Be Careful Little Mouth What You Say

I have to constantly watch what I say around my two little repeaters. They mimic just about every move I make...especially little Elizabeth. She just loves to be big - however that may be.

I have had some really good laughs lately because Lizzy wants to be so big.

Just yesterday, the kids were eating some homemade mac-n-cheese at their little table which also happens to be right beside Sydney's kennel. We put the dog in her kennel when we eat, but Lizzy loves to let the dog out. She did that while they were eating, and Syd rushed over to smell Lizzy's food. I cannot even describe the scolding that Lizzy gave, but I can share her words..."that's a bad idea, son!" Andrew and I just fell over laughing so hard. Lizzy got right up and locked the dog back in her kennel, and Andrew and I just laughed and laughed. She was mimicking the exact phrase that she has heard her dad say to Andrew a million times. Super funny especially hearing it out of a 2 year old!

Now, the next little laugh was really quite disturbing, but non the less super funny. I was bathing WITH Lizzy. It's just so much easier that way (some of you may remember what happened one time when I wasn't bathing with Lizzy that caused me a lot of pain b/c I'm so uncoordinated). It goes a lot quicker too, and it saves water :) I usually shower, but this particular day she begged for a bath. So we were sitting there, and she said ever so sincerely, "Mommy, your boobies are so pretty." Knowing how important this was to her (as she checks herself out in the mirror all the time - and yes, she's gonna kill me one day for sharing that), I told her she had beautiful boobies too. She beamed ever so proudly. It was a disturbing moment that I shared later with Mat, and we got a good crying kind of laugh over it.

She is a mess, but what can I say, she learns from the best. Andrew says the best and funniest things all the time. Between the two of them, there is never a dull moment!

Monkey Toes

I just had to share...

This morning has been a little wonkey. Andrew had a nightmare, slept super late, and then we had to take the car for some work. That has pushed school time a little later than normal, but we're working hard to learn learn learn around here.

Andrew had a math test today. After the test, he's supposed to color a page in his math book. Today it was a monkey holding his test scores with his little feet sticking out from under the scores. Andrew colored it, and I watched as he bent down and smelled the monkey feet. Elizabeth went over to Andrew's math book, bent over and smelled the monkeys toes, and all giggles erupted as Andrew told Lizzy, "it's not scratch and sniff, Lizzy!" Then they laughed and laughed about how they smelled the monkeys toes.

Learning isn't just about knowing, and I love how it fills our house with laughter and joy! That's my favorite part about being a homeschool mom.

Storms

Mat is currently working in Bristol, CT at ESPN. He is going to be there for a week, and in the meantime, we are 2 hours away in East Greenbush, NY visiting with my sister and her family.

We were up here 5 years ago, and while we were here, there was a huge snowstorm that shut down the city. I'd never seen so much snow! We can back last Christmas to visit with my sister, and there was a beautiful snowstorm. This week is much like that first year. The snow has been falling consistently, and they even closed the schools here yesterday. The snow turned into ice, and now there is a thick layer of ice on top of the snow - much like magic shell on top of ice cream (only much thicker).

It's not much different from the storm I heard Georgia had last week. It left Georgia out of school for an entire week. It was this storm that caused a bigger storm in the hearts of my lifetime friends the Legg family. Their husband/father slipped on a patch of ice and hit his head very hard. He passed away sometime this morning. My heart goes out to the Legg family, and my whole family is grieving right along with them. They weren't just friends - they are family. I've known that family my entire life. I grew up with their children, and we have spent many special days together. Please keep them in your prayers.

While the ice and snow is so pretty, it's so very dangerous. Please be careful and take extra caution.

Velcro

This morning I got Lizzy all ready to go to a cheer competition. She was adorable in her cute little brown outfit with matching brown shoes. I also gave her two braids...not the easiest task involving a 2 year old but quite worth the tangle free hair later! If you know her at all, you know that she is quite the fashion expert. She wants to wear what she wants or there will be a meltdown (there are lots of those around here b/c 2 year olds don't often get what they want). She decided that she wanted to wear a baseball cap with Winnie the Pooh on it.

So this Pooh had Velcro on the back so you could size it to fit lots of heads. She didn't like how it fit her so she tightened the Velcro, and the Velcro got stuck in her hair...seriously stuck.

This was all happening as I was driving to see the cheer competition. I asked Andrew to give it a good tug, and it was so stuck that it didn't budge...at all. That meant that when Andrew tugged the hat, it must have seriously pulled her hair. She didn't make a peep. Andrew decided to try once more, and again, the hat didn't move a single bit.

I was watching through the mirror to see her response, and I just busted out laughing at the expressionless look on her face. That got Andrew tickled so he started laughing. I just knew I was going to have to pull over to console her and rub on her injured head, but you know what she did. She laughed.

So instead of having a complete meltdown (as she usually does), we all ended up belly laughing. I was super proud of her, and we all had so much fun sharing laughter.

And though she doesn't realize it, her secret is out. Her head is not nearly as sensitive as she's been making it out to be all these years...all 2 of them!

Behind the Times

Despite what many people think, I do not know anything about technology...beyond how to send a receive an email and text on my non internet cell phone at least. And I'm quite ok with that. I don't think I want to get emails everywhere I go or be able to look up something on the internet all the time. In fact, I find it quite annoying and rude when people are on the iPhone all the time. I sounds super old fashioned, but put down the iPhone and just say hello every once and a while. I'm not saying that if you have one of these devices you automatically use it too much, and I'm not saying that I'll never have one. I'm just saying *most* people use it too much.

With all that being said, I've wanted an iPod for a while. It wasn't a burning desire, but I thought it would be nice to listen to a podcast (like an Andy sermon) while I was exercising. Beyond that, I didn't think I'd really use it much.

So last night, we were watching Grey's...our trash TV for the week. I also watch Biggest Loser but that's not trash! I digress... So we were watching TV when a package appeared in my lap out of nowhere. It was elegantly wrapped with a very pretty bow too. Mat told me to open it. He got me an iPod nano. I was really surprised, floored, excited, and it made me feel really special to know that Mat had picked up on the idea that I wanted an iPod. I only think I mentioned it once.

We've downloaded a lot of music along with my Andy podcast, and it's all charged up too. Now, I'm just not really sure what to do with it...but I'm still excited. I'm honestly a little scare that I'll lose it...it's so small!

So does anyone have a favorite podcast that you'd like to share with me? I think this thing could be addicting!

Boots

Yesterday, I spent my day going through Elizabeth's old clothes, and packing the kids up for a trip to New England. As I was packing, I was trying to find warm clothing to keep the kids warm in the 20 inch snowstorm they just had. Andrew is fully equipped with a snowsuit and snow boots. He also has some gloves which I'm currently having a difficult time tracking down. Lizzy, on the other hand, has a snow suit, but she doesn't have any good shoes to wear in the cold. I thought how fun it would be for Lizzy to have snow boots, but there is NO WHERE to get anything like that down in sunny Florida so I just forgot about it.

Later in the evening, Mat came home from work with a couple bags filled with hand-me-downs for Elizabeth. I anxiously opened the bags, and can you guess what was in there....SNOW BOOTS!

It's it amazing the blessings that God gives us?!

Pockets

Since Andrew was a tiny little guy he's been hiding toys in his pockets. Most often, that toy is a small car, Bakugan, or Lego man. I'm sure many of you can relate. I didn't allow him to take toys with him b/c I didn't want them to get lost, but Andrew was always very responsible with his toys. Only one toy (Percy the train with a long icicle on his nose) ever got left behind or lost in the process.

Not unlike her brother, Elizabeth loves to put toys in her pockets. However, most of her clothes don't have pockets, but that doesn't stop her. She just puts the toys in her pants right in front of her diaper/pull-up. The difference is that Lizzy never remembers her toys. When I take off her pants at night I find all kinds of crazy things...her toy cell phone, her tiny baby dolls, her play makeup, and my favorite - her play silverware.

Andrew and I always get a kick out of watching her hide her toys in her pants :) She thinks she's just too cool!

Church Hunt

Another church hunt began yesterday after being planted in a church for 6 months. It turned out that church was filled with lies or just plain apathy, and all we could see was hurt and more hurt. It became an awful situation so we decided this was God's way of nudging us to move on... and so it begins again.

I really *dislike* searching for a church. It's really hard to find the right balance of teaching for adults and our children. There is also the music thing and the safety of our children thing to watch out for. The last church saw no reason to keep our children safe. In fact, it got so out of hand that we almost watched as Lizzy climbed a 7 foot ladder unassisted as her teachers just watched from a distance. I know there is no perfect church, but we know there are so many that are way under par an unacceptable by even a non believer.

We did visit a brand new church within walking distance of our house. Dr. Ravi Zacharias spoke as a grand opening speaker, and that night a group called Leeland did a concert. The kinds and adults alike enjoyed the service, and we'll have to visit again on a normal church day as opposed to a grand opening Sunday. It seems promising - especially the walking distance from home part!

Pray for us as we go through another change. It's no fun to search for a new church.

Another New Year

I hate New Year's Resolutions. Not because I never follow through with them, but because I just think that a New Year doesn't need to be the reason to begin a life goal.

I recently read an introduction to a book by Beth Moore. She clearly and so eloquently described the power of new beginnings. She said that she had a bad day once, and that at the end of the bad day her husband asked her about her day. The only thing she could say was that the bad day just got worse so she was thankful for a new beginning in the morning. She said that we not only get a new beginning at each year but also each month, each week, and each day. I loved her description as I could relate. Sometimes I yearn for a new morning too - especially having two young children who constantly bicker and just wear me down. I so need a new beginning after the year I've had.

So this year I'm thankful for my new beginning. Not so I can make new resolutions. I'm just glad to flee from 2010 and never look back. I'm in a new city, and I know that God has big things in store for me. I'm anxious to see just what they are!