Such Little Faith

So, my oldest child has finally admitted she doesn't believe in our favorite, fictional, childhood characters. (Sad Sigh)No more Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Santa, none of it. And because Elijah has been ridiculously logical his entire life, I stopped beating around the bush when he asked again.

E- Mommy, tell me the truth this time. Is the Easter Bunny real?
M- What do you think?
E- That it seems not very possible that a bunny the size of a man would sneak in just to bring us candy.
M- ahahahahaa. Okay, don't hate me. The Easter Bunny is Daddy. He dresses up in a bunny costume every year and brings us candy and toys. He also sometimes works at the mall.
E- :/ What?
M- haha never mind. Are you mad that we told you he was real?
E- I haven't believed for years. I bet the tooth fairy and Santa aren't real either. You even told me magic isn't real, and if magic isn't real then Santa's sleigh can't fly and the reindeer aren't real. I believe you and you never lie to me. (death stare)
M- (mumble mumble) Daaaaadddyyyy, Eli is pressuring me!



In the end, I confessed to that tiny interrogator. We confessed everything but left Santa up to them. Layla is the only one who really believes in Santa. Eli said he will still say he believes in case Santa decides not to bring him presents lol.

Why Mike Like's Me

I got an invite to my friend's husband's 40th birthday party. As soon as I found out the theme was the 80s, I headed to Savers. awesome. obviously, you can see that I was the best dressed Jane Fonda at the party. I even won a prize. OBVIOUSLY!

TOOOO SOUR!!

AHAAAHHAA This picture was followed by the world's biggest shudder. Eli was trying out these crazy sour candies. I tried one because I love and tolerate sour candy well and couldn't finish it. Well, he is a boy and had to be the winner so he grabbed the blue ones, which are the worst. In fact, there is so much sour seasoning on them, they taste terrible. I didn't get a picture of Mike's grandma trying hers, but it was priceless.

Typical

Today was typical at the BrewCrew pad:

pitter patter of feet around 7:30 (Sam of course)
I laid in bed, read my bible (Galatians 4)
made my grocery and errand lists
slooowly got out of bed only because the call of coffee had me at hello
The Man got home from work after a trip to the gym
I drank my coffee on the front porch and watched Layla and Sam color chalk
Took the big girls with me to UPS to mail a violin
to Home Depot
to G and G nursery
to the GameStop
to Target
to Walmart
back to Home Depot
to Whole Foods for a quick run through and lunch (yum)
then home.
We planted a tomato and pepper plant
colored more chalk prints
cleaned a little (a very little because that is boring)
made dinner of cold cut sandwiches with the works, a veggie tray, and chips
then we let the kids figure out how to get into the coconut I picked up at the store
we all took very small samples and decided we like the smell better than the flavor
Once the kids were in jammies, I read to them from Isabelle's book for a bit while The Man tried out his new commercial grade power pump for the weeds out front.
Prayers then tucked in the kids
As usual, I ended my day with homework and parusing the blog world with the man watching tv by my side. Goodtimes.
My favorite saying came from Addison, "Layla, I will give my cucumber if you stop being so gruuumpy. OR I will give you this Cheetoh off the ground." We were very giggly.

AH Love

It reads: 'You look like an angel.'
'You look like you want something from me.' lol

I Did It!

I am teaching a summer time bible study. Sorry boys, it's for girls only, but if you have wives that are interested, let me know. It will all take place on another blog I have set up. Each Sunday I will post some of the questions and info we would cover at a normal weekly meeting, and everyone will have a chance to leave their comments and questions. We are studying the fruits of the spirit starting with Love. You can check out the book at Christian Book. I love that the whole thing is only six weeks long. Easy to bite off for everyone involved. I also love that I can do this study now with my friends who live far away. Thanks friends. Anyhoo, any of you girls interested? Just let me know. I need your email address so I can send you an invite.

Layla's Birthday pics

I know her birthday was in March, but most of YOU don't know that lol. Anyhoo, her birthday fell on one of The Man's work days, but we celebrated anyway by singing Happy Birthday over Hostess Cupcakes. MMMMM yummo. Then over the weekend Layla got to invite a friend to go on a girl's only shopping trip. Of course we stopped by Starbucks first for a pick me up.


Then we shopped and shopped and shopped a little more stopping to try on a bazillion outfits.



These were a few of my favorites





We finished up with lunch at the favorite, Hot Dog on a Stick. It was a great day, and my little girl is six years old now. Now I need to get pictures of her unbelievably cute new Aline bob. Dang it she is cute!

The BrewCrew on Green

Red is usually my favorite color, but lately I have been challenged to go a little greener. We (as in me) have come up with a few things to make our budget a little more comfortable, our house alittle less toxic, and try being a good steward of the earth we claim to love. I have always been a tree hugging hippie at heart, but lately I have felt a little like a talker rather than a do-er.


I want to put my green where my mouth is, so this is what we (as in me) came up with:

No more disposable water bottles- we invested three bucks into reusable water bottles.

No more paper towels- except for windexing, we use cloth towels.

No more paper napkins- cloth napkins.

Keeping it Clean- we are making our own household cleaners. My kids have successfully wasted my money with store bought cleansers and I am always freaked out Sam is going to get ahold of them. So we (as in me) made everything non toxic. Even our furniture polish and airfresheners.

Easy on the air conditioner- hopefully we can afford to get fans soon, but for now, we will just pray for a breeze.

Easy on the gasoline- prompted by an article I read this week, we are following a local Rabbi's lead and not driving at least one day a week. This one is going to be a doozy to stick to, but even if we succeed one day a month, I will save about 20 bucks!

Grocery bags are a thing of the past- despite the heavy sighs I got when the Raley's lady had to ring up my unbagged fruit, I am no longer using plastic bags for my fruits and veggies OR for my groceries. We (as in me) purchased reusable bags from Costco, and I keep them in my trunk at all times. I am in the market for smaller ones for quick grocery store and farmer's market trips.

Farmer's Market, here we come- I am a proud supporter of local and nearby farmers. We will be attending more often.

Keep it cold- All of our appliances are set to smart wash and we now do all of our laundry in cold water. I am even hoping to hang a clothes line to lessen our need for using the dryer.

Plastic v Plastic- Because I am too lazy to look for the lid I am certain I won't find, I usually put many left overs into plastic ziploc bags. I am going to do a run through on our tupperware and use them more often.

For some more ideas visit my new favorite website

http://www.treehuggingfamily.com/

My Baby

When we found out we were pregnant with Layla Grace so soon after having Eli, I hate to say I was without happy words. Elijah was very sick as a peanut, and I was holding the fort as a single mom while my husband worked his tail off to provide for our family working 7 days a week and crazy hours. I struggled with God mentally the way Jacob wrestled with the angel. I couldn't understand how I was supposed to handle my husband gone so much, a newborn baby I was certain on some nights may not make it to the morning, a four year old, and now a new baby. I was angry and paranoid. I kept thinking, 'what if God is giving us this new baby because Eli is not going to make it?' After checking all of my options, I felt helpless enough to turn to God. He lead me right to the story of Hannah. It is such a short story, but one I am affected by every time I read it now. By the time I finished the story I was weeping and I knew we were supposed to name our new baby Samuel. Then we had our ultra sound and Samuel wasn't even in there! God healed my Elijah, Layla Grace was born, and we moved to Reno. Pregnant again, I was certain THIS was our Samuel. I prayed, reread the story meant just for me, and we had our ultra sound. Samuel was NOT even in there. Hmmm. Who even knew there would be one more. God HAD given us the name Samuel. I was certain of it. When we finally found our Samuel in our last ultra sound, our family seemed finished. So many times I whined and cried and yelled and mocked and was angry and hateful and disrespectful to my husband because I couldn't understand why he wouldnt go in for his vasectomy. I was mad he was not holding up what I thought should automatically be his end of the bargain. Hadn't I done enough? Instead, God allowed my husband to decide when my husband thought our family was complete. And because The Man didn't rush into something just because I thought it was best, we were finally blessed with our Samuel. Samuel Fisher was born two years ago today. We celebrated his birthday over ice cream sundaes and a movie in the back yard last night. I am so glad God knew what we wanted more than we did.

Summer Break

So far summer break has been a whirlwind of laziness. We have had some company, some good times, some bad times, but mostly just laziness. I don't get summer break from school, but not having to take Isabelle to school every morning at 7:15 is the best from of vacation I can even think of right now. Our first week of true summer laziness has included:
our homemade summer reading program (the kids are loving it and have read for 15 hours each so far!)
Watching movies
breakfast with Nanna at IHOP
playing at the park
running in our neighborhood

trying out the YMCA that just opened near my house
building a sweet ramp for bikes and scooters and a neighborhood full of kids
planting flowers
killing flowers we didn't realize were shade flowers
nursing an apple tree (not quite like the way Pastor Greg nursed his babies)
whining about not being able to put in a real garden like last year
the farmer's market
spending time with friends
spending time with family
Nanna taking my kids far far away so I can veg on the couch and do nothing
applying for scholarships
praying, dreaming, praying some more for clarity
a little crying
a lot of laughing
a trip to the library
lots of laundry
trading beds with our friends (possibly my favorite thing)
FINALLY realizing how I want to decorate my master bedroom
breaking the zzzzz key on my keyboard (you have no idea how long it took me to type those z's)
sleeping with the windows open
waking up to birds chirping
waking up to saws whirring and hammers doing what they do best
discovering nature trails at Frenchmen's
sidewalk chalk and
late night BBQs while vegging on our front porch and loving my ideal life.
Anything exciting in your first week of summer break?

Ten Things I Love

the library
wild flowers
My red cell phone (mostly because it is red)
socks
smelly good lotion that doesn't make me sneeze
watching movies in bed
music
singing musicals randomly with my kids
my husband
quoting movies and TV shows with friends

Yard Work

Here are some yard pics. This is a before picture. Already our yard is prettier because our neighbors put a white fence between our yards. A little enjoyment for no money at all. We added burning bushes, a burning maple tree, and some flowers and herbs for some color. The Man brought home treasures from the river by way of huge pieces of driftwood that add a nice rustic touch to the front yard. Plus, the association put in a tree by our front sidewalk and as soon as the house next door is finished construction, we will have a gas lamplight out front. We are still adding to it, but our front yard is looking great. The kids and I planted a couple things this morning in hopes of filling the planter box near the front porch including sunflowers, a couple pumpkins, wild flowers and a small mound in the corner for cucumbers.







I love being at the end of the cul-de-sac. All the kids seem to accumulate here.

Pictures at the Park

These pictures make me so happy. I hope you feel the happiness, too. This is my Sam I Am, my baby.

Coming to a Close

This school year for Isabelle has been a great experience. I was so nervous at the start of the year. I have been her teacher for four years officially, and just a regular mom to her for the five years before that. There is always a lot of pressure for moms when we know our fruit is going to be judged. We prayed and prayed for a great teacher. I couldn't help feeling like I was becoming the outsider. After being mom and teacher for so long, I wasn't sure how we would all work together. Then we met Ms. Jasina. Oh how I love her. In fact, if I had a mug for everything I loved as much as her, my mug would say I heart Ms. Jasina. Isabelle comes home regularly saying, "Ms. Jasina totally gets me!" Our prayers were more than answered. I am only sad Isabelle can't have her again next year. I am sure I will be even more neurotic this August when I turn over the next two kiddos. I realize all this sounds a little crazy, but I have put a lot into these guys. It is in my best interest to help them turn out well.

My Kind of Parenting

I found this article online and cracked right up. One day I will write my own version of Life with George. For those of you who don't actually know, George Dahir is my dad (please always refer to him by his entire name as the rest of us do.) As children, my brothers and I were subject to George Dahir's overly creative need to discipline us. Cleaning walls, writing papers, finding imaginary shapes in the stucco on our ceiling. Ah the memories. Hope you enjoy the article.

Cat and Harlan Barnard have pitched a tent [snicker] in the front drive of their Florida home and erected [REALLY?!] signs, one of which says: "Parents on Strike!".

They say they will stay there until Benjamin, 17, and Kit, 12, start to do their share of the household chores.

The stand-off, in Enterprise, Florida, is being monitored by the police, welfare officers and teachers.

Mrs Barnard said she and her 56-year-old husband, a government social services worker, had tried everything to get their children to act more responsibly.

They tried smiley-face charts, withholding allowances and even sought help from a psychologist.

"We've tried reverse psychology, upside down psychology, spiral psychology and nothing has motivated them for any length of time," said Mrs Barnard, 45.

She said the final straw came when her son failed to offer to help her mow the lawn one Sunday, even though she should have been resting following a medical operation.

"I had already made the decision to do it [strike] then, but I had absolutely no motherly guilt about it," she was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying.


Since Monday, the parents have slept on airbeds in their tent and eaten barbecue meals, only going inside to use the shower.

The children have frozen meals to keep them going inside the house.


The parents say they will stay outside until their children change.
Officers from the sheriff's department have called at the home three times to check on the situation but have not tried to intervene.

One of Kit's teachers also stopped by, concerned after hearing that her parents had left home.

The Barnards' story has been picked up by the media across the US, and they have been inundated with interview requests.

One woman shouted "Good for you! You should put the kids outside!" as she drove past their home, the AP reported.

But others are less supportive. "One woman said I should be ashamed for creating emotional stress on my children," Mrs Barnard said.

"I told her, 'Well, they've been doing it to me for years.'"

The action appears to have angered Ben, who described the strike and ensuing press attention as "extremely inconvenient".

But his sister, Kit, said she understood. "I guess we don't help out as much as we could. I'm going to change."

The OFFICE

I can't put into words just how much I love The Office. PB&J, The Dundees, Race for the Cure when it has nothing to do with cancer, The Schrute Beet Farm. Happiness. I am drinking out of my I heart Jim coffee mug right now, getting ready for school, and I had to take a minute to share this special video with you all. Pause the music. Thanks Boardman Brewer.

For the Record

I will be more clear as to when I am asking question about YOU and when I want you to answer questions about ME on my polls. But honestly, if I want to know about you guys, I visit your blogs. If you stalk me and aren't bloggers, could you also send me flowers sometimes, cause I really love freshly cut wild flowers.


In short, usually my blog polls are asking you to respond on what you know about ME.

The Screwtape Letters-Letter 22

This is an excerpt from C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters. If you haven't read this book, DO IT DO IT DO IT. It is a fictitious collection of letters written from a demon named Screwtape to his nephew, Wormwood. Screwtape is aiding Wormwood in his attempts to corrupt Wormwood's "patient." The girl in the passage is the "patient's" girlfriend.

I hope someTHING somewhere is saying this about me (well, maybe not the virginal part as much):

I have looked up this girl's dossier, and I am horrified at what I find. Not only a Christian, but such a Christian- a vile, sneaking, simpering, demure, monosyllabic, mouse-like, watery, insignificant, virginal, bread and butter miss. The little brute; she makes me vomit. She stinks and scalds through the very pages of the dossier. It drives me mad the way the world has worsened. We'd have had her to the arena in the old days. That's what her sort is made for. Not that she'd do much good there, either. Two faced little cheat; I know the sort, who looks as if she'd faint at the sight of blood and then dies with a smile. A cheat every way. Looks as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth and yet has a satirical wit. The sort of creature who'd find me funny! Filthy, insipid little prude. And yet, ready to fall into this booby's arms like any other breeding animal.

I can't remember why I came here

I was very excited to get my children into bed, but because that took forever and laundry doesn't appreciate Mothers Day, I took too long and I can't remember why I came here. "My mind is blank. Even now, days later, nothing."

Happy Mothers Day to all of you mothers and single dads.

Answers from the Poll

Again, I thought it was important to give you closure by telling you how much I love basketball. AND by doing that, will mention how much I absolutely hate wrestling, boxing, and homos in shorts. Once while trying to do something useful, I over saw my husband's show of wrestling/boxing/whatever. The ref made the men get up, move to the center of the ring, and made one mount the other. wow. What little respect I had left. I am pretty sure everyone who sports a Tapout logo is a closet case faggot.
Basketball, on the other hand, is dreamy. I love watching it, and if I had any sort of stamina, I would play games other than horse and 2 on 2. When I was a kid, my dad had a court poured in our backyard. This was great for all of the obvious reasons, but also because we were crazy poor. It was the greatest investment in our eyes. And because God blessed us with the hugest yard in our development, we will be pouring our own basketball court in the next couple of months. When I was little, I was the hugest Chicago Bulls fan. Well, I was a Jordan fan, but couldn't help love the others. Cause remember when Jordan and Pippen were the greatest dynamic duo ever placed in God's sport? Horace Grant, Shawn Kemp, Cartwright, Dennis Rodman in all his faggoty flair. These are a few of my favorite names.
I tried to find a picture of my Rodman kicks from high school, but I was unable.
This is a close picture, but obviously I wouldn't have worn these back then as I thought Oakley was a prick.