Trick or Treat

I have to share about my adorable four-year-old...

To start tonight's Halloween festivities, we headed over to the church for Trunk-or-Treat. He enjoyed gathering goodies but we got pretty cold and headed home before it was over.

At home, we had people knocking on our door, and this is when things got really fun for Reed!

This precious boy got so excited as the ghouls and goblins called out "Trick-or-Treat" that he opened the door and let them have candy out of his own loot bag!

I showed him our stash of stuff to give away, but each time he heard a knock, he opted to give from his own until it dwindled away to nothing.

The joy on his face was the kind that only comes from selfless giving. His glow lit up the Halloween night! 

It may have only been matched by my glow as a proud mom watching this innate sense of happiness derived from making others happy!

Baby, baby

My baby isn't so much of a baby anymore.

She walks, talks, uses the potty... however, she still sleeps in my bed AND she still nurses, so, for the time being, she still fits in the baby category!

Every once in a while, I consider starting a real-true-weaning program rather than just casual suggestions to her that someday she'll be too big to grood (that's a code word, since my kids nurse all the way up through being able to verbally ask for it -- hopefully, people who hear them yell for grood simply figure the childspeak is lost on them).

This post was going to be about how each of my babies has gone through the weaning, and it keeps happening in other ways.

But instead, I want it to be about how my baby is a KANGAROO now!

That's right -- she was given a beautiful Cinderella dress for her birthday, but when it came time to choose a costume, she picked the ol' Kangaroo one... and she won't take it off!

She has worn it day and night for two days already!

Something funny: someone asked her if she was a kangaroo and she gave them a puzzled look and said, "No, I'm Cinderella!"

Here she is: a Kangaroo for All Occasions:

Sleeping Peacefully (nevermind that tail)

Eating normal kangaroo fare: noodles

Storing Halloween Loot in her Kangaroo Pouch!

The Bad Boy in Esther's class

I used to homeschool my children -- all of them. Nowadays, I have one official homeschooler and two little ones who are learning every moment they are at home (and anywhere else, for that matter).

I have LOADS of reasons to homeschool! When I was a college student and I was introduced to the concept of homeschooling, the first thing that came to mind was: "Oooohh! I wish I could have been homeschooled!"

It sounded so great -- to be able to use my time according to my own interests and not have to play the "game" of figuring out what the teacher wanted and trying to meet those requirements rather than trying to get educated.

And, surprise, surprise, I struggled in the social area.

For the first six miserable years of my public schooling, I was the nerd. After that, I somehow broke out of my shell and learned to smile and enjoy some of what public school had to offer in the area of social life... I even got voted onto the homecoming court my senior year.

So, I can't say the social reasons are my biggest reasons to choose homeschooling, but they are definitely counted among them.

When my oldest child, who has an October birthday -- which translates into being the oldest in the class, was already reading before he even started kindergarten, I thought, "Hey! I'll give him the gift I never had: the gift of not having to deal with all the drama at school."

No homework (although some could argue that all of homeschool is homework); no tests; no grading; no kids to bully you...

Well, for a variety of reasons, which I won't list here, that oldest son (plus my twin daughters) are now in public school. Maybe they'll decide to homeschool again... maybe not. At this point, I'm leaving it up to them.

Every once in a while, they'll describe some situation going on at school, and I try really hard to figure out how to interject into the conversation something along the lines of: "Hmmmm, I wonder if we ever had a similar situation when we homeschooled. Hmmmm..."

One of the recent issues Esther has discussed with me is the bad boy in her class. The teacher has been losing her patience with him lately, particularly about how he doesn't ever do his homework. She threatened that he would have to miss recess if he doesn't start bringing back worksheets.

Of course, I'm not there having to deal with him day in and day out. I think that is the main reason I was able to have the imaginary response as follows:

Compassion towards the boy, who must be the victim of apathetic parents.

Sincere concern about his future and deep ponderings about how to help him move past the obstacle of an undesirable home life.

Calm replies to his claims of having not done the homework, and encouragement and motivation to put in the extra effort, even if it means missing recess.

It's so easy for me to conjure up such happy images, because I am not an underpaid, overworked teacher having to handle not just the bad boy, but twenty-eight other children as well, five days a week.

I sometimes wish I could homeschool that bad boy! Give him the gift that I always wanted, and that I hope three of my children will soon figure out they want as well.

Drop the Okay!

I have a favorite phrase that my two-year old uses in moments of distress, when she has decided to submit to the situation (like changing into pajammies):

"Okay, Mommy."

It is soooo precious, partly because she is usually still wailing loudly in what used to be frustration and disagreement. At some point during the trantrum, though, she changes her mind and chooses to go along with the "torture" (brushing her teeth, for instance).

Without changing her tone, she verbalizes her resolve to accept whatever punishment is being thrown her way (like reading a book before watching a movie) and she sobs it out, usually several times in a row:

"Okay, Mommy. Okay. {tearful deep sucking in of breath} Okay, Mo-o-ommy."

I can't help but give her a big hug and assure her that, indeed, it is Okay. I love that she has caved in because I don't handle stubbornness too well... but there's something else about the whole "Okay"-ness... It's given me a lot to think about.

I hear myself saying "Okay" often.... which may be where she learned it. I'm glad I've set a good example in that sense.

However, I'm not sure I always use it in the right context.

"We're going to get your pajammies on now, okay?"
"Let's go brush your teeth, okay?"
"You need to read a book BEFORE watching a movie, okay?"

What does my "Okay" mean, afterall?

Is there really a choice in the matter? Am I asking for cooperation? What if Miriam were more inclined to say, "No, Mom, that's NOT Okay," (as other children that I won't name), would I rescind the request? Change my plans to fit her lack of willingness to obey?

I've determined that I need to pay attention, close attention, to my "Okays" -- and use them more sparingly.

If my "Okay" means "Do you understand?" then I will replace it with, "Do you understand?" or simply cut my sentence off before I get to the Okay.

It's not an easy change, dropping the Okay. I've been working on it for awhile now, but as Miriam's sweet words of acceptance show me, I probably still do it a little too much!

Note to self: "Stop saying Okay all the time, Okay?!"

Children as Ministers

Today, Church was a little different.

The children, ages 3-11, gave the majority of the presentation.

So, okay then, it was a LOT different!

Our church generally has a variety of speakers. Our lay clergy doesn't have to sermonize much -- they simply ask two or three other adults to prepare 15-20 minutes worth of wisdom on a given topic, and over the course of a few years we get to hear from a high percentage of the congregation.

Once a year, we get to hear from the little ones.

The ones so fresh from heaven... When they sing "I am a Child of God," it's possible that their pre-mortal memories are still vaguely visible to their faithful spiritual eyes.

My two-year old really loves this song. In fact, if I am singing any other song, she says, "Mom, I don't like that song. I like I am a Child of God!" and she'll break out in her own special harmony.

She saw the other kiddos singing up there today and said, "I want to be up there and sing."

She would have fit right in, with her halo of golden hair.

Those children were amazing! They were led by amazing women, who gave their talents and leadership to inspire these children to stun the ward with their awesomeness.

Even more amazingly, it didn't stop there. We all felt the awe as the children's voices led us closer to our Savior... dare I say, closer than sermons written by adults will do.

Thank you, God, for giving me precious relationships with these, thy children. And thank YOU, my sweet children, for giving me a stronger relationship with our God. 

Chocolate

What is it about chocolate?!?

Why does it hold me in its evil grasp??

I am suffering today because I had chocolate for breakfast.

I know, I know, that's my own darn fault. I can control what I put in my mouth!! (Or can I?)

That seems to be the problem with chocolate. I just don't seem to have any self-control when it comes to this particular bean.

Well, in all honesty, I'm an all-or-nothin' kinda gal. If I've sworn it off, I can succeed in not eating it. But if I've decided to allow myself an indulgence, it takes over my whole life. And I end up eating it for breakfast. ARGH!

Oh, I quickly followed it up with somethin' healthy, but it's done its damage... and made me want more.

Instead of giving in to the calls from the cupboard, I'm blogging about it! Gotta find me some support. I know you're out there, fellow choco-holic mamas.

How do you successfully control your cravings? Or do you?!?

Should I just give in?

My cute little niece, Lucy, would say yes.

She's a twin. Her twin brother, Benjamin, and she were celebrating their fifth birthday at my house. When the ice cream was all gone and the only thing left in the bowl was the hot fudge sauce, I asked if I should clean it up or if she wanted to just eat up the chocolate-ness.

Lucy exclaimed:

"Yummmm... chocolate-ness! Welcome to my world, Benjamin!"

You Won't Find Ada on Facebook

I want to give a public shout out to one of my son's friends, Ada.

She's a cute girl, eighth-grade, pretty smile. But you won't find that smile on facebook -- anymore, anyways.

I noticed her final post as I was scanning my son's wall. "I'm deleting my facebook account. Call me."

Seems like a monumental decision in a young teen's life...

So when she came by after school today, I decided to bring it up, in that cool and casual way I try to have while talking with my son's friends...

"Ada, I have to ask, how did you decide to leave the world of facebook?"

Luckily, as she was sucking on her otter pop, she felt comfortable enough to answer: "A few reasons... first, there's just too much drama on facebook. People can't tell when you're being sarcastic or whatever.

"Also, my dad was telling me about how facebook is changing its privacy policy at the end of this month, and I just don't wanna have all my photos and whatever available to the public.

"I used to sort of need facebook for my friends to be able to get hold of me, but now they all have phones and we can just text.

"So, this decision for less drama and more privacy, is basically about following my inner hippie." (She does, in fact, wear dreadlocks).

Wow!

I have to say: Yay for you, Ada! Yay for your "inner hippie" and the peace it is leading you towards! Makes me wanna go back to the post and click that ubiquitous "Like" button!

I'm not at the point where I feel the necessity to delete my facebook account. But her example has gotten me a step closer to being willing to take that seemingly drastic action.

Weird, isn't it, that, before the entity of facebook is even ten years old, leaving facebook would seem so crazy?!? It's really infiltrated our lifestyles. Weird, indeed. Luckily, Ada's not worried about being weird.

Yay for Ada!

Wise Words of Other Mothers

I'm hurrying and writing this blog post before I head off to my book club!

I. LOVE. MY. BOOK. CLUB.

Well, more accurately, I love the women who attend the club.

I do, in fact, love to read books and discuss them -- it's a great challenge for my brain to

1) manage my time effectively to the point where I can fit in reading a book a month
2) pay close enough attention to what I am reading to get something out of it that's worthy to share

However, when it comes right down to it, I would get together with these women even if it were a knitting club.

Admittedly, knitting would also be a challenge for my brain.

My overall point of this post, though, is how grateful I am for these women. They are busy moms, too. Most of them homeschool their children. Yet they take time out to bless my life by sharing their thoughts, their wisdom, their talents.

Ya see, it's a multi-faceted book club, in that we spend the first hour or so doing things other than discussing the book. We sing together! We eat -- it's ALWAYS a potluck. We share each others good news -- as well as our burdens. And THEN we discuss the book -- solid discussions, with lots of insights and applications to our lives.

It's like an intellectual challenge wrapped up in a hug!

I cherish my time with these women, wise women, whose wise words come home with me and help me in my attempts to become wise.

I'll take time to type it again, even though I must jump up and run out the door:

I. LOVE. MY. BOOK. CLUB!!!

Another Book Report

I have a criminal past.

I stood before a judge about 9 1/2 years ago, when I was young and dumb. I'm embarrassed to tell you why, because it was definitely a Clueless Mama thing to do. Promise you'll still love me?!?! I promise that I'm not a repeat offender...

Here it is:

I left my toddler asleep in the car while I ran in an office supply store and made copies out of a book I was borrowing.

The book was entitled "The Complete Tightwad Gazette" -- and I thought I was following its principles by making copies instead of buying my own.

Well, I should have been arrested for MORE than child abandonment -- I should have also served time for copyright infringement!

For the record, I didn't actually serve time. I paid a fine and then, for personal penance, I bought the book.

It's so worth every penny to own! 

The author, Amy Dacyczyn has lived such a thrifty life, and has such a wealth of information to share! And she has fun sharing it -- her writing is witty and inviting.

Sometimes the subject of saving (not spending) can come across as depressing, and requiring rigorous self-discipline.

In Amy's book, which is actually a compilation of six years of newsletters, economizing is an adventure, pursuing creative, ingenious ways to combat how expensive life is. We feel like celebrating every time she helps us figure out how to pinch those pennies.

She is also primarily a mom! So it definitely feels like everything applies to my current profession. There are birthday party ideas! There are insights on how to grocery shop effectively and go garage sale-ing. She covers fixing up the house, from decor to repairs.

There are recipes, and even instructions on how to make up your own recipes! There are even ideas on how to diet for cheap.

Traveling often seems out of the question for those of us on a strict budget, but she even addresses this topic in a way that makes the world wide open!

She even teaches us how to save time, since, after all, time is money.

AND it made me decide to follow ALL the laws, even copyright ones, and buy this book!

BOOK REPORT

I keep books on my bedside table. I suppose that's not unusual.

What IS unusual is that they are far LESS likely to get read if they are there... because I tend to fall asleep before I get around to reading them.

If I really, really, really, really want/need to read a book (like for the awesome book club I belong to), I have to carry it around with me all day long.

Well, one book that has sat on my bedside table for months, maybe even years, is called The Entitlement Trap, by Richard and Linda Eyre. I have finally gotten around to reading it! Not because I carried it around the house, but because my baby, whom I still nurse to sleep in my bed, has started to ask -- or rather demand -- that the light stay on.

As much as I love to sleep, now that I have read this book, I kick myself that I let sleep take priority over this PHENOMENAL book -- I should have read it AGES ago and solved all of my parenting problems!

The Eyres have been writing parenting books for decades. They have nine children of their own, all of whom have at least a bachelor's degree and have served missions for our church. I have read several of their books and have had the pleasure of meeting the authors more than once. In fact, that very book that lay ignored on my bedside table is signed by them!

Anywho, their credentials are significant, and I probably could have endorsed this, their 46th book, even before I read it. However, I am so glad that I read it. It is simply incredible in its value! It is a succinct summary of their best and most important parenting practices, all compiled in this book for the purpose of helping our children recognize entitlement for the trap that it is rather than being tricked into believing it solves problems.

The authors are so experienced in many ways -- not just with the raising of their nine, but also with the writing of their many books, that this one is like the culmination of all of that invaluable experience, ready for me to put the plans into action.

That's the hard part. Unfortunately, metaphorically speaking, sometimes the ideas and ideals I learn through reading stay on the bedside table of my brain while I opt to sleep instead of making the effort to behave differently based on the book.

Well, this book report is my first step in choosing to act! One of the major themes of the book is goal-setting, and teaching our children to do it by doing it ourselves. So I am putting in writing the goal to write a blog post daily! Hooray! I did it today!! I pledge to do it again tomorrow!

The Timer: our friend and our enemy

I confess, I'm a bit of a wuss. I just don't like to be the bad guy. I avoid confrontation like I avoid eating from the garbage.

This is often a good thing. It helps me to put things in perspective and only confront someone or some situation when I know it is necessary, so a lot of nit-picky, dumb things are allowed to roll off my back and not cause trouble.

Usually, because of my fear-based procrastination, I wait -- and wait -- and wait -- until a good time. With that waiting, a lot of the heat-of-the-moment emotion that can cause confrontations to go sour is removed... Plus, I've had a chance to roll the words around in my head and work to come across in the way that I want to: sincere, caring, seeking to solve the problem and not just get on someone's case.

Well, as a mom, there's not always time for all that avoidance! Sometimes, ya just gotta take charge! Be decisive! Make things right! Judge, jury, and executioner, all in less than 30 seconds -- like when the sweet little wee ones won't share with each other, or sweet older not-so-wee ones won't get their chores done...

However, because it is in my nature to avoid such situations, I have managed to come up with a way to handle them without becoming the bad guy:

Introducing a fascinating little invention called: the TIMER.

Not just for avoiding burning dinner! Now also, for avoiding taking the heat from frustrated toddlers and teens.

We use a timer to help us know how long one kiddo gets to play with the toy. Oh, what's that noise? The timer is beeping? That means it is now time for the other kiddo to get to play with the toy. Can't argue with the inanimate object of the timer!

We have a timer in the bathroom to help the kiddos know their shower time is up! No more yelling about saving hot water for the next bather.

May the timer bless your life as it has blessed mine!!!

Too busy singing

My awesome husband is awesome for lots of reasons... Besides being intelligent, handsome, kind, and hard-working, he's musical!

Now, he'll be the first to tell you that he won't be making CD's of his musical talents to sell to his fans... but that's part of what makes his musical talents so endearing! They may not be professional-level offerings, but he offers them anyway -- and blesses the world, or his little corner of it, in ways that only he can.

I think there's a lesson in that for those of us who worry that we have to shine like the top of the Chrysler-building before we can share our light... but, alas, that is not the lesson I was going to give for this post, so let me stop digressing and get back to the original purpose!

Recently, my music-man was asked to play the piano at church for when the men meet together. He agreed, under the condition that he would get to practice far in advance! So the person making the arrangements convinced another fellow to play every other week, giving my husband, Ted, two weeks to practice the assigned hymn.

As a family, we are encouraging his success by singing the hymn during our daily devotionals so he can squeeze his practicing in.

At one point during today's practice, Ted stopped playing between verses so he could apologize for the mistakes he had made. A couple of the kids responded that they hadn't noticed the missed notes, because they were too busy singing.

So there's the lesson I intended to get across originally!! If we are each too busy singing our own parts, we won't have the wherewithal to pay undue attention to the mistakes of our accompanists.

Now, it is an important part of the metaphor to note that our accompanists are supposed to lead us: our leaders aren't always perfect and need us to just keep singing even when they've messed up!!!

I sure appreciate my husband's willingness to lead our family -- in many ways beyond just our daily hymns -- even though he knows he's not perfect. And I pledge to keep singing and not take time to notice his mistakes, and trust that he's not too worried about when I get off-tune!

In spite of these errors, and maybe because of how we deal with them, we'll be making beautiful music together!

Thirteen years ago...

Thirteen years ago, at this exact moment, I was thoroughly exhausted.

I had been awake more than 39 hours straight. I had been pushing for 3 hours. Luckily, I hadn't been in labor ALL those 39 hours!

It was a matter of timing... just as I thought about going to bed on the 18th of October, 2000, I realized that my contractions were getting longer, stronger, and closer together!

Woo-hoo! I wasn't about to go to sleep and miss all the excitement of giving birth to my first baby!

So I stayed awake... not foreseeing that my body would take its sweet time opening ("like a flower" -- that was my mantra) and letting my beautiful boy be born.

He was the first. He had to pave the way. It took a lot of work... but he did it! Every labor since then has been blissfully fast, and I have him to thank for it!

My TJ. My Ted, Junior. I really wanted to name him after his dad -- my phenomenally wonderful husband. I felt like it was giving a gift to the world to allow another Ted Franklin Barnes to exist in it!

How blessed I have been to have this boy in my life.

He is so strong -- perfect for handling the mistakes of his first-time parents. His younger brothers and sisters have him to thank for all the bruises he's taken so they wouldn't have to.

He has a gorgeous smile! How I relish in his grin! I love when he laughs!

He has a big heart. Always ready to love me, love his dad, love his siblings.

His eyes -- he's always getting compliments on his eyes. Eyes are the windows to the soul, you know... just like a window, though, it can only give a glimpse of his soul's greatness. He is amazing!

I adore him more now than I did that first night, after he finally arrived, as I sat there holding him in my arms. He's a little harder to hold in my arms now, considering he's bigger than me (well, I still weigh more, but that's not comforting to me).

I'm glad he'll still snuggle and still give me hugs -- even, sometimes, in front of his friends. He's not too big to be my baby!

I can't believe how quickly these thirteen years have gone. Faster than those 23+ hours of labor! And I can only guess that the next thirteen will go just as fast. What a thrill! I hope he's enjoying the ups and downs as much as I am.

I'm so blessed to be along for the ride of his life!

More Green Yumminess

I shared a post a little while ago about Going Green -- in the sense of eating more Green stuff...

This is quite a transition for me. I think it's quite possible that one of the reasons I suffer from the conditions that I do is because I didn't eat fresh fruit or veggies AT ALL as a youngster -- as in, before age 30.

I had one of those bodies that was so resilient, I could get away with eating anything and everything and not put on much weight or get too bad of acne or whatever else it was that people complained about if they ate the wrong foods.

Now, I didn't get a different body at age 30 -- but I definitely started noticing some negative issues going on... and a little something in my head started buggin' me, sayin' that maybe all those years of not giving myself high quality nutrition was coming back to haunt me.

So, I have embarked upon a Green Adventure!

Well, okay, Green is simply ONE of the possible markers to help me know what I need to be eating to treat my body better. Other key words might include: Fresh! Able-to-rot! Plant-based! Natural! Whole! Unprocessed!

It's a process, of course. Like all of life. I set myself on the path, and when I stray, I try to make sure I can at least see the path so I can mozy back over when I have the will. 

Here is something I had fun making AND eating! A pasta salad, with salsa as the sauce instead of mayo. Beans!! Yes, the magical fruit! And corn. And cilantro. And the black olives and grape tomatoes kind of smiling together with the avocado slices on top:

I think it turned out pretty as well as tasty. And that is helping me love eating healthier!

Rose, Bud, Thorn

As a child, my home was run by a splendid woman who, though married when we were all born, was single for most of the time she was raising us. This situation framed much of how I viewed the world and when I grew up and got married (and thus far, I have remained married! Woo-hoo!) I had to adjust to a different set of circumstances that come when two adults are around...

Well, dinner-time is one of those circumstances that is, well, hmmmm.... how can I say this....

HUGEMONGOUSLY 

                                                                                                   different!

My mom was busy working two jobs to put food on the table (as the saying goes) but one of the side effects of this was that she wasn't around to actually put the food on the table.

The kitchen of my childhood was a fend-for-yourself place, so we ate what we were capable of conjuring up for ourselves, and time-wise it was more based on when we were hungry rather than during a pre-determined dinner hour. Most of my eating-based memories as a youth are rather calm, maybe even lonely, as I only ate if/when I felt like it and that didn't always cross paths with other inhabitants of the home.

Well, NOT ANYMORE!!!

Nowadays, mealtime is well-attended, shall we say! I can confidently use the absolute "NEVER" to describe the how often I eat alone. Our dinnertime systems have to be somewhat flexible to account for friends, neighbors, and strays who smell something yummy and want to join the party.

Overall, I am a people-person so I don't mind this change in circumstances -- in fact, I kinda like it... although, I confess, it can get a little -- okay... a LOT -- noisy.

One of our strategies to minimize dinnertime chaos is to have the Day-Child in charge of constructive conversation! (I haven't written about Day-Child duties and privileges yet?!?! Note to self for future blog post! Note to you: in short, the Day-Child is the one who gets to -- and has to -- do certain things that otherwise would get fought about if there were no such designation.)

A common thing the Day-Child has been opting for lately to run the dinnertime discussions is Rose, Bud, Thorn. This is when each person gets a chance to tell something wonderful that happened that day (the Rose), something they're looking forward to tomorrow (the Bud) and something they're struggling with (the Thorn).

My baby girl who just turned two has even caught on to this, and it was with such great joy today that she was jumping (a new skill) and was saying: "And my Rose is that I can JUMP! And my Bud is that I gonna JUMP tomorrow! And I don't have a Thorn cuz I can JUMP!"
Ahhh, the joys of jumping. I guess I should try it sometime!

Siri says: I don't understand Ha Ha Ha

I had an extra teenager living with me over the summer -- and it was a blessing!

Teenagers get a bad rap, but this teenager, Katrina, defied all those negative stereotypes. Rather than being grumpy and moody and non-talkative, she was bright and cheery and quite conversational -- and she loved to laugh!

Her sister, Jennifer, is one of my helpers. Katrina had just finished high school and was waiting to start college and so Jennifer invited her to live with us during the interim. It was fun!

Jennifer has a really fancy phone with a personal assistant all programmed in -- maybe you've heard of Siri?

Well, once, Jennifer was going to give Siri some instructions, but Katrina's laughter drowned out Jennifer's voice. This situation confused poor Siri, who robotically declared:

"I don't understand Ha, Ha, Ha."

Of course, this made all of us laugh even more!

It got me thinking, though (believe it or not, this brain of mine does think, approximately 4 percent of the time)...

When I'm having to crack the whip and get my kids to do their chores bless our home, I am just like Siri with absolutely no sense of humor.

This post is a reprimand to myself to lighten up and learn to understand Ha, Ha, Ha. Anybody got any suggestions for how to make this come naturally, rather than having to program myself?! I want to laugh -- I really do! I just also want the house to get blessed!! Without dawdling!! But with giggling and good moods...

So it will remind me of Katrina, the great teenager!

Going Home

What fun we had today at the Corn Maze!

Is this just a Utah thing, or do lots of states do this? I grew up in Indiana, which is supposedly known for its corn crops, but I don't remember anything like this...

Here's a link so you can see what it was we were doing -- isn't it awesome?! Talk about Creative Use of an Old Field... I'm impressed. Makes me look at the world in a whole new way... what kinds of wild events are just waiting for our ingenuity to look at life with new possibilities?

Anyways, that wasn't REALLY the deep thought I intended to share -- this was:

As we wandered around the maze -- which, by the way, we were very glad to be doing our wandering in the daytime -- we had fun, even though we were lost from the moment we entered.  Luckily the maze is big enough that we didn't get dizzy as we went in circles among the cornstalks.

Eventually, we decided to stop passing the same sign and just head back to the beginning and go home.

My sweet four year old grabbed his cousin's hand, and gave her this look of excitement, and exclaimed, "Yes! We're all done being lost! We get to GO HOME!!!"

That's my goal as a Mom, as a homemaker... Home will be the place my children will be thrilled to come to when they're all done being lost (even if being lost was fun for a while).

Homemaker. HOME - MAKER. It's not a fuddy-duddy in an apron from a '50s sitcom!!!  It's a beautiful thing to get to MAKE a HOME -- after all, there's no place like home. May my children always want to come home!

Mom-Kind of Beautiful

I didn't like country music as a kid. Too much twang! But as I grew up and realized that I didn't like the words to the rock and roll, I decided to switch from those electric guitars to the acoustic ones that accompanied the twang I had tried to avoid.

All wrapped up in that twang were words worth listening to!

Country songs are so clever! It's like the southern accent is a disguise to make you think a redneck is singin' but really it's like a rocket-scientist of relationships, revealing the mysteries of the universe of love.

If I were a country song-writer, I would try to make up some of them there clever lyrics about mommies who ain't so purty on the outside but all the love they got on the inside changes 'em to be beautiful after all... somethin' like this here li'l poem I done wrote:

Mom-kind of Beautiful!

She's got strands of gray, in her hair of auburn,
but she knows they grow out of love and concern.
The bags under her eyes make her look like a zombie,
but she knows it's cuz she's a day AND night mommy.
Her baby's daddy don't complain 'bout extra handles on her hips;
he squeezes 'em tight as he kisses her lips.
She's Mom-kind of beautiful!
She's Mom-kind of beautiful!
She smells a bit like vomit and poo,
That might not be very pleasant to you,
But to her happy family, it means that she's the one and only Mommy
And she's Mom-kind of beautiful!
Yes, she's Mom-kind of beautiful!
Her deflated chest shows she's given the best.
Her shoulders are stained from when no tissues remained.
She's Mom-kind of beautiful!
Oh, She's Mom-kind of beautiful!
Her hands, though so gentle, well, they ain't soft,
They've worked so hard, keepin' our home aloft.
Wrinkles line her forehead, frame her eyes and her smile,
They're evidence of
her incredible love,
And that's Mom-kind of beautiful!
Yes, she's Mom-kind of beautiful!
I know there are models whose faces and curves
Capture the cameras and fame of the world,
But this Mom's a model who's an example and serves
 A much better purpose in building up girls!
Cuz she teaches us all
'bout true beauty within
Beauty that comes from loving children.
Yes, She's Mom-kind of Beautiful!
I wanna be Mom-kind of Beautiful!

Whaddaya think? Anybody got a banjo?