Simple Pleasures

I love walking with Alex from the bus stop. We take it nice and easy, maybe a ten minute walk. He immediatly asks what I did that day. Most days, I'll admit, I'm annoyed mostly because the lists consists of Ryan watching TV and me reading. What's to brag about that! But my reward is hearing about kindergarten and his joys. I am glad I can remember being 5 and how important my world was to me. I'm glad that I take the time to empathize and listen and even play with him. My own mother was so busy taking care of our lives when I was that age that she had so little time for one on one with me. I am blessed to have a husband who can support us and gives me the freedom to stroll as long as I want with my little boy and listen about Aiden the caterpillar or how funny the number seventeen with the fuzzy hair was in the smart board video that day. I love my Alexander. He is the best!

At 6:27 in the early morning darkness I could hear the pitter patter of tiny feet coming down the hall. When the steps reached my room I could hear the little hiccups that were coming from my visitor. He must have just been checking to see if we were up yet. He left the room hiccuping down the hallway back to his room. So cute!

Mitford. I 'went' to Mitford yesterday for Christmas. I love Father Tim and I like to check on him from time to time. Also, what solace to the soul Jan Karon's characters are. They are fresh and real to me. Also, there was new love in 'Abiding Shepherds' (the 8th in the Mitford series) which made me realize that that is what I have. I pure Christ centered love affair (unlike that 'other' series of books I also enjoy but must keep at bay). I am so glad that I have this kind of pure love instead of the wild hormone driven other kind. (I'm not against hormones but I think the Lord would want us to be virtuous rather than ravenous if you know what I mean. Also, it is so draining to let your hormones to be in control all of the time!)

Ryan playing with matches. I caught him trying to strike the matches on a piece of paper. Luckily he had never seen us actually light one or we would have been in trouble.
This may be normal for your kids, but mine are very clean eaters usually and it was a joy to see him be such a mess and EATING!

Twilight the Movie

Because my opinion matters...

Do not spend $10 to watch this movie. Do spend $12 and go buy the soundtrack. Do spend a $1 at the red box just so you know what you missed.
Rob Pattinson was gorgeous in a few scenes. However, the makeup and contacts weren't all that great for him. I do hope that Mr. Pattinson gets a chance to fill another role as a Brit. He is talented and I think part of his poor acting came from having to practice every line to get his accent out. He wasn't 'free' to fill in the role I don't think.
I went in hoping for Harry Potter quality but instead witnessed an after school special.
It did not help that girls would SCREAM every time 'Edward' came on scene.
Bella was not dazzled, befuddled or stunned by Edward. Obviously it is hard to make a person blush, but this Bella was a little too tough for me.
The good news: the books will not be tainted by watching the movie. None of the actors (except for Chief Swan) will even stay in my mind while reading through them again.
Mostly I feel cheated. I was hoping for a quick movie to get a fix for my addiction, but alas, I'll just have to delve into the Saga every few months instead.

Old Lady

I'm in denial. Our toaster oven is at least 5 years if not 7 years old. I have been anxious to get a bigger and better one. So when ours finally started to show its age I was excited! Then Tuesday morning I went to toast and only one heating element worked. Half a toasted piece of bread is not yummy. Hooray! We have to have a toaster so today is the day.
I looked at the LnT closeout sale. I went to Target. I gave up and went to Wal-Mart. I had decided I didn't want a monster oven that wouldn't toast well. I really just wanted one like mine. But they don't make them the same these days. The features I want: exterior cool touch (I have kids that I don't want to get burned) and toasting button (I don't want to have to guess how long to set the timer every time I want toast). I just bought the cheapest one and brought it home. I took it out; set in on the counter; read the instructions; used it for breakfast the next day.
An hour after breakfast I unplugged it and put the old one back. I'd prefer my 'antique' than that new safety hazard (I think the exterior must have been 200 deg!). Dan came home and asked what had happened. I gave him the run down. He said 'You are being just like Grandma. You are an old lady. You are afraid of change.' We have other things that have passed their prime and I wonder if I'll be able to cope when the time comes to replace it. I survived the new vacuum (barely) so maybe if I just hunt long enough I'll be able to find an oven I love. Any suggestions?

Woooooo- Pig Sooie!

We are going home. We are heading in a car for a 1243.31 mile trip (18 hours according to mapquest) back to northwest Arkansas for Christmas. It has been over a year since I've been home and I'm ready to be back. It stinks that we'll be back for winter instead of fall or spring. It isn't too cold there usually, but it can get cold and icy. My desert rats will be freezing!
I want to take Alex up to the UoA. The University of Arkansas has an old tradition of engraving all the graudates names on the sidewalk. I want to show him my name. He asks a lot about what I did when I was young. I didn't live in AR until I was 11, so I won't be taking him back to my early childhood, but I can show him the places that made me, me!
It will be good for the boys to meet my family (since I'm sure they don't remember them too much) and to see how many people love them.
Of course the highlight will be sharing Christmas morning with my grandmother. She was like another mother to Alex from birth until we moved away. I also want her to experience life with Ryan. He is such a character! Grandma hasn't been feeling well and I'm glad to get to be with her for a long vacation to perk her up.
Flashback: In college I would sometimes go and stay with Grandma for the holidays. My sophomore year we were sitting in her living room a day or two after Christmas. Grandma says, 'The ocean is calling me.' So we packed our bags and went across the BIG state of Texas and went to Corpus Christi (Padre Island) for New Years. We stopped at the Alamo and the Austin capitol building. On New Years Day Arkansas was playing in a bowl game in Florida. We 'called the hogs' from across the gulf of Mexico. I'm glad to have such great memories with my Grandmother. She has been good to me and the boys (Dan included).
For my friends in NWA, I won't make any promises since I usually don't keep them, but I hope to be able to see you and see how life has treated you since I was away. Oh, and if any of you have extra UofA basketball tickets for the Oklahoma game, we'd be glad to use them!

Field Trip

I went on the kindergarten field trip today.

I was responsible for Alex and Alex. There were a lot of parents there, so it wasn't too hectic.

We got to pick vegetables. I think Alex will only eat the carrots. But maybe he'll try his first radish tonight.

The Alex-es. I wasn't planning on having an Alex Bee when he was my baby, but that is who he is now. He doesn't mind, so I guess I shouldn't.

They rode on this little 'train', pet a few ponies, tried a rope climb, went through a corn maze and played at the park. I great day to be 5!

Epicenter

We have had bads news coming in on many fronts this last week. It is hard to brag about the boys or complain about them either when I am just so THANKFUL we are all safe. To our friends and family struggling right now, we are praying for you and thinking of ways we can lighten your loads.

Dan and Ryan both had bronchitis last week, but are both doing better. Ryan has coughing fits when he runs too hard. He has returned to sleeping through the night instead of waking up coughing (and if you know Ryan that means vomiting). Alex may have had a cold also, but I think his coughing was mostly for sympathy.

Alex asked to call a friend this morning to make sure they wore the same color shirt to school. Who said uniforms are cut and dry? There are still decisions that have to be made every morning.

Tomorrow I get to go on a field trip to a farm with the kindergarteners. That will be lively!

Going Cold Turkey

I do this every time. I read the Twilight Saga and then it takes me a few days to get over it. It is very hard to read anything serious. It is very hard to forget about the story line. I mope. I don't get much accomplished because I'm trying to convince myself that I don't need to read anymore. Is this rational? Probably not. But it is a sign of addiction. I love the high of being recklessly in love. I do much better if I go 'Cold Turkey' and just jump into a new project and then get too busy to think about it. All I can say, is that I'm glad I don't live on the high of new love every day of the year. It is tiring! I am glad to have a happy and satisfying love, not one that puts my life in danger with every kiss. I am glad to be in control of my thoughts when my hubby breathes on me. (That will sound very weird to those of you who haven't read the books, but this girl falls in love with a vampire and his presence is all consuming to the girl, especially his sweet breath. These vampires are beautiful and alluring so that it is easier to get their prey.) Anyway, I am a recovering addict these days. I have 4 books sitting on my shelf waiting for me so I better snap out of this. I think I'll go get the movie 'Becoming Jane' and then work my way up to some more serious thought processes.
That is until the movie comes out. Come watch it with us at the AMC Westgate, Fri Nov 21st at 6pm. You can buy tickets now online.
As a side note. Dan did not know what 'going cold turkey' meant when we met at the age of 24. My grandmother had to teach Dan a lot of things that first year we were married. Like, what 'living in the sticks' meant. Or, 'go till the blacktop ends'. And my favorite, 'Do what?' which does not mean 'what should I do?'. Rather it means, 'Will you repeat that?' In fact, I use it quite often and I hope that I'm not confusing anybody by it.

Good Times

Thanks to all who helped make our Halloween fun. Especially to Dan for putting up with my craziness, to the kids for wearing our costumes, and to our friends for indulging me.We had a great time at the Ward Trunk-or-Treat.

And we had an even greater time at our party.

I think next year we'll just choose from our closet full of costumes instead of coming up with something new. Although I just saw a house in Utah that did their own Hogwarts. Man, that would be cool...