After 20 minutes or so of scouring the house the other day in search of Brooke's last working spill-proof sippy cup, I finally gave up my search. The case was not yet closed, however, so Janelle offered a 1 penny reward for the finder of the cup. I ran downstairs to grab something and discovered that my lovable little daughters had been transformed into the Super Sleuths. Sporting goggles, they were on the case and ready to compete for the prize of the penny! The case was closed minutes later when Chief Sleuth (aka "Mommy") discovered the missing sippy under a sofa. Case closed.
We were blessed with an early Christmas present last week when my dad flew out from Virginia for a brief visit. My mom didn't make it, but, knowing the girls' love for books, sent a special new book out for them, which my dad had the task of reading to them: The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey. Toomey's nickname is Mr. Gloomy, and he believes Christmas and miracles are nothing but "pish-posh" until he encounters the widow McDowell and her son, Thomas. It is extremely well written - captivating, even - with stunning artwork to compliment the story. It was an immediate hit with our entire family, and I'm sure it will get pulled out every year for more readings. Not surprisingly, it has a 5-star rating at Amazon. Check it out!
In one week, Chloe lost 3 of her front teeth (2 upper, 1 lower) and is sporting a terrific toothless grin now. An aide at school had the privilege of pulling out the 2 upper teeth, in successive days, prompting threats from us that we weren't going to send her back to school for fear she'd come home totally toothless! She is quite excited about not having these teeth, and we think she looks pretty cute without them. And if she had her choice, she'd much rather have a Wii for Christmas than her 2 front teeth.
My friend Sally once said, “If you are going to laugh about it later, let’s just all laugh about it now.” And so, in the spirit of her advice I am recording the events of my day, so that we all may laugh about it now, together.
The American Red Cross recommends a breakfast high in protein and carbs, and low in fat, the morning that you donate blood. Exchanging my usual bowl of cereal for two eggs with cheese and cilantro, with a side of southwest hash browns, I was ready to go. I hurried back upstairs to dry my hair, quickly apply my makeup, and brush my teeth before leaving to donate blood.
As the events of our lives are all like legos, linking one to one another, so were the events of my morning. Earlier in the morning I had applied diaper rash cream to 2-year-old Brooke, threw it on the bathroom counter, and washed my hands. Now, with my hair dry and makeup hastily applied, I grabbed my toothbrush to brush my teeth. I glanced at my watch, calculating that I would have just enough time to do the girls' hair before rushing out the door. I remember thinking as I brushe
d that the toothpaste didn’t taste as minty as the kind I usually used. Nor was it as foamy. So what would any logical person do? "Stop and check the toothpaste tube," you are thinking. Ah, but the key word there was logical, not what would a harried mother of four do… Any frantic mother trying to get out the door would do what I did - grab the tube and add more, which I did. I brushed some more, spit, and rinsed. Only then did I notice the tube of Desatin lying on the counter.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” I exclaimed. “Brad, I’m late for my appointment. Can I use your toothbrush? I just brushed with Desatin!” My husband, trying rather unsuccessfully to contain his laughter, graciously let me borrow his toothbrush.
I rushed out the door, and made it just in time to my appointment at the blood drive. As the woman was asking me questions, I reflected on the fact that I felt nervous, and we hadn’t even gotten to the vein poking part yet. She slid the thermometer under my tongue and said matter of factly, “You’ve got a fever.” “No I don’t,” I replied with complete confidence. After all, I didn’t feel hot. “How do you feel?” she asked me. My stomach felt a bit queasy by this point, but I didn’t know if this was because I had eaten four times my usual amount of breakfast, brushed my teeth with Desatin, or was simply nervous about giving blood. So I did what any rational person would do and told her nothing. Unfortunately, I was not able to give blood. I was really disappointed, and came home to share that with my family.
When I mentioned to my husband that my stomach felt a bit queasy and I was running a fever, he went straight to the bathroom to examine the tube still laying on the counter. The next thing I know, he is on the phone with the Poison Control Center, explaining to the very helpful lady at the other end about my experimentation with Desatin. She calmly assured him that the fever had nothing to do with my hasty choice of toothpaste that morning, and suggested I try brushing again with another brand, such as Crest or Colgate.
Both my parents and my husband tried to convince me to spend the day resting, but that seemed silly because I felt fine. At one point I was heading to the store to pick up some final ingredients for dinner, and Brad questioned me. “Are you sure you feel up to going? How do you feel?” I replied that I felt the same as I did every day, which made me wonder how many days I have, in fact, had a fever!
I share all this to warn you. If you are a parent, never, ever leave a tube of Desatin on your bathroom counter. Especially a white Desatin tube with a picture of a minty looking leaf on it, but which is actually a picture of aloe. As the well-trained lady at the Poison Control Center aptly suggested, “Stick to Crest or Colgate.” And finally, I share this because I’ve laughed harder today than I have in a long time, and I hope that my story will make you laugh, too. After all, as Sally said “If you’re going to laugh about it later, let’s just all laugh about it now.” Laugh on, my friends!
Back-to-school season continued this morning as Grace headed back to Ladybug Learning Club for her second (and last) year of preschool. We were very excited last year when Grace landed in the classroom taught by a friend of ours. Grace loved her, so we were even more excited this year when we discovered that Grace was headed back to the same classroom & teacher for the pre-K curriculum! Adding to the fun this year is that the twin girls of our friends down the street are in Grace's class. So... Grace is poised & ready for a great year, and Janelle will get to enjoy a little more 1-on-1 time with Brooke.
It's July. It's 114 degrees outside. And the girls are back in school. We're still adjusting to the somewhat crazy school schedule here, but despite the fact that the world around us seems to say, "It's the middle of summer, not the first week of September", the girls are very excited to be back in school -- Elise in 2nd grade, Chloe in 1st. And they're excited to have the same great teacher, Mrs. Runyon, in a combined 1st-2nd grade classroom (more craziness!). This photo was from their first day back (last Thursday); they are now into their second week and loving it. We're looking forward to another great year at Edu-Prize!
Let me take a brief pause from photo updates on the family to share with you a very worthwhile resource. As a fairly recent college-graduate-turned-young-professional back in the late 1980's who finally had a little money to manage(!), I began to read newsletters and books, attend seminars, and meet with financial folks to begin learning how to be a good steward of what God was entrusting to me. After lots of bumps & bruises and a mix of success & failure, I encountered the one publication that I think I'll be a life-long subscriber to. Sound Mind Investing is a monthly newsletter for those seeking godly, competent counsel and insight on investment and other financial matters. Austin Pryor, the founder of SMI, had been running a very successful private investment firm for several years before he felt led to start the newsletter. How successful was he? Well, he was consistently rated among the top 5% of investment advisors nationwide. And he was advocating an investment model built primarily around no-load mutual funds, which all of my other reading seemed to indicate was the best all-around approach to investing. In addition to providing a very clear model with specific mutual fund recommendations, the newsletter provides great articles to help you better understand economic principles, practical help in getting out of debt, and a whole lot more. And if you subscribe to the online version, you also get access to the editor's blog with daily insights and news, as well as reader forums and the full archive of SMI newsletters. Whether you are a recent graduate or seeking to manage your retirement well, I cannot give SMI a high-enough recommendation. SMI offers a free 30-day trial so you've got nothing to lose from checking it out (they also have feeds on Twitter & Facebook).
Let me be up front and share that I do get a free month of SMI for each person who becomes a paid subscriber through the above links. However, I am sharing this because I think everyone will find this an incredible resource. Check it out. I don't think you'll be disappointed. SMI offers the kind of wise counsel that most people crave now more than ever.
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