ememby

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Posted on February 5, 2013 | 4 comments

Well howdy… I’m thinking I need to stop eating sugar on the weekend because boy to I get a detox headache every Monday and Tuesday. Doesn’t dieting and healthy living sound wonderful? I’m sad to say that despite working out 6 days last week, I was thwarted by Jack’s birthday party and some Super Bowl good eats and have gained weight from last week… we’re going to pretend it’s muscle because otherwise I shall cry (not really – just being headache-fueled dramatic).

Just minding my business at the grocery store on a Thursday morning and standing at the self-check was a very tall, long-haired and bearded man in a utili-kilt (that would be a kilt made out of Carhart-type material, see one here*). I texted my encounter to Stef and she told me to take a picture… I thought I had missed my opportunity but when I saw him walk by me again, I had to paparazzi him with my phone camera. Awesome.
*Also awesome, the tagline “American Made Utility Kilts for Everyday Wear.” But of course.

Various shots of the same sunrise, since the snow started coming we just get grey skies in the morning so now I miss this pretty sight.

Liam gave two thumbs up to my homemade whole wheat waffles. “Best Waffles Ever, mom!”

Sometimes you just have to wear a Jango Fett mask.

I love how George tucks his paws up when you hold him in your arms, I also love that I can just care my dog around like a small child.

As I said on Instagram: Noted and denied.

Pretty views on the road into daycare.

A year ago we were just returning from Oz. Pics from our time there.

Jack’s very first drawing of people – he went from scribbles to heads and arms – love this. First he drew me (bottom left) then counterclockwise he added himself, Liam and Simon and then George on top (with four legs and still two arms).

Jack likes to make up “kisses” to go along with butterfly and eskimo kisses… my favorite are thumb kisses because we still have to pucker up and make kissing sounds.

Liam had a snow day so he got to spend the afternoon with me at a local coffee shop, not so quietly playing Angry Birds.

Ham.

George had to hide out in the bathroom one evening because the waffle maker scared him due to it’s beeping when it was ready. He also hates the vacuum (understandable) and flashlights (no idea).

Two shots of the back of our house within a 24-hour period. Michigan weather is confused.

This license plate makes me giggle, it’s on a car that is always in the parking lot where I meet Simon at Calvin to get Jack when we trade parenting shifts.

Just discovered this delightful treat – a Greek yogurt that is creamy and not very bitter with the most delicious stir in of honeyed apricot. It makes me feel like I’m eating something very European and then I feel all sophisticated. All yogurt should make you feel sophisticated. [dumbest sentence I’ve ever written]

I didn’t have time to dry my hair yesterday and sometimes this is fine, but yesterday was not one of those days so I put it up in a bun with a pencil. Liam was perplexed by this hairstyle when I picked him up from school. And I totally went to Target with a pencil in my hair… just don’t care.

Speaking of Target… this tab was on my computer yesterday thanks to a note from daycare that head lice had been reported. I was hoping Target would have some lice preventives that I could pick up while I was there. They did not but the search and resulting tab did make me giggle so all was not lost.

4 Comments

Posted in Instagram, Life in general

Reminder

Posted on January 31, 2013 | 3 comments

I’ve pinned a whole lot of hopes on 2013 being the year when things change… when we sell our house, Simon finally moves to first shift, when we find our “forever” home, when we take another road trip to Texas (and don’t use all our vacation time the first month of the year), when my hair will be long enough to cut for Locks of Love, when Jack will outgrow wetting the bed, when Liam will mature and be able to focus in school… Things big and small, important and not important, etc…

And I have no reason to think that these things aren’t going to happen, or go as planned, but I do know better than to be 100% positive that everything is going to be smooth sailing. The waters could remain calm, they could get a little wavy or we could be blindsided by a hurricane, I have no idea (I’m also not a fatalist who believes the worst will happen, but I am a realist). But God does know what’s going to happen because He’s got it all planned out. In all my planning and hoping, I need the reminder that while things might not happen according to plan (if at all), whatever does happen comes as no surprise to God and He will prepare me for whatever happens.

Maybe you need this reminder too because you are in the midst of the storm that has knocked you off course or you are riding too high on the mistaken confidence that YOU are doing it all right!

Guard your hearts, friends, and remember, you have your plans and God has His; sometimes they align, but sometimes they are seemingly at odds and it is for the best because we can’t see the forest for the trees but God sees the entire universe in great detail and He’s got this; He’s got you.

3 Comments

Posted in Faith

And more search terms to amuse yourselves with

Posted on January 29, 2013 | 8 comments

Previous posts of this variety can be found here.

I do find it endlessly entertaining (if not a little worrisome in some instances) to see what search terms brought people to my site…

#1 search term of the last quarter: kippers (the canned fish I used to love), I’m apparently not the only person who wants to know more about this delightful snack… or was perhaps subjected to them by their older parents or grandparents. I still haven’t gotten up the gumption to try them again.
Sadly, my runner up search term is gratitude, by half as much. So twice as many people found my site by searching for canned sardines as thankfulness, what does this say about our world?
I’m also happy to note there are many variations on symbrachydachtyly and I’m glad people are seeking out more information about limb differences and I hope that other parents are finding the site helpful to them as they navigate the world having a child with a limb difference. I think together we can make a difference, not just for our own kids but for kids with all variations of differences.
I’m less thrilled to tell you that there are multiple variations including something about toes, or (my favorite) college toes (is that a thing?), including the eerily specific “michelle ememby feet,” the sad “hate hate toes” and the disturbed “freakishly huge big toe” (sorry, my big toe is average, but my other toes are freakishly long).
preteen monster | Four people searched for this specific phrase which makes me worried for a few years from now when my kids are preteens, clearly this is not something to look forward to.
god’s plan for you | I gotta tell you, the Internet is not going to reveal God’s plan for your life… but you might want to check in with Him or the Bible.
young girl in velcro rollers | Sorry, I’m an approaching middle aged mom sometimes puts velcro rollers in her hair, not likely what you were looking for.
balls removed surgery | file that one under: not great
thanksgiving fingernail designs | for the person with (literally) too much time on their hands
what state has a license plate that is green on top and blue on the bottom | not sure how this long, specific search term led you to my site. But I had to google the term myself and found there is a plethora of sites dedicated to license plates. This is a wee bit sad.
ways to cut toddler hair to avoid mullet | this one made me laugh out loud, but it’s true, mullets must be avoided at all costs, especially on toddlers
why is it that when I eat chicken tikka masala I can’t sleep at night it’s insomnia | The “it’s insomnia” just kills me; asked an answered.
bookmark little preteens | Um, what? Would you like a bookmark with little preteens on it? Are you looking for preteens so small they would fit on a bookmark? I just don’t know.
chili bowl hairstyle | As opposed to soup or salad bowl hairstyles?
slow people drive me crazy | Me too, though I have never felt the need to google it to find others like me.
pray god with say | Again, I’m confused.
finger ingrown | I’d imagine having an entirely ingrown FINGER would hurt. And also be impossible.
made up designs of battle bridge hexbug | another winner in the category of dedicated parent; they are like me, who has been known to reference YouTube to find out how to get passed a level in a Wii game. Thank goodness for geeky children (and grown ups) who video themselves going through various levels (with and without amusing commentary) of Lego Wii games.
what did one direction do in January 2012 | I have no idea and I’m okay with that. But I will venture a guess that they made some sacrifice to Simon Cowell so they could cash in on all manner of fame and also sing in the Olympics opening ceremony.

8 Comments

Posted in Life in general, Search Terms

Monday Musings

Posted on January 28, 2013 | 2 comments

Happy Monday – Liam’s school got cancelled today so I spent the morning working from a coffee shop and then he and Simon joined me for lunch at the deli that’s attached to the coffee shop and now the pipsqueak and I are working together – he on the iPad playing Big Piggies and me wrapping up work stuff and blogging. I quite love working in coffee shops – I’m super productive when I’m not constantly telling Liam to quiet down (i.e., the whole morning = productive, since lunch = not so much).

I’m not sure who’s more excited about Jack’s birthday party at our local frozen yogurt place – Jack or myself. We’re just doing family – once the kids turn five, they get a friend party and then again at 10, the in between years we’ll let them pick a friend or two and do something special (Liam has already decided which two friends he would like to take to my niece’s cottage in August – which makes me laugh). But regardless, he asks daily when his birthday party is and shows me how much fro-yo he’s going to eat (THIS MUCH).
We watched The Decendents (with George Clooney) this weekend and halfway through, Simon said, “Can this movie get any more depressing?” No, it probably could not have. But it was good and George Clooney was unlike his normal debonair characters, in the best way possible.
I saw Les Miserablès last night and I’m not sure what to say about it. Unlike most people, I have never seen the play or read the book and aside from cultural references to it, I had no idea about the story line or the characters. I had read about this movie and how they filmed it and clearly the actors did a good job since they are all nominated for various awards. But… I think I could say that I could take it or leave it. I never once forgot that I was watching Hugh Jackman play a part, which is not a dig at his acting (it was splendid), I just didn’t get into the story. Perhaps I wasn’t in the right frame of mind, or whatever, because I can also say that is was impressively made and very well done so it’s not like I thought it was bad, it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I do find it ridiculous when every line in a musical is sang, whether it is part of a song or not I enjoyed Silver Linings Playbook so much more. But the movie is epic and if you have an affinity for the story or the musical – do go and see it, you won’t regret it. Sasha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter would perfectly cast and Amanda Seyfried has a gorgeous voice.
While we were in the theater it snowed a crazy amount and then freezing rain came down on top of it – that was not my favorite. Made worse by my poor choice in footwear – ballet flats (the ground was clear when we went into the movie and I missed the forecast of snow).
After a whole boatload of Friday nights with Simon (the last two date nights and before that his being off for the holidays), I missed my hubby this past Friday night. Friday nights when they are just like any other weekday are not the bees knees.
SAG Awards last night = another sporting event for me, so fun to make fun of celebrities and give Simon a running commentary to make up for having to listen to his commentary on FA Cup soccer tournaments.
Just when I think my boys are getting better about their behavior (because they have been getting along with each other at home so nicely), we take them out in public and I remember what they are really like. Saturday we went to Home Depot to order flooring for our kitchen and OMG… crazed little monkies would have been better behaved.
Suits is back, love it and Harvey.
Downton Abbey is also back and while I haven’t watched last nights’ episode yet, I gather I’m in for some drama given the comments I read on Facebook after it aired. My fave was “Downer-ton Abbey…”
I feel bad that anyone else is up against Daniel Day-Lewis for acting awards, he’s so clearly going to win them all this year.
Jack turns 4 next week – gulp!
I’m helping out in Liam’s class tomorrow… pray for me.
I was still in the top five for Biggest Blogging Loser last week, we’ll see how this week goes – I had a bigger weight loss so I am hopeful, but really, I’m just glad to being back on the right track.
I did 2.5 miles on the elliptical on Saturday and felt dead and was a sweaty mess – clearly this is a tougher workout than my normal 10-12 miles on the bike, which gets my heart rate up but doesn’t put me so out of breath. I’m learning – baby steps 🙂
I’ve been eating a lot of baked salmon with fresh dill and lemon juice – it is delicious, fresh out of the oven or cold on a salad. Come over, I’ll make you a salad.