Just Stuff

1. Moving - kinda done...sorta...the kitchen is what's left. Been all over Dallas this past week, and thank God my lil guy is so adaptable. We'll finish up this weekend and head to Kansas next week sometime...I think. We'll be back in TX...sometime. I love gypsy life.
2. I love hummus, but mine never turns out like the one at Central Market or Whole Foods.
3. I've gotten really behind the past 3 weeks in getting bday and thank you cards addressed and mailed. And I was doing so well. I plan to get back on track as it was one of my goals this year.
4. I am addicted. to. sugar.

When the Oceans Rise...

I'm on a roll tonight, but I have to be when I have the time...and lots of thoughts. I just don't always share my thoughts. Tonight, though...

...I'm a little sobered. While my mom was going through cancer treatments back in 2008, my childhood best friend's mom, Theresa, was diagnosed with breast cancer and began treatments as well. We were all so happy and celebrated with her and the family when she finished her treatments. All seemed to be going so well...and it's back. With a vengeance. And it makes me so super angry.

Rachel (my friend and Theresa's daughter...who also married a cousin of mine...so she's like my cousin now) sent me a text this morning with the news, and I was immediately heartbroken. Of course, I went through the whole spill with Nathan "...it's so unfair...it really sucks...I just don't understand...I'm so sad...it makes me mad...etc.." The human emotion of it all. It's just dumb. It's nonsense. It makes me mad that we have to deal with this on earth. I do understand that we live in a fallen world, blah blah. But it makes me mad anyway.

Someone said that it's not time for sympathy but for prayer. Although I agree with the prayer part, I guess I can't help but empathize. I think that's what causes us to pray. To hope. To ask Jesus for His grace through this.

Theresa was beginning some natural treatments a couple of weeks ago, but I'm not sure what they'll do now. The cancer isn't just in her lymph nodes, but it has also spread to her lungs and her bones. That's all I know. No idea what the docs want to do.

This is just what's on my mind. As I explained above, their family is like family...not just because my cousin married Theresa's daughter, but through my teenage years, Rachel (again, Theresa's daughter) was my best friend. I spent lots and lots of time with the family, and she married my cousin, Albert, whose dad gave me away at my wedding. Confused much? I know. It makes sense in my head, though this post is all over the place. Just lots on my mind.

Thank you, Jesus, that you are in control and care for us in a way that we can't even comprehend. You have the whole world and little us all in Your hands. Thank you for holding us in the palm of your hand. Though we can't understand the what's and the why's, we trust you. Help us see You in all things.

Oh, and He's also Super Xander

One of Xander's nicknames is X-man, but let me tell you, this Superman outfit sure is awesome on him so he'll be Super Xander too. Here's my lil caped hero. And yes, even super heroes need their rubber duckies.

A Good Week

So much going on everywhere. So last week Xander & I went to visit my family in Lake Jackson while Nathan went to Kansas to take care of some work stuff. We got to see my brother and his fam as well as some high school and church friends. It was a great week visiting, but it went by way too quickly.

At one point I forgot my camera so I didn't get the pictures I wanted, but these will do.

Here he is with my niece and nephew, Allison & Jacob


Just before we left, we went to the Sea Center.



Super Heroes


As we were leaving, this gentleman took out a harmonica and played for Xander. He LOVED it. He smiled and laughed (while eating his sock) the entire time.


Then we went and spent a little time with Ivonne and Cara. Xander wanted to walk up the slide not actually slide down.


At the mall.


Now we're back...and onto packing...

BabyWearing

My friend, carrying her baby in a sling or carrier, recently got attacked questioned by someone about her parenting skills. Okay so I honestly try to give people the benefit of the doubt. I try to assume that they are just trying to help when they give advice. I try. I try to take the good and let the rest roll of my back. But how annoying is it when someone questions what you're doing as a parent, not because it seems they care but just because they want to be right for the sake of being right? Because they have nothing else to do. So my friend was in a grocery store with all 4 of her kids. It's not like she just had one and could be confused for a naive first-time mom. No, she had all 4, who have all limbs still attached to them and with no crazy "because-I-dropped-them" injuries. This lady asked her something about if she'd heard kids had died in carriers. Missi responded to her twice and the lady still wanted to keep the conversation going. Read about the whole thing here.

This kind of thing can be totally patronizing. Something I try to remember: unsolicited advice can equal criticism. Unsolicited questioning can be the same thing.

I'm a huge believer and fan of baby-wearing. Knowing that, a friend sent me a link about the craze with children dying in carriers. I was thankful that she thought of me and the safety of my child. What some people don't get, though, is that when stuff like that comes out, we should do our research and find out what, why, how, etc. The friend that sent the link also posted it for others to see, and that kind of thing can start a frenzy.

Anyway, read here for more info.

Moving and Cooking

So we'll be moving by the end of the month. And in the meantime we have a couple of trips we have to make. Should be fun times. Packing is usually not fun, but I'm really looking forward to getting. Rid. Of. Stuff. I've recently gone through and thrown out a bunch of stuff, and I'm looking forward to even more purging. And when we move into wherever it is that we'll be, I'll try to get rid of even more.

This summer Nathan will be working in Kansas again. I'm gonna be staying in a place in Greenville, where my mom lives, and then in September we'll move into...who knows (in the Dallas area). At this point, Nathan is just ready to be out of here. We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the area where we currently reside, but purchasing a home is about double our price range so unfortunately I'll be leaving everything I love around here. Seriously, it's a great area, and that's what's holding me back from wanting a bigger place. Who needs space, right? We have plenty of it. And I can especially say that when a Whole Foods opened up about a mile away. Or something like that. I mention Whole Foods often because I just love it. *sigh* So here's to whatever is coming. Anyway, since Nathan will be working in Kansas, Xander and I will be back and forth from here to there. We plan to spend a couple of weeks there at a time. We'll only get to see Nathan on the weekends, but it's better than nothing. At first I thought we'd drive up every other weekend or so, but making that long drive just for a weekend is just senseless. I have a feeling we'll practically be living there by the time it's all said and done. We'll see.

So I was playing around with my camera and my boy.


On my back as I cook.


And no, I wasn't burning anything (this time). It's boiling water. Xander's face is classic. He looks pretty unhappy, but he actually really likes being with me in the kitchen.

New Car

So last night I ate 4 bowls of Corn Flakes again. And if there were any left, I might have some again. Oh, and that was after I'd had some amazing tacos with lots and lots of protein. It's not like I was protein deficient.

Anyway, Xander was given a new car, and he just LOVES it. Thanks, Ivonne and Cara! It's his new favorite thing.

It Ain't Me

So apparently I offended someone at my baby shower and just found out about it 9 months later. For real, y'all?? 1) It was sarcasm and dry humor; 2) why now?

Don't people know me? I just say stuff sometimes that I shouldn't, and I'm working on it. I understand why one of my former bosses actually forbade us from using sarcasm. But we're older now, guys. Let it roll off. But anyway, I'm trying.

But seriously, I was pregnant. That should count for something.

Sorry. Please forgive me.

And I'm watching Walk the Line. Joaquin can pull of this voice. Love it. Almost as much as Cash himself.

Sukah

That would be me. I'm such a sucker for advertisers. They know exactly when to play commercials to get to their target audience. They know how to get to me after 8:30 PM, when I usually finish cleaning the kitchen (which I'm skipping tonight. *jaw drop*), sit in front of the tube to watch Fox News as I stuff diapers and try to catch up on mail, bills, etc. And that's when they play all those chocolate commercials - the ones with molten lava cake and whatnot. And they totally interrupt my evening. They make me get up because I can't watch those lately and not eat something. I seriously need to work on some self control. Seriously.

Junk Wheat

So I've been in the mood for burgers, but I forgot to get some buns when I was at our new Whole Foods yesterday...by the way, have I mentioned how much I LOVE this store just around the corner from us? Love. It. Anyway, I forgot to get the buns so I asked Nathan to get some for me...but he was going to Target. So call me a food snob, but I don't typically get a lot of food from Target or Walmart. I make a huge effort not to spend too much time purchasing stuff from the isles. But I had to settle for it or take off to Whole Foods myself, and in trying to unpack and pack, I just wasn't in the mood.

Because I've been lazy preoccupied with thoughts and plans of moving for a while, I haven't made my own bread. So I buy sprouted bread. I avoid eating unsprouted grains if I can. Not always possible, but I try. Why? Phytic acid. Google it. It's the reason I get so annoyed at the big hype of whole wheat. Eating whole wheat is junk if it hasn't been sprouted.

So back the the story - oh yeah, Nathan gets these honey wheat burger buns, and that was fine. I knew I would get something like that, and whatever. I looked at the ingredients just for kicks, and OMG y'all. Oh my. There were like 999 ingredients in that. Yeah, and one of them was high fructose corn syrup. For real. I did a little more research and found that most of the breads you pick up at major grocers have high fructose corn syrup. Not just that, but there are hundreds (it's my blog, I'll exaggerate if I want) of unnecessary ingredients. Why would we want to put that stuff in our bodies? What's sad is that people don't read that. People read calories, fat, carbs, maybe sodium. People read the first part of the label but forget that the real stuff is in the ingredients. It's sad that we think honey wheat burger buns that have a million and a half ingredients are healthy. Sad, sad, sad.

Quick Trip

So last week we decided very last minute to take a trip to Kansas for a few days to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa.



I've procrastinated cutting Xander's hair, but it was overdue. The long row of Apache hair down the middle of his head is finally better.


The kid loved this swing.


Out and about.

Things I Know

You know when you're a kid and your sibling gets away with something huge but you get away with nothing? And you ask "How come they can _______?" Then you get a lecture about several things, one being to basically mind your own business because you don't all the circumstances. I must remember that today - I don't know all of the circumstances behind certain people and certain things and whatever. I need to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. There's typically more going on than I'm aware of, and it would be to everyone's benefit if I just act with kindness and with grace. Period.