Self cleaning house

As part of getting ready for going out of town at the end of the week, I need to clean our house. We keep our house picked up/mostly clutter free, but it still becomes necessary to dust and mop and scrub down surfaces that develop pink rings around them. Although I have now entered my second semester of pregnancy, I have not experienced a resurgence of energy. I still desire a daily nap and get tired with what feels like menial amounts of work. The problem is my son and husband have allergies and it begins to be a sneeze fest around here if I wait two or three months between dusting sessions. I am finding that I could really use a self cleaning house. Since we don't have one of those, I guess I am just going to have to break my tasks down into smaller more manageable parts and take a few days to get the house sparkling and fresh.

Returnin' From a Jet Plane

A quick post-trip update: I've been back for a few days now, but I wanted to make sure I said to everyone, "thanks for the support." To answer Mr. Rex10's question in the comments to the original post, I went to Memphis, which was a very short little jaunt. In fact, the trip over was more like riding in a flying bus than a bike - I'm pretty sure there were a total of 53 seats on the plane, including the pilot and co-pilot's seats and the bathroom. I did mention to the flight staff on the first one that I hadn't flown since 1988, and they tried their best to be accommodating. I also had some "less-drowsy" formula Dramamine, which I took about an hour before each flight, and I guess it worked like a charm. I sat by the window on both flights. What an amazing experience! I loved watching the clouds and landscape from above, and coming back over the big city at night was just beautiful! I will definitely not be anxious about flying in the future, should the situation arise again. It was a very good experience, except for when I forgot to take my laptop out of my bag before running it through the scanner on the way back, and the shocked security lady yelled out, "Who has a laptop in a BAG?" as if this was the most ridiculous place to keep a laptop she'd ever heard of, and only a colossal moron would leave one there at a security checkpoint. Oh, and while that was going on, security on the other end was running the cable tester through a full-scale bomb detection process (according to the inspector: "the machine can be setup to check for drugs as well, but we don't care about drugs; you can keep your drugs"). Those were embarrassing, but the rest of the trip I wouldn't mind going through again.


P.S. to Mr. Rex10: You need to know about this.

Beach preview

In preparation for our upcoming beach trip we decided to take the kids to our local man-made lake beach. Despite the greenish-brown water and little fish that swim in the water we had a great time. Maggie loves that she can touch the bottom and practiced swimming a lot. Daniel likes to dive under the water with his mask on and try to catch the fish or pick up rocks. One unfortunate thing that happened while we were at the beach was that I stepped on a bee. Boy was that uncomfortable. The last time I got stung by a bee I was in kindergarten living in Ft. Campbell, KY. I was playing bare foot at the park and stepped on a bee that was on a flower. Thankfully I am not allergic to bees, but I forgot just how uncomfortable a bee sting can be. I am just glad that it was me instead of one of the kids that got stung. Let's hope the bee sting is not a preview of our time at the real beach. We are getting really excited. Less than a week before we leave!

Leavin' On a Jet Plane

Tomorrow morning, I head out on a big ol' jet airliner for the first time in over 20 years. I believe this is the only experience in my life about which I can say, "I've done that before, but not in over 20 years." This is a big deal for me, although I have friends who seem to be on planes as much as they are in cars. The last time I was on a plane was, I think, June of '88. I was coming back from a trip to Ireland, the last leg of which was from New York to Atlanta. For the trip overseas, I had some sort of Dramamine patch to install behind my ear, and I used the last one on the trip back from Dublin to New York. On the NY to ATL leg, I was sick almost from the moment of takeoff to landing and even in the car on the ride back to Columbus. I was also exhausted, so I'd fall asleep on the plane being sick, and I'd wake up to be sick again. Not pleasant.
All this to say, if you're a Christian, and you're awake between 7:30 AM and 8:45 AM EDT this Tuesday, please say a little prayer for me, and for the passengers seated near me. I know we'd appreciate it. Thank you.

We're going to the beach!

In less than two weeks we will be taking off for our first family vacation (with all four of us - five counting the one in utero). We have been on approximately three vacations, our first being our honeymoon to Savannah when we got married. A year later on our first anniversary we went to Missouri to visit a friend of mine in which we stayed at their home. We did stay in a hotel in Branson , MO for one night and spent the day taking in the tourist attractions. Then when Daniel was a year old, and I was pregnant with Maggie, we went to Ohio to visit my mom's side of the family. That is the last "vacation" we have had. Davis and I have had two weekend get aways since having our precious children. One of the main reasons that we have not had more vacations is that we have been trying to get out of debt most of our married years together, albeit not in any way that was focused (until we came across Dave Ramsey's The Total Money Makeover and went through Financial Peace University), but we knew we couldn't afford vacations. The only reason we get to enjoy this upcoming family vacation is because we have a wonderful connection (our sister-in-law) to a condo in Florida. Because it is a condo, we have the ability to cook food and store and reheat leftovers therefore keeping the cost of food down. And because we are on a budget we know exactly how much money we may take with us to spend. I know that we are going to have a ball. Maggie absolutely loves playing in the sand so she will be in heaven. Daniel and Maggie love to swim so we plan to wear them out. Maybe we will even come back with a little color in our normally transparent skin.

The Hunter

How greedily the predator eyes his prey, anxiously awaiting his chance to strike. Cautiously, he raises his head and, without warning, he pounces, easily devouring his unsuspecting quarry in mere seconds. The biscuit never even saw him coming.

Flight of the Narrator

Angie: "Maggie, please get your stuffed animals out of Mommy and Daddy's room."
Maggie (standing up and moving towards our bedroom): "And she got up and ran from the room, through the kitchen, and into the bedroom."

Our Maggie has taken to providing narration for her own life, and man, it is by far the best entertainment I get in my week. We still have the baby monitor in the children's room, and in the mornings we'll hear something like, "she dressed herself all by herself and headed to the kitchen for some breakfast." She doesn't do it all the time, and she often talks to herself while she's playing, so I'm worried that I might be missing some of the best lines. I think I might get a bunch of micro-cassette recorders and sew them into Maggie's clothes. Or maybe I should just head over to the local FBI office and ask for copies of the tapes from our house. At any rate, I hope this phase doesn't end anytime soon. As I alluded to earlier on Twitter, with as much attitude as she's been giving lately, sometime it feels like this powerful degree of cuteness is all that's keeping her with us.

A Blast!

For the past few years now our family has been privileged to spend the 4th of July with several of our dear friends. For reasons which will soon become apparent, I can only say that the event takes place at a private, undisclosed location that is probably not even IN Georgia on the multi-acre, privately-owned, family land of someone I'll refer to as Mickle Cowfman. The buffet is always abundant and incredibly delicious; there are always lots of things for the kids to do; and the finale of the event is an increasingly impressive fireworks display which would be of increasingly questionable legality, were it to take place in Georgia, but, as I mentioned before, it most likely does not. ;-) This year's event featured some of the world's most AWESOME barbecued pork cooked and served in the eastern North Carolina style provided by Mickle's father-in-law. There was a bouncy castle with slide, a toddler bouncy area, a trampoline, a swimming pool, and an industrial-strength snow cone machine. There was also some excellent live music, and Maggie made it through the whole fireworks display, which was a first for us! All in all, it was an outstanding celebration of our great nation's birthday!

Speaking of Exciting Developments

For those who may not know, the Hipps family is expecting a new addition on or around January 30, 2009! We've known for a couple of weeks now, but we wanted to make sure that all of our various pregnant friends that were due got their bundles unpacked before we made any official announcements. Angie is about 9 weeks along, and has already been through more nausea and exhaustion than she had with the first two combined! Here's a picture of the little peanut, as he or she looked in the photographer's studio this past Monday, June 23rd. It may go without saying, but just in case it doesn't, we're very excited about this! Woohoo! Ok, here' the picture. Sorry to keep you waiting. Here it is.

A Couple of Firsts

As we first mentioned here, Daniel has had a loose tooth for a couple of weeks now. On Saturday, in the middle of the afternoon with no prompting, he decided that he'd just bite down really hard on it to see what would happen, and sure enough, out it came. He didn't get the least bit upset by this - he was uncharacteristically calm, in fact - but he was clearly thrilled and very proud of himself.










Exhilarating stuff, to be sure, but there was also some excitement involved with the first that we had on Sunday when we went to a playground near our house. Towards the end of our time there, Maggie made the announcement, "Look, there's a Black Widow Spider just like in my Bug's Life game!" And, sure enough, there was the thing in the flesh, crawling along the sand, looking for children to poison, no doubt. Unfortunately, we didn't have the good camera with us, and the pictures that I took from my phone didn't do the thing justice, so I'll just have to do my best to describe it for you here.

It was really black. Also, it had a huge abdomen with a bright red hourglass on it. I've read that the red hourglass should be on the underside for the Black Widow, and that the hourglass on the top may actually be indicative of a False Widow, but as it didn't live long enough to bother correcting us for what was, perhaps, a case of mistaken identity, the truth must be forever buried with it. Whether true or false, the kids were sufficiently convinced of its black widow-ness that they ran screaming from the playground equipment, although I will say they didn't seem particularly scared. I think they may have just wanted to run around screaming. Which, come to think of it, is why we took them to the park in the first place.

Adequate Sleep

I think getting enough sleep is essential to having the brainpower and creative energy to blog on a regular basis. Just sayin'. G'night.

First Dentist Visit

This morning Daniel and Maggie had their very first visit to the dentist. Daniel is six and about to lose his first tooth so he was bit overdue, but without dental insurance you have to have the cash to pay for the services. Thanks to our economic stimulus check I decided that the entire Hipps clan should go to the dentist. Both Daniel and Maggie have 20 teeth (although Daniel may only have 19 in a few days) and no cavities. Maggie got her teeth cleaned first. She is our adventurous child. She did a fantastic job. The hygienist, Miss Dannie, said that her teeth don't have many gaps, which is desirable in young children, so she will probably need braces when she is older. It is also more important for us to floss her teeth on a regular basis. Daniel very hesitantly climbed into the chair even after watching his sister bravely undergo her painless cleaning. He did fine, but he still wanted me close by. Then Dannie was going to take two x-rays so that we might be able to see where his 6 year molars are in terms of breaking through, but Daniel gagged and that was the end of it. He started to tear up and get scared. Dannie was very encouraging and didn't force it since she wanted his first visit to be a positive one. Daniel and Maggie both got prizes from the treasure cabinet. Maggie chose two balloons, and Daniel chose a rubber ball and a plastic snake. Both left happy with cleaner teeth and fresher breath. Let's hope Daniel's X-rays go better in January.

The Element of Surprise

I have never been big on surprises. I can enjoy an occasional surprise, like my favorite meal for dinner, or an unexpected on-the-money birthday present, but in general, I prefer to know what I'm getting into. My son, however, takes this character trait to new and heretofore undiscovered heights of craziness. We thought we'd surprise the kids yesterday with an outing to a movie that Daniel, especially, has expressed interest in. The movie was Kung Fu Panda, and it was nearly a kung-tastrophe. The moment we arrived at the theater, he burst into tears, and twice during the movie he broke down and announced he wanted to go home. He was pretty tired, but I think a lot of it had to do with being surprised. I've noticed other unfortunate traits that I've passed on (video-game-related stubbornness, allergies, wheezing), but this one is clearly the most heinous. Or not. He may just be the kind of guy who likes to know what's going on. And, in the end, he said he liked the movie, so it's not like the surprise completely ruined the experience for him. Still, it's pretty rough knowing that, whether I like it or not, I've passed on some of my lameness to my son. Best to keep some parts of the chip firmly on the block.

With a Little Help From My, Um, Neighbors

I just wanted to give a quick shout-out to my peeps here in the 'hood. Specifically, I wanted to shout out, "THANK YOU FOR YOUR LAWN SERVICES!!!" Our across-the-street neighbor has, for over a year now, graciously allowed us the use of his riding lawn mower to plow the front 40. This has been a great blessing to us, as we only have a push-mower of our own. The rider takes about an hour and a half to get the job done, whereas the push-mower has taken over 5 hours on its worst day (averages about 3). So, it bears repeating, this has been a great blessing to us. Recent events have prevented us from mowing as frequently as we might like, however, and yesterday our next-door neighbor generously offered his mowing services for an extremely reasonable fee, in my opinion. When I came home and found that the lawn - whose impending maintenance had filled my work-weary heart with a nameless dread - had, in fact, already been maintained, I was overjoyed to say the least. So to my neighbors, once again, a heart-felt "thank you." Your generosity is greatly appreciated.

Shocking discovery made at bedtime

I can't believe it, but our boy has a loose tooth! I feel like I should have been a little more prepared for it considering that our good friends' son, who is just a few months younger than Daniel, lost his first tooth a couple months ago. But it is just not the same when it is your own flesh and blood. I was going over his teeth when he was getting ready for bed and I thought his tooth looked a bit crooked, then it moved! I was shocked and excited. Our sweet little boy is getting so big. He, of course, thought is was awesome since his best friend has already lost a tooth. Life sure is an adventure with growing children.

Question for the Board of Health OR Random Foreign Language Thought for the Day

In Spanish, a "perro" is a dog, and a "perrito" is a little dog. If a "burro" is a donkey, then shouldn't someone in authority be looking a little deeper into these so-called "burritos?"

How to Enjoy Sonic - America's Drive-In

I really enjoy going to Sonic. I think they have the best fast-food burgers, excellent onion rings, and a great variety of drinks (good shakes, too)! However, at times a family outing to Sonic can be a bit of a chore, so I thought I might offer up some tips to getting the most out of your dining experience.

1. If possible, don't go with children. Children are a gift from the Lord, but the best way to enjoy Sonic is to go with your spouse, order your food, and just sit in the car and talk to each other while the '50s music plays over the speakers.
2. If it's baking hot outside, eat in the car, especially if you've ignored number 1. There's no way you'll enjoy the experience if you've had to unload cranky children out into the heat.
3. Go with what you know. I am one who is more than willing to try new things when I'm at a restaurant, but at Sonic, I stick with the burgers. I don't see any need to try the chicken, and I'm certainly not interested in a Sonic burrito. I have to be in the mood for a chili dog, but I will occasionally go with that. If I want to be sure I'm satisfied, though, it's a cheeseburger, onion rings, and a Diet Coke®.
4. Don't stress about tipping. My rule for tipping at Sonic is that the waiters or waitresses on roller skates get a tip. They're putting in extra effort, and they're providing entertainment as part of the experience. Walking out with the food is part of the job, as I see it. Rolling out with the food is cah-ray-zy!

So, that's it. If you stick with these simple rules, you should have no problem enjoying your meal. If you follow these rules and still don't have a good time, you can comment here and I'll give you a full refund of the price of this advice.

Reminds Me of a Song

I don't particularly want to get too political on this our family blog, but I have noticed something in the course of the presidential campaigning season. I don't think anyone anywhere on the political spectrum would argue with the assertion that Senator McCain is not the best public speaker, whereas Senator Obama is eloquent and charismatic. Having observed a few of their speeches recently, however, I'm reminded of the song "XTC vs. Adam Ant" by They Might Be Giants, the lyrics to which speak to the battle between substance vs. style, "content vs. form." If I can get this music player to show up, enjoy! If not, the title of the song is linked to the lyrics for the song, and you can hear a snippet on the Amazon.com page for the Factory Showroom album.

(p.s. if you're deweb, I totally stole this music player from you. literally. if you look at the source code of this page, the player is running off of your website. if you're not cool with that, let me know how i can get the player on my own site and i'll fix it. sorry i didn't ask first. thanks.)

Joie de Vivre

Yesterday we got to visit our friends, Ren and Angela Buckland, and to see their new baby, Abigail! What a cutie! We are blessed to be friends with two other infanticipating couples whose due dates are upon us, and another who is due in October! All the expectancy and newness of life in the air just makes me happy. I can't wait to meet all the new little people who are blessed to have parents cool enough and smart enough to have friends like us!

Everything Except What I Should be Praying About

I have, for a LONG time now, struggled to get up in the morning and spend time praying and reading the Bible. I've gotten to the point where I can get up successfully and have at least a little time to do this more days than I don't. Now, though, my problem is with distractions. I get to thinking about tasks that I'm puzzling over at work, things I need to do around the house, things I want to do with my family, stuff like that. And that's when I go the "paper-Bible and prayer journal" route. Firing up the laptop for a Bible Gateway and YouVersion journaling day magnifies this, as I now have email and the web to add to my distractions. Surely I'm not the only Christian for whom this is an issue, right? How does one learn to focus? Suggestions welcome.