Unpack is the new Pack

Well, we've moved into our house, & I'm working hard trying to get some semblance of order.  But at least we have the computer up and going. :)  Everything is one  big chaotic mess right now. Pretty stressful. But the house is great. The kids woke up yesterday morning & went straight into the jacuzzi. Our garden is producing large zucchinis, and looks like soon, we'll have some beans or something.  The giant  tree in the back yard is working hard to ripen the hundreds of avocados that are hanging from its branches, and the 5+ orange and lemon trees peek into my windows and show off their lovely happy colors to me as I work.

This Saturday, we'll be celebrating Gideon's birthday at a nearby park, and Monday, Chloe & Gideon will begin attending public school for the first time ever! 


And now I'm off to explore the plethora of boxes scattered through my house.  I think if i can ever figure out where to put everything, I'll really enjoy it here. until then, it's work work work.

Moving

We're moving this weekend!  Last night we went by the new place and dropped off a load of stuff.  It's starting to feel homey already.  We'll be making the big move this weekend.

The house is just a few blocks away from where my grandma used to live - and almost the same model home.  It's funny to be there, and sort of feel like I'm at Grandma's. 

Have Fun!

Not too long ago, as I was dropping my darlings off at school, I waved good-bye and hollered sweetly after them, "have fun!" as is my habit any time I leave my children to do something without me.  But this time I was struck by what a strange statement this was.  Why is it that my parting words to my children are always, "have fun?"  Is that really the very best and greatest wisdom that I have to give them as they leave the shelter of my arms to face the perilous world out there?

on the other hand, if I didn't tell my children to have fun, would the forget?  Would they have an awful time, just because I forgot to tell them to have fun?  What a rediculous statement!  I put it in the same box as statements like "drive safe!" and "take care!"  When people tell me things like that, I know that they're trying to express kind thoughts, but I want to reply, "Wow! I'm so glad you told me to drive safe!  I was planning to drive recklessly and crash into a tree, but because you told me to drive safe, I'm certainly going to change those plans." 

But back into the world of mommyisms:  It would make sense that whatever final words I give to my children on a regular basis would emphasize what I value. Is having fun my greatest value? Is it the one thing that I want my children to think about and remember through the day? I don't think so. 

Therefore,  regardless of whether it will actually change my children's behaviors or actions, I want my words to be full of meaning and purpose.  And so I am on a quest to change this very meaningless little phrase that I frequently say to my children  into something more intentional.

So... what are my values?  What would I like to instill in my children's subconscious little hearts? 
My mom and I have been talking about the importance of teaching children to value and enjoy hard work. I've been trying out, "Work hard!" It doesn't quite feel right. 
Probably my number one value is kindness.  Should I say "Be kind"?
or perhaps, "love well!"
or maybe "be kind, love well, work hard and have fun! --and while I'm at it, don't forget all those other things I've been trying to teach you!--and I love you!"

this reminds me of the very funny mom song that I think i've posted here before.  Maybe I should just play that as my kids are running out the door.
What do you think?  What would you say?

Random Facts About Me

In honor of my birthday today, I thought I'd re-post something I did on facebook awhile back. It was a fun little game where you think of 25 random facts about yourself, & list them for friends to see. I've taken that, and added some more, just for fun. I'll put a link to this page on my sidebar and add more as I think of things. If you can think of a fact about me that should be added, feel free to post it in the comments. I can always delete it if I don't want anyone knowing. ;)


1.I have a great memory for anything that leaves an emotional impression --especially music. But I have a terrible memory for numbers --unless the numbers have some sort of emotional value attached to them.

2. i've gotten so good at tuning out all the noises form the children talking & playing, that I often don't hear them when they're talking to me. "mom.. mom!... MOOOM!!!:

3. I hate almost every activity that needs to be repeated on a daily basis, including cooking, cleaning, and bathing... "i just did this yesterday!!"

4. i'm an increadibly loyal person and *hate* losing touch with anyone, even if i only met them once...which is why I love facebook. :)

5. It's impossible for me to talk without using a lot of expression. If i'm not feeling well enough to adequately express myself, i'd rather just not talk.

6. when I type, I put happy faces at the end of almost every sentence. I just can't help myself. I *need* to use facial expression! :) :) :) :)

7. i've been told that i look like Claire Danes, Gwenyth Powltrow, Cameron Diaz, and Kirstin Dunst.

8. I can't stand Kirstin Dunst...she reminds me too much of me!

9. My favorite flowers are star lilies. I just love how the smell fills the room.

10. I've always regretted not getting my bachelor's degree.

11. When my kids grow up, i'd like to be professional photographer.

12. I *really* regret not taking cosemtology classes in high school

13. i'm *terrible* at returning phone calls and emails.

14. I'm kind of lazy, and would often rather not do something fun, if it involves work to do it -- which is why i seldom take my kids to the beach . I wasn't like this until I had kids.

15. I *love* people. I love being with people. I'm energized by being with people. But i'm dreadfully shy. So shy, that if i see someone i know in the store, i try to hide. Or if i'm at a meeting of some sort, I'll pretend to be reading something so I don't have to talk to anyone.

16. one of my highest values is kindness.

17. I can't stand to see anyone or anything hurt. even an annoying bug. i feel terrible anytime i have to kill one. If there's any way I can avoid it, I will. If it must be killed, I try to get someone else to do it, & then hide, so I don't have to watch.

18. I hate conflict of any kind, & will go to great lengths to avoid it.

19. I seldom apreciate new technology.
~ I thought CD's were dumb --"they'll get scratched just like records!"
~I wondered who on earth would want a digital camera... "it's not a good picture unless you can hold it in your hand...and the lag time after pushing the shutter: don't get me started!"
~ I thought cell phones were annoying "if you want to call me, call me when I'm at home!"
~ I thought MP3 players were rediculous "what if you don't want to listen through the earphones??"

20. I know about half of the employees at our local grocery store by name, and I have to plan extra time for my shopping, because i know i'll be stopping to talk to a lot of them while i'm there.

21. I've always wished I could be cool &; artsy &; quirky.

22. I'm somewhat concerned that i'm never going to grow up.

23. i smile when I'm nervous or uncomfortable. If i'm *really* nervous, i smile a LOT... which is really inconvenient, if i'm in a serious situation... like if i'm telling chris i just totalled the car, or something (remember fact # 18?) The upside is that i usually make a great impression at job interviews because of my "great smile" :)

24. I *love* getting things in the mail! ( real things like cards & packages. not junk mail)

25. i love to help people. you know, with little kids, how you ask if someone wants to help & they *all* raise their hand & say "pick me! pick me!" ? I never grew out of that. (see random fact #22)

26. my feet are always cold, but i seldom wear socks. when i must wear socks, i use thos thick fuzzy ones that never match what i'm wearing

27. the three hardest times in my life were: when i placed my baby for adoption; my first year of marriage; my first year of motherhood.

28. i love being a mother.

29. i hate being a housewife. mainly because of fact #3 and probably also #14. It takes away a lot of the joy i have in mothering.

30. my first kiss w/chris was on the night we got engaged... not that we waited *that* long, since we met &  married in five months. :)

31. My mom is my greatest hero.

32. I think the whole question of whether the glass is half-full or half-empty can be easily decided by asking if the glass was just filled, or if someone just drank out of it?
 
33.  I don't use capital letters very often when i type.  This bad habit started when Chloe was a little baby and I could never put her down.  So I would chat in chat rooms on the internet to pass the time.  but I could only type with one hand because i was holding the baby with the other.  That made pressing the shift key more difficult, so I didn't.  I'm working hard on breaking that bad habit.
 
34.  I don't drink coffee.  I tried to like it once, because that's what grown-ups drink.  But then I noticed that everbody I know who drinks coffee is adicted, & would like to break the habit, and I decided that it's silly to try to force myself to like something that will only become a bad habit, so I quit trying.
 
35.  I feel the same way about alcohol as I do about coffee.
 
36. I've never been on a diet.
 
37.  My life's dream is to have an orphanage in Africa.  This started when I read an article about Compassion International.  In the article they talked about children who were living alone, scavenging for food in a trash dump.  The tragedy was that there was no one to help them or take them in because there were so many orphans. I couldn't understand why there weren't enough people to help, & thought, "someone should do something about this!"  As quickly as that thought went through my mind, a new one came, "I will."
 
38.  I'm 6 ft. tall, and wear size 11 shoes.   I'm constantly discouraged by how difficult it is to find inexpensive clothing that fits well.
 
39.  I love to laugh and enjoy people with a good sense of humor.

40.  I love starting new projects, but I'm terrible at finishing them.

41.  My drink of choice is milk.

42.  My favorite TV show of all time is Pushing Daisies.  I'm sad it only lasted 2 seasons.

43.  Because of my height, I'm often asked if I ever played volleyball, basketball, or any other sport.  The answer to that question is no.  I've never played sports, except for the occaisional tennis "game" with my dad when I was in grade school.

44.  I love to dance.  Five  minutes of loud music, dancing, and singing at the top of my lungs is the perfect emotional pick-me-up for me.

 45.  I was a nerd in high school. (not like the smart kind.  the dorky kind)

46.  My childhood pets included (but were not limited to) a parakeet who was beheaded by my pet ferrett;  a gerbil who died after being thrown against my bedroom wall by a certain person who will go unnamed; and a baby duck who was smothered to death in a certain other person's bed, when they were trying to keep it warm at night,

Enjoying Life

Tomorrow is my birthday. I love birthdays. I love having a special day. And if it were up to me, I'd celebrate my whole birthMONTH. To celebrate my birthday, I spent today doing laundry, and endless paperwork for school. That way there would be nothing that I *have* to do tomorrow! Sadly for birthday me, I got tired of doing yucky stuff today & decided that I should go ahead and start celebrating a little bit early, by not finishing the laundry. That means that tomorrow I have to fold the mountain that I washed today. But that's okay, because at least I'm not doing *all* of it on my birthday! :)

Tomorrow, Chris is planning to come home early (I love rainy days when he can't work!), and take me out to lunch. Then we've planned to play games, roast marshmallows, and generally lay around being cozy in the living room while it rains outside. For dinner, the family will be going out to eat at my favorite restaurant, which is right on the beach. Maybe we'll get to see the giant waves crashing over the pier while we're there!  Then we'll bring the kids home to stay with my very kind father-in-law who has agreed to babysit, and Chris and I will go out to a movie (I'm planning to see Leap Year, which doesn't look amazing, but this is the only day of the year that Chris will willingly watch a girly movie with me, and this is the only one that's out, so we'll be watching it whether it's good or not, doggone it!).

Saturday, we'll be extending the festivities (because that's the kind of girl I am) by going to visit the Getty Museum while the kids stay with Grandpa.    I've wanted to visit ever since I moved here twelve years ago, and it's finally working out.  Yay! :)

checking in...

we had a lovely christmas holiday. My brother, Erik, and his family came into town to visit. It was fun to be with family again, although i was sorry to miss Josh & Heidi, & their families.

New Year's day, my mom called to tell me that my Grandma had died in her sleep. we were all glad that the suffering from her illness had ended, but sorry to say goodbye to such a special person. She was a woman deeply devoted to God, and full of compassion for others. I'm so greatful for the very rich heritage that i have.

In the following week, family from all over the country poured in. It was nice to see cousins and aunts and uncles who i haven't seen in years. I especially enjoyed talking to my grandma's brother & sisters. So fun to hear stories from the far-away past. I think i especailly apreciated it, because i know i won't hear any more of those stories from Grandma.

Heidi and Josh were among the family who came in. I was very excited to see them - especially Josh, who i hadn't seen since before Evelyn was born, i think... BUT me & Evy & Chloe were all stricken with a yucky stomach bug, so i didn't get to spend much time with them. My poor mom was throwing up the day of the funeral, so she wasn't able to attend. so sad!

Now, Family has all gone back to their homes, the Sickies have subsided - though i have a terrible lingering cough - and life is slowly going back to normal. I started school again on Monday. A very nice time with the kids. We read the entire 150 pages of Mr. Poppers Penguins in one sitting. the kids just kept begging for more. :)

anyway... its nice to start getting back into our routine... though i'm still recovering from the holidays -- i spent all day on Tuesday, doing laundry from the last 3 weeks. And i hope, someday, to get my nativities put away. :) Yesterday, i realized i have just a little over a week before my birthday. 32 years. ak! it never stops! the days just keep going & going!

so... that's my update. Joined facebook over the holidays. It's a lot of fun. WAY easier to update than my blog. So, if you'd like more frequent updates, come check me out on facebook. we can be friends. :)

keeping up with the times

Well, i've gone & done it. Chris took me out last night & bought me a new fancy pants cell phone, to replace my dinky tracfone. We will be cancelling our home phone w/in the next couple days, so if you need my new phone number be sure to let me know! :)

My weekend

Chris went away on a men's retreat over the weekend, which left me with *lots* of time to do *whatever i wanted* (aside from the part when I was dealing with kids ;~)). So... on friday night, i went to my aunt & uncle's house & took pictures of their family for christmas. Then i spent the rest of the evening with my mom. Saturday morning, we spent the morning tie-dying. it was a BLAST! we made all sorts of fun shirts. maybe i'll take a picture some day & show you. After that, a friend came over, & i took pictures of 3 of her kids. THEN, i had a sitter & went out with a girlfriend, and THEN, another friend joined us, and we watched movies until late. So fun!

Here's one of the pictures that i took of my friend's daughter. isn't she darling!?

A New Post For Heather

I have some extra time to post today, so i thought i share some of my favorite pics from this summer when Heather came to visit. Thanks to Eric for the pics of me & heather together. :)

Last Sunday

Over the past month or so, our church as been doing a series called "road trips," where the pastor interviews a person or two, and they share their testimonies. This has been a really powerful time, because not only do we get to know the people in our church in a little deeper way, but God is really using these testimonies to touch everyone's hearts.

Last Wednesday our pastor asked, Chris & me to share *our* testimony on Sunday. Most of you know, to some degree, that Chris & I have had a pretty difficult marriage over the years, but this last year, God has really changed Chris' heart, which in turn, has really changed our marriage. After giving up on ever serving God together it felt like such a privilege to be able to stand up share this story! It felt like such a gift from God. :)

Through the week, Chris & I prayed & prayed, & were very excited to see what God would do on Sunday. It went wonderfully! I felt like we were both able to articulate the things we wanted to say, and we got to speak about how God reached into our hopeless situation & bring life. Lots of people talked to us afterward & thanked us for sharing. it was great!

This was a very special time to me, especially, because it was the first time for me & chris to minister together publicly - it kind of felt like an initiation. :) The fact that we would ever be able to do that, after where we've come from is truly a miracle!! Yay, God!

I can't wait to do it again! ;~)

Eek!

i cut my hair on friday. ... SHORT! Then i decided it wasn't dark enough, so i colored it BLACK! EEK!

i like it okay... i'll be happier when it grows an inch or two... and i think i'll try to lighten the color & give it a bit of a red-ish tint as soon as possible.

if you scroll down a couple entries (to shasta's pics) you can kinda see what my hair looked like before.

A new To Do

well, now that there's a remote possibility that we could move off to the mission field some day, I thought of a few things i must do before leaving the modern conveniences of home. The first is to get laser hair removal. I just don't want to shave my legs in a river.

Second, i'd like to take at least one more photography class, just so I can have that a little more mastered.

That's all i've got so far... let me know if you can think of anything else that I *must* do before I leave all of the conveniences of home.

While I'm at it, I think i'll update my life's to do list. I'm removing "learn to cut hair," because i've lost my interest in that. But i'm going to add, "visit Europe", and "become a photographer" - which is kind of vague, because i'm not sure i'll ever actually do it professionally... though i would like to, which is why it's on my list. But i'd much rather be a full time missionary... so maybe that should be on my list instead. ... or maybe i should put them both on my list, and that way, i'll at least get to check one of them off. and MAYBE, just maybe, both.

...rambling...

one more thing before I go - I would just like to add a little disclaimer: just because i'm dreaming of one day going to the mission field does NOT mean that we've made any plans in that direction. Don't anybody freak out. I'm just dreaming. But if i'm going to get all of the hair removed from my legs, that will be an expensive and time-consuming feat. So i've got to start planning & saving now, before anything happens. Because *IF* we ever decide to go into missions, i'm sure we'll act quickly on that decision, and I don't want it to be too late... and then i'm stuck in the middle of Africa with itchy hairy legs... EEK!

...rambling again...

Checking In

Lots going on in my life right now, which is why i haven't had much time to post. Kinda funny...when i have lots of time to write, there's nothing exciting to talk about. but when i have lots to tell you about, there's not time. :)

So... our friends who are going to England as missionaries have been delayed, so they've come to live in our house, until they can get their visas in order. I've really enjoyed this whole communal living thing. :) They have 2 little girls, 5 and 2; and all the kids just love playing together. And Shelley and I have someone to keep eachother company while we do the housework. Then in the evening, after all the kids are in bed, we hang out & play games. so fun! :) But until they leave, i'm just not going to have as much time on the computer.

In other news, we went to Yosemite last weekend & had a blast. We spent 6 hours hiking 4.5 miles up (& down) a waterfall. it was a LOT of work & got a bit dangerous in a few places, but it was SO fun!! Most impressive, is Zachary who did all that hiking w/out anyone carrying him! the next day, he informed us that he didn't want to do it again, because his "feet just got so tired, and I was so sweaty" :)

Here's a picture of us, after hiking 1 mile to the bottom of the waterfall, before starting the BIG hike. See how we all look happy and energeitc? :)

We took a break about half-way through our hike. This waterfall is just above the one that we were hiking to.
Here it is! vernal waterfall! If you look closely, you can see the double rainbow at the bottom. :)

More pictures to come. :)

This weekend, i'm going to a Ladies' retreat at church. i'm looking forward to that. I always enjoy getting away & having time to myself. I'm taking a car full of 4 other women, so we should have lots of fun. :)

And on the church subject, we've started anther class, going through the book, "Emotionally Healthy Spirituality" by Peter Scazzero. The title makes me cringe, but i think it's going to be really good.

In addition to all that, Mom's planning to come back next Friday. She's feeling like she needs to be here to help take care of Grandma. She's planning to stay here for several weeks. I'm looking forward to seeing her again. :)

That's about it everything, in a nutshell. Some day my life will slow down a little more, & i'll have the time to check all of your blogs, & update this one more frequently. :)

a happy birthday, and other things

what a crazy busy month we've had! sorry i haven't been posting much. i've started several posts, but never had the opportunity to finish them. Last Thrs. was Chris' birthday. He worked part of the morning & then took us to Diseneyland w/some friends. Came home late that night. lots of fun, but tiring. Sunday evening, we left right after chruch, for a track day. we brought our same friends with us and enjoyed a nice mini-trip with each other. here's a photo of chris:

Mom's been in town for the last few weeks. My grandma was recently diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. The doctor doesn't expect her to live more than a year. But Grandma's praying that God will heal her. Mom canceled her flight home last Monday to stay an extra week with Grandma.

In addition to all that, we've had a few very fun game nights; lot's of VERY late night talks with our new friends; lots of prayer and seeking God for his call on our life; and lots of time serving at church (those of you who know us well, understand what a miracle that is, in itself!).

I could probably write a novel just about what's been going on with us in the last month, but that's a very brief summary in a VERY small nutshell. feel free to call or email if you'd like more details. :)

a lovely evening

I had SO much fun last night!!! it was just wonderful! The restaurant was amazing. it's a small dark room, lined with couches, & tables where you eat your food. After i arrived, the waiter came & washed our hands with the most wonderful smelling water. (rose oil maybe?) The owner (Chef Karim) was so friendly & kept checking on us. We talked with him awhile and he told us all about Morocco & its history, language & culture. He served us a beautiful four-course meal, which we ate mostly with our fingers. Fantastic! Then the belly-dancer came out... and of course, my cruel girlfriends had to tell her that we were celebrating my birthday. *sigh* so.... i got up and had a little belly-dancing lesson.. but not before making all my friends join me. it was *so* fun! even though i'm terrible at it. :) Afterward the belly dancer sat down and talked with us for awhile. What a beautiful woman! She's been married for 25 years , & started belly dancing when her 2 kids were 2 & 5.... and still does it 20 years later! then she ran off to dance upstairs for a bachelor party. :)

and in the midst of experiencing the fun of the restaurant, it was so nice to spend time with my girlfriends. . it's such a great group of women who know each other well, & can talk on all levels from superficial to heavy. i just love them! ... such a wonderful night!

they took a few pictures... don't know when they'll be sharing, but i'll try to post some if they do.

excited

after trying for a month, to get together for my birthday, my girlfriends & i are going out for dinner tonight! i'm so excited, because we're trying a new exotic place, Chef Karim's . I've never been, but i hear it's an amazing Moroccan resaurant... i've never had moroccan cuisine before, but i'm just excited because they have Belly Dancers! i mean, how much fun is that!? i hear they get people to go up and dance with them... as much as i'd like to learn to belly dance, i don't think i'll be doing that. :)

The Dance!

okay... i know you've all been sitting on the edge of your seats, wondering how my little dance went. So I'm here to ease your troubled minds. In the unlikely event that you actually have your own life, and don't keep track of every little thing that's happening in mine, I'll remind you: Sunday was the big day for the dance that i was teaching the kids! eek!

after three short practices with some not-so-thrilled kids, we had an awesome dance on Sunday morning!! YAY! i got to really connect with some of the kids that i worked with, & was able to pray with them about their fears, etc. And through the weeks, i prayed for them that God would break any pride or fear in their lives; that they would worship from sincere, joyful hearts; and that when they did, they would have breakthrough-- so that when they're grown, they would be able to look back on that day & remember it as a day that God touched their lives & changed their hearts, & gave them victory where they needed it. And it's so cool, because i actually saw that happen in some of the kids! one of the boys had terrible stage fright, but went through the whole dance without any fear. And one of the more troublesome boys came away saying that he wanted to be a pastor when he grows up.

It was just *so* cool to see God work in these kids lives, because they were willing to push through & worship Him. And it was so fun to see the adults touched because of their dance, too. And I'm so glad to have a relationship w/these kids that i didn't even know before. Now i remember why i love working with children so much!!

isn't it just like Satan to try to discourage you & make you feel hopeless & frustrated when you're trying to do something good? And isn't it just like our Father to take all those bad thoughts & feelings & turn them into something wonderful!?

And now the children's leader has asked me to consider teaching another dance in January... EEEK!

Picture Day!

Every year, we go to The Picture People to get our photos done. They're not the best in the world, but they have cute poses & they're cheap. I get a membership every year which gives me lots of discounts. Well, our membership was going to expire in a couple weeks, so i called to make an appointment, & found out that they closed down! Well, i've got no clue where else to go, so we decided that just for the year, we'd drive an hour & a half away, to the nearest picture people, so we could use up our discounts.

anway... thought you'd like to see the pictures.

These are from last year:

And this year:

Zachy was very shy. Every time the camera people got him to smile or laugh, he would turn his head & hide. Finally, i told him that I'd give him a penny if he smiled. :)

Me & Chris pretending to love each other. :) They told us to kiss. I held it for about 3 seconds & then burst out laughing. I mean, really. How long could *you* sit there & pretend to kiss with a camera in your face? made a cute picture, though. --way better than the kissing one.

And Evy finally smiles!

If I owned an art gallery...

i've been uploading my photos to flickr for awhile now, & have really enjoyed viewing other people's work. I've learned a lot by looking at their techniques & styles. But now I've joined a new photo group that's done by JPG Magazine. for this one, people are submitting their work to be published by the magazine. And it's got quite a different style than the pictures on flickr.

anyway, as you look at photos, you can mark your favorite ones, & they're displayed on your "favorites page". So... I thought I'd share some of my favorite photographs with you. I just found a photographer whose work I *love* so the first page, right now, is all her work. But there are others if you click on other pages. I'll add this page to my links on the sidebar, so you can go see my latest favorites whenever you're bored. :)

So... if I owned an art gallery, this is what you would see. :)

The Problem With Namesakes -or- The Psychology of a Name

we, in America tend to reserve The Middle Name as a place of honor. If there's someone you admire, but don't really care for their name, you just stick it in after your child's first name, and whenever your child asks, you can tell them all about the great person that they share names with. In theory, this is a great idea.

But here's the problem:

All you moms out there know that the only time you really use a middle name is to give you some more syllables to say when you're child is in trouble & you're trying to get their attention. So the only time your child hears this name of honor is in a negative context. This certainly doesn't go very far to nurture feelings of admiration for The Distinguished Person.

And the other problem, which I'm facing now: We gave Evelyn the middle name of Jan, after my mom. Not only does she have a place of honor in my life, but she's my MOM. --you know, like the person you never talk back to, no matter how mad you are. So there's Evelyn, getting into trouble, and I'm snapping, "Evelyn Jan! you stop that this second!" (or something to that effect) And every time i use that tone of voice with the name, *JAN*, something just grates on me. And instead of feeling strong and authoritative, i feel like *I* should be getting in trouble for talking to my mom like that. It's very disturbing. It even bothers Chris.

So I have a new idea. Instead of naming our children after the people we love & admire, we should name them after someone bad... I think if I said, "Evelyn Jezebel!" it would add a little extra umph to my "mean mommy voice". And every time she heard, "Jezebel," she'd think "man, I don't want to be like that!"

OR, we could only say their middle name at positive times, "oh, Evelyn Jan! it was so thoughtful of you to give all of your candy to your brother." and then when they get in trouble, and we need a lot of syllables, we can just throw in as many middle names as we need to, to make an impact. like: "Evelyn John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt don't you ever throw scissors at the cat again!"