Today was gorgeous outside….but I wouldn’t really have known it, because for part of the day, I was in here…

It was my first time, and like the first time with a lot of things, you find yourself in over your head!  My husband and I joked that it was a vortex that sucks you in and steals your day.

Now most of you all know that when it comes to decorating, design, home stuff in general, I’m not overwhelmed…at all.  But today when we left, I really just needed to get a massage, or a pedicure, or take a bath with candles and silence….but since we were trying then to salvage our quality time together sans kiddos, we settled for a beer over a late lunch instead.  I do confess that still felt completely insufficient in my quest to unwind though.

I, like many of you, have heard tales of Ikea greatness for years.  And like many people, I’ve always thought most of it was just crap, which is why I’ve never gone.  And some of it is.  But today I wanted to look at cabinets to redo our laundry room, which is a constant source of cluttered frustration.  It’s our laundry room, so as long as it looks decent, I’m not looking for top shelf quality anyways.  I will tell you, that while it’s still not in the budget completely right now, I did find exactly what I wanted.  So the trip wasn’t entirely in vain even if it did leaving me feeling a little nauseous in the end.

So here’s my take on Ikea…

If you know exactly what you want, or exactly what problem you need a solution for, it’s probably pretty fabulous.  There was pretty much anything you can imagine in there…I mean, really…anything, and it was cheap!  But the beef that I have with the store is pretty much their entire bread and butter…they FORCE you to meander through the entire store to get to anything (thereby hoping you will buy anything, which likely works or they wouldn’t do it!.)  There really is just one route through the entire store and the place is freaking massive!  If you have any propensity for getting sidetracked at all, then plan on taking a sleeping bag with your for your overnight accomodations.  Reall, there is SO much to see, and if you don’t have a game plan, then you’re going to spend too much money on cheap stuff that you don’t need, and you’ll spend HOURS in the place.  Like I said, today was gorgeous, but I didn’t even know it til 2pm when we finally emerged from within!

Here’s the problem…well, one problem anyways.  I think your first time there, like any virginal voyage, you’ll basically just stumble your way through with no real clue what you’re doing. It’s a rite of passage I think.  You must have a day like we did today, just to get it out of the way.  It probably gets better every time you do it.  (But I won’t be doing it often because there’s not one in my hometown.)

And save yourself additional headache…Don’t take your kids. (Yes, they have an entire kid zone where you can drop them off, but truly…spare yourself…and leave the kids at home.  I was glad we had left ours with my parents.)

So, at the end of the day here’s how I feel…

And I might go back.

But not for awhile.

And next time I’ll have a plan…and a mapped out escape route!

– Logan

Admit it, the title caught your attention!  And if it didn’t, then this will!

Ok ok… so the Hanky Panky I’m talking about here is a brand…not you know, bowm chicka bow wow!

But for real…aren’t they cute?

Half of you are looking at the picture to the left and thinking “YEAH RIGHT!  You’d have to force me to even try and get my fat tookis in a pair of those!”  And some of you are thinking “SO Cute…I already have 4 pairs.”  And then there are those of you who’d have used pregnancy as an excuse for hideous underoos, but that excuse is clearly gone for you now since I’m even showing a picture of a pregnant woman sporting them.

I’m not saying now that I’m trying to make you give up your cottony, panty-line-showing, up-to-your-eyeballs underoos for your whole life, but I am saying…forgo them for one day for your honey’s sake (or if you’re single, then for your own sake!)

Now clearly you know after my post regarding The Jello Jog the other day, the above pictures are clearly not me.  And you may be thinking that just because you may do a jello jog too means that you have no business sporting something so lacy and small….but check this out:

These gals are no emaciated models…look, their thighs even touch.  And without airbrushing, maybe they have a little jello jog too.  But doesn’t look as bad as you’d have thought huh?  I do think that we can all remember here for a minute though that the saying is true “Tan fat is better than pale fat.” (Thank you to Suzanne Fawsett from high school for that important word of truth.) So I’m thinking a little self tanner in your Valentine’s basket o’goodies might not be a bad idea either.

But for real now.  I’m not gonna lie…they’re about $18 a pair, but you will love them.  You’ll never guess who turned my family on to these gems.  Seriously…you’ll die when I tell you.

My DAD!

Ok ok…before you think we’re really weird, he read about them in the Wall Street Journal which to him is pretty much like Biblical evidence of truth.  If it’s in The Journal, then it must be true as far as he is concerned.  The man doesn’t watch a movie without a hearty nod of approval from Joe Morganstern in The Wall Street Journal.

So check this out.  Some quotes from the article published in June of 2004:

Ok, so that’s enough of the article…but you get the idea.  My dad got them for my mom, who thought they were so fabulous that she got them for my sister and me.  Yes, my mom did give my sister and me thong underwear. (Did I mention to you that my parents have been married 36 years?!  Not saying that thong underwear deserves the credit for that, but probably doesn’t hurt huh?)  And now…here I am, a few years later telling you all “YOU MUST BUY JUST ONE PAIR!”

So here’s the deal.  Order a pair, or buy them from a dept store.  Your husband won’t even be mad (unless you maybe buy lots of pairs) because he’ll be so amazed you’ve given up the Hanes for just one day.

Trust me people.  It’s like a good recipe.  And you know I don’t share a recipe that isn’t worth sharing.

So go out there and get you some….Hanky Panky that is!

*wink* wink*

– Logan

PS. If you are a man who has just semi-suffered through this post…then go out and buy a pair for your wife.  And if she gets mad at your for trying to pry her away from the Hanes…tell her I told you to do it.

For most of you…this phrase may conjure up images of famous people with milk mustaches.

For our family over the past 4 years it has been a source of oftentimes fear. 

When Tid Bit was about 4 months old and had been suffering from severe eczema and then blood in his diaper, our awesome pediatricians recommended that he be tested for food allergies.  To make a long story short, among a laundry list of things, he tested positive for a milk allergy.

“Milk?!  WHAT?!  Milk is in everything,” I thought!

So since I was nursing him, I had to either stop nursing or cut it all from my diet.  So I cut it all out.  Which interestingly enough wasn’t as awful as I thought once I got used to reading labels and found some things that I could use as good substitutes.  It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I learned how to cook for the allergy for me, so by the time he was eating solid foods I had a really good handle on things.  (Aside here…If you have a dairy allergic child then email me anytime…I have LOADS of great substitutes I can share with you.  And for starters try this recipe for sugar cookies that I recently posted! You won’t even know you don’t have real butter in them!)

Anyways…milk/dairy has been a MAJOR no-no in our family.  And it only took one accidental sip of my husband’s milk when Tid Bit was not even 2 to show us why.  After about 15 seconds, Tid Bit turned blue, was choking and couldn’t breathe, and then after probably a minute of that (which seemed like an eternity) he threw up what had been liquid milk, but then had become a solid mass.  We stayed up most of the night both sleeping on his floor to make sure he was ok.  I’ve really never been so scared….ever.

So for over 4 years, we’ve been afraid of dairy.  We have lived in fear of something that seemed so normal to me for pretty much my whole life.

And even though my Little Bit is one now and it’s ok to give a one year-old milk…I’ve been afraid to do it because of the situation with my other fella.

What if, right?

What if he’s allergic too.  What if he reacts like Tid Bit did.  What if his body gets it and is poisoned by it too.  What if….what if…what if?!

But check this out….

This may just look like any baby drinking from a sippy cup to you.  But to me….to me, this is a picture of the faithfulness of God to my family.  This is a picture of my baby drinking real dairy milk for the first time, and while you can’t tell in this picture at all…he LOVED it.  And, better than that, it seemed to love him back!

I don’t know what made me do it beyond a really amazing group of friends around me this morning…but that was enough.  I thought to myself…”What if”…and the answer was “then God.”

And so my friends prayed over my baby before I gave it to him.  And we sang happy birthday to our friend’s son, and then Little bit drank some milk.  And I knew that the “what if’s” were going to be ok because my friends would pray if there was an “if.”  And “if” there was a problem, they’d get my other kiddo from school.  And “if” it wasn’t good, they’d keep me calm.  And “if” I was scared and Little Bit was too…they’d pray all of heaven down on us.  And “if”… if anything… I could trust God.

So I did.

And my baby can drink milk.

And THAT reality of a blessing may seem small to many of you, but it brought tears to my eyes.  Because you know what…. there is blessing when we KEEP overcoming…

Got milk?

We do!

– Logan


PS. Tid Bit is still dairy allergic, but we believe that God is going to heal him of that some day soon….and that my friends will be a day to really remember too!

Most of you will read this in the morning, but I just have to end this day and today’s earlier post with the fresh dose of perspective that I got tonight.

I don’t think my perspective was totally off earlier, I mean, it was authentic and all, but now, it’s just better.

Fresher.

So get this…

“If we go through nothing, then we have nothing to overcome.
 We can’t overcome something that we never underwent.”

I wish I could somehow condense the 75 minute video that I watched tonight and make my words hold the same power for you that this anointed teacher’s words held for me.  I wish I could…because it was SO GOOD.

But let me do the best that I can and tell you what I want to go to sleep thinking about tonight.

I want to go to sleep remembering that God delights in me.  He created me (and you) to overcome adversity…or just the doldrums even. (Which is where I spent most of my emotional energy today….the doldrums that is.  I’m glad my day is ending outside of that pit!)

And I’ve been struck by some things I heard… and some things that keep coming to me.

•  God blesses those who keep overcoming.  
•  Overcoming is active…not passive.  
•  It’s putting one foot in front of the other and knowing that my footsteps are known by The Creator of the universe!  
•  There is blessing in perseverance.  And overcoming with perseverance. 

Let us be full of joy now! Let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance.  And endurance develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character of this sort produces the habit of joyful and confident hope. And, such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.  (Rom 5:2-6)

I love that thought.  Mature character produces a joyful HABIT!  So then, perseverance produces a joyful habit?!…love that!  It’s so A=B, and B=C, so A=C!

“Are your ears awake? Listen… To him who overcomes and is victorious, I will grant to eat of the fruit of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” Rev 2:7

Blessing in perseverance my friends….and perseverance produces conquering and overcoming.  Full of JOY I tell you!

SO…I think I will say this for myself and for all of the rest of you who relate all too well to the exhaustion of life…We are MORE THAN conquerors. We were designed that way.  And when life starts to get us down…Rise up and overcome.  Overcome… and then help someone else do the same!

much love,
Logan

Oh, and one more thing I wanted to share from tonight.  I think I could watch this video over and over.  I love this man’s voice, but it’s the words that bring chill bumps all over me.  It’s 3 1/2 minutes…but worth thinking about for a lifetime.

**With regards to today’s earlier post though, which was legitimate… just so you know…I will be getting in a little bit of “me time” in not too long.


I’d thought I might end this day with a glass of sangria.  This night cap was WAY better.

Like sands through the hourglass….so are the days of our lives!

First off, I’m admiting to you that in college I watched this show.  What a colossal un-doing of all that higher learning I was there for! LOL!

But the quote is true isn’t it?  Time passes fast.  I love that and I hate that.  And, somewhere in there sometimes, the days begin to feel like sand passing through…just passing, and it’s easy to forget all the life itself that’s actually doing the passing.  And some days are just plain days aren’t they?

It feels like “one of those days” today.

I don’t know why.  It’s gorgeous outside.  My kids have been pretty good (other than when I was on the phone with the insurance company and Tid Bit kept asking me stuff.)  I’ve gotten some things done around the house.  But still, it just feels like one of those days.

I keep thinking that I need about 2 days where I don’t have to do anything for anyone.  I want to be completely selfish and sleep when I want, eat when and what I want, sew if I want to, make jewelry if I want to, shop just because I want to.  I want to go and try on clothes for a few hours that I don’t even care about buying.  Well…maybe buy a couple of things, but I just want to have the time to figure out what clothes I even like anymore.  I don’t want to just grab something that looks cute on the mannequin, who is 4 sizes smaller than me with no boobs, and think “let’s hope this works on me too so that I don’t have to drag my kids out again to return it.”

DO YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?!

I love my life.  I love my husband.  I love my kids.  But I really feel myself getting to the point where I just need some time for myself.  And not just in a 3 hour chunk.  I mean, like 2 WHOLE DAYS!

You know that you are reaching this point when you consider weaning just so you can get it. The time I mean. When you feel less patient, more tired, more easily set off, more selfish about the tiny things here and there.

Mothering is the MOST selfless thing I’ve ever done.  I think those of you who are moms out there would agree.  But have mercy… after awhile of day in and out, hour in and out, meal in and out, laundry in and out, cleaning up and down and all around, shuttling to and fro, fixing this and that….I need to find me again.

So I guess that’s why despite the amazingness of today’s weather, it’s still “one of those days.”

Like sands through the hourglass huh?

– Logan

Please for heaven’s sake…comment today?!  To make me feel better, and because I want to hear that I’m not the only person who finds myself feeling like this 13 amazing and exhausting months after having my last baby!

I’ve been thinking…  I know, scary right?! 

Anyways, I’ve been thinking that I am blessed beyond measure to know a LOT of really neat people.  My husband says I’m a master networker…but really the truth is that I just LOVE people.  Everything about you.  I love that we all have different stories, struggles, joys, talents, pitfalls, personalities, senses of humor, ways of looking at things, pictures, homes…I mean, truly I LOVE people.  I mean, we all have people on occasion who grate our nerves, or people we’re closer to, and honestly I think that’s how it should be.  You should hold some people closer than others because everyone can’t know all your secrets or all your junk, and you should learn to love people who are hard for you to naturally love because in the process you generally learn a lot about yourself.  Anyways, all this to say that I am often overwhelmed when I think of the people who I have the privilege of sowing into and who sow into me.  And so my thinking has been that I want to take a chance here and honor some people I know.  Maybe it won’t do a thing for you but make you think that I seemed nice that day.  But what I’d really hope that it’d lead you to do is to think of someone that you could honor by telling them how much they mean to you and how neat you think they are.  I mean, don’t you love it when someone unexpectedly gives you kudos…just for being you.  So I’m going to do that today and I hope that maybe you will too.

So today, my first post of “Kudos to” goes to Shannon, my friend and next door neighbor.

First what you should know about Shannon is that she is going to shudder that I’m even giving her public kudos.  She probably doesn’t think she deserves it, but let me tell you how much she does.

She is beautiful inside and out.  Her heart is made of gold and she is so thoughtful and kind.  She’s so much nicer than me…ALL THE TIME!  She’s the friend who knows you’re feeling rotten and brings over a Honeybaked Ham for you, because she thought it’d help out…and it does.  The thing that makes it ever better is that she just does it without asking because she knows that’s what you need.

She’s always apologizing because her kids play all over her house and leave some evidence of it around…but you know what, who cares.  She plays with her kids rather than spending all her time and energy picking up after them.  She does crafts with them even though she doesn’t give herself for being crafty, she is silly with them, and the girl loves on those 3 boys like crazy.  Oh, and did I mention that she has 3 boys…2 of which are 3 year old twins.  And I’m just gonna say this here too…if you have twins, then nomatter what you think about yourself, I just need to sit at your feet and soak up some of your wisdom….because oh my goodness…you are amazing!

You know what else is so neat about Shannon…she is super creative.  She thinks she has a silly fettish with fabric and paint, but seriously…the girl has some awesome taste.  She isn’t afraid to try new things and figure out how to make it work.  She just painted and antiqued this neat old china cabinet that she found and it is awesome.  And she has about probably 30 other pieces of furniture crammed all over her house that are projects in waiting.  She’s a visionary…she has ideas that are awesome and they’re just waiting to ooze out and become something tangible.

Shannon I think also has a huge heart for people, but she’s shy too.  She doesn’t give herself nearly the credit that she should, so it seems fitting to me that I give some to her here…where all of you can see.  So I guess I’m being a little bit of my occasionally forceful self and forcing her into the open where all of you can see her for who she really is…and that’s a pretty amazing person.

Oh yeah…she’s ridiculously smart too.  She has her JD which means she’s a lawyer, but she uses that information to be a helper to other lawyers as a legal librarian.  See what I mean, she helps people…all the time.  I think it’s part of her nature…she sees a  need and she fills it.  She’s also particularly handy should you ever want to find out if anyone has a police record, or want to know who bought the house across the street, or if they have a police record….truly…she’s handy that way! LOL!  So you see…she’s a smart one too.  She works 1 day a week doing the legal thing so that she can spend time with her kids the rest of the time.

Anyways, there’s way more that I could say about her, but for now I think I just want you to know that I am honored to call her my friend.

Do me a favor…when you read all of that above about Shannon, what do you think in your mind? If I didn’t know her, I’d be thinking something like “dang…she’s a rockstar”… so, would you honor Shannon in the comments section by just sharing how my words about her stirred you to think about someone you may know, or about her?  Thanks friends!

Now go out and give someone some Kudos today!  PS. Kudos by definition is “acclaim or praise for exceptional achievement.”  I KNOW you all have exceptional people in your life too…so tell them!

Listening to a nap-resistant crying baby around here right now, so you’ll have to forgive me if the following post is slightly disjointed.  I hate hearing a baby be sad, but the child needs a nap badly!  Oh goodie, he’s lying down now…LOVE the totally unnecessary but really fun video monitor!

So, this morning was sort of a crazy one!  Little Bit had a doctor’s appointment with an ENT for all these ear infections he keeps having, and my friend L was keeping Tid Bit for me during that appointment at 8:30.  Then, SHE had a doctor’s appointment at 10 and was dropping her little man off back over here so she could go to her appointment.  It was a crazy morning of kid switching so that we could actually listen to what the doctors were saying during the appointments!  Imagine that!  Child-free and listening to your physician since you can actually hear them!  Anyways…I’m thankful as all get-out for good friends I can kid swap with!

Little Bit’s appointment went about as expected I guess…ear tubes needed, so I guess that’s going to now be on our docket of springtime fun! Whatever…as long as it helps him, that makes everyone happy!

But, that’s enough healthcare talk for now though.

Now, I just have to tell you about one of my MOST favorite memories as a child!  One we did so much that my siblings, other neighborhood kids, and myself were OFTEN pictured in the local newspaper.

Lemonade stands. 

Our stand wasn’t just any old lemonade stand though (which is probably how we made it so frequently to the paper)…we sold cotton candy too!  I wish I could somehow dig up an old newspaper picture to post here, but that would likely involve sorting through my dad’s files (remember I told you the other day how he’s a pack rat?!) or going to my hometown’s newspaper or library and probably having to look through microfiche!  If you don’t know what microfiche is, then that just means you’re younger than me and now you need to go look it up…I’m sure Wikipedia (which we also didn’t have when i was a kid) would be delighted to assist you in your search for a definition.

Anyways…all that lemonade stand talk makes me ready for warmer temperatures.  But that’s not what I want to tell you about.

One of the best parts about being the first kid in my family to have kids of my own is that I kinda get first dibs on some of the old stuff we had when I was little.  Most of the great stuff stays at my parents’ house because Ninie and Pops want their house to be super fun as any grandparent should.  But the cotton candy maker…well I asked for that one!  And BINGO…guess where it is now!?

If you guessed my kitchen counter since we used it today then you win!

My friend L’s little man C told me today “Miss Logan, I just LOVE it when I come to your house!”

I know baby…I know!  But, we’ll just keep it between all of us on here that I want my friends kids to love coming here!  I don’t break out the big guns for nothing you know! 

So check out this rainy day fun!

This is the part where it gets “spider webby” and the fun begins!  Little C-man was amazed clearly!  Miss Logan makes cotton candy?!?!  Like at the circus?! 

And for you mamas out there who want to spank me for giving 2 already hyper little boys cotton candy at 10:30 in the morning…just know that one whole fluffy cone contains just 1 Tbsp of regular granulated sugar.  Not as bad as you’d think huh?  Plus…if you want your friends’ kids to love you, you can do things like this from time to time!

And then, once L came back to get C-man and we did the kid swap back again, I felt a little guilty for the early morning sugar rush so i thought I should do something really great for my 2 little fellas for lunch.  So I whipped up some ravioli from a recipe that I got from a really well known chef.  It’s not too hard, I promise.  And as evidenced by my baby’s face…it’s a real hit around here!

I know you’re dying for the recipe now.  The chef though is honestly one that I’ve loved since I was a kid.  This guy has been around…I’m not kidding you!  The man can make some ravioli!  So without further ado….drum roll please….I bring you…. Chef Extraordinaire….

Eat up kiddos!  Mommy will redeem this morning’s real health kick at supper time!

Just having life (and a little cotton candy) for dessert here today….how about you?!

– Logan

Today I feel like crap.  Sorry if that word bothers you…but that’s how I feel.

I went on Friday afternoon to get coffee with friends and it was great.  What was not great was laughing so hard that i snorted hot cider into my sinus cavity, somehow snorted it back down my throat, and then back up and down again once more, all the while trying not to spew now regurgitated hot cider all over my friend D.

I don’t know if it’s medically possible to have disrupted said sinus cavity into creating an infection, but that’s what I think I did.  And if it’s not medically possible, then a real sickness has impeccable timing to start just a couple of hours after the cider-snorting incident.

And, the visitor that my husband likes to call “Aunt Flo” has come again…for the 4th time in 2 months.  Wretch.  And if you’re a man reading this, then I’m sorry…you only understand how this inconvenience affects you, so no comment from you is necessary on this subject.

My body is flat tired!  I told my husband last night that i have been putting my poor body through the ringer since 2007!  After 2 miscarriages (I’ll tell you all more about those another day when I’m not already emotionally charged), and a year of trying to get pregnant, and then finally being pregnant, and then finally having Little Bit, and now still nursing Little Bit….I’m tired! 

And it didn’t help yesterday when our family went on an afternoon walk in the neighborhood and to be silly I thought I’d run down the hill pushing Little Bit in the stroller, and things jiggled.  I’m not talking about “the girls” who weren’t in a sports bra….I’m talking about other areas…jiggling…and I noticed it.  I think it’s time ladies that i got serious and joined the gym…seriously…jiggling.  If the sinus issue wasn’t bad enough, the jello run just about put me over the edge.

I think maybe it’s time that my life is the only thing that I’m having for dessert for a little while!

And PS. NO that picture is NOT me…but that’s how i feel some days!