Hooray!

You guys - he passed BOTH tests! And I can't even tell you what an obvious God thing this was. Not saying anything at all bad about Nick, but he just did NOT have as much time as he needed to study. At. All. In fact, he only got to crack the study book on the second test yesterday. And these tests are hard! Not only is the material complicated, but the questions are purposely confusing. Perhaps that's to make sure the test takers are really using their investigative skills, but I'm more inclined to think that it's because if you pass they refund ALL of your money. Yep - his whole $98 is coming back to him, which means he can use it to register for the next two tests!

Thank you so much to those of you who stopped to pray - it really helped! The kids and I stopped what we were doing every half hour and prayed for him during the testing, and he was sure praying all the way through!

God is so good!

*Edited to correct myself - I was confused on the refund issue. Nick just let me know he will get reimbursed, but it will come from work, not the testing company. 

Just a quick request...

I would really appreciate it if those of you who pray would send up a prayer for Nick today. He will be taking his ASE tests this evening, and he's really nervous about them. Thank you!

Catching up

I hope you all had a great Memorial Day! We didn't really do anything on the day of because Nick had to work (boo!), but on Saturday we joined a good friend of his for a family cookout/camp out by the river. The kids had a blast, and we all really enjoyed ourselves. 

Daisy rocked her new hot pink tankini from Aunt Kate, Morgan made a few new friends, and this guy ran and ran and ran and picked up and threw every ball he came across. We usually get his hair cut every couple of weeks but Nana (Nick's stepmom, who cuts our hair) was on vacation last week, so he missed a cut. I think I'm going to have her start leaving it a little longer on top, because this fuzzy baby head charmed people for miles around, his mama included!

My parents unexpectedly took the girls overnight tonight, so after Nick got off work we went and had dinner using a gift card he got as a tenure gift from work. Money is crazy tight right now, so this was a really neat blessing, and I loved the time with just my guys.

Nick's hands are still not healed, but I got that spanking tonight. It turns out that his left (dominant) hand is not nearly as bad, and his problem is more with his pinch grip than his ability to hold onto something (like a paddle) with his whole hand. Either way, he was plenty able to get his point across.

When he was ready for bed he asked me if I was ready for the spanking, and after minimal hemming and hawing I obeyed and followed him upstairs. He pulled out one of the paddles he made - this one:

He had me bend over the bed, and he gave me 51 over my jeans (because he seems to think "one to grow on" is not just for birthday spankings). He spanked hard, as always, but I managed to stay in place through the whole thing. Then as he was putting the paddle back in the chest he spotted a riding crop and gave me one quick hard lick with it, just because he "hadn't used it in a while."

Afterwards, he apologized for making me wait so long, and I apologized for making him need to do it at all, and we snuggled up till he fell asleep, which is where I'm headed now, because it's bedtime!

Temporarily Handicapped

My friend Elizabeth posted this as her Facebook status and tagged her husband the other day. She's one of my very few friends that I've ever talked to about spanking (although in less than explicit detail), and I knew she was kind of into it. But it amused me to see her put it out there like that.

Around here all the implements are getting a bit dusty, but I've been promised a spanking on the serious side of things, mostly having to do with my seeming inability to follow through and finish some of my chores. I'm great at getting started, but I have a tendency to leave the clean laundry neatly folded on the chair in the living room rather than putting it away, and the kitchen table got stalled about 15 minutes away from being completely clean.

Right now though Nick is experiencing a curious inability to spank. I think I've mentioned that he got a ridiculously nice road bike from Kate and Will for Christmas, and he rides it a lot, especially now that the weather is getting warm. A couple of years ago when Kate and Will sold their lake house, they got rid of the (very nice) mountain bikes they had there by sending them home from Texas with Grant and Kelly. Will's had needed a little bit of repair work done, so they've sat unused in Grant and Kelly's basement. Some of Nick's coworkers are really into mountain biking, so Nick asked Grant if he would bring the bikes to us so Nick could see about repairing them, and maybe borrow one to use to go riding with some of the guys from work. 

Yesterday was their first ride, and Nick had a lot of fun, although he said it was much harder than he expected. Unfortunately he sustained some sort of injury to his hands, likely to do with gripping the handlebars too tightly during the constant jarring, and he's got very little grip strength in them right now. It's bad enough that it takes real effort for him to turn the key to start his truck. 

We've done the research online, and it seems to be a pretty common injury for beginner mountain bikers, with the prescription just being time and rest. So no more biking for a few days, and certainly no spanking. While I'm glad enough to put off a punishment, I'd really appreciate your prayers that he heals quickly. He's fortunately not in any pain, but just the inability to hold a grip could pose a real problem when he goes back to work on Monday. 

Anyway, that's what's going on around these parts. Hope things are going well for you guys!

A minute to breathe

I feel like it's been forever since I've put up a real post. It's just been so busy here. But right now Jack (sweet, busy, unstoppable, into-everything-even-stuff-you-didn't-know-you-had Jack) is passed out asleep on the couch, Morgan is at school, Daisy is painting a picture in the kitchen, the ground beef for supper is thawing in the microwave, and there's a load of laundry in both the washer and the dryer. So I'm going to sit down for a minute with my big tumbler of sweet tea and blog for a -

***We interrupt this peaceful moment to bring you the following real life sequence of events: Daisy got done painting and wanted a bath urgently. At this point my mom called to chat. Approximately one minute into the conversation Daisy got too impatient to wait any longer for her bath, so she began frantically yelling from the kitchen and leaning on the baby gate, which immediately fell, and the resulting crash woke Jack. I got off the phone with my mom, got Daisy in the bath, and got a fresh bottle for Jack, who of course showed zero interest in going back to sleep at this point. He wanted nothing more in life than to sit on my lap and drink his milk. So I attempted to pick the computer back up, but he wasn't having it, and at this point I could see Morgan walking home from the bus stop, so I had to go unlock the front door for her. 

She came in and started rummaging for a snack. She brought me our sole carton of strawberry yogurt and asked if she could have it, which Daisy heard from the bathroom and began loudly demanding that she wanted it for herself. She's honestly not usually this rude and demanding, but I guess every three year old has a selfish day now and then. I asked Morgan if she would rather have a brownie instead of the yogurt, which she was happy to do. 

This is when Daisy decided she needed out of the tub, so Morgan went and got her out for me since I had Jack. When Daisy followed Morgan to the living room wrapped in a towel and saw Morgan with the last of the brownies she decided to try to rip them out of her sister's hands. I immediately stopped her and made her apologize.***

 That's been up to the last few minutes. Currently Jack has allowed Morgan to settle him down with his bottle and blanket on the other couch, Morgan is playing music on her iPad, and Daisy is climbing back and forth from the back of the chair to the stairs. 

Me? I'm just trying not to attract any of their attention. I know that this is one of the hardest seasons of parenting, and just knowing that makes it a little easier. But I'm pretty stressed and exhausted these days. Nick has started going on bike rides after work on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Wednesday nights we have church, and of course all day on Sunday. Saturdays if he's off, he's busy doing things like working on cars or taking off the trash, or mowing the yard, all things I understand and appreciate. He's also studying for his ASE tests right now, which takes up the rest of his free time, and it's absolutely essential that he has this time to prepare.

The truth of it though is that I'm seriously needing some down time.

***Just got back from cleaning up the mostly full cup of strawberry yogurt, which Daisy left on the entertainment center and Jack dumped completely upside down on the floor, splattering the whole side of the couch in the process.***

Money has been very tight lately, but what I wouldn't give for $25 and a whole kid free day to spend thrift store hopping! Less expensively, but no less costly, I know I could use a good spanking, but it's not in me to ask right now, and Nick has enough to deal with as it is. 

***Pause to put Jack's diaper back on.***

I'm not managing my time or my stress very well, although I have been sticking with my bedtime pretty closely, at least as far as actually getting in bed.

***Pause to put Jack's diaper back on again. Try to locate the ringing cordless phone. Try to locate the no longer ringing cordless phone. Page the phone. Find it in my pocket. Call my mom back. Pass the phone to Morgan and try unsuccessfully to convince Jack and Daisy that the other couch would be much more comfortable than Mommy's lap. Change Jack's diaper. Watch helplessly as Daisy knocks my Macbook off the couch. Get up and go put Jack on the other couch. Daisy runs off to try to climb the baby gate in front of the stairs. Jack gets up to join her. ***

On another topic, did everyone have a nice Mother's Day? Mine was good. Nick took us out to lunch after church, and Morgan helped me cook the hamburgers that night for dinner. I made all the gifts this year. Excuse my crappy photo backdrops - I was just trying to grab a few quick shots before bedtime the night before:

Infinity scarves for Mom and Nick's stepmom.

 Burlap wreath with handmade flowers for Nick's stepmom.

 Burlap wreath with handmade flowers for Mom using the fabrics from her kitchen makeover.

 You are my sunshine canvas art for Kelly.

 Upcycled mason jar vases for Mom (the blue one) and Nick's stepmom (clear).

***Pause to put Jack's diaper on......again, this time a fresh one.***

Pillow covers (I made one for both) for Faith and Melanie who are both due end of November/beginning of December.

***Pause to run upstairs to retrieve Jack, who bypassed the baby gate by wriggling through the banister.***

I sent Kate this leather and suede banner (which can also be found in my shop).

***Pause to get Jack down from the surround sound box and reset the controls so that the TV works again. Run to the kitchen to retrieve the bottle he tossed through the window.***

Not pictured was Nick's grandmother's gift, which consisted of a set of 16 blank notecards similar to these:

Source

Except mine were bigger and a little more elaborate. I used hearts, flowers, and butterflies, and each one was unique with multiple shapes. I made her some for Christmas, and she asked me if she could buy some more from me (like I'm going to charge her). 

***Pause for Jack to climb up on my lap and shove his whole hand in my mouth.***

I also included a 3x5 magnet of Jack (free from Shutterfly) three singed satin poppy pins, and three 8x10 photo collages (free from Walgreens), one of my kids, one of Kelly's baby, and one of Kate's kids. I packaged everything but the 8x10s up in a handmade felt zipper pouch. 

We gave her stuff to her on Friday. We all had hair appointments with Nick's stepmom, and she always has the appointment right before us, so I knew we'd see her then. Speaking of hair appointments, I got mine cut short (which I always end up doing come spring), and we got Daisy's cut too. This was her first major haircut. It's just above her shoulders, and it's SO CUTE!.

In other news, I've got these in my shop now:

***Pause to answer the phone, which Daisy has just taken away from Jack. It was my mom calling to let me know that Jack had managed to turn the phone on and dial her.***

And it's now a solid three hours since I started this blog post, so I'm going to say goodbye and try to get dinner done before Nick gets home from his bike ride.

Guess what!

I'm over at Heart and Soul today! Come check it out!

40 Questions

I was looking back through my archives and found this survey. So, obviously I've posted it before, but it was 8 years ago, so I'm pretty sure most readers haven't seen it, and a few of my answers have changed anyway. Feel free to copy if you'd like!

40 question survey

1. Have you ever finished off the popcorn and ate the junk from the bottom of the bag? Nope! I'm not really a fan of microwave popcorn. I generally need my popcorn to have caramel or white cheddar, or if I'm really lucky chocolate AND caramel!

2. Have you ever had sex in a tent? Yes. I'm fairly certain Morgan was conceived in one. :)

3. Have you ever had a secret crush on a teacher? Yes, although I didn't recognize it as a crush at the time.

4. Do you own more than 100 cd's? Nope. We have maybe 10, but we've got several thousand songs on iTunes. This survey is showing its age lol.

5. Have you ever been so drunk that you have passed out? Yes, a few times, but not in many many years. My entire drinking career spanned a few months when we first got married. I never tasted alcohol until I was married, but I wanted to know what all the fuss was about, so with Nick there to take care of me I indulged a few times. It only took once getting really, really sick followed by a nasty hangover the next day to convince me that there were better things to waste my money on.

6. Have you ever dated a goth? No.

7. Have you ever regretted a date? Yes.

8. Have you ever seen a ghost/ufo? No/no.

9. Have you ever done anything you could be arrested for? Yes.

10. Have you ever done anything you could go to jail for? Not unless they took skinny dipping REALLY seriously.

11. Have you ever broken a bone? I broke my wrist when I was five.

12. Have you ever crashed a car? Yes, a few times, although only once seriously.

13. Have you ever fallen off a bike? Yes - a very painful and dramatic memory of when I was six. I wiped out in our driveway and cut my knee pretty badly. My mom had company over and was less hysterically alarmed than I thought she should be, so outraged and indignant, I swore immediately that I would not ride again until I was seven. I pushed my bike into the garage, leaned it against the wall, and didn't touch it again until my seventh birthday, when I climbed on it and ventured out again. I try to remember that story these days when Morgan is red-lining on the drama meter.

14. Have you ever refused a date because of what your friends might think? No.

15. Have you ever listened to a song and cried? Yes. "Still in Love with You" by Brooks and Dunn tore me apart when I was 16 and the object of my unrequited desire was graduating high school and going off to college. I run into him occasionally these days at alumni functions, and I can't imagine what I ever saw in him. 

16. Have you ever seen your favorite band/singer perform live? Yes! We saw Metallica in Nashville.

17. Have you ever been found sleep walking? No.

19. Have you ever watched a Tomb Raider movie without being aroused at some point? Yes. Once upon a time I thought Angeline Jolie was pretty hot stuff, and she's certainly still beautiful, but I'm not really aroused by women. Indiana Jones on the other hand...

20. Have you ever dated someone a decade older than you? No.

21. Would you date someone a decade older than you? No, but only because I'm happily married (incidentally to a man 18 months younger than me). If I were single I wouldn't have a problem with a 10 year age difference.

22. Have you ever sent a prank call or email? No.

23. Have you ever been pregnant or gotten someone pregnant? Yes.

24. If not, would you like children? I love my children madly, but unless God has some crazy plan I don't know about, we're all done.

27. Have you ever had major surgery? One outpatient surgery.

28. Are you afraid of the dentist? Not so much afraid - I just hate going.

29. Do you have a tattoo? Yes.

30. Have you had any piercings done (not including the ears)? I've had my belly button pierced.

31. Have you ever been pooped on from the sky? I'm going to have to go with no on this one. But as a mother of three I've been pooped on from ground level a time or two.

32. Do you like scary movies? Not horror movies of the Jason and Freddie genre, but I love to watch psycho-thrillers with Nick right beside me.

33. Do you like your job? I LOVE my job!

34. Do you get along with your parents? Most of the time. My mom and I occasionally get on each other's nerves, but I was just telling Nick the other day how as the years have gone by we've become better and better friends. It's a rare day when I don't at least talk to her on the phone 2 or 3 times.

35. Do you still have all your grand parents? No. My last one passed away 5 years ago.

36. Have you ever had a date with someone you met online? No.

37. Do you ever wish you could relive your childhood? High school, maybe - knowing what I know now. But probably not.

38. Have you ever beat up your computer? No, but I've been tempted.

39. Have you ever watched The Goonies more than twice in a day? No. I'm notorious for never having seen numerous old movies (E.T., Dirty Dancing, any of the Star Wars movies, for example). My parents never took us to the movies when I was growing up for whatever reason, and we didn't have cable until I was almost out of high school (and then only basic cable - no movie channels). I did, however, finally watch The Goonies with Nick, but I've only seen it the once.

40. Have you ever wondered why you fill this crap in time after time? I'm kind of a sucker for memes.

Yes or No Meme

This one came from Bas, Sunny, PK, and about 50 other people, so I'm jumping on. :)

Have you ever:

Shot a gun?  Yes
Watched someone die?  No
Served on a jury?  No, but I was called once. They excused me though because Morgan was a baby, and I worked nights, so I was the only one there to watch her during the day.
Flown on a plane?  Yes
Swam in the ocean?  Yes
Cried yourself to sleep?  Yes
Been camping in a trailer/RV? Yes
Rode on an elephant?   No, but I watched James ride one at the zoo when he was about 2.
Rode on a camel?  No
Been lost?  Yes
Eaten just cookies or cake for dinner?  Yes
Been on TV?  No, well unless you count congregation shots of our old church, whose services used to be aired locally.
Been on the Radio?  Yes, once when I requested a song for Nick.
Been in a car accident?  Yes, probably close to a dozen, although most were not my fault, I wasn't driving in all of them, and only one was serious.
Donated Blood?  Yes
Got a speeding ticket within the last 12 mos.?  No
Gotten a piercing (not ears)?  Yes, I had my belly button pierced many years ago before we were married, but it came out when I started showing in my pregnancy with Morgan.
Gotten a tattoo?  Yes
Flew in a hot air balloon?  No, but I've always wanted to.
Flew in a helicopter?  No, but again I always wanted to. Nick was going to have us taken up for a trip over the mountains several years ago around our anniversary, but the weather turned nasty.
Gone parasailing?  No, but it always looks like great fun.
Been on a jet ski, snowmobile or dune buggy?  Yes, a jet ski. I've never even seen a snowmobile - we never get enough snow here to warrant one. And I've never ridden in a dune buggy, but I rode in numerous go karts as a kid.