Archive for September 2010
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College football is in full swing and we are keeping to my plan of actually watching games this year. I’ve seen more games this season then perhaps in the last 10 years {when the Titans first went to Tennessee}. It’s been a lot of fun actually, and I’m really excited about this Saturday’s Texas vs. Oklahoma game.
Jonathan and the girls survived their first weekend without mama this month. I think they might tell you they barely survived. The night I came home, Jonathan kept repeating “I’m so glad you’re home.” He has always been very appreciative of the work it takes for me being at home with the girls, but I think my time away made us both realize how important it is that we are in this together. It was good for all of us {perhaps me more than them ;)} and my time away made me love my time here even more.
Hannah has finally gotten all her teeth, which we’re hoping means less crankiness. She’s started talking more {besides just grunting} and will now say: Mama, Dada, Jack and Thank You. She’s also started signing: water, please and sometimes “more”. She doesn’t sign all the time, but will when prompted. It’s pretty cute to see her get really excited when she’s done it correctly and gets what she’s asked for.
Julia seems to be getting smarter by the minute. We are loosely doing preschool twice a week. I set aside time in the morning to go over shapes, colors, numbers and/or the alphabet. We have dry erase markers and books for her to “write her letters”. She really likes it and seems to enjoy the structure. Today we had “school” outside and learned all about fire hydrants and how they worked. She loved walking around the neighborhood and park pointing out all the fire hydrants.
I’ve had a really great month. My trip to New York, the change of the weather. It’s been a good September and makes me look forward to the next few months before winter hits.
And last {but not least} I feel I should mention Jack. I realize he hasn’t made it into any family pictures. It’s hard enough to wrangle to toddlers let alone a dog. But this month was a pretty big deal for Jack; he was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. He went on some medication last week and already we can see an improvement in his energy. Now hopefully his hair will start coming back.
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As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I really, really love sugar and coffee. But I’m wondering if my two loves could be the root of my long term headaches. While I haven’t been drinking coffee as long as I’ve been eating sweets, I do tend to drink a lot of coffee. {Depending on what you consider a lot. Maybe 2-4 cups a day – usually closer to 4.} Oddly, I don’t put sugar in my coffee, which might be a plus for what is about to happen:
I’m giving up sugar for the month of October.
Now there are a couple of ground rules:
1. I will continue eating yeast breads that contain sugar {i.e. yeast rolls, sandwich breads, etc}.
2. I will stop eating sweet breads, cookies, cakes, etc.
3. I will continue eating natural sugars – honey, agave, peanut butter {without added sugar}, fruits.
4. I will in addition cut back my coffee to once a week, drinking one cup at house church on Sundays.
I’m giving myself two weeks to see how my body handles the changes. If I don’t see much improvement in my headaches, I’m going one step further and eliminating all sugar {basically cutting out sugar from my yeast breads}.
I’ve already cut out the coffee this week. It’s not been as hard as I expected, but I do miss it something fierce. I’m not as concerned about eliminating coffee from my diet as much as I am cutting it back and being mindful the timing of when I drink {better before 9/10 am}.
I’m a little nervous about this new “diet” adventure. I’m imagining having night sweats when I just have to have something sweet and can’t. Hopefully my imagination is just a little overactive. I’m keeping a date journal to see how things go, chart my improvements {fingers crossed} and if there is anything more that might trigger my headaches.
*Please keep in mind that I am not a medical professional and my crazy no-sugar diet is my personal exploration for headache remedy and not medical advice.
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures Thursday.
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Sugar addict? Check.
Coffee addict? Check.
Massive headaches all the time? Check.
I’ve been getting headaches for years. You think I’m exaggerating. I wish. In high school I had an MRI because the headaches were getting so bad. It came back inconclusive and I got some medicine. Took it once and decided never, ever to take it again. Over the years I’ve had long absences without headaches {weeks at a time} and then times where they come daily {and then lasting for days}.
Over the last few years I’ve been more in the daily category. My friend, Rachel, asked if I’d charted when the headaches occur most. I hadn’t really, but decided to try it this last month. And the results: They are random with some increased intensity if 1) I don’t drink coffee till the afternoon or 2) I am close to my cycle and eating more sweets. That lead me to wonder how my diet might be effecting my headaches.
Does sugar really harm me? Is coffee that bad? Would my headaches decrease {or even disappear?!} if I cut one or both out??
Friday I’m starting a new “diet”. I’ll be posting about the details tomorrow, so be sure to stay tuned.
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God is amazing and overwhelming. I’ve been battling with some crazy heart issues lately – wanting to control my own life, being angry at the girls, frustrated with abnormal laziness/fatigue. Most glaringly is my desire to chase after things of this world. Daily I feel the prickling of God’s Spirit warning me when something flashy catches my eye. Sadly, I don’t always listen. I tell Him “not now” and indulge. Even when sin doesn’t seem ugly or “bad” it is. It starts off all pretty but ends in heartache. And that’s where I am – in heartache. I’ve chosen things of this world over a God who loves me.
But it’s not hopeless, it’s not over. The next chapter has begun. And here are the ten verses that I have been meditating on lately:
1. Hosea 14:4 {NLT} – “The Lord says, “Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever.”
2. Proverbs 28:13 {NLT} – “People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.”
3. Psalm 65:3 {NLT} – “Though we are overwhelms by our sins, you forgive them all.”
4.Psalm 4:4 {NLT} – “Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent.”
5. James 1:19 {NLT} – “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters. You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.”
6. Psalm 62:5 {NLT} – “Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.”
7. Psalm 39:7 {NLT} – “And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.”
8. Psalm 13:5-6 {NLT} – “But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me. I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me.”
9. Proverbs 19:21 {NLT} – “You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.”
10. Psalm 118:24 {NLT} – “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”
Clearly I’m a big fan of Psalm – I do actually read other books in the Bible. Promise.
Visit Oh Amanda for more Top {Ten} Tuesday.
Very Chic Style of a Toddler
Posted on: September 27, 2010
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It’s Monday and my brain and body are recovering from a looong weekend. Our family has been a little sick and it hit me hard Saturday afternoon and most of Sunday. Bummer. I figured a good way to cheer myself up {and hopefully brighten your day too} is by posting some adorable pictures of the girls.
What you get when Hannah demands to wear socks {even if she technically already is wearing socks}:
Like sister like sister:
{Not sure what Julia’s doing in this picture. Her face reminds me of Penelope.}
Emily over at The Adventures of Miss Mommy is hosting another giveaway {I just love her giveaways!}. This time she is giving away a Sound Oasis Travel Sound Therapy Machine – a fancy way of saying a travel white noise machine. White noise and I are BBFs. Seriously. We have three {yes, 3!} noise blockers in the girls’ room. Some might call it over kill. I like to call it sleep. 😉
{photo credit}
In addition to the white noise machine, Emily is giving away several “lifetime subscriptions to the upgraded version of a fabulous online white noise generator”. This allows you to have white noise on your computer {ingenious, right?!}. Helps cut out background noise when your working or if you’re like me, letting on of the girls sleep in my bed. Here’s the review I wrote about the online white noise generator:
We use a white noise machine in our daughters’ bedroom and love it. But when we allow one of them to sleep elsewhere {our bed or the family room} we can’t take the white noise machine with them. But having it our our computer for them is ingenious. And it helps cut out background noise when my husband works from home!
Go check out Emily’s giveaway!
I’m a Squirrel Killer
Posted on: September 24, 2010
I poisoned a squirrel the other day. Hear me out before you immediately shun me as an animal hater. I’m not. Promise. I bought these really cute fall decorations that look like little berries:
Super cute, right?
Apparently, they must taste pretty good too, as I saw a squirrel eating them the other day. I shooed him away and decided to leave out walnuts in case he came back. And he did. But rather than eat the yummy walnuts {like his other squirrel friends did}, this little guy went right back for my styrofoam berries.
The next day I saw a dead squirrel at the end of our neighbor’s driveway. I am not totally certain it’s the same squirrel, but what if it is? Did I inadvertently kill a squirrel- that just so happened to be a baby? {Yeah, I forgot that part. I am a baby squirrel killer! I will never live that down.}
I decided to make amends and offer nuts up to the surviving squirrels. The girls and I picked up a big container of acorns at the park and put them in a dish on the front porch. I even went so far as to make it all cute and fally:
It even matches my fall decor.
Hopefully now I won’t poison any more squirrels with my oh-so-not green berries.
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I landed in New York around 11:30 pm. My plan was to take a taxi from the airport to Midtown area {about 8 miles}. When I got outside I was overwhelmed. So many people. I looked for taxis, but didn’t see any. Then I realized there was a taxi line. That made since, as there were several lines for transportation. Or so I thought. About half way down the line it dawned on me: all these people are waiting for taxis. I overheard some people saying that the front of the line {who were just about to get taxis} had waited for nearly 3 hours. Wow. Welcome to New York.
What’s a girl to? I figured if I could just get to Manhattan I could figure things out from there. So I stood in the taxi line. After 20 minutes, I saw a bus coming that read: 125th Manhattan. Do I get on? Do I wait? In the millisecond I had to ponder, I saw one person step out of line. I figured it was now or never. I ran over to the bus stop as dozens of people followed. I pushed, yes pushed, my way onto the bus. I am good to go.
Or not.
A visitor was a asking a lady {who lived in the area} how far down the bus goes into Manhattan. 125th St. Wait. I’ve know the area well enough to know 125th is Harlem. And while I have been there before, I am not sure being in Harlem, alone, at 12:30 is an experience I really want. I told the lady where I needed to go and asked what I should do. “Get off at Astoria Blvd., take the NRQ to 47th and walk from there.” The what? To where? Will I even see the train station? Is Astoria safe? Should I just take a taxi? She said she would show me where to go, but would be heading in the opposite direction, so I was on my own.
Thankfully, New York is friendly, and there were a lot of people waiting for the train, making me feel even safer. I got off at 47th at Times Square, which was an amazing first sight of the city. I walked about 2 blocks and arrived at my friend’s apartment. And so I started my New York adventure.
The best part: I had budgeted about $25-30 for a taxi, but only spent $4.50 on the bus and train together. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to take public transportation back to the airport rather than hail a taxi. A am one cool mama.
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures Thursday.
Visit Mrs. Sojourner at Mrs. Sojourner’s Monologues for more Thursday’s Travel Tales and Tips.
Cry Baby Cry
Posted on: September 22, 2010
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Have I ever mentioned that Hannah is a mama’s girl? Never content to be next to me, she needs to be on me {or being held}. For the most part I love it. But let’s be honest, when you can’t set her down to go to the bathroom all day long it gets a little tiresome. We have been working with her, getting her to be around other people without crying. With our friends that she sees often she does fairly well {or maybe not and they are just being kind!}. But if I am in the room and she can’t be with me, this is usually the result:
Look at that sad face!
And that’s when she’s with Daddy and Julia. I’d hate to see her with a stranger!
I know she will out grow this stage. I remind myself of that when the frustration sets in. It’s a sweet time in our relationship and I am learning to love it completely {even if that means I only get to pee when she’s asleep}.
My Top {Ten} Favorite Books
Posted on: September 21, 2010
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I would caution from calling myself a bibliophil these days, since reading anything beyond Curious George Goes to the Circus is pretty scarce. But this weekend gave me with lots of opportunity to read while I was traveling. The time provided me with a renewed sense of love for reading and made me recall the books that have made the biggest impression on me over the years. Here, in no real order, are my top favorite books.
1. Scarlet Pimpernel – Perhaps this is justly placed at Number 1. Scarlet Pimpernel is favorite book and has been for years. If I’m going to read, and can’t find something to hold my interest, I turn to Scarlet Pimpernel. I’ve read it at least a dozen times. {Perhaps that’s why I don’t read a lot of books – I usually re-read all my favorites.}
2. Harry Potter series – Go ahead and laugh. Or agree with me. People seems so divided on the Potter series. I started the Potter series at this crazy, painful time in my life. It was a great escape from reality and I loved it. I’ve read the last 3 books several times and while I don’t plan to re-read them before the release of the last movie, they will come out again at some point.
3. Chronicles of Narnia – I grew up reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe but it wasn’t until Jonathan bought me the series that I had read the others. Amazing. Like most people know, there is such amazing allegories through out this series that just capture me. And my overwhelming love of lions doesn’t hurt.
4. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden – A harrowing semi-autobiographical story about a teenaged girl battling schizophrenia. Haunting in many ways, this book made me walk away realizing the true struggle and battle of mental illness.
5. The Alchemist – I read this book while struggling with my faith in my last semester of college. I read it back to back in less than a month. Then I made Jonathan read it. Then our friend, then my mom. And then I re-read it. God really used the Alchemist to push me over from complacency to desire to seek Him.
6. The Bible – Jonah – As a Christian I will say that the Bible is by far the best “book” to read. It constantly speaks to me in new ways, revealing God’s heart to me. However, over the course of the years, no book in the Bible has spoken to me more than Jonah. A constant reflection of who I am in comparison to my great and mighty God, Jonah and I are two very similar people.
7. Pride and Prejudice – I’m not one for love stories {or romances}. And if I’m going to read one, I need strong characters, nothing fruity and shallow. If you’ve ever read Pride and Prejudice {or seen the movies} you know there is nothing weak or shallow about Darcy and Elizabeth. And while my little teenaged heart use to go pitter-patter for Darcy, my woman’s heart go pitter-patter for having my own Darcy.
8. To Kill a Mockingbird – I am fairly certain it is a right of passage for all Southerners to read Harper Lee. A beautiful book about racism, seeing past skin color and the heart of the Deep South.
9. The Hiding Place – While I was introduced to Corrie ten Boom as a child, it wasn’t until I read the Hiding Place as an adult that I fully comprehended the overwhelming truths in her book.
10. A Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mystery series – I have slowly made my way through the first three books in this series since May. I think my willingness to already throw them into a favorite category comes from 1) my love of Austen, 2) my gratitude at the books stay so close to the true personalities of Darcy and Elizabeth. See my review here.
Visit Oh Amanda for more Top Ten Tuesday.
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