Memory Verse - 2 Corinthians 10:5

In an effort to not only memorize this verse, but actually hide it in my heart, I am studying several different translations.

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ... (ESV)

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (NIV)

We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. (NLT)

An E-mail from My Sister

Loved this e-mail that I received from my Sister yesterday. T is my almost 2 month old niece.

... my asst called today to tell me they are starting baby sign language with the babies at daycare next week. So T will get to learn when she starts in August. Uh-oh, we'd better hope Ladybug and T don't use sign language as their "secret cousin language".

Did you have a secret language with siblings, cousins or friends when you were growing up?

Top Ten Ways to Eat Cucumbers

Since I am having such a bounty from my 5 cucumbers plants (in containers!), here are some ways that we are or will be putting this harvest to use:

1. Sliced, plain or with a little bit of salt

2. In pasta salad

3. In sandwiches

4. Gurkensalat (recipe from Frugal Upstate)

5. Fire and Ice Salad (recipe from Southern Plate)

6. Cucumber salsa - haven't made this yet, but it sounds great! (hat tip to Mom2TwoVikings)

7. Cucumber granita (sorbet) - haven't made this yet either, but it sounds so refreshing!

8. Cucumber dill dip - my mother-in-law makes this and it's wonderful!

9. Cucumber lemondade - add a pureed cuke to your lemonade, serve over ice - ahhhh!

10. Cucumber marmalde - this sounds really interesting! I am definitely going to have to try this!


Notice that I didn't even include those little cucumber tea sandwiches? Ugh. I hate white bread!

Did you know that cucumbers are technically a fruit (just like tomatoes are also a fruit)? They are the fertilized, mature reproductive part of the flower, which in the science world, makes them a fruit. Learn something new every day, don't you?




Respectifully submitted for:

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I am Blissfully Domestic

Where Has God Walked?

The Old Testament reading for this Sunday was from Job. Have you read much of the book of Job? It's great reading.

After Job's friends tell him to get over his problems, Job still will not blame God for his hardships. His attitude isn't right though, so God reprimands him in quite a humbling way.

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind:

"Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?

Gird up your loins like a man,

I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

Tell me, if you have understanding.

Who determined its measurements-- surely you know!

Or who stretched the line upon it?

On what were its bases sunk,

or who laid its cornerstone

when the morning stars sang together

and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?




"Or who shut in the sea with doors

when it burst out from the womb? --

when I made the clouds its garment,

and thick darkness its swaddling band,

and prescribed bounds for it,

and set bars and doors,

and said, `Thus far shall you come, and no farther,

and here shall your proud waves be stopped'?




"Have you entered into the springs of the sea,

or walked in the recesses of the deep?

Have the gates of death been revealed to you,

or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?

Declare, if you know all this."

Job 38:1-11,16-18

I admit that my mind began to wonder a bit after I heard these words read. Imagine the places that God has walked. He knows every stone and pebble, both on the surface of the earth and under the earth. He knows every tree, every leaf, every flower, and every seed. He knows every drop of water.

For me, the mind boggling revelation as I listened to this passage was that in addition to God knowing all of Creation, He knows each one of us. He knows us so well that He can number the hairs on His head. His knowledge about His Creation is infinite!

And the fact that He knows everything about everything here on this earth AND still has the capacity to love and care for us is amazing to me. God's love truly is amazing!

Catching Up

It's been a very busy week. Heck, it's been a busy month. Not like May was chaotic, but June has kept us busy!

We've been doing a lot of swimming. Ladybug is doing really well with dog paddling. She has a swimsuit with a flotation device built in. It keeps her afloat, but not always upright. So I keep my hands on her waist to help her with balance. She loves swimming!

I harvested my first cucumbers from my garden this week!
We've had them for snacks, in pasta salad, and in pita sandwiches. I attempted homemade pitas for the first time, and they didn't turn out as I was expecting. I went back and re-read the instructions and read a couple of tips to help them have a pocket in the center. But I don't think my oven got hot enough, because they were still a bit doughy. They were more like flatbread sandwiches. We stuffed them with grilled chicken, lettuce, bean sprouts, shredded carrots, sliced cucumbers, and cheese. And then after that healthy meal, we went out for ice cream!

Hubby's schedule continues to be a challenge. Between working and his internship, he has several longs days every week. Which means we only see him for about an hour on those days. Not fun for him or us. Ladybug and I miss him on those days!

I've noticed something interesting with Ladybug's naps lately. She used to be down for a nap by 12noon, sometimes later. But now she doesn't want to nap until sometimes 2:00! And she's napping for 1.5 hrs, instead of just an hour. Some other moms on Twitter confirmed that their kiddos did some adjusting with their naps around 2 years old. So I'm glad to know it's sort of normal.

But my dilemma comes in that she is napping later in the day which affects bedtime. As in she doesn't fall asleep until closer to 8:30 instead of 7:30. On days that Hubby is home, it's not a huge deal, because he's able to help her run off some energy. But when it's just me, I am ready for her to be in bed and asleep by 7:30. Those are long days for me and I'm worn out!

Parents, did your kiddos adjust their naptime? If they nap later in the day, how do you deal with bedtime? I'd love to hear what has worked for you!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! And Happy Father's Day to all you wonderful Dads out there!

Caption This

This picture deserves a great caption, but I'm at a loss! I had jeans drying on the rack, and when I took them off, here I see these two sheep. A certain toddler put them there.

So what do you think?

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Tackle It Tuesday

This is the first time I have blogged about a project that I have tackled. This particular project has plagued me for some time, so I had to take before and after pictures just so I could remember this brainstorm that I had!

Before Ladybug (2 years old) became mobile, we bought a new entertainment cabinet with doors, in hopes that when she became mobile, she wouldn't be able to get into it. Yeah right. Anyone with kids knows that they are able to figure out the most complex problems at a very young age.

Not only did Ladybug figure out early how to open the cabinet, but she loved to push buttons (still does!), so when the cabinet was open for TV viewing, we were constantly saying "no touch!" The solution to that became to move the components (DVD player, stereo system, etc) to the top of the cabinet. Not very pretty, but it worked. So we stored our DVDs in the bottom area where the components used to be.The Ladybug developed the curiosity of a cat and had to figure out these DVD things. She quickly became an expert at opening the cases, popping out the disc, removing the paper cover, and ripping the plastic sleeve.

Now, I am not usually uptight about "things." If she rips a few DVD sleeves, who cares? But then she broke a disc. This girl is a hulk; she is freakishly strong for a 2 year old.

All of that preamble to present the problem. Here are the before pictures of our TV cabinet and her toy area that is next to it.
I got the brilliant brainstorm of removing the DVDs from the lower portion (black hole, I like to call it), and filling that area with her books, or at least some of her books.

Voila!She has her own little reading nook. It makes the toy area a bit neater. I don't have to worry about her ripping apart DVDs anymore. And the DVDs are now living in a box behind the couch. They're safe. Until she develops super-human strength and begins to lift furniture.

Thanks for stopping by to check out my tackle! For more tackles, don't forget to visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

A Tongue in Cheek Look at Cheeks (and other body parts)

It's summertime. Time for lots of fun outdoor activities that include water. Time to be grossed out because someone's idea of modest is very different from mine own.

I am amazed, really, that some people think that what they are wearing is flattering. Men and women. I am guessing that the people who truly do not care what others think of them is a rather small number. So if most people do care what others think of them, why do they dress in such immodest and unflattering "clothes?"

Let's start with bikinis. There are lots of reasons to dislike them, from both the viewer's and wearer's perspective. Not that I have any recent experience, as a wearer of a bikini, I would think that the fabric that lodges itself between the butt cheeks would be a tad uncomfortable. And having to remove it often would be a tad bit embarrassing. Not to mention having to wax and/or shave in so many places would get a bit tedious to me.

And the bikini top? There are two extremes. Some women have nothing up there that helps hold the bikini top in place. Then there are others who have so much that there isn't enough fabric to cover everything. If I were to choose a bikini (which won't be anytime soon), I would want at least the same amount of coverage that my underwear provides for me.

Let's not leave the men out of this discussion. You don't realize it until swim suit season, but clothes cover a multitude of sins, including the indulgence of too much beer in one's younger years. Wow. There are a lot of beer bellies out there. Men, when you choose a swim suit, please make sure that it stays secure under that belly of yours. Don't try to tie the drawstring around your belly, because we all know that you have no waist that might prevent your swim trunks from slipping too far down. I really DO.NOT. want to see certain parts of male anatomy from behind. If ya know what I mean.

Now, I could go into all the moral and Biblical reasons for modesty. But that's not what this post is about. This is my attempt at a fun public service announcement. Ladies and Gents, please do a couple of things before you decide to buy a new swim suit.

First, look in the mirror! If the suit doesn't cover parts when it's dry, do you really think that it will cover them when wet?

Second, I think it should be mandatory in retail stores that sell swim suits that there be a trick mirror that simulates the wet look, i.e. the way your suit will look upon emerging from the pool or surf.

And third, when in doubt, ask a friend if they would be seen with you if you were to wear that particular swim suit in public. I think we might actually be embarrassing our friends more than ourselves when we wear unflattering swim wear.

So consider this your friendly public service announcement. Friends don't let friends wear bad swim suits.

Photo Credit: stock.xchng

Tires Tire Me Out

I have a love-hate relationship with vehicle tires. I learned how to change a tire in Driver's Ed, way back in the dark ages, but never had to apply that knowledge. Until 1994. Thus began our torrid affair.

It was a late winter/early spring weekend, and a college friend and I were driving on a rural stretch of highway en route to visit a potential grad school. It was raining cats and dogs. I was driving my 1992 Plymouth Sundance. Suddenly, I heard a loud POP and I started having a hard time keeping the car in one lane.

I pulled over on this lonely stretch of highway and discovered that I had a tire blow out. And it was raining cats and dogs. I get the owner's manual out and refresh my memory on changing the tire. I formulate a plan to get the spare out of the trunk and get the tire changed in the least amount of time. We get the job done, got soaked to the bone, and I skinned my knuckles pretty bad in the process.

Next step was to find a service station that could fix my tire, since the spare was only a donut and wouldn't be able to handle the rest of the trip. Easier said than done on a Sunday afternoon in rural northern Kentucky.

To make a long story short, we finally found a service station, got the tire fixed, and continued on our merry way. (A piece of road debris had pierced the tire.) Then I continued to have random weird tire troubles.

Another flat tire caused by driving in the grass at the campground. Random flat tire driving around town. And the time someone clipped my truck and broke the tire rim. Don't even get me started about the flat tire on Hubby's jeep when we were at Storm-thus 2002. (That was a definte bounding experience in our courtship.) And in the last five years, we seem to have vehicles with tires that continually have issues.

Our current mini-van has had two tires with issues. The current issue is causing me to get air about twice a week. Hubby tried fix-a-flat. Now it's time to take it to a service station and get the stupid thing fixed.

I know there are worse problems that I could have. But c'mon. I'm really tired of having tire issues.

Photo Credit: stock.xchng

I Love My Garden

My garden is one of my favorite places. It has taken me a few years to adjust to living in the South and learn what plants work here. Finally, I am seeing success! Also, I branched out and have 3 tomato plants and 5 cucumber plants this year. I don't have a good space for a vegetable garden, so the veggies are hanging out in the flower garden. (ah, suburban living!)

I love being able to sit on my front porch in the early morning or after Ladybug (2 years old) goes to bed. The peace and quiet is amazingly refreshing!

I thought I would share my garden with you today!

Several of my day lilies - I just love the color variations
My cucumbers

My tomatoes are in topsy turvy growers (this was taken a few weeks ago, so they are much bigger now!)And we call this "Susie's Garden" in memory of our first daughter. Another reason to love hanging out in this space!

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What I've Learned This Week

Jo-Lynne at Musings of a Housewife hosts a fun weekly carnival called "What I've Learned This Week." I learned a couple of things that I thought I would share with y'all.

First, I learned that Ladybug is at the stage of talking that not even Mama understands everything she says. She has gained so many words in the past few weeks, but her pronunciation is still unclear, that I have to do a guessing game with her sometimes. Even with the signs that she knows, sometimes it takes a while for me to understand what she is saying. (I feel like a horrible mother for not being able to understand my child, but that's another post.)

Case in point, on Friday Ladybug looked at me and said, "Chaw!" It was snack time so I thought she was asking for chocolate for snack. I said, "No, we can't have chocolate for snack." I get a quizzical look in response. Okay, that's not what she was saying. I said, "Chair? Are you saying chair?" Her looks becomes even more confused, bordering on frustration. Finally, I look around and see her Lamb Chop sitting next to me. Ah! She was saying "Chop" for Lamb Chop!

Not even Mamas can understand their toddler 100% of the time!

Second thing I learned this week is that deodorant is most effective when you actually apply to your skin. Seems that I've been a bit distracted lately. I was wondering why I was a bit stinky...

Aren't you glad the internet doesn't come with a smell-ernet feature? I'm just saying....

Co-Sleeping Update

I know that I have mentioned before that we are co-sleepers. If you had asked me 2 years and 1 week ago if we would share our bed with our child, I would have said no. But co-sleeping has become a part of parenting that I enjoy.

First, even though we are sleeping, it's time together as a family. With Hubby in grad school plus working, Ladybug and I don't get to see much of him some days. Especially now that he has started his (unpaid) internship. He has several 12+ hour days each week.

Second, it allows us to get more sleep. Ladybug has been night weaned for well over a year, so she doesn't wake to nurse. But she can be a restless sleeper and if she wakes up in the middle of the night, we are right there to soothe her back to sleep without having to get up.

As much as I love to snuggle with my girlie on the nights when Hubby is either working late or studying, she getting a little big to be sharing our queen size bed with us.

We took down the crib a while ago. We had only been using it for containment purposes anyway, and Ladybug learned how to climb out of it. In its place, we have been using the pack-n-play for times when LB needs to be contained, like when I need to shower and Hubby is not home.

We moved the crib mattress into our bedroom and have been telling LB that it is her bed. She played on it some, took one nap on it, then wanted nothing to do with it. That was several months ago. So we leaned the crib mattress up against the bookshelf so that no one would trip on it (not that anyone did, and not that anyone had a large bruise on her face because of tripping and falling).

Just this week (after her godmother asked how the sleeping was going), Ladybug wanted to play on her bed again. Every night this week, she has started out sleeping (willingly!) in her own bed and stayed there for a few hours. She has also taken her naps this week on her own bed.

So we are making progress! I do love snuggling with Ladybug and having her close, but I also look forward to not being a contortionist while I try to sleep! My back and neck looks forward to that too!

Once Ladybug begins sleeping all night on her own mattress, we'll look into getting her a "big girl" bed for her room.

Link Round-Up

It's been a rough week around here. So I'm sharing links to some things that I've been reading lately.

Shampoo-Free: How and Why at Sorta Crunchy (I'm considering going 'poo free)

Kid Friendly Snacks at Snack Snoop (hat tip Kidfoodie)

12 Clever Ways to Reuse Coffee Grounds

Watermelon Pops

Wholesome Toddler Food (hat tip Amber)

Homemade Frozen Fruit Sorbet (I made this for Ladybug's birthday!)

Birthday Girl

Sunday was Ladybug's 2nd birthday. We had family over for some fun, good food, cake, and presents. I didn't get as many pictures as I would like due to 1) LB jumping in the wading pool with her clothes while Hubby was "in charge;" 2) a regular (non-swim) diaper exploding due to #1; 3) trying to keep LB from falling too much on the slip-n-slide; 4) then having to wrangle a wet toddler into the house and into dry clothes so that we could eat dinner; and 5) trying to keep said toddler inside the house when she wanted to play in the water.

Anyway, here are a few pictures that I did get.

The Bumblebee Cake that I made

Enjoying her new wading pool with slide from Grandma & Grandpa

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Tiny Talk Tuesday

Some cute things that Ladybug (now 2 years old!) has been saying:

Ladybug loves to play with her Little People animals, and she received the Noah's Ark set for her birthday. She knows all the names and signs for the animals, but there is just one that she cannot saying quite right. She says, "Fir-affe" instead of giraffe - so cute!

Ladybug makes associations now, and I love to see how her mind works. I often say, "It's dirty" and "It's yucky" to refer to the same thing. So now if I say "yucky" she says "dirty" and vice versa.

And she is also associating similar sounding words. She knows "hurt" from the signing that we do. We were reading a book and the word "heart" came up. She looked at me and said/signed, "hurt?" I said, "No, it's heart. Sounds like hurt, but different. Heart." And I signed "heart" while saying that. Now she will say/sign "heart" as well!

Ladybug also loves to make animal sounds. Currently, when she says, "woof woof," it sounds more like "whoa whoa!" I love it!
I know there are more, but that's all I am remembering this morning. For more Tiny Talk Tuesday, visit Mary at Not Before 7.