Hope

I'm sick of politics. I'm sick of receiving those stupid postcards in the mail. I'm sick of seeing slandering commercials on TV. I'm really looking forward to next week when we can see who "wins" and just get on with life! Of course there will be changes - a new person in any situation always brings changes.

I'm hopeful. I'm hopeful that the prayers of many will be answered this week with whoever ends up in office. I'm hopeful that so many kids will be affected by tonight's trunk n treat at church that they drag their parents to church to meet God. I'm hopeful that my girls will have so much fun with their friends this weekend. I'm just hopeful. I'm speechless, but know that God is in me ... and if you go to TFH, you know I'm going to say

the hope of glory

.

A lot of milage for those points

I'm sucked into the rewards of credit cards. It's evil. I got a catalog today advertising all the stuff I could order with my "miles". Yay! The thing is, I haven't used that card for years. In fact the only reason I kept that card open is because I saved up 19,000 points. I know, I know, you're thinking I'm really in debt. Almost out of it, thanks for asking.

So my point. Because I haven't used that account for so long, I no longer have the card or statements or anything. I probably do - somewhere - but didn't feel like digging through a bunch of junk at the moment. I tried to log onto the account online, but of course couldn't remember my username or password. I clicked on the "forgot username" button, where I was prompted to enter my 16-digit account number. See the problem?! I phoned them twice (the first time was hung up on), and finally got to speak with a barely-english-speaking customer service agent. After asking me all but my first born, he was allowed to tell me I have just over 19,000 points. I asked for my account number so I could go online and make the transaction to "puchase" something with my hard-earned points. But he was only allowed to give me the last four digits of the account number. I can see -almost- why they would do that, but if I provided ALL the correct answers to the security questions, wouldn't it seem like he's really talking to me, the account holder? Humph. The best he could do is to mail me a copy of the statement (that will include the account number). So, I'm excited to spend my 19,000 points in the next month or so. After all, I probably spent $8,000 in real money for the $50 "reward" I'm going to get. By the way, I will be closing that card so fast afterwards! I hope they don't go out of business before I have the satisfaction of doing so!

My Favorites

My Favorite ....

Kids' book: Goodnight Moon
Wiggle: Captain Feathersword
Song: All Summer Long, Kid Rock
Movie: Shawshank Redemption
Thing to do on a Saturday: run errands
Fruit: Strawberries
Vegatable: Brocolli
Junk food: ice cream
Time of day: just before lunch
Grade in school: I loved 3rd grade!
Vacation spot: Key West was fabulous! Sesame Place is fun w/ kids :)
TV show: Currently, my favorite is Biggest Loser
Actor: Hard to pick just one ... Matt Damon and Will Smith
Color: Blue
Candle scent: apple
Article of clothing: jeans, and/or my yellow jacket
Beverage: coffee
Exercise: walking
Book of the Bible: Acts

The Big Four

Four family members:
Mike, Maddie, Chloe, Hailey

Four places that I go to over and over:
Wegmans, The Father's House, the backyard, school

Four of my favorite places to eat:
Red Robin, TGIFridays, Bazil, Bill Gray's

Four places I would rather be right now:
On a date w/ Mike, Shopping, Vacation - pretty much anywhere, any of the above mentioned places

Four TV shows I watch over and over:
The Biggest Loser, CSI:NY, Desperate Housewives, Prison Break

An Eventful, Unrelaxing Lunch

Next time you see a table full of kids at a restaurant, don't snicker and shake your head. Remember, that someday it could be you with 5 children (ages 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7). Then praise God that they don't all belong to you.

Today I met a girlfriend at IHOP for lunch. When we arrived we were told that the cook was behind and there would be about a 30 minute wait to get our food. We decided that it would be about that anywhere we went, so we stayed. We were able to entertain the kids with oyster crackers, crayons, and a book, but the food arrived just in the nick of time. Chloe (age 3) decided that she wasn't going to talk for the day, so it added to the fun. The customer right next to us stared with a frown, shaking her head in disgust.

I know what you people are thinking. I used to think the same thing before I had kids. Do you really expect us moms to stay in our houses 24/7, never going in public with our kids? We're the birth control you need!

Blah, blah, blog

Never mind the kitchen floor, folks, look at my blog! I don't have the patience to scrapbook anymore, but this digital paper look that I added is pretty snazzy.

I'm not saying I have a boring day. Really. In fact the exciting things on my to do list today include laundry, vaccuum, pick up clinique, pick up new glasses. We're half way there.

Chloe played Chutes and Ladders for the first time today. As at the playground, she found it hard to climb up the ladder and slide down the chute. I used to play this game for hours -- why aren't my girls loving this game?

Maddie is now saving her money for an American Girl doll. She needs $105. She currently has $12.04. Today on the bus she found a dime and was thrilled to report now she has $12.14. Her comment with a huge grin was, "I'm getting closer!"

Stayed tuned for a more exciting post about Chloe's first-ever field trip

Kitchen Floor: Part 2

This really isn't a blog about my floor, but I had to laugh this morning when I washed the floor 3 times - in a row. First, I spilled an entire glass of beverage across the counter and then onto the floor. I set H down to clean up the mess. While I was taking care of that spill, she was just a few steps away at the table. She picked up my entire cup of coffee, and dumped it on the floor. It was everywhere. Thought #1: My coffee!! Thought #2: Oh, did she just get burned?! Thought #3: I'm not done cleaning up the first mess!

So, of course I was kitchen-floor-nazi-woman all day and swept it like 9 times. The current state of the floor: clean.

How Do You Prioritize The Kitchen Floor?

So this past weekend, we had a leader rlife meeting. I know, it's really quite confusing how many rlife groups and meetings and activities there are. I'm thinking that maybe this leader meeting should be called something different - maybe LLife. Now that wouldn't be too confusing. But anyway, we discussed priorities in our lives. We had to jot down the top five items in our lives that we spend the most time/energy/resources on. In my top five I had cleaning, taking care of the household, etc. What that one really should have been labeled is "Sweeping and Caring for the Floor". Yes, I'm getting a little obsessive over the kitchen floor. An hour before our group of 15 (most of whom I've never met) showed up on Sunday, I was on my hands and knees, washing the floor with a brush and rag. But I digress.

Now for most people who know me, with the proper amounts of sleep and caffeine, I can be really just sarcastic. I've reached that point today, and have something truly important and just plain idiotic to share with my vast readership.

Here is my top 5 things that really just suck to sweep off the kitchen floor:

1. Rice. Mike refers to these days of the week as "Rice Night". It's an event in our household because with The Three, more rice ends up on the floor than in anyone's mouths. And before the rice dries, it's wet. Who knew?! And so before we can sweep the dry rice, there is wet rice all over the floor, just waiting to be stepped on with someone's sock and then drug to another part of the house.

2. Smooshed American Cheese. It's really the grossest thing ever. And impossible to sweep. This calls for clorox wipes or at the very least, a wet paper towel.

3. Raisins. These are not the worst things ever, but when they've been played with or get flung out of someone's mouth, it's not too pleasant to sweep up.

4. Baby spit up. Need I say more?!

5. Ok, so apparently I only had 4 on my list, but I would like to take this #5 spot to say that I would really like a swivel sweeper for my birthday. I think it would be awesome - just watch the infomercial!