Man Meals

I want to share with you about a sweet tradition that has evolved around the Hardin House.

It is the MAN MEAL.

It all started when I was gone to a scrapbooking retreat and Jeremy was trying to get the kids pumped up about going to the store to buy food for dinner. The first MAN MEAL consisted of steak, crescent rolls and corn on the cob.

As I understand it, the MAN MEAL must be completely devoid of green vegetables in order to be an actual MAN MEAL. This is one facet of the MAN MEAL that I am trying to change so I spoke with the BIG MAN and asked him to offer broccoli on the MAN MEAL menu. Broccoli being the one vegetable that my boys like as long as it is drenched in Ranch dressing. Can you blame them?

Jeremy usually has a Ribeye and he buys the boys a filet wrapped with bacon. Jonathan calls the bacon, "Cave Bacon" and always makes sure that his filet has "cave bacon" on it. Don't know where that came from, but it sure is cute.

They had a MAN MEAL this weekend and I decided that I would hang out in the other room while they ate. (Partly because I was going to have the ultimate Mom Meal of grilled chicken and I did not want steak and crescent rolls paraded in front of me.)

It was very touching to hear Jeremy pray with the boys that God would take their MAN MEAL and make them grow big and strong and become men who follow God. After the prayer, they chatted about other MAN THINGS that only MEN can talk about.

Isn't that the sweetest thing you've ever heard?

I gotta get one of these!

Today we had an event at our church called Kid Blitz Live. Jeremy and I have the pleasure of serving on Sunday mornings with the 3rd - 5th graders using the Kid Blitz fun, fast paced curriculum . One day I will tell you more about my secret identity as Barbara Barker, but that is another blog, another day. Anyhoo, today was the day that Kid Blitz came to our church with their great stage set up and fun games for kids and parents.

Jeremy was a stage hand today for the performance and during one of the games he made a mistake that caused a water balloon to pop on a Dad's head. Nevermind the fact that the Dad's child was using a razor to shave the shaving cream off of the balloon while the Mom held it.
I love this shot of the Dad praying. (God said no to that prayer!)

As a consequence for not "upholding his duties as stage hand to the best of his abilities and to serve as a reminder to do better next time", the Kid blitz guy POOFED Jeremy.

What is POOFING, you may ask? Luckily for you, I have documented the entire thing.

First, we have the offender stand mid-stage. Note how the Kid Blitz guy has safety glasses on for this dangerous activity. He also reminded us that we should not try this at home so I feel like I should give the same disclaimer to you.

After the offender has been properly reminded of his shortcomings and our belief that he can do better in the future, this is what happens:
He gets POOFED with a gigantic puffball and flour! That will teach 'em! The audience loved it and I thought that Jeremy was a great sport!



I think that it was probably all worth it since at the end Jeremy got to use power tools!

Swimming and an Obnoxious Dog

Been reading lots of blogs out there lately and feeling like my little blog is way behind the times... nevertheless, I will persevere.

The boys had their first swim meet with their new swim club. It was a fun time. We get a chance to visit with some neighborhood friends who are also in the club. (Kristen, that is a shout out to you, girl!) The boys swam well and seem to be improving so we are all happy about that.

The big news around here is that our dog, Libby, had to have her heartworm treatment this week. I decided to take her to my college friend who is a vet in Waco for treatment. Libby was away from home from Monday to Friday. We all missed her more than we thought we would, I think.

Caleb said, "I miss Libby's greetings when I get home from school." I missed having her here while J is out of town because I get spooked easily. If I hear a funny noise at night and it startles me, I just look over at her like a gauge... if she is still lying on her back with her tongue hanging out of her mouth, then all is fine and I can go back to normal.

Our charge for the next 30 days is to keep Liberty calm and inactive so that she is not harmed while the rest of the medicine works. It will be a challenge, but we are ready for it. We love our Libbygirl!

I think that once she is cleared from this we are going to embark upon obedience school for her. Her report from the vet was that the whole office thought she was "obnoxious". I sort of felt like I needed to defend her like a "tiger momma" defending her baby when I heard that. But, it seems that the Libsters barked A LOT while she was at the vet hospital. Why I felt like I should apologize for her behavior, I do not know, but I did. Anyway, we are glad that our obnoxious Liberoni and Cheese is back with us and we look forward to many more obnoxious days together.

Does this dog look obnoxious to you?

Senior Year 1990

I was reading a new blog today, saw this, and I thought it was fun.

Answer these questions about your SENIOR year of high school! The longer ago it was, the more fun the answers will be!!

1. Did you date someone from your school? No

2. Did you marry someone from your high school? No

3. Did you car pool to school? We walked...in the rain... uphill....carrying our 10lb backpacks... and my school instrument, the tenor saxophone... or wait...oh yeah.. my parents took me to school in our Forest Green 1979 Ford LTD.

4. What kind of car did you have? I had the pleasure of driving a 1972 Orange Ford Pinto with baby blue interior and a hatchback! It was too cool!

5. What kind of car do you have now? A Mom mobile: A Dodge Grande Caravan with the automatic doors...

6. It's Friday night...where are you? At a ballgame. Fall= football. Winter=Basketball Spring=Baseball

7. It is Friday night...where are you? (now) Watching a movie on the couch or surfing the internet.

8. What kind of job did you have in high school? I worked at American Amicable Insurance in the summers. I had the super interesting job of "purging" the files. Wahoo!

9. What kind of job do you do now? Former teacher, Now Stay at Home Mom (all in CAPS, I might add!)

10. Were you a party animal? When no one was looking...but mostly not.

11. Were you considered a flirt? Not so much.

12. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? I was in the band. I played the tenor sax, remember. Heck, I was even the Drum Major my senior year! See proof below!

13. Were you a nerd? Probably, but a cool nerd!

14. Did you get suspended or expelled? No, I was pretty much a goody goody!

15. Can you sing the fight song?

Riesel, Riesel, Riesel High school,

You're the school for me

Oh Riesel, Riesel, Riesel High School,

For you I'll always be.

I love your dear old school of spirit,

That stands the test of time.

I love your aims, your aspirations

As long as stars shall shine!!

16. Who was/were your favorite teacher(s)?Mrs. Severson was a great Math teacher. She taught us way more than we thought we needed to know at the time!!

17. Where did you sit during lunch? My senior year I went home for lunch so that I could watch Days of Our Lives... oh secret shame of my youth.

18. What was your school's full name? Riesel High School

19. When did you graduate? 1990

20. What was your school mascot? Indians (sorry....not very politically correct.)

21. If you could go back and do it again, would you? No, I don't think so. It was a hard time, although it did prepare me for life. Once was enough.

22. Did you have fun at Prom? Not really. I went with a group of girls, but I really wanted to have had a date.

23. Do you still talk to the person you went to Prom with? No.

24. Are you planning on going to your next reunion? I don't know if we will have one or not... our 20th will be in 2010...wait a second...That's next year!! Oh my goodness!

25. Do you still talk to people from school? Yes. There were about 33 or 34 in our graduating class. I have reconnected to many through Facebook. I see a few of them every year at our town fair or when I go visit my Mom. Some of us have stayed in constant touch throughout the years.

Linda, looking good in 1990

The Food Journal Saga Part Deaux

Still trying to work out the whole rebellion thing in my head.

Still haven't written any food down for that trainer of mine either, although honestly, I don't have much to hide so why won't I just write it down?

He said that he had decided that there will be repercussions for his clients who have trouble writing their food down and giving it to him.

What? Repercuss? Me? Surely you jest.

I told him that I did not think that he could "repercuss" me ( all the while thinking .. I am paying to come here... just try and repercuss me.) Oh, I am so bad!

I have been thinking what that would look like: Facing repercussions for not writing down my food journals. Can't decide if the negative is worth the rebellion or not.

The struggle continues.

Today, I decided that last minute, I would jot down yesterday's food items just to show him (and myself) that I am earnest and want to write it down.

In reality, I think that I just want to make it LOOK like I am earnest and want to write it down. I wouldn't want anyone to think poorly of me.

Who am I kidding? I think just myself.

It is still outward obedience, not inner heart obedience. I do the same thing with what the Lord asks me to do. I give him the bare minimum so that it LOOKS like I am His, but yet I reserve so much of myself and my life for me.

Writing food journals will help me reach my goals faster and help me maintain a healthy weight. (a lofty and noble goal.)

But, just think about what I could gain if I would totally submit to the Lord.

Working out more than my abs...

The other day I was working out with my trainer and he mentioned that he had not gotten any of my food logs via email lately. I told him that perhaps he hadn't gotten them because I have not been keeping them (kind of a crucial point.) During the course of the following conversation, he makes the statement that I am being rebellious.

"Excuse me, beg your pardon? Oh no, he didn't." Oh, yes, he did.

(Mind you, he is still alive today only due to the fact that he had exhausted me with jumping jacks, leg press, lunges, step ups, bicep curls before springing this zinger on me ... Ha ha, he could break me with his pinkie finger, but you know what I mean.)

We continue the workout as usual with a short pause to snicker at "my rebellion" to his eating plan and life goes on. But now, I am stuck with that phrase in my mind. "You are rebellious. You are rebellious." I can't stop thinking about it. I don't like thinking about it because I am pretty sure that that statement applies to more than just my food log and my personal trainer's plan for me.

I want to cry out: But, I am not a rebellious person. How can that be true? I am a "good girl" who does the right things, is nice and kind and a rule follower.

Over the past few days, I have become more aware of my tendency to be the type of person who, when told to sit down and be quiet, will outwardly sit down in the chair and wait patiently. However, on the inside, in my heart, where it counts,

I AM STANDING UP!!!

Because you can make me sit down on the outside, but you cannot make me sit down on the inside.

Not that pretty or nice, is it? My problem now is that I do not really know what to do with this new information about myself. Right now, I am praying that the Lord will give me the strength and desire to sit down on the inside and stay seated.

...and all I really wanted from the gym was a flat stomach.

If I'd known then what I know now, I'd do the same thing all over again.

Yesterday was our 14th anniversary. I truly love this man and am blessed to be his wife.

Out with the Old

Jeremy decided to clean out the garage again today. Our garage fills up with clutter faster than you would believe. I guess he was getting tired of the obstacle course that we have had to traverse just to take out the trash. (That is, we, in the universal sense of the word as I rarely take out the trash.) I happened to wander out there right when he started working. When I discovered what he was doing, I eagerly volunteered my services as Organizer Extraordinaire.

I guess I was a little too eager. Can you believe that he said that he would rather do it all by himself? When he told me that he would prefer if I just went in and did not "help" him, I started to feel a tiny bit of tightening in my chest.

No, I was not saddened that my dear husband of almost 14 years did not want me right by his side. I was saddened because extreme cleaning and organization would be happening and I was not going to be a part of it. (I have a little Monica from Friends in me!) I knew that I would have to play my cards right if I was going to be allowed to be a part of this adventure.

I promised to just be a helper and not take over. I told him that I would be available to run and fetch, sweep, etc and that he could make all the decisions. He seemed reluctant to give in, but I promised to keep my word so he let me stay. By the time the job was done, I do think that I was helpful to him, definitely value added and the garage looks great!

I started thinking about how I am to be a helper to him in all areas of life, not just those that get me something in return like a cleaning fix. This does not come easily for me because I like to be "Large and In Charge" of all situations. (Not an excuse, folks, just an explanation.)

I want to be the kind of wife that is a help not a hindrance or a nag. A wife that helps her husband reach his full potential and one that is a soft place to fall when the world is tough on him. Unfortunately, I think that I get bogged down in things that don't matter as much and lose sight of my goals.

Seems like I need to clean out the clutter in my heart a lot more often than he needs to clean the garage, don't you think?