Tattoos & Turtles

Just in case anyone was wondering how on top of all things crafty and seasonal this Momma is...I bought some Valentine cards for the boys to decorate. On Valentine's Day. We have been coloring paper and envelopes to wrap them up into, and we even mailed 3 out yesterday! Wow!

source (+me)

The Valentines we bought are fancy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle ones with messages like:

so awesome I will threaten you with my swords!

no way you are touching this Valentine!

The Valentines come with little (not even 1" square) temporary tattoos with similar pictures (no words on the tattoos). Of course, most of the tattoos are being used for us, rather than being placed in the little "A TATTOO FOR YOU" slots on the cards...but that's the point, right?

Leo needs re-fresher tattoos every day, as soon as the old ones wear off, and (of course), if you give a mouse a cookie, Daniel is going to want one too.

They even got their Mom to get one!

I added the arrow so you can see the tattoo.
I had to put it on my arm (instead of the back of my hand, like the boyos) so it wouldn't show on nurse visits.
Somehow I think my patients might see Ninja Turtle body art as less than convincing of my medical abilities...;)

I would add a picture here of Leo & Daniel with their tats, but they refused to be captured by the paparazzi. Le sigh.

Meanwhile, Kelly @This A'int the Lyceum (that awesome mom who's running 5Ks to raise money to support charites for SMA) wrote a post the other day about gathering sponsorships in order to attend the Edel Gathering, a retreat for moms put together by the famous Jen of Conversion Diary and Hallie of Moxie Wife.

Anyways, in her post, Kelly flaunts a brand new "tattoo" she got of Hallie/Moxie wife, basically right on her chest. It was epic. I'd put the picture here, but my blog is rated G+. (kidding...really kidding!)

SO, I commented to Kelly that the tattoo was *the* best, and she wrote back to me that "for the right price" The Hopeful Starfish COULD CLAIM HER RIGHT BICEP!!! I dropped everything immediately to work on the design. Here's what I have so far:

just Peachy ;)

I just can't wait for all the fame and fortune to kick in...meanwhile... 

...it occurs to me that some folks may not know the story behind my blog's title...so, don't hold your breath, but I think I'll write something about it soon. 

Also coming soon:
1.Vampires and Vonnegut and 

2.How to Make a Toy Library & Stop Cleaning up After Your Kids

{Five Favorites} Alter Egos

As discovered through internet quizzes...

You've all fallen for it. "I took #wasteoftime.com's quiz and I'm an endangered Red Panda! What type of animal are you?!"

Here to amuse ourselves in these doldrums of winter, the five secret personalities you never knew I never had.

1. Pop Diva - Robyn

source

This one is the most mysterious. As my sister put it after reading the Wikipedia link I sent, "yes, I've never heard of her." Apparently, though, if I were a pop diva, I'd be a Swedish one from the '90s. Who knew.

2. Starring in the Musical - Sweeny Todd
Did I say that last one was the most mysterious? This one. This one. Oh my. I should have just re-taken it, I guess, because I have no idea. Maybe it's my Dragon-Mom side showing? The results said something about how my hair is always perfect (ha. see below.) and that I'm a melancholy person. Maybe. When chocolate deprived, yes. 

source (+me)

3. Food - The Sandwich

That's right folks, my food alter ego is...the sandwich.

source

They say it's because of my "girl-next-door" personality. Ok.

4. Disney Princess - Belle

Ok, I'll buy it. ;)

source

You had me at "beautiful". Although, I suppose that's the idea with Disney princesses...

5. Harry Potter Character - Ginny Weasly
This one's my favorite. 

source

Because who doesn't like being the pretty popular one? Well...except for that whole Chamber of Secrets thing...but I did land the coolest guy in school. ;)

c. 2008 Gaming, Austria

Coming soon from Zimbio and Buzzfeed: the "Which Internet Quiz are You?" quiz.

Picture This!

I first saw this idea from Bonnie over @ A Knotted Life, and she got it from Jennifer @ Conversion Diary: 13 photos that tell you everything you need to know about me and my blog. ...with links to the best stuff. Fun! :O) 

1.

Chocolate really is all we want most of the time.
And world peace. 

 2.

But there is yet time for reflection.
And we do find blessings. 

 3.

My life's basic philosophy.
Unless it is possible to live in the moment with cookies.
Which I try to do as much as possible. ;)

 4.

Noise with dirt on. Yup.
Being a mom to these two little guys is...an adventure? 

Dullsville? Going too quickly?
D. All of the above.

5.

But there should always be time to read. 

6.

Being a nurse has it's ups and downs; 

it definitely gives me pause for thought though!

 7.

Pathetic. Some days...

 8.

Mostly I just talk about these guys.

9.

Unless I'm just joining in the silly stuff...

 10.

And sometimes we have things to say about farm life.
{Say/whine...same difference.}

11.

We try to be funny around here sometimes ;)

 12.

This guy means serious thoughts a-coming!

 13.

Lately I've been thinking about our little family: wondering what the little guys will be like when they get older...wondering what I'll be like when I get older...and praying for what lies on the road ahead. 

“If it's half as good as the half we've known, here's Hail! to the rest of the road.” 
― Sheldon Vanauken, A Severe Mercy

{Favorite Quick Takes}

Joining Hallie for Favorites and Jen for Quick Takes

(because that's how we roll in the world of slacker-bloggers!)

Basically just what's on my mind and what I like this week. With pictures.;)

1. The Radical Life
I keep on talking about this Radical Life guy:

Matthew Warner

I like his stuff. This week's post is more good stuff: 12 Most Important Metrics for Your Child's (and Your) Education.


2. Freeset Fundraiser
You probably heard about the UPS plane crash last week. We should definitely pray for the families of the two pilots who lost their lives in the crash. There is another way to help the victims of the event. Freeset is a fair-trade company that employs women who were trapped in the human trafficking industry in Calcutta. They pay their employees about 3x what they would otherwise make. They make organic cotton T-shirts and jute bags.

They make some pretty bags, y'all.

The UPS plane was carrying about $150,000 of their merchandise, representing 3 months of work by their employees. You can go here to donate to Freeset to help them cover their losses. In a truly lovely exchange of events, Freeset is also making a memorial T-shirt, the profits of which go 100% to the UPS pilot's families. (Thanks to Melanie @ the BigMama blog for sending me towards all of this).


3. Mom-couragement
I am always finding some good encouragements for moms. Here's a thought from a new source, Incourage. In a post entitled "10 Ways to be a Happier Mom" (who wouldn't click that?) by Ann Voskamp, I find:

 Love always begins with patience, and patience is a willingness to suffer.

How is that encouraging, you ask? --how could it be encouraging to suffer? Suffering isn't exactly what you think it is, then. Did you know that the root of our word, passion, is the Latin verb patior which means to suffer?! Think about it...what greater act of love is it than to give up your own selfishness (time, talent, wealth, wants etc.) for another?  Indeed..."Greater love has no man than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). When we sacrifice in the small things, when we make the extra efforts for our loved ones (and our un-loved ones!), we are growing in love. --and what could be better, or more important than that?

Source

4. Home Pre-schooling
SO, I'm not sending Leo off to a pre-school this fall.  I never really thought that I would be...he's only *almost* 3 after all...and I kind of like having him around...BUT I am going to be doing some more planned efforts at education (other than the constant stream of wisdom in didactic moments that comes out of my mouth ;) ).

This will perfectly describe me in the not-too-distant future...

What have I done to prepare so far? I made a Pinterest board (...but you should basically just look at Sarah's if you're in my boat...she rocks.) SO, I'm obviously Super Mom, and ready for anything. 

5. Veiled Truths...This week I read another post about veiling during Mass, this time from Jenna @ Call Her Happy. Basically, she's considering veiling during Mass, which was something women did *way back when* as a way to be respectful, and humble (and less distracting to themselves and others!). I was first intrigued by the idea by Jennifer @ Conversion Diary, a while ago. Kelly @ This A'int the Lyceum also wrote a good post about veiling, with some pictures of different non-veil veil options.  I think that where I stand on the idea is that I think it's kind of neat.  BUT I think this in a "I would wear a tasteful non-doily-on-my-head veil and everyone would love it" kind of way. 

Like this. Which you can find here. "Eternity scarf"

SO...pretty much defeats the purpose, which would be one of making my time at church more prayerful (HA! with two boyos...! yea...) etc. So, for now, I think I will remain unveiled...but there are these scarves...$5 only...BUT...then there's St. Paul, reminding us women to be adorned with "good deeds" and not with pearls and braids...SO, yes, for now...just me and my unruly (read: boyo-pulled) locks. 

6. Tie a Yellow Ribbon
You may have thought that all this was over, but we still have A LOT of soldiers out there in harm's way on our behalf. It may not seem to little old you and me like they are out there for us, when they go to places like Afghanistan to help those folks, but then I hear news from Egypt, and I compare it to news from here (which is horrible enough), and I know that our soldiers are out there for us. Case in point, my wonderful brother-in-law. Lt. JDB has just been deployed with his unit of the Army National Guard to Afghanistan, and he'll be gone for almost a year (with a stint in Mississippi first which sounds just as bad). So, as you go to sleep tonight in your safe and A/C'd home, remember all of our loved ones out there, and please pray for their safety. 

Two J's on Mag's #1 list today: and neither one missing her b-day for anything.

Which brings me to...

7. MARGARET's BDAY!! 
Younger siblings aren't allowed to get older (take note, Jono!!), but older ones DO...mwahahhaha. Anyways. Today is Mags bday. Or it was when I started finishing this post...anyways...AUGUST 24th is the best and so is she. You may remember her from her famous stints as guest-blogger here and here and here. Basically click the *snark* tag on the posts, and you'll get them all. Best older sister ever. Most of the time. Prettiest and smartest and most fun. Always.

Always got my back :)

So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY lovey. xoxoxo

{7QT} Completely Random Edition

aka Business as Usual

{linking it up with Jen for day #5 of the blog thing and the 7QT}

(day late and dollar short as usual too...)

1. Blessed Mother, hear our prayer, keep those people in your care.
We learned this prayer in first grade, from Sr. Patricia Williams, and she had us pray it whenever we heard a siren go by on Congress Street outside. To this day, when I hear sirens, I pray this prayer. I've started to teach Leo to pray when he hear sirens or see an ambulance. His cosmology has some room for growth, though...he'll say things like "they're going to see Jesus now?". Umm...there's time to iron that one out!

2. Divisions of labor.
After getting annoyed that I have to feed the chickens all the dang time (gol-ly...it takes 15 minutes or less to feed all the animals that we have...::whine whine whine::), I've decided to suck it up and take it on as just something that I do. Steve can still handle the building of 2-story buildings in the back yard, and the car mechanic stuff, and the washing the dishes when I've ignored them long enough and the mowing the lawn and fixing everything etc. etc. etc.

3. Email update.
So, in writing an email to a friend of mine today, I realized that it sounded like a blog. Or maybe my blogging sounds like emails? Maybe all of my writing just sounds the same?--witty and clever and snarky and informative etc., right? ;)

4.Pageviews

After reading here (pg. 14...but I'm not a stalker...) that Grace of Camp Patton fame gets 190K+ pageviews PER MONTH, I pretty much melted away into the blogger unknown-dome forever. I think this amazingly witty, clever, informative blog has gotten 2,847 pageviews TOTAL (not that I check very often or anything) since it's inception two summers ago. Which leads me to...

5. Kiss the being famous goodbye.
I don't share enough of my life for this blog to get anywhere, right? I'm never going to give you as much info and details as Grace and Jen and Kelly give me...so, sorry, not too sorry, I guess I'll stick to my 17 followers and hope to amuse them once in a while ;).

6.Yup, I'm a nurse...So, I get calls from friends/family (ok...maybe 5 calls ever in my nurse career so far...but still!), and they say, "So, since you're a nurse...". Should I tap into this as a source for future blogs? "The top ten things everyone ought to know about antibiotics"? Mostly my advice would be: drink more water, get some rest, call your mom. So...we'll see. Also, I already give myself enough nurse stress (<<wow. read that link!) over my *actual* patients, I don't really need to give myself more of that. Now, bossing people around, however...that would be right up my ally. 

This is a picture of a nurse I found online.
It is here because there are no other pictures in this blog, and that is sad.
You probably stopped reading 3 takes ago because
there were no pictures to break up the monotony.

7. Elaborate bedtimes.
Currently, Daniel is (*knock wood*) pretty easy to get to sleep. Leo requires bath-time, 2 stories, 3 prayers and 2 versions of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and then *maybe* he'll be satisfied enough to stay in bed *and* be quiet for a little while.  What do you guys have to do?

Be sure to head back over to Jen's for more actual 7QTs.

Tune in next time to hear Larry sing..."Everybody's got a waterbuffalo, your's is fast, but mine is slow..."

The one about the SNAKE!

Wherein I am la-la-la-ing along
...and there is a SNAKE in MY HOUSE!

     So, last night I am calmly typing up my Fashion-ista blog post, staying up late (it's about midnight at this point...the proverbial witching hour of blog writers), because the boyos are *finally* in bed after a looong afternoon of self-induced Momma-torture (aka trying to get errands done), and Steven is out of town for work, when out of the corner of my eye I see a slithery thing. A thick-snakey-looking-tail thing. Oh. My. Lord. (Repeat this last line about 7 times for effect and truthfulness).

Like the millenial I am, what did I do? I texted my sister:

Me: THERE IS A FRIEKING SNAKE IN MY HOUSE.

Mags: Oh God. Oh dear God. What kind?
Me: IDK!! Slithery

Mags: Put a bucket over it.
Me: AHHHHHH

Mags: Ahhhhhhh
Me: It is hiding. Under the couch?
Mags: Oh no.
Me: Ahhhhhh...It looked fat. AHHHHH! WHAT FRESH HELL IS THIS?
...and then also...
Mags: Are there poisonous snakes in Ohio? Is it green?
Me: I am going to arm myself with something heavy...

Eventually my sister got my brother to call me and talk me through it/down. He was a very good Eagle Scout. He got me to put on my rubber boots, and get the dog to come in and have a look. Max was useless, and he probably had ticks on him. I hate ticks probably more than I hated the snake in the house. So, Max was kicked out, but Charlie, beautiful black whiney-cat that he is, found the snake for me. ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM BEHIND ME!
So, I chased the snake around and underneath and behind heavy furniture,

Actual photo of the real snake in the house that I took
for identification/bragging rights purposes.
Mostly bragging rights, who am I kidding?

wielding a broom and a flashlight and a cast-iron skillet. Wearing the outfit from my fashion-ista blog post, and my rubber boots. I'm so stylish. I looked like this:

GET ALL THE SNAKES!!!

But I felt more like..."umm...no thanks." Meanwhile, Jono is asking me key identification questions, and confirming for me that this is probably a harmless Black Rat Snake that likes to eat mice. Wonderful.  

http://www.oplin.org/snake/fact%20pages/rat_snake_black/rat_snake_black.html
"For people who have mastered their surprise or fear of
seeing snakes free in nature, this is a very graceful and attractive animal."
Yeah. Right.

 So what happened? I chickened out on my 2-3 chances to step. on. the. snake. and catch it...and then it slithered away through a heating vent opening in my floor. Right. It's probably just hanging out in the vents...climbing all over the house, ready to pop out at any moment...all I can say is:

Bring it, Snakey.

Tied Up with String: Five Favorites {Vol. 1}

Finally linking it up with Hallie over at Moxie Wife for her Five Favorites fun, so when you're done here,
head over there to see what other folks are lovin' today! :D

1. These flip flops. The brand is Okabashi. 

They are MADE in the USA! They are flip flops WITH AN ARCH. ...and (best part?),
they cost me $10 at Wal-Mart! I don't usually
shop at Wal-Mart, because it's just too huge and crowded and...everything there is made in China anyways, right? BUT...I found these!
And since I have to have something to put on my feet quickly when Leo or Daniel is running into the road or terrorizing a goat, or falling on his head...voila. Mine are dark brown with gold straps. 

2. I found this soap at World Market, which is a really fun 

(AKA dangerous if you're trying to follow a budget) 

store that sells things from all over the world (kind of like Pier 1). 

Anyways, this one is RHUBARB scented. It is delightful. 

And, let's face it, with all of the farm animals and boy-babies 

around here, I have to wash these hands A LOT. 

As I've said before, motherhood is 70% about #2.

As Leo put's it, "There's a cow on there!"

3. Since I'm washing my hands so much (because
there's also that little side job I do as a visiting
nurse...SO MUCH hand-washing in my life!),
and because I already have dry skin, enter stage
left this wonderful stuff. It's light, non-greasy,
and wonderfully effective at easing the dry cracked
horrible-ness of winter/nurse/mom hands.
Warning: it contains lanolin, which according to
my Aunt Janet, can cause you to start bleeting. ;)

4. I really enjoy this blog. Grace over at Camp Patton light-hearted-ly

blogs about life with her 3 under 3 as the wife of  a OB-GYN 

doctor in his residency (nice term for 'let's work the guy for 60+ 

hours/week for a few years at the high-pressure physically 

and mentally demanding job of caring for women in childbirth 

before we let him say that he's *officially* a doctor')

--and you thought you had it rough! It is a delightful read,

especially when she quotes her 2 year old or her husband,
and always makes me smile. 

Grace and her littles

5. I read this quote here and then also somewhere else I can't remember,

so I made it my Facebook status, hoping that I wouldn't forget it so quickly.
I'm putting it on here so that I read it again :0).
I guess I just cannot be reminded too often to let go and let God.
"Must you continue to be your own cross? No matter which way God leads you, you change everything into bitterness by constantly brooding over everything. For the love of God, replace all this self-scrutiny with a pure and simple glance at God's goodness." --St. Jeanne de Chantal

Wit for your Wednesday (vol. 3)

**WIT FOR YOUR WEDNESDAY**

Brought to you by the color olive and the letter P.

Presenting... 

(with kudos to Jonathan Bratten for sharing it a while ago, 

and Jennifer Fulwiler over at Conversion Diary 

for reminding me)...

The Nietzsche Family Circus!

"The most common lie is that which one lies to himself; 

lying to others is relatively an exception."

That's right folks, good old Family Circus cartoons paired with random quotes from Nietzsche. 

Happy Lent! 

Wit for your Wednesday (vol. 2): intermission

Wit for your Wednesday

And now for something completely different...

THE PIANO GUYS!

Fabulous fun with a peppy piano :0)

Update:

I *obviously* should have included this one, as it's funny AND geeky:

...also this one, same reasons, really: 

*shout out to my friend Ellie for pointing me in their direction : )*

One-Liners

Prelude
Often I am struck with the Blogging-Muse...but only lightly; a Muse tap you could say.  I'll think of a topic, and think, wow, yea, that would make a great blog post.  But then I never get to it, or it would be too short once I thought it through, or...whatever!

So, drum-roll please, here it is ladies and gents: the One-Liner Blog!

Now, you mustn't just read through for your own amusement, you've got a job!  You have to vote on your favorite one OR the one that you would most like to see as an actual blog posting.  The winning one-liner gets graduated to official blog status in the next posting.  Ja?

Now, just in case you clicked here because you were looking for some actual one-liners, I have included a few here below courtesy of One Linerz' Top 100 List (**disclaimer: NOT rated G**).

9 - Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

12 - We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.

14 - Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

16 - Politicians and diapers have one thing in common. They should both be changed regularly, and for the same reason.

19 - The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

100 - Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

OK, now the Offical One-Liner Blogs! (First Edition)

Folks, it's ante pasta, not anti pasta, it comes before, not against the noodles!

Things I found in the register-vent floor-grate courtesy of my son: 3 spoons, a pen and  a key chain.

Giving report at the end of shift is necessary for the psychological well-being of nurses.  Also bragging rights.


Why does "Stop, don't, come back!" translate into "As soon as I stop talking go right back to eating/touching that dangerous/disgusting object" in baby language?

There is something philosophical or theological to be said of the fact that mothers are often described as having their hands full.

I just was told, a little over 4 months after starting work at the nursing home, that there is an entire quality control task (read: useless paperwork invented by state inspectors) that I have never done.

Leo likes to help with the laundry.  He helps the folded ones onto the floor.


Often when I write on the back of family photos I act as though that particular photo were going to be the only one surviving the next great Ice Age, and thus I proceed to write down everything thereon.

Leo pushes his toy truck faster than you can run.  And makes truck noises whilst doing it.

Bramble the goat can hop her fence.

There are people in my Facebook news feed whom I don't know if I know.

I secretly (not anymore!) hope that one day a collection of all of the letters I write to people will become a published best-selling book.

"...because God's gifts put man's best dreams to shame." --Elizabeth Barrett Browning

**********************************************
Now, don't forget to VOTE!