A Wrinkle in Time

I just finished "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Enlge. I had never read it before. I don't know how I missed it but I really enjoyed it. I found it much along the lines of "The Chronicles of Narnia" with the mysterious creatures and biblical references.

I think I never really knew what it was all about and it was always on one of those "must read" lists which I generally avoid at all costs. I just can't stand to read things when some tells me I HAVE to. My stubborn streak I guess. I have to say I really missed out though. This book would have meant a lot to me during those awkward preteen years. (Of course some might thing I'm still awkward :)

This this the first of a quintet of books. I do love a series so I'll probably try to read the rest in between book club books etc. This book seemed pretty contemporary and timeless even though it was written in 1962.

I guess I'd have to agree with the "experts" on this one and would definitely recommend it to preteen boys and girls especially. Great heroes and heroines in this one :)

Mouse Hunt

We spent about half an hour on Saturday before we left for Garrett and Boone's birthday party chasing a mouse in the house! It was crazy! I guess I left the garage door ajar and one squirted in while we were upstairs. Bryon had shut it without me knowing and as I was walking into the bedroom I caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye. I freaked. MOUSE! MOUSE! MOUSE!

Bryon jumped up, Grace jumped up and then they both started laughing at me. Now I REALIZE I'm bigger and smarter than a mouse but they are just so disgusting and fast! I do not like them Sam I Am. I don't like them in a HOUSE, I do not like them here or there, I do not like them anywhere.

Bryon chased it into our bedroom and we shut the doors at least confining it to one room. We put Grace up on the bed (still in her monkey night gown) while we tried to flush it out and stomp on it. It was pretty comical. We got Pansy (the cat) and threw her into the mix but she just ran away from it. Pussy.

Let me tell you those damn things are fast! Bryon just missed it like two dozen times. We'd see it go one place and it would sneak out another. Grace was a good spotter and told us where it was several times. In the meantime, she was jumping and clapping on the bed and cheering "You can do it Mama and Daddy, You can do it Mama and Daddy". For a minute there thought maybe I could :) She's quite the little cheerleader :)

Finally after about 30 minutes the jig was up and Bryon stomped it's fuzzy little head and threw it out the window. Yuck! They are just so disgusting.

Paintball Maniacs

IMG_6240
Originally uploaded by trlrover

Austin, Bryon, Aaron and Chris (the Huggler Men) have been playing paintball in our woods. They are ate up!

Testing, Testing, Testing...

So it looks like I can mobile blog from my Blackberry now. Will the
wonders of technology ever cease? Now if only I didn't have carpal
tunnel from typing all of this with my thumbs.

Itchy & Scratchy

This is day 10 of an allergic reaction to Bath & Body's Coconut Lime Verbenea body cream. I've used TONS of their stuff with no problems, but I broke open a new bottle of previously untried lotion last Saturday and BAM. Irritated angry rash all over my legs, hands and lower arms where I had put the lotion and TREMENDOUS itching. It got to the point where the plan was to just scratch until it bled and deal with the consequences. Honestly, it's almost orgasmic to scratch it real hard! Is that wrong?



I finally caved and went to the doctor Friday and got a shot of cortizone and some pills for the itching. Ironically, the pharmacist said the pills were originally used for anxiety so that was supposedly an added benefit. Let me tell you, staying home with a sick 3 year old 4 days will give you anxiety. Honestly I couldn't tell either of the remedies did anything...at all... the itching has subsided somewhat but I'm still not right.



Now I'm paranoid about what I use or want to use in the future. I've had similar reactions in the past to self-tanners. Apparently the DHA is not my friend. I've about decided to go more "natural". A friend is trying to get me to buy Arbonne, but it doesn't look as "natural" to me as they say it is. They say they use minimal chemicals (only those necessary for shelf-life etc.) and far smaller amounts than non European products. Well, all I know is there are just as many things in their ingredients list that I can't pronounce and they are ridiculously expensive. Honestly, even if I could afford $45 for a 7 oz potion, I wouldn't spend it. Insane.

I am much more excited about Faith products. This wonderful lady in Marionville , MO makes the most luscious lotions, bath salts and lip balms. Her products are available on her website at http://www.faithbathandbody.com/ and at several retail locations. She does all the craft shows etc. Anyway I emailed her and asked about ingredients and she said they contain the following : Water, Coconut Oil, Glycerin, Emulsifying Wax, ( a vegetable based wax used to bring oil and water together) Strearic Acid (it helps to make the lotion thick) and I use a preservative called Germaben II. Because I use coconut oil (which will spoil) and not mineral oil, I must use a preservative. It is only 1% of the formula, and then of course fragrance, the best quality I can find.

Now unless you just crack open a coconut and slather on the meat I don't see how you can get much better than that. I just wish she made shower gels and hair care products. I've really been inspired by this problem to seek out some alternatives. I'm going definitely willing to switch my product loyalties now :)

My friend Liz is a fan of Kiss My Face and has been for the past 15 years. I'm going to check them out too. http://www.kissmyface.com/ They even list their ingredients on their website and have links to definitions and explanations of each ingredient. Holy Cow, I couldn't even FIND the ingredients to Bath & Body's products except actually on their products and I already gave that lotion away to my Mom. Sorry Mom :(

It's time to take stock and stop mindlessly slathering on every lotion and potion. The immediate cost is too high as it is (rash) no telling what the long term effects are.

Back on Track

Wow last week was just awful. Monday was the ice storm...AGAIN...thankfully no power loss this time. I get President's Day as a floating holiday, so I decided to stay home with Grace since I figured I make it to town only for the daycare to call and close early from the current and impending storm. Bryon actually started to try to make it in (crazy supervising martyr that he is) but turned back when he got to Marshfield. Not, however, before he stopped by McDonalds for a breakfast treat for us all :) We had a snuggly and relaxing snowed in day together.

Tuesday the daycare actually DID close. I couldn't believe it. I had to take a vacation day and stay home with Grace again. Tuesday was actually pretty fun. We broke out the games and I played every game (about 5) she has with her. She watched videos and we made cookies.

Tuesday evening while I was trying to make supper she kept wanting to be held and saying she was cold (unusual). I finally took time out and decided to check her temperature. It was 102! She had been perfectly FINE all day! Arrrrrrgggggg.

She ran a fever all night and Bryon stayed home with her on Wednesday and decided to take her to the doctor. Strep throat. She got antibiotics and Bryon got them in her right away. She ran a fever (really high a few times of 104.8!) and we panicked a little bit and called her doctor at 10 that night. We put her in the cool bath and tried to get her cooled down. We were debating whether to take her to the emergency room when her doctor finally called back. He said to alternate Ibprophen and Tylenol every 2 hours. We did it and her fever finally came back down to 102.

Thursday Bryon stayed home with her again and I went to work and madly tried to cram in several days of work. More fever.

Friday, I stayed home with her and Bryon went back to work to try to catch up.

Saturday we all stayed in together and Sunday morning I went to church and Sunday school and Bryon and Grace stayed home. Her fever FINALLY subsided and Sunday evening we all went to church to a revival night. She was glad to play with her friends and I was just glad to out of the house!

Yesterday was her first day back to daycare and no problems or fever so I think we are over that hump now. Of course she was INCREDIBLY whiny this morning and there were lots of grumpy tears. I think she's spoiled from a week of getting whatever she wanted and CONSTANT attention.

Tonight she gets to go to gymnastics (Bryon's turn to take her) and tomorrow night is my book club. I'll be glad to have a night out with my friends and a break.

I think I need a vacation.

House Cleaning Wanted?

I know not many of you are going to have much sympathy for me but my house cleaning girls quit. I've had two girls come and clean the house (downstairs) for me twice a month ever since Grace was born.

This was not my idea. Bryon suggested in those hazy early weeks of motherhood that perhaps we should look for someone to help clean. I said, "What are you saying? That I'm not doing a good job?" "No, no, no" he replied, "I'm just saying that you could maybe use some help when you go back to work and you wouldn't have to worry about the house so much."

Well I mulled it over for about three days. I'd never had a house cleaner. Mom was my house cleaner. I didn't even KNOW anyone that had ever had a house cleaner. It seemed extravagant and a little lazy. I decided to try it anyway. Once a month.

They came, two girls, and cleaned 2000 sq. ft including toilets, showers, tubs, sinks, sheets, windows, floors and all in downstairs in 2 hours. It would have taken me an entire Saturday and it still wouldn't have all gotten done. It was wonderful.

Two weeks went by, then three and Bryon said, "Maybe we should see if they could come every two weeks." I asked and they came. It was wonderful.

For the next three years every other Friday I came home to a spic and span house. No shower scum, no stinky toilet, not trash in the cans and shiny clean floors. The girl who had recommended them suggested putting something in the crock pot for cleaning day so when I got home I'd have supper AND a clean house. I thought that was a pretty good idea and did do it several times.

Last week one of the girls called and said they couldn't continue to clean my house because one of them had gotten pregnant and wouldn't be able to continue and Heather said she just couldn't clean four houses a day by herself. I understand this dilemma. I can't clean one by myself. So now the cleaning I've been putting of because I knew the girls were coming is piling up, griming up and stinking up and now it appears I'm going to have to clean it myself. Sad. Sad.

It's easy to become spoiled. I like it. I went to Wal-Mart and spent $100 on cleaning supplies and a new vacuum for the wood floors for downstairs (ironically mine does NOT suck on the wood floors). Also ironic because $100 is exactly how much it would have cost me this month if they could clean.

I have some hope Heather will get another girl hired and the cleaning will eventually resume, but I fear my reign of leisure is over.

Did I ever mention I liked the having it cleaned? No tears please, I know it's a struggle you will share with me. Or laugh at secretly behind my back :) Either way, next time you visit, don't look too closely or critically at anything because it's the best I can do :)

Snow Play

Bryon went to Lebanon this morning to a gun show so I took Grace outside to build a snowman. She's been begging to build one and we finally had just enough snow to whip up a little one. We built snowmen, made snow angels then I tied the sled to the four wheeler and we sledded redneck style for a while. She loved it. I had fun too. When we came in we made hot cocoa. It was a pretty fun morning. The snow was almost all gone by the afternoon and Bryon and Grace took the new paintball gun to one of them and blasted it to pink snowdust.

Grace's First Dentist Visit

Grace had her first dentist office visit on Tuesday. She was so excited. She loves going to the doctor and says he misses her almost every day when we pass his office, so the idea of going to ANOTHER doctor was very exciting to her. I know, it's not normal but it sure makes those visits more pleasant. I'm just hoping she decides to become a doctor and not a hypochondriac :)

This was her "happy visit" where she just got to try out all the equipment. She get's to go back next Tuesday for the real thing and get her teeth polished.