Some good old-fashioned bribery

Having purchased this over the weekend...



...let the potty-training now commence.


According to Ricardo, the size of the bag should not be an indicator of how long it's going to take. Or at least we're hopin'.


Savannah rarely, very rarely, gets candy. I searched high and low for the teeny mini m&m's. The regular-sized ones were all I could find. I am tempted to cut them in half, but that might be taking it a bit far.


So. I think a good chunk of my day today will be spent keeping my daughter company in the bathroom.


Thank God for wireless internet...at least ya'll can keep me company while I'm in there doling out the m&m's.

The Great Trade-Off

You know the general rule that all mothers adhere to? The one that goes something like this: If you cannot see your child, and she is being particularly, unusually quiet, it probably means she's doing something that she's not supposed to.

Right?

However, there is a little something that I call the Great Trade-Off. This is when you know that they're up to something that you might not want them to do...say, emptying out your Tupperware cabinet, or pulling all of your socks out of your drawer...but since it's nothing life-threatening and you know it will only take you a few seconds to clean it up later, you let them continue. All to buy yourself a few uninterrupted minutes.

Please tell me you've done this. At least once in your life.

Case in point:

Savannah had a box of regular Crayola crayons that she got when she was about a year and a half. A few weeks later they were all either lost or snapped in half. The perfectionist in me cannot stand broken crayons so I would toss them (that was before I found out I could do this with them...cool!).

Just before Christmas, I ran across a big box of self-sharpening crayons. Each one was encased in a plastic tube, and you just had to turn the bottom to wind it up. Perfect! I figured these were the answer to the breaking-of-the crayon problem, so I snatched them up. Brilliant, right? Surely she could not do any damage to these, because after all, they were made of plastic. Practically impervious.

A few weeks ago, we sat in the living room, getting our evening fix of Wheel of Fortune. This is probably very, very uncool to admit that we watch it every evening. But we do. It is our Family Show, and we get excited about it. Even Savannah gets in on the fun, calling out the letters as they come up.

So. About half through, Savannah wandered behind the couch where her crayons and coloring books are kept. And she was being extremely quiet.

Red flag.

I asked her what she was doing, and she said, "Counting, Mama! One, two, three, four..." Ok. Back to the show. The thing was, I knew she was up to something other than just coloring and counting. But...the Great Trade-Off had commenced.

Later on, I walked by her coloring station, and saw this:

She had methodically taken each crayon apart, rendering them completely useless. The plastic case, the crayon part, the white wind-up thing. All sitting in piles. She couldn't snap these crayons in half, but she sure could wreak havoc on them nonetheless.

So much for my brilliance. And that impervious plastic.

Tonight I was cleaning up the kitchen, and I realized I hadn't seen her in about 10 minutes. I asked Ricardo where she was, and he said she was playing in her room. Quietly.

Once, again, cue the Great Trade-Off.

And also once again, I was in for this little treat:

I keep the pink basket full of hair accessories on her dresser, where she can't reach them. Or rather, where she couldn't reach them before she realized she could utilize that box underneath her dresser as a handy little step-stool.


What is so fascinating about dismantling things? She now has a few barrettes that have been stripped of their fancy little flowers. And she isn't satisfied with just emptying the basket...no. She has to take every single barrette (and there are a lot of them, trust me) off of the paper holder and mix them up.

But no matter that it took me 10 minutes to separate all of the barrettes and match up every single ponytail holder according to color.

At least I got the kitchen cleaned up. And that's what I call a good trade.

Freedom

We usually celebrate the 4th of July every year by going to a friend's house and having a cookout and lighting an entire super-sized box of fireworks. The kind of fireworks that are absolutely ear-splitting. It's hilarious; in between setting off each one, the adults sit around and try to cram in about 20 seconds worth of normal conversation before the next one crackles to life. Then for a whole minute we sit and focus on the can that is spewing sparks into the air, because it's useless to try to talk over the racket at that point. The kids usually tire of it after about 15 minutes and run inside to play, but for some reason, the adults keep lighting them until the box is empty and our eardrums are permanently impaired.

We decided to do something different this year, and took Savannah to the Balloon Fiesta Park where the city launches its big fireworks show. We arrived about 7:30, spread a blanket out and set up lawn chairs, and settled in to listen to Blood, Sweat and Tears play a concert. I felt a little out of it when I discovered that I only knew 2 of the songs they played, but I just now googled them and found out they've been around since the '60s, so that made me feel a little better, like I am not totally out of the loop.

The evening was perfect. Balmy and breezy, 70 degrees. Savannah ran in circles, and then we lay on the blanket, looking up at puffy white clouds and a sliver of the moon. Ricardo offered to brave the lines to get a snack. He returned 45 minutes later bearing a paper container of nachos, the kind that are slathered in processed cheese and sliced jalapenos. And may I just add that after a few weeks of not eating much fat, these are currently not sitting well with me. And that's all I have to say about that.

The fireworks show started, and Savannah was delighted. She cuddled next to me for the first few moments, exclaiming, "I scared!" But she became braver and was soon standing, arms outstretched, trying to catch the drops of light as they fell toward the earth.

Synchronized patriotic music played along with the fireworks. When "God Bless America" started, I teared up. When "I'm proud to be an American" played, I cried and sang along as loudly as I could. I didn't expect to get emotional; it just happened.

It was a great day. We live in a great country. I know I am guilty of not recognizing it on a daily basis, but we have amazing freedom here. I love this holiday because it's a reminder to slow down and be thankful for all that God has bestowed upon us.

Comfort Zone

This past Wednesday night, Jim Caviezel was the guest speaker at our church. The place was absolutely packed out...there wasn't an empty seat in the house. Obviously, the main draw for most of the people that came but who don't normally attend was the fact that he is a movie star, which in itself is enough to bring people out in droves.

I was excited to hear him speak; I figured that he would spend some time talking about what it was like to star in The Passion of the Christ, and maybe talk briefly about how his faith has had an impact on his career.

I was wrong.

The boy can preach.

He isn't what I would call the most natural speaker in the world. He was soft-spoken. He didn't rush his thoughts, and there were plenty of long pauses between his words. But it wasn't the fact that he is an easy-on-the-eyes Hollywood star that was electrifying. The Holy Spirit was there, and it was powerful.

I would love to be able to summarize everything he said, but honestly, only one thing stands out to me. After I heard him say this, my mind latched onto it and hasn't let it go.

He said, "Just because God gives you something, it doesn't mean it's going to be easy."

That hit me like a giant white-capped wave. One of those moments that sort of stuns you with its simultaneous simplicity and depth.

He was speaking this in reference to playing the part of Jesus in The Passion. He went through quite a bit while actually filming it, and then in the aftermath, his career took a definite hit. He struggled through it, wanting to quit so many times, but knowing that there was Someone bigger than any of them at work, and knowing that he was fulfilling what he was born to do.

And so since Wednesday night, I have been pondering this. Just because God gives you something, it doesn't mean it's going to be easy.

For a long time, I had this idea in the back of my head. Something along the lines that if God called me to do something, whether it be something as simple as sharing my faith or something that really stretched me and called me completely out of my comfort zone, He would then pave the way, making it free from any bumps or barriers or general uncomfortableness. Surely He would not call me to do something that would rip away any security that I might feel. And if I were to actually obey Him and follow through on it, surely there would be only serenity and composure and complete poise on my part. There would be no floundering, no second-guessing, no wondering if it went as planned, no questioning whether it was well-received or if I came across like I knew what I was doing. Because if God was in it, well, then, would I not be transformed into someone who knows exactly what to say and do?

If only.

There are so many times that I am in situations that I know God wants me in. And it's uncomfortable. I say silly things. I am not fluid and graceful. I go home and replay in my head what just happened, and pick apart what I could have done better. And yet, I know He wants me there. He has chosen me for this, He has given it to me. But it doesn't mean it is easy.

For me, I know that pride plays a part. I don't want anyone to see my imperfections. What if they wonder why I'm in this position? What if they hear me say something completely off-the-wall? What if I miss a note? What if I don't know the answer?

But God chooses us, in spite of ourselves. He chooses us so that when things are accomplished, it is only because of Him, and so that it will be for His glory. Once I get past myself and realize that really, my comfort level in the situation isn't even a factor, then He will be exalted.

But that's hard to get past sometimes. Because I like to be comfortable. I don't like going into anything unless I am assured of the outcome. And I wonder how many times I've missed out on something in my life that I didn't want to pursue...because it wasn't simple or painless or convenient.

I do believe that He will give us peace through it. But having His peace and staying in your comfort zone are not the same thing. Sometimes He calls us out of that comfort zone first, and then He gives us that peace. Not the other way around, although wouldn't that be nice? And then He nudges us out into that place where we really have no clue what we're doing.

I have had these thought floating around in my brain for the past few days. I was having trouble formulating what I wanted to say; the pieces were there but they weren't quite fitting together. Then I read this post at La Vida Dulce. Kellie expressed it so beautifully and eloquently, and it was basically everything that had been spinning inside of me. If you get a chance, pop on over and see what she has to say.

So I am attempting to re-examine my life. To see if there are areas that I have barricaded and said, "Off-limits!" to God. To say, "I don't see how I'm gonna do this...but You can make it happen."

Because it's really not about me at all.

A rather desultory post

I finally did it. I scheduled an appointment with my hairdresser, and went Monday afternoon. Why is it that getting a haircut can be so scary? It's just hair. It will grow back. But still...it's pretty important stuff.


Also, I want my husband to be happy and like it, and I'm never sure what he's going to think after I chop my hair. Although in the end, I think it's ultimately more important for me to be happy with it, because if I'm happy, it obviously makes me a more pleasant person all the way around. Which in turn is only good for him.

Ok.

Here it is.















So, I think I like it. I also think I could have asked her to do a few things differently, but I'll know for next time. I am still getting the hang of styling it (hence, the wayward strands you see here and there) and I have so much darn curl in my hair that it takes a long time to get it all out. I have a feeling I'm going to be letting it go curly quite a bit.

And what's even better, because I went to my regular hairdresser, I did not have to use any of the gift certificate on this. So that means I have the full amount left to pamper myself sometime soon, hopefully next week. First massage of my life, here I come!

Ok. Moving on...

I have been really blessed this past month, and have won 4 different contests hosted by various bloggers. I mentioned in an earlier post the book from Linda and the necklace from Carolina Mama by Lisa Leonard Designs (which is beautiful, by the way). More recently, I received a Target gift card from The Roost (thank you so much!) and 3 books are on the way from Jessie, which I am so excited about because, well, new books!

So, obviously, I am hugely grateful and have had so much fun with it all, but I am also starting to feel the need to pass along a little bloggy love myself. My 100th post is coming up in the very near future, and I thought about doing the traditional "100 things about me" post. However, there is a very big problem with that; it would require untold hours for me to sit and think and come up with something readable that would not drive you away within the first spellbinding minute or two. And I do not have untold hours.

So instead, I think I'm going to do a little giveaway of my own. Mind you, it's nothing big, so don't get too excited. It's just a little way to say thanks for taking the time to drop by my little corner of the blogosphere and making me feel at home. I am not sure what day this will be, because I am neither organized nor regular in my posting schedule like some of you are, and so I really have no clue on which day the 100th post might fall. But soon. So stay tuned.

And that, my friends, is all the randomness I have for today.