My early spring organization...

It was one of those days that I awoke feeling restless and wanting to do something major. Fortunately I have a husband who is usually agreeable when I have these moods. So we rearranged furniture and now I have an office/guestroom. Until midday, each of the kids had their own bedroom. However, Nathan's room was absolutely huge. When we first moved we were planning on having he and John share a room, but the timing was not right and neither of them were ready for that. Six months later and I think they are both ready. So we moved John's loft to Nathan's room and all of John's toys and furniture. And now I am blogging in my new office. It's great. And at some point we will either put a futon or a bed in here and people can actually sleep some place besides the floor when they visit. We'll just see how tomorrow morning goes with John and Nathan in the same room... Oh, and I got two closets organized too. Can you tell I'm ready for spring?!

I know you are waiting in suspense....

Okay, so no one guessed. Maybe only those of us who lived in English Hall and watched it too many times to count know the name of the movie. And I still enjoyed the movie last night. It was Last of the Mohicans. Great, great movie on many levels--especially for me. I am not a romantic comedy kind of a girl and really don't enjoy chic flicks for some reason. I always fall asleep during them. This movie has the romance with the action to keep me awake and it even has a few comedic lines tossed in for kicks. I can't tell you how many times I watched this movie in college. Oh, and during the movie, I realized I forgot to list one more of the key lines of the movie. "What are you looking at sir?" "I'm looking at you miss". Ahhhhh, you have to see it to appreciate the line. Oh, and even if you don't want to check out the movie, you need to listen to the soundtrack. One of the greatest ever...

Warning: It is a movie about the French and Indian war--so tomahawks and blood are present in the movie. I just didn't want it to catch you by surprise...

Name that movie...part II

Okay, so the last movie wasn't that challenging. Joe and I have decided what movie we are watching tonight after the kids go to bed. Here are some lines from it... Once it's been guessed I'll write more about the movie... (And , yes, Alissa, it's a given that you know what movie this is!)

"I got a reason for wantin' to stay."
"Would that reason be wearin' a striped skirt and be workin' in surgery?"
"Aye, and it's a better lookin' reason than any of you gents have got."

My window view...

So I love living in small town midwest America--especially on nights like tonight. It is currently 6 degrees outside and no, that isn't the reason I like living here. As you probably know there is a lunar eclipse tonight (or as Ashley calls it --lunar elliptical--maybe the moon needs to exercise a little more...) Anyway, I wanted to see the eclipse but, for obvious reasons, I didn't want to go outside. And, I don't have too!!! Our street is dark enough that we can see it very clearly from our house and I can see it out my front window. It is so incredible to think that right at this moment the earth is going to perfectly line up with the moon and the sun. And I'm getting to see it from my warm living room.

My love for Frog and Toad

I've become quite a fan of Arnold Lobel and his Frog and Toad books. We have The Frog and Toad Treasury which basically includes all of the Frog and Toad stories--I think. One of my favorites is called "Cookies" and while it does somewhat relate to what I am about to post I only really have room to share one story. And, I will also spare you the reader, because you may not appreciate Frog and Toad like I do. Sometime when I'm really struggling with will power I will share the "Cookies" story with you.

This Frog and Toad story completely illustrates the truth behind why I and most women want to lose weight. Oh yes, there is all the health implications, eating properly, exercising is good for the heart, etc., etc., etc... But I really truly think with all women that our true reason for losing weight is that we are just as self-conscious as Toad is and truly don't want to be laughed at. Enjoy:

A Swim by Arnold Lobel

Toad and Frog went down to the river. "What a day for a swim," said Frog.
"Yes," said Toad. "I will go behind these rocks and put on my bathing suit."
"I don't wear a bathing suit," said Frog.
"Well, I do," said Toad. "After I put on my bathing suit, you must not look at me until I get into the water."
"Why not?" asked Frog.
"Because I look funny in my bathing suit. That is why," said Toad.
Frog closed his eyes when Toad came out from behind the rocks. Toad was wearing his bathing suit.
"Don't peek," he said.
Frog and Toad jumped into the water. They swam all afternoon. Frog swam fast and made big splashes. Toad swam slowly and made smaller splashes. A turtle came along the riverbank.
"Frog, tell that turtle to go away," said Toad. "I do not want him to see me in my bathing suit when I come out of the river."
Frog swam over to the turtle.
"Turtle," said Frog, "you will have to go away."
"Why should I?" asked the turtle.
"Because Toad thinks that he looks funny in his bathing suit, and he does nto want you to see him," said Frog.
Some lizards were sitting nearby.
"Does Toad really look funny in his bathing suit?" they asked.
A snake crawled out of the grass.
"If Toad looks funny in his bathing suit," said the snake, "then I, for one, want to see him."
"Me too," said a field mouse. "I have not seen anything funny in a long time."
Frog swam back to Toad.
"I am sorry Toad," he said. "Everyone wants to see how you will look."
"Then I will stay right here until they go away," said Toad.
The turtle and the lizards and the snake and the dragonflies and the field mouse all sat on the riverbank. They waited for Toad to come out of the water.
"Please," cried Frog, "please go away!"
But no one went away. Toad was getting colder and colder. He was beginning to shiver and sneeze.
"I will have to come out of the water." said Toad. "I am catching a cold."
Toad climbed out of the river. The water dripped out of his bathing suit and down onto his feet.
The turtle laughed.
The lizards laughed.
The snake laughed.
The field mouse laughed, and
Frog laughed.
"What are you laughing at, Frog?" said Toad.
"I am laughing at you, Toad," said Frog, "because you do look funny in your bathing suit."
"Of course I do," said Toad.
Then he picked up his clothes and went home.

my ultimate worst nightmare

We are still sick. I wouldn't have mentioned it except it is fairly relevant to this post. I also do not like snakes--that is also vital to this post. Both boys started running fevers yesterday afternoon/evening. Nathan had already had the throat thing, so I was anticipating the stomach thing with him. My mother instinct did not fail me. At 5am I heard Nathan calling me from his room. So in my groggy state I jumped out of bed to get to him before the mess became greater. I cleaned him up (fortunately it wasn't vomit). I laid Nate on the floor with his blanket and began to work on the bed. I stripped off the top blankets and was jolted completely awake by the fact that there was a snake in Nathan's bed. I managed to stifle a scream and tried to think rationally--as rationally as one can at 5am without any coffee in her system. Why and how in the world would a snake manage to get in Nathan's bed in the middle of winter--it is 20 degrees outside!!!!! It must be fake. So very, very, very bravely I reached out to touch it. I had one foot out the door just in case it moved. Yes, I know, I would be leaving Nathan in the room with the snake, but I figured he was sleeping with it so how was it going to harm him now that he was on the floor. Fortunately, it was just plastic. So I continued to strip the bed finding two more snakes and each time my heart jumping into my throat. I definitely made a mental note to pack up all the plastic snakes once it was daylight and put them in the basement to play with so that this incident would not occur again. My only fear now is that one day a real snake will come into the house and I will assume that it is a fake plastic one--that is perhaps my ultimate worst nightmare!