The Fuzzball Chronicles: the Life and Times of Curly Mommy

Sun-tzu said, "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer." I guess keeping an enemy close is a good idea if you are strong enough to thwart their attacks. I'm not strong enough. I keep losing battle, after battle, after battle. Who is my best friend? Food. Who is my worst enemy? Food. I am a foodie. I love to cook, and eat, and experience food. The anticipation, smell, taste, appearance, texture, chewing, swallowing, and feeling of fullness all bring me considerable pleasure. I use it to celebrate, draw closer to loved ones, show affection, and accept affection. Food is my safe, always-there-for-me cure-all. I medicate myself with it when I'm sad, hurting, bored, angry, tired, and lonely. I don't stop eating when I've had enough. After overeating, guilt and regret hang over me. I want to say that I won't overeat again, but I know saying that is useless. I can't control my tendency to eat too much! I wish I could run far away from my "frien...

Halloween 2007 Little Man loved his "Pumpkin Boy" costume. February 2009 Little Man still loves to be "Pumpkin Boy." Kick me if I ever complain about him outgrowing his clothes!

I'm posting this where I can see it every day... on my fridge. Things to Consider • Do you struggle with overeating or constant dieting? • Have you been on a diet and lost all the weight, but need support not to go back to unhealthy behaviors? • Do you ever feel out of control and unable to stop eating? • Do you eat out of frustration, anger, or fear? • Does it seem impossible to eat only when you are hungry and stop when you are full? • Do you eat to feel comfort? The Problem • Throughout our lives many of us have turned to food to ease our pain or fear. • We felt comfort in eating and found ourselves turning to food whenever we were hurt, angry or frustrated. • Food became our comforter, our friend. • Some of us may have one certain food that we can not stop eating, or are unable to eat only in healthy amounts. • Some of us may have been emotionally, physically or sexually abused and use food to cope with the emotions of those events. • Some of us may have had healthy eating habi...

I've been reading blogs while nursing Baby Bee. Several of them reminded me of this verse, so I thought I would share it: Hebrews 12:1-3 (New Century Version) Follow Jesus' Example 1 We are surrounded by a great cloud of people whose lives tell us what faith means. So let us run the race that is before us and never give up. We should remove from our lives anything that would get in the way and the sin that so easily holds us back. 2 Let us look only to Jesus, the One who began our faith and who makes it perfect. He suffered death on the cross. But he accepted the shame as if it were nothing because of the joy that God put before him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God's throne. 3 Think about Jesus' example. He held on while wicked people were doing evil things to him. So do not get tired and stop trying.

I made very few cakes last year due to my pregnancy. Well, I'm not pregnant any longer, so I have plenty of energy and no nausea. I'm back to baking. Here are the cakes I've made since having our precious Baby B. Spotlight Cake I made this cake for the Celebrate Recovery New Year's Eve party. Yes, it has a light in the center. It is supposed to be four spotlights shining into the middle, but I think most people didn't get it. Someone asked me if it was some sort of flag. Oh well. Mom's Ice Cream Cake Mom wanted an ice cream cake for her birthday. It was chocolate butter cake and vanilla ice cream with vanilla and chocolate buttercream. I learned a lot from my mistakes when I made this one. I ended up with ice cream all over my freezer because the ice cream expanded when I stuck it in the freezer to harden. Also, buttercream frosting is really hard to slice when frozen. The next time I make an ice cream cake I will use a very light cake and whipped cream icing...

Matthew 28:18-20 (The Message) Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: "God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age." Our kids were baptized today! Photo opportunity with our Pastor. Little Man really wanted to sit with Daddy while he played the drums. He sat very still through the entire worship service. I wasn't the only one that was amazed! Per my request, the band played Agnus Dei . I love that song! Tater, Baby B, and me. Reciting our vows to raise our kids in Christ. Cool! Tater was happy to go first. That feels so funny! Baby B didn't cry. The baptism was beautiful! I am so happy that we were surrounded by family, friends, and chu...

Yesterday, the kids were in the backyard playing. After a little while, Tater ran in to talk to me. She was disturbed by something Little Man was playing. Outraged, she said, "He is pretending to be Jesus!" Just a moment later, Little Man came in crying, "She won't let me be Jesus!" Tater was deeply offended that he would dare to imitate her Jesus. All Little Man knew was that his big sister wouldn't let him pretend to be the ultimate hero. Since each of them had the most honorable intentions, I tried to help them see each other's point of view. I didn't succeed and finally had to separate them. They both really love Jesus, but couldn't help offending each other. I just had to laugh. *** This afternoon I was changing Baby B's diaper. Little Man came in and saw the white diaper rash ointment on her bottom and in her diaper. He asked, "Did she eat marshmallows?" Ha! ***

Someone dear to me said, "Wisdom, pray for wisdom." I started searching, and this is what I found: Isaiah 11 A Green Shoot from Jesse's Stump A green Shoot will sprout from Jesse's stump, from his roots a budding Branch. The life-giving Spirit of God will hover over him, the Spirit that brings wisdom and understanding, The Spirit that gives direction and builds strength, the Spirit that instills knowledge and Fear-of-God. Fear-of-God will be all his joy and delight. He won't judge by appearances, won't decide on the basis of hearsay. He'll judge the needy by what is right, render decisions on earth's poor with justice. His words will bring everyone to awed attention. A mere breath from his lips will topple the wicked. Each morning he'll pull on sturdy work clothes and boots, and build righteousness and faithfulness in the land. In this passage Isaiah is speaking of Jesus, the Messiah. The same Spirit that g...

When we got home from church this afternoon, I took the kids into the back yard to snap a few pics of their color-coordinated outfits. Aunt Sleigh gave this jumper set to Tater for Christmas. Little Man's boots came from Grandma. How cute! Baby B wasn't feelin ' the photo shoot. "It's alright, my little sister." Put a plug in it. A relative calm... is replaced by more screaming and an end to the photo session. ************** Later this afternoon... Little Man "did time" for cutting his hair. He seemed remorseful. Maybe he just didn't want to be in time out. That haircut was less than a week old.

Little Man loves that baby. Tater is singing, "Its all right, my baby sister." It sure was tough to get them out of the snow globe. :) Baby B at four weeks old. We all love that sweet baby! Wow! Everyone is looking in the same direction and standing still, at least for a few seconds.

Yardboy and I suffer from CHAOS Syndrome (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome). Our home is usually too messy for us to feel comfortable having anyone but close family and very close friends over. I'm sure We've lost friends due to our unwillingness to invite them into our home. So often, it is just too embarrassing. We allowed my parents and brother to help clean our home when things were really tough (new babies, illnesses, broken legs). Other than those times, we just attempt to clean and organize by ourselves. Yardboy and I both inherited the pack rat gene from our mothers, so we don't usually have great success. Over the years, a few friends and family have offered to help me clean and declutter. I have always declined the offers. I didn't want to trouble them. I really thought it was a good thing that I wouldn't let people help with my mess. I thought it would be selfish to ask someone else to deal with my problem. Now I realize just how dumb that sounds. I...

We went to visit family over Thanksgiving and they were a huge help with the kids. Now we are back home trying to do it all by ourselves. Last night Baby B cried for three hours, then slept for four hours straight. I didn't get four hours of sleep. I don't know how many times I woke up to make sure she was still breathing. Yep, she still breathes funny. Little Man had an axillary temperature of 103.5 degrees last night. I don't know how many times I woke up to care for him (Tylenol, Motrin, tepid bath). Today Tater is at school and Yardboy is at work. The house is a massive mess! Baby B and I smell like sour milk because she has been puking constantly today. Little Man is supposed to be napping, but isn't. I think he is afraid of what I might do if he asks to get out of bed again. I can hear him talking and banging the headboard. Christmas is three weeks away, and we haven't even begun to shop, or decorate, or plan or... The fall decorations are still on the front p...

I'm sure I'll blog about Baby B's birth when I have a little more free time. For now, I'll just say that the delivery was very easy and my baby girl is healthy. Thank you Lord!

After a short and easy labor, I delivered a healthy baby girl on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 at 6:07 pm. Weight: 7 pounds 1 ounce Length: 17.9 inches

Until this morning, Tater was one of the few first graders at her school that still had all of her baby teeth. Six weeks ago, I realized that a big tooth was coming in behind the baby teeth and that the baby teeth weren't very loose. The next morning, we went to the dentist for x-rays. The dentist gave her six weeks to pull the teeth on her own. She was instructed to wiggle, wiggle, wiggle. For weeks, she tried to wiggle the teeth, as did Yardboy and I. She ate apples, carrots, and anything else known to loosen teeth. It moved a little, but not nearly enough. Today was her return visit to the dentist. In just a few minutes, she emerged from the back with a piece of gauze in her mouth and drooling profusely. The dentist pulled two teeth instead of just one. Tater was so brave! She said that is felt funny, but didn't really hurt. You can see the gigantic tooth behind the gap where the two teeth used to be. After the appointment, I took my drooly girl to the mall. We sat in the ...

The kids have been begging to go to the "pumpkin patch" for almost a month now. It is located at a church less than a mile from our house and we pass it several times a day. I put it off until all of us could go together. Today was the day! We told the kids that we had a surprise for them and headed off. They squealed with delight when we pulled into the parking lot. I wonder if they realize that pumpkins grow on a vine in a field, rather than in a church yard. Little Man chose the perfect little pumpkin. Tater carried this little pumpkin around like a baby doll. Little Man kept hiding from the camera. I finally caught him. "Boo!" Tight squeeze for my big belly. I love these guys! I think they love me too. Beautiful green-eyed princess. The princess and her knight in shining armor. The princess and the very pregnant (38 weeks, 5 days) queen mum. Cheese!