A few days ago, my parents called me to tell me some huge news. Trust me, it all came as quite a shock. For my 30th birthday (less than 2 years away), they are giving me a certain amount of money to use for a trip for James and I. Really?!? How amazing! Their reasoning behind this was that both me and my sister had expressed such dread about turning the big 3-0. The trip was something that would make us look forward to it. This summer my sister gets to go first and try out this new decade of age. She and her hubby are planning a trip to Hawaii.
I LOVE to travel and the idea of planning a trip excites me. My mom asked me where I thought I would like to go. Honestly, I was so blown away I could only tell her that I didn't know because I needed to choose a continent first. Did I want a sun/beach vacation or more historical or just plain romantic? Here is a list of vacations James and I have been on together: Moscow/St. Petersburg, Russia (Spring Break 2004); Columbia, South Carolina (2005; very pregnant with Malachi and drove through Hurricane Katrina...long story!); Gulf Shores, Alabama (2006, I was a few months pregnant with Isaiah); NYC (2008, I was VERY pregnant with Samara); Estes Park, Colorado (2010, for James' 30th b-day). In 2009, I went with some dear girlfriends on a 5-day Bahama cruise.
Once James and I almost booked a last minute trip to Paris, but the reality of the expense set in so we pushed that dream away. That's always been a place we thought we would want to experience. But given this wonderful gift, I started thinking and talking to James about possibly experiencing something maybe a little less touristy of a place or a little less popular of a destination. We tossed around a few ideas, but then it hit me. Prague...Prague sounded like a beautiful, yet a historic place to visit. The city still attracts tourists, but not quite the volume of other major European cities. Sounds like I'll be doing further research on this city!
While the trip is a long ways off and the destination may change, I am immensely looking forward to it. So where would you go if given the opportunity?
Monday, February 7, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
How to Pick a Super Bowl Team to Cheer For
The time has come again to pick a team to cheer for in the Super Bowl (SB). Since I grew up in a city whose football team never made it to the coveted game, I have had to read up on each team so I could cheer for a team I felt deserved the win. Sometimes it was easy to pick the team. Of course, if the Dallas Cowboys made it to the SB, then I would cheer for the opposite team. I normally pick the teams who haven't won in years, the underdogs.
This year, though, it was a no-brainer. I am rooting for the Green Bay Packers. It isn't because I am a cheese-head fan per se. I am pretty indifferent to them as a team. My strategy for picking them is more personal.
You see our neighbors behind us are avid Steelers fans. They have an old, worn out Steelers flag hanging from their front porch. Their cars have vanity license plates proclaiming their love for this team. You may be asking yourself why would I so adamantly be against their team winning. Well, since we moved here 6 years ago, their dog has yet to poop in their own yard. They throw a ball into all of the neighbors yards so that the dog fetches it and goes potty there as well. In the beginning, they mainly used our yard for their dog's toilet. We had a police officer visit with them about it being illegal to send your dog into someone's yard to poop without cleaning it up. While the dog no longer uses our yard, it still is trained to go across the street to poop. It is all I can do to not march myself over there and give them a piece of my mind so I figure it would be sweet justice if their football team they feel so strongly about looses. Crazy thinking? Maybe, but I'm ok with it.
Go PACKERS!!!!!
This year, though, it was a no-brainer. I am rooting for the Green Bay Packers. It isn't because I am a cheese-head fan per se. I am pretty indifferent to them as a team. My strategy for picking them is more personal.
You see our neighbors behind us are avid Steelers fans. They have an old, worn out Steelers flag hanging from their front porch. Their cars have vanity license plates proclaiming their love for this team. You may be asking yourself why would I so adamantly be against their team winning. Well, since we moved here 6 years ago, their dog has yet to poop in their own yard. They throw a ball into all of the neighbors yards so that the dog fetches it and goes potty there as well. In the beginning, they mainly used our yard for their dog's toilet. We had a police officer visit with them about it being illegal to send your dog into someone's yard to poop without cleaning it up. While the dog no longer uses our yard, it still is trained to go across the street to poop. It is all I can do to not march myself over there and give them a piece of my mind so I figure it would be sweet justice if their football team they feel so strongly about looses. Crazy thinking? Maybe, but I'm ok with it.
Go PACKERS!!!!!
Friday, February 4, 2011
Something I've Come to Realize . . .
I'm becoming more like my mother. It hit me today as I was preparing to make the trek to Walmart for groceries. I looked down at my attire and thought, "Wow, when did this transformation occur?" I was wearing hot pink sweat pants, a gray long sleeve t-shirt under a green Mountain Dew t-shirt and didn't care that nothing really matched. Now, my mom never wore hot pink, but it definitely was the look she had as her daily attire. I remember her saying that she wanted to be comfortable and it was "just Walmart".
But then I remembered how much I used to fuss over my hair, outfit, make-up. The time that was spent prepping for any outing outside of my house. You never knew who you might run into. It wasn't until my sophomore year of college when I was happily engaged that I started to allow myself to begin to feel comfortable in my own skin without the need to always look my absolute best. How liberating it was to feel ok with wearing a pony tail, sweats, and t-shirt while running errands. During a summer break, I remember seeing a girl from high school; I was dressed in running shorts and a t-shirt. She said she had never seen me wear something like that before. Hmm...I always tried to be not caught up in my looks, but maybe I had been more into it than I realized.
Now don't get me wrong, there are times to primp and look really nice, but as a mother to a young girl, I want her to see that it's ok to wear comfortable clothing and not worry about the outward appearance as much as the inward qualities. Oh wait, that's what my mom tried to teach me, too! It will be interesting to see if Samara has the same thoughts about me as I had about my mom's Walmart wardrobe. Only time will tell.
As a side note, it took my mom awhile to find her style and be comfortable in her own skin while dressing up, but she looks fabulous! She has cute clothing along with beautiful accessories and shoes. Hopefully, I'll follow in those footsteps eventually. Until then, I will enjoy my comfy, daily attire =)
But then I remembered how much I used to fuss over my hair, outfit, make-up. The time that was spent prepping for any outing outside of my house. You never knew who you might run into. It wasn't until my sophomore year of college when I was happily engaged that I started to allow myself to begin to feel comfortable in my own skin without the need to always look my absolute best. How liberating it was to feel ok with wearing a pony tail, sweats, and t-shirt while running errands. During a summer break, I remember seeing a girl from high school; I was dressed in running shorts and a t-shirt. She said she had never seen me wear something like that before. Hmm...I always tried to be not caught up in my looks, but maybe I had been more into it than I realized.
Now don't get me wrong, there are times to primp and look really nice, but as a mother to a young girl, I want her to see that it's ok to wear comfortable clothing and not worry about the outward appearance as much as the inward qualities. Oh wait, that's what my mom tried to teach me, too! It will be interesting to see if Samara has the same thoughts about me as I had about my mom's Walmart wardrobe. Only time will tell.
As a side note, it took my mom awhile to find her style and be comfortable in her own skin while dressing up, but she looks fabulous! She has cute clothing along with beautiful accessories and shoes. Hopefully, I'll follow in those footsteps eventually. Until then, I will enjoy my comfy, daily attire =)
The KC Interview
I'm sorry that I didn't update you all last night regarding the interview. We didn't get home until 8:00ish and we were just exhausted. I wanted to write this with a new perspective that comes after you have rested.
On Wednesday afternoon, we left around 3:00ish. We tried to get out of town, but James forgot to grab a few things so we had to make 2 trips back to the house before we officially left. I drove while he read over a few more topics that could come up in the interview. Isaiah told me earlier in the day that he was going to take a nap in the truck and so he kept his promise. Samara also slept most of the way there.
My family is awesome. My parents' furnace needs replaced and their wood-burning stove doesn't really heat their basement where we normally sleep. They decided that we should stay in a near-by hotel for the night so we could enjoy hot-tubbing/swimming and eat at their continental breakfast the following morning. On the way, my sister called and requested that the kiddos come to her house so the cousins could eat dinner and play together while James and I unpacked and enjoyed some time alone. Then my parents called saying they had pesto chicken with provolone paninis and a bottle of wine waiting for pick-up at their house after we dropped the kiddos off. (Mom, I think those were in the ingredients in the yummy sandwiches!) It was heavenly! We had an amazing dinner, enjoyed the hot tub and then James went to get the kiddos while I starched his clothing.
The kiddos had never slept in a hotel before so they were in awe of the room. Since it was late, I told them we could watch a movie while they were in bed. I had the lofty goal of them falling asleep to it, but yeah, I was WRONG! They enjoyed Stuart Little 2.
Samara wouldn't settle down and she was keeping all of the boys awake so she and I slept in a bed while all of them fit in the other bed. Besides Malachi falling out of the bed once, it seemed like they slept great. Samara finally fell asleep, but she is a restless sleeper so she woke me up every hour and James actually snored a few times so Mommy didn't sleep well, but that's ok.
We enjoyed a family breakfast and then wished James good luck. My mom came up to the hotel to help me take the kiddos swimming. The pool was WAY too cold so we got in the hot tub minus the jets. We enjoyed some splish-splash time and then my sister picked us up and took us to my parents' house. The kiddos enjoyed special time with their Grammie, Papa, Auntie Sara, and cousins Sofia and Stella.
In mid-afternoon, James came back from the interview. It did not go as we had hoped. One of the two interviewers spent the time berating him for his GPA from 10 years ago. James said he made the split-second decision that he wasn't going to just take it sitting down so he became impassioned that he shouldn't be judged completely by a GPA from that long ago. Since then, he has matured, recognized that if you want something bad enough then you must put forth the effort and he is willing to do that. He just felt like the interview was a waste of time.
James has been researching this type of belittling tactic. It is not uncommon for the interviewer to see how you respond to this type of criticism. It's just hard to remain positive. But why if his GPA was too low for acceptance did they waste the school's time, our time, money, and safety? And why did KU say that academically he was ready? It's so confusing! But, at this time, we have done everything we can, and the rest is up to God leading the school with their decision. Now starts the waiting game for the mailman to deliver the news. I will probably become the crazy mailman stalker for the next 2 weeks.
Please just continue to pray for us. Of course, when that letter arrives, I will share with you all...
On Wednesday afternoon, we left around 3:00ish. We tried to get out of town, but James forgot to grab a few things so we had to make 2 trips back to the house before we officially left. I drove while he read over a few more topics that could come up in the interview. Isaiah told me earlier in the day that he was going to take a nap in the truck and so he kept his promise. Samara also slept most of the way there.
My family is awesome. My parents' furnace needs replaced and their wood-burning stove doesn't really heat their basement where we normally sleep. They decided that we should stay in a near-by hotel for the night so we could enjoy hot-tubbing/swimming and eat at their continental breakfast the following morning. On the way, my sister called and requested that the kiddos come to her house so the cousins could eat dinner and play together while James and I unpacked and enjoyed some time alone. Then my parents called saying they had pesto chicken with provolone paninis and a bottle of wine waiting for pick-up at their house after we dropped the kiddos off. (Mom, I think those were in the ingredients in the yummy sandwiches!) It was heavenly! We had an amazing dinner, enjoyed the hot tub and then James went to get the kiddos while I starched his clothing.
The kiddos had never slept in a hotel before so they were in awe of the room. Since it was late, I told them we could watch a movie while they were in bed. I had the lofty goal of them falling asleep to it, but yeah, I was WRONG! They enjoyed Stuart Little 2.
Samara wouldn't settle down and she was keeping all of the boys awake so she and I slept in a bed while all of them fit in the other bed. Besides Malachi falling out of the bed once, it seemed like they slept great. Samara finally fell asleep, but she is a restless sleeper so she woke me up every hour and James actually snored a few times so Mommy didn't sleep well, but that's ok.
We enjoyed a family breakfast and then wished James good luck. My mom came up to the hotel to help me take the kiddos swimming. The pool was WAY too cold so we got in the hot tub minus the jets. We enjoyed some splish-splash time and then my sister picked us up and took us to my parents' house. The kiddos enjoyed special time with their Grammie, Papa, Auntie Sara, and cousins Sofia and Stella.
In mid-afternoon, James came back from the interview. It did not go as we had hoped. One of the two interviewers spent the time berating him for his GPA from 10 years ago. James said he made the split-second decision that he wasn't going to just take it sitting down so he became impassioned that he shouldn't be judged completely by a GPA from that long ago. Since then, he has matured, recognized that if you want something bad enough then you must put forth the effort and he is willing to do that. He just felt like the interview was a waste of time.
James has been researching this type of belittling tactic. It is not uncommon for the interviewer to see how you respond to this type of criticism. It's just hard to remain positive. But why if his GPA was too low for acceptance did they waste the school's time, our time, money, and safety? And why did KU say that academically he was ready? It's so confusing! But, at this time, we have done everything we can, and the rest is up to God leading the school with their decision. Now starts the waiting game for the mailman to deliver the news. I will probably become the crazy mailman stalker for the next 2 weeks.
Please just continue to pray for us. Of course, when that letter arrives, I will share with you all...
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Do You Know Who I Am?
Yesterday, the boys and I played a game the entire day. In the super hero movies, the hero will dress in normal clothes, but underneath the clothes, they have the "hero suit" on. While on the way to save someone, they will dramatically take off their normal clothes to display the suit. Well, the boys recreated this scene over and over. They had on their hoodies and came up to me and asked, "Do you know who I am?" I responded, "Yes you're Isaiah/Malachi". They shook their head "no" and slowly unzipped their hoodie to display their own hero suit. Isaiah wanted me to comment as he was unzipping that: I saw something red, with black, oh no...a spider! At one point during the day, we played this game non-stop for 45 minutes until Mommy needed a little break from acting so surprised that I had Spiderman in my midst.
DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM???
SPIDERMAN WOLVERINE
My Super Heroes!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Unusual Napping Spot
As an update to the previous post about Samara's struggle with nap time, she's been doing a little better about the whole situation. It will take her quite awhile to settle down, but eventually she will dose off inside of the tent. Today, though, I found her all curled up here next to the heater (perfect day to be by something warm!)
Then she woke up...Isn't she precious?!? (crazy hair and all)
Then she woke up...Isn't she precious?!? (crazy hair and all)
-20
The winter storm has arrived. Strong winds steady at 30 miles an hour and gusting up to 40 frequently. Wind chill is currently -20 and snow blowing everywhere. This morning I bundled up to take George outside to do his business and he kept trying to go back inside before he was finished. Since I want to make as few trips out there as possible, I made him stay out there a few minutes to make sure he was completely finished. His poor legs were shivering so badly and I was jumping up and down trying to stay warm.
The poor kiddos don't really understand about dangerous wind chills and that sometimes it is just too cold to go outside even with snow suits. They see snow and it's immediately, "Mommy, we need to go outside!". But when I came back inside, I touched them with my freezing hands and they haven't asked to go outside since.
Because we are stuck inside today, I think we might start making some Valentine's Day projects while drinking some hot chocolate (coffee for Mommy!) Hope everyone is able to be at home all snuggled up in this weather...oh no! George just rang the cow bell...guess I won't be all warm and snuggled up anymore...oh well, such is life.
The poor kiddos don't really understand about dangerous wind chills and that sometimes it is just too cold to go outside even with snow suits. They see snow and it's immediately, "Mommy, we need to go outside!". But when I came back inside, I touched them with my freezing hands and they haven't asked to go outside since.
Because we are stuck inside today, I think we might start making some Valentine's Day projects while drinking some hot chocolate (coffee for Mommy!) Hope everyone is able to be at home all snuggled up in this weather...oh no! George just rang the cow bell...guess I won't be all warm and snuggled up anymore...oh well, such is life.
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