Kids say the darndest things

Before I forget, let me tell a little story about Milo, too.

Nate works with a woman whose husband passed away suddenly on Saturday. We all felt so grieved for her, even my little people, so when Nate asked if we'd like to pray for her, we jumped on it.

Lucy began and prayed the sweetest prayer to give her peace (totally unprompted by us - good girl, Lucy).

Then Milo prayed with the sincerest heart, "Yahweh, please help her to find a new husband really soon so that she doesn't have to be lonely."

So deeply inappropriate. So heartfelt. I almost didn't make it out with a straight face. Kids say the darndest things, right?

Two minutes

I stepped outside to water the plants for, maybe two minutes today.

In the time it took me to do that, Lucy Jane managed to empty the entire contents of not one, not two, but THREE tubes of toothpaste. All over the bathroom. Floor, counter, towel, washcloths...

I will say this, she at least had the good sense to try to clean it up, but that only managed to smear every bit of it in and work it into a nice lather for me to see when I popped back in.

Two minutes. That is all it takes. Because she's also extremely adept at unrolling an entire roll of toilet paper, straight into the trash can below, in two minutes or less. Never mind that she has been spanked every single one of the at least twenty-five times she's done it in the last month. Give that girl two minutes and she will make it count in the worst way possible.

Perhaps every person in the world is gifted with that one special someone who tries their patience like no one else could. Perhaps every parent has that one child who makes them feel like the worst mommy on the planet. Perhaps I will devour an entire tub of chocolate peanut butter ice cream and feel a little bit better?

Oh my word, I love this curly-headed, passionate, vibrant little girl of mine with every fiber of my being, but this tired mommy is short on patience these days... So I am going to leave you with a few adorable pics of her since I feel a tiny bit bad that I tattled on her.

On a date with Daddy.

How to treat a human being

I had to go get my glucose test today, which I think might be my least favorite procedure of pregnancy. Drinking that sugary orange drink, hanging out for an hour feeling disgusting and left out because I'm the only customer at the lab not dressed in camo, and then getting blood drawn (hands down, I cry every time)... Nothing about it is a positive experience, and I usually end up vomiting, almost passing out, or both.

When I finished today, I decided to reward myself and pop through a drive-through. When I got to the ordering speaker, I heard a friendly voice, "Hi, this is Victor, how can I help you?" I smiled and said, "Hi, Victor, how are you doing today?" to which he replied, "Well, I could use a shot of whiskey. How about you?"

I was so startled that I started to laugh and responded, "Well, I'm pregnant, so I'm going to have to stick with something a little tamer." I finished my order and waited a few minutes in line to get to the window. When I got there, I smiled as I handed him my card. Come to find out, he had discounted my order, so I ended up paying only a few dollars, and he told me, "Thank you so much for treating me like a human being. You're the first person who's done that all day."

Okay, so I'm pregnant, and I almost cried, first for his bad day, and second for his kindness in spite of it. I thanked him profusely, and as I drove off we were both smiling. But I was so thankful that I put aside my inconvenient morning and took the time to be kind. Not even unusually kind, but just how I would normally be (without being stuck with needles and drained of my blood).

Anyway, just a reminder to treat all human beings like human beings. I guess we all need that every now and then.

Shadow of the Storm by Connilyn Cossette

So I just finished another book for Bethany House Publishers, this one called Shadow of the Storm by Connilyn Cossette. There were parts of it that I really liked, and parts that I thought were a bit much, but overall, I enjoyed this one.

The story follows a young Hebrew woman training to be a midwife in the wilderness after the Exodus. There were gorgeous descriptions of the presence of God in the midst of the people, and I wish there had been more about the building of the Tabernacle, just because you don't get a lot of fiction covering that topic. The whole premise of the book was fascinating to me because I haven't read anything regarding the Hebrews' perspective of life after Egypt. It was extremely relevant because they talked so much about trying to unify groups of people who didn't want to get along and had become accustomed to living in their own tribes. I also liked the idea of people who had lived as slaves trying to learn how to be free.

I liked the characters, although I thought the author gave the main character just a tad too much DRAMA. I was also really interested in other characters, like Jumo, that just kind of got dropped. Maybe the author is planning a whole other book about him (and if not, there's an idea for her)?

All in all, good and quick read, so go for it.

Little squishy pumpkins

Well, some more crafting happened. I bought a crafty fabric pumpkin at a cute little local store (Bloom at the Lufkin Farmer's Market - if you are local you MUST go), and then started thinking about how I could probably do it myself. And then I realized that I had another Pinterest item pinned (here at Thoughts from Alice) with a tutorial on exactly how to make it happen.

This is another super easy craft and took almost no time at all! Cut a fabric circle, Loosely stitch around the top, stuff with pillow stuffing, add a little stick for the stem, then cinch it up and tie it off! She recommended using spanish moss for the decoration around the stem, so I went with it. Oh. My. Word. Disastrous mess everywhere in my dining room and kitchen. I'm sure this wouldn't happen to everyone, but oh my, I am a mess-maker. Anyway, all that to say, I have seen them topped with raffia instead, and I would tell you to go with that if you're trying to decide. I hot glued it all down, then added little fabric leaves and ribbon, and biggety bam, done. Look how cute they are!

Milo actually provided quality control, telling me which pumpkins he liked the best and what the others needed. Lucy just liked that they were tiny, squishy pumpkins, but she's easy to please.

In other news, I came out in a fitted shirt this morning (I am usually in fairly loose stuff, just because that's my style), and Milo said, "Oh, Mommy! Did our baby grow overnight?" He makes me smile.

Hope you have a wonderful and craft-tastic Friday!

Pinterest WIN

I have had the Fall crafting bug, so I'm sure you'll see a few pictures here and there of what I've been up to. I saw a post on this garland a few years ago (click here for instructions) and have wanted to make it ever since. I finally went ahead this week for our Sukkah, but it's rained and I haven't even hung it up yet. Oops!

Basically, it's the easiest project ever. Grab some fall-colored felt, cut it into leaf shapes, and then thread a tapestry needle with some thin (worsted weight at the thickest) yarn. Then simply sew and go! Actually, here is a vital tip - tie a knot after each leaf so they stay in place when you string up your garland.

So there you go! One Pinterest project down, 27,341 to go.

HEB talk

Fall is in the air..

... for pretty much everyone except people living in Texas. It has been about a million degrees outside, and I need the weather to cooperate and let me wear several super cute maternity pieces I've been waiting on cooler weather to wear. I am so eternally grateful that I am going to be the large and in charge pregnant during (hopefully) chillier weather, because being hot ALWAYS makes me cranky. (Just being honest.)

So, mommy of the year here. Lucy brought a Lego girl to the grocery store with us today. Why did I think this would be a good idea? We (and I do mean SHE) dropped the hair, then the bottom half, then the little princess sceptre that was in its hand, then the whole thing, over and over and over again. I leaned over and picked up those pieces until I thought I wasn't going to be able to get back up (hello, 22 weeks pregnant - squat, don't bend), and the last time I did, I said under my breath, "Sweet Jesus." I thought I got away scot free on that one.

Fast forward about 10 minutes to the checkout line (you already knew this was coming, right?). As Lucy tried to throw a package of hot dog buns onto the belt, she missed, and in true Lucyloud fashion, half-yelled, "Sweet JESUS, Mommy."

I don't think I need to tell you how many disapproving looks I got as I casually hissed, "Lucy Jane, we do NOT say that," in her ear. I promise you she raised an eyebrow and just shook her head at me. Lord help me, this is on some days the only reason I don't cuss.