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    • Remember yesterday when I said…

    By bella | May 8, 2008

    that I’d be leaving my children home the next time I went to Walmart?  Yeah, well, that didn’t happen!  Turns out the photo I had printed was TOO BIG for the frame. 

    Sigh!

    So, I had to eat my words AND take an extra kiddo along, because of course I didn’t discover the problem until after Samuel was home from school.  I almost cried when I realized that I’d have to load and unload everyone to take them to Walmart, come home, fix dinner, and THEN load them all up again to go get Daddy for Bible Class. 

    Thankfully I still have half a brain, so I decided to upload the image to Walmart.com (praying I had re-sized it correctly!), and we waited until it was almost time to go get Daddy before we left to go pick it up –  so only ONE load and unload and reload!

    The picture was ready when the website said it would be.  It fit exactly as it should have in the frame.  Crisis diverted!

    And my kids?  They did awesome!  I only had to give one warning to “STAY WITH MOMMY, PLEASE!” It ALMOST made me think I could do that again sometime soon.

    Almost. 

     

    Topics: Just Stuff | 2 Comments »

    My daughter, the shopper…

    By bella | May 7, 2008

    Allan and I only have one car.

    Wait, no…that’s not right. We actually have 4 cars, a truck and a motor home… but we only have ONE car that runs well enough and that I’m allowed to drive.

    Well, allowed is the wrong word – it’s just safest if I don’t drive the old(er) VW Fox because it’s old(er) and has fuel line problems. (And when I think about fuel line problems, I imagine the car bursting into flames, so I prefer to not drive the Fox, even if I were allowed to drive it).

    And the other two cars are VW Bugs, one of which doesn’t have an engine at the moment (well, not installed anyway), so of course I can’t drive it… and the other VW Bug.. well, NO ONE but Daddy drives that one. (She’s a little like the other woman, in how much Daddy cares for her… at least I hope it’s a she… I really have no idea if the white bug is male or female, but I’ll just go with she cause it fits my analogy).
    What AM I talking about? Apparently I need to write a post about our vehicles, but I’ll save that (the rest of it anyway) for another day.

    I started to say – Allan and I only have one car. And since he works outside of the home, he takes the car on a regular basis. Like every day. Which means I’m left at home with the kids with no car. (Other than the four that I’m not allowed… oh, you know what I mean).

    ANYWAY! Today, I realized I needed to go to Walmart to get a picture printed before we go to Bible Class tonight. Unfortunately, I realized that about the time Allan needed to be heading to work, which meant I couldn’t rush over to Walmart before he left. And since he usually comes home JUST in time (or not) for us to leave for Bible Class, there wouldn’t be any time later either.

    So, I proposed the idea that the kids and I drive him to work, leave him there, and then I head off to Walmart WITH the car! (WOOHOO, an outing! With the kids!) I could then pick him up from work in time to go to Bible Class. Smart plan, yes?

    (And I promise I’ll get to the “my daugher, the shopper” part of the story soon).

    So, after much discussion (begging, pleading.. ok, not really.. but kinda), Allan agreed to my plan. I loaded everything up to get ready to go out (and oh my word, I’ve really not been missing much by staying home – it’s a bit of a nightmare to get it all together to go to the STORE). I fed Martha a quick bottle, so she’d be happy, and I loaded the kids in the car. And then we waited for Daddy to come out of the house, because he doesn’t move as quickly as Mommy does.

    And then we dropped Daddy off at work. And lil Allan asked for three miles (or whatever the distance is exactly from work to Walmart), “Where’s Daddy? Why is he at work? Where are we going? Are we going to Walmart? Where’s Daddy…” Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

    I was a little worn out, and I hadn’t even loaded kids into the shopping cart yet. Thankfully that part went well, and the kids were all bright eyed and excited, because, WOW, they were out of the house and at a STORE!

    Except Martha wasn’t too sure about things, because Mommy had on sunglasses and that was strange, and the wind was really blowing and THAT was strange, and the road was bumpy and THAT was strange.

    And then of course there were the VERY STRANGE strangers who had to talk to the children. And touch them. Excuse me for a minute, but do people NOT know that it’s NOT cool to touch my baby daughter’s MOUTH? Oh my word, it took everything I had not to whip the wipes out right in front of overly-friendly-older-nice-but-kinda-strange lady who thought it would be fun to play with Martha’s lips. (ok, end of little rant in the middle of the extremely long post).

    SO, where was I? OH yes, we were in Walmart. I took care of things at the photo counter, and then had an hour to kill before my picture would be ready. It was time to shop. I needed new sunglasses, and lil Allan wanted some too, so we took care of that. We found Daddy some of the new Indiana Jones themed M&M’s, and picked up a box of absolutely no theme whatsoever Milk Duds for Mommy because, um, well just because. We found some super cheap shorts for the boys, because you can’t have enough pairs of shorts when you live in Las Vegas, and we also found Mommy some new hair thingamabobs to hold her hair up off her neck, since, again we live in Las Vegas and long hair in the summer is NO fun.

    And then we decided to go see if our picture was ready. Which it was not, because the lady behind the counter had to change out the machine IN the machine, and then her little beeper-makes-the-labels machine wasn’t working and she was getting angry and even started banging it on the counter!

    So, we stood at the counter, mouths open wide (ok, just mine) at the lady banging the machine on the counter, and then it happened.

    Sitting just a few feet away from the cart was a misplaced Elmo Bubble Making Machine. Very cute, probably too expensive, but all the kids see is IT’S ELMO! And lil Allan asked if he could have it instead of his sunglasses. Which I expect from the three year old.

    What I did NOT expect is for the 13 month old to throw a hissy fit in Walmart when her Mother said (in a nice tone of voice), “No, we don’t need to buy Elmo today”.

    Now Martha is known for her dramatic reaction to the word no. She doesn’t like that word, and she lets us know it regularly. But, oh my goodness, you would have thought Elmo was chocolate covered in chocolate or something. She pointed, and said, “mo, mo, mo”. And I sweetly said, “No, no, no”. And it continued… for quite some time… (as the lady kept sighing and slamming papers around and banging the machine on the counter). Martha had definitely entered Hissy Fit City, and even lil Allan was embarrassed.

    Finally we got our picture and went on our way, and she quickly forgot about good ole Elmo (thanks in part to another stranger who wanted to TOUCH HER).

    And then some punks decided to stand in line with us and discuss at great length how something was this and something was that, only instead of this and that, they used language which I’d kind of hoped to protect my children from for a little bit longer. I debated what would happen if I actually covered their ears, but since I only had two hands and there were four ears, I just tried to talk REALLY LOUDLY about the GUM and how much FUN it is to CHEW GUM!

    And then Martha wanted gum.

    Suffice it to say, the next time I need to get a picture made at Walmart, the children will be staying home.

    And all I want to know now is, where are my milk duds? Mama needs some chocolate!

    Btw, today is reverse WFMW over at RocksInMyDryer, where you get to share all about what does NOT work for you (and I’ll let you figure out what that is for ME today!!)… click on over to Shannon’s blog and link up your own reverse WFMW post!

    Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »

    Gratituesday – light at the end of the tunnel…

    By bella | May 6, 2008

    If you know me at all, it will come as no surprise to you that I’ve been struggling in a variety of ways since Martha’s birth (13 1/2 months ago). And if I’m honest, there was quite a bit of struggling before that too – health issues, coping with difficult pregnancies while adjusting to a brand new marriage and a new life in Las Vegas, new babies, raising toddlers. Let’s just say that my coping skills have had a very good workout for quite some time.

    God and I have had lots of discussions about my coping abilities, my tendency to try to do things all on my own without His help, and my desire to be less anxious, less stressed, more calm, and more “together”. Ok, let’s just call it what it is – perfectionism. Control. Wanting things MY way. Or the highway. It’s like a blanket that covers every aspect of life, and really – it’s not pretty.

    Thankfully God is always there to provide relief and to say, “of course I’ll take that burden, now LEAVE it with me this time, will you?” And lately, while there are still a few things that I’m vigorously working on (mostly spiritual, and a topic for another time), at least in the “home” department I’ve been feeling a little lighter. And by lately – I mean the last few days.

    We had a pretty rough end of March and most of April – lots of illness all around, and a trip to the ER with little Allan. An IEP meeting for Samuel, for next school year (which admittedly stressed me out a lot more than I let on). The end of “birthday season” (thank goodness!). Issues at church.

    During all this, I’ve been working (with God) on my attitudes, my responses, my organization and my scheduling. My tendency to over-book myself. Trying to find a little balance between home and work and God and just being ME.

    And there was a moment yesterday, when lil Allan was taking a nap, and Martha was playing at my feet, and I was finishing up a THIRD Heavenly Promises order that I realized – wow, today was a really GOOD day! Yes, we all still have the sniffles, and we had some stressful moments, but all in all, it went really well.

    I managed to remember to eat breakfast! And take my pill! And we got the clutter picked up, and the kitchen table cleared off, and the floor swept. I did THREE orders, start to finish, while the kids played around me. We watched a little TV together and I tried to get Martha to walk without me. (She’s so stubborn!)

    If you’d been a fly on the wall, you probably wouldn’t have seen anything particularly magical about yesterday’s accomplishments, but for a few moments, I felt peace and happiness and a sense that we’re making progress. I am profoundly grateful that through everything God is there, making it easier, providing relief and refuge when I get overwhelmed, and reminding me often to LET IT GO already! It’s a process, but I finally feel like I’m taking steps forward!

    So, that’s what I’m thankful for today. What are YOU thankful for, and how is God blessing your life? You can read more Gratituesday posts over at Laura’s blog.

    Topics: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

    I’ve been tagged!

    By bella | April 30, 2008

    SueZQue tagged me a few days ago… so, here goes! :-)

    What was I doing ten years ago?
    Living in York, NE – working and going to school (as a very OLD student… or at least a lot OLDER than the 18 year olds I was in class with). :-)

    5 places I have travelled:
    Las Vegas, NV (who knew I’d end up here?)
    Maupin, OR
    York, Nebraska
    Abilene, Texas
    Tulsa, Oklahoma
    (apparently ALL our vacations are family or friend oriented)

    5 snacks or treats I enjoy:
    Diet Coke
    Popcorn
    Milk Duds
    Nachos
    Chocolate of any kind

    What would I do if I were a billionaire?
    Give money away every day to everyone I know who needs it
    Pay off all my debts and the debts of everyone I know and love
    Hire a maid and a cook
    Buy a mini-van
    Set up funds for my childrens’ futures.

    Places I have lived:
    Sacramento, CA
    Lincoln, CA
    Santa Rosa, CA
    San Leandro, CA
    York, NE

    Jobs I have had:
    Nursing Assistant
    Drive-in Movie Theater attendant
    Clerk in a craft store
    Pre-school Teacher
    Self-employed

    People I am tagging:
    I am so bad at this – how about if you read this, consider yourself TAGGED!!

    Topics: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

    Gratituesday… new nephew!

    By bella | April 29, 2008

    Ok, he’s been here since the 14th, and I’m just now getting around to mentioning him?  BAD Auntie Char!

    My brother Ken and his wife Sarah welcomed a new baby boy to the family on the 4/14, AT 4:14 p.m.  His name is Brodrick Jonathan, and we all call him Brody.  Now, for a few pictures…

    And the one that makes me cry every time I see it…

    I’m so, so, so thankful for this baby boy Brody… for his two big sisters, Gracie and Clara, and for their daddy and mama – my little brother Ken and his wife Sarah. 

    And today, I especially want to say a little prayer of thanks for Sarah.  She just went through a third pregnancy – one that they didn’t completely plan to experience – but she made it through like a trouper and helped bring a huge blessing to our entire family. 

    Sarah is an awesome mom, and I aspire to be like her.  I know I never will BE like her, because God made us different, but I still try!  She is soft-spoken, gentle, caring, sweet, nurturing, calm, collected, loving, and so much more.  She is totally gonna rawk this “Mom of three” business – and I’m sure she’ll do it better than I do!  (In fact, she’s probably already handling it easily, while a year later I’m still in survival mode!)

    Sarah is the perfect wife for my brother, and the perfect mom to his kids.  I’m so glad God brought her into our family and made us sisters.  And I can’t wait to get on a plane so I can hug her and the rest of the gang, and tell her in person how thankful I am for her and those three amazing kiddos she gets to raise up!

    And yes, in case you haven’t guessed, I’m nominating Sarah for Laura’s “Honoring Mom’s” Mother’s Day event. 

    And now I’m gonna go look at baby Brody’s pictures again and try not to miss them all so much!

    P.S. I would have posted a picture of Sarah and Brody, but I’m pretty sure she would prefer that I NOT post pictures of her in hospital garb right after delivering a baby.  Call me silly…

     

     

    Topics: Gratituesday | 3 Comments »

    Gratituesday – a bulleted list

    By bella | April 21, 2008

    It’s time for another Gratituesday post, and today I’m writing a list. Not sure why, but it’s just what felt right.
    Today I’m thankful…

    What are YOU thankful for? Write a post, and leave your link at Laura’s blog at HeavenlyHomemakers.com!

    Topics: Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

    It’s Bloggy Giveaway Time!

    By bella | April 21, 2008

    I’m doing giveaways for most of the week at DigiScrapChat.com!  Be sure to check it out… every day. :-)

    Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »

    Gratituesday – how blessed we are…

    By bella | April 15, 2008

    The last couple of days have a little rough. With a pretty icky allergy attack on my part, followed up with a trip to the ER for lil Allan – I’m still feeling a little wiped out. (You can read all the details in my recent posts at DigiScrapChat.com, if you haven’t already).

    I woke up this morning still achey and listening to lil Allan cry because he can’t have milk. It wasn’t the most pleasant of ways to wake up, but it was a huge improvement over yesterday’s events.

    I’m so thankful that lil Allan is doing better, and I’m thankful that he is healthy enough to actually throw a fit because he can’t have milk today.

    I’m thankful for a flexible work environment (i.e., I’m the boss and own my own business), so I can take a couple of days off – or at the very least I can work in little spurts in between holding and cuddling my kiddos.

    I’m thankful that we have health insurance, a 911 response team that comes within 3 minutes of a phone call, a clean hospital to take our children to when they are sick, doctors and nurses to care for them and reassure us that they will be ok.

    I’m thankful that lil Allan’s croupy cough is gone, or nearly gone. His fever is gone. He is fussy because of the milk issue, but he’s on the mend!

    I’m not glad that lil Allan went through the croupy experience, but I’m thankful that IF one of my kids had to experience it, that it wasn’t Martha who is still so little and unable to tell us how she feels.

    I’m thankful for the night of sleep that we ALL managed to have last night.

    What are you thankful for today? Feel free to share in the comments here, or head on over to Laura’s blog at HeavenlyHomemakers.com and link us up to your blog post about Gratituesday!

    Topics: Gratituesday | 1 Comment »

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