RazNoggle

Our grass has been slowly coming back. The poor stuff really has to fight for it’s life out here. First off… we don’t live in an area that’s really hospitable to nice fluffy, easy on your feet, green grass. Think trying to grow grass in a sand box…. or on the beach, but not that wet. But Stu has been working with this stuff all spring and summer. He has seeded it a couple of times, uh… the birds I like to feed might have something to do with some of the seed disappearing… and the ants too. And he has faithfully watered it and mowed it all summer. Not to mention cutting back the tree “sprouts” that spring up all over the yard and are very tenacious!

His hard work really has payed off though, because the grass is much thicker than it was and it is even growing back in the bald patches. The kids now like to play on it, and I’ve let Ella crawl around out there from time to time now that it’s cooler and there aren’t as many bugs. The one drawback to this great grass is that these horrible wasps called (from what Google tells me) Tarantula Hawks like to crawl around IN the grass. They are HUGE and black and have rusty orange wings that make a terrible sound when they fly. And from what I’ve read, while they aren’t aggressive, they have one of the worst stings EVER. *sigh* So I have been reluctant to let Ella just crawl to her heart’s content on the grass for fear she’d crawl over one of these. Though why they like to hang out in the grass is beyond me.

But I check the grass patch thoroughly and then let her go. The boys know enough to stay well away from the wasps and they come running to tell us if they spot one. We spray them when we get a chance. Ick. Grass is so fun! And if it’s not grass, it’s dirt, so de Bella gets grass.

Myles prefers dirt, however. And can be seen merrily tossing all over his head at any given time of day.

Qade likes to inform me of the particulars of the latest bug that he has discovered.

Seriously, he finds the weirdest things. The other day he came running in to tell me about a BIG green caterpillar that he found. So we all rushed out to see it and sure enough it was the biggest caterpillar I’ve ever seen. I looked it up on trusty ol’ Google and it told me that the name of it was Horned Tomato Worm. Strange…. we haven’t seen any tomato plants around here.

Gazing at the big blue sky!

Myles’ only purpose when he gets on this swing is to reach out and grab the branches on the tree. He gets a huge kick out of it when he does, and gets rather upset if for some reason “it’s not working” to get him high enough.

We have fun outside in our yard. I admit that the bugs that seemed more numerous than ever this summer, have kept me from spending as much time out there as I want. But the boys have enjoyed the space immensely! I’m looking forward to the death of the bugs with the cooler Fall weather and spending some of the golden afternoons out on our grass!

Did I get you’re attention with that title? No, I don’t have any bad news for you. And I’m sure that’s a good thing because we all have had enough bad news I think.

I’ve been especially weary of “bad news.” One of the reasons I avoid Fox and other news networks is because of all the bad news they spew all over. The economy is bad, the weather is bad, the nation is bad, the president is bad, congress is bad, the world is bad… bad, bad, bad! I get so tired of bad.

I was thinking about this the other day and how it relates to church. Have you ever gone to church and left just feeling bad? Not bad as in “wrong” but just bad. Discouraged, down in the dumps, run down, depressed, disheartened, hopeless, just…. bad? I have. I have plenty of times, and ya know, I think it’s wrong of the church to make believers feel bad. I’ve come to that firm conclusion.

When I read the Bible, I don’t feel bad. In fact, I find it just the opposite! I find victory in the Bible. I find Hope, Love, Forgiveness, Redemption, and GOOD NEWS!!! Yes, there are stories of “bad” people and bad things that happen to people and nations, but there is always hope in God even in those darkest of times.

Why doesn’t that come across in church? Why do we seem to have the “need” to react to all the bad news in our culture and proclaim it through the teaching and testimony of church? Why???? Honestly, I don’t need preachers and teachers and church leaders to tell me things are bad. I see that all around. I hear it on the radio, and news, and Facebook, and anywhere you look. Bad news is all around us, we don’t need the church to tell us things are bad. What we, or at least I, need from church is some encouragement, and reminders that amidst the bad news of this life there is GOOD NEWS that trumps it all!

I’d like to leave church, or the radio program, or even fellowship with believers feeling that I had received some good news! Uplifted, encouraged, strengthened, and hopeful. That’s what we need to be. As believers in Christ and followers of Jesus, we have the GOOD NEWS. Lets live like we have it! Live like we believe it! And above all, share it!! Share the good news with those who are wandering around wallowing in the despair of all the bad news that surrounds them on a daily basis.

Lets not walk defeated with our heads down over the sad state of the culture we find ourselves in. Let’s rise above all that bad news with the knowledge of the good news that puts it all back into the proper perspective.

(rant over)

I have long been against the “fad” diets, and I have always found (not being an excessive carnivore) the low-carb diets to be rather repulsive. BUT I did give it a go as you know, since I seriously needed a kick-start to more weight-loss. The first go round it did work. Not as fast as the book(s) say. I never saw a 5 lb per week loss, but then, I didn’t have 50-100 lbs to lose so maybe that’s why. Dunno.

I found the diet to be very difficult to follow. Partly because it’s so limiting, and when I have that in the back of my mind, it seems like all I can think about is food. So maybe that’s why it hasn’t been so successful for me, but here are my personal thoughts on the matter. LOL… for what it’s worth.

The first time I lost 10 lbs bringing me back to my pre-preg weight. It took MORE than a month, but was still, in my mind, a success. However, even though I was eating oodles of protein I “felt” hungry much of the time. I don’t really understand why that is. But if I had bacon and eggs for breakfast I’d be STARVING for lunch. Perhaps I just didn’t space my meals well. It is harder to do that when you’re chasing monkeys after all. But I started to notice on my Carb-days that I felt much more satisfied after eating a bowl of granola or oatmeal for breakfast, and while I was generally ready for lunch by 1 (which is typically when I have a chance to fix myself something and eat) I wasn’t ready to bite chunks out of the cabinets because I was SO hungry. Weird. When I would eat a substantial protein meal, I often felt “full” but not usually satisfied. Hmmmm….

Then there were other things that irked me about it. I often had tummy aches and there were times that it even felt like my kidneys hurt.

Long story short….. I don’t like that diet! Blah!!

I have given it a try 2 times since the first successful trial run and the weight-loss has been insignificant. Certainly not worth the effort of conforming to the strict diet and the subsequent discomfort.

This week was my last attempt and I was encouraged because I dropped 2 lbs at first. Then I went back up one and that’s where I stayed. When I finally said phooey and went back to my “regular” diet, trying to watch portion sizes and still stay away from highly refined carbs, I dropped 2 lbs in the first day. Hmmmmm……

So I’m “quitting” the slow-carb diet. I don’t like it, it’s not at all fun, and for me at least, seems to be not so effective. I know, I know it’s probably user error because I know so many people who have met with good results on it. I’m just not one of them. It’s unsustainable in my case, and I’d rather not have to think about food so much.

My ideals for the rest of the summer, diet wise, are to eat much more fresh fruit and veggies (this means that I have to meal plan or I just won’t do it) and eat both protein and carbs in moderation. There ya have it. I’ll letcha know how it goes!

Im using our iPad and one finger typing with an I.v. Lock in my good hand, so this won’t be a long post! I just wanted to let you all know that there is a new lil angel in our family!

Marcella Rose decided that the first day of Autumn was a great time to show up! I’ll post later all the grisly details that the other mommies are interested in, but for now she weighs 8 lbs even and is 19 1/2 inches long. She is practically bald! The most beautiful little girl baby ever!! Daddy and mommy are smitten and will post pictures soon!

Due to an unfortunate event involving a chef’s knife and my pinkie (poor thing didn’t stand a chance) I will be taking a break from my story for a day or two…or three. Hopefully you will not have lost all interest by then. Im a pretty lousy one hand typer so I’ll just have to wait. *sigh* Remind me to send a memo to my reflexes that it is a VERY BAD idea to try to catch a falling knife!!! At least some of the watermellon was chopped before the tragedy, so I’m off to console myself with it. Later, Friends, but hopefully not too much later!!

I forgot to mention the “closer” for our day yesterday. Qade was on an errand to get a diaper from his room after bath time. He did come back with the diaper, but also a very concerned look on his face and a confession, “Pee-pee on the floor.” Sure enough there was a little sprinkle and a puddle just in front of his changing table. Fortunately for ME he was communicating this to Dad which left me off the hook! Ha! I’ve been contemplating making him go bottomless for a few days when we begin potty training again, but don’t know if I have the stamina for it! We’ll see….

You need to check out McMamma‘s and The Grammie Diaries givaways!! It’s Photoshop Element and Lightroom, wow! Go check it out!