NY State Fair

OK, so I am having a pity party for myself, as I am 1000 miles away from Syracuse, the home of the Great New York State Fair!! So, in honor of all you terribly fortunate Central New Yorkers, I decided to make a list of My Fair Favorites! Here goes:

Top Ten Reasons Why I love the NYS Fair

10. The heartburn from the peppers, onions and sausage is quickly relieved by the double Ferris wheel (look out below!!)

9. Butter...as good as it gets!

8. Waiting in line for 30 minutes to pay 25 cents for a 2 ounce swig of Byrne dairy chocolate milk!!! Yummy!

7. It rains money on the midway!!

6. Tic Tack Toe bingo with those little rubber balls!

5. Life sized stuffed animals that you win on your first game, then have to lug around the whole day!!

4. The Clydesdales are a sight to behold!!

3. Cages and cages of every animal under the sun!!!

2. Walk away sundaes, fried dough, and salt water taffy!!

1. It will always feel like home, no matter how far you go!!

Have fun!!

Home sweet home

Well, we gathered at church last night for chapter 4 of our current book study. The weeks just get better and better! The main theme of the chapter was about "putting too much in your wagon, that you can no longer do what God is asking of you". I won't quote the story she told, because it was like a page and a half long, but I will share one thing I found interesting. The first class that I attended, one of the ladies said, "I assume that we all work outside of the home, which is why we are all studying this book"...and I remember thinking, ummmm.....nope! Then the facilitator of the group asked, "Do we have anyone that stays at home?". Three of us reluctantly raised our hands. I have to admit, I had a mix of feelings at that moment...guilt for being able to stay home...fear that people would assume staying home equaled total laziness on the couch with a bowl of ice cream watching the soaps...and awkwardness for once again being one of the "few and far between"ers. Those feelings held on for a couple of weeks, until I really got into this chapter. I began to remember the years that I worked outside the home, and prayed for the Lord to miraculously change things so that I would be able to stay home with my children. How my heart broke to put our oldest in daycare at 6 weeks, so we could have two incomes (only to realize down the road that the check went out as fast as it came in, to pay the daycare). I remember those ten hour days that I put in at my last job...giving 120% to people who might not even remember my name at this point. Then coming home exhausted, to my two kids and my husband, and having nothing left to give but yawns and a snappy attitude. I took a look in my proverbial wagon this week, and for the first time in my life, I actually realized that the yoke WAS easy and the burden WAS light...just the way it was meant to be. Then I gave myself a swift kick in the backside for giving a second of my attention to the lie that the world tries to jam down our throats as woman and mothers. I realize that there are many woman that would love to be home, but for some, it isn't an option at this point for various reasons. That is why, all the more, I feel so very blessed to be able to be home with my kids...and provide a peaceful, healthy atmosphere for the ones I hold so dear...this is truly one of the best seasons, so far, in my life.

"Parra-ese"

Growing up a Kellish, there were, as in many households, several forbidden words. I am not talking the obvious curse words, but there were just some words that were not acceptable ways to express ourselves. "Zit", the "f" word for flatulence, and "crap" (sorry Mom!) to name a few off the top of my head. Well, following suit, there are some off limit words in the Parra home as well. One of those being the word "stupid". Now, I probably should have clarified to the boys from the get go that I meant that you can't call other people "stupid", but I really didn't think about it. As a result, any mention of that word gets a loud gasping reaction out of their tiny mouths. I have been known to talk about "stupid events", "stupid actions", etc, now and again. It is a regular word on Sponge Bob and other of the newly discovered cartoons. So if you come to our house, and hear gasping...relax, no one is choking...the word police are on duty! Another term we don't use is the slang for passing gas. I guess Mom transferred her dislike for that "f" word on to me and it stuck! But, being a regular bodily function in our home, due to the high bean intake (haha), we were in need of an acceptable substitute. I thought of going with the Poston cousins' version, "Poot"...but it just didn't work for me. I thought we could just say gas, but, I don't know...just didn't have the right ring. So what we settled on is Toot. Cute and short. So be forewarned...if you come to our house "Tooting your own horn" or eating Tutti fruity anything, expect to hear a few giggles out of my boys! And if you say Fa@#, they won't have a clue what you are talking about!

as an aside: I don't know WHAT possessed me to write on this subject. I need to write something else, fast, so this isn't the first story that some people read! Terrible first impression!!!! haha

Book 'em!

Josh was tickled today, as we had a really fun science lesson. We are learning about how we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" in his Discovering God's World science book. Today's lesson was about fingerprints, (right up my forensics alley!!) and up until this morning, Josh had no idea what he held in his hands! I guess I just assumed he knew what I was constantly wiping off the TV screen and windows, but to my surprise, he had no idea! To make the lesson come to life, I pulled out our washable markers, and began coloring his fingertips...we hadn't started reading yet, so he was giving me a "Mom, I thought I wasn't supposed to write on my skin!" look, yet, enjoying the rule bending at the same time! I then proceeded to roll his fingers on an index card, revealing the loops and swirls of his little fingerprints. His eyes opened wide, and had me do it several times, in different colors. He was also amazed to learn that no one else had the same pattern as he did. It was a good lesson in how special we all are!! As a bonus, if he ever decides to go into law enforcement, or work for immigration, he's got the booking/biometric procedure down! :)

Dominos

I am on a mission! A few months ago, I bought this fax/copier/scanner all-in-one machine, and I have been going CRAZY looking for the CD that came with it so I can start scanning photos to my computer. (Unfortunately, the driver is no longer available online for Window 98...I know...archaic!!) So I started searching in all of the obvious places...desk drawers...nightstand drawers...my kitchen "junk" cabinet...but to no avail! Then I started looking in some not-so-obvious places...underwear drawer...boys closets...boys bathroom cabinet (OK, I was getting desperate!)...while checking each place, I ended up cleaning that space, as, (shocker), it was NOT in the most ship-shape condition! Well, I have good news!!! No, I still haven't found the CD...but my house is amazingly clean! I mean...places that I NEVER clean, are clean. I took out dresser drawers and vacuumed out the dust...the pantry is completely in order...my bedroom feels like a 5 star hotel room!!! I have come to the conclusion that I must have thrown the CD out in the box that everything came in. Oh well, I won't be scanning any of the gazillions of photos that I have, but tonight I'll be in the lap of luxury in my suite...wonder if it comes with room service and a massage for these aching muscles?!?!