Hepburn and Houndstooth

My old friend Brandy and I are very different.  Sure, we have some things in common.  We both are outnumbered by boys in our household, are traditional but rebellious, and are really good, sweet people.  That being said, she is an Atheist and I am a Christian.  She doesn’t let her kids believe in the tooth fairy, Easter bunny, or Santa.  My kids are surrounded by the fantasies.  Our parenting styles are pretty different.  Anyway, I still love her and love her blog.  I think it’s important to realize that our way isn’t the only right way.  The “right” way is whatever works for your family, and sometimes it takes reading different opinions from a caring, loving person to remind me of that.

Enter Brandy of The American Dream.  Open your minds and read it.

The best part of my week so far has been Lee DeWyze winning American Idol.  I literally burst into “shooting tears.”  You know, the kind that seem to fly out of your tear ducts.  He has been my favorite for awhile.  My favorite of his performances was “Hallelujah.”  I stuck that in here for you, in case you don’t watch.  He is humble, super talented, and smokin’ hot.  So happy for him.  Crystal is amazing as well, but I think she’ll do better outside of the pop box that Idol winners have to stay in during their contract.

As happy as I am about the Idol results, I’m so sad the season has ended.  I’m usually ready for it to be over by the end, but not this season.  Though it hasn’t been one of the best seasons (it took weeks for it to even hold my interest), I was soaking in Simon’s last season and loving some Lee.  Good thing is, Idol ending means that So You Think You Can Dance is beginning.  It starts tomorrow and it is by far my favorite reality competition show of all time!  They have made a lot of changes to the show for this new season, and I think it’s going to be amazing.  The best thing they have done is bringing back some SYTYCD vets as “All-Stars.”  I am so looking forward to some of my old favorites, especially Twitch!

Bring it on!!!  Ready for some awesome dancing!

WARNING: This post contains information that may be too graphic and just too much information for your taste.

1. My whole life, I had very mild PMS and periods.  Then I had kids.  Now, I have crippling cramps and with each child, the bleeding has gotten heavier.  I get weak and nearly pass out at times.  I woke up in the familiar pool of blood this morning.  Oh joy.

2. When I was a kid, any time my mom left the room I wanted to know where she was going and what she was going to do once she got there.  So often, her answer was, “I just need to pee, Rhonda!”  I couldn’t understand why she was annoyed.  Now, Nick is the same way and it drives me batty!  Sorry, Mom!

3. I really wish every cable network would get on the Full-Episodes-Online Bandwagon.  I don’t have cable while staying at my dad’s and I’m dying without my pals Tori, Dean, Giuliana, and Bill.

4. When Jason Mesnick dumped Melissa on national television and I found out by reading Reality Steve that it was probably all staged, I was done.  I vowed to not watch the next season of the Bachelor.  So I didn’t watch Jillian’s Bachelorette or Jake’s Bachelor.  Now, stuck here with no cable, what else can I watch?  I tuned in last night to Ali’s Bachelorette, only to turn it off before the rose ceremony even occurred.  So boring and she is so phony.  If you’re like me and know that these shows aren’t at all reality, but you like to watch the trainwreck anyway, I suggest reading Reality Steve‘s spoilers, then tuning in to watch it all happen.  It adds a new dimension to it.

5. I did a shopping trip Saturday for two weeks of meals.  It was so much fun!  I scouted out the weekly ads online, paired that with the few coupons I had, made an organized list, and headed to Target and WinnDixie.  I saved so much money and will definitely be doing it again!

6. I have been trying some new products lately and think I’ll do a post to share my experience and opinions.  I think it’s fun to try new things and I love when I find something I’ll use or eat for life!

7. I am too excited that tonight begins the American Idol finale.  I hate for it to end, but am so ready to see my boy Lee sing and then tomorrow, win!  As Nick would say, WHOMP WHOMP!

8. Next month, my good friend Amber and I are having a Girls Night Out.  I have never needed one so badly in my life!  It’s going to be a good one, I can tell already!  A special thanks to my wonderful husband who lets me have these little indulgences.  Sadly, not all husbands are as understanding.

9. I have decided to part with some childhood collectibles, because they are gathering dust in my closet and I need money!  It was a difficult decision, but once it was made, it felt sooo right!  I will probably make a minimum of $200.  Now, I just have to get myself motivated to do the work of listing them on eBay!

10. I am having a hard time believing that Harper will be a year old Friday.  It seems like I was just pregnant.  Also, we may be done having kids, so it’s pretty emotional for me!

In a week, my cousin Krystal is going to New York City for some missionary work.  She needs help getting the rest of the funds to live there for the summer.  She is only asking $1 of you, if you can spare it!  I donated only $3 this morning, but I believe that He will bless her and she will get what she needs!  With your help, we can be sure of it!  If you can’t spare $1, I’m sure you can spare a prayer!

Krystal is keeping a blog to document her journey, and this is what she has to say about the help she needs…

As many of you know I leave for New York City in less than 2 weeks. I get more excited with every day. My parents have always taught me the importance of reaching out to people, and this is exactly what I will have the opportunity to do! I will be in New York City for 8 weeks working with The Journey Church, living in Manhattan, and serving Lord in leading missions teams in servant evangelism projects through out the city.

Part of this opportunity includes raising the money needed for housing, transportation, and other living expenses. The total that is needed is $4000, and the first installment of $2500 is due on May 28th. I am saying all of this because I need your help. If my friends and family who have not had the opportunity to give would be willing to give 1-5 dollars then I know that I could raise all of the money I need to make this trip a reality. It is difficult to convey in words the excitement and urgency I feel in going to NYC. I ask that you know my heart for the Lord and my heart for service! Thank you all so much for your support and love!

In order to donate, all you have to do click on the “Donate Link” on my blog profile and donate, through Pay Pal, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 dollars! If you do not have a Pay Pal account, it only takes a couple of minutes to do so (trust me, I just made one!)

I love you all and am so blown away by all of your support! I will keep posting updates through facebook and my blog!

Please help out!  Again, just go HERE to donate!  Thank you!

What kind of wife would I be if I didn’t give blog love to my own husband?  DaddyGeek is my husband’s second blog that has become his primary one.  He stopped really posting on For the Love of Comics, after his passion for comics fizzled a little.  Passion for being a daddy and living your life never dies!

He doesn’t blog only about the kids though.  He also has lots of geeky things to share, along with musings about life.  He’s a genius and I highly recommend you put him in your Google Reader!

Several Facebook friends have posted statuses this past week that are aimed toward negative people.  Some of these include:

“Can not stand ppl who whine and complain about every little thing. Stop begging for attention and get over yourself bc we don’t care and it’s truly getting old.”

“considering deleting my facebook!! Kinda getting tired of all the drama on here and the complainers!! Geez louise ppl!!!”

These were posted about a day apart, during a time when I was really grumpy.  After the second one, I felt like these were aimed at me!  I actually view myself as a pretty positive person, but you can only get kicked in the ass so many times before you start feeling down.  Also, if I can’t vent to my friends, who can I vent to?  People have threatened to delete complainers.  Well, do it.  If you delete me because I whine during a rough time in my life, you aren’t my real friend, anyway.  My real friends know they can come to me and tell me, “Hey, chill out.  You’re bringing everyone down!”

Now, I have deleted FB friends who are constantly negative, but I don’t mean negative about their own lives.  I’m talking about the ones who bring me down when I’m happy about something.  For example, I have this one “friend” who will turn everything good in my life into something negative.  She was excited and supportive before Dustin got his new job, but as soon as he landed it, she turned it around into “So… how much do you hate your job now?” only a week after he began.  Dustin and I had some troubles a few months before we got married and I confided in her.  Once things turned around and we were happily married, she turned negative, saying things such as, “Well, you were just fighting and now you’re married?!”  I know, I know.  With friends like that…

Anyway, the point is, I am going to make more of an effort to let people know that I am an overall happy person.  I do count my blessings, but I admit that there are times when I forget.  And so…

I know I am blessed because…

My kids are loving and affectionate.

My husband shares the workload at home, even after a long evening’s work.

I have parents who do what they can to help my family.

My extended family is absolutely amazing.  There is no other word.  Just amazing.

Though it’s not always easy, we somehow keep our kids fed.

My husband has fantastic benefits at work.

We are able to keep our basic bills (mostly) paid up.

I have internet, which keeps me sane.

Tonight, the kids are both asleep at 8:30 without a fight, making up for last night’s mess.

Even though I color it at least once a month, my hair is super healthy!

Despite all the empty calories I pour into it and how little exercise I give it, my body is healthy enough to begin the fight to reclaim my figure!

I believe in a mighty God who never gives me more than I can handle and always provides!

1. My stepson Jude visited over the weekend. It was nice having him around and having a full house. However, I’m looking forward to getting back into our routine.

2. We are ready to start transitioning Harper to cups.  He is doing really well with cups already, but we need to put up the bottles until bedtime.  I’m more worried about how he’s going to do with giving up the pacifier!

3. There is a job I’m dying for as a photography assistant and the application was just posted yesterday.  I applied, the photographer knows how excited I am about this job, and now I’m having to just let it go and know it’s out of my hands!  That’s so hard for me!

4. I am constantly conflicted about something.  One week, it may be business ideas.  Another week, it may be what city I want to live in.  This week, it’s whether to keep growing my hair or to cut it short.

5. I finally got a boost in motivation, in the form of Jane Fonda.  When I was a little girl, my mom always did the Jane Fonda Workout (1982).  It was the first mass-produced workout video.  It is absolutely amazing.  I remember how it whipped my mom into shape. We had been searching for it on DVD for years.  It was never produced on DVD, but we hoped we’d find a homemade version somewhere.  Then, after years of searching, I found it… in YouTube installments!  I did the workout for the first time yesterday.  I am so sore… and itching for more!  Maybe Jane can help me lose all this weight!

6. My husband and I are working on our first blog collaboration, hopefully launching in June.  It’s a lot of work to run a blog that we hope people will use regularly and depend on it as an information resource.  We live in a small town that is so not connected to the internet.  The few hiring businesses want you to send in a resume… via snail mail.  People shop and do business in surrounding cities, because they don’t even know what’s available to them here.  And the local newspaper (published once a week, on Thursdays) is very sad.  The “writers” have very biased views… and they show in the articles.  I’m pretty sure you can pay for an article too (if you agree with the editor’s views, at least).  We hope to bring something new and fresh to the table, and we’ve gotten a lot of good feedback about our plans!

7. Harper started taking a few steps here and there in recent weeks.  Now, he is full-on walking.  He favors it over crawling most of the time.  I really can not believe this is my baby.  He may be our last baby, and I’m trying to soak it all up before it’s over.

8. Sometimes I feel like a big gray cloud hangs over our house, pouring down germs.  Someone here is always sick (and I guess with 6 people currently living here, the odds are against us).  A cold has circulated, dotted here and there with sinus infections and bronchitis.  There is poison oak or poison ivy in our house, along with a recent 24-hour stomach bug.  I have come to believe in the power of positive thinking though.  I started to get my second cold in a month 2 days ago, but started popping vitamins and listening to my body, and now I’m fine!

9. I need to post a wedding recap on the blog, along with some of the millions of pictures.  I just don’t think I can find the time (or patience) to really write out the details of the day.  And it was so simple, what is there to really tell?  I’m thinking I’ll let the pictures do the talking.  That’s what everyone wants to see anyway, right?

10. Just when I couldn’t think of a number 10, my dad comes in and suggests I just buy some kool-aid instead of juice.  I told him no, there’s absolutely no nutritional value in kool-aid and it’s all sugar.  He was surprised, people.  SURPRISED.

1. Tomorrow, my stepson will be here for a week, and I am not mentally ready for another preschooler to be under my care!  That’s today’s mission… get prepared!

2. First thing in the mornings, before I can open both eyes, before I’ve had coffee or coke, before I know where I am, who my parents are, and what my name is… Nick is ON ME.  In my face, loud, asking for things and forcing games on me.  WHY?!?!

3. I had a friend suddenly, without explanation, unfollow me on Twitter and block me from following him.  Could be an accident, right?!  Wrong.  He also removed me from his FB friends.  What?!  I’d love to just let it go, but that’s not my style.  I’m hurt and confused, so I sent a message asking why.  I am the type who really needs answers.

4. I am still failing at Bobbi’s Healthy Train.  I know I can do this, but I just feel so… lazy.  Laziness is a sickness that not only keeps you from working out, but also from taking the time and energy to plan healthy meals.  I’m back on 100% today, committed to one soda a day, lots of water, and smaller portions.

5. Harper has learned to point at things and yesterday added a new word to his vocabulary – SEE!  While pointing!  So cute.  The best part of being a parent is definitely watching the children learn!

6. I had an at-home hair coloring incident last week that resulted in reddish brown roots (with my black hair).  There’s not much I can do at this point but just live with it until the black fades some.  I keep hoping I’ll start a fad!

7. I am at a weird point in my life where I feel content, but am experiencing regret for the first time in my life.  It’s as if overnight, someone flicked on the realist switch.  I miss my enthusiastic idealism.

8. I signed Harper up for a cute baby contest sponsored by a local radio station.  I mean, I know I’m biased, but hardly any of these babies are as cute as him!  Help us out and rate him a 10!

9. I’m so excited about something I’m making for a friend.  It’s a surprise, but he’s going to love it!!  Once I give it to him, I will do a blog post on it, complete with pictures about the DIY project!

10. I alternate between experimenting in the kitchen and cooking old favorites.  Last night I made one of my best spaghetti sauces ever (old favorite).  Tonight is creamy chicken taquitos (experiment), with a few modifications to prevent me from buying a bunch of ingredients that I can instead substitute from my pantry.

Yesterday, Erin at Blue-Eyed Bride did a post to thank her mother and her son on Mother’s Day.  I decided to shamelessly steal the idea, but my kids had other ideas.  So today, I’ll limit it to thanking my mama.

Dear Mama,

Thank you for the little things.  For letting me tag along behind you everywhere you went for a full eighteen years, never letting on that you just needed some time alone.  Thank you for tucking me in, dancing with me in the kitchen, and taking me for All-American meals.  Thank you for all the time you devoted to me to guarantee I never felt alone.

Thank you for taking in all my crazy ideas, never dismissing me. Because of that, I grew to believe in myself and dream big.  Thank you for showing me how to take care of a family, while reminding me that there’s an entire world outside of the home and I can do anything.  When Nick was born, I was overwhelmed and depressed and I’m forever thankful to you for taking him while I slept and showing me the beauty in staying home for his first year of life.

Thank you for teaching me that family comes first before anything or anyone else.  Period.

Thank you for sharing your name with me.

Thank you for all the sacrifices you made so that I would never miss out on anything and for filling my life with joy so that I never knew we lacked “things.”  Thank you for making me spend the night at Grandma’s, because I didn’t fully realize that people aren’t with us forever and we should treasure the time we have with them.  Thank you for listening to my never-ending chatter.  I now know exactly what that felt like and I don’t know how I’m going to be as patient as you were.

Thank you for speaking to me like an adult, never talking down to me or using baby talk.  Thank you for treating me as your equal, even as a child, while never letting me forget that you are the parent.

Thank you for loving my children as much as you love me and for loving and accepting my husband as an important part of the family.

I love you so much and hope that I can teach my boys the same lessons you taught with me, and with your guidance, even more.

Love,

Rhonda

I liked this simple post on Pencil Skirts & Pearls and thought I would do it myself.

1. Favorite hobby?

No contest and completely self-explanatory.

3. Favorite TV show?

There is no show that makes me happier than Glee!  If you have somehow not seen this show yet, you have to watch it!  No excuses, because you can watch it online if you don’t have FOX.

3. Favorite restaurant food?

Wings from Buffalo Wild Wings.  Favorite sauce is teriyaki.  I don’t like wings from anywhere else.

4. Favorite thing to shop for?

Entire ensembles, head to toe, for a specific occasion.  The one pictured was for a girls night out.  I mean, I like to shop like most girly-girls, but it doesn’t quite fulfill me the same if I’m not doing the whole outfit.

5. Favorite animal?

Well, I’m just not really into animals and I certainly don’t have a favorite.  I do hope to have a flamingo yard ornament someday.

6. Favorite song?

More by Tyrone Wells.  So moving and inspirational.

7. Favorite word?

I wish my favorite word was something more original, but no.  It’s not like I really love the word, I just say it all. the. time.  Seriously.

8. Favorite recent YouTube video?

PS22 Chorus does Lady Gaga’s Just Dance.  Very much NOT a Gaga fan, but like that song and love anything these amazing kids do.

9. Favorite movie?

Sabrina with Audrey Hepburn (1954)

10. Favorite childhood memory?

My mom and I danced in the kitchen while she cooked dinner for most of my life.  It was always the same routine, our own special number.

Feel free to answer these on your blog.  It was a lot of fun!