Oh, The Random Thoughts That Have Been in My Head Today

1. Folgers Gourmet Vanilla Biscotti coffee tastes a little bit like soap.

2. I've truly never cared to know how to cook a turkey for Thanksgiving. And after my husband cooked a turkey and ham yesterday for our community group's joint Thanksgiving feast with a couple other community groups and it turned out sooooo yummy, it's pretty much a done deal: I will never, ever learn how. Why would I need to? That man is good.

3. When my brother's family visited last June, I tried to convince them that my nephew Brady's special non-milk, non-soy formula had the scent of potatoes. I'd kiss his sweet little potato-smelling head as much as I could. Joel went earlier this week to get formula for Parker and they were out of the kind we normally buy. So he got the Parent's Choice Gentlease formula, and guess what! My baby also smells like potatoes this week!!! Must have a common ingredient that causes that smell. Smelling my potato-head girl just makes me want to see my potato-head nephew all the more. Only her potato smell is more like potato chips. Yes, this is my head. I actually smell potatoes on Brady and now Parker. And no. No one else does.

4. I'm ready for Blake, Amy, Nathan, Maggie and Brady to be here!!! Tuesday!

5. Hobby Lobby has quite a diverse clientele, I noticed today. That's all.

6. I can't believe I paid $1.07 for a box of my haircolor at CVS today. It was on sale and I used a -$2 Coupon from L'oreal, a -$2 coupon from CVS, and $2 in CVS Extracare Bucks. That place is so very special to me.

7. Jack is Back! And I'm really looking forward to my two hours with him this Sunday evening. It's been way too long.

8. I really want a tutorial on how to make pretty bows for packages. Help me please, someone!

Oh my Goodness! I Caved! Here are 200 things You Never Cared to Know About Me

You'll probably need coffee for this. And to read in installments. In honor of my 200th post, the following is a list of 200 things about me that I know you won't really care about. In no particular order:

1. I've embraced my originality. I don't really feel anymore like I have to be like everyone else.

2. Which is good. Because I'm not like anyone else.

3. My husband and I have been married for five years.

4. A couple years before we dated, I would run into him in random places a few times a year. One of those was at a fitness class I was taking at my university. Joel worked out there still, even though he had already graduated, and one time my professor called me out in front of my entire class for "flirting too much with the guy in the red shirt instead of working out faster." How embarrassing. None of us would have thought I'd end up marrying the guy in the red shirt.

5. And I was not flirting with him. Just talking. If anything, he was flirting with me.

6. I love to sing. Just not in front of anyone else.

7. I had my first child on my 24th birthday.

8. A lot of people felt like they needed to apologize to me for that.

9. I, on the other hand, was quite happy to have sweet Jonah for a birthday present. I have no problem sharing my birthday with him.

10. So far, it has worked out to my advantage, with the gift-receiving and all.

11. I started baby-sitting at a very young age - not even out of elementary school yet. I was sooo drawn to babies and children.

12. I still haven't figured out exactly what I want to be when I grow up. Thankfully, for now that's ok because my "career" (whatever that might be) is on hold for me to stay home with my children. And I love it so much.

13. My dream job is to be a published author.

14. My other dream job is to teach philosophy classes at a college level.

15. And another dream job is to run my own version of a "barn sale" where I thrift-shop for fun antiques and home decor and put some modern twists on it to sell.

16. And yet another dream job would be have something to do with the party-planning or wedding industry. I just don't know what.

17. I don't know that I have any of the skills necessary to do any of the above jobs. (Hence the confusion about what I want to be when I grow up.)

18. Several years ago, however, I did start writing a Bible study. Being pregnant and having babies has put that project on hold, but I'm just starting to write again since Parker Jane's birth.

19. Finding big chunks of concentrated time for writing is hard to come by with little ones, so it's a slow process. But when I finish the study, I might throw a party.

20. If my husband let me, I'd have more kids.

21. I really wish my husband would let me.

22. I'm starting to think it may always be an issue for me...to continually surrender those desires and accept that we may actually be intended to only be a four-person family. I am praying though that God will take away that desire for more and that if our family really is complete, I would feel "done" sometime soon.

23. I feel incredibly blessed to have the two children that I have.

24. Losing a child through miscarriage may be the hardest thing I've ever been through. It surprised me how deep the pain was.

25. I'm glad I can say "was" in that last sentence. Not that it's not there at all, but so much healing occurred last year and I'm so grateful to God for getting me there before I got pregnant again. I might have otherwise missed the completeness of that healing.

26. One large aspect of that healing was learning to forgive those who responded differently than I expected or would have liked.

27. I'm an evenly-divided sanguine/choleric.

28. I've learned to adapt some characteristics of the other temperaments, like planning and scheduling. I have to discipline myself in these areas or else I wouldn't survive. I can't keep track of details in my head.

29. Until recently I thought I knew my love language (see this website if you don't know what I'm talking about). Now I have no idea what mine is. I like them all.

30. Holidays with my family are one of my very favorite things.

31. In our house, Santa brings a certain number of presents for each child based on their age. This year, Jonah will get three presents from Santa. This will not continue forever. It will cap off at five years of age. Santa is good at making special deals with parents. Did you know he'll do whatever you ask him to do?

32. When my husband and I got married, we lived in Dallas. The two places we said we'd never live were either of our hometowns, and by shortly after our third anniversary, we had lived in both.

33. I really have a heart for young women who are new to town, may be struggling with that, and are hungry for some connection.

34. I talk about my brother's kids a lot.

35. I realize it could be annoying to some. But I really don't care. I love those kids!

36. Laundry is my favorite household chore.

37. I really hate all of the other ones.

38. I'd like to learn to sew, but my fear of not being good at it is definitely keeping me from trying.

39. That, and I don't see the purchase of a sewing machine in my near future.

40. I "nannied" for a few families before becoming a mom myself. I learned A LOT.

41. My first nonchildcare-related job was with the Dallas County Republican Party.

42. Which is funny because I'm not sure what my political views are anymore.

43. But it was a fun job! I somehow convinced important people to give me important work even though I really didn't know what I was doing. I thought I'd do something like it for a living, but I eventually nixed that particular career path because it wasn't going anywhere if I wasn't going to move to Austin or D.C. at the time. Joel E. was in the picture at the time, and I knew I didn't want to end our relationship!

44. I'm really glad I didn't end our relationship.

45. Marriage has been hard. People who tell you otherwise are lying. Or really blind.

46. Working through its toughness is/has been my biggest thrill.

47. I really want to own a cute apron.

48. I think I might like cooking more if I had one.

49. I like cooking sometimes. Especially at the start of a season. Currently, I'm all excited about "fall" food...soups, chili, crock pot recipes, etc.

50. I'm currently planning, hosting, or helping to host 5 parties between now and February. And I really enjoy it!

51. I hate running.

52. I happen to find great pleasure in March Madness.

53. I am a fan of the church. (As in...the local church)

54. I hate anti-intellectualism in the church. (As in...the universal church).

55. If I didn't completely believe that the Bible is true and that Jesus is who He says He is, then I'd totally think Christians were crazy. So I get why some people do.

56. But I believe that it's all true, so the only thing that makes sense to me is to try to live like I believe it's true. And like Jesus is worth it all.

57. I really like when people live according to their beliefs, so there's a huge respect I have for people who do that, even if they believe differently than me. I still want to be friends with those people.

58. In the school I attended, there was a spelling bee for grades 5 through 8. All four years, I was my class' representative in the school or district (when we got fancier) spelling bee.

59. I never won.

60. But I still care a great deal about spelling and grammar.

61. It took me a long time to let go of "the rules" and take up the "almost anything goes" blog style of writing. But I'm ok with it now.

62. I don't judge bad spellers out there. We all make mistakes. My spelling and grammar is far from perfect. But it does irk me when people act like it's not important to try to better learn their native language.

63. My biggest pet peeve is when people don't RSVP to a party. There is no excuse. It's rude and selfish. And I have a hard time staying off my soapbox about this one. You should always RSVP!!! What's with not doing it? Especially you Southern girls....didn't y'all's mamas teach you better?

64. I'm a little too preachy sometimes. (Can you tell?)

65. Somehow, I still have some friends. I like them. My relationships with them are one of the most important things to me. LOVE my girlfriend time.

66. I went on a summer long mission trip to England when I was 16, and it was one of the best experiences of my life.

67. I hope my kids go on a Teen Missions trip too.

68. One of my closest friendships today came from that trip...A girl from Maine and a girl from Texas just destined to be best friends. It's sooo the movie Beaches. Well, except of course, we're both still alive.

69. I'm a caffeine girl all the way. Love coffee. Love sweet tea. And my newest caffeinated love is diet coke, especially diet cherry coke.

70. Up until about three months ago, I hated diet drinks. With a passion. So weird how that has changed.

71. My Christmas ornaments are one of the material possessions I own that mean the most to me. I like to buy ornaments that represent various experiences and seasons in the life of our family. So there are a lot of sweet stories on my tree.

72. My family and friends make fun of my description of my main Christmas tree. What is its theme, you ask? Why, it's a combination of elegant and whimsical, with touches of sentimentality all throughout.

73. I have no idea why anyone would make fun of that!

74. I really would like for my kids to be funny. I think I find great satisfaction in others finding my son humorous. I sure get a kick out of him, but I love when others notice his quirky funniness too.

75. I feel the best about myself when I've made my husband laugh hard. Out loud. It's hard to do!

76. I'm already starting to think about how good the turkey and ham will taste on Thanksgiving.

77. As a little girl, I was obsessed with weddings. I collected brides magazines, for crying out loud. That's what I collected.

76. I was always obsessed with watching beauty pageants. Whenever Miss America or Miss Texas would be on, I'd have sleepovers with one of my little girl friends, Heather, and we would make our own judges' sheet and try to predict who would win.

77. Sometimes we would act out the pageant with our Barbie Cards. Yes, Barbie Cards. Kinda like Baseball Cards. But not. It seems like Heather, Lacey, Caroline, and I were the only people EVER in the world to collect Barbie cards...but we did. And we loved them dearly.

78. I still have my old Barbie cards.

79. Since I have a little girl now, I think I might use them for decoration in her room one day when she's a little older...maybe decoupage a trunk with them or something? I don't know.

80. I'm really tired of people commenting in stores and random places (either behind my back or to my face) about my baby's feet needing socks. I am her mother. I know when her feet are cold. I can handle it.

81. I might start responding by telling them that I don't appreciate their outfits or hairstyles or something else for which they didn't ask my opinion.

82. I think porch swings are so romantic.

83. Jack Bauer is my favorite TV character ever.

84. If I could pick anyone to be related to (that I am unrelated to), it would be Regis Philbin. Don't you wish he was your uncle or something?

85. I was obsessed with his show when I was yet a child.

86. Which means I was also obsessed with his co-host. I read Kathie Lee's autobiography when I was in the sixth grade!

87. I was weird.

88. I am quite accident-prone. I once sprained an ankle playing hacky-sac. And it was a BAD sprain.

89. I've had several concussions. One happened during a cheerleading stunt gone wrong.

90. Another concussion happened when I got hit in the head with a softball while warming up for an intramural softball game in college.

91. Others happened during childhood...playing wildly on my swingset, walking across my monkey bars and falling, stuff like that.

92. Actually, my family and I think it's possible that I have a dislocated shoulder right now.

93. And I have no idea how it happened. I think it was during my sleep. Who dislocates their shoulder while sleeping?!! Possibly me.

94. Hobby Lobby is my very favorite store.

95. I am very obsessed with coupons and bargain-hunting.

96. Since implementing some new bargain strategies five months ago, I have decreased my spending on groceries by about 35%. You'd be obsessed too.

97. I really want to cut my grocery spending in half, so I'm remaining focused on this saving money thing!

98. When I get the grocery ads in the mail every Tuesday afternoon, I feel a little high.

99. I love cheesecake.

100. And I really love wedding cake.

101. My favorite snow cone flavor is Wedding Cake.

102. I took some cake decorating classes a few years ago.

103. But I was never really good at it.

104. However, I do own lots of cake decorating supplies that sit at the top of one of my cabinets!

105. My roommate in college, Amber, and I actually went wedding-crashing before Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn made it sound cool.

106. We deeply regretted it!

107. But we have good stories.

108. I know firsthand the freedom that comes from forgiving someone who has hurt us badly. Just forgiving and releasing my right to inflict justice in any way took me to a place of peace that I never thought possible.

109. I also know what it feels like to not be forgiven by someone else. And it stinks. For them.

110. I never had a dog growing up.

111. I started this list so many days ago that I don't remember what I typed in the beginning. There could be repeats.

112. I really wish I like running.

113. One of my favorite conversation topics with my cousin when we were growing up was what we were going to name our babies one day.

114. For a large part of my childhood, I thought it would be really cool to name my son Samuel...get this, just because the Hannah in the Bible had a son named Samuel. A pretty cool chica I was.

115. I also liked the names Beverly, Babara, and Claudia for a long time.

116. I helped Lacey with her baby names list, and we came up with all rhyming names. I mean, shouldn't a Lacey have kids named Stacy, Traci, Casey, and Macy? My brilliance is to thank for that.

117. Needless to say, my tastes in baby names changed drastically when I became an adult.

118. I wasn't sure about the name Jonah, but when we found out we were having a boy, my husband called everyone to tell them and referred to the baby as Jonah. So did everyone else, and I felt stuck.

119. I ended up really liking the name Jonah and can't imagine my son being anybody else but Jonah.

120. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers is my favorite book.

121. Other countries I have visited are England, Switzerland, and South Korea.

122. The country I most want to visit is Italy.

123. I don't have a desire to learn another language.

124. It would be cool to know another language, just not learn it.

125. I think I might start out homeschooling Jonah.

126. I'll just take it year by year, and we'll decide each year if it's what's best for him that particular year only.

127. But I really don't know for sure that I will home-school at all.

128. My favorite color is purple.

129. My favorite color to wear is black.

130. My favorite color to use in decorating my home is brown.

131. But I like a lot of red in my house too.

132. I always hated Halloween until having kids and seeing them in their sweet costumes.

133. I have not worn a Halloween costume since my senior year of high school.

134. I went to our Halloween dance as an old lady.

135. I disguised myself so well, my friends didn't recognize me. It took a long time for people to figure out who I was.

136. I won a prize for best costume that year.

137. And then I retired from wearing Halloween costumes. I went out on top.

138. And I don't think I would ever attend a grown-up Halloween party that required wearing costumes. Ever.

139. The most special gift I ever received was the pearls that belonged to my grandmother, Nana.

140. I was given them at my high school graduation by my parents. She died the week before, and she had given them to my mom right before she died to give to me. I treasure them.

141. Losing Nana was very hard. She had been the center of our family, and her absence drastically changed our family dynamics, experiences, and relationships.

142. Watching my mom grieve the loss of her mom taught me invaluable lessons on grieving within God's grace.

143. I have the best big brother in the world.

144. For my high school graduation present from him, he took me to New York City for a fun weekend.

145. I've seen one Broadway show, Annie Get Your Gun.

146. But I'd like to see a whole lot more.

147. My husband and I have a goal to see a baseball game in every MLB ballpark.

147. But it's kinda one of those goals we have in theory, because we've never actually made choices to accomplish that goal.

148. We've only been to two.

149. I hope we actually go to more of them.

150. I have a sweet tooth.

151. But I've been cutting back on sweets the last few months. Nothing drastic. Just small changes.

152. It feels good to make these small changes.

153. I also am trying not to snack out of boredom, only for nourishment.

154. This has been hard to change. When the kids are napping, I love to sit down with something to put in my mouth.

155. I like vegetables when they're made sweet by cooking.

156. I'm not sending out Christmas cards this year.

157. I decided to send Easter cards instead.

158. I hope people don't take me off their list when they don't get a card in December because they think I took them off of my list.

159. I love going to the lake in the summertime.

160. I want someone in our family to buy a boat so we can go to the lake in the summertime.

161. I'd kinda like a very very very part-time side job right now.

162. I don't know what that would be.

163. I'm keeping my eyes open for just the right thing though.

164. I send a lot of text messages these days.

165. It kinda makes me feel like a teenager.

166. My hair is grey at the roots.

167. And this began in my early 20s! How ridiculous.

168. I color my hair dark brown, but I'm really bad about keeping it up.

169. I prefer it when it's highlighted blond, but I just can't afford the upkeep. Maybe one day I'll be blondish again.

170. I think the hairdresser relationship is the most precarious of all.

171. I just heard someone say "His arm is broke" and it took everything I had not to say "BROKEN!!His arm is brokEN!!!!"

172. I love breakfast food most of all. I could eat breakfast for every meal.

173. McDonalds food is really growing on me.

174. I'm a great starter...not so great a finisher.

175. This is evidenced by my unfinished scrapbook of Jonah's first year. I never added his birthday party pictures to it at the end.

176. But I like to scrapbook. Really, I do.

177. I also start a bunch of home improvement or decorative projects and then take forever to complete them.

178. I am going to vote for John McCain for president, and it's NOT because I feel like he's just the lesser of two evils.

179. I actually decided early on in the race to vote for him in the primary election.

180. I have my reasons, and I'd be happy to share them with you in person.

181. I do my Christmas shopping year round. I usually am done with it before Thanksgiving.
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182. This year will be an exception. I think I've only bought one Christmas gift so far.

183. I like to throw a Christmas party of some kind every year.

184. The only year I didn't was the winter I was pregnant with Jonah.

185. That was due to all of the throwing up.

186. There was A LOT of it that fall and winter.

187. I am an old house kind of girl.

188. If I was to live in a new house, I hope it would be one that looks like an old house somehow.

189. I like to go to Dallas as often as I can to visit girlfriends.

190. And I do most of my shopping there because my town doesn't have a lot of good options.

191. There is never a time when I'm not up for playing a game of spades.

192. I only like about 3 card games.

193. But I really love those three!

194. I love board games a lot too.

195. I come from a game-playing family. My husband did not. This has caused some issues.

196. I also like doing large jigsaw puzzles. Most people are surprised by that.

197. If you're still reading, I know you must have a headache.

198. I'm so sorry. But you did it to yourself really.

199. My hand is hurting from typing.

200. I wonder if we have things in common, and I hope you'll leave me a comment telling me what those things are!

Ok, Ok...I'll do it!

I've been tagged. And you know me - I love to write! So I pretty much answered each question in what should be their own separate blog entries. Sorry about the length. I wouldn't blame you for not reading it all. Really.

The inquisition...

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves
3. At the end of the post, the player tags 5-6 people, posts their names, then leaves a comment in their respective blogs to let them know they've been tagged.
4. Let the person who tagged you know that you posted your answers.

Questions...

1. What were you doing 10 years ago? It was the summer before my senior year in h.s., and I was working part-time at a daycare and spending the rest of my time at the pool or baby-sitting. I had a great summer camp experience with my youth group in Mobile, Alabama. (I had a crush on the camp pastor and somehow ended up being the victim of relentless teasing about that from some of the adults that worked with our youth. That went on for years. The teasing, not the crush. Incidentally, I had crushes on several members of the camp staff the next year too. Guess it's not so weird that I ended up marrying a minister.) Between that camp and a leadership-oriented camp that I attended at Dallas Baptist University, I started to sense a passion to be involved in ministry. As a career, I mean. I'm still waiting to see how God unfolds that part of the plan. My family had a wonderful vacation in Destin that summer, I highlighted my hair for the first time and ended up doing the blond thing for quite a few years, I was a bridesmaid for the first time (in my cousin's wedding), and I had a horrible sense of style. My clothes were terrible. Just terrible.

2. What are 5 things on your to-do list today? 1.)Pick up stuff around the house. 2.) Laundry 3.) Call a friend to see if she's still interested in teaching a Bible study for us in the fall (I'm a co-coordinator for the women's Bible studies at our church) Realistically, I know nothing else will get done between breastfeeding and meeting other immediate needs of my children, so I'm not even putting any more on the list. I figure if my to-do list is shorter, I'll feel more productive. Even if I'm not doing anything. Makes perfect sense, doesn't it?

3. What are some snacks you enjoy? I love sweets too much. Passionate about snow cones. Chips and salsa are always a favorite, as are guacamole and spinach-artichoke dip. I eat a lot of Luna bars as well. Let's see...I can't think of anything else, mainly because I currently am putting into my mouth whatever edible thing I see. Nothing like nursing to make you want to eat all day long!

4. What would you do if you were a billionaire? Well, I hope that I would live in such a way that no one would even know I'd become a billionaire. But since I am not a billionaire and this is hypothetical, I'll go ahead and have my hypothetical "reward on earth" and tell you all of the good and noble things I'd do with my hypothetical money. =) There's always the paying off debt, tithing big, etc. stuff that everyone says. I'd do that. Then there are several causes that I've always wanted to be able to support financially in a much bigger way. One of those is Living Alternatives (a crisis-pregnancy center/maternity home for unwed mothers/adoption agency that I just LOVE) and other crisis pregnancy centers around the country. I'd give specifically to a lot of CPCs' need for more ultrasound equipment because I know that that is making a huge difference in a lot of places, enabling pregnant moms to see their yet-to-be-born child and helping them choose life for him/her instead of abortion. And there's so much great ministry happening at Living Alternatives in terms of heart and life change in the young unwed expecting mothers, helping them encounter Jesus rather than solely make a moral choice. I'd also want to give more to needy, starving, and AIDS-stricken people in Africa, and I'd like to be able to help support church plants in various locations that desperately need churches. As far as changes in our own family, I'd want to buy a cottage on the lake and move into that. My opinion is that with houses, bigger isn't better. But having a boat probably is. =) We'd want to have people over all the time, seeking to meet people's needs through various forms of hospitality. I think it would be great to have a vacation home too (in the mountains or on a beach) that we could offer to people in ministry to use for free as a retreat/time to get away with their families or spouses. I've heard of people doing that. I sure wish I knew some of those people. =) We'd take lots of great family vacations and travel all over the world. I'd adopt a child or two - IF my husband was in agreement with that one. (Please, Lord!!) I can't imagine what my Amazon bill would be because I know I'd buy a lot of books. Oh, and you need to know that with a bigger decorating budget, my cottage would be super cute! You'd want to come over and hang out!

5. What are 3 of your bad habits? My husband would say (And does. Often.) the biggest is my over-usage of the phrase "you know?" when in conversation. I guess it's annoying, but I say what's more annoying is needing to ask for affirmation when talking to someone instead of them just acknowledging on their own what you're saying to them. Not that I'm talking about us or anything. Another bad habit is that while I really enjoy for my house to be in order, my car is always a complete mess. I just can't seem to get it together there. In fact, every few months, either my husband or mom gets disgusted enough by it that they offer to clean it for me. And it's one of the most humbling things for someone to see inside my trashed out car and especially to let them clean it. Another one is that I'll start a project or task very enthusiastically and my passion will fade so quickly that I never quite complete it. I'm not a good finisher. And I talk too much. Um, can you tell??

6. What are 5 places you have lived? Tyler, TX; a bunch of places within the Dallas/Ft Worth Metroplex (but that just counts as one, I think); Bartlesville, OK. I spent an entire summer in England when I was 16, and I spent one month in Korea when I was 19. Technically didn't live there, but since I haven't lived in more than three places, I thought I'd include them (mission trips) just for fun.

7. What are 5 jobs you've had? in no particular order...Nanny/several childcare-related jobs; Administrative Assistant to the president of a Bank of America tax processing center (my LEAST favorite); Coordinator of Media Relations and Volunteer Activities for the Dallas County Republican Party (oh yes, I thought my world would be politics. But then I married Joel Lee. And that changed a few things. I'm glad it did.); Administrative Assistant to the Athletic Director at Dallas Baptist University (a very fun job that had great perks during baseball season); and my favorite so far (and I'm not just saying that)....stay-at-home mom. Or should I say "work-at-home"?

8. What is currently playing on your IPOD? This is going to make me sound real nerdy. Currently, I've replaced the music with some sermons from favorite pastors so that when I'm up during the night feeding Parker, something engages my brain enough for me to stay awake. And opportunities for learning are hard to come by during this season of life with a newborn, so I'm trying to get it wherever I can! At the moment, there's ones from Matt Chandler, Mark Driscoll, Rod MacIlvaine, and one is supposed to be from Thomas Thompson but it turned out to be a sermon preached by someone else at his church. Typically, the IPOD has music like Coldplay, Five for Fighting, and Nickelback.

9. What are the last 5-6 books you've read? See my sidebar for what I'm currently (still) reading. I've started so many at once that I can't remember the last ones I actually completed. Hmm...let's see...Keeping the Secrets of Jesus by David and Denise Glenn, Beyond the Masquerade by Julianna Slattery, Girl Talk by Jennifer Hatmaker, Living with Eeyore by Elizabeth Baker, Shepherding a Child's Heart (a re-read). I wouldn't recommend all of these. I'm sure missing fiction...it's been a while. I think there's more but I can't think of anything right now.

10. Who do you want to tag? Kate, Christa, Shelly, Mary Lynne, Adrianne, Melody

More Weird Pregnancy Stuff

I went to the doctor again today. I haven't felt great the last couple of days and just needed reassurance that things were ok with Parker. On Tuesday night, I noticed a little bump protruding from the bottom of my sternum...just felt like a knot. I know, one more weird thing. And it was painful to touch. I woke up the next morning feeling soreness around that area, more extreme pain at times, and real shortness of breath. I know difficulty breathing is a typical pregnancy symptom (I didn't really experience it when pregnant with Jonah because I carried him so low), but it alarmed me that it began at the same time that chest pain began. Anytime I bend down (even the slightest) and raise back up, I feel pressure in my chest.

So I went to the doctor and it turns out that the kind of people who bruise their uterus are the same kind who sprain their xiphoid process. Yep, that's weird ol me. I have a sprained xiphoid process. Not only that, but I learned that mine is longer and more pronounced than the average person's, so it explains how this injury occurred...by my uterus being thrust into my long, protruding xiphoid process. And why it hurts when I barely bend over, or just when my posture is bad and I slump forward. It's extra inflamed. But I'll handle it - just grateful that there's no harm to the baby! And grateful for the peace of mind that came from going ahead to the doctor to get it checked out.

We had a few good laughs with Dr. Fanning though. First, Joel was describing to him what the knot felt like, since he had been the one who had felt and pushed around on it more. (When I first discovered it, I made him touch it and tell me if it felt normal or not. It freaked me out to touch myself.) Joel's description included a reference to what gristle on a steak feels like. Dr. Fanning just looked at me and said, "That's nice!" to which I added, "Yes, just how every woman wants her husband to describe her chest!" Wouldn't you agree? So, we were a little giggly at that point. We found it interesting that Joel was born without a xiphoid process (interesting, huh?!) and I have a freakishly large one to compensate for the one he lacks. Dr. Fanning found it really funny....that our kids now have a chance for a normal xiphoid process. And Joel and I are in disagreement about which of our abnormalities is stranger. I have a feeling he will be making fun of my large, pronounced xiphoid process for the rest of our lives.

Need to go get ready for a Girls Night Out tonight - can't wait for some uninterrupted, grown-up conversation!

This is Ridiculous

Ok, who bruises their uterus??!!!

Apparently, I do.

The doctor yesterday said the area where my stomach pain is occurring does not feel like a hernia and he thinks the top of my uterus is bruised from being pushed up against my rib cage and it probably happened doing something strenuous. And I think that's just the weirdest thing I've ever heard. I'm sure it's more common than I think, but I have never heard of that. I feel like such a weirdo. I mean, really though....how does that happen?!

But if that isn't weird enough, read what advice I found online in helping to cope with it:

"Gently pushing the baby off this spot with your hand at times can give you temporary relief." (HA! Like that's possible! If we could get our babies to move positions from how we push on them from the outside, then no one would have to worry about babies being in breeched positions and all that, right?! Parker doesn't go anywhere if she doesn't want to.)

"Pelvic rocking (similar to belly dancing) on the hands and knees can move the baby's back more around to the front of the mother's belly, and possibly off the 'bruised spot'."
(Ok, seriously?!!!! Like I would ever consider belly dancing on all fours! How weird would that be! And what on earth would my husband think if he walked in on this "pelvic rocking"? I'd hate to have to explain that one.)

Anyway, the doctor's update was good. Parker's heart rate was considerably lower than it's ever been. Not scary low. Hers has just always been really high. Not this time. I didn't just love that. But she's still really active, so there's no need to be concerned about that if she's moving around so much. I can't believe we're getting so close to her arrival. Seven-ish weeks to go. I need to get in gear and get some stuff ready. We're having a cookout at our house this weekend with our community group, so it will take me all week to get my house cleaned...that's how slow I am right now. Oh yes, and I'm getting ready for a garage sale this week too. So, her nursery is once again on the back burner for this week. One thing I'd like to do this week is find some ribbon with which to hang her name letters on the wall. But that's all for this week. Man, at this pace, her nursery should be ready by the time she's outgrowing it.

A Productive Day

I'm feeling so excited right now. It is almost 4:00, and I've crossed off 11 out of 15 things on my to-do list for today. We've been busy getting ready to go out of town, had lots of errands to run, packing, housecleaning, and we even squeezed in time at the park with our weekly Friday playgroup. It's been a full day. But it thrills me to no end to have one really productive day out of the last seven. Whoo-hoo!!! You can tell I'm getting things done around here when I have four blog posts in only five days. Don't get used to it.

Yesterday was fun, as I enjoyed a nice lunch with a couple of girlfriends at a "girly" place. We planned this for my friend Ame's birthday (and Kate's, but unfortunately, it didn't work out for her to join us after all, so we'll be doing something like this again when I get back in town!), and it was a refreshing outing. It's not very often that we're able to get together without kids during the week. Our girl time usually consists of desperate coffee dates late at night after kids are in bed. Those are nice too though. After our yummy lunches, Shelly, Ame, and I then spent some time walking around these cute boutiques that are in the shopping center where the restaurant is. These are not the kind of places you take kids, so again, this was more of a special treat...at least for me and Ame. Shelly is expecting her first baby (a girl!) in May as well. She still gets to do fun, cool things for now. Actually, she'll probably still do fun, cool things even after she's a mommy. I want to be her. =) But anyway, it was a good time, though we missed having Kate with us, but really....how much fun can it be to go in stores and look at beautiful things that we either can't afford or can't fit into??!! We need to think through that one a little more next time!

Per Amanda's request, here is a belly shot. I had my mom take this before yesterday's lunch date, and the style of the shirt probably isn't the best to show you what my pregnant stomach looks like...I think it looks a little deceiving. A fitted shirt would show that in reality, it's much bigger than that. But there you have it. In all its glory. I'll be 30 weeks tomorrow.

One more semi-interesting thing I'll leave you with....When I told Ame this earlier this week, I prefaced it by saying that if you know me or my family, you already know we're pretty weird. So this shouldn't be a shocker. But still...this jewel I'm about to share may cause you to understand our weirdness to be at a whole different level than you thought. Do you want to know Jonah's absolute FAVORITE place to eat? The food court at Target. Yes, that's right. When my mother-in-law was visiting a few weeks ago, he BEGGED to eat there. We tried to distract him with Chick-fil-A and the reminder that he could play at Chick-fil-A, but he was adamant that Target was where he wanted to go. While I have grown quite accustomed to easily answering "no" to that common request, it was a special time, because Nanny was there and all, so I relented and we all ate at Target. OH MY WORD, their food is soooooo good!!! Did you know that?! I had no idea. They have this amazing California Chicken Salad that I have a crush on now. You can get a kids meal for 1.99, which makes Jonah happy. Candy ate the hot dogs and said they were really good. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised by my eating-out-at-Target experience. So much so that I talked a lot about it for the few days after that. However, I was still not ok with just going in and eating there if I wasn't actually shopping at the store already. But last Sunday when Joel, Jonah, and I were out and over on that side of town and needing somewhere to grab dinner, I joked to Joel that we should go to Target, and he immediately asked Jonah if that's where he wanted to go. JOEL!!! I was kidding!!! But Jonah enthusiastically shouted, "Yeah, let's do that!" and was so excited that I couldn't tell him no. Actually, Joel had already decided we were going, whether I liked it or not. He wanted to see if it was really as good as we had said. So, in we went. I was slightly embarrassed at the thought of explaining ourselves to people we know that we might see at Target. That we had actually gone to Target specifically to eat at the food court. But then, one bite of the California Chicken Salad....and I remembered. Amazing. I didn't care at all who saw us. And I don't care anymore who knows. I'll share it with the world. I have no shame. It was one of the best family dining experiences we have ever had. That's just the truth. I can't wait to go back and try the yogurt parfait. It looks downright beautiful. If you ever want to meet for lunch at Target, I'm your girl! Seriously. You should try it, if you haven't. Don't let anyone tell you it's only for exasperated mommies who get so caught up in their shopping endeavors that they realize they forgot to feed their kids and it's two hours past lunchtime. (I know none of you have ever had that happen in a Target! Ahem...Yeah, me neither.) You don't even need to go shopping at Target. (Although, I don't know if there's a ever a time that I don't need to shop at Target. ) You can go anytime. Just go. I'm paving the way for this to be normal. At least, that's my goal.

Oh my goodness....I can't wait to hold that sweet Brady tomorrow night, assuming he'll still be up when we get there. I hear he's a cuddly one. That's new for babies in our family. His Aunt Hannah can't wait to have his little body curled up against her with his head resting on her shoulder. Especially since this is surely my last niece or nephew, I really think that this time around, I am probably going to be one of those family members who spoils the baby and doesn't ever put him down and holds him every possible second of the day, every second, of course, that he can be wrestled from his grandmother's arms. The mommy in me is mad at me for that. But oh, the aunt in me wants nothing to do with putting him down! How can I put him down when I can hold him?!! I'm just going to apologize in advance, Amy! No...I will try to be good. But it will be hard! I need this baby boy and the rest of his family to live in Texas. I figure, since they are not living here and I don't get to see them very often, I will be somewhat justified in my annoying spoiling techniques. Right?! I mean, Blake and Amy, if you don't like it, you can always move here!!!!! That would get me to stop.
=)

Some of You Will Remember This....

I woke up the other night with this theme song running through my head. Don't ask me why. SO RANDOM! But I had totally forgotten about one of my favorite childhood tv shows....I had such a crush on Ted. Anyway, if it was one of your favorite shows as well, then I knew you'd appreciate hearing the amazing theme song. (You might be mad at me when you find it running through your head all the time...."It's a little wild and a little strange....when you make your home out on the range....") The first 35 seconds or so is weird, but then it goes to the song. Someone PLEASE tell me you liked it as much as I did. And if you have no idea what show this is, well, then, I'm sorry....you missed out. =)

Snow?

Really??? I can't even believe it snowed today. Where did that come from?! Of course, it didn't last long and it didn't come close to "sticking," but there were a couple of times today where actual snowflakes fell. I liked it. It was a sweet little encouragement to me that there are beautiful things that come even when it's miserably cold and blah out. My definition of miserably cold is pretty wimpy. But still, I don't much enjoy it. It makes me want to do nothing but curl up in a ball. Then I don't want to exist in any way apart from my little cozy ball. Seriously, I'm typically a go-er. (Great word.) It's pretty rare for me to just want to be still. But on cold winter days, I'm so content to stay inside. Too bad staying inside makes everyone that has to be around me want to go crazy. But today I'm sort of embracing life in my little ball. I don't plan to leave the house at all. For as long as I can hole up in here, I'm gonna. We'll eat frito pie for dinner, because that's just what you do on a day that has snow. At least, that's what we do. And after Jonah goes to bed, I'm going to sit on the couch in comfy lounge pants with lots of blankets, eating too much chips and guacamole, and watch a yet-to-be-determined movie with my husband. Surprisingly, it all sounds so very dreamy!

Here's a question for you mommies...I was looking online at nursing covers, and I'm curious as to what kind/brand is best. With Jonah, I just went with the whole use-a-blanket-to-cover plan when I was somewhere I needed to nurse more discreetly. But after an embarrassing flashing incident on an airplane, I'm pretty much ok with abandoning that method now. I'm wanting a nursing cover to use with Parker. And a really cute one at that! If you have one or know anything about which brands are best, I'd love to know! I would appreciate all the help I can get. I know nothing about them. Target has the following brands: Cover in Style Nursing Cover by Hooter Hiders, Peanut Shell, and Lait de Taule Nursing Cover. And then there's the official Hooter Hiders/Bebe au Lait brand that I think Elisabeth Hasselbeck recommended. And since I do think of her in a BFF-sort of way, I'd like to listen to her on this. But I'm really clueless as to what's the best here and figured I ought to do some research. So, help please!

As You Wish

Well, a big thank you to the four of you who responded to my survey! I don't feel quite as helpless now. I had hoped to hear from more of you, but I'll just go with it for now. You're still welcome to share your requests though. The first topic on the writing agenda is "Celebrating Jesus with your Children at Christmas." I'm working on it, and you'll have it soon. But for now, I just wanted to check in and say hello.

I'm quite giddy right now, as my hair just received a much-needed color job. And guess how much I paid for it. $6.99. Yes ma'am. I'm thrilled with the results, and now all I need is to make an appointment for a haircut, and my life will feel all together. A big thanks to my mom who did the color for me - she did a great job! I was nervous, because I am used to having it done by a professional. However, the last two times I got it done at a salon, the color did not hold up at all. It just faded immediately and looked horrible. So I decided there's no need to pay that kind of money when it hasn't been turning out well. And I am really glad I did! I do apologize for spending so many words on the issue of MY HAIR, but this is a big day for me!

Let me just tell you about my weekend last weekend. I was able to spend two days in Dallas, all by myself, shopping to my little heart's content! It was amazing. I was able to do a lot of Christmas shopping without the distraction of a two-year-old, and the best part was the quiet hotel room that I had all to myself. Yep, just me. Nobody else. I had wondered if I would get bored. HA! It may have been one of the best nights of my life. No one was there to mess up anything. I could put my things wherever I wanted and know that no one would move them or make additional clutter. The sheer joy and satisfaction that resulted was a clear reminder that I have some serious OCD issues. (Thanks, Dad.) It's just that it's so nice when things are in order and they stay that way. And those of us who have more than just ourselves in our family know how rare that is! Well, I don't know. Some of you may have figured out how to create order in your homes and maintain it despite children ,and you might actually "manage your household." For me, that term is such a joke. But anyway, it was a marvelous weekend. I felt so refreshed. The only downer was hitting my knee hard on the corner edge of the coffee table in the hotel room. No great story there. I just walked into it. That's how graceful I am. I was in great pain for one whole day, a day when no one was with me to listen to me whine about it. Such a shame. I was quite dramatic about it in my head though.

There's one other thing I wanted to say because I tend to forget the cute little things my child says, and I hate that. This morning he heard me wonder aloud if Gigi could color my hair today, and he looked at me with the strangest look. I didn't think much about my words, but then I saw the wheels turning in his brain as he looked towards his basket full of crayons. I assured him that she would not use crayons and reminded him that we don't color on anything other than our coloring books or paper Mommy gives him. (By the way, coloring has been his favorite activity the last two weeks. It's ALL he wants to do.) I explained what Gigi was going to do to my hair, and he just kept looking at me with the most bewildered look. I asked him what he thought about that, and he sighed and slowly said (as if giving up on understanding this strange thing), "I don't know anything." HEEHEE. He's funny.

My Mavericks

My husband knows that there are two other men in the world that I love. One is the anesthesiologist that gave me my epidural when I had Jonah. The second is Dirk Nowitzki, who gave a spectacular display of athletic genius to bring the Mavericks back in the last three minutes of the game against the Warriors last night. Love him.
Anyway, Mavericks won. I'm elated. Ready for game 6.

Disappointment

I was really disappointed in Barbara Walters' "Ten Most Fascinating People of 2006" special. All of the good parts of the interviews were on the highlights before the show! And of course, I found, #1 to be rather unimpressive. However, I will say this about Nancy Pelosi.... I think I was surprised to find that I agree with her on one thing. She told of how she had five kids (in six years - yikes!) and she was a stay-at-home mom with them. She didn't run for office until her youngest child was a senior in high school. She talked of how that was her most important job, and she waited to focus on her career until later in life since she had chosen to have kids earlier in life. I like that. Ok, other than that, she's pyscho!