Name Change

On the way to church Sunday morning, my kids were calling each other names.  But instead of everyone howling, "He called me a blankety blank or a such and such!!!",  they were all claiming their names with pride.  Needless to say, my curiosity was piqued. 

"What are you all talking about?"

They were discussing their Captain Underpants names.

Do your children have any of these books?   The one they were referring to is called Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants.

Yes, you read that right.

I asked them what all of their names were:

Cameron is Buttercup Chuckle Pants

Parker is Doofus Diaper Pants

Anna is Stinky Monkey Pants (by-the-way, that's my favorite!)

and Landon is Booger Gizzard Pants.

And they had even figured out what Brian's name was.  

He is Lumpy Lizard Pants.

I asked them if they knew what my name was but they didn't.  Apparently there is a specific code for figuring out your name.  Suddenly I could think of  NOTHING  ELSE!!!  I HAD TO KNOW WHAT MY NEW NAME WAS!   I told Brian, "You know I will not hear anything Pastor has to say today, don't you?  I'll be wondering what my name is the whole time!"

Once we got home we looked it up.

*Drum roll please!*

I am..........

Loopy Liver Pants!!!  

I think I like the sound of that.  LOL!   Especially since Brian's mom once said that she swore her liver was flipping.   ????!!!!!   So, I guess Dixie would be called Flippin' Liver Pants!  hee hee

Actually, now I'm going to have to go look up her name according to the chart.... Hold on one moment...

Ready?

Dixie's new name is: Gidget Liver Pants.   I think I like Flippin' Liver Pants better.

So, if you're like me and now you're dying to know what your new name is, just leave me a comment with your first and last name and I'll be sure to decode it for you!  

a.k.a. Loopy Liver Pants

Noticed

 Blustery winds today are making the clouds look as if they are on a direct path toward our house rather than floating miles above the earth.  A milk jug took a jog down the street earlier followed later by its recycling bin that must have been hollering, "Wait for me!"   Here in the hills you can see the weather approaching and changing in a different way than you might in a dissimilar topography.  It appears closer to the observer, like you could reach up and be swept away with it.

I love this place.  Have I mentioned it before?  What a blessed woman I am.  I hope that this is the only childhood home my little ones will know.  Twenty years from now, I'd like to hear them asking me on the phone, "How is the neighborhood?  Are Mr. and Mrs. Clay doing well?  What about the Haases?"  

Every now and then I get a little restless and find myself daydreaming about living in a condo downtown, riding the bus to the store, walking to a local restaurant for lunch.   

But most of the time, I love my peaceful suburb.  There are so many days like this.  Days full of laundry and cleaning, homework and playtime, everyone is healthy and happy.  So many days like this that I take for granted.  They go unnoticed.

But not today.  Today is.

"Can't hide it so I gotta make peace with it."

This absolutely must be shared with the whole world.

From the brilliant Anita Renfroe, I present to you...Wrinkled Ladies!

Linky Love - Part Deux

 If you're bored with your background and if you don't particularly like the options provided by Blogger or Wordpress then check out these sites!  They have great backgrounds for FREE! 

Hot Bliggity Blog
The Cutest Blog on the Block
Shabby Blogs

I may just breathe a sigh of relief.

My mom, my wonderful mom, sent me this today.  She received it from a friend and knew I could appreciate it.  I know you will too.

 Losing My  Cool

Lord, I'm so tired of the same confession,
I lost my cool,
Tired of staring temper in its ugly fanged face...
I'm tired of being bossed around
by an irrational two-year old.
Can't someone ever take my part and say, "I know how you feel?"
All I ever hear is--
"These years go so quickly."
And I feel guilty for my silent, "Not quickly enough for me!"
The years must graciously retain only sweet memories or all grandmothers have amnesia.
If I think clearly I know that this is only a tiny portion of my life;but my heart cries out to ask...
"Will I ever read a whole book again and not find scribbles on the crucial page? Will i ever scrub the kitchen floor and have it stay clean long enough for anyone to believe I scrubbed it?
Will I ever do the wash, hang it out, fold it up, iron it, and put it away in less than five days?
Will we ever have conversation at the table or wake up in our bed alone, without little obstacles between us?"
I know that we will be alone all too soon--and hate the quiet (or so they tell me, although I can't imagine it.)
But all I can feel is the now.
I know that this is the road of the crucified Self--but Lord, I was hoping to be perfected by something more dramatic,
Not piddled and spilled and whined to death.
Today I can understand working mothers, day care centers, child abuse and zero population growth.
But I will not give up because I know that You see into this home and into my heart, and into the future,
And not a hair is pulled out of my head Without Your notice, Your love, Your comfort. 

And here's my confession:

Tomorrow we sign Anna Banana up for Kindergarten.  Last year, around this time, I actually said out loud that I would probably miss her the most when she went to school because her absence makes the house so quiet.  This child is SO high-maintenance!  Every 10 minutes she "needs" something:  a drink, a snack, she wants to play with a friend, she wants to watch a different movie/TV show, she has a splinter because she's played outside without her shoes on like I've warned her not to, she has a thorn in her foot because she was playing outside without her shoes on, Landon is in her room, Landon is calling her a name, Landon is sticking his tongue out at her....and on and on and on!

Every time I have had to send one of my little ones off on their first day of school, I leave in a big, teary-eyed, slobbery crying mess.   I know that it will probably be the same way when I leave her in her new classroom in August.  

BUT!

I think God prepares us in the most cruel unusual way for our children to leave; whether it's on the first day of school or when they've packed up all their things for college or marriage, He turns them into horrible little creatures so that it's easier to say goodbye!  lol

Recently, my brother was in town and having MUCH difficulty getting some important things done stateside.  He was growing grumpier and moodier and more pessimistic every day.  I told my mom, "Well, his acting this way will make it easier when it comes time to take him to the airport."  (Love you, Paul!)   

And I think it will be true when I have to take my little girl to school in the fall.

I may cry as I'm walking out the door of that elementary school but I will do a little jig once I get home!

Muskrat Love? Really?! What kind of drug do you have to be on to come up with that one?!

Don't look!  ...  But it's been 4 whole days since I posted!

I told you not to look!

It's been busy around here ... Yes!  I realize you're thinking, "So?  What's new?  It's always busy there!"   And, my brain kind of feels like a deflated balloon.  Again, "So? What's new?  Doesn't your brain always feel that way?"  So I haven't had enough mental energy to come up with my own post.


And because I love Joyce's answers so much (as always) I'm answering The Random Dozen questions from 2nd Cup of Coffee.

1. Ever had any run ins with the library police?
Ummmm...what are the library police?  Are they those people who shush you the whole time you're there?

2.  Do you have a special organizational plan and place for wrapping paper, gift bags, etc., or do you just purchase whatever you need as you give gifts?
I keep most of it in my coat closet all jumbled on the floor and once a year (maybe once every other year) I try to "organize" it.   When you have as many kids as I do there is no need to buy any gift bags.  Hooray for recycling!   I love wrapping presents and prefer to wrap than to throw something in a bag with tissue paper, though, which is why my gift bag stash never seems to get any smaller.  My favorite wrapping "method?" is plain white paper and a pretty bow and hand-made gift tag. Plain white paper works for any occasion and any recipient.


3. Have you ever been in (first-hand witness) a natural disaster? 
I've seen a tornado from a distance when I was a kid and we were only a mile away from the tornado that hit our area a couple years ago.  It took us almost two hours to get home that night from church because all of our regular routes were blocked by fallen trees and debris.  I love spring time but this is about the time I start to have my recurring nightmares about walking out the front door and seeing a dozen tornadoes headed in our direction.  I hate that dream.


4. What's your favorite Barry Manilow song?
Copacabana? Do I have to have a favorite Barry Manilow song?  He's not exactly someone I listen to on purpose.

5. What's the best costume you've ever worn?

For a Halloween party with our Sunday School class we were supposed to dress as famous couples. Brian and I went as Sonny and Cher.  It was only appropriate that he be Cher because he's taller and also does a mean impression of Cher flipping her hair.  Sorry, honey, but this picture refuses to go away! 

6. Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus?
Probably the dictionary.  I always want to make certain that I am using a word correctly.

7. What's your favorite breakfast food? 
There definitely isn't just one.  My favorite breakfast is The Old Timer's Breakfast at Cracker Barrel: eggs over medium, bacon, hashbrown casserole, biscuits and gravy, o.j. and coffee.   I believe I've mentioned this a time or twenty.

8. Have you ever purchased anything from an infomercial?
Joyce, you'll love this!

A series (very long series) of cd's from Time Life called Singers/ Songwriters.  There are over 20 cd's in that set and each one of them is a double cd and there isn't one bad song in the lot!  Oh!  Wait!  I forgot!  Muskrat Love is featured on one!  WHY?!  Why must we be tortured with Muskrat Love?!  Oh the inhumanity!

9. Have you ever crawled through a window?
I think so. 


10. Do you believe in love at first sight?
I do.  I don't think it happens to everyone but I'm pretty sure it happens to some.  Just ask Kayann and Phil!  And I definitely believe in love after first date!  Because that's what happened with us.  Man!  I'll never forget that night.  I'll tell you more on May 11th. 

11. How many pairs of jeans do you own?
 I have approximately 5 pairs of jeans?  But only two pairs fit and that's because they are identical twins.  When you find a pair that great then you make sure to buy two! 

12. If someone were going to bake a cake to honor/represent you, what would it be? (Think creatively, like Duff and Crew on "Ace of Cakes.")
I LOVE "Ace of Cakes"!  Thanks to Ginger for that one!  Hmmm.... what would my cake look like?  A camera laying on a quilt with a picture of my kids in the viewfinder.
 

Linky Love

Have you checked out All Kinds of Pretty yet?

It's this cute blog for REAL women with REAL bodies and REAL budgets!  I love the principle behind this site!  I love that these girls, who are contributing there, know how beautiful they are.  I love that they're not afraid to ask for advice.  I love that they're not afraid to give some advice.  

Go check 'em out and COMMENT, people!

Saturday Snapshot

It's late.  If you live on the east side.  I suppose it's not so late if you live in California.

Anyhow,  what I'm trying to get at is...it's been a long, busy day at the end of a long, busy week.  And I'm feeling very blessed to have been a part of it.  To have this life.  With these people.

Life is good.   And it seems like it's getting better all the time.

I took over 450 photographs today.  I didn't mean to; it just happened. 

!!!!

More soccer, dinner with friends at their new house and...

Caterpillars.  Today seemed to be about caterpillars. 

I'm hoping your Saturday was as filled with wonder as ours was.

Hmmmm...Post Title:... I'll have to think about it...

 I haven't had many words lately.  Or, rather, I have had many and I won't bore you with all of them.  Because I am not one to be prone to word shortages.   It's just that I've been busier with other things than this here blog.

For instance:  ________________

Wow!  Look!  A word shortage!  My mind is blank.

Think, think, think!

Sunday:   Hmmm...That was 4 whole days ago; I can't remember a single thing except pastor's sermon.  So,...BONUS  POINTS  for me, right?

Monday:  Busy. 1. Half of the laundry got done. 
                         2. I  RAN ON THE TREADMILL!!!  whoot! whoot!  (sorry, I know every intelligent human being can't stand that sound but I couldn't help myself.)
                         3.  Took Anna and Parker to our new wonderful pediatrician!  (More on this at a later date.)
                         4.  Went straight from doctor's office (in Norcross) to boys' soccer practice
                         5.   Watched So I Married an Axe Murderer for the 8th time with Brian and laughed 'til I cried AGAIN!  "We have a piper down!  I repeat:  A piper is down."  .... "Oh, Colonel Sanders with his wee beady eyes!  Oh!  You'll eat me chicken!"

Tuesday:  Brian was sweet enough to take both Anna and Landon with him to "turtle work" so I had 4 whole hours of uninterrupted time to clean!!!  whoot!  whoot!   Ooops!  Sorry.  There I go again; I can't help myself.  Those 4 hours of uninterrupted time to clean were almost as good as my weekend off.

I said, "almost".

Wednesday:   The usual stuff + a meeting about a trip to South Asia in the fall to minister to some ladies over there!!!  CAN'T  WAIT!!!   Everyone that we have ever supported to go on a short-term trip like that....here comes my letter!   It's payback time!   LOL!   (Just kidding!) 

 And just because I feel like adding it:
This is one of my most vivid memories of my childhood!  And also, one of my favorites!
Love y'all!

Oh!  And I'm not kidding about the support letters.  ; )  

Saturday's Snapshots on Sunday

Last week was wonderful!  And I topped it off by getting Baby B's quilt done!  Time to move on to the next one.  My fingers will be ready very soon for all my friends to stop having babies.  ; )

It's been 5 years since I finished a quilt with a scalloped edge and now I remember why.  

My brain doesn't work this way. I couldn't figure out how to fold the fabric so that I could cut it on the bias.  I had it folded wrong and ended up with pieces like this instead of long strips.  I may have cried a little.

But I think it turned out lovely

once I figured it out and stopped blubbering about my brain not functioning properly.

I hope Baby B loves the quilt almost as much as I love her and her mommy!

I'll miss you, Gertie! I'll never forget you.

I bought her in September 1996.  Buying her was one of the best decisions I have ever made.  She's been the most reliable, faithful little car EVER!!!  The only work we've had to have done to her is routine maintenance and a few minor repairs.  

My grandma and grandpa went with me when I bought her.  I needed him to cosign for me.  I should never have asked him to do that for me.  Thank you, Grandpa, for believing I would pay it off on my own!  She's been paid for now for more than 7 years!  She has 192,332 miles on the odometer!  I really wanted to be there when she celebrated 200k!

She transported me countless times from my mom's house in Acworth to Brian's parents' house in College Park while we were dating.  She took me to Knoxville, Tennessee after we got married and then back to the Atlanta area just a few months later.  

We've lived in 2 apartments, 2 rental houses and 2 houses with mortgages on them.  But she's been there the whole time.

She took us safely to Kennestone Hospital several times as we introduced new little people into our family.  But she was my first baby.

And I cried (am crying now) when Brian drove to work this afternoon in a different car.  

My baby brother will drive away in Gertie today.  I'm sorry, Gertie; you don't know what you're in for and you didn't do anything to deserve it!  ; )

Did you ever read Black Beauty?  She had many different owners.  Some treated her kindly, some abused her.  In the end, she ends up taken care of and loved by the son of a former owner.  

I can only hope that Gertie will survive until one day when I can pass her on to Cameron.

UPDATE: It looks like my sister-in-law will be driving her most of the time so that makes me feel better.

Name your cars, people.  Love them and they'll love you right back.

who didn't know I'd become quite so attached.

I love Atlanta!

Last year, we had some friends ask us to help them with their second chiropractic office in Blacksburg, Virginia.  Greg has a thriving, reputable practice and wanted Brian to come and be a part of what's going on up there.  We love this couple.  We like Virginia.  The allure of financial stability is tempting.  Very tempting.

We told them we'd pray about it.  We would consider it.

At the end of summer, they came to visit her family here in Georgia and met us for ice cream one night.  They talked about how much they love it in Blacksburg.  They told us, "There's no traffic.  It's so quiet and laid back.  It's a wonderful place to raise a family."

That sounded nice.  Relaxing. 

But on our way home I realized something.

We would be bored out of our minds!

We lived in Knoxville, Tennessee for a minute and a half after we were married and couldn't believe that ,once football season is over, there is nothing to do there.   We were thankful to be back home just a few short months later.

I love this city!

Is there anything Atlanta doesn't have?

This city of mine has:

1. Great food
2. Rich history
3. Fabulous music
4. Art museums
5. Science museums
6. A world-class aquarium
7. A beautiful river
8. Two gorgeous lakes nearby
9. The mountains
10. NFL Falcons
11. NHL Thrashers
12. MLB Braves
13. NBA Hawks
14. WNBA Dream
15. Six Flags over Georgia
16. White Water
17. Zoo Atlanta
18. The Atlanta Botanical Gardens
19. Fantastic schools
20. The Atlanta Opera
21. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
22. Comedy clubs
23. The ocean is not far away.
24. The Gulf of Mexico is not far away.
25. And, if you want to go further than that, it has Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport

I know this looks like you've landed on the site for The Chamber of Commerce.  But I just have to say that I love it here!  

It took us an hour and a half to get to the game last night because I wanted to park in the Blue Lot.  But that just means that the boys got in an hour's nap before we kept them up late.

We gave up on the Blue Lot and ended up parking in a Mom 'n Pop auto repair place that uses their property as an impromptu parking lot on game nights.  But we still just paid ten bucks and only had an extra block to walk.

We got in an enormous line for tickets because we were with everyone else that got stuck in traffic.  But a Turner Field employee told us all about a $20 dollar/ 4 game deal that got us out of the line!  And now we have tickets for 4 to 3 more games this season!

So,...there's a trade off.  Traffic and crowds for a Chipper Jones game-winning homerun!  I think that's a trade I'm willing to make to live in a city that offers so much.

Jones headed into home.

  Our view from our 5 dollar seats!

Come on down!  The weather's fine!

5733

 Pollen count for today is...

 The usual suspects are...

and the pine trees which aren't as pretty in pictures.

Standing on our porch is reminiscent of the perfume department in Macy's.  Only imagine 15 of those ladies, who are randomly spraying strangers, are all focused on you and you alone.  Those tulip magnolias are out of control this year!

NOTE: This public service announcement brought to you today by someone who is not a meteorologist nor do I play one on television.  I'm just sayin' is doesn't take a rocket scientist, or a weatherman, to figure out that the air quality in the Atlanta area is poor today and will be again tomorrow and for the rest of the week and maybe the rest of the month.

But it is lovely to look at.

Easter Tuesday

Easter was Sunday - lots of pictures taken.  Lots of activity.  But it didn't really feel like Easter to me because Brian and I didn't get to go to our church service.  It just so happened (unfortunately) that this was our week to work in the preschool department.  They assigned us to the 8:30 service and I had already told a friend  several weeks ago that I would fill in for her in preschool during the 11:00 service.  Stink Stank Stunk!  So I feel a little bit cheated since Easter is my favorite holiday.  I wanted to be there to be reminded of what He did for me. To be reminded that He lives.   

Thankfully, He sends those reminders my way all the time.  

Saturday Snapshot

I was about to say that I didn't take many pictures today. What I should say is that I didn't take pictures of many different things today.  Because, actually, I took over 300 pictures today!  But they were all of basically the same thing. 

Soccer...

soccer...

 

soccer...

 and this.