Jupiter, to Get More Stupider

Remember this old schoolyard rhyme?

Girls are sexy, made out of Pepsi
Boys are rotten, made out of cotton
Boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider
Girls go to Mars to get more candy bars

I remember saying this in elementary school (but I don't remember saying the sexy part...wonder what we said in it's place).

I have been reminded of this rhyme lately because my work is near Jupiter Rd. A few weeks ago, I was on the phone with Chris and he asked where I was. I said "I am at Jupiter.........to get more stupider!" I don't know why this flashed in my mind, but Chris thought it was funny. So then the other day, he asked the same thing and I happened to be at Jupiter again. So I said it again, and Chris started cracking up.

We had a discussion about this on the way to church last night, and I decided that the comedy of it is all in the delivery. You see, you have to say the first part but then pause a second before you say "to get more stupider". It's genious, really. Maybe not. But I think it's funny.

Ahhhh! Cowwww!

We went to eat dinner at Chick-fil-a last night. It so happened that the cow was there at the same time too! The bad things is, Caleb is deathly afraid of any large, plushy animals/characters walking around. He would not eat the whole time we were there. And really, he wouldn't stay in his chair either. He clung to daddy and kept his eye on the cow the whole time. Toward the end, he would wave to the cow, but I'm sure if the cow would have touched him all heck would have broken loose. It's so strange to me that he would be afraid of them. Other kids are playing with the cow and laughing it up. Not my kid. But I guess a large, soft cow running around would be kind of scary to a little kid. It's just not natural. So, if the cow is around, I guess it is take-out time for Caleb.

Getting Home

I had flute lessons last night. Chris did not have his carseat, so he needed to take Caleb home in my car. That meant I would be left with his car....which is a standard. I don't drive standard cars. I can. I just choose not to. I haven't ever had much practice, so it makes me really nervous. But Chris really needed my car, so I agreed to drive his car home.

I was so proud of myself because I actually did do a decent job of driving it. Yes, it was lurching around when I changed gears. Yes, I killed it twice. Yes, those two miles of driving did not have good gas mileage at all. Yes, there are all of those things. But I got home with no accidents or any problems. So I am really proud of myself! Each time I shifted into third, it was really smooth, so I was extra proud about that.

Go me!

This Weekend

I am sooo looking forward to this weekend. I bought Chris Casting Crowns concert tickets for Christmas, and the concert is Saturday night. I haven't been to a real concert in so long, so I am very excited!

The concert is in Fort Worth, and I want to go eat somewhere good there before the concert. Does anyone know of a great place to eat at in Fort Worth? I would like to go somewhere I've never been before.

Thanks for your help! I can't wait to hear what you advice you have!

Ready! Let's Go!

Caleb has been able to say "Ready" for awhile now. I love asking him if he is ready because he enthusiastically says "Ready!" This morning, I kept asking him if he was ready. He kept responding with a hearty "Ready!" But then I would throw in, "Well, let's go!" And it was so darn cute because he would repeat back "Let's go!" to me.

I know I say this all the time, but it is so amazing at how fast kids learn things! And I love the fact that he learns new words each and every day!

The Funny Thing About It Is...

If you read my previous post, I talked about not sleeping much last night.

The funny thing about it is...I'm not tired. Not once today have I felt tired. It seems like on days like today when I didn't get much sleep the night before because of you know who, it doesn't seem to phase me much.

For the whole first six months of Caleb's life, I was stinkin' tired. But the whole time I was stinkin' tired, I also was able to function much better than I thought I was going to. If you know me any little bit, you know I LOVE sleep. I simply adore sleep. I think about the moment when I'm going to be able to crawl under my covers at night all day long. I'm just weird that way. So, Chris and I really thought I was be a basket case when I had to be up with Caleb during the night all the time. But the strange things was, I wasn't. I could actually function pretty decent during all that...which at other times in my life, I couldn't. My reasoning for this was that God knew my weakness of needing TONS of sleep, and he gave me a TON of adrenaline or something to keep me going. There were so many times during that time that I had to will myself to sleep. It's crazy, but I really think God had a big, huge hand in helping me cope. I don't seem to cope real well on my own when I'm tired.

So, I guess today is one of those days that God is helping me cope. It also doesn't hurt that I got to lay around the house all day on MLK day and even got to take a nap with Caleb that day.

So, yay for not feeling too tired!

No Sleep for the Carrolls

I don't know what the deal was last night, but Caleb just wanted to cry all night. He's had a runny nose, so we wondered if that had something to do with it. Chris wondered if he had a headache (how are you supposed to know if a baby has a headache?). I wondered if he was cold. Or just rotten.

We never figured out what the deal was. But none of us got much sleep last night.

Here's hoping that tonight goes much better!

My Rock Star

I have a feeling Caleb is going to be a rock star! He loves to entertain people. Lately, when I change his diaper, etc. he likes to making this screeching noise that sounds like a rock star.

Then over the last week, I have taught him to use toys as a microphone. Yesterday we were using toy drum sticks as microphones. I would sing in one end, and he sang in the other. The great thing is, he used to not ever sing...but now he is singing all of the time! And I love it! It is the cutest thing to hear his little voice singing! And he copies what I sing back to me.

This morning as I was getting ready, I gave him the drum stick to keep him entertained and he sang his heart out for a really long time. Man, kids are so great! And it's so amazing to watch them learn...so quickly!

The States are Calling In!

We have caller ID in our house. So, when someone calls, we never answer the phone unless we recognize the caller's name.

We have had some weird ID's lately. There is one that just says IDAHO, and there is another that just says MONTANA. They have called a few times, and on a few nights they have called with a short amount of time between them.

Chris and I think this is very funny. We like to say "The states are calling in!" We have no idea why we are getting these calls, and they never leave messages. But it gives us a good laugh.

So, MONTANA called again the other night and we had our good laugh about it. I immediately thought "I'm gonna blog about that!" But then I rolled over and went to sleep. So the next morning, I asked Chris what it was we were laughing about the night before. He couldn't remember but said he had wanted to blog about it too.

So we thought about it for a few days, and then Chris finally remembered and sent me an email so that I could blog about it. So here's my post. It sure took a lot to get it here!

Storing It Up

I finally did it! I had been talking about doing it for quite awhile now! I am so glad that I did it!

What did I do? Well, I put all of Caleb's bottles up into storage. This is a HUGE deal to me because I have reclaimed a whole side of my island in my kitchen. I have been meaning to do it for awhile now. The kid is 18 months. He doesn't need bottles. Except I kept using them when his sippy cups/straw cups were dirty...which is quite often.

It's exciting to reclaim at least a little area of the house. As soon as you have a baby, their stuff immediately takes over the house. I know that when the next kid comes along, I will lose that area of my kitchen again, but it is nice to have it back in the meantime.

Yay more space!

Sign Frustration

There is a business near my home with this message on their sign. The message is all fine and good, but the part that drives me NUTS is that the W is obviously an M turned upside down. I always notice it when I drive by, and it always drives me nuts. I know this is a really petty thing to bother me, but it does. I should buy them a new letter W and send it to them. It would make us all happy!

Casey & Lauren's Wedding

Many of you know that my brother got married a few weeks ago. I thought this was a cute idea that they did before the wedding. Of course, the photographer's pictures are WAY better, but here is one I took.
Here is a link to the photographer's pictures if you would like to take a look and play the game "Where is Stephanie (aka. the Whitest Bridesmaid Ever!)?".

One Church

I just found a very disturbing church website as I'm sitting here at home doing some research for work. This church's website says "One God - May Different Paths." Very, very disturbing.

A Good Dinner

On Friday night before Chris got back into town (he was gone all last week for his first class at ACU in order to get his master's degree in Christian Ministry), Caleb and I decided to go eat some dinner...just us. We ordered our food and went to sit down. I then saw a lady that used to go to our church sitting at the table next to us. I started talking to her, and she quickly invited us to sit with her. It was so nice to get to catch up with her on what she has been up to lately, and it was great to be able to share dinner and have a nice conversation with her. I'm glad I decided to go to dinner that night!

Wiggly Fun

Caleb and I went to Kimberlyn & Ellie's party on Saturday which was at the Wiggly Play Center in Frisco. Caleb took a little while to warm up to it, but then he had a great time! Here are pictures of Caleb (and Mommy) from the fun day!

The Eh-Hones

Caleb LOVES his Daddy's earphones! He loves to unplug them, turn the power on, re-plug them in, etc. It is hours of fun!

On Clearance

Yesterday after work, Caleb and I went to Target. While walking by the baby section, I noticed that there was a rack of 75% off clothes. So I veered off my path to check it out. I wound up finding a sweatshirt for Caleb (It's darn cold outside! The boy needs some sweatshirts!!) for 98 cents! 98 cents!! Isn't that exciting! I sure thought it was!! I wish I could find clothes for me for 98 cents!

Then I went to the toy aisle to look at the 75% off sale there (a friend had told me that I needed to check it out). I obviously was a day or two too late because everything was VERY picked over. Too bad I missed out on that one!

Oh, but I also got a cup for Caleb in the dollar section. I love the dollar section!

Self-Awareness

Caleb now knows who he is. If I ask him where Caleb is, he pats his chest. Then last night, we were looking at our family picture on the wall. I pointed to Chris and asked who he was..."Daddy!". Then I pointed to me and asked who that was..."Mommy!" Then I asked who the little boy was, and he pointed to himself! I was so excited that he understands who he is. Even from looking at a picture of himself. Yay, Caleb!

Movie Reviews

Chris and I went to see The Water Horse and The Chipmunks at the Ennis drive-in the other night. Both movies were cute, and I would recommend seeing both of them.

The Water Horse is a story about the water horse in Loch Ness. It was interesting and a clever story. I think kids would enjoy seeing this movie.

Chris and I really like The Chipmunks. I used to watch the cartoon when I was a kid (does anyone else remember that?), and Chris and I both had a record. It was neat to see how they brought the story line in from the cartoons and even played some of the songs that we had on our records. It was a good flick even though I probably really liked it because of "the old days." Kids would really like this movie too.

So there you have it. My thoughts on two movies that I saw recently. Do with it what you will.

A Love Affair With Juice

Caleb loves to drink! Milk, juice, water (well, he doesn't really prefer water). He just loves to drink! He loves liquids way better than he likes food (can this really be my child?)!

Over the past few days, Caleb has started making funny noises like he is making out with his juice when he is drinking. You should hear it! It is so darn funny! I might need to record it so that you get the full image/sound of it. He seriously sounds like he is making out with it! This kid keeps cracking me up!

Movie

I know, I know. Some of you are going to say "You didn't really see that!" "What were you thinking!" "I can't believe you did that!", but here goes...

Chris and I saw The Golden Compass last night. We were curious to see what all the hubbub has been about, so we went to see it. Here are my thoughts on the movie:

• The video affects were really good. All of the animation added in was really seamless.
• It's really not a great story. There doesn't seem to be much to it.
• I thought I would go "Wow, that is cool!" at least a few times during the movie, but I never said that to myself.
• There wasn't anything about it that reeked of atheism. I spent the whole movie trying to dissect everything and figure out if there was a hidden meaning (I really wish there hadn't been a big deal about the movie...I think I might have enjoyed it more. But I just couldn't stop trying to analyze everything in my head.).
• It really was a decent movie, but I just didn't think it was great. I thought I would be more impressed by the story and just the movie in general.

So, honestly, I wouldn't recommend seeing it. Part of me wondered if the movie people created all of the fuss just so more people would go see it. If there had not been such a big fuss, I don't think many people would have gone to see it at all.

And I'm sorry if you're thinking I'm a horrible person for seeing it. It probably won't be the last time I'll disappoint you! :)

I Love Gift Cards!

We went and ate dinner last night on a gift card. Then we went to Barnes and Noble, and I got the next book club book on a gift card. I love gift cards!

Chris is going to come eat lunch with me today...on a gift card.

Tonight, Chris and I are going out on a date and will do it solely on gift cards given to us over the last month! Did I mention that I LOVE gift cards?!

Chris always gets gift cards from his kids at school around Christmas time, and I am always so excited to see what he is going to bring home! We'll have fun for awhile on all of the cool gift cards that everyone got us! Yay!

2008 Books

Rating System 1 (Lowest) - 10 (Highest)

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett - 7
Alice in Wonderland - 6
Metro Girl by Janet Evanovich - 6
Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold - 5
My Hitch in Hell by Lester Tenney - 7
Bronte by Glyn Hughes - 2
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards - 8
The Nanny Diaries by Emma Mclaughlin and Nicola Kraus - 6
The Shack by William Young - 9
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks - 7
Hide by Lisa Gardner - 8
The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl - 6
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier - 9
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro - 8
Two For the Dough by Janet Evanovich - 7
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith - 8
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez - 5
The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn by Robin Maxwell - 8
One For the Money by Janet Evanovich - 7
The 5th Horseman by James Patterson - 7
Desparate Passage by Ethan Rarick -
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens - 6
Amazing Grace by Danielle Steel - 7
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory - 9
The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason - 8
The Shadow of the Wind by Carols Ruiz Zafon - 8
Atonement by Ian McEwan - 7
Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez - 8
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini - 8
The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar - 8
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - 7
A Light in the Window by Jan Karon - 6
Joshua: A Parable for Today by Joseph F. Girzone - 5
The Ministry of Information Services by David W. McKay - 5
At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon - 6
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck - 7
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen - 7

Happy New Year!

My Christmas/New Year's break is officially over. I am back at work today and thus life and blogging can resume. It was amazing, but I didn't hardly even look at the computer for the week and a half that I was off work. So thus keeping up with my blog did not happen.

Here is a run-down of all we did over the break:

Thurs & Fri - Finish Christmas shopping
Christmas Eve - Dinner & shelf hanging at Casey & Lauren's
Christmas Day - Wake up at our house and do our own thing, go to Mimi & Poppy's to open presents, lunch at grandmother's, nap back at my parents', then back to grandmother's for leftovers
Wednesday - Friday - At Don & Tianay's for the Carroll Christmas. We stayed there and had a great time!
Friday - Bridal Brunch, Manicures & Pedicures for the girls, Wedding Rehearsal & Dinner
Saturday - Breakfast with Grandmother & Poppy, to Sam's to pick up flowers for the wedding (for throwing as C&L left), to the church to get hair done, finish getting things ready at the church, etc. (My bridesmaid's dress' zipper blew up, so they had to pin me and sew me into the dresss!! Great fun!) Wedding, Pictures, Reception

After all that fun, I was EXHAUSTED! We wound up not going to church that next day, and then we pretty much just rested the past few days trying to catch up. We had a great break, and it was wonderful to see so much family, but it just about did me in. It's actually nice getting back into the swing of things so that life can slow down a little bit (that sounds funny since we are constantly on the go, and I am well-known to be one of the most busy people ever!).

Oh, and Caleb was the ring bearer for the wedding, and he did AWESOME!!! We didn't think there was any way he would go down the aisle, but he did so great! I told Chris that I really wanted to tell him how proud I am of him (which I have many, many times over the past few days), but I really wish he could understand right now how extremely proud of him I was. So Caleb, when you read this someday when you are older, know that your mommy was soooo proud of you! I wanted to jump up and down on the stage and clap for you! I know there will be many more times in your life that I am that proud of you, but this was one of the first times that my pride for you was swelling up so much within in me! I love you!