I am So Glad We are Rushed

A few weeks ago, my husband and I got into one of those silent, but so mad, but not talking about it, but so frustrating, but can't let the other one know you are so mad that you could scream and tear all of your hair out...discussions.

I had noticed that he was constantly in a bad mood on Sunday. He wasn't grumpy or yelling or mean. He was just not very happy and stayed quiet most of the day. When I asked him what was wrong, he pulled "the girl card" and said "nothing". I swear he uses that card more than I do. Maybe it is because I am so unbelievably tired and stressed that I don't have time for games and if I am mad about something, by goodness you are going to know it!


Anyway, I finally got it out of him and then quickly wished I had not. He said that he was in a bad mood every Sunday, because he did not like going to Sunday School (pause before you think badly of him and wait for the rest of it). Then he left and went to a football meeting. And needless to say I fumed and obsessed over his statement all day long.

 When he got back and after we put the kids to bed, I asked him Why? I mean in my head I was thinking that if he didn't want to go to church then that was it...it was a deal breaker....and why had it taken almost 12 years of marriage for my to see this side of him?
Alas, my crazy, obsessive, "snake's in the head" mind had made it totally into something that it wasn't. The truth was...he didn't like going to Sunday School not because he didn't like Sunday School and by extension (in my crazy head) God, but because of how rushed we were. It stressed him out, made him feel out of control. We got up at 7:30 ate breakfast, got three kids and ourselves ready, made it to Sunday School usually late, went to church and battle kids to sit still and behave, gathered everyone up to get in the car, went to Wal-Mart (only day there is time), rushed home to prepare and eat lunch, clean up and started the endless laundrey, and then he left at 1:30 for his weekly football coaches meeting. 

Okay....I can see where he is coming from. Just typing that made me tired and feel like my chest was closing in on me. I completely empathized with him. I totally get it! I do....But then I stopped and thought about why we are so rushed.

We are rushed because we have been blessed with 3 beautiful daughters.
We are rushed because those 3 beautiful children are completely healthy and active.
We are rushed because those 3 beautiful children are 3 beautiful dancers who are good enough to be on the competition team.
We are rushed because we have good jobs.
We are rushed because we have good jobs that pay good money that allow us the ability to take weekly trips to Wal-Mart to fill our pantry.
We are rushed because we are lucky enough to live in the great country of the United States of America where we are free to worship our Great God.

Yes we are rushed, but I am So Glad We are Rushed. We are truly blessed beyond measure!

The Love Dare

We watched Fireproof for the first time last night. It was so powerful on many levels. While watching it I realized many things:
1. I am not the kind of Christian I should be.
2. I am not the kind of wife I should be.
3. We are not the kind of family I want to be.

As I watched God worked in my heart. He showed me how satisfied you can become if you drink from Him and fill yourself up with him.

I was saved long ago, and I have recommitted my life ....long ago. But it has been a while since I have given everything to the Lord and learned from Him and through Him. I don't study his word like I should. We don't attend church like we should. We are not being the kind of parents, mates, or family we should.

So I recommitted my life last night. I don't want to feel lonely when I am surrounded by tons of people again. I am going to drink of Him freely and change my marriage, my children, my family...my life.

1. I am starting my strengthening myself every day by reading my Bible in the morning and doing a Bible study at night.
2. I am going to do The Love Dare. We need something. It is not that we have a bad marriage or that we are on the verge of divorce. It is just that I want more than what we have, and I know that we can be AMAZING. It is a 40 Day Dare. Here is the first 8:

You can find the rest here.

3. Finally, we need to be the kind of family we should be. We are working on this in several ways. We are working on memorizing a Bible verse a week.

John 12:35-36

New International Version (NIV)

³⁵ Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. ³⁶ Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.”

I am going to help my children learn to walk in the light. By immersing them in the Word. We are ABC bible verses.  

We are also learning to pray with


Finally, I vow to join a church by the end of September, we have been in our new town long enough that is no longer new and it is time that we joined a church! We will be members some where by the end of September. Now the question is where??????????

See other ways I plan on Living a Better Life by following my Pinterest board.

I Totally Get It

For the last seventeen days, my husband has dropped off of the planet. (See my previous post on Man-i-tis) I have 3 busy girls who I am running to dance and gymnastics and every where else under the sun. On top of all of that, we are trying to sell our house. Why? Heck, if I know! We are just seeing what will happen.

Well, you know what is happening....we are about to sell it! We have a couple who is very interested. They have seen it once and have informed us that after they come for the second viewing today, they will be making an offer! Oh My Goodness! Not quite sure if we are ready for this....

But that is neither here nor there. The point is that they are coming to see the house today, and yesterday I realized that our yard looked more like a field of overgrown weeds than the well sculptured oasis that sells houses. With my husband down and out, there was only one thing to do....I had to mow the grass.

Now I realize that some of you are saying, "What's the big deal?" Well if you knew my Bella Swan Clumsy self, you would understand. I have had 11 wrecks in my life. I injure a new part of my body everyday sometimes more than once a day, and I frequently mess things up due to my lack of patience and my need to do things the quickest way possible (which is not always the most correct way).

So I grab a water bottle, a hat, sunglasses, and my iPod and head out to the shop to crank up the lawnmower. Ten minutes later and I am still sitting there. My husband has to drag his sick tail out there and help me jump the piece of @#$* lawnmower off because it won't crank for like the 20th time in a 6 month period.

Finally, we get it going and I take off on my mowing adventure. Adventure should not be the word I should use to describe this task: peaceful would be much better to describe it. First of all, I have my favorite tunes blasting and am able to sing at the top of my lungs. Secondly, I get to ride around on this cool little toy (who doesn't love this!). Finally, it is difficult for wee munchkins to bother you on the lawnmower. In fact, for 2 hours no one bothered me!

2 solid hours of nothing but time to myself? I totally get it now! I totally get why men like to mow the grass. I like it too! In fact, I love it. Watch out, Brian! You might just have lost you job!!

Best Football Movies Ever

Today, I accused my husband of not loving me...

Have no fear! This is my dramatic way of saying, "You need to pay me more attention."(I know you are all shocked to find out that I am in fact a self proclaimed DRAMA QUEEN!) Does that mean he hasn't been giving me the proper amount of attention? To the contrary...he has been doing

overtime duty as a father and a husband. Busting his tail, doing double duty as a parent seeing as I can't pick up or bathe our little one yet, getting the girls ready by himself in the morning,taking them to daycare, school, dance, and gymnastics, preparing meals, laundry, laundry and more laundry.

Luckily he understands my strange, sometimes crazy Drama Queen language, because what I meant to say is, it is time for some US time. However seeing as THAT to is out of the question for about 4 more weeks,I thought we could try some good old conversation for a little while. Conversation that does not involve diapers or baby food or grades or ...anything having to do with the girls.

Anyway, as we were scanning through the channels and stumbled upon Remember the Titans, which I then proclaimed as the best football movie EVER (said as if being proclaimed over a loud speaker in a stadium as it reverberates off the walls). Brian disagreed saying there were others that were better. Hmmmm...I sense a conversation coming on. And what is more perfect than the two things we both love the most: him-football and me-movies.

So without further ado, here is are our top football movies (the order is still up for debate):


Remember the Titans
Rudy
The Blind Side
Varsity Blues
Friday Night Lights
Any Given Sunday
We are Marshall

What would be on your list?

He Has Lost His Mind!

Last night I began the buying for Christmas. Now as someone who loves to shop, you would think this would be something I would enjoy. Alas, someone poisoned my happiness. This someone is the person who is always thinking about the funds. The someone who has created an Excel workbook including every small aspect of our family's financial life. The same someone who held off on proposing to me for 2 years (driving me to the point of insanity with guessing when he was going to pop the question) so that we could be "financially stable"!

Don't get me wrong! I appreciate him more than anyone, including himself, could ever know. Lord knows where we would be if I and my ADD self was in charge of our finances. I am quite sure our electricity would be frequently turned off and I would probably not be sitting here blogging because our Internet service bill would not have been paid. That being said, he is such a dadgum buzz killer when it comes to shopping!

I am pretty much in charge of the Christmas shopping. And when I say pretty much, I mean that I do it all with very little input from him. Yet, inevitably, he will have complaints about the amount of money that has been spent on Christmas. Of course, these complaints always seem to come after everything is wrapped and under the tree. And some have even come at the exact point that we are acting like little elves and helping "Uncle Bob" put out his gifts. At this point, we are tired, cranky, thinking about the long day ahead which will no doubt start extremely early, and trying our hardest to be quiet, and all his questioning does is cause me to slip into crazy psycho mode!

So in an effort to avoid the aforementioned drama, I decided to include him ahead of time. I mean its not fair that I am put in charge of making all of these decisions only to be scrutinized in the end like a tiny bug on the sidewalk being burned with the sun through a magnifying glass. He should have to be apart of these decisions, too!

Well...it did not go well. Everything I added to the list caused his jaw to start clinching and his breathing to speed up. Look its not my fault that our 7 year old is the only one we know without a Nintendo DSi and she asked for one. Its not my fault that the stupid things are $159 or that its cheaper to buy a bundle deal including the console, case, and 3 games for $189. Its not my fault that Santa (Uncle Bob) would never just bring her one thing.

I mean I did tell the girls about the e-mail I received from Santa asking if we would be willing to ask for only 3 gifts because due to the population explosion he was having difficulty getting gifts to all of the children in the world. Heck, 3 gifts was good enough for Jesus and that is all my children need,too. They were good with that. As long as one of those gifts is a Nintendo DSi.

So what is his solution to counteract the ridiculous amount of money we are having to spend on just one of our 3 children? We spend no money on the baby. Absolutely none! We go upstairs into the attic and pull clothes out of the 9 month box and wrap them up, and then find other toys that our children have forgotten about and put them out. That or go to the dollar section at Target, which I am quite sure does not contain items suitable for a 6 month old.

I swear he has lost his mind, and he is causing me to lose mine. Most wonderful time of the year....hmph... we'll see!

"Cruisin' is Made for Love"

Last March, my hubby and I celebrated our ten year anniversary. We were planning on going somewhere to celebrate. Alas, someone, namely me, was quite large and pregnant. So needless to say, the only place we went was to home in Cairo, Georgia. Not quite the romantic getaway we had been dreaming about. Although, I would not have changed it for the world.

So since the arrival of Lady A, aka Alden, in May we have been looking to go somewhere. If only for just a few days, so we can sleep completely through the night and catch up on our zzzzzz's. Every time Groupon sends out their getaway e-mails, we comb through the deals trying to decide which deal will get us the most bang for our buck.

We were looking at all inclusive places in a tropical location. The thought of going to a place where everything is paid for is extremely appealing. However, neither one of us drink a whole lot, so we were unsure if we would really get our money's worth. Plus, then you have to add the cost of plane tickets. And lets not forget, the whole thought of flying, which is petrifying for both of us.

After much thought, we starting looking at cruises. I don't even really remember how it came about. I have never been on a cruise and the last time Brian went was on his senior cruise in high school. It is something we have been talking about even before we had children but have just never done.

So last weekend, we perused every cruise deal available. We decided the week before Christmas was best because of babysitters and school and, most importantly, cost. It is one of the cheapest time to cruise. We were extremely overwhelmed with all of our choices: boats, cruise lines, destinations, activities, amenities, ports, cost...it was a lot!

We settled on a Royal Caribbean cruise going to Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico. I am super excited!! I have wanted to go to Grand Cayman ever since first watching The Firm (isn't it funny how movies can do that to you!). I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. Every time I think about it I get butterflies in my stomach.

We have not been anywhere by ourselves since out honeymoon. We need this! We deserve this!

After all in the words of Smokey Robinson:
Your gonna fly away, glad your going my way
I love it when we're cruisin' together
The music is playing for love
Cruisin' is made for love
I love it when we're cruisin' together!

The Gnat Ninja

The Gnat Ninja

It all started last week on Wednesday. I was getting ready for school when I notice a small reddish brown fly flying around and lighting on the mirror. I just waved it off literally and metaphorically thinking the whole time, "Shoo fly don't bother me!"


In retrospect, I should have shooed him to his death by using my hand to silence his short life. For the next day where there was once one there were now three. And by the weekend, there were a multitude of these pesky, tiny, six legged demons! Maybe that is why they appear red. See its demon eyes!


By Sunday our kitchen and bathrooms were swarming with them. I just waved them off and the girls ran away. My normally laid back husband, however, took on a new persona. He made every effort to kill them. Now this is not an easy feat. You see they don't land for very long and they are quite small (we are talking millimeters here). So spraying was really not possible unless you want to cover your whole house and everything in it with nasty, smelly, and, I hear, poisonous :) bug spray. 


So my dear, normally sweet, husband took on a new approach. He became...The Gnat Ninja!!!

He might not leap buildings in a single bound (difficult with 2 bum knees). He might not be faster than a speeding bullet (also difficult in old age). He is definitely not stronger than a locomotive (although he can lift his 8 month pregnant wife off the floor). But one thing he can do his trap a fly and bring it to meet its Maker. In this case, I am referring to its Syrupmaker since we are from Cairo, Ga "Home of the Syrupmakers".

Their numbers are beginning to dwindle. I have done some research and am scrubbing everything. We are  pouring bleach down the drains where they appear to lay their larvae. We are also quick to enter and exit in order to try to avoid allowing more of the troops to invade our house. Have no fear our children are fine even after being thrown out the door and down the steps ;) 

However, most of the credit for the elimination of our household's fly/gnat species must be given to my husband-The Gnat Ninja!! Hopefully now, with his help, our household will live long and prosper while these annoying pests rest in peace...or at least some where other than in our kitchen!!

Top 10 Reasons Why I Miss My Husband When He's Gone

Top 10 Reasons Why I Miss My Husband When He's Gone

My hubby and I are rarely away from each other. We just don't go places without the other. He is my best friend and I don't like to be without him. However, there comes a time when we must depart from one another....could be my yearly Bunko trip:)', a coach's clinic, a meeting, a golf tournament, or, like this weekend, a sick parent (I can't believe we are at that point in our lives already). So while he was gone I started thinking about all the ways in which I miss him. Let me count the ways (or count down the ways).


10. Well, who wouldn't miss looking at this face. And the neck down ain't too bad either;) 

Before you think it is just me, I recently sent him to go pick up my oldest from dance (never again) and it was reported to me by several outside sources that you would have thought the Beatles had walked into the dance studio. He was instantly flocked by teeny boppers and as he walked out several sprained necks ensued. 


9. There was no one to go play outside with the girls. Since, I have been pregnant, shockingly, I have become extremely lazy. He is so good about taking them out to play, jumping on the trampoline with them, playing soccer, and in-acting the child laboring.


8. Discipline...did I mention I had become lazy. Not so lazy that I allow my children run rampant causing destruction and disruption to everyone and everything, but my discipline tactics normally take place from the couch, now. 


7. There is no one to look at and laugh when someone says or does something silly or just too cute!


6. I had to get the girls dressed all by myself. I know some of you are saying, "Hey, I do that all the time." Well, so sorry for you. I don't. We are very much like a team (see previous blog.)


5. Damned if I didn't have to bend my big fat belly over that tub to bathe these two munchkins. This feat is becoming more and more difficult and he has started taking over. 


4. The bed time fight it now two against one instead of an even fight. We usually rotate the walking of the little people back to their bedroom, yelling from the couch to go to sleep, getting up and finding items like blankies, doggies, and babies. I ran myself ragged.


3. Laundry- I am sorry for the jealousy that some of you are about to feel, but he does ALL, yes I did say ALL, of the laundry. It was a deal we made when I started back to school for my specialist degree. It is the most wonderful thing ever. Although seeing as school hasn't started back yet this semester, I should probably get up off the couch, stop blogging, and help. 


2. When it comes to weekend mornings, my husband turns from a superhero (reasons described above) to an angel. I have not had to get up with the girls in the morning since I stopped breast feeding my three year old at 8 weeks after birth. He turns on the fan to block noise, shuts the door, and keeps the girls quiet so that I can sleep. Could be that he knows how tired I am and is just being nice, or it could be that he realizes that I am ten times better of a mood when I get to sleep. Oh yeah, I also have a hard time sleeping without him, which makes me even grumpier because I haven't slept and then munchkins wake me up at 6 o'clock in the a.m.


1. I love him. I mean it is as simple as that. I could describe another reason for missing him, but he has forbidden me from discussing this subject any more in my blog (maybe he thinks it makes you all even more jealous;)' But the truth of the matter is that the Top 10 Reasons Why I Miss My Husband When He Is Gone is because, even though there are points in times when I can't stand to be around him;),  I love him and he is my other half and I feel totally lost without him.

Marriage is a Team Sport

Marriage is a Team Sport

After a recent disagreement which resulted in limited and only necessary talking for a 24 hour period, my husband and I had one of those monumental, relationship changing discussion that resulted from my intense frustration over the inability to get through his male genes which seem to prohibit them (the male species) from comprehending anything that we (the females and without a doubt higher species) are saying. When I had finally had enough of the tension, I started a discussion that pretty much got us no where. We each stayed on our own side and refused to see where the other person was coming from. In other words, in our eyes the situation called for a winner and , therefore, a loser.


 Really??? Should there be a loser in a marriage? Are we really supposed to be keeping score? Are injuries or season lows supposed to side line the whole thing? Or worse send it into retirement? (Not Brett Favre's kind of retirement, but the permanent kind---the Big D.)


After all marriage is a lot like a football team. There are many different aspects of a team. Some of the positions get more recognition than others. Some team members get more playing time than others. Some coaches get to call the plays while others have to make sure the plays are executed correctly. And, yes, some times the team falls short of their goal.


But a team is a team because they work together. The reciever isn't mad when the running back scores the touchdown. The offensive lineman throws himself in front of a defensive lineman to protect the quarterback. The defensive back must save a touchdown from being scored by the other team. They must each do their part. And the team would never stay together if each person was constantly telling the other what they were doing wrong, keeping score on who did what job last, or if they did not support, encourage, and have a common goal.


The same is true of a marriage. There are those who cook, do laundry, work in the yard, mow the grass, bathe children... And most of the times these jobs are shared or split up according to preferences. There are also different stars or people doing certain things (changing diapers, folding clothes, feeding munchkins) in a marriage. But to make a marriage work, one can not keep score of who is doing what and when and why. Both must do their part, be there for their teammate and team, and trust their teammate to be there for them.


Yes, every football team has lows in its season. Just like every marriage has times where one or both people think of quitting, but if you can pull together, both making sure you have the same goal (a loving and successful marriage/family) it can work. It can be healed. It can be awesome. You just have to be ready, because at any point in time you can get knocked down by a linebacker, lose a game, or even have a losing season. Then adjustments must be made and every team member must be willing to do so, which is the point that I was trying to make to my teammate during that extremely long car ride.


So strap on your shoulder pads and jock straps and get ready for a wonderful, awful, amazing, frustrating, and loving roller coaster of a ride.That, in retrospect, is totally worth it. Just never forget, "Marriage is a Team (usually full contact) Sport".