Please tell me this is just a phase

I am having one of those "bad mommy" moments. Lately, Kyra breaks down into a tantrum at the slightest thing that doesn't go her way. She goes from downright a perfectly happy toddler to just plain miserable all in the span of 2.2 seconda.
The sad thing is that she isn't even 2 yet so I can't even blame it on the "terrible twos". For example, last night we colored Easter eggs. Which resulted in this tantrumall because we didn't think it would be a good idea for her to stick her hands in the blue dye with the egg. I've taken to just leaving her where she is to cry it out, but sometimes you would honestly think I am torturing the poor child. I know this too shall pass, but I am so ready for this little phase to be done!

Congratulations, Angie!!!!!!!!

On Saturday, my friend Angie completes her RCIA journey and will officially become a Catholic. This has been quite a journey for Angie and I know she has been really looking forward to this day. I just wanted to give her a big congratulations and let her know that I will be praying for her and her husband, Eric, on this special day for them. Stop by her blog (Many Little Blessings) and give her a big congrats!

Do you remember when . . .

Easter was actually a holiday where people would spend it with their families and businesses remained closed? I guess I am just amazed at the number of businesses who are choosing to remain open on Easter Sunday. For instance, I was at a local videogame retailer the other day and there was a bold sign in the window stating "OPEN ON EASTER". Hallelujia! Christ is risen! Now, off to your local game store to pick up the latest shoot-em-up game. I also talked to my mom today and she told me that my dad is working 11-7 on Easter at his new job at a major retail outdoors store. I know Jesus calls us to be "fishers of men" but this is a little too much.

I am prayerful that maybe one day retailers will remember what Easter is all about, but then again, it won't be until people in general realize what Easter is all about and stop giving the retailers a reason to be open.

I'm helping climb a mountain

Well, figuratively at least. Rich's new company has these little contests that it participates in. Twice a year, the area businesses do a "wellness" challenge in which they compete against other businesses for some small prizes but mainly bragging rights. Employees and their spouses can participate. The spring challenge is a "Mountain Climb". For every 15 minutes of activity you complete, you log 1 foot up the mountain. Every two weeks there is a new mountain to climb. We are climbing Mount Everest until the 15th of April. So far, I've logged a pathetic 6 feet (the contest started on Monday). I'm hoping my competitive nature will kick in, but it's been hard with this snap of cold weather. Now, if they only counted chasing a toddler around as an activity, I would be at the top of the mountain by now!

Tackle It Tuesday

It is time for me to enter the world of "Tackle It Tuesday". Given that we moved back in November, I know I've got plenty of "tackling" to be done around this house. However, today's project to tackle is courtesy of my loving husband.

You see, I went away on a retreat this past weekend with some wonderful women from my old church leaving the cares of motherhood behind if only for a short while. Rich did a wonderful job considering Kyra hasn't been feeling all that great. One thing he did do, however, was get the compulsion to clean out my car. This is all fine and good, but guess where the contents of said car wound up?




Yes, that would be my dining room table. So, I will attempt to clear it off today. Wish me luck!

And now I am back and feeling much better about my dining room:



Even though the day is grey, I find the flowers help brighten up the room a bit. Now, if we can only not get that snow they are predicting!

Feeling a let down

So, we have been trying to sell our old house since last October. Now, we realized going into winter trying to sell a house wasn't the best of circumstances, but you do what you have to do. We were very excited this weekend when our realtor told us an offer was coming only to get the offer and it was SUBSTANTIALLY less than our asking price. We fully realize the real estate "game", but the offer was downright instulting and our realtor agreed. We counter-offered with what we (and our realtor) believed to be a fair price and spent the rest of the weekend waiting.

Today we get a call from our realtor and the prospective buyer counter-offered our counter-offer but didn't even come up much from the initial offer. I hate to be stubborn and I realze that this is a "buyer's market" but our house is already the lowest price for a house it's size in the area. At what point do you say it just isn't worth the hassle? What is that "magic" number we will settle for? I thought when we finally did get an offer, I would feel euphoric, but right now I am just plain depressed. Now, we have another 24-48 hour wait to find out how it is going to be. In the meantime, I need to say some prayers for patience.

What have you done?

I found this on Angie's site, Many Little Blessings, and thought I would go through "my list" as well.

Things I've done are in boldtype.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children/currently raising child
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life