What "Toy" Would You Take?

We just saw Toy Story 3 at the dollar show. It was very cute. Andy goes away to college. His toys are so important to him that he packs up his favorite toy to take with him (Woody), his other favorite toys he packs up and stores in the attic. He doesn't want to give them away.

After the movie, I asked the kids what toy is so important to them that they would take it to college. Sam (14) asked if the PS3 would count as a toy. Why not? Ben (7) said he would want to take the laptop and legos. Mary (6) thought and thought. I reminded her that her absolute favorite thing was her Strawberry Shortcake blankie that her cousin made for her when she was born. She agreed wholeheartedly. Abby (12) is in Florida with friends, so she couldn't weigh in. But Ted and I decided we would take our turn. Ted said he would bring his golf clubs. I asked the kids what they thought I would bring. "Your Laptop".

How did they get to be so smart? Is it because all of my pictures are on here? Or maybe because of my digital scrapbook albums? Are they thinking about how I can chat with Theresa, who lives in Australia, using Skype? Or that I can peruse Facebook to catch up with old friends? Maybe they know that I've started blogging again. Or that I can't live without e-mail? Perhaps they found out that I keep my complicated Christmas list on an Excel spreadsheet? They probably understand that I can't imagine life without the internet where I get recipes, my news, the dish on the stars, or how to spell "mostaccioli" (just looked it up yesterday). The internet...it was my window to the world when I was a stay at home with young children. Now I find countless uses including planning a trip, looking up job descriptions for work, and researching my next e-bay or amazon purchase. I'm sure they know that my calendar is on here, my addresses and phone numbers of all our friends and family, my recipe book, and scrapbooking software.

Yup. I think it's my favorite toy. Ted thinks my iphone comes in a close 2nd. I agree.

Lions and Tigers and Bears...Oh my!

Sometimes I feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. A little overwhelmed with life and the demons I have to fight along the way. It seems like it's never just one thing...there's this and then there's that and then there's all the stuff in the future. I'm sure my demons are no worse than anyone else's. The stresses of work, the stresses of home...keeping it clean, and the stresses of family...trying to be a good wife and mother. Some days it feels easy and some days it feels hard. The thing is...God never said we had to fight the lions and tigers and bears. He just wants us to keeping getting up in the morning and trust in Him and take one action at a time.

Sometimes I've noticed when I take one action at a time and only focus on the action that is set before me at that moment, it seems less overwhelming. And piece by piece, the battle has been fought and I didn't even realize it. It's done. Overreaction is a beast in itself. How many times did I think I was facing a mountain when it turns out to be a mole hill? How many times did I not take into account the help I would get along the way? How many times did I worry and stress over something that never came to be? I guess this is why God wants us to trust in Him. We would save ourselves a lot of worry.

Trusting sounds easy, but it can be very difficult. However, the longer I live, the more I realize that most problems I encounter along the way are somehow dealt with in life. It's here and then it's gone. Or it cycles in and out of my life and I just have to learn to live with it and trust that God will help me with it. He doesn't always take them away. He sometimes uses them for our growth.

So I will continue to cycle into my times of feeling overwhelmed. It's just a fact of life. But each time I go into the battle with a little more wisdom from the time before ...and it doesn't scare me as much. And I also realize...I'm not alone. I have help! Just keep going on the yellow brick road!

Fall Break

The kids are on Fall break this week. Today I'm watching my friend's boy and my sister's kids. Since Abby is out of town for the week, that makes 6 kids home with me today. Yippee!! My mom thought she would come over to help and has the kids making bird feeders. Gotta love her. Here are pics from the day...

Pesto Parmesan Ham and Asiago

Had a tasty dinner tonight. They were more like appetizers, but it was a big hit with the family and that's all that matters. About a month ago I was at the Schnuck's deli and they offered these yummy samples. I liked it and grabbed the recipe. Their recipe didn't have quantities, so I winged it and everyone was happy. So here it is:

2 mini loaves--bread sliced
Mayo mixture (Italian seasoning, garlic powder, Mrs. Dash Table Blend and Black Pepper)
Boar's Head Pesto Parmesan Ham (I bought 1 1/2 pounds)
Boar's Head Asiago Cheese (I bought 1/2 pound)

I layered the mayo mixture, then ham, then cheese and baked at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes. I probably didn't need so much ham, but the cheese was just right. It was a little fattening. Oh well.

Is This Thing On?

My last blog was January 14, 2009. Woah. I purposely stopped. My life got too busy. And actually, I really didn't stop writing. Well, maybe I did for a little bit. But then I started writing in a paper journal. You know...the old fashioned kind. I still do that. But typing is faster.

I'm trying this on again much like you try on an old sweater that you used to like, but kind of forgot about. I may wear it again, I may not. Who knows. Like I said, my life is VERY busy, but that's kind of why I want to do it again. I unwind by writing. I find it therapeutic. I'm not going to worry about what it looks like, or if it's interesting to other people. I just want to do it. Because. I said so. LOL. I just wanted to say that. See? It feels good!

Anyway, it'll take me a while to catch up here. Basically, the writing became rare once I got a job. I started doing status updates on Facebook. Shorter and easier. But I got a little obsessed with Facebook and was spending oodles of time on it. Then I got bored with it. Now I'm hardly ever on the computer and that is fine.

Tell me if you see this post so I can see who I'm talking to. I guess it's ok if it's just me. But I talk to myself all the time and that can get boring. So like the title of an old blog I used to read, I'm asking, "Is this thing on?"