Is it FROZEN FOOD MONTH yet?

I just prepared my daughter's breakfast. Chocolate milk and a frozen waffle. Let me rephrase that: chocolate milk and a waffle right out of the freezer STILL frozen. I am taking a moment to think of her other favorites and am realizing that this child has a real affinity for cold foods. She doesn't just like for her cooked food to cool off. What the child loves is frozen foods right out of the freezer! We discovered this quirk when she was about three and just mastered opening the freezer door to get her own popsicles (a monkey on her back, let me tell ya). She asked sweetly if she could have one, and when I said yes, headed for her beloved Frigidaire. A few moments later I found her sitting on the kitchen floor licking a frozen ravioli. I watched, and as the ravioli thawed a little, she bit right into it and savored every morsel. Amazing. And gross.

In fact, we had a frozen ravioli dinner last night which was preceded by a cold pizza lunch. I know it looks like I'm in dire need of nutritional and/or parenting classes, but I did serve a fruit and vegetable with these entrees. Tonight's special is organic spinach ravioli a la ice crystals with a side of garden fresh cucumber slices. Our dessert du jour is french vanilla yogurt with fresh raspberries and frozen (of course) chocolate chips. Seriously. I wouldn't go back to this restaurant.

Last night, I made the terrible mistake of COOKING THE LAST FEW RAVIOLI which brought about the horrific "WHY?". "WHY?" for those for those who don't live with four year olds is not, in fact, a quick three-letter word denoting a question. "WHY?" is actually a nineteen syallable, ear-splitting sound which begins in the child's nose and ends in the mother's spine. If you think nails on a chalkboard are bad, then you've never been "WAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIed." At least I was able to serve an icy breakfast. I just can't take the "WHY?" before noon.

Baby Talk

Yet another moment of sweetness from my darling daughter...

As she was jamming on my 80s playlist, I overheard the following:

- "Love sticks. Yeah. Yeah." (aka "Love Stinks" by the J. Geils Band)

- "the deep police are a coming for me." (aka "Dream Police" by Cheap Trick)

Ode To My Fellow Multitaskers...(or Are We Really Uber-Efficient or Plagued with ADD?)

I shall start by acknowledging that "Pride is Folly." Yep, I know it to be true today. I generally pride myself on my ability to do multiple tasks simultaneously. I consider myself to be quite efficient this way, and, frankly, I secretly suspect that single-taskers aren't quite as smart as I am. There, I said it. Don't be angry my beloved family of single-taskers. I reluctantly admire your dogged focus to "see it through" whatever "it" might be.

Today, my to-do list resembles the Dead Sea Scrolls which, unfurled, drag the floor. As I scurry from task to task, I come to the hall bathroom which I have just cleaned and mopped. Only a few minor tweaks to check this baby off the list: wipe counters, clean mirrors...hmmm...those soap dispensers look gross. I think I will toss them in a sink full of water and get them squeaky clean.
* Plug sink. Check.
* Add soap dispensers. Check.
* Fill with water. Check.
Dash to master bath to begin cleaning it. Scrub shower. Check. Wonder what that running water sound is. Check?

Oh. My. God. Water. Running. Bathroom. Sink.

I pause for a whole two seconds to utter a prayer as I head down the hallway toward a sink that only plugs properly about half the time, "Please Lord. Let the stopper not be working...." Enter hall bathroom and realize there is no point in finishing THIS prayer. Water, water everywhere.

I can't help but laugh and try to look for the bright side. Thank God I had already mopped so that, while wet, at least the floor isn't wet AND dirty. Thank God we live in a ranch home so I don't have to worry about falling through to the kitchen downstairs.

I start another load of laundry (towels this time!) and ponder my utter INefficiency today. Too funny really and I'm still laughing as I walk past another pile of towels intended for the laundry and head off to finish cleaning the master bathroom...

Is that the sound of water still running in the shower?

A Clothing Coup

You probably already know that my sweet girl is VERY opinionated when it comes to her clothing. She refuses to wear pants without pockets, long sleeves, turtlenecks, and anything with a "ruffle" (the little "gathers" on sleeves). Shopping with her is about as fun as a root canal, and she's only four!

Nonetheless, I had a wonderful experience buying school clothes this year. I took the latest Lands End catalog and removed every page except those which had clothing I liked. I explained that the clothes in this catalog were the ones she needed for her new big girl school. Then I gave Sophie the catalog and a pen telling her to circle the things she wanted. Easy peasy.

I figure I can keep this up until she can actually read!

Good for a Laugh!

I just LOVE this definition of "deface" from urbandictionary.com: To remove a 'friendship' from facebook due to having either accidentily [sic] adding him/her as a friend or actually adding them and reconsidering later.

"Yeah, there was this guy in my network who added me. I thought he looked ok, but his updates were really cramping my news feed, so I had to deface him."

"I went on a date with a girl I met a week before and like the day after our date she changed her status to 'in a relationship.' I defaced her."

Oops I did it again...

No, I didn't get a new tattoo, shave my head or attack the paparazzi with an umbrella a la Britney Spears. What I did do was to unintentionally offend and hurt someone I care for very much. A couple of weeks ago, I posted a link on my facebook profile to http://www.silencingchristians.com/. This is a one hour movie created by the American Family Association discussing the homosexual political agenda as outlined in the book After the Ball: How America Will Conquer its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the '90s by Marshall Cook & Hunter Madsen (purchasing info and reviews available HERE). I found the movie quite interesting from the perspective that any group could successfully create a real agenda to change the cultural and political tone. I personally have absolutely ZERO "fear" or "hatred" for gays despite accusations to the contrary. Comments to my video link ranged from being called a "bigot" by one of the most intolerant people I've ever known to genuine hurt illustrated by my lesbian sister. Another person to post a comment was a friend I've known since high school although we have not been close since then. In addition to her brief comment, she was committed enough to our friendship to send me a rather thoughtful and thought-provoking email sharing her own experiences as a homosexual woman and questioning my opinions about the video as well as my belief system. I have requested After the Ball from the local library and will postpone any commentary on the actual video until after I have done a bit of research. I would, however, like to address the questions specific to my values today.

• I am a Christian: I believe that God exists and that he does not change (Isaiah 43:11). I believe that the Bible is the word of God (2 Timothy 3:16). I believe that Jesus Christ is the only means to Heaven (John 14:6).


• I believe that each of us (EVERY SINGLE ONE) is a sinner based on Jesus' teaching regarding the Ten Commandments in Matthew 5. Please read the additional definitions and examples of sin found in Galatians 5:19-21 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.


• Fortunately for all of us sinners, Jesus offers us redemption through his miracle birth, death on the cross, and most importantly, His resurrection. Romans 3:23-24 (NIV) says, "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." As believers, we have merely to confess our sins to be forgiven (1 John 1:9).

Personally, I am guilty of more sin than I can begin to name here. But I have confessed my sins to God and am confident that I am forgiven of them. Do I still struggle? Of course. I am human and every man and woman struggles with his or her sinful nature. I pray constantly to stay in God's will. Am I successful? Ha! I trip and fall every single day (sometimes, every hour of the day!), but I do acknowledge my shortcomings and ask for forgiveness.

So to answer the million dollar question, yes, I believe where the Bible states that homosexuality is sin. Is it worse than my many sins? Hardly. Do I condemn my friends and family who are homosexual? I do not. I pray for them often, and pray for my own understanding and compassion to the issues that they face. And frankly, I hope they are praying for me and my sins as well.

Perhaps the most important issue raised by this video and associated commentary is whether it is possible to be conservative (as in - adherent to traditional, Biblical values) AND tolerant (as in - demonstrating the love of Christ without condoning sin)? I sure hope so. Is that how I live? Depending on who you ask, the answer may be a resounding "NO" these days. But it IS the model to which I aspire. I'm hopeful.

Answered Prayer

I've been praying for quite a while, and I'm confident that God always answers my prayers. Sometimes, I "get what I want." Other times, He says "No" or "Wait." These are not my preferred answers, but it happens as often as not.

Yesterday, we had spent the morning at the garden. Tomatoes were staked; weeds pulled, rows hoed, and seeds planted. As we were leaving, I told Sophie that we needed to pray for rain so "we would have good healthy vegetables to eat this summer." We said a quick prayer asking just for that when suddenly the rain started pouring down. Literally. I said "Amen," and Sophie said, "Oh, Mommy. Look!" It was just amazing!

I hope God answers your prayers today.

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Baby Talk

Yet another Sophism:

• "Hankersniff" - Hankerchief

Also, the child thinks that Jesus has a last name. When she prays, she calls Him "Jesus Price" rather than "Jesus Christ."

Baby Talk

A few "Sophisms"to make you smile:

• "Glitterbox" - Where the cat poops...as in "It stinks in here. Skittles must've just used the "glitterbox."
• "Dude" - A form of the verb "DO"...as in "Mama, I "dude" it by my own."
• "Chickalay" - The restaurant "Chic-Fil-A."
• "Bleed" - Noun form of an injury necessitating a band-aid...as in "I've got a "bleed."

My brain is mushy today since I've already forgotten to take my sweet mother-in-law for PT so I suppose that is all I'll be able to recall for now!