Just Hear Me Out

Being the mom of four daughters, I feel like I am constantly filing little bits of advice in my brain to share with them at the appropriate time.  I am by no means an expert advice-giver.  I constantly second-guess even the tiniest decisions.  Nevertheless, I scraped together what I think is some of the best advice I can give my girls.  This is not all of it, because I'm still learning too.  Hopefully, they'll consider it...or at least humor me and pretend like they are :)

~Keep God first.  Always.  No exceptions.
~Stay in church and be involved in it. 
~Marry a Christian.  That doesn't mean your marriage will be problem-free, but having God in common makes those inevitable problems easier to handle.
~Be nice to everyone, but don't be a doormat.  People will respect you a lot more if you stick up for yourself.
~Appreciate what others do for you.
~Give people the benefit of the doubt.
~Keep your toenails painted :)  Everyone loves cute feet :)
~Clean up after yourself.
~Learn how to keep a house clean, but don't think that it's your "job" just because you're a woman.  Make it clear to your husband it's a 50/50 thing.
~Defend people who are defenseless. 
~Don't allow people to spread rumors.  Try to be the one who stops it.
~Take the time to do your hair and make-up, but feel good about yourself even if you skip a day doing it :)
~Know how to balance a checkbook.
~Know how to fix a toilet.
~Know how to put air in your tires and jump start your car.
~Laugh at yourself.
~Before you get married, live alone for awhile.  It may be the only time in life when you have your own space :)
~Love and appreciate your husband and tell him that everyday, several times a day.  They need to hear that :)
~Make sure your children know you love and appreciate their daddy.  They also need to hear that :)
~Don't wear tapered jeans.  Just don't.
~Make your bed every morning.
~Don't act dumb just to impress a boy.  They appreciate a smart girl.
~Don't get upset when your dad and I won't let you do certain things.  I promise it's only because we love you.  I also promise you'll grow to hate that reason when you're a teenager :) 
~A 16 year old boy usually isn't as safe a driver as you think.  That's why we've already decided you're not getting into a car with one.  Ever.
~Choose a career that you really love and give it everything you've got.
~Be well-read.
~Know that the kids at school who are "nerds" are just millionaires in the making.  Be nice, they may be your boss someday :)
~Be nice to waiters and waitresses.
~Be sweet to your sisters.  They will be your best friends someday :)

Ahhh, I Love the Smell of Brut in the Mornings...

So I've blogged about my mom, my siblings, my Ryan, my kids, but not about one pretty important fella in my life, my dad :) 

When I think about my dad, lots comes to mind.  He is by far the hardest worker I have ever known.  I remember him working in the fields of our farm from sun-up to sundown and never missing a day.  I remember him watching "Magnum, P.I." while eating a big bowl of popcorn and laughing his head off while watching "Cheers".  I remember how wonderful he smelled after coming in from the field and taking a shower.  I loved curling up in his lap in his hideous brown La-Z-Boy recliner and inhaling the classy smell of Brut Cologne and I knew it was a special occasion when he would splash on a little English Leather instead of Brut :) I loved when he would read the book of Ephesians to me and because of that, Paul has always been my favorite person in the Bible. 

My dad and I live miles apart now, but I don't feel like he's that far away.  Little things that I come across during my day make me think of him.  Whenever I hear any song by Journey or Hall & Oates, it makes me smile because it reminds me that I inherited his bad taste in music (sorry Dad, it's the truth!)  Whenever I chew cinnamon gum it reminds me of how he always kept a pack in his pocket.  Whenever I hear Allison begging Ryan to not embarrass her in front of her friends, I have to laugh because I remember being in her shoes.  I can't tell her enough though how much she's going to miss that someday. 

I'm so thankful for my sweet dad and the relationship we have.  I'm so thankful that he's just a phone call away and I love that he still answers my calls by saying, "Hey, Wincey-Pooh!"  It melts heart...okay, so does the smell of Brut :)

That's a Whole Hand!

I was awakened bright and early this morning by a little voice in my ear that said, "Guess who's five today?"  I opened my eyes and there Mary Carolyne stood, so proud and so excited that her fifth birthday had finally come.  She has been looking forward to this day for quite some time.  Turning five is a huge deal for her because, in her words, "That's a whole hand!!"

All day long, I've been thinking back over the last five years with her.  I remember going into the hospital to have her and holding her the moment she was born.  I remember hearing her first cry and crying uncontrollably myself at hearing that sweet sound.  I remember Ryan being so taken with Mary Carolyne that I hardly remember him putting her down in the first few days.  I think the reason their bond is still so strong is because he refused to put her down during that time :) 

Mary Carolyne has grown into probably our most unique child.  She definitely marches to the beat of a different drum.  She says the most embarrassing  unpredictable things!  She can make us laugh so hard at her witty observations of "her" world. She has mastered the art of using her sense of humor to stand out from her sisters!  Mary Carolyne's imagination is, at the very least, wild.  It's amazing to see her channel that imagination into her drawings. She is very detailed, very observant.  She sees past what is at surface level and sees the "unseen". 

Everyday, I am reminded what a blessing this sweet child has been to our family.  I love that every night she thanks God for her family, her "pretty pink house", and asks God to "put the devil on a fire cloud with storms all around it".  Mary Carolyne is already her own person at five years old and I can't wait to see what else she has in store for us. 

Happy birthday, sweet Mary Carolyne :)

Untitled...

I think that one of the reasons I have always wanted a big family of my own is because I came from a big family.  There are five of us kids and just about all of my happy childhood memories involve at least one of my siblings.  Each one of my siblings is my favorite for different reasons.  I feel like I am very close to each of them and I hope they feel the same way about me :)  I've learned so much from them and I can only pray that my children will feel the same way about each other when they are grown.  Since I'm awful at verbalizing my feelings for people, I'm going to "blog" it for the entire world to see.  Chances are, my siblings will never read this :)

Neil...one of my earliest memories of you is "pulling the rope" while listening to "Axel F".  How 1980's is that? I loved listening to MC Hammer in your room with you and Stewart and watching you play basketball on your Nerf hoop :) I have always looked up to you and I find myself still seeking your approval.  I always ask for your advice on everything and I take it to heart.  You are the epitome of common sense, in my mind.  Your work ethic and the way you raise your family is such an inspiration to me.  You have taught me more than you know, just by me observing you.  Not only do you talk the talk, you walk the walk.  I can say that about very few people.  You have never told me what I wanted to hear, but what I needed to hear and I appreciate that so much.  Thank you for having a marriage that I can look up to and thank you for treating Jill with love and respect.  Your boys will thank you for that someday, and so will their wives :)  You are an awesome big brother and I miss you so much...but watching you on TV every week helps :)

Jessica...you have always been like a second mom to me, mainly because you protected me from Meri when we were kids!  Ha ha :)  I always thought you were so cool and so pretty and I wanted to be just like you.  I even had Mom give me a perm so I could look more like you :)  You have been through so much and yet you have stayed sweet and kind.  You are patient and loving with your kids and everyone else's for that matter!  You are such a great teacher because you have such a big heart and you genuinely care about others.  I have so much fun with you, especially when we're watching "Friends"!  I love that we laugh at the same parts :)  I love that we can relate just about every life experience to a "Friends" episode! I like to think that because of your relationship with David and Laura, Ryan and I are married.  Thanks for being their babysitter all those years! You are such a sweet, gentle person and I love you for that. There aren't enough kind words to describe you. You deserve nothing but the best things in this life.  You remind me of the woman in Proverbs 31 and I know your children will think that too when they are older. I am so happy you live so close now and remember I am always here...especially when you need a "baby fix"!!

Meri...even though I'm pretty sure I can outrun you, I'm still scared to death of you.  Ha ha!  I only say that because I know how mad it makes you :)  You are one of the toughest people I know.  I love that you are as honest as you are and you don't take any mess from anyone.  You are one of the most loyal people I know and one of the most generous.  I know if I needed anything, you would be the first one here.  You have the perfect balance of toughness and soft-heartedness.  You don't allow people to walk all over you, yet you are quick to help those in need.  You share your talents with others, like your baking and cooking, and you have made it your ministry.  You took it upon yourself to help take care of your friend when she was sick and you raised money for another friend whose son was sick.  That speaks volumes of your character.  You have been through some of the most trying times anyone can ever experience, yet you kept your sense of humor and came through it as well as anyone could.  You hate to see people suffering and you always do your best to take care of others.  I love how you put your heart and soul into everything, from raising your family to baking a wedding cake for someone.  Your love knows no bounds, no conditions.  I love that you were with me when I had Anne Claire (and I love that you cried because it hurt you to see me in pain...THAT is love!) and I love that you and I can sing any Lionel Ritchie song.  You are "Once, Twice, Three Times a Lady".  Ha ha...I had to do that :)

Stewart...there is no one on this earth who can make me laugh as hard as you can.  You can take any situation and turn it into something hilarious! I like that you get my sense of humor and I have so much fun with you, no matter what we do.  You truly are one of my best friends.  I feel the overpowering need to protect you, even though you are an adult :)  I want to scratch someone's eyes out when I feel they've done you wrong, but I know you have to fight your own battles :)  You are such a good uncle to my girls and I know you will make an awesome dad someday.  I love that you can play pretty much any song by ear and I love that you picked out the notes to "Blackbird" for me a few years ago and let me sing along in the most tone-deaf voice!  I appreciate that you let me watch basketball with you at your house, even though I know I talk too much during the games.  Thank you for always being there for me and for stopping me when I give you unecessary details in a story!  You are a good, kind person and I know there is a girl out there who is going to love and appreciate you.  And just know if that girl ever does you wrong, I'll be there to break her legs.

This Is Not a Bucket List...

I am really annoyed by the term "bucket list".  I just think it's kind of dumb.  So this is just stuff I want to do...eventually.

-Learn how to say the alphabet backwards.
-Do a back handspring
-Run a half-marathon (a full one seems painful)
-Speak a foreign language fluently (knowing a few phrases in French is no longer impressive)
-Learn how to cook good enough where Ryan doesn't say, "Here, let me finish cooking that chicken up for you," as he's gently pushing me away from the stove. 
-Get through a pedicure without giggling and pulling my feet away.
-Stay caught up on laundry
-Do karaoke
-Learn how to grow a garden and keep from killing everything.
-Learn how to walk on my hands
-Dance like John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever."  Awesome.
-Go to a Dave Matthews concert (come on, Stewart...let me tag along next time.)
-Get a basketball goal in my yard and yell, "Jordan!" every time I slam it.
-Master the Moonwalk.
-Have long legs (okay, I'll never have long legs, but I'll never learn to cook either, so whatever)
-Play the banjo.
-Live in New York City (maybe when the kids are in college and Ryan and I have nothing else to do)
-Jump off the high dive at Point Mallard.
-Finish college
-Read Braille
-Be on Jeopardy and win big.
-Find the perfect shade of lipstick.  Years of wearing make-up and I still can't get it right :)
-Go to Switzerland and Austria and ski.  I hear it looks like a snow-globe there.
-Visit every state capitol. 
-Have nice handwriting.
-Go to bed at 9:00 pm every night (Again, maybe when the girls are in college)

I Was Running!

One of my favorite movies ever is "Forrest Gump".  I love everything about that movie;  the actors in it, the soundtrack, the way it moves through the different decades.  What I love most about it though is the movie's resounding theme...running.  In fact, my favorite line from the movie is, "From that day on everywhere I went, I was running!"  I just love how he says it.  You can tell Forrest loved to run.  Now, I'm nowhere near the runner he was, but I do understand his love for it.  I understand his excitement when he got a new pair of running shoes from Jenny.  I understand how he had the urge to run to nowhere in particular.  I had that urge today, tonight actually, about 8:00 pm.  I have taken a long break from running, due to housing a human being in my tummy for 38 weeks.  I knew getting back into it would be tough, after all I am lugging around a little extra weight since the last time I laced up my Nikes, but I was determined to do it anyway.  I've been telling myself that I'd start today, but today always turned into tomorrow and then before I knew it, two months passed since having Anne Claire.  I couldn't think of any more excuses tonight, so I changed into my (snug) running t-shirt and my (even snugger) running shorts and got out the door.  I began slowly, mainly because I wasn't sure if I'd remember how to run.  Then I began to hit my stride, a painful, shallow-breathing stride, but a stride nonetheless.  I sped up, realized that was a mistake, and slowed my pace a little.  It was getting darker by the minute, and for a moment I thought that running this late was a bad decision.  That passed when I realized I had forgotten, shall I say, a particular undergarment that ladies should wear whilst doing any sort of strenuous activity.  Darkness in that capacity had become my friend :)  I gave myself little milestones like, "Just get to the yield sign and you can walk for thirty seconds."  Then I would give myself a little mental "high-five," and say "Way to rock it out, you super-athlete, you!"  Okay, the second part is untrue, but I may try that next time.  By the time I reached my house, I was sweating (sorry Mom, glistening) and I felt like my lungs were about to explode.  I staggered through the front door and Allison said, "Mom, what happened?"  All I could spew out was, "Uhhhgghhhhh."  I sat down and felt my lungs fill back up with oxygen and downed a bottle of water.  Despite the side cramps and charlie horse I could feel developing in my leg, I felt awesome.  Sure, I may be able to speak in only one syllable words for the next 12 hours, but it was totally worth it.

You and Me in the Summertime

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a swimming pool in the backyard.  Anyone who knows me better knows that I have not been in that pool, or any pool for that matter, in the last two years.  It's not that I don't know how to swim, or that I don't like swimming, because I do.  I just don't want to stuff myself in a bathing suit, nor do I want to get my hair wet.  Shallow yes, makes sense to me and my frizzy hair, absolutely.  Five years ago, pre-Mary Carolyne, Laurie and Anne Claire, me and my 125-lbs self wouldn't have thought twice about putting on my bathing suit and jumping in.  Now, me and my no way am I gonna say-lbs self get nauseated at the idea of putting on a suit and having adjust certain areas so as not to offend neighbors or scare children. That being said,  I love our backyard pool and I was glad that Ryan had the girls in it when I came home from work today.  They looked so cute splashing around and jumping off the diving board.  I decided since I won't get in, I'd take a few pictures....