I love me some 80's.

But really, who doesn't? (And if you don't, I don't know if we can be friends. I kid.)

And who doesn't love listening to amazingly talented people sing or jump or....well, you'll see.

And who isn't inspired, encouraged, comforted, or just filled with happiness or some other lovely emotion when listening to certain music?

And seriously, who doesn't love Africa by Toto?! Just sayin'.




And now you'll be humming, singing, and...snapping that all.day.long.

You're welcome.

But don't just thank me. Thank my friend, Erin, for sending me this little gem.

Not Me! Monday

Since this is definitely not late, I won't just direct you, quickly, to MckMama's place to read what everyone else didn't do this last week. Whether it's true confessions or bragging in disguise (like mine definitely is not) you, too, can join in!

I am not using Not Me! Monday as my forum of choice to get a little caught up on my blogging. Nope. Not me.

After the weekend in which I was not spoiled by an afternoon nap, hubby taking kids to park, hubby cooking dinner, and hubby cleaning up after dinner, we did not also get to have a date "day" the next day while the kids played with Mimi and Papa.

I did not laugh my evil sinister laugh (muwahahahaha!) when my hubby, who for approximately 10 years has refused to step foot into an IKEA since the first (and I was worried, the last) time, suggested (on his own!) that part of our "date day" should include a stop at IKEA and when walking out of said store, then proceeded to admit, "I love IKEA" to me. I did not rejoice after realizing that it would not have to be another 10 years before I could revisit one of my favorite stores of all time.

While at IKEA we did not pick up some chairs to complete our "front" room,

some much needed containers to hold my bulk buys from Winco,

some fun rugs to brighten up the kitchen and cushion my feet while slaving away at the stove or sink,

and a couple other cheap finds.

By the time we left IKEA, a good 3 hours had definitely not come and gone and we were absolutely not desperate for something to fill our bellies.

Being the hater of most things fish, I did not agree to stop at a sushi place for an appetizer just because my hubby was craving it. I did not actually enjoy the 3 (no fish containing) items that I ate. Nope. Not me.

And while getting proof of my sushi eating ways, I absolutely did not sling my soy sauce/wasabi creation all over my shirt and not notice it until getting in the car. (I do not see about a hundred things that I don't like about this picture....all which have something to do with double chins, bug eyes, hair placement and nostrils.)

We then did not take a leisurely stroll along Portland's waterfront, take pictures of this beautiful city, and weird-people watch while furiously licking at our shared ice cream cone that was quickly melting before our very eyes.

But, if all this had taken place, we absolutely would not have found it heavenly to simply be together, strolling (Did you hear me say strolling?! Strolling, people! Not dragging a posse through a store, holding back grabby hands, feeding many hungry mouths, taking "potty breaks", eating McDonald's, putting a movie on in the car for the drive to the city, racing back home for rests/naps/the safety of home.) hand in hand, finishing an entire ice cream cone ourselves, talking....................................

You get the pic.

Well, wonders never cease.

And no, I'm not talking about the fact that I'm actually posting after a week has come and gone since my last post. If you can even call what I wrote last time an actual "post". Although, it is a small wonder that I'm finding making time to sit down and give some attention to my little blog, read by a few faithfuls.

The wonders that I speaketh of are many, though. So I will proceed. You're welcome.

I might, in fact, be referring to the wonder that we finally made it down to California to visit part of Billy's side of the family after having not been for about a year and a half. Too long!

And it's possible that I might be speaking of the wonder of quality time spent just "being" together...
(We started missing you the moment we stepped into the car to leave Tia Gina, Uncle Joe, Dani, Gabe, Ang, Noah, Micah, and baby Lily!)

...and to the wonder of God's creation provided for our enjoyment (and for our cooling off)...
...and to the wonder that IS Puerto Rican Lechon, rice, and beans prepared lovingly by Billy and his uncle (while wearing aprons - why don't I have a picture of that?) (and homemade cheesecake that wasn't around long enough to get a picture of)... ...and to the wonder that kids have for the simple joys of the sprinkler (have I mentioned the cooling off part?)...

...or not...
...and to the wonder of the hand and "bottom" prints...
...which they happened to think looked like a bunny's head. I didn't argue with them.

...and to the wonder of...

(need I say more?)

...and to the wonder of beautiful babes...



(See that boy on the dock? Yup, that's my oldest. And that's about as still and about as close as I could get for a picture the whole time we were there.)

(I couldn't resist, Dani. You ARE one of the beautiful babes.;))

...and the fact that God even gives us the privilege of caring for them.

But the best wonder of all that I might be referring to would be witnessing one of God's miracles in person. The birth of one of God's creations never gets old to me and I couldn't have received a greater blessing to send us off on our way home.

Welcome to this big, crazy, loving, all-up-in-your-business (in a good way), amazing family, sweet baby Lily!! We love you!

...aaaaand...I'm done. And it only took 2 hours 8 minutes 23 seconds (ok, maybe a smidge more), 20+ photos, and more brain cells than I could stand to loose to do it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Wonders never cease.

Speaking of wonders (which I have been, in case you just skipped to the bottom of this post), it's a wonder that you kind people stuck around through that highly overdue monstrosity of a long post. Kudos to you.

Now, if I could just get that "The Contents of my Purse" post, that has you all waiting on pins and needles, drafted. Now that would be a wonder....

Dear Dancing In The Rain,

I'm sorry

I'm neglecting you.

I miss you. Really I do.

But, you see, life

is happening all around me.

And I would miss it more

if I neglected it.

But I know that you'll be here

when I'm ready to fill you with words and pictures again.

Cause I will.

Soon.

I promise.

Next time I'm not

tending to

sinks full of dishes,

couches piled with laundry,

scraped knees,

kids drying off from the pool,

filling the cupboards and fridge,

vacuuming up crumbs,

picking up dirty clothes,

picking up books and toys,

exercising this body,

painting little girl's toenails,

packing for a trip to the park,

cuddling waking babes,

dating my husband,

worshiping my King,

building and nurturing my friendships,

visiting with family,

I'll tend to you.

You understand, don't you?

Not Me! Monday - Vacation Style

We DID go on vacation for 8 days. We DID go to California to see family. We DID have a wonderful time. And I WILL write more about all that later...along with "The Contents of My Purse" post that I promised you and that I know you all are just dying to read. But first, I couldn't pass up "The Confessions of a World Traveler Road Trip Mama" Not Me! Edition. So buckle your seat belts and hold on tight while I bring you up to "speed" on all the things I did NOT do this last week. (Which in layman's terms means I did do.) If you need the driver's manual on how this all works, visit MckMama, so you can pass the test and become a licensed "Not Me-er". Did I take that a little too far?? Naaaah.

We did not have to start out on our 10 hour drive with "Barf Bowl" in hand. We would not be so used to kids feeling sick the morning of the beginning of vacation that we actually have a "Barf Bowl"....and it's absolutely not decorated.

We did NOT resort to eating at MickyDs a total of 3 times. I have spent way too much time trying to have my family eat healthier things to then say "heck with it" on our vacation and cave for what was cheap and easy. But, seriously, where's an In-N-Out when you need it?

And I definitely would not have taken a picture of my baby sleeping on his Aunt and Uncle's couch, only to discover while uploading and examining the pictures that, yes indeed, he did fall asleep with a fry sleeve in hand. Nope. Not me.

I absolutely did not let my children participate in another unhealthy activity (watching way more T.V. than they're used to watching) because it was just too.dang.hot., during the triple digit heat wave that lasted a few days, to even step foot outside.

I did not pray that my "sis-in-law" (She's technically not my SIL. Billy's cousin's wife. But he's like a brother to Billy and she's like a sis to me.) would go into labor while we were in California so I could be a part of it, be an eye witness to another miracle, and hold my new "niece" before she's a year old. I did not rub her belly numerous times and say, "C'mon bebe!" (Nacho Libre style) to "aid" in that process. I am not still glowing that God answered my prayer. More about all those "Nots" in another post, of course!

I did not, myself, on our 10 hour drive home, eat In-N-Out (burger, fries, AND shake. Thankyouverymuch.), a couple bites of Linc's Subway sandwich, a foo-foo coffee from Dutch Bros, Taco Bell, AND a Take 5 candy bar. And I won't tell you that when we arrived home at around 9pm I did not also down a Nutty Bar that I discovered we still had in the pantry. (Can someone please tell me why I typed that out? It looks so much worse in writing.) Because if I had consumed about 8 times the calories that any human being should consume in a given day, I would absolutely never admit to it. And I would never excuse it in my own brain, by telling myself that I had sweat enough in the last 2 record high northern California days to burn off most of that junk food. DEFINITELY not me.
I did not come home to a kid's bathroom that smelled all kinds of rancid because someone forgot to flush the toilet before we left for 8 days. That would never happen in this household, especially after I thought I checked for that before we left.

Because I would never laugh at my own joke or overuse a joke (facebook, twitter, blog, ahem) I will not tell you again that the evil voice of Mt. KillinMeWithLaundry is calling my name yet again. The really scary part? Mt. KillinMeWithLaundry can magically move from suitcase, to laundry room floor, and then rest itself on living room couch where it decides to settle until I just can't stand it any longer and decide to move it to the closets. And I'm not telling how long I can stand for it to reside there. I'm not telling all my bad habits. Really, I'm not.

Until the next time I decide to air all my dirty laundry... (snicker, snicker, snort) Get it?! See, I told you I never laugh at my own bad jokes. NOPE! NOT ME!!

For my tweet peeps...

...and whoever else might be interested.

I honestly can't remember the last time I paid for a FULL session at hairapy. You know, cut AND color. So it was with great excitement and some nervousness that I set out today to do just that. I decided to ignore the husband's suggestion to go platinum. I usually aim to please him, but I don't think he quite understands that freckled fair skin and platinum don't mix. There's no need for me to try and look more washed out then I already do. But I hope he's a little pleased because I gussied up my natural auburnish color (Yes, it's a color. It's the color of a youthful vibrant auburn gone brownish with age. How's that for a description?) with some darker red and blond highlights. And I decided to go a little sassy with the cut. I must say, I'm pleased as punch at how it turned out. And deem this hairstylist "a keeper"! One of the many reasons being: she spent quality time explaining and showing me how to style it and different ways of styling it and all kinds of useful tips. A must for me who is bond by The Curse of ThehairthatIcan'tstyleathomeandhaveitlookthesameasitdidwhenaprofessionaldidit-andthusitlooksrediculous.

Soooo...
getting on with it...

Um. Yeah. Me trying to look sassy. When you don't got it, you don't got it. Let's just go with me looking cheesy and nerdy.

...pretty sure I stink at self portraits...
To get the effect featured in this photo simply clean your bathroom mirror, wait 1 day maybe less, and then step back and enjoy the speckled toothpaste look that was achieved by your spouse (cause it definitely isn't me that holds this talent. ahem. I just hold the talent for noticing it and then either ignoring it or taking pictures of it and posting it on my blog for all the world to see.) But, hey, it shows off my highlights and that's all that matters.

Well, there you have it.

On a totally different note...I'll be on a little blogging break for about a week. But when I come back prepare yourself for a profound post on "The Contents Of My Purse". Now, won't that be special.

...if that doesn't make you come back, I don't know what will.

I told you so.

Be warned. I'm breaking all kinds of unspoken and spoken parent/wife/husband/friend/kid rules with this title.

Be warned x 2. Serious eye candy forth coming.

I told you so.

I told you recently some of Emma's cute little 5 year old sayings. Well just the other day she was taking a shower and she asked me to close the curtain. When I did, she says, "Thank you...don't mention it." Um. Ok.... I love her.

I told you that Lincoln has a slight obsession with guitars. What? I didn't tell you that...well, I did now.
So when I realized that his swim shorts from last summer we're going to be a little too small this summer and I happened upon these at Gymboree for a really good price. I bought them. Because they're perfect. What do you think?

I told you in my twittering that a smashing rendition of the "Hallelujah Chorus" would be quite appropriate after making myself an appointment for a pedicure. I wasn't kidding. I'll spare you the before (since it had been well over a year since my last pedi), but here's the after...

Hellooooo, smoother heels and pretty toes! Even if you are freakishly long...

Bonus: I used a gift certificate from my March birthday. I didn't pay a cent. AND I got to go with my friend who bought me the certificate. Thanks Summer!

Go Cathy! It's your birthday! well, it was your birthday...

I told you that baseball is a time sucking vortex of which you should stay far, far away taking up some of our time. But Saturday marked the last game of the season, which means we actually may have a life time to do other things now.

But I also told you that I couldn't be prouder of my first year, much improved, double base hitter.

I told you how much I love this man and how, daily, I'm trying to show him that more by "dating" him.

Just in case you were wondering...it's going pretty good. Getting better every day. And if you're any kind of friend at all, you'll pretend you don't see my pastey white, flabby arm in the reflection of the hub's glasses.

I told you myself that with this...
I had gone as "edgy" as I would go with my children's hair.

But then "Field Day" happened.

There were bounce houses...
...fire hoses...
...snow cones...
...and then this...
And it's safe to say that if he didn't look quite punk rocker before, he surely does now. But I kinda liked it.

I told you that I've been weepy lately what with all the growing up that's going on around these parts. Well, Will's officially a big 2nd grader now...sigh...

...but not so big that he can't still walk hand in hand with his daddy!

And, I tell ya, that's just the way I like it.;)

Letter To Self

Lest all of you gracious people think I've got it completely figured out and am doing it EVERYday...just thought I would share part of a letter that I wrote myself at Women's Retreat with my church back in March and just now received in the mail.

Dear Self,
"Are you surrendering to Him?
Are you living like Jesus would be enough for you?
Are you moving past past hurts and anger into forgiveness?
Are you respecting your husband?
Are you continuing to leave behind the "if onlys" (and might I add, the "whys" and "what ifs") and everything else that holds you back from the Lord's best for you?
Are you letting God pursue you?
Are you letting tests, trials, and struggles strengthen you?
Where have your priorities been?
Are your activities and actions showing that?"
In His Grip,
Me


As you can see it's taken me several months to get a clue on some things. And truly, if I'm being honest, some of these things are daily surrenders. So...I just may need to send this letter to myself over and over again on a 3 month schedule just as a good little nudge to keep on...and as encouragement that even when I flub up, it doesn't mean I give up.

"Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:12-14

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12:1-3

"For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." 2 Cor. 4:17-18

10, Ten, X, diez, zehn, dix

No matter how you say it, sometimes it's hard for me either to come up with 10 things or narrow it down to 10 things. I thought of doing my 10 favorite foods or my 10 favorite 80's songs, but I couldn't narrow it down... And I thought about telling you 10 things I would be doing this summer, 10 of my favorite "things", 10 things that annoy me, 10 things that are making me smile right now, or 10 random things that I betcha didn't know about me, but I just didn't have the energy...
because there's 10 things that I've giving or trying to give most of my energy to these days and it's...

10 of the reasons that I'm not blogging as frequently as I used to or sometimes would like.

But I'm OK with that, because, really, I'm just trying to take care of these responsibilities and blessings that God has placed in my life, right here, right now, in the right way, with the right attitude.

1) This should ALWAYS be first on my list, because it should always be in the center of everything else I do. Sadly, this is not always the case for me, but I want it to be. And I'm striving for it to be. And it's getting more amazing and better every day.

2)
3)4) 5)

I just didn't feel like I needed to explain those last four. Was I right???

6) Wardens of Laundry Prison...

...it's a life sentence with no chance of parole.

(This photo was not staged. Shocker.)

7) Why do I feel like I don't really need to explain this one either. I mean with 3 boys in the house does any one doubt that the time it takes to fill those hollow legs is from sun up to sun down?

And of course you can't have the previous without this...so it really doesn't need it's own number. Just try not to judge me. Ok, you have permission to judge me for the 1 Christmas mug that didn't make it back in with the rest of it's family. Actually, judge the move, not me.

(This photo was not staged. Another shocker, I know.)

8) I do not like plain white walls. I do not like them. Not at all. (Green Eggs and Ham anyone?)

I need to be putting more energy to getting all my pictures and such unpacked and put up. 6 months should have been plenty of time, right??

9)

'Nuff said.

10)

Notice how high on the list this was? Well, this wasn't a list of the top 10 ways I'm being tortured, so it's lucky it even made it on here. Stop looking at me with your evil eye, Jillian. Walk away from The Shred, Leslie, just like I do.

And if this was "13 on the 13th" I would have included our church, family, and friends. But they get a MOST honorable mention and WOULD have made the 10 on the 10th if I would have had recent pictures of them all. So, now I know what is next on my list to do....

Don't think I'll be coming up for air or with more hours in the day any time soon. So this "little less frequent" blogging, might just have to be the new norm.

Don't miss me too much...

P.S. Don't forget to visit Mer, who created this carnival, to see what "10" she and all her peeps came up with.

If I could turn back slow down time...

A little Cher never hurt anyone. Then again...

I would be remiss if I failed to tell you all about the lovely "date" my oldest son and I went on recently. We did run a couple of errands first, which I tried to make sweeter by letting him suck down an entire Orange Julius by himself. We then headed to the movie "Up". Loved.it. And can I just say how much I love this tender-hearted son of mine?

I also forgot how much I love Junior Mints. But that is clearly not the point of this post, so moving right along...

Will wept at one point in the movie. And was "so sad" in another part. It's probably fair to say that he did not appreciate the emotions of the movie as much as I did, but I'm pretty sure that the subsequent trip to the Dollar Tree may have made UP for it. He is a 7 year old boy, and there's nothing like cheap plastic crap toys that will break within the first 2 hours of play. Again, not the point of this post...

This movie was full of little nuggets. It portrays that life's true adventure isn't about travels or accomplishments, but about relationships. And we know which ONE relationship is the most important. But a slightly less obvious lesson that really stood out to me, as it is something that I've been learning in my life recently anyway, was about finding joy in your current circumstances whether you would classify them as an adventure or not. Instead of bemoaning the adventure you think you've missed, or spending all your precious time striving to be in an adventure that maybe isn't for you or wishing to be back in an adventure you've already been through, just BE in the adventure that you are in the middle of RIGHT NOW. BE an active part of it. For this is where God has placed you!

Did that make sense?? Well, yes Cathy, it did. Well, thank you very much. It is my blog after all.

I can't tell you how many times lately I just stare at my kids and get all weepy. Weepy because I can literally see them shooting UP right before my eyes. Weepy because I no longer have a true baby in the house. Weepy because with each year they get older they get closer to the real hurt and pain of this world. Weepy because it seems they are already slipping away from me. Weepy because I don't get to (or hardly ever get to) rock them to sleep anymore, smell their baby smell (it's now being replaced by dirty boy smell....the not good kind) or bathe their chubby baby bodies. Weepy because their funny baby talk and pronunciations are replaced by the proper words. Weepy because I think about all the mistakes I've already made with them and in raising them and wish that I could just start fresh sometimes.

Weepy because my youngest baby is pulling his words together and forming more sentences every day. Weepy because he rarely sits still long enough to just cuddle with his mama.

Weepy because my little girl, who just yesterday was learning to walk, is now a preschool graduate and will be moving UP to kindergarten next school year.


Weepy because my firstborn is physically growing UP and getting closer and closer to eye level, reads chapter books without any help from us, stays UP a little later, goes on sleepovers at friend's houses, and says things like this heart squeezer, "Mom, we should have these mama/son dates more often. This is nice."



So what's a mom to do? Stay weepy forever? Or enjoy the present adventure I'm in...because if I sit here too long dreaming about how it used to be, in the mean time missing out on the now, the now will be gone and will become the next "used to be" and I'll have missed ALL of it too and all the blessings that God has for me in it.

Apparently, I'm all about the sentences that only make sense to me tonight.

So, I'm going to applaud Lincoln's growing vocabulary. (But not correct him too much;)) And, yes, I'm going to rock him and cuddle him when he lets me. I'm going to potty train him and not keep him in diapers forever just so that I can feel like I have a baby still. (Besides, how weird would that be when he gets to elementary school age. Forget about middle school and high school.)

I'm going to take the time to sit down and paint Emma's toenails. I'll think about getting her ear's pierced. I'll be excited for her, because she's overjoyed that she'll be a big girl in kindergarten next year. I'll commit to a dance class, because she's my twirler, leaper, and poser. I'll be patient when she's asking how to spell word after word after word after word after word, because I want her to love words as much as I do.

And I'm going to embrace the era of baseball, basketball, swimming, etc, that we find ourselves in with Will. I'm going to cheer like a crazy mama, until he starts to be embarrassed by it, and then I'll tone it down a little...maybe. Eventually I'll let him walk to school...but not yet. (Hey, he's only 7 years old. Let's not rush things!)

And on those increasingly rare occasions when they cuddle UP close to me, ask to sit in my lap or read to them, throw their arms around my neck and lay a wet one on me, or when they come to me for comfort after getting hurt...I'll take it. I'll take them. In my arms. And maybe hold them just a little longer.

I'll hold them close, but I won't hold them back. And I won't hold myself back from enjoying the adventure that I'm in.

Oh and before I go (because I really should go, since it's really late/early and I feel like this post is just a jumbled mess of my crazy thoughts) I wanted to share with you one of MY new favorite things. With lots of help from my friend, Erin, I made these charms for my necklace. It probably doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what the letters stand for. I'm pretty proud of these "babies" of mine, proud to be their mama, and proud to hold them close to my heart.