Please Don't Ruin Sarah's 4th of July

Last year, Lenny and Sarah were both in Public Service Announcements for the city of Lakewood. I just found out that Sarah's commercial is going to air again this year for 4th of July. It will be on the Lakewood channel from June 20 through July 4.

She is at the very end of it. Her one line in it became very famous for her. Everyone was asking her to say it. So... ask her again. It is cute.

edukatin stoodents

I was reading an online article about public vs. private schools. At the end of the article, there was a comment section. Most of the comments were thought provoking. But this one from a 7th grader made me sad. She said she is not being challenged enough. I think she is overestimating herself. Take a look at the grammar, spelling and punctuation.

05/22/2007:"ok well, i am in the 7th grade a public school. i am a very social person, have a lot of friends and i have good grades. The only things that are keeping me from liking my school and staying is that i am not being challenged enough and the fights and stupid arrguments in my school between girls over guys and people fist fighting over where they are from. The cirriculm in my school is way to easy and i am not being challenged at the level i would like to be. I have heard from my family and my friends that private school give u more of a challenge if you need it, but if u dont then they dont give it to you. I have also heard that private school doesnt give you a look on the real world, the reality. Is these true?"

This struck me more so because I had just read a similar type post about education from Michelle's blog. Read it. You will laugh.

Blogging is bad for my health

This morning, AS I WAS BEGINNING THIS POST, I smelled this "burning" smell. Hmmmm, I wonder.

I go into the kitchen and there is a small little teeny little fire in the toaster oven.

HEY LOVER...IT WAS NOTHING. I PROMISE. DON'T WORRY!

I had preheated the oven to bake some little quiches for Sarah's breakfast. It was early, much too early for her to be getting up (she still has 15 more minutes to sleep right now) so I thought I would come over and blog a bit. I got so in to uploading the following carpet pics that I did not realize that there was a 6 day old piece of toast in the toaster oven. It had been cooking while the oven was heating up and while I was sittng on my rear writing to you.

Crisis averted and everything is fine.

But, the quiches are cooking at this very moment so..... I will let you know if I burn the kitchen down.

Anyhooooo, remember the carpet pictures from last week? I thought we would be getting new carpet yesterday. I am sure you have guessed that the carpet is not here. Ron, the fabulous carpet dude, called me the day before and said that the mill in Georgia hasn't even started our order. Hmmmmm. Does he realize what my current carpet looks like? I tried to tell him that we had writing all over the carpet but, for some reason, my pleading did not make the carpet magically appear. I wish my kids would realize that when they beg for something.

So, what do I do? Laugh about it, and tell the kids to do more grafitti. And, when Jacob has his birthday party this weekend, we are going to let his class scribble all over it. Cool mom or just weird?

slap in the face

Found this in the mail today.

Yeah, we miss it too! Whhhhaaaaaaaaaa!

Apollo Wins

Sooooo know I am a nerd! I do know that. I am not a book nerd, or a science nerd, or even a math geek. I am a complete nerd and fool for Dancing With the Stars. I LOVE THAT SHOW.

Two seasons ago, a woman from our Life Group jumped up suddenly before the evening was over and stated "Gotta go, Dancing With the Stars is on at 9" and just took off. What???? How nerdy she is I thought.

How much crow I need to eat now?, I am wondering.

Jacob and I are so into that show. He knows the names of all of the stars and their professional dance partner. He knows who is doing well, who is improving and who should go. He even votes online for Apollo each week. Then he crosses off the name of the star who got voted off...each and every week. Check it out....

Each week we watch the Monday night show. Then he goes online to vote and we wait for the results on Tuesday night.

So this week, the FINALE WEEK, Lenny and I went away together to Bolsa Chica in our love trailer. Ooooh how romantic. Jacob and I did not get to see DWTS together because he was staying with Grandma Linda and Papa John. I did not see the finale - as I thought we would watch it together online when we came home on Wednesday. I had no idea who won at all.

So today, when we picked him up from school, he says to me "I have exciting news for you Mom. Apollo and Julianne won."

They won. We are happy and we love Dancing With the Stars!

By the way...that chalkboard is actually the closet door in the front bedroom. Lenny painted it about a month ago with chalkboard paint. It is very neat!

No Guarantees

We knew when we moved into this house nearly 4 years ago, that we would would replace the carpet SOON. Did you read "nearly 4 years ago"? It all became urgent when our wood floor guy came to refinish the floors before we even moved in. The whole house is wood except for the living room. We asked him to cut back about three feet for a walkway from the entry to the back hallway and then refinish the wood underneath that cut carpet.

Well, he did do what we asked but he cut about 6 feet back. He took too much carpet. In his defense, he did say that we said that we were going to replace the carpet SOON. He thought that "soon" actually meant, well, SOON. "Soon" to us means "in all likelihood, a really long time from now, but we are thinking about it". And, being a wood guy not a carpet guy, he did not tack down the edge. So for 4 YEARS we have been tripping on the loose edge of the carpet as we walk into the living room.

I wish those were the only reasons why we want new carpet. The carpet is really GROSS. Really it is. Last year, we remodeled our kitchen in February, March and April. Rainy months. We had to track into the house through the living room. We TRASHED it. And of course, I would be remiss if I did not 'fess up to my mishaps. Notice the spot near Sarah's hand? That is from me spilling my 64-ounce Diet Coke on the carpet 3 years ago.

Well, almost 4 years TO THE DAY, we are replacing the carpet. Now, I must say that the carpet is not actually installed. We did pay the down payment, but I know that until the actual job is done, it may never get done. Not a pessimist. I just know how we work.

So, to insure that we really do get the carpet....I let the kids do something to the old disgusting rag of carpet that is still here. I LET THEM DRAW ON IT! How crazy is that? If we do not get the new carpet...well, I will be sorry.

Next on my list....countertops for that kitchen remodel from last year and a van. You'd think that getting a vehicle stolen would be a shoe-in for getting a new car.

We Go Together Like Shamalama Ding a Dingydong

Ok, I SOOOOO know I look pregnant here. I am wearing Lenny's shirt and much to my dismay, this is the ONLY photo I have of us today. Arghhh I wish I let other people take more pictures with my camera. He is not punching me, he is flexing his very studly arm here for the picture. And, I wish we had switched sides for this. His other "tattoo" says "Donna" with a heart under my name.

I wish we lived in the 50's. I really do. I would give up microwaves, cell phones, DVD's and yes, blogging to go back to a time when things seemed better. When families still had the respect of their fathers, when mothers did everything they could to make their kids turn out ok, when people kept their body parts out of public view, when teachers still commanded respect and things were safer in the neighborhood.

And clearly, the music from the 50's ROCKS! How many of you can sit still when you hear a song from Grease? Not me, I want to hand jive, slow dance to Blue Moon and Go to the Hop. I can not contain myself. It is catchy.

Today is the much anticipated Sock Hop at the kids school today. It was a 50's dress day and the kids all looked adorable. I got some great pics of lots of kids but I will only post the ones of my own kids. Tonight is the school carnival with lots of 50's themed stuff. Can't wait.

So check out these pics of the new Danny and Sandy!!!

A Mother's Day to Remember

Sometimes I will copy an email I have received and post it on my blog. This post is no different. Except for the remark that my FRIEND Rhonda said about it. All in fun, I know. Funny too is that our dog's name is Jack. Read on:


I thought you ladies would laugh at this. Donna, this sounds like something I would have read about from your blog (except that it is about a cat, not a dog).

I love you all!
Rhonda


Why My Lips Stayed Chapped on Mother's Day
So, we had this great 10 year old cat named Jack who just recently died. Jack was a great cat and the kids would carry him around and sit on him and nothing ever bothered him. He used to hang out and nap all day long on this mat in our bathroom.

Well, we have 3 kids and at the time of this story they were 4 years old, 3 years old and 1 year old. The middle one is Eli. Eli really loves chapstick. LOVES it. He kept asking to use my chapstick and then losing it. So finally one day I showed him where in the bathroom I keep my chapstick and how he could use it whenever he wanted to but he needed to put it right back in the drawer when he was done.

Last year on Mother's Day, we were having the typical rush around and try to get ready for Church with everyone crying and carrying on. My two boys are fighting over the toy in the cereal box. I am trying to nurse my little one at the same time I am putting on my make-up. Everything is a mess and everyone has long forgotten that this is a wonderful day to honor me and the amazing job that is motherhood. We finally have the older one and and the baby loaded in the car and I am looking for Eli. I have searched everywhere and I finally round the corner to go into the bathroom.

And there was Eli. He was applying my chapstick very carefully to Jack's . . . rear end. Eli looked right into my eyes and said "chapped." Now if you have a cat, you know that he is right -- their little bottoms do look pretty chapped. And, frankly, Jack didn't seem to mind. And the only question to really ask at that point was whether it was the FIRST time Eli had done that to the cat's behind or the hundredth.

And THAT is my favorite Mother's Day moment ever because it reminds us that no matter how hard we try to civilize these glorious little creatures , there will always be that day when you realize they've been using your chapstick on the cat's butt.

Mother's Day 2007

When your kids are babies, the cards you get from them come with a little help from Dad.

But when your kids are older and able to put it all together themselves, super cool things come out of it. Not a massage or a new car on the driveway with a big red bow (Lenny, are you reading this?), but the absolutely adorable precious little handmade cards with all of the glue glops, crossed out misspelled words, slanting lines and splintered cutting made with the hugest heart ever. Those are my favorites.

I got of bunch of those.

Jacob made me a pop up card in school. I opened it up and out popped a bouquet of flowers. He was sooooo excited about the pop up part. He wrote all over the inside about how he felt about me. I smiled and cried over what he said. I love the way he is able to express himself.
And Sarah made me a card that grows. Check it out.
I will FOREVER and EVER keep these cards. These are the things I like. The things that I hope for on Mother's Day. Not the store bought cards with "Love, Jacob" (he doesn't do that by the way) or the token greeting. But the ones that are sloppy and messy and bursting with love and enthusiasm. The ones that show the heart. Love em!

Our city has a festival every year at a local park over Mother's Day weekend. When we got out of the car, Bob Koontz noticed the gum on the tire. I thought this was a great picture.

Ok, back to the park. There are booths, music, rides and goldfish games. Yesterday, the kids and I did it all. This year our church had a booth at the festival. We were taking pics with Pauly Penguin from the upcoming movie Surf's Up. Kids were able to make a balloon penguin, take their picture and their parents were learning about Life Center.

The kids had a great time on the rides that cost too much money... but they really loved limbo! How cute is that?

And, in the end, Jacob got that 12th ping pong ball in the teeny little jar and won three fish!! If you ask the kids, they will say that they had the best Mother's Day ever! :)

I want my Mommy!

Sounds a bit immature, doesn't it. Me, a grown woman admitting that I want my mommy. I mean, gosh, I am 38 years old, married, and a mother myself. As a matter of fact, if I am truly honest with myself (and you), I seem to remember that my relationship with my mom wasn't always so sweet and gooey.

So why is it that after 7 years of her being in Heaven, I am still aching over the loss of her? Why is it that the pain is still very obvious? True, it isn't as sharp as it was that first motherless Mother's Day in 2000 when I was pregnant with Sarah. But it is there. And it always rears it's emotional head on this day EVERY YEAR.

My mother's birthday comes and goes with little fanfare or thought. Although I do remember it and think of her all day, it is never anything remarkable. Her eternity day, March 7, is a day that I always talk to my sister Karen - just because that is the day she died. But I don't cry, I don't carry on, I don't fall apart. I just quietly reflect on finding out the news of her death mixed with finding out the news of our pregnancy with Sarah.

But Mother's Day...that is a whole different ballgame. The days tears me apart from my insides out. I wake up aching, I am in a daze all day, I tear up, I lose my composure, I get angry, I get jealous watching my peers loving on their mothers. I feel every emotion you can possibly think of.

Why? Why is this day my torment? I think I know. Today, I think I figured it out.

Mother's Day haunts me because I am a mother.

If I did not have my own children, maybe just maybe, this emotional rollercoaster would grind to a halt and I would just quietly remember my mom on this day. But, I do have kids. And because I am a mother myself, the pain of losing my mother makes my mothering more intense. Make sense?

You see, I groan over the loss of her. Sometimes it is because of her specifically , Rosemary Bingham, that I mourn. The personality, her comments, her jokes. I am the youngest of four children. My sister Karen is 11 years older than me. My siblings all had their children, raised them, and my mother got to be a part of their lives. My sisters and brother all got to "show" my mother how they were as parents. Kind of like a milestone or something like that. And their children all got to know Grandma. They all had a relationship with her. Their own memories, their own experiences, their own stories of her.

Me? Jacob and Sarah? Not really anything. I am, however, incredibly grateful that she was around when I was pregnant with Jacob. She got to be a part of that. She was there when he was born. She did meet him, hold him, love on him. For that, I can not even type right now because the tears are clouding my eyes, I will always thank God.

She moved to South Carolina when he was 4 weeks old. I did have the blessings of several trips to visit her. Again, thank you God.

She died 18 months later.

And sometimes I agonize over the loss of my mother, the role, the institution, the parent. Following me here? Sometimes I miss the luxury of having a mother...any mother. Someone to talk to, someone to love my kids the way Lenny and I do. Someone that I can trust completely. Someone to take the kids for the weekend. Someone to go to lunch with, to hang with, to shop with, to have over for dinner, to ask cooking questions, to make Christmas plans with. Someone that can encourage me when I want to throw in the towel. Someone to just put their arm around me and say that all WILL be ok. It gets better. Someone to say "I am proud of you".

Someone to call Mom.

Shrek Knight Light

The coolest thing happened this evening. The kids and I were at the grocery store. We run into a neighbor and I start chatting with her. The kids are checking out the cereal aisle while I am talking. Normally, we don't really eat much cereal, and I almost never buy sugary cereals. But, Jacob has been telling me about this Shrek Knight (yes the spelling is correct) Light on Kellogg's cereals. I thought I would get it just because I wanted to be the cool mom tonight.

OF COURSE Sarah immediately asked when could she use the Knight Light, etc. They come to some agreement and all is well.

I get home, open the box, holding my breath because I know the squabbling that is about the ensue. RIP goes the box top. I reach in and find to my absolute amazement and joy that there are TWO Shrek Knight LIghts in the box. Both packages were stuck together. Yipppppeee.

How cool is that??

Here they are in their room, ready to go to bed so they can read in the dark.

Check out their right ears.
Good Night!

Great Prayer Idea

I got this really great idea from my friend Teena. I thought it was so great that I cut and pasted her email right here into this post. Hope you like and I hope you do this!

Hi Everyone,I was in our women's bible study and sharing how I battle with prayer time for my family and how I forget and/or don't get around to it, etc. So our leader, Pam, shared that she and her husband set their cell phone alarms to the times that each of their kids were born. And when the alarms go off, she knows she needs to pray for that child. How cool and practical is that? I loved this idea so much, I had to share it with you. I have been doing this for the last 2 days and it is so empowering and I don't wake up at night worrying that I didn't pray for my kids! My own kids times are 7:30am, 8:32am and 12:34pm.I hope you can use this!Love,Teena :)www.jepsenjournal.blogspot.com

Ice Cream Cone and Jack in the Box

You know when your kids do something that just cracks you up? I told Sarah to go use her brain instead of watching TV. She was mad because she only had a soccer ball. Here is what she came up with.

Is it an Ice Cream Cone?

Or is it Jack from In-the-Box?

One of those days

Ever had one of those days when everything just seems to not go well? I am having one of those days. Nothing too extreme or horrible. But things like:

• Couldn't find my keys this morning before school. Not a problem because we could walk. But, I knew that I was going to be bringing a bunch of stuff home from Sarah's teacher and I didn't want to carry it home.
• I stubbed my toe so bad that I fell to the ground crying.
• I was rolling the hose up in the backyard so fast that the end of the hose WITH THE METAL NOZZLE swung around and hit me in the shin. Cried again.
• Got a minor little nosebleed because of the dry weather.
• Stepped in dog poo.
• The dog pooped in his crate (stupid dog) and I had to clean it up.
• Ran out of printer ink.
• Spilled El Torito Cilantro Pepita Salad Dressing on the floor and my white t shirt.
• I have a minor health problem that I am too embarrassed to put in print is buggin' me.

ALL of these things happened before picking Sarah up at noon from school.

On a brighter note, an Abatement Officer from the Sheriff's Department told me this morning that the problems (several inoperable vehicles, roof shingles blowing everywhere, unsafe room additions and outbuildings, and several other things) with the drug house next door are all being taken care of. If their orders are not satisfied within 10 days, a Sheriff will come with a warrant and ....well you know. This has been a mission of several of our neighbors for several years to get this taken care of. Yippee that progress is being made.

Forgiveness

Yesterday after school, Jacob and this other boy got into a squabble about a kickball game. Now it wasn't a fight or argument or anything like that. Just one of those disagreements that happen when picking teams and someone doesn't like what team they are on.

When I picked him up from school, he was rubbing his arm and his eyes were red. I asked him what happened. He told me that another boy pinched him on the arm. I ask him why, what happened, etc. He told me about the kickball game and how the team picking was going. Well, I am not sure who went up to who but somehow both of them were unhappy and this kid reached over and pinched Jacob's arm. Jacob said it hurt so bad that he sat down and cried in front of all of his friends.

Mother Bear here. Whhhhaaaaaat? Who in the world would ever think of doing anything like that to you? What a bully I thought. We got into the car and I looked at his arm. There was already a bruise and a lump under the skin. Where is this kid? I am going punch him in the nose. I thought those things. I didn't really do it.

We got home and told Lenny about it. We grilled Jacob about what happened, we wanted to make sure that Jacob didn't instigate it, that he didn't hit the kid (totally not something he would do, by the way), or just get up in the kid's face and stir up trouble. We asked him every which way we could to make sure that we understood what happened.

Then Adam from across the street comes over. Adam said that this kid tried to choke him last year. I asked Adam if he told his teacher about it. He said (this is great) "No, I just backhanded him and he hasn't bothered me since." I thought I was going to fall over laughing. But golly wolly, isn't that what is called natural consequences? You are mean to a kid and you get smacked. You never are mean to that kid again. Sounds very "Wild at Heart"ish. But, in public schools you can't do that.

Ok, back to Jacob. Lenny talked to the principal about yesterday. By the way, Lenny is MAJORLY "Wild at Heart" and wanted to protect his kid passionately. She told us that she would call Jacob into her office this morning and get the details. So just a minute ago, she called me with the update. She told me that she talked to all parties, things are resolved, etc.

Here is the whole point to my story (sorry for all of the boring details). She told me that she heard Jacob say something that she has never heard a kid say before. When the other kid apologized to Jacob, Jacob replied back with "Thank you, you are forgiven". Wow. None of this "it's ok" garbage (because it isn't ok), nor did he just accept the apology. He went further than that. He told the kid that he was forgiven.

Isn't that what Jesus does for us? He doesn't just check off our sin infractions with a pen, he takes them and wipes them clean, he forgives the sin. I am soooooo proud of Jacob for doing that. I am so pleased when I see fruit of what we teach him, what we train him in and what we believe in. I can not wait to see what a mighty man of God he will soon become.