Vacation Day

My idea of a vacation sure has changed. Last summer it was a trip to Chicago. This summer it's a morning of free VBS for my son, leaving me with only one child to play with. Vacation, seriously.

 I really did cherish the 3 hours I spent with just my daughter. It's never just been the two of us like it was for Beemer and I before she was born. I'm looking forward to spending some time with her next year on his pre-school days.

It was a rare day that I didn't plan anything, so after dropping off Beemer at the church we headed to shop for shoes. In an even more rare event we found two pair of shoes, in the right size, that fit exactly what we needed right now. Did I mention they were on sale? She loves bracelets, so I picked one up for her as well since they were half off! I love Kid to Kid.



As we checked out at the store, my sweet little almost two year old was "caught being good" and given a coupon for a free dessert at McDonalds. It really is amazing how much better they behave when individually. I love good marketing when I see it and this was brilliant. The neighboring McD's has just remodeled and is really cool. So for probably 50 cents on their part they got me in the door. Now that I've seen the playground I'll be back. In fact, I told one of my friends and she went over there this afternoon! I digress. I'm sure there will be a play date here soon.

Check out this soft toddler play area, the whole thing is touch activated to make musical sounds when you touch it. They also have the usual bigger playground next to it, which is musical as well.



I went all the way to the top with Sister. These things make musical sounds when you rotate them.



She had a lot of fun climbing up the slide, hiding and giggling. The slide sings a little tune when you get towards the bottom. She was a little spooked by the sounds initially and didn't have any desire to play. She perked up when another little girl came along, I think she was lost without her big brother to show her the way!




After McD's I asked Sister if she wanted to swing by another resale shop to see if we could find any shoes for a better price. I said "What do you think, should we do it?" And she said "do it!" She's such a little talker. Turns out they're closed on Mondays so we made a quick stop at the antique store. She did so well, she looked and didn't run around and touch stuff. I look forward to many future shopping trips with her.

With such a full morning sister took a late and long nap. So I continued my one kid vacation with Beemer after I mowed the yard for my husband. We birdwatched killed two hornets the size of hummingbirds in my yard. We also went to the beach played in a bowl of sandy water on the back porch after we went to the waterpark slid down the play house slide into a toddler size cheapy pool. There was a spontaneous water hose fight in there somewhere as well.

It was a great day. I feel so fulfilled when I stop what I'm doing and spend time with my babies. It's always worth the time spent and at the end of the day I don't feel guilty for all the times I told them no I couldn't play or turned the tv on to get them out of my hair. Vacation or not, it felt like a break for me and that's exactly what I needed.

How to check out a library book

Wait until nap time is over to leave for the library. Look up at the sky and realize you're probably going to be pelted with rain and maybe hail while you're out. Be glad when it doesn't happen.

Strap children into car seats and proceed to library. Ask yourself multiple times why you got on the freeway. Sit in traffic when you exit as it is narrowing down to one lane. Wait. Wait a little longer. Proceed to library.

Take children out of car seats and avoid getting run over in the parking lot by carrying one heavy little tot and holding the hand of the other. Make it safely to the children's section.

Immediately ask librarian where you can find super hero books. Ask yourself why she didn't look something up or walk you to the specific section instead of pointing to three shelves of books where they are "usually kept". Look up and down all three shelves aimlessly. Chase small toddler around library as she thinks this is a fun game. Momentarily lose big toddler. Breathe a sigh of relief.

Weave your way through all the kids who just came out of movie day. Take mental note to come at a different time next time.

Ask second librarian where you can find Superhero books. Stop following her to that area and go grab small toddler who has actually found interest in some puzzles. Come back to librarian who is telling your the big toddler needs to potty.

Walk all the way to front of the library, not realizing you were standing next to a restroom. Walk all the way back, past the restroom. All the while lug your heavy little tot to avoid chasing. Find restroom and shudder. Your child is NOT sitting on THAT. Definitely do not put your heavy little tot down in here.

Come back out to find very nice librarian who has pulled Superhero books for you and wait while she puts one on hold for you that is more age appropriate.

Chase little tot around while your big boy peacefully looks for more books. Proceed to leave in a hurry as things are going downhill fast.

Attempt to scan your library card. Look at the teen who's there volunteering playing on her phone and realize she has no intention of helping you. Look at the first not so helpful librarian and ask for help. Wait, while holding heavy squirming little tot, while she trims the excess plastic off your card so it will scan. Be shocked when you have a $9.99 fine you thought you took care of already. Ask helpless teen if they have bags. She won't know the answer. Get sent to front desk. Buy a bag because they are no longer free.

Lug your books and kids to the car and leave. Sit through the same light 6 or so times in your effort to avoid the freeway. Think about how bad your head hurts.

Turn around and look in the back seat at your big boy peacefully reading his Superhero books and smile. Think maybe it was all worth it. Take mental note to forget leave small tot at home with your husband next time you go.

Say a prayer, there's still 23 more hours in a day.

If I Were Satan...

I'd take one look at that Vine and I'd set out to demolish it.

If I were smart, I'd start out when the vine was small, when it was easy to tackle. Before it laid years worth of roots under the ground that I would have to slowly and painfully uncover.

One summer I'd hire somebody to cut it all off the fence and spray it with vine killer. It would work. Temporarily.

The next summer I'd mostly leave it alone. Hacking away a little at it's leaves and throwing them in the trash. Over all I would just look at it with frustration.

Another year I would look back in the yard and I would see that the Vine had hopped off the fence and attached itself to my tree. I would trim the tree and Vine away from each other and set out on a mean streak to kill that Vine.

I would wear my gloves. I would pull out multiple trash bags. I would work in the morning, afternoon and evening. I would work when my kids were awake and when they were asleep. I would work all day long. I would enlist the help of my husband.

I would start with the leafy abundance at the top of the fence and use all my strength to cut it, rip it off and throw it away. I would cut the roots close to the bottom of the fence, realizing for every root I cut there were a hundred more. I would throw away the grapes that had grown on the Vine. It would be a lot of work.

I would keep hacking away until sweat was pouring off my face. I would see that so much of the Vine was gone, yet so much remained. I would contemplate jumping the fence and taking care of the Vine on my neighbor's side of the fence. I would look around my feet and see leaves littered all over the ground. I would see the dead Vine from summers' past still attached to my fence.

Eventually, I would uncover the root ball. I would be impressed at the enormity of it. I would use my tools to cut away as much of it as I could, shrinking it as small as possible. I would dig around it and cut around it, realizing minimal progress each time. I would put all my weight on the shovel and try to break the ground around it. I would realize that even if I dug that root up out of the ground there would still be a system of roots underneath that would only come back again. I would stand on top of the root and bounce up and down seeing that it would barely budge with all my weight.

I would give up  in defeat. I would have put so much work in to killing that Vine and it would still be alive at the root. I would give up. For now. I would have to come up with a new plan of attack. Maybe a root killer would do the trick. Maybe my husband could dig up that root ball. I would find a way. I would know the danger of leaving that Vine unattended, so I wouldn't wait long for fear of losing all my hard work. I would know that if I left it, it would take over my yard and I wouldn't even be able to make a dent. I would come back, with a vengeance.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." John 10:10

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39

Little Miss Independent

She refuses to be fed. She must feed herself. It looks something like this.



And then the dog gets involved.



She's stringing together a lot of words. Mommmmeeeeee, bite. Mommmmeeeeee, sit down. Brady, get down, Brady, get down. Bye bye puppy dog. Nooo, Mine. Mommmmeeee, bug. Mommmmmeeeeeee, dog. Sometimes she puts together about 10 words all at once, none of which we can understand. It's like one big jumbled sentence.

She's a pincher.

She enjoys her morning nayna, I mean banana, with her brother every single day.




Her hair is acting curly, on the bottom and in the back. The top is straight. It's, um, interesting. She must be chased in circles to have it blow dried.

She rips off her diapers the minute you put them on. Duct tape is becoming our friend. If her diaper needs changing, she'll tell you. If someone toots she whips her head around, points her chin down, raises her eyebrows and makes and makes a startled face.

She loves to be silly. She likes to talk and be loud. She does not get this from me.



She wants to pick out her own clothes. She does not want to wear a dress. She looks for her Minga Mou, I mean Mickey Mouse, shirt every day.

She likes to read books. Not just any book. Books with puppy douwgs on them.

She can follow directions and make decisions. She's very bright.

She adores her daddy.

She LOVES oes, I mean shoes. She has a little pair of leather boots that she has slept in a couple of times because she just couldn't stand to take them off. She doesn't discriminate either. The shoes don't have to belong to her, they just have to be shoes.


Things are changing around here. We've got 4 months until 2, but I'm pretty sure my child turned 2 a couple months ago. But one thing hasn't changed, she's still the cutest little girl in the world. And I think she might just know it!

Married to a Cop

In honor of National Police Week...

The sounds...
The click-click when he unloads his gun
The front door when he's home
The dogs rustling in the middle of the night
The kids screaming "Daddy!"
The sound of him sleeping
The sound of him not sleeping
The tv being on when he's home
The silence at night
The noises that startle
The kids asking for daddy
The mommy in me threatening to call daddy if the kids don't start listening. Right now!
The voice at the end of the line telling me goodnight
The ring of the phone when he gets called to court



The feel...
The relief when he makes it home
The laughter among officers and families
The comradery
The immense pride I have for him
The warmth next to me in bed
The sadness when an officer is fallen
The hurt when people are ugly and unappreciative




The sight...
The uniform
The gun belt on the dresser
The flashlight and radio on their charging docks
The bag, after bag, after bag in my spare closet
The bullets next to my jewelry box



The smell...
The clothes to be washed from the night before
The scent of him in our bed, on the pillows
The coffee to keep him awake


The Taste...
The taste of a good thing
The food he grills on his days off
The meals we share when he's home
The taste of fear when he can't get to his phone and you hope everything is ok
The taste of a kiss


The last few years have been a great privilege. I never knew how much I could possibly enjoy this lifestyle. My heart swells with pride for the wonderful man I married.

Chasing Bubbles

The other night in the bathtub, the kids discovered they could catch bubbles in their hands. First, Sister caught one on accident. The game quickly caught on for both of them.

While I blew large bubbles, they begged for more and caught many of them. Sister would catch one and Beemer would pop it. Beemer would reach out in front of Sister to catch the bubbles before she could get to them. They both looked at me yelling Me, Me, Me. Eventually, they became so focused on catch each others bubbles that they didn't even see the bubbles that were being caught by no one.

I've been learning a lot about contentment lately. I couldn't help, as I watched my kids, to think about how focused we can be on everyone else's bubbles. I wonder how many of our own bubbles we are missing? We don't appreciate the bubbles in our own hands because we are so worried about the bubble we don't have.

One of my summer Bible studies is doing the Resolution for Women book. It's based on the movie Courageous. The first chapter is called "Surprisingly Satisfied." She talks about how when you hurry through the parts of life that you aren't enjoying, trying to change them, that you miss all of the things that you do like about your current season.

The best point Priscilla Shirer makes in this book, regarding contentment, is that when we are content God is able to bring a full measure of enjoyment and stability to our experience, no matter what it is. When we have that inner satisfaction we are freed up to give more freely of our resources, time and selves because we know that God will more than replenish everything we have put out. "We're not able to fully participate... when we don't feel like we have the proper amount, the proper brand, the proper type of resources with which to participate in the first place." from Pg. 21

So, let's enjoy the bubbles in front of us fully, and completely. Even if our bubbles are smaller, uglier or disappear more quickly than the bubbles around us.

Philippians 4:11 "I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am"  

Did you know that Paul wrote this while he was in prison for two years as an innocent man awaiting trial. He was enduring extreme circumstances. He had already plead his innocence at least twice and yet was still sitting in prison awaiting to do it again. The entire Philippians 4 chapter has some of my favorite verses, check it out and keep this piece of history in mind while you do.

How to Make Mac N Cheese

Make sandwich for kid #1, scratch that, make 2 swawiches, with pb and j, cut every piece of crust off so sandwich is not mutilated. While making sandwich, chase kid #1 back to their room, where they're supposed to be, 6 times.

When kid #1 sits down to eat, proceed to put kid #2 in booster seat. Scratch that. Booster seat is wet. Oh my, is that PEE? Are you kidding me? Clean up questionable substance. Hope whatever is all over the table is water.

Put water in pot on stove for kid #2 dinner.

Take kid #2 off kitchen table. Take to bed for time out.

Dump Mac N Cheese in pot of water. Ponder what you will feed your kids tomorrow since the bread is all gone.

Go to garage to get something, chase kid #1 off the top of your car since you were followed out to the garage.

Go get kid #2 out of bed. Lay on floor to put back diaper that has been torn off. Fight Spiderman  kid #1 off your back while applying diaper. Go back to kitchen. Get out milk and butter.

Stop what you're doing, put milk jug on floor and reapply diaper. Again. Take kid #2 to room, reach for painters tape behind you, reattach diaper tab that has now been pulled off. Proceed with a strip of painters tape across front of diaper.

Proceed to mixing Mac N Cheese. When partially mixed, go back to kid #2 and replace diaper again. Decide to be obnoxious. Go to garage for duct tape. This will take about 10". Watch kid #2 try to take diaper off again. Laugh a little. Go ahead, enjoy yourself. Make mental note to remove tape before kid #2 goes to bed so you don't have to worry about strangulation.

Proceed to mixing Mac N Cheese. Come around corner a couple times to remove kid #2 off the top of kid #1. Stick some frozen peaces in the microwave. Fiddle with the thaw function. You have no idea how it works. Keep pushing buttons.

Sit down for a moment while both kids run to other room. Write a blog in your head as you go, laughing all the way. Your Mac N Cheese is now done. Put it on a plate. Wait for children to return. Yell at kid #1 to take your pillows back to your bed. Tell him not to jump on them in kitchen floor.

Put kid #2 in chair. Not the booster, it's drying. Watch her eat, wave back at her when she waves at you with that adorable little hand. Chase her off the table. Say a prayer, there's still 23 more hours in a day.

When all is finished watch kid #2, with duct taped diaper, sit on floor and feed scraps to the dog.