"I Like Lady Moxes"

Last night John took Hannah on a Daddy-daughter date. They went to watch the Lady Mocs play basketball against the College of Charleston. Before they left, Hannah kept asking what the team was called. When she finally got it down, she said, "Oh good! I like Lady Moxes!" More than the basketball game itself, she liked the cheerleaders and the halftime show, the Gym-Masters from Southern Adventist University. She liked wearing face paint and silly pigtails. She also liked the soft pretzels, popcorn (until she ate so much her belly hurt) and ice cream. This morning, when she woke up, she liked seeing herself on the 11:00 news we saved on the Dvr. I can't figure out how to embed the video, but here is a link.

But most of all, I think she liked spending time with her dad. She is blessed to have a dad who loves her and wants to share special moments like this one with her. I am blessed to have him for a husband. Thanks, John, for loving our girls!

Not quite 10...

Well, I was a little disappointed when I went to weigh in. I have lost a pound since last week, but it wasn't enough to break the 10 lb. mark. That's the frustrating thing about nursing- my weight fluctuates so much depending on how long Lydia slept that night or how much she eats or any number of other random factors. But it's okay, I'm still losing weight; I feel healthier, and my clothes are starting to fit right again.

10 down, 10 to go...

Well, unless the lovely weather today drives me to make a mad dash to Bruster's this evening (stranger things have been known to happen- and we have a gift card sitting right in front of me...) I expect to weigh in for our Biggest Loser competition tomorrow morning and break the 10 lb. mark. Hooray! John & I have been keeping track of Weight Watchers points as part of our new year's resolutions. Lydia is still nursing, so I've not been doing any heavy duty dieting, but I have been watching portion sizes and avoiding really bad foods (by the way, check out the worst foods in America, according to Men's Health, here. The number one will blow your mind.) We've cheated a little here & there because 1) We had to have brats for the superbowl. John's rule. 2) Well intentioned people keep leaving donuts in our Sunday School room- that is my BIGGEST weakness... And 3) We never pass up free food. That's my rule. If John orders pizza for a referee meeting, the rest is coming home. If they are throwing away food in the kitchen at church, I will be bringing home containers full. I hate to waste it, and I LOVE to save money on my grocery bill. I guess I'm cheap like that (isn't there a previous post about that?) Honestly, sometimes they throw so much away, I feel like we need to have a back-up plan to get the food to Community Kitchen. Anyone of you know how to go about doing that?

Anyway, back to the diet. We've cheated a little, but we've been pretty good. I'm probably going to blow it when my parents come into town this week, but that's ok. We've built up some pretty good habits, so that even when we blow it, we're not eatting as much (or as poorly) as we could be. If I blow it, I think I want to go to Five Guys. Or eat Mexican. Or a Chinese Buffet. Of course, there's always Bruster's...

Oh yeah- I found this hilarious blog about ridiculous cakes: Cake Wrecks. It is (mostly) helping me NOT want to eat cake. And conditioning my stomach muscles because it makes me giggle! If you check it out, you have to go back to see the entry from Christmas. It's one of my favorites.

Downsizing?

A few months ago, I noticed that the NutriPals snack bars I always buy for Hannah were on close-out at the grocery store. Usually they were around $6 a box, so I only bought them when I found them on sale or had a coupon. When I came across the close-out sale, I stocked up! My girl is a super picky eater, and with these bars she at least gets some nutrition even if she is just snacking while she plays or watches Max & Ruby. Well, the stockpile of snack bars ran out a week or two ago. Yesterday at Publix, Hannah saw them while I was picking out jars of babyfood. I noticed the price- $3.99 for a box. Now, we love shopping at Publix, but the deals there aren't that great... I wondered why they closed out the old only to bring back new, cheaper ones. Aside from a few new cartoon characters on the box, I was stumped- until after dinner when Hannah wanted a bar for dessert. I opened the box and pulled out the highly anticipated "s'mores bar" and started laughing. It was TINY! Like half of the size of the old ones! In fact, I had an old one in the diaper bag for "blood-sugar emergencies" (aka temper tantrums) so I pulled it out to compare.


It's hard to tell because the older bar got a little squished in our diaper bag (I carry everything but the kitchen sink; it's a wonder it didn't disintigrate all together!) but the old one was 1.41 oz, compared to .78 oz for the new one. Seriously? I mean, I guess Hannah did have a hard time finishing the old ones, but now we're popping two at a sitting! AND that "nice" new price? When I used to get the old ones on sale, it was MUCH cheaper. Even if you factor in the full old price, I'm now getting 1/2 as much at 2/3 the price. I know the economy is bad, and everyone is taking a hit. But not only are people worrying about losing their jobs, they are worrying about skyrocketing prices. NutriPals snack bars aren't a necessity, but what about milk? Here in Chattanooga, it's not unusual for milk to be as high as $5 a gallon- and I'm not even talking about the organic, no growth-hormone stuff I try to buy for my girls. I clip coupons and shop sales, but I am fortunate that I do not have to worry about if I can provide nutritious food for my children. Millions of people, here in the US and all over the world, are not so lucky.

I recall hearing someone not long ago talk about how heart broken he or she was to see poverty and starvation. It can shake your faith to the core. But when this person cried out to God, to ask why God was allowing this to happen, why God was not feeding the orphaned, the widowed, the oppressed, a funny thing happened. God asked them the same question. WE are Christ's hands & feet, and His serving utensils too. If we are fortunate enough to be able to utter a frustrated laugh when we see the price of our favorite snacks increase, what are we doing with the blessings we have? Rob Bell shared a startling statistic in his video "Rich"- The money it would take to wipe out world poverty is about equal to the amount that Americans spend each year- on ice cream. Meanwhile, every five seconds, a child dies from hunger-related causes. Makes that scoop of Rocky Road taste a little bitter...

What can we do? There are all sorts of small things churches and individuals all over the country can do- 30 hour famines (which takes place this month), Rice Bowls, sponsorship through Compassion or World Vision, donations to Heifer International, buying fair trade products to ensure people a living wage, even just visiting a website. On a local level, you can participate in canned food drives- (your mail carrier will even pick it up for you in May!) and keep snacks or fast food gift cards with you to distribute to people you see on the street. While there are systemic things that need to happen to truly end world hunger, each of us is called to act- to be faithful in the small things. For more reading on hunger & poverty policy, check out this website: Food First. Also, there is an awesome blog kept by two Social Justice teachers who tried to live on $1 a day. It is very eye-opening. My intention is not to give you a guilt trip today, but my prayer is that we can be more determined to feed God's children. Jesus says whatever we do for the least of these, we do for Him.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'" (Matthew 25: 34-36)

Some Sunday Sappiness

I wanted to put a video on here today for a few reasons. For one, I am tired and don't have a lot of original words of my own. And I was thinking of posting something Superbowl related, like a favorite commercial, but Don Miller beat me to it. Check out his blog for today.

So, I started thinking of other videos I have thought of posting from time to time, and I decided on this one. Be warned, it is a little sappy. This song has been one of my favorite lullabies for a long time- I sang it to Hannah before she was born. I've been singing it to Lydia, too. Last night I was blessed to be nursing Lydia while Hannah settled into bed, and I got to sing it to both of my "babies." I remember it best from the movie Beaches, but it is originally from Dumbo. Hannah & I recently had a little pj party in Mommy's room & watched Dumbo together- it tore me up! Especially this scene- all you mommies, grab your kleenex.

What a name!

Remember that obnoxious song from childhood about a guy with a really long name?

"John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt
His name is my name too
Whenever we go out
the people always shout
There goes John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt
DA DA DA DA DA DA DA"
(And then you repeat a gazillion times at various volumes)

Well, if you ask my dear daughter what her name is, you'll get an answer of comparable length. Here is:



"Hannah Bean Banana Kate Kathryn Lemons"

Snow Day

Okay, so this isn't Chattanooga. It isn't even America- it's a cute little resort town called Weggis in Switzerland that I want to visit sometime in my life. (I rode past it on a tourbus once). But all of my friends & family in Ohio & Kentucky have had two days of ice & snow and I am beyond jealous. I know snow is a pain to drive in (I actually took drivers ed in sleet & snow.) I know too much ice can cause tree limbs to snap and power lines to go down. I know snow means it is really cold outside. But I am still longing for it. When spring arrives early here & my crocuses come out and everyone else is still trying to thaw, I'll be thankful that we live in Georgia. But right now, I am thinking the further north, the better.

I love that "snowed in" feeling. I want to snuggle up with some tea and a book, sit by the fire or watch a movie with my kids and watch it come down. Then I want to bundle everyone up, play outside until we are soaked to the bone and can't feel our fingers, and then come in and start the whole process over again. But here all we have outside is rain and some really strong wind. I don't want to play in it. I don't even want to open my blinds and look at it. Remind me never to move to Seattle. Or London. Or anywhere else they say it rains a lot.

So, I'm keeping the blinds closed. It's nice & dark today, so it kind of feels like a "weather day" (that's what they call them in the south when it's too ridiculous to call it a snow day). I'm going to settle in with Hannah and read & watch PBS kids and pretend we're snowed in. Happy snow day! Here's a picture of my parents' backyard from 2004- it may be the last time we saw a really great snow. Did I mention Al loves it too?