Saturday, February 27, 2010

LOVE LANGUAGES



There are books.

There are seminars.

There are classes.

I will just share MY take on the Love Languages.

Did you know there are love languages? Do you know what they are? Do you know what yours is? Your spouse? Your kids? Well, check this out...

There are five, yep, FIVE Love Languages.

They are:

Acts of Service
Gifts
Physical Touch
Quality Time
Words of Affirmation

Just looking at that list you probably know what yours is.... and if you are female, there is a GOOD chance that you (and every other female reading this) know what your spouse's love language is. LOL!

I want to focus mostly on the kids... to be more specific, MY kids.

What is mine?

Gifts... my love language is gifts. I like to get things. This doesn't make me shallow or materialistic. I would just as soon get a new vacuum cleaner as a new blouse. I adore when my children draw a picture for me or pick a weed flower for my window sill.

My hubby is physical touch. That does not mean s-e-x. Always. He loves to hold my hand. Touch my foot with his while we watch TV.... loves when I pat his shoulder as I walk by.

The idea behind the love languages is that each person has a "love tank." Now, go ahead and giggle... get everything smutty and inappropriate out of your head because I'm not meaning it that way....

Done? Good

Every person has a love tank. And, just like a car needs fuel, your love tank needs to be refilled. It is difficult to always love and feel as though you are not being loved. But, think about it. Are you not being loved? Or are you just not being loved in the way you want/need? If you "refill" the love tank of those around you, you have a greater chance of having your love tank filled the way you need.

This goes for everyone: friends, parents, spouses, kids.... anyone. Sometimes it is easy to figure out the love language. Sometimes, it is a bit more difficult, especially if 2 of them overlap. For kids, it can be hard. In fact, it is too difficult to say during the first 3 years as all love languages are equally important to infants and toddlers. But, watch your kids... you should be able to figure it out.

On to my kids.

My oldest needs quality time and words of affirmation. Words hurt him deeply. If I say that I don't like how he is acting, he hears that I don't want him around. He loves to sit and read or play a game on the computer and have Mom or Dad there. He doesn't have to have us play with him, he just needs us close. So, we go on dates. Dad takes him to breakfast. We always tell him we are proud of him and that we love him... and, more importantly, that he cannot lose that love. Ever.

My 2nd is physical touch and acts of service. When he was younger, I would walk past his bedroom at night (just before he would fall asleep) and hear him smack his lips in a kiss-sound, asking for a goodnight kiss. He still requests being tucked into bed. As far as acts of service, I know this is one because he is quick to serve. I might say, "You need to get your own breakfast this morning." Before I know it, he has prepared breakfast for all 4 boys.

My 3rd is gifts and physical touch. He loves to snuggle. He loves those hugs. He also attaches to gifts. It doesn't have to be a big thing. But, if he gets something unexpectedly, it will be carted around for a long time. He will ask for it if he loses it.

My 4th is physical touch. He is VERY MUCH physical touch. He will come into bed, in the wee hours of the morning, and lift my shirt (not too far up) and lift his shirt, and touch belly to belly.... Or, he will lay his head on my belly. He holds my hand without prompting and will ask to be carried from room to room.

I have told people that I am not a mother of 4. I am 4 mothers to 4 different boys. I cannot treat them the same. That would be utterly unfair to them and it would not fill their tanks. They could not be truly happy.

So, what is your love language? I would love to know. If you are not sure, try this test....

http://www.afo.net/hftw-lovetest.asp


COME BACK MONDAY! I hope to start (again) MAKING A HAPPY HOME MONDAY!!!

Monday, February 22, 2010

SO...

I heard it again the other day, about this year being the END of the decade.

Let me break it down for you if you still don't get it.

This is the beginning of the decade. I can prove it...

The decade (which is 10 years... you do know that, right?).... the decade of the 90s STARTED in 1990 and ended with 1999.

Go ahead. Count them out.

1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

There's 10 there.... count them.... COUNT THEM!

That means that the next decade STARTED with 2000 and ENDED in 2009. We are starting a new decade.

Yes, I know that zero is not a counting number, but it doesn't apply here. A decade is a length of time....

When my son celebrated his 10th birthday, he was celebrating being alive for a full decade, NOT celebrating starting the last year of that decade.

Do you get it?

Good....

I'm glad I got that off my chest.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

WEATHER


So, here in North Texas, we get all sorts of weather. The things you can absolutely count on, year in and year out are: super hot in summer and a tornado warning or 6.

We are either in drought or facing flash floods. We have a cool and comfortable fall... which lasts about 2 weeks. Our springs are beautiful... and equally short. Our winters are more fall-like if comparing to the upper states.

In winter, we stay around 50 with nights dipping to around freezing. When we do have winter weather, it only lasts a day or 2. Really cold temps (for us) hit in the mid 20s. And any winter precipitation to be enjoyed comes in the form of ice. IF we get snow... and I say "IF" it hits in the northern most part of the metroplex with only a light dusting. Any measurable snowfall occurs only every 4-8 years.

A typical "ice stormy-day" looks like this: wake up in the low 40s (with the warning of a front coming in.) Winds shift and pick up. Rain starts, turning to sleet. School released early so parents won't be in ice at real dismissal time. Sleet continues for a few hours. Hard freeze overnight. School cancelled for the day. Temps, that day stay below freezing. Then, the NEXT day, watch out for black ice in the morning. Temps rise to over 50 and we all breathe a sigh of relief that we have survived another North Texas winter.

This winter has been.... well... it has been unusually cold. We have had some days where we have been greeted by teens and/or single digit true temps.... which doesn't happen often. We have had a really long string of sub-freezing nights and below average temperature days.

Well, two weeks ago today, we started hearing buzz about some winter weather... usually means really cold and then, possibly ice. We don't get too excited until the day before when the forecast is fine-tuned enough to actually make plans.

Imagine our surprise when Thursday morning, we awoke to a light dusting of snow on the ground.

Now before I go on, I need to tell you of the moans, whines and extreme disappointment of my children when I took them to school. Our "snow" usually melts within a few hours, as the ground is so warm. I am known to let the kids skip school in order to play in the snow... because, sadly, it will be gone by the time they get home.

As it was so cold and the sky looked promising, I carted them off to school. I made promises to come get the kids at the first sign of melting. Imagine my surprise when we got a call that school was dismissing early "due to worsening road conditions."

SO, I loaded up #4 and went to pick up #s 1-3.... the 15 minute trip took me 25 minutes... not too bad. I parked in a way that I wouldn't have to back up and risk hitting something/someone because of an icy/foggy back window.

I got stuck in the parking lot.

Really.

In the 10 minutes I was in the school, the FTU got stuck. I had to "rock" the FTU a bit to finally get out.

It took me 40 minutes to get home.

School was cancelled Friday.

Church cancelled Sunday (due to no power).

School was cancelled Monday (due to no power).

I have never seen so much snow in my life. Nor have my children.


Friday morning



Moose, the dog, chin deep in the white stuff




Snow Angels




Thirteen inches total



Momma's boots



#4 on Thursday looking over the neighbor's yard



#3 in the fort on Thursday



#s 1 and 2 enjoying every minute


One week later, we are seeing the last of the snow-creatures melt, puddles growing while snow shrinks in the shadows and 60 degrees......

WINTER IN NORTH TEXAS!

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

JUST FIVE LITTLE WORDS

My friend Lisa (not the same Lisa who does Tempt My Tummy Tuesday) posted this entry awhile back. It was interesting, so I thought I would do it.

The deal is this.... Lisa gave me 5 words. I am supposed to tell you the first thing that comes to mind. Kind of fun. I asked her for my words... then I flagged the email so I would remember, but not over-analyze as I knew I wouldn't be able to post right away. But now?

Wait right here... let me go get my words:

OK, here we go:

She said: Cream

I think: I could put my face in it!

I LOVE CREAM! Heavy cream. I don't like sour cream. Sometimes I whip it, with very little sugar, to garnish a decadent dessert. More often, I pour it over ice cream. It hardens and creates a thin shell. YUMMY! You will not find Cool Whip or anything else (unless it is used specifically in a dessert or salad), but you will almost always be able to find a quart of heavy cream in my fridge.




She said: Cafe (and put a little doo-hickey/accent mark over the "e" which is a talent which seems to elude me.)

I think: HOW do I get that accent mark? Lisa... you will have to post a tutorial. Other than that, I think of truck stops. When I was little, after my dad would come in from work and get a little rest, we would leave for the long drive to Oklahoma. We would leave about 5:30 a.m. I can remember stopping around 7-8 in the morning at truck stops for breakfast. Not necessarily the best memory... the smell of the cigarette smoke mixing with the grease from other things was a bit nauseating.

She said: Smart

I thought: hmmm.... what do I think? Smart car? Whatever. Smart a$$? Usually. Intelligence? Obviously. LOL! ;) Heh... that's about it.




She said: Green

I thought: My yard is still green. It's not the bright "spring green," but 80% of my yard is green. The flip thought is green as in "environmental." Again, whatever. Green is the favorite color of my 1st and 3rd. My carpet is green. I have had green carpet for the past 10-12 years... it seems like EVERY place has carpet this color. Next time I get to pick... it will NOT be green!



She said: Shin

I thought: Come ON, Lisa! Give me something to work with here! LOL!

First thought.... "The shin bone's connected to the..... knee bone. The knee bone's connected to the... thigh bone. Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones."



OK... so I couldn't find anything that really stuck me for the others. Sorry. LOL! I need to go get the kids, anyway.

If you want 5 words of your own, just leave me a comment and I will get some to ya!

Y'all have a great day!

Sunday, February 07, 2010

DISNEY - FINALLY

Honestly.... does this picture just melt your heart into a puddle? #4 only wanted to see 2 things.... Mickey Mouse and Little Einsteins. He got to do both. When Mickey bent down, #4 went right to him for a big, mousy hug.

I know I will not be able to convey to you, my reader(s), the absolute joy that was experienced by all. Even in the past 10-15 minutes, as I was going through the HUNDREDS of photos, my eyes were tearing up at the memories made. My ONLY regret about this is that I don't think I will be able to convince hubby to take us every year.... but I'm going to try.

I will do my best to share some pics that are meaningful, plus a few anecdotes. I think this will actually be better than giving a day-by-day run down. OR, maybe I'll end up doing both. I don't really know.... just keep reading. =)

Our trip started the first Friday in December. My kids didn't know what was coming. We dressed them, packed their lunch, and shipped them off to school, just as we do any other day. However, once attendance was taken, we pulled them out. Thanks to the help of some friends who work in the office, we were able to make this a wonderful surprise. We had the kids (one-by-one) called out of the office. It sounded something like this:

"Mrs. D?"
"Yes?"
"We need DS #1 to come to the office. He is leaving for the day. He is going to Disney World."

At that, the speaker was left on so we could hear the reactions from the other kids. "AHHHHHHH!!!!" Total. Coolness.

We did that for all three. We then went to the house for a potty break and to change clothes. They never even noticed that we were packed for 6 people the whole week prior (10-day's worth of clothes, I might add.) It was awesome.

We drove... an 18 hour drive in all, but honestly, it wasn't bad. And when you consider the major loot we saved by purchasing a bottle of Benadryl vs. 6 round-trip plane tickets.... well that, my friend, is some considerable moolah.

So we didn't stay at a resort. Again.... major moolah. The world didn't stop spinning. We don't feel like our Disney experience suffered. We had our own vehicle, stayed right across the street from Down Town Disney AND had free lodging, thanks to hubby's job perks. We probably got out for about 50% of the average Disney vacation for a family our size. (Just guessing, of course.)

We went to Animal Kingdom, Disney Studios, Magic Kingdom and Epcot over the course of 6 days. (We drove for 2 days either side of our stay.) We woke up early and went to bed late each night, save one. We were totally worn out. But, the kids were troupers and did so well. I'm proud of them. We had a blast.

Some of our fondest memories:

Did you know a 41-inch 4 year old can ride the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror? Hee hee..... yep. This is probably the best story, but I need to lay a little background.

My 4th son calls hotels "Abilenes." Yes... Abilene... as in the city in Texas. Why? Easy... his first memory of staying in a hotel was in Abilene.

"Daddy? Where are we going?"
"To Abilene."

There ya go.

So, we get on the TZTT. We go strap into the elevator. Go up, up, up. I get a good grip on said young'un, as I know he is about to freak out. Lights go out, we drop. Go back up. We drop. Repeat. Repeat. The whole time, my baby is screaming.

We come to a stop. EVERYbody lets him off first, since he is tearing out of his seatbelt yelling, "We have to get outta here!"

As soon as I step off, he collapses against me in tears. Why is this the best memory? Because of the following...

He says, "This is NOT a safe Abilene! I want to go to a DIFFERENT Abilene!" LOL

Then, later that night, he looks at me with THE most serious look and says, "Momma! If duh man says, "Duh elevator is ready for you." DON'T GO! It is a spooky ride!" HAHAHAHA!!!

That was the 2nd day. After that, he would put his head down and close his eyes during every ride that took us into a tunnel of some kind. He would also look for seat belts to determine if the ride was OK.

My 3rd son probably got the most out of the trip. He love, love, LOVED every bit of it. He was a madman, asking to get on the TZTT again. He loved Space Mountain and anything else that went "Super-duper fast."

My oldest, bought a Goofy hat. We were in one of the shows that is interactive. Well, my oldest had his noggin put on the big screen when one of the "jokesters" said, "First, let me show you something really goofy." This is focusing on the kid who does NOT like to be focused on. It totally made his day, and he still reminds me of it, from time to time.

My 2nd son really got into everything, too. He realized he wasn't going to die if he rode a roller coaster. He is now chomping at the bit to get into Six Flags, knowing that those rides are small taters compared to what he did at Disney. The cool thing for him was that his birthday was at Disney. He got a button that said "Happy 9th Birthday, DS #2." All of the cast members would tell him, "Happy Birthday." He also got a $68 gift card FROM Disney to spend on whatever he wanted. I don't know about you, but I think that is totally cool.

One night, we went to Epcot and ate dinner in "Germany." Well, they had a Polka band and some little kids were dancing on the floor. My 3rd said, "Can anyone dance?" I told him that yes, they could. I then asked if he wanted to dance. He said, "No." Well, a few minutes later, he wanted to go and asked me to go with him. I went and we twirled around a few times when suddenly it was like "Saturday Night Fever" took over. He pushed me back, threw his hands in the air and twisted and turned. He did cartwheels (as well as a 6 year old boy can) and mule-kicks. He even attempted a wee bit of break-dancing as he sat on his rump and spun around. I cried from laughter that night. It was great!!!

THEN, the band started to play the Chicken Dance. My 3rd yelled, "I KNOW THIS!" And was a VERY animated chicken.

We didn't check our computer, we didn't talk on the phone. It was a long-awaited, well-deserved, family vacation that I hope to repeat soon and often. Can we, Honey? PLEEEEESE???

Following are just a few pictures. I might caption a few. Some speak for themselves.


Mom and DS #2.

DS #3 watching fireworks.

The Cartwheel

The family at Epcot

#4 in the red Mickey hat, #2 behind, #1 leaning on mom, #3 in the other stroller

Light Parade at Magic Kingdom

Cinderella's Castle at night during the Christmas season

These joyous smiles were common. Note the shirt... it is no longer "soccer monster" that is a daily wear, but Thomas.

DS #2 holding up part of the castle on his birthday.

Waiting for Magic Kingdom to open. DS #3, 4, 1 and 2

Woody

DS #2 on the train at Magic Kingdom

Snowfall on the streets of Disney Studios

Mom and the kids

#3 with his favorite Disney characters: Leo and Annie

Dad and 3 of the boys in "Andy's Room" at the Toy Story ride

Mom and DS #1

The boys in the Candyland game in Andy's room.

Santa Goofy.... or is it Goofy Santa?

That look of wonder.... LOVE IT!

Dad and DS #3... he was the happiest kid!

And so was this one!!!

Mom and the boys with Pluto.... our first character sighting

Our passes


The end.....

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

MY BIRTHDAY

SO, last year, I shared with you, BAKAWA and how she got her name. Here is is, if you have forgotten.






Her name is "BAKAWA" (pronounced /bah-kuh-wah/) I'll explain the origin of that name.
I need to put a little history down.

My hubby and I, if you remember, have known each other for MORE THAN 30 years....and have been married for almost 18 of those year. A lot of our personality is the same. Our sense of humor....even more so. Usually, he only has to say one word (or start to) and I start laughing because I get the joke.

One time, I didn't.

One day, many years ago, this horse fly was buzzin' around me. I asked, "Dang! Is that a horse fly?"

My hubby's reply...."No....it's a baf."

Me - "A what?"

Hubby - "A baf."

Me - "There is no such thing."

Hubby - "Of course there is....look it up!"

Me - "OK....how do you spell it?" as I grab the dictionary.

Hubby - " B - A - F."

I start flipping. Stop. Look at him and start laughing and said, "Is it a big-a$ fly?"

It was. Isn't that funny?

So now, anytime there is something funny or impressive to us, we will name it a "BA-", the last letter actually being the first letter of the object. So a pimple might be a BAP.

OK....now you know about the first 2 letters of Bakawa's name.

You can figure out the next 2 quite easily.....what is the gadget I have so fondly named?

The final 2 letters? Heeee heeee...this makes me laugh, still...."With Attachments!" ROFLMBO!!!!

SO...Bakawa means "Big A$$ Kitchen Aid With Attachments."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!


For my birthday, I got a watch, a few meals out and.......

LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA - (Angels singing)


BEHOLD!!! LAKAWA!!!!




HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!!!