10 things for which I am thankful

It's been a while...not in any particular order:

1. Antibiotics and analgesics
2. Cable TV with lots of kids programs on all day
3. A comfortable couch
4. Meals I had the foresight to prepare and freeze for days like today
5. The ability to tune out whining
6. Children's Benadryl
7. Children's Tylenol
8. A fast Urgent Care clinic when the Base clinic has a two week wait for an appointment
9. Saltine crackers
10. Ice cold water and an ice dispenser in my fridge door

If you didn't get the hint, I'm sick.

kitchenaid woes

Anyone out there who knows about KitchenAid stand mixers? I have a tilt-head 5 quart oldie-but-goodie KSM90. I need to replace the baseplate -- if you don't know what that is, you probably shouldn't offer a suggestion. :) I have received the replacement part from KitchenAid customer service (twice!) but I just can't get it in. The old one was tight, but I was able to just drop it back in after taking it out. Any ideas?

ilsaism

I heard a good one today: Mommy, I'm sugarfied. (Just ate a snickerdoodle, and her hands were sandy with sugar...)

veteran's day

Veteran's Day is not about blowout sales.

In Flanders Fields
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

sending out a call for encouragement!

HELP! Ilsa is finally in the terrible twos, right before she turns three! We've had relatively smooth sailing thus far. But now we're talking full-on tantrums, screaming "NO!", running away from me in public, collapsing on the floor at Starbuck's, etc. Her favorite phrase is, "No, I don't want you to, Mom!" I have yet to see a smile on her face this afternoon. And this isn't really a discipline issue -- I've been very, very consistent.

And I know I will survive it, because Ingrid is still with us -- HA! I just needs some words of love friends!

Oh, one funny thing in the past few days. We had a salad along with dinner the other night, and I pulled out the Newman's Own Light Balsamic dressing, you know, the one with the beaming face of Paul Newman on the bottle. Ilsa said, "I want some 'Man Sauce' Mommy." MAN SAUCE! Isn't that hilarious?

food for pro-life thought

Check out this blog post from John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute While it is not wholly discouraging, it is challenging and convicting.

While I personally do not believe we should ever give up legislative efforts to legally end abortion, in the big picture the legal victories seem to have been almost purely symbolic because people's hearts and minds haven't been changed. Further, even though symbolic victories do send a message, Mr. Whitehead proposes that the message is not being received, believed nor implemented by the culture at large. This is a bad thing because the pro-life community hangs our hats on these legal victories but doesn't go any further...thereby spending millions and millions of dollars on symbolic victory.

Please don't misinterpret me. Abortion must be stopped. It is murder. Period. But read the article for yourself. Compelling? Give me your thoughts...I'd love to read them!

the shack

Thinking about reading The Shack by William P. Young? Read this first. Already read it? You need to read this analysis too. So I guess I'm kind of reviewing a book I have never read. How weird is that? My book club voted to put it onto our 2009 calendar (I didn't vote for this one -- I wanted to read Pride & Prejudice for the umpteenth time...I hope I don't sound self-righteous -- I don't mean to). And then yesterday I was surfing the web when I ended up at this review on the Boundless webzine site. I don't think it was coincidence...I think it was a divine Google hit.

"[S]olid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” - Hebrews 5:14

What is discernment? Tim Challies gives a great definition:

It is “the skill of understanding and applying God's Word with the purpose of separating truth from error and right from wrong.” Discernment is knowing what God says to us in the Bible so that we can apply this to our lives and live in the way God would have us live. It is a skill that demands practice and one that demands intimate familiarity with the Bible. It is an ability that allows us, with God’s help, to filter what is true about God from what is false.

If you have already read this book, I humbly suggest that you prayerfully ask the Lord of Hosts, in Jesus' name, to reveal to you through His Word, the Bible, WHO HE IS.

"Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, [be] honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen." - I Timothy 1:17

• Click here to go to challies.com to read both Tim Challies' blog post about the book, and download the pdf of his review.
• Click here to just view the pdf of the review.

Oh, and if you are wondering, I'm taking some Godly counsel to heart, and will not be reading this book.

soggy cell phone

Friday 11/24/08
UPDATE for anyone who cares...

Cell phone is kaput. I did get it to power up, but there was no picture on the screen, and it was always on vibrate.

***************

Good grief! Last night I WASHED my cell phone in my pant pocket. On hot. With a second rinse. Let's just say I was an in a big hurry to get those pants off. Ingrid had thrown up all over me -- twice.

Not surprisingly, cell phone baptism is a common occurence; hence, there are lots of helpful tips on the web to possibly restore life to my mobile lifeline. Right now, it is submerged in rice after a rubbing alcohol bath. Yep. That suggestion was echoed many, many times, not just on some random wierdo's site. The alcohol evaporates faster than water, and takes the water with it. It also helps clean out any residue from the detergents in the wash (or whatever water bath the phone could have experienced: toilet, tub, mucky lake). The rice acts as a dessicant (I learned that word last night) and kind of "pulls" the water out.

So if this ever happens to you, take the battery out as quickly as possible -- and for sure do not try to turn it back oh -- it can short it out; dry it off as much as you can with a towel, and then dry it as thoroughly as you can via "baking" it on the lowest setting in your oven (I wasn't brave enough to do that), submerging it in dry rice, or sealing it into a ziplock or container with some of those silicone packets that come in dry foods and vitamins. Finally, after 3 days (that seems to be the magic rice number) it should be dry. But wait another day just to be safe.

I'll update you on Tuesday. Just don't call me.

a scholar and a warrior

I just can't keep it a secret any longer. My husband has a secret identity. He is......Every superhero has a name...what should his superhero name be?

candy, candy, here we come!

To quote our neighbor upon seeing the girls, "Steph, you've got your hands full tonight!" It was like two racehorses at the gate...Mama, is time to go yet? Is it now? What about now? (And this was at 4:00.)