adverse side effects."
(Yes, verbatim.)
It tends to make me wonder what 'adverse side effects' he might be referring to...
Clearly, he's not familiar with the me sans caffiene.

Fickle layout girl.

I know that you are all sick of my switcheroo layouts.
Shan didn't like the last one.
Otherwise, I would not have had commitment issues.

Juevos Grandes.

The kids' bathroom toilet nearly just overflowed.
I stood there in horror, shouting at my comatose husband, "I need a plunger!!!"
I couldn't walk away from the toilet and take the chance that my very interested audience of 3 and 4-year olds would get too curious about the liquid pouring over the top of their commode.
So I stayed perched over the toilet and I kept saying, er shouting, "I need a plunger!!"

At that last moment when I could see the mixture of potty water and 'potty' bulging over the rim, but not yet spilling over the edge - I made a personal preference decision.

The choices: A.)let it spill over and clean all the flooring, rugs, hall carpeting, my kids again yada yada yada
OR B.) jam my arm all the way down in there and force the clog down in the style of a 'human plunger' while choking back my instinctive response to puke.

I chose B.
It worked.
I have detoxed my arm all the way to my elbow.

The end result? I am not currently bleaching the floors, baseboards, towels, rugs, or participating in any type of scrubbing. I did not have to re-bathe my kids. I will not have to steam clean my carpets. That, my friends, is called living without regret.

New capris.

I have been waiting until our tax return came in to buy a new pair of blue jean capris (That fit).
The return came today so off I went to Academy, the only place I like to buy full-price clothes.
I got home and tried them on - they actually looked great! Then I took the tags off and went outside to straighten my van up a bit because my parents needed to borrow it for the weekend.

In less than three minutes after I took the tags off, I had torn a hole in my new capris on the backseat of the van.
So disappointing.

Good thing my husband was so understanding about it. He said, "Well why'd you have to get all gussied up to clean out your van?"
Since when are jean capri pants classified as "gussied up?"
PUH-LEASE!

Chicken-counting.

Classic case of announcing news before you have verified it...
It is over!
You don't have to listen/read about any more certification tests.
I am done.
I took the information provided to me at the end of my test today regarding number of correct answers. Mathematically speaking, there is no other option. I passed.
You are cheering audibly right now - I know.
Me too.

The LOVE Doctor is in...

So during this month of Love, I have made some choices about how I am going to love.

• freely- without holding back
• passionately - without remembering a grudge
• tenderly- without a hint of being forced
• truly -exposing my underbelly
• deeply -as though my life depended on it

As freely as water pours over the edge of a cliff, I want love to flow forth from me.

Without even pausing for a moment to question the trade-off or the risk: I endeavor to love my husband, my children, my family, and my friends. Yes, even strangers. Harder still, to those who would gain from seeing me fall - my position will remain a loving one.

Beyond the obvious, I am going to work really hard at thinking loving thoughts when a horn honks next door at 2:30 in the am. When I get cut off in traffic - HA! traffic... When someone says something snide or catty, I want to resist the urge to jerk my knee. Turn the other cheek and plant a big fat smooch on theirs instead.

When I want nothing more than to have a moment to myself, but the world just keeps on turning - rather than 'frustrated' or 'overwhelmed', I want love to be my response.

It's all about love. And the LOVE Doctor is in...

Giant J.

He is now 4 years, 8 months.

He is big like a man. Too big to fit comfortably in my lap.

He scrunches up his body into a ball to sit in my lap.

His heart is pure gold. His mind is brilliant.

He's absolutely dreamy!

His language skills are probably better than mine.

He still says his Momma is his girlfriend.

Nothing makes him happier than a dirt pile, a bucket, and a stick.

He hates mashed potatoes and has yet to concede that bedtime is not negotiable.

If anyone ever figures everything out, it will be him.

He's reading small books with small words. He knows all the planets - in order.

He ran inside yesterday and said, "Mom, you have to see this! The bee is pollinating out here!!"

My sweet brilliant baby boy craves learning. I love that!

Little A.

She is now 3 years and 2 months old.

Her language skills are incredible. (She must get her chatterbox from her momma.)

What amazes me is her ability to portray empathy. She is soooo empathetic. And sweet. And lovey dovey.

She always asks me to lay down next to her when I tuck her in at night - then she stares at me with her big brown eyes. She's really the softest, most tender heart I know.

I love to watch her play Momma to her baby dolls. There may not be anything that makes her as excited as getting her fingernails 'done.'

Fashion is big for her at three years of age.

Her bubba is her best friend and she still uses her blankie (Ayee) every night and day. It is so tattered it probably needs to be thrown away, but I'll never do it!

She is my sweet princess.

When I imagine my doll, I see her stretching her arms into the air and saying, "Hold you..." in the prettiest-sounding voice ever.

My babies are gone.

My parents have my kids.
They took them so that I could study for tomorrow.
I am so lonely but I have managed to kick back 2 and a half good study hours since I got off work.
I am actually hoping for some quality time with my hunny tonight.
But only for a short while, then it's 'hit the books' again!

I miss my blogworld friends!

I did, however, commit to let blogging go until this hurdle was crested.

A lesson learned: Take exams pertaining to things learned in college right after college.