A Little Game With Lots of Laughing

This weekend we played a little game that had us all crying we were laughing so hard. Here's the jist of it. Each person has a stack of blank papers. One sheet for each person playing. So if 8 people are playing then each person has 8 blank sheets in their pile. Each person writes a simple sentence on the first sheet, then everyone passes their pile of paper to the next person. That person looks at the sentence written on the first sheet, and then draws a picture of that sentence on the next sheet. Everyone passes again. Now you look at the picture on the top sheet and write a sentence about that drawing. And you keep alternating like that until your original pile of papers comes back to you. You only are allowed to look at the sheet of paper that was written or drawn on by the person that is passing to you, you don't get to look at previous sentences or drawings. Then you each take turns reading through your pile of papers and show the pictures to the whole group. Ok, that was a horrible explanation but here, I'll show you some examples of three rounds of this game. Hill-air-e-us.


This was my original one. I wrote this and passed it to Noelle. She read my sentence and then drew this:


She put my sentence to the back of the pile and passed to Mariah who then looked at her picture and wrote this sentence:


After she wrote this, she passed to Shane who drew this little number:


Then Shane passed to Luke who looked at Shane's picture and wrote this sentence:


Then Luke passed to my Dad who read Luke's sentence and then drew this picture, note the guy holding the gas can....


Dad drew this and then passed to my Mom who looked at his picture and then wrote this sentence:


After writing, she passed to Camryn who read her sentence and then drew this picture of mean people and inasent (innocent) people:



After she drew this she passed to Tyler who looked at her picture and then wrote this sentence:


Then Tyler passed to Nate who read Tyler's sentence and drew this picture:



After that picture, it had gone all the way around the circle and was back to me. Does that make sense? It's like a game of telephone gone horribly wrong. Here are two other of our favorite rounds.

The end.


Here is another:

This is my new favorite game of all time ever.

Bookworm

These are the three books I'm reading right now.

Me, Myself, & Lies by Jennifer Rothschild is the study that our church's women's ministry is working through. Good stuff. It deals with our thoughts and the things we tell ourselves all day long. I liked the analogy she gave of our stream of constant thoughts being the "soundtrack" to our life. She challenges us as women to fill our minds with the truth about ourselves found in God's Word.

I'm about a quarter of the way through Boys Adrift by Leonard Sax. Wow. I can't say enough or even begin to do justice to this book. It has been amazing and I would recommend it to anyone who has a son or anyone who works in the educational system. It has been a real eye opener so far and I can't wait to keep reading.

I've just started Crazy Love by Francis Chan. Francis is the pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California. I have listened to a few of his podcasts and he doing some crazy things out there in California. I watched this You Tube video and was completely challenged. I liked this line from an online review of this book. "Chan writes with infectious exuberance, challenging Christians to take the Bible seriously. He describes at length the sorry state of lukewarm Christians who strive for a life characterized by control, safety and an absence of suffering." Ouch. I have a feeling this one is going to mess with me and I'm looking forward to it.

Have any of you read any of these? Thoughts? Reviews?

Making My Kids Eat Gross Stuff- My Life's Mission

I'm sure that my children truly believe that I sit around all day, cackling and plotting what kind of new nastiness I could possibly make for supper. That making their nightly dining experience miserable is my sole purpose for living.

They may be right.

Remember when I made the super colorful chili that was so beautiful? The one that they deeply despised? Another time I tried to serve them soup that had peanut butter in it. I know. I'm not sure what I was thinking either. But this time it wasn't soup.

This time it was black eyed peas and tortillas. I thought it sounded good but what do I know anyway? As they simmered on the stove and the aroma (if you can call it that) wafted across the room, I began questioning my own judgment. It smelled bad. Really bad. But we persevered. I dished everyone up a tortilla filled with beans, sour cream, salsa, and cheese and we dove in. Well, some of us did. Those of us who attempted a first bite were pleasantly surprised and continued eating. Others were in tears begging for chips. And for a couple of them, I'm sure breakfast and "ceeyo" can't come fast enough. I'll let you guess who that would be.

Final stats:
People who had seconds-2
People who had firsts and finished them-2
People who took one bite and were done-1
People who just ate the tortilla after dumping out the contents-3
People who didn't even attempt-1

Want to come over for dinner? It's risky.

Random Picture Challenge Debut

I've seen Brittney's random picture challenge on her blog for quite awhile now and have never participated. But I'm all for reminiscing so here we go. The pic she wanted was from the April 2008 folder, 42nd shot. Here is mine. My nephew Austin's baby shower before we knew he was a "he" and before we knew he was baby Austin. This is the chaos of trying to get a bunch of ladies and girls lined up for a group shot. Fun times.

iPod Meme

I couldn't resist. I haven't done a meme for awhile but this one was too intriguing to resist. Some of these came out so true. Others don't make any sense at all but whatev.


A Meme for your iPod

Instructions:
1. Put your iPod (or MP3 player) on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN AS YOUR ANSWER, NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag some Moms you admire who could use a laugh and a song.

Seriously, this is so funny! I could not have picked better songs if I had TRIED!

HOW DID YOU BECOME A MOM?
Teenage Heartbreak (Eleventyseven)

WHAT DID YOU THINK THE FIRST TIME YOU SAW YOUR BABY?
Exit Calypsan (Falling Up)

WHAT DID YOU DO THE FIRST MORNING AFTER A SLEEPLESS NIGHT?
Death To Traitors (Beloved)

WHAT DO YOU SAY WHEN SOMEONE COLORS ON THE WALL?
The Color Of My Eyes (Blindside)

HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH A TODDLER’S BODILY FLUID ISSUES?
Me (Plumb)

IF SOMEONE SAYS “Can I have a snack?” YOU SAY?
Favorite Disease (Thousand Foot Krutch)

IF SOMEONE LEAVES THEIR STUFF ON THE FLOOR, YOU SAY?
Bounce Back (Stacie Orrico)

IF SOMEONE ISN’T SICK TODAY, YOU SAY?
My Home (Thousand Foot Krutch)

HOW DO YOUR KIDS ENJOY YOUR COOKING?
Cascades (Falling Up)

HOW DID YOUR KIDS DO IN SCHOOL TODAY?
Security (Stacie Orrico )

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF WHILE SITTING IN CARPOOL LINE?
Move (Thousdand Foot Krutch)

HOMESCHOOLERS, WHAT IS THE FIRST SUBJECT TAUGHT OF THE DAY?
The Art Of Breaking (Thousand Foot Krutch)

WHAT DO YOUR KIDS WANT TO BE WHEN THEY GROW UP?
Sights And Sounds (Wrecking)

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY AS A MOM?
Spiderwebs (No Doubt)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE AS A MOM?
A Stellar Sayonara (Eleventyseven )

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO AS A MOM?
The Love We Had Before (Fireflight)

HOW DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE REALLY A MOM?
When I Remember (Blindside)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT MOST OFTEN AS A MOM?
Ponytail Parades (Emery)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY AS A MOM?
Monsoon (Tokio Hotel)

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET AS A MOM?
The Deep (Wrecking)

WHAT IS THE BEST THING YOU’VE EVER DONE AS A MOM?
In Your Eyes (Wrecking)

WHAT DO YOUR KIDS DO THAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Comatose (Skillet)

WHAT DO YOUR KIDS DO THAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Right There (Disciple)

WHAT DO YOUR KIDS DO THAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
After You're Gone (Blindside)

HOW DO YOUR KIDS DESCRIBE YOU AS THEIR MOM?
The Way You Dance (Blindside)

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Not Alone (Seabird)

WHAT WILL YOUR MOM OF THE YEAR CERTIFICATE SAY?
Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bob (Lionel Hampton)

Ok, so that was kind of creepy, in a really accurate kind of way. Play along if you want. It's easy blogging. Pretty much a freebie.

Things You Were Probably Dying To Know

To make it even more exciting, I give you bullet points. Not bullets like the slow motion scene in The Matrix, these are much less thrilling and suspenseful.

• Contrary to our predictions, Randall has survived the winter. Randall, you are the champ. Extra worms for you this spring to celebrate that you are still living.
  
• Speaking of spring, it has sprung. Along with all mothers everywhere, I am grinning and happily sending my children out to play as often as possible. They need fresh air. I need them to have fresh air.
  
• Winter coats are packed away. Hallelujah and amen.
• I bought a new swim suit because I'm planning on using the city pool as a second home this summer. A second home that I don't have to pay the water bill for.
• Also, the maxi dress may be my new best friend. It's like a muumuu taken to a cuter level. I'm all over it.

That is all.

Because The Mirror Needed To Be Moisturized

Why?

Easter Pictures.

The obligatory Day-After-A-Holiday picture.

You can just feel how excited they all were about having to pose on the couch for yet another sibling photo. They should just be glad I don't make them line up in green on St. Patrick's Day. Seriously. I could totally make them.

Actually, I think they were all starting to come down off of their sugar highs. I felt kind of guilty sending them to their Sunday morning classes with only Easter candy for breakfast. Their poor, poor teachers.

The Gospel Truth

This IS Easter.

Sneak Peek

Of our own choosing, we are still oblivious as to the gender of this wee babe. It's all about the surprise in the delivery room. Here is a preview of what's to come this August.


And new since two years ago at our last ultrasound, is the dvd they send you home with. Small midwest town is catching up with the times! Here is a 4 second clip of baby-in-utero. I am in awe that because of technology we can now peek at the actual "process" described in Psalms 139:13

"You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something." (The Message)

A Whole Bunch Of Nothing

It is still pretty dark in the mornings when I run. Normally I would be anxious for the sunrise and for running when I can actually see the ground in front of me. For the sake of humanity, it's probably a good thing that my running wardrobe is cloaked in darkness. You don't want to see it, believe me. As soon as it gets light out, I don't know what I am going to wear. Spandex doesn't quite fit the same way when you are sporting a 19 week belly.

Last weekend I ran a local 5k. It was super fun. I give you the sparkly, magical, blue tights that carried me through:



I promise you, this is my one presentable running outfit. When this ensemble is dirty, the random stuff comes out and it's not pretty. I had no idea what kind of a time to expect for this race and I was happy when I finished with a 25:55. When I was pregnant with Toby I was able to continue running until about 28 weeks or so. That puts me at the end of May, we'll see how I feel by then. So far, so good.

I have been one week without a coffee maker. These are desperate times. Just ask my poor family who is shouldering the weight of my lack of caffeine. Again, for the sake of humanity as a whole, I will purchase one today and get back on the drip.

Today I also promised my family that I would go buy groceries. It turns out they like to eat. Who knew? I guess it will be best for everyone in the long run. I'm getting kind of sick of the whole "It's 4:30, what in the world am I going to feed them?" thing.

Happy Friday Internet.