An OCD's Nightmare

Eighteen kindergartners.

Eighteen milk cartons.

6 mommies.

4 tubs of frosting.

Umpteen graham crackers.

Gazillions of MnMs.

More sprinkles than you can fathom.

Candy and marshmallows as far as the eye can see.

Thank you, Jesus they were not doing this at my house!

They finished with a good old fashioned "Run, run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man!". Here they are laying on their "cookie sheet".


Have I mentioned I love my life? Helping do this is definitely one of the perks of being a mom!

Three

3 is the number of shoes the STUPID dog has eaten in the last 12 hour period. 3 shoes from 3 different pairs so basically she has rendered 6 shoes inoperable.

1 pair of The Husband's dress shoes (which he wears about 4 times a year but still needs to have on hand) and 1 of my sassy black boots and 1 of my favorite slip-ons that took me nearly forever to find the exact pair I was looking for.

About 2 weeks ago she ate one of my black dress shoes that I wear about twice a year, but are very much needed for functions like the one I am attending tomorrow night!

I know, you're wondering why she even has access to the closet with the shoes.

Don't you remember? I have a brain the size of a peanut.

Argh!!!
I guess I'm shoe shopping later today as if I don't have enough to do and spend money on!

Things I Want to Post About

I have no time to write an actual post today, but there a few thoughts and stories fresh in my mind that I hope to share this week.....

1. Praying for the man at GAS's doctor's office and being asked if I was a missionary.

2. My comments to the staff about the raunchy Alicia Keyes poster hanging in the radio station at JA Biztown.

3. Pictures of our tree, Oscar, who is leaning so badly it looks like he needs to lay off the egg nog.

4. Preparations for having 50 people at our house this weekend for a youth staff Christmas party.

5. Our school "holiday" program with the "unity tree". Oh brother.

And, just on time...I hear the bus pulling up!

It's A Wonderful Life

My latest phobia? My life is going too well. Yes. I'm actually afraid that my life is going so well that some terrible thing is just looming around the corner to change everything. Now, it's not like life is perfect. There are some issues that I wish were different, but I'm believing God has control over those areas (over ALL areas, actually!) and I don't need to worry. If I sound like I'm babbling it is probably because I am.

You see, since The Husband and I married.....no, scratch that.....since The Husband and I met there has always seemed to be some immense burden we were carrying, some trauma to be enduring or a major transition to adjust to.

Now, there is none of that. My life is full and peaceful. I don't mean to sound contrite about it, it actually scares me sometimes. As I have periodically preached to my kids....Jesus never promised us an easy life. Being a Christian doesn't mean we always get what we want. So, it is in this time of stability that my thoughts run wild with all the things that could go wrong tomorrow. GAS has a cold, what if it turns into pneumonia? We are refinancing our house, what if everything falls through at the last minute? We will finally have health insurance this coming Saturday and what if someone gets hurt at gymnastics tonight? BLAH, BLAH, BLAH and on and on.....

That is when I start praying these scriptures over and over in my mind:

Perfect love casts out all fear and I'm taking these thoughts captive to Christ Jesus.

Good stuff to think about instead of sounding like doom is knocking at my door.

And while there are still things that trouble me and my life is not perfect I am so content right now that I can't begin to describe it. Not content in an indifferent kind of way, content in a grateful kind of way. Because right now I know God has me where He wants me and His plans are perfect!

Oh My Word Times One Hundred!!!!

The election results are in! #1 was elected mayor of her team! I feel like I am going to burst! Over 10 kids ran for office and I am just in awe of God's favor at work in her life! I don't know how she is going to sleep tonight because it was finally posted on the website and I actually had to go down and tell her while she was already in bed! We all had a shriek and hugging fest and after the dust settled she came over to me, hugged me and said she couldn't have done it without me.

Add this to one of those "Golden Mom Moments" I'll remember for the rest of my life!

Even better is that tomorrow night is my training at JA Biztown so I can be there to see how she runs the town when they head down for the day in a few weeks. I've been assigned to oversee the radio station. I wonder if I'll get to have lunch with the mayor?

Does Everything We Do Have To Be A Major Theatrical Production??!

We went and got our tree today and in typical oH mY wORD family style we were the loudest family at the tree yard (much to The Husband's dismay). We were all (except the afore-mentioned Husband) passionately excited about what tree would be the MOST! PERFECT! TREE! EVER! #2 and I happened upon a tree that was big and when I say big, I don't necessarily mean tall, I mean "lay off the fries" big. We even named it Oscar. I'm not sure why, but we did. After a complete split decision that got louder and louder and had The Husband standing further away from us as each moment passed trying to pretend he was with a nice quiet family, happily agreeing about their perfect not-so-big-around-the waist tree. #2 had her arms wrapped around Oscar and I was accused of petting him while we explained that everyone else gets nice looking trees that are so well proportioned they look fake, and that Oscar would probably die in this tree graveyard all alone because he was.....well.....he was different.

I finally caved (to #2's horror) and went with #1 and The Husband's choice because it was a nice looking tree and I DID want to get home at some point today and end The Husband's afternoon of humiliation. But, when we brought the men over to "chop" it down or whatever they do I noticed the tree had sort of a yellowish tinge to it. Well, #1 quickly agreed that we should get Oscar because I think:

1. She felt sad that #2 was forlornly standing by Oscar with the biggest boo-boo face ever (I actually think she was praying and asked God to curse the wretched tree that had taken Oscar's place).

2. A yellow tree could be a sign of some form of remote tree sickness that could be passed on to humans while they sleep, particularly 11 year old females.

So, without further ado I present to you (drum role please).........OSCAR:


Sorry he's naked...we'll be dressing him in array of mismatched, no-theme ornaments and lights tomorrow. Isn't he just the sweetest tree ever??

Woo-hoo! I Did It!

Well, I didn't get up at 4am this year, but I did head out at 7am this morning for 2 specific items and I got BOTH of them. In fact, I got the very last one of the main item I went out for. I must be vague because my kids like reading my blog!

Yay me!

I am so laid back this Christmas.....last year I made a bunch of "handmade" gifts that caused me to stay up late at night muttering under my breath, but since I have lost touch with the crafty side of me I don't feel the pressure to do that this year. I also decided I am not spending a fortune on shipping costs so the nieces and nephews are getting gift cards. I know, a few posts back I was complaining that gift cards require so little thought, but I like to get them and I'm sure everyone else does, too. I mean, I don't want a gift card from EVERYONE, but it is nice to hit the post-holiday sales with a little spending money. I've also been buying things on sale throughout the year and throwing it in my "gift tubbie". It is a rather large Rubbermaid tub with an array of nice items that will make lovely teacher gifts, "white elephant"gifts, etc...So, now in combination with my awesome purchases this morning, I am almost done "mental" shopping. That's much harder than the physical shopping! Once I know what I'm getting for someone the hard part is over. You will NEVER see me roaming aisles of a store at Christmas time saying "I wonder what So-and-so would like .........". NEVER. I think it is the marketing research person in me. I will use my computer for the very reason it is meant to be used....a tool! I think, too, it is a survival technique since taking my kids to stores any longer than grabbing the desired item off of the shelf and going directly to the cash register causes a severe migraine that can take hours to get rid of.

Did anyone else score any deals today?

Cooking Up A Little ZERT

It is our Thanksgiving tradition. When #1 was a wee little one (age 2, I believe) my mom had asked us to bring what we called growing up "Pineapple Delight". I asked #1 if she wanted to help me make it and she asked "what is it?" in her cute toddler language and I told her it was for dessert.

When we arrived at my mom's she enthusiastically told everyone that she helped to make "zert" and it has become a Thanksgiving tradition each year to make it and bring it wherever we happen to be having Thanksgiving dinner. It is so easy to make, but somehow this year I managed for the first time ever to make it wrong! Instead of adding mandarin oranges, I gave #1 a can of peaches to open and we dumped it on the very top of everything and just stared at it thinking "MAN! THOSE are some big oranges!". Duh. We left them in there and I added some cinnamon so who knows what we may have come up with!

Here is the recipe. It is delicious and a slight bit different than the version I grew up with (my mom used cool whip and no oranges). Most people call it ambrosia and have their own variations, too.

ZERT
1 can crushed pineapple
1 can drained pineapple chunks
1 can drained mandarin oranges (or peaches if you're in a walking coma like me)
1 bag small marshmallows
1 16 oz container sour cream

Dump it all together and refrigerate overnight. Serve chilled. Sprinkle with cinnamon if you like. I also think it would be yummy with shredded coconut, but I'm the only one who likes that so I never put it in. Don't worry if it looks soupy when you make it, the marshmallows absorb the liquid overnight.

Happy Thanksgiving.....I think I'll be at JC Penney's when they open the doors at 4am Friday morning. Anyone else going shopping in the wee hours of Black Friday?