A Very Funny Find.

A friend of mine sent me a link to a post by another blogger that I couldn't help sharing. For privacy I won't share the link, but I will share the story because I almost died laughing:

A friend has a brother who is mentally handicap and living in a group home. He called his sister one night and said,
"Sissy, you need to come over!"
"What's the matter?"
"There's a troll in my closet!"
"A troll?"
"Yeah, there's a troll in my closet! I need you to come over!"
"Ummm....you better call dad"
So he did.
"Dad there's a troll in my closet! I need you to come over!"
"A troll?"
"Yeah, there's a troll in my closet! Hurry come over!"
"Okay, why don't you try to get some sleep and we will come over and take care of it first thing in the morning, okay?"
"Okay."
The next morning they went over and found that his mattress and dresser were pushed up against the closet doors. He must have really been scared! So they moved the mattress and dresser out of the way, opened the closet doors and...

...a midget ran out! A real live midget. He was a Jehovah's Witness who had come proselyting to the door. Scared the crap out of this poor kid (who thought he was a troll) and so the kid shoved him into the closet and locked him in all night long.

True story. Moral of the story? If your child says there is a troll in their closet, listen to them!

Shoes

DA loves riding a particular bike out on the playground by our house. As he is riding, he tends to drag his toes. I didn't think anything of it at first, but I've made a decision to teach him how to ride a pedal bike. Here's the reason: DA got three new pairs of shoes today with some of his birthday money. Little on the expensive side. That boy goes through shoes faster than we go through groceries. Last summer I bought him four brand new pairs of shoes; three pairs of sneakers and one pair of sandals. He wore through the leather on the inside of his sandals within two days of getting them and started tearing up his toes. The next time we were going outside, I took one look at his feet and said he'd be wearing his sneakers. He wore through the toes of the first pair of sneakers in three days and the next pair of sneakers in two days. The third pair of sneakers had reinforced rubber toe guards. He made it through the rest of the summer in those simply because he stopped riding his bike, but the first two days of real summer weather this year wore them out immediately. For the last three weeks he's been wearing the same shoes with the holes in the toes. I swear I'm not a bad mom and I really do keep my child well-dressed, but DA goes through shoes uber-quick. We'll see how long these ones last.

Here are the sneaker pair #3:

Where to live.

On Friday Jake had a test, so DA and I took him to school. On the way there DA piped up from the back seat and said, "Daddy, you live at the Engineering Building and Mom, you an me live at home!"

Good chuckles from the front seat.

Birfday Party!

The Birthday Boy!



We had a birthday party for DA yesterday complete with games, pinata, cake, ice cream, and all the friends in the neighborhood. It was a ton of fun.

Here's the party:



Thanks to everyone that came and the fun gifts. DA felt so special and had a glow about him all day.

Love of a Child

DA has a favorite part of the bedtime routine that he really hates going to bed without. As I'm preparing to leave his room, he usually takes my hand and says, "Talk to me Mommy." It makes my heart melt. He likes to have time to "chat" with Mommy. I will sit in his room in my rocking chair in the dark while he tells me about his day. Sometimes he wants me to sit on his bed or on the floor next to his bed so I can lay my head on his pillow and he can pet my hair while he talks to me. I'll ask him questions and he tells me about everything he did that day (as if I wasn't there) and tells me about his friends and his toys. Sometimes we talk about his favorite food, toy, color, etc. He likes me to tell him what we will be doing the next day and asks if he can play with friends. He likes to tell me who he wants to play with and if he's going to their house or if they are coming to his. Sometimes we talk for two minutes and sometimes we talk for a half hour. After he's all done talking he likes to just snuggle me for a minute while he starts to get drowsy. Then he wants a "Mommy Hug" and if Dad is around he wants a "Daddy Hug." We end the night by saying goodnight, love you, don't let the bugs bight. He goes to sleep with a smile on his face and I leave the room with a smile in my heart. I love my child so much. I wouldn't miss that time with him for the world.

He's getting so big! He has a social life, friends galore, and everyone loves him. He's such a sweetheart. The number one comment I get from people who watch him for me is that he is an easy child to watch, he's so good. He has a good heart that is so full of love. I know he'll do great things with that love.

This is DA all dressed up for Church, which is one of his favorite places to go:

(sāngk'chōō-ěr'ē)

I believe every woman needs a place in her home where she can go to unwind, find peace, and relax. I call it "the sanctuary." My theory about the sanctuary is that as long as a woman has that place and it is kept, well, almost sacred, meaning clean, uninterrupted, etc., then her life will not be overwhelming. When times get tough she can retreat to the sanctuary in her home and regroup. Some women use their bedrooms as their sanctuary, some their bathroom, some even use their kitchen, which I could never do. My sanctuary is my home office.



Here are my ground rules for the sanctuary:

1) MUST be cleaned first - I don't care what you have to get done today, you clean, vacuum and de-clutter your sanctuary first thing in the morning. If the sanctuary isn't clean and you have a melt down, you don't have anywhere to go where you can get back to good and therefore the rest of your day is screwed.

2) Must be organized - A room is never truly a peaceful atmosphere until it is fully and one-hundred percent organized. If you don't know where to find things in your sanctuary, it isn't going to be able to serve its purpose.

3) Keep it simple - Simplicity helps soothe the senses and is a balm for the wounded heart. Keep your sanctuary simple in tone, decor, and use.

4) Use it often - A sanctuary is truly sacred when it is loved. It should be used often to do the activities you love to do. The more time you spend in your sanctuary, the better your life will be for it. When you are familiar with the space and love every detail of it, it truly becomes a place to retreat to when the storms of life are making you miserable.

5) Share it - Invite others into your sanctuary. It's okay if a child makes a mess there, you're going to clean it up tomorrow. When you share the space with others, they too will sense the peace and harmony a true sanctuary can bring to a soul.

I LOVE my office. I spend quite a bit of time there. DA and Jake love it too. It isn't the center of our home, but it is a well-loved and well-used room.