You Know You’ve Watched Too Much Food Network TV When….

…during Bible-time, your five-year-old describes how Ruth made bread from the grain she gleaned in Boaz’s field by “putting flour in a bowl and stirring in some milk and a clove of garlic.”

Emeril would be proud.

Spa Day

Earlier this month, I decided to take Grace to a salon that specializes in haircuts for kids.  Being the frugal woman that I am, I usually cut her hair myself, but I’ve had more trouble lately getting a straight line across the bottom.  Her hair is really thick and heavy, which makes it harder to look like a clean cut. 

Anyway, Grace was in heaven.  I really wish this was a video so you could hear her delighted “Oooohs” and “Aaaahs” during the shampoo.  The girl washing her hair was cracking up, and I suspect she scrubbed it longer because Grace loved it so much.

She keeps asking me when we’re going back.  I watched the girl really closely when she was cutting Grace’s hair, so hopefully I’ll be able to do it myself next time.  We’ll see!

Preschooler Story of the Day

The other day, I was driving home with Grace and the little boy I babysit, Kie.  It was a beautiful day….blue skies, warm breeze.  All of the sudden, literally out of nowhere, it started hailing.  It was so weird.  At first, I thought someone was throwing rocks at our car.  No rain, just hail.

The kids got a little scared, but I calmed them down and told them it was just a crazy Texas storm that would soon pass.  This is the conversation I heard between them while I was driving:

Kie:  “Grace, we’ve GOT to pray.  This is terrible.  Pray with me.”

Grace:  “Okay, let’s pray.”

Kie:  “Dear God, PLEASE stop this hell (i.e. hail).  Please make it a beautiful day again so we can play outside.  We don’t like hell (i.e. hail), so please make it go away.  Amen.”

Grace:  (looking out the window at the worsening hail)  “Well, that didn’t work.”

Spring Break

Normally, we travel as often as we can during vacation time to visit family.   However, this year we decided to stay home during Todd’s Spring Break and plan a “staycation” of sorts!  We tried to do something fun and different every day.  It ended up being the best week we’ve had together in a long time!

On Monday, we played golf.  Actually, Todd played golf while I drove the cart and tried to explain to a 5-yr-old why we had to be silent when players were teeing off.  It was a gorgeous day and so nice to be outside in the sunshine!  Grace was the official “flag mover.”  It was hilarious watching her try to lift and maneuver the awkward pole while daddy putted.

On Tuesday, we went to see “Alice In Wonderland” in 3D.  I know, I know.  Probably not the best choice for a 5-yr-old.  There were some pretty intense scenes.  I took her out to the bathroom during one particularly scary part.  She loved it, though!  All the animals and creatures delighted her.  Thankfully, we haven’t heard word one about the scary dragon or river with decapitated heads.  She’s been sleeping as well as usual and talks about the movie happily.  Just sayin’….

On Wednesday, we rode the Trinity Railway Express to the Dallas Mavericks game.  Grace loved the train ride more than the basketball game!  It’s a double-decker train, so we sat on top and enjoyed the view!

 

The Mavs game was tons of fun!  At first Grace was overwhelmed by the loudness, the height of the nose-bleed section, and the screaming fans.

But she soon warmed up and ended up dancing and entertaining everyone around us when the music played.  She also informed me that she wanted to dance “just like those girls.”  (The Mavs Dancers).  Um…..no.

On Thursday we went to Six Flags, along with every other human being in the D/FW area.  I’m not kidding when I say it took us 2 1/2 hours to go one mile on the interstate, park, and walk into the park.  We waited in line for about an hour for each ride we rode.  Good times.

On Friday, Todd took Grace on a daddy date.  Anytime Todd takes her out, you just never know what they’ll come home with.  After a couple of hours, she proudly arrived home with this:

Her first bicycle.  And daddy succumbed to the “Snow White” model because, of course, the most important thing about a new bike is the princess purse that is attached to the front, which conveniently holds lip gloss.  That’s my girl!

And what was I doing while Todd and Grace were painting the town?

I was painting my kitchen!!!

And re-upholstering my breakfast room chairs!!!

And sewing new draperies!!!

  

In addition to painting my walls, I sanded and painted our cabinetry white.  It was a LOT of work, but totally worth it.   It really brightens up the room and makes me feel happy when I cook!

We thoroughly enjoyed the week together, and Grace was sad to see daddy go back to work on Monday.  Back to reality!

Home Again

Grace and I thoroughly enjoyed our trip down to Louisiana to visit my family.  It was so good to see my sis-in-law and nieces before they traveled back to Hawaii.  Grace and the girls played together the whole time they were together!  And time with Mimi and Granddaddy is always exciting for us!

Unfortunately, when my sis-in-law arrived home to Hawaii after a long plane flight over the Pacific with two little ones, she discovered that her home had been infested by rats.  Several things were eaten up and ruined including:  a leather couch, mattress box springs, kitchen cabinetry, toys, shoes, and many other things.  Apparently, paradise has it’s drawbacks.  After Terminex, a cleaning company, and several nights in a hotel, they are safely back in their home…sans creepy critters.

The 9-hour drive back to Texas was uneventful, and I came to realize that long periods of time spent alone can be beneficial.  (Grace was virtually invisible and stayed quiet with her movies and books).   In addition to counting all the dead animals on the side of the road…109 to be exact…, I had time to ponder and think on things.  Some of eternal significance, some petty.  One of things I thought about was the direction I want to go with this blog.  In addition to being a written scrapbook of sorts for my family, I’d like to do another book study or series of some kind…something about family, home, and/or parenting.  I’m still trying to decide what to pick!  Suggestions are welcome!

It took me several days to unpack and get back in the swing of things.  I’m taking a Wilton cake decorating course right now which requires a lot of homework.  Ironically, I’ve also gotten a sudden influx of cake requests.  As we speak, I’ve got a cake the oven for a church anniversary party on Sunday.  It’s the biggest order I’ve gotten…a sheet cake to feed 100 people!  Next week I’m making a fancy baby shower cake and a 3-tier fondant cake!  It’s a lot of work, and I’m not sure yet if this cake decorating endeavor will be worth the money, but it sure is fun!  I’ll post pics as I finish.

Grace is under the weather.  She woke up today with a nasty cough, fever, and vomiting.  She also literally fell on her face yesterday while pretending to be a kitty cat and injured her front tooth.  There was so much blood that the boy I babysit turned white and ran in the next room!  After I got her cleaned up,  Barbie and the Three Musketeers took her mind off the trauma while I called the dentist.  Basically there’s nothing to do.  Since the tooth is now pretty loose, it will probably fall out soon.  She’ll get an x-ray in a couple of weeks at her next check-up to make sure there’s no damage to the permanent tooth underneath.  I’m really looking forward to the sideways glances in the McDonald’s playground, “Don’t you take care of your kid’s teeth?”  Ahh, parenthood.

This morning, despite the coughing, fever, vomiting, sore tooth, and swollen lips, she was the most dramatic about a hangnail.  A hangnail.  After she threw up for the third time in an hour, I asked her how she was feeling, and she said, “My finger still hurts, mama.”  Bless. Her. Heart.

Christmas Break

Hello blog world!  I’ve missed everyone.  The last couple of weeks have been filled with family, traveling, and spotty internet connections. 

Over the last two weeks, we have:

• driven 2435.7 miles across eight states
• celebrated Grace’s actual 5th birthday
• visited Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, TN
• spent Christmas with Todd’s mom and other relatives on his family farm in Bedford, VA
• rung in the New Year with my grandmother in Gadsden, AL
• celebrated my 35th birthday (gulp!)

We had a good trip, but I’ll admit there’s nothing like using your own shower and tumbling into your own bed when you get home after traveling.

I’m happy to report that Grace has reached “professional traveler” status…she was happy 99% of the time.  She watched Barbie in A Christmas Carol about 47 times, read books, played her Leapster, sang “Mary and Joseph” about 2549 times in every possible vocal range and key, and entertained us with stories. 

We are so thankful for God’s protection on the road during all our driving!  And our awesome 1996 Isuzu Oasis minivan is truckin’ along quite comfortably at 229,000 miles!  Gotta love it.

For my Christmas/birthday present, my sweet husband bought me an iPhone!  It is SO INCREDIBLE.  I am so comforted to know that I’LL NEVER BE LOST AGAIN.  And who knew there were so many opportunities in the day to catch a quick game of Bejeweled Blitz?  And imagine my delight when I discovered I can check the weather, pay a bill, or update my Facebook status in a matter of seconds?  Thank you, honey!

I wish I had some good pictures to post from our trip, but I haven’t figured out yet how to transfer pictures from my iPhone to my computer.  I’m still looking for the iPhone for Dummies book.

Life is slowing back down a little now, so I’m looking forward to getting back into a routine with housekeeping, babysitting, church, blogging, diet, exercise, etc.  My plan is to start The Shred again tomorrow (ouch).  My jeans got a little tighter during our trip, and I need to get back on track with my health goals.  Can I get an “amen?”

If I can lift my fingers enough to type tomorrow after Jillian Michaels kicks my you-know-what, I’ll share a few things about our vacation…which thankfully didn’t involve any roadside assistance or questionable hotel rooms this time.

Maybe someday I’ll look back and laugh. Or at least chuckle.

I have an idea for a future way that government officials can get captured terrorists to talk:  feed them truck stop BBQ, make them drink a 42 oz. Diet Coke, then park them on a backwoods interstate highway with a bored preschooler that “needs to go poopie” for four hours.  They’ll talk.

But since this is the Thanksgiving holiday, I’ll begin with what I am thankful for. 

1. Nobody was hurt.  When our tire blew out, Todd handled the car beautifully and got us to the side of the road safely.
2. There are good Samaritans in the world.  Several people stopped and offered to help.
3. One of our cell phones was fully charged.
4. We had a full tank of gas and could keep the car running to stay warm.  (And keep the DVD player going for Grace.)
5. Our insurance company, GEICO, is great.
6. Despite the “no bathroom” issue, Grace was good and looked upon this whole circumstance as one big adventure.  High maintenance, but sweet.

I began yesterday morning by getting the car serviced in preparation for our trip.  Everything looked fine and the car technician, who knows our car pretty well from periodic oil changes, expressed again his amazement at how well our 14-year-old, 225,000 mile van has held up over the years.  Pride goeth before the fall, folks.

Around Longview, we started feeling a slight rumble when we hit higher speeds.  We pulled over (to a truck stop BBQ joint) and inspected the car.  Things looked fine, so we thought maybe it was the bumpy road and our imagination.  After our meal, we got back on the road.  The noise got worse and the car got shakier as we drove through Shreveport.  Right after we got on I-49, there was a tremendous noise that was obviously a blowout.  Todd carefully maneuvered the car to the side.  (Thanks, hon!)

Upon inspection, the tire was completely shattered.  Beyond repair.  We dug out the spare tire and car jack from the trunk and Todd went to work.  I went back in the car and dealt with the endless exclamations of how Grace needed to go poopie. 

It took Todd well over an hour to change the tire due to a terrible jack and a spare tire that hadn’t seen the light of day since 1996, which ended up being completely flat and undriveable.  Also, the mud flap was hanging by thread and part of the back section of our car was coming off.

It was about this time that I was really regretting my decision to never be a Girl Scout.  Do they teach you how to go to the bathroom in the woods?

Todd got on the phone and called our insurance company.  Since we were in the middle of nowhere, they had a hard time finding a tow company that would be willing to come get us.  They would call us back.

And now we wait.  Todd met several good folks who stopped and asked to help.  Unless they had a Port-A-Potty hidden in their trunk, there wasn’t much they could do.

After a while, a friendly state trooper stopped and offered assistance.  He suggested some good tow companies, but we were still waiting to hear from GEICO.  They called back while we were talking and said they had found someone in Bossier City who would be there in an hour. 

Since it was a slow night, the trooper kept us company.  He and Todd talked shop while I changed the movie in the DVD player and started our M&M extravaganza to try and keep Grace’s mind off the lack of facilities.

After waiting forever, we got a call from an over-friendly GEICO agent that the tow truck broke down.  That’s right, folks.  We were back to square one.  Enter more M&M’s and another new DVD movie.  And contemplations of how to teach a 4-yr-old girl to squat in the woods when you don’t even know how to do it.

After a while, GEICO called back to say a tow truck had been located in Mansfield, LA, and would be there within another hour.  While sitting in the car, the following conversation took place:

Grace:  “Mommy, I want to tell you a secret.”

Me:  “What is it?”

Grace:  (leaning into my ear) “Did you know we are stuck in the grass?”

Me:  (chuckling) “Yes, we’re stuck in the grass because the tire broke.”

Grace:  (glancing sideways at Todd and pointing) “Yeah, it’s because Daddy wasn’t driving straight.”

After Todd and I erupted in laughter, we explained that we weren’t stuck because of daddy’s driving skills, but because of the tire.  But in her mind, the car broke because daddy started swerving wildly (when the tire blew).  I love kids’ perceptions of things.

Eventually the tow truck guy, Nash, arrived on the scene and was greeted by much overjoyed whooping and hollering (on Grace’s part).  I attribute her reaction to a sugar rush caused by approximately 637 M&M’s.

I got Grace situated in the back seat of the tow truck while Todd and Nash loaded up the van.  We soon got on the road.  Nash was very hospitable and offered us a wide assortment of Honey Buns and Little Debbie snacks, which we declined due to the aforementioned sugar rush.  We drove 40 miles to Natchitoches, listening to Nash describe his restored 1969 Chevelle like a proud new parent.  Todd pretended to be interested while I pretended to be asleep.

We arrived at the Econo Lodge Inn & Suites with visions of a toilet in our future.  Todd quickly unloaded all our stuff from the van while I got us checked in.  Grace and I headed to the room while Todd went with Nash to drop off the van at the repair place.  My sweet parents arranged for a friend to come pick up Todd from the hotel this morning and transport him to the repair shop when it opened. 

The girl at the front desk laughed when Todd inquired about shuttle service or a cab.  I guess she felt sorry for us because she upgraded us to a suite, complete with a mirrored bed with a broken vibrating feature.  I can only assume it was the honeymoon suite. 

Todd left early this morning to deal with the van, and Grace and I are getting ready to explore our food options at the hotel’s continental breakfast.  Lord willing, we’ll be on the road again soon.  Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Preschooler Quotes of the Day – Halloween Edition

“Mommy, can it be Halloween tomorrow, too, PLEASE??!”

“How about we eat candy for breakfast tomorrow, OK?”

“Where’s my pixie dust?  Did daddy take it AGAIN?”

[Pointing to the edge of the driveway at our neighbor’s house while Trick-or-Treating] “Mommy, Daddy, you can stay right here.  Don’t worry about me a bit.  I’ll be just fine.  I know how to knock on the door and say ‘Trick or Treat’ and ‘Thank You’ all by myself!”

Nightime prayer:  “Dear God, thank you for Tinkerbell and trick-or-treating and Jesus.  I saw lots of monsters but I wasn’t scared.  I don’t have to be afraid.  Please help nobody to be scared at Halloween.  Amen.  Oh, and please don’t let my daddy go back to work.  I want to play with him all day long.  Amen.”

***OUR LITTLE GIRL IS GROWING UP AND THERE’S NOTHING WE CAN DO TO STOP IT!!!***

Preschooler Quote of the Day

I was in the kitchen cleaning up breakfast dishes when I heard Grace’s excited voice from the family room:

"Mommy!  Mommy!  There’s a BIG lizard under the couch!  He’s soooo cute!  Can we keep him, PLEASE???!”

I caught a glimpse of him an hour later (and he IS big), but as of now, he is still on the loose.

Preschooler Quote(s) of the Day

Heard from the backseat as we drove to church this evening:

“Hey Mommy, guess what?!? My arm is under [the seatbelt] and my finger isn’t in my nose!  Isn’t that great?!?”

Tonight’s bedtime prayer:

“Dear God,

I forgive mommy for giving me a spanking today.  Please help me to be a sweet girl tomorrow so I don’t have to forgive her again. In Jesus’s name, Amen.”

Priceless.

All We Needed Was Popcorn and Maybe A Bullet-Proof Vest

Grace was feeling better today, so we took her to hear my dad  preach at the Founder’s Conference, then out to lunch at Chili’s, then shopping.  I think that was about three places too many considering her level of discontent and fussiness.  Apparently, after being cooped up for a few days getting over strep throat, she decided to make up for all her lost energy. 

Our main shopping goal this afternoon was to find my mom a new pair of jeans.  I’ve decided that it is just as easy to search for a mythical unicorn.  On a whim, we decided to look in Dots.  With the help of an overly cheerful and helpful sales clerk, mom actually found her unicorn in the form of a very hip, mid-rise, dark-wash, classic-fit, boot-cut, extra-long, slight-stretch, flap-pocket, low-priced pair of jeans.

But it wasn’t as amazing as what we witnessed in the store. 

Mom was in the dressing room while Grace and I sat in a chair and waited.  A middle-aged female customer walked in the store and immediately started giving our very friendly sales clerk some attitude about availability, size, basically anything she could find to complain (loudly) about.  Our clerk kept her cool and remained professional. 

About that time mom came out of the dressing room and I enthusiastically approved her choice of jeans.  Our sales clerk used that opportunity to get away from PMS-lady and come see mom in her jeans.  That infuriated PMS-lady.  She angrily demanded that the clerk open a dressing room for her, after telling her that she was “rude” and “inconsiderate.”

While PMS-lady was in the dressing room, the sales clerk, clearly ruffled, came up to me and asked, “Do you think that I’m rude and inconsiderate?”  No, I replied.  You’ve been very kind and helpful.  I’m thinking:  Shhhh, she can hear you in the dressing room. 

The clerk got louder.  “I can’t believe she said that to me!  I’m a positive person!”  Shhhh, she can hear you in the dressing room.

“I’m always happy!  I was so nice to her even though she was rude to me!”  Shhhh, she can hear you in the dressing room.

PMS-lady busts out of the dressing room:  “YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT ME BEHIND MY BACK NOW???  I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT ME!  WHO THE @*&^ DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?  YOU ARE SO RUDE!  YOU SHOULD BE FIRED!”  Gets in the startled clerk’s face: “$&@*# YOU!” [Storms out of the store muttering curses.]

PMS-lady actually said a lot more than that, but mom and I couldn’t remember everything…we were in a state of shock.  Grace stared wide-eyed at the whole exchange, then provided a little comic relief after the woman left.

Grace:  [shaking head] “Mama, she wasn’t using sweet words.”

No, she wasn’t.

Fishing with Granddaddy and Mimi

Granddaddy took a break from his studying yesterday to take Grace and Mimi fishing in our neighborhood pond!  Here he is untangling her Barbie fishing rod line.  That’s a sign of a patient man.

She never quite got the hang of pushing the button and throwing the line at the same time, but Granddaddy helped her after baiting the hook with hot dogs.

I so wish I had pictures of her actually catching a fish, but the batteries always seem to go out at the most inconvenient times…  Here she is right before catching a little brim.  She’s yelling at the top of her lungs, “Come here little fishies!  I have hot dogs for you!”  A little brim immediately took the bait, Granddaddy helped her reel it in, and she FREAKED out.

That’s my girl!  My dad ended up catching a decent-sized bass.  But more importantly, he caught a few precious moments with his granddaughter who thinks he hung the moon.

Preschooler Quote of the Day

Tonight my mom put Grace to bed because I was gone for Girls’ Night Out (woo hoo!) with some friends from church.  Grace’s prayers at night are often quite entertaining…always different, usually sweet and funny.  Mom had a pen and paper ready tonight so she could write it down and tell me later.  Here it is:

“Dear God, thank you for everything we did for you today.  Thank you for saving Jesus.  Please save everybody because they’re SO SO SO bad when they’re mad.  But when they’re good, they’re happy!  Amen.”

McDonald’s Visit

After our doctor’s appointments today, I offered to take Grace out to lunch as a reward.  She wanted Chuck E. Cheese’s but it was SO CROWDED, so we changed our plan and went to McDonald’s.  I compromised by driving a little further to a different McDonald’s that has a particularly large indoor playground. 

We got our food and went to sit in the play area.  I was minding my own business and eating my snack wrap when all of a sudden a little boy PROJECTILE VOMITED on my leg.  Grace thought this was quite funny and decided to hop down from her chair, BAREFOOTED, and WALK THROUGH THE VOMIT to see my leg.  I can’t even begin to describe the smell.  Horrors.

I am cursed with a strong gag reflex.  (Nurse Ann…if you are reading this, I know you are laughing).  Working in an elementary school for all those years I believe made me worse.  I just don’t do well with vomit.  As I experienced the familiar feeling rising in my throat I started praying…God, please don’t let me throw up in front of all these people.  Please, have mercy.  Please.  Please. 

I am happy to report that God spared me the embarrassment of hurling in front of everyone, but I will never be able to eat another snack wrap.  Or perhaps even visit a McDonald’s for a while. 

Somehow I got us both cleaned up as best I could while swallowing my gag reflex over and over, then we came home and took a shower.  Grace seemed unaffected by the whole experience.  Actually, she was quite delighted.  Future nurse???  She didn’t get it from me, folks.

Raspberry Pickin’

Todd’s mom has beautiful raspberry bushes in her backyard, and this morning she took Grace outside to pick some for breakfast. 

 

Grace was beyond thrilled and had such a sweet sense of awe about the tasty little berries. 

She has officially declared raspberries “Like, my most favorite fruit, mama!” (Move over, apples.)

Preschooler Quote(s) of the Day

Grace kept me laughing today and I had to share a few funny quotes!

[Said while picking her nose]:  “My Mimi told me to NEVER put my finger in my nose because it’s gross!”

******************************************************************************

[We were at the crowded playground and she was hesitant about playing.]

Me:  “Why don’t you go climb up to the slide?”

Grace:  “Hmmm….well, actually, I thought about it….but there’s just too many kids!”

******************************************************************************

[Conversation in the car coming home from Wal-Mart]

Grace:  “I’m so silly, mama!”  *giggles*

Me:  “Why are you silly?”

Grace:  “Well, actually, Granddaddy called me a ‘wiggleworm’ because I didn’t sit still in Granddaddy’s church!  That means I’m silly!”

Sidenote:  I thought she did pretty well in Granddaddy’s church.  She managed to sit through all the worship services we attended on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Youth Camp (about 10 total).  Not bad considering she’s still attending the children’s care at our home church.  She mostly flipped through her Bible or fell asleep.  I think Granddaddy’s ‘wiggleworm’ comment was referring to a service at Youth Camp where Grace wanted to go sit with my parents instead of me.  Out of the corner of my eye I could see her moving around constantly despite their warnings to be still.  I gave her the “mom glare with eyebrow raise” a couple of times to no avail.  I ended up taking her out and disciplining her for disobeying her grandparents.

********************************************************************************

[Conversation while getting ready for naptime]

Me:  “Grace, it’s time to go to the bathroom before naptime.”

Grace:  “Oh, boy!  Can I use my potty?  PLEASE?”

Me:  “Um, yes.  Of course you can.”

Grace:  [Rushes upstairs, throws her arms around the potty and plants a big, wet kiss on the toilet seat]  “Potty, I love you SO MUCH!  You are so sweet!”

Me:  [Stares in stunned silence trying to figure out what the potty did to deserve such affection]

Preschooler Quote of the Day

Grace:  “Mama, I love granddaddy, don’t I?”

Me:  “Yes, we all love granddaddy.”

Grace:  “He’s so sweet.  He lives with Mimi, doesn’t he?”

Me:  “Yes, they are married and they live together, remember?  Right by granddaddy’s church.”

Grace:  “Well that’s perfect!  Because I want to go see both of them!”

Grace and I are leaving in the morning to visit my parents.  (Unfortunately, Todd has to work and go on a business trip.)  The long-awaited, much-anticipated, answering-fifty-questions-a-day-about-it trip is finally here!  And I’ve still got so much to do to get ready to leave including:

• wash clothes
• pack clothes
• pack books, movies, toys, exercise stuff
• pack food/snacks
• pack toiletries
• fully charge and pack the camera, cell phone, DVD player, and laptop
• pack stuff for the beach (floaties, towels, beach toys, etc.)
• load the car
• vacuum/sweep
• cook and freeze meat for Todd’s meals for while we’re gone
• pick up a prescription at the pharmacy
• make sure I leave everything clean (kitchen, bathrooms, etc.)
• clean out stuff Todd won’t eat in the fridge so I don’t come home to science experiments
• get a good night’s sleep before driving 9 hours tomorrow!

I’ve got a monthly check-up appointment first thing in the morning with my doctor, then we’ll be off!  Now I’d better get off the computer and get to packing.  Hopefully when I post tomorrow I’ll be showing pictures of Grace and me with my folks!

30-Day Shred – Day 17

Well, the first-born-over-achiever-OCD-legalistic side of me is disappointed that I didn’t do The Shred today.  I really wanted to make it all 30 days in a row.  But I chose to do other things today instead. 

Grace and I spent the first half of the day buying groceries at a couple of stores.  Then we came home and she took a nap while I unloaded groceries, swept, mopped, cleaned bathrooms, and re-organized my pantry.  Grace woke up and asked to go swimming in the backyard, so I set up her kiddie pool then spent about two hours outside doing heavy yard work:  mowing, weeding, lifting and emptying grass bags, and edging. 

Todd came home from work and we decided to go out as a family to a local Italian restaurant that has live music on the weekends.  Grace and I got cleaned up, then we literally spent the evening twirling on the dance floor while our singing waiter crooned “Fly Me To The Moon.”  When Todd and I got tired of dancing with her, Grace asked to go out alone…she bravely entertained the other diners by performing her Barbie ballerina moves to “Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man Of Mine” and “Ain’t No Sunshine.”  After the singing waiters took a break, the pianist kept going, so Grace kept dancing.  And dancing.  And dancing.  It really was precious and I was kicking myself for not bringing the camera.

We got home around 9:00, and after we put Grace to bed (her prayer included a request that God PLEASE let us go back to the dancing place), I just fell on the couch and decided that Jillian would have to wait until tomorrow!

Gender-Confused?

I always seem to meet the strangest people when I am out and about at various stores.  Today was no exception.  Grace and I were at Albertsons grocery store picking up a couple of things and I stopped to look at a clearance rack full of children’s books. 

Another customer that I would judge to be in her 40’s walked up to Grace, bent down, and said, “Oh, what a precious little boy!  Is he your only son?”

*It should be noted that Grace was wearing a pink shirt, khaki shorts with pink flowers, pink sandals, and a long ponytail with a BIG bow in her hair.

Noticing Grace’s confusion, I said, “Thank you.  Yes, she is my only daughter.  She’s a girl.”

The woman looked again carefully at Grace, shrugged her shoulders, and said “Huh!…”  [Tone of voice indicated that she didn’t believe me].

We continued to look around at the different books and the woman stayed uncomfortably close by.  Then she pulled a Spiderman book off the shelf and gave it to me.  “Do you think she would like this?”

“Um, no.  She’s not really into Spiderman.”

I went back to perusing while the woman took another book off the shelf and tried to hand it to me.  “Does she like fire trucks?”

“Um, I think I’m just going to buy what I have here.”  [I was holding a book about animals].

Woman says, “Huh!…”

At this point I decided just to go check out, so we headed to get in line.  As we were walking away, Grace started laughing and said, “Mama, that lady thought I was a BOY!  That’s so silly!  Boys don’t have ponytails!”

I love the logic of a 4-year-old.

30-Day Shred – Day Four

*I forgot to hit the “publish” button yesterday after I wrote my post.  Today is actually Day Five…which I’ll do after I take a luxurious nap!

Today was the first day that I really felt that my endurance was increasing.  I’ll admit that I didn’t do the advanced moves like Jillian’s BFF, but green-sports-bra girl and I were right together.  Most of my soreness has disappeared, and I even found myself lunging and squatting a little deeper today. 

Grace watched me do my routine for the first time, and she was enthralled.  After I finished, she begged me to start the video over so she could do exercise on my mat.  It was so cute to see her imitating me and Jillian.  Here she is doing some crunches:

She totally made it through the 20 minute workout doing the best she could on all the moves.  I am so tempted to get her a little yoga mat and set of 1-lb. weights.  She would love it! 

After the workout was over, she asked me to start it a third time so Lambie could exercise, too.  She was copying everything that Jillian was saying…”Jumping Jacks, let’s go!…get those hands up high!…there are no modified moves here!”  Hilarious.