My kids started playing toddler games on the computer now, so I'm having to share time with them.

Which means, everytime I get on the computer....they want it! (That's their version of sharing)

While I'm glad they're taking an interest in computers, I'm losing blogging time here!:)

Tonight, giving lots of ponderous thought to what I want to be when I grow up.

I've narrowed it down to a few options:

- clinical psychologist/therapist
- carpenter
- temple sitter (doesn't pay much money but what an awesome life that would be)
- princess in training (shopping, manis, pedis, general frolicking and doing lunch)
- forensic psychologist
- humorous side-kick on a sitcom
- author
- movie critic (free movies and I have opinions)
- food critic (free food, but I don't eat sushi! Yuck!)
- travel agent (just for the deals, I love travel)

That's all for now.
I thought about being a teacher but I think that's too much work!

I had a deep thought at about 6am this morning, here it is:

Often families who were in a rural setting had multiple generations living together. So young, first time moms like myself had input from the experience of past generations.

Grandmas and great-grandmas who had learned the hard way, passed on their knowledge so young moms didn't take their kids outside on a windy day with wet hair.
(Ok, maybe that one is just common sense but you get the idea).

Now that we're all so independent and living apart from our extended families we're losing some valuable information. Dr. Phil told our moms to butt out and they did.

We've also lost meddling, and some old-wives tales that should have died out a long time ago but there is good stuff that we've lost too.

Maybe it is the job of young moms to invite wisdom from past generations. Asking questions and getting advise is probably more palettable than having to say, "butt out and let me try this on my own".

Two sides to every coin I guess.

This morning was very productive.

I got lots of woodworking in and it looks like I will have some stuff done for the craft sale! Yippee!

It would be a little embarassing to sit there all day at an empty table, twiddling my thumbs.

Well, I could always pretend that I was selling invisibles wares. And look at people like THEY were crazy because they couldn't see it. Like an Emperor's New Clothes story. I could describe what they were looking at, and see how many people would play along with me.

Wouldn't it be great if I actually SOLD some invisible stuff? That's pure profit BABY!!!

Or maybe I could just put down a hat and busk a little if I got bored. Pretend I can tap dance. Hey while I'm at it, I could tell people's fortunes.
Erica: "Hmmmm.....your hands have lines on them and you're breathing so I'm going to say you like compliments".
Sucker: "Wow! That's amazing! I DO like compliments."
Erica: "I can tell you more but it'll cost you $5"

Whoa! Even without woodwork done, I could make a killing at this craft sale.

(Yvonne, are you scared that I'm coming now? hee hee hee)

I'm feeling very panicked today.

I'm not done anything for the craft show. Not even one thing because I don't own the tools I need to finish anything.

Rebecca is getting more and more intense everyday about the idea of going to school. This morning she put on her rubber boots and was trying to open the door to go to school. I told she was still too small but she insisted that she needed to go now as her bus was waiting for her.
Why does this make me panick? She is not registered anywhere yet and spots are filling up everywhere.

I'm panicked about how much paper work I have to do for the girl's program and just don't have time for. I wish there was a way I could just quit my job.

Overwhelmed would be the word of the day.

In an ideal world, I'd take a valium and go back to procrastinating. However, I need to take care of my kids right now. But I don't mind that, they are super fun and cute and I love being with them. I just don't get much done when I'm "hanging out" (as Rebecca puts it) with them.

Another insight into Erica:
(Don't worry I'll stop talking about ME soon. Insight into me will become boring real quickly)

I was thinking about the way companies package their goods to catch our attention, and get us to buy products.

New! Improved! Better formula! All New! New Formula! etc....

None of that works on me. I couldn't care less about the formula.....and what was soooooooo wrong with the original that they keep having to improve it?

But if my eyes catch the words "20% more" "bonus sample" "half off" "free sample"
well, NOW we're talking!

If I feel like I'm getting more for my money, or something free. OR a wicked bargain, then I'll pay attention.

What does this say about me? I'm fruggal? Good with money? Tight-fisted? A bargain hunter? Cheap? I think they all apply.

Quality-shmality....I want to save a buck!

What difference will this information make to your life today?
None what-so-ever!

Like I said at the beginning, insights into Erica are really quite boring and pointless. I shall try to come up with some deep, life-changing spiritual truth for tomorrow's blog.

My daily psychoanalysis-insight into my quirky self:

At Breathe, we were filling out the surveys and my friend Cindy pointed out to me that most of my responses along the spectrum(1 to 7) were actually ones or sevens.

Its true....I'm very much an all or nothing kind of person. Not that I'm manic or anything but I tend to grab the bull by the horns. Or avoid the bull completely.

I live my life in a way that may not be the healthiest. I go-go-go and do it all, then crash and do nothing. I suppose this may be a downside to my personality. Mediocrity, middle ground, pacing one's self, do part of it now and part later....these are not really my strong points.

I never realized that about myself before. Maybe every once in awhile I should try to have a day that's a 4! Not whoo-hoo! And not jump off the Disraeli! Just kind of niceand easy. But it also sounds booooooo-ring! Not very memorable.

Oh well, I guess I can't have it all....which is the point of this insight.
So I'm going to stop writing now because I 'm just going around in circles now.

A funny snippet about the incident at the drop-in.

One of my staff said that as soon as the one kid yelled "fight", the entire gym (probably 60-70 kids) emptied in about 5 seconds.

We close at 10pm and we don't usually get out til 10:15pm because kids doddle and they don't want to leave. So he suggested every night at 5 min to 10pm, we just yell "Fight!" and then lock the doors behind the kids.

I think its brilliant. And it might work ONCE! Well, to be honest with some of the kids, it might work 2 or 3 times. They're not all MENSA candidates, if you know what I'm saying.
Wink wink, nudge, nudge...

An exciting night tonight.

I went to work at the drop-in tonight and it was pretty much uneventful up until 8:30pm.
I just left the Zone (drop-in building) and was heading over the gym (also part of the drop-in program) and I see this huge crowd of kids hanging out by the doors.

I don't think much of it as I slowly saunter over to see what's happening. Two big 18 year old guys, are kicking the crap out of each other while 40 other big guys cheer them on.
Both of them are probably around 6 feet and 200 lbs, so what's the logical thing to do?
Erica just jumps right in there. All 100+ lbs (I'm not telling how much +, so don't ask) of jumps in and starts screaming "that's enough! break it up! Tyler! Moe! ENOUGH!!!"

I'm screaming as loud as I can while they hold each other and try pulling the shirts over the other's head while I'm hearing SMACK! CRACK! They both are getting some really good shots in. Blood starts flying! And now I'm starting to get mad, I'm hollering "Enough!" and to the boys on the side lines "SHUT-UP! You're NOT helping! Go back inside!" So finally as I'm screaming enough, I manage to step between the two fo them.

I'm yelling "You...Inside! You....Start Walking that direction! Go! Now! You're both out for at least 2 weeks! (and to the guys on the side making comments, bets etc) If you want to be next, keep talking! Get your butts back in the gym!"

The whole thing lasted all of 2 minutes I'm sure but its an intense two minutes and it seems to last a long time.

I still have a buzz from the adrenaline. I can be quite the bad-ass drill sargeant when I need to be!

And aside from the stress between my shoulders right now, I really love my job! Crazy eh?

I'm back! Back in the cold, cold arctic! :(
It was gorgeous in Kansas City. It was 28 degrees and I was swimming in an outdoor pool. Not so much here.....

But I don't even know where to start with how the trip was, it was so great.

On a spiritual level, there is so much to say about God did that I'm not sure where to begin. There was just so much MORE of God.

So I'll sum up. God is HUGE and DEEP that I need a million years to begin to experience all that He is, what it is to be in relationship with Him, and learn about His wisdom. Even the understanding of how HUGE and how DEEP is beyond me.

There was just so MUCH of Him there.....it was overwhelming in the best sense.

On a personal level, it was totally fun. It was great to have adult conversations and goof off like a teenager again. I made GREAT relationships with girls who were good friends before but now its MORE!

I enjoyed the break from being a parent. It was nice to take care of me for awhile, and now I have MORE to give to them.

So in short. I got MORE, I have MORE and I want MORE than ever before now.
So "MORE Lord" is my new prayer.
Let's get MORE of Him in Winnipeg!

Well, the house is clean, the laundry is done, the kid's stuff is ready, the note is written for the babysitter. Everything for my family is ready for my departure.

Now I just need to take care of me! Gotta go pack! Yippeeeeeee!
Yvonne called earlier and said the forecast was amazing! 29 degrees!
Hot Kansas City...here I come!

Bye-bye snowflakes!!!!!

Whoa! Yesterday was quite the day!

The morning was spent doing woodwork, followed by housecleaning, then picking up D.J. from work, going to shop for his work, then home so I could go to work, then after work, home to do paper work until 12:30 am.

I'm beat.

Today is laundry, swimming lessons, a workout, more housecleaning, and a business meeting in the evening.

I'm gonna need a holiday after this week!

Alright, so I was a little preachy yesterday. So sue me! hee hee

Today I had so much fun. I spent the morning working on wood stuff for a craft show in May. My hair is full of sawdust and I'm sneezing like crazy from the wood dust but I'm lovin' every minute of it.

Tomorrow I get to do it again! Yipee! I better get to bed so I can get an early start tomorrow!

At this point in my kid's lives, the true meaning of Easter is all about eggs, toys, baskets of goodies and CHOCOLATES!!!!

They made out like little chocoholic bandits today! They are very well-loved!
(we'll explain what Easter is really about when they are a little older but for now they think Easter is awesome and YUMMY!)
They had an Easter-egg hunt which was a total blast!

But enough about them...I've been really thinking about Easter in light of what I read in the Bible recently. Growing up in church I was told about the sacrifice of Jesus and its significance for me in terms of forgiving my sins.

While that is still true, lately I've been thinking more about how AMAZING the cross in a global and historical perspective.

Yes, Jesus died so MY sins could be forgiven but its also so humanity could approach the throne of God. Up until that moment in history, to come into the presence of God had some pretty steep requirements which were pretty much impossible to keep.

The necessity of Jesus' blood for humanity so we could be closer to a HOLY God that was otherwise unapproachable (due to our own sins) has become a lot clearer to me lately.

The Holiness of God is something I'm really trying to understand, and learn how to appreciate. Its so far beyond me and my pea-size intellect, that I'm relying on my heart to process it for it.

The only thing my heart has come up with so far is a deep sense of gratitude. To spend my life getting closer to the God who IS love, mercy, justice and all-knowing at the same time will take me an eternity to understand. But just the fact that I can spend my life trying, and succeeding at knowing Him better fills me with gratitude, that He lets me search Him out in spite of my unholiness is such an awesome gift.

I am in awe of what the cross has done...

Have a good Good Friday!

Today has been a good day. My daughters and I had lots of fun.

It was Isabella's swimming day and she just loves the water. She has no fear at all which makes it very exciting. In the swimming circle, she was very cute. One of the songs was Old MacDonald and she quietly mumbled through it UNTIL we got to the E-I-E-I-O part. Then she sang LOUD with gusto, and outdid all the other kids combined.

We had a great a lunch at Olive Garden after that, my sister's treat. She is soooo generous. Followed by a long nap.

Today was a treat! All I need to make it truly perfect is to win the lottery. But that's not gonna happen as I didn't buy a ticket! hee hee

For Rebecca's birthday she got a gold fish that....well, passed on to a better world.

Today she asked where orange dorothy went. (Her new fish is grey dorothy).
I explained that orange dorothy died.

But she replied, no orange dorothy ran away. Down the toilet.

Huh? Oh!!! She's been watching Finding Nemo, and at the end the fish run away, and Nemo "runs away" down the toilet.

So she figures that's what happened to orange dorothy!
Hee hee
She's so cute.

For the most part, this mom thing is getting easier and easier as my kids grow older.
They are becoming more independent so they need less and less attention from me.
But this morning, I made a rookie mistake.

(Now I'm not saying I'm in the major leagues of mommying yet. You have to have raised at least ONE teenager successfully to get that status, but I thought I was at least on my way out of training camp! Are you tired of this metaphor yet? I am.)

Anyway, my rookie mistake was stripping the kids down, including diaper then turning the shower on. BOTH of them peed all over the bathroom floor.
Duh! *hitting my head* Shower on then diaper off! Crap! Well, no crap....thank goodness!

Rebecca had her first dentist visit this morning. Very exciting stuff for her. She's been asking to have her turn at the dentist since January when I "got" to go. She was fantastic, totally co-operative and got lots of praise. Nothing really dramatic.

Let's see when its Isabella's turn, that should be a noteworthy blog! :)

Breakfast this morning was just too cute.
Rebecca was talking to her toast.

"okay, bye-bye toast. you go in my mouth now and down to my tummy. good toast."
so cute!

Then the girls got into an "argument". I use the quotes because they are bickering to amuse themselves but their verbal skills are pretty limited so its hilarious to watch.

Isabella shouts "ake-up!"
Rebecca shoots back "No! I'm NOT gonna wake-up. I'm already awake!"
then
Bella shouts "ake-up!" with a HUGE grin on her face.
Becca (getting frustrated) "No Bella! I already wake up!"
Bella (laughing now) "ake-up!"

So now Rebecca decides to fight fire with fire. You wanna bug me?? Two can play at that game.....she puts her head down on the table and pretends to sleep.

Bella is now laughing out loud "ake-up"
Becca says. "no Bella I'm toooooooo sleepy, I not wake-up!"

And so on and so on. They can totally amuse themselves for 20 minutes by just making up little arguments. Its so weird! But cute....

Tonight two Jehovah's Witnesses came to the door.
I tried excusing myself as we were eating dinner (and I didn't want to talk to them) but they asked when they should come back.

And I told them, if its okay with them, not to.

Now I am racked with guilt. I wasn't rude or anything but they looked so disappointed.
And I really could see the concern and good intention in their eyes. They really believe in bringing a message of hope to people and that's a beautiful thing. I admire their faith, commitment, and heart of compassion.

And while I'm not willing to change religions or beliefs or anything because I felt for these two young men....I do feel I wish I could make them feel better somehow.

So I prayed for them as they walked away from my house.........

It feels so good to have a clean house. *sigh*
There's something about having a clean floor that makes one feel secure.
or maybe that's just me.....

The laundry is getting done, the kitchen is clean, supper was fabulous and I had a fun day with my kids and my husband. What more could a girl ask for?

Well, for my house to STAY clean, now that would be ideal. One thing at a time.

Rebecca is so awesome! She has just been wandering around the house, cleaning things up. She is so tidy and polite. A wonderchild.

Its a good system really, Isabella goes around making messes and Rebecca cleans up.
hee hee It might be good til they're teenagers and Rebecca figures out that Belle should be helping more.

It was a glimpse of the future today I think when Rebecca sent Isabella to her room because she was fah-wus-ter-ated. I can see being fah-wus-ter-ated with a person who is always following you around and touching your things. However, I had to explain that sending people to their rooms was mommy's job.

Rebecca also pointed out to me today what my name is. She told me that "daddy calls me Erica but Rebecca can call me mommy". Good point.

I just love our conversations as she gets older and thinks and figures things out.
This is a good stage...so far.

So I was up LATE last night.
I was feeling so sick last night, I went to bed at 7:30pm and sacked out immediately.

Then at 3 am I awoke to a horrible screech! Rebecca had thrown up and was really upset by it, understandably!
I was up for an hour, rocking her while she threw up a couple more times.

She was crying and telling me she was scared so I prayed for her while she fell back to sleep. Urgh! Then this morning she had horrible diarrhea. Poor baby girl!

So I'm trying the BRAT diet that Yvonne was telling me about. Bananas, rice, apples and toast to stop diarrhea. So far, I can't get her to eat anything but eventually she'll get hungry....I hope.

So there's my adventure last night.