To the Moon and Back.

If you want to read more about my baby bro, his wonderful wife and adorable baby girl.....head on over to her NEW blog! www.giddenslove.blogspot.com

Welcome Ashley! Your life will never be the same!

Since when?

Claire and I went to the mall on Saturday after a REALLY fun party for THIS cute little guy! We ate at the food court and then walked around pointing out things that she wanted on her Christmas list. (Most of which she will never remember when it comes time to put pen to paper!) As our little adventure concluded I found myself pondering the following things.

Since when did it become acceptable to use the "F word" freely?
I was horrified when a kid walked by our table and used it TWICE in passing! Not because he was yelling or mad at someone (not that it would make it any better) but just in conversation!

Since when did it become fashionable to wear socks with flip flops?

Since when did "soft porn" become a specialty at Glamour Shots?
We walked by and saw the giant flat screen displaying a woman's photos that were just taken. Really? I'm talking lingerie, red lipstick and a cat-like pose to boot! YIKES!

Since when did string bikini underwear and semi-thongs become appropriate for SIX year olds!
Claire pointed out a pair of cute little undies that had a monkey on them. I picked them up to reveal strings on the sides and not much in the back! I checked the size because I was sure they had just been misplaced. WRONG! 6x was the size! Ugh.

Since when do people pay $198 for a pair of jeans?
Just think how many mouths we could feed with that kind of money! We could give four whole families a Thanksgiving dinner! I'm thinking those jeans better wash themselves, massage the cellulite off my thighs, exercise for me and be lined in gold!

Am I getting old and out of touch? Or has being a mother just heightened my senses?

We're all in this together.

Yesterday was unseasonably warm and luckily we already had a play date scheduled with a good friend of mine from Jr. High and her twins. It was very windy, but great for November! Of course all of the kids pass up the "little" play equipment and head straight for the good stuff. You know the stuff that makes your stomach feel all "squeezy" when your babies venture up to the tippy top. Of course the purple slide is the best. It goes all the way up to the sky and swirls all the way down. (It really is VERY tall and totally freaks me out because I am afraid that the kids will get to the top and then stand up..ugh.) As three kids filed up the stairs....the first little guy lost his nerve. Traffic jam. I stood at the bottom ready to catch Rhonda's little guy if he fell while the mother of the other boy ran up the stairs. She got him down, Braden didn't fall and the other little girl slid down without incident. However, while the first little guy was being rescued, her other baby who looked to be a bit younger had managed to get himself in a pickle too! She looked around and handed her older child off to me and asked me to hold him while she rescued the other one. I was more than happy to cuddle him while his momma played playground super hero. When both boys were safe, she thanked me for my help. She later returned the favor when she alerted me that Claire had gotten the water faucet on and had it going FULL BLAST! I was so glad she got my attention before Claire and others were soaked head to toe!

The point of my story is this. Unfortunately, it isn't often that I have positive encounters with moms like that. I have had so many encounters with mothers that left such a bad taste in my mouth, that I am very hesitant to make new mommy friends. For example, the lady at Chuck E. Cheese who ripped into me when my daughter pulled her daughters hair. Of course I made her apologize (Claire, not the rude lady) but it really upset me that she didn't even give me the chance to make it right before being so hateful. I did love the look on her face when I told her that Claire was only 2 years old. (Her daughter looked to be six or seven!) In my 4 short years as a mommy I have been subjected to mothers who do everything right and love to point out when my kids mess up. NEWSFLASH! They are 2 and 4...they will make mistakes. Another treat is the dirty looks I get when my 2 year old acts his age. They think he is a really badly behaved 4 year old, when he is really a well behaved 2 year old! Maybe I'm too sensitive.

In a perfect world, moms would build each other up. They would compliment each other and each others children....and mean it. They would do their best with their OWN children and realize that every other mom at the playground is doing the same. When they saw another mother struggling with a toddler who is throwing a tantrum, they would remember how they felt the last time their child threw a fit in a public place. They would say things like, "Oh what a beautiful girl" instead of "Wow she's huge!" They might mention, to a mother of four or five, that she is so blessed and is doing a great job, rather than ask "Uh, don't you know what causes that?" or "You're done now right?"

I have discovered that there ARE many moms out there who are kind. I just happen to be related to quite a few which is awesome. I know I can't change the world, but I can be the nice mommy at the playground. To the lady at the park with the two boys, be proud of yourself for being kind to a complete stranger and not judging her when she let her kids out of her sight long enough to blast cold water all over!

The world is tough enough for our little ones, why not do the best we can to encourage ALL children? Being a mom is serious stuff, why not support one another instead of tearing each other down? After all, we are all in this together...right?

P.S...the aforementioned friend with the twins is one of my super nice mommy friends! Just wanted to make sure that was clear!

Vote for Claire!

In a previous post I mentioned that Claire and I would be having a "girls day" after a trip to the dentist. WRONG. Apparently the bright blue sharpie marker that said "Dentist" moved on my calendar. It's not until Thursday. However, we did make a special trip to the Jr. High to cast our vote in the 2008 presidential election. Claire was not as excited as I was, but someday I'm sure she will thank me for dragging her away from Drew and Cohen who were frolicking in the front yard when we left. My favorite part of the voting experience was when she said, in her OUTSIDE voice, "Don't forget to vote for John McCain MOM!" "Yes dear, I remember." Then she said, "Did you color in the dot for Sarah Ravencroft?" She and Drew have decided that they would rather refer to Sarah Palin as Sarah Ravencroft. I can't explain it. They probably got the name from the same far away place they got the word "cadoots." We don't know.

ANYWAY, I know two 4 year olds that will be very disappointed that we did not elect John McCain into office. (They have NO idea about anything except the names, and they decided on their own that they liked the name John McCain better. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that their decision process was just as complex as many adults.)But what a wonderful lesson about our civic duty. I hope that she remembers the day we voted in an election that will go down in history. I plan to tell Claire that he did not win but we did our part. Now our job is to pray for all of the people who are leading our country and be thankful that we are not in the upper tax bracket ;-)

I am currently watching Barack Obama give his victory speech. May God be with you President Obama. May he guide you in ALL of your decisions during your term in office.

What. A. Day.

If you are reading this...

please go to this blog and pray for Stephanie Vest and her family. She is a friend of Miss Leah's (the director of our preschool) and she needs our prayers. She has three beautiful children and just 8 short weeks after giving birth to her youngest, she was diagnosed with a rare form of Lymphoma. The most recent post on her blog is inspiring to say the least. Her story serves as another important reminder to live each day to the fullest. It sounds like such a cliche, but it is so important.

On Friday, after a day full of Halloween fun, it was time to take the kids trick-or-treating. They were so excited....I was not. The thought of tromping around the neighborhood (even with the beautiful weather we had) was not as appealing as staying behind and having a coke, a brownie and some peace and quiet with my mom, dad, mother-in-law and her parents. But I stopped and took a deep breath and looked at my children. They were bouncing around full of life while images of candy bars gleamed in their eyes. How could I miss this? What could be more important than watching my little ones hand in hand strolling down the street dressed as batgirl and Cowboy Woody? Nothing. I loved watching Claire run so her cape would flap in the wind. Cohen strutting his stuff in his "Woody boots" was about the cutest thing you ever did see. How could I be so selfish? I am BLESSED to be here and have the ability to walk with my children. I am BLESSED that they are running and laughing. BLESSED that my husband is walking right next to me taking it all in. I could go on for days...but you get the point. I am eliminating the "poor me grumble" from my daily repertoire. I will no longer feel grumpy about cleaning up yet another mess. I will REJOICE in the Lord that I have the strength to bend down and pick up those dirty socks. I will THANK him for the children who left them there. I will PRAY that I get one more day with my husband to show him how much I truly adore him, but will never leave it unsaid.

I have never felt more strongly about anything in my life. TODAY MATTERS. I will make it count.

Sunday Funny

What Fell from the Bible?

A little boy opened the big family Bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it closely. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages."Momma, look what I found," the boy called out."What have you got there, dear?" his mother asked. With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered: "I think it's Adam's underwear!"

I'm Chrissy and I approved this message.

Well, this normally isn't my style. I try to keep things simple around here but there is a very important election coming up. Thanks to my mother who pointed out that Claire and Drew are old enough to remember being a part of this so Claire will be joining me at the polls on Tuesday. We also have a teeth cleaning scheduled and then we will be having a lunch date so I can catch up with my girl with some little one on one time. I am excited at the thought of Claire being there for a little piece of history. No matter the outcome, we will either elect an African American or a woman into office. That's a big deal. Do they allow picture taking at the polls? Sure would be great material for a blog!

As for the political side of things....deep breath....I have been weighing the issues and can admit that each candidate has things that I disagree with. Here's what I came up with. Please keep in mind, I am NOT a political guru and don't know as much as I should but these are my opinions.

"Redistribution of Wealth" is something that makes me squirm in my seat. I am ALL FOR helping our neighbors. I am surrounded by people who do so on a regular basis. I LOVE helping those who want to help themselves. I am also a HUGE fan of working for what is yours. I have watched my dad work his buns off so that my mother could stay at home to raise my brother and me. Sure provide tax relief. But don't do it at the expense of people who have worked all of their lives to get where they are. BAD PLAN. I know that many people who are "rich" got that way by being dishonest. Those people will face judgement in eternity and it will be way worse than any tax the government could impose. Oh! Just the thought of this system scares me.

The war. I hate it. I have friends who are raising young children without their husbands because they are deployed for years at a time. Daddies who are missing the milestones because they are fighting in a war that I am still not sure what the main goal is. I wish that it was different, but it's not. We are at war. I feel much more comfortable with someone in charge who actually knows what it is like to serve our country.

There are two BIG issues that are hot right now. Abortion and same sex marriage. Oh so touchy. Not sure if I am ready to tackle those on here. I have definite opinions about both. I'm not that brave yet to put them on here, but I have taken them into consideration and they weigh very heavily on my mind and heart.

It really scares me that many people will vote for Obama just because he is black. Trust me, I would be the first in line to vote for him if I felt he was the best candidate. It's the same thing as voting for McCain because he is white. Ick. I agree with Obama on some things and I disagree with McCain on some things. But I have decided which issues are the most important and it's probably no surprise to many that I will be voting for John McCain on Tuesday. I will also be in constant prayer for the state of our union. I believe that is just as important as my vote on November 4th. Happy voting!