Sept 11 Remembrance--God in the Stairwell

You say you will never forget where you were when you heard the news On September 11, 2001. Neither will I.

I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room with a man who called his wife to say 'Good-Bye.' I held his fingers steady as he dialed. I gave him the peace to say, 'Honey, I am not going to make it, but it is OK . . . I am ready to go.'

I was with his wife when he called as she fed breakfast to their children. I held her up as she tried to understand his words and as she realized he wasn't coming home that night.

I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a woman cried out to Me for help. 'I have been knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years!' I said. 'Of course I will show you the way home - only believe in Me now.'

I was at the base of the building with the Priest ministering to the injured and devastated souls. I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven. He heard my voice and answered.

I was on all four of those planes, in every seat, with every prayer. I was with the crew as they were overtaken . . . I was in the very hearts of the believers there, comforting and assuring them that their faith has saved them.

I was in Texas, Virginia, California, Michigan, and Afghanistan. I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news. Did you sense Me?

I want you to know that I saw every face. I knew every name - though not all know Me. Some met Me for the first time on the 86th floor.

Some sought Me with their last breath. Some couldn't hear Me calling to them through the smoke and flames; 'Come to Me... this way... take my hand.' Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me. But, I was there.

I did not place you in the Tower that day. You may not know why, but I do. However, if you were there in that explosive moment in time, would you have reached for Me?

Sept. 11, 2001, was not the end of the journey for you. But someday your journey will end. And I will be there for you as well. Seek Me now while I may be found. Then, at any moment, you know you are 'ready to go.'

I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.

- God

Written by Stacey Randall

PTA school

"PTA school is not a journey to graduation with the intention of arriving safely with a calm and well preserved mind, but rather to skid in broadside, totally worn out and yelling 'WOW, what a ride!'"

Get through to a real person!

Tired of waiting on the phone for 45 minutes while arguing with an automated service? And then you get disconnected? Get Human finally gives you that option! This wonderful free website gives you numbers and instructions on how to get through to a REAL LIVE PERSON. Wow, novel concept, right? They have a couple hundred businesses and corporations listed on their website that they have personally verified. Many of these numbers are ones that are hard to get hold of. You are allowed to submit numbers and instructions for a company that is not listed, they will just note that it has not been verified by them. Customer service made easier. Good luck!

No I haven't fallen off the face of the planet

Many people have sent me graduation wishes and asked what I've been up to. So while I haven't fallen off the face of the planet, it's been a busy last two weeks.

May 2 was my graduation walk. I received an empty diploma cover with a note saying I'd get my diploma once I complete my degree requirements. Said requirements are two summer clinical rotations (internships) that last a total of 14 weeks. So August 10 I will be officially DONE!!! YIPPEE! In the meantime I've been enjoying my first rotation, which is at St. Francis Hospital. I'm working in acute inpatient rehab, mostly heart surgery patients and the like. Acute rehab is unpredictable from day to day and I'm learning tons. Since we start rounding at 7am, my days actually start at 4:30 am. I'm a night owl anyway, and the past two years in the PTA program our classes have been at night so this is HUGE change for me. There are no "no-makeup days" since I don't want to scare my patients into another heart attack what with my tired, puffy eyes... It is nice to have the afternoons free with the children. :)

Please pray that I'll learn what I need to from this rotation, figure out a way to start studying for the licensing exam, and for my time with my family. Oh yeah, and I guess I need a job! :)

Snapfish savings-two weeks only!

Two weeks only! $10 Off $30 or More! 6/14-6/31 Use Coupon Code SAVETODAY

Snapfish is one of my favorite places to print out my digital photos. Their quality is good and their turnaround time is very quick. Perfect chance to print out your Mother's Day memories and save while doing so!

If you have any more great suggstions, feel free to comment or email me. Look for Punzey on twitter and don't forget to sign up to get posts delivered right to your inbox.

How to fail chemistry and math tests with HUMOR!!!

Below are student test examples. So even if you don’t teach either of these two subjects, this is very funny!!! And lets face it…we could all use some humor in our day.

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein

Stress

Stress

A lecturer when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked
'How heavy is this glass of water?'

Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.

The lecturer replied, 'The absolute weight doesn't matter.
It depends on how long you try to hold it.

If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem.
If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.

If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.

In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.'

He continued,

'And that's the way it is with stress management.

If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later,

As the burden becomes increasingly heavy,

We won't be able to carry on. '

'As with the glass of water,

You have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again.

When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.'

'So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down.

Don't carry it home.

You can pick it up tomorrow.

Whatever burdens you're carrying now,

Let them down for a moment if you can.'

So, my friend, Put down anything that may be a burden to you right now...

Don't pick it up again until after you've rested a while.

Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

* Accept that some days you're the pigeon,
And some days you're the statue.

* Always keep your words soft and sweet,
Just in case you have to eat them.

* Always wear stuff that will make you look good
If you die in the middle of it.

* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be
Recalled by their maker.

* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again,
It was probably worth it.

* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to be kind to others.

* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time,
Because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

* Nobody cares if you can't dance well.
Just get up and dance.

* Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

* The second mouse gets the cheese.

* When everything's coming your way,
You're in the wrong lane.

* Birthdays are good for you.
The more you have, the longer you live.

* You may be only one person in the world,
But you may also be the world to one person...

* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

* We could learn a lot from crayons..... Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.


*A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Have an awesome day and know that someone has thought about you today...I did .

Hopefully you enjoyed reading this, I am certainly glad that my friend sent it to me. Feel free to comment, and don't forget to enter your email in the RSS feed so you won't miss more posts. I'd love

to see you on Twitter-look for Punzey!

Can you dry jeans with a blow dryer in a bathroom?

It was one of those days. Actually, it had been one of those weekends. Saturday and Sunday I'd been at school all day for a licensing review course. Monday I had two study groups to meet to study for final exams. The instructor for the WSI (American Red Cross' Water Safety Instructor) told us to bring jeans and a long-sleeve t-shirt to practice survival techniques. Of course that means that you need an extra pair of clothes to wear after class because your clothes will be soaked, right? Monday dawned to find my trudging out to the Jeep with two diaper bags, a backpack, another book bag, my swim bag, and a lunch box. With all of that gear to pack (plus sleep deprivation and high stress levels), two children to dress, and a dog to take care of, it's always the question of the day as to what item(s) that I forgot to include. Still, I was completely certain that I had brought the required items to my swim class.

Class went well, although I think I have decided that it takes more work to blow up a shirt into a flotation device than it does to tread water. After showering I reached into the bag to grab my dry clothes and found only the t-shirt. What?! Where are my pants??? Drat. After debating what my options were for several moments, I spied the hand dryers mounted on the wall. I wasn't even hoping to completely dry the pants,but I was hoping that I could knock the water out a step or two. After wringing out the jeans as much as possible I positioned them over the outlet and started the dryer. Eight cycles and two very tired arms later, my jeans were still on the wet side of the damp spectrum. Or they were on the dry side of soaking. Take your pick, but you get the picture! Tired and wanting to go home, I decided that my only option was to go ahead and wear the wet pants and just be a bit chilly. Fortunately it was a warmish evening. As I wrapped up my swimsuit in the towel and went to stick it into my bag, what did my hands touch but my spare pair of pants? Wow! Ok, so now I feel like a dork. But at least I'm now a dry dork!

Friend sent me: Common Sense's Obituary

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense , who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: - Knowing when to come in out of the rain; - Why the early bird gets the worm; - Life isn't always fair; - and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault. Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust,
by his wife, Discretion,
by his daughter, Responsibility,
and by his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;
I Know My Rights,
I Want It Now,
Someone Else Is To Blame,
and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

Willing wethead

Neither one of my sons likes for his hair to be washed. It's not the shampoo, but the water pouring over their heads. Ryan can't figure out how to hold both his eyes and his ears at the same time. At least he has stopped shrieking at the top of his lungs. William doesn't go in for the hysterics, but he does cling to me tighter than melted chocolate on upholstery all the wihle gasping anxiously for breath. Some days I feel as though I'm dressing for war when I bathe them--hair in a ponytail, contacts must be in, and remove any long sleeves.

None of this makes sense to their befuddled mother as I've always been a fish out of water. Out of water I'm a complete klutz, but in the water I feel graceful and strong. My parents had to teach me to swim before I was two years old because I would run and jump in anytime I saw water. Since both my brothers were in competitive swimming, this kept my mom quite busy. Having two sons afraid to let a little water drip over their eyes leaves me wondering what to do.

They both absolutely love taking baths and playing in the water, it's just the wet heads they can't deal with. Obviously skipping hair washing is not an option, so we've dealt with it--both the sobbing children and the soaked clothes. Ryan is finally getting to the point where he will cover his face with a washcloth and allow me to wash his hair. The big surprise of the day was when William, picked up the green cup and handed it to me. Then he even leaned forward for me to dump the water on his head! I can't tell you how astounded I was that this little guy was asking me to wash his hair! YAAAY! No matter what else happens today, this day goes down as a good one. :) I now have a willing wethead!

Cute Easter photos

The Easter photo shoot didn't go as planned. The boys would NOT sit still. But it doesn't matter--they were still so cute all dressed up. Ryan loved wearing a tie and William wouldn't take off his hat in Sunday school. A few tips for getting at least some decent shots of your children on special days...

1. Don't get dead set that the pictures HAVE to be done a certain way. Children are masters of picking up stress and will react (usually negatively) to it. Just relax and realize that you can only get kids to do so much.

2. Be snappy. Two ways. First, if at all possible, use an autofocus camera. Yes, my 35mm Minolta takes superb pictures, but it's a dinosaur and doesn't autofocus. No toddler is going to sit still long enough for you to focus manually! Also, take a lot of pictures. Just keep shooting. You never know when a good one is going to come out.

3. Take candid shots as well as posed portraits. This way at least something will turn out. Some days they end up being better than the posed "everybody sitting and smiling in the same direction" pictures anyway. I didn't get a good photo of the boys in their easter outfits (hopefully one of the grandparents' turned out). But I'm happy with the egg hunt photos, so I've included two of them. Remember, the point of taking pictures is to preserve memories. So don't stress yourself out trying to get "the" perfect shot.

And take advantage of Snapfish's generosity and save money printing your Easter memories. :) 50 Free Prints plus a choice of either 20% Off Photo Cards OR 20% Off Photo Books Exp 4/30

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YouData pays you

Introducing YouData, Inc., the company that actually PAYS you to see advertisements! Annoyed with all those popups that keep bombarding you? With YouData, you actually get paid to view advertisements. You choose when and how many to see, and they tell you ahead of time how much each ad is worth. Earnings are depositied into your PayPal account every Friday. You won't get rich off this network, but who can complain about a few extra dollars every week for a few minutes of "work?" The company is pretty new and will only keep attracting more advertisers, which will mean more money for you! And who knows, you might actually see something useful in one of the ads? After the first week YouData deposited $4.15 into my PayPal account. That's my ebay fund right there! :) If you're interested in free money, here's the steps to take.

1) Create your YouData Account.
You will enter some basic information. They don't ask for your mailing address, but they do require your cell phone number to send 1 confirmation text. After that, they don't bother you. They do this as a double opt-in feature to prevent spammers from entering falst accounts and to enforce the one account per person rule. And all they need to pay you is for you to enter the email address you have registered on PayPal. (Create a PayPal account if you don't already have one.) And the great thing is that, unlike many online work-from-home type programs, there is NO MINIMUM payment to deposit!!!

2) Fill out optional surveys in your MeFile. YouData gives optional surveys that help target ads specifically to you. Just click the tab that says "MeFile" and then click "surveys." It's that easy!

3) Come back to Rapunzal's Castle and look for the adstacker on the right hand of the page. It'll look like this Login using your YouData ID. Click on the lower right hand corner where it says "get ads" Then look at the top where you see a slider bar. This sort of works as a tip jar, and it's set to 50/50%. Slide all the way to the left ot keep 100% of the money that you earn. (you can only see the slider bar when you have ads to view) Then click "reveal ads" and you can then click on the ads individually. You get paid for paying attention for a few seconds. Cool, right?

That's all there is to it. I hope this was helpful. Enjoy your fun money from YouData. Thanks to Freebies4Mom for getting me started on this idea. I'm off to check my ads. Friday I'm buying the jogging case for my MP3 player!

Thank you for reading. Don't forget to sign up for more from Rapunzal's Castle, or follow Punzey on Twitter. Leave a comment, I'd love to hear your success stories with YouData.

Just a few more?

The last two and a half years that I have spent at the university have been both enjoyable and interminable. Time has passed both quickly and achingly slow. I find myself within three weeks of finals bouncing up and down at the prospect of being done with classwork. Summer clinicals will be difficult but enjoyable. To say that I am eagerly anticipating graduating in August and being able to find a job in a clinic is an understatement. I'm ready to be out of school and re-enter the real world!

Somehow, though, when I look at the years that I've spent on campus, it seems as though I didn't get half of what I wanted accomplished. The instructor for my voice class asked if I wanted to take private lessons next year. My voice carried both excitement and regret that I couldn't because I have graduated by then. There are so many courses, so many subjects that I wanted to study, but I just ran out of time. While registering for this last semester I felt like Cinderella at the ball, begging the clock to allow just one more dance. I wanted to take another art course, to study more music. My brain has been stuffed full of physics, anatomy, and chemistry, and it is happy for the challenge. But my spirit feels satisfied when the expression when I am bent over a drawing or my fingers are flying over the keyboard.

At times I look jealously at my younger, single classmates who seem to have the world open. They complain that they can't find anything interesting to fill out their elective hours, while I bring myself back to reality that, no, I can't take the 22 hours of the courses I really am interested in.

But then, when I start the ignition to my Jeep and begin the long drive home, the miles weigh on me. I do not wish to make this drive any longer. The miles weigh on me because they separate me from my children. What science can be more challenging than teaching my oldest son to read? Is there an art course in the world more fun than making dolphins and elephants shape out of playdough and then squishing them with two giggling children? Is there a human relationship more confounding and yet comforting as the marriage relationship? I may miss out on a few college experiences, but what I have more than makes up for it. My life is full, it is rewarding. It is different than that of my classmates. And crazy. :)

Maybe it is for the best that I will leave the university feeling unfinished. I have not lost my desire to learn. My mind still contains many dreams and other goals to accomplish. I will never be bored. There is always something else to discover.

50 Free prints from Snapfish plus 20% off

Special April savings at Snapfish! One of my favorite online stores, Snapfish is providing a wonderful, money saving promotion for the entire month. Get your Easter memories printed off for FREE. Or, if you're like me and still haven't gotten all of your Christmas shots printed, here's your opportunity! Or you can take the year's best pictures and turn them into a photo book, just in time for Mother's Day. 50 Free Prints plus a choice of either 20% Off Photo Cards OR 20% Off Photo Books Exp 4/30

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Update on Victoria's Secret Freebie - good until April 6

For those of you who read my earlier post about VS giving away a $10 minimum (could be up to $500) gift card with any $10 purchase-- you have four more days. I contacted Victoria's Secret customer service and found out that the offer is ending on April 6 because the gift card is valid starting April 7. Didn't want anyone to go into the store a few days late and be disappointed.

5 Tips for Flying with Preschoolers

Several weeks ago I had a madcap trip scheduled to see family during spring break. My excitement over seeing my brother who had returned from being stationed overseas was tempered with a little bit of terror over flying alone with a 20 month-old and a 3 1/2 year-old. Whether you are a new reader or an old friend, it only takes reading one post to realize that my sons are high-octane, nitro-charged, 100% BOYS! (they're very well behaved, but they're still boys...) I lost track of the times at school friends and teachers would say "You're flying with them alone?? Are you nuts???" Certifiably. but that's another story. :)

The traveling ended up being mostly pretty fun. The trip with family was a blast, and we made it home in one piece and both children present. :) To help other adventurous parents with their travel, since that season is almost upon us, here are several of the tools and tips I used.

1) Liquids 3-1-1. To make it easy, liquids 3 oz. or smaller, 1 qt. plastic ziplick, 1 bag per passenger placed in tray during security. There are, however, exceptions when traveling with children. From the TSA official site "Declare larger liquids. Medications, baby formula and food, and breast milk are allowed in reasonable quantities exceeding three ounces and are not required to be in the zip-top bag. Declare these items for inspection at the checkpoint." They will not ask you to taste the items, but they will be insepcted. They still won't let you take water through, so either plan on buying water for formula powder or buy the premixed stuff. ALso, if you have frozen breast milk or medication that needs to stay cooled, you are allowed those little refreezable packs. As a precaution, I always print out the offical rules from the TSA site in case I happen to come across a security agent who's not aware of the exceptions.

2) Going through security with children. First, they will not ask or do anything to separate you from your children! Still, keep your eyes on them... If the child is capable of walking they will ask if the child would walk through on his own. (Which they did the first time. On the way home, William wouldn't be parted from Mommy's arms). Be aware that all shoes, even sandals, must be removed. I dressed the boys in easy-to-tie shoes, and wore clogs for greater ease. I even had a compassionate TSA agent help me fold up the stroller, get the Ziplock out of the backpack, and round up the shoes! If you have more questions, check out TSA's site about traveling with children.

3) Luggage and car seats. Since most airlines have started charging for even the first suitcase (except my beloved Southwest), check with your airline's website for their policy. The several that I checked with, (Delta, United, American) do NOT charge for car seats and strollers (or you can use the stroller throughout the airport and gate check it to pick it up immediately after the flight). So you do not have to worry about paying extra to protect your child at your destination. :)

4) Medical Emergencies. The first flight of the day coming home, I looked down as we were boarding to notice my youngest son's right knee looking red. I thought it was odd, but continued with the boarding. By the time we were loaded on the plane, both knees were red with hives, as were both elbows. By the time I dug through the bag to look for medicine, they had spread to cover most of his legs and arms. Not having benadryl with me, I called for the flight attendant. They don't carry medicine on board, but she called for the airport EMTs. We did have to disembark from the plane, but it was nice to know there were people available to help. They checked out his lungs, which were thankfully clear. But now I know that airports carry medical personnel who respond very quickly, and the service is free. (unless you require an ambulance to transport you to a hospital). Airline agents were also very helpful in rebooking my flights to get me home only a few hours later. They did not charge to rebook. The moral of this story is, don't take chances, especially with your child's health. There are people available to help if you have serious concerns. I did not want to delay my trip, especially since I was taking care of two tired children, but the alternatives were to have my child's airways swell up at 20,000 feet.

5) Medical kit. Bring the essentials with you. Benadryl is now one of them... Infant Tylenol is small, and you can use with an older child, it just takes a little but more. An anti-itch cream. A few band-aids. Diaper rash cream. Your pediatrician's phone number. Orajel. You know your child and what you normally do to prepare for possible emergencies away from home, just double-check the contents and pop it into your bag. There are stores in airports, but they don't cater to children and infant needs. Just don't forget to take the nail scissors OUT of the bag...

Don't forget to come back next week when I post more tips for traveling with preschoolers!

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Freebies from Victoria's Secret

I was just in the store to claim the free PINK bag that I had a coupon for. (See freebies4mom post) and was talking to the saleslady trying to find out how I had to use the coupon. By the way, when you sign up at Pink Nation for you bag, you also get a coupon to $10 off a $35 purchase. Well, they have a sale going on for the all the underwear collections in the store, buy X and pay $X off the price. For instance, the PINK underwear that I liked was going for $10 a pair, but were on sale 5 for $25. Not a bad deal. What most people do not realize about Victoria's Secret (and her sister, Bath and Body Works) is that any deal like that, you have to buy the minimum number, but you can keep going! So 5/$25 goes to 6/$30, 7/$35, etc. So I bought 7 pairs of underwear for a store price of $35, then applied my $10 coupon and paid $25. Quite a saving to go from $70 worth of merchandise down to $25!!!

Back to the main point... I'm not sure for how long, but whenever you make a $10 purchase in store you receive a FREE gift card/coupon worth a minimum of $10!!! What happens is after checkout they hand you a small envelop with a coupon inside, which is valid starting April 3(?) You won't know how much the card is worth until that time, but each card is guaranteed to have at least $10 on it, and some go up to $500! In the very least, you're getting your money back and at the most you might win some!!!

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Fireproof and the Love Dare

My husband works nights, and I'm in school during the day. The constant comings and goings and never see each other tend to take a toll on our relationship, which is way we were both thrilled when his sister and her husband gave us a copy of the book "The Love Dare" for Christmas. I had another book I was reading at the time and in the end of January, excitedly picked up the copy and prepared for 40 days to strengthening my marriage. I knew that the book went along with the movie "Fireproof," which I had yet to see, but I didn't know much else.

Day 1 starts out with 1 Corinthians 13, "Love is patient." The few short, easy-to-read paragraphs talked about being patient with your spouse as a way of loving. I've been actively trying to follow Jesus for about 20 years now, so I know enough to not ask for patience when I pray. Somehow, whenever you pray for patience, it seems like there is a trial around the corner to give you a chance to practice it! Instead, I prayed that God would help me to show more patience with my darling Erik. Apparently I didn't work things clearly enough, or maybe God just knows my heart and what I need...

That was a Monday, which is a school day with late classes. I arrived home after Erik had left for work, put the kids to bed, took the dog out, unpacked the lunch box and backpack, repacked the backpack, and finally sat, exhausted in the recliner to check for an email about the presentation assignment from my group. About 10:15 I heard the familiar strains of "Winnie the Pooh" from my Blackberry, signaling that my DH was calling me. The first words I heard were, "Honey, you're going to hate me, but I forgot something very important and I need you to please bring it to me." Several seconds of dead air time passed before I broke the stunned silence to say "You've gotta be kidding me. You mean I have to get the kids away, drive all the way there and home, and I have classes in the morning!?!" Realize that his work is almost 50 miles away, so round trip is going to be almost two hours. He profusely apologized but insisted that he needed the item. Honestly, I don't even remember what it was. The words I had read earlier that day, "Love is patient" played like a broken record through my brain, managing to hold my tongue still from angry comments.

Reluctantly I packed up the kids, made a Starbucks run, and arrived home dreading the next day. Still, the Love Dare had prepared me for the journey and I managed to arrive home without saying anything that I would regret. And I was able to serve my husband and demonstrate love to him. Nevertheless, that was several weeks ago and I am still gathering the courage to read Day 2. Who knows what will happen afterwards? :)

P.S. Some great resources for you are at Fire Proof Your Marriage

Camoflauge Christmas Bells and Valentine's Day... Airplanes?

Having brothers was one of the best preparations for having sons. My mom still tells a story from when my oldest brother was in the neighborhood of fourth or fifth grade. (Keep in mind that this was in the 1980's, during the heyday of G.I. Joe action toys.) Apparently one day in Sunday school, the teacher thought that it would be a great idea to help the boys make a Christmas present for their mothers. Good idea, right? The boys were provided with those little wooden shape that you can purchase at Michael's or Hobby Lobby, paints, and brushes. The boys were allowed to choose between shapes of Christmas wreaths or bells, paint them as desired, and string a ribbon on them to make an ornament. I don't think she even bothered with glitter or anything, knowing that young boys would refuse such "girly" ideas... At the end of the session more than one boy proudly presented their mother with a Christmas bell ornament--painted camouflage style, so the ornaments could "hide" in the trees! Just what every Mom wants, right? :)

Valentine's Day rolled around this year and I was excited about the idea of making cookies with Ryan. He loves to cook and help. I also thought it would be a fun idea to make cookies as valentine's gifts for grandparents and aunts. Perhaps I should have remembered the whole camouflage Christmas bells a little more clearly...
Not having a sugar cookie recipe that I'm pleased with and not having time to look around for another one, I simply bought a log of pre-made sugar cookie dough. Ryan was so excited to help me and bounced with excitement as I pulled out the stepladder for him. We opened the box with cookie cutters in it and I started to reach for the heart shaped ones. One thought that crossed my mind was to grab the hand-shaped cookie cutter and use the idea of hand-shaped sugar cookies made my Ryan's little hands. But it was not to be. Ryan picked that shape up, unceremoniously tossed it back into the box, and grabbed the airplane and dinosaur shapes! With a little pleading I managed to retain a few heart shapes.

So I had anticipated a lovely, mommy and son bonding time of making red valentine's day cookies. What I ended up with was a loud, raucous, messy, thrilling experience full of giggling and laughing making blue airplanes, green dinosaurs, and a few pink hearts. And it was even more fun than I had originally planned on. And you know what? The grandparents certainly didn't care whether they had a heart or an airplane. The cookies were so yummy that they didn't stay around long enough for me to take a picture.

Snow Much Fun

Two days ago I awoke to the sound of little feet pattering their way into my bedroom. As I was still recovering from a sinus infection and on decongestants, the sound was somewhat akin to the stampeding of elephants. Nevertheless, it was a welcome sound. Ryan scrambled his way up into the bed to give me a hug and kiss, sitting still for approximately 1/1000 of a second before scampering away while yelling "come on, Mommy. Get up!" He then ran to the front window in the living room, ducked underneath the blinds to peer out the window, and realized how much the world had changed while he was asleep. He danced his way back, shouting his excitement, "Mommy, it's snowing. It's snowing! It's a BIG snow!"
Later that afternoon, amid squeals of excitement from both children and dog, I proceeded to get everyone ready to go outside. Being the dutiful (read into it overprotective if you want) mother that I am, I of course layered them in turtlenecks, snow bibs, hats, scarves, and the hoods on the coats. By the time I had crammed squirmy children into those layers, I was sweating. But talk about being worth the wait. The sled was difficult since the amount of snow meant it tipped whenever the children were off balance. And a 3 y.o. and a 1 y.o. don't keep their balance very well... But we got some good laughs.
This was William's first true experience in the snow and he loved it. I wasn't sure what to expect from the child who didn't like grass the first time around. Poor little guy had difficulty walking as the snow was up to his little thighs, but he made do with crawling. And tasting. And eating the snow until his little face was red and I had to take him inside, much to his disappointment. He kept wanting to go everywhere big brother went.
Ryan's activity seemed to be making snow angels. Or exploring. He was never still the entire time we were outside. His big scientific discovery for the day was the fact that it is hard to slide down a slide covered in ten inches of snow. And that snow blowers are loud, which he pointed out to me numerous times.
I had to drag both children inside to get warm, both under great protest. As we regaled Daddy with tales of the day Ryan leaned forward and said "That was fun. Can we go in the snow again, Please?"

More Freebies and cost-saving sites

You are allowed to view your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus for free. Annual credit reports help you to ensure that your credit has not been stolen.

Freecycle is established in different communities. Members of the group offer items that they own that they no longer want. Other users can then arrange to take the items of they want. Money is not allowed to change hands, the items must be free. The goal of the group is to help people save money, clean out their attics, and keep the landfills from further filling up.

Angel Food Ministries is a non-profit, non-denominational organization whose goal is to contribute to food relief throughout the United States. Go to the website, enter your ZIP code to find the nearest distribution center and order through them. You are able to purchase for a very small price (significant savings) a box of groceries full of canned items, fresh fruit and veggies, fresh meat, and dessert.

Debt Proof Living is a website chock full of money-saving, and debt-managing resources. Who doesn't need this in the current economy???

The Grocery Game. This website scours the sales in your community and helps you find all the money saving grocery deals--even the ones that aren't in the store circulars! Start off with a four-week trial for just $1.

At The Organized Christmas website you'll find a Christmas countdown, simple craft ideas, and tons of free ideas to simplify the holidays. Sorry that I didn't list this before Christmas...

Second time around

My son has a shoe fetish. I'm not concerned--not because I'm unconcerned about what other children will think about him, or how he'll grow up, or any of those reasons. I'm actually kind of proud of him and happy for the photo opportunities. He's 16 months and he has just learned that shoes can easily be placed on and taken off feet. He has even figured out that someone other than Mommy is capable of doing such a feat (no pun intended.) Consequently, he has been trying on anyone's shoes that happened to be left outside of the closet. He has not mastered and gets quite frustrated by Daddy's cowboy boots. Once his legs grow longer than the boots he might have a bit more success. He likes mommy's shoes ok, but he really has taken a shine to his big brother's. Little William is capable of placing one of big brother's shoes on his feet, and since they're not enormously big like clown shoes, can actually walk quite well in them. They even fit over his footed pj's. I looked down this morning and he had my right tennis shoe on his left foot and Ryan's right shoe on his right foot. I found my other tennis shoe under his crib, but Ryan's other shoe is still in hiding.

I always wonder if things like trying on shoes are developmental milestones. I remember things that my oldest did and wonder whether the youngest will do that too. And if so, how will his personality change the same actions? Even though the exploratory stages are repeated, it's far from being a Groundhog Day scenario. William gets a little bit more frustrated than his older brother did when he can't get a shoe on. But he's more determined, possibly because he wants to be like the rest of the shoe-wearing household. I'm proud of him for noticing those strange contraptions that go on the feet, and prouder still that he sometimes says "sssooes" to go along with it. Ryan rarely displays such interest in shoes other than his own anymore, which is fine as he was starting to do dangerous tricks like jump in my heels. He's on to bigger and newer things like wondering snow is and why his carved pumpkin turned mushy before it disappeared. So I'm enjoying watching the curiosity of a little one exploring his shoe world. Now to find Ryan's missing shoe. Oh yeah, and hide my high heels.

Coupon sites

My aunt sent me this list of websites featured on the Today show. They're all designed to help you save money! Take some time, and you can probably find a coupon or deal on just about anything. :)
http://www.coupons.com/
http://www.couponmom.com/
http://www.couponmountain.com/
http://www.dealtaker.com/
http://www.retailmenot.com/
http://www.restraunt.com/
http://www.wow-coupon.com/
http://www.redplum.com/ (fun site)
http://www.proceprotector.com/
http://www.walletpop.com/
http://www.cybermonday.com/ (online Monday after Thanksgiving)

Feel free to leave your own sites that you've found.

Calming the anxiety

This was originally posted on my Myspace blog, but since I bare use that anymore, I decided to repost so that I don't forget it.

The day could have actually been a lot worse, I suppose. I got some of the laundry done, managed to get Ryan to his grandmother's house without forgetting anything, I had actually made it to work on time (and without getting a ticket).We met all our selling goals at work, got all of shipment finished, and nobody called in sick, Somehow I still felt more stressed after I clocked out than when I had started the day this morning. The drive home is actually a pretty nice drive and the deep rumble of the truck is usually soothing. Tonight, though, the rumble was irritating as it meant that I had to sit in an empty parking lot for 10 minutes to wait while the diesel warmed to a safe driving temperature.

Wait, while my son sat in his aunt's arms instead of mine. Wait, while the dishes sat in the sink. Wait, while my dog thinks that I've forgotten him and I can't even remember the last time I had half an hour to spend with my husband. Wait, and with all that time to think, I still can't figure out how to change any of the problems in my life. Wait, while I sit and calculate how much sleep I'm actually going to get after rocking Ryan to sleep and then waking up early to take him to his grandmother's so that I can open the store the next day.

The engine raised its pitch, signalling that it was ready for action. I greeted the change in tone much like a child greets the bell at the end of a school day, eagerly putting it into gear. It was dark and I had the lonely country roads all to myself. The speaker system in the truck is quite nice and was blaring all sorts of jarring commercials with quality. Do the radio stations program commercials in sync? Tired of flipping uselessly, I settled on a station to wait (again) until music came on. The drive was definitely not soothing my nerves.

Then cutting through the background noise with a commanding quietness, I heard these words sung softly"I'm finding myself at a loss for words /And the funny thing is it's okay. The last thing I need is to be heard /But to hear what You would say." The spinning in my head slowed a bit. "Word of God speak/ Would You pour down like rain /Washing my eyes to see Your majesty"

After rounding a corner, I leftt behind the knots of trees planted by the road. With not a cloud in sight, the entire sky opened up to reveal the stars displayed in a deep, velvet darkness. It was breathtaking, humbling, and inspiring at the same time. "To be still and know /That You're in this place /Please let me stay and rest In Your holiness"To be still, soul and all. To calm my frazzled emotions. To rest in my Savior and Sustainer. "I'm finding myself in the midst of You Beyond the music, beyond the noise" My grip on the steering wheel had relaxed by now, as had my shoulders and jaw. "All that I need is to be with You /And in the quiet hear Your voice" If I can just learn to be still and listen to His voice... I know that's possible... For tonight, for a few moments, I relaxed in His love, thanked Him for what He's provided and let go of my expectations. Tomorrow, as I have been reminded, I have someone to help me through it all.