I toyed with the idea of going on strike today, to protest low comment-age. But I wasn't sure if anyone would notice. So here I am, blogging like a schmuck.
Schmuck does not trigger spell-check. It is, evidently a REAL word.

Have you heard about this movie/documentary Expelled? Looks amazing, opens Friday. Go.

Tonight, I am going to a girls-night-out with my small group, a farewell party of sorts for me as I leave KC for 2 months. We are going to eat a sick, obsessive amount of chocolate in a glittery, shiny restaurant. Yessss... Actually, last night we tried out a chocolate fountain at our group. It was awesome. I heartily approve of chocolate fountains. This is an infant loss support group, I remind you. We need chocolate, for therapy.

So, since I will be out chocolating, I will have to tape American Idol. On my VHS VCR. Because ain't no school like old school.

One of the amazing things about this support group is that just talking about stuff seems to get you moving. Like, realizing that these other women still grieve, and that they get "stuck" spiritually, has been so encouraging that I don't feel very stuck anymore.

R2 had a neurologist appointment today... scheduled months in advance because the clinic is so busy. So off we went at 10 ish this morning. I had called and verified the appointment, and then we drove around in circles for a while looking for the place. Found it. Took out three kids, got a wagon, went for a ride. Wrong place. It actually was in another branch of the hospital, downtown. So we missed it and have to reschedule. Stinks.

Stuff like this always happens to me. And maybe I'm irresponsible and non-verifying or something, but dangit! I thought I had this one. Sheesh. So now I have to call and say I'm a cotton-headed ninnymuggins and I need to reschedule for JUNE when we're back in KC.

We leave for Nashville on Sunday. Some guys are coming to house-sit... guess I should clean everything, or something.

Sorry about the late blog. For once, it is not my fault. Well, it kind of is, because I forgot to pay the phone bill. But ultimately, the internet was broken.

Today, for once in his life, the MOG did not have class. Wow, you say. That's kinda harsh. Uh, what I mean is, the MOG was out of school, not that he was tacky or "classless". Anyway, if I said it that way, it would pretty much be a compliment in that he had never, prior to today, been classless or tacky. Which, frankly, would be untrue, because it has happened before. Albeit rarely. But I digress. Deliberately. Because it amuses me.

Back to talking about American Idol. When was I talking about Idol, you say. My my... you are chatty today, aren't you? You were talking about Idol in the comments yesterday, and today, that's when. ANYWAY. In reference to the Idols singing Shout to The Lord... (aka Darlene makes a Million)... I see this, and Christmas songs played in Walmart, as "Christ is preached." In other words, He still gets the glory, even if a girl in a belly shirt sings a song about how great He is, with no understanding. And 30 million people hear it? I think that's just great, all around.

Oh yeah, before I digressed, and then had a secondary digression, I was trying to talk about today. Since R1 did not have SCHOOL, I ran away to the library and the thrift store. If anybody around here had actually taken a nap, I would still be gone. But they slept not. Still, I had a great time and gleefully spent 3 dollars on a pair of pink checkered Vans and 2 baby dresses that are pretty pioneer-era. R2 loves them... he's all about dressing his baby dolls. Which, you know, is of some concern to his father, but whatever. Happy Friday and have the weekend Marvin Zindler would have wanted you to!

Directly on the heels of sickness 1, I have developed sickness 2. This one does not involve vomit... hallelujah. This is more of the coughing hurting achy whiney headachey sleepy kind. Sigh. Just took an hour nap and I hope I'm better.

In other news, we have ants. Ants ants ants. They started in the bathroom and have extended to the kitchen. Which is nightmarish, but they don't bite and they are not interested in food. In fact, they ignore food and head right for white things... like paper and my laptop and electrical cords. We have tried the little ant baits... nope. And the highly toxic spray poison... kills the visible ants in range of the spray dead. But then the rest just wander around the bodies of their comrades unharmed. The MOG has suggested just co-existing, in the spirit of Rodney King. But I can't take crawly things. Bugs. Shudder. I heartlessly murder every one that crosses my path, just to make a point. But so far the ant community remains unthreatened. Sheesh.

In other, other news, Idol Gives Back was last night, and it was a'ight. Coolest part was the very end when they sang Shout to The Lord. Who'da thunk it?

Well, Bedste is technically off to the airport. Actually, she's going to sit in the house of prayer for 3 hours with R1, but she already said goodbye to me and mine. We had a great visit. It's very surreal seeing people from home and then all of the sudden they're gone for months. I wonder how that translates to R2 and Toby's brains. Bean was not a fan of VKG this visit. She felt that Eva was the cause of me being gone for 3 days. Finally, today she smiled at her. Funny stuff.

Idol last night... my favorite didn't do his best performance, that being David Cook. But he's still awesome and I expect him to be in the top 3 and NOT win the whole thing. Then tonight is 2 and a half hours for the Idol Gives Back special, and tomorrow is the results show... lotta idol this week. Tonight will probably be pretty boring, however. Too many celebrities.

A sad development in my life: the day I got the plague last week, I had sampled the CinnaSnacks from Sonic. After sampling them again countless times that night, I don't know if I will ever like cinnamon again. This is life-altering, as I have cinnamon snack sites sprinkled across this city. Ugh. I'm feeling a little queasy even mentioning it.

Real queasy. Quick, somebody change the subject.

Let me start by saying that Brynn has never really slept through the night. EVER. And she's almost 14 months old.... and before she came Toby never really slept, ever. So yeah, for 2+ years I have fed a baby about every 2 hours.
As of this writing, Bean has slept 5+ hours TWICE. That's correct. Viking Granny fixed her.
The thing is, I'm still tired. But that's preposterous! you cry. Ah, shut up. I mean, no. I just have not chosen to go to bed at an appropriate hour and thus am still tired. The end.

Last night was my support group/ home group. I was the prayer focus this week... so I got ministered to and that was a blessing. I like it when people pray for me. I mean, when I want them to. There were only 3 of us last night so it was cozy. We leave for Nashville in two weeks, and then after NVille for a month, we'll be in Texas for a few weeks. So I really only have one group left before June. And that's kinda sad. But adventures! Wahoo!

I was going to post some pictures today, but in technology's eternal battle to destroy me, every rechargeable battery in the house is dead and so I cannot import anything. Am I charging the batteries now? Of course I am. Do I really think I'll win this one? Not really.

We flew out of KC Friday morning at 6:40. In the MORNING. Ay Caramba. I hate flying, so I have defense mechanisms for the times when we are most likely to crash to the earth, like the moment when the front wheels leave the ground, and the early trajectory, and descent and landing. I am fine when we are 34,000 feet in the air. My thinking is, it would take a while to fall out of the sky from that height, and I would have some warning. So I try to have a good book to divert me for the crucial moments, which means I have to ration it so I don't finish before landing. I blew it this time and finished my book, which meant I had to do a crossword puzzle during landing, which, frankly, was not sufficiently diverting. More than you needed to know? Well, this is my blog, folks. I can ramble on about any old thing and you just have to take it like a man.

It was such a great vacation. Maybe some of you would not want to fly to some remote oppressed city and spend 12 hours in prayer and fasting, but that's our bag. We just took our time. We sat around the hotel and watched a little TV. We ate good food, slowly. We drank Starbucks and watched far-off thunderstorms. And I remembered why my husband is my best friend.

Saturday was the Call. And I always say, the Call was awesome, intense, etc. It's just very hard to describe a day like this.

There's thousands of us here
and nobody really knows why
except maybe if we join together and ask
You will come
and remove the curse from this nation

We're all badly broken
and flawed, so flawed
but maybe, if we lift You up
You'll draw us near

The sound is deafening
of eight thousand hearts breaking
with Yours, for Yours

And maybe we've got it right
maybe we've got it wrong
but we can't stop asking
that much we know

More about the Call and vacation this week.

Off to Alabama... for the Call Saturday and a mini-vacation Friday and Sunday. I'm sure I will miss my kids terribly, but I'm pretty excited about the break.
VKG landed safely, and even took the van out for a spin around KC, and got lost. So she's adapting quickly. It took me a couple of weeks to get lost!

So there you go. Oh, and the sickness is finally over. 24 hours... more like 32 hours. I resolve to never throw up again in my life.

HEY! Look at my new great-nephew! SERIOUSLY... most newborns look like boiled monkeys, but this little guy is cute from the get-go. Good genes.



Good job, Chase and Lacy! Can't wait to meet him!

Sheesh. Today we pick up Eva/Bedste/Viking Granny from the airport for a weekend of fun and frivolity. Only problem, I AM SO SO SO SICK. The pukes finally got me. I am miserable... was up all night and thought surely I'd be better by morning.

My sons are watching an infomercial for some skin care product. Toby picked the channel. All of the sudden I feel pretty wrinkly.


Ohhhhhhhhh...... I just want to stop feeling sick. That's all I got.

I toyed with the whole, " Surprise! I'm PREGNANT!" idea today, it being April 1st and all. But I can't put my aged relatives through that... so, no jokes. Besides, I'm not really into April Fool's. I don't like lying, and I don't usually believe anything on April 1st, anyway.

Two pretty good Google links:
Google Custom Time
Be a Virgle pioneer!

In other news, the pukes have passed to the other two children now. So maybe that'll be it? Maybe I don't have to personally be involved? Maybe it will pass me by! Ugh.

My small group last night was really good. It's so healing, and I think I am making some really good friends. The issue for me will be how to pursue friendships outside of the group setting. One friend was supposed to come over today. But she has a 4 month old, so once I figured out the pukes were alive and well, I cancelled. Luckily, this particular virus seems to pass in about 4 or 5 hours. Those are miserable hours, but then it's over.

In other, other news, I have started putting all my poetry and prose on a new blog. Haven't decided if I will make that public or not... that's a hard thing to share. But since I've put it up on the freaking INTERNET, I guess I will give y'all the link when I'm ready.

My new friend Amanda is the coolest. One amazing thing about her house: SWEET TEA. How I have missed the Southern goodness of sweet tea.

Clark. Out.