Rugrats and Dirty Rugs

Appetizer What is your favorite kind of bread? Any kind except the one with the nuts in it. Gag me with a spoon. Soup When was the last time you bought a new pillow? I stole the two feather pillows that my sister had and refuse to give them back. Maybe the next pillow I buy will be for her. Salad Approximately how many hours per week do you spend surfing the 'net? Too many. I surf while my son is doing his Language Arts papers in the morning. Like now. Main Course What's the highest you remember your temperature being? Are you kidding? Moms aren't allowed to get sick. Dessert Fill in the blanks: When I _____________, I __________. When I watch movies, I like to eat. If you would like to participate in this meme, visit www.arewethereyetmom.com . Have fun!

Washing the dishes with a white liquid soap one day, I get a whiff of the soap and immediately I think of her. On certain occasions, I will put a stick of spearmint gum in my mouth and instantly the smell and taste of the gum will bring her to my mind. The musky scent of my bath soap will trigger that certain part in my brain full of memories and again I think of her. She is my grandmother, my mother's mother. Whenever I watch Paula Deen on the food network, even though they don't live in the same state, she brings to mind my grandma's strong West Virginia twang. She is still there in those hills full of trees so thick it's hard to see your neighbor's house sometimes. She is a God-fearing woman who takes her faith very seriously. As a child, I would listen raptly to her many "miracle stories" as I call them. My favorite place to visit with her was the bathroom. She had a vanity with a mirror in there and a walk-in closet full of her clothes. She would ofte...

Since Caleb was very little, he has been crazy about stuffed animals. We already had a good amount when he was born thanks to his older brother, but after he joined our family, we have been bombarded by them. He particularly liked the beanie babies. He would always have an armful with him wherever we went. He couldn't take just one. Checking on him at night, I would have a hard time finding his little head among the ton of animals in bed with him. When my parents came to visit one day, they wanted to take the boys to Toys R Us so they could pick out whatever they wanted. Spoiling their grandchildren to death is a grandparent's prerogative, so we all went trooping to the store. Justin was very little at the time and had fallen asleep in the van. Opting to stay with the baby, everyone else went into the store, and I kicked off my shoes and basked in the quiet. So, I heard about what happened from my husband. I had told my parents beforehand that Caleb would enjoy a stu...

My pregnancy hormones have kicked into gear with a vengeance. One minute, I'm perfectly fine and the next I'm a raving lunatic. I can probably attribute the madwoman nature coming out of me thanks to my six-month old puppy. That dang thing refuses to shut up. I will feed her and give her plenty of water. I will take her out at regular intervals. But, nooooo. Is that good enough for her? Of course not. Well, when I am particularly busy cleaning or homeschooling, I don't have time to hold her just so that she will shut up. So, in the midst of these activities the whole house will echo with her high-pitched wining, howling, and barking. She is chained up by the back door because I'm not stupid. That dog does not have the run of the house to do her business in every room. No way. So, she is a very unhappy puppy with only a chew bone for company unless Aidan takes pity on her and visits. Well, because of these crazy hormones I have worried about that dog's safety. I'...

I was sitting in a McDonald's sipping on my drink surrounded by teenagers. I was in my early 20s, so I wasn't at the point yet where teenagers drove me insane. My husband and I had been appointed to babysit the youth group during that time in our lives, and it struck me as funny since they were the same age as my youngest brother. They were good kids and liked to have a fun time as teenagers always do. As I'm sipping on my drink talking with them, one of them looks at me and says, "You were popular in high school, weren't you?" I almost spewed Sprite on the girl. "What gave you that impression?" I exclaimed. "You just seem like you were popular," she said. I stared off into space and shuddered as I remembered the horrific days of public high school. I was the one who took my diploma and waved good-bye to high school forever never to return. If I could have gone through it all with a magic invisibility cloak like Harry Potter, I definitely w...

It was sunrise on Easter morning. My bladder woke me up as usual, but before I went into the bathroom I wanted to look out the window. I blinked. I even squinted my eyes, but the snow kept coming down. I whispered, "Crap. It's snowing on Easter." I eventually stumbled back to bed only to realize that going back to sleep was a lost cause. I lay there remembering past Easters. All of my memories of Easter did not even come close to this wintery morning. As my husband and I are getting ready for church, I complain about the weather. I said, "They should put Easter later in the month to prevent this from happening! They changed the daylight savings time thingie!" My husband immediately puts on his "yeah, right" look and says something smart that I didn't take the time to wrap my brain around because I just wanted to complain for the sake of complaining. Anyway, I pull out our winter coats to cover all our pastel colors and trudge to church...

As I am writing this post for my blog, all I want to do is go upstairs, climb into bed, and curl into a fetal position under the covers. I truly feel awful and I can only thank God for it. I know that sounds really weird considering I feel like throwing up. Eleven years ago, (gosh, was it that long ago?), I found out I was pregnant for the first time. I was elated. My long time dream of becoming a mother was about to happen. My own mother was also ecstatic and was absolutely certain it was a boy. She even had a baby blue knitted sweater waiting for me to put on my little baby. I felt really good for a pregnant woman. The only time I threw up was when I took those humongous pre-natal pills. Otherwise, I felt the same. When I was eleven weeks pregnant, I started spotting. I was finally able to see a doctor and she did some blood work. A few days later, she called me at home and told me I was going to have a miscarriage. The precious life inside me had already died four week...

One day, my 10-year-old son comes out of his school over to our van with a St. Patrick's Day clover leaf that he made clutched in his hand. I thought, "For me? Oh, how sweet!" He said, "It's for Brisa." I thought that was cute and told him how wonderful he is. Another day, he comes to the van with a tiny box that he painted by himself. Again I thought it was for his favorite woman in the world and again he said, "It's for Brisa." Of course, I was tickled pink since my son was showing some gallantry and told him I thought he was sweet. The special woman in my son's life is a 9-year-old redhead with a mind that can cure cancer someday. It's no wonder he has been stricken by the love bug. Yesterday, when I picked him up again he had something special for "his girl". I say that because my son confessed to me while I was driving us home that he was in love with her. I wasn't sure I heard him right, so I asked him to repeat hims...

I know. I'm so typical, but I can't help it. Jane Austen is my favorite author. What a surprise. The thing is...I can't decide which of her works is my favorite. I just love them all. Emma struck a cord within me, though. When I read it the first time a few years ago, I had a hard time getting through the beginning. I will now confess to something that would be considered blasphemy by those diehard Austen fans.....I didn't like Emma, the character. I realize now that I certainly needed to broaden my horizons, but at the time I was still a little stupid, so I just didn't get it. I was the kind of reader who believed that the main character should have no glaring faults. The kind of character that you agree with all the time and root for from beginning to end. How boring is that? I was determined to wade through the muddy waters to finally see that in the end Emma becomes the character I wanted to see from the beginning. I didn't realize that a good ...