Harbor Town...what a neat little community

The house we're renting while here in Memphis is in the community called Harbor Town. It's located waterfront on the Mississippi River, and it's just as adorable as can be! If you live in Huntsville, I liken it to Providence, or if you're familiar with Seaside, FL, it's just like that but less "fruity" in color scheme; more of a New Orleans feel to it. Anyway, it's awesome, and we've enjoyed taking the kids on walks in the afternoon up and down the peaceful streets.

It has its own grocery store and sandwich shop, "Miss Cordelia's" and several restaurants and shops. It even has its own Montessori School and several kiddie parks within the community.

It's also neat because, while most of the homes are traditional, you can find a few houses with a very modern flair. A few houses are for sale...we looked on the flyers and it seems homes sell around the high 200's and up from there depending on size. We saw one house for rent; it was $2200 a month (geez!) you could own a home for much less!

Anyhow, I started this game on our walk yesterday where we picked houses that we'd live in and then we picked houses for our family and friends. Jason was less cooperative about the game, so if you're not mentioned here, it's because he didn't want to find a house for you! ;-)

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Street view; you can see the tall building(s) in the background of downtown...


My house: I LOVE the bright color! :-)



Dad - I couldn't decide between this one, which had a very nautical feel (like something you'd see in Kennybunkport) And Tony, if you're reading this, make sure you're pronouncing "Kennybunkport" correctly and with correct emphasis on certain syllables! LOL!




Or this one: which had a more "lodgy" feel...

What's your pick? :-)







My mom's house:


Barbara's house: selected because it had a "beach" feel to it we thought...

"Seaside house"


"Modern house"


Tiffany's house:

Peabody Ducks

We headed over to The Peabody Hotel this morning to watch the ducks march into the fountain. We had been reading "John Phillip Duck" (by one of my favorite children's authors, Patricia Polacco) to them so they'd have some background knowledge before we saw the ducks.

The lobby was slammed with people, but we still got great spots to watch the ducks. It was over pretty quickly actually. Those ducks don't just waddle their way down the red carpet, they GO! :-) Glad Jason filmed it!


The lobby was spectacular, so beautiful! If only I could have fresh flowers like these in my place of lodging every day! :-)



Waiting on the ducks..."Hey Lucy, want Mommy to take a picture of you?"

Cooperating...

And then not...
LOL!


Here come the ducks!







Afther the show, we headed just down the alleyway to go eat at Rendezvous, but found out it's closed on Sunday :-( No worries though, we'll eat there tomorrow before we had back to Huntsville.

We chose Huey's for our lunch spot (I had read it was super "kid-friendly"), and the kids had the best time ever drawing on the walls. This is one of those restaurants where people have been writing on anything and everything around. The kids thought this was the coolest thing ever, and we thought all restaurants should do this! :-)




We back at the house for naps, and very much enjoying the silence. Who knows, I may even take a marathon nap like I did yesterday (I dozed happily in dreamland from about 1 until 5 when Jason woke me up, worried I would sleep until daybreak the next day if he didn't :-)

Memphis!

We're so loving our time here in Memphis! It's been an awesome trip so far! After we found our way back from Russia, we found Memphis ;-)



We arrived in town Friday afternoon around lunchtime, and made our first stop at the zoo. I had heard it's a wonderful zoo, and it definitely lived up to its hype! We saw panda bears, wolves, bears, polar bears, and a cool exhibit of nocturnal animals. The kids enjoyed seeing the feeding of the elephants and polar bears. Here are some pics from our zoo visit:





Jack and Lucy mostly just loved running free!



Check out Lucy trying to make her way over the fence into the elephant's area! :-)






Today has been hilarious: We headed to the Children's Museum of Memphis (which is an incredible children's museum by the way!), for Dora and Diego were making an appearance today! Let me just tell you how glad we were that we arrived BEFORE they made their appearance. We waited just a few minutes to get into the museum, and by the time we left, the line outside - just to get INTO the museum - was wrapped around the building!!!!

We did have to wait about 15-20 minutes, however, to get our picture taken with Dora. So, we're in line with about a thousand other families and eager little kiddos to meet Dora. Jason's waiting on the lower level to film and snap pictures of this blessed event, and I'm up on stage with Jack and Lucy. We FINALLY make it to the front of the line, and Lucy refuses to go near Dora! So, I take Jack and plop him on the lap of a mute Dora, and run back over to grab Lucy's hand. I reach for Lucy's hand, then hear a small "thud." I turn around and see Jack face down on the floor. Yep, Dora dropped my son! LOL! He's crying on the floor and Lucy's trying to hide. I scoop Jack up, and tell Lucy to walk with me off the stage. And that was our experience "meeting Dora." After that, we didn't even try to go see Diego... LOL!


Here's Jack's fall...


Playing on the shadow wall



In the "home" area, Jack found this stuffed dog and doghouse and all he wanted to do was try to give the dog to people walking by.


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On the way home, we stopped to eat lunch at the Neeley's BBQ joint. I love Pat and Gina's show on Food Network, so we had to stop by! I totally used up all my Weight Watchers extra weekly points in one sitting I'm sure, but it was so worth it! DELICIOUS! Smoky and tender, and their BBQ Spaghetti was awesome!

Memphis is a pretty neat place. The house we're staying in is riverfront on the Mississippi River, and I had a great run this morning on the greenway that runs next to the massive river. We're excited to see what else we can get into (or fall off of...) next!

New Hope Science Lab

I just got back from New Hope, working with Mrs. Trimble's 4th grade class. Today was awesome because when I got there, they were in the new science lab, so I got to see it! Those of you who go to Cove Church may remember the fundraising campaign, "Giving New Hope." We were raising money for the CARE center and this new science lab at New Hope Elementary and Middle School.

I wish I had a camera with me because it was AWESOME! There were incredible wall murals of Einstein and planets hanging from the ceiling. A midnight blue color covered the walls, and specks of white paint splattered around everywhere to make it feel like you were in a galaxy. Interactive stations were set up around the perimeter of the room, and pictures of kids engaged in science experiments were proof on the wall of how much fun all the students have there!

Today, they were learning about electricity and making a tiny "christmas-tree" bulb light up with a batter and wire. Jason would have eaten it up! ;-)

It was awesome to see what generosity can lead to. Cove raised over $100, 000 with that fundraiser. Loving your neighbor as yourself, it's what God calls us to do. And it was so wonderful to see what can happen when you do!

Also, today one of the little girls in the class I work with each week said something to me that was kind of bittersweet. I found her in the lab and said hey, and the first thing she said to me was, "Will you pretend to be my mom today?"

Can you hear my heartbreak...I wasn't sure what to make of her comment. My first thought was that she is in need of some big hugs and love, but maybe I'm making too much out of it...maybe she just likes me and wants to pretend I'm her mom. I'm not sure...

But either way, if you have a free hour a week and want to do something that will help others (and warm your heart along the way), consider being a volunteer tutor at New Hope Elem. or Owens Cross Roads Elem. There are kids there who just need someone to talk to and love on them. And you can help them grow smarter as well!

"Till Children Do Us Part"

I haven't been posting as much lately; I miss it! But, my nose has either been stuck in one of the three books I'm reading (Parenting by the Book, my fun, flirty fiction book, or the Bible), or I've been saving Jack from more black eyes!

But, I do want to share the latest idea in Parenting by the Book, which I've really been impacted by. If you're wondering what I'm talking about, click here.

So, Rosemond is talking about how when he teaches seminars, he asks the parents there how much time they spend in their role as "mom/dad" versus "husband/wife". He says moms usually reply, "I'm a "mom" 90% of the time and wife 10%." (Yep, I'd say I split my time the same way!)

Rosemond gives his ideas on this: "In their parenting, they are focused not on each other, but on their children who therefore occupy center stage in the family. Instead of being 'one flesh' with teach other, instead of putting their relationship center stage and keeping it there, they are preoccupied with the stuff of child-centeredness: paying more attention to the children than each other, talking more to the children than each other, more concerned about their relationship with their child than with each other, more concerned about entertaining their children instead of refreshing their marriage, and so on."

This is not what God intends for us! He placed the relationship of husband and wife above all else. It's why a "man will leave his family and become one with his wife" and so on. (Genesis 2:24) We're intended to marry and then have children. God intends for us to be one flesh, being devoted to each other, faithful to each other. No other relationship should come before the relationship with our spouse.

When reading this, I had to pause here and do my own little "reality-check," and it wasn't pretty. I run around all day constantly thinking about how my every action and thought impact Jack and Lucy. Quite honestly, until Jason gets home, my thoughts may wander his way during the day, but they quickly jump back to the two little people in this house. And sometimes when Jason gets home, I'll be in the middle of making dinner, and so after a very quick peck on the lips, I'll shovel the kids off to him and say something like, "Pleeeeaase, could I just have 10 minutes alone" or "let me cook dinner alone." He goes off to play with the kids, I'll call when dinner is ready, we do eat together every night (which is a great time for us as a family), but as soon as the last bite is eaten, one of us takes the kids to the playroom or somewhere else while the other person cleans up, and then we enter into the time of the day affectionately called, "Let's entertain the kids until bedtime." All four of us may play on the floor in the den, read stories, play hide and seek, what have you. (And I'm not saying this is bad!). But the point is that Jason and I HARDLY ever connected with each other until after Jack and Lucy had been put down for bed. And even then, some nights, I might retreat to scrapbook and Jason to the computer to do coding or whatever you brilliant engineers do with your free time :-). So, it very well could be 10pm before we fall into bed, say a few words to each other about our days, kiss goodnight, and that's it!

Not good, not good at all!

Here are some consequences Rosemond lays out that could affect our family as well as any "Child-Centered Family":

1. The children lack a model of what being married truly is all about.

2. The children develop a sense of entitlement as regards the disproportionate amount of attention and material things they receive from their parents.

3. Because the parents are more concerned with having a relationship than providing leadership with their children, the children do not receive adequate discipline.

and 4. When the normal time for emancipation rolls around, the children do not have permission to leave home.

Really, think about it. Can you relate to this scenario as I realized I could? In several ways I can...Our family revolves around our kids (and I do want to point out, this only comes from letting the indescribable love that we have for them lead us in our actions...it's not like Jason and I are using the kids as an escape...It just kind of happens that when you have kids, they become your life. It's all you hear about when you're pregnant. "Your life will never be the same" kind of stuff). One of my brothers, who is 24, pops in and out of living at home. And although I realize Lucy is a young toddler, who will naturally act in toddler-ish ways, but she certainly has shown times where she feels she entitled to getting what she wants, the very second she wants it. She's never heard, "Mommy and Daddy are doing something, you'll just have to wait."

So, we've made some changes in our house. I don't want to wake up at 50 when my kids have "flown the nest" and realize I don't really know or love my husband anymore because I've been obsessed with my kids for the past two decades. (And think about this...consider how much higher the divorce rate is in our country since the 60's...).

So, we've implemented some small changes that I think will actually make a big difference. The biggest new routine we've started is that as soon as we've all eaten dinner together, we tell Lucy and Jack that it's time for them to play in the playroom together. They go in there, we shut the gate, confining them to that room. Jason and I clean up dinner together, chatting about our day, and then - my favorite part - we plop down on the couch, snuggle up, and spend about 30 minutes together, talking and just focusing on each other. It's great!

And you know what, it's great for Jack and Lucy too...We'll hear them from where we are, playing with each other, pretend cooking together (Lucy: "Jack, you cook the eggs! I'll do the peas!" :-), and I really love when Lucy reads stories to Jack. They're improving their independent play skills, and we're improving our marriage. It's a win-win.

So many, many great ideas in this book. I can't wait to see what's hidden in the next chapter. It's really common-sense ideas that he presents, but somehow in the hustle and bustle of this crazy, modern life, it's easy to miss what's important. Like John Tanner said in last week's sermon, we focus on the urgent, not the important. Live deliberately and focus on what's truly important, what's lasting! That's how I'm trying to live.

Jack's Black Eye

I tell 'ya, this little guy is as clumsy as they come. Ironically, he's been walking since nine and a half months old - you'd think he'd have it down.

But yesterday, at the outdoor eating area of Chick-fil-A (or as Lucy calls it, "chick-a-way"), Jack stumbled eye first into the concrete bench. Fortunately, Daddy was joining us for lunch that day, and he was already outside with Jack to comfort our little guy.

His eye looks better in the picture than it actually is...if his eye were closed, you would be able to see his whole eyelid, which is completely covered in purplish-black bruises. :-(

Monday Meals- Weight Watchers Recipe

So, my Monday Meals will now be WW meals, because I now am following that plan. I started exactly one week ago today, and today was my first weigh-in. Drumroll please....

I lost 2.8 pounds!!!! Hooray!

So here's a recipe from my week 2 booklet, and the picture (which unfort. you can't see b/c I don't have a scanner) looks so YUMMY!

Sausage, Pepper, and Onion Hero Sandwich

2 sprays Olive Oil cooking spray
8 oz. turkey sausage (withy herbs and red peppers or other seasoning), sliced into 1/2 inc pices
1 tsp EVOO
1 T. minced garlic
1 medium vidalia onion, thinly sliced
1 medium sweet pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium green pepper, thinly sliced
1 T. balsamic vinegar
8 oz. Italian bread, one medium loaf

Coat a large nonstick skillet with spray, and set over medium heat. Satue sausage until browned, about 5 minutes; remove to a plate to keep warm.

Add oil to same skillet, heat up, and add garlic. saute about 30 seconds; add onion and saute for 3 more minutes. Add peppers and saute until veggies are softened, about 6-8 more minutes.

Stir in vinegar, and then return sausage to skillet. toss to combine.

Split bread lengthwise and fill with mixture. Cut into 4 equal pieces and serve. Yields 1/4 of hero per serving.

This is wirht 5 points per serving. (To give you an idea...my daily points allowance is 26 points), so this along with a healthy side for dinner would be a good usage of points.



I started WW after coming to the conclusion that I cannot loose the "baby weight" on my own. I need accountability. I think about 5 pounds stuck around after I had Lucy, and although I got down to within 4 pounds of my prepregnancy weight after Jack, somehow in the last year, I've gained probably 8 or so pounds.

We are looking forward to having another baby, but I'm insisting for myself that I get back to what my weight was before I got pregnant with Lucy. Then I will feel better about getting pregnant and not starting at a higher weight than I'm comfortable with.

So, when I started WW, I had 17 lbs to go to get to that weight. Yikes! But, now I'm 2.8 pounds closer, and it's a huge motivation for me! I'm looking forward to feeling better about myself, being healthier, and improving my self-discipline, but mostly I'm looking forward to getting pregnant again and (God-willing) bringing another baby into our family.

Let me know if you try the recipe! Hope you enjoy!