Hey, Hey Hubby's on Vacay!

Can you tell that I'm a bit excited?

Tomorrow marks the beginning of 9 days of vacation for Husband and I could not be more happy.

Yes...Nine.Whole.Days.

We are headed to Texas tonight to see our new niece, Baby C. Then back again to hang out at home and just enjoy being a family.

Yes, that's right, just enjoying being together.

It's something we don't get the chance to do very often because Husband's job requires that he be on call a lot.

So, we jump at the chance to just be us...mom, dad and D-Man.

I'm sure that we will sleep late (yeah right, not with an almost 3 year old in the house), eat so healthy (yeah right, not with a 30 year old dad in the house) and relax (yeah right, the laundry doesn't do itself while one's on vacation).

And I'll be here, giving you an up-to-the-minute play by play of what is going on.

The anticipation is killing you, huh?

Have a GREAT weekend!

Life Lesson #1

First let's set the stage for Life Lesson #1.

Old friends and I talk about getting together. The zoo is mentioned. We all have kids and know that lots of outdoor time at the zoo coupled with picnic lunches and cool treats would be the perfect setting for a bunch of fun.

A date was set; 3 moms, 4 kids (all under the age of 3), 2 SUVS and at least 2 hours in the car (one SUV from one direction, mine from another).

Tuesday morning, 8:08 am arrives and I set out on my quest for the big city of Tulsa, OK. The GPS lady tells me that I will arrive at approximately 10:41 am at the Tulsa Zoo. D-Man has a movie on, breakfast in hand and I have a few hours of quiet time left ahead of me.

The drive is uneventful, a few showers linger from the night before. Not enough, however, to dampen our day.

Until friend's car arrives at the zoo.

And the zoo is temporarily closed...because of rain...they had made the decision to close the zoo AFTER we had all gotten in the car with our 3 moms and 4 kids (all under the age of 3).

Four kids who really wanted to see the lions and tigers and bears!

Oh my is what the 3 moms were thinking, but quick thinking got us a back-up plan and we went to the Oklahoma Aquarium instead.

So, the life lesson I have for you is this, have ESP or be telepathic or something and just know that the zoo might not be open when you drive over 2 hours with 3 moms and 4 kids (all under the age of 3).

And did I mention that the child under the age of 3 riding with me is newly potty trained? And we were traveling on the Oklahoma Turnpike. That has few stopping points.

Needless to say, a fun day was had at the Aquarium and the food was yummy at the restaurant, so all was good.

Stay tuned, I'm sure I'll have Life Lesson #2 before you know it.

The pictures...that almost were

I had a beautiful post planned.

Every photo I took today of our outing with old friends had a place in my post.

That is...until I hit the wrong button on the camera.

And they all vanished.

The memories...just pretend you can see the memories and all will be well.

I'll tell you about the outing tomorrow and complete with a very important life lesson.

Stay tuned!

A Day to Remember...

Just wanted to stop in for a quick minute and wish you all a Happy Memorial Day! May this day be one of remembrance for all those soldiers who died protecting our freedom.

Enjoy fellowship and food (I know I sure will!)

I'll be back on Tuesday with a normal post!

HE still is

I'm sure most (or all) of you have heard by now the mind-numbing tragedy that Steven Curtis Chapman and family have endured over the last couple of days. I ache for each member of this family as they deal with this tragedy in their own way. I especially grieve and pray for the brother whose life has now been forever changed. It has caused my thoughts and prayers to go into overdrive and from it, this is what I've determined.

God was, is and always will be.

HE is all-powerful, all-knowing and amazingly aware of each and every need we have.

And I am confident that HE is wrapping HIS arms ever so tightly around this family.

Please continue to lift this sweet family up in prayer.

He strikes again

My handyman has returned.

This time to tackle some outside projects.

Let me tell you, this guy is all about safety.

And unlike some men, he believes in measuring before you make a cut.

And re-measuring....to make sure everything is correct.

Hmmmmmm...I wonder if he does yards?

Baby Stuff that Worked-for-me

I wrote last week of our brother and sister-in-law having their first baby after many years of trying. This has gotten my thinking cap rolling back to a time filled with many wipes, lots of diapers and little sleep.

And I wondered to myself...what worked for me during that time?

Well, bloggy friends, I'm going to tell you about one of the BEST things that worked for me.

It began with a little caddy named Ultra Sterilite that looked something like this.And in it was filled to the brim with everything a new mother could need (and would want to tote around the house with her). Things like Desitin, Boudreaux's, baby wipes, diapers,

changing pads, Q-tips, Vaseline and baby lotion. If I might need it during the day, it was probably in there. It is something I never would have thought of, but one thing that I toted around with me forever. It became a permanent fixture in our living room (thanks Queen B for such a neat and thoughtful gift!)

Looking for other great things that work, visit Shannon's site!

Titles on Tuesday: Fun Summer Read

Today's Titles on Tuesday selection is the first book in a new series by Robin Jones Gunn. The series is called "The Katie Weldon Series" and the book is titled Peculiar Treasures.

To be honest, when I first was given this book by a woman in our church, I thought that it was a bit "young" for me. It's focus on college age people seemed a little out of my age range (not that 30 is old, I've just been out of college for several years.) But, I was pleasantly surprised at what good God lessons were taught in this book and how easily the author laid out those lessons in bite able, understandable chunks.

It would be a great read for a book club or vacation. I would highly recommend.

Yo-Yoing my way through

I've hit a rut.

The weight, it stays the same.

I feel like a yo-yo. Sometimes I'm like the yo-yo moving up the string and love (I mean am content) with where my weight is.

Most often, though, I'm like the yo-yo on it's downhill descent to ice cream and french fries and anything and everything that isn't good for the waistline.

I blame it on the weather...oh it's so cold outside and I need to hibernate for the next three months.

Or I blame it on the fact that I have a toddler and the fact that if I'm going to win that "Mom of the Year" award that I can't deprive him of anything worth putting in his mouth.

And still other times I blame it on good ole "Gertie." Yes, ladies, you know who I'm talking about. That ever-present "silent" figure that appears not so subtly every month to wreak havoc on any weight-loss progress that I've made.

And so the cycle continues. I put the blame out there on someone or something when really it should be ME stopping my hand from inserting something into my mouth. Ever have this problem?

All this food talk has made me hungry; I think I'll go have a cookie.

And so the cycle continues...

One to call their own

Husband is blessed to be part of a large family. He is the baby of 4, 2 older sisters and an older brother.

All four of them are married and 3 of the 4 have children.

Until yesterday.

Husband's oldest brother, Beeb, has been married for a little over 12 years. Despite countless efforts to conceive a child (almost every available medical option), their time had not come. Beeb's twin sister had 2 children, the middle sister, L, had 1 step-son and we had D-Man, and still they had none.

There were times when I was pregnant with D-Man that I felt so much heartbreak for them because I couldn't imagine what it felt like to want a child and not have one.

And then, God reminded me that it is not our plan, but HIS plan that our life follows. And HIS plan became very apparent in their lives about 10 months ago.

We were on our way to a Razorback football game when we got the call with the news, "We're pregnant!" How long they had waited for this moment, how long we had wanted this moment for them.

And yesterday at a little after 1 in the afternoon, our niece, Baby C, came into the world. A wonderful blessing from God; a wonderful addition to our family; and someone to call their own.

Praise be to God!

I've been demoted...

I had to go and get my eyes checked on Monday. I live in a small town with only one optometrist who lives at the bottom of the hill from me (and he happens to be my Uncle).

I was hurrying around that morning to get ready and get D-Man to his NaNa RAD's by 10 so that I could make the appointment.

We pulled into the driveway and I got out and began getting him unbuckled from his car seat when he said to me, "Thanks for the ride."

Yes, I've gone from mommy, the one who gave me life to taxi driver.

Who knows what I'll be next...only time will tell.

Pancakes and Medicine: Works-for-me

Ok my bloggy friends, I have found the BEST food to help disguise any type of medicine that a child might have to take that is in pill form.

Pancakes.

With syrup.

Lots and lots of syrup.

And milk.

And maybe some bacon.

Oh, I digress, sorry.

Anyway, D-Man recently had to take some medicine that only came in pill form. After 2 tries of him spitting it all over me because of the chalky, nasty flavor, I decided to try giving it to him while eating pancakes.

I cut it into several small pieces, wrapped a bite of syrupy pancake around a piece and he gobbled it right up.

Yes, I did just say gobbled.

Anyway, he never knew and ate every medicine-laden bite. And he smiled. And was happy. And wanted more pancakes.

I would say it was a success!

Score 1 for Mommy!

For other great Works-for-me Wednesday tips, check out all the great links here!

Oh where did the time go?

Hello my bloggy friends!

Sorry to have left for so long...the tears you shed while I was away I'm sure were bountiful...the vacation with the fam and from the craziness that is my life was much needed.

But, never fear, for I am back and ready to kick off the summer with a vengeance (right after I run off the 800 bazillion calories I ate last week...but wait, do calories really count on vacation?)

The time Husband, D-Man and I spent together last week was AMAZING! I can't tell you how great it is to spend time with my FAVORITE guys in the whole entire world. And here is a recap to prove it because I know each of you has been waiting on pins and needles for the last few days itching to know exactly how our vacation went. Right? Right.

We began the trip in the car and we ended the trip in the car. We ate. We slept. We ate. We swam. That's about all.

What? Isn't that enough? Don't tell me you expected more?

You want more details? Ok, you asked for it...

The highlight of the trip for me was the Snickers cheesecake I ate at The Cheesecake Factory. Yes, that's right. The highlight of the first real vacation we've had in a couple of years was made when I consumed some food. A big piece of too-many-calories-to-count cheesecake. And I enjoyed every minute of it. Every.single.minute.Here's a picture to prove it.

I took this right before I licked the plate clean!

One of the highlights of the trip for the fam was our trip to the Kansas City Zoo.

The sheep and Husband bonded. Sheep like feed. He fed sheep. Very happy sheep.

D-Man enjoyed the orangutan exhibit and was temporarily glued to this fence watching them swing.

He even decided to play a quick game of peek-a-boo with this duck. Guess what, the duck wasn't interested.



Food was a must on a trip...especially the "fry-fries." I think D-Man broke the world record for number of "fry-fries" consumed in only a few days.

D-Man loved any exhibit that had water involved. He wanted to get his "swimming suit" on and go swim anytime he saw water.

This had to be one of D-Man's favorite part of the zoo. It was a curvy slide that was nestled inside a fabricated 300 year old tree trunk. I believe he went up the stairs and down the slide more times than I can count.


D-Man took me on a date one of the days that we were there; he is such a gentleman. We went to the Crayola Cafe and hand a grand time (thanks Queen B for the tip!) He had the mini corn dogs (w/ fries...imagine that) and I had the burger (cheeseburger that is) and enjoyed every last "fry-fry" on my plate.

And the rest of the trip really was spent just hanging around, swimming at the hotel, eating out and yes, Husband did allow me to do a little shopping. All in all, a fun time was had by all and we feel relaxed, revived and ready to face the world again.

And thanks for the sports I like to play...

Just dropping in to say that I'm working on the vacation recap...I know you are all so anxious to hear about it.

In the meantime, here's an exact, word for word account of D-Man's prayer tonight before he went to bed.

"Dear Lord, thank you for this bootiful day. Thank you for letting me play basketball with my mommy. Umm...thank you for letting mommy play basketball with me. Please let mommy play basketball with me. I love you Lord, Amen."

Still a work in progress...

Vacation...we've finally gotten one!

Ok...my blogging for the rest of the week will be sporadic because we are on VACATION!

HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH!

Husband has some continuing education to catch up on Thursday and Friday, so D-Man and I came along for some much needed family time. We are in the great state of Kansas and are enjoying each other's company...most of the time...until Husband starts being a bit ornry...and then D-Man starts being ornry with this Daddy...and then Mommy goes to have a Diet Coke with Vanilla and extra ice (otherwise known as a DVC) from Sonic.

We've already been to one of my favorite restaurants, The Cheesecake Factory. Thanks Queen B for introducing me several years back. I had a piece of cheesecake for you tonight (the Snickers Bar Chunks & Cheesecake...yum, yum, yum!)

Tomorrow is the zoo and the rest, well, the possiblities are endless. I may go so far as to lay in my bed for hours each morning reading a great book or watching mindless tv. I'm pretty wild, aren't I?

So, check back daily for any updates I have and then make sure to check back Monday for a complete wrap-up and some snazzy photos!

Happy Wednesday!

Titles on Tuesday: Movie Edition

Today's Titles on Tuesday selection is actually a movie title that all of you out there with kids need to see.

Here in the D House, we -heart- Curious George (or Cur, Curious George as D-Man likes to call him...he doesn't stutter, he just sings part of the theme song when he says George's name).

Anywho, we have loved Curious George for quite awhile now and really enjoy watching him on PBS each morning. And we love to watch his movies in the car when we go on long trips. So, I, I mean D-Man was elated when we got the movie, Curious George.

It tells of the adventures of the Man in the Yellow Hat as he tries to keep his job by bringing back a mysterious idol from Africa to bring in major crowds to the museum. As luck would have it, he instead brings back a smart monkey who becomes the infamous Curious George. It has an interesting cast of characters (Will Ferrell and Drew Barrymore) and boasts 88 minutes of good, wholesome family fun.

It is a great addition to any movie collection and will surely bring hours of viewing enjoyment!

It just might overtake me

My OCD, it rules the roost. I mean, it really rules the roost.

It makes me check the bed after it's made, and then check it again making sure all is lined up properly.

It makes me check the locked door and then check it again because it really might have unlocked itself in the nanosecond since I last checked it.

It causes me to check a sleeping D-Man only 8 times before I go to bed instead of the usual 1 that normal people check.

It makes me pull out the swiffer at any available moment to get the lingering dust particles off of the dashboard.

It causes my house to be clean before my housekeeper comes every two weeks.

It makes me over pack for any trip I take even if it is just from my front door to the mailbox (you never know when you might need your toothbrush, mascara and hairspray between the door and the mail).

And it totally explains my need for a diet coke (or two or three) each day to keep my OCD self going.

So, I've got to stop now and read and re-read what I've just written for it might need a pillow fluff, a deadbolt turned, a hug goodnight, a quick swiffer, a touch of hairspray and a sip of diet coke to make sure it is perfect, just perfect.

Rooted in normalcy, uprooted by change

A little over a month ago, something happened in a town very close to me that one might consider catastrophic; and it happened on Easter Sunday. The largest employer in the county caught fire and burned to the ground. In a matter of moments, a normal Easter Sunday was disrupted and changed forever.


Many have waited to learn the fate of this company and it's employees. They have waited and waited and waited and today they got their answer.


The answer they didn't want to hear.


The answer that will undoubtedly change their lives.


The company has decided to put their focus in areas where they already have plants instead of rebuilding. Just like that, lives changed.

It's made me stop and really evaluate my life and the daily "normalcy" that I live in.

I get up, I take care of my family, I serve God (or I try to to the best of my ability), I go to bed only to begin all over again the next day. But, what if God has a change for me...I mean major change...coming in the future? Am I COMPLETELY open to His changes?

Would I take the change and run with it, or sink into a pit of pity for poor, old me?

This event, though it does not directly effect me, has had an affect on me. It's made me get up and view each day a little different and it has made me more content with the change that is going on in my life. I'm open to what God has in store for me and though it won't always be comfortable, I know that His will will get me through the changes.

For those who love noodles and chicken and cheese

I've had a few requests for my chicken spaghetti recipe that I talked about in yesterdays's post.

And, you know I aim to please.

So, without any more words, I give you my recipe.

Chicken Spaghetti

5-6 chicken tenderloins, boiled and cubed
1/2 pkg of spaghetti noodles (cooked)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cheese soup
1 can rotel
1/2 cup chopped onions (optional)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
shredded cheese (enough to cover the entire dish)

Combine all the above ingredients and place in baking dish (a 9 x 13 works well). Cover with cheese and place in a 350 degree oven until cheese is melted and the dish is bubbly. Remove. Cool. Serve with bread and a salad and you are in business.

Now go, run to the store, get all the ingredients, make it and have me over for dinner!