Sunday, July 31, 2011

30 Day Challenge


I've been motivated to do this by my real life friend Mical's 30 day challenge on her blog Fun and Faithful Tales. Then I found a list of things on One Girl's blog. I'll be doing most of her list but might change a few if I feel like it. ;-)


A Blogger’s 30-Day Challenge! (A dare to blog regularly)
HERE are the things that I will be writing about in the next 30-days…
•Day 01- A recent picture of you and 10 facts about yourself
•Day 02- The meaning behind your Blogger name
•Day 03- A picture of you and your friends
Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn't have, or something that you are looking forward to.
•Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to
•Day 06- Favorite super hero and why
•Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has had a big impact on you
•Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why
•Day 09- Something you’re proud of
•Day 10- Songs you listen to when you are Happy, Sad, Bored, Hyped, Mad
•Day 11- a person you would love to meet.
•Day 12- Your Blog Story.
•Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you recently
•Day 14- A picture of you and your family
•Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play
•Day 16- Another picture of yourself (baby pic!)
•Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
•Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have
•Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them
•Day 20- What does your future hold/where would you like to be?
•Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy
•Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else
•Day 23- Something you crave often
•Day 24- A letter to your parents
•Day 25- What I would find in your bag
•Day 26- What you think about your friends

•Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day
challenge
•Day 28- A
picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
•Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned

•Day 30- Who are you?


Saturday, July 30, 2011

mom had a bad day... what a day mom had...

So... I have my share of challenging days but the other day was a doozy. On top of having my own three kiddos I was babysitting my one year old nephew. He isn't away from his mommy very often and doesn't nap well anywhere but home. But that wasn't the bad part.
Joe pooped out the side of his diaper earlier today while in his walker so he ground it into the carpet real good... I handled that pretty well but then during his "nap"time he emptied all the drawers in their dresser, took off his pants, took off his diaper, peed & pooped all over his room, and smeared said poop all over himself...
Needless to say I was not a very happy mama at that point. I plopped a poop cover Joe into the bathtub. Christine had just woke up from her nap so I got her up. My overly tired nephew was screaming so I put him in Christine's crib - mainly just to keep him out of trouble but he ended up crying himself to sleep.
I let Joe play in the bath while I sat on the floor in the bathroom, nursing Christine and having a good cry.
Sometimes motherhood is just overwhelming. Its daunting, looking at a poop smeared all over a child and a room. What do you do on those days? Do you cry sometimes like me? This time, while I was sitting there on the floor nursing and crying I chose to pray. Sometimes its all you can do. And it truly helped. It didn't take away the frustration of the situation but I do think it calmed me down enough to be able to handle it without completely freaking out.
Maybe its just me, but there are times when I have to remind myself that God cares. He does. God cares about the big things and the little things just the same. And even when I don't feel like He's close He is right there waiting for me to reach out to receive the comfort He has to offer. I'm glad that I chose to reach out to Him on this day. He blessed me with a certain amount of peace and calm about the situation. He also blessed me by allowing my hubby to come home 15min early to help me finish up the mess. And He blessed me by allowing me time to go out with a dear friend for some girl time. What was a very difficult day ended rather nicely. Thank you God. :-)



Sunday, July 24, 2011

Top 100 update

Awhile ago my hubby and I starting watching the AFI's Top 100 movies together. Honestly it has changed the way we watch movies. We're still working our way through the list. We have found a few that are movies that we may not have watched if it were not for the list and that are now ones we will definitely add to our personal favorites list. Here is an update of the ones we've seen and what we thought of them. I'll try to post more detailed reviews another time.


#

MOVIE

our personal ratings

1

CITIZEN KANE

Wani dislike - Hubby like

2

THE GODFATHER

Wani dislike - Hubby like

3

CASABLANCA

Both LOVED

4

RAGING BULL

1980

5

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN

1952

6

GONE WITH THE WIND

Wani LOVE

7

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA

Wani dislike - Hubby like

8

SCHINDLER'S LIST

Both agree good

9

VERTIGO

agree good

10

THE WIZARD OF OZ

both love

11

CITY LIGHTS

1931

12

THE SEARCHERS

1956

13

STAR WARS

agree good

14

PSYCHO

agree good

15

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY

1968

16

SUNSET BLVD.

1950

17

THE GRADUATE

agree good - not great

18

THE GENERAL

1927

19

ON THE WATERFRONT

1954

20

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

agree great

21

CHINATOWN

1974

22

SOME LIKE IT HOT

1959

23

THE GRAPES OF WRATH

1940

24

E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL

agree good

25

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

agree good

26

MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON

agree great

27

HIGH NOON

Wani dislike - Hubby like

28

ALL ABOUT EVE

1950

29

DOUBLE INDEMNITY

1944

30

APOCALYPSE NOW

1979

31

THE MALTESE FALCON

Wani dislike - Hubby like

32

THE GODFATHER PART II

1974

33

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST

1975

34

SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS

good

35

ANNIE HALL

1977

36

THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI

1957

37

THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES

1946

38

THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE

1948

39

DR. STRANGELOVE

agree dislike

40

THE SOUND OF MUSIC

agree great

41

KING KONG

1933

42

BONNIE AND CLYDE

agree ok

43

MIDNIGHT COWBOY

1969

44

THE PHILADELPHIA STORY

agree LOVE

45

SHANE

1953

46

IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT

1934

47

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

1951

48

REAR WINDOW

agree great

49

INTOLERANCE

1916

50

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING

agree great

51

WEST SIDE STORY

Wani like

52

TAXI DRIVER

1976

53

THE DEER HUNTER

1978

54

M*A*S*H

1970

55

NORTH BY NORTHWEST

agree LOVE

56

JAWS

1975

57

ROCKY

1976

58

THE GOLD RUSH

1925

59

NASHVILLE

1975

60

DUCK SOUP

1933

61

SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS

1941

62

AMERICAN GRAFFITI

1973

63

CABARET

1972

64

NETWORK

1976

65

THE AFRICAN QUEEN

1951

66

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

agree great

67

WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?

1966

68

UNFORGIVEN

1992

69

TOOTSIE

agree good

70

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE

1971

71

SAVING PRIVATE RYAN

agree great

72

THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION

agree great

73

BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID

agree good

74

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

agree good

75

IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT

1967

76

FORREST GUMP

agree good

77

ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN

1976

78

MODERN TIMES

1936

79

THE WILD BUNCH

1969

80

THE APARTMENT

1960

81

SPARTACUS

1960

82

SUNRISE

1927

83

TITANIC

agree epic ;-)

84

EASY RIDER

1969

85

A NIGHT AT THE OPERA

1935

86

PLATOON

1986

87

12 ANGRY MEN

1957

88

BRINGING UP BABY

1938

89

THE SIXTH SENSE

agree good

90

SWING TIME

1936

91

SOPHIE'S CHOICE

1982

92

GOODFELLAS

1990

93

THE FRENCH CONNECTION

1971

94

PULP FICTION

Wani dislike - Hubby like

95

THE LAST PICTURE SHOW

1971

96

DO THE RIGHT THING

1989

97

BLADE RUNNER

1982

98

YANKEE DOODLE DANDY

1942

99

TOY STORY

agree great

100

BEN-HUR

agree good


Anyone seen any Top 100 movies that they'd recommend?

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

selling?


At the beginning of the summer we stumbled upon a realty listing for a house that we fell in love with. It was everything that we wanted. The one real downside was that it was a bank owned short sale and we could not do a contingent sale (making an offer based on the contingency that we have to sell our home before we finalize the sale).
Rather quickly we listed our own house in hopes that we could sell in time to buy said "dream" home. We worked really hard decluttering and "staged" the house. While we had a couple showings right off the bat, and the feedback has been positive we have not had any serious interest or bids.
It can be stressful having your home on the market. We have been struggling to keep the house in open house condition in case the realtor calls for a showing at any moment. A lot of our belongings were boxed up and put in storage during the de-cluttering.
We are exploring our options as far as other homes listed and there are a couple that we are interested in looking at. We're are currently prayerfully considering if we should keep our home on the market, lower the price or take it off the market completely. As always I'm sure in time God will show us what we should do now.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

lunch bunch


We have had a few obligations on the calendar this summer but we been able to have a lot of fun outings too. In particular we have enjoyed going to the park weekly for a picnic lunch w/ my sis and her son (who's almost Christine's age).The local parks & rec has partnered with the libraries and some other local organizations and they give out free lunches and kids books. Some of them even do a story time and craft. I love it! Nate is such a great big brother. He loves Joe and Christine so much. I've also been blessed to be a part of a prayer group that has been meeting at another park. We have some young teen girls watch the kids on the playground while us moms meet and pray at a nearby table.
I really appreciate these women who are so willing to open themselves up and share their struggles and praises. Its such a great time of fellowship, sharing and prayer time. I am thankful for the time we have to share every week.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. - Colossians 3:16


Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Indiana Nate!

Then we had an Lego Indiana Jones party for him with our families. Most of my inspiration for his Lego Indiana Jones party actually came from this post from Lemon Squeezy. I had fun putting the details together and I know Nate loved it!

Here are a few highlights: The cupcakes had "snakes" in "dirt" & Lego Indy cupcake toppers.I have to admit that I got the Jones soda for the grown ups because I thought it was cute & clever. ;-)
Our friend Jess put together this scavenger hunt for the boys and at each stop they got a piece of the "treasure".
My dad helped out by bringing his wagon and driving the kids around for the whole scavenger hunt. It was one of the kids' favorite parts of the whole party.
Here is a shot of Nate decked out in his Indiana Jones hat and the vest and satchel that I made from a $4 table cloth that I got from Goodwill. I love a good deal!
Here are all the boys after they returned victorious from their scavenger hunt.
What a blessing to be able to celebrate a special boy with our wonderful families.
I'm linking this post up to:


Monday, July 11, 2011

pre-par-tay events

I can hardly believe that my baby boy is SIX! Ah! We were blessed to have a couple of outings to help us celebrate his Super Six birthday.
Chick-fil-A had their customer appreciation day and we all dressed up like cows and got some FREE chicken! Nate loved it!

We also made a trip out to another of Nate's favorite restaurants: Red Robin. We love their burgers! Nate acted all shy when they sang Happy Birthday to him. He's so cute.
Check the next post for details on the Lego Indiana Jones party! ;-)

Thursday, July 07, 2011

Handmade Gift Exchange


Linda at Craftaholics Anonymous has hosted a Handmade Gift Exchange again. For awhile I was going back and forth on what to make... after some thought I decided that an apron is a universal gift that most any woman would be able to use in everyday life. I found some adorable fabric at Hobby Lobby and got to work.Here is the email that I got from my gift exchange partner:

Dear Wani,
Thank you for the wondrous apron. I love the materials, the way the contrast and yet seem to be made for just this purpose. I love the little pocket which is so important when I cook. I ultimately end up looking for my rings when I finish, searching for the shelf where I stashed them. The pocket saves me time and discovery of that new place. You are such a talent artisan. I sure hope you sell these at craft fairs or such. Again, many thanks. I love this exchange. M.E.

Yay! Its always exciting when you know the recipient of the gift loves it as much (or more) than you do! I was also blessed to receive a handmade item from M.E. - a large handbag and couple of handmade card kits. She's a talented lady!
Thanks to Linda for coordinating and M.E. for being a great swap partner!

Friday, July 01, 2011

Confessional Time Again...

Photobucket

well... I never know how much to share or not share on my blog. Sometimes it feels like no one reads it and I feel free to share more. When I do I end up with a bunch of comments from people that I didn't know even knew about my blog. Awkward? Sometimes, yes.

Anyway - on to the confessions.

I confess: I occasionally will wear a shirt, then sleep in it and continue to wear it the next day... Most of the time the only people that see me daily are my kids. I know they don't care what I'm wearing. And I just as soon do what I can to keep the laundry to a minimum. C'mon, tell me I'm not the only one...

I confess: I have had a real jealousy problem the past few weeks. My mom and sister have been touring Europe. Hearing about all the sightseeing and looking at all their pix on facebook... I've been SO jealous. I've felt like my life is so boring. But gradually I have come to remind myself that my mom has raised five kids and ran a home business that tied her down for many years and she deserves this experience. So, I am happy for them. And I hope that someday I will get the chance to do something that cool.

I confess: I got mooned by a friend recently. And I gotta say, it was hilarious! It is something that wasn't an uncommon occurrence when I was in college but hasn't happened in awhile. We're "all grown up" now and don't behave like that anymore But honestly I think we should let lose like that more often! Its good to relax and be comfortable enough with our friends that we can be silly together! I am thankful for my friends that I can be real with!