Is Your Tummy Heaven?

Lately our darling little Angel has become very cavalier, often rushed, and even noisy during prayers. This evening I decided to have a more 'in depth' talk with her about why we pray and why prayers are so important to me, and why I therefore hope she will treat them with more reverence. This evolved into her asking to hear the story of "Heaven" which she so often loves at bedtime - which is basically my version of "pre-earth life", etc. Basically, I told her that her Heavenly Father asked if she wanted to go down to earth, and that she decided she wanted to. So, on a very special day (left out here for security purposes because I'm a slightly paranoid mom) a few years ago, He sent her to earth to a mommy and daddy who would love and care for her. At this point in the story, she stopped me and asked "How did he send me down to earth?" Not wanting to get into all the logistics, I simply stated "He put you in my tummy, where you grew your body, and then when you came out of my tummy you were officially on earth." She pondered this a moment and then asked, "Mommy, is your tummy Heaven?" I laughed but quickly realized how reasonable her rationalization was, and how sincere she was in asking. I finally came up with a response, "My tummy is like the bridge between Heaven and Earth" which may sound hokey but which I actually believe. I mean, to actually think about a zygote/fetus being cramped inside a confined womb hour after hour, day after day, week after endless week without some sort of reprive? It just doesn't seem humane. So I believe that, somehow, a fetus floats between "here" and "there" - just my own little take on it anyway. But her simple question has truly changed my perspective on pregnancy (at least for the time being. :) ) I get so wrapped up in the discomfort of it all (the nausea, vomiting, weight gain, stretch marks, heartburn, swollen ankles, digestion woes, fatigue...) that I forget the fundamental fact that, at least in some way, 'my tummy is Heaven.'

Menu Plan Monday

Sunday: Lemon Chicken (SOOO yummy!), rissoto, steamed broccoli, peaches
Monday: Chicken enchiladas, black beans, rice, corn, peaches (again! per Makea's request), Texas Chocolate Cake (FHE treat)
Tuesday: Chicken cacciatore, noodles, steamed carrots
Wedesday: Texas black bean chili, corn bread, rice, tomato wedges
Thursday: Chicken pot pie, sweet peas, fruit salad
Friday: left overs
Saturday: Spanish rice casserole, green salad, pears

**You'll notice a theme this week...CHICKEN! This is because Smith's had an awesome sale and I stocked up, planning to freeze a bunch. I ended up forgetting to freeze it in time (I don't like to freeze too close to the 'use by' date) so I had to use it all this week. I'm hoping the varieties will be different enough that my family won't notice...we'll see.

Drum Roll, Please....

"I do not have a face to see,
Or put inside a frame.
I do not have soft cheeks to kiss,
I don't yet have a name.
You can't yet hold my tiny hands, 'nor whisper in my ear.
It's still too soon to sing a song, or cuddle me so near.
But all will change come autumn time,
That’s when they say I'm due.
I'll be your new (grandchild/niece/nephew/etc); I can't wait till I meet you.
All I ask between now and then is your patience while I grow.
I promise I'll be worth the wait, because of all the love we'll know.
So have a happy spring and summer
A wish to you from me.
I cannot wait to be a part
Of this loving family!"

~Author Unknown

I realized after the comments of my last post that I had inadvertently 'announced' this in my little scholarship essay....oops! So, there's the official announcement for you, folks. :)

Your Comments PLEASE!

Jon is trying to apply for scholarships to help ease the burden of medical school tuition, etc. Apparently the person in charge of scholarship applications is either illiterate or reads at a rate of 2 words/minute because the limit on each scholarship essay is 255 CHARACTERS (not words) - and that's INCLUDING SPACES, people!! Can you BELIEVE this? I mean, seriously, how can you even introduce yourself, let alone put in a plug for why YOU, out of the gazillion and one other applicants, should be selected to receive the cash. I could go on all day about how unbelievably ridiculous this seems to me, but obviously I have no say in the matter, other than to simply help Jon "write" (or rather, cross out every other word of) his essays. So here's my brilliant idea. Please give your very HONEST opinion: good? or no good? Or, do you have any other ideas??? Because really, all I want is a little bit of dough to help with the $150,000 (GULP!) tuition bill hanging over our heads, so your input is of immeasurable value. Don't worry, you won't hurt my feelings. It's all about the bottom line, remember? :)

Sample Question:

Priority given to students who have worked hard to pay for their education, whose grades may have been affected by having to work while going to school.

Sample "ESSAY" response: (255 characters or less)

Poor family of 9=no college $. Dream: doctor=8 years of college. Tuition/expenses= 4 jobs + 21 credits/semester=3.4 GPA=MCAT x 4=medical school applications x3=$10k. MBA=$35k. Medical school tuition=$120k. Wife + 3 children=$$. Scholarship=priceless

Book Tag...

...a sad (or possibly humorous) statement on my life.

I just got book tagged by my cousin - here are the rules:


1. Pick up the nearest book (with at least 123 pages)
2. Turn to page 123.
3. Find the 5th sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag 3 people.


Unfortunately, the closest books to me right now are Goodnight Moon and Pathologic Basis of Disease. Since Goodnight Moon is about 111 pages shy of long enough, here you go, folks. Enjoy! What can I say, being married to a Med Student is a full-time job!

"Hemorrhage may be external or may be enclosed within a tissue; accumulation of blood within tissue is referred to as a hematoma. Hematomas may be relatively insignificant (a bruise) or may be sufficiently large as to be fatal (e.g. a massive retroperitoneal hematoma resulting from rupture of a dissecting aortic aneurysm). Minute 1- to 2-mm hemorrhages into skin, mucous membranes, or serosal surfaces are denoted as petechiae and are typically associated with locally increased intravascular pressure, low platelet counts (thrombocytopenia), defective platelet function (as in uremia), or clotting factor deficits."

Wow! Don't you feel enlightened? (It's actually a very simple couple of sentences, but the big words make it sound much more complicated than it actually is.


Anyway, I am going to tag Sarah, The Student, and since I have no idea who actually reads my blog, I am just going to cop out and say, if you want to be tagged, consider yourself so! (If you want an official invitation, email me and I'll hook you up! :) )

FREE BREAKFAST TOMORROW!

If you know me, you know I LOVE freebies! Just found out about FREE BREAKFAST DAY at "participating Jamba Juice stores" tomorrow morning, April 8th, from 6-10am. Click here to learn more. Sounds like a deal to me! :)

Menu Plan Monday

Monday: pasta with olive oil, asparagus and tomatoes, green salad, strawberries and angel food cake (FHE treat)
Tuesday: clam chowder
Wednesday: white bean / bowtie pasta soup
Thursday: texas black bean chili (bumped from last week)
Friday: left overs

Incredible!

About a month ago, I read a book titled The Invention of Hugo Cabret and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a quick read (some 300 pages, but most of them are drawings!) and, I thought, quite touching. It speaks of an automaton, a robot-like invention which draws or writes a specific piece of work, input by it's maker. I assumed it was a fantasy created by the author of the book, but recently I came across the following video, showing a "real, live" (if you can call it "live") automaton. Amazing!

(click here to view video)
(scroll down...the videos are near the bottom of the page)

Have to jot this down....

before I forget it. I know I've been a blog-slacker lately, but life is just way too busy. Should be calming down here shortly (hopefully) so I will try to get back in the habit, but in the meantime, here's a little tidbit for you to enjoy:

There is a hill near our house upon which the kids LOVE to run up and down. We do this a couple of times a week at least (weather permitting) while I'm waiting for dinner to cook or something. Angel came up with the funniest thing. The first time she did it, I thought it was a fluke, but 2 weeks later, out of the blue, she did the same thing, and now it has turned into an actual game. She runs to the top of the hill and instructs me, "Mom, say TICO (tee-ko)!" I do as told, and she runs down the hill. I am then supposed to say "TICA (tee-kuh)" after which she runs back up the hill. This may lack hilarity and be completely uninteresting to you readers, but as her mother, I find this simply hilarious. Where did she come up with these terms? Is this some sort of secret language - or perhaps a legitimate language of which I am completely unaware, yet she somehow learned? I mean, honestly. Where does she get it? What's even funnier is that her shadow, Grins, has watched us do this and now participates shouting "TICO/A" and then running up and down the hill as if it makes all the sense in the world. Ah, children. What could be more entertaining?