Come with 2, Leave with 2

Do not stay out late!

Do not stay out late!

Do not stay out late!

We did it. We stayed out way too late last night and Noah was up until an hour that begins with a double digit. I won't tell you which one for the sake of judgement. Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised this morning when he awoke early and appeared to be quite chipper. I was very impressed! And then...and then....and then after I talked to a very lovely lady named Deborah at poison control, I realized we really had made a mistake.

He swallowed an entire handful of Kayt's teething tablets. They are tiny, white, dissolvable tablets that do resemble something enticing, some sort of candy. Much to my relief, Highland's Teething Tablets are not too harmful. Thank you Jesus for homeopathic medicine because other than having excess caffein and possibly causing an upset stomach, there was no harm done. Whew!

The number to reach my new friends is 1.800.222.1222. If you are a momma and do not have this number programmed in your phone, I recommend doing so right now! Stop. Put the number in your phone. You never know when it will come in handy. And after it's too late is not the best time to be looking up the number...trust me!

After this commotion we were off to Mother's Day Out, or school as we call it. My typically compliant, excited child decided about half-way to school that he would rather not go today. His insistence grew with each passing mile and by the time we reached the parking lot he was quite determined that he did not want to go to school today, and he did not want to play with his friend, and he did not want to play on the playground, and he did not want to sing songs with Ms. Eloise, and he did not want to read a Bible story and he definitely did not want to color a picture.  After a bit of the distraction technique (which I must say I am quite good at), we walked hand-in-hand into his classroom. He was great! Until I said goodbye...and then, his little lip began to tremble and he ran over and fell into my arms sobbing. It was quite dramatic.

Needless to say, I pulled into the parking lot with 2 children in the back seat of my Toyota and I left the parking lot with 2 children in the back seat of my Toyota. 

But right now, I am enjoying an extra tasty cup of coffee and some peace and quite.  I have two snoring, extreemly exhausted, napping kids.  

Lucky for me, we had such a great time last night with our dear friends that I will take this mornings commotion with a smile on my face and an extra cup of coffee. Or two.

But after today, I will try to remember...

Do not stay out late!

Do not stay out late!

Do not stay out late!

BS Material

I must start off by saying that I am really not on an ego trip. I hope I did not come across wrong on my last post...I just thought a poll would be fun!

One fun thing about the comments was that there were several people I had forgotten had blogs or didn't know had a blog. It was fun to catch up with most of them.

I have a question.

Not an ego-affirming question this time :)

I am planning to start a high school girls bible study this summer and do not yet have material.

Does anyone have recommendations?  It will, of course, be geared towards teen girls. I have a few in mind, but nothing that I felt the Lord has confirmed. 

Do you know of any good material? Have you done a study in the past that sticks out in your mind? I'm not afraid to go 'old school'!  Even if you've just heard of something, pass it along and I will check it out. Give me your best bs'n material!

Lemme Know Peeps.

Thankya.

BlogFlakes

I feel as though I should grant an apology for being so flaky in blogging over the past few weeks. I am not sure who the apology is directed to, maybe the blog itself. I was always bad about displacing feelings onto inanimate objects when I was younger. Growing up, I was always very afraid that one stuffed animal would have its feelings hurt if I chose to cuddle or play with it's friend. To solve the problem, I tried to keep all stuffed animals at a distance. And since that made/makes perfect sense to me, so does directing an apology at a computer or rather, a website. 

So blog my friend, I am truly sorry for my absence. 

After all, apologizing to a person would imply that someone actually reads this blog and taking this a step further, actually cares that I've been absent. Or maybe absent-minded would be more appropriate.

I have been distracted though. I cannot pinpoint exactly what my distraction has been, but some of them include:

-Housework.

-Rain. Since it has rained on one more than one occasion over the past week, I've been in a rainy 'funk.'  You know the rainy funk? It's that extra sleepy, I need to rest feeling you get when the days are gloomy and your thoughts just do not seem to come into focus. It is a good thing I don't live in Seattle. I would never get anything accomplished and I'm pretty sure they don't accept 'the rainy funk' excuse with any credence. 

-Our internet has been a royal pain. No kidding, I've about had it up to my eyeballs with Clearwire. Wind=doesn'twork  Rain=doesn't work  Clouds=doesn't work   Urgently Need to Look Something Up=doesn't work

-I'm a mom.

That's all I can come up with. 

This brings me to point number two.

Who does read this blog? I know I blog stalk from time to time (not saying you are) and I do have a few favorites that I will tell you of in the near future, but who are you?

Let me know.

Peace Out.

Catching Up

 Well, hello.

Long time no talk.

As I was uploading the pictures from my camera, I realized there were several memorable moments that I felt like sharing.

Dating back to the 16th of April, we rang in Noah's birthday with donuts on the front porch. And of course, no birthday is complete without a tennis ball companion, duh.
Then, our dear friend, Jody, helped sing-in the birthday song as Noah blew out his candles. 

My birthday boy and munchkin. She always has her thumb in her mouth. I love it!

      ~thanks to my super cool friend, Lezlie, for taking great birthday pictures~

Girls weekend.

Great friends, great times.

My brother and I went to the Carrie Underwood/Josh Turner concert, (hubby had to work) which was fabulous. My brother is so great. He treated me to dinner at the steakhouse from the land down under. I love spending time with my brothers! 

Baby Dedication.

I love this time in my children's lives. What an honor it is to be their mother.

                                   Do you notice how Kayt is pulling my hair? 

Aunt Tara, Uncle Clay and our favorite cousin, Tyson came to visit last weekend. Fun, fun, fun!

I just love the picture of them all in their p.j.s. They, obviously, had just woken up and still have sleepy eyes.

My grandparents also came to visit last weekend. They are precious people.

Hope I didn't bore you terribly. I have to remember that my purpose in blogging is to capture life's most precious moments. These top my list! 

 

Day O' Mamma

I'm not usually big on videos, but this is talent.

Check this out. Happy Mothers Day!

5.7.05

It was a fun morning to wake up to anniversary memories. With thunder rolling in the distance and raining heavily falling to the ground, I was able to lay in bed and reminisce over the past three years of being Mrs. Ingram.

What a ride it has been (some pun intended)!  From the threshold of our first apartment to the nurseries in our current home, our journey has been action packed and full of love. 

We've owned 2 homes, moved 5 times, spent 6 months my in-laws, and loved it all. 

I've been pregnant for almost 2/3 of our marriage. 

I have spent all but 3 months of the past three years either pregnant or nursing. 

On our first anniversary, we had a 3 week old.

On our second anniversary, I was 20 weeks pregnant. 

On our third anniversary, we have an energetic two year old and a giggly 7 1/2 month old. And no changes in the near future :)

My favorite things about being married are:

-having someone come home at the end of each day

-getting to pick up the phone any time of the day just to call and say hi

-sharing things. our closet, bathroom shelves, loofas, toothpaste

-lounging in his large, comfortable t-shirts

-mail that has both of our names on it

-carrying his last name

-having his babies

-watching him mow the lawn

-knowing the no matter what time it is, if I use my sweet voice, he will get out of bed to get me a drink of water

-watching my husband be a daddy

-learning to balance finances together

-having someone to cook breakfast for 

-having someone make me coffee

-knowing his s.s. number

-being told dinner was so great

-taking walks

-talking in bed till wee hours of the morning

-getting a goodbye kiss on the forehead each morning while I lay sleeping

These are simple and silly, yet they are great delights in my marriage. 

So many of you know what it is like to be married to a godly, loving, strong, humble man.  It's so important for me not to forget the gift I have been given in my husband. The petty things don't matter. Loving my husband does.

Happy Anniversary My Love!

I Wonder

As I sit in my over-sized chair and stare out the window in my living room, all morning I've gazed at the elementary school across the street with wonder. 

I wonder what it will be like when I walk my chubby-cheeked  boy and big-eyed girl to the door of their elementary school. Whether the school in my view or another, the day will come. I will walk these souls to the classroom of a school and leave them to be entranced by the knowledge they will inhale, though taller and wiser and more fluent in speech, they will still be my babies. My precious, captivating, miraculous babies. 

I may be able to put it off for a year. Maybe two or three, if I can convince my husband that home-schooled kids are NOT freaks, but inevitably they will fly from my coup. 

I wonder what my life will be like when I don't wake up to the sound of small feet running wildly on a hardwood floor. Or walk into a pink room only to find a wide-eyed beauty on her tummy, elbows locked, anxiously staring over the black and white paisley bumper awaiting her morning rescue. I wonder what I will do to fill my time when I'm not rolling on the floor with my sweet girl just to get a giggle from the deepest pit of her belly, or reading book after book after book, or folding tiny socks and pajamas. 

I wonder.

I cherish when the little body sitting beside me in our chair wraps his fluffy, creased arms around my waist and flails his yogurt-covered face into  my lap and says I Yuv You as I lean down to kiss his uncombed head of hair.  What will this wild, dirty-blonde haired boy accomplish in his life? I wonder.  

My prayer is the verse his daddy has claimed from the Lord to be our sweet boy's anthem. Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.  How will he come to know the Lord and what kind of ride of mercy will he take? What nations will he reach and how will I trust the Lord in using his life? I wonder.

And I wonder what sounds will bring me as much joy as those that come from my munchkin. My princess, who tugs on my sleeve as she sits propped by the big, over-sized pillows of our chair with all her effort focused on gaining my attention.  The sounds that spill from her mouth delight me more than the most beautiful of melody pouring from a stringed quartet.  i love the giggles that escape as I nuzzle my nose into that squishy belly and watch her hands flap aimlessly in the air. And the coos and squeals that shrieks as I work to take in all the kisses her slobber covered neck hold and work my kisses to her tooth-less grin. 

I wonder what moments in my future will allow me to see the goodness of God in such a tangible, evident way. I wonder. I wonder how she will experience God's richest goodness in her life and what type of outpouring she will choose to give back to him. 

And I wonder how tall Noah will be. 

Six foot two like daddy or will he surpass him? 

I wonder what shade of brown Kayt's  locks will appear as the sun bounces off of them while running through the sprinkler. 

Will we let it to grow long and beautiful, or keep is it short and manicured?

I wonder.

I wonder where all the tears I will cry as I drop my babies off at some elementary school will fall. Surely they will be plentiful enough to bring moisture to the tulips in the dry west Texas spring. 

But as God has increased my territory over the past few years and brought more delight and blessings to my life than my mind could ever have dreamed, I wonder what he has in store for the future. 

I wonder. 

I know with all certainty that there will be one, if not a thousand, moments in my life I will long for the chair-sitting, wondering days back. But sometimes, don't you just wonder?

Warning: Blow Dry at Your Own Risk!

I've checked my blow dryer. Can you check yours? 

My ConAir says nothing about all of the hazardous warnings. It cautions about electrical shock from exposure to water, but says nothing about premature aging  due to stress. 

 There is no warning of increased gravity.

Nor is there a warning of soggy children.

I am positive it say nothing about forcing us to try and attain new heights. 

Do you think I can sue for failure to inform the user of all possible effects?

I Have One friend...

I have one friend. Actually, I have more than one. I have many friends. Many great friends. 

I have one friend who has been my friend since elementary Girl Scouts. She is funny and talented and treats me like a sister. She is the only sister I've ever known. We've schemed together, prayed together, cooked together, laughed together, cried together, dreamed together; we enjoy being together. She has taught me that it is never too late to take up a new hobby. She has also taught me that when you start it, finish it and do the best job you possibly can. I've learned that she handles adversity better than I do. I've also learned that, through Jesus, friends can grow closer with each passing year.  

I have one friend who joined my life when I needed a spark of creativity and energy. She keeps me up on the latest, the greatest, the trendiest.  Each time I am around her, I am reminded of how real she is. She is honest, she knows herself, she knows me and she still loves me for all of my shortcomings. This girl has rhythm.  She is dramatic, funny and full of life. She makes everyone feel comfortable and as though they are her best friend. The Lord has shaped her and changed her and blessed me through her. Because of her, I have learned that the Lord has my greatest desires in mind and is able to do more than I can ever ask or imagine. She is a great teacher, daughter, wife and friend.

I have one friend who knew my husband long before I did. This girl knows how to trust. She is a testimony of God's faithfulness and provision and the way she chooses to live her life reminds me of these attributes. She knows the truths of God and they are always on her lips.  I complain to her and she lets me. Then, she gently rebukes me and sharpens me in the sweetest, most loving manner. I see her often, but much less than I would like to. She is a precious fragrance in my life. She, her husband and her children have brought so much laughter and joy to my family. Together, the Lord has changed our hearts from knowing only the facts of Jesus' love, to the ways he still chooses to work in the hearts and lives of believers.  She is gentle and patient and accepting and prayerful and encouraging.

I have one friend who is so similar to me. She thinks much like I do, she lives much like I do and she is precious to me. I admire her and respect her. I love her pure, deep love for Christ and the way he woos her heart to his each day. She is funny and strong and wise and a deep-thinker. I have sought her counsel and trusted her advice.  She is a great mother and wife and really loves the people in her life. I love her stability and intensity.  She has taught me to treasure each moment and to find simple ways to remind those around me of my love for them. She is as refreshing as the ocean breeze!

I have one friend who gives. And then she gives some more. And more and more and more. She is one of the greatest friends I have known. She is funny, witty, like-able and strong. She has not let life's set-backs impel her future. She serves the Lord and people with no reservations. She gives of her time, her money and her talents. She is true, down-to-earth, and loved by so many. Her life of ministry has had far greater reach than she will ever know. I can testify; it has reached so far down into my heart that I am more in love with Jesus because of her. I watch her, I study her and then I thank Jesus that he placed that precious heart inside of my friend. She is a treasure!

I have one friend who is family. I loved her before she was family, but being family has strengthened my love for her. She is prepared, thorough and kind-hearted. She has shown me what forgiveness means. Forgiveness is a lifestyle, a daily choice. Through her, I've grown to understand the discipline of following Christ. She is a fabulous mother and friend. She is a loving sister and daughter. She is an encourager and a perfectionist. She is sensitive to others and speaks only kind words. She is open, honest, witty and fun. I am so thankful that we are family!

I have one friend who is the life of the party. When she shows up, memories are made. She is smart and talented. She is also honest and giving. She pours her self into her tasks and always produces perfection. She is adveturous and spontaneous. She is a supporter.  She goes out of her way to give to others. Because of her, I've laughed until my side hurt on too many occasions.

I have one friend who is new. She has been a huge blessing in my life. We are similar in spirit, in heart and in life. She has encouraged me in motherhood and been available to me. She is easy to be around, loved by all and so special to me.  She is beautiful, genuine, a steward and full of energy. She pours herself into her family and because of that, her children will call her blessed. She has given me her time, her ear, her love and her resources. I am so thankful for my newest friend.

The Lord has poured loving and pure women into my life. The greatest thing about each of these friendships is that, in the end, they all reflect the love of Jesus. The creative, perfect, genuine, joyful, real, wise love of my Savior. Thank you Jesus for friends! 

I am so grateful for my one friend. 

Get Your Green On

In honor of Going Green, I thought I would share some of my recent findings. 

I have struggled with housing cleaning supplies that can potentially harm my children. As many times as I've considered giving up cleaning all together for the sake of the kids health, I know deep down that the cleaning show must go on! Every cleaning product is placed so far out of read, for the sake of the kids, that even I cannot reach them.  Thankfully, my husband was thoughtful and purchased me my very own step stool. He's a romantic. 

I am not completely organic, nor am I all natural, but I am trying to make wiser choices. My former 'convenience' is being challanged. 

Here are a few tips I've used for a while, as well as a few of my most recent findings. 

Go here, here, here or here for useful website on making your own household cleaning products.

Whiter Whites

I pour vinegar in with my load of whites. It is great for keeping the whites stark and removing dinginess. I don't do this each time, but more often than not, I do. With a large load (is there anything other than a large load?) I probably pour close to  1/4 cup. Better yet, I give the bottle a 3ish second pour.  How is that for being exact? :) I'm just estimating because I never measure it. You cannot smell in on the clothes once cleaned. 

Great Window Cleaner

12-16oz. water

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup rubbing alcohol

My mother-in-law found this recipe and it works great!

Shining Hardwood Floors

Equal parts Vegetable Oil and Vinegar

Toothpaste

Equal parts peroxide and baking soda

Hand Soap

Use bubble bath for hand soap. Simply refill your soap dispenser with great smelling bubble bath.

I have not done this yet because I haven't needed hand soap since I read this tip, but I think it would be fun, especially in the kids bathroom.

I've also found several recipe for making your own laundry detergent. Has anyone ever done this? If not, does anyone want to be the guine pig and try it? Just curious :) From what I have read you can make a batch for less than a dollar. Just think of all the people we could bless with the money we normally would spend on detergent! Check out the recipe here.  I say we all give it a shot. I am almost out of detergent!

Environmentally safe does not mean child safe, make sure to thoroughly label all bottles and keep all supplies out of reach. Do it for the sake of the kids!