Campbell's Soup is good food.

The first words out of Jennifer's mouth when she found out I purchased The 30 Day Shred were "You didn't need to buy it. It's on the Exercise Channel."

Jennifer,who works out all the time, actually knew that Time Warner Cable has a channel called Exercise On Demand. I'm quite certain I breezed by it one day in my quest for Food Network On Demand but never looked back.

So armed with this new knowledge, I was faced with a dilemma. Should I wait for my DVD to arrive in the mail in a week or should I jump right in with my workout?

And of course, I'm sure you know what route I decided to take.

I convinced myself (rather quickly I might add) that I should wait so that I could thoroughly review all the information that came with the DVD to insure that I would be properly prepared to Shred effectively.

At least that's what I told myself. Ultimately it came down to me being lazy and wanting a few more days to contemplate what I've done so that that I could mentally prepare for the work that lay ahead.

And then this morning I went swimsuit shopping.

There is nothing like a pile of ill-fitting swimsuits laying discarded in the corner of a fluorescent-lit dressing room to make me speed home and search for Jillian Michaels doing The 30 Minute Shred on the upper channels of cable TV.

And after I found her, I did her little Shred.

Bring it on Jillian, I thought to myself as I was sweating through her circuits all the while trying to block out the image of my pasty muffin top glowing under the fluorescent lights of that dressing room. (And don't even get me started on that annoying little roll of back fat.)

My arms are quivering as I type these words and I didn't even have any weights to use for the arm exercises. I had to do some quick thinking and resorted to using two cans of Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup.

Mmmmmm....Cream of chicken soup goes great in all sorts of dips and casseroles and......

Oh! Where was I?

Yes. That's right. My arms are quivering but y'all I feel good! I made it through the first 20 minute Shred and I am actually looking forward to doing it again tomorrow!

So if you need a little motivation to get started on The Shred or any other exercise program, might I suggest a quick trip to the mall, a dressing room with fluorescent lighting and a bathing suit that claims to be your size.

***Note - if you live around here and you have Time Warner Cable, the Exercise On Demand channel is 654. There are tons of free workouts. I could have saved myself $8.99 plus shipping and handling if I had only known!***

Did I really do that?

Last night as I was sitting in front of the TV watching American Idol with no chips and dip in hand because I had eaten all of the dip and was too lazy to mix anymore up, I thought to myself, WHAT HAVE I DONE??

Did I really purchase a workout video this morning and then proceed not only to tell my mom and my BFF about it but the entire Internet??

Geez...now I am actually going to have to do it.

If I had just kept my big mouth shut, I could have purchased it, tried it once, and then thrown it in the cabinet with all the other DVDs and no one would be the wiser.

Great. Just great. That's what I get for drinking lots of coffee and shopping online and having a blog...

I think we need a new motto - Friends don't let friends shop and blog caffeinated!

Caffeine usually leads to an impulse purchase...

This morning at 6:00 AM while I was drinking my coffee, I read yet another blog post by yet another blogger who just started Shredding.

What is Shredding you ask? And no, it has nothing to do with sensitive documents.

As far as I can tell, "Shredding" is what you are doing when you do Jillian Michaels - 30 Day Shred workout video.

Each workout session lasts 20 minutes and it uses an interval system - 3 minutes of strength training, 2 minutes of cardio, 1 minute of ab work - wash, rinse, repeat.

Jillian Michaels is one of the trainers on The Biggest Loser and she seems to know what she's doing, so in a caffeine fueled frenzy, I ordered the DVD.

Last spring, I was up at the crack of dawn every morning for 4 months walking for 45 minutes with my mom. And while I enjoyed talking with my mom every morning, I didn't see any weight loss results.

Granted, I didn't gain any weight during those 4 months, but I didn't lose any either and for me, that was the whole point of getting up before 5:00 AM. We probably weren't walking fast enough. A case of too much talk and not enough action!

So, I've ordered this DVD and I guess I'll give it a go.

I'm going to be 40 in September and I would like to be fit and trim by then.

And apparently, sitting on the couch at night watching The Biggest Loser and eating Kettle Sweet Onion Potato Chips dipped in Tastefully Simple Fiesta Dip isn't doing anything to tone and trim my abs and rear. But y'all, they sure do taste good!

Has anyone done the 30 Day Shred? How did it go? Is this something I can stick to for 30 days or will I be back on the couch with my chips and dip?

And why is it called the "shred?" Wouldn't the "shed" be more appropriated? "Shred" makes me think of shredded cheese, shredded pork sandwiches, shredded lettuce covered in ranch dressing...

Yum...

....where did I put those chips and that dip?

Miracle Monday

Happy Miracle Monday!

This week I would like to highlight a miracle that I pointed you to in March, 2008.

Elizabeth was pregnant with her second child and sitting in the OB/GYN's office waiting to find out the sex of the baby. After the technician told her it was a girl, two doctors came in to review the scans and they sent a scared Elizabeth to talk to her doctor who was at his office across the street.

Her doctor informed her that the scans showed that all of her baby's major organs were growing outside of her body and there was fluid around her brain.

Two days later they had her come back to the office to "review her options." It was then that they told Elizabeth and her husband that the baby would not survive 5 minutes outside the womb and they should consider aborting the baby.

She told them that she couldn't do that, so every Monday for the rest of the pregnancy she was scheduled for an ultrasound. She spent many hours praying that God would help her make it through the rest of the pregnancy.

On the Sunday prior to her last scheduled ultrasound, Elizabeth went back home at her mother's request. Her mother had asked all of her friends and a priest to lay hands on Elizabeth and pray. She didn't like this kind of attention but she did it for her mother.

They prayed for Elizabeth for three hours.

The next morning she went in for her final ultrasound and to the shock and disbelief of all the doctors and nurses - the ultrasound showed that the baby was PERFECT!

And four days later Elizabeth delivered a healthy, perfect baby girl!

"You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples." - Psalm 77:14

If you have something you want to share, it's easy to participate in Miracle Monday. Just post a miracle or an answered prayer on your blog and link it back here using Mr. Linky below.
Please mention "A Mom's Life" and my URL (www.beth-amomslife.blogspot.com) in your post. And if you want, you can use the Miracle Monday button in your post as well.

Breakfast conversation.

I was eating breakfast with the kids this morning and Sarah said, "Mommy, you should grow a baby in your tummy!"

"I'm sorry honey but I'm getting too old to grow another baby in my tummy."

She frowned and crossed her arms.

"And besides," I continued. "I don't need another baby. I already have the best girl baby and the best boy baby in the world."

That made both kids smile.

And then Peter added, "Well it's a good thing you aren't going to grow any more babies because if it was another girl baby I think I would freak out!"

You and me both kid. You and me both!

I can answer "yes" to this question. Can you?

Do you know what it's like to be awoken at 2:42 a.m. to the sound of the next door neighbor's Beagle puppy howling at the moon?

Well, I do.

And I'm not happy about it.

The howling seemed to go on all night but I'm sure it was just 5 minutes or so - the amount of time they had the dog out to go to the bathroom. However, I was never able to really go back to sleep.

I tossed and turned for the rest of the night vowing my revenge on a cute little puppy named Bruno.

I'm off to make more coffee and Google "how to get the neighbor's puppy to stop howling at 2:42 a.m."

Don't mess with my sister!

Peter and Sarah love to play with the two boys that live next door. And the two boys that live next door love to play with Peter and Sarah.

Last night they were pulling Peter and Sarah around in wagons. Each boy had a wagon. Sarah was in one and Peter was in the other. And the neighbor boys doing the pulling looked like they were having as much fun as Peter and Sarah who were being pulled.

A minute after I looked out the window at them, I looked out again and noticed Peter shoving the 6 year old.

What?

Peter normally doesn't get physically aggressive when he gets upset. He will yell absurdities like "You aren't my friend anymore!", cross his arms and stomp off but he normally doesn't touch the person who has made him mad. (Although he does have a bad habit of getting up into the other person's face which is something we are working on.)

I ran outside and started yelling, "What are you doing? Stop it, right now!"

Sarah was in the wagon crying and Peter started to defend himself by saying, "C. was pulling Sarah in the wagon and was bumping her up and down and hurting her and wouldn't stop when she told him to stop so I was pushing him away from the wagon!"

After I reminded him that we shouldn't hit or push other people, I told him how proud I was of him for defending his sister. Because let's face it, normally he is the one harassing her or vice versa.

And she must have been appreciative too because later that evening, she put his bike in the garage when we were cleaning up.

Is it possible that these two may end up being friends?

I sure hope so because it's going to make it so much easier for them to take care of me and my husband in our old age if they can learn to work together!

Monster Spray - Or an alternate use for a can of Glade that doesn't really smell like a Country Garden.

Peter loves monsters, ghosts and skeletons. He loves anything creepy, spooky or scary.

And all of this is well and good until bedtime. And then when it's time to be alone in the dark, his imagination kicks into overdrive - and he gets scared.

One night several weeks ago as I kissed him goodnight, he told me he was afraid that there might be monsters in our house and asked me to stay in his room all night.

I told him emphatically there were no monsters in our house and that there were no such things as monsters anyway.

But he didn't believe me and continued to ask me to stay with him.

I already had several shows lined up on the DVR that were calling to me from downstairs so I had to think fast.

I ran into the bathroom and grabbed a can of Glade air freshener. I took it back to Peter's room and said, "Look! Monster spray!"

He was intrigued and asked, "Monster spray? What's monster spray?"

So I started spraying the Glade under his bed and in his closet - you know, all the places scary monsters are known to hide. And as I was spraying, I was telling him that the smell of the spray scared the monsters away. Because everyone knows that monsters are mean, dirty creatures and that the monster spray smells so pretty and flowery that they have to run away from it as soon as they smell it.

He bought it. He got so excited that he wanted to use the spray himself. After a few more shots of Glade Country Garden, he climbed under his covers, said good night and immediately fell asleep.

And we have sprayed the monster spray diligently before bedtime every night for the last three weeks.

The only downside to the monster spray is that now every evening my upstairs smells like Glade Country Garden but my son is sleeping peacefully so it Works For Me.

For more Works For Me Wednesday, please visit Kristin at We Are THAT Family.

There is one born every minute after all...

On Saturday afternoon Sarah grabbed a bag of Quaker Delights from the pantry and ran into the playroom. "Peter! Do you want a bag of these? There's one bag left. You can get it."

"Bring me a bag and I'll pay you a dollar!" was his lazy reply.

Sucker! She'll never see that dollar, I thought.

She grabbed the snack from the pantry and happily ran it into the playroom for him. (Please note - the playroom is 5 feet from the pantry.)

"Thanks Sarah!"

Not two minutes later, Peter ran past me through the kitchen and up the stairs.

"Where you going, honey?" I yelled after him.

"To my bedroom, to get Sarah the dollar that I owe her for getting me the snack," was his reply.

Who's the sucker now?

Miracle Monday - Hope

It's Miracle Monday again!

Last Monday, I introduced you to Jeneil and Rhema. Rhema has Autism. She recently turned 5.

Five normally holds so much promise and delight.

But for Rhema's mom, Jeneil, five meant that Rhema had reached a mark in time "where 'early intervention' is no longer early, and brain plasticity is… not so 'plastic.' The age where the 'window' of opportunity for an autistic child supposedly slams shut.

According to Jeneil, Rhema, at age five has, "the receptive and expressive language of a 12-month old. If that. She will not understand that it’s her birthday. She will not march off to the local kindergarten with her peers. Last month, the neurologist said that medicine had done all it could do."

According to the doctors and their research, five was the magic number for Rhema. If her outcome was going to be "favorable" she should be talking by age five or she most likely would not ever have functional speech.

Rhema had just turned five when Jeneil wrote this post two weeks ago. She wrote that even though five was upon them and Rhema was not talking yet, she was not giving up hope.

Because Jeneil knows she doesn't need to depend on the word of neurologists or therapists or medicine. Because she has hope. Hope in Jesus.

A hope that says "...we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." - Romans 5:3-5

And it is because of that hope, that two weeks after Rhema turned five, this happened.

The Lord is good. All the time.

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is he who takes refuge in him. - Psalm 34:8

If you have something you want to share, it's easy to participate in Miracle Monday. Just post a miracle or an answered prayer on your blog and link it back here using Mr. Linky below.

Please mention "A Mom's Life" and my URL (www.beth-amomslife.blogspot.com) in your post. And if you want, you can use the Miracle Monday button in your post as well.

Keep Believing

Today marks Angie and Brian's 12 year wedding anniversary. Please pray for Angie as she celebrates this day without Brian.

Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep

by Mary Frye

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow,
I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush,
I am in the graceful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.
I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.
I am in the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I do not die.

Angie - I hope you are able to see and feel Brian all around you today. Happy Anniversary.

You better pay what you owe!

Since it's April 15th, the verse of the day at Biblegateway made me chuckle...

“This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”- Romans 13:6-7

So you better pay what you owe because not only is it the law but it's The Law!

It was horrifying!

This morning as Sarah was getting dressed she said she had a bad dream last night. When I asked her what it was about she explained, "Cheyanne wore the same clothes and the same shoes every day. For a lot of days in a row. It was horrifying!"

Horrifying?

I think she may be watching too much Martha Speaks. Either that or too much What Not To Wear!

Miracle Monday - Rhema's Hope

Welcome to another edition of Miracle Monday.

Today I want to introduce you to Jeneil. Jeneil is mom to 5 year-old Rhema and 2 1/2 year-old Hope. When Rhema (pronounced RAH-MAH) was 2 she was diagnosed with autism as well as a seizure disorder and a feeding disorder.

Jeneil and her husband Brandon (who is in the army) chose the name Rhema for the daughter because it means "the spoken word" and the Greek translation which is used in the Bible means "God's Word revealed."

They chose to name Rhema this when she was born because they hoped "that she would always speak and share the wonderful Truth about salvation in Christ."

Rhema is almost 5 and due to her Autism is nonverbal. But please don't think that Rhema doesn't speak volumes about God's Truth every single day.

Jeneil writes about Rhema in her blog Rhema's Hope. She relates their struggles and their joys in such a beautiful way. Jeneil sees God in everything and has such a beautiful way of writing about all of their experiences. She is able to bring everything back to the Word of God and does it in such a way that at the end of the post I'm usually covered in goosebumps, or teary-eyed, or laughing.

Jeneil sees God's love and his faith in everything and it shows in her writing. Jeneil captures the everyday struggles of Autism with such beauty. She has the faith and ability to see every small step forward with Rhema as a miracle from God and she doesn't take any gift from him for granted.

Oh, and Jeneil's twin sister is battling MS and winning. (Even more for me to love about Jeneil and her family!)

If you have a chance today, please visit Jeneil at Rhema's Hope and spend some time in her archives. I think you will be truly blessed.

I would like to leave you today with the following verse that Jeneil quotes to Rhema every night as she is tucking her into bed:

...The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is LORD”, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” - Romans 10:8,9

If you have something you want to share, it's easy to participate in Miracle Monday. Just post a miracle or an answered prayer on your blog and link it back here using Mr. Linky below.

Please mention "A Mom's Life" and my URL (www.beth-amomslife.blogspot.com) in your post. And if you want, you can use the Miracle Monday button in your post as well.

The Lord Is Risen!

"He is not here; He has risen!" - Luke 24:6

It wouldn't be Easter without a few dinosaur eggs!

It wouldn't feel like Easter if we didn't dye eggs.

So yesterday I boiled up two dozen eggs, covered the table with newspaper, set out twelve tea cups, put three tablespoons of vinegar into each cup and called the kids into the kitchen.

The Paas set contains twelve dye tablets so Peter and Sarah got to choose six each. They put the tablets into the cups and started "oohing" and "ahhing" as the tablets fizzed.

After the fizzing stopped (or at least until the kids couldn't wait any longer) we added the water and then the eggs.

I tried to convince the kids to leave the eggs in for a while to insure deep dark brightly colored eggs. But kids being kids, they couldn't wait. So after the first round of eggs turned pale shades of pink and blue and purple, they put in the second round of eggs. Unfortunately I didn't divide the eggs and Sarah was blowing through the eggs more quickly than Peter.

So our picture perfect egg dyeing session ended up with lots of bickering and whining and complaining.

"Mommmmm! She's getting too many eggs!"

"Mommmmm! He's got all the dark colors!"

"She's got all the light colors."

"Well why don't you both trade colors?"

"NO!"

"Mom look! I'm making an egg with more than one color on it!"

"Mommy! Peter's eggs with more than one color look prettier than my eggs. I want my eggs to look like his."

And the whining and complaining and bickering continued until all of the eggs were dyed. And thanks to the fact that the kids decided to dip each egg into multiple colors, most of our eggs look like a shade of faded blah. "Faded blah" - be looking for that on an orangish, brownish, greenish Crayola crayon in a 64-pack coming to a store near you!

Next year, I think I'm going to do three dozen eggs so I'll have a dozen to do my way! Momma wants some bright bold eggs that don't look like dinosaur eggs!

Happy Easter!!

Then Sings My Soul Saturday

I can't read blogs while music is playing in the background so I always have the volume on my computer turned down. But one day a couple of weeks ago, I was on my friend Kim's blog and this song started playing.

I guess Peter had turned up the volume when he had been playing on the computer. But boy, am I glad he did!

I love this song and couldn't get it out of my mind. I kept going back to her blog so I could hear it. So the next day, I happened to be running errands and popped into the Lifeway Christian Store and picked up a copy of Mercy Me's All That Is Within Me.

And now whenever I'm in the car, I crank this song up and think about how wonderful it will be to one day be finally home!

For other great music, please visit Then Sings My Soul at Signs, Miracles and Wonders.

Kindergarten Spring Celebration

As Room Mom for Peter’s kindergarten class my main responsibility is planning their class parties.  (Actually, as far as I can tell, that’s my only responsibility.)

Yesterday was the Spring/Easter celebration.  And I was quite proud of the activities that I had planned for the kids. 

I read them the story “The Golden Egg” by Margaret Wise Brown.  It is a really sweet story about friendship and it’s fairly short so it held their attention. 

After I read the story through once, I handed out egg shakers that I made using plastic eggs, rice and super glue and told them I was going to read the story again and every time I read the word “egg” I wanted them all to shake their shakers.  They got a kick out of this and were excited when I told them they could take the shakers home.  (I guess when you are 5 and 6, it’s the little things that make life sweet.)

 

Then I had 4 different centers set up that the kids rotated through.

In the first craft center, we made these adorable little lambs.  The directions came from here.

In the second craft center, we made these cute little chicks.  The directions came from here. 

In the third craft center, I had the kids cut out a large egg from big construction paper.  We put the construction paper into a box and dropped marbles covered in paint into the box and rolled the marbles around in the box.  The eggs were decorated with cool paint streaks.  I think the kids had the most fun with this one.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of one of the completed eggs.

And in the last center we played a Jelly Bean Math Game.  I taped three egg cartoons together and filled each section with jelly beans.  I had each of the kids stand about two feet away and toss a bottle cap into the carton.  They got points depending on which cup their bottle cap landed in.  Each of the kids had to write the point value for each turn they took and add it up.  I had Ring Pops as a prize for each of the kids when they got done in this center. 

 

I hope the kids had fun at their Spring/Easter Celebration.  At one point during the party, I was trying not to lose my cool and Peter’s teacher looked at me and laughed and said, “It’s controlled chaos.” 

I guess I wouldn’t make a good kindergarten teacher because too me, it just seemed like chaos!

For more cool craft ideas, visit the We Made It, Friday Showcase at Ramblings of a Crazy Woman.  (And despite the name of her blog, she’s not really crazy!)

 

Helpful Hint For Getting Eye Drops Into Kid's Eyes - WFMW

Sarah woke up on Sunday morning with her left eye puffy and matted.

Pink eye!

I knew it was bound to happen. Her friend Cheyanne had pink eye the week before so I knew it was only a matter of time until Sarah got it.

And I knew the doctor was going to prescribe the dreaded eye drops. And I knew it was going to be a battle to get them into her eyes.

But the doctor gave me a helpful hint which has worked well for us.

She suggested that Sarah lie down on the couch and close her eyes. Then I was instructed to put a couple of the eye drops just slightly above the corner of her eye and have her start blinking.

The eye drops roll down into her eyes as she is blinking.

And believe it or not, this has worked so well for us. I don't have to pry her eyelids open to get the drops in. She doesn't scream when the drops land in her eyes or when they miss her eyes all together and end up in her nose because she's kicking and screaming.

Sarah actually seems to enjoy taking eye drops now. In fact, she asks if it's "time to do the drops".

Side note - A funny thing that we have discovered is that Sarah has a hard time blinking when she's lying down. When I tell her to blink she squeezes her eyes closed and begins to open and close her mouth instead of opening and closing her eyes. She looks like a fish gulping for air. So to combat this, after I squeeze in the drops, I have her sit up slightly before she begins to blink.

For more Works For Me Wednesday tips, head over to We Are THAT Family.

Four going on fourteen.

She loves clothes (she prefers dresses) and shoes (she prefers flip-flops and sandals and don't even think about trying to get tights on her without a fight!)

She hates, hates, hates to have her hair brushed. She refuses to wear clips, pony tails, or bows. She will wear a headband to school but the moment she is home she jerks it out of her hair.

She is opinionated. She knows how she wants to look and that's all there is to it.

I decided long ago that I wasn't going to fight her on her clothes or her hair. It just wasn't worth starting out the day with a big fight.

This morning as she was trying to find something to wear she studied her closest and huffed in disgust, "I don't like any of these clothes. They all look so ratty."

Ratty? What four-year-old says that?

But as I looked at her clothes, I had to agree. All of her fall and winter clothes did look ratty. Many of them were consignment sale finds to begin with. Compound that with the fact that warm spring like weather has only taunted us with a nice day here and there and cold weather seems determined to pop back in just when you thought it was safe to show your little girl some new summery clothes you bought her and everything she should be wearing on a cold day does look worn out and well, ratty.

So after much "discussion", I relent and let her wear a new non-ratty short-sleeved dress.

Next up on the "discussion" docket - shoes. "Do you want to wear you Hello Kitty shoes?" I asked hopefully.

"No."

"What about your pink glittery shoes?"

"No."

"What about your red shoes?"

"No. I don't think so."

I knew which shoes she wanted to wear. And I knew she was going to look like a spring chicken if she wore them but it wasn't even 8:00 am and we had already had more "discussions" than I like to start the day with so I said, "Do you want to wear your new sandals?"

And before she even answered me with a giant smile that stretched from ear to ear, I knew the answer was yes.

Because when I showed her these flip-flops after I bought them last week, she said, "I" and then she paused momentarily for effect before she finished with, "LOVE them."

And as she was chattering on about how she had seen a pair similar on someone else and had wanted a pair and how they sparkled in the sun and how they would look so lovely with all of her clothes because they had so many beautiful colors in them, I couldn't help but think to myself she's four going on fourteen.

And it made me just a little sad.

Miracle Monday

It's Miracle Monday again and as usual, I'm praying that I can find something to write about.

And this verse keeps popping into my head...

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16

As Lent is coming to a close and the Passion is upon us, I can think of no greater miracle for Miracle Monday.

God sent his son to die for us so that we may live!

And because of this, because of all the events of Easter - the death and the resurrection- if we only believe we get to spend eternity in heaven!

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. - Philippians 3:20-21

That's something to chew on while you're eating your Easter ham!

If you have something you want to share, it's easy to participate in Miracle Monday. Just post a miracle or an answered prayer on your blog and link it back here using Mr. Linky below.

Please mention "A Mom's Life" and my URL (www.beth-amomslife.blogspot.com) in your post. And if you want, you can use the Miracle Monday button in your post as well.

Warning! Bragging ahead. Consider yourself warned.

We had a great weekend.  And even though I have questioned the groundhog and his capabilities, it was warm and sunny and felt the way spring in North Carolina should feel.  Unfortunately it will be cold and rainy again this week.  But I will press on because lasting warmer weather has got to be right around the corner.  It just has to be.  It’s too soon for another pedicure.

This weekend was Peter’s first baseball game of the season.  This year he is playing modified tee-ball which means he gets three pitches from the pitcher and if he can’t hit one of those, he gets to hit from the tee.

Peter got hits from the coach-pitched balls both times he was up to bat!  I was thrilled.  I was jumping up and down like one of those obnoxious people you see at ball games that just can’t get enough of their own kid. 

That was me this weekend. But I just couldn’t help myself.  I guess I was expecting him to strike out and have to head dejectedly to the dugout dragging his bat behind him.  I’m sure it will happen at some point in the season but not this game.  Not this time. 

And he did a great job in the field too.  He was playing second base and he actually caught a ball that was thrown to him from his buddy Thomas to get an out.  He caught the ball!  Once again, I was jumping up and down and cheering wildly like a baseball loving fool.  I just couldn’t help myself.

The boys won 13-8 and the coach awarded Peter the game ball.  When the coach told the kids he was going to give a game ball after each game for a player that has done a great job, he asked the team who they thought should get that ball.  Three or four little voices shouted out “Peter!”  That made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

In the dugout before the game.Getting a hit!In the huddle after the game!

And not to be outdone by her brother, Sarah had an eventful weekend as well.  She learned to ride her bike without training wheels!

Her Daddy took them off on Saturday afternoon and they practiced in the grass.  He’s a good teacher and she was a quick study.  In just a few minutes she was zooming around the yard in no time.

This afternoon they practiced some more and Sarah can now actually get herself started.  She has also graduated from the grass to the pavement.  She is still a little unsteady at times but she can definitely ride her bike without training wheels now! 

And once again, I did a lot of jumping up and down and shouting and cheering. 

Because really, isn’t that what mothers are for?  

View Full Album

Proudly riding her bike.

The groundhog may not know as much as we thought.

Coming home from church today we spotted this cute little groundhog on the side of the road.

I don't see a shadow. Doesn't that mean warm springlike weather is right around the corner?

Then why does the forecast show rain and cold weather all next week?

Again. For the 27th week in a row.

I'm beginning to think this whole groundhog weather predicting thing is just an old wives tale....

Extracted!

In January when the kids were at the dentist getting their teeth cleaned, the hygienist noted that Peter had a loose tooth. Peter was excited at the thought of finally losing a tooth and we went on our merry way.

About a month ago he said it hurt when he wiggled the lose tooth so I checked his mouth. I could see the very tiny tip top of the permanent tooth coming in BEHIND the baby tooth.

Hmmmm, that's odd, I thought and we continued on our merry way.

A week ago I checked it again and I could see the whole top of the permanent tooth coming in BEHIND the baby tooth and the baby tooth was barely moving. And of course, why should it be getting loose? The permanent tooth that was supposed to be growing under it and pushing it out was growing BEHIND it.

Unlike me, Peter thought it was very cool that he had two rows of teeth. "Just like a shark, Mommy! I'm gonna have two rows of teeth just like a shark!"

He was excited but I knew that this wasn't normal so I made an appointment to see the dentist.

Yesterday I picked Peter up from school at 9:00 am and we headed to our appointment. The hygienist took an X-ray and we saw four permanent teeth and all of his baby teeth and it was all very exciting until she asked, "Do you want it pulled today?"

"Ummm, well, ummm, I really just want to talk to the dentist about it first," I stuttered. I knew that it needed to be pulled but I just expected that the dentist would look at it, we would discuss it and then make an appointment for next week.

I had talked to Peter earlier in the week about the possibility of the tooth needing to be pulled and he was nervous about it. But since I wasn't expecting that we would get it pulled that very morning, I hadn't even mentioned to him that it might happen that very morning.

So when the hygienist left I asked Peter if he wanted to get his tooth pulled right then.

"I'm not sure Mommy. Can I have a few minutes to think about it?" he asked with a concerned yet excited look on his face.

"Sure, baby. You have until the dentist comes in to think about it."

Three minutes later she walked in, took at look at the tooth and asked him if he wanted to get it pulled then.

And he shook his head up and down and timidly said yes!

I asked the dentist if he needed a shot but all he needed was a gel anesthesia so I gave her my blessing, signed the release forms, agreed to the cost and the next thing I knew, the dentist had a pair of pliers in Peter's mouth.

She took the pliers out of his mouth and handing them back to the hygienist.

"Is it out? Wow! That was fast!" I excitedly exclaimed.

But no, it wasn't out yet. The pliers were too large for Peter's tiny teeth. She got a smaller pair and the tugging began.

Peter exclaimed, "Owww! Owwww! Owwwwwww!" and started reaching for her hand.

The hygienist and I both lunged (I was a little slower because Sarah was sitting on my lap) and we kept his hands away from the pliers.

In about 10 seconds the baby tooth was out! The extraction was complete!

Peter sat up and two large, hot, wet tears spilled over his lower eye lids and down his cheeks. I also teared up as I wiped them away and I kept proclaiming, "You did great, buddy! You were so brave! What a great job!"

And I meant every word.

As we were checking out, Peter was standing near the door huddled up into himself. His arms were crossed, his head was down and he looked so sad. He looked so tiny and pathetic standing there.

So I did want any good mom would do. I whispered in his ear that since he had been so brave I was taking him to McDonald's for an ice cream sundae before I took him back to school.

And yes, it was only 10:00 am but I didn't care, my baby needed a special treat.

Apparently a McDonald's sundae, lots of hugs from mom and a phone call to dad at work made everything o.k.

He went back to school, showed off his new gap and was my little hero for the rest of the day.
Oh, and apparently the Tooth Fairy brings 5 gold one dollar coins to someone who has had a tooth pulled by the dentist instead of just 2.

Rainy days and pedicures go together like cheese and cheese graters.

It is rainy and cloudy today.

Again.

For what feels like the 147th day in a row.

So in an attempt to lift my spirits, I got a pedicure. It has been 6 months since my last pedicure and boy did it show. I felt sorry for the poor woman that was tasked with the job of removing six months worth of cuticles from my toe nails and dead skin from my heels.

She whipped out what appeared to be a large cheese grater with a handle and began to work on my heels. Dead skin went flying.

It was my own dead skin and I was still totally disgusted. And even with all of the scrubbing and grating and buffing she did, my heels still look old, dry and worn out.

So now I'm kicking myself for not slathering Vaseline on my heels and covering them with socks every night before bed this winter. I thought about it many times but usually not until right as I was about to fall asleep. And then I would decide that I would just do it tomorrow night.

And now six months have passed and we are on the cusp of flip-flop weather and "ewwwww" is all I can say when I look at my heels. I need to do something and I need to do it quickly.

Hmmmmm....I always buy my cheese already shredded. And I've got that cheese grater in the cabinet just collecting dust.

What if....