You're kidding me, right?

I've probably used this title before, but it fits. Back when I traveled as a Leadership Consultant for my sorority (yes, every business traveler who asked, I AM a Professional Sorority Girl. Good grief), I found that sometimes I would encounter situations that the only words that I could form in my head were:

You're Kidding Me, Right?

That eventually got shortened to YKMR, which I pronounced both in my head AND out loud. Yawk-mur.

Examples when this was used during my year of consulting:

We have formal recruitment starting in 2 hours and you have no idea how to download the list of 400 young women who will be showing up for recruitment parties? YKMR.

Instead of actually balancing your financial books, you've just been adding and subtracting random numbers until it matches what the bank statement says? YKMR.

Just like then, life seems a bit out-of-control at the moment, with very little chance of reining itself in any time soon.

You have 3 kids until the age of 5, one who just started crawling, and you're renting a home filled with half-unpacked boxes (because you have nowhere to put some of the things and you don't need half of them NOW and you probably don't need some of them at all) and have a storage facility filled with more boxes and you're building a home and you've changed the house plans at least 5 times and now have decided to add in a half-bath (because seriously-- why didn't you think of that 2 months ago?) and you're homeschooling the eldest one for Kindergarten even though she's really only in Preschool and your husband has developed the habit of calling at 6 to mention that he invited a coworker to dinner and they'll be there in 30 minutes, which you really don't mind because one of your goals is to be more hospitable under every circumstance and you're anemic (yay! Again! What fun!) and you need to exercise, but there's that pesky anemia thing that isn't helping you out in the energy department, and when you were asked to be an advisor for your sorority now that you're back in town, you said YES?

YKMR.

And that was my 10-minute Tuesday, courtesy of Rachel Balducci. I haven't written in so long that it seemed far harder than you'd imagine, but it sure felt good to get my insanity out of my head and onto paper. Now to conquer my life (YKMR?). Hee hee.

Grandparent question- advice wanted!

Howdy! Not much goin' on these days in my neck of the woods.

Except the fact that I have a 5 1/2 month old baby. With 2 teeth. Who just tried rice cereal for the first time today.

And the fact that said baby has had one final blood transfusion, post-birth (for a grand total of 5 transfusions since her conception).

And the fact that my 2 "big kids" are both taking swimming lessons. And can ride bikes (well, with training wheels). How are my kids old enough to do that? How am I old enough to have kids who can do that?

And the fact that I got rid of my Facebook account. Or suspended it, or something like that. I needed a break from drama and thinking in terms of status updates and I (once again) wanted to think about where I stand on my family's privacy, particularly concerning my kids.

Oh, and my hubby got a new job, so the house is on the market, we're moving 2 1/2 hours away, and planning to build a house. So, I'm having to keep the current house immaculate at all times. With 3 kids, ages 4 and under.

Like I said, not much goin' on. :-)

Anyway, my grandparent question is this:

If you had the opportunity to ask your own grandparents ANY questions, what would you ask? 

My grandmother will be 93 this year (born in 1919) and my grandfather will turn 90 (born in 1922). I know all about how they met, what my grandpa did during WWII, and about their jobs when their kids were young. Reality has really started to set in-- I know how blessed I am that my mother's parents are both alive and that they know and love my children, and my children (the 2 older ones in particular) know and love them right back, and I also know that they won't live forever (now I'm about to cry!).

I'd like to do a series of "interviews" with them soon, and I know that, no matter what I ask, I'll still think up some question in 20 years and kick myself for not asking it.

So, what would YOU want to know about your grandparents? What questions would you ask? Which stories would you want?

And because I'm going to be so grateful if anyone is still reading this blog after my 6 month hiatus, here's a pic to make you smile. I may delete it at some point, so be sure to smile once you see it. :-)

Are you sure that baby is the same baby who took over 3 weeks to regain her birth weight (and a birth weight under 6 1/2 lbs, at that)? I think the baby in this picture ATE that baby.

Wrong number, buddy...

If we're Facebook friends, you may have seen this since I posted about it today. However, I wanted to update the blog but am too tired to think up something new and interesting, and neither child will nap (AGH!!!!!!!!!!). So, here is a true story from just before Thanksgiving.

The definition of persistence, or high school boy pathetic-ness...

Around a month ago, I got the following series of text messages from a high school boy, whom I'll call "Random" ("R") to protect his little fragile heart, in case someone out there knows him.

10:48 pm (Yes, I was asleep. I was 30 weeks pregnant and fall asleep in 20 minute increments before it's time to pee again)

R: Hi :)
R: Hey it's Random :b how ru miss

11:16 pm (After I ignored the first two messages... I only get 200 texts/month with my plan. Not wasting them on this kid)

R: U awake?
Me: Wrong #
R: No u gave it to me today
R: Brooke right?
Me: No. Goodnight
R: Oh... Ok sorry

THE NEXT DAY
1 pm (note: I'm at the Ob getting an ultrasound... dude, you don't WANT to know me... I'm 32 and have a belly the size of a beach ball now!)

R: Hey, r u sure you don't know me, I go 2 (removed) high an u just gave me ur # yesterday

2:13 pm

R: Hey...

Sometimes, I want to text back and say, "OH... RANDOM! This is Brooke. Now I remember meeting you!" But that's just mean. But when I have to pee 30 times a night and never sleep, it becomes tempting. The other (nicer) part of me hopes that he found Brooke's real number. Maybe he thought they'd really connected that night. Then again, if Brooke purposefully gave him the wrong (MY) number, she had better watch out because a sleepy pregnant woman is going to be on the lookout for her...

 

Quick Takes (Vol. 14)

Part of me can't believe that it has been nearly a month since my last post. Another part of me isn't surprised, because I've been contemplating backing off of blogging... possibly for good. I keep so much of my life private, and with Baby #3 on the way, I don't anticipate starting to share more. In fact, I have a feeling that I'm going to be even more protective of our privacy. This makes blogging somewhat difficult, as you might imagine. However, I need some Prayer Buddy prayers, and I'm not 100% ready to leave the blogging world just yet!

1. Prayer buddy, I need you. I am SO tired and I think the stress of the transfusions (and life in general) has finally hit me. The positive attitude I've adopted throughout all of this is still there, buried somewhere, but the past few days have made that attitude had to find. I'm not sleeping-- I spend the majority of the night peeing, attempting to flip over, getting hot and cold and hot and cold, fighting off heartburn (the current bane of my existence), finding no room for me and the hubby and the baby belly in (a queen sized! We should all fit!) bed, and waking up for hours at a time in the middle of the night and thinking about everything under the sun (moon?). I had a minor fender-bender the other day, and completely lost it emotionally-- I was being so careful maneuvering our shiny red truck and it didn't even matter. It felt like some cosmic sign saying, "See-- NOTHING is in your control these days."

2. I told my perinalogist about my exhaustion and how 3-4 doctors appointments a week, plus 3 fetal blood transfusions within two months, plus getting ready for the holidays, plus having two little ones, plus driving up and down the road twice a week for Mother's Day Out so I can actually go to all of my appointments, plus keeping up with regular life (cooking, cleaning, preparing to have another baby) have completely worn me down. He gave me the best advice ever: make a list of everything I need to do each day, then cross off two things.  This meant that yesterday the kids didn't go to Mother's Day Out and I called and cancelled my dental appointment. I had a perinatal visit in the afternoon and the kids' Christmas program in the evening-- this meant I was gone from 1:30 pm until 9 pm. That was definitely enough, without adding two extra round trips, of an hour each.

3. Only one more fetal blood transfusion to go, a few days after Christmas. My scarred and bruised belly is ready for these to be over. When little B turns 16 and drives me crazy begging to drive the car/go on dates/not hang out with her siblings, I'm going to pull up my shirt and show her just how much I loved her before I even met her. It's like a war zone on my stomach, so this should be effective.

4. One of the first time's I've agreed with anything our current President has said: "Why would we want to have a whole bunch of people who we don't know knowing our business? That doesn't make much sense." He was referring to his girls not being on Facebook. This is what I'm talking about when I think about no longer blogging.

5. I do have some very exciting news that I want to share with someone, but I don't want to jinx it. Let's just say that I REALLY need a haircut and highlights, and to whiten my teeth within the next two weeks. Losing 10-20 pounds would also be nice, but I don't think that would be a healthy option at 33 1/2 weeks of pregnancy.

6. I LOVE the blog of the prayer buddy for whom I'm praying. I have enjoyed learning about her and her blog has been wonderful with giving me very specific things to pray for this Advent season. She's a blogger I wasn't familiar with before, and I can relate to her in so many ways.

7. The video below cracks me up. I especially like the fairy comment and the "Away in a Manger" song. I think (hope) C has a better grasp of the Christmas story than a couple of these kids, but I have to laugh because I've definitely experienced the "huh?" moment when she's explaining all kinds of other things to me.

A Tale of a Baby and Blood

Oh, the irony. The very blood that kept me alive five years ago now threatens the life of my unborn daughter.

A bit of background info: I've had ulcerative colitis since 2002 and became severely anemic in 2006. I had to have a blood transfusion, and received blood that was incompatible with mine in terms of two particular antigens-- one of them being one of the most dangerous for women of childbearing age. It's not an Rh isoimmunization (which is why Rh negative moms receive RhoGAM), for the record. I developed antibodies against the antigen, and first discovered what had happened when I was pregnant with C, our firstborn. My husband has the antigen to my antibodies, and so with each pregnancy, if the baby also carries the antigen, my antibodies become more specific and deadly-- they target both the baby's red blood cells and his/her bone marrow production. This causes the baby to become anemic, which is why I have to see a perinatalogist on a regular basis. The antibodies have been an issue with my two other pregnancies, but this is the first time that it's incredibly serious. My daughter is becoming very anemic and has to receive several blood transfusions while in utero, and then likely within a couple of months of her birth.

I think my case would drive an abortion proponent up the wall. I've heard the argument that children in the womb are essentially parasites, leaching nutrients and life from their mother. In reality, especially in my particular case, it's more the opposite-- I welcomed a child inside (knowing fully-well what might happen when my husband and I "did what we did," because after two babies we've sort of figured out how that kind of stuff happens...), told her to get comfortable for the next eight-nine months, then proceeded to attack her for months, making her anemic. THEN, instead of blaming this child for complicating MY life (amniocentesis; cordocentesis; tons of extra doctors appointments; traveling for fetal blood transfusions; having to rearrange my husband's, kids', and my schedules; skipping over our 2-year-old's birthday party because there simply wasn't time), I continually apologize for making her life so rough now and keep topping her off with fresh blood, so that I can meet her face-to-face someday and snuggle with her.

Additionally, there's no doubt that this being growing inside of me is a human-- her very own self, with her own blood, and the capacity to have entirely new (human...) donor blood injected into her body in order to sustain her until birth. During each transfusion, there is a team of around 20 people in my operating room. Around half of them are working on/monitoring me or prepared to deliver my daughter in the event her heart rate drops, and the other half are prepared to work on my daughter in the event she is delivered. At 29 weeks, she is much more than "viable." For the next six weeks, the womb is still her safest place to be, so we hope that she stays "inside," but life outside the womb no longer poses the huge risks to her life that it did when she was several weeks younger.

And what does this mean about the possibility of any future children? Don't ask me that now. HERE is where I am NOW. THIS baby, THIS girl, is who I have to focus on for the time being. I've slowly been coming to terms with the possibilities that lie ahead of us, but now is not the time to think that far ahead.

All I know is that I love this girl. This tiny being who kicks and stretches and hiccups and attempts to shove my bladder (and every single internal organ) out of my body in the middle of the night. Is she worth all the trouble? OF COURSE! The only question in my mind is, am I worthy as a mother of all this trouble? We are so blessed by modern science and skilled doctors and having family in our state who can travel and take care of our children. At every turn, we've seen the hand of God, and felt His presence, and known His mercy and blessings. I want to be a woman, a mother, a wife worthy of these precious blessings whose lives have been entrusted to my care. As humans, I think we are naturally selfish creatures who want our lives to be uncomplicated. But you know what-- all lives are complicated. We don't always know what sorrows or burdens or trials another has to face. We struggle and sometimes we succeed, but sometimes we don't. All we can do is try to live our lives as unselfishly as possible, thinking of others ahead of ourselves. That's what mothering and marriage is all about, anyway. Laying your own life down for the sake of another. I'm blessed that God has given me this opportunity to put this into practice.

Please keep my sweet girl in your prayers.     

29 weeks

(she doesn't actually look this wrinkly... it's just that the one 3D image that the sonographer burned to a disc happened to look a bit wrinkly)

A reflection on sin... and stinky potatoes

It's a smell that, when you've identified it once, you never forget.

Back when Lauren and I lived together in our single, working-gal days (for three years- longer than my son has been alive!), we once had a very unpleasant experience with our pantry.

For almost a week, we both kept smelling something that wasn't quite right in the pantry. Neither of us mentioned it to the other, privately thinking that the other one REALLY needed to learn not the throw away super-stinky things, and to take the trash out more regularly if one of us did throw something disgusting away. Each day, though, despite our clean trash can and fresh liners, the smell continued to grow and permeate the kitchen. Along with the smell came the fruit flies. After a few days, the fruit reached Egyptian-plague proportions. Individually, again, both Lauren and myself searched our own sections of the pantry to rule out the idea that either of us might be "responsible" for the smell and the pests.

Finally, when neither of us could stand the stench and bugs, we talked about it and went hunting together for the source. It turned out that Lauren had an old bag of potatoes in the very back of the bottom shelf, and these potatoes had almost completely liquified.

What? You've never seen liquified potatoes? Then you, my friend, have not lived. It's a sight-- and smell.

Fortified by the straight shots of vodka that I poured down her throat (to mask the smell completely AND to give her the courage to clean out the nasty mess), my brave roomie wiped and bleached and rinsed and bleached again. Soon the odor, flies, and muck was gone, and the pantry shelf was not only clean again, but it was even more pristine than before. It inspired us to wipe down the other shelves so that they, too, sparkled.

So, Lisa, what does this have to do with sin?

All too often, we know something is not right in our lives and we feel weighed down by the burden of sin, but we ignore it, or only take a cursory glance at the interior of ourselves. However, like the rotting potatoes, sin can overwhelm all that is good and pleasant in our lives. We need a way to identify sin in our lives, and sometimes we need someone else to help us see patterns that start us on the path toward sin. The more regularly we go to Confession, the better able we are to recognize the "stink" sin is creating in our life, especially if the priest helps us to see how to recognize the early signs of the sin starting, or the small steps away from God that lead to larger sins. Had Lauren or I noticed that the potatoes were starting to head south, we could have avoided the liquefaction, smell, and bugs. It's not enough to just throw the potatoes in our trash-- we need to bag them up, say sayonara to them when the trash man comes to take them away from the sanctity of our home, and scrub out the interior.

After coming home from my ACTS retreat this month, I opened the pantry and noticed a smell, despite the fact that I knew M had just taken out the trash. On the retreat I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Confession. Plus, without a cell phone for four days and around only women for that time, I was rested, soothed, and anxious to get back to my vocation as mother and wife without delay-- no more being lazy! I pulled out the bag of potatoes and examined each one as carefully as I had examined my conscience prior to Confession.

Hmm... nothing wrong at all with the potatoes.    

However, I was positive that I'd smelled that exact same stench before, and I wasn't going to let it take away from the order I wanted to create and maintain within my home. I pulled out almost everything from the pantry until, lo and behold, I came across a sweet potato that had soured. I knew it! I double-bagged it, scrubbed the pantry shelf, rounded up all the other trash in the house, and took the now-full trash bag to the garbage can outside. I refused to allow that foul odor remain in my home even one minute longer, ruining the smells of afternoon fall baking and morning cups of espresso.

Several months ago, I commented on Little Catholic Bubble about how a priest once explained sin to me, during the sacrament of Confession:

Imagine that you are a house. You were perfectly built, with strong foundations and walls. Each time that you sin, even secretly and known only to you and God, you add filth and decay to your home. At first, the effect is not pronounced or obvious to anyone else. But, over time, the foundation of the home begins to weaken and it can no longer support the walls. Your relationships with others suffer because you are so preoccupied with preserving your own "home" and hiding the decay from others. Confession serves as a Divine housecleaning service and gives you the tools to repair your foundation and put your home back in order. It also gives you incentive to keep it neat and tidy. Just like a good Spring cleaning, you WANT to keep the house clean (not sin... that's our analogy, remember) when it's so sparkling and pristine again. You've got the Ultimate Carpenter helping you every step of the way, because you've invited him back into your home to help you make things right.

 From 2002, at my parents' home. Lauren and I have been friends since 1996! 

*I recently put all of my photos up on a shelf and can't reach them very well, so I went with the first one I came across of just the two of us that I had digitized.

ACTing up

I'm off to an ACTS retreat for the next 4 days. Any prayers you can send my way would be appreciated!

I seriously can't stop laughing

I know this isn't super-new, but it has me struggling not to pee in my pants right now.

OK, I had put up the YouTube link, but just watched it and realized the "questionable" words weren't bleeped out...

So, HERE is the Hulu link. You can also click on the photo to go to the link.

There's a good chance that if I wasn't married to the most handsome man on earth, I might try to convince Michael Bolton to fall in love with me.

When he gets to the "mystical quest to the Isle of Tortuga" part, I can't stop laughing. 

So, what do you think? If you laughed, let me know.    :-)

Baby Announcement

18 weeks with Baby #3 (a girl!)

If this little one is anything like her siblings, and only likes to "cook" for 36 weeks, then we're halfway there. See you soon, sweet girl!

Note: This is the only time you'll EVER see a baby bump photo, at least one that shows my skin. I'm not much into them, but wanted to have one shot to document this pregnancy.   :-)

In the kitchen: Condiments

Hee hee... Lisa said "Condiments"...

Wait... am I the only one who has the humor of a sixth grade boy and laughs when I hear that word?

How embarrassing.

Anyway, I've been planning for months to add some of the basic, non-meal recipes that I make in the kitchen. All of these condiments/sauces are made with things that I always have on hand, and I started making them fresh because 1) otherwise I'd never use enough of the store-bought kind to justify the expense (except salsa... that's like water in Texas), 2) I like not being reliant on the store for quick-and-easy things to make, and 3) they taste good and I can make the decision as to how much sugar/salt to include, and can vary it based on who's eating it. The honey mustard dressing came from having the world's most random craving for honey mustard with a roasted chicken salad. I've never found a store-bought honey mustard that tastes anything like restaurant honey mustard, and then I found the recipe included below. Hopefully this next week I can keep up with posting some basics like these, including homemade cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soups.


Honey Mustard Dressing

- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Now, follow these tricky directions carefully...

Whisk it all together. Cover and store in refrigerator.

Did you get all that? I know... this requires some serious culinary skills. :-) I love this on spinach salad, and the kids think it's great to dip homemade chicken tenders in, or sweet potato fries (that one surprised me, too, but I tried it... it's tasty).


Soy-free "Soy" Sauce
 
- 2 cups beef broth (I use bouillon cubes and hot water if I'm out of boxed or homemade broth)
- 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon molasses
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 dash black pepper
- 1 dash garlic powder
- 1 dash onion powder
- salt to taste (I don't always use salt-- it depends on what kind of broth I'm using/what I'm making with the soy sauce)

Combine all of the ingredients in a sauce pan. Boil uncovered until reduced (I reduce to 2/3 c for the marinade below, but if you want to use it as a dipping sauce, keep boiling until it's reduced to around 1/2 c). You can store the sauce in the refrigerator-- be sure to shake it before using.


Pork Marinade

- 1 c cider vinegar
- 2/3 c soy sauce (I use the recipe above)
- 2/3 c brown sugar
- 2/3 T salt
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1 t pepper

Mix all of this together and pour into a bag. Use to marinate 3 lbs of pork overnight. You can also use the marinade for chicken-- it tastes great!


Salsa

- 1 28-oz can whole, peeled tomatoes, undrained
- 1/2 bunch fresh, washed cilantro
- 3-5 cloves garlic-- too much garlic was the first time I "ruined" a batch of salsa... though really, it's hard to ruin if you taste test the whole way and add ingredients a bit at a time.
- onion-- this is subjective. I use less than 1/8 c, because as the salsa flavors mingle more over time, the onion can become REALLY potent. I often omit the onion completely, and it still tastes amazing. Too much onion was the second time I "ruined" a batch of salsa.
- 2-3 jalapeño peppers-- I use at least one with all of its seeds and one without. It's easier to add more "heat" with more seeds/peppers later than try to take it out!
- 1/2- 1 t cumin
- 1/2- 1 t coriander-- this is a spice you really should have in your cabinet. It's the "fruit" part of the cilantro plant, and I use it all the time in Mexican dishes. It's also used a lot in Indian cuisine.
- Kosher salt
- pepper

Pulse all of the ingredients in the blender. Add extra cumin/coriander/salt/pepper/jalapeños as needed. Cover and store in the refrigerator to let to flavors mix together.


Strawberry Syrup

- 3 c (1 lb) strawberries, mashed
- 1 c sugar-- you can reduce the amount. I use less than this for a "daily" version, and the full amount for "big deal" pancake breakfasts, like at the holidays
- 3 T orange juice

Boil all ingredients. Simmer until reduced to 1/3-1/2 original volume, around 15-18 minutes. Blend if desired. I use an immersion blender (kitchen necessity for soups and sauces!!) and blend around half of it, so I still have a few strawberry chunks. Serve warm.


Cocoa Syrup
takes 15 minutes to make; yield= ~3 c

- 1 1/2 c water
- 3 c sugar-- again, this amount can be reduced
- 1 1/2 c Dutch-process cocoa-- you can use regular cocoa, but I like the richness in the Dutch-processed cocoa
- 1/4 t Kosher salt (oh, Kosher salt, how I love thee when cooking!)
- 2 T light corn syrup-- this helps it keep its "flow-ability" and prevents crystallization
- 1 T vanilla

Boil the sugar and water together. Whisk in the cocoa, salt, and corn syrup. Reduce until slightly thickened (it will just start to coat the back of a spoon-- you don't want to get it too thick). Strain if desired (I don't) and cool to room temperature. Add the vanilla once cooler. Store in the refrigerator. I pour it into 2 clean squeeze bottles from previous chocolate syrups. You only need a tiny bit for chocolate milk-- guaranteed to be loved by kids and husbands alike! Also, you can heat it up a bit more on the stove or in the microwave and when it thickens up more, you will have a delicious fudge sauce to serve over ice cream... or fresh bananas, strawberries, and blueberries. Mmmm.

7 Quick Takes (Vol. 13), Slowly-Emerging-from-Hiding Edition

Yes, I'm still alive! I've actually gotten some e-mails asking this, so I'm happy to send out the official report. :-)

1. Well, after I mentioned that I would be calling down the wrath of the Scorpion gods by saying that their number was diminishing, I found three more live ones in the house over the next few weeks-- including one just two days later in the laundry room under the laundry basket! Another one ran under one of C's dress-up costumes. I had to run and grab something to smack it with, but it was gone when I got back. I picked up the costume (tulle skirt), shook it hard, and... nothing. My husband surmised that the beast had escaped elsewhere. Can you tell he knows NOTHING about the craftiness of scorpions? I shook the skirt even harder, and out tumbled the DA&% SCORPION. I knew it! I smashed him 1,000 times... because they. just. don't. die. easily.

2. To keep with this topic, I heard a crash on the back porch while I was cooking the other day and the kids were playing outside. C ran in to tattle tell me sweetly that H had knocked over our little basketball goal. As she headed back outside, she casually mentioned, "Oh, and there's a scorpion underneath it." After screaming that she'd BETTER NOT BE KIDDING ABOUT THIS, I ran outside, grabbed a flip-flop as a weapon, and flipped the goal over again. It was a big ol' mama scorpion... and that big ol' mama scorpion was COVERED in babies. See THIS if you want a (terrifying) idea of what it looked like.

She's now a dead mama scorpion with a whole bunch of dead babies.

And I don't feel the slightest bit guilty.

3. C and I are making a Confetti Cake today. How fun is THAT? It was supposed to be a while ago in honor of her namesake-saint's feast day, but life was hectic at that time. Click the photo below for the recipe we're using.

4. When I reminded C that we were going to have a (belated) party for Saint C's feast day, C asked if "she" was going to come to the party. I wasn't sure who she meant, and asked her. "St. C, " my little C said, "Is she going to come to our feast?" After I stopped laughing, I took the chance to tell her again how we're so lucky to have the saints in Heaven to pray for us, and how she's especially lucky to have Saint C looking out for her, and that I'm sure she'd be present with us at the "feast," just like how Jesus is always there with us in our celebrations and our sorrows and all the times in-between.

5. Thanks to Lauren, I started looking into Ron Paul for 2012. I'm loving almost all of what I've been reading! Currently I'm hooked on his easily-digestible latest book, Liberty Defined: 50 Essential Issues that Affect Our Freedom. You can read the first part (Abortion) on Kindle as a free sample if you want to get an idea of how the book is set-up, which happens to be alphabetically by essential issue. The English teacher in me loves this.

6. #5 leads me to this one, which I've stolen from another blogger. It's a video about how the media, including Fox News (though honestly, I'm not a huge fan of Fox News... despite my political leanings), has almost completely ignored Ron Paul, to the point of ridiculousness. Jon Stewart and I are rarely on the same page, but I do find him amusing sometimes.

7. We took the kids to the circus on Wednesday. I'm so spoiled now-- we were in a SUITE with its own private bathroom, fruit tray, chips and salsa and queso, popcorn, and drinks of all kinds. There was a little balcony to sit in and watch the circus, plus couches and chairs and bar stools. When you're taking two little ones to the circus, having a space to move around, plus eat, plus use a non-public potty, plus have access to water/soda/adult beverages, is just about my definition of Heaven (ok, a little bit off, but possibly not too far). And did I mention that this only cost us $30 TOTAL for the 4 of us-- AND we had free parking in a reserved lot RIGHT NEXT to the Frank Erwin Center?? See... quite close to Heavenly.

Bonus: I'm still annoyed with the fact that my blog updates so late/not-at-all in blog feeds. If you missed my post about Austin Fertility and Miscarriage Support, please read it and spread the word about this awesome ministry.

Sarah's Hope: Fertility and Recurrent Miscarriage Support

 This ministry needs your prayers! A blogger friend (who I look forward to meeting in person someday!) named Jen, who blogs HERE, started a new ministry in Austin for couples struggling with fertility issues and recurrent miscarriage. I know... she's awesome, right? Right.

One of the best parts... it's FREE! They're currently praying for a gentleman (or two!) to come forward to lead a men's support group as a counterpart to the women's support group. Couples/women don't even need to be Catholic or Christian-- it's open to everyone, but IS a spiritual support program. Please help spread the word to anyone you know in the Austin, TX area who might benefit from this program. Thanks!

Note: If anyone happened to have noticed that the date that I published this keeps changing, it's because I'm STILL having trouble with my blog showing up in blog roll updates, so I've been experimenting with this post in ways to get around the problem.