Smellyann Strikes Again

Product Review: "What's In The Bible DVD"

I was selected for participation in this review and given the What's in the bible DVD as a member of The Homeschool Lounge Review Team. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

 

A little while back, we were given this DVD: Volume 1: In The Beginning / Genesis from the "What's in the Bible" series to review. It's taken us a while to watch the DVD because our machine broke, and then the laptop wouldn't read the disk properly. Argh! We finally had a chance to view the 60-minute DVD Monday night, after I figured out how to get it to play in the afore-mentioned laptop. At last!!

 

You may or may not be able to read that top-right corner, but it tells us that this series is from Phil Vischer, the creator of VeggieTales®, of which we are huge fans! Indeed, I recognized several voices from VT, so it was a little bit of familiarity embedded in something novel for us.

All three kids sat transfixed throughout the hour-long, two-part DVD, and they erupted into giggles many times in that time. Volume 1 covers the structure and purpose of "the world's most important book," along with who wrote it. Covered topics include Adam & Eve and Noah and the Great Flood, amongst others. A bonus short section,"Quacky's Questions," answers "What is kindness?" My children watched the entire DVD, and then we discussed it.

Jack, my 9-year-old son, was exhausted by the time it was over, so he (as is typical for him) claimed not to have enjoyed it or learned anything from it (though I know he did both) and went straight to bed when it was over. Well! That left the girls.

Sophia, seven, told me she learned that it's important to always try to be good and obey her mom and dad, and God, and not be bad. She learned what sins were, and she learned about Noah and the flood. She said she was glad that God promised not to flood the entire Earth again, and she also learned that God separated people and gave them different languages to speak so there would be less sinning in the world. (Hey, I'm just telling you what my baby said; take what you will from it.)

When asked if she learned anything additional, Chloë, 11, told me that she learned that the Bible is the most important book in the world. We've talked previously - earlier in the same day, even - about respecting The Good Book and not losing or mistreating it (or any other books, but especially this one), so it didn't surprise me that she had this to say.

Both of my daughters said they loved the DVD and thought it was really funny, especially when the characters spoke in silly voices. They were surprised to learn that we get to keep the DVD instead of "renting it back," as they say, and also that it was given to me for us to review. Chloë said, "I thought you bought it for us as a fun surprise! Can we get more of them?"

 

Indeed,  I think it's possible this will make a great set for Christmas, and I know they - and the like-minded amongst you out there - will be thrilled to receive it!

If you visit the site, you'll see there are some great **free** resources and activities to go along with the series, including coloring pages, Bible flashcards, a Study Guide, and more!  Let me know if you end up getting the set or any parts of it, and what you think, too!

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Thanks to The Homeschool Lounge review team and the series for providing us with this excellent jumping-off point for discussing all things Biblical!

Fin.

Saturday 9: Self Esteem

Link up here if you're playing along today!

Saturday 9: Self Esteem

1. How was your self esteem growing up?

 

It's never been very high, but it was especially low as a kid.

 

2. Do you ever have a hard time with morals?

 

Sure, I've come up against some situations that make me stumble, in that regard. Yes.

 

3. Do you eat in bed? If yes, what?

 

Occasionally, and if I do, I suppose it's whatever I'm in the mood for.

 

4. What was the last movie you hated and why?

 

I rarely hate a movie, so I can't even really think of a recent one. I took my oldest to see the Pirates movie that Hugh Grant had a vocal role in, a few weeks ago, and I was so very bored for the first half. That's unusual. It got better, but it wasn't great. (They had me when Chuck Darwin came on the scene, but I didn't love the way he was portrayed!)

 

5. Have you ever felt that you lost it all? If yes, explain.

 

Hmm. Mentally lost my shit? Yes, I have. But lost it all, as in hit rock-bottom? I don't think so, no.

 

6. Have you ever been stalked?

 

Yes, I have. The most frustrating part of that is the authorities' refusal/inability to act until you're harmed. I was harmed, though, and to be completely honest, I still have my bad-daydream-fantasy-thing that he's going to show up at my door and shoot me.

 

7. Do you believe in 'self help' for problems, or do you prefer therapy?

 

I'm in therapy, and it's great - because I've found an excellent care provider. I've been with 'bad' therapists, so I think it completely depends. I don't think this should be an either/or question, though. Why can't one do both?

 

8. What celebrity do you think should make a run for office?

 

Ayyyy, uh, um.... no?

 

9. Do you believe in happy endings? (We do. That's why this is the last question!)

 

Of course. I'm the eternal optimist, right here.

 

Fin.

Friday Fragments

Link up with here with Mrs. 4444 if you've got bits and pieces floating through your brain today!

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Right off the bat, I have to say I'm excited that tomorrow is the day I'm spending ~8 hours getting my iron transfusion! It's my first one, and it's not unusual for gastric bypass patients to need them. I'll probably be getting my first of many Vitamin B12 shots, as well. My hemoglobin levels are abyssmally low, which means it's a struggle and a chore just for me to make it through the day, every day, let alone cover everything that's on my plate. I've been dropping a lot of balls lately, admittedly, and I'm hoping this will make a huge difference for me - and my family, who have to put up with me. Hopefully, too, I'll be able to stop consuming the massive daily amounts of caffeine that I do to stay functioning and focused. So, yay!

The only downside is I won't be able to knit during the procedure... but I have about eleventy-billion magazines to catch up on, so I'm covered there. And I can always nap. What I'm wondering about now is, when do I pee? And eat? (I'll let you know. Hee.)

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In awesome news, my kids have been focusing on their reading in our homeschooling so far this new year, and they have progressed dramatically. My oldest, a fifth grader, had to write her first book report, after much gnashing of teeth over it, and she did a splendid job. I had to make just a few corrections - all mechanics - but the content was fantastic. I was so pleased!

As for the two Littles, my son is in 3rd grade and came out of 1st grade public school hardly literate at all. So I remediated him from the Kinder level with our K-2 Hooked on Phonics program, and he just "graduated" from the program! It only took him a year and a half to do all three years' worth, so that's pretty great. Yes, I'm proud of him, but even more incredible is how visibly proud of himself he is! I love it!

The youngest, a first grader who was a late bloomer with regard to reading (she's the most active, physical of the lot), has suddenly pushed through the block and is now almost to the 2nd grade level of the program. So go, kids!! Starting next week, we'll slow down on so much all-reading, all-the-time, and focus more on math, with which all three of them also need remediation. No child left behind, my butt! But the buck stops here. :)

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We were supposed to go on a field trip to the Food Bank with our two respective Girl Scout troops today, but I found out two hours before the trip that they had to reschedule it. ARGH! I had no choice but to cancel our regular meeting, since I have it planned to have a guest speaker come in, and there was no way to get her on such short notice. It was pretty stinko (my word of the month), and I was bummed, since we're behind where I wanted to be in my Daisy troop at this point. But with the iron deficiency, I have to say, I wasn't too terribly disappointed to get a reprieve! Just sayin'.

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We've had Sophia to the Emergency Department 3-4 times this past week, as her breathing struggles have suddenly kicked back into high gear. It's not the weather, since it's barely cold here, and it started in the summertime anyway (in 2010!). We've seen 8 or 9 different doctors and gotten just as many "suggestions" about what it could be, with no real answers. It's frustrating for me, as her mom, to watch her go through this, so I can only imagine how much of an annoyance it is for her. My husband thinks it's entirely stress-induced, but I disagree. That may be a component, certainly, but since it frequently comes on when she's just sitting around, doing nothing remotely upsetting, how can that be?? I just wish I could help her.

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A local-but-online-only friend of mine is a potter, and she fashions these awesome, funkadelic business card holders that I've been coveting for a long time. Last week, she made this red one, and I KNEW it was the one I had to have. It arrived today. Do you love it?! I do! So cool. Check out Lisa's Etsy shop for more awesome clay-mations!

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We drove up the Eastern Shore of Virginia on Sunday (here's my view out the windshield of the Chesapeake Bay), for a high-paying mystery shop. Great, except I kind of screwed it up a little, and now I don't know if I am going to get paid for it. Argh. Well, if that happens, at least we had a fun trip and enjoyed lots of interesting scenery, right?

This is the kids in the back during the trip, watching Judy Moody and the Not-So-Bummer Summer, which they've been waiting for me to rent from the Blockbuster kiosk for ages. I waited until it dropped to $1, so I could get it for free (lots of codes out there, folks!), because I'm cheap like that!

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Speaking of mystery shops, Rob and I finally went out for a nice dinner - with the kids, so it was only semi-romantic! - to celebrate the 11th wedding anniversary we shared on the 2nd of this month. Here's my Appletini. The kids love cherries and all clamored for mine, but um, no. Not the ones all soaked in Smirnoff, kiddos! It was really strong, and I got drunk very quickly. I drink maybe once a month, if that, and wow. I'm such a lightweight since my surgery!

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And here's me, that night (tipsy), showing you my hair in its awkward growing-out phase. I can't stand my hair right now. I want it to be long NOW. I'm half-tempted to just chop it again, but it grows soooo slowly, I may never have another ponytail. Is 35 too old for ponytails, anyway? Not around the house, or in the summer at least, right? ;)

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Last week (which I can tell ya, because I skipped FF then, sorry), we totally kept the kids up and took them to the 12:01 AM first showing of the newly re-released Beauty and the Beast in 3D. It was AWESOME. I think I had as good a time as the kids did. It cost a small fortune; I had sticker shock, but it was worth it for the "cool mom points" I earned, I think. At least Rob managed to stay awake during the whole thing - he'd had a nap first to make sure! Have you seen it? It was great.

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Lastly, speaking of Etsy, I have to share this story. I bought this gorgeous yarn on clearance from Summer of Perfectly Handmade, and the whole situation quickly turned into a comedy of errors: First, she accidentally sent me the wrong yarn, and then she sent me the correct yarn after I mailed it back (and she was GREAT through this whole process, and I totally recommend her, so don't think I'm speaking too badly of her). Well, it was badly skeined, and when I wound it into center-pull "cakes" with my swift and ball winder, it took about two hours vs. the 10-15 minutes it should have, because it was such a mess. I finally got it, though, and managed to knit ONE hexipuff for the Beekeeper's Quilt I'm making before going to bed for the night. Well, I stupidly left that troublesome-but-lovely yarn out overnigh, and our two kittens decided to make it their plaything overnight. When I woke up early, before the kids, I went to go knit another puff with it... and it was GONE. So I instantly knew "the twins," as they are, were the culprits and headed upstairs to look for it. I found two 8mo kittens, each with a shred of the yarn hanging out of their mouths and looking at me guiltily. They immediately dropped it and went to go hide under my son's bed! Then I searched around and found the yarn strewn all over my older daughter's room, some of it chewed it into short strands, some of it just a gnarled, knotty mess, but all entirely wrecked. GAH!!  However, I kept plugging away at it, and look! Up there! I managed to eke out 13 or 14 hexipuffs out of the yarn, which I eventually sorted out, and they'll look great in the quilt. But what a pain!!

P.S. Summer sent me some more yarn as a gift, for all my troubles. So if you're a "yarnie" like I am, don't hesitate to check her out!

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I'll leave you on that note. No, this one: "All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

RIP, Dr. King.

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Fin.

Jack In 100 Years

We stopped into the drugstore the other day, and when Jack walked next to this old-guy Halloween statue thingy, I had myself a good laugh. "Jack!" I called. "Come stand next to this thing!" He's good-natured about his stature (for the couple of you who are new here, my 8-year-old diminutive son is growth hormone deficient and takes a nightly shot of HGH, but he's still the size of an average 3-4 year old), so he played into the joke willingly. He thought it was pretty funny himself, actually!

Just thought I'd share.

Fin.

Friday Fragments

Mrs. 4444 is the brainpower behind Friday Fragments, so be sure and link up with her if you're in pieces this week!

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So, despite the fact that:

 - We still have some fleas and our natural solution (sprinkling diatomaceous earth everywhere) isn't working well,

- we still don't have AC in the house OR in my van,

- last year's housefly problem has returned,

- pigeons have invaded our attic, and

- my bipolar meds are in need of tweaking, apparently, because my moods are all over the map lately,

I'm having a pretty decent week. I'm feeling happy, content, and grateful for my wonderful life. It's not a feeling I've experienced often in my mixed-up life, so I'm holding onto it this time with all my might.

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Our monthly Bunco night was Wednesday, and I was the "host" (although it's always held at T's house now). These are the prizes I brought, and they were pretty well received. I love getting Bunco prizes and always put a lot of thought into it. I actually kicked butt this month and won TWO prizes, so I brought home the chunky red necklace from Torrid that I liked, and the Salt Water Taffy that my kiddos had been eyeing since I picked it up. Steph subbed in this month and snagged a couple herself!

Btw, see those cards with the elephants on them, near the top left? Made with real elephant poop. Awesome, right? :D

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Speaking of Bunco, I wore this pendant that I reviewed on my giveaway blog, Fishing and Wishing, and it got raves! Check it out if you'd like one for yourself. ;)

And not only that, but I'm thisclose to my goal weight and very definitely plan to reach it by the time I hit the 1½-year post-gastric bypass-surgery mark on the 26th, so my new figure got a lot of attention at Bunco night, too. I purposely dressed up in my LBD (Little Black Dress) to show it off a little, hee.  Two of the other ladies were talking, and they told me that I should be a spokesperson for the surgery! Another one even called me "skinny," which is, like, the awesomest compliment I can get right now.

Love those girls, MWAH!

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I had my 18-month follow-up with my surgeon (Dr. C, thank goodness; I think the other guy is a complete @$$) this morning, and he was full of praise for my progress.

He doesn't want me to lose much more at all, actually. I'm at about 152.5 lbs, and he'd like to see me go no lower than 150 lbs, even though I'm only 5'2" and my "ideal" BMI-chart weight is about 125 lbs. He said that a frame that can hold 341 lbs (I know!! Shame on me) just would not look good at 125, and I would probably feel terrible. I asked him to elaborate on that, and he just said I'd feel completely miserable. (Wouldn't I like to test that theory, though?!)

So, I know I will go substantially lower than 150 when I get my jiggles and stuff cut off, which I plan to start doing as soon as our still-outstanding tax refund comes in, but maybe the 120s aren't the destiny for me. Eh. I got called a "MILF" by two hot guys recently, so what more do I need?! :D

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Oh, also, I asked Dr. C. about the fact that almost every time I stand up, I get so light-headed that I almost black out. It's a major nuisance. I wasn't sure it was related to the weight loss, but he confirmed that it definitely is and is very common.

The problem?

My blood pressure is too low.

Which is a switch, considering I used to be on meds for my very HIGH pressures.

The solution?

I need to add more muscle mass, since I've lost a considerable amount of that, to help bulk up my weakened blood vessels, and I have to add more salt to my diet. (You don't hear that often, eh?) And hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, of course, which I am always conscious of, but it's especially hard in the current heat.

He promised that it would stop when my weight loss finally levels off, and that is one thing I am looking forward to. Having to stop and hold on to something for 10-20 seconds every time I get up is a major pain in my arse!

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Tonight was fun. With the Amazon.com gift cards I've been racking up with my Swagbucks, I was able to get a free Ice Cream Maker, and it arrived last night. Rob went out for the extra ingredients we needed tonight, and we made some awesome organic vanilla soft serve. I can't really have any, but I did steal a few spoonfuls of the finished product. Oh, my stars, it is GOOD. GOOD!!! Next time, I forewarned them that we'll be making me some sugar-free strawberry sorbet, so Mama can actually enjoy some frozen goodness. I can't wait!

(Those pictures are from my shutterbug-in-training, Chloë.)

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I had two free passes to see Toy Story 3, so I bought two more tickets and took the kids to see it at the local theater today. What a great flick! I actually cried my eyes out at the end. The kids loved it, too, and they talked about it all evening. Have you seen it?

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That's it. I didn't record any Cute Kid Quotes this week; hopefully I'll get some for next time!

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Fin.

Our Day In D.C.

On Saturday, La Familia Odette made the nine-hour round-trip up to Washington, D.C. so that Chloë could reshoot part of her role in the short movie Boom. The director, Olivia, had received a grant to rework the film a bit, so fortunately, our trip and Chloë's acting were paid for this time by the grant. W00t!

The trip up was fine and ordinary. I started out driving but didn't even make it to Richmond before I became too drowsy to drive. I hadn't slept much the night before, and in any case, it seems like driving for any distance puts me to sleep anymore. It really sucks, since I actually like taking road trips.

So I napped for a while and then woke up to navigate Rob into the city. It was our first time actually driving in the District, and we were both, I think, a wee bit nervous. Last time we went, when Sophia was still in utero, we stayed outside the city and rode the train in and around town. At first, Rob claimed that it was really no different than the kind of traffic we see here in Hampton Roads, but later he admitted that no, it was a bit more complicated than that. I drove out of the city and was pretty at ease about it, but then, I really did most of my learning to drive in Miami, while at the same time figuring out how to drive a stick shift!

 
I had put Rob in charge of bringing the food for our time in the car, and, well, he really didn't bring that much. Everyone was starving. Fortunately, there was food on set, but I don't think Olivia meant to feed my entire family for the day! Um, oh well. Here's Jack on a pile of chairs, eating a cup full of grapes.

Everyone was pretty restless, as we waited about 3 or 4 hours while Olivia and the crew shot other scenes. We tried to keep them calm and quiet, but that was a pretty futile effort. Thankfully the crew members didn't make us feel bad about the noise; they just quietly shut the door to the conference room we were in and went about their business.

Sophia was pretty stoked when I let her have a Sprite. Of course, that meant the other two had to get one, too. As for me, um, I had some M&Ms and a piece of doughnut. Exactly the sort of thing I should be eating, right? But I'm 2.8 lbs away from my doc's goal for me, so hey. (I'm going to try to lose that last 2.8 lb before my check-up with him on Thursday, so it's nothing but protein shakes for me this week! Bleh.)

Anyway.

At some point, I put down the knitting I was working on and fell sound asleep, facedown on the table. Somehow, Rob was able to get Jack to take a nap in the chair, but Sophia was another story. Jack napped and napped!

And then it was finally time for Chloë to Do Her Thing.  Rob had to stand in as an extra, but Olivia really didn't laugh when I told her he'd only do it if he got a credit on IMDb, too. Hee.

I was shut in the conference room with The Littles while they were out there filming, so I have no idea how it went. And when they were finished with Rob and ready to do her close-ups (closes-up?), he joined me. So it was with immense pleasure that we took the following commentary from Olivia: "Chloë really has tremendous camera presence. She is a natural. Whenever we did a take, I didn't even have to ask the crew if it was a good take, because we all could just feel that it was." That's not exactly what she said, but pretty close, so we are quite proud of our little actress!

After Olivia told us that, and we were walking out of the building to return to Vanna, I asked Chloë, "So, do you want to be an actess, honey?" She said to me, "No, I am an actress." Well, you go, girl!

We were in the MidCity section of D.C., and it was really a beautiful and interesting area. Rob and I had a great deal of fun looking at all the colors and styles of the area's architecture. There was so much to look at. I could really see myself living there. We just loved it.

There were so many flowers and lovely plants and gardens in each of the townhouses' front yards, too. Everyone looked so content, walking around town, enjoying their little MidCity lives. It was fun being one of them for a day.

For a special treat, we decided to take Chloë out to dinner. She wanted Subway, but we couldn't find that, so we ended up at Point Chaud Café & Crêpes, which had every kind of crêpe one could possibly imagine. The kids all had to use the bathroom, so I chose several different kinds of crépes for them off the menu, figuring they could nibble on a little of this, and a little of that.

A lady at the next table over saw me photographing the family, so she volunteered to take a family picture of us. And here we are.  Sophia's face cracks me up!  (Can you tell I have no boobs? hehe)

Point Chaud had real Coke, made with real sugar, in glass bottles: Rob's favorite. So I got him one. He was well-pleased. Now if only those folks would make some organic Coke...!

 
  Sophia loved that she could stand up on her chair and watch the "cookers" make our crêpes through the window. She kept reporting back to us on their progress: "Ooh, now they're using Nutella! They're putting some kiwis in! Ew, what's that green stuff?" etc.

I thought I knew my kids, but apparently I don't: I ordered three bottles of apple juice, and all three handed them back and asked for OJ instead. But Mama knows best, because the juice tasted nasty to them compared to the wonderful stuff we've been getting delivered to our house each Wednesday afternoon!

Finally our crêpes arrived, and they were YUMM-O!! The kids really had no interest in the kiwi or the turkey and cheese ones, but they were all about the Nutella and banana one. Surprise. I liked my egg, cheese and spinach crêpe, and Rob's mushroom, tomato and Swiss was pretty good, too, although he didn't really like the whole wheatness of it. I liked mine, though.

So that was our little trip. We meandered the short distance back to Vanna and counted about 38 CVS Pharmacies on our way out of the District. I made it almost all the way to Richmond this time, before surrenduring the driver's seat to Rob.

So now, we wait for the release of Boom, and I couldn't be more excited to see it!

Fin. 
  
 
  

 

 

  

 

Things On My Mind

So I'm behind again; what else is new?

There has been lots going on.

Of course, as usual, I have been driving myself crazy with the mystery shopping. I did get a new shirt out of that, though, and I've had a couple high-paying ones that were worth the incredibly boring effort.

I went and had my Quick Start training for being Sophie's Daisy Scout troop leader next year. I learned a lot and feel much more prepared to begin that endeavor, even while simultaneously beginning to homeschool the three kids. I will feel even better after I pick up my Leader guide. Kim, the trainer, gave me lots of good hints and tips for running the troop smoothly.

She (Kim) also has a very petite daughter, so when she saw Chloe Friday night at the "She and Me" pre-registration event for next year, and Chloe introduced herself as a rising Junior Girl Scout, she offered to break out her daughter's old Junior petite uniform and pass it along to me. Great! Any way to save a buck.

On the one hand, I want to save each uniform especially for the girl who wore it and earned all the patches, but on the other hand, in order to save money, I ripped all the Daisy petals off Chloe's Daisy uniform so that Sophia can wear it.  From now on, now that I know the girls will have lots of patches sewn on, I won't do that anymore. But I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth; if she wants to pass on the old Junior uniform, who am I to say no?

Speaking of that She and Me event, who can resist laughing at this picture of Sophia clowning for the camera:

I dare you to try. Every time I look at it, I can't help but grin, at least!

The event was lots of fun. The girls made lotions (cherry and orange), painted a clay magnet, strung beads for bracelets and necklaces, colored pictures, made tissue paper flowers, and more. I have lots of pictures - too many to post here. As it was the beginning of Sophia's Scouting journey, of course I had to bring the camera.

Unfortunately, that meant there was no camera for Rob to take along to Jack's Cub Scout sleepover at the Sports Hall of Fame in Portsmouth. Rob and Jack spent the night there on Friday with the pack. I heard it was lots of fun. There was a scavenger hunt. That's about all I know, since Rob's iPhone battery died, and he didn't even get i-pics of the event. Suck.

Also, in case you haven't been reading the Sweet Pea Academy blog, Friday was Jack's first official day as a home-schooler! I pulled him out after, well, you can go read it for yourself if you're interested. Cute pictures there of him making pancakes, too.

So naturally, home-schooling has been at the forefront of my consciousness just about constantly lately.  I'm not going to do a whole lot with the boy, aside from get him tested to gauge his baseline for right now. We'll take the rest of the year pretty easy and do fun things together with his daddy, and then start up again in August or September when the girls are ready to join us. That will take a lot of pressure of me for coming up with a last-minute curriculum, which is a huge relief.

In the meantime, I have made up Sweet Pea Academy ID cards for Rob and myself, as home educators, and for Jack, as a student. Then we can use those cards for teacher discounts at TAPS, Michaels, AC Moore, Barnes & Noble, etc. They're pretty cute, too (the cards). I like 'em.

So what else...

Oh, so the kids went to the Lowe's Build and Grow Clinic Saturday with Rob, to build a Mother's Day trellis planter. They each made one, and they all had a FANTASTIC time. It's a really cool program, if you haven't heard of it. Both Lowe's and Home Depot run these workshops for kids, teaching them all kinds of skills and making lots of projects. I've known about it for a long time, but this is the first one I actually signed them up for because I have no clue why. They can't wait to go again, though. The next one is in two weeks, and they're going to build a catapult! I don't think HD is running any this month, at least not here.

Also on Saturday, there was a big drawing at the local mall for a big package that I desperately wanted to win: a fitness package, spa package, and MAID SERVICE!!! All to one person. Oh, how I needed that. I came close, too. Chuck from the Morning Point (the radio station I often listen to) chose a paper and said, "Does anyone have a first name that starts with "M"? Do you live in Virginia Beach?" But alas, it was another M in VB. 

I did win a small garden prize, though. They had a separate game, a roulette wheel-type thing, and I put my piece on Kelly Clarkson. KC came up when the wheel was spun! I didn't know what I won, but of course, I was all full of the glee and stuff. It turned out to be some nice gardening gloves and a hat, and blueberry soap. The girls were with me, and they were even more excited than I was. They took our picture, but I don't know if it's going to be on the radio's website or what; a quick search there turned up nothing. Let me know if you spot us!

Hm, so on Thursday, Chloe went to her weekly therapy session. L called me in for the session, too. She wanted to talk about a picture Chlo had drawn the week before. I don't want to get too far into Chlo's psyche here, but let's just say that there were some very strong feelings about Robby, babies dying, and such. I was absolutely in tears. I felt terrible that she's having any kind of hard time with that. I guess all these years, I have been focusing on how Jack is going to grow up feeling about losing his twin, and I just haven't worried too much about any impact on Chloe for losing her baby brother. Or Sophia, for that matter. They've always been free to talk about him, but ... I don't know. It just took me a bit by surprise. I feel kind of stupid about that, now.

So there is a lot of anxiety on her part. We are supposed to make her feel as comfortable and safe as possible, and give her as much control as we can. Those anxious feelings can masquerade as ADHD, too. L was surprised when I told her we took Chlo off the med, but she didn't seem to have too much of a problem with it, like her pediatrician did. But I don't want to get into that again, right now.

Saturday night, we watched "The Business of Being Born" with the kids. That may surprise some people who think that kids that young have no business learning and seeing so much about human birth, but I honestly have zero problems with it, especially when it's done as tastefully as in that doc. It's nature, it's biology, and I am a very strong proponent of being completely honest with your kids, as long as that honesty doesn't harm them in any way. Half the time, they were bored watching it. They have had SO many questions - especially the girls - about giving birth lately, that I thought it would be helpful for them to see that, in fact, most babies are NOT cut out of their mothers' bellies and are delivered in a much less scary way. (Holy run-on.) I think it helped. Hard to say. Sophia still thinks babies all come by c-section, I think, but she also realizes that they are born vaginally, too. I don't think she quite gets it yet.

And of course, I was impacted by the movie, too. So was Rob. I feel strongly that anyone who is pregnant or thinking about it should watch this doc. I can't say for certain that things would have gone any differently for us (I had two emergency and one "emergent" c-sections), but I know that I would have started out, at least, with a midwife and a planned home birth if I knew what things were really like in the OB world. I thought I needed an OB/GYN because I wanted "someone who knew what they were doing" or something like that. Ha! I feel the fool for feeling that way about it, but what did I know. I was 24, scared and clueless.

There's little I can change about the horrible way my births went, but there is a lot I can change about the way my family eats. On my own, I also watched "Food, Inc.," a documentary about, well, the food industry in America, especially farming. I feel even more strongly than ever about changing our diets to reflect my/our concern for the environment, our health and nutrition, and the world in general. I can't wait to get that garden planted, so we can eat fresh food straight from our backyard. Whatever we can't grow ourselves, I want to supplement from the Farmer's Market (as much as possible) and the organic section of the grocery (as little as possible). I know it will cost, but hopefully the money we save on growing our own produce will offset the cost of buying non-genetically modified milk, for instance.  I definitely recommend y'all watch this one, too.

And I don't plan to let my kids eat another hamburger or pork chop. Certainly not from McDonald's or, say, Sonic. No more fast food, and no more fast food mystery shops. Rob will probably balk, but I'm going to stand firm on that. I'll probably let the kids watch Food, Inc. when the disk comes in the mail from Netflix, so we can talk about exactly why I want to implement these changes in our diets; it really wasn't that grotesque or anything like that. I didn't find it to be too graphic at all, and I was watching it from their standpoint the whole time.

It makes me more eager than ever to get out of this house and get a place on a nice lot, where we can maybe have a goat and some chickens, too. Fresh eggs! Fresh milk! It would be grand, so nice. If the boat plan doesn't happen for now, I definitely want to move out of here as soon as possible. We planned on being here about five years, and it's been over seven now. I hate it!! The house is to small (it's a townhouse), our neighbors are right on top of us, and forget about the nitpicky homeowner's association that drives us crazy.  I dream of living where Nikki lives, Chloe's troop leader - it's exactly the kind of place I want. A sprawling ranch with a huge yard and a garage... sigh. Maybe. Maybe.

Well, I could say a thousand more things, but I really must get this desk cleaned up.

Oh! One more thing before I forget:

I finished Luke's wool shorties for Stephanie. I started them about two weeks ago, but she commissioned me for them literally months ago, maybe even before he was born! So it's about dang time I got them done. I didn't do a drawstring, but that will be quickie-quick. I just don't know if she wants one yet, or what kind or color she'd want. But yay! Cute, right? I hope they fit, since they were custom-made to his measurements.

I guess that's it. Happy Mother's Day to all you moms and grandmas out there!

Fin. 

P.S. I watched Revolutionary Road, too, with Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Have you seen it? It was good, but it was no Titanic! Quite the opposite, quite quite.

Nine Years

On Saturday, Rob and I celebrated our ninth anniversary. Nine wonderful years:

In November, 2000, we met online. We lived in Florida then.

In January, 2001, we eloped!

In September, 2001, we had our first baby, Chloë Raine.

In August, 2002, I became pregnant with our identical twin boys, Jack River and Robert William.

In October, 2002, we moved to Guam.

In December, 2002, Guam was hit by the worst supertyphoon on record. Because of a complicated twin pregnancy, I was declared "unfit" to live on the island.

In February, 2003, we moved back to the States, to Virginia.

In March, 2003, our sons were born 9 weeks early. Three days later, Robby died. Something in me broke. I would not be "myself" again for about four more years.

In July, 2004, I became pregnant with our baby, Sophia Lorelei.

In April, 2005, we welcomed Baby #4 to the world.

In October, 2006, we took a family trip to Disneyworld!

Around that same time frame, I was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and the medication trials began in earnest. My weight gain started to be out of control from the meds. I hated myself.  It was an awful two years for us, while I tried to get the weight under control and qualify for gastric bypass surgery.

In June-July, 2008, we finally took our honeymoon, the trip of our dreams, a two-week European cruise, without the kids. It was an incredible trip. We were so happy.

In January, 2009, I finally had my gastric bypass surgery. I had ballooned up to 341.3 pounds. My husband still loved me, despite the weight, although we had a rocky next couple of months while we sorted out the major ups-and-downs of the previous eight years. We went to marriage counseling. Everything worked out well, and we are now stronger than ever before. We realized that sometimes it takes a crisis to appreciate how much we love each other.

And now, in January 2010, we are celebrating nine years of marriage, four children, one child's death, a few bumps in the road, and my having lost (so far) 155 pounds since surgery. (I weigh 14 pounds less than when we met!) We are completely in love. He is my everything. I hope I am his.

********

For an anniversary present, Stephanie offered us a free night of babysitting.  In our marriage counseling sessions, we were "ordered" to have a date night once a week. We did that at first but can't really afford it regularly anymore, so we jumped at the chance! It wasn't until we were actually ON that date that we decided exactly where we were going to go.

We had a Restaurant.com certificate to Taza in the Westin hotel in Town Center, but when we arrived, it turned out that Taza was gone, and Lucky Star was in its place. After some conferring, the manager of Lucky Star decided he would honor our certificate, but because the restaurant portion was closed and only the bar area was open, we decided to eat somewhere else. It just wasn't the ambiance we were looking for tonight.

We headed out into the freezing cold night to find somewhere else to eat. I thought about Ruth's Chris, but since we've eaten there several times before, I didn't mention it. We stopped in at Sonoma Wine Bar & Bistro next to Ruth's Chris, where we ate one time with the kids, although it's most definitely not a kids' restaurant. It would have been more than satisfactory, but they were completely booked.

So we decided to head down to a new place where we hadn't been before but had seen on the drive over: Zushi Japanese Bistro. It was a great find! We were greeted immediately by a man who seated us and took our coats. He pulled out my chair, and pushed it in for me when I was seated. He recommended the spicy soup to us, since it was so cold out, to warm us up.

Rob took him up on the soup offer. It was REALLY spicy. When the server took his drink away to refill it and forgot to bring it back - the only slip in the otherwise outstanding service - he had to steal some sips from my Diet Coke!

The tableware was really cool. I loved the silver chopsticks!

 
  
We ordered a LOT of sushi. Far too much. I don't know what we were thinking, other than we LOVE sushi.  This wasn't even all of it - there was another plate I forgot to photograph!  So when we were finished, and I asked for a box for more than half the food, the sushi chef came over and showed genuine concern for our satisfaction. "Everything is all right? Lot of food came back to the kitchen!" I assured him everything was great and that we were just full, and he laughed and said, "Yes, only two of you!" Lucky us, though, there were plenty of leftovers for snacking later!

Rob felt brave enough to try the sea urchin. Like I've said, he'll eat anything once. I took a scoop of the orange stuff. Blech. In my past life as a marine biologist, I dissected enough sea urchins to know there's nothing in there that makes me go, "Ooh, I wanna eat that." Rob didn't like it either. Our assessment? Don't order it!

The server took our picture. I thought we looked pretty good tonight! Except for my red chest, from the allergic reaction I'm currently having to who-knows-what.

The server, the chef, and the host checked on us multiple times during the meal. When we were finished, the host immediately went to retrieve our coats for us.  We weren't near the garage where we'd parked, so I stayed behind while Rob ran to fetch the van for me. The host asked what he's driving and said he would keep an eye out for him for me. When Rob pulled up, the Host walked out - in the freezing cold, without a coat, with me and opened the car door for me. I was very impressed by that; I almost wanted to give him a hug! So if you love sushi and appreciate good service, do check out Zushi in the Town Center of Virginia Beach!

After dinner, we drove two minutes down the road to go to the movies. We saw It's Complicated, with Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin.  I'd heard it was hysterically funny from beginning to end, so I really wanted to see it. I'd heard wrong. There were a few funny moments, including one absolutely hilarious scene that had me going, "Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!" but it was no all-out laugh-fest. It was okay. I could have waited for the DVD to come from Netflix. Maybe we should have seen Avatar instead, after all!

All-in-all, it was a pretty good date night for us. We came home, and Steph and Tim were there with their baby Luke asleep in Tim's arms, our three kid still up and running around after eating THREE times in our absence (!!!), and two more sleeping charges of Stim's on the couch.  A full house. The other two kids' mom was coming in a half-hour to pick them up, so we sent our chirren to bed and then hung out with Stim for the rest of the time. I held Luke the whole time. I just love that kid, as much as I love my own kids, which is saying a lot for me because I don't tend to like other peoples' kids, in general! He's beautiful and sweet and perfect, and I'm so happy for them.

And now... I'm waiting for Rob to go upstairs and clean the tub and all his crap off our bed, so we can go have a spa night together, with a good, hot soak and massages and... ;)

Fin.
  

 

Working Title

We've been busy.

I was, ugh, up again (more than) half the night again Friday into Saturday, so I was pretty groggy when the kids woke me at ten or something. I found Rob was gone with my van, without his phone or a note left, and I had no clue where he went. I was exhausted and annoyed. This didn't bode well for the weekend... but it wasn't too bad.

Rob and Jack to the Lowes on Holland Road at noon, to sell popcorn with his Cub Scout pack or troop or whatever it is, for two hours. Apparently he did really well, politely going up to everyone and asking if they'd like to buy some. Probably because he's so tiny and cute, they couldn't resist! Overall, they sold $860 worth of popcorn, which is $10 for a very small canister - that blows my mind! People buy that?! Apparently they do. I never even heard of Boy Scout popcorn until maybe two years ago. Nuts.

While they were gone, I set the girls on various tasks around the house (cleaning up their room, or whatev) so I could catch a few zzz's here and there. At one point, I gave Sophie an entire M-shaped stickie pad that I was never going to use, and told her to go crazy sticking it around the house. So she did. Next thing I knew, I had two or three on my arms, face, you name it... and they were all over the house.

Did I care? Nope. Harmless.

So they eventually came home and we all went out to do a bowling mystery shop. We always play two games, with the kids the first game and by ourselves the second game. I had a picture of Rob helping Chloë bowl, but I can't find it, so you're stuck with this one of Sophie, 4, lifting Jack, 6, up to the water fountain. She's as huge as he is tiny!

Bowling was a ton of fun. Rob finally broke a hundred, and I bowled a much-better-than-usual 87! Not much to be proud of, but for both of us, it was an achievement.

Found it!

Sunday, we (I) slept in a little late and had to rush around to get to a popular boob-themed wings restaurant for a lunch shop. We got there in time, though, and it was fun. The waitress talked me into buying a themed "I'm Kind of a Big Deal" pink shirt for the girls, which is cute. It'll fit Chloë for a while, and then Soap.

Then we went over to the AT&T store to switch Rob's phone to an iPhone. See previous post about how awesome they are.  The kids did NOT behave in the store until they came to the big iPhone display, and then they were thoroughly engaged in playing with those so Rob and I could conduct our business. Phew.

When we got home, we were supposed to clean up downstairs (me, the bathroom; Rob, rip up the living room rug), but it was so late by that time that we didn't have time to do anything but get ready for our special date. We had a dinner shop at a fancy-schmancy steakhouse, obstenibly for Rob's "birthday," which isn't really 'til the end of the month.

 

They brought Rob out a special dessert for his birthday, and the server took our picture together with it. We had a really nice time, and dinner was absolutely perfect. It was the best visit we've had there so far. I absolutely love spending time with my husband, just the two of us. We had fun, lots of laughs, and I was just so happy that he was happy about his new phone. Makes me glad to make him glad, you know?

I ♥ my Bob

After dinner, we went to the bar for a couple of drinks. Normally, there, I have the German chocolate martini, but this time I went for the pineapple upside-down one. Both are pretty damn good. Next time I think I'll have the mint chocolate martini - in a year when I'm eligible again. Of course, now I can only drink a sip or two and then I'm drunk - and done. Rob gets the rest, but it's nice to get a taste!

So that was Saturday. We were going to go get massages after dinner (for free!), but the place was closed when we left the restaurant. Bummer. Oh well, next time.

We went home to relieve Steph, so she could get home early and get to bed and off her feet to stop the painful BH contractions she's been having lately. Nobody better be having any preemies on my watch! The kids were just eating dinner when we got there (we'd gone to eat really early), so she helped get them fed before taking off. They went to bed shortly after, and Rob and I just played around with each other and our phones the rest of the night, not really accompishing anything. Oh, well.

Today was a lot of running. I'm so tired; I can't believe I'm still awake! I only got four hours of sleep or so before my phone woke me up with incoming text messages, and then Sophia was downstairs before I even shut my eyes again. Early.

But that was okay, because we had a fast-food breakfast shop again. So once the other two woke up, had a little something to eat and got dressed, we headed out for the day. We did that shop, and then we went to the library to return the 9 books they picked last week and rent out 10 more. I didn't get any new ones, because I'm still only four chapters into A Thousand Splendid ... oh, shit! I'm reading the Kite Runner, not that! Hahaha, I returned the wrong book. D'oh! Well maybe I can go switch 'em later in the week. Dummy. Ha.

Next, we headed out to Lynnhaven to do a pretzel shop at the mall there. I had a teensy-weensy bite (required) and split the rest amongst the kids. They were so thrilled to get the treat. I kind of forgot about lunch then, because Steph wanted us to come out and go the movies with her and her niece. So we got some gas and drove out to EBF to hang at her house for a while before the movie.

The kids started watching Night at the Museum, which we'd never seen before. Steph showed me how to do stove-popped popcorn, because I'd never learned. It was fun, except when we caught a potholder on fire! Hehe. I'm going to get some stuff and do it like that next time. Less waste!  The kids ate a ton of popcorn while I started teaching Steph how to crochet. She did really well with chaining and is now working on single crochet, which is going great, too. She's a fast learner!

Soon it was time to go to the movies. We loaded four kids and the crocheting into Vanna and headed to Greenbriar for the $1.75 movie at Cinema Café. This was Night at the Museum II, which was really funny! We laughed a lot, Steph and I. The older two girls sat well and quietly, Jack was so-so, but Sophie was pretty restless until I let her play with apps on my iPhone. Thank God I thought of that, or I'd have had to take her out and have us both miss the movie we paid for.

Rob was home when the movie ended, so we said good-bye to Steph (whose husband, Tim, had joined her at the mall by that point) and headed home to Daddy. The drive took over an hour; traffic was so bad. I should have used the Traffic app on my phone to avoid that, but I didn't think of it. 20/20 hindsight...

So that's it until tomorrow, when the running begins again!

Fin.

Arctic Dip

 

Last night, we (well, I - Rob fell asleep two minutes in) watched About a Boy with Hugh Grant, while I knitted an angel wrap for a bereavement photographer who reads this blog. I'm going to make more later tonight, when we watch either Forgetting Sarah Marshall or Burn After Reading. AAB was good; I enjoyed it. What about the other two, any recommendations?

********

Today, I slept half the day away, recuperating from this busy past three weeks of the kids' Spring Break. I think it was a successful break. It was fun, entertaining, educational and crafty. I think we give the kids a pretty fun life. Not that that's generally the sole aim of parenting, but it's one of mine!

While I slumbered, Rob was outside, sometimes with and sometimes without the kids, working on fixing his LandCruiser with Tim. Yes, I'm letting him keep the damn thing. Don't get me started. The only reason he's keeping it is because our car insurance goes way UP without it. Figure that out. So now he's got three vehicles, and I've got none. Sounds fair to me! Humph.

After Stim left, I decided that if it's going to be 83º out, I need to go to the beach, dammit!

And so we did. And I purposely left my camera behind so I could fully enjoy myself, so no pictures other than these couple from my phone at dinner.

First, we stopped at Farm Fresh to get some money for the ubiquitous parking meters. Second, we stopped for gas, since my light was on again and the line was below "E." (I pulled out in front of traffic to get the station before we ran out, and someone shot me the bird. I totally deserved it.)

Finally, we headed down to the waterfront, where it immediately became obvious that everyone and his brother's second cousin had the same damn idea. Man, that place was jam-packed! There was nary a parking spot anywhere.

Eventually, while looking, I stumbled across the Beads & Rocks store. The owner once tabled next to me last fall when I was selling the tutus at craft fairs. He traded me a tutu for some semi-precious stones. I decided to go in and waste some time. He remembered me! He showed me around a little, and I got 20% off the beads I bought, with his Entertainment book coupon. And he said I could park there for three bucks, when they normally charge five!

So, I went back to the car  gathered up Team Odette. We walked the two or three blocks to the beach, and the entire time, my pants were falling down. Yay! I weigh in tomorrow, but after having lost about 70 lbs, it's about time this happens, don't you think? When they fell down to my knees, I heard some people laughing and saying, "Did you just see that?"  I laughed, too; I didn't even care! (I had my bathing suit on, anyway.)

So I guess it's time I got rid of my fattest McFatty clothes and switch it down a notch.

And the last time I walked down to the beach, it killed my back, and we had to stop frequently. Especially on the sand itself. Today, no problems! I strode proudly all the way to the water, without any pain, any spasms, or even getting out of breath. It was absolutely glorious.

We dumped our stuff, shed our clothes/phones/glasses/shoes, and headed for the waves. One step in, and we were fleeing, though. Brrrr!! It was c-c-c-cold!!!!  The kind of cold that stops your heart for the first second or two that it hits you. Even after all my cold showers, I wasn't quite ready for that. It was Jersey-Shore-in-May cold.

Rob was smart. He wore his wetsuit. Still, he was wishing he'd brought his hood and booties, too!

The kiddos brought their Easter buckets, and they were mostly playing in the sand. The Bigs never really went into the water, at least not past their ankles. But Soph? She kept saying, "C'mon, Mom! C'mon, Dad! Let's go in the water!" So we'd run out, up to her neck, splash around, and come back. She is definitely the bravest and most adventurous of the lot.

Finally, I pulled up my cajones and decided I was going to swim. I still have plenty much padding, and once you got over the initial shock, the heart started beating again, and you got kind of used to it. So I would run out, dive through a wave or two, and come back out. My legs would be completely numb, but it was exhilarating. And finally, Rob dove in, too.  The beach was packed, and people were watching us in awe. Some brave souls tried to go in, too, but they ran right back out. We - the crazy people - stayed for over an hour, jumping in and out and having the time of our lives.

I love it. I'd go back right now if I could. The water is in my blood.  I have to be near it, or I'll go mad! (Oh. Wait. Heh.)

Anyway...

Finally, the kids were all shivering and admitted they were too cold to stay. We trekked back up to the boardwalk and rinsed them off under the showers, which were as cold as the ocean water.  I called my sister to wish her a happy 34th birthday, and then I called my dad back. He'd left me the Longest. Voicemail. Ever. Thing had to be six or seven minutes long, while he rambled on! He is such a goof. And that's my family-friendly term for him...

Back in the van, we thumbed through the Entertainment book some more, looking for a place to eat at the oceanfront. We finally settled for two places that were right next to each other, but we battled through traffic for half an hour to get the seven blocks away! The kids were moaning and groaning about their hunger in the back...

One of the places was closed (Our Daily Bread; mark it in your books!), so Doughboy's California Pizza was the winner. You can mark that off in your books, too; we don't recommend it. It's way over-rated. The pizza was eh, so-so, and the prices were, well, beach prices. The kids enjoyed it though, because they got free Frisbees™ with their meals - but they didn't even have the Doughboy's logo on them! Dumb. And I gave them each a quarter for the fun spinny-spiral gumball machine. But as for me and Rob, nah. Not worth it.

We stopped at the beachy souvie shop next door after we ate, to find cover-ups for the girls. Theirs aren't fitting over their big ol' heads anymore (Jack does not have that weird problem called... what is it again... Oh yeah, "growth"), but this store didn't have any. Nor did they have any flipper-floppers small enough, so back to Disney Shopping Online I go to get new ones.

So that's it for us. No plans for tomorrow, other than Rob and Tim fixing the truck and Steph hanging out with us. We shall see what the day brings!

Fin.