Poll Outing...

Okay, who are the Curious George lovers???

What Day is This?

How does one lose a day? It has been Saturday in my mind since I very first woke up. I heard the kids in the living room arguing over what television show to watch and I wondered why Mark wasn't intervening. Normally I'm awake if he's gone to work, but, since today's Saturday, he must be in the living room with them...right? Wrong. He's at work. It's FRIDAY!! Goodness.

I believe every day has a certain tone, a certain feel to it. Even if my routine is exactly the same every day of the week (except, of course, Sunday) there is still a certain ownership each day has to its title. And, my body recognizes that unwritten code and registers it somewhere in my brain. On Sundays, my body demands a nap. This is strange to me because I don't usually nap during the week. How does my body know it's Sunday?

Mondays feel like a new beginning. Why does Monday feel any different than Tuesday or Thursday? Wednesday definitely feels like it is obviously Wednesday. And, again, Friday has an unmistakable mark on it. Why is this? How is this?

And, when something misfires in our system and we confuse one day with another, even though our routine would be the same regardless, why does this throw off our entire day?

I'm sure there is a Spiritual answer to this; a cosmic reason that each day of the week has an intensely different feel to it. There are so many things going on in that invisible Spiritual world that I can't grasp...but yet, I'm in tune to it. The intangible is often more tangible than the tangible.

And that's about as philosophical as I can get this early on a Friday morning that feels so strongly like Saturday.

Desk Full of Fun

My kids have toys, toys, and more toys. Some of their toys stand up and dance for them; some sing; some spin around; some light up, whistle, and go rolling down the hall. They have antique toys and also the latest things. They have toys that are beautiful and some that scare me a little bit. Some of their toys are bigger than they are and some of them, to tell the truth, are toys that Mommy and Daddy like to play too!
Today, my kids complained of being bored. Bored? Bored!! I gave them each an unsharpened pencil and they've been happy now for hours. Doing what? Why, casting spells all over the house, of course! These are no ordinary pencils, you see...they are actually magic wands! My children came up with this, not me. Their ideas are always better than mine because, well, they're theirs! Unsharpened pencils....magic wands...same thing!
Who needs toys that talk to you when you've got a desk drawer full of magic?! And, it doesn't just end with a simple wand. There's a storyline to the madness.
I heard Phoenix and Maggie using their "wands" to solve a mystery. Maggie said, "C'mon, Fred! We've gotta solve this mystery!" And Phoenix answered, "Okay, Dapny, I'm on my way!" I think Luke is supposed to be Shaggy. It fits. He's pretty messy and is always wanting to eat. Phoenix said to me, "Boma (Velma?), you 'pose to say 'jinkies'!" I think I'm Velma! I better get my pencil, er, wand!

What's in your desk drawer?

The Slideshow

Notice there's a slideshow on our blog now! Woo-Hoo! If you want to really enjoy it, just click on it and you'll be taken to a website...on the right side of that webpage is the word "slideshow"...click on that and enjoy! Please let me know if this doesn't work.

Clean Your Vents

Mark recently changed the vent for our air conditioning unit in the house. It was nasty. There was a lot of crud and build-up on it so it was nice of him to put in a new, fresh one. It made me start thinking. When I get all cruddy and "built-up" with negativity, I begin to "vent"...I begin blowing the nasty crud all over my family that has built-up inside of me. I wonder if my husband and children think, "Well, it's time for a new mommy. This one's all full."
I think that's one of the great uses of prayer. It's like an automatic vent-replacement. When we don't pray regularly, all the negativity that comes upon us daily just builds up and builds up until there's no fresh, clean words to give to anyone; instead, there are only negative thoughts and words to share.
This may be a silly thought to anyone else out there, but it was a great visual for me. Prayer cleans your vents and keeps the clean "air" flowing!

Hearts on Valentine's

Valentine's has come and gone...and we're now detoxing. No sugar today! (Except for the wonderful cinnamon bread from Sharon Plummer...YUM!)
Last night, my husband had the most wonderful evening planned. He planned to take me to dinner (wherever I wanted to go...which turned out to be a great little Mexican place called Mi Pueblitos), and then he was taking me to see "Mousetrap"! The significance of this is that our very first Valentine's as Mr. and Mrs. Pruitt was dinner and a showing of "Mousetrap". The night sounded so romantic and sentimental...
Well, Phoenix ran a fever throughout the day and wanted nothing more than to sit in my lap and moan. I just couldn't leave him with a babysitter being that sick. Mark completely understood and we salvaged what we could of the evening by eating take-out from Doc's Grill and watching "Disney's The Kid" on T.V. It wasn't hearts and candles, but it was warm, comfortable and sweet...what more could a wife and mommy ask for? Besides, as I assured Mark, it's truly the thought that counts. The fact that he had planned such a romantic evening and then was willing to abruptly change plans to suit a sick child...well, there's nothing more romantic than that.
It made me realize that when God is searching my heart, He is pleased more by my desire than my action. If Mark had taken me to dinner, but done it begrudgingly, it wouldn't have been romantic at all. When I serve God, if I did with a grumbling heart, it does not please Him. If I long to serve Him and seem to never be able to do enough, He is more than pleased.
When my kids make something for me and it's just pitifully ugly, colors don't match, glue is oozing out everywhere, there's more glitter in the hair than the paper, do I say, "Gross! I don't want that!"?
No, indeed! Because I know that in their hearts, they desired nothing more than to make me this wonderful gift and give it to me...to make me proud of them. God is the same way with us. Things don't have to be perfect in our lives for God to be proud of us. He is proud of us for our attempts...if they are attempts with good hearts. Mark doesn't have to give me flowers and candy (or that new computer game I've been wanting!) for me to know that he loves me. Just the fact that he spends time and energy trying to please me says all I need to hear.
I'm rambling. I'm about to change my mind and delete this entire post, so I'm going to hit "Save" very quickly now. Thoughts matter!

Balentime's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone!
This morning did NOT start off well. Last night, Mark and I were sooo tired and literally crashed as soon as we could. The boys have been sick and Mark and I have been up several nights in a row. Mark and Phoenix were sick all night again and during the wee hours of morning, when I had intended to get up and play "Cupid" (and fill the empty bowl) I was, instead, laying dead to the world in my cozy bed.
Maggie got up and ran to the table to see if Cupid had come...and she immediately ran back to her room in tears. She told us she guessed we hadn't shown enough love this year because Cupid didn't come to our house. I felt like the worst mom in the world. I jumped out of bed and made eye signals to Mark who swept the children up and distracted them for a few minutes. We fixed it, but only barely.
I hid a note from Cupid underneath the empty bowl...Maggie was ecstatic to find she'd missed this proof of Cupid! The note told how all the candy we'd earned was too much for the little bowl we'd left. Cupid had, therefore, left our wonderful candy in "the little girl's room who'd shown the MOST love!" Maggie was thrilled! She ran to her room and found a heaping bowl of candy underneath her bed. This did the trick. The house was full of joy and magic and the holiday was restored and I had to go have a good cry because, in my exhaustion from caring for one child, I'd neglected another.
It was a lesson learned...no matter how tired I am, I HAVE to make sure every child's needs are taken care of.
I pray all of your needs are taken care of too and that Cupid visits each of you on this beautiful Valentine's Day.
(More later about school parties and a date with my husband!)

Climbin' the Poll

I asked you all to tell me which movie you liked better and the majority of you voted for Lonesome Dove. Why? I know Mom voted for The Jerk because, although she LOVES Lonesome Dove, The Jerk makes her laugh and forget about reality for awhile. Great reason. So...the rest of you?
Don't forget to vote on this Valentine Poll...

Stripes Again

With the whole world going "Retro" and bringing back things like neon green, disco style platforms, and stonewashed denim well, I have a question. Why are prisoners still wearing those awful jumpsuits? Why don't they go retro as well? I miss the black and white stripes! Oh, and the little caps too! Wouldn't they look so cute in that old outfit? Just a thought.

The Empty Bowl

Oooooh, to experience Valentine's Day through the eyes of a child! Remember how fun it was to give Valentines to all your classmates and receive a ton for yourself? We got Maggie's class list today and she and Mark bought the perfect cards to give out. She is so excited!

We have a tradition in our house concerning Cupid. We have a red and gold heart-bowl (thank you, Grandmother!) that we set on our table. It remains empty until February 14th. If we've given enough love to each other throughout the year, Cupid comes in the night and fills the bowl with goodies for us to have on Valentine's Day! Maggie and Phoenix see the empty bowl and are reminded to give each other hugs and help me out with chores around the house. The empty bowl is giving Mark and me more "treats" than Cupid will give to the children in a few days.

I'll be posting more about Balentime's Day soon...love to all!!

Three Minutes

Remember the Doris Day post? Well, I did it! I decorated the table for dinner with a beautiful red table cloth. Then, I put my new, red & gold, glass candle holder in the center with a wonderfully scented candle inside. Everything was perfect. And it lasted an entire 3 minutes. Luke ran by, grabbed the table cloth, yanked without stopping his race, and now the beautiful candle holder is in the trash. Well, I'll always remember those three minutes.

Pick Me!!

Just a quick visual on what I think we look like to God. Consider a classroom of young children. Some are passing notes to each other, their focus clearly on fun and pleasure and games instead of on the Teacher. Some are asleep, not in tune to others around them or on the Teacher or even on themselves...they are simply tired. Some are sitting in their desks, shrinking as low as possible, hoping that the Teacher passes them by without comment. And then, there are those, annoying to most, but loved by the Teacher. They are passionate, eager, full of enthusiasm and joy. They raise their hands so high that their rearends come out of the seat. They say over and over and over, "Pick me! Pick me!" They yearn for the Teacher's attention. They desire nothing more than the Teacher's approval. They live to please the Teacher.
The Teacher's heart is with the sleeping student, His discipline is with those without focus, His arms reach for those shrinking back, and His eyes rest lovingly on those who willingly aim to please Him. I am not the same student every day.
Which are you today?

Doris Day She Ain't

For over a week, we've all been struggling with some sort of illness...whether it's pneumonia, bronchitis, ear infection, a cold, flu, or that unnamed crud that attacts the sinus and glands (and attitude)...we're exhausted, cranky, and claustrophobic at this point and for some reason, the family always turns to "Mama" to make things all better. This might be taken in stride if "Mama" wasn't also feeling awful.

Mark is so good to come home from work and dive right into changing diapers, doing dishes, and so on while I get to rest a little. I know women who seemingly can do it all and I get very frustrated that I am NOT one of those women. I mean, when I feel good, I love buzzing around the house, humming and cleaning and smiling and cooking. I absolutely love cooking a creative meal and decorating the table for dinner. But, when I'm tired, it's all I can do just to slop a semi-warm dinner into the bowls and hand everyone a community rag to wipe their mouths with.

This morning I woke up feeling better than I've felt in ages. I did a load of dishes, two loads of laundry, 30 minutes of aerobics (with the kids bouncing along right under me) and actually took a shower (with Luke playing peek-a-boo with the shower curtain the whole time). All of this may sound like a normal day for Doris Day, but for me...well, it's pretty rare. I have treasured every feel-good moment of today and hope to decorate the table tonight for dinner!!

Hope you're all having a "Doris" day.

Poop

Why does poop turn black when you take an antibiotic? Luke's been on an antibiotic for about a week and every time Mark changes his stinky diaper he says, "Kim! Luke's poop's black!" And I say, "Yeah. It's the antibiotic." Then he forgets and changes it again another day and says, "Kim! Luke's poop's black!" And I say, "Yeah. It's the antibiotic." And then...well, you get the idea. So it got me to thinking...why does it turn black? And why does it stink like a dead skunk? Does anybody know?

The Mane Event

Hello out there! This is our first entry into cyberspace...we've finally decided to join the rest of the 21st century and get a blog. So, what does one share on a blog? And, where does the word "blog" come from? I hope you all will enlighten us and help us make this an interesting site for all to visit.
As we begin this blogging adventure, our family is living in Searcy, Arkansas. Mark works as an Admissions Advisor at Harding University; Kim is home with the three little 'uns; Maggie is four years old and busy in school, piano, and dance; Phoenix is two and is busy with Hotwheels, and mischief; Luke is one and is simply busy.
We run a carepackage business on the side called Sweet Home Delivery and it keeps our creative sides satisfied (check out the site and order a package!!). We miss everyone back home (in Texas and Iowa) but are faithfully making a home for ourselves here in Byson territory. We attend Westside Church of Christ and are LOVING it.
Let's see...how do we not make this information boring? We could share all the mundane trivialities of parenting...vomit, poop, broken dishes. Or, we could tell you all about getting no sleep and watching Dora the Explorer marathons. But, for this blog moment, we'll share with you the MANE event from Saturday and today (Wednesday).
Kim had been really getting bored with her hair lately. You know how she is...before getting married and "settling down", she'd colored her hair like it was her own personal coloring book. But, since wifedom and mommyhood took over, she's been content to get it highlighted and leave it at that. Until Saturday. She was just really bored with it and wanted to do something...the problem is, we don't have a lot of spare cash right now (who does?) and she felt guilty paying someone to "play" with her hair. So, she bought a three dollar box of blonde at Wal-Mart and we both "had a hand in" what happened next. We read the directions on the box and they certainly seemed simple enough...seemed simple...
Kim's hair is a lovely shade of tangerine now. We really like it. It's certainly not boring...or at least, we thought it wasn't. Today, however, Kim looked at her hair in the mirror and decided that coloring it just didn't do the trick. She wanted a CHANGE (tangerine is obviously just so "everybody-does-it"). So, having just gotten out of the shower and towel dried her hair, she promptly went for the scissors. Yes. She chopped it off. With no way of seeing the back and getting things even, she just whacked away. She called Mark at work and told him she'd done something crazy. When he got home he had visions of Sinead O'Conner in his mind. Determined to tell her she was beautiful (no matter what) he stepped into the house and...surprise!














Mark actually thinks it's cute! Kim is glad it's at least different.
Well, that's as dramatic as it gets around here. We'd love to hear from everyone!