What in the Friggidy Frick Frack...

Am I doing up at 12:45 am, reading numerous blog posts of fellow bloggers all across the Nation - acting like I don't have to get up for work tomorrow or something?



I just can't sleep - I'm 9 weeks away from having a baby - and I feel like I have so much to accomplish prior to then, that the wheels in my head keep on turnin' (sing to the tune of 'wheel in the sky' )



Why does my husband need to sleep on MY side of the bed? I'm like 8 months pregnant, he's got a body & a half of space between me and his edge of the bed - and I'm scrunched into this little teeny tiny space, with my huge belly.



Tonight, the AWANA directors at our church had to kiss an alligator because the kids finished 100 sections in their scripture memorization books. I know it's weird, but the alligator was totally cute...it had it's mouth taped shut - maybe that's why it was cute. But my girls got to take a picture with said alligator - they printed them out, so now I"m going to have to scan them to turn them into digital images so you can see them - which I will add to my 'things to accomplish in 9 weeks' list, but I can pretty much gar-own-tee (think the Cajun chef dude voice) that it's not gonna happen - so I apologize in advance.

Too many things to be done...not enough time to do it in, and the things that I do want to get done can all be shot to heck if one baby decides to make an entrance even one iota early.

Bullets...Bullets...Oh yeah

My Title was a little song I made up in my head for my post that will be denoted by bullets. :)

• Today marks the one year anniversary of my husband's dirtbike accident - You can read about it here. Since the accident, he has reigned himself in quite a bit, and has gone on to be the Firebird Gold Series 450 Beginner and 25+ Amateur champion! I'm quite proud of my hubby.
• Today is also Pearl Harbor Day. Dec 7, 1941 - Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, HI. My grandparents took me to Hawaii in 1988, when I was 8 years old. We went on the Pearl Harbor tour - and even though I had no idea what had really happened there that day, I remember becoming very emotional. You could see the tip of the USS Arizona sticking out of the water, and I just started crying.
• Oh my gosh...today I had a McDonald's quarter pounder and french fries for lunch...and I ate it so fast, I don't even think I tasted it. I reached back over to the box of fries and they were GONE! So, then I looked at the box the quarter pounder came in...GONE too! I was like, what the heck, did I seriously inhale my food that fast? That's just not healthy.
• This pregnancy has made me large and in charge. My belly is seriously huge - and it feels like the baby is taking up the ENTIRE thing. I don't even know if I have 9 weeks left of room in there for him or her.
• The store manager of the Jack in the Box by my house (what? I don't eat fast food THAT much) told me I was having a boy. He is a hispanic guy probably in his late 30's or early 40's - and he says "You are having a boy." And I said "I don't know...I have 4 girls." And he says "No, not this time...it is a boy." So I told him "Well, after I have the baby I'll come by and let you know." And he's like "I haven't been wrong in 16 years." So we'll see. If it is a boy, I'm up a creek cuz I have one boy outfit that I bought 'just in case' and that's it.
• It's less than 2 weeks before my BFF moves back here to AZ from Germany briefly while her husband is deployed in Afghanistan. Even though the circumstances that are bringing her back here suck, I'm totally elated that she's going to be here. I'm excited that our kids will be able to hang together for longer than a few hour visit. I always imagined that we would live next door to each other, and our kids would be BFF's. Funny how time changes things. :)
• Raisin Bran Crunch is da bomb!
• I'm currently doing a Bible study with a couple girlfriends using this book called Balance at the Speed of Life for Women. It's great - it is making me realize that my plate is too full - and I'm always trying to squeeze more stuff on there. I don't know why I do this...I guess I feel like if I'm not busy, I'm being lazy or something.
• My current nesting project is to get through all of our closets and have a yard sale before Christmas. Kind of an ambitious goal, but I really want to do it dang it. Naps just keep getting in the way on weekends.
• I just got word from our realtor that we haven't talked to in several months on a house that we put an offer in on - it's a short sale, and it had to go through this big long approval process with the short sale lien holder. Our offer was the 'back up' offer - but there is a chance that the first people will back out. The price of $175k was approved, and the seller is offering 3% in closing costs. It's within walking distance from where we live now, but it's a 4 bedroom instead of 3, and it has a large backyard that is pretty much ready for us to do whatever we want with it because it has never been landscaped. It would take a miracle for the first people to drop out, and for us to come up with all the money for closing costs - but God is in the miracle business, so if it's meant to be, it will work out. :)
• I'm reading a book that my 12 year old is also reading called "Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo". It's a Sci-Fi / Fantasy book, and it's such a fun read. There are children who have special powers, multiple dimensions, and funky little creatures. I'm over halfway done already and I just started reading it this week.
• When my little Baby Pants says Clap, it comes out 'Cwap' - so it sounds like she's saying crap - which is really funny to me.
• All of my girls love the band 'Weezer' - it's so fun to hear them singing "Oooo Wee Oooo I look just like Buddy Holly...Oh Oh and you're Mary Tyler Moore!" We took them to see Weezer at the AZ State fair a couple years ago - they are GREAT performers. Each band member can play every single instrument on the stage, and they all take turns singing different songs. They put on a great stage show. And they just released their new album called "Raditude". I haven't heard any of the songs yet - and apparently their tour bus got in an accident yesterday and the front man, Rivers Cuomo, suffered internal injuries - that fortunately aren't life threatening, but they had to cancel the rest of their tour dates for this month at least.
• But to end on a positive note - Baby Pants keeps going potty in the toilet - infrequently, but she still does it. I will have to record her saying "I go potty in the toilet" and try and post it as a sound file or something, because the way she says it is freakin' hilarious!

Have a great week everyone!

Sublime

So - I was gonna post about how I couldn't believe it was Friday already, and how I had a somewhat crappy week, and yada yada yada. But, then I heard on the radio that plays throughout our office building....


"I don't practice Santeria...I ain't got no Crystal ball"....and then all of a sudden, the world seemed mellow. And I wondered to myself "What it is about the songs of Sublime that make me feel really chill and in a good mood?"

It's definitely not the actual lyrics...especially since the verse I heard just now as I'm typing this was "And I won't think twice to stick that barrel straight down Sancho's throat...believe me when I say that I got somethin' for his punk ass!" HA!

But, there's just something about Brad's voice, and the rhythm of the music that just makes you bob along, and kinda feel that So Cal beachy feel.

I was first exposed to Sublime in 1996, so the only album I really have any connection with is the self-titled "Sublime" album, even though the band had been around since 1988. And by the time I got into their music, their lead singer, Brad Nowell had already offed himself with a drug overdose. So, I didn't even have an opportunity to see them live. That's a bummer.

But whenever I hear these songs, I either go back to my senior year in high school - or road trips from Vegas to California, and my most recent memories are with my family at the lake in the summer - as my hubby is also a fan. :) Unfortunately, our taste in this music, and my hubbies taste in all things classic rock have our children singing "I'm a joker, I'm a smoker, I'm a midnight toker" at the top of their lungs in Target. I know that's not a Sublime song, but you get the idea. I don't think I want my kids singing about having something for anyone's punk ass either. But just hearing that song this morning put me in a much better mood than I WAS in when I first went to start my Friday post - so now I think I'm going to run along over to Playlist.com and make me a Sublimey play list to listen to this morning. :)

Because who can not love "What I Got", "Santeria", "Wrong Way", "Garden Grove", "April 26, 1992", "Pawn Shop", "Paddle Out", and "Doin' Time"? :)

Happy Friday!

Post It Note Tuesday: Maiden Voyage

So, this is my first time participating in a Post-It Note Tuesday, found by visiting one of my Follower's, Lynn at Midday Escapades. I can't get their Post It button to work, so you'll just have to click on the link to go check it out. Here are my post-its for today. Enjoy! (Note: They rearranged themselves all weird, and I didn't have the time to figure it out)

And there ya have it - go make yourself some Post-It Notes!

Marriage Monday - 11/30/2009

Wow - I can't believe I've missed two weeks of my Marriage Monday Posts! Where has the time gone? I apologize for slacking off in this area, it's definitely been on my mind - I just haven't taken the focused time and effort needed to get my posts done.

So, this week, we're going to cover a couple topics, His Affection and His Temptations because they are pretty short chapters.

His Affection

p.69-73

I'm just going to touch on a few key points that I found in this chapter. One of the big ones is that men often view sex and affection as the same thing, so they can feel like as long as the sex life is good, then so is affection. But as women, we know that affection is totally different - it can be holding hands, an unexpected hug, stroking your hair - for most men, stuff like that doesn't come naturally. But, Stormie quotes this scripture "Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband." 1 Corinthians 7:3.

So, it's definitely in God's plan that our husbands are affectionate towards us - but I truly think most of the time they need some "help" in this area. So, since this is Power of a Praying Wife - this chapter talks about praying for our husbands in this area so that the power of the Holy Spirit can begin working on their hearts and ours so that when the time comes to talk about affection, it can be a conversation that is received well, rather than appearing to be just something else we are nagging them about. With my husband and I, my communication to him about affection is usually very playful because that's my husband's personality type...so I'll come in to the "Man Room" (aka the den) after all the girls are in bed, and sit down with him on the couch and say something like "Oh, what did you say? You wanted to give me a massage? How nice of you!" And then I plop myself down on the floor in front of him. We both chuckle, and he knows that I could use a massage - and he's happy to do it. He does the same thing with me - "Oh, you wanted to scratch my head? That's so sweet!".

So that way of communicating works for us. What would NOT work for us is me coming to him all the time saying "Why don't you ever give me a massage? Why don't you hug me more?". Confrontation like that usually never works for us. So, if your hubby is not affectionate or you would like him to be more affectionate, try praying for God to show you some effective ways that you can communicate that to him.

His Temptations

p.75-79

Now this is an area that I have more personal application with my ex-husband. My ex-husband was a compulsive gambler, and it seemed no matter how hard I prayed - and I prayed HARD and OFTEN - things never seemed to get better. When I finally filed for divorce, I felt like I had failed in my marriage - like I didn't pray hard enough, I wasn't strong enough, I should've done more. So, I was encouraged when I read this sentence on p.75 "But a heart that refuses to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit will not change, no matter how hard you pray." And I think that was truly the case with my first marriage - he just was not willing to change at that time in his life, and it cost him his family.

This chapter encourages us to pray in advance regarding any temptations that may come our husband's way, and to ask that they would be strong enough to withstand those temptations. It talks about temptations coming in all shapes and sizes: alcohol, drugs, money, power, food, pornography, etc. The bible says "blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him" (James 1:12). There are many other verses in the Bible that tell us that temptations WILL come, it's just a matter of when, and how we will respond. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us "God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." I can personally attest to that - when I was about 20 years old, I ended up in a very bad situation with a guy I had just met. He had his plans for how he wanted the night to work out, and I felt somewhat trapped. I didn't know what else to do, so I went to the bathroom, and just prayed and asked God to please help me find the way out. Seriously, minutes later, I started throwing up EVERYWHERE, and he left me alone and I got out and went home. I know it's gross - but I know that was my way out that God provided for me.

I've been very fortunate in my marriage to Aaron, I haven't seen too many temptations in his life, other than "the need for speed" - but this too can definitely be an issue - one that landed him in the hospital for a week last year with a lacerated liver. I don't know that I prayed specifically about that as a 'temptation' but I know I prayed that he would be more careful and realize what he had at stake. And I have seen him reign himself in and be more cautious when he rides his dirtbike, since he knows he has a family at home that needs him.

No matter what our husbands temptations may be, our prayers can be very effective in helping them resist those temptations. In Stormie's example prayer, she says to pray for a wall of protection to be around our husband, that he will have the self-control to resist anything or anyone that becomes a lure, and to give him the courage to reject tempting situations.

I pray that today's Marriage Monday post will find its way to those who needed to hear some of these things today, and that we will all put prayer for our husbands as a top priority in our lives - as it will not only benefit them, but will ultimately benefit us and our family. I know sometimes all the things we have to pray for can seem overwhelming - I could probably pray for hours on end just to get out all of the things that I want to pray about. But God knows what is on our hearts, He just desires for us to be in relationship with him - so don't think your prayers have to be a certain length, or that you have to pray them all at once. I find that I get my most prayer time in on my way to and from work in the car - in fact I rarely listen to the radio anymore because I know that I will have uninterrupted time on my drive. Once I get home, I won't get time to myself again until my children are in bed...hehe :) So, whether it's finding time when your kids are at school, or when they are taking a nap, or when your making your daily commute - you may have to sacrifice something else (for me it was giving up listening to music on the way to work - which I really liked to do), I guarantee that you won't regret having that alone time with God.

Next week I think I'll do 2 chapters again so I can get caught up - His Mind and His Fears.

Happy Monday!

Finally...The Announcement

So the time has finally come – the time to announce my new business venture. This has been in the works since about October 2008, but the majority of the work on getting everything going started about August of this year. I haven’t breathed a word of it to very many people, because I have a tendency to get excited about an idea, and announce it to the world, and then I lose my excitement and don’t follow through with the idea – and I end up looking like a dork. But, with this venture, I have really committed, and have a fully legal and established LLC. The fire was lit under me when I found out I was pregnant with #5, and I really wanted to be able to do something that would allow me to be with my children and still contribute financially to the household. So, without further adieu…

I am pleased to announce the launch of:

My Smart Hands – Phoenix

Sign Language Classes for Hearing Babies and Toddlers.

This has been an exciting and scary journey to get up and running – but I am thrilled! Aaron and the girls are extremely supportive - as we all have witnessed first-hand the benefits of signing with our youngest daughter. Since making this decision, I have taken formal American Sign Language classes, as well as a class on Early Childhood Language Development - and one of the first lessons included research on the benefits of signing with preverbal children!

I have my first location for classes locked down in Old Town Scottsdale, at the Art of Dance studio (www.artofdanceaz.com) – and since I’m still currently working full-time, the classes will be on Saturdays. But once the baby comes, my plan is to start offering weekday classes as well.

This is a link to my website – www.MySmartHands-Phoenix.com. I’m currently looking for additional class locations in North Phoenix, Central Phoenix, and Fountain Hills at this point – so if any of you that are local to the Phoenix area know of any locations that rent their space out, I would greatly appreciate the contact info.

I will be holding my first marketing booth at the Momma’s Organic Market (http://www.mommasorganicmarket.com/) this Saturday, November 21st from 9am to 2pm. Since I don’t sell an actual ‘product’ – I’ll be giving away free bubbles, Hawaiian leis, and stickers to the kids, and teaching them the signs for 'bubbles' and 'necklace'. I will also be accepting class registrations and selling gift certificates for classes as well.

A special "Thank You" to my grandma Billie for always telling me I could do anything I put my mind to. I thank God for all of the wonderful people He has put me in contact with that have helped me to make this busines possible. And I'm looking forward to the additional time I'll be able to spend with my children during their formative years.

Woo Hoo! Here we go! (I'm jumping out of the boat Alisa & Crissy!)

Weird Dream and Some Other Stuff

Okay - so, in case you noticed (or maybe didn't notice) - my Marriage Monday post is missing. It's coming, it just might be a Marriage Wednesday or Thursday.

But, because I had some things on my mind - I thought I would post today instead of waiting to get caught up, because this is my blog, and I can do that if I want. ;)

Last night I had this WEIRD dream - where I got an email from this ultrasound technician at my OB's office and it said something like "Oh, the new ultrasound guy just looked at your ultrasound pictures and he wanted me to tell you congratulations on your new baby boy!" I was SO MAD in my dream! In case some of you don't know, we are letting the sex of this baby be a surprise since we have 4 girls, and we figured since this will be the last baby that we wouldn't find out if it's another girl or potentially a boy. So, this dream really chapped my hide because I didn't want to know the sex, and here this ultrasound tech is sending me emails telling me what I'm having! Now of course I realize that this is just a dream, and may have no bearing on what actually may come to pass - but I'm just sayin'. Weird pregnancy dreams I tell ya.

Baby Pants has become a master manipulator with this new wake up and cry routine she tried to start this past week. She did it on a couple of week nights, and I thought "Awww...poor baby she had a bad dream" so I brought her into bed with us. Then, she did it again on Saturday & Sunday night - and we had my father-in-law in town, so in order to let everyone get sleep, I brought her in bed with us again. But neither hubby nor I get any sleep when Baby Pants is in the bed because as small as she is, she somehow takes up the whole darn bed! Her head is shoved into the side of my neck, and her feet are pressed against her daddy's back. So - hubby and I said "No more" - and when she woke up at 1am this morning crying - I went in first, and calmed her down but told her that she needed to go back to sleep. This really made her mad - so I asked if she needed a diaper change - to which the crying immediately stopped, and she said "Yeah" - so she stayed quiet in her crib the whole time I went to get the diaper and throughout the diaper change process. As soon as I said 'Good Night' and started to walk away - the wailing began again. Also as a side note, my oldest daughter shares a room with Baby Pants - and we felt bad for her, so we got her up and moved her mattress to our den so she could attempt sleep. When Baby Pants saw this, she got another fantastic idea "I'ant (this is "I want" in Baby Pants language) Seena (this is SAMs name as Baby Pants says it)". She thought if she couldn't sleep with mom and dad, she could sleep with her sister! I said "No - this is YOUR bed, and you are going to sleep in YOUR bed." and closed the door. Her wailing was very artistic - she played with several pitches and tones, and cry styles from sounding very pitiful, to screaming like someone was poking her with a stick - and pretty soon hubby and I were actually laughing at her repertoire. But, by this time it was 1:45am - and we wanted to go back to sleep. So....we sent in the Big Guns...Daddy went in. I heard him give her the same conversation that I gave her, about her sleeping in her own bed, yada yada. Then he said "Ok, now go to sleep"...and 3....2....1...."AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!". Then, the magical words were spoken in only the voice a daddy can do, that strikes fear in the hearts of little children everywhere - "Do you want a spankin'?", to which Baby Pants replied "NO!"...and she was quiet for the rest of the night. So, we'll see what happens tonight.

And finally - I have a couple updates to make to my business website tonight, and then I'm launching it TOMORROW, to the rest of my family and friends, this blog, and my online mommies community. I've been wanting to do it for awhile, but I always had an excuse - "This piece isn't ready yet.", "I want to do this first", yada yada. I'm very nervous, but very excited - my hubby is behind me, my kids are stoked, so off we go!

OK - I think that's all I need to get off my brain for now. Look for Marriage Monday, debuting on its new day this week only - and for my business launch! Yippee!