Divine Adhesive

Big E. and Flash played "Can I have your nose?" tonight, a popular game at our house.

In tonight's version, Daddy asked if he could have Flash's hair. Flash was already giggling so hard in the middle of this game that he inadvertently said, "Yes.... no, no, no, no..." Too late. Daddy began attempting to remove Flash's hair.

Daddy: "Flash, I... urgh, ugh, umph.... can't seem.... grnt, grff, urnk.... to get... hup, hrp... your hair off."

Flash (giggling contagiously): "Daddy, tat's betause God glued it on."

Daddy, who was already struggling to keep his composure, collapsed with laughter.

Living in the Presence of the Undead

7 posts and I haven't even touched on any of things included in our header. Over the next few days, I'll try to give a brief (somewhere my sister is snorting - brief is not my strong suit) take on how each of those things plays out in our lives.

Big E. was born an entrepreneur - he comes from an entrepreneurial family - and he, at heart, is an entrepreneur. He loves the creativity and energy of the start-up environment. (Kenneth Cole once said that nothing provokes creativity like a budget and time restraints. I agree.) Anyway, Dan thrives there... which means we'll never be wealthy but my husband will always be excited and passionate about his work and tend to have a lot of flexibility in his schedule. I'll take it!

Our current business is limping along... it's sort of an undead business. It's not really deceased, but it's not really alive either. We do have a meeting with an investor this weekend, and for once, I have great peace about it. Not a protection wall (I will NOT get my hopes up) and not a build-up of excitement (This HAS to be the one), but just a steady, peaceful calm. I don't know if it's because of this particular investor or if I've just grown a lot in this process, but either way, "peace like a river" is turning out to be a lovely experience.

In the meantime, I am back to working on mission statements, resumes, and all the other varied business stuff I do with and for Big E. that remind me that once upon a time, I had a brain that worked on more than just "When am I going to fit that phone call in around school, laundry, snack and our walk around the neighborhood?"

I pray that the Lord will grow His peace in your heart over whatever is causing you anxiety today!

I'd like to buy a consonant.

We have entered one of my favorite stages of toddlerdom... where only Mommy understands what the heck the child is saying.

JackJack has begun. Here are a few examples.
"Aye fas" said with eyes wide and a persistent nodding.
Translation: "I'm fast!" (an echoing of his older brother)

"Sna!!!!" Flash's version was "Hru sna!!!"
Translation: "Snack!!!". Flash's version: "Fruit snack!"

"Booze Coos"
Translation: "Blues Clues"

Love it, love it, love it.

Girl, Uninterrupted

I just got back from a four day trip to Orlando for a Mommy conference. The conference was great - good content, great speakers, fabulous music. But none of it held a candle to the hours and hours and hours of conversation with girlfriends. Some were friends I've had for a little while, some became new friends by the sheer amount of talking we did. 32 hours of chat will help get you up to speed on a girl's life.

I was shocked to realize how thirsty we all seemed for this kind of conversation. I thought I was the only one! But with little guys underfoot, every conversation seems to end with, "Oh. Uh oh. Okay, I gotta go. I'll catch you later."

I am so blessed to have a husband who loves to talk. Big E.'s parents have commented (more than once) that we talk more in a day than they do in a week.

But I'm beginning to get that much as I adore my husband, he has to work to really understand me. And vice versa.

But these women, they got it -- without five analogies or 3 different approaches. Nope, they got it before I even finished the sentence.

I have heard and I have been heard. And for some reason, that makes all the difference.

She takes after her mother...

At dinner tonight, we were discussing everyone's special talents, a favorite past time at our house. Daddy often tells involved night time stories in which our children figure as the heroes who must use their special talents to save the day.

Traditionally, Mermaid Princess' special talents have been to encourage everyone in her kingdom and to alway out think the bad guys. Tonight, however, we learned she has a new special talent.

Daddy: "And then Mermaid Princess use her special talent, which is....?"

MP: "I'm the one who knows what everyone should be doing. I tell everyone what to do all the time, and they are much happier because of it."

And to think, we read a book on bossiness after lunch today.

Ongoing pursuit of imperfection

As mentioned in the blog post below, I am currently in the throes of figuring out how to rid myself of an insidious perfectionism. There are a bunch of different parts to this, of course - one of which is figuring out how I got into this state, but another is finding practical applications to help me conquer the perfectionism beast.

This link explains one of my favorites because it works with my nature instead of against it... the concept here is how to do the best job you can on a task WITHIN A GIVEN TIME LIMIT. So, instead of a goal to write the best blog post possible, I have goal to write the best blog post I can in 15 minutes or less. There's still a goal, it still includes doing my best, but it keeps me from staying up all night crafting and recrafting my words for maximum effect when, in reality, no one is reading this blog yet but Big E.

And by the way, props to my friend Kathleen, a psychologist. Last year sometime, a mutual friend confessed she had a clutter problem that no system, no book, no amount of FlyLady seemed to master. I could barely restrain my glee at the thought of organizing a clutterbug... Kathleen pointed out (with an eyebrow raised) that my condition could be as problematic as our friend's. I dismissed it at the time, but oh dear, I do believe she's right.

Anyone else with a perfectionist streak that's getting in their way?

This is Jack Jack, about a year ago. I know, it's totally unhelpful for me to post photos that are so out of date, but I thought I'd practice, and I found this photo, and really who could resist?

I think I should have a caption contest.

My submission:
"Are there brakes on this thing?"

More up-to-date photos to come!

If they weren't so cute...

Kids, boy, they take a lot of work. It's an every day all the time kind of deal... but then, just when we're contemplating if they have a warranty and where we might have put the policy, they say things that make us split our side. And then we it's all we can do to not freeze them and refuse to let them ever grow up.

Today's tidbits:

Mermaid Princess: "Watch out everybody, Mommy's coming, and she's a... a... Cerrano-saurus-tops!"

Later in the day...

Mommy: "Flash, if I lick you 100 times, will I find candy in the middle of you?"
Flash: "No, Mommy, that's silly."
Mommy: "Why not?"
Flash: "Because Mommy, I'm made of plastic."

Yup. They're keepers.

Introductions

There are five of us in the house, and despite heavy campaigning by the two eldest children, we are neither having a baby nor getting a dog in the near future.

"Mermaid Princess" is 4 and a half
"The Flash" is 3 and almost a half
"JackJack" is 1 and a half
"Big E" is 33 - oops, no, he's 34 now.
And I am 29, for the 7th time.

Photos to come, but if I wait to have all my photos together to post this first blog, who knows when it will happen? In fact, I'm proud of myself for going ahead and posting without the full blog treatment. I've been trying to live by my new motto - one given to me as pep-talk for perfectionists...

"If it's worth doing, it's worth doing poorly -- as long as it gets done."

Not a statement anyone will read in a 'success book', but it has been a blessing to me (and my family) as I start to put it into effect. It's hard for me to leave something at 80 or 90% of what I know it could be... but since that last 10% often seems to take as much time as the original 90%, I'm learning to let it go in favor of delighting in the relationships around me. Pray for me!