Little Man has a girlfriend

I knew this day would come.  I just didn't expect it so soon.  Little Man has a little woman.  

She's adorable, sweet, quiet and playful.  Her daddy works out where I work so when I'm working, she and Little Man get to play together.  Little Man loves to play with "Kay-Tin".  He always gives her a big hug when she shows up.  Today, they had this cute little game where one would "fall down" and the other would help him/her up.  Then, they would run around and hide from the other kids in the room.  

If she threw her ball and he was closer to it, he'd get it for her.

He shared - SHARED - the toys he was playing with, with her.   

I'm sure if he had the money, he'd take her for ice cream.  Maybe hold her hand.  Wipe off that bit of ice cream that got on her nose...

OK, so maybe I'm projecting a little, but still.  He's MY Little Man!

When her daddy came in to change her diaper, Little Man was all up in her business!  Rude little boy!  I was actually embarrassed that I had to go get him - twice - away from the changing table so she could have a little privacy.  

It's just too stinkin' cute.

after a good brushing and bath and this is what I get....

Today I did something that I've been putting off all summer long.  I brushed and washed our old Husky.  She's an old girl and the older she gets, the less tolerant of brushings and baths she gets, which is why I've been putting it off.

That and the amount of fur that comes out from her blowing her coat is enough to make another small to medium sized dog.

She does this twice a year.  She starts shedding her winter undercoat when warm weather arrives, then as cold weather comes, she starts shedding her lighter, summer coat.  It's insane.  Once, when we were in OK, Trey commented on the fact that it looked like a dog blew up in our yard (not that we would DO that, of course!).  You know - poof - then a cloud of fur.  I can see it in a cartoon or comic somewhere, only I think it was a chicken and feathers went flying everywhere.

Anyway, this worked out well happening today because I needed something to blog about.  Not that you care that I brush and wash my dog, but I took pictures of the mound of fur to prove to you I'm not making this up.  And it gives me something to write about.

This is the mound of fur that I combed out of her coat.  I didn't even really get around her neck or her tail because she was just too grumpy for all that.

This gives you an idea of just how big that pile of fur is.  Anyone need a pillow stuffed?

Now that she's clean....

... she gives me that "whatever, mom" look.  The one I'm sure I'll get from my kids in the not-to-distant future.

Conversations with women when men aren't around

I was able to go out with some other mommy friends last night without children.  How stress-free that was!  It was a local restaurant that doesn't have a liquor license so we were able to brown-bag wine.  Much cheaper that way!  Anyway, there were 6 of us and 5 each brought a bottle.  Needless to say, we didn't get to finish all the wine - I think one or two bottles weren't even opened yet.  

Conversations between women/moms are quite interesting.  Topics included our children, our husbands and our families, potty training and all the bad words our children learn from us.  Summer camps, house shopping and I think all of us at one time or another have hit a stationary object.  Sneaking out as teenagers, college pranks, whether or not alcohol was allowed in State Parks.  We talked about lots of things, both funny and serious.  We talk and talk with lots of detail and information.  It's part of how we share our friendships.  And if our yard ever gets "forked" with plastic forks, I'll know who did it.

We also talked about how different men are with their friends than women.  Not in a bad way or anything, just different.  Guys can go for years without seeing or talking to a friend, and when they do catch up, it's not really a long, drawn-out conversation with lots of details.  Gals need to catch up and talk about every little thing.  Guys don't need to do this.  Example:  One friend's husband was asked to be the best man in one of his friend's wedding.  She didn't even know he had this particular friend - at least that he was close enough to be the best man!  Another friend mentioned that a baby was born and her husband didn't know the details.  Personal example:  we get an email - an EMAIL - from a long time friend of Trey's that he's going to be a daddy.  

When I got home and talked about this conversation to Trey, he said "oh yeah, Shane and Jules had their baby last week (names are changed to protect the innocent)."  As a note to all you men out there reading the blog (all two of you, I'm sure), please know that pregnancies, wedding and births are all very important information to your wives.  There are things to do, plans to be made, gifts/cards/dresses to purchase.  We need to know the weight, size and name of the baby.  How is the mom?  The dad?  How is the baby?  Are the siblings adjusting?  (if they're in town) Do they need anything?  Can we get a meal to them?  If there's a wedding in the future, we need to know when?  Where?  How formal is it?  Where is the bride registered?  What are the colors of her wedding?  Since you're the best man, aren't you supposed to plan the bachelor party?  When will that be?  Where are you going for it?  If you're going to have a baby, we need to know things like due date, how is the mom-to-be doing?  How is the pregnancy going?  (thankfully, our friend understood that I needed details and supplied them, in an email, of course :) ).

Yes, women really do need to know all these things.  I know (because Trey told me) that when Shane and Jules had their baby that the baby is fine and he told them congratulations.  That's it????  

Frugal Friday

I didn't really have anything new to add this week, so what I decided to do was visit some other websites and blogs to connect you with other frugal ideas.

The first is this neat page that I found somewhere - I'm sorry I can't remember which blog to give proper credit to.  It's 100 things you can make yourself and you can go here to look at it.  There are a lot of things on the list that I never would have thought of.  Go take a look.  Now.  Then come back to me.

Ok, here's the next thing I want you to take a look at.  It's another blog called Retro Housewife goes green.  She's had some interesting posts and right now she has a contest that anyone can enter to win biodegradable kitchen garbage bags.  You'll have to go back a few posts to find the giveaway, though.

Here's another tip.  If you ever get blood on your clothes (if you have children, this will happen more than you think) use hydrogen peroxide to get it out.  If you apply it right away, give a little rub, it'll get the blood out almost immediately.  If the blood is allowed to stain, it might take a little more work.  I learned this trick working at an animal hospital.  We had hydrogen peroxide in spray bottles just for cleaning blood off clothes and pets' fur.  

I like to eat out.  Not only does it mean I don't have to cook, but there's no clean-up, either!  However, eating out can be expensive.  Here are some tips for saving money if you're just dying to get food from somewhere other than your home.  But do think on brown-bagging your lunch.  Here are some tips and interesting notes about the money saved by bringing your own lunch to work or school.

Thanks for reading!  If you have any tips on living green and/or frugal, please let me know!

Monkey has a solo

Yes, I am one of "those" moms.  Those moms that brag about their children.  

Monkey has been practicing in choir over the summer and working on a program for the fall kick-off of our church's Wed night fellowship.  She auditioned for speaking and singing roles and while I hoped she would get something, we tried to help her understand that she might not. 

Of course, she is the one who said she was "born to sing" in the same matter-of-fact tone that she uses to say she was "born with blue eyes."  American Idol, here we come.

She did not get a speaking role, but she did get a solo.  She's very excited and sings well along with the cd in the car.  I'm wondering how she'll do in front of a crowd.  Last summer, during VBS, she jumped up on the stage to sing and dance with a bunch of other kids, then froze when she saw the crowd.  I'm hoping that won't happen again this year.

For those parental units out there, we're going to try and dust off that camcorder and get it on tape.

Happy Birthday to me!

Those of you who know me know that today isn't really my birthday.  But it the anniversary of my baptism through Christ.  I got the idea to post this about a week or so ago and while I'm not good at testimonies and such, here goes.

I'm sure I have friends out there who've known me for years that, if they're reading this, they're saying to themselves "..... wow ..... really?!? ...... wow....."  The thing is, I changed more when I became a parent than when I became a follower of Christ.  I'm still me.  The only thing different is that I'm striving to be more Christ-like in my life.  It's hard.  I'm not very good at it.  Good thing I'm already forgiven, right??  

How did I get here?  It probably started after Monkey was born.  Having a child changes everything about your life and how you live it.  But it really kicked in while we were living in Oklahoma.  I needed friends and moms to hang out with, so I started going to MOPS to meet other moms.  I didn't realize at the time that MOPS is a Christian-based ministry.   My first meeting, I thought "what have I gotten into?"  I wasn't sure about staying, but I liked the women I met.  The longer I stayed, the better I got to know some of them, and the more I was opened to Jesus.  

When we moved to where we are now, again, I needed to meet some people and make friends.  I also started visiting some churches.  I found two churches that I liked - one had a great traditional service and it felt like home.  I can't really explain it, but it had that old smell, old wood and stone, and it reminded me of my grandfather and I just felt comfortable there.  I could see Monkey getting married in that church.  I also liked really liked the pastors, the members were very nice and I made a few good friends.

The other church has a great contemporary service and I also really liked the pastors there.  It's a really big church, though, so I felt lost when I visited.  However, this church had a moms group and it was close to home, so I started going  to the moms group.  It gave me a "back door" to the church, so I didn't feel so lost any more when attending the services.  I met some amazing, faithful women in this group.  I learned so much from them as moms, as Christians and as friends.  I could go on and on, but I won't.  Trey started visiting the contemporary service with me (he's not into the traditional service much at all) and we decided that this church should be our home church.

Monkey, too, has the natural faith of a child.  There are times when she seems more wise than any adult I have ever met.  Her simple faith has led me more than any church service or book.  So, with my family, friends and church(es) to support me, I had the Believer's Baptism last summer.  I'm still a long way off from "figuring it all out" - we don't even remember to say grace before dinner - but having the people around me that I do, the struggles I'll face won't be nearly as bad.

Thanks to all the angels who guided me to where I am.  I hope you know who you are.  

(an old Irish prayer)

May God give you...

For every storm, a rainbow,

For every tear, a smile,

For every care, a promise,

And a blessing in each trial.

For every problem life sends,

A faithful friend to share,

For every sigh, a sweet song,

And an answer for each prayer.

yet again...

I have found the CUTEST bag for your budding artist!  They're called Doodlebags and you can see them here.  I found out about them by visiting Life is like Champagne.  Can you tell I'm obsessed with looking at different blogs?  I love it!  I forgot how I got to Life is like champagne, but I'm sure it was through yet another blog.  Anyway, you, too, can enter to win one of these cute bags.  Go here to get more info.