The Juice Box Issue

I'm somewhat of a purest when it comes to beverages. I drink water. It's cheap, and it's good for me. I may drink a Sprite twice a year but that depends if I'm pregnant or sick within that year. I do not plan to be either for the rest of the year at least, (You all plan when you get sick, right?) so it's all water for me for a while. Since I figure water is good enough for me, I figure my kids should be purests too. I'm okay with them drinking water and milk. It's as if I fear they're going to join the statistics of obese children if they drink anything else. That's pathetic.

Obviosly my kids have found more exciting people to give them beverages other than milk and water. I've accepted it calmly and haven't lost it. I figured they're with me most of the time and I increased my determination to just give them milk and water.  Well, that has now all changed.

I caved to the pressure. After sitting through consecutive zoo trip picnics this summer with fun moms who bring drinks for their kids that are the complete envy of Elliana, then watching her drink their drink because she can't resist the thrill of drinking with a straw something other than milk or water from a cool container, I spent the money and bought "juice boxes." I could no longer handle feeling like I was the uncool mom with the sheltered daughter who could not keep her hands off a juice box that didn't belong to her.

Even if the juice boxes I bought were just flavored water, I now consider myself a Juice Box Mom. It feels very cool to be a Juice Box Mom, and Elliana is thrilled. She would've been through the box of drinks in two days if I wouldn't have still exercised some of my drink issue control over her. Control issues don't go away over night.

All thes makes me wonder how many other things am I going to cave into as a mom. Probably better to not think about it!

Issue Updates

Have you noticed a general lack of posting on this blog lately? I'll just say it's an issue I'm having, and in the name of issues, here's a little update on some previous issues I've told you about.

-As far as my wings are concerned, they're still growing out but they don't get to fly as much because my hair is shorter and I don't pull my sides back much. What a great solution!

-I'm so glad I posted about my Ya Ya Issue, because I forgot about it until I saw the post again! Yikes! I better keep working on that.

-I ate about every last flat cookie I had stashed in the freezer and liked them so much I even felt comfortable sharing them with company, straight from the freezer actually. I heard from a lot of people who like flat cookies, but I'm still not going to melt the butter when making cookies again, even if Martha tells me to.

-I haven't driven anymore vehicles into the ditch since my last ditch experience. I think I may have ran a red light the other day, but I wasn't even paying enough attention to know for sure. Now I am paying attention because I still feel scared from that lack of attention experience. The special red 1990 Accord is still a part of our family. It still drives and we've had no problems with it since its off roading experience. However, Robertson Electric just purchased a new-to-us vehicle so Little Red needs to go. I told Brad I'd post about it on the blog, but he said something about how I wouldn't be able to sell the car on my blog. I'm okay that my blog may not be have an enormous following, but you know how I feel about him saying that?

I so want to prove him wrong!

If you'd like to help me do that, here is the link to our add on craigslist.

-My reader is still overloaded. It now has 690 unread items. It's not as much of an issue, because I'm not obsessed with reading every one of them. I could probably quit following a few more, but I am not ready to do that yet. I can only imagine how many unread items will be there when I start work in a few weeks if I have that many there when I'm not working.

-As far as the water glass goes, we have lots of different cup options available now so it's no longer an issue. I think Brad still lives in fear of me drinking from his cup because I've seen a red plastic cup with "Brad" written on it floating around the house.

Thankful Thursday and Major Issue Breakthrough

As you probably know, I just finished reading Beth Moore's book, So Long, Insecurity. I knew I was/am insecure and figured she would tell me I needed to learn "who I am in Christ" to help me get over it. I've heard about all the amazing things I have in Christ so many times, but I've always felt like I can't seem to get it through to heart in order to truly make a difference how I live and think.

In one chapter, Moore writes a prayer and in the prayer was a line that slapped me in the face. I can't copy it from the book because it was due back to the library. I should have written the line down before I returned the book, but because I didn't you'll get my version.

Lord, forgive me for thinking of myself as chopped liver, when You made me.

WOW!  Let me reverse it for you.

Lord, I'm not chopped liver because YOU made me!

I guess He did make liver, but you get the point. How about a positive spin on it.

Lord, because You made me, that makes me valuable. Thanks!

I had never thought of it as sin to think of myself as I did and sometimes still do. Instead of hearing how I needed to think that God views me as His child, as a masterpiece, as something beautiful, etc, I first needed to hear that thinking of myself as pitiful was sin.

Do you know how much this changes for me?  Not only does it change how I view myself, it frees me to view others in much better light.

As for myself, I have a renewed sense of being created by God for a purpose. I may feel like my neck line is unattractive but He made it that way on purpose and maybe even for a purpose. I may feel like I'm incapable of organizing a big event, but I don't have to feel bad about that anymore! I have a renewed curiosity about how He gifted me. I think some things I try to do because I see other people doing them and want to be like them, but I don't want to be that way. I want to use the gifts God's given me. Now I just need to figure out what they truly are. Hmmmm.

As for my view of others...this is amazing to me. If I don't view myself poorly (e.g., spiritually, physically, financially, organizationally, etc.) I can quit feeling so terrible about myself when someone is better than me. I can appreciate how God made them and not be mad at how He made me. I guess on rare occasion I do think I am better than someone else, so now I can quit thinking that too. I find it awkward to try to act like I don't think I'm better than someone when I really think I am. We're all perfectly created by God for a purpose that He has in mind. We're all equally valuable.

My heart still needs work in order to be truly, completely changed to quit thinking so destructively, but I feel like I'm at least on a new path. It's a great feeling. How fun that God can use a book club to work on me.

Would you like to join me in singing the song that just popped in my head?
   

He's still working on me.

To make me what I ought to be.

It took Him just a wink to make the moon and stars.

The sun and Earth and Jupiter and Mars.

How loving and patient He must be.

He's still working on me.

Thank goodness and thank you for joining!

This little breakthrough and the book club are what I'm thankful for this Thursday, and speaking of which, check out the last few posts over at the book club blog.

Wings Issue

See this not so glamourous picture of me? Dumb question I guess, considering I don't know anyone who reads my blog with a visually impaired diagnosis.

I show it to you just to ask if any other mother who has given birth in the last year or so, also has such lovely wings. Let me give you a closer look in case you are visually impaired or in case you don't know what I'm talking about. 

I thought I should be concerned about how my body would change after being pregnant, but no one warned me about the wings. At least it's one issue that will grow away.

 

Ya Ya Issue

I have found a new annoying issue to conquer. I was intently listening to a mom of one of my student's explain what she was wanting for her son and providing unconscious-verbal-feedback-at-the-appropriate-times. Another teacher in the room all of a sudden chimes in when the mom takes a break,

"What Julie means by 'ya' 'ya' (think short and a slightly nasal sounding) is...."

I wanted to redo my unconscious-verbal-feedback-at-the-appropriate-times right there on the spot. It sounded so ugly and gross when I someone helped me finally hear what I was saying.

Then yesterday I heard myself do it again! It was disgusting once more and I vowed to change.

No more short, nasal, ugly sounding 'ya' 'ya''s are going to be unconsciously coming out of this mouth!

(This issue is a lot better than the one I dreamed and thought in my dream that I was going to have to blog about. That was a dinner disaster with company over that I hope never occurs in my lifetime!)

Flat Cookie Issue

See those cookies? FLAT! I wasted an entire nap time plus some on these Iced Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies. (Only follow that link if you will not think less of me as a person when you compare my cookies to Martha's.) Although I still like eating them, they are not worthy of sharing with others like I had eagerly anticipated while I was mixing up the batter. They are practically paper thin and not visually appealing, as if you needed me to tell you that.

Martha failed me, or maybe I failed Martha. I can't seem to make a non flat cookie unless I make a cookie with so much in it that it maintains it's ball shape and crumbles all over when you bite into it. I don't consider myself a bad cook. I like to bake, was in 4-H, inherited good baking genes, lived in Love Hall, usually make edible things and know how to follow directions...most of the time.

I took exception on this pan to the direction that said "baking sheets lined with parchment paper,"

and although I did use parchment paper on this pan, I was unable to follow the direction that said, "bake cookies until golden and just set" due to a child occupying me. It was clearly not my day for cookies.

Really, usually I don't have those issues, just the issue of the flat cookie. I was actually discussing this with a friend a few days ago. We thought that it's related to your butter needing to be room temperature. Well, Martha told me to melt it. I thought she would know, so I followed that direction. Do you think I should have disregarded her direction?  I would love to know your thoughts on how to not make flat cookies because I am sick of all my cookies being 1 mm thick and spread out all over the pan!

Please help me!

Okay I know my drizzling is probably driving you crazy too. I admit it. I have issues with drizzling too.

Driving Issues

(To my B-I-L Shawn, don’t read this. I’ll forever hang my head in shame around you now. I'm so sorry!) 
 

------

I guess I have issues with driving safely.  First that ticket and now…

I was driving along to go help Brad pull a little wire (a true family business I guess) feeling all happy and hopeful about life. I brought the camera along because I thought maybe I would get to go watch a calf be born if helping Brad went quickly. Well, we got to take pictures of this instead.

Instead of turning, the snowy gravel driveway only would let me go straight right into that ditch.

 

CRUNCH! 

 Kids start crying. I figure it's not going to do any good to sit there, so I try to drive out,

 and get stuck here. Not my brightest moment since I could've driven straight the field and avoided having to get pulled out. I forgot to take a deep breath and think. 

We are very fond of this car. 

I feel like I have hurt a good family friend. It yet remains to be seen if we get to keep her in the family or not.

Talk about being mad. I’m such a penny pincher. I registered for the half marathon and told Brad it could be my Mother’s Day present because I feel bad spending that much money. It’s not that I’m worried we won’t have food to eat or that we won’t be able to clothe our children. I’m just tight. It’s yet another one of my issues. Then I go and drive the car into a ditch. Ahhhh!! All I can figure is that God wants me to keep trusting Him. Remember the Christopher Columbus post?

I am thankful that other than Elliana biting her tongue and me having a slight headache today that we are safe and that we didn't flip and all that, but I'm still torqued about the big expense I just incurred. If I can just say AHHHH! One more time. The happy, hopeful feeling about life is going to take a few days to return, I didn't get to help Brad, I didn’t get to see a calf born, and I feel like it’s too expensive for me to drive anymore. I need a permanent chauffer.

Are you wondering why I'm telling you this? I did ponder not telling you all this because doing something like this makes me feel like a complete idiot. However, I figure if I’m going to keep it real I have to show you how I operate at my worst. If you're a regular reader of blogs, I figure it should spice up your blog reading life too. I certainly doesn't have anything to do with cooking, raising children, or saving money. Drive safely folks.

Facebook Issue

Does anyone else have a husband who refuses to get a facebook account but likes to look over their shoulder when they're "facebooking" and uses their facebook to send people messages? That would be our situation. My dad even has an account but Brad (and my sister) are still holding out. I suppose I can't blame him for not wanting an account since he's only seen me wasting my time on facebook repeatedly when I should've been doing something else much more productive.

I refuse to become JulieandBrad becasue what if some long lost friend of mine was looking for me and couldn't find me because my name was JulieandBrad instead of just Julie? Also wouldn't people feel like they were talking to both of us if they wanted to put something on my wall, when really it would just be me most of the time? 

Well, I've come up with a slight solution to this issue. I created a Robertson Electric Page. I figure maybe it can be like his account plus maybe it can help promote the fine business he's starting at the same time. In my mind fans of Robertson Electric are the same as friends of Brad Robertson, so  become a fan if you like. I'd consider any fan of Robertson Electric a "Bright Person." 

Now if I could just become a little brighter and figure out how to write on someone's wall from the Robertson Electric page. Any ideas?

The Crabby Issue

You get married and realize you’re selfish. You have a child and realize you’re still selfish. Then you have another kid and realize you’re STILL selfish! So instead of getting over my selfishness, I’ve just been crabby a lot the last few months. Brad informed me I need to quit being crabby if we ever want to talk about a third child. I’m not sure I want to be taught that I’m yet again still selfish, but still I’ve been working on this crabby issue.

I’ve realized I’m crabby because instead of tending to little people needs, I want...

uninterrupted sleep, 

to experiment with phyllo dough, 

to have a clean house, 

to be organized, 

to eat breakfast in peace, 

to read, 

to workout, 

to blog and surf the blog world, 

to hang out at a coffee shop with my husband,

to talk on the phone without interruption....  

Grant it some of those things made me crabby because they weren't happening before I had kids and I still make some of them happen now, but it’s so much harder to make them happen and they’re often squeezed into nap time and after bed time. So lately I’ve been working on dying to myself, realizing I can’t have all my wants right when I want them, and happily caring for my kids.

(I have still pondered why people say we’re going to miss this. I've wondered if it's because I’ll have forgotten how to read, how to go on a date or how to talk about something other than childrens’ bodily functions? Is it because I won’t care anymore if I only have five different things I make for supper, if my house is clean or if I’m fit? Will I have given up on being a blogger and not know what to do with my time?)

  

I worked four days in a row last week. When I came home after the fourth day, I just wanted to sit and smother my kids, talk with them, make the giggle, and squeeze them. I realized I have other things I want as well. I want to...

cherish my kids, 

listen to them,

treasure their sweetness, 

be intentional in what I do with them,

teach them to follow Jesus,

to have fun with them,

help them develop their talents,

read to them,

make them feel special....

I certainly don’t want them to think I’m crabby all the time.

When my kids are out of the baby and toddler stage, although I won’t miss someone screaming at me because they're not getting their way (where would they get that kind of an idea?), I will miss little people cuddles, hugs and kisses. I’ll miss watching them learn and develop, their quick forgiveness and their giggles. I’ll miss hearing Elliana sing “I’m in the Lord’s Army” and Wyatt’s excitement to see me.  I’ll miss Elliana cheering and clapping when anyone finds a match playing Memory, and Wyatt laughing when she plays peek a boo with him. Why does it have to take me being gone from them days in a row to remind me of that?!

So here’s to a fresh start – crabbing less and loving more! Here’s to pleading with God every day to help me be the mom my kids need and dying daily to all my self centered wants.  

To any woman out there who dreams of being a mom or who has children already with Jesus, I am truly sorry for ever being crabby about being a mom. Here's a hug for you. (  )

Reader Issue Update

So I've worked a bit extra last week and am trying not to be a slave to the internet. The result: my reader hit a high of 329 new items to be read! I now have it knocked down to 92, some of which I've looked at but kept as new so I could attend to them later or because I didn't want to forget something they said. I actually added a couple of subscriptions, one of a neat photographer and one about being a better blogging. I'm going in the wrong direction. I have not yet weeded things down.

You know how I said I was going to wait until some of them had 15 posts? Well, some of them are going to take a long time to get to that. I'm now considering getting rid of the ones that post like crazy (who has time to do that?!)  and keeping the ones that don't. Whatever, I will be weeding it out soon!

Here are some other thoughts I've had in this process....

-If anyone else out there reading this also has a burgeoning reader, they're probably right now wondering why they're wasting their time reading about mine.  Sorry. I don't really even know why I'm blogging about it. 


-After categorizing the blogs I read, I realized I need to diversify my blog selection. Anyone know good blogs about something that's not on this list? I need more to read, you know. 


-I also wondered if anyone I know reading this has a blog that I don't know about it. You'd better tell me about it or else! 

Overloaded Reader Issue

I currently have 191 new items to read in my reader. I so want to sit down and check them all out, but even if I do get a reasonable chunk of time, it's not enough to tackle them all. Some take more than a few minutes to read, others take time because you have to do these few steps to get this free item, then there's the ones that tell me where to print coupons from, and the ones that tell me something happened on my facebook which make me open up facebook and you know how that goes.

I counted.
64 subscriptions =
9 different deal/money saving blogs
25ish (I sort of lost count.) blogs of friends and family, some of whom I wonder if they even still know they have a blog since I don't know that last time they've posted.
7 blogs that are supposed to tell me how to be a good mom and homemaker, although I wonder if all the time I spend trying to find time to read them is counter productive.
8 blogs of families I don't really know but really enjoy spying on.
3 cooking related blogs
4 Husker related blogs and twitter feeds
2 other random twitter feeds
and some other miscellaneous junk

The result - I never have an all read reader. I try to check it here and there to weed out a few that don't apply or check out someone's pictures but seem to always do that when I really should be paying attention to someone else. I've got to figure out what to do.

This is my 2 steo plan to lighten up my reader and deal with this issue.
- I think maybe 9 blogs telling me ways I can save money might be excessive. I'm going to have to let go of worrying if I might miss a deal and get rid of some of those.
- Then there's all the ones that tell me how to be a good mom. I think I'm going to wait until they have 15 posts, which for some of these ladies might only take 1/2 a day the way they seem to post every hours, then I'll look at them in one sitting. If that sitting doesn't encourage me or direct me substantially, they're getting the boot.

That's going to have to do it for starters. I'm not ready to quit spying on people I don't really know and I will not quit reading about my friends. Those are my favorites and I wish you would all blog more!

Sorry about the lack of pictures on this blog. That's another issue I'm going to have to figure out another day.

Christopher Columbus

For us, starting a business means we don't really know what our income is going to look like this year. I really haven't been worried about that because I know God will provide for us. My issue is that I've been concerned we might not get to eat at that amazing burrito restaurant whenever we want, that we will need to live in our current townhouse for the rest of our lives, that I may never be able to afford hiring someone else to clean my house, and that I'll always have to wonder if it's okay for me to buy something that's not absolutely necessary. Really my concern is that I won't be able to live a life of luxury. I know that sounds absolutely ridiculous and self absorbed on so many fronts, but that's the truth.

Then Brad started telling me about this history book he's had his nose buried in the last few days, "The Light and the Glory" by Peter Marshal and David Manuel. He would highly recommend it.  I currently remember what he was telling me about it going something like this...

"Blah, blah, blah"
(I'm nodding and listening as best I can.) 
"blah, blah, blah, we should read this book to our kids when they're learning history in school."
(Still nodding and listening and saying how I'm terrible with my history.)
"Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah and Christopher Columbus, he started out seeking the Lord but then got consumed with seeking fame and fortune."

It litereally came to me then. Wham right up side the head!
Matthew 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."  Read the whole passage here if you're interested. It's so refreshing. I may never have a housekeeper, but I can focus on living for something that matters so much more than that!

As for Christopher Columbus, if I remember what Brad said, his seeking of fame and fortune didn't help him out very much in the end.

The Water Glass

Here is our water glass issue.

Brad and I usually each keep the same water glass for a couple of days. He used to have a red one and I’d have one of the big ones that you’d get from a Husker basketball or football game. Well, I got tired of the flimsy white game cup and his red cup is not around so we’ve both been using cups that look exactly alike. I don’t want to change cups and he doesn’t either. Actually, at our country house we don't have any other options other than kids cups.

We never know whose is whose and end up with about four glasses sitting around because we just get a new one when we don’t know which one is ours. It's starting to irritate me. I think it’s even causing me to drink less water because I’ll see a cup and think, “I don’t want to drink out of that because I don’t know if that’s mine or his.” How dumb is that? If we share germs when we kiss, we might as well just share germs when we drink our water.

Maybe we should start having one married community water cup. On second thought, maybe we should just sit down and have a discussion about designated spots for our own water cups. Healthy discussion about such things is good for a marriage.