I got tagged! Here are 7 things that people may not know about me.

1. I made All State softball my senior year, but sat the bench in college.
2. I can recite every line of "The Sound of Music"
3. I hate going to the grocery store. I'd rather go to ANY other store.
4. I used to own leather pants...don't ask. They were popular a few years back.
5. I think that I've met an angel. For real...ask me and I'll tell you the story.
6. I start listening to Christmas music November 1st (maybe a little earlier this year)!
7. I detest camping.

This was harder than I thought. Now I tag Julie L.!

Flash Forward

So, my son's life is flashing before my eyes. He is 2 1/2 you know...about time he goes to Kindergarten, right? I see a glimpse into the future from time to time when Bill has to drive the bus on the after-school route. When he does, his last stop is at our home to pick up Luke. Then Luke gets to ride the bus across the street to the bus barn. This is the hi-lite of Luke's day, to say the least. Here are some pictures of my little school boy...sniff sniff.

OK, wow! I'm impressed that all TWO of you are waiting on baited-breath for my genius idea! I hope it's all you've been waiting for and more.
Each year, I try to be more and more organized with my Christmas shopping, and this year is no exception. Usually, I work from a list (like with most things) and then when a purchase has been made, I throw the sack in a corner in the basement and cross the name off my list. Trust me...this just causes a lot of confusion when it comes to wrapping time! Whose stuff is in which sack? Where's the receipt? Shoot! I forgot Grandma! Yada yada.
So this year, I ran to the grocery store and purchased (for 5 cents a piece) about 20 brown paper bags. Next, on each bag, I wrote the name of the person that I needed to buy for (see picture). Now, as I buy the gift, I place it in the bag, along with the receipt. Since I'm a visual person, I can see the names of the people that I need to buy for and when it comes to wrapping time, everything is right there in the bag. I'm loving it.
Now...are you truly impressed? Was it worth the wait? Oh, and by the way, this is not an endorsement for Super Saver, I'm a HyVee gal!

I Bet You Can't Wait

I am a genius...words cannot even express how impressed with myself that I am. And, of course, I am the most humble person I know. HA! No, really...I had a "brilliant" moment today. These moments do not come very often, so I have to really brag about it when they do. But, I will have to share it with you tomorrow because I haven't taken pictures of "it" yet and it's past my bed time. OK, so in all actuality, maybe I'm just really impressed with the idea and you all will think, "That is the most stupid thing ever!"
I will stop going on and on...until tomorrow....toodleloo.

What prayer can do

Bill and I have been working very hard at teaching Luke to pray. We've been teaching him a mix of prayers from the heart and recited prayers, but it's funny how sometimes our "free flowing" prayers tend to say the same things, making them more like recited prayers. Did you follow that? Gosh, I'm getting pretty intellectual for a blog!
For instance, I must say "Bless this food to our bodies" a little too much. Every time I don't say it, Luke reminds me, "Momma! Bless our bodies! You forgot that piece!" I think I need more variety to my prayers! Anyways, last night when we sat down to eat, Bill began to pray for the meal.

Luke interrupts, "I want to say the prayer!" Bill and I gave each other a quick glance. Great!

"OK, Luke. You can lead the prayer."
He squeezes his eyes shut and begins, "And now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Guide me through this starry night and wake me up when the sun shines bright. And BLESS OUR BODIES! AMEN!"

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

OK, I have a confession...I really want to play Christmas music. I mean...I REALLY want to play Christmas music. Most of you will probably think that it's crazy that I start my Holiday season November 1st anyway...but with the chance of snow in our future, and being super close to November 1st, I may just have to bust out the Christmas CD collection today.
To tell you the truth, I've already begun Christmas shopping. With being 7 months pregnant, I am just fearful of either being too tired by the time the shopping season comes around, or going into early labor. I feel a "push" to get it done (pun was completely intended). I LOVE Christmas shopping, don't you? I love walking through the meticulously decorated malls, with all of the sights and sounds of Christmas. I love the hustle and bustle. I understand that such hustle and bustle is not what the season is about. Believe you me, every year the true meaning of Christmas becomes more and more dear to my heart, but I absolutely love all of the other activity that comes with it. It is absolutely exhilarating to me. Maybe because at heart, I am a shopper. I love shopping for others. It's a challenge for me to find that one gift that will make the recipient "ooo" and "ahh". I love it.
Is anyone else as crazy as I am?
p.s. Shelby is supposed to get 3 inches of snow by tomorrow evening...not looking forward to that...yet.
p.s.s. Any ideas on what to get those fabulous grandparents that have absolutely everything? Please respond a.s.a.p. I have shopping to do!!!

God Made You Special

We took Luke to Veggie Tales Live on Sunday. He was mesmerized, to say the least. Of course, like all of those kids' shows, Mom and Dad got tired, but Luke followed every motion, every word. I thought that the plot may be a little over his head, but as we were walking to the car, Luke recited everything that happened during that hour and a half. Amazing. We were fans of good old Larry and Bob before, but now you can call us "Super Fans"!

Annual Halloween Bruhaha

It's that time of year again! My mommy's group gets together every October so that the kids can "show off" their adorable Halloween costumes. Aren't they cute? And, of course, every year it's a fun challenge to try to get all of the kiddos to take the annual picture!

The "red dragon".

Too scary for words!

Sicko

Does anyone else find it disturbing that my Grandma told me that there is a guy that comes to her retirement home to clip everyone's toenails??? SICK!

Randomness

Oh my stars...where have I been? I've been here...trust me. Maybe not completely "here" though. It has been the busiest week of the school year by far...let me just give you some insights.
It all started last Friday...

1. My folks had last Friday off of work. Luke and I went down to hang out and then that night, we had a wedding to attend. Bill met us at the reception. They had cheesecake...yummo.

2. Saturday morning was fun...My parents, Bill, Luke and I went out to eat breakfast at Village Inn. We all had stomach aches afterwards...too rich. Plus, they charge $4.57 for a glass of OJ! Ridiculous! Should've went to Cracker Barrel. Then we did some shopping. We went to the new Kohls (super fun) and then stopped at a massive garage sale. I found some old records. Luke and I have been enjoying Mary Poppins and the Music Man.
Later that day, I had a Premier show. Then later later that night, we had supper with friends.

3. Sunday we went to church with my folks and then headed to Nebraska City to find pumpkins, visit the orchards and celebrate my Uncle's birthday. It was a blast, but my camera was out of batteries. What in the heck? How am I supposed to blog about the fun time we had without pictures? My brother, Travis, took some pics with his cell phone, but I have yet to see those.

4. We stayed in Lincoln Sunday night b/c Bill had an administrative meeting in Lincoln. Mom took the morning off. We went to Gordman's (my favorite) and ate lunch with my Grandma. That night, I had Premier training, so it worked out well for us to be in town.

5. Tuesday I did 8, yes 8, loads of laundry. It took me ALL day. That night we had to travel to the volleyball game.

6. Wednesday I cleaned house ALL day. It was a mess. Well, maybe I should say it was a mess by my standards. Wednesday night I had choir practice at church.

7. Thursday I had to substitute teach at school in...Kindergarten. Yuck. There was a reason that I taught 5th grade. Actually, it wasn't a bad day...just long. I only had to clean one poopy bottom. I think it was more that I wasn't used to being on my feet all day long. I was so tired that I fell asleep on the way home from Columbus (we ate at Valentino's with Bill's sister). I'm still feeling a little groggy this morning. I am such a wuss!

Now we come to today...Luke and I are currently cuddling in bed watching Little Einsteins. I'm cherishing every moment of our little morning routine, as I found out yesterday what it was like for millions of American women, who have to get their families all ready in order to get out the door at a certain time. Praise the Lord that I am able to stay home!

Motherhood

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OuE5Miymwo

OK...for all of you moms out there who have not seen this commercial, click on the link to watch. It is my absolute favorite commercial of ALL time. I laugh and laugh and laugh whenever I see it. I think it's something we can all relate to!

Parade Season

I have always loved parades and am so glad that Luke is at that age where he can go with and actually sit and watch! Last Saturday, we went to the Columbus parade to watch our school's marching band. We had a blast! Luke loves the band, especially the tubas! When they practice marching, they go right by our house and Luke puts up his fingers to direct the band. Super cute. I love this time of year!

One More Thing

A couple of weeks ago, one of Luke's friends came to spend the day with us. Luke was amazed that his friend could stand up to go potty. Ever since then, Luke has wanted to stand up.
When he finishes his "job", he shakes his cute little buns to finish the "job" and at one point, I laughed and said, "I love how you shake your buns!"
Now, every time he does it, he says, "Momma? You love it when I shake my buuuuns?" I just die laughing every time...it's something you really have to hear in order to appreciate its hilarity!

Kids Say the Funniest Things

Sorry to all of you people who stalk my blog. My internet has been down all weekend and let me tell you, it was a ton harder on me than it was on you! Turns out that I had a bad modem. Oh well, all is fixed now. Phew...

I just have to tell you the cutest thing. At our church, kids can start going to Sunday School when they are two, so Luke has been going to Sunday School for quite some time. He LOVES Sunday School and we hear the cutest stories. We always ask him what he learned. Last week, the theme was that God knows everything. The story was about how Adam ate the fruit from the tree even when God told him not to. For this young of kids, the curriculum does not use the names of the people, however. Instead of saying "Adam" it says to use "The Man". They do use God's name, but try to keep it simple other wise. This is, for the most part, a good idea. Except when it comes to my son...the detail-oriented child. This is how our post-Sunday School conversation went:

Tiffany "What did you learn in S.S. today, babe?"
Luke, "I learned that God ate the cherry from the tree and that was a really BAD CHOICE!"

Don't worry, we did some clarifying! Bill and I just laughed and laughed.

Back to Reality

Don't you just LOVE fall TV? Oh my stars...I love the beginning of the new season of shows. There's something exciting about all of the hype leading up to it. Although I love it, I still am a tad bit embarrassed about how excited I get for new TV shows. It's quite sad, actually.
The thing is, I don't really get into dramas or sitcoms at all (except for an occasional episode of The Office). My passion, without a doubt, is reality TV. What is so intriguing about watching people be, well, people? I have no answer. I just know that I absolutely love it.
For instance, when I was in the middle of being induced with Luke, I had the nurses turn on the TV to good old Fox to watch, you guessed it, American Idol. My favorite. I've loved it since day one. My Tuesdays and Wednesdays are not complete without it. I actually feel a certain void in my life from May to January (OK, maybe it's not THAT extreme). Nothing says addicted like breathing through a few contractions while watching Simon, Randy and Paula.
Right now, I'm into Dancing With the Stars. I know exactly why I like that one. I want to be a dancer. I want to look that good in a tiny costume (will never happen). I am mesmerized by all of the movements. Deep down, I think I am traumatized by my mom not ever taking me to dance lessons when I was young. Come on, Mom! Not even clogging? Sheesh. Oh, and by the way, I want Warren Sapp to win it all this year.
OK...I'm obviously going on and on about reality TV, so I will come to a close before I start to sound really pathetic. And as for The Amazing Race, Survivor, The Bachelor and America's Next Top Model...I love you all too.