Every Movie Should Be This Good

Bella.

See it. As soon as possible.
There's nothing else to say.

Thought Provoking...

Every artwork has an element of redemption because it is an act of creation before it becomes an artifact we respond to.

-Karsten Piper, in the comments of “Does a story need ‘an element of redemption’”

HT: 22 Words

Time for Daddy to Come Home

David's been on another business trip all week. He left Monday afternoon and returns tonight.

All in all, it's been a very smooth week. But this morning I realized that it was time for the week to END.

Before 7:30, Andrew had opened the exterior door while the alarm was still armed. I could not hear the cries for help, since I was in the shower at the time. After 45 seconds of plaintive beeping, the alarm goes into END OF THE WORLD DEAFENING SIREN mode. This, in turn, sends Cameron into a fit of terrified screaming, "MOM! MOOOOOOOMMMM!!". He thought I was outside in the garden, so he ran outside screaming. That noise, coupled with the siren, no doubt made for a lovely morning song for our neighbors.

For the record, I did hear the siren as soon as it went off, wrapped myself up, and ran down the hallway dripping wet to turn it off. It took more yelling (this time from Ben) to get Cameron back in the house.

Then I went off to get dressed, sending the children who were not traumatized and who were dressed to empty the dishwasher. This is an every-morning chore for them. About five minutes later, I heard a telltale crash from the kitchen and automatically yelled downstairs, "If you have bare feet, get out of the kitchen!!". Sure enough, one of my small glass storage containers was broken. No harm to anybody, though...and the dish only cost $1.95 at Crate and Barrel, so no biggie.

At 9:30 we were scheduled to meet friends at a nearby park. At 9:15, after everyone was in their carseats and I was closing up the house, Jonathan came back inside with mustard all over himself. I guess we didn't throw away every piece of trash from our Sonic run the other night, and the mustard packet added a nice touch to his clothes, hair, and carseat.

Since then, it's been relatively calm, but it's still another four hours 'til David touches down in Charlotte. Anyone want to guess what might still await me?

A Public Service Announcement -- update

My phone isn't working. The inside screen is all white.

So if you call me, I will happily pick up the phone. However, I cannot call you because like many, I have almost no one's number memorized. And I am afraid I will type something in wrong and not know it, and wind up bothering a stranger.

I do, however, know the number for 911. So if you are a crazy person thinking about coming to my house and attacking me and thinking you will get away free, think again.

The white screen is a vast improvement over the phone's first malady, which was constant vibration. On Monday afternoon and evening, if the phone was on, it was vibrating. As if I don't have enough things in my life to make me slightly batty.

So we're off to the Verizon phone hospital.

Update:
We arrived at said Verizon phone hospital to discover two things:

• a. Said Verizon phone hospital no longer resides in the same location.
• b. My phone had been miraculously healed.

So there I was, outside an empty storefront with a phone that was working. Confusion inevitably followed.

Martha's Blueberry Buckle

This is what we had for breakfast this morning. I make this at least once every summer...I feel extravagant making it a lot since it takes five cups of blueberries! It's not too sweet, and allows the taste of the berries to really shine...yum!

Ingredients

1 ten-inch round cake or 2 six-inch round cakes

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan (I used white whole-wheat, with no ill effects)
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 5 cups wild or cultivated blueberries
• Streusel Topping (below)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a springform baking pan, and dust with flour, tapping out excess. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low, and add egg and vanilla, beating until fully combined.
4. Add reserved flour mixture, alternating with the milk, a little of each at a time, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Remove from mixer. Gently fold in blueberries.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan; sprinkle streusel topping over cake. Bake until cake tester comes out batter-free, 60 to 70 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Streusel Topping:

Ingredients

Makes enough for 1 ten-inch cake or 2 six-inch cakes

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (again, I used white whole wheat)
  
• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature ( I actually have better luck with this if it's COLD -- straight out of the fridge)
  

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut in the butter until fine crumbs form.
2. Using hands, squeeze together most of the mixture to form large clumps. The topping can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Call Me a Nerd

...but I thought this was interesting:

All of Inflation's Little Parts

What Americans spend their money on, down to the little details.

HT: Amy's Humble Musings

Nascar Nation, We Salute Thee

I missed it, but this is a short bus with drivers' numbers in the windows

These lights pop up at every intersection for miles

RVs everywhere

Had to get a picture of the Toyota sign for the in-laws

What pregnant women take pictures of when they're supposed to be documenting race week
(a coffee caramel milkshake sounds good, don't you think?!)

The Irony is Palpable

Yesterday I updated my Facebook status and said, "Kelly is hoping that today will be less chaotic than yesterday."

As I typed the last few letters -- CRASH! A plate held by an eager helper plummeted to the floor, and though it was made of Corelle...it smashed into a million pieces.

But for the most part, yesterday was a peaceful one. The boys and I worked on their room, setting things aright sorting toys. It still amazes me how when everything is put away, the play becomes so much more "productive." Immediately after we finished, each boy set himself to a specific play "task"...one building a marble track, one reading, etc. It seems when the clutter is gone, they can think clearly again.

David and I are the same way, we decided (as we strolled through the streets of Uptown Charlotte on a peaceful summer evening date thanks to our wonderful babysitters). I can't start cooking until the counters are clean(er). He thinks better at work with a clear workspace.

So I'm off to continue clearing spaces, clearing heads...it's a constant battle but it's better for all of us.

Tragedy

Most of you have probably already heard, but in case you haven't, the Steven Curtis Chapman family could use your prayers.

With Fear and Trembling...

I am a guest blogger over at Shawnda's today , talking about entertainment choices.

Someday I Will Think This Is Funny.

But that day is not today.

Not on a day when the other child (besides the three who made this mess) took an hour to do a math assignment that usually takes him twenty minutes.

Not on a day when I started off by doing a kick test because I hadn't felt the baby move in too long (she passed the kick test with flying colors, BTW).

Not on a day when I have more laundry to finish, more floors to clean, more messes to clean up.

Not on a day when my workout was going to be that blessed quiet 45 minutes at the YMCA, swimming. But that's not happening now (see above pictures for reason why).

It's now one o'clock, and no one has eaten lunch....

(the fact that I was able to regain my composure enough to take the pictures is God's grace, right?)

Jon Lester's To-Do List.

1. Defeat rare form of cancer.
2. Start in World Series clinching game.
3. Pitch no-hitter.

Congratulations, Jon!

...and congrats to Jason Varitek as well, who has now caught a record four no-no's.

Preview of Coming Attractions

Here's the crib duvet I finished yesterday. The panels are on the front (I hope that's obvious...), and the brown/green pattern makes up the back.






I still have a big pile of fabric waiting for me!

If, by chance...

you plan a day of gardening with your children...

and if, by chance, part of this day involves sending them into the woods on a "pirate treasure hunt" for little rocks for the bottom of your flowerpots...

and if, by chance, your woods happen to be sparsely but stubbornly populated with poison ivy...

and if, by chance, you finish up right around lunchtime...

and if, by chance, you have one child who cannot wash himself off in the shower while you get lunch...

you might consider doing this.




He will enjoy it ever so much, and tell everyone about it.

(by the way, yes, he is holding the sprayer hose, and no, he didn't get the kitchen all wet. He washed himself off with it.)

Sugary Drinks

Yesterday I had my glucose test. If you've never been pregnant, this means that you get to drink a bottle of a substance that tastes like Hawaiian Punch soda with too little soda water mixed in. It's like syrup, and you MUST DRINK IT IN UNDER FIVE MINUTES. No sipping allowed.

And then, if that weren't enough, you cannot drink or eat anything else until over an hour later, when a nice lady takes two vials of blood out of your arm. In between these two events, you must drive calmly to your doctor's office while loads of sugar course through your veins and your mouth tastes like sugary cotton (not cotton candy. Sugary cotton.).

If you pass the test...congratulations! You probably won't have gestational diabetes in your third trimester.

So, today, just to keep the trend going, I'm going to go get my free iced coffee at Dunkin' Donuts. Because the glucose test would be so much more exciting if they mixed a little caffeine in that bottle.

Here's Your Chance.

So, knowing that we have the whole wide world open to us when it comes to girls' names, what ones do you like?

Now's your chance to offer an opinion. When she's here, it's all over.

A few guidelines...
1. We tend to prefer traditional names, rather than trendy ones.

2. We tend to prefer entire names, rather than nicknames...we do not object to calling our kids nicknames, but their given names should be whole ones. i.e., Elizabeth instead of Libby, Margaret instead of Maggie or Meg, etc.

3. We're not hardcore about meanings. After a few years of teaching, I learned that kids' names tend to mean who that person is, instead of what their names mean. It is for this reason that I refused certain boys' names associated with students who were ...let's say... a "challenge" in my classroom.
So Cam's name means "unique," but it can also mean "crooked nose." This doesn't bother me that much, since to me Cameron means conscientious, intelligent, inquisitive, a little uptight, and all the other things that make up our Cameron.

Extra points for incorporating an Austen character or a theologian's name.

Overheard

Two gems from Cameron over the last few days...

"I like vultures. They're like flying garbage disposals."

"Going near a snake can make almost any mouse nervous."

I think we have PBS to thank for both of those.

More Wheatons

JT links to this op-ed in the WSJ this morning:

"...there is something refreshing about an institution willing to stand up for its convictions rather than trim its sails to the prevailing winds."

Mother's Day Blessings

David and the guys made sure I had a wonderful day yesterday...

We were late to church, but I didn't really care, because I was trying to soak up the day. After church, we headed over to Macaroni Grill for lunch. It seems like this has become an unintentional tradition, which is fine with me!

The gifts that the boys picked out were lovely. They bought me a new cookbook, some new knives, a cute little cosmetic bag (Vera, for those of you who care), and a new cast iron pan. David knows that I've been trying to expand my cast iron collection (glazed and unglazed), so he took the boys to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and let them pick one. They picked out something like this:

because they "really like Mom's cornbread!".

And then, in perhaps the most unlikely turn of events for the day, I TOOK A NAP. People, this hasn't happened in months. Usually my brain goes into hyperdrive on Sunday afternoon, fretting over the school week ahead and everything that's still undone. It is usually a very un-restful time for me. But there I was, sound asleep in my bed for two hours on Sunday afternoon. Lovely.

Happy Mother's Day!

Dear Hamstrings,

I miss you. Please come back.

I repent of my lack of attention to you after our morning in the garden last Friday. I realize now that you were working then, and I should have done you the decency of stretching you after we were done.

But I think my family is starting to look at me as an invalid -- perhaps an early candidate for a cane or wheelchair. I am walking like I have arthritis in both knees.

Thank you for your constant service to me, hamstrings. Please forgive my ingratitude.

Kindly,
Kelly

My Salary

Every year around Mother's Day, Salary.com does one of these studies...

Study: Stay-at-Home Mom Worth Nearly $117,000 a Year

Mrs. Fix-It

This morning I fixed our vacuum!!

I had to take some screws out and disassemble it a little bit, but it all went back together and worked better than when I started.

This is rare, since my attempts at fixing things usually go something like this:
1. Item breaks while Kelly is using it.
2. Kelly attempts to force item back to a usable state, with little or no respect for how item is put together. This usually involves smacking, hitting, shaking, and noises like, "AAAAGGGGHHH!".
3. Kelly sees the error of her ways and how she has been blinded by rage. Attempts to fix item with respect for how it works this time.
4. David arrives home and sees giant broken mess. David's eyes roll back in his head.
5. David comes to the rescue by either (a) fixing item or (b) declaring that we need a new one, but -- by the way -- I probably could have fixed this one if you could have just waited for me.

By the way, the combination of Lego men, dried pinto beans, and cheap carpet lint is what hung it up. It's not easy being our vacuum, but this one has lasted for about five years now.

FYI

The National Marrow Donor Program is running a "Thanks, Mom" campaign for the next two weeks, where the costs of joining the registry are covered by donors and sponsors, including the first 10,000 that join online.

It's Primary Day

My husband gets the quote of the day with, "Nobody votes on Election Day. It's too crowded." Ba-dump-bump. And that was before seven o'clock! Does his comedic genius know no bounds?!

Well, it's finally Primary Day here in the great state of North Carolina. It's been quite exciting to be the focus of so much attention, I must say. Also voting today are those people in David's home state of Indiana, so there have been many familiar place-names in the news of late.

Election Days are exciting to me. It's finally the time that everybody just stops talking and votes. The ads cease, the door hangers stop appearing (thank you, Obama campaign), and everybody states their one little vote's worth of opinion. And that's that. No more clamor, no more campaign-speak, no more words. Just push the button, get your sticker, and go home.

And then, in a very real way, we can see the will of a sovereign God play out before our eyes as the results pour in.

I should experience this acceptance of God's will on a more regular basis in my day-to-day life, but I tend to embrace it more readily on a grander stage. Take, for example, this past February's SuperBowl. There was a moment when I knew for certain that it was the will of God that the Giants win. Here it is, in all its glory:



"Wait, Manning's still on his feet? How did he escape that tackle?"
"He managed to get a pass off?!"
"That guy just caught the ball AGAINST HIS HELMET with Rodney Harrison all up in his face. Clearly there is something supernatural at work here."

And at that point in the game, it is my place as a Pats fan to say "yes and amen, blessed be the name of the Lord." And the Lord probably cares a good bit more about other things on SuperBowl Sunday to begin with, like the disgusting amount of money that companies spend for advertising and all that jazz.

But that's the general feeling I'm trying to relate here. It's the moment when you realize all the hoopla and effort on your part is over, and you have nothing to do but sit back and embrace God's perfect plan and perfect timing.

Proverbs 21:1 says, "The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will."

Even if the candidate of our choosing does not win, we can rest assured that in the greater picture, the candidate of God's choosing will win. Panic over a loss or elation over a win are short-lived, and should be felt in the grander scheme of why God may raise up or bring down men and women in leadership. It could be for purposes far, far, beyond our place and time. Only He knows the outcome.

And ultimately, election days should make us long for the day when the King returns and all is made right.

Revelation 7:
15"Therefore they are before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
17For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Linkage

BurdaStyle -- "Open Source Sewing" for those of you who, like me, have lots of free time to pursue crafty hobbies. FREE patterns that you can print off on your computer's printer (just be sure to read the directions first!).

Catching up...

This week has been out-of-the-ordinary for a few reasons, and I've been off the blog. Here's what we've been up to:

• This week is standardized testing week for Cameron, which is one of the state requirements for home school here in NC. He has shown no sign of nervousness!
• Yesterday David took Andrew, Ben, and Cameron to the Wachovia Championship Pro-Am. Jonathan and I went to Mary-Jo's Cloth Store; it was my first trip there! It gave me a little bit of a headache (those of you in New England, think Spags or Building 19...you have to get the lay of the land before you can find anything) but the selection cannot be beat! I purchased some really sweet fabric for the baby's room.
• Last night we went to Baskin-Robbins 31-cent scoop night. The person in front of us said, "This is really a substantial savings for you, isn't it?!". Cameron went for Chocolate-Peanut Butter; Ben chose Vanilla; Andrew wanted "green" (mint chocolate chip); and Jonathan wanted "pink" (strawberry).
  
• After all the excitement yesterday, Cameron seems to be down for the count with a fever. I am pretty sure it's just the beginning stages of a cold, as his brothers have been passing one around this week. But it's meant that his last two portions of the test have been postponed until tomorrow. Please pray for a speedy recovery so we can finish well!
• Babies, babies! Shawnda and Jason brought home their newest little one, Micah, last night, and our friends Jobey and Kristin welcomed daughter #2, Elisabetta Joy, yesterday. She was a whopping eleven pounds!