AAh-Cho

My Dad and my brother have been long sufferers of allergy symptoms. My husband and one of my sons are also stuffy and sneezy during pollen season. But I have never had a problem.

...until now!

I've always had sympathy for allergy sufferers, but it wasn't until this Spring that I can say that I now have true empathy. It started with my eyes and now a stuffy nose, scatchy throat, and aww, the pressure!!

Guess I'll be heading to the drug store to replenish the household supply of meds.

I'm Fine

Really I am. I'm just fine. I have a good God. Sometimes I might write a post that doesn't exactly show my faith in him, but that's because I'm trying to keep it real on here. Everyone gets into a funk sometimes. My faith doesn't falter, it just skips a beat here and there. The awesome thing about blogging is that we get to vent a little, plus we get fabulous support and love from all the comments that are left. Thank you Bloggy Buddies!!!
I've got a post ready for tomorrow's Photo Story Friday. It'll be up first thing in the morning. Until then, Have a super day!!!

Success, Recently

I've been feeling like a failure the last week or two. Chores not getting completed, kids not following directions, marriage not being tended to. So I've decided to pick myself up and think about where I have seen some success. Here goes...

Success is:

Getting the wash into the dryer before mildew sets in.

Getting through half a day without putting any junk food in my mouth.

Getting to bed by 10:30pm on a week night.

Getting a shower by 9am in the morning.

Not throwing away any fruit because it has gone bad.

Not having to toss left-overs that didn't get eaten.

Buying only what was on my list!

Between the needs of 4 kids, finding time to look into my husband's eyes and say "I love you."

Spending any time at all in prayer or reading my Bible.

Realizing that I'm not the only one who's kids aren't perfect.

Knowing (or at least thinking) that your teenager is still a virgin.

Seeing my children smile.

Knowing that God loves me enough to give me a break once in a while.

Thank you.

A non-writer's writer's block

My brain has been in overtime recently, yet I sit here at my blog and go blank. Throughout my busy days, I come across topics that totally drive my mind to spontaneous explosions of questions and impulses to debate, but then I sit here with my shiny new laptop and don't know where to start. I can't even call this writer's block, because, well, I'm not really "a writer." Just a woman who shares this world with you.

Today, I'll just write down some topic headlines and over the next few weeks I will really zone in on some of them. Your comments will be really helpful here! Give me somewhere to start. You'll see that my list doesn't make for typical "Silly Little Sparrow" posts. No babies, kittens or uneventful ramblings, but don't worry, I won't leave that stuff out, you can be sure!
So in no particular order, here are the things on my mind...

1. The economy - Who doesn't have their opinions? their worries?
2. Stem cell research - I have questions, don't you?
3. Violence around the world - A pastor gunned down, A family wiped out, Another high school shooting
4. Closer to home - How to parent a teenager, How to parent an adolescent, How to parent a toddler
5. When does the wisdom kick in? - I'm turning 40 this summer
6. Saving money and saving the Earth - Recycling, reusing, conserving
7. Christianity - Why are there fewer Christians these days?

We'll start with these 7. If you've already written a post about one of these topics or would like to write along with me, We'll call this the Spontaneous Thought Explosion! Sign the Mister Linky below with a direct link to your relevant post and remember to post a link back to me also. You can use my button on the left side bar. I can't wait to hear what we all have to say!

Playing Tag

Today I got tagged! It's a little like playing the child's game, tag. I don't always play along like a good friend, but sometimes these are great. Especially when you're too busy to think up your own post topics.
So, now that I've got this started, I'm suppose to write 6 weird things about myself and then tag a few of my other friends. And who is this person that tagged me?
It's Nikki, that cool chick over at Life As We Know It. I've already read her weird post and I'll have to admit, she's pretty weird. (sorry Nikki, I mean that in the most respectful way.)
So are we ready? I hope that you'll still be my friend once you find out how weird I am.

1. & 2. Inadvertently, I make a couple of very strange sounds with my mouth. First of all, my jaw clicks sometimes. It's kind of annoying when I'm kissing my husband. It doesn't seem to bother him. I guess it's louder in my head and it always makes me giggle. Also, when I eat something especially sweet or juicy, my mouth squeaks. It's almost like a whistling sound. Maybe someday I'll make a video for you to hear for yourselves. Quite strange. Again, it's probably louder in my head than it is to the people around me. I know...weird!

3. When I do slightly strenuous household chores, I make little grunting sounds. My squeaking doesn't seem to bother anyone, but my husband always teases me when I'm, say... cleaning the bath tub, or pulling weeds in the garden. I don't even realize I'm doing it.

4. I like to rearrange my furniture. It really gives me rush. When I'm feeling down, it lifts my spirits.

5. I use to be able to raise one eyebrow and give my children "the look." When I had surgery to remove skin cancer from my forehead 2 years ago, that ability was taken away. Now, only the skin above my eyebrow moves. It's a little weird.

6. I really want to get my nose pierced, but I probably won't do it because people will think I'm weird.

Here's who I've decided to tag. Let's see who'll play along.

Gill @ Me Him & Them

Ali @ Alidotes

Joan @ More God = less me

Cathy @ The Semi-Happy Homemaker

Jen @ Cheaper Than Therapy

Ashley @ Life in our Three Ring Circus

Goody Good for Me!!

Remember the contest I entered last week? I Won!!!
I just about wet my pants when I opened the email.
I guess it's my destiny. When I started this blog a few months ago, I thought for sure it would be something that would fall to the wayside within weeks. It's been quite time consuming just learning how to use the easy blogger.com editing tools. And then wondering if anyone is really reading my lame posts.
But as you see, I now have "2" followers (see over on the right side of the page.) Thank you Joan and Robin!
And to my local friends and family: I know you're popping on here now and again to see what is going on in my crazy household, but it sure would be nice if you'd leave a comment so I know you've been here! My own mother hasn't even done that!
So like I said, winning the blog make-over is all the proof I need. Bloggerhood is my destiny. This is only the beginning. It all started here, with my little "mommy blog," but who knows what greatness I will achieve.

With all that said...One of my bloggerhood buddies and Sister in Christ, Tarah, has "tagged" me. She has a beautiful sight called Eyelashes and Endzones. Check her out after you've finished with my post. And don't forget to leave some random thoughts on my site!

7 Random and/or Weird Facts about Leah

1. When I was a teenager, I had a humongous mole removed from inside my belly button.

2. My Dad called me Dumptruck when I was little and sometimes still does.

3. I use to be a bank teller "BK" (that stands for before kids.)

4. I also worked in a party supply store and sometimes I would inhale helium from a balloon and

call my friends. (I didn't know back then that it was harmful!)

5. On the eve of my first wedding (I'm remarried) I ran over a possum and killed it.

(I knew that marriage was doomed.)

Ok, something more up to date...

6. I absolutely adore chocolate peanut butter cup ice cream and I don't like to share it!

7. My current husband and I met in Disneyland when I was 16,

we went our separate ways and then years later, I found him on Classmates.com. It's such an amazing love story. I'm guessing Oprah will have us on soon. :)

And I'm tagging these other bloggers:

Keli - http://dreamimaginelive.blogspot.com/

Kim - http://www.kimheinecke.com/

Joan - http://moregodlessme.blogspot.com/

Jen - http://cheaperthantherapyjen.blogspot.com/

Robin - http://robinandolivia.blogspot.com/

Valerie Lynn - http://simply4god.blogspot.com/

Ok, so I only have 6, sue me!

Thanks Marty

It doesn't happen often, but once in a while, someone takes time out of their busy day to share some encouraging words with someone else. And the God part of that, is that it happens exactly when it is needed!

I've been struggling this week with a teenage dilemma. I have good kids, but this is part of growing up. In fact, I am more than grateful for the relatively small troubles that I've been faced with thus far. Yet, here I am, heartbroken that my son hasn't discovered the importance of good grades. This kid is a sponge! He has talent beyond my dreams, but homework isn't fun and therefore does not merit his full attention. You can imagine my frustration and despair.

Here's where God stepped in today...
I received an email from my buddy "Marty." She jumped right in with the humor, empathy and encouragement. In just that order too! Write that down... humor, empathy and then encouragement.
Humor is sometimes a touchy matter. It may not be a good idea to start w/ humor in a more serious matter, but in this case it was absolutely a necessity. Empathy, not everyone can relate to each other's problems, so if that is the case then go with sympathy instead. And the most important of all is encouragement! God is our finest encourager, but we have this power also. I don't know why we don't share it with others more often. Take some time today to be an encouragement to someone else. It's as easy as sending an email, making a phone call or just smiling at a stranger!

Lastly, I just have to share the humorous part of the email that Marty sent me...
"I heard one time that raising teens is like being pecked to death by chickens."
Isn't Marty a hoot?! Thank you Marty!

Mommy Abuse

Glynis and I started our day with a little fun under the sheets. (I'm talking about my baby daughter here!)
She loves to play under the blankets. Basically she just sits there in awe and laughs. We make faces at each other and I flip the blankets over us and off again. It's just about the most fun you can have if you're a 1 year old. Apparently to make it even more fun, she thought she'd jump backwards right into my face! And do you know how hard a baby's head can be? They're not really soft all over... Check out my new fat lip. And don't worry, her lip is fine.

When Mommy gets sick

Ouch! Got my first urinary tract infection on Monday evening. Have you had one of these?
I'm gonna get a little graphic here...
Sometime in the afternoon I was feeling a bit constipated. I was in the bathroom forever! Glynis (the baby) was in there with me. (What else was I suppose to do with her? Are you curious about what she did all that time in a bathroom? Well, just refer to my earlier post about tissues. Give that girl some tissue paper and she's set for hours) Chris was at the soccer field w/ the boys. So there I was, just sitting there thinking that maybe I hadn't been eating right and that maybe I should just go drink some juice and everything would be fine by morning. I was wrong! Because 15 minutes later the pressure moved to my bladder. And this was not a normal pressure. I ran to the computer, because that's where I get all my info. Then I called my friend Lorraine, a nurse. We came up with the diagnosis together. Must be a UTI!!
By now, Chris was on his way to the drugstore to pick up something called AZO Fast Relief for Urinary Pain to "get me through the night." It was already almost 8pm.
To wrap up this stupid story, I ended up going to the doc in a box at 9pm. I was in agony, could barely stand. The foreign, monotone doctor told me that my urine was badly infected and he prescribed antibiotics and a bladder analgesic that turns your urine bright orange. That was pretty cool actually. Chandler insisted that I show him before I flushed (I know...GROSS!)
Do you know how your urine becomes infected? Eww!
Now here's a question for all mothers...
What happens to your house/family when you get sick? You're all shaking your heads, aren't you?
I guess the best we should hope for is that the kids get their homework done and have eaten something (even if it has no nurtional value at all) before getting to bed way too late.

I'm better today! Feeling pretty good actually (still peeing orange.)
I can't believe I'm actually posting this story! I'm a weirdo.