From Inmates to Playdates

Four is fun!

Your four favorite shows are Tom and Jerry, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Monster Jam, and Transformers.

Four things that cause you to make this face are, your zipper getting stuck, being asked to do or say something you don’t want to do or say, not having a job at school, and tripping or falling because it means you are being slowed down.

Your four favorite foods are Oatmeal, Yogurt, Poptarts, and Jelly sandwiches. (But you would eat poptarts for every meal if we’d let you!)

Four things you love to play are CARS, Monster Trucks, Race tracks, and musical instruments.

Four things that make you giggle are Stevie, Daddy, Tom and Jerry, and a tooter. (Oh my mercy, why do boys think the whole tooter thing is so funny?)

Four things you are great at - hugging, cleaning up your room, climbing, and matching your socks to your shirts (which is pretty impressive by the way!)

Four weird things you like – sitting on shoulders, stuffed animals, the heap, ahem, I mean Jeep, and camping “because mommy fixes pancakes almost every morning!”

Four random things about you – you are an awesome medicine taker, you take care of your glasses, you have memorized three Pioneer Bible Verses (that we know of, there are probably more!), and you can shift gears in the Jeep.

Your four favorite questions are, “Mom, can I please watch a show?”, “Is it time to pick up Stevie?”, “Can we take the Jeep?”, “Is it bedtime?” and “Does it have nuts in it?” (I could go on and on right here, because the questions? They are constant!)

Four is full of fun!

This week’s You Capture challenge is Quiet.

Which is a bit tough for a girl that comes from a long line of loud.

In addition to that, I have two children under the age of seven. One of which has two speeds – Wide open. And asleep. Another who only gets loud when he is talking to the other two loud people in this house, which is pretty much all the time.

So, all that to say, that I had to get really creative this week.

Once the kids are in bed, I can enjoy some peace and quiet in the bathtub.

Perhaps my favorite place for some peace and quiet is right here…. (at least until 6:30am when the stinkin’ alarm does its thing!) -

And lastly, this picture screams quiet.

And sweetness.

And preciousness.

It’s worth noting that just seconds before I snapped the picture Stevie was holding the remote.

My sweet, sweet boys. I am so blessed!

——–

Head over to I Should Be Folding Laundry for more You Capture Quietness.

Next Week’s Challenge: Reaching

I’m in my big, blue, bloggy chair and I’m all set to watch my favorite show.

And THIS. Is American Idol.

I love those words!

After the snooze fest we witnessed last night, I am so hoping for some upbeat, toe-tapping, engaging performances.

In my humble opinion (and everybody has one, I suppose) Crystal Bowersox knocked the ball out of the park. The rest of the girls? They spent the evening wandering around the field looking for the ball. They were straight-up strugglin’. I’m expecting a little more out of the guys.

In the words of Simon Cowell, off we go.

Lee Dewyze- Lee’s voice reminds me of Danny Gokey. In a few spots, it sounded a bit pitchy. Other than that, I liked it! One of his better performances.

Alex Lambert – Oh. my. sweet. mercy. Dawg, I LOVE IT!  Even though 93% of his performance was the word trouble, I LOVED IT! I love that we are watching him grow each week. And speaking of grow… the hair. THE HAIR. Trim the hair. Pretty please.

Randy, shut it.

Tim Urban – So, even though this song sounds like something you’d hear at a funeral, I think he is doing a really good job. I like his voice and I actually like the song.

Andrew Garcia – I think Andrew will be around for awhile because I think he is very talented. I was really hoping he’d do Straight Up again though because I really liked the version he did during Hollywood week.  Not sure this song did much for me. It was just okay and the guitar bit was a little much.

Casey James – Again, I’m not real sure why there’s not some pep in the step tonight with these guys. Did I miss the announcement that it’s ballad night? It’s not that I don’t think he’s not doing a good job on the song, because it is okay. It’s just that I’m not overly impressed with the performance. Not sure I’ll remember it in the morning.

Aaron Kelly – I like this kid, but I’m not sure he has what it takes to get to the Top 12. I caught myself doing the squinty eye thing which usually means I hear something just shy of in tune. And that’s assuming I know what in-tune sounds like. Dang, I hate it when Kara gets off on a “you’re only 16 rant!” we get it already Kara.

Whoa. Simon just told Kara to step off.

You go, Simon! I love you and your t-shirted self!

Todrick Hall – Todrick is one of my favorite contestants. Best performance of the night so far. It has feeling and emotion and talent and I felt entertained. I love the whole gospel spin he put on the song. Love it! That boy can sang.

Big Mike Lynche – Okay, another slow song, but I can just say that I love it! I like that he’s not sitting on a stool, instead he is engaged in the song and with the audience. The ball just soared out of the park and I’ve got chills. I can totally see Big Mike and Crystal Bowersox battling it out in the finale.

They definitely saved the best for last!

And This.. is a wrap.

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, visit 5 Minutes For Mom.

It is no secret that I love me some reality TV.

It is also no secret that I am in awe of the invention that is the TiVo.

You see, years ago back when I had a VCR that would automatically fast forward through the commercials, I thought I was enjoying a little bit of heaven on earth, because the thing fast forwarding itself through the commercials meant I didn’t have to worry about getting whatever snack I was eating on the remote. It also meant my hands were free for other things like poking my eyeballs out with forks everytime I forgot to change my VCR tape because unfortunately the thing couldn’t change its own tape.

There was madness in it, I tell you.

Today though, I have the luxury of watching shows I would not normally get to watch simply because we have room on the TiVo for yet another show. In fact, I record some shows just so I have something to watch on the off occasion that Desperate Housewives and Greys Anatomy are both stinkin’ reruns that week. Much to McDaddy’s dismay, I always have some Dr. Phil, the Joy Bahar Show (which he hates by the way!), a list of TiVo suggestions, and even some Oprah for when TV times really get hard.

In my defense I don’t watch a whole lot of Oprah or Dr. Phil anymore although there was a time when I hated to miss a single episode because who doesn’t want to watch the train wreck that is The Dr. Phil Show. In addition to that I haven’t really watched The Bold and The Beautiful since McDaddy was deployed, but I still feel a sense of responsibility to record it because the thought of starting something and not finishing it eats at me until I can’t see straight. So, I record it on the off chance that I get the urge to to rekindle my relationship with Don Diamont who left the sweet, innocent Genoa City, Wisconsin for the bright exciting lights of Los Angeles.

Anyway, what I really started to say before I got off on a rant about my daily docket is that I really love my TiVo. Until the iPhone came along, I considered the TiVo the best invention of my time, but alas, I would have to say the iPhone supassed the TiVo 412 APPS ago. So, I said all that to say that I am arriving home after an evening of meeting my newest niece, Kessa Angeline (who is a living doll by the way!) and American Idol is in full swing. If I still had to depend on the VCR and its contrary ways, I would have to wait until it was over to start my live blogging session to link up over at Boo Mama’s place. But because the TiVo in all it’s glory is hard at work, I can start it right now – a full one hour and three minutes after airing – and live blog the whole thing. So yeah, The TiVo Works For Me!

THIS is American Idol.

Katie Stevens – This gal is such a cutie. It’s hard to say anything bad about her because she is so young. I’m not so sure this was the best song for her because it sounds a bit flat to me. And I mean that in the nicest way because after all, she is so stinkin’ young. The Judges are not impressed, but I don’t really understand that because hello? Younger song. Who you are as an artist. Current. Song is too big. Speaking of poking my eyeballs out… this gal can’t win.

Siobhan Magnus  – Some kind of song about animals in a house with a rising sun. This should be interesting. I’d say all in all Siobhan did a decent job on the song, but it all seemed a bit depressing to me. I agree with Simon (whom I am going to miss terribly next season by the way!).

Lacey Brown - Oh, the pink hair. Why? Just why? Oh. My. Word. As I typed that last sentence, I am sure I heard her say, ”they didn’t know my hair was a mess?” Sweet mercy. She hit that on the head. Pun intended. Not a fan of that song AT ALL. As I suspected the judges love it. I don’t get it.

Katelyn Epperly – The whole antique keyboard thing seems like a bit much to me, but I guess this is a singing show and I should stick to the singing performances. The song didn’t do a whole lot for me even though she did sing it well. Hum, Randy must have heard me.

Didi Benami – Sweet Mercy, what is it with these dreary songs? This song does absolutely nothing for me, however, I love Didi’s voice. She reminds me of Colbie Calliat. In the words of Paula Abdul though, she looks amazing!

Paige Miles – Here we go again. I feel like I’m on a long road to nowhere. Again the song didn’t do much for me, but she sounded okay singing it.  Is it just me or does this gal have some beautiful eyes?

Crystal Bowersox – If this night is to be saved, I think she’ll do it. Easily, the best performance so far tonight. I’m actually rocking back and forth and enjoying this performance. You go, girl!

Lilly Scott – Good song. Good performance. Sadly, it was really good because all the rest were just so average. 

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For more Works For Me Wednesday posts, head over to Rocks In My Dryer.

As always, I have learned a lot of stuff this week. However, instead of compiling another list about the stuff, I thought it might be fun to actually show you pictures of the stuff. Basically I learned that if you don’t have a lot of success in decorating, you should call in some reinforcement.

So, if you want to save yourself from reading 800 and some odd words, you can scroll down to the pictures and skip the mindless commentary. Otherwise, you may want to grab a coke and pull up a chair. As is usually always the case around here at FITP, Inc., this could get lengthy.

Remember when I wrote that McDaddy and I have been remodeling our basement, turning a second kitchen into a playroom? And then remember when I showed you the bright red and yellow wall with the wall words as a teaser? Well, I wasn’t trying to be all secretive about the rooms, its just that I didn’t want to show you the rooms until the walls were decorated.

And because I have never been much of a decorator, I was afraid to attempt it on my own. Sadly, my know-hows do not match up with my want-tos.

Don’t get me wrong. I love to shop. And I love to buy stuff. But when the time comes to actually decorate with the stuff that I’ve bought, the OCD monster rears its ugly head and then I become concerned with having everything symmetrical instead of actually taking a stab at the decorating. In other words, it’s hard for me to think outside of my OCD decorating box.

Enter my gal pals, Amy and Susan.

Amy and Susan are good friends with a good friend of mine, so by proxy they are my friends too, right?

Right.

After pulling just about every single hair out of my head trying to decide where I should put what, I broke down and called Susan to askbeg her and Amy to come over and work their magic on my walls. You see my good friend has some great walls in her home. And every time I’m there, I find myself saying, “I wouldn’t even think to put that there.” And each time, my friend replies, “I tell you its Amy and Susan. They also have great decorating ideas”. So, after a few minutes of listening to my whine, she agreed and we settled on a date. Last Thursday, they showed up on my doorstep and folks, these gals meant business. I had all of my wall stuff on display and I mentioned that the clock was purchased specifically for the wall directly over the entertainment center.

They looked each other in the eye and then at me and frankly replied, “It won’t look good there.”

Wellalrightythen.

The girls immediately went to work, nailing, pounding, measuring, and leveling.

Yes, I said leveling.

Like I said these girls meant business.

Me? My idea of decorating is ordering a bunch of gold-trimmed Home Interior stuff, eyeballing where on the wall I want the pictures and the sconces to hang all while using my other hand to poke small holes in the wall. Then, I pound the nails in like a maniac doing my best to drive the nail straight into the wall without smashing my beloved thumb.

First, can I just say that Home Interior is so yesterday. I was totally committed to pulling the stuff from the walls and dropping it off at the Goodwill. That is until Susan mentioned the words, rod and iron and paint. She snatched up those sconces and promised to bring them back once she got them painted and said that I would be surprised at how good they will look. Again, I would never think to do that.

Words cannot express how thankful I am that these gals took three hours out of their life to come over to set up my new rec room. Now, how ’bout I stop babbling and get to the pictures. I have a lot of before and afters, so I hope you’ll bear with me.

This is the way our basement looked the day after we moved into our house.

Here are the two pathetic walls before…

Pay no mind to the horrible flash photography. As if the Home Interior groupings aren’t enough.

I know. I know. I told you it was bad.

Three hours (and a recliner eviction later) here is my newly remodeled, redecorated rec room. One of the newly painted rod iron sconces will go beside the picture over the entertainment center. The other sconce will go somewhere else.

And just for the record, McDaddy hates this furniture. I purchased it while he was deployed knowing that eventually it would look awesome in this room. The new carpet and new furniture lightened the room up beautifully. (Hey, McDaddy, I told you so!) Like they say, if Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.

But the best part?

The best part is that the walls in this rec room look fabulous.

Have a look.

That’s the clock that I purchased to go over the entertainment center. (Again, pay no mind that this picture is just slightly out of focus. I was hyped up on excitement and Dr. Pepper when I took it!) Susan suggested I paint the shelf black, but as of this writing, it has not been done.

And take a look at my absolute favorite wall….

It would never have dawned on me to hang my beloved Longaberger baskets on the wall. But I had them and they needed to be used.

Oh, and see this curio cabinet?

I was ready to get rid of it, too.

But Susan suggested we paint it, mentioning the words totally, different, cabinet. So, stay tuned for that little trick. The plan is to paint it barn red or farm red. I can’t remember.

So, that’s what I learned this week. How ’bout you?

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If you’re joining the What I Learned This Week Carnival, please remember to link to your actual What I Learned This Week post and not the home page on your blog.

Thanks to Jo-Lynne with entrusting me with the party this week.

To: My Two Sweet Babies

From: Your Mom

Date: March 8, 2010

RE: Just So You Know

Dear Boys,

So much has happened in the past two weeks that I wanted to get it all down while the information is still fresh in my mind. You boys are the light of my life and even though I say it all the time, I am so thankful to be your mama. You are both growing up so quickly and with everything in me I would love to stop time. This season in our lives is so very special and I am trying to take it all in because I know it will pass so quickly.  

Like today when the two of you climbed up on my lap. As I hugged you and kissed both of you on the top of your sweet little heads, I inhaled because I wanted to remember the smell. I wanted to feel your short stubbly hair on my cheek. I wanted to remember the moment forever. I love those moments. The moments when the two of you climb up on my lap or into my bed and we talk and laugh and act silly. Sweet babies, those times are precious to me and I want to remember them always.

Love, Mommy

——

Dear Stevie,

We were told when you were two years old, that you needed glasses. I cried on the way home from that appointment. Not so much because you needed glasses, but more so because I wanted your eyes to be okay. While your right eye is normal, you are far-sighted in your left eye and have been for five years. During our visit to your eye Doctor last week, she was pleasantly surprised that your left eye is getting better. So much better in fact that your Doctor reported that in six months you may not have to wear glasses any longer. She also reported that in small children where there is such a drastic difference in the eyes, they rarely ever get better to the point where a child no longer needs glasses.

I say glory!

Your glasses are a sort of trademark now and I can’t hardly imagine you without glasses. We will leave it in the Lord’s hands and pray about it.

This has been an exciting month for you.

For the father/son Scout cookoff, you and daddy prepared a Beach Cake….

And YOU were so excited when they called your name and presented you with a 2nd place trophy…

Sweet boy, I was so proud of you (and Daddy) because I can certainly tell you that you did NOT get those cooking skills from your mama. So yes, winning an award for your baking is a pretty big deal. You were so very proud of your trophy and are still talking about it.

After a couple of weeks of practice, you have finally mastered the art of tying your shoes! You want to be the best at everything you do and that motivates you to be better, and faster.

You are such a joy, Stevie. You are kind, and funny, and cute, and loving. And on top of that you are a great big brother.

I love you!

Mommy

——

Dear Alex,

One day a week or so ago, Stevie and I were practicing his memory verses for the Pioneer Club Youth Service. The same verses that you have – time and time again – refused to practice with me. After reciting his verses perfectly, I was so surprised and proud to hear you recite those verses without prompting and with a beautiful, big smile on your face. Daddy and I are so proud of you for learning Psalm 119:105, Hebrews 12:2 and the Pioneer Club aim (that we may glorify the Lord Jesus) sweet boy. Way to go!

I love your smile, your giggle, and your sweet hugs. I can always count on you to give me a hug for absolutely no reason whatsoever and my favorite thing is when you ask me to rock you. I know those opportunities are going to be few and far between now that you are four, but sweet boy, I will rock you any ole time you ask me. Gladly.

Last week, both of your Sunday School teachers (independantly) made a point to report to us that you were kind to a little boy who was having a very bad day and crying in class. They both mentioned how patient you were andtold us what a good friend you were to him. My heart leaped with joy and I would love to have been secretly hiding in the room to see it for myself. For a little boy who has two speeds (wide open and asleep) it is great to know that you have a caring way about you.

You have learned to fasten your seat belt on your own. One of the funniest things about you is how much care you take in matching your socks and shirts. My OCD appreciates that so much and more often than not, you match them nicely. You are also really good about picking your toys up and putting them away after playing.

Oh, and you were thrilled to be star of the week at school a few weeks ago.

Sweet boy, you are a bright shining star and we are so proud of you!

Love, Mommy

Busy day today.

Worked consignment sale.

Bought great clothes.

For our boys.

Drive home uneventful.

Thankful for that.

McDaddy went skiing.

Took Stevie too!

Girlfriends came over.

For decorating party.

Basement looks better.

Pictures coming shortly.

Before and After.

Suggested I paint.

A curio cabinet.

Shelves and frames.

Pull it together.

Totally different look.

Thrilled with result.

It is late.

I am tired.

That is all.

I….

have prayed…

and am ever so HOPEFUL (and this guy probably is to) that the white stuff….

will STOP IT ALREADY!

Because our driveway….

is a pain when there is snow involved.

Grrr…

Head over to I Should Be Folding Laundry for more HOPEFUL You Capture posts.

Each week I try to come up with something creative and intriguing for Thursday Thirteen and each week I wonder if I’m hitting the mark. While I have a whole list of Thursday Thirteen ideas to choose from, the fact is, I’m not in the mood for any of them. It’s been a difficult day and my nerves are shot, so I’ll keep this short and sweet.

Remember last week when I mentioned that me and my van had some sort of disagreement on the big honkin’ hill?

Well.

While driving home today (at a high rate of speed on the interstate mind you) the van and its gas pedal decided it might be fun to play a trick on this ole’ gal and it got hung up somewhere between 68-70 mph.

Shut Up.

I’ll give you a minute to re-read that sentence to make sure you read it correctly.

Yes. You. Did.

Two words for you.

Scared. Todeath.

The cruise control was set at 70 mph and I had just hung up with McDaddy who was headed home from his second home Pennsylvania where he was been working 3-4 days each week for the better part of 2010 when I tapped the brake to disengage the cruise and change lanes.

Only the cruise did not disengage and the van did not slow down even though my foot was attempting the shove the brake through the floor board.

Within seconds I became keenly aware of every vehicle around me. I assessed how much room I had to get stopped, how close the vehicle behind me was and the fact that ten seconds or so later the van was still not slowing down.

Quickly I ran through my short list of options, which included, throwing it into park, throwing it into neutral, and freaking out. I can tell you that freaking out seemed like the easiest option. Which is exactly what I did shortly after getting into the emergency lane and throwing the gear shift into neutral.

The conversation with McDaddy on my beloved iPhone went something like this.

ME (WITH HEART RACING): Hey, the brakes on the van went out and I’m sitting on the side of the interstate in the emergency lane.

MCDADDY: Did the brakes go all the way to the floor? Is the cruise control still on? Is the van in park? Did the idiot lights come on? Can you drive it at all?

ME: Um, I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know and I don’t want to at all because ITS NOT SAFE AND I MIGHT DIE!

MCDADDY: We’ll its obviously time to trade that thing in on a Jeep.

ME: Um, okay. As long as it runs.

MCDADDY: Keep your foot on the brake and start it up.

The engine ran as if it were still going 70 mph.

MCDADDDY: Keep your foot on the brake and push the gas pedal.

The engine returned to normal and I watched the tachometer (or whatever its called) decrease from 3 to 1.\

It is worth mentioning that a situation such as this would not have been a challenge for McDaddy. He possesses the wherewithall to take charge of emergency situations and make quick decisions. I, on the other hand, require a list, a sharpie, a calendar, and at least a 24-hour notice.

This was seriously one of the scaredest (yes, its a word!) events in my life and no, before you ask, I do not drive a Toyota.

I am happy to report that the van is now tucked safely away in the garage and as is always the case in a situation like this, the thing ran perfectly normal for McDaddy as he brought the hunk of junk thing home.

So, with that being said, I do hope you’ll excuse the fact that I am walking down Random Road tonight.

1. One of my favorite iPhone APPS is Words With Friends. It’s a Scrabble type game and if you are a member of the iCult, er, I mean iClub, you can do a search for JulieWV and we can get a game started. Oh, and if you’re looking for about 72 points, play the word Jeep on the triple letter, triple word spaces. YeeHaw!

2. My heart is heavy for my BFF, Becky and her family, who lost their aunt earlier in the week. Death is so stinkin’ tough. Cancer, you suck!

3. While I really love watching American Idol, I do not have a clear favorite this season. I like Big Mike and I think Crystal Bowersox rocked it out tonight!

4. My McDaddy is the original McDaddy. 

Just sayin.

5. While she would not have been my first choice based on her lack of musical experience, Ellen is doing a pretty good job as Judge #4 on Idol.

6. And speaking of crazy words, I learned a new one today – encopresis.

I’ll give you a second to look that up. Never heard of it before but saw it on the Facebook and did what I do when I’m on the hunt for something. *coughgooglecough*

7. Apolo Ohno will be on Jay Leno tonight. I will have to DVR it because sadly I’ve spent one too many late nights in front of the TiVo watching my boyfriend Apolo Ohno go for the gold, which he looks good in by the way.

Well, he does!

8. Some girlfriends are coming over tonight to decorate my newly remodeled basement walls. I have purchased some really great stuff but have no idea how to make it all work and pull it all together. So, weather permitting, I might have some pictures to show you very soon! (Hi, Susan!)

9. At this very minute, McDaddy is sitting on the couch with his laptop looking at used cars on the internet because that’s what he does at the first hint of a car situation. He’s found a copper colored Mazda 6 that is a six-speed. Oh, and it is a front wheel drive that will “do just as good as your van if not better on the big, honkin’ hill!”

Can you say Saturn Sky?

10. This post is at 1,011 words, so much for short and sweet.

11. My nephew, Isaac Cade is 2 years old today (as of this writing on Wednesday). Happy birthday, buddy!

12. The random isn’t flowing as easy I thought it would. Of course American Idol and Words With Friends are battling with the randomness, but still.

13. More snow today, are you kidding me? Enough already!

I hate to end things on such a cold note, but, that’s just the way the random rolls, I suppose.

Care to share something random today?