On a fatness scale ranging from flamingo to whale, I'd rate how I feel today somewhere around a walrus.

So, time to check myself back into cookie rehab....back to Weight Watchers.

Cheese

Tsk Tsk.

So, Seth got in a little trouble today at school for mooning his class.

AND apparantly he's been doing it last last few days and the teachers didn't mention it until today.

Hm... so as hilarious as we might THINK it is, we had to take it seriously. SO, Seth had to stay inside today when he got home and wasn't allowed to go outside. Goodness Gracious he acted like the world was about to end. Poor guy.

Doubt he'll do it again though. I hope so... it kills me to punish him like that.

Pictures

SpongeSeth Squarepants

John saw his brother in the red chair, and kept fussing at me until I got out the yellow one for him too. I LOVE how much they love each other.

Every time I see this picture I think Seth looks like he's 8 years old. Seriously...he's really 4.

Good News

So, I got some great news from my friends this week!

Congratulations to Sarah and Bill on their engagement!

Bubble Gutts Revisited

Thurday afternoon I got another call to come pick up John...more bubble gutts. And this time since he was sent home in the afternoon, he wasn't allowed to return on Friday. I know his last canine is pushing its way up, but this bubble gutts seems to be a recurring problem.

Last week i read this blog that discussed the organic vs. regular milk debate, as milk prices climb. It was mentioned that the hormones and additives in non-organic milk can irritate asthma and respiratory problems in kids.

It occurred to me that all John's respiratory issues began around the same time we switched to formula. I know it's just a theory.... but between the asthma and the bubble gutts it made me wonder if John has a milk allergy of some sort. So now I am experimenting with different kinds of milk. Right now we're trying lactose free milk. His gutts are a little better and I don't think he'll get sent home tomorrow, but ultimately I won't really know if it's really working until that last tooth finally breaks through.

I realize that the status of my child's gutts is just SO incredibly exciting for you all, so of course I will keep you updated on the milk experiment.

Recap

Our internet connection has been down for the last few days, so I haven't been able to post much. I will try to catch you all up on what's going on in our lives the past week or so.

My frump day from last week turned out to be a frumpy several days. It took me a while to get happy again.... still not exactly sure why, but I suppose we all go through times like that. Yesterday I worked my butt off trying to get all the work done for the weekend so that I could spend the day today doing just was God commands us....to rest. I didn't exactly get it all done, but most of it...and what I didn't can wait until Monday. Church today was great! I left feeling excited and wanting more...and knowing that I could come home and not have to focus on the house was even more exciting. I managed to get in a nap while the boys napped, enjoyed playing at the park with the boys, and even went to church again in the evening for some more. I really feel like the work I did yesterday and my attempt and keeping the day "holy" was blessed, because I sure feel blessed today!

Addicted

Hi. My name is Carolyn and I'm addicted to Oprah's Big Give.

Have you seen this show? I cannot get enough of it. Last week I stayed up late just about every night to watch it and catch up on abc.com. Then I stayed up later imagining all I would do if given the chance to help people like that. It really is a high, inspiring, and I really hope they continue to do it!

If you haven't seen it yet..... the finale is coming up this Sunday at 8pm, but you can watch all the episodes on-line by clicking here.

What a weekend.

I don't really know what is with me this weekend. I've been really out of sorts, grumpy, unmotivated, and kinda feeling low. Why, I don't know ...it's not the usual time of month. In the last two weeks it has probably been raining for three quarters of the days. I feel like I've just been walking behind my children today cleaning up the messes, and not being much of a mom. I am overwhelmed by the work I have to do in the house this weekend and overall, I feel like I have a renewed understanding of the term "Rest" when people say "Rest in Peace" or a "Rest Home", cause some days I feel like the only time I'm every going to get to truly get some rest is when I'm 90 or in heaven. I also have a greater appreciation for the commandment to rest on the 7th day. Even when I get a break, and Dave takes the kids out, I feel guilty if I don't take advantage of the time to get some work done. Sigh.... maybe I'm just being hormonal.

Easter

Today was a cold rainy day and, except for a short trip to the grocery store, we stayed inside. The boys were restless and bored, so we dyed some eggs that we never got the opportunity to before Easter came.

Reminiscing - Seth Age 18 monthsish

Tonight at Dinner

"I don't want to eat my Cauliflower!"

"Don't you want to grow big and strong like Daddy?"

"No, I don't want hair on my chest."

Nothing Much

So, nothing much new here. The weekend was somewhat uneventful. The rain from the last week and half finally subsided and we had a beautiful warm sunny day Sunday.

I finally got to take Seth to the park to ride his new bike. He fell off a few times, but wasn't hurt and got right back on. He learned how to break a little better, but still forgets to when he's panicking (instead a tree helped him stop). He managed to maneuver around the parked cars that were hanging over the sidewalk and pedal both up and downhill. Overall, I'm very pleased with how well he is picking up bike riding. AND now that Dave has a bike too (which btw was his "big surprise" I mentioned in passing a few weeks ago. I can't wait for them to go out on rides together. I have my own memories of bike riding with my family, both on my own bike, and riding on the back of my parent's bikes.

It's that time of year again when Augusta gets bombarded by khaki pants and polo shirts and thousands of cars here for the Masters. Spring break is this week for all public schools so that families can get out of here and avoid the choas and congestion. Many families even rent their homes out to people for the week (usually for thousands) pay off a chunk of mortgage and fund their week-long vacation. This year we live literally just a few miles away from the golf course. (groan). Fortunately I was able to avoid a lot of the traffic by taking alternate routes to daycares and work this morning. So, hopefully it will stay that way through the rest of the week.

Bloggomercial

So... not to sound like an bloggomercial or anything. BUT We signed up for Netflix last week and I'm very excited about it. We were members a few years ago but stopped when we moved to TX. So, I finally decided to stop paying for late fees at Movie Gallery and join again. I'm surprised to find that now not only do you get to rent the movies but they have thousands of movies on-line that you can watch, and you can watch as many as you want! So... I've been trying to expand my mind and watch some documetaries after the kids go to bed. Here are some that I'd recommend.

Forgiving Dr. Mengele- A film about a holocost survivor who was used, along with her twin sister, at age 10 as a human laboratory animal by a German doctor in Auchwitz after she and her family were captured by the Nazis. Now in her 60s, she has forgiven the doctor and those involved in the experiments who caused the death of hundreds of twin children, including her own twin sister. This is story of her controversial message to everyone about the power of forgiveness; her travels back to Auchwitz on the anniversary of her release from the camp.; her travels to Israel to try to spread her message of forgiveness to Palestinians; and her struggle as a jewish woman in the United States since the war. It was a very emotion, tragic, but most of all inspiring story.

Born Into Brothels.. My favorite so far. This is a film about a photographer documenting the life of the prostitutes in the brothels of Calcutta's Red Light District, who falls in love with the children living there and decides to teach them about photography. With the pictures the children take, she takes them back to galleries in the US, raises money and puts the kids in good boarding schools so that they will have a chance of making something of their lives other than prostitution. It is an amazing story of such beautiful talented children and the hope you have for them as you fall in love with them. I applaud this photographer for what she is doing and hope she continues to help the children. Very Inspiring!

The Business of Being Born... Another very interesting film that confronts and challenges the medical system in the US for the dramatic increases in the use of medical intervention during one of the most natural processes that God created for womens' bodies to perform... giving birth. With this increase in medical intervention, the infant death rate has risen dramatically, and gives a picture of how we compare to other countries in the world. It confronts the need to go, kind of... back to our roots in a way and teach today's modern women about the impact that convience will have, and has had on our children today. It mainly confronts the financial motivations for making birthing a medical process, vs a natural process and how nowadays women have little choice due to stricter limitations by insurance companies, much less know what their choices might be. I found this very interesting, and it made me question some of my own decisions about how I birthed by babies.

I also watched A Life Apart: Hasidism in America. I found this very interesting because I didn't know much about Hasidic jews. It is a picture into their lives, the history of where they came from, and the uniqueness about them that has helped them preserve their traditional culture despite living in America, where we are all one big melting pot.