It's Been A Long Time...

Oops...I've been gone a LONG time! So much has happened! Where to start...

Well, Jay got a job at the Wal-Mart Distribution Center. This means I got to quit my job and stay home with my babies! :) Now we have a steady, better income while we wait for the Railroad.

We bought a Suburban because we were tired of the age-old argument that plagues most parents. "MOM! He's touching me!" So now they each have their own space and they couldn't be happier! Jay and I breathe a little easier now too!

I've become addicted to True Blood. I know. I'm so awful! I gave in and read the first book, "Dead Until Dark" by Charlaine Harris...and fell in love! Then, while still at work, I started watching Season 3 of True Blood...and fell in love...Luckily my Brother-in-Law, Jason, and his Fiancee, Gina, are into it too! So we're going to have True Blood parties and watch it together! Jay isn't so sure about all this but since his brother likes it, he figured it can't be all that bad...

I have a new crochet obsession too. I love charts. I just think it's so much fun! My husband is definitely benefiting from this new love. He's working in meat and produce at the D.C. and it gets a little chilly there. He asked me one day for a beanie and I thought...well, I can't send my hubby to work in just a plain, old beanie! I gotta make it cool! I searched all my patterns for some cool designs and found these: The Mario Mushroom was designed by April Draven and the Batman Symbol was designed by Merissa R. More to come! He asked me if I was going to make him a beanie for every day of the week! Who does he think I am!? Of course I'm going to do that.

As far as the kids go, there really isn't much going on. They're done with their summer programs. I'm not sure how I feel about that. It was good for them to go to school if only for a couple of hours.

Dane got to go to the Children's Museum with his class, all by himself with his Momma! We had a really hard time leaving! His favorite room was the Theater/Music room! YAY!!!

The heat has been so oppressive! So we really haven't been able to go outside much! Tyson's not doing well with that! He LOVES outside and would probably live out there if I let him!

Princess Zoey turns TWO on Wednesday! I can't believe how fast the time goes! :( Especially since Jay reminded me that next year we'll be able to enroll her at Kids First Pre-school...I didn't appreciate that! We painted her dresser lavender with white drawers and I wrote Princess Zoey on the top two drawers in puffy paint. It turned out super cute! :) We ordered her a Disney Princess toy box. We bought her a Disney Princess Barbie collection. (I've had it in my closet since May!) We're trying to get her room together so her brother's stop ruining her toys and so she has her own space!

I think that's all that's going on for now! I hear a fight going on, so I better go figure out what in the world is going on before someone loses an appendage! :) Ah, the life of a Mom!

Food coloring: My Frenemy

I love to cook. I think it's fun! I like to try out new recipes and add my own things to it. My specialty is my cookies. My family LOVES my cookies! So today, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, I decided to use food coloring and make them green. They turned out awesome and the kids thought they were great! They taste the exact same, but apparently the green made them taste better... :) Dane said "Mm! That tastes good!" Dane rarely talks unless it's important, so this was the best compliment of the day! I even took a couple dozen over to my In-Laws! Which I shouldn't do to my Mother-in-law since she's diabetic...sorry! :) The best part was my Hubby helped me make them this time! We normally cook everything together, but the cookies usually are a Mommy project. I was so happy to have that time together! (With three kids in the house, it's rare!)
The cookies were made, everything was put away and we had a generally good morning and early afternoon! Around 2:30 I went to bed. (I work the night shift at a hotel front desk.) I didn't go to bed when I came home that morning. I got Tyson ready for school, Jay took him to school and I stayed up so that I could spend some time with him! I woke up at about 8 to Jay hollering (that's what it was) and then I heard him running a bath for the kids. I couldn't figure out what was going on (still a little groggy) and I fell back asleep. Jay woke me up again at 9:30 so I could start getting ready for work. Before he leaves the room, he turns around and says, "Oh, by the way...you don't have any food coloring left." At first I couldn't figure out what he meant! Did he make something? Then it dawned on me. Oh no. The food coloring was in their outfits, on their dresser and on the floor. THAT'S why he was giving them a bath! Oh no. It wasn't the lighter food coloring either, it was the red and the blue. Horrid. We are NEVER getting our deposit back! We may even owe them money when we move out!
Food coloring is now going to have to go on my list. The list of "Things-I-Can't-Have-In-The-House-Anymore-Because-I-Live-With-Three-Curious-George's" list. Right up there with eggs, syrup and permanent markers. (I do have those things in the house, but I have to hide them really well!) I had to add the Disney movie Tarzan to that list too. I didn't think the closet could take much more Tarzan swinging, so I had to put the movie somewhere far away! Also...I don't think Mommy could take much more of that Tarzan yell.
My oldest made my day today though! When I was leaving for work, he walked up to me, gave me a hug and said, "You be good." I guess your kids do listen to you after all! :)

"You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend."

It's no secret that I love to read. I can remember my favorite book that my Mom used to read to me and Briana. "The Monster at the End of This Book." I still read children's books and not just because I have kids! Reading has always been my first love! :) Lately I feel like I've been ignoring it. I have so many other things going on that I just don't get as much time as I'd like. But thanks to Brenda, a woman who has always been like a mother to me, I have rediscovered my love of books! She introduced me to the website http://www.goodreads.com/ I love it! I have so much fun playing around on there! As I was adding all the books I've read to my "Shelf", I realized how much I wish I was reading! I kept thinking to myself: "Oh, that was a great book" and sometimes: "Blech. I didn't like that book." :) So I started thinking (and Jim from "The Office" made me think of it)...Maybe I should have a Top 5 list. You know: "If you were stuck on a desert island and could only take 5 books with you, what would they be?" I very greatly doubt I could keep myself to 5...but here are some of my all-time favorite books!

I just look at the cover of this book and I want to read it! I've read this about 5 times and I will never get sick of it! The movie is excellent too! That doesn't happen often, where the movie is as good as the book. This is the first novel I can remember reading. I remember coming to my Mom and asking for books that I could read because I was tired of reading "Young Adult" books. :) She went through her shelf and she handed me "Gone with the Wind" and said: "How about this?" I looked at it's monstrous size, handed it back and said: "Maybe another time..." I'm sure my poor mom was going through her books wondering which books would be appropriate for her young daughter to read! (She had a lot of crime novels!) :) She finally selected this book, handed it to me and said: "What about this? I think you'd like it." SOLD! I loved it then, and I love it now. "To Tawanda!"

I picked "The Phantom of the Opera" by Gaston Leroux because it scared the crap out of me. I read "Rosemary's Baby" and didn't flinch. I read this and I actually caught myself breaking out in a cold sweat. It sounds ridiculous, but it's creepy! The book is nothing like the 2004 movie with Gerard Butler. The picture on the cover is almost exactly how Leroux described The Phantom. *shudders* It was a great book and I sincerely couldn't put it down!

This was another book suggested by my Mom! One night I was perusing her bookshelves as I often did. I said, "Mom, do you have anything you've read lately that I should read?" She suggested this. Wally Lamb is one of her favorite authors. It's about two men, who are twins. One is "normal" and the other is a schizophrenic who chops off his right hand in a library because: "if your right hand offends thee, cut it off." That's how it starts and it just spirals down in to a land of crazy that you really wish you hadn't ventured into! But you find that what's crazy to one person, is normalcy to another. It's also a lesson in family bonds. Blood truly can be thicker than water. This is the first book that, when finished, I felt like my friends were gone! Finishing the book was such a bittersweet moment! My sister will actually put off finishing a book because she goes through the same thing!

"The Three Musketeers" by Alexandre Dumas. I love this author! "Count of Monte Cristo" and "The Man in the Iron Mask" belong to him also. How can you resist a good swashbuckling adventure! I grew to love these characters and was so very sad when the book ended! I wanted more...which is ridiculous, because the book is already pretty long. Dumas weaves such a complete profile for these men that you feel like you know them! Full of espionage, mystery, court life, sword fights, etc. *sigh* Such a good book.

Every girl needs to read an epic romance. That's why I chose "Outlander" by Diana Gabaldon. I don't mean those silly harlequin romance novels. (I don't judge anyone for reading them because everyone has their own tastes, but I just hate them.) I mean a real, epic, once-in-a-lifetime romance. Claire, an English nurse, jumps back in time 200 years thanks to some druid stones. Instead of it being 1945, it's 1745. She's in Scotland...and she's English. During this period of time, that's not good for her. England and Scotland are at war. She is rescued from an assault by some Scottish Highlanders (real ones, not Fabio in a skirt) who can't decide if she's a spy. She relocates a young Scot's (Jamie Fraser) shoulder, so they decide to protect her and to do that, she needs to marry Jamie. This will make her a Scot by marriage. But there's a problem...Claire is already married to Frank in 1945. What will she do? Stay with the Highlander? Or return home to her own time and to Frank? I really did like this book and it's absolutely worth reading! It's the first in a series of 6...4 of which I've read.

I know this makes 6, but I just don't care. I wouldn't consider this a book, but a necessity. I grew up with a Bible always near me. I went to a private elementary. I know these stories inside and out. The people in this book aren't characters to me. I've known them, studied them, named my children after them (middle names). It may seem strange to some, but it doesn't to me. It's no stranger than naming your child after an ancestor. When I read this, I feel comfortable. Like your favorite chair or a favorite sweater. This book feels lived-in. I feel at home here. I will never be without at least one Bible in my home. This is a connection to my past as well as to my future. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I have so many books that I love. I feel that reading is one of our greatest gifts. My Mom instilled it in me and I will pass it on to my Swarm. :) Nothing makes me happier than to see them flipping the pages of their little Golden Books asking me to read to them. Most of the time, they're incredibly impatient and keep trying to turn the pages so they can see the next picture. That's all right with me. I just like sitting with them.

My roots need doing...

I was trying to find this program I had used once before to do a Celebrity Morph kind of thing. Where you upload a picture and they match you up with what celebrities match your facial features. (Heather Graham is mine, by the way...her or Goldie Hawn...) The site I had used for this was My Heritage. I logged on and I realized that I had a whole bunch of information missing and that I could now add photos! Well, it started nagging at me and I just had to finish it. I'm not done at all but I've started and that's something! So I got to looking at the old photos that I had saved on my computer already. I love looking at old photos...I don't even care if I know the people in them...I'll still look. So I thought I'd share my favorites! :)

This is my Maternal Grandfather, Gerald Willard...which is a drawn out way of saying my Mom's Dad (Grandpa Jerry). :) Wasn't he a handsome man? He coulda been in pictures! This isn't actually my most favorite of him, but it's still pretty good! :) Of all the thing I miss, I miss his laugh the most. I noticed that he will be gone 18 years this April. That made me very sad for all the things I missed out on. I was almost 9 when he passed...

This is my Mom's Mom, Elaine Alice. My Grammy Elaine! I loves her sooo very much, it makes my heart hurt! She's not a conventional Grams in that she doesn't let me eat junk and stay up as late as I want. "Five fruits and vegetables every day!" But I like when she fusses and clucks over me and makes me eat even though I'm not hungry. "Oh, just a sandwich! I'll just make you a quick sandwich! You must be hungry, that's a long drive! Are you resting? You look tired! Maybe you should take a little nap after you eat!" I secretly love it! :) This is her Senior picture, I think. I'm going to guess that she was Class of 1953...Maybe... She was a stunning beauty and she still is! "Pure in heart and good of deed." :)

Those two pretty people pictured above, made this pretty baby! This is my Momma, Tami! She was born second to Jerry and Elaine. My Aunt Ladette was first, then Mom, then Cam, then Tad. Look at my chubby widdle Momma!! She is my fortress and my source of strength. She taught me the values of a Christian life and the importance of a personal relationship with God. My Grandma taught us that when you have a job to do, just do it. My mom carries that on and now so do her daughters. I hope it's something I pass on to Zoey. "We don't know how we do it, but Randolph women just do their job. No complaining." Thanks Mom. I don't think I say that often enough.

And then that beautiful woman got together with Yoda (my Dad) and made me! Look how cute! You doubt that my father was Yoda? Check out my ears....yeeeeaaah...Tell me about it. I then went on to marry a handsome man and we have made three absolutely horrible children together! :) Just kidding! I love The Swarm! They are beautiful and I'm excited for what their lives will turn out to be! You know what I find funny about this picture? Besides the fact that for some reason my parents had an inexplicably large straw hat? My little overalls say "Engineer" on them and I grew up to marry an Engineer! Ha! Cool.

I'm going to have to keep plugging away at my family tree! Maybe next weekend on our way to Lincoln we can take a detour to Litchfield. I have some graves there that need flowers. I haven't been there for a long time! It would be neat to see my Great-Grandparents house again! See ya next time! :)

Got rid of my baggage...literally...

I got rid of a TON of baggage today! And I don't mean the years-of-therapy-and-still-have-issues baggage. I mean I got rid of a ton of crap that was just hanging around my house!

Change is good!

It's official! My Mom, Sister and Niece are moved to Lincoln. :( Well, Sad Face for me, anyway! I'm really excited for them and the new start they're getting! I called my Mom yesterday and they were looking for day cares for Marley. That made me sad! But they sounded excited and they were getting used to their "neck of the woods". We're planning a visit this weekend or next to take the kids to the Lincoln Children's Museum...and also, I miss my Mommy already! Apparently, my Grammy must be ecstatic about them being so close! She already went over there to watch the Golden Globes! Hahaha!! It may sound silly but I'm jealous of the time they're going to get to spend with her! Hopefully we can get out East soon, too! Not just for a visit but permanently! :) And f.y.i.: My Grams makes an insanely awesome beef stew! Oh. My. Goodness. I think part of what made it awesome was that I missed my Grammy fussing and clucking over me. It made me feel like a little kid again, and I loved it! :)

Other than that, there isn't much going on! I'm up to Isaiah in my Bible reading. I can't believe how quickly it's going! This whole month is flying by!

Tyson is having good reports from school every day! That's so exciting! His new favorite phrase is: "Why not!?" and if he's told no more than once, we get a crossing of the arms and a "Fine! Whatever!"

Dane is very, very sick! He came down with a fever on Sunday night and we took him in to the doctor on Monday. He has a double ear infection! The left ear is worse than the right one! I'm pretty sure it's because that's the side he sleeps on. He seems to be doing better since he started the antibiotics! He's at least off the couch today and in his room watching movies with Big Brother! :)

Zoey is blowing kisses...but she doesn't really do the whole hand thing! She just looks at you and randomly goes "Mwah"! She's pushing her sippy cup around in her baby stroller right now. Except she got the stroller on it's back and is pushing it that way....whatever works!

I'm getting really hungry, so I better get going! That and I'm slacking on my crocheting because I'm super addicted to Inuyasha right now! I'm watching it on hulu. It's in Japanese with English subtitles. I thought that would irritate me because I'm used to the English voices, but I actually prefer it this way! Although, I do think the English voice for Inuyasha fits him better! :) Well, the kitchen is calling my name and it's starting to sound impatient!

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"We Could Be Heroes!"

I've discovered an odd pattern I've been following in my life. Everything I said I wanted to be when I grew up was some kind of hero. Hm. Weird. Well, maybe it's not that weird, but when most kids wanted to be doctors and firefighters, I wanted to be Jean Grey of the X-Men. THAT is a little weird. I had convinced myself that I could someday be a Superhero Mutant with Telepathic powers. I wanted to be her:

And then my parents introduced me to the awe-smacking awesomeness that is Indiana Jones! I really wanted to be an Archeologist just like him! Then one day my dad went and burst my poor little 5th-grader dream bubble and said that real Archeologists don't really do all those things. What?! Eventually I got over it and wanted to become an Anthropologist with an endorsement in Egyptian history. A dream I still hold onto. It may not be any more realistic than being Jean Grey, but I can still hold on to it! And who knows. Someday I might finish it and see the Valley of the Kings for myself!

And then I grew up and became something entirely different! I became a Mom. I can change a diaper faster than a speeding bullet! I can lift three children with the strength of 5 grown men! I can cure boo-boo's with just a kiss! I can chase away monsters and save the world just by my very presence! I never realized it, but I did become that Superhuman Mutant with Telepathic powers. You know what I mean, that "Mom sense". The feeling that something's amiss. The feeling that either something naughty, dangerous or otherwise deserving of your attention is going on!

Last night, as my boys were preparing to go to sleep, my oldest sons says: "Momma? You sing ABC's?" I sang him the ABC's. "Momma? You sing Twinkle Star?" I sang Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. "Momma? You sing Black Sheep?" I sang Baa, Baa Black Sheep. "That was a great job, Momma!" "Thank you, Tysie!" "You're welcome, Momma." I started to leave the room when I hear: "Momma? I love you." "I love you too. Thank you!" "You're welcome." And then Dane, who only speaks when he has something important to say says "I luh you toooooo! Aaaaw!" (He says it that way b/c the first time he said "I love you" everyone said "Aw!" So now he thinks that's just part of it!)

I don't care how cheesy, cliche or magoo it may seem. I love my kids. Our little conversations may not mean much to anyone else, but they mean the world to me. Because of Tyson's Autism, I waited 4 1/2 years to hear him call me "Momma". I was told it was possible he would never speak. Now look at him! Progress every day and conversations all the time! I could not be more proud! Our faith in "The Lord of Heaven's Armies" was rewarded. (That's a new term I picked up from my Bible reading! Cool, huh?)

I have to take off because I was slacking and I missed a touchdown by the Ravens and now I can't tell my husband how they scored. Oops... And besides, I am STARVING! So I'll have to figure out something to make! I can't wait! I love cookbooks! But that could be a whole blog of it's own!

For all those who are Mothers, I salute you! "What we do in life, echoes in Eternity!"

...These are a few of my favorite things...

Since I've started reading my Bible, I've been reminded of a lot of things! One that I was happy to remember was my favorite artist: Michelangelo. It probably seems cliche, and maybe a lot of people like him because he's so well known...or maybe because he's one of the artists one of the Ninja Turtles was named after...hm... Anyway, of all the art I've looked at in my life, his is my favorite. Mostly his sculptures. I think he had a way of bringing warmth to a chunk of marble. His statues almost look real. But there's another reason why I like him. He combined two of my favorite things: Art and Bible stories. The picture above is of his statue "Moses". I've just finished reading about Moses and am starting in on Joshua's turn as leader. It seems strange to some people, I suppose, but I'm really enjoying reading my Bible! My favorite books aren't up for a while yet (Psalms & Proverbs) but I'm finding a lot of interesting things along the way! I never really realized how bloody the book of Joshua is! Yikes! Unfortunately, I still have a hard time getting through Leviticus and Numbers. So much detail. I know it was important and it was necessary to repeat yourself back then because they didn't have paper as readily available as we do, or palm pilots or Blackberry's...But it is a struggle for me! The reading for the 8th will bring me through Joshua, Judges, Ruth and a little bit of I Samuel! So we're getting into the really good stories now!

Today I'm thankful for getting a reminder of why I love my husband! (Yeah, I know, gag.) We usually watch the same programs every day, but the last couple of days I've decided to put a movie on in the afternoon. Yesterday was "The Quick and the Dead". Today was "Jaws". I thought my husband wasn't paying attention since he was over at the desk playing on the computer. But once Jaws' theme music started, my husband all of a sudden says: "You're gonna need a bigger boat." HA! I was getting lunch for the kids and instead of turning off the movie and putting on sports like he usually does, he sat down and we finished watching it together! Strange how after you have kids, the things that make you happy change! Maybe even seem trivial to other people. But simply being able to sit down together and watch a movie, well...that's the good life! :) And as an added bonus, every time Tyson came out to the living room he'd look at the TV and say *gasp* "Oh no! The shark's teeth!" (He said this no matter what was on the screen!) haha!

I'll leave you with another of my favorite sculptures of Michelangelo's. The Pieta. It's one thing to read about Jesus' death. It's another to have to look at it through the eyes of Mary. And now, being a mom....well...there's no way to describe it to anyone. But I think Michelangelo did a good job of getting the sorrow of a Mother right on this one...Also, there's a good story that goes with it. Apparently someone had said it was the work of another artist, so in his anger, he carved "Michelangelo Buonarroti, Florentine, made it" onto Mary's sash! He later regretted doing that and swore never to sign another work of his. One of my art teachers had been able to see this statue in person. He said you used to be able to go right up to the statue and touch it. But when he was there, they had it roped off. Someone had taken a hammer to either Mary's foot or Jesus', I can't remember which one...They suppose it was for a keepsake and not for malice, but who knows?!

"I coulda been a Pink Lady"

"I coulda been a pink lady" I say to my husband in my best Marlon Brando voice...my best impression is actually a really bad one, but it's the thought that counts...We were watching Grease and I kept thinking how life seemed so simple back then! How great it would be when the worst guys out there were "greasers". The worst trouble kids got into was drag racing...I know there were worse things out there even at that time, but still! My husband soon broke into my reverie about poodle skirts and cigarette's rolled up into white t-shirts with: "Why am I watching this? There's football on?!" Oh well. There are worse things, right Rizzo?

So we get in the Tahoe today to go pick up Tyson, and Jay casually looks over at me and asks: "Did you hear me at all when I was on the phone with Matt?" Hm. He thinks he's so sneaky. I know he's either trying to hide some "surprise" from me or he has something he's bursting to tell me and he's trying for suspense. "No." I say. "What did you talk about?" He casually mentions that he got the transfer to Wyoming. Now...that's something you should probably tell me right away...He says that he is 32nd out of 40 for the Rawlins transfer and 38th out of 40 for the Green River transfer. So now we play the waiting game. My favorite. Apparently they're calling them in groups of 10, training them for 2 months and then calling the next 10. So we'll be waiting for a while, but it's better than nothing!

I am on my second day of my Bible-reading and I am so excited! I'm 80 chapters through the Bible now and I find myself excited to read the next 40! I'm reading things I'd never heard of and that's better than finding $5 in an old purse! (January 3rd's reading was Genesis 1-40, the 4th's reading was Genesis 41-Exodus 30. January 5th's reading will be Exodus 31-Numbers 3)

One short story before I go! Tyson went back to school today and he is back in his "Kung Fu Panda" phase. They told Jay that he was doing his Crane and Mantis moves. He was also meditating like Shi Fu does. At one point he was running around the classroom and one of his teachers told him to try meditating again. Without missing a beat, he says "That's not the point!" and continued about his business! I find this hysterical! Just thought I'd share!! :)
See you next time!!

(Oh, Miranda, in case you're reading this, my Mom moves in about 2 weeks. Sad day!)

"And here...we....go..."

So here I am, sitting at work watching "Are You Being Served?"...and that's pretty much it! I suppose on a normal basis I have more going on, but as of this moment I just can't think of anything! I still have quite a few projects to get done for the ladies in my Dad's office. I'll post pictures of the finished work as soon as I can! Lucky for me, my Mom's a professional photographer! Unluckily for me, she'll be moving away soon! But we do not speak of that in my house, as it always gets me a little flustered and upset! I mean, for pity's sake, I'm 26 years old and I'm having panic attacks about my Mommy moving 3 hours away! *sigh* I'm ridiculous. As I was saying, I do have some crochet projects that need tending to, but I really am procrastinating. I just can't find the right...what's the word...I'll think of it later...
I started re-reading the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich on Thursday. I just love that series! I'm on Three to Get Deadly already! Sheesh. If you haven't discovered these little treasures for yourself, you should! They're slightly guilt-free and completely fat free! Does it get better? No.
Starting tomorrow, I'll be starting my Read-the-Bible-in-a-month plan! I'm very excited about this and I really want to stick to it. Most people read it in a year, and I think nothing would feel better than to accomplish this in a month! Of course, I'll be starting with Genesis 1-40. I'll let you know how that goes! :)
The Swarm (that's what I lovingly refer to my kids as...) have been remarkably good since they have so many new things to play with! Christmas was good to them this year! Tyson has become that little boy from the Toy Story movies (Andy, right?) since he has the "Movie-Size" Buzz Lightyear and Woody! He carries them EVERYWHERE! Dane is very Dane. He brings a new toy out, plays with it for a while, goes back to his room and brings out yet another toy. This goes on all day as if he says to himself "What is this new delightful thing!? I must show everyone! But I must also hide it so no one else can play with it!" I'm sure soon I will wonder where all their new toys have gone and while I clean, I'm sure I'll find them hidden in some little stash of his! Zoey...What can I say about the Princess? She's in love with her dolly stroller...and pretty much all of her toys! She was carrying around her 3 new Barbies all at once the other day. She laid them out in a line on the couch, looked at me and said "Ooo!", scooped them up, and waddled back to her room...This promptly made me giggle.
That's all from me for today. I can't think of much else, and I've decided that I really should get started on those crochet projects after all! MOTIVATION!! That's the word I was looking for! Told you I'd think of it. Until next time!