25 things you may not know...

1. I love bluegrass music.

2. I bite my fingernails.

3. I like to read fast, so I only read the "quoted" parts in a book. (I back up if I need too.)

4. I got married the day the Braves won the World Series.

5. I've known my husband since I was in 5th grade.

6. I read the obituaries, just to see if my name is there early.

7. I love to plan parties.

8. I'm lazy.

9. I eat peanut butter every day; on something or just out of the jar.

10. I love Mojitos.

11. I can't stand for someone to touch my feet.

12. I sometimes wear socks that don't match.

13. I am addicted to "17 Kids and Counting".

14. I love pickled okra.

15. I teach my daughter a new song every week.

16. I secretly love that Mason asks me 1000 questions every day.

17. I know how to shoot a gun.

18. I secretly can't stand dogs.

19. I'd choose the beach over the mountains any day.

20. I've always wanted to go to Tuscany.

21. I wanted to be a Navy fighter pilot when I was growing up.

22. I'd love to learn how to cut hair.

23. I lived in the same house, same room until I got engaged.

24. I don't sleep well.

25. I'd have atleast 6 kids if we had room and the money.

There you have it! More than you probably ever wanted to know!

I've been under the weather for the last two days. My head is in a fog and I feel terrible. I hope it passes soon. I don't think the kids can take many more days of their dad being in charge. I don't think my house can take too many days of chaos.

This is an exciting week for us. Mason's last day at the preschool was yesterday. He had a great time at Transportation Day and loved seeing his friends again. I asked him tonight if he was excited about going to his new school. He said he was but his first question was - "Do they have a cafeteria?" Just like a boy...always wants know when his next meal is going to happen.

Mallory spent the morning at a friends house. These two girls love to dress-up. The more jewelry, shoes, purses, costumes, hats, etc. they can have, the better they play. When I went to get her, Gracie had about 25 hairbows in her hair. She looked so cute.

Two birthday parties today: James and Gracie Knowles. The kids were so exhausted, but they had such a great day. I took Mason to the first party and Christian took both kids to the second. I was wiped out, so I spent the afternoon in the recliner. It was nice to take a nap under the blankets and not worry about dinner!

I have this philosophy about feeding children.

1. Feed them when they are hungry.
2. They won't starve themselves, so don't force them to eat.
3. They don't like the same thing every day. Try it again next week.

My mom had a similar philosophy. She cooked one meal for everyone. You either ate it, or you went to bed hungry. As we got older, she added "fix it yourself". But if you fixed it, you'd better clean it up. So, when I had children, I didn't bother myself with trying to make everything they liked for every meal we ate. They're kids. They don't know any better. So, the rule at my house is "If you don't like dinner, you can have a piece of bread". Sometimes they try dinner and sometimes they eat bread. Doesn't bother me really. Refer to rule #2. They'll eat when they get hungry enough. However, I'm not the meanest mom on the block. When I'm planning meals, I do try to take into consideration what they do really like and I try to accommodate those "likes" as much as possible. But you can only have Mac n' chees and rice at so many meals.

I've been passing this philosophy on to my friends that complain about their picky-eaters. Sometimes their reaction is "stunned". Sometimes you almost see the light go off in their heads. (I love those Ah-Ha moments). So my friend, Melinda sent me an e-mail tonight. Her son, Brendan, stated that he didn't like dinner. So Melinda decided to try the new theory on him. She told him that he could eat the casserole or he could have one piece of bread. Brendan chose the bread, and Melinda was shocked. However, at 8:30 p.m., he was sitting at the table eating the casserole in his PJs. He said he was "so hungry"! Poor baby. Way to go, Melinda! Keep up the good work.

Maybe my mom's craziness can be passed on! Thanks, mom.

So, I have some FANTASTIC friends. They are my support, my backbone, my quest for power. God has given me two great friends in the last two years and I couldn't be more proud to say so.

Sandy -
She's exceptional! She lets me rattle on about anything I want to, rant about my current crisis, cry when I can't keep the tears from flowing, and just generally...lets me, be me. When I called Sandy two years ago, I told her I needed a change in career. I asked her if she knew of a preschool that would hire someone like me. It just-so-happened that she was in need of an assistant for the following school year. Two weeks after I got the job, I had a really bad day at my job and none of my "friends" seemed to be around to listen to my latest rantings. I called Sandy and she wasn't home either. But I left a message saying "that I hoped I could make some new life-long friendships when I came to work with her". Boy, if I knew then what I know now! I would have made the career switch a long time ago. I love her (and her family) and I couldn't imagine not being able to talk to her. Sandy is smart and is incredible at her job. Did I mention that she has the patience of Job?

Emily - What a self-less superhero! Emily always thinks of everyone around her before she thinks of herself. She loves her children and her husband unconditionally. She loves her family almost to the point that it hurts. She loves her job (which she is very good at) and genuinely loves the children she teaches. I love that she is constantly trying new things. Blogs, coupon shopping, diets, books, hair color...When we met last year (her daughter Ava was in my class), she helped Sandy and I in the classroom. She had great ideas and was always willing to do whatever we needed. She still has that mentality with our friendship. I can count on her for anything!

I couldn't have made it through the last few days without them. They have been my precious angels, watching over me to make sure I made it through. I'll never be able to pay them back for their kindness. I just hope they always know that I'd do it for them...anytime. I love you girls!

My Princess! What a beautiful girl God gave me. Mallory loves everything pink and has a huge heart for animals. She especially loves stuffed animals. We had a date night tonight. She went to Kindermusik with Emily and Ava and then I picked her up for dinner. We went to the Dollar Store to look around and she wanted every stuffed animal they had. She really loved this stuffed dog that was almost as big as she is tall. It made some kind of noise and when it did, she would laugh as loud as she could. She rubbed its belly and kept saying "Mommy, it really loves to be petted." After loving on every thing she could, she finally settled for a small, black, "lab-looking" puppy. When the clerk asked her what his name was, she never hesitated on her answer. It would be "Mason". The clerk caught on that it must be someone she knew. She just laughed. I finally talked her into calling the dog "Blackie". So she and Blackie are tucked away in her bed. But not before we had to dress-up.

This child loves to dress-up. She told me exactly how to style her hair, and which toe to paint first. She held the bottle of polish so "I wouldn't spill it on the new carpet". I had to con her into getting a bath, but she wouldn't let me wash off the make-up. As she was going to sleep, she says, "Mom, I love wearing your make-up. Now I look beautiful like you." What a sweet child....makes me cry. My camera is not taking such good pictures these days, but I needed a momento of this evening.

I miss my boys. Two more days and they'll be home. Mason is doing great! I have such a good feeling about his future. So smart!

Here I am. Up again. This sleep thing is really on my nerves. I think I need sleep, but I lay down and can't seem to keep my eyes closed. I toss and turn for hours, my legs get restless, and my mind seems to think about all of the things I should have done that day, but didn't. I think I work hard during the day. For example, I had church at 9:00, lunch appointment at 1:00, packing for Mason & Christian, laundry, church again from 4:30-7:15. You'd think that should be enough. But.....here I am. I'm tired, admittatedly, but so much to think about. I wonder did I pack everything. Will Mallory be lonely? Will Mason miss me? Will he want to play with Mallory and she won't be there? Will he be mad at me? Did I get the nursery handled today or did something happen? Did the Praise Team sound good today? Did I get my parts right during practice tonight? Should I layout something for dinner tomorrow night, or get something quick? UGH!!!!!! Mindless stuff, but yet, still going through my mind. I prayed hard today about our decisions. I asked two very faithful people to pray with me today. I felt such a peace when I left church this morning. I still feel that peace, but I hope the week goes as planned.

God, please bless my sweet children. They are the true life in me. I love every fiber that you gave them, and more. I pray that our decisions are in Your will and that we continue on that path. I pray for Mason as he takes a new and exciting journey this week. May it be filled with wonder and learning for his big mind. I pray for Mallory and her kind heart. I know she is already missing her brother, but hopefully, Mommy can help fill the void. I pray for me, as I struggle this week with the distance between my family. I pray for Christian and his patience. May he have just a small portion this week to be strong and understanding with Mason. I pray for my mother (God help her!) as she cares for my boys. I know she'll take good care of them. I cry tears of joy tonight as I write this prayer. Please cover every person in my family with Your love and wisdom. Help us all to be servants of You. Amen.

I've prayed and turned it over to God. Now hopefully, I can sleep. Good night my precious angels.

Thursday night the kids spent the night with my parents. Mallory had been asking for days to "see her Nanny". That is my grandmother. The kids love to go to their house because they can get out all of the toys, play in Nanny's make-up, eat every 10 mins. and not have to worry about someone fussing at them about picking up toys. But they ended up spending the night at my mom's house, GeeGee. She lets them get away with just about as much as Nanny does. Then on Friday, we met my mom, grandparents, my sister and my brother for lunch in downtown Atlanta. Its a great Chinese restaurant called MuLan, near my old job in Midtown. There is a water fountain and tub out in front of the restaurant. Mason asked my mom if that is where you get "babatized". It was so funny to hear such a serious question come out of his mouth in such a funny way. We laughed about that for so long. The food was really good.

Dinner club was at our house last night. (It was a long, exhausting day for me!) We love dinner club. AnnMarie, Tom, Margaret, and Roy came over for dinner and we had meatloaf. It was great! Tom and Ann Marie have a daughter, Gracie, who is just a few months older than Mallory. The kids have a great time playing and destroying the house. We have a great time eating and playing cards (or Wii). Dinner Club is every Friday night (or most Fridays) and we rotate houses. The kids love it and we try all kinds of new recipes. We've been getting together for almost a year now, and its always a good time. Next week is at Ma and Roy's house, and we're having a new Mexican dish! Yummie!

Today is Gracie's birthday, so we'll be going to her party at noon. Bowling! Happy Birthday, Gracie! Its hard to believe you and Mallory will be 4 yrs. old this year.

Wow! I was ready for the cold weather, but I don't think anyone else in my house wanted to have anything to do with it. We made a fire this afternoon, and the kids loved it. We roasted marshmellows and they almost made themselves sick. Mason really wants to go camping. He's always asking us if we can get a camper. He wants to go hiking. I think he must have seen it somewhere because I don't think he realizes how much work hiking can be. Mallory didn't like the fire. She kept saying her face was going to "burn off". Their cheeks were so red by the time they were done. They should have been nice and warm to get it bed this evening.

So, Emily is encouraging me to post to the blog. I hope I don't get addicted. I might have to give up Facebook, which would really be alright with me. I don't have time for both. What I need to make time for is working out. I really want a treadmill, but I got "the look" from Christian when I mentioned it Sunday night. I'm sure he was thinking it would be just another piece of furniture. But I really don't have time to do anything else since he works so much. Maybe he'll give in.

I'm working on some Easter music for the church. I like our new Minister of Music and he's asked me to help with some of the administrative duties. I have to keep the nursery going too, so we'll see how much time I can devote. We have a singin' :0) this Wednesday night, so that will be fun. We have a birthday party this weekend at the bowling alley for our friend, Gracie. I can't believe she and Mallory will turn four years old this year. Better keep working on the next one, otherwise it'll be like having two families! Happy trying!

Today I took the kids to eat sushi for lunch. Mallory wanted to yesterday after church, but Christian doesn't like the food. He promised them that I would take them today since we were out of school. I did some housework first thing, and made the kids pick up their toy room. On our way to the restaurant, Mallory was trying to have a conversation with Mason. He wouldn't answer her and she was getting highly frustrated with him. When she asked me to intervene, he says "Mom, I'm talking to Jesus and I don't want to be interupted." So I had to ask Mallory to wait. His conversation began to happen out loud and Mason began to tell Jesus where we were going. He asked for Jesus to not make it rain, because he really wanted to play outside. He also didn't want it to rain because he and Daddy wanted to play golf. He also mentioned that we were going into a restaurant and he'd have to use his table manners.

Its amazing what they pick up on and how they express themselves to others. Mason is so into God and Jesus and the whole religion thing, which makes me feel like I'm doing my job as a parent. However, I'm having a hard time answering all the questions. I'm just glad he's wanting to know. His Sunday school teacher says he always asks the most involved questions, yet he usually can't tell us what the lesson was about. It might take him a day or two to get it out for me. And even then, it'll just come out some how. I won't even have to ask him about it.

We're back to school tomorrow, so we'll be back to the routine. I look forward to those days and I know the kids do too.

I'm trying to wrap my head around a new website that Emily has me reading. Moneysavingmom.com is very complex for me. I'm looking to save money and I know it can be done. Its just been a while that I've worked hard to save it at the grocery store. When Christian first started the business and when we had Alyssa and Ski, we had to save every penny. I clipped coupons, bought in bulk, shopped at the food pantry, signed the girls up for WIC, whatever it took. Then it kind of got easier as the years went by. Now were not hurting, but every penny could make a difference. I'm trying to be supportive of Christian's effort to put money back into the business. I'm just trying to figure out how to do it without taking another job! UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!