The Tooth Fairy is in BIG Trouble!

Oh boy... the tooth fairy has really messed up!

Delaney lost a tooth yesterday... Last night she put it under her pillow, fully expecting a dollar from the Tooth Fairy. (I know this because she asked me if I needed to borrow her dollar—poor kid!)

So, she woke me up this morning at 7:15 am. She NEVER gets up that early!! She was whining, and said the Tooth Fairy didn’t come!

Well… knowing I had to say something smooth, I told her that she probably went to bed too late. I mean, doesn’t everybody know that that Tooth Fairy comes BEFORE 10:30 pm?? ;-)

All I know is that she'd better go to bed earlier tonight ‘cause I told her that the Tooth Fairy probably stops coming before 10!

And that darn Tooth Fairy had better get her act together!

Preparing for a new season

This is pretty personal, but I'm going to go ahead & post it anyhow...

I try to take my kids' clothes from the previous year to a store to sell them... This helps tremendously to get some money to buy clothes for the current season/year. Most of my kids' clothes either come from consignment/resale stores or clearance racks.

Well... I've decided that I'm going to go ahead & sell my maternity clothes this time, too. I am finding myself very reluctant about doing it. I am just not sure I'm ready to end that season of my life. I feel like it's a statement--like I'm saying that I'm done, that I don't want any more kids. But that's simply not true.

We're at a point in our lives right now that my husband and I feel that it would be irresponsible of us to have another baby when we can barely afford the two children we have. We know we are blessed to have two healthy little girls, but I can't help but want another. But right now is not the time.

I'm thinking about making an appointment with my ob/gyn to get a semi-permanent form of birth control that lasts 5 years. Not completely permanent because emotionally, I just can't handle that right now--maybe not ever... and because our lives could change in a couple of years. I just can't give up the prospect of one more.

Almost everyone around me has 3 or 4 kids. I look at them and wonder how they do it. I have no clue. I just know I want what they have, but I feel like it's wrong for me to want something we really can't afford to take care of.

I'm sure there are other people out there like me... I know that I'm surely not alone. But right now, I feel pretty alone in this season of my life. :(

I may never again experience that excitement of knowing there is a baby growing inside me... feel that first little kick or hear that baby cry. Never see another child take her first steps or hear her say her first word. But I'm thankful to have had the privilege twice. And that is twice more than some will know that joy.

Jenna pottied in the potty!

Every morning we get up, and I ask Jenna if she wants to try big-girl panties today. This morning, she pulled them out & put them on.

Now, I know she just turned 2 in April... and maybe I'm jumping the gun (Delaney potty trained much later than this!). But I am trying to let her decide on her own. I don't want to push her!

After wearing her big-girl training panties for about an hour, she went in and sat on the potty. She must have gotten excited because she stood up and peed all over the potty and the floor. LOL! There was a little in the potty, but not as much as on the floor... At least she tried, and she knows where she is supposed to go.

She just went outside to play with her sister. Hopefully she won't potty all over herself outside! lol! I'll try to ask her about every 15 minutes, then sit her on the potty about once an hour.

Wish me luck... it's been 4 1/2 years since Delaney was 2, so I feel little out of practice. ;-)

I am so frustrated--A VENT about church & my parents

I just need to vent. So, please don’t take anything personally that you are about to read. I am just REALLY MAD, and I need to get it out of my system before I scream.

On Sunday nights at our church, we don’t have nursery or kids classes. The kids go into the regular church service.

My kids are 6 and 2. They are not adults, and I really don’t expect them to act like such. Normally we don’t go to Sunday night service because they are kids, and the just can’t be quiet or still. Tonight was no different, as I decided to try it again. I think it was a mistake.

Things were fine for the first few minutes. We were singing… Delaney sang along, and Jenna clapped her hands.

As soon as the pastor started preaching his message, my sweet children turned into little heathens. Jenna ate her snack and drank her juice pretty quick, then started playing with her baby doll… Delaney decided to start taking things away from her, and Jenna screamed--several times. Ugh.

And here’s the best part… My parents were sitting right next to the kids too, and my dad looks over at me with his evil eye. I don’t know exactly what he expected me to do, but it made me feel about 2 inches tall. I HATE that feeling. It’s how he’s made me feel my entire life--like I don’t have a handle on anything.

My parents are those people who expected miracles from me, but got nothing they expected. I am merely a housewife who didn’t finish college. I married a man who became a truck driver. They seem to dislike everything about my life, who I am and what I do. Whether they actually think that, I have no clue… but it’s certainly how they make me feel. They’re always telling me what a wonderful job my brother has and how much money he makes and how wonderful things are at their house. It’s like they’re comparing us all the time, and I NEVER measure up. Never. I try SO hard to let it all go, but it only makes me more jealous. And then they wonder why I feel that way.

These are the same parents who say that my kids really need to learn how to act in church, and that they won’t learn if I don’t bring them… and yet they want to complain about the way they act when I do bring them. See? I absolutely cannot win, even if I try!

Anyhow… when the church service was over, I packed up the girls’ stuff, and we darted out to the van. I hardly said a word to anyone. I just wanted to crawl under a pew and hide, honestly. I was just ready to get out of there.

And now I get an e-mail from my mom, saying she wants Delaney to spend the night one night this week… she said some one-on-one time might be good for her. It’s so lovely of her to suggest in her “subtle” way that I’m not spending enough time with Delaney. Don’t ya think? Grrr…

I am so tired of my parents telling me that I NEED a husband and my kids NEED a dad. We have one. It just happens that he works all the time and isn’t home. I don’t have the dream life, and they have a problem with it. IT IS NOT MY FAULT!!! None of it is my fault. So, why do I feel like it’s all my fault?

I feel so frustrated and angry right now that I can’t even answer my mom’s e-mail! I can’t call either--I’m so worried that if I call them I’ll just tell them off. I don’t want to go that route. So I suppose I’ll just sweep it under the rug and pretend that it never happened. Just like the last two hundred and fifty-seven times this sort of thing has happened. :(

My mom & I took the girls shopping tonight... When we got back home the kids were exhausted. They came right in and put their jammies on, then they laid down in my bed. After about 5 minutes of giggles, both were sound asleep.

I had to move them both to their own beds. I'd swear they have both been eating lead. It's just too hard to sleep with Delaney, or I might have left them. She kicks, and she makes me feel really hot. And she weighs 63 pounds, so now that I've moved her, I wonder if I need to make an appointment with my chiropractor. LOL!

Never a Dull Moment

Yesterday evening, we were all sitting in the living room watching "Deadliest Catch" on tv when we heard screaming. It scared me to death, and I ran straight to the window to see what was up.

The first thing I saw was the little girl who was screaming. She was standing next to her mommy, who was face down on the ground with her hands cuffed behind her back.

I was so engulfed in the little girl's screaming that I almost didn't notice the men standing next to the street wearing camo and toting machine guns. Yes, I said machine guns. I saw four of them. I tried to keep my cool and usher my children back to the living room to finish our tv show. They wanted to plaster themselves to the front windows instead.

It turns out that the taco stand that's been parking at the package store across the street is selling drugs. And apparently lotsof them--there were 3 grocery sacks laid out on the table that I assumed were the drugs & not Mexican takeout.

And the guys with machine guns? I still don't have any idea why they were there. But one of the guys in the taco stand darted off before they could catch him, so maybe they were looking for him?

I've never been to that taco stand, but I've thought more than once that it smelled pretty good. I've never walked across the street to the store, but I've thought about it when I needed milk. I've also very rarely seen a police officer drive in front of my house... but last night there were 7 right across the street, as well as a van full of armed men and some other unmarked SUVs and pickups that I couldn't identify.

The taco stand trailer left behind a police vehicle last night, and my husband smarted off and asked if I wanted to go to the Delaware County auction and buy it. I think not.

I had never seen anything like this before except on TV. It got me to wondering if we might see ourselves on COPS in the near future... ha ha.

That's the excitement at our house for the week. Hopefully it's over for a while... Seems we can't get a dull moment around here!

The Battery Thief

Yesterday I took a pack of batteries in my bedroom to put some batteries in a flashlight for Mike. I used 3 of the batteries, and there were 6 left in the package. I laid it on my bathroom counter (which is outside the bathroom, in my bedroom).

Last night I noticed that the batteries were gone. Hmmm... Very curious! We racked our brains and searched last night and this morning for the batteries, hoping that Jenna wouldn't find them and put them in her mouth.

I told Mike that I was nearly convinced that someone had taken them (you know, like that troll that lives in the attic and makes the funny noises at night... and no, I haven't taken up drinking. lol!). I didn't feel like the kids would have left the empty package on the counter. They would have more likely thrown it on the floor or taken it with them!

I started to wonder if they had been flushed down the toilet. I was starting to feel battery-obsessed!

Then I decided to ask Jenna if she knew where they were. She kept saying no, and went looking through drawers and cabinets with me. Then finally she brought me her purse, unzipped it, and proceded to hand me 6 batteries, one at a time.

So, this story does have a happy ending, as the mystery of the battery thief has been solved. :)

"Stacy-Ology" ~ Blog Challenge

Stacy-ology

ARCHAEOLOGY: the study of material remains
What's the oldest article of clothing you still wear? I have a couple of t-shirts that are about 6 yrs old that I still wear.
What's the oldest article of clothing you won't get rid of? The outfits that my babies came home from the hospital in.
When was the house/building you live in built? 1977
What in your fridge needs to be thrown out? Some leftovers from last week!

BIBLIOLOGY: the study of publication
What are you reading? I just started Praying God's Word by Beth Moore
Do you have a favorite quote? "Love doesn't make the world go 'round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile" ~Franklin P. Jones
What's the most recent music you purchased? Last thing was probably a MercyMe cd.
What book could you read again without being bored? The Notebook or Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas

CARDIOLOGY: the study of the heart
How old were you the first time you fell in love? About 14. He was 15. We met on a church youth trip. He was tall & handsome... and I loved his mom. And he had a sister named Staci, so I already knew my first name & his last name would sound good together. lol :) I still talk to him once every few years. My hubby hates it.
What charities do you have a heart for? Cancer society, and anything to do with babies.
What's the best way someone can show their love for you? Respect & honesty!
Name five things you "love": My kids, my husband, peach cobbler, spending time with good friends, 5 quiet minutes alone.

PHYSIOLOGY: the study of physical function
Are you right-handed or left-handed? Right
Do you like your smile? For the most part...
What's your best feature? Eyes
Have you ever had anything removed from your body? Not a thing!
Which of your five senses do you think is keenest? Smell--my eyes & ears both seem to be getting old.

OMNOLOGY: the study of everything
What color do you think looks best on you? Olive or sage green--same color as my eyes.
Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake? LOL... I think I have.
What's your favorite flavor of gum? Orbit cinnamint
Where's the first place you went today? Sunday school & church
Do you stand or sit in the shower? Stand

AXIOLOGY: the study of the nature of values and value judgments
Would you walk naked for a half mile down a public street for $100,000? Ummm... right now it's pretty tempting. My husband might do it! HA!
Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100? Nope.
Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000? No way!!
What value is of utmost importance to you in a friend? Honesty, loyalty, same values
Would you accept an indecent proposal for $1,000,000? Hmmm... is he cute? LOL! No, I think not!!

TECHNOLOGY: usage and knowledge of tools
What's the last movie you saw? Herbie Fully Loaded (today, in fact)
What's the first website you visit when you log on? ScrapShare & MySpace
What's your ring tone? It's a reggae, beachy tune
Would you quit blogging for $25,000? LOL... Probably. I could just go back to the old way of writing it on paper!
What piece of equipment do you wish you owned? I just wish our Kenworth was paid for!

GENEALOGY: the study of relationships within families
Is there a specific family member you're really missing right now? My husband... he's been on the road over 2 weeks now. :(
Who is your oldest living relative? Ya know... I'm not sure!
Are you named after anyone? Nope
Is there anyone really famous in your family tree? William Henry Harrison--he was the (9th?) US President who died of pneumonia right after his inauguration.

Mosaic~Blog Challenge

This challenge was issued on a scrapbooking bulletin board that I frequent... the mosiac was created (for free!) here: http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php

Photos are mostly ones taken in our city park at the end of May, 2007... They're all of my daughters, Delaney (age 6 1/2) and Jenna (age 2) except for the last one in the lower right corner... that one is 6 of the 8 girls in my Brownie troop for 2006-07.

Thankful 5/25

Okay, so I've missed a few days posting, but I have been writing them down!!

5 things I'm thankful for today:

1) Getting an aisle seat at the graduation/awards ceremony... It was great to be able to take pictures from my seat!

2) That my parents come to Delaney's things... Daddy can rarely get here, so someone sure needs to make the poor kid feel important!

3) I get to SLEEP IN tomorrow morning for the first time since soccer season started!

4) String cheese--so easy.

5) Fresh strawberries. YUM!

5 things I'm thankful for today:

1) Freedom to worship & praise my the Lord my God with all of my heart!

2) Chocolate cake...yummy!

3) Cool showers...feels good on sunburned skin...

4) The ability to have fun... just to jump up and down, run around & act silly with my kiddos.

5) My girls don't sunburn like me... they got darker skin from their daddy. :)

That's My Girl!

I am 110% positive that Delaney is my child. She sleeps with books under her pillow.

Yep. She's mine.

I'm so proud. :-)

What a day!

I spent much of my day on the phone trying to fix some things... we've had some things go wrong in our lives lately. (If you're reading this, please say a prayer--these issues are extremely important and mainly financial in nature.) I didn't end up getting anywhere with anybody. I stay on hold with one company for 35 minutes, only to have the person on the other end tell me she couldn't help me. That only made me mad. I informed her that I had been on hold for 35 minutes, and I expected an answer to my question. I already didn't have any patience after waiting so long on hold! She said I had "a tone". And apparently I should have said I'd been holding for 35 minutes instead of "35 freakin' minutes!". Ugh. I just hung up before I said something I would regret.

Jenna had quite a busy day, too... She's getting into everything these days. And I do mean everything! I was on the phone when I heard a noise... I didn't think much of it, as there are trucks and tractors in front of my house because they're putting in an underground electric line (yippy skippy). About a minute later, here comes Jenna... with an opened packet of instant oatmeal. I couldn't help but laugh when she said, "Momma! Help me!" Ha ha ha... When I went to check it out, she had managed to empty most of a shelf from the pantry onto the utility room floor.

A little while later, I was looking up something for Mike whe she started to holler at me. I knew she had gone in her room to play, and I wrongly assumed she was playing in her toy box. I went in to find that she had climbed into her crib. Apparently she didn't think she could climb back out though... This time it was, "Wanna g'out." (Translation for those who don't speak toddler-ese: "I want out of here!")

Today, I found adventure without ever leaving the house... It must be a lot of fun to be two. Maybe tomorrow we can ride the tricycle (aka "sickle") in the back yard!

Something good for a change...

Well... after last week, we're now the proud owners of a blue 1997 Kenworth W900L... and the so-called "newer and better" Peterbilt now sits on a lot for sale in Oklahoma City. It was absolutely sucking us dry!! I'm positive that I breathed a sigh of relief when I met Mike in Oklahoma City to drop it off. I was happy to drive away and leave it sitting there, knowing we would not have to pay for any more repairs on that very expensive hunk of metal!!

We bought the KW in Kansas from a guy that Mike knows... he's an older man named Mel. He's about the nicest guy I think I've ever met! He must be a long, lost relative or something... we made sure he knew he was invited to our house for dinner next time he blows though our town. :)

I'm very happy to say that we now have a lower truck payment, and we owe about half as much on our truck as we did with the Pete.

Thank the Lord! I really feel like it's just about time that something goes right for us in the financial department... Lord knows hard times have had us by the neck way too long. We've been in fear of losing everything more than once. And that's a truly horrible feeling!

Now we just have to get all the other things caught back up so that a nice blue Kenworth can be seen sitting in our driveway on occasion... gotta make sure we can keep the driveway so it will have a place to come home to... :)

Sometimes I forget how much I appreciate what my husband does. Some people just don't "get" it... He really sacrifices a lot for our family, and I truly feel loved and blessed because of what he does for me and our girls.

Satan vs. God's Love

Did you know that ONE THIRD of the angels fell with Satan? And that they were all cast out of Heaven with him? I didn't know that before last night. I knew there were others cast out with him, but I didn't know there were so many.

Satan will truly do ANYTHING to get to us. He will talk us into doing things, and then turn around and say, "oh, you shouldn't have done that!" He wants us to feel bad about ourselves all the time!!

I hear people saying all the time, "I don't know why God would do such a thing. Why does He cause me this pain?" Well, if it's hurtful in any way, I can assure you that it was the work of Satan--NOT God!

The Bible says in James 1:17 that "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of the heavenly light." It says that he never changes, that He will ever turn on us. There is not one cell in me that believes that My God would ever cause us any harm. He loves us more than we could possibly fathom. Just think about all the love you hold in your heart for all of your loved ones combined (and some of us love pretty passionately!)--He loves us so muh more than that. It's so much more and much stronger than anything we could imagine. His heart must be overflowing--exploding with feelings of love! Would you send one of your own children out to die for me? He did. He truly cares for us more than words can express.

Do you know that even the demons of hell believe in God--they tremble in God's presence! It's just not enough to believe. We must dig into His Word and really get to know Him, form a relationship with Him. Tell Him all our troubles--give them to Him (He tells us to do so!). Worship Him and praise Him. It is the reason we were made.

Delaney told me tonight that when she's a teenager (she equates being a teenager with being grown up) she is going to be a teacher... and sometimes a waitress--the kind of waitress that tells people about Jesus.

Thinking that she has somewhere confused two things, I asked her, "Don't you mean you want to be a missionary?"

"Yeah. That's what it's called. I think I'll be a missionary and sometimes a teacher. I really want to tell people about Jesus."

She has quite an imagination, that girl. But I'm glad to hear that she's aiming for the stars--or at least she is aiming "high". :)

Sometimes I think I just might be doing an okay at this mom thing... :)

Hubby back out, feeling better, but deal fell through :(

Mike left out on the truck today. He's been home since Saturday morning... Don't get me wrong--I love having him home! But the longer he's her, the more nervous I get. If the wheels aren't rolling, there will be no paycheck... and nobody at my house is happy when they're hungry. Ya know?

I'm glad he's feeling better after getting the wisdom teeth out, and I think the pain is starting to subside. Praise the Lord! I thought yesterday that he was never going to wake up again. lol

We were supposed to trade our truck (Peterbilt) today. We were supposed to drive to Joplin today to finish the deal, and Mike called before we left to make sure the truck was there & that we would get to bring it home today (it was coming from another lot). The salesman said our name was on the truck as sold, and one of the other lots (where it was coming from) sold it out from under us. Mike was furious. He's been waiting to get rid of this truck we have for quite some time. Oh well. Things happen for a reason. I know that God is in control, and He must have something better in mind for us. :) I'm ok with that. I'm not so sure Mike is ok with it though.

I thought I was going to get to photograph Delaney's soccer team tomorrow, but it turns out that the other photographer decided they'll show up tomorrow at our practice. We've missed them twice because of rain. Again, that's ok. God has another plan for me. I'm still going to bring my cameras just in case the scheduled photographer doesn't show up. ;-)

My hubby had 2 wisdom teeth pulled yesterday

Yesterday morning we went to the dentist so Mike could get a wisdom tooth pulled that has been bothering him for quite some time. The dentist cut and twisted and pulled for an hour, but the tooth didn't budge.

He referred us to an oral surgeon, and made us an appointment for 1:15 in Fayetteville.

Off we went. I couldn't drive fast enough, and Mike was in so much pain by the time we got there, we were both in tears! Thank goodness they got him in quick and it was no time before they had the tooth out. They also took out an impacted wisdom tooth directly above the bad one. $525 later, we were on our way back home.

Mike was given prescriptions for antibiotics and percoset. Wow. That percoset is powerful stuff. I don't remember it knocking me out (I know I had the same thing after I had all 4 of my wisdom teeth out on the same day). He's barely conscious. Laying in the recliner, snoring--about 95% of the time since we got home yesterday afternoon. I'm beginning to wonder if I need to check his vitals, although he did wake up to eat scrambled eggs & take more meds this morning...

He can't drive while he's taking pescription pain meds (obviously not if they knock him out!)... so he's at home. The longer he lays there sleeping, the more I start to worry how we will pay the bills next week... I don't want to be that way! I just want him to feel better and be okay, first and foremost.

If you're reading this and you're so inclined... please say a prayer. Pray for Mike--that he will recover quickly. That he will feel better and the pain will go away. That his mouth will heal up quickly, and there will be no incidence of infection. And please pray that my mind will be eased. It's very hard for me not to worry!

It's finally warm again!

So, it's decided to turn off warm again this week, after a cold snap that lasted a week and brought freezing temps for several nights... and killed all the pretty stuff in my back yard!

Today I had to mow the yard, since the rain we've gotten over the past few days apparently contained Miracle Grow! I couldn't believe how fast the grass grew!! And since I only have a push mower these days, I'm sure the neighbors get a kick out of watching me try to RUN behind it! LOL!! The faster I can get it done, the sooner I can get back inside to cool off--it's 74 degrees here today. Not to mention that is less "entertainment" time for the neighbors and the patrons who frequent the store across the street. Ha ha!

Hopefully Mike will be home this weekend. My parents are gone on vacation, and there haven't been many adults around to talk to this week. I'm sure he will be ready to leave back out on the truck again after he's listened to me talk on and on about a hundred little things that really don't matter! ;)

Yeah... I know it's sad that I can't think of anything more important or exciting to talk about than the weather!! LOL! But I am just SO BORED!!

Just celebrating a small little victory here!

Just celebrating a small little victory here... :)

This morning, Mke called, and he said the truck is getting better fuel mileage. Yea!! That's awesome news, especially with the price of fuel increasing.

That one little change has the potential to save us a whole lot of money.

It's a small thing, but I have to praise God for it and give Him the glory!!

So... for those who are keeping up with our situation, please keep praying! We're still a bit behind on our house & van payments. We need a pretty good chunk to get those caught up, but I have faith that God will provide!!