Graceism

Imagine... we were watching American Idol tonight and this little girl was on (pictured) and the conversation went like this...

G: Mama, she looks like she is from Hawaii

me: Her family is from a place called the Philippines. The people are called Filipino.

G: What do they speak there?

me: They speak Filipino there.

G: Well, she sounds like she is speaking American. Why isn't she speaking jalapeno?

I just about fell off of the couch.

Snowing...

After a rough night... Josh seems to have caught the stomach bug going around... we woke up to more snow. And now it is snowing even more.

I guess I won't be working out this morning :-p

Alien Invasion

After three pregnancies, you'd think that I would be used to the crazy feelings of having a baby inside of me. But I am not.

Last night, I just about jumped out of my skin when the baby pushed off to do a, seemingly impressive, backflip in utero. Ugh... at this point, it is just weird feeling. No, that isn't entirely true. At all points it is weird feeling.

I still have five more months of this -- when I was pregnant the first time, I didn't know what I was feeling this early, so it didn't bother me too much. With each pregnancy, I have felt the baby earlier. I am not saying that as a good thing... though I would be stressing if I hadn't felt anything by now. Double edged sword, I suppose.

Random Ramblings

I have a headache. One of those cold-front-coming-lack-of-caffeine-too-sleepy-to-think headaches. I knew it was coming. Talked with AHT today and knew it was coming. Anybody else sensitive to fronts? Warm fronts don't bother me as much as cold fronts. They really kick my butt!

Why are my kids always super loud on days when I don't feel well? Are they this loud all of the time, but I am more sensitive to it now?

On another, unrelated note, Faith said "Aww... damn it" tonight. In the appropriate place, but I really do pride myself on not using bad language in front of my kids. Where did she hear it? She has been saying "dang it" for a while... which is COMPLETELY me and my fault. Hmmm... where did it come from?

On another, unrelated note, last night Josh didn't want to go to bed. He took a later nap than usual and just wasn't ready. So when I went in to give him his good night kisses -- always consisting of the same kisses (feet, hands, cheek, cheek, forehead, and top of the head), he wanted to kiss me back. My eyes teared up as he gave me kisses on my cheeks and forehead. Made me think of family reunions at Aunt Hattie's house and seeking her out to get my kisses :-)

Newest Book Review

So, I am a member of a book club... something that I NEVER thought that I would do. I have, however, really read some fantastic books through these ladies' recommendations. I have blogged before about The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Red Tent, to name a few. Well, we just finished and discussed another book.

I really thought that I wouldn't like it. It is an Oprah Book Club book, which I just thought would be a little too 'girly' for me. But this book really surprised me.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy (the same guy who wrote No Country for Old Men) -- I need to say here that this is the first book that I have read by this author and I found it difficult in the beginning to read. Once I got into the 'rhythm' of the writing, I really enjoyed the book! It is NOT a feel good book - like the ones that I expected from Oprah's book club.

The Road is about a man and his son in post-apocolyptic America. They are traveling through a nuclear winter in search of anything they can use to survive. On their travels to the coast, they are constantly struggling with starvation. The father coughs up blood daily... he knows he is dying. He is, seemingly, trying to get his son to somewhere safe and showing him what he needs to know to survive. We are never given the age of the son -- my guess was between 5-7 years old, but I seemed to be at the low end of what my book club thought.

They are alone pretty much the whole book. They do encounter bands of starving men that have resorted to cannibalism to stay alive. Like I said before... not a feel good book. The father is extremely resourceful and very dedicated to his son. He tries to shield the son from all sorts of attrocities on the road, but can't hide all of the horrors from him.

There is never an explanation about what happened to make the world the way it was described. I assume that it was some sort of nuclear catastrophy, given the description of the ash covering on everything and the lack of sunlight due to the atmospheric haze. You never know for sure, though. I feel like I need to find some sort of anti-nukes rally to go to this weekend after reading the book, though. Depressing how the people had no control over their futures. Anyway... good read, very thought prevoking. Makes me want to take all of my kids out on a survival camping trip...

As I was looking for a picture of the book, I found that it received a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2006 - and it has been announced that it will soon be made into a movie.

I recommend this book -- if you are not too depressed already. There are parts of the book that you will almost have to push yourself through. I almost put it down twice. But I am glad that I finished it. It will NOT leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. I am going to try to get Rob to read it, though he is against it since I read him one passage about cannibalism.

For more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road_(novel)

Now... for a good feelgood book :-)

Monday's Thanks

1- back home after a being gone all weekend.. good trip to GA, though -- we avoided the tornadoes

2- everybody ate my dinner tonight, with only F having drama about the peas

3- listened to my random songs on my iPod today in the car... I love not knowing what song is going to come on next. Rob and I would play the "who can guess the song the fastest" game :-)

4- I am pretty sure that my avocado-sized baby is kicking... either that or this gas won't go away (or come out!)

5- did I mention that I am glad to be home?!?

New Blog

is there a way to edit the post after the initial posting? Anybody know?

Military Funny -- SO true

AFTER an overnight flight to meet my father at his latest military assignment, my mother wearily arrived at Rhein-Main Air Base in Germany with my eight siblings and me -- all under age 11.

Collecting our many suitcases, the ten of us entered the cramped customs area. A young customs official watched our entourage in disbelief.

"Ma'am," he said, "do all these children and all this luggage belong to you?"

"Yes, sir," my mother said with a sigh. "They're all mine."

The customs agent began his interrogation: "Ma'am, do you have any weapons, contraband or illegal drugs in your possession?"

"Sir," she calmly answered, "if I'd had any of those items, I would have used them by now."

The official allowed us to pass without opening a single suitcase.

--Contributed to "Humor In Uniform" by Mary E. Levy

Pregnant Forgetfulness

I've lost a day.

Lost it.

Don't know where it went, but will never get it back. I guess more than losing it, I've miscounted the days that I did have.

Anyway... thought that the Valentine's Day party for G's class was Friday. So, I didn't stress about not having her cards ready or her little treats ready.

No... Valentine's Day is tomorrow. We were supposed to have her cards to her teacher by today. Oops... not happening.

I tried to force G to write all of her classmates names on a piece of paper so that I could somehow put them where I wanted them when I made the cards. I tried doing it this morning... during the 30 minutes that she is up (when she also has to dress, put shoes on, eat breakfast, brush hair and teeth, etc, etc). I found myself getting frustrated at her because she was writing so slow.

Hello?!? She is 5 years old.

So, I wrote a note to the teacher that it was my fault, but that G would have her cards and treats there in the morning. G shouldn't be punished because my pregnant brain missed a day somewhere.

Why didn't I make her do them yesterday during our snowday?!? Where has my brain gone?

Stolen from Analee and Chris...

1. Where were you 1 hour ago? At home... on a snow day with all three of my kids here -- stuck in the house...
2.Who will be your next kiss? probably Bubba... he usually is the one who wants a kiss when he gets hurt
3. Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you? I have a pink ruler right in front of me and my pink earphones right beside me
4. When is the last time you went to the mall? not this past Sunday, but the Sunday before that... I needed something I could wear to Rob's Change of Command.
5. Are you wearing socks right now? nope... just flops
6. When was the last time you went out of town? depends on your definition of 'out of town'... went to Louisville this past weekend and Elizabethtown just two days ago
7. Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days? Nope... haven't even been in the last five months!
8. What was the last thing you had to drink? some sprite... straight from the 2L bottle (it was almost gone and I knew I would finish it)
9. What are you wearing right now? light blue short sleeve t-shirt, maroon sweater, jeans and flipflops
10. Have you been in a car wash? in my car...
11. Last food you ate? a rice cake
12. Where were you last week on Saturday? went to the Louisville Slugger Museum
13. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week? Not even one thing
** Where is #14?!?
15. What's the last sporting event you watched? probably the Super Bowl...
16. What is your favourite class? I like anything math related... or science related, but those two subjects are often very related :-)
17. Your dream vacation? Somewhere warm with lots of salt water
18. Last 3 people's houses you were in? mine, Gina's, Carrie's
19. How old are your parents? not telling...
20. Do you miss anyone? I miss the whole Harris crew
21. Last play you saw? My kids put plays on all the time... complete with dress up costumes :-) I think the last one was Sunday
22. What are your plans for today? It is a snow day here... I am just planning on not losing my sanity. Then we have Girl Scouts tonight.
23. Ever go to camp? Yep... one time, at band camp...
24. Were you an Honor roll student? can't remember a time when I wasn't
25. What do you know about the future? you can plan all you want, but things will happen outside of your control and you can either let it make you mad or glad. And people don't like to be around you if you are mad all of the time.
26. Are you wearing any perfume or cologne? none right now
27. Where are your best friends located? At work
28. Do you have a Tan? I have never had one... don't expect one anytime soon
29. How old do you want to be when you have kids? wanted to be about 27... but by 27 I had three and now I am 29 and am going to have another one... This isn't a fair question
30. Do you collect anything? kids, apparently
31. Last time you got stopped by a cop or pulled over? Before Rob went to Iraq the first time, we were on our way to the beach. I merged onto a new road and assumed that the 70MPH was still valid. I was SO wrong... it was really 55MPH. Got a great 73 in a 55 ticket. SO not fair! There wasn't a sign on the newly merged onto road (I looked on the way back).
32. Have you ever drank your soda from a straw? yep
33. How do you like your drinks? cold or hot... depends
34. Do you like Hot sauce? LOVE it!!
35. Last time you took a shower? Last night after Bubba's diaper leaked all over me
**What is with you people and missing numbers?!?
37. What is your mood today? could be better, but could be WAY worse. I guess it is okay :-)
38. Are you someones best friend? Yep
39. Are you Rich ? I am married to my best friend, have three wonderful (most of the time) children with another on the way, a supportive family -- absolutely I am rich!

a NEW Survey...

stolen from Analee's blog...


I am a proud mama... Let me talk about my kids :-)

1. AGES? 5, 3-1/2, 2

2. Name? Carolina Grace, Georgia Faith, and Joshua Harris

3. Birthday?9-21-02, 4-7-04, 8-24-05

*What happened to #4?!?

5.How long did labor last? G- 6 hours start to finish, F- 3 hours start to finish, J- had to be induced, but still only 4 hours start to finish

6. Who was in the room when baby was born? G- Rob, mom, midwife and nurse; F- Rob, Katelyn, doctor and nurse; J- Rob midwife and nurse

7. How long did you push? G- 30 minutes, F- 20 minutes, J-two minutes (really... Rob walked in and I had him 45 seconds later, after one good push, I had him -- you learn how to make those pushed productive by the time you are having your third!)

8. weight? G- 8lbs, 3 ozs; F- 8lbs, 13 ozs; J- 8lbs, 5 ozs

9. Length? G- 21-1/2; F- 22-1/2; J- 21-1/2

10. Any hair? a little on all, but not much

11. Who does baby look like? G- identical to her daddy; F- looks like the Harris side; J- looks like both of us... finally a combination child!

12. Be honest...how much weight did you gain while pregnant? G- 21 lbs; F- 22 lbs (though I looked like a cow... carried her horribly!); J- 32 lbs

13.Due date, On time or early? All over due... G was 6 days late, F was 10 days late and J was finally induced 14 days over

14. Who drove you home from the hospital?Rob

15. How many baby showers did you have? nada... though some of the ladies I worked with (or worked with their husbands) gave me a few things while I was pregnant with G

16. When did baby start sleeping through the night? hmmm... J still doesn't sleep through the night. The girls... G was about 8 months old and F was about 6 months

17. Did you breastfeed?yep... all three

18. Who keeps your baby the most? G went to Jenny's (at home provider); by the time I had F, both girls were in full day daycare (I worked fulltime); but J has been with me pretty much since birth :-)

19. When do you wanna have another? when do I WANT to?!? Hmmm... shouldn't answer that. But will have another around the first of August 2008

20. How did you pick the name? R&I both loved Grace... and I am from NC, so Carolina Grace sounds good (plus Caroline is a family name on my side); once we had a Grace, we needed some Faith, and R is from GA, so Georgia Faith sounds good; J was named for a classmate of ours during our EOBC who died early during the war in Iraq -- and Harris is my maiden name.

21. How did you know when it was time to go to hospital? just knew with the girls... woke up cramping and a shower didn't help. With J, I was 14 days overdue and woke up bleeding (slightly) so went in and they induced.

22. Anyone spend the night with you first night home? just Rob

23.Did you cry the first time you held your baby? yep, with each one. I was scared to death with G, and cried because once I saw her, I knew we would be okay. Cried with F because I was scared to death I couldn't love her as much as I loved G already but knew when I saw her that I already did. Cried with J because I had been scared to death because I had been bleeding and thought something had gone wrong - so I was SO glad that he was healthy and fine.

24. Where was the baby born? G- Darnell Army Community Hospital, Fort Hood, TX; F- General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital, Fort Leonard Wood, MO; J- Ireland Army Community Hospital, Fort Knox, KY

25. Did you video tape the birth? ugh... no. Don't want to see it again. We did take lots of pictures AFTER they were all born, but not during the process. I lived it, and don't want to see it again.