I wouldn't read this if I were you

I have absolutely nothing to blog about that would be of any use to you.  But for those of you who are blogstalkers of many, like myself, I become deeply disappointed when I hop over to my favorite blogs only to find there is no post.

I like redundancy.  I like monotony.  Call me old fashioned.

The truth is I am preparing for a humongous post for tomorrow, so check back.  All my brain cells are exhausted from the pre-blog post workout.  In fact, I'm not even feeling like paragraphs today.  So here is the most unimportant things I can tell you right now:


1.  In an effort to reach my goal of finishing a 5K this spring/summer, I have reached my goal before the 5K goal of running a ten-minute mile.  Due to that fact, I have purchased some runner's apparel, because we all know that the number one rule in life is to dress the part.  Not to mention, if I pass out, trip and fall, or begin hurling my insides in front of everyone, I at least want to look good.

2.  The garden is planted.  This is an invite to every squirrel, rabbit, and deer within the county.  And yes, the turtle that took 1 bite out of every low lying tomato, you are invited, too.  I just didn't want any of you to be the last to know.  But I'm drawing the line at snakes.  All snakes, you are not invited. 

3.  Blue absolutely hates all kinds of food that one should eat with a spoon. 

Cereal?  He'd rather not.  Carrots?  He'll pass.  Sweet potatoes?  He's not interested.  Squash?  He suddenly can't open his mouth.  Green beans?  He's gagging.  Pears?  He'll try, but...  Apples?  Not really.  Bananas?  This has to be some type of abuse.  Peaches?  Just give him the bottle.

I've tried mixing the food in with the cereal.  I'm not fooling him. 

4.  Husband is doing a fabulous job as Little's assistant coach in t-ball.  Because of my work schedule, I have been unable to make it to a practice.  In talks with the coach, who just happens to be my cousin, she says things like:

"She is in la-la-land 24/7.  Isn't she?"
"I'll tell her to get her glove, and she tells me, "No, I'm not ready yet."

Husband informed me that at her last practice, when it was her turn to bat, she hollered out to all the players on the field, "You guys ready?" 

I'm sure the Olympic softball team will be beating down our door soon.

We are on the mend

Well, it appears as quickly as the stomach virus entered our home, so shall it leave.

Little was fairly puny yesterday, but she began to perk up last night about 7 PM.  Tinkerbell is truly the best medicine.  I've always said that.

Because what is Easter without a stomach bug?

Busy, busy weekend.

Friday night after I got home from work, the fam, minus Blue, dyed Easter eggs.  Fortunately, Blue had a decent nap and waited for me to arrive before loudly protesting that it was time for bed.

So we got really artsy and made some two-toned eggs.  That's a mighty improvement from last year.  And because I knew the weekend was going to be jammed packed, I knew I had to go get groceries if we wanted to eat at some point.

Price matched some produce and frozen goods and used twenty-nine dollars worth of coupons.  You heard me correctly.  $29 in coupons, because that is how we do things around my house.  That's like a half tank of gas.  Isn't that a shame?  Half tank.

Saturday, it was an early rise and shine kind of morning.  Little and I made resurrection rolls, but this year was different.  She was able to follow the events.  And the marshmallow was gone.

Then, we hurried to make it to the church egg hunt and picnic, which was a blast for Little until the Easter Bunny showed up.  She waved at him, but that was it.

And then, she cried when she got in the car, because she didn't have her picture made with him.  I guess she forgot about the ten minutes we spent trying to convince her to take a picture with Blue and the Easter Bunny.

Husband was so perplexed by the situation he finally said to me, "It must be awful being one of y'all."  I think he was referring to us being female, which is why the Easter Bunny did not leave him anything.

Big Daddy and Baboo came over to give Little and Blue their happies and visited for a while.

And then Little decided that it was time to go play golf.  So we headed out to the golf course.  Husband played while Little and I drove the golf cart.  Her favorite game is Leave Him.  We wait until Husband gets close enough to the cart to put his club in the bag, I look at Little, and she whispers, "Leave him."  We are both really mature for our ages.

After an exhausting round of golf, we headed over to Nona's for supper, and Little decided that she was going to stay with Nona.

The only time she has spent the night away from us was when Blue was born.

I just knew that she wouldn't let us walk out the door without changing her mind, but she did.  And then I just knew that she wouldn't last until we got home, but she did.  But I knew there was no way that she was going to sleep without wanting me to read her story or Husband to say prayers with her, but she went to sleep.  And then I knew that she would not last all night, but she did.

And Husband was up and out the door to get her by 6AM.  I'm sure he will tell you that he just wanted to get her home early, so she could enjoy her Easter basket before church.  And we will all nod agreeably out of courtesy.

She had completely forgotten that the Easter bunny was suppose to come.  She walked in and told Blue that she missed him while giving him a kiss, ignored me, and opened the refrigerator.  I told her that I missed her, and as I was about to point her in the direction of the baskets, she informed me that, "I just don't want to talk."

Y'all it's hard being three.

But she perked up when she saw her basket of fun snacks, books, and stuff.  And Blue got baby food, formula, and Orajel.  I'll say that bunny gets smarter every year, because Blue cut his first two teeth on Easter Sunday.

And after church and a short visit with Husband's grandparents, we all went into a coma for several hours before planting the garden.

And Little woke up this morning with the stomach virus.  Because what holiday is complete without a little sickness?  So we sent the kids to opposite caretakers this morning.

What is your cross?

Good Friday.

Easter is most definitely my favorite holiday.  If your heart is found via your stomach, the Easter candy may just be your reason to love this holiday.  I happen to have a love affair with all things Cadbury.  They can do no wrong.

A few years ago, I read a life-changing book by Max Lucado.  Six Hours One Friday.  Catchy title, catching book.  In a nutshell, Lucado discusses every aspect of the crucifixion.  At least for me, the book created a never-satisfying hunger for Christ, for the events that occurred were for His never-satisfied hunger for us.

(Think the parable of the sheep.  Ninety-nine just wasn't enough.  Certainly not, when there was one more.)

He carried the cross.  He carried the sin.  Oh, not His sin.  Our sin.  He carried it as the cross to the cross.  Ironic?

So what cross are you carrying?  Will you join me there at the cross?  Will you lay it down?  It's not yours to carry.  He already carried it.  That sin.  That burden.  That heartache.

Good Friday.  It sure can be.

Let it go.

Good Friday.

Lay it down.

Good Friday.

It sure is.

Prayer warrior

This morning on my way to work, I drove through the worst weather possible.  I even believe that just because I didn't see a funnel cloud doesn't mean it wasn't there.

There were several times that it was all I could do to hold my car on the road.  The wind was overwhelming, and the rain was torrential.

When the hail began banging against my car, I pulled off the interstate and joined the masses parked under an overpass.

I was on the phone with Husband, who was taking cover in a bathroom at work.  I was having a hard time catching my breath.  My heart seemed like it was going into overdrive.

And as I look at the building where Husband was seeking refuge, I was in the elements.

And finally, the hail stopped.  The wind slightly calmed.  I made it safely to work.

After arriving, my hands tingled for nearly an hour, because I had been gripping the steering wheel so tight for so long.

I thank God for the prayer warrior that felt the urgency to lift me up and obeyed God by doing so.

Funnel cloud to the right.  You now know why.

(Picture taken by someone else.  This is the overpass I was under.)

Sing it

Apparently, yesterday's ferocious thunderstorm I drove through made it's way to my home, because by the time I made it there, the lights had went out. 

That's the night that the lights went out in Georgia
sing it Reba

I couldn't resist myself.   You can thank me later when you cannot get that song out of your head. 

We made the most out of an inconvenient situation, once Entergy's automated system told us our power would not be restored until tomorrow, which is today. 

We fired up the grill and the accompanying side burner.  We reheated tenderloin on the grill, stewed some squash, and heated some green peas.  The entire time Little keeps running out in the rain, Husband keeps correcting her, and she replies, "I'm sorry, Daddy.  It's an accident."  By the seventeenth accidental time she ran out in the ran, Husband made a move toward her, which resulted in her running around my car to get behind me.  We are definitely in for it.

At some point, we made it inside and ate by candlelight.  After supper, Little kept trying to cut the TV on.  I managed to think about my lap top being charged, so we were able to watch some of a DVD on the computer prior bedtime. 

And since she's a little afraid of the dark, I allowed her to sleep with me.  Husband is a big ole chicken and slept on the couch. 

(He's paying for it today.  You can't spell couch without "ouch."  I just came up with that on the spot.  Maybe I should pursue a career in marketing.  You know, like coming up with catchy slogans.)

(On second thought, I'd probably have to come up with something for a product that I couldn't think of anything nice to say about it.  Like 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioners, which should really be 3-in-1 shampoo, conditioners, and tangles.)

Can someone explain to me the Law of Children's Sleep Movements?  Little, to be so little, takes up three-fourths of the bed.  Apparently, her feet were cold, because they reverted back to digging into my ribs, like way back in 2008.  Umm, I thought those days were over.  Apparently not.

The power was restored sometime around midnight.  Which makes complete and utter silence turn into all sorts of noises that you never pay attention to but somehow call peace and quiet. 

And I realize that I am just rambling.  This kind of stuff may be what the blog turns in to.

Weekend wrap up

If you have not seen my blog post from Friday, please do so before continuing. 

Last night, I made a conscious decision to charge the camera battery.  The blog is looking pathetic without any pictures.  And you will not believe how much Little and Blue have grown. 

This weekend, I did a lot of trial runs to see how things will work when I am a full-time mommy.

Every year, we have a garden.  Little has always enjoyed it so.  Saturday we made our annual adventure to the co-op to purchase plants.  Unfortunately, they did not have the type of tomato or squash plants we were looking for.  However, we were able to purchase corn, watermelon, zucchini, cucumber, and bell pepper plants and seeds. 

I was so bogged down with Blue that Little got to carry her very own basket of plants.  While waiting in the check-out line, she begins to belt out, rather loudly, a song that I made up to coax her into leaning her head back in the bath.  She never ceases to amaze me. 

After checking out, the sweet young fellow behind the counter insisted on helping me to the car.  I resisted at first, but then I realized there was no way for me make it to the car in one trip with all the plants and seeds and both kids.  The luxuries of living in a small town.

Then we made a quick trip to a local boutique where I found Blue some shoes on sale.  We also went by the cleaners, and I will now be using the drive through.  Until Saturday, I had wondered why on earth the cleaners needed a drive through.  The cleaners do not need a drive through, the mommies that use the cleaners need a drive through.  Cue the light bulb over my head. 

I wonder if the co-op will ever get a drive through.

Some how, we all survived.  Everyone that left home with me made it back.  I'm thinking it was a success.

Sunday, after service, we went to visit my grandparents.  Baboo spread out a quilt in her back yard under a shade tree.  Blue had the best time laying there.  Any time the wind blew the leaves, he would kick with excitement.  Little ran through their back yard barefoot and managed to find the only stitch of mud in their yard.

But I had a revelation.  As I sat on the quilt with Blue watching Little run through the yard, picking flowers and looking for squirrels and birds, it hit me.  This is what God intended for His Sabbath day.  Rest.  It shouldn't be about rushing around trying to get things ready for the week ahead. 

Now, I am fully aware that I can still rest on Sundays and work during the week.  I could just plan ahead.  I could do all the laundry and cleaning on Saturday.  I could pack their bags on Saturday. 

But if that is what you were thinking, you have the wrong idea of rest. 

I did laundry yesterday.  I put out ant poison in the yard.  I cooked.  I cooked ahead for tonight. 

But yesterday, I rested.  I did not take a nap, but I rested.  I did not lay around all day, but I rested. 

Although, I am sure that God intended for physical rest, but for me, I'm thinking that He also meant to some extent of spiritual rest.  Emotional rest.  Rest from when I stopped trying to tell God how my life should be.

And He showed me rest.