Palin, Workout, Red Meat, Clingy Mom

Talk about strategy–running on the treadmill at the gym I see the McCain’s pick for VP. Two schools of thought 1-You go girl! Governor, 5 kids, new baby with special needs, now VP candidate. 2-What the? You should be home with your five kids. Whatever your view-Many think McCain just won the election.

The second week of school is wrapping up. We are starting to get into a good routine, and I have finally found the perfect time to workout and it’s been great! It’s not at 5 or 6AM which never works too well for me and it’s not night when some excuse always pops up.

I have been reading a lot about finding peace, balance, nutrition, meditation, yoga, etc I have been saying the affirmation ‘I can find peace in every situation’ Well, it’s been helpful, not perfect. Yesterday it went out the window when I couldn’t find my 4 year old for 40 minutes. He was missing along with 3 other children ages 3 and 4! We finally found them after half the neighborhood was doing a door to door/grid search. I was about 30 seconds away from calling the police. They were safe and sound at a neighbor’s house playing with someones grandchild oblivious to the chaos around them. I am considering a microchip implant from the Humane Society. Do you think they’ll put one in my kid? (Steph, can you sneak one for me?)

In addition to the microchip, I am considering cutting out red meat and dairy products from my diet. Just thinking about it…now if you see me eat one or these products don’t call me a hypocrite, I am just thinking of cutting it out, but still have a little cheese on a salad or something and some bacon while camping. We shall see. If I go milk a cow that will probably keep me motivated, when I see the warm milk it makes me gag. I am not sure if we were meant to drink cow milk!

My son wants me to drop him off at preschool and not walk him in! I was like “Can I please come in just one more day?” And he says “I guess if it’s going to make you so sad to drop me off.” I proceeded to ask if I can come in once a month, and his response is you can come, not come, come, not come, like a pattern. (Yes, I know he’s a genius; oh and cute too!)

Going to do the dishes. Out.

Heard Around the House This Week

I don’t want to go to school•Did you eat the entire bag of marshmallows?•Mom, why don’t you ever do the laundry?•I love you•Can I take a bath?•Can I play with friends?•I had a good day at school•But she started it•Who used all the tape?•Mom, he glued this to my table!•Time to do homework•I want to be a Ninja when I grow up•What temperature does your Hot Fudge Pudding thing need?•Mom, it’s tooooo hard to fall asleep, counting sheep doesn’t work, closing my eyes doesn’t work….•Kai-Lan’s grandpa does yoga•Can I have a treat?•I said hi in Chinese to the people at Panda Express and they said I say it better then them•I made a new friend today•It’s too dark•Peas, ewww yuck, that’s yuck•I want one cup with water and one cup with Tang•If you say pretty please (this was Jackson not mom)•Should I make bread or mow the lawn?•Welly is hungry•Can I make a beach?•I’m bored•You can take a bath or go to bed, which one do you choose?•Give me five Oreos or a big bag of Cheetos, which one? Which one mommy, you choose?•Dad has homework? What?•I am sooooooo hungry, please give me something to eat RIGHT NOW•I put the seats in backwards•Mommy, can we go jogging at the [Insert Gym Name] together?•Is this corn ready to pick?•I picked some tomatoes•Daddy’s home!•Do we have to use the hot thing on my hair today?•I always have to say the prayer•I’m not going to the daycare unless you get me a donut•Can we go for a bike ride?•Welly’s scratching the couch•Is it fall yet?•We’re going camping, yeah! yeah!•

And it’s only Wednesday!

First Day of School…Again

Today was Jackson’s first day of preschool. He was so excited and loved it!

In Pursuit of Peace

Over the next few weeks I will be posting notes I’m taking from some books I am reading about finding peace.

Your first lesson is Stop Rushing

When you feel yourself starting to rush or telling everyone around you to hurry, you can say to yourself, “I don’t have to hurry. I have time to do whatever I need to do.” Or “I will do things today at a pace that enables me to enjoy each task.”

Peace of mind precedes peace in our lives.

Where the mind goes, the man follows.

Thinking too much about everything we have to do sets the wheels in motion for rushing.

Learn to Live with Margin-
To live with margin means to leave room on either side of planned events or appointments to take care of unexpected things that come up. This also gives the relationships in your life priority.

If our testimony of life is “I’m busy and tired” that is sad indeed.

Your worth and value are rooted in God.

Being overcommitted in order to feel good about ourselves is not wisdom and will never minister peace.
Satan cannot devour just anyone, he has to find someone who is out of balance.
“Climbing the ladder of success only to find that it was leaning against the wrong building.”

Assignment: Review all your commitments and see which ones are really producing the fruit you were called to produce. Realize you have limits, Make choices to do what is most important. If you are doing what God wants you to do, you should not be complaining about it. Take Charge of Your Schedule-You make your own schedule, if you don’t like it, change it. Carefully choose what you are involved in.

‘Hurry is the flesh trying to do more then the Spirit is leading us to do.

“I believe when we are in the will of God and giving ourselves to what He has called us to do, we will sense satisfaction and fulfillment. We will get tired, but it will be a tired we recover from, not one that never goes away. When we are flowing in God’s will, our schedules always leave time for good relationships.”

Peace

“I sat on an old rush chair I’d pulled up against the far wall, turned the lamp down, then blew across its chimney to put out the flame. I wondered if somehow all the things that had come our way that summer were not real, but some terrible long nightmare that I’d soon waken from, feeling rattled, but all would be right again. Or was it instead all part and parcel of some plan by the Almighty to wear me to the bone, or see if I’d either give up or dig in? I’ve had ups and downs, tribulation of one sort or another, just like any woman…This time I’ve been given a stony cliff to climb.” -From A Novel of Sarah Agnes Prine by Nancy E. Turner

St John 16:33 ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.’

Where Can I turn for peace,
Where is my solace when other sources cease to make me whole.
When with a wounded heart, anger, or malice,
I draw myself apart, searching my soul

Where, when my aching grows,
Where when I languish,
Where, in my need to know, where can I run?
Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish?

Who, who can understand
He, only One.
He answers privately,
Reaches my reaching,

In my Gethsemane, Savior and Friend
Gentle the peace he finds for my beseeching.
Constant he is and kind
Love without end.

Hymn #129

First Day Of School

Savannah is off to First Grade today! I am so nervous for her, I can’t wait for her to get home and tell me all about it. I cried again when the bus drove away. I hope she finds her class, feels comfortable, finds the bathroom, eats her lunch, isn’t too tired, makes new friends, has a nice teacher, learns and grows and is safe…I know I’m a spaz. They just seem to little to send off into the world all day!

Last year I wanted to take binoculars and watch recess from a nearby church parking lot until I realized I would probably be reported to the police and be featured on the evening news.

Signing off to start a batch of chocolate chip cookies to welcome Savannah home on her first day!

Snowbird, Dinosaurs, Summer Party

Jason started his EMBA program-they start the semester off with an intensive overnight week at Snowbird’s Cliff Lodge. I went up for dinner and a tram ride. It was beautiful up there at 11,000 feet and fun to meet his study group and hear how his courses were going. I took a few pictures on my cell phone, they aren’t great. But I’ll share them anyway.

I took the kids to the Dinosaur Museum with some friends. We had not been there in a long time; they had a great time-the erosion table with sand, water, plastic trees and dinosaurs is always the favorite part of the museum visit. They also made a mold of a trilobite and dug for dinosaur bones.

And our tenth annual summer party at TNI! They had a photo booth, Chinese calligraphy, jump houses, bounce houses, obstacles, pony rides, Chinese acrobats, talent contest, prizes, drawings, balloon animals, carnival games, face painting, hair painting, cotton candy, snowcones, crepes, nachos, lettuce wraps, potstickers, full course Chinese meal, steak with mushrooms and onions, and more. The list goes on and on.

Cute Treats and Delicious Desserts

Uncle Bryant made cups o’ dirt with worms for the little kids last night. And for the adults he made homemade ice cream and his wife made her yummy Chocolate Zucchini Cake. I wish I had a picture of that–it was so moist and yummy! (see bottom of post for this must try recipe)

 

I have a new camera, and I think I need some more practice, my photos are a little dark! 

Today I made banana bread for my friend, and while it was cooling, she showed up at my house with warm, homemade cinnamon rolls! We had a good laugh about that, she makes the best cinnamon rolls. Thanks Jess!

 

Here’s the recipe courtesy of my Aunt Shelly:

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

1/2 c. softened butter
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. buttermilk (I just add a teaspoon or two of vinegar to 1/2 c. regular milk)
2 1/2 c. flour
1 3/4 c. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
4 T. cocoa
2 c. grated zucchini

Mix all ingredients together. 

Topping:  1/4 c. nuts, 1/4.c. chocolate chips, 1/4 c. brown sugar.  Sprinkle all on cake and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.  (I probably use about a cup of nuts and a cup of chocolate chips and just lightly cover the batter with the brown sugar.  It seems to work best if the brown sugar goes on first.)  Serve a la mode.

Family Reunion at the Tahitian Noni Café

Great Food, Great People, Great Conversation!

We had a family reunion on my dad’s side today. We had a catered lunch at the Tahitian Noni Café. We had chicken and pork tacos, green salad, fruit, chips and salsa, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate dipped macaroons, lemonade, water and various desserts. It was fun to visit and see how all the cousins have grown up! The kids were able to enjoy the wading pool in the gardens. We had a great time and look forward to dinner together next week.

 

Amazing Experience

I opened my mail and was reading the city newsletter and saw an excerpt about Meals On Wheels needing volunteers. They needed volunteers to deliver meals to home bound seniors once a week, call if interested. I immediately said to my husband, I think I want to do to this, it’s only an hour or so a week. And he said go for it. I called the number, signed up and today I had my training and went on my first delivery route. It was such an amazing experience, something so simple. I take a hot meal with fruit and milk to ten seniors. Some are sweet and loving and some are feisty and picky. Some don’t like oranges and some only want whole milk like it was on the farm. Some want us to knock and come in, some want us to walk in and leave it on their kitchen table and some want to give you a big hug. Sweet or feisty they are grateful for the volunteers and the meal. The meals are prepared by inmates at the jail in the culinary arts program. I dropped off the last meal to a beautiful woman who is bound to her recliner chair, and when I climbed back in my car–my eyes filled with tears. Since losing my baby due to a miscarriage, I decided it’s time to stop worrying about how clean my house is, and get out of my house and do something for others.

*****Congratulations to my husband, he’s been accepted into the Executive MBA Program, he starts this fall!****