Be Love

There are nine days left until Christmas. Our secret hiding space is stacked full of gifts, my pantry is brimming with treats to be made, and my December budget is quickly dwindling. I am blessed beyond measure, and sometimes it just doesn't seem fair.
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As I drive to the grocery store I see a gentleman walking down the barren sidewalks in tattered clothing, braving the 1 degree temperature and whipping winds, clutching his two small grocery bags close to his body. I tell myself he only has a small distance to go to get to his warm house. I can't bare to think of any other possibilities.

I keep this man in my mind as I enter the grocery store. As I hand in my saved receipt points and receive my $40 grocery gift card it feels like a sock in the gut. I can afford my groceries and yet here I am being handed "free" money for more. It just doesn't seem fair. It almost feels like a test. And I want to pass.

My church is having a food drive this weekend and I was planning on going through my pantry and pulling items as usual. But is that enough? Is giving away my unwanteds really giving? Should that even count? Probably not.

I would use the $40 gift card to buy food for the food pantry, I decided, and immediately it was like a weight was lifted. But as I cruised around the store adding items to my cart I quickly realized how little $40 is. It just wasn't enough. The items they needed the most, baby formula and food, canned fruits and vegetables, soups, and toiletries, were adding up fast. My total was well over the $40 but I didn't care. This is the least I can do. LITERALLY.
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A couple of weeks ago Todd and I packed up the boys and headed out to Walmart to ring the bell for the Salvation Army's red kettle drive. It was the coldest night we had seen thus far, and I worried about how my boys would fair in the weather. We bundled up well and the boys did just fine jumping around and ringing the bells. Every few minutes I would ask the boys if they were cold and my mind would flash to all the parents who worry about how to keep their children warm on a daily basis.

Families just like ours struggling with the decision of whether to pay for food or heat. And what? What can I do to make any difference?
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Here I sit, in my warm, safe house thinking about all those who are suffering. Those who are out in these unbearable temperatures. No food. No shelter. Parents who are worried about how to feed their children or how to keep them warm. And I think of all of those who are alone in this world. Sad and depressed. No one to comfort and love them during this cold holiday season.

It is overwhelming how sad and scary this world is for some people. And sometimes I just feel so helpless in it all. What can I do? Surely donating a few items to a food drive isn't going to solve world hunger. I guess it comes down to prayer. Doesn't it always? I pray. I pray for God to take care of all those who can't take care of themselves. I pray for God to show me ways I can help.

It's Christmastime. And more than anything else, Christmas is about love. God's love for us and our love for each other. If we could just Be Love I think that would make such a difference.

It reminds me of a video I saw on a few blogs a couple of weeks ago. I'm sure you have seen it too, but it is worth watching again.


(Scroll down to the bottom to pause my music before you play the video. Thanks!)

My Hot Date

After a crazy weekend with Todd bow hunting on Friday, all of us traveling a total of four hours to a very worth-it birthday party on Saturday afternoon, Todd hanging with his bud on Saturday night, and a hurried trip to church on Sunday morning I decided I need to go on a hot date. The kind of date I hadn't had in years. The kind of date that I always treasured but have not treated myself to since before I was married. I felt like a guilty, cheating wife but I knew I needed it. I asked Todd if he would stay home with the kids so I could go on a hot date. With myself.

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I used to love going to movies by myself. I always felt it was so liberating. Not like the humiliation of going to dinner by yourself when you know people are looking at you with pity in their eyes. Going to the movies by yourself is a luxury.

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Todd told me over and over again that he would go with me to see Twilight, but I didn't want him there. He hadn't read the book (I can't even PICTURE him picking that book up, HAHAHA) and I knew the movie just wouldn't do it for him. I wanted to be able to watch the movie with unabashed teenager lust without feeling Todd rolling his eyes in the seat next to me.

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Todd and I threw the boys in bed for their naps and I took off a little early so that I could do some shopping, drive past the lake, and make it to the theater with plenty of time. As it turns out I shopped a bit too long and made it to the theater in just enough time to take yet another bathroom break (doggone pregnancy hormones!), grab some popcorn and soda, and find the perfect seat just as the previews started.

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I was a fabulous hot (doggone pregnancy hot flashes!) date. I thoroughly enjoyed having that time to myself. I don't know if I have felt that young in a long time. And of course I came home happy and refreshed just as the boys were waking from their naps. When Todd asked me if I was lonely I tried not to laugh too hard.

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THE REVIEW

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It is my recommendation that you DO NOT go to see Twilight if you have not already read the book. So much has been cut out of the movie that many of the scenes or character reactions would not even make sense if you didn't first read the book. Please hold off on the movie until you finish the book.

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That being said, if you like the book you will like the movie. The casting was perfect. I wasn't sure that Robert Pattinson was good looking enough to pull off the role of Edward but the first glimpse of him in the cafeteria changed all that for me. He carried it perfectly. There were a few over-acting moments from him, but easily forgivable in my mind. I do wish that they would have shaved his chest because his few straggly hairs were kind of distracting in some scenes. I think a bare chest would have given him a more "cold, stone" feel. And then also in some scenes the hair seemed to disappear. Maybe I'm just too observant. Other than that he was perfection.

(By hvyilnr on Flickr)

Kristen Stewart was a perfect Bella. She is a pretty girl without being unrelateable. She could very easily be your typical high school teenager. I was disappointed that they made her a bit more serious in the movie than in the book. In the book Bella has a great sarcastic wit, and it is seriously lacking in the movie. So much so that without it you wonder why Edward fell for Bella in the first place.

(By Wynter-Agoni on Flickr)

The only casting that I thought they got wrong were the two boys that were supposed to be crushing on Bella. First off, they made Eric appear to be gay and then the next thing you know he is sparing with Mike over Bella. Huh? And Mike? Isn't he supposed to be a hunky jock? He looked super nerdy to me. Mike is supposed to be good looking and cool enough that he gives Edward little pangs of jealousy and then amusement when Bella turns Mike down flat when he asks her to the dance. Neither Eric nor Mike seemed to fit for me. I thought they were either poorly cast, or poorly directed.

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The movie did a fair, but not great, job of staying close to the book. I realize there is a time crunch in turning this book into a two hour movie, but I didn't like how they changed the timeline of certain things around and how they changed scenes altogether. It kind of made me sad. One example is when Bella and Edward are having dinner in Port Angeles right after he rescues her for the umpteenth time. This scene is supposed to be a pivotal moment of Bella asking a million questions and Edward actually answering them for the first time. This scene was cut so short and then replaced with the scene in the woods at school the next day. I didn't like the change. You miss the whole building of the relationship between Edward and Bella this way.
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There were saving scenes though, too. Bella meeting Edward's family was fabulous. Loved it. The first time Bella sees Edward was awesome. LOVED the baseball scene. But I think one of my favorite scenes (though it is a small one) was again in Port Angeles when Bella was cornered by the group of guys and Edward comes speeding to her rescue. I think that was just about the sexiest scene in the whole movie. I think that was the first time I saw Edward as a SEXY, manly, hero (although the first rescue was pretty hot too). Whew. Makes me sweat just thinking about it (doggone pregnancy hormones!).
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Anyway, I really enjoyed the movie because it made the book come to life for me. It was so close to how I had imagined it in my head. And that is always a compliment for a movie. The only parts I didn't like were the ones that strayed from the book a bit. And I wish they would have showed the development of Edward and Bella's relationship a little more. I don't think there are any Twilight fans that would have been bothered if the movie was another half an hour longer but was able to go more in depth by doing so. It would have helped the story line tremendously. Was it a fabulous movie? No. Did I love it? Yes. And if you loved the book you'll love the movie, too.

PSF- And In This Corner...

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

we have the schmultz family:
We are not the type of family that has ever been afraid to spontaneously break into song. It is actually a common occurrence. Someone is always singing in this house.
I grew up watching musicals with my folks, the three of us singing along with the TV at the top of our lungs. All my friends used to tease me and say that I probably should have been born in the 50's when that sort of thing was actually considered cool. And Todd? Well he is just a complete goofball that has always loved making up silly songs to make people laugh. Yep. We are nerds. And we're fine with it.
It appears the boys have inherited the drama gene. They love to sing along and act out scenes from their favorite movies. Here they are joining hands with all the Whos in Whoville a couple of weeks ago. Todd and I are delighted with their love of music and their love of goofiness. I just hope that if they meet up with some good-natured ribbing from their friends down the road they will still keep that I-can-break-into-song-at-any-moment kind of personality.

Christmas Warped

Yes, yes. I know I don't do memes. But I was forced! I was muscled into it! She made me do it! And trust me, you do not want to mess with her. She is one tough cookie. Why do you think she calls herself Imbeingheldhostage? She is referring to ME! Okay, fine, maybe she is talking about being held hostage by her five children, but you get the idea. Plus, she lives In The Gutter! Don't mess with J!

So here ya go, J, you asked for it. This one is for you.

Does Santa wrap presents or set them under the tree? I don't know how lazy "Santa" is at your house but the "Santa" here wraps the gifts AND sets them under the tree. Oh yeah. You heard dat right!

Colored lights or white lights on the tree? WHAT???? Who even says something like that? That's not very politically correct.

When do you put your decorations up? When the last group of geese take vee-shaped flight to the sky. When I can see my breath in the car on the way to school in the morning. When I begin wearing socks to bed. Or, the first weekend in December. Which ever comes first.

What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Are you saying that you eat food OTHER than dessert for holiday dinner? That's weird.

Favorite Holiday memory as a child: It was Christmas Eve, and I was about 5 or 6 years old. My mom and dad were just finishing up reading Twas The Night Before Christmas to get me to sleep when all of a sudden I heard sleigh bells. I jumped up from my bed and ran to my bedroom window. When I looked outside I saw a big, golden sleigh filled with presents and 8 reindeer too! Just then I heard a thump downstairs and though my parents told me to slow down I sprinted down the stairs where I saw SANTA putting presents beneath our tree! He quickly turned to see me, smiled, and motioned for me to come to him. I cautiously walked over, my legs shaking with excitement. He told me that little girls are supposed to be in bed by now so that he could do his job. I apologized immediately, and he chuckled his bowl full of jelly laugh. He reached into his enormous sack and pulled out the most beautiful dolly I'd ever seen. I thanked Santa a thousand times and he sent me back to bed. I hugged that dolly tight all night long, and I still have her to this day.
Oh wait. Nope. That doesn't sound right. Yep. Oh yeah. Mm-hmm. That was a dream. Never happened. But it would have been pretty cool, right?

When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? You mean about him being Satan? I think I heard that from a lady handing out fliers in front of a strip club one night.

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Only if I can stay awake longer than everyone else.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree? With my toes. I told you I have very long toes. It's impressive, really. And the lovely scent of the Frasier Fir covers up the toe-jam stentch quite nicely.

Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it. Until I start to dread it.

Can you ice skate? They don't call me Brilliant Blades for nothing!

Do you remember your favorite gift? Nope.

What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Eating as much food as I can without throwing up.

What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? The biggest one.

What is your favorite tradition? Winning the food eating contest.

Which do you prefer, Giving or Receiving? Giving. The business.

What is your favorite Christmas Song? The Christmas Song

Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? It depends. Does my breath stink?

Ever recycled a Christmas present? Aren't we all supposed to be going green?

I Wish Every Day Were A Snow Day!

Days like these don't come along often. Snow days that cancel school, cancel work, and yet are warm enough to enjoy being outside, with all three boys healthy, are rare. And yesterday we took full advantage. Todd and I took the boys sledding at The Bowl for the first time ever. I was so impressed with how brave my normally cautious boys were jumping on their inner tubes and going down the hill by themselves right away. We had so much fun. We kept sledding and playing for two whole hours. It was a blast and I felt like a kid again. Todd and the boys practically had to drag me kicking and screaming to the car. I just didn't want to leave. We even made it onto the evening news! Check it out! That is Tommy and I going down the hill together. Then Todd in camouflage pushing the boys down. Me being interviewed for a second, and then Tommy eating snow at the end. Haha!

However, I did end up over-doing it. When I got home I got a migraine. Luckily it wasn't too bad and I was able to get rid of most of it while the boys were down for their naps. I was feeling well enough when they awoke that we rounded out our day with hot chocolate and baking cookies. Some of my fondest memories as a kid are the cold Wisconsin winter days when my friends and I would walk down to The Bowl, go sledding all day, and come home and warm up to hot chocolate. Thinking back on those times makes me realize how magical childhood can be. Every experience is new and full of anticipation. And I hope that someday the boys will look back on this day, and their childhood, with warm memories of there own.

What are some of your fondest childhood memories?

Oh The Pressure!

We got dumped on last night. Six inches of snow was deposited in our city and it is still snowing. Another six to eight inches is expected today and a few more inches tomorrow. School has been cancelled and Todd just left for work to tie up some loose ends and call all the other employees to tell them to stay home. When he is done there he is going to run out and buy some sleds so that we can hit The Bowl and take the boys sledding for the first time. I feel like a kid this morning, excited about the snow and anxious for daddy to get home with the sleds.

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I'm not sure how long the boys will last outside in the cold and snow but we'll stay as long as we can. Then it is all hot chocolate, Christmas movies, and coloring in our Christmas coloring books for the rest of the day. I may even get around to finally sending out our Christmas cards while the boys color.

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I am making it increasingly difficult to send out Christmas cards each year. The pressure is intense.

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The last few years I have been incredibly fortunate to be able to get a "money" shot. Beautiful smiles, cute poses, everyone looking at the camera. It just doesn't happen often. And every time we visit family they have our Christmas card prominently displayed and they gush when they tell us that our Christmas cards are always their favorite of the year. Pressure!!!!!

Christmas 2005

Christmas 2006

Christmas 2007

How can I compete with that? It is just too hard.

We tried the poses on the stairs. I didn't like it.We tried the couch. But that didn't work either.We tried posing on the floor again,and again. But none of them were working for me. They all just felt too posed. Finally, Ben fell to an exhausted and frustrated heap on top of his brothers (notice they tried to hold their smiles!).When he looked up, I got my shot. This is my money shot. It may not be the cutest photo, or the best posed. They may not be smiling their prettiest smiles or even looking that happy, but it sure does make me laugh. This looks like my boys. They are buds. And this is them.

Christmas 2008

Now if I can only find the motivation to send them.

The Reveal

Even though we had agreed last month that we were going to start trying for number four Todd was still surprised when he walked in the house on Thursday night and saw this:

I had made Ben a tee shirt to match his brothers and all three boys were sitting on the couch in their tee shirts when Todd came home. I have revealed each pregnancy (except for the first) to Todd this way. Joey wore the tee shirt to announce the second pregnancy, Joey AND Tommy wore the tee shirts to announce the third, and now all three wore it for this pregnancy. Not very original but Todd always gets a kick out of it.

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The problem was that even though I found out I was pregnant Thursday morning I had to make a new tee shirt for Ben and wait for it to dry (ALL DAY) before I could tell Todd. It was hard to keep quiet.

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We still haven't told the boys. They just thought they were trying on the tee shirts to see if they still fit (Joey's is SO small now). I think we will wait until we are closer to three months before we tell them.

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We are due around August 15th. So far I'm feeling okay. I have waves of nausea and by 8 o'clock every night I am completely exhausted. It feels like someone filled my entire body with wet sand and I can barely lift my limbs or haul myself off the couch to get up to bed. But other than that, I'm doing pretty well.

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I'm trying to take it easy because I always get migraines in the first trimester. No running for me for a little while. Once I get to the three month marker I can pick it up again. For now I'll just do some yoga and hope that is enough to keep me from gaining 20 pounds in the first month. I am craving Baby Ruth candy bars so bad it is crazy. If this baby is a girl I may have to name her Ruth.

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I honestly could not wait to tell you all, which is funny because most of our family members don't even know yet. Your comments were so sweet and sincere, and I am so appreciative of your support. I especially liked how careful you all were not to put any pressure on the boy/girl issue. So very sweet of you. How well you know me. Thank you.

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But, I will say, don't keep your fingers crossed. My grandmother had five boys and Todd's grandmother had four boys. We may just be taking after the grandmas. ;)

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Alright, it is time for me to get going. My stomach is lurching, Ben is pulling all of the ornaments off the tree again, and I have to make the trek to the grocery store this morning before the next predicted snow storm starts in. What is that saying about no rest for the weary?

(Please ignore the stars. Blogger's spacing isn't working again.)