If You Give A Mom A Muffin

If you give a mom a muffin,
She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
She'll pour herself some.
The coffee will get spilled by her three-year old.
She'll wipe it up.
Wiping the floor, she will find some dirty socks.
She'll remember she has to do somelaundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
She'll trip over some snow boots and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan supper for tonight.
She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She'll look for the cookbook. (101 Things to Make with a Pound of Hamburger.)
The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill which is due tomorrow.
She will look for her checkbook.
The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two-year old.
She'll smell something funny.
She'll changer the two-year old.
While she is changing the two-year-old the phone will ring. (Of course!)
Her five-year old will answer it and hang up.
She remembers that she wants to phone a friend to come for coffee on Friday.
Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
She will pour herself some.
And chances are,
If she has a cup of coffee,
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

Author- Kathy Fictorie



I read this poem and had to post it. Especially for all of you other moms out there. I definitely have days (most) that are like this. Chadwick will often come home and find 5 different projects started, but not finished- The dishwasher with clean dishes, but not fully unloaded; a load of laundry started- but forgotten about; Half of a room clean, but not all of it; some weeds pulled in the front yard- but many to go. Sometimes it's just the little things, but as a mom you are multi-tasking all day and so very often, you forget what your intentions were and get sidetracked.

Admist all the chaos, I wouldn't trade it for a trip to Hawaii. Oh wait, we are going to Hawaii... 6 1/2 weeks to go! That reminds me...

EARTHQUAKE!

So at 4:30 ish this morning Chadwick and I both woke up to our house literally shaking. We looked at each other and both jumped out of bed to get our girls. Chadwick ran to the t.v. to see if we could figure out what it was. Chadwick thought at first it was a tornado, but I knew for sure it was an earthquake. I have no why I was so sure, I mean I've never been in an earthquake and come on,an earthquake in Illinois? Yes, we are on a fault line- but it has not been active for at least a decade. It was the strangest experience, waking up to our bed shaking- jumping out of bed and realizing the whole house was shaking. Now I can say I have experienced a tornado and an earthquake! What's next... Tsunami/Hurricane while we are in Hawaii??? Let's pray not!

So... I want to know, what did you do when you woke up to your house shaking and what did you think it was? (for those readers who are in the earthquake zone)

Day Off!

My incredible husband gave ME the day off today! What did I decide to do? Well... I ran a few errands and spent the rest of the day being creative. I love to scrapbook, card make and basically anything that is a "paper" craft. I have been developing an idea over the past few weeks and was able to make it today- so exciting!



This is my "Noteworthy" book. It is a place I can put great notes or clippings. Whenever I read through magazines or books I always find great things I want to remember. I often, however end up throwing away old magazines and hardly open the same book twice. That's when I came up with this book. It is a place for me to keep all these great ideas, quotes, ads, inspiring decorating pictures, tips, advice etc. in one place. I took a three ring binder (yes, I had to decorate it- that's most of the fun!) and made dividers for different sections. I included sections for: Family, Home, Food, Love, Healthy, Beauty, Crafts and Money. Behind each section is blank paper and page protectors. The blank paper is to tape/glue pictures/clippings from magazines or to write quotes from books. The page protectors are in case I want to tear out a page of a magazine.

Now when I read through my magazines/books I know that I have an organized place to keep all the great things I want to remember.

An added bonus... I won't have magazines piling up all over my house!

Growing up too Fast...

Addie still loves to color and mommy still loves to try and put her hair up in pigtails. This rarely happens because she hates to have her hair put in a ponytail. Isn't she adorable, though?

Pretty Blue Eyes!

So Sweet! She loves to lay next to her "sissy."

Addie loves to kiss Sophie. She does it all the time! So cute! Sophie is semi-smiling too.

Sweet Baby Face

Thankful...

The past few days have been... well, anything but relaxing. Chadwick was gone for 3 nights and 4 days at a youth conference near Chicago. I am so glad that he was given the opportunity to meet up with other youth pastors, hear encouraging speakers and be given direction for his ministry.
I am thankful for this...

While Chadwick was away, my best friend came to stay with me for 2 nights and 3 days. She brought along her 1 1/2 year old son and doggie. Addie and Samuel played beside each other (not really together...), squealed and laughed with each other, danced, played with cars, watched Elmo, fought over cars, took baths, fingerpainted (almost) and just stared at each other. It was so great having a friend here to combat my insane moments. Even though adding another child to the mix, did spice things up a bit... I would not of had it any other way.
I am so thankful for this...

Sophie did a lot of screaming, some sleeping, pooping (totally out of her diapers) and spitting up (all over my pants) during the 4 days Chadwick was gone. She also did a lot of smiling, staring into my eyes and cooing.
I am thankful for this...

The last few hours Addie woke up from her 30 minute nap and cried BIG tears for mommy to not make her take a nap. Mommy broke and let her stay up. Addie, Sophie and I hung out on my bed- Addie watched Aladdin while Sophie watched the ceiling fan. I was hoping Addie would fall asleep, instead she summed up all the energy she had left and we played "airplane", "fall on the bed and laugh" and "mommy is a jungle gym."
I am so thankful for this...

The doorbell rang, Addie cried (she always cries when the doorbell rings!?), I picked up Sophie and we ran to the door (okay more like "tottled") to meet (sigh of relief) dad. Addie warmed up to her daddy real quick (especially when medieval times' crowns and cookies are given...) and Sophie started smiling the instant her daddy started talking to her. Sigh...

I am SO THANKFUL FOR THIS.

What is your "Real Life?"

We watched a movie a few nights ago, "Dan in Real Life." Going into the movie, I thought that it would be a typical, cookie cutter, predictable movie. In a lot of ways, this movie was just that. However, it was also a breath of fresh air.
The funny thing is, I didn't really pay attention to the main plot of the story. Sure, I knew what was going on and I was rooting for Dan. What really made me enjoy the movie, was the way the family did life.
The premise of the movie is that a family gets together once a year for a reunion at their parents' house on the lake. Dan falls in love with a woman the first time he meets her, who turns out to be his brother's new girlfriend. That is the main plot. Behind the scenes, however the family interacts through totally random things: 1. guys vs. girls crossword race with the daily paper, 2. family talent show, 3. working out together (exercising... as if they were an exercise class- maybe you just have to see the movie). Those were a few things that stuck out among many others.

If you have the chance, check this movie out and rethink the way your family does "real life."

Finding "Memo" and other random thoughts

Addison's latest obsession is "Finding Nemo", only she calls it "Memo." From the minute she wakes up until she is fighting her sleep at night it is "Memo! Memo! Memo!" As a parent, I have find myself going between the two thoughts- "It's so cute to hear her say "Memo." and "If she says "Memo" one more time, that DVD is a going out the window!" She now has a Nemo blanket (thanks, Aunt Brooke and cousin Ella) which she carries around and sleeps with. She also has a Nemo backpack (so cute on!), a Nemo glitter globe and a huge stuffed Nemo. I think we are going to borrow some Nemo books from her cousin, that way we can read about Nemo instead of watching 2 hours of Nemo a day!


Just picture this face, pleading with you to watch "Memo...." only to have to distract or simply say "No" 99% of the time. It's not easy! :<)


Sophie, on the other hand is getting HUGE! She is almost 7 weeks and has gained at least 5 pounds since she was born. She is smiling now and is sleeping more at night (she only woke up twice last night!). We are learning how to parent a 2nd child who is the complete opposite of the first. Addie was a completely content baby. She would eat every 4 hours, sleep all the time and rarely cried (seriously!). Sophie eats every 2 hours, sleeps 20 min. at a time (during the day), and cries or is fussy quite consistently. Let's just say, I am ready to be beyond the newborn phase! To Sophie's defense she does have reflux, which causes most of her fussiness. We love, love, LOVE her- but I can't wait until the crying phase is over. Maybe a few more weeks?? Isn't she so cute! Here she is with a contemplative look going on... what is she thinking about??





I am currently reading 3 books. One of which is extremely motivational. In dealing with finances and budgets I often get frustrated and confused, but Dave Ramseys, "A Total Money Makeover" holds a lot of wisdom and practical tips. Here is a huge tip I have learned so far from this book:
1. Staying away from car payments by driving reliable used cars is what the average millionare does. If you invested $378 per month (average American car payment) from age 25 to 65, a normal working lifetime, in the average mutual fund averaging 12 % (the 70-year stock market average), you would have $4,447,084.01 at the age of 65.

Can I just say, Wow, that would be some retirement! Our goal now is to pay off our one car payment and to never have a car payment again. That way we can put the $ from our car payment and hopefully save for our future. Now, I know you are saying- "You will eventually have to buy another car..." True, but we plan on having cash for our next car (van?). Dave also has an excellent tip for how to save to pay cash for a car.... totally do able! Want to know? Gotta read the book.... :<) Or... maybe I'll post on it next time if there are those that want to know.

For now... just think about how nice it would be to have $4.4 mil. to retire on...