When Mama's Sick...

Dear Kids ...

It's so nice to see all of you (and your father) come together when mama is sick and to help out.   I see Victoria getting folks fed, William filling ice trays, Thomas feeding the dogs, Daddy doing the mama taxi driver routine, putting James to bed, etc. ... I know I am blessed with an amazing family.

And God must have known that I wasn't feeling very well today because he blessed with me little surprises, beyond my helpful family.   I had a long lost friend, who is dear to my soul, find me again.  We had been out of touch for about five or so years.   Love you LISA - so glad to find you again.   I was pregnant with Thomas when we last saw each other, and now Thomas is in Kindergarten, if that explains how long it has been.  Finding old friends is such a blessing.

Also - a few weeks ago, the best t.v. we had in the house died a smoky death - remember that kids?  Well, a lady from Church has a nice flat screen t.v. she is going to sell to us at a very low and reasonable price - so that is a blessing as well.  I'm so excited.

Well - mama goes to the doctor tomorrow.  Hope it is not as painful as the invoice will be :)

When you're thinking of things to pray about - pray that our family gets health insurance soon.  That is definitely something we need.

Anyway - my lovely kids - and amazing husband - thank you for EVERYTHING you do !   Even small things like watering the plants - it makes my day.

Also deserving of honorable mention is your fabulous cousin Ashley who lives with us.  She is so very helpful all the time.  She works three jobs - and she makes time to pitch in - so make sure you thank Ashley when you see her for all that she does.

Duct Tape, Warts and Vodka - oh my

Okay kids - don't say your mama never told you anything useful.  Here ya go !


Check out the following bizarre home cures that really work:

Problem: Warts

Home Cure: Duct Tape

What to Do: Clean the area. Then cut a piece of duct tape to a size slightly bigger than the wart. Apply the duct tape to the site and rub into place. Every 3 days, remove the tape and file down dead skin with a pumice stone or nail file. Repeat until the wart disappears.

How it Works: In a study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, covering warts with duct tape eliminated them better than freezing them off. In the study, the duct tape eliminated 85 percent of the warts after 2 months, compared with 60 percent with the freezing method. The reason? Chemicals in the tape suffocate and kill the wart.

Problem: Foot Odor

Home Cure: Vodka

What to Do: Wipe your feet down with a vodka-soaked washcloth to get rid of the smell.

Why it Works: Vodka contains alcohol, which is antiseptic and drying, so it destroys odor-causing fungus and bacteria and dries out the moisture that lets these organisms grow.

Problem: Cold Sores

Home Cure: Lemon balm tea

What to Do: Prepare lemon balm tea by brewing 2 to 4 tablespoons of the herb per cup of boiling water. Let it cool, then dot with a cotton ball on the cold sore several times a day.

Why It Works: Cold sores are caused by a herpes simplex virus (HSV). Lemon balm has antiviral properties that work to tame herpes outbreaks.

Problem: Eczema

Home Cure: Olive Oil

What to Do: Apply olive oil directly to the irritated area. Rub 1 teaspoon per square inch of skin, which creates a seal that prevents skin from drying out. For serious cases, cover oil-slathered skin with plastic wrap overnight to lock moisture in.

Why it Works: Olive oil is packed with antioxidants that can reduce the inflammation associated with eczema. Olive oil is actually the base used for many moisturizers. When used alone, it lacks chemical irritants that you may find in store-bought creams.

Problem: Hiccups

Home Cure: Sugar

What to Do: Swallow one teaspoon of sugar (dry) to stop hiccups.

Why it Works: The sugar is believed to modify the nerve muscles that would otherwise tell the muscles in the diaphragm to contract spasmodically and contribute to hiccups.

Problem: Nausea

Home Cure: Lemons

What to Do: At the first hint of nausea, suck on a lemon.

Why it Works: Motion sickness causes you to produce excess saliva, which can make you nauseated. Lemons help dry out your mouth and can help soothe the queasy feeling.

Problem: Stained Teeth

Home Cure: Apples

What to Do: Eat an apple a day.

Why it Works: Apples have a gentle malic acid that works on cleansing tooth enamel and helps dissolve stains.

Problem: Urinary Tract Infections

Home Cure: Baking Soda

What to Do: At the first sign of symptoms, drink a solution made with ¼ teaspoon of baking soda mixed in 8 ounces of water. Continue this once a day until you can get a culture done at a doctor's office and start antibiotics.

Why it Works: Baking soda makes the bladder environment more alkaline, which reduces bacteria's ability to multiply.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Dear Kids:

Here's an educational lesson for you on this warm and windy Labor Day weekend.

According to wikipedia, the very fabulous and completely entertaining word "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" is an English word, with 34 letters, that was in the song with the same title in the Disney musical film Mary Poppins. The song was written by the Sherman Brothers, and sung by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.

According to Richard M. Sherman, co-writer of the song with his brother, Robert, the word was created by them in two weeks, mostly out of double-talk.

The roots of the word have been defined as follows: super- "above", cali- "beauty", fragilistic- "delicate", expiali- "to atone", and docious- "educable", with the sum of these parts signifying roughly "Atoning for educability through delicate beauty." Although the word contains recognizable English morphemes, it does not follow the rules of English morphology as a whole. The morpheme -istic is a suffix in English, whereas the morpheme ex- is typically a prefix; so following normal English morphological rules, it would represent two words: supercalifragilistic and expialidocious. The pronunciation also leans towards it being two words since, the letter c doesn't normally sound like a k when followed by an e, an i or a y.

Meanwhile; according to the 1964 Walt Disney film, it is defined as "something to say when you have nothing to say".

So all of this to bring me to the main point of this blog; which is this:

I really can't think of anything to say :)

SO I'll just say this - happy Labor day weekend - mama loves ya !

Oh- and PS: We are very excited about our new foreign exchange student who arrived quite early Saturday morning -Elva - from Taiwan! She is fabulous!

My kids are amazing

Dear KIDS: You're amazing - - each and every one of you.

VICTORIA: You are so talented and gifted with art and music (oh, and cooking too). I love the way you play the piano and it may not seem like it sometimes- but I really do love the way you play. I cannot wait to get you some private lessons. I love your generous heart and caring spirit. I love your energy - even the hyper-mode energy - life is never boring with Victoria in the house! I am eager for you to make me some of your famous Salmon soon. I love the way you embrace the foreign exchange students. I love your empathetic soul. I love your compassion for others. I also love that you are willing to try almost anything once, including foods. You tend towards the healthy side of life, and that is awesome. I love that you are already thinking and talking about college. You have goals and dreams and you are going to SOAR!!

WILLIAM: You are my thoughtful thinker. Your Sunday School teacher told me that you are so fast and thorough in your work. Those two things don't normally go together...but with you - they do. I love how you can be so serious and focused when it's needed, but goofy and silly when you're having fun. You are so good at putting the couch back together. You are an awesome Chess player - among other board games. You read very well. You're very good at getting dressed, picking out your clothes and being responsible. You are so good to your mama - very loyal and protective, and so very loving and sweet (but only in private). I love how protecting you are about baby James. I love how you miss your sister when she's gone. I love how you love sharing a room with Thomas and like to sleep with your heads towards each other.

THOMAS: You smile with your whole face. You light up a room with your charisma and charm. You are so very social and outgoing. You like to take care of animals and you take good care of friends. You're very crafty, always making pictures or projects. You leave notes on the neighbor's door. You like to water our plants. You are so observant, you are always the first of all the children to notice any change or anything different. You are also very thoughtful and like to make other people happy. I love watching you do your goofy dance and make your funny faces. I love how you like to put away the silverware. I also love how you love your baby brother James and play silly games with him.

JAMES: You are my baby, but you don't seem to believe or know that you are a baby. You think you are a big boy, just like your older brothers. You are just now learning to talk and saying things. I love how active you are. I love the way you straighten out your body like a surfboard and slide down the stairs. I love how you kiss me - with purpose - and intention. I love how you smile and laugh. I love how you close your eyes tight when I tell you 'NO' - as if I can't see you anymore or something. I love how you tell Victoria to 'GET UP' in the morning. It's so cute. I love how you RUN to your nursery classroom at Church. You know exactly where to go. I love how you like taking showers -very unusual for a baby. I love how you play and splash at the pool. I think you were made for the water. Surely you are part fish! I love how you seem to love everyone in the house.

College

Dear Kids:

Okay - SO I finally did it. I applied to college and sat thru a 2 hour orientation. Now I just have to pray that I get my financial aid in order and my previous college transcripts ordered in time before classes start August 30th.

It is my goal to become a certified personal trainer and registered dietitian !

I'm nervous and scared and excited all at the same time. I am tired just thinking about it, but hopefully I can get done before any of you start college, huh? :) I'm hoping to get done before sweet baby James starts Kindergarten.

So wish me luck, pray for me and rub my shoulders when I feel stressed!

Love, MOM

R a N d O m !

Dear Kids:

Here are my top ten random thoughts floating around in my head right now...

1. We very much enjoyed a small group Church fellowship gathering last night. Even all of your boys loved it.

2. Your 26 year old cousin Ashley who just graduated nursing school has recently moved in with us to make a new life here in Houston. She is energetic and industrious so I am optimistic.

3. A foreign exchange student from Russia - who is 15 - will arrive August 3rd and she will share a room with Victoria and live with us for 10 months.

4. I think I'm Anemic.

5. Our teacup sized puppy named 'Margarita' died. Very sad.

6. Absolutely loved seeing the movie 'Inception' with Victoria.

7. I have not lost any more weight lately. I have not gained either. Time to shake things up a little bit.

8. When you kids go back to school in August - so will I. I am going back to college as a full time student.

9. We are in the midst of painting all the walls in our house. I love the new color. It makes me smile.

10. Things are going very well in our family.

Absent -not forgotten

Dear Kids!

So sorry I have not been keeping up with this blog nearly the way I intended to. Too busy living life to write about life, I guess.

Yesterday I had a whirlwind adventure. I drove about 5 hours by myself to Mansfield, TX to pick up your cousin Ashley who is 26 years old. She is my brother's 1st daughter. She just graduated nursing school and will be looking for a job here in Houston. So exciting to have her staying with us for a bit. After I picked her up, we got a little lost on the way back, so it took more like 6 hours to get home, instead of 5. OH well - we called it an adventure.

Meanwhile, your father has finished his MBA and that is very exciting. Now he has more time to work on household projects - like PAINTING. Yes, we are in the midst of painting every wall. We have a lot done so far - a nice shade of light green - but more work to do. We have been re-arranging furniture and throwing stuff out and giving things away. Woo hoo for de-cluttering.

And speaking of giving things away - OH sweet James - you hit a milestone. We gave away your crib and you now sleep in a big boy bed. Yay! You do it so well too, you are an awesome sleeper, always have been. I thank God for you every day (and your awesome sleeping habits).

At this moment, as I type - your father has taken all of you kids to the Galleria mall, and I am here all by myself. I must say, it's kinda quiet. I need to get some work done- so much to do. Best get busy and take advantage of my solitude.