Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
About Being a Mom
I have some friends who are pregnant for the first time and I was thinking of what advice to give them. Below, are a few things I've learned that the books don't tell you about being a mom...
- You should probably be prepared to get the "You are CRAZY" look from other parents or adults at some point or another. Whether it's deserved or not...that's a different story.
- There will be times when you think you've made the best decision for your baby and then realize you didn't. That's okay.
- There are the type of parents who are obsessive-compulsive about using anti-bacterial lotion 3,400 times a day...and there are parents who don't know what it is. I figure, they didn't have that when we were growing up so a happy medium should do just fine.
- At some time or another you may find yourself in a situation where kids are playing on a playground/play area together and a little boy you don't know (and whose parent isn't around) spits on your child. You can either a) spit on him. b) kick him c) remove your child from the play area or d) all of the above. If you're mad enough, you may get away with a) and c)...
- You can never just "run out the door" anymore. If you have some place to go with your child in tow, you will need the following:
extra diapers
wipes
bottle
snack
diaper bag
keys
purse
cell phone
- Kids pick up mannerisms and behaviors very easily. Pick and choose wisely who all you associate with.
- There are hundreds and hundreds of books and everyone has their opinion about how you should raise your child and what you should be doing. Always remember you are the one who is ultimately responsible for their well-being.
- When you hear "raising children is the most rewarding experience"...that's true.
- Be prepared to have your tv, windows, fireplace glass, refrigerator, dishwasher and oven door covered with little hand prints. It becomes part of your home.
- You will likely....or rather, you will most definitely do things you'd never think you would do in your life for your child (and no, I'm not talking about spitting on another kid - I really didn't do that but I did think about it.)
- Modesty is out the window when you have a baby.
- Driving down the road with the windows down and the radio blasting is out the window. (Temporarily)
- I still don't know how to get in and out of a public restroom while trying to pee, holding a child and making sure no one touches anything all at the same time.
- Running errands that used to take 20 minutes, now take about an hour. Plan accordingly.
That's all for now but I am sure I will definitely be adding to this list...
- You should probably be prepared to get the "You are CRAZY" look from other parents or adults at some point or another. Whether it's deserved or not...that's a different story.
- There will be times when you think you've made the best decision for your baby and then realize you didn't. That's okay.
- There are the type of parents who are obsessive-compulsive about using anti-bacterial lotion 3,400 times a day...and there are parents who don't know what it is. I figure, they didn't have that when we were growing up so a happy medium should do just fine.
- At some time or another you may find yourself in a situation where kids are playing on a playground/play area together and a little boy you don't know (and whose parent isn't around) spits on your child. You can either a) spit on him. b) kick him c) remove your child from the play area or d) all of the above. If you're mad enough, you may get away with a) and c)...
- You can never just "run out the door" anymore. If you have some place to go with your child in tow, you will need the following:
extra diapers
wipes
bottle
snack
diaper bag
keys
purse
cell phone
- Kids pick up mannerisms and behaviors very easily. Pick and choose wisely who all you associate with.
- There are hundreds and hundreds of books and everyone has their opinion about how you should raise your child and what you should be doing. Always remember you are the one who is ultimately responsible for their well-being.
- When you hear "raising children is the most rewarding experience"...that's true.
- Be prepared to have your tv, windows, fireplace glass, refrigerator, dishwasher and oven door covered with little hand prints. It becomes part of your home.
- You will likely....or rather, you will most definitely do things you'd never think you would do in your life for your child (and no, I'm not talking about spitting on another kid - I really didn't do that but I did think about it.)
- Modesty is out the window when you have a baby.
- Driving down the road with the windows down and the radio blasting is out the window. (Temporarily)
- I still don't know how to get in and out of a public restroom while trying to pee, holding a child and making sure no one touches anything all at the same time.
- Running errands that used to take 20 minutes, now take about an hour. Plan accordingly.
That's all for now but I am sure I will definitely be adding to this list...
Thursday, September 3, 2009
The Race is on...
I'm hoping to have a great story for you later about me tracking down one of Donald Miller's manuscripts for a friend of mine but you'll just have to wait at the edge of your seat for a little while longer... He is the author of Blue Like Jazz. I've never read it (or anything else by him) but apparently he is hiding 60 of his manuscripts across the nation and on twitter letting everyone know a day in advance what state it will be in and the day of, he'll post the actual address of the hidden manuscript. Whoever gets there first gets the manuscript and a phone conversation with him about any of his books. Today, the state is North Carolina and my friend...who lives in GEORGIA asked if I could help her out since I'm kind of at an advantage. Since she's a dear friend, (and I figure if I'm able to get it, I won't have to worry about her birthday or Christmas present until kingdom come) I told her if it is possible for me to get to the location, I'll be throwing punches to get the manuscript for her. She told me to charge the GPS and thankfully I already have a full tank of gas. I also figured I could use Kathryn as a distraction if it became necessary. I'll just yell "WHOSE CHILD IS THIS!!??" and while everyone's trying to figure it out, I'll snatch the manuscript. I pretty much have it all figured out. I'm prepared to use any means necessary. This is serious business.
On a side note. Does anyone else out there think the Dilbert comics are the funniest things ever? I think Scott Adams is hilarious. The one on the www.dilbert.com site today is great. It won't be as funny if I try to retype it here for you. If you don't laugh at it, consider yourself weird.
On a side note. Does anyone else out there think the Dilbert comics are the funniest things ever? I think Scott Adams is hilarious. The one on the www.dilbert.com site today is great. It won't be as funny if I try to retype it here for you. If you don't laugh at it, consider yourself weird.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Random thoughts from people our age...
Enjoy...
-I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.
-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
-I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?
-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.
-There is a great need for sarcasm font.
-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first saw it.
-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's
laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.
-How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
- I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart". Or, "I'm an idiot."
- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent someone from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and
said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"
- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything else productive for the rest of the day.
-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.
-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.
- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
-I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.
-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
-I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?
-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.
-There is a great need for sarcasm font.
-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the f was going on when I first saw it.
-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's
laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.
-How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
- I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart". Or, "I'm an idiot."
- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent someone from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and
said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"
- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything else productive for the rest of the day.
-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.
-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.
- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Video of the Week
Two weekends ago Matt and Kathryn and I went to a place called Lazy 5 Ranch. It's a 3.5 mile drive through a safari. There are over 700 animals - zebras, deer, water buffalo, lamas, giraffes, a rhino, cattle, pot-belly pigs, all kinds of animals! You can purchase buckets of food and feed the animals from your car. They walk straight up to your car window! IT WAS SUCH A FUN TRIP!!!!
The video below is of us feeding one of the animals.... By this point, one of the zebra's had taken a bucket of food from OUT of MY HANDS and walked off with it! So we learned the way of the wild and out smarted this bad boy...Yep, you just roll up the window..
The video below is of us feeding one of the animals.... By this point, one of the zebra's had taken a bucket of food from OUT of MY HANDS and walked off with it! So we learned the way of the wild and out smarted this bad boy...Yep, you just roll up the window..
Catch Up Time
Ok, apparently I have slacked off again at blogging. I really don't see how people are able to blog daily. That just baffles me. Below are the latest updates that I can think of for our family. And by updates, I mean Kathryn updates:
1. Kathryn, of course, is such a amazing gift to us that I still can't believe we've been entrusted with her. She happens to be hilarious and cracks me up on a daily basis. Today we were sitting at the table for lunch and she starts giggling over nothing (that I can tell of). I look at her and kind of giggle back because she looked so cute and all of a sudden she starts farting really loud in her high chair. I start laughing so hard, I can hardly breath. She starts laughing back because of my reaction and then starts to try to make herself fart! Which of course makes me laugh harder and ALL THE WHILE, of course this is not something I would encourage so that made it even funnier to me. We started laughing so much that at one point, she was just holding her breath and squeezing so hard to make a fart come out that I had to tell her, she'd had enough. She's going to kill me when she finds out I blogged about this...
2. She learned to put her shirt on by herself the other day. (Over her clothes and inside out.) You can clearly see how proud she was of herself.
3. She LOVES watching Sesame Street. One of her favorite books has Elmo in it and I was curious to see how she'd react seeing him on tv so a few weeks ago I recorded Sesame Street and she is just enthralled with it. She calls it "ses-see". The minute the show ends and something else starts, she's back to reality and on with her day playing with her toys.
4. I was reading a book to her today and I pointed to a few pictures on one page and asked her what they were. She told me a "turtle", "bird" and "sun" - genius. She was right. And while we were driving she saw a flag high in the air on a flag pole and yelled "kite!" I was so proud. It may not have been a kite but the association is what's brilliant!
5. For the longest time any bug Kathryn saw she called an "ant". She said it with two syllables though like "ann-nt" (emphasis on the "nt"). Spiders, flies, moths, were all "ann-nts". We had a huge break through the other day. She now classifies all bugs into "flies" and "ann-ts".
And that about wraps it up for now.
1. Kathryn, of course, is such a amazing gift to us that I still can't believe we've been entrusted with her. She happens to be hilarious and cracks me up on a daily basis. Today we were sitting at the table for lunch and she starts giggling over nothing (that I can tell of). I look at her and kind of giggle back because she looked so cute and all of a sudden she starts farting really loud in her high chair. I start laughing so hard, I can hardly breath. She starts laughing back because of my reaction and then starts to try to make herself fart! Which of course makes me laugh harder and ALL THE WHILE, of course this is not something I would encourage so that made it even funnier to me. We started laughing so much that at one point, she was just holding her breath and squeezing so hard to make a fart come out that I had to tell her, she'd had enough. She's going to kill me when she finds out I blogged about this...
2. She learned to put her shirt on by herself the other day. (Over her clothes and inside out.) You can clearly see how proud she was of herself.
3. She LOVES watching Sesame Street. One of her favorite books has Elmo in it and I was curious to see how she'd react seeing him on tv so a few weeks ago I recorded Sesame Street and she is just enthralled with it. She calls it "ses-see". The minute the show ends and something else starts, she's back to reality and on with her day playing with her toys.
4. I was reading a book to her today and I pointed to a few pictures on one page and asked her what they were. She told me a "turtle", "bird" and "sun" - genius. She was right. And while we were driving she saw a flag high in the air on a flag pole and yelled "kite!" I was so proud. It may not have been a kite but the association is what's brilliant!
5. For the longest time any bug Kathryn saw she called an "ant". She said it with two syllables though like "ann-nt" (emphasis on the "nt"). Spiders, flies, moths, were all "ann-nts". We had a huge break through the other day. She now classifies all bugs into "flies" and "ann-ts".
And that about wraps it up for now.
Happy Anniversary to us!!!
August 14th was our FIVE year anniversary!! We had a wonderful weekend in Charleston, SC celebrating. It's hard to believe it's already been five years but I can tell you, I truly treasure and value every single year and how it's shaped our marriage. Without a shadow of doubt, Matt and I know that our marriage would not be where it is today if it were not for our Lord Jesus Christ. I came across the poem below a few years ago. It is perfect.
Marriage Takes Three
I once thought marriage took just two to make a go,
but now I am convinced it takes the Lord also.
And not one marriage fails where Christ is asked to enter,
as lovers come together with Jesus at the center.
I once thought marriage took just two to make a go,
but now I am convinced it takes the Lord also.
And not one marriage fails where Christ is asked to enter,
as lovers come together with Jesus at the center.
But marriage seldom thrives and homes are incomplete,
until He’s welcomed there, to help avoid defeat.
In homes where Christ is first, it’s obvious to see,
Those unions really work, for marriage still takes three.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Turkey says "Gobble, Gobble?"
That's actually a topic of debate in our family. We went to the coolest park EVER this past weekend. It's the Dan Nicholas Park in Salisbury, NC. We had so much fun. We took Kathryn to the see the Nature Center and Petting Barn - where she got to meet a cow, sheep, goat, peacock, pig, turkey and a mini-donkey. Seriously, could a child ask for more!? It was at this petting barn where our little topic of debate came about. I tried telling Kathryn, "A turkey says, "gobble, gobble"." And Matt goes, "No, say "Yummy! Yummy!""... So Thanksgiving this year will be a little interesting... We rode the train through the park and also rode on the carousal! We all had a great time! Enjoy the pictures:
Turkey says, "Gobble, yummy!"
Kathryn isn't quite sure about riding the carousal but Matt's sure having fun!
Clearly Matt's having a great time!
Turkey says, "Gobble, yummy!"
Kathryn isn't quite sure about riding the carousal but Matt's sure having fun!
Clearly Matt's having a great time!
July 13, 2009
One year later.
This is dedicated to Matthew B. Phillips. Husband, brother, son, friend.
Matt, you are terribly missed and dearly loved. We are very proud of you and remember you often; more than often. We are forever grateful for your sacrifice.
We love you.
This is dedicated to Matthew B. Phillips. Husband, brother, son, friend.
Matt, you are terribly missed and dearly loved. We are very proud of you and remember you often; more than often. We are forever grateful for your sacrifice.
We love you.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Is this for real?
Remember my dream house? Last weekend while I was in town visiting the family, my mom and I drove over to see the house again. Yes, it was still under contract and no, we still do not have a job in GA nor have we won the lottery since my last post... Apparently the fact of the matter is I enjoy torturing myself. We drove around the curb and as soon as we see the house you can clearly tell some one's been there since my last visit during Memorial weekend. When we saw the house the first time, there was tons of overgrowth and tall grass everywhere. It looked like no one had touched the house in about a year. The sidewalks were overgrown and weeds were all over the place. Of course from my rose-colored glasses, I saw through the overgrowth and saw the house as 'the diamond in the rough'. Since my last visit, someone had cut the grass and trimmed back ALL the overgrowth and hedges. I actually thought, "well that was thoughtful of that person to clean up my yard like that." But then reality kicked in and I figured it was God's way of letting my down easily. So I've been prepared for the past few days to see the word "SOLD" when I look up the house online.
Today, I did my usual search and saw that ANOTHER listing agent was listing the house now! Once it was under contract, all the other sites dropped the listing but I came across this site that had been updated with MY house just a few days ago. I couldn't believe the realtor didn't call me and make me aware that these shenanigans were taking place. I got the nerve to call her and see what was going on. She wasn't available but the lady who answered the phone informed me that it was closing TODAY and the realtor was at the "signing table" but a glitch had come up and for me to call back tomorrow to see if it was still on the market. Seriously?? Seriously. You're telling me I called at the exact moment someone was trying to steal my house away from me? God sure has a sense of humor.
So there you have it. There's another genius out there who fell in love with the same house and just so happens to have stupid essentials like maybe say...a JOB and MONEY and ability to MOVE.
I must put a small little disclaimer on this post...I'm pretty sure a friend of mine is convinced I need to be committed after my last post and I had to clarify I'm not "really" eating, sleeping, dreaming about this house. I mean, yes, I loved it, but I'm making light of circumstances. I had to explain and reiterate these are written in jest. I'm going to call her as soon as I post this and let her know I'm really NOT going to give the new homeowners a basket of poisoned baked goods.
Today, I did my usual search and saw that ANOTHER listing agent was listing the house now! Once it was under contract, all the other sites dropped the listing but I came across this site that had been updated with MY house just a few days ago. I couldn't believe the realtor didn't call me and make me aware that these shenanigans were taking place. I got the nerve to call her and see what was going on. She wasn't available but the lady who answered the phone informed me that it was closing TODAY and the realtor was at the "signing table" but a glitch had come up and for me to call back tomorrow to see if it was still on the market. Seriously?? Seriously. You're telling me I called at the exact moment someone was trying to steal my house away from me? God sure has a sense of humor.
So there you have it. There's another genius out there who fell in love with the same house and just so happens to have stupid essentials like maybe say...a JOB and MONEY and ability to MOVE.
I must put a small little disclaimer on this post...I'm pretty sure a friend of mine is convinced I need to be committed after my last post and I had to clarify I'm not "really" eating, sleeping, dreaming about this house. I mean, yes, I loved it, but I'm making light of circumstances. I had to explain and reiterate these are written in jest. I'm going to call her as soon as I post this and let her know I'm really NOT going to give the new homeowners a basket of poisoned baked goods.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)