Creamed corn

I haven't had much to write about the last few days. Life has just been full of the mundane busyness of everyday life. I have been playing with the kids, cooking, cleaning, working in the yard, going to meetings, etc. Nothing worth going into detail about.

I just heard that Terri Shiavo just died after being starved for 2 weeks. Regardless of our views on this issue, and many of you know my strong views on this, Terri spirit is now free of her damaged body and she is in a better place. I pray for the broken hearts of her family this morning.

Matthew starts T-Ball practice tomorrow night. He is so excited and wants me to practice catching and throwing every day. It is all he can talk about!

Baseball/Softball had been a big part of my family's life. My grandfather was asked to play for the St. Louis Cardinals minor league team. He ended up not doing it b/c of the pay and being away from home so much, but he always loved baseball. My dad played softball on church leagues when I was growing up. In the early eighties, my dad was playing and hit a home run. He happened to look at his watch while he was running around the bases and saw that it was 10:00 p.m. When he came home from the game, he was told that his father, who had cancer, died peacefully at 10:00 p.m. That story has always given me chills!

Now, the everyday mudane busyness of life is calling my name. Gotta go.

March Wild and Crazy Madness

Well, my two teams are in the Final Four!

Saturday night, Illinois was down by 15 with 4 minutes left to play. They managed to win in overtime. Illinois is special to our family b/c my dad got his Ph.D. there and my brother was born there. I lived there from infancy until I was 4.

The tension was so thick during the game, that Mom and I decided to leave the house and go shopping. When Illinois won, my dad and brother started jumping up and down. My brother picked up my dad from his waist. This apparently cut off circulation, b/c when my brother put him down, Dad passed out hitting his head very hard on their tile floor! He was gushing blood and looked pretty rough. Although, he is OK now, I feel like I need to teach Dad how to "golf clap". Less chance for injury!

Our Baylor Lady Bears just upset number 1 seeded UNC to go onto the Final Four this weekend! This is the first time in Baylor history. Sophia Young was named player of the tournament, and Baylor is the only one of the 4 teams that has not had the advantage of playing on their home court during the tournament. Bryon asked me if he could try to get tickets for the Final Four Ladies tournament. I told him that after going to three games this weekend in Austin that he was pushing his luck. I can only be so understanding!

GO BEARS! GO ILLINI!

A few comments from Easter

We had a fun Easter morning. The Easter Bunny knew how much the boys love art so most of their gifts involved crafts.

Matthew woke us up this morning and said in a shocked/disappointed tone,
"Uh, the Easter Bunny brought me tape."

Matthew never wets the bed so when I asked him this morning why his sheets were wet, he told me that he pee peed in the bed b/c I told his if he got out of bed the EB wouldn't come.

I then asked the boys to put their gifts back in their baskets so I could take a picture. After several failed attempts, Matthew said, "The Easter Bunny did a much better job packing my things than I did."

And my favorite:
After the boys started drawing in their new art pads, Matthew said,
"I am one of the best drawlers in the universe."
Me: "Matthew, we need to be humble."
Matthew: "I said, I'm ONE of the best drawlers in the universe!"

Date Night

With Bryon gone last night, Mom and Dad offered to have Matthew spend the night with them to help out.

Matthew loves "dates" with Mom and Dad! He feels and acts so grown up when he is by himself. They went out to eat and went to Barnes and Noble. My parents' good friends and their granddaughter, who is Matthew's age, were there as well. Matthew did something that made Katie laugh and then it was all over. He proceeded to fall down, bump up next to things, anything to keep the laughter rolling! She just laughed and laughed at him. It is a little scary thinking that Matthew will do anything for a laugh!

Last night, after watching The Wind and the Willows with Mom and Dad, Matthew asked Mom to make him yeast waffles in the morning. Dad said, "That's my boy!" and Mom, of course, said, "Yes." When he ate them this morning, he exclaimed, "These are much better waffles than they have at the Ramada!"

Thomas and I had a "date" as well. Mary Beth went to sleep at 6 so Thomas and I had the rest of the evening to ourselves. He had been asking all week to watch Fat Albert, so we watched that and had dinner together. I love his quiet spirit and how he will cuddle with me to watch a movie. He also wanted a bubble bath and to sleep in my bed so I was more than happy to grant those wishes for him!

Bryon had a fun "date" with the guys. He watched Duke lose to Michigan and Kentucky win against someone else. Yeah I have been following the brackets very closely! Bryon saw Ashley Judd there and a good friend who used to work for Baylor athletics who now works for Kentucky. He works so hard all of the time and when he is not working, he is busy helping me with the kids. Several times a month, he comes home to watch the kids so I can go out with the girls. I was so happy that he had a good time hanging out with his friends.

Overall, it was a fun date night had by all!

Runny Babbit

Matthew and Thomas's bavorite fook right now is Runny Babbit by Shel Silverstein. Bryon steads them a rory from it every night. Runny's favorite food is caw rarrots. Matthew, who has always loved gord wames, tries to sake up mentences using the rules of Runny Babbit. It is cery vute. What a billy soy.

Bryon has the ay doff. He and a gew fuys are going to the elite eight gasketball bame in Austin this evening. He is pery vumped. He has had a very wusy beek and need to get his wind off of mork. The kids and I are haying stome and rettin geady for our Easter lunch on Sunday.

We will be eating haked bam, cineapple passerole, suit fralad, been greans, and sasparagus alad. For dessert, and casket bake that I will tecorate domorrow.

Bryon took the doys to Billards to buy the shew noes this morning. Matthew's feet are wowing like greeds! Now I must return to loing the daundry, flopping the moor, and danging chiapers. Have a deasant play everyone!

Sleeping in

Matthew tonight:

"I get to sleep in tomorrow because it's Good Ol' Friday!"

Spring party preparations

Tonight is Bryon's late night at work so it is after nine and I am sitting down for the first time today! Both boys have "spring parties" tomorrow (what we used to call Easter parties) so I have been busy filling eggs and making cupcakes.

I am very excited about a new cookbook that I got in the mail today which has wonderful bakery recipes. It has a recipe for vanilla cupcakes that people (including the stars) line up for outside of the little NY bakery. I made them for Matthew's class.

Magnolia's Vanilla Cupcakes
1 1/2 C self-rising flour
1 1/4 C AP flour
2 sticks butter
2 C sugar
4 large eggs
1 C milk
1 t. vanilla

* Cream butter and sugar
*add eggs one at a time
*alternately add flours and milk/vanilla mix

Put in tins 3/4 full
Bake 350 for 20-25

Icing
2 sticks butter
6-8 C powdered sugar
1/2 C milk
2 t. vanilla

Mix all ingredients except only 4 C of powdered sugar at first
Gradually add rest of sugar to spreading consistency
Tint icing as desired

What's new

Well, life is slowly getting back to normal. Matthew and Thomas are both in school this morning and the baby is taking a nap.

I sat down to the computer to type but was drawn into a news bulletin about Terri Shiavo. I watched video of her looking out the window and her mother coming in and Terri's face beaming. I don't mean to get too deep into political matters, but it really bothers me that so many human rights activists are completely up in arms about terrorists at Abu Ghraib having underwear put on their head but will stand by silently and watch an innocent disabled American slowly starve to death. But I digress...

Sunday was as beautiful day. Our little town had a gardeners gathering at the local arboretum. There were bagpipers there which happen to be Matthew's favorite instrument. He went up to one of the players and started doing a scottish jig! I bought several plants from local gardeners.

Sunday night, we had a picnic at the playground of the development where we just bought a lot. Several of our friends from our life group were there as well. It was fun letting our gagillion children run free so we could all visit!

Side note to our Nashville bloggers. Matthew asked if we could buy a lot in Nashville instead b/c that is where all of the best guitar players live!

We got our final plans back from the "plan guy" this morning. I am very excited about them. We still don't know when we will build... a few months, a year from now. It is all so overwhelming but very exciting.

Our Baylor Lady Bears won their second game of the NCAA tournament. On to the sweet sixteen. Last year, during the sweet sixteen game, a controversial call was made in the last 0.2 second of the game against Tennessee. Had it not been for this call, they would have played in overtime and could have won the game. That call has been talked about over and over during this tournament. I hope it doesn't spook the girls this week.

Happy Tuesday to everyone.

What Matthew is thankful for.

As I was walking to bible class this morning, Matthew's teacher stopped me and was having trouble talking b/c she was laughing so hard. She said that all of the children were cutting pictures out of magazines of things they were thankful for. Matthew said very innocently that he was thankful for humans and cut out the picture seen below!

 

Saturday

It was an eventful day in the Barnhill house today. I got my hair highlighted for the first time since early December. It is such an odd experience sitting down for two hours with nothing to do. I actually don't like it much so I put the appointment off as long as possible!

Bryon's brother and brother-in-law drove up today to help Bryon put a new fence up and put wood floors in the office. The carpet in there was in bad shape and Shari's husband is good with wood projects, so they carted the skill and circular saw up and got to work! They worked all day and did a great job. I will post pics as soon as the furniture is back in there.

Thomas and I had a fun birthday party date. His class at church is huge and Bryon and I are good friends with all of their parents so Thomas has lots of birthday parties to attend! Matthew's class at church is much smaller, but I imagine when he is in school next year, he will have lots of little boy friends.

We were also very excited that Baylor won their first game in the NCAA women's tournament. Go Bears!

Today

I have nothing inspirational to say today. Just feel like writing about my day.

Thomas had a dermatology appointment this morning about 1/2 hour south of here. We have a strong history of melanoma and dysplasia in our family and Thomas's dr. thought it would be good to get an initial check on him. My other two children have slightly darker skin, but Thomas almost glows in the dark! He is so fair complected and already has several moles, so we needed to check it out.

Out of the goodness of his heart, Dad agreed to watch Matthew for me so I would just have the younger two with me. (Refer back to the dr. appointment blog last week). Thomas was a bit apprehensive but I promised that the Dr. didn't have shots and he just wanted to talk to him. When the Dr. walked in, Thomas reached out his hand and said, "Pleased to meet you Dr. ___!" Everything went well, and Thomas was given a clean bill of moles.

The doctor's appointment was in the same town where Bryon practices law so we were able to meet him for lunch.

After lunch, I stopped at Starbucks and headed home. The children fell asleep in the car and I had 1/2 hour of blissful quiet before getting Matthew.

Dad and Matthew had a blast together. They rode to the university. They went to Barnes and Noble and Schlotzsky's. They played football in the back yard and read Sea Power, a book about Navy ships. Both my grandfathers and mom and dad were in the Navy and Matthew is convinced that he will be a Naval engineer when he grows up. Dad commented on how Matthew was such a good companion today which made me feel good.

We then stopped by my mother's office because she had St. Patrick's Day cookies for the boys. Then we went to church to play on the playground for about an hour. We then went to Baskin Robbins and got ice cream cones because they were good boys today.

It was getting pretty late so we went home and I cooked fish and broccoli for dinner. After dinner, I put Mary Elizabeth on the floor on her tummy. She has been rocking back and forth lately, and tonight she scooted herself across the room....backwards! She was getting so frustrated b/c she kept getting farther and farther away from me! Oh, life is about to change! I am going to have to be a stickler about putting away toys immediately that have small pieces. Just one more thing to worry about.

Overall, this has been a hard week. The weather hadn't been great until today so the boys are getting stir crazy, and I still am not feeling great. It is funny how Spring Break went so quickly when I was a little girl, but has crawled by now that I have my own kids!

update

Thank you for all of those who sent up a little prayer for me on Sunday. The MRI showed that I had a bad sinus infection. I was so blocked up that nothing at all could drain so that was an unexpected diagnosis. This could explain the eye pain, headaches, and messed up balance due to inner ear pressure!

An Incredible Morning

Whew! What a busy beginning of Spring Break! I have gotten really used to just having the two children for most of the day. Adding a third all day long has kept me very busy.

Bryon took Matthew with him to court yesterday morning. Matthew was so excited. He came in to wake us up yesterday morning fully dressed in his Sunday best with two pens in his pocket!

We had been promising the boys that if they were really good, we would buy them The Incredibles when it came out yesterday. Bryon took them last night to get the movie. I just put it on so I have 1 1/2 hours to myself!

We closed on our land on Monday. This is something I have been dreaming of for a long time and now it is going to be a reality! The subdivision where we will build has over 90 children on 6 streets. It also has woods, a river, and a pool. Perfect for adventuresome little boys.

We are also in the process of touching up our home to get it ready to be sold. I am going through and packing everything that we don't use everyday, and Bryon has been working in the yard getting it ready. This house will always be very special to me. We have lived here 6 1/2 years. We brought our three children home here. When we moved in, we couldn't believe how much space we had. Now we are busting at the seams! This will also be the first time I have packed since it was just Bryon and me and a scant amount of furniture. This should be interesting...

House plans

We are in the process of putting together a house plan for a house we intend to move into in the next year or two. Does anyone have any suggestions of what we should or shouldn't put in the house? Something you really like or really don't like about your house or a house you have seen? Thanks for the help.

Weekend happenings

*I saw my first blue bonnets today! I always look forward to this day every spring.

*We bought Matthew a derby hat today and he looks like a 1920s paperboy. We took him to Barnes and Noble and he "ordered" himself a frappuccino. He gave the cashier a dime and told him to keep the change!

*Mary Beth was laying in bed with us this morning as still as she could be. Then Matthew announced from under the bed that he had slept under our bed for half the night. At the sound of Matthew's voice, Mary Beth squealed with delight and started kicking her feet. She loves him so much!

*I bought marshmallows to help me make icing flowers. The boys tried to get into them and I told them not to eat them b/c they were to help me make flowers. Several hours later, I looked in the back yard and saw Thomas putting marshmallows in the ground. He said that he was helping to make flowers, too.

*Thomas has decided that he wants to be a daffodil when he grows up.

A visit to the doctor

Over the past month, I have been having a lot of trouble with my eyes. They are bloodshot and full of pressure. I finally made an appointment yesterday at noon to see the doctor. They were able to get me in yesterday afternoon, but I would have all three children with me. I called Lauren up at school and asked her to meet me at the office when she could to pick up the boys.

The moment we walked into the doctor's office, Thomas went up to everyone waiting in the waiting room and told them that his mommy was sick. Then Matthew in his booming voice would correct him and say that I wasn't sick, just my eyes were killing me!

Then Thomas had to go to the bathroom. I asked Matthew if he wanted to come with me or stay in the waiting room full of old men and women. He informed me that he would stay in the waiting room and if a stranger got too close to him, he would beat them up.

So I ran to the bathroom and when I came back, Matthew was standing on the chair in the waiting room with a folder of church hymns that he always keeps in his back pack leading singing to the delight of all of the older patients.

This all happened within 5 minutes of arriving.

When they called me back, I was put in a room full of doctors supplies. In other words, a dreamland for little boys! Matthew asked me if in the future I could refer to him as Dr. Barnhill and could I pretend to page him overhead?

Matthew also told Thomas that he thought that Thomas was going to have to get another flu shot while we were there. This of course sent Thomas into screaming hysterics and I had to put Mary Beth down to hold him and calm him down.

Fortunately, the Dr. arrived shortly after I was put in the room, and Lauren showed up right after.

And thus ends a trip to the doctor Barnhill style.

Chantico

I finished off my second ever Chantico tonight. This is the new chocolate drink at Starbucks and it is probably the best drink that has ever graced my lips. It tastes like a liquid brownie. I literally get chills when I take a sip! I laughed the first time I had a taste of one. Things just shouldn't taste this good. I can't get them often because they are extremely rich and indulgent, but I look forward to the days when I do get them!

Single parenthood

Once a week, Bryon works very late. He is out of his office much of the day in court and when he is in the office, he is either meeting with clients or answering questions from members of his staff. There are just not enough hours in the typical work week for all of the extra paper work to get done, so he designates one night a week to be "the night". Tonight is "the night" this week. I never look forward to these days because I don't get much of a break.

Tonight was the book fair at Matthew's school followed by his celebration of works. This is where Matthew gets to show me all of the work he does during a typical day. This was a daunting task tonight as I was trying to control three hungry and tired children while giving Matthew the attention he needed to show me how he is progressing.

I came home from this very frazzled and hungry. I then had to quickly fix the boys something to eat while ME was in her high chair crying because she was hungry and had a wet diaper. The children finally went to bed 1/2 hour later than I like because it took me a while to care for each one individually to get them ready for bed.

It is times like these when I think about how hard life must be for single parents. They come home after a hard day of work and must be all things to all people. Every night is "the night" for them! I honestly don't know how they do it. I think of all of the women (and men for that matter) who lost their spouses on 9/11 and now must care for 1-5 or more children all by themselves. God bless them all.

There is a single mother at our church who has four children. She is always there and can usually be seen working in the nursery or a toddler class. Although she does not have much money, I have never heard her complain. I have more respect for her than just about everyone else at our church. I wish I knew of a way to thank her for all that she has meant to my children.

Well, things are finally quiet around here. I think I will plant my tired body in bed a read for a few minutes before I pass out.

A day full of unexpecteds

I loved today! I woke up to a sunshiney morning and Bryon said he would take Matthew to school. This is always wonderful for me. I love having the opportunity to stay in my PJ's until noon if I want to! Bryon had jury duty this morning so he stayed in town for that.

At lunch, Bryon called and said that he had an hour break and that he was coming home. This happens just a few times a year, so I was very happy to have him home.

As I mentioned before, today was a beautiful, sunny day. We are blessed in this part of the country with lots of sunshine; however, it has been cloudy and gray it seems for weeks so the sun was a welcome change. After a nice lunch, Thomas, ME, and I went for a walk to get some fresh air. This was my first outing with the double wide stroller with ME, but I thought it would go well. When I was several streets over, Mary Beth started screaming (I think she was tired). It got to a point where I had to pick her up to take her home. That was quite a workout! Holding my chunky almost 7 month old and maneuvering the double wide with Thomas getting up constantly. I am sure I was a sight!

Bryon was through with jury duty at 4 and instead of going on to work, he decided to come home. What a treat! We are both in major spring cleaning mode, so we went over to our storage and cleaned it out. We also are going through closets and drawers trying to get down to the bare necessities. The less stuff in them, the less stuff the kids can get in to! :)

I am always thankful for days with unexpected joys. Back to the real world tomorrow!

Old dresses

My mother was always good about saving sentimental items from our childhood. I am so pleased that she saved all of the dresses that she made for my sister and me! My mother made most of our church clothes which were sweet little smocked dresses. My grandmother made several outfits as well. The outfit that is pictured was made by my grandmother (on my dad's side) and I wore it to my grandmother's (on my mom's side) funeral when I was 11 months old.

Spaghetti, cold slaw, and corn muffins

I guess you could say that I am fairly obsessed with food. I enjoy making it, talking about it with friends, eating it, and planning menus. When I go out of town, it isn't, "Where are we going?" It's, "Where are we eating?"

I also have a funny habit of associating certain foods with certain people. It could be something they enjoy eating that I make or something I enjoy eating that they make. My dad is the "Thanksgiving/Christmas fiest". My mom is nuts and ice cream, my sister is cookies. My brother is shrimp. My friend Ashley is anything Mexican. My friend Laura is roasted red pepper sandwiches. Stephanie is red velvet cake! :) My grandmother is spaghetti, cold slow, and corn muffins.

I have been thinking about my grandmother a lot today because I made her famous meal today. When she lived in Bermuda when my dad was a young boy, she lived next to an Italian woman who gave her the recipe for spaghetti. It is unlike any other sauce I have tasted and I love it! She always fixed her cornbread in muffin tins which I thought was unusual. Every time we went to visit my grandmother in Birmingham, we had her signature meal. Warm banana pudding was always served for dessert.

This meal also reminds me of how far I have come as a cook. This was the first recipe that I tried that had more than 5 ingredients in it. It took me hours to put it all together and I was so frustrated by the time I finished cooking it that I didn't even enjoy it. Now, it takes just a little while and I enjoy experimenting with different seasonings.

Here's to you, Grandma. I will always think of you when I eat your famous meal!

Glimpses of today

Matthew memorizing a phrase to tell his teacher that would be appropriate most mornings, "Ever so sorry for my lack of punctuality!"

Curling up on the couch holding Thomas watching Bambi. I am still able to quote many of the lines in this movie although I haven't seen it in 25 years!

Matthew's top front tooth is very loose. This will be his third lost tooth!

Matthew curling up with me reading a book and him asking me to kindly "stop breathing."

Reconnecting with my youth minister in Abilene who I haven't spoken to in 15 years courtesy of Mike Cope's blog.

Watching a mommy and daddy bird build a nest in the hanging planter right outside our back door. (Should be a fun spring for the kids!)

Thomas got out a carton of sour cream.
"I want some Cool Whip!"
"Thomas, that isn't Cool Whip, that's sour cream."
Thomas took a taste from his finger and spit it out.
Crying, he asked "Why did you make it sour?"

Ordering pizza for family game night!

Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, free at last! 

Mother's Day In

I love Thursdays. I take Matthew to school as usual and then take Thomas to Mother's Day Out. He loves his teacher and always exclaims, "I get to see Miss Emiwy today!"

Most of my friends use these precious 5 hours to run errands. I almost always go home after the drop off. Although, I usually eat lunce with my friends, I am a bona fide homebody. I am perfectly content to spend all day and night at home. In fact, when I heard that Martha Stewart was leaving jail to be on house arrest, I thought that sounded pretty nice!

Being at home by myself allows me to clean it without little rascals bringing up the rear undoing everything I have done. It also allows me to enjoy the quiet. I rarely turn on the television or radio during this time. I will either read a book, do laundry, take a bath, or look at the computer. I also get to spend precious one on one time with Mary Elizabeth. Since she is such a laid back baby, she usually accompanies me taking care of the boys. During my MDO time, she has my undivided attention. I love it! I am always happy at the end of my day to pick up the boys. I always feel refreshed and ready for chaos.

Today, I am getting ready to head to Dallas for a dear friend's baby shower. Her mother and my mother are best friends, her husband and my husband have been best friends since the first grade, and we have been friends since high school! Bryon and I actually introduced her to her husband. Friendships such as these are very rare and cherished.

So I am busy getting all of my 3T boys clothes ready to take to Dallas to give to my friend whose little boy is exactly one year younger than Thomas and packing ME's diaper bag with most of the items in her nursery. It is so hard to pack a 6 month old!

Eternal perspective on parenthood

Yesterday, I was driving Matthew home from school and the boys started arguing over a sticker that Thomas had taken off of Matthew's paper. Matthew was distraught over it and it took me a while to calm him down.

Little arguements such as this, especially when they occur in rapid succession, are the bain of my existence. I just want to say, "Matthew, it's a sticker! It can be replaced!"

One of the side benefits of being a parent is seeing on a much smaller scale what God feels toward us. When I am at my most frustrated, I try to think of my children with this perspective.

1. No matter how much my children disappoint me, drive me crazy, and even anger me, I still love them with all my heart. Every day is a new day.

2. I don't understand how such petty arguements can use up so much of their energy. In the grand scheme of things, these positions they are taking are meaningless.

3. Delayed gratification makes my children more appreciative.

4. When the boys try to make me proud my putting the other one's desires above their own, they have the most fun together.

5. I want so desperately for the children to love each other. I am at my happiest when they act this way. On the other hand, nothing disappoints me more than when they are cruel to each other.

6. I tend to get aggravated when I grant one of their wishes, and no sooner has this occurred, they are on to their next "want".

7. I delight in taking care of them. I try whenever possible to make their desires a reality.

8. Everything goes smoothly when they respect Bryon's and my authority.

9. I hurt when they are hurt. I rejoice in their accomplishments.

10. Finally, it makes me see how much God must love me to watch his only child die so I may one day be with Him.

this morning

Thomas came bounding into our room this morning with a huge smile on his face.

"I made my bed all by myself! Come and see!"

Bryon and I went into his room and saw his bed with the covers leaning over to one side with lumps everywhere.

"What a great job, Thomas! We are so proud of you!"

Then Matthew walks in and says, "Actually, that's the worstest job I have ever seen. Seriously, look at all of those lumps!"

"Matthew, we need to encourage Thomas and make him feel good for trying." I whispered to Matthew.

"OK. Good job Buddy. I am so proud of you." says Matthew. He then looks at me and winks!