Elegy to a Deflated Exercise Ball

It was a yellow ball, with rubbery spikes.

It was always in the living room. (yikes)

The boys were taught to leave it alone.

Oh, why did I ever let it roam.



It was given to me by a dear, good friend.

Alas, one day, it reached a sorry end.

For Hummer's wrath did wax sore

When he was asked to pick up his toys off the floor.



Woe betide the yellow ball.

Hummer's countenance did fall.

He issued threats in his three-year-old fury

And found a push-pin in a hurry.



I was in the kitchen making lunch

When suddenly I had a hunch

That Hummer was all-too-quiet for good

I looked up and by the ball he stood,

Dreaded push-pin in hand.



Alas for my yellow exercise ball,

Deflating slowly in the hall!

Our comeradeship was all too brief.

What shall I do to the little thief?



Dear reader of my humble blog,

Please comment and advise me in my fog!

"Our cells divided and grew to the beat of her heart"

I've been reading Jane Clayson Johnson's book "I Am a Mother", and I just love it! She used to be one of the anchors for the CBS Early Morning Show, but is now a full-time mom. Almost every page has a quote I would love to share on this blog. :) Today I will share one that particularly struck me, as I am currently carrying a little one inside me. It made me realize that I'm already influencing my new little son before he's even born!

"Author, obstetrician/gynecologist, and women's health expert Christiane Northrup, M.D., says, 'Our mother provides us with our first experience of nurturing. She is our first and most powerful female role model. It is from her that we learn what it is to be a woman. . . .Our cells divided and grew to the beat of her heart. Our skin, hair, heart, lungs, and bones were nourished by her blood, blood that was awash with the neurochemicals formed in response to her thoughts, beliefs, and emotions. If she was fearful [or] anxious. . . , our bodies knew it. If she felt safe, happy, and fulfilled, we felt that too. . . .
"Every daughter contains her mother and all the women who came before her. The unrealized dreams of our maternal ancestors are part of our heritage' (Mother-Daughter Wisdom, 3)."

First Day of School

To My Child

You are the trip I did not take.

You are the pearls I cannot buy.

You are my blue Italian lake.

You are my piece of foreign sky.

--Anne Campbell

Last Day of Summer

Saturday (8/18/07) was our last day to enjoy summer break as a family, as the boys went back to school today. (DC still has another week at home! yay!) So we planned a Family Game Day--really more like a Family Game Hour or Two. It was great! We played Sardines and In the Manner of the Adverb and then Drop the Marshmallow in My Mouth. Here is some multimedia entertainment for your enjoyment from that last game:

It was just as much fun to be the one dropping the little gems. . . .

Score on Craigslist!

We are excited because we just got a sweet deal (we think) on Craigslist on a glider rocker. Behold the pictures from the original posting. . . . .

It was being sold for $30.The seller suggested reupholstering it. Yes, I thought that was a good idea. :)

Well, when she dropped it off today (very nice of her), it was a LOT dirtier than the picture shows. It smelled of smoke. There was pet hair all over it, and lots of pink markings from an ambitious young artist. But there was a shining hope in the dark clouds. From a hole in the upholstery I could see blue underneath.

I started ripping. . . . . And to our joy and amazement, underneath was this!

Yippee!

A magic eraser took care of the pink marker on the wood, hopefully Febreeze will take away the smell of smoke, and I rubbed the whole thing down with antibacterial wipes.

I think we have ourselves a glider rocker! Yay!

Now we just need to put it in the "Baby's Room." I'm going to gulp down my pride and show you exactly why it's not in there YET. . .

The Baby's Room. (Poor baby!)

Fluffy's SuperKid!

This is Fluffy at Chick-fil-A last Saturday. When half the town was there. :)
Tonight we had FHE. Hummer was on "Share", and he sang the ABC's song for us, twice, both times to enthusiastic applause. :) Fluffy gave a sweet lesson on Following the Savior, with Daddy's help. He used lots of pictures, and bore his testimony at the end. It was wonderful to hear him! He's really growing up.

We played "I'm going to Target" for the game, and it took FOREVER to get through the whole alphabet. Exacto was on refreshments, and he and Daddy made pistachio pudding with granola in it, and whipped topping on top. Yum.

Fluffy said his "SuperKid things":

"I like Daddy because of his wheelbarrow rides.

I like Mommy (pause) because of her nice, warm hugs.

I like Hummer because he gives me free cars sometimes.

I like Exacto because he's my best friend.

And I like Ms. Dickens. . . ." (here's where we always cut him off, saying, okay, you're done!)

He continued, "And I like me because I'm me." (with a sunny smile)

A blog of my very own

I've been itching to try this for quite some time now. Here goes! Only time will tell if I actually keep this up long term. . . .

As of this posting I am 27 weeks along with our fourth little boy. Exacto is 9, Fluffy's 6, and Hummer is 3 and 1/2, and they are such a blast. I'm going to include one of my favorite pictures ever of me with them, even though it's a bit old by now. This was taken at Christmastime a couple years ago, and the boys are wearing the matching pajama pants I made for them (one of my first sewing projects ever).

Between all the moments of aggravation and tiredness and hard work, there really is true joy in being a mom. I love my boys!!