Sophie!

My niece, Sophie just took second place in the Kansas State History Day. She and her friend,(also Sophie) worked very long and hard on a project about Brown vs. Board of Education. They have now qualified to go to the national competition in Washington D.C. this summer! I am so proud of her and her accomplishment! She is such a beautiful young lady inside and out. Way to go Soph!!!! Love you!

USA!

Tomorrow afternoon, my best friend Tiffany's husband returns from Iraq after a year long stint. Thankfully, he and his enture unit returned to the states safely last week. They have been in Ft Hood debriefing and will be home to Indiana tomorrow! Tiffany has held down the fort with her four kids. She is an amazing woman, mother and friend. I am so, so happy for them. Thank you Tim, for all you've done for us!

Clean

It seems like so much of my life revolves around cleaning, straightening up and doing laundry. I am always excited(so sad to admit) to find something that makes doing those chores easier. My nemesis has always been my shower doors. No matter what I do, what product I use or how hard I scrub, they never seem clean. A good friend(and total clean queen) just told me to try the Mr Clean Magic Eraser on the entire shower. Doors, floor, everything! I'm headed up to try it now. I'll let you know how it works! My happiness is being defined by cleaning products! I really need to get out more!

What the?

Last night, as I crawled in to bed after being up with Avery, something strange started happening. The bed started shaking. Stew sat up. He felt it too. We were having an earthquake! Not enough to scare me but definitely a strange feeling. It lasted only about 30 seconds and then it was gone. I'm sure for people in California this is not a big deal. But here in the heart of the midwest this is NOT a normal occurrence. It measured about 5.4 and it's aftershocks hit here around 10:30. Other than that, a pretty normal Spring day in the midwest. Rain, rain and more rain.

A good sweat!

There really is nothing like hitting the gym and working up a good sweat. I had been a fairly dedicated gym goer until about my eight month of pregnancy with Avery. Once I hit that point, it just didn't feel good anymore. Obviously I took some time off when she was a newborn and have tried half heartedly to get back into a routine over the past year. I have finally managed to get my butt in gear and make it a priority. As a mom, I often find myself on empty when it comes time to do something for myself. I decided it's time I do this one thing for myself and it has made me feel so much better! I used to work on the treadmill or the elliptical and then do some free weights. This go around I have started taking some classes and have fallen in love with them! Tonight I did Turbo Kick and tomorrow I'm doing Total Body Conditioning. I love them because they are concise and to the point but not boring. The instructors work hard to change things up and use different equipment. I know exactly how long I will be there and don't have to worry if the equipment I want is available. My goal has been at least 3 classes a week. So far so good. Lets face it, I'll never be in a bikini again, not that I really care. All I want is to feel good physically and not embarrass myself or my kids at the pool this summer in my suit! :-)Hopefully I can accomplish both!

M&M's

In case you were ever wondering how to remove an M&M from your child's nasal cavity, here's how.
1. calm them down.
2. get some tissue.
3. wait a few minutes.
4. blow.
Apparently, the old adage, "melts in your mouth, not in your hand" holds true for your nose as well. Just ask Owen. :)
Never a dull moment around here that's for sure! Just for the record, it was orange.

I saw GOD today

After a very busy day of flag football games and practices, swim practice, playing on the trampoline, Chase's "official" friend birthday party and playing outside, the Parker kids were exhausted. They settled in the basement for some tv time. They asked if they could all sleep down there together. Initially, I almost said no but my fun side(which my children think doesn't exist) decided to say "YES!" They were so excited to have a slumber party together. Owen and Chase found their spots on either end of the sectional and Macie curled up on the smaller sleeper sofa. I thought for sure it would take awhile for them to settle but the days activities had caught up with them. They were all sound asleep by 9:45!!! Not like the slumber parties I remember!

They awoke this morning, actually slept in a bit for them. We had breakfast, showered and I took them to church. Stew hasn't been feeling well so he stayed home with Avery. After church, I rewarded them with McDonald's. It's rare that I can get through church having heard the entire sermon so I felt they deserved a treat! We brought it home, had some lunch and headed out back. We have had two days of glorious Spring weather! Sun shining, blue sky and good moods! They started a sticker club. They collected all the stickers they could find and put them together in binders. They played on the swings and in the tree house. They jumped on the trampoline and no fights broke out. They actually seemed to be enjoying each other! They shot hoops for awhile, colored with chalk, brought out Chase's new marker set and played in the woods and the sandbox. There were plenty of opportunities for them to fight, argue, bicker and pick. For whatever reason, the stars were aligned and our fung shui was in order. We had a great day just spending time together. It's so marvelous when you can just be together and really enjoy it. I love being with my family but it is not always so joyful. I seem to spend much of my time breaking up fights and mending hurt feelings or scraped knees. It was so wonderful to just listen to them laughing and playing.

The sermon today was about God always being right in front of you. You don't always notice him but he's there. We seem to only look to him when we are struggling or question his presence when we are down. Today was a good reminder that he is there if you take the time to look. I could see him in the smiles, hear him in the laughter and feel him all around us. I just hadn't taken the time to notice.

Insightful

Oh the mind of a 9 year old. Her wheels are always turning and to this day she still has a million questions. I'm glad she still comes to me with them. In the car tonight she asked, "why are dad's so protective of their daughters?" I responded with, "it's just a very special bond between a daughter and her dad, he wants to protect her from anything he can." That seemed to settle her mind for a minute until "isn't strange that girls take pride in being daddy's girl but boy's are ridiculed for being a mama's boy?" I answered in agreement. What a strange place we find ourselves in raising girls. We want them to be respectful and respectable yet they are sent so many mixed messages and double standards, it's a miracle they ever figure it all out.
I am thankful for how I was raised. I was never expected to be anyone but myself. I hope we are giving Macie the same freedom. She seems to be comfortable in her own skin. She's a girl who loves sports(even plays flag football), dances and sings and loves to get a mani/pedi with me. She devours books and loves to learn but is the first to ask for the funnies from the Sunday morning paper. She is very social but can often be found alone reading a book in the tree in our front yard. It can be such a daunting task, helping your child navigate the world. It's a fine line between steering them where you think they should go and letting them take the reigns to where they want to be and who they will become. I hope at the very least, we are giving her the foundation she needs to make choices that are right for her.