Looking for Me?

Hey y'all, I'm over here now. I've been wanting a newly designed blog for some time now, and this is where the crazy is.

This blog will still be active, but I'm going to limit it to, you know, crafts and stuff. The wild and wacky stuff will be over here.

You Asked, I Answer, Part Two

A while back I volunteered to answer any question asked of me. I've officially run out of material so I'm returning to the questions...

Dear friend Stephanie asked, "So Chels...what would you love to see going on in your family and your life 10 years from now?"

What would I love to see going on in 10 years? The simple answer is that I want us to all be healthy and happy, a strong family unit whose love for Christ and each other is evident to everyone we meet.

That's the easy answer, but since this is my fantasy...

Kevin and I will be planning our 25th anniversary trip to Italy in 2019. We're going to explore Rome where I can translate all the Latin sayings for my uncultured but interested husband. We'll rent a car and drive to Tuscany and Florence and maybe Venice, although I've heard that city is overrated. We'll stop by the town of Caivano outside Naples and take a couple pictures of the signs as a memoir of his family's heritage. He'll present me with a fabulous pair of diamond earrings at some point during the trip.

I'd love to see Kendra heading off to college on a full scholarship, either for academics or softball. (She'd prefer softball, I'm sure.) Currently I think Baylor is a good choice, but we'll entertain offers from other Texas schools with solid reputations, strong Christian organizations, and a small-enough environment that Kendra won't feel overwhelmed or lost.

I'd love for Caelyn to be happily getting ready for her senior year at SACS. She'll have a gaggle of boys interested in her, I'm sure, but she'll prefer to hang out with her family and a sweet group of girlfriends. And by that time she'll be proficient enough in the kitchen that she'll be volunteering to cook dinner at least once a week. At this point she'll be debating whether to attend a four-year college or culinary school. She'll also go on a missionary trip this summer and I'll get to be one of the group's chaperones.

David will be getting ready to enter high school. He'll be playing junior varsity baseball or basketball. He'll still love his mommy best and will spontaneously give me hugs and "big juicies" on the cheek. He'll be handling the change from boy to man with grace and confidence.

Kevin will still be working somewhere -- either USAA or another firm -- as a tax accountant. He'll be happy and have hard-working coworkers who do their fair share of the workload and will appreciate Kevin's quiet management style.

Oh, and since this is my fantasy, I'll be all caught up on scrapbooking and will have a bookshelf full of wonderfully designed photo albums celebrating our family's highs and lows. And I'll be a size 8 with skinny ankles.

And we'll have a pool with a waterfall feature.

It's my fantasy, right?

deep thoughts with craftycassie

1. Have you ever noticed that pharmaceutical companies have an unusual fondness for the letters V, X, Y, and Z? Viagra. Vioxx. Valium. Xanax. Yaz. Prozac. Vicodin. Zyrtec. Zantac. Zoloft.
Did the companies feel sorry for those lonely letters at the end of the alphabet? Do those particular letters subliminally convey trustworthiness or health? Marketing fascinates me.

2. Here's a tip: Taking three young children to lunch at Luby's without another adult to help you is an extremely bad idea. The kids were overwhelmed by the cafeteria-style ordering. They had trouble choosing what they wanted and slowed up the line. The geriatric crowd behind us was most displeased with my family, especially when my kids realized they forgot to get their Jello cups and I had to go back in line, grab three overflowing cups of cherry Jello, inevitably spill a little on the floor, and then fight my way back to the front of the line to help my kids with their trays. A very kind employee helped me carry the kids' trays to the table, where I then realized that I HAD FORGOTTEN TO GET MYSELF ANY FOOD. I went back and grabbed a salad with a side of Valium.

3. I had a mystery shop today at a certain coffee chain that I don't particularly enjoy because they overroast their beans and their ridiculously priced coffee represents everything I abhor about American consumerism. But hey, it was a job. So is it bad that I let my four- and seven-year-old drink most of my oversweetened, overcaffeinated, overpriced drink? I mean, why not feed their addictions early?

4. Lastly, does anyone out there actually own a Sleep Number bed? Do you like it? Is it worth the money? My back is killing me and I'm in the market for a new bed that will make both Kevin and me happy. Kevin likes to sleep on the floor, so he prefers a rock-hard mattress. I can't stand a mattress that sags, but I also want some cushyness to cradle my spine. I'm thinking a Sleep Number will solve many problems, but I'm concerned it's just a glorified, marked-up Aerobed.

Kids + Strep = TV

A couple days ago I was going to lay down the law and keep my kids from the TV in an attempt to foster their creativity.

It was a grand idea with an even grander demise.

We spent Friday morning at the pediatrician's office confirming my suspicions that Kendra has strep throat. Here were my clues: Kendra told me multiple times that her throat was ON FIRE. And she had a fever. And she had a monster headache that wouldn't go away. And she TOOK A NAP on Thursday afternoon. I don't think that child has napped since 2001.

Kendra felt somewhat better upon hearing the diagnosis, because at least she knew her non-merciful mother was actually trying to take care of her. And she felt remarkably better after popping a few horse-sized doses of Amoxicillin.

So Mommy showed mercy by letting her watch Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses.

Now it's Sunday morning and Caelyn is feeling poorly, too. No fever, but she woke us up in the middle of the night and said her throat hurt. I'm debating whether I should take her to the extremely kid-friendly weekend pediatric clinic that hands out popsicles or whether I should just wait until tomorrow and try to get into our regular doctor for the strep test. I'm fairly certain Caelyn will have strep, too, considering she and Kendra shared a drink on Thursday.

Caelyn and I stayed home from church and she's lying in a pathetic heap on the couch watching Fetch with Ruff Ruffman. Apparently my TV experiment was doomed from the start. I'll try again when everyone's healthy.

Is Summer Over Yet?

The kids have been home from school for a grand total of six days, not including the weekend since I kind of expect them to be around on those days anyway. Six days of non-stop chatter, attention-begging, "Mama-can-you-play-go-fish-with-me?" behavior. Your typical kid stuff.

I've also been the nice mom and let them watch more than their fair share of TV. They inaugurated the first day of vacation by watching "High School Musical 2." (Incidentally, whenever someone asks me what time it is, I automatically break out into the song from HSM2. I just can't help it.)

They've watched endless hours of Tom & Jerry, Handy Manny, Safety Patrol, and Fetch with Ruff Ruffman. OK, I've watched that show too. I love that show. It's the modern-day version of Zoom.

No more. Mean Mom is back in town and today the TV is staying off. Today they will read, darn it. Today they will be forced to interact with each other in a way that doesn't involve fighting over the Tivo remote. Today they will prance joyfully in our backyard with rainbows and hummingbirds. Wait, that last part might not happen.

At the very least, today I'm going to force them to DEAL WITH THEIR BOREDOM. I've decided not to play camp counselor and schedule every moment of their day. I'm not going to say, "Hey, let's stamp cards!" or bow down to their demands to play Mousetrap for the b'jillionth time.

Today I'm going to force them to get creative.

It's an experiment, if you will. We'll see if anyone survives. If I don't post again soon, you'll know I've been overcome by two pint-sized kiddos and their lanky older sister. Or else I'm hiding in MY room watching Fetch with Ruff Ruffman while ignoring the antics of my kids. Not like that's ever happened before.

Like I said, it's an experiment. Let's see who can last longer -- mom or the kids.

Wow Hits Giveaway

I've spent the last two days attempting to figure out my kids' new MP3 players. (Kudos to Aunt Jamie for finally sending the Christmas gifts. In May. I love that.)

Here's what I've learned about me and technology: We're not compatible. Unless it comes with step-by-step instructions complete with actual photos of idiots like me trying to navigate the websites, I can't figure out modern technology. Incidentally, if somebody wants to have mercy on my girls and explain to me how I can load music onto their Zen MP3 players, they'd be most grateful.

But that's not my point here. My point is that I'm completely happy listening to CDs on my Discman or Bose stereo (but not in my car, because the CD player broke). Like all things, I'm a decade behind the rest of the world. I like the CD. It's easy. It's comfortable. It comes with lyrics.

So I was pretty excited when Shannon over at Rocks in my Dryer announced yet another giveaway. She's going to share 20 copies of the Wow Hits 1 CD. Just as I'm a fan of the CD, I'm also a fan of Wow Hits. We have several of the yearly compilations plus the Wow Worship CD. (My 7-year-old is reading over my shoulder and just said, "Oh, I love Wow Worship. Can I turn it on?" How's that for an endorsement?) Oh, and Shannon's also throwing in a box set of SEVENTEEN other CDs, including Casting Crown's The Altar and the Door, which is one of the best albums in history.

Here's hoping I'm one of the lucky ones on the Random Number Generator!

There Go the College Funds...

The gas station around the corner is now at $3.84 for regular unleaded. Let's see, my Odyssey takes just over 17 gallons, so that's roughly $65 to fill up the tank. And if my minivan gets 22 miles per gallon (on a non-trafficky week), I'm paying just over 17 cents a mile. Which means that I'm paying slightly more than a dollar just to drive six miles.

Six miles.

A trip to the grocery store is eight miles, so there's a buck-fifty in gas right there. A trip to and from church costs just under $4. And Kevin's commute? That's 32 miles roundtrip, so Kevin's paying $4 a day just to go to work. (His car is a little more efficient than mine, thank goodness.)

And now the airlines are trying to nickel-and-dime us on flights. We are heading to St. John in a few weeks for a wedding. We're flying American, which just announced that there is a $15 charge for the first checked bag (per person), and a $25 charge for the second bag. I checked online and found out that we are exempt since our tickets were purchased long before this rule. However, the money crunch has been weighing heavily on me.

The other night I had a dream that gas was up to $5.85. (Maybe it was a vision.) Then I dreamt that I was at the airport trying to check in for a flight to Florida. I had three bags, and the counter person said, "OK, three bags at $100 apiece, plus airport taxes and fees. That'll be $503." The counter person swiped my credit card before I had time to react. I started ranting and raving and throwing a big fit about the outrageous fees, and all the airline employess just smirked at me as if to say, "Yeah, you're getting totally screwed and there's not a thing you can do about it."

That was just a dream, but it sure feels like reality.

The economy always slumps during an election year, but this is just painful. For years I teased Kevin about his penny-pinching ways, but now I'm the queen of coupons and sales. I'm also avoiding going anywhere in the car unless there is an extremely good reason to go. Out of milk? We can wait a couple days. No bread? Use a tortilla. Out of toilet paper? OK, that one actually warrants a trip to the store.

Are there any economy pundits out there who can give me a rational explanation (in layman's terms, please) why I suddenly feel so poor?