American Idol - Top 5 Results Show

Okay, so it's the 1st commercial right now during the results show (west coast), and the second they announced that Jason Castro was SAFE I realized why last night's show was so difficult for me to get through. There are so many parameters determining what makes these contestants leave or stay in that I just can't weed through it all. Last week I thought Brooke was going home, then I thought Jason would, then I thought Syesha...oh Carly's out.

So tonight since Jason is safe, Brooke is going to be my 2nd choice (but you can bet she isn't the one going home because I am predicting it!) Tell me this isn't a Daughtry week for David C.

Update after the results: We really could have three guys in the top 3 this season. How fun!

Wordless Wednesday: Peek A Boo!

Click here for other amazing Wordless Wednesday participants. If you are participating in Wordless Wednesday, leave a comment so I can check out your picture of the week!

American Idol - Top 5

Can I just say this was a rough week? All my thoughts are pretty much negative. Maybe because I just kept wishing I was listening to Neil Diamond? I don't know. And as you can see I wrote my thoughts down before hearing the judges (since I barely agreed). I did love Simon's recap of round one, though.

Jason Castro - “Forever In Blue Jeans” - I just don't even care enough about it to say anything negative. Just o.k.

“September Morn” - Much better than the first song. Felt more like Jason.

David Cook - “I’m Alive” - Chorus is okay, but first David C song that I just didn't like.

“All I Really Need Is You” - I think I've put David (who is my fav by far) on such a pedestal that he really has to blow me away every week for me to be impressed. It was good, but he's done so much better before.

Brooke White - “I’m A Believer” - Fashion note: cute dress when she met with Neil, but what's with tonight's outfit? Did someone try to dress her to match this performance? Totally cheesy. I can't believe I'm going to use Simon's karaoke line, but that's really what it felt like!

“I Am, I Said” - Since they changed NY to AZ, they should have changed the "between two shores" like. Better than song #1, but I have been off the Brooke bandwagon for a long time.

David Archuleta - “Sweet Caroline” - Again, he sang the right notes, but I just don't think he brought anything TO it.

“America” - Go David! I don't even care about his little squeak. He was awesome. Best performance of the night (yes, I wrote that before hearing Syesha's 2nd song, but knew I would just leave it out if in some parallel universe Syesha sang better than David twice).

Syesha Mercado - “Hello Again” - I can't believe that my favorite song of round 1 was sung by Syesha. I really enjoyed it.

“Thank The Lord For The Nighttime” - Showed her fun personality. She should be proud. Oh, and the dress was beautiful, and I thought her hair really softened her.

Should go: Jason

Will go: Maybe Jason? (I don't know America is going to pick!!!)

Best of the night: David A or Syesha-I can't even believe I feel that way!

Want better idol reviews? Go over to BooMama.

1st Day at the Pool!

Dan went underway yesterday, and I have now discovered my favorite thing about blogging! My husband can see pictures and videos of his kids! Well, yes, I could email him pictures, but I definitely can't send videos. As Dan goes underway more often this year, you may start to see a LOT of videos or you'll see pictures that really only parents can appreciate. Just join our family!

Today I got BRAVE. Neither of my kids swim yet, so I've had in my mind I could only go to the pool when Dan is home. It suddenly hit me last week that, duh, we have a baby pool, and I am the Mommy and can MAKE RULES. That was rule #1: we stay at the baby pool, which as you'll see in the pics is nicely sized. These 2 kids were SO excited to go today. They didn't want to put on clothes over their suits or anything (the pool is only a .1 mile walk, so that was okay). They are also very good about getting their sunscreen, so happy moments all around.

In case you can't hear, this is the Hokey Pokey.

A Giveaway AND a Discount!

I know someone who is doing a giveaway. How cool is that? Sarah at Rah Rah's Ramblings is helping spread the word about wonderful products by Great Cakes Soapworks, and you have a chance to win an Almond Milk soapcake and matching lotion! This giveaway is everything you need to make that special mom (even yourself) feel loved and pampered. Go over to Sara's blog and enter to win!

Blast From the Past

Two journeyman friends of mine were here this weekend, and we had a great time!! It's hard to believe we met 13 years ago. We have met up in cities all around the world: Richmond, Washington D.C., Hong Kong, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Dallas, and San Diego, but because of life's directions haven't seen each other in 6 years!!! Crazy! (As j-man, Sunneye lived in Taiwan, Missy in Thailand, and Kim & I in the Philippines).

Missy lives in Tulsa now, but her husband had business here, which was a perfect excuse for Sunneye to come down from L.A. It was a lot of fun. Before I post a picture of us this weekend, I had to get in a couple of nice jabs of how we looked so many years ago.

This 1st picture is Sunneye, Kim, me and Missy after a 12 hour, middle of the night train ride from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. That train was COLD!!!!!!! Overheard: "Could those curtains be used as a blanket?"

You know how when you go to an amusement park there's always some place where you can dress up like you're from a saloon town? We'll this is Chiang Mai's version. It's totally more fun to pretend that you're Thai royalty!!!

And here we are today. Kim is back in PI with her husband as a career missionary.

Mother's Day Giveaway

Go visit 5 Minutes For Mom for great giveaways. They're at it again!

Family Picture

There are reasons why you can't walk into someone's home and see a nice family portrait that involves a 4 yr old and a 2 yr old. I count the fact that everyone is looking towards the general direction of the camera an accomplishment!

Consistency-Could It Be?

Since Dan's job always has us moving and dates for things keep on changing, I usually don't mess with explaining all the little details. Something interesting came up yesterday, though, and for some reason I feel like it is worth trying to explain some crazy Navy terms:

EAOS-End of Active Obligated Service-This is the date that Dan is committed to work up to each time he reenlists. When Dan first enlisted he committed to 6 years, and he has reenlisted two times, 4 years each. Four years is pretty standard. Dan's current EAOS is April 2010.

PRD-Projected Rotation Date-This is the date that he would be up for new orders or job assignment that for some reason is not the same # of years as a reenlistment. For example, we had a 3-yr assignment in Little Rock (normal shore duty length), which meant he still had an extra year of commitment to the Navy when he finished his commitment in Little Rock.

Up until yesterday Dan's PRD here was August 2009. It's standard to start talking to a detailer 9 months prior to your PRD about what job possibilities are out there. That's still not until November, but it doesn't matter because Dan accidentally saw yesterday that his PRD has been changed to match his EAOS. Civilianeze: he's been extended 8 months in San Diego.

In the system.

Without being notified.

SO professional.

Now that my snobbery of all things Navy is out there for all to see, I can say that it's so cool to think we'll be here an extra year. We LOVE it here. Samantha has a fantastic doctor. Timothy and I (Sam almost) love MOPS. Timothy loves AWANA. Our church is amazing. Of course we have school starting, which will have it's own issues, but we'll have to deal with that anywhere.

The giant result of all this is that if we actually stay here for 2 more years (and the "system" doesn't change again), we will have lived in the same dwelling (one that we actually like) for THREE years! It's so exciting!!! That's double the amount of time we've lived in any other dwelling! Before you know it, we'll be normal.

I know that last sentence WAS funny, wasn't it?

American Idol - Top 6

So we're down to the final 6, and they're all good which makes it really fun to watch. I'm liking the tape I've seen so far of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Sounds like he's going to have interesting input. I didn't really do "live" blogging last week, but this week I'm doing it just like everyone who links up to BooMama does! I even wrote down my thoughts before the judges spoke so that I wouldn't be influenced. Here we go:

Syesha Mercado - “One Rock And Roll Too Many”

Great song choice. She looks great, sounds great, and really is showing her personality. Maybe her best performance since Hollywood week.

Jason Castro - “Memory”

Very brave choice. I'm liking it. Oh, I loved it, just loved it. And he wasn't even showing that beautiful smile as he sang it.

Brooke White - “You Must Love Me”

Good song choice. OUCH. I'm so embarrassed for her. I'm uncomfortable! Am I imagining it's pitchy because I think she must be nervous or is that just her style? She's ending well, thank goodness.

David Archuleta - “Think Of Me”

Good advice from "Sir" about the eye thing. GREAT jacket-this is the best he's been dressed all season. He sounds great, of course. There's no denying David's talent, but it feels monotonous to me.

Carly Smithson - "All I Ask of You" turned “Jesus Christ Superstar”

Has anyone even been asked to change their song choice by the guest mentor? Surely no one has ever done it. I can't remember, but it's a good thing she did. WHAT a PERFECT CHOICE!!! Blowing me Away! Go Carly Go! I'm so happy for you-couldn't be more perfect. And the dress rocks.

David Cook - “Music Of The Night”

David, you had me @ slowly. He sounds made for the theater...chills...so different to hear him singing a slow song, but I like seeing this side of him that shows how good of a singer he really is. Weird last note.

Should go: Brooke

Will go: Brooke (sad she'll be singing "You Must Love Me" tomorrow night)

Best of the night: Carly!!!!

Where are you?

This is SO good: Christian Women Online

I love you, honey

If you've read this you know that time has changed the romantic notions I once had about marriage. Some things we've been through are too private and painful to tell, and definitely too personal to share on a blog. But I'm learning so much about what God can do in a relationship. I don't know why it should surprise me. When He created the world, He made something from nothing. Of course he can do things in my marriage that I never thought possible!

So one tiny thing that He has done is make us miss each other. Dan has been gone 9 days, and I miss him so much. I want him home! As a military wife, I get in the habit of just knowing I have to make it through, but these 9 days have felt like an eternity. I'm feeling like a school girl again because my hubby wrote me today telling me the same thing. It's felt like an eternity to him as well, and all he wants is to be home! He dug out this picture (that I didn't even know he had) to remind me of a night long ago when we were just happy-go-lucky single people falling in love. I couldn't help but share.

Win $1000 by Paying Tribute to Your Mom!

You've got to do this quick. The contest ends by 8pm CST. Here's my Haiku:

I am amazed by
Your unconditional love
For little ol' me

And here's how you can enter: Rocks In My Dryer

American Idol Theory

I've watched AI since season 1, so nothing should surprise me, but last week's send off was really hard to swallow. After telling us Michael Johns had the lowest votes, Ryan reminded us all that they didn't send anyone home during Idol Gives Back the year before. I started to think that he was about to say, "...and we're not sending anyone home this year either." Instead, he said "But not this year. Tonight we say good-bye to Michael Johns." (okay, not a direct quote!)

My theory: They had to let him go so they could do their normal "stunt" they do each year when there are 7 contestants. Top 3 stand on 1 side of stage, bottom 3 on the other, and then the 7th is supposed to go stand in whichever group he/she thinks is the top 3. If they had 8 contestants this week (eliminating 2), they couldn't have done that. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

I love music, but I'm not musical, so giving a critique of each contestant is kind of pointless. I just know that I can't believe Kristy Lee Cook is still in and I think Brooke doesn't have too much longer. And David Cook-WOW!!!! Every year there is one night that I finally start voting and that was tonight. I picked up the phone. That was UNREAL!!!!

Book Review

When I first became a mom, every day felt like just trying to make it through the day (who am I kidding, it's STILL like that some days). Once the kids started to get a little older and started remembering things we had done or requesting certain activities, it kind of dawned on me that having a plan would probably be a good idea! If you've been thinking, "I need to start some family traditions" or found yourself looking up baby stats that you never thought in a million years you would forget, then this book is for you!

Mary Larmoyeux is the author of "Help For Busy Moms: Purposeful Living to Simplify Life". Mary is a dear friend of ours from Little Rock, and she's one of those people that everyone deserves to know. She is sincere and loving, and her words of encouragement and creativity come through the pages easily. It feels like you're sitting down having a conversation with a caring friend whose wisdom you long for. Scripture is everywhere in this book!

I don't want to give too much away because you need to buy the book for yourself! However, some of my favorite parts are:

1. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter PLUS a chart at the back of the book. After answering the discussion questions, Mary suggests placing one thought (something you need to start doing or stop doing) from each chapter in the chart. I think this is brilliant! How handy to have a quick snapshot of the top 15 ideas that stuck out to you.

2. Memory Makers-Mary lists tons of things you can do with your children that "make memories", including making rainbow toast (my kids would love this), and then she stresses the importance of journaling. No, we're not going to remember what cute thing our child was saying at age 2 1/2. Write it down and don't worry about trying to remember. You can go back and read it when the kids are grown! Mary opens up her own journal and welcomes us into her world of thoughts. So many times I feel like I have to write a whole page, but Mary shows that just 2 sentences is all I need to remember a special moment. She lists a host of journaling ideas, so you don't have to come up with them all on your own!

3. Chapter 5: 100 Ways to Simplify Your Life-How's that for a cool list? And they're broken into time management, meals & kitchen, clothes, housework, school tips, communication tips, entertaining kids, and misc. Here's #98 to give you an example: "Once a year burn a CD with favorite family pictures and put in a the safety deposit box."

My overall feeling of this book was energy. It motivated me to start connecting with my kids and giving them memories that they can carry with them and pass down to their own children one day. You can buy the book pretty much anywhere, but here are the links to Amazon and Target!

Singing "Stars"

We've had a good day

Ironically, Samantha was more trouble than Timothy today. He almost made it the entire day without getting his name written a 2nd time. He talked about that sheet all day, too, and when Sam was screaming in the car on the way home from church he reminded me that her name should go up there. Helpful little assistant.

It was a hot day here at 90 degrees. It's still nothing like a TX summer, but our car's AC is out. We would have gotten it fixed last week, but the first estimate we were given was $900.00. Hello, 2nd opinion. Timothy was so hot on the way home from church that HE even said he didn't want to go to the playground until after Sam's nap. That's when you know the boy is hot. We went just before 5, and the kids were still so hot (85 by then) that they asked to come home after 20 minutes. On the way home Timothy got his 2nd "write up" because he complained when I mentioned baths. (Funny how he picked something he enjoys to get mad over.) I told him that was the 2nd time, and if he argued 1 more time there would be no Alvin & the Chipmunks. And I used the phrase again, "I am not going to change my mind, so there is no more reason for discussion." I'm liking this phrase! and the chalkboard!

When we got home from the playground, we quickly did baths, and then rested on the couch. We watched the movie which had a couple of scenes where female singers weren't appropriate, but all in all I would say it was cute. And this makes 2 Sundays in a row where we had a nice family movie night. Timothy stayed there the entire movie again (w/o Dar even here!) Samantha made it through about 1/2 of the movie w/o wiggling around. The Chipmunks are so cute in this! I popped popcorn. It's been a food he's always been okay with, but would only eat 2 or 3. He's finally adopting it in to his diet. Tonight he had 2 bowls!!

And then bedtime. We walked into his room, and he asked if I would put the tent on top of his bed. (By the way, all I have to do is literally move it, I don't have to rebuild it or anything). We read books on his bed in the tent, and that's where he is sleeping. He told me, "We can just move the tent when Dar comes to sleep." Okay, maybe on day 5 we're getting to the acceptance phase. Tomorrow we'll see if he sleeps in his bed 2 nights in a row.

I've Resorted to the Chalkboard

Our plan today is to go to the playground after church. After a fit within minutes of waking up this morning, I instituted the "chalkboard" plan. It's desperate and lame, but I feel like trying it can't be worse than every other failed plan. If Timothy gets his name written on the board (paper on our fridge) 3 times, then we don't go to the playground. I know 3 sounds like a lot of wiggle room, but that's for anything-even looking at me the wrong way. Because his fits are out of control anger rages and not thought through [Just got interrupted by Timothy's first "offense"], I don't know how much he can think "if I get my name up there I won't go to the playground" before he actually disobeys, but we'll see.

Monkey Backpack Giveway

I entered to win this Monkey Backpack from Blabla Kids. You should enter too! First, visit Notes From My Nest to see a picture and find out how you can increase your chances of winning! Then send an email to notesfrommynest@gmail.com [subject: monkey] to enter. The body of your message to enter should read as follows:

"I am (enter your first name or screen name). I live in (enter your city and state of residence). I heard about this contest from (enter the email address of the person who referred you!)"

Dan's Doing the Bicycles

You ever have one of those days that culminates in the "perfect storm" of child meltdowns? This has been brewing ever since Timothy's friend "Dar" left Tues. Like pouring salt in a wound, Dan left Wed morning, and by Thurs night Timothy couldn't handle anything that I said to him. Friday was awful, but doesn't even compare to today. Timothy has been wanting a scooter ever since we met up with Dar & his mom a couple of weeks ago at a park. Dar had 2 scooters so he brought one for Timothy to use. Timothy has been slow in the coordination department, and since he gets frustrated easily he usually gives up quickly on new things like that. Even though he never actually "rode" the scooter that day, he did "scoot" on it with one foot the whole 2 hours. I was amazed. Fast forward to this week...

More than half of the women at my MOPS table live in my military housing, and we have a great time chatting at the playground while our kids play. This can happen throughout the week, but always tends to happen on MOPS day. Wed, the day after Timothy had to say good-bye to Dar, my friend was there with her 2 kids and 2 scooters. They of course let Timothy ride, and because these kids are even younger than Timothy they have the 3-wheeled scooter which was much less work for Timothy. By the end of our time there he was even putting both feet up every once in a while for a couple of seconds. Well, now he's obsessed. And besides the fact that he enjoys this particular activity, the fact that he did this for 2 hours WITH Dar has to be part of why his emotions are completely wrapped up in it.

Through email yesterday, Dan I decided I would buy T a scooter. I had several things to get at Walmart, so we made our way this morning. They had no 3-wheeled boy scooters. I had actually thought that could happen and talked about it all the way there. I thought Timothy understood it, but he was inconsolable. I had every intention of going to another store, but right then I had lunch and nap to deal with. I explained all of this as well, but T got worse as the afternoon drug on. [Note: Dan and I did discuss not getting the scooter because of T's attitude today, but the original reason we told him he was getting it was because we love him. We don't want Timothy to think that our love is dependent on his behavior and I think this is the only time that we've specifically said, "we're buying this because we love you". Obviously, though, his ability to get to ride the scooter will be based on his future behavior.]

When Sam woke up we went to Target, and I prayed with Timothy before we went in that there would be a scooter. The last thing I wanted was to go to another store. There was 1 left. Then came the part I didn't consider: putting it together. I prepped Timothy that mommy may not be able to do it (tools, arm strength, etc). I would try, but that he would have to be patient, not get mad, etc. Right before I started work on it, I laid out the rule. If he yelled one time, we wouldn't go to the playground today.

I finished his and said we would have to test it out first, so I let him start moving it around while I started work on Sam's. [And let me say, I've put several cheap pieces of furniture together in my time and never had worse directions than I was given for these 2 scooters.] It didn't take long before his handle bars fell off (yes, I'm an idiot, but it was this square shaped thing the screw was supposed to fit down into). I calmly told him to bring it to me, and I would fix it. Well, that was all he could take-he started a horrible screaming fit. No playground tonight for him. That made it worse and worse and worse. Thankfully, my hands (and mind) were busy building 2 scooters (did I mention I really hated doing it). Every 2-3 minutes Timothy would think his current "calm" state would allow him to go to the playground (actually, he probably thought MY calm state could mean he could still go). I finally convinced him when I said, "Mommy is not going to change my mind." He would get another chance tomorrow. Then he started a 10 minute screaming fit, "I want mommy to change your mind."

These scenes used to happen 10-20 times a day. The fact that the last really bad one of these I can remember was when we lived in Dallas is a good thing, but today is a reminder of how any change, any sadness, any disappointment just sends my poor boy over the edge. Today I moved the "low mattress" out of his room, and put an indoor tent made for twin beds in that space. My hope was he would play all day in that area (and he and Sam had lots of fun there) and then sleep on his bed tonight. When bedtime came, I just put the tent on top of the bed so he would think it was cool. When I left him he was content, but after about an hour in bed he came to me and said the tent was bothering him. I moved it to the floor, and he immediately started collecting his things to go sleep in the tent ON THE FLOOR. I said, "Timothy, why don't you sleep in your bed?" He said, "Dar's bed?" I explained that it's still his bed even though Dar slept in it two nights. He calmly said he wanted to sleep on the floor, so that's where he's sleeping soundly right now.

I'm tired.

I'm spoiled

I have really great friends who love me so much, have literally carried me through the last couple of years of my life, and show me love in so many ways I can't imagine it. I blogged about the flowers Christi sent me 2 weeks ago, and as I was going to link to that for this post I realized that I didn't put a close up of them. Here they are:

Can we say gorgeous? And I wasn't expecting them at all!!! And then I got another total surprise on Tues when Gindi (my "roomie" from college) sent me these for my birthday. Again, beautiful flowers, and listen to this. We made my "unofficial" birthday Tuesday because Dan was going to be leaving on Wed. G sent the flowers early to make sure I had them by my b-day, not knowing I was going to celebrate on Tues. But that's when they arrived! There are a million other things she does for me and gives to me ALL the time, but if she's reading this I know she's already turning red and wishing I would shut up. Did I mention I was spoiled?

Thank you, dear friends. I love you!

P.S. Please don't think I have a flower limit. If you have been dying to send me flowers, don't let these 2 beautiful bouquets stop you.

I am 35 years old!

And I was 34 when I woke up this morning! I've lived a year in one day. Hee hee. Okay, that was a bad joke, but one that is totally my sense of humor.

I received 2 pieces of painful news today of people I love so I can't call it a perfect day, but in terms of my birthday it's been a good one. I've actually been trying to think about why I've been so happy about this birthday. I keep coming back to this one thought that I feel like I'm on a real adventure with my Savior right now. He's pushing me out of my comfort zone like never before, and I'm learning to be okay with falling on my face. I seriously feel like a child some days, in good and bad ways. Bad because I act really childish, but good because I'm living. I'd kind of sum it up this way: Just because I fall off the bike doesn't mean I'm destined to never ride. At 35, there are so many things that I feel like I'm just starting, and I'm looking forward to what's ahead, whatever that is!

2 Weeks of Toys

If you can't tell, I'm a big fan of 5 Minutes for Moms. Hop over and join the TWO weeks of toy giveaways. No strings-just comment, and you win a chance for a free toy! I know you're thinking, "My children don't need new toys." Well, surely you have a birthday party to attend! Or save it for Christmas and give to Angel Tree. Or save yourself some money at your own child's next birthday!

Wordless Wednesday

I know this is supposed to be "wordless", but I want to explain this concept to those who read my blog. 5 Minutes for Mom invites everyone to link their Wordless Wednesday pictures up with everyone else. I've seen this for weeks and meant to be a part, and since I'm especially emotional about my son today, I thought I would post a picture my husband got of us this week.

Mommy's heart hurts tonight

When Timothy was 2 & 3, and it was time to say good-bye to his friend "Dar" he would fall down on the floor, cry, and scream no. The only way he knew to communicate his feelings of loss was to get angry and pretend like it wasn't happening. Thankfully, things have changed dramatically the last couple of years. Timothy faced the good-bye tonight instead of throwing a tantrum over it. Timothy weakly hugged Dar good-bye, immediately started rubbing his eyes, and then laid down on the couch.

While Dar was here, he slept on Timothy's twin bed, and we brought another twin mattress in that we kept on the floor for Timothy to sleep on. When we went to bed tonight, the real emotions of the evening finally showed up. Timothy rarely fights bedtime, but he cried all the way up the stairs. When I patted his bed and told him he could lay there, he cried, "Because Dar isn't here!" It's just killing him. Of course we talked him through it, and he was calm as we read books. Dan had some time with him after I left, and Timothy asked him if he could sleep on the other bed (the one he's been sleeping on with Dar here). He told Dan that he wanted to leave his bed open "for whenever Dar comes back". Oh, it just pierces my heart. And Dan leaves tomorrow for his longest underway since we've been back in San Diego. Please pray for my sweet boy.

Great Strides Campaign

It's the 8th of the month, where I tell you what's going on in the world of Cystic Fibrosis. Well, this month is all about fund-raising as we gear up for our Great Strides walk in May. The foundation has a goal of $40 million this year, and "Team Sam" has a goal of $2250. Here is our personal Great Strides Home Page.

We will be "taking steps to cure cystic fibrosis", and you get the opportunity to be a part! It is because of past fund-raising that Samantha has life-giving medications, and we hope our efforts will help those yet to be born. Our ultimate goal is a cure! To donate just click on this link.

Freebies 4 Mom

You must check out Freebies 4 Mom! I have this in my Google reader, and the freebies are fantastic! How can you pass up free stuff w/o having to get on any one's mailing list? It's awesome! And you don't have to wonder if you're going to win because it's a sure thing! Go over there and enjoy the freebies. Heather will appreciate it.

Timothy & "Dar"

This is Timothy's good friend, Dar. That's not his real name, but it's what Timothy called him when he was 3 and barely said 10 words! Dar is staying with us Sun-Tues while his parents are anniversary-ing. (I really believe blogging gives me the freedom to create entirely new words.) As you can see, Dar is several years older than Timothy, which has only further deepened that big brother/little brother relationship. Dar is great with Timothy, and Timothy worships Dar. Timothy was 2 1/2 when they met, and Dar's kindness and extreme patience are the only reason they had a relationship then! Thankfully, Timothy now loves computer games, plays hoops, and rides scooters with Dar (okay, not rides, but uses).

On Thurs we told Timothy Dar was coming on Sun. Understanding days of the week, Timothy broke down crying. I said, "Timothy, that's good news. Why are you so sad?" He said, "You won't give me my Dar!!!" Three days is an eternity to a 4 yr old. While Dan & I were eating breakfast this morning, Timothy came and said, "Mom, you have to come see my very clean room. There are no toys on my floor." He has never "cleaned" his room independently EVER, and when questioned later fully admitted it was for Dar's visit.

We watched Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium tonight, which is precious and magical. The most magical part? Timothy is terrified of movies, but since Dar brought the movie, he was open to watching it. He sat on the couch the ENTIRE movie, and even asked to watch the credits. Words can't really describe how it makes a momma feel.

Grandpa Joe

These are Dan's maternal grandparents, Joe and Jackie Horton, with Samantha last year on January 1st. On Tuesday we got the unexpected and heartbreaking news that Grandpa Joe had passed away. These two had such a sweet love for each other. Our family will be memorializing him on Friday, and we are sad we can not be there. It doesn't change how we feel about him or how much we hurt for Grandma Jackie right now. We are with them in spirit.

Odd and Ends

Samantha & Big Girl Bed: Nap went well yesterday, and when we took Samantha to bed last night she said, "My bed" very endearingly. That was sweet, but the most precious part was that she slept through the night! And then she took a good nap today, and went to bed happily tonight. A short pattern, but a pattern nonetheless.

Timothy & AWANA: Last night Timothy was trying to tell me Psalm 100:2, which is "Worship the LORD with gladness", but bless his heart all he could come up with was "Worship the world with glasses." Reading will come in handy.

Dan & work: I realize I don't talk a lot about what's going on with him. This week everything his dept does is being inspected. His dept basically consists of him and his boss, but the job they oversee affects the whole ship so it takes 5 days to do the inspection. They have to make 90% to pass, and only 10% of ships do that on the first round. Needless to say, it's been a stressful week, but he's remained calm, and we've actually had peace in the home in the midst of it all. They find out the results in the morning, but we're just thankful to almost be done with it.

Me & life: You know my week has been quite consumed by the Baby (not so baby) Girl. My son beat me 5-4 in a quick game of b-ball this morning. My MOPS group is the best-I love it there! We're building baskets right now to be raffled off to help fund our MOPS, and our table is doing a scrapbooking basket. That was upon my suggestion since I have a ton (TON) of scrapbooking stuff, and need to purge as I am moving on to other hobbies (like blogging).

I'm ready for the weekend. Really ready.

Chalkboard Wallies

This is my trial "product endorsement" image! Funny! This isn't really my own product endorsement, but one provided by Kari & Kijsa at Designing for Life. Go over and see their recommendation for Wallies with a twist that look totally cool. They have such a visually stunning blog that you should browse around a little!

Confessions of a CF Husband

I think when some people hear about Cystic Fibrosis from my family they may falsely believe that CF really isn't that big of a deal and that it's "manageable". Sadly, that is not true. It is always progressive and multiple factors (genetics, nutrition, activity level, etc) determine how well and how long someone with CF lives. Double lung transplants are becoming increasingly common (single lung transplants are pointless) and literally breathe new life into a person with CF. Once lung function drops below a certain level, the CF patient gets on the waiting list.

Tricia and her husband of Confessions of a CF Husband have been waiting for a while, and she finally got her double lung transplant this week. They have an amazing story of faith, CF, and love, and he chronicles it beautifully. I have to read it in small doses because it's quite overwhelming for me emotionally, but it is truly a story of hope.

Big Girl Bed - Response to Comments

Completely agree about the "swat"-I see that in our near future. I didn't do it last night for 2 reasons:

1) I'm really out of it when I'm awakened like that in the night (I'm crazy when I have newborns & have to do that every night multiple times). Last night the idea didn't even hit me because I couldn't "think".

2) Because I don't think well in the middle of the night, I don't consider it wise to use that method when Dan is not here (and I could wait one night and he would be here-deployment's another issue). I think spanking is fine, but I firmly believe (as I know you guys do) it being done calmly and with a clear head. I could not have trusted myself with either last night.

But there will be no way I will allow a repeat performance. Night time is for sleeping!

Big Girl Bed - Part V ("Cruelty")

I told you I would start naming them! Samantha woke up at 12:30 last night (this morning), and of course Dan was on duty. The first night she wakes up in the middle of the night, I'm alone! And I didn't get back to sleep until 2:30. Ouch. Can I just say I am out of it today? And this is MOPS/school/AWANA day. I was given very good advice a few days ago to start my day saying, "Something good is going to happen today." I've done it every day since I was told, and some really fun things have popped up. I keep repeating that to myself this morning through my blurry haze!

Somehow she still woke up at 7:15 this morning. That's regular time after missing 2 hours of sleep in the night and a 3 hour nap yesterday. I'm hoping that this will set her up pretty well to take her nap today.

Big Girl Bed - Part IV

I should start naming my phases. I was just emailing with Jill this morning about how "lucky" I was that even though Samantha can get up and down her brother's bed and our bed, she has a mental block about getting off of her bed. Well, she got over that at nap time today. Yes, that took her all of a day and a half of sleeping in a big girl bed to figure out. I'm sure she was laying there thinking, "All that's between me and a room full of toys is getting off this bed. Oh, it's not as scary as I've been pretending." Result: no nap today. We'll change our strategy for tomorrow.

Oh...and the WAY I discovered she was out of her bed was I started hearing little door knob rattle. She doesn't yet know how to actually turn it, but give her another day and a half, and I'm sure we'll be investing in some door knob covers.

Big Girl Bed - Part III

As an update, Samantha took a nap for me just fine yesterday. She laid down and let me cover her and everything. She didn't want to go to bed last night, but accepted it when we got her to the bed (and again laid down to let Dan cover her). She slept through night #2. I consider this "phase" complete. If we start having problems, I'll definitely make you hear about it, but as for now we have a big girl!