Got a mouth like a sailor

The other night I noticed some paper on the ironing board. They were pages from a book, that had been torn out and someone had burned around the edges - to make them look "old."

Asked my husband what they were. "I think the kids found them outside today."

As I'm walking down the hall, I scan one of them. Hotchie-wha-wha. Very colorful language. Ripped straight from a copy of "Boys of Summer."

Yeah.

So, I walk into my girls' room. They're in P.J.'s, cuddled in bed together and coloring.

"Ummm ... where did these come from?"

"Oh, we found those today outside."

"K. I would like to throw them away, because there are some pretty hurtful words on here."

**my 10-year-old, without batting and eye or looking up, and with 115% innocence** "Yeah. It said something about some f****** boys. I don't think that's a nice thing to say."

**cough**choke**reapply poker face**

"No, honey, we shouldn't say things like that. Very hurtful."

They continued to color. I left the room quickly and ran to tell my husband ... who instantly said, "Well, at least I know what your next blog will be!"

Come on, Christine lovers!

Thanks to finding Jamie and Aaron, I also discovered the Rescue Center.

Don't read my blog today. Read all about Real Hope for Haiti.

Then, click here and give.

Between 200-300 of you read my blog every day, on average. That could easily be over $200.

So, just do it.

Do it today.

Even if it's just a dollar.


Now.

Please.

In Memory of Maria

Take THAT tator tot casserole!

Oh YEAH! The Dugger Tator Tot Casserole thought it could not be beaten. It thought it would hold its place in the "really bad for you but everyone loves it" category forever. No longer, my friends. NO LONGER!

Duggar Tator Tot Casserole With a Butt Whoopin' Christine Twist

(from this day forward to be known as Christine's Hash Brown Casserole)

1 lb ground whatever (beef, chicken or turkey) cooked and drained
1-2 lbs of potatoes, grated (that's right - just on your old cheese grater)
2 cups of milk (your favorite - I prefer unsweetened soy)
1 stick of butter
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Dish out the meat into a casserole dish, then cover it with the grated potatoes. In a pan, melt the butter and add the milk, salt and pepper. Pour everything that is in the pan over everything that is in the casserole dish. Pop it in a 350 degree oven for one hour. You might need to put a cookie sheet underneath it, as mine bubbled over a little bit toward the end.

The leaner the meat and the healthier the milk, the better this gets. You could probably substitute some Smart Balance for the butter, as well, if your diet is necessitating such a thing.

This stuff was a total hit - even with me (and I was having my doubts that I could ever make it happen). It still holds onto the heart of a Tator Tot Casserole, but you can go to sleep that night without heartburn, and wake without having to take an earth shattering dump. Comfort food without sending you straight to an early grave.

I rock.

The question I finally asked

"I couldn't do what you do."

Heard that one again this week.

Ya' know how I got to be doing all that I do right now? Well, it started with me WAY not doing it ... as a wife, as a mother. I would look at others and say, "I couldn't do what you do." I saw it as them being gifted and me not being.

True. Some of us have certain gifts - some have others. Yet, that was my quick answer.

Then one day I dared to do it. I dared to ask God, "Is it really because I just can't do that, or is it because I'm not willing to change so that I'm available to do more?"

Things have never been the same. He hasn't called me to do everything, but He has called me to a new place as a parent. He has called me to a new place as a wife. I still fail ... all. the. time. But boy howdy, has He equipped me and asked me for more.

Some days it scares me to death. I'm afraid I'll stop asking the question. I know myself. Thankfully, God knows me better ... knows what He can actually do with me.

I'm telling ya', if God can use me, He can use any of you schmucks!

Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Magical Milk Pic-O-The-Week

(photo by jolidanorh)

My latest blog crush

Stuff Christians Like

Don't miss the Kirk Cameron post. One of my all time favorites. Maybe because I still have a crush on pre-Christian broadcasting Kirk.

UPDATE: I had forgotten who first turned me onto the hunky SCL. My apologies to my sorority sister, college roommate and forever friend, Lana. Big, goopie ADK hugs to you!

Putting my restless legs to sleep

I realize that by outing all of my quirks, you guys are getting a deep picture into what a complete and utter freak I truly am. However, I also know that I don't MIND sharing, and the rest of you are weenies. You're really a freak, too. You just don't talk about it.

So, the whole "Restless Leg Syndrome" thing and commercials always gave me the giggles. Little did I know, but I already had it. Not very often at ALL, but it was there. After switching over to a new med last year, I had my first REALLY bad night. I was on the couch trying to watch TV. I thought my husband was going to drop kick me into the back yard. It is THE weirdest feeling. You are completely unnerved, and you feel just really, really uncomfortable ... in your legs ... and you have to shift position. You have to. Unfortunately, once you move, it doesn't really help. So, you have to move again. Moving doesn't help, but sitting still will drive you utterly mad!

You just keep tossing and turning. The people you love want to chop off your legs and store you in the attic for the night.

Granted, I have a very manageable case. I've never had to seek medical help. Mine finally diminishes after awhile - at the most a half hour - and I can get to sleep. It has never kept me from sleeping or had me up during the night. It does sometimes affect my arms, as well. That's quite a sight! So, what I do deal with gives me a huge respect and compassion for those who battle it to the extremes and on a regular basis.

I'm currently dealing with it as a side effect from the Benadryl I'm OD'ing on to keep the itching down from my rash. So, it's either incessant scratching or incessant movement of my legs. I've chosen the lesser of two evils.

I can remember it happening at other times in my life, but I never could pin point the exact reason that I was feeling uncomfortable and feeling the need to move. Once, I was dating a guy in college. We were watching a movie with friends - sitting on a couch. He reached over and just put his hand on my ankle. I had to move. Looking back, I guess that just triggered it, but he absolutely could not understand why his touching me gave me a ten minutes case of the heeby-geebies!

We broke up about a month later.

This is just a shout-out to all of you RLS homies out there. It's a crazy thing (with the word "neurological" attached to it - ahhhh, my favorite label). For those of you that still think it's just the nuttiest thing you've ever heard of ... yeah, shut up. It bites.

A pox upon me!

I have Fifth Disease. One of the kids in the neighborhood had it a few weeks ago. All of the kids play at our house all the time. I can't recall ever having it before. So, there ya' go!

Most children with the virus don't itch with their rash when they have it. I'm an overachiever, however. Okay, not so much. Actually it can be itchier for older kids and adults. My husband had his rash for a week with nary a need to scratch. Not me, baby.

I'm covered in hives. They're hideous. They itch. They itch freaky bad - even with Benadryl, and oatmeal baths, and herbal treatments. I need to duct tape on some oven mitts, like Phoebe and her sailor beau when they had the chicken pox.

Once you have the rash, you are no longer contagious. You have, however, just managed to spread it to the entire world before you even know what you've done. It's a sneaky virus, that way.

It's fun sporting the 'ole slapped cheek look. OH ... and they climbed their way up to just one ear. Yeah, that's right. ONE ear. It is itchy and swollen up and all freaky puffy. The other ear is just fine. Don't be jealous.




Just a minute ... had to scratch ...

Okay, so I have actually incorporated this virus into our schooling. Did you know that Fifth Disease is actually historic? A bunch of doctors in the late nineteenth century classified the six typical rashy itchy infections of childhood. This would be the fifth one. Der. Here's some vocabulary for you: exanthem. An exanthem is a rash that spreads widely over the body, and is sometimes accompanied by fever, body aches and a headache.

The first three in this sixtuplet group were measles, scarlet fever and rubella. The fourth one has yet to ever be identified, and is always simply called, "fourth disease" (which is rather interesting, as some experts argue over whether it ever existed at all). Last on the list (Sixth Disease) is roseola.

Fifth disease is actually called erythema infectiosum. Hmmmm ... wonder why people prefer using the nickname?

It comes from the parvovirus B19. Sounds kinda' like a space shuttle mission. This particular virus doesn't just cause Fifth Disease, but can bring on some other things like joint disease and chronic anemia.

I have a 50% chance that this bout will build up a permanent immunity to it. Of course, again - overachiever. My body may decide that this is just too much fun, and bring on another party in the coming years. Yipee.

Check it out. You saw some disgusting pictures of my body and you learned something. Now, carry on about your day.