Manic Monday

Much like robshep.com's Mind Dumps, Manic Monday is a snapshot of all the random excitement inside my head.

• I recently visited a house that follows the "If it's yellow, let it mellow" rule in their bathroom. I can respect saving money/helping the environment, but this one creeps me out. I'm not trying to pee into a toilet that has other people's pee in it. GROSS! They should prep their toilets if guests are coming over. 
• I went to the Newport News Fall Festival and thought it was weak. It was nice to get outside because it was beautiful, but, overall, the vendors were lame. However, my mom bought Reese a darling black petti-romper there, and it was worth the trip!
• I love Cheddars. Our family ate there Sunday to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday. They have the BEST spinach dip and chicken tenders. Want to know the worst part?? I left my box of left-overs sitting on the table!!! There's not much worse than getting home, going to put your left-overs in the fridge, and not being able to find them! Apparently I was distracted by my son crying and taking swings at his parents. I mourned a little for my left-overs.
• My parents and Rob's parents are both going to be out of town this weekend. I've mentioned to them, and on my blog, that they aren't supposed to travel at the same time. For some reason, our normally slow weekends are never slow when both sets of parents are out of town. Rob has to do a wedding this weekend, and I have a bridal shower to attend for my friend, Lindsey. Let the juggling of children begin! I'm very thankful that we have all day Friday for family fun day! I don't know how single parents do it- mad respect.
• My kids were sick almost all of last week. Boy did that put a damper on our plans, plus Rob was out of town all week! We couldn't hang out with any of our friends with kids (we tend to have daily play-dates); we couldn't do anything that caused them to exert energy because they were so weak. Thankfully, my parents took us in for two days and it was a big help. Rob's parents are always amazing when we are home (their house), and I much appreciated all their helping hands and dinner out. 
• On Sunday morning, Hayden started crying around 5:30 am (mind you I was already up with him from midnight until 1 am, so I was tired). He quieted down & I dozed off, but Rob didn't. He gently woke me up and says, "Babe, read this!" I rolled over and could barely see because his bright i-phone screen was glaring in my sleep deprived eyeballs. Ha. I was reading a twitter from Tobymac (possibly Rob's all-time favorite musician) that said: "@robshep one of your homies said I should give u a big phat shout out! Said you been listenin' for a grip! Thanks man, Godspeed!
• Say what?!? We love Tobymac! We don't know what "listenin' for a grip" means- maybe autocorrect?! It was totally worth being woken up for! (That seems like a grammatically incorrect sentence!) The big mystery is this: who is the "homey" that Toby refers to? Toby's tour opened in Dallas the night he tweeted Rob, so we have some friends out there, but who was it?? Rob would like to give them a hug. :)
• It brings me great joy to see Rob so excited. He was excited.
• I'm having an on-line Facebook Pampered Chef Party for a friend. If you need anything, or want to make some purchases for Christmas, let me know! You don't have to be on Facebook to check it out, and the best part is that you don't have to leave your house for a real party! (We are missing out on some tasty food though!) Follow these instructions to check it out:

Here is how it works:

1. Visit www.pamperedchef.biz/laurelubele

2. Click "Shop Online" and enter Monica as the host

3. Shop away!

Do you love Pampered Chef? I do! My favorite items are the batter bowls and the food chopper. What's your favorite kitchen tool? What do you get at Cheddars?

Thinner Thursday

Not much to report! I spent the night at my parents' house last night, and they don't have a scale for me to weigh in on. I'm 99% sure there was a small gain this week. I was mindful of calories everyday, but got lazy counting them precisely. I walked the trail with Courtney and Danielle on Sunday morning (and cut another three minutes off our time), but wasn't able to get more exercise in this week. I blame my children. They are sick and sucking the life out of me! Haha- just kidding (sort of). Here's to a strong weekend and more disciplined week. You've heard that one from me before, right?? Ahhhhhh. I want to lose weight and I want to buy new fall/winter clothes. I'm on a mission.

What's your favorite fall/winter clothing article? Mine is my North Face jacket. It's the best and I can wear it no matter what my weight. :)

Wife Wednesday

I mentioned on Monday's blog that me and Rob attended a conference last week for couples. The more I reflect on it, the more I liked it! It was a conference directed towards couples in ministry. Here are a few marriage tidbits I jotted down:

• When you see a woman/wife/mother who is doing it all- she's not! Don't focus on her. Ask God what He's called you to do and do it well. Don't compare yourselves to other women.
• The speaker references a Craig Groeschel quote that states, "The quickest way to forget what God says about you is to focus on what others think of you." That'll preach.
• Make intimacy a priority. She said that Satan tries to get you in bed before marriage and out of bed after marriage. It's a good thing for women to take initiative!
• Speak of your husband in a positive way and be an encourager. Help push him to be who God wants him to be; don't hold him back. She talked about how runners use ankle and wrist weights to train sometimes so that when they take the weights off, they can run faster. She stated that wives should be the person taking the weight off her husband so he can run faster. Love that!
• Wives can work at making their house a refuge for their husband and kids. I love that, too!
• We have to work hard to guard our marriage relationship. That means it is ok to say no to others & to say no often! Don't apologize for saying no or even feel as though you have to give an excuse. We are striving to have a healthy home, and I would rather disappoint others than my husband or children.
• The speakers said to ask your spouse regularly, "Are we having fun?" Yes, we are!!
• In marriage, we have to let go of unrealistic expectations! Expectations are great, but not holding on to unrealistic ones.

The speakers also gave us a homework assignment which we completed on our way home from the retreat. We each took turns listing things that "fill me" and things that "drain me". We didn't have any surprises, which is good. These aren't specific to one another- just life in general.

Some things that fill Rob include, but are not limited to: going to the movies, meaningful conversations, family fun, words of encouragement from people he cares about, preaching, blogging, and going to conferences. Some things that fill me: quality time with Rob, the beach, family fun, reading, going out to eat, shopping, and spending time with good friends.

Some things that drain Rob include: having to be fake, business stuff/details, doing things he doesn't want to do. For me, I feel drained when I feel like I have to be fake, being around high maintenance people, when both kids are whiny/needy/clingy at the same time, and when our week gets unnecessarily busy. I do not think me and Rob are fake people at all; however, when we are at functions where we don't know anyone at all we feel like we have to go through the motions of big smiles, hand shakes, how are you, where are you from, what do you do, and repeat that conversation five minutes later. I'm not referring to meeting new friends or meeting new people at church; I'm talking about doing this around people you know you'll never see again. For me, I call it schmoozing. I'm not good at schmoozing and it drains me. 

What fills you? What drains you? If you are married, ask your spouse those questions! You might be surprised at some of the answers. Plus, it is great to know so that you don't end up draining him/her!!

Twin Tuesday

I follow a person called "Honest Toddler" on Twitter. It's an adult that Twitters as though he/she is a three/four year old. I laugh out loud daily thanks to this person. Mainly because I can relate to a lot of the statements since I have young children. There is also a blog by the same person: www.thehonesttoddler.com. Don't get honest toddler confused with an infant; he thinks infants are weak. If you've ever had young children, or you plan to, you should follow Honest Toddler on Twitter.....if you have a Twitter account. Honest Toddler tends to Twitter about ten times in a row to tell a story/run-on joke. Here are a handful of tasty morsels that are my favorites!

• Nothing adults love more than telling people how exhausted they are. It's like a sadness competition.
• Tell me again how tired you are. Wow. So interesting. LOL.
• You could fall asleep right here? Cool story. Make sure you tell Facebook.
• When you think about it, adults and infants have a lot in common. Always ready for a nap.
• Infant children are tired because of innate weakness. Adults just rinse dishes, use the computer and tell people what to do.
• So Ikea sells broken furniture and adults cheerfully put it together but I cut one sofa and they can't stop talking about it.
• Toddler Tip: If you can see straight through the water, you don't have enough bath toys. #YOLO
• Mommy. You are an angel. But when you're angry you have the face of a demon. Love you.
• Daddy. You were born a tattle but I forgive you. See me later about some chocolate I found. I think it's chocolate.
• Please look alive when reading bedtime stories. Pretend Facebook is watching.
• Toddler Tip: Jumping up and down in your bed while screaming might not get you out of a nap but it will send a message.
• Birthday infant thanks for getting born so I can have cake.
• Man at the store asked mama if I could have a balloon. She doesn't speak for me. I'll take six.
• So if you want cake for breakfast it's called muffin. Lol adults, I see what you did there.
• This three-year old just rolled up to the park wearing loafers looking like Frasier. Don't hurt yourself, Kelsey Grammer.
• I would watch the Emmys but seeing other people experience winning isn't what I'm about.
• Opened a juice box with my teeth at the grocery store. Now we have to buy it. :)

Oh man. There are so many more better ones, but I don't have the time. Hope it made you smile.

If you are on Twitter, who is your favorite person to follow? If you aren't on Twitter, what makes you laugh?

Manic Monday

Much like robshep's Mind Dumps, Manic Monday is a snapshot of all the random excitement that is inside my head.

• I took last week off from blogging because I lost my gumption to do it. I wasn't very motivated to blog this week either, so we'll see how it goes!
• The twins have been passing this weird fever thing back and forth since last Thursday, which evolved into Reese having a full blown body rash Saturday and Sunday and Hayden's fever reaching 103.4. Kids are exhausting; twins are exhausting; sick twin kids are really exhausting.
• Rob leaves tomorrow for a conference in Atlanta (Catalyst), and he won't be back until Saturday. Please pray prayers of healing over the twins so this week isn't even harder than it would naturally be with Rob gone. I'm thrilled he's getting this trip in as conferences rejuvenate him, but we opted for him to drive to save us money on a flight- so pray for safe travels for Rob, too!
• We are taking the kids to their 18 month check-up, and inadvertently a visit because of their fevers & rash, this morning. Reese has crazy anxiety at the doctor; it's a workout for us!
• I can't believe our kids are one and a half already! Time flies when you're having fun!!
• Rob and I went to Wintergreen for a conference Friday and Saturday for pastors & their wives. Parts were a bit cheesy for my liking; however, I learned lots of good stuff. Some of that I'll share with you on Wife Wednesday's blog. Here are a few tasty morsels until then.
• One thing I took away was this: When you lose focus (from God), you can get frantic and resentful. Isn't that so true? When I lose focus (ie- don't read my Bible or spend time praying or worry about other's opinions over God's), I begin to feel overwhelmed by little things and can easily feel resentful towards people that aren't deserving of that emotion.
• The lady who spoke also shared that we have to balance the urgent and the important. We must choose the important things and only a few urgent things, or we'll become a slave to the urgent stuff. Too many women get frantic focusing on laundry, groceries, bills, and "stuff" which are obviously urgent/necessary, but lose sight of the important things such as resting at the feet of Jesus, reading the Bible, praying for her husband/kids/day, enjoying the children, serving her husband, etc. 
• She reminded me of a great visual which Rob has used before during a sermon. If you imagine your life as a large jar, you have to choose to put the few big important rocks in the jar first so that they'll fit. Then, you add smaller rocks, then the pebbles, then the sand, and then the water which represent all the other things going on along with the urgent. As long as the important things (see above- Bible, God, husband, kids) are in there first, the smaller/urgent things will fill in around those important things. 
• The next day the speakers stressed that the important things require guarding! Just as we guard our expensive possessions by locking our cars & house, putting our money in a bank, getting insurance for things, we have to guard our relationship too! You have to schedule, plan, and guard important relationships because they are necessary!
• In other news, we found the house of my dreams last week thanks to our realtor, Dan Peters. I won't bore you with the details of it, but I fell in love! We are seriously considering buying a house with Rob's parents, and this house seems to fit all of our needs at this point. We put an offer in on Friday, but found out that night it was basically rejected. We had to put a contingency clause in saying that we'll pay you this amount, but only when/if our current house sells. They didn't like that part, but it's our only option. Oh well! I was bummed, but that very next morning I read a verse about God's faithfulness. We'll end up exactly where we need to be one day~ and I'm not convinced we won't end up there!

In what areas have you seen God's faithfulness?