Heavenly Thoughts

This is a piece of a conversation that Morgann & I had while driving the other day:

Morgann: Mom, is Jesus real?

Me: Yes sweetie. Jesus is very real. He was born, grew up, died on a cross for our sins, then rose from the dead and went to heaven to wait for us.

Morgann: Oh. He's in heaven with grammy?

Me: Yep, with grammy :)

Morgann: So, is there a bedtime in heaven?

Me: Nope. I don't think you have a bedtime there.

Morgann: So I can stay up as long as I want? I don't have to go to bed?

Me: Yes, you can stay up as long as you want.

Morgann: Cool, I want to go to heaven!

Me: Well you will if you have Jesus in your heart.

Morgann: Wait, are there in toys in heaven too? Because if there aren't any toys in heaven, then it will be super-boring and I don't want to go there.

Me: Yes sweetie. I'm sure there are toys in heaven.

Morgann: Cool! Then I'm definitely going to go there :)

I'm so thankful that she has her priorities in order!!! But, I guess in 5 year old, toys are a priority, huh?

Something New, Take 2

We are a family of squash dislikers! Michael can't choke it down to save his life and I simply don't like it - steamed, raw, mashed, or otherwise! This, of course, means that our children don't like it either. Not so much because they've actually ever tasted it (and maybe they have), but they just assume they don't like it because we don't. So, there you have it, the ground-work for another Try Something New Night!

Tonight was spaghetti night, but in an effort to improve our eating habits and diet in general, I decided to bake a spaghetti squash rather than our typical whole wheat pasta. When I was a child, I remember my mother doing this to us, then informing us only after we had completed our dinner that we had eaten squash, rather than pasta. And, since we all ate it without complaint, assuming that we were eating mushy pasta, mom was rather pleased with her sneaky self.

Well, it seems that I learned a thing or two about being sneaky from my mom. I did the exact same thing to my children this evening - only Michael knew what we were eating.


Ian was the first to finish his salad, so he was the first to inhale his main course. As you can see, he had no problems finishing every last bite.

Morgann followed suit, as did Alex. They all ate, without complaint or question! And, when we informed them that they had just eaten a spaghetti squash, they seemed less than phased by the fact. Alex said that he knew it wasn't 'normal spaghetti' but he liked whatever it was.

Granted, the squash was covered in sauce and cheese, but at least we avoided the carbs!

Two TSNN's for mommy :) I'm on a roll!!!

Seeing with New Perspective

So, this is Alex's new look - I think he looks great! I am amazed at how grown up he looks with his new glasses! He's been asking me for a week if the vision store had called to say they were in, and they finally did last night. He has been super-excited about getting glasses, so we'll see how long this new-found enthusiasm lasts - I give it a week or less!

The Details

So, how did we end up with this little girl? Well, let me start by saying that it wasn't intentional or planned. It just sort of happened.

In a nutshell, she is a stray that a friend found. The friend brought her into the office where I was working yesterday and asked if we'd take her. I immediately said NO, but as you can see, that apparently meant nothing to him. After a day of discussions with him, then with Michael, the friend offered me $50 take her, which I could use for supplies or a vet bill. So, I called the vet who scheduled a 4PM appointment for us, and the rest is history.

She is a very healthy 2 pound kitten, we're guessing around 6-7 weeks old. Her only health issue was ear mites, easily treated by an irrigation by the vet, and 2 topical applications of a parasite preventative. Hopefully that will be her cure, and the mites won't suddenly spread to our other 2 animals.

But, she still has no name! Alex has suggested Lily, Morgann has offered Princess, and Ian is stuck on Coco. I've been pressing to find another home for her so that they can name her, but I'm outnumbered by everyone! So, I'm taking Katrina up on her suggestion!

I'm going to see if someone can make a name suggestion that my family will all agree on. There will be no prizes awarded, but you will have the satisfaction of naming a sweet little kitty, and, in turn, becoming an owner-by-proxy :)

Let the game begin!!!

Yeah! We have a problem...

...and she weighs 2 pounds and has no name!

Something New

Human nature is an amazing thing. Our instincts tell us to be cautious when something dangerous is about to occur. When something fun & exciting happens, we have an adrenaline rush. We tend to dig our heels in when we are being forced to make an unexpected change. And, when it comes to trying new things, well, you can probably guess where this post is headed!

Wednesday night is our newly appointed "Try Something New Night" at the dinner table. I have become very bored & tired of the same old thing, week after week, and have decided that it is now time to force the family to break out of our safe but hum-drum menu choices. My oldest, Alex, is the absolute worst when it comes to trying new foods - he's my super-picky child and if something even looks a little different (even if its the same old spaghetti or Gold Fish Cracker Chicken), he will inevitably turn his nose up and begin with the "What is this?" and "What is that?" rigamarole. So, "Try Something New Night" was created specifically with him in mind.

Tonight's dinner? Fish, sushi, shrimp cocktails and fruit (grapes, apples, strawberries, and kiwi). A really easy, but really healthy and light meal. And just as I expected, as soon as we sat down to dinner, the nose turned up and his mouth began to form the words that I have become so accustomed to. But, before he could utter a single sylable, I stopped him dead in his tracks and explained the rules of our new tradition.

1. You may not say that you don't like something! If you haven't ever tasted it, then you don't know if you do or don't like it, do you?
2. You must try at least one new thing. If you've never tasted it, then that qualifies as your new thing.
3. If, after tasting it, you truly do not like it, you are finished with it and do not have to consume the entire thing. But, if you do like it, then I would recommend eating it and smiling your approval to me :)
4. But, when all else fails, DO NOT say that you don't like something until it has been tasted.

I felt these rules were pretty straight forward and easy to understand and follow! But, with his nose still turned up, he began asking what various items were. I explained what was in the sushi rolls (crab, rice and "other stuff"), told him that the kiwi was a small fruit from New Zealand and is super-delicious, and then explained how to eat a shrimp with the tail still on it. I then served up our fish and allowed everyone to peruse the other items on the table, allowing them to choose their 1 new item to taste.

Morgann went straight to the kiwi and scarfed it down - she is my fruit girl, so this didn't surprise me. What did surprise me was that she so quickly grabbed her piece and ate it without uttering a single word. This, the child that threw a hissy fit in the middle of the produce department this morning because I was buying "that icky stuff that is nasty and gross". Surprise! She loved it and proceeded to eat 3 more pieces before I stopped her and reminded her that she still had fish on her plate to consume, and that there were other people sitting at the table that might want a piece too. So, she took a quick bite of her fish, then proceeded to try a sushi roll, then a shrimp! She was obviously in a daring mood this evening.

Another surprise was that Michael said that he didn't think he had ever tried fresh kiwi before, so he was the next to eat and smile.

Two for 5!

At this point, I looked at Alex who was still sitting there with a turned-up nose, not saying anything, but looking at me with pleading eyes, as if to say "Mom, why are you torturing me? What did I do to deserve this?" But already knowing the answer he would give, I asked, "So, what is your choice?", to which he responded with a sigh, "I'm still thinking".

So, rather than to continue to press the issue, I decided to sit & enjoy my plate-full of yummy food (since I chose & cooked it, there was nothing new on the table that I had to try - I liked it all!). Michael, who was inhaling his dinner (not eating lunch will do that to a person), decided to work on Alex by making some suggestions. He began with cutting a very small piece of shrimp and handing it to Alex. He told him that he would probably like it if he would just get passed himself and taste it. Not surprisingly though, his nose remained in the turned-up position and his pleading eyes and whiny voice told Michael that the piece was indeed too big, asking him to cut it a bit smaller. So, he did, then handed it back to Alex.

With much fear and trembling (literally), he took the piece, slowly placed it into his mouth, and chewed. The result? A smile!

My child, the one that never tries anything, cries when you even suggest that he try something, and insisted with every fiber of his being that he wouldn't like the shrimp, liked the shrimp! He ate several more pieces in between eating his fish, and even went so far as to try to coax his sister into eating another piece (she had tried one earlier, right after taking a bite of the sushi roll, but decided that she wasn't a shrimp fan).

So, my oldest son tried something new, liked it, and didn't die!

It was a truly satisfying night. I am praying that this tradition will force him to broaden his horizons and will teach him to be a bit more daring, rather than always so safe & cautious. Sometimes you just have to throw caution to the wind, you know?

Stars in Her Eyes

Morgann's curiosity has been peaked! It seems that she is becoming more & more curious about babies, and specifically, the female body and how exactly it works. I guess after watching one of my friends breastfeed her infant, then having a next door neighbor being whisked off to the hospital due to pre-term labor (by me), it was bound to happen sooner rather than later. I've been bombarded with many questions, some easily answered, others not so much! But, I seem to be navigating the waters of the female body well enough to suit a 5 year old. Thankfully the questions have been more about the 'whys' than the 'hows' of the female anatomy, but I figure that it will only be a matter of time before the 'hows' begin.

Meanwhile, during one of our recent discussions, Morgann was quick to inform me that she has made a decision regarding her future. She said that, first, she wants to be a mommy. She said that she plans to have a baby in her tummy until it is finished growing, then she will feed it 'booby milk' until it has teeth and can chew it's own food. All I could do was smile and nod since she was as serious as she could be. Once she has conquered that first hurtle, she has decided that she will indeed become an astronaut. And she was quick to inform me that it must happen in that order.

So, while I work on navigating the sometimes treacherous waters of human anatomy and physiology, Morgann will be working on her quest to conquer the great unknown :) It's a good thing that she enjoys adventure because both of her plans will require a brave soul!