Long car rides

So we are almost home from our 2nd trip to Philly in 3 weeks. I've come to the realization that I don't know how as a child I survived long car trips. First, I think I have an adult onset of ADD. Sitting in the car for 11 hours is dreadful for me. After about hour 2 I feel myself starting to wonder if ill get through the rest of the trip. But thankfully I have my kids to help with that since I have to turn around to start movies, pick up toys, and get food/drinks out. I will say that the boys are GREAT travelers-thank god for their portable DVD player and their 'guys'. :) thankfully we are almost home and we won't be taking another long trip til March...to Philly! :)

Ugh...I'm not a social mom...

Ok so I'm sitting at Mason's gymnastics class and realizing that I'm really not like any of these moms. Granted we are in Centerville which is a little yuppie city (yes I did grow up here) so most of the moms sitting here are loaded. These moms are chatting about how her husband owns this company and then owns that and blah blah blah. Then one mom talked about her house and that it was too big for her one cleaning lady to clean so she has to hire another. Gag. And then there is this weird lady who tries to talk to everyone and makes random comments. Example-she just busted into these two womens' conversation and said "Hey guess where I went yesterday? I went to see Rachael Ray." And then she continued on for about 5 minutes about how her daughter loves Rachael Ray. Ooookkkk....weirdo. So now they are on a Wii conversation and arguing about how much it costs and if you need a yoga mat for the Wii Fit. I dare to interject to tell them they are both wrong since I don't want to be roped into the conversation. Oh boy! And Mason's class is an hour...can't wait to hear more. :)

Dreams

During the holidays, sometimes I get to thinking about the what if's. Like what if I had a million dollars, etc, etc. But one of my major what if's is 'what if I started my own photography studio?'

My HUGE dream for myself is to one day have my own photography studio...I just LOVE taking pictures of children, familes and mainly just people. I would love to just focus on kids b/c I just love capturing their cute little expressions without them knowing it! I've posted some pictures I took of my friends little girls...I had the best time and it was my first experience with a studio like setting (even though I was just in her family room). It went great! I take pictures of my kids all the time and try to snap pictures whenever possible. Whenever there is a family gathering, you will always see me snapping away. It's great and I just LOVE IT!! So why is it so hard to follow your dreams?!

Quick Parent Tip

Quick Parent Tip that I learned tonight: Check the kids laundry for any stray full-used diapers.

Mike and I were eating dinner and I had a load of the kids laundry in since Carson had pooed all over his pants. The buzzer went off and I went over to get the clothes out to put in the dryer since Carson's blankie and giraffe were in there and I wanted to make sure those two items would be dry before bedtime. I opened the door and immediately saw white pieces and little gel balls all over the clothes, door of the wash, and all inside the machine as well. I wiped my finger over some of the mysterious business and notcied that it looked like the diaper goo that lingers after a diaper has been on way too long. I called to Mike to come over and look and as we sifted through the clothes, we found a soggy diaper (still in tact) buried in the clothes. Ooopps!! We took out all the clothes, shook them off outside and Mike vaccuumed our washing machine. I never thought we'd ever do that! But one positive thing came out of this experience: at least we know the diapers we have can last through one wash cycle. :)

Mama always said, "Don't play ball in the house!"

As I was finally sitting down for a few mintues after dinner in my comfy recliner, I turned on Dancing with the Stars to watch in between the boys running around the house. And by the boys, I mean Mason, Carson and MIKE. So they were running around chasing each other and having a good time, but I finally realized all the laughter was coming from them throwing balls at each other. They would run to one room and Mike would try to hit one of the boys on the back since the chants from the boys were "Get me Daddy, Get me!" Yes, they were having fun, but Mason was running behind the couch and knocked over a cheapo frame I have out. I yelled at Mason to stop running behind the couch and the end table and to not do that anymore. I got the obvious look of 'Oh mommy, stop being a grouch'. So the running and the ball throwing continued and I sat in my chair watching my show. The next sound I hear is a crash in the hallway and Mike gasping. So Miss Crotchety got out of her chair, turned around and saw Mike's hands to his face with the look of "I'm in trouble" all over it. Yes, I said, Mike. Not Mason, Not Carson, but my 31 year old husband, Mike. Apparently a stray ball had hit my hallway console table and knocked over a frame and a Precious Moment. Not just any Precious Moment, but one from my grams collection that cannot be replaced. Pieces were scattered on the floor and I just looked at Mike and yelled, "BUBBY!" Well he's still in trouble, but at least my Precious Moment is sitting on our counter all super-glued together...I guess that's better than duck tape! So remember kids...Mama always said, "Don't play ball in the house!"

God works in mysterious ways

So this is my first blog and what happened to me at lunch today, is the reason for this being my first blog. And many of you know...I'm not a regular church goer anymore...

I was at Toys R Us in the Star Wars section looking for some toys for the boys when I hear this little voice saying, "Excuse me, excuse me." So I figured this person was talking to me so I turned around and saw this little tiny grandmaish woman standing there with a helpless look on her face. I walked over to her and said, "Can I help you find something?" She then started looking at her watch and saying to me (in an accent that I can't put a finger on) that her friends were supposed to meet her here at 11am, that they never showed up, and that she needed to get to Elder Beermans (across the street) by 1pm so her husband could pick her up. I asked her if she needed a phone to call her friends and she pulled out her cell phone and said they didn't answer and she couldn't call her husband b/c "he was at appointment". So as any person would do in today's society, I of course, had a little funny feeling about what was going on. The lady then asked me, "Would you be able to take me over to Beermans?" And still, my funny feeling was there, but I said yes I could take her over. She then got this cute little look on her face and said, "Bless you. I've asked several people and everyone said no. I wasn't sure what to do. Please go shop and I will stand right here and wait for you." So I said okay and walked over the Wii section to find what I came for. The whole time I was waiting in line to ask for a game, I could see her just standing there and part of me just wanted to run away and hide in the store. But something was telling me that I needed to help out this lady. So I never got my games b/c they were not in stock and then I went back to the lady and told her I was ready. She walked really slow and my car was far away so I told her to wait at the curb and I would come around to get her. Again, part of me wanted to just drive off, but then what kind of person would I be leaving an elderly woman in the cold with no one to help her. I got out of the car, got her in my car, made sure her seatbelt was on and drove her across the street to Beermans. I started making conversation with her to help calm my nervousness as to what I was doing and she asked for my name. I told her Kary and she responded, "No it should be Angel, you really are an angel for doing this for me". I almost wanted to laugh, but just smiled at her and said thank you. I asked for her name and she responded in her accent "Maria". At that moment, all I could think about was my grandma's favorite church song, "Ave Maria" and how this must be God testing out my faith.
I did get her to Beermans (both of us were safe and sound) and as she got out of the car again she said, "Bless you Kary, you are an angel." I smiled again and said thank you and I watched her walk into Beermans.
So here's my question...what would you have done in that situation?

Addition...someone sent me this passage: "Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:1-2
Now I believe that woman was an angel.