Things That Shouldn't Surprise Me

... but somehow they do!

1. My son, Grant, is a very picky eater. Given that I am a picky eater ... Ironically, my girls are better eaters than my boy is. Go figure! LOL 
2. Speaking of my girls, Abby is a nonstop talker. Talk, talk, talk. She even says that she LOVES talking! Why shouldn't this surprise me? I'm so glad you asked! As a newborn, this girl cried and cried and cried. All. the. time. Unless she was eating or sleeping, of course. No, no colic – doctor said so, and i know so. Just crying for no apparent reason. My mom, who has TONS of experience with babies and kids, even found her challenging – and I quote "she's the hardest baby I've ever seen!" Thankfully, she waited until Abby got a little less difficult before saying that! Anyway, now I think she was just TALKING. As a newborn, the only way she knew to do that was to CRY! So, when I look at it that way, I realize that I shouldn't be so surprised that the girl neverstopstalking! ;-)
3. Natalie is – well, how do I say it ... challenging – and in a way that's completely different from her older sister. She's go, go, go all the time. She's constantly testing boundaries. She's into EVERYTHING. She was more active than the other two as an infant – started getting into aforementioned EVERYTHING much earlier. Why should this be anything but surprising? For one, she was the MOST active before she was born. This girl moved more regularly, AND with much more oomph behind her movements, than her siblings! MUCH more. MUCH, MUCH more. Add to that, hers was my most difficult pregnancy, and most uncomfortable.

And that's it – for now. I'm sure I'll have more to come somewhere down the road.

Friday's Fave 5

LOVE this idea! Share your five favorite things from the past week! This is hosted on Living to Tell the Story. If you'd like to join in, the rules of play can be found HERE. This week's post, with the MckLinky attached, is HERE.

1. Lilacs ~ The other morning, I could smell them as I walked from the house to the garage, and back. They were just starting to bloom. And now, they're HERE! They are my absolute FAVORITE flowers because they are so fragrant, beautiful, and FRAGRANT! :-)

2. Back to school ~ Last week was spring break. And it was nice. The kids and I enjoyed our time together. But, well, by week's end, I was READY for school! (How am I gonna get through SUMMER?)

3. Reading ~ I finished TWO good books this week, and have started another AWESOME book! Wanna know details? Follow me at Proud Book Nerd! :-)

4. Chinese food ~ Dh and I had Chinese food for dinner last night. It's a RARE treat, and one of my FAVORITE ethnic foods! :-)

5. Organizing my pantry ~ Oh, yes, I did! This time I decided that our pantry was a disaster and HAD to be fixed. One, it was frustrating. Two, it was embarrassing. Three, I could tell it was a big source of stress for my hubby. So, well, I cleaned it out, top to bottom, and reorganized it! I'm 99% finished – finished enough to be feeling like I got a LOT accomplished!

And that's it this week! What a great meme! I like looking back and counting my blessings! I'll be back next week for sure! :-)

I am an IDIOT!

I am not sure why, but I misposted the winner of the most recent giveaway – for An Absence So Great! The post has been corrected, but if you saw it and thought you were the winner as a result, please send me an e-mail at ramblings.more@gmail.com. (I know who I said, so don't e-mail if you aren't the person! ;-) ) I offer my humblest apologies and beg your forgiveness!

An Absence So Great Winner

Congratulations to Judy Hall! :-) Your e-mail is on the way!

THANK YOU to everyone who entered! Don't forget to enter to win the CUTE kids' book This Little Prayer of Mine and the AWESOME read Forget Me Not! Also, stay tuned, because I have a new giveaway starting on Monday!

Blessings,

Yes, I'll Take Cheese with this Whine

Yes, I need to whine – I mean vent – a bit. And I'm sorry to be such a PITA, but I gotta get it out. I'm feeling frustrated, discouraged, and mildly defeated. I am getting obsessive, I fear – and you'll likely agree when you see where I'm going with this.

It's about Proud Book Nerd. You know, my new – DOUBLY new – book blog. I was so excited – I had NINETEEN Google Friend Connect followers in less than a week! I was so proud of myself and so happy. People wanted to read me.

Then the corruption happened. And I lost the blog.

Unfortunately, the blog's followers didn't come over when I did the URL switcheroo. And now, three. (If you are one of those three - THANK YOU!) Yes, three is better than zero, but it's not as good as NINETEEN! :-(

Breathe. Count your blessings. Breathe some more. Ask God to ease the stupid anxiety over this. Remember you cannot change anything at this point. Just wait and see. God is in control. Hopefully the new friends will find their way back. In the end, this WILL be worth it. If nothing else, Ramblings is going to be much less cluttered – that's worth something, isn't it?

Proud Book Nerd

Most - if not all - of you know by now that I have decided to break my book blog off this one in order to de-clutter this blog. This time last week, I was happily making myself at home over at Proud Book Nerd, and it was going well. Until I tried to put my linkbar up at the top. It wasn't working properly. E-mails with the designer of that style (which I LOVE) made it clear that the problem was that the blog had inexplicably gone CORRUPT! :-( Apparently, that tends to happen randomly - often after a template change. So, I had to rebuild it. Long story short: I had to create a new blog, delete PBN, then change the url of the new one back to Proud Book Nerd! Why am I telling you all of this? Well, because it appears that I LOST MY FOLLOWERS in the process! :-( I know some of you kindly followed that blog when I announced it, so I was hoping I could convince you to PLEASE come back and click the button to follow again! PLEASE! I'm bummed about this, really bummed. Not only did I have those of you who kindly followed me there (in addition to here), but I had already made some new book-blogging friends who were following me. They, alas, are gone. I'm not sure if/when they'll find their way back. BUT, since each of you is still here (I think - I HOPE), I thought I could enlighten you to the situation. So ...

If you were following me over on Proud Book Nerd, PLEASE go back over there and set that up again! I apologize for the inconvenience involved, and I pray to never have to re-create a corrupt blog again!

To make this as easy as possible, here it is:

PROUD BOOK NERD

THANK YOU!

Random Dozen

I haven't done this since before Easter, at least I don't think I have. Anyway, this is another fun one. Random Dozen is hosted by 2nd Cup of Coffee.

1. How do you feel about "Gladiator" sandals, also called "Roman" or "Jesus" sandals? A fashion yea or nay?

I think they are UGLY!

2. What is your favorite pizza?

Taco pizza. GOOD stuff!

3. There are plans in the works to sell roughly 1,000 items from Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas. This means you could buy Picard's chair for your family room. If not a Star Trek item, what prop, background, set, etc. from what TV or movie would you buy if you could? [Ex: Hurley's "I Love my Shih tzu" shirt from LOST, the plantation home "Tara" from Gone With the Wind, or Tracy's tambourine from the Partridge Family.]

I have no idea.

4. Name a local food or restaurant that your area is famous for.

Whitey's Ice cream

5. What is your current favorite snack?

Dove milk chocolate and peanut butter squares

6. Hypothetical: You are required to be a reality show contestant. Which show would you choose based on your probability of success? (You cannot choose "none.")

A. Dancing with the Stars

B. Biggest Loser

C. Survivor

A. Dancing with the Stars. While I'd love to be on Biggest Loser, I think I'd be more successful with DWTS.

7. On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being uninhabitable and 10 being cleanliness that meets the standards of OCD, how clean is your vehicle's interior?

7.5

8. It doesn't feel like Spring until _________.

I can smell my lilacs – which is starting to happen! :-D

9. Something that made you laugh really hard recently is ____.

The kids. They're always cracking me up! ;-)

10. Tell me about a goal you're working toward.

Losing this baby weight. Ultimate goal: be where I was when I got pg with Abby.

11. Share a thought-provoking or inspiring quote this week.

Umm ... Let me get back to you on that one!

12. Name one thing that you do as a parent that you absolutely know will make your kids happy. If you're not a parent, feel free to substitute "friend" or nomenclature that works for you.

Sometimes I'll take them for a special snack after school – like out for ice cream (at the aforementioned Whitey's), or to somewhere like Chili's and order dessert. They always love that! :-)

GIVEAWAY Ends Tomorrow

Don't miss your chance to win An Absence So Great! Just enter your information on the MckLinky HERE! GOOD LUCK!

Don't forget that I have branched off the book posting to a new blog, Proud Book Nerd. If you like my book reviews and/or giveaways, please join me!

Tune-In Tuesday 4/13

It's music time! :-)

This week's picks are not very related, but still songs I love.

1. God of This City by Bluetree ~ Such a good, powerful song. Every time I hear this I have to sing, and I have to hear it over and over and over ... It is especially pertinent in these crazy times in this nation I love. When singing this, I often will change "city" to "nation." It serves as an awesome reminder that no matter what might happen or how things might appear, God is ALWAYS in control. Whether our nation's leaders choose to acknowledge Him, whether our nation's citizens choose to acknowledge Him, whether you as an individual choose to acknowledge Him – none of that matters. It doesn't change the simple, blessed fact that God indeed is in control. You don't have to believe it to make it true. It is true. It is THE TRUTH. He is the God of This City, the God of This NATION!

You're God of this city, you're the King of these people, you're the Lord of this nation, you are...

You're the Light in this darkness, you're the Hope to the hopeless, you're the Peace to the restless, you are...

For there is none like our God, there is none like You, God!

Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city!
Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done here.

You're the Lord of creation, The creator of all things you're the King above all kings, you are...

You're the Strength in the weakness, You are Love to the broken, You're the Joy in the sadness, you are...

For there is none like our God, there is none like you, God!

Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city!
Where glory shines from hearts alive with praise for You and love for You in this city.

Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city!
Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done here.

For there is none like our God, there is none like you, God!

Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city!
Where glory shines from hearts alive with praise for You and love for You in this city.

Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city!
Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done here.

And I think I'm going to stop here. The other song I was considering sharing doesn't seem to fit this week. Plus, I need something for next week! LMAO

So, please share your favorite songs – whether here in a comment or in a post on your own blog is up to you. Please leave your link if you do post something!

Blessings to you!

Getting to Know You 4/11

Hosted by MannLand5, this is a fun theme for Sundays! If you want to participate this week, you can leave me a comment and/or fill out the MckLinky HERE.

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1. What color do you wear the most?

Wear? Probably black. I wear black yoga pants a LOT, and if I'm wearing a different type of pants (not black), I often wear a black shirt.

2. Would you rather have $10,000 dollars or a dream vacation?

$10,000 to pay down debts

3. Do you have a weird, quirky or unusual habit?

Sure. Doesn't everyone?

4. I really need to start..........?

Getting back into gear on this weight-loss thing!

5. What was the first blog you ever read?

Good gosh, I have no idea! It's been so long that I just couldn't even venture a guess!

6. Do you collect anything?

You mean aside from books? I LOVE unicorns. Not the cartoonish, babyish ones. I like the GORGEOUS, elegant, regal ones – bonus if they have wings!

7. How old were you when you had your first kiss?

Umm... 14 or 15.

8. Do you text/twitter while driving?

Nope. That's something I believe is EXTREMELY irresponsible, not to mention illegal in my home state of Illinois.

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Now it's your turn! Here are the questions to easier copy/paste:

1. What color do you wear the most?
2. Would you rather have $10,000 dollars or a dream vacation?
3. Do you have a weird, quirky or unusual habit?
4. I really need to start..........?
5. What was the first blog you ever read?
6. Do you collect anything?
7. How old were you when you had your first kiss?
8. Do you text/twitter while driving?

WINNER: Here Burns My Candle

Congratulations to Judy Dudley! :-) E-mail is on the way!

Thanks to everyone who entered! :-) Don't forget to enter the giveaways for An Absence So Great and This Little Prayer of Mine!

Blessings to you all!

Five Question Friday 4/9/10

It's that time again – a time I was sad to have missed last week!

1. Who would you want to play you in a movie of your life?

I would love to have Sandra Bullock play me. She's my favorite actress, and has been since Speed came out!

2. Did you ever go to summer camp?

Yes, a few times.

3. What sends you running and screaming in the other direction?

Snakes

4. What is something you do that drives your spouse nuts?

Umm ... I honestly don't know. I know there's something, but I don't know what it is. He's a suffer-in-silence type. Well, until he's reached the boiling point. By that point, it's usually something small that sets him off, and I've no idea where it all is coming from. And, of course, he's not a talker. So ...

5. What is currently your favorite song?

I can never pick a favorite song! Never! But, that's why I have my weekly Tune-In Tuesday meme! (And it took this post to make me realize that I forgot about it this week! I blame spring break and the busyness – yes, that is correct, "busyness" as opposed to "business" – that comes with  that comes with it. Oh, yeah, and the launch of my NEW book blog, Proud Book Nerd.

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Rules for 5QF: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then link up in the MckLinky on Mama M's post. Also link back to Mama M.

No blog? That's alright!! Just answer the questions in the comments of anyone's blog along the way...this is a fun, easy way to get to know your fellow bloggers!

Questions for Friday, April 9th (repeated for easier copying):
1. Who would you want to play you in a movie of your life?
2. Did you ever go to summer camp?
3. What sends you running and screaming in the other direction?
4. What is something you do that drives your spouse nuts?
5. What is currently your favorite song?

GIVEAWAY Ends Tomorrow

I know I said my book stuff will be on my new blog, Proud Book Nerd, and it will. But, because this giveaway actually is posted on THIS blog, I wanted to make sure my readers here got to see this, too.

I just wanted to give everyone a quick reminder that tomorrow at 11:59 p.m., the giveaway for Here Burns My Candle closes for entries. I plan to announce the winner on Saturday. To enter, click on the link below and enter your information into the MckLinky at the bottom of the post. (If you cannot figure out MckLinky, please leave a comment, and I'll get you entered.) GOOD LUCK!

• Here Burns My Candle

Egg-cellent

Oh, yes, I did! I have a punny title! Yes, I know, I hate those, but there are times I just cannot resist! ;-)

Anyway, Abby, Grant, and I decided to color eggs today. We hadn't done so before Easter, but who says you can color eggs only for Easter? Plus, Abby has been begging for hard-boiled eggs for a while now, so it serves two purposes. Fun with dye, and feed my girl! ;-)

I haven't boiled very many eggs in my lifetime, so I wasn't exactly sure how to go about doing so. My fear was ending up with soft-boiled eggs, which are G-R-O-S-S! But, recently, I stumbled upon a post by Jen that was about making good deviled eggs. This post caught my eye simply because I LOVE deviled eggs. Love them! In the post she gives advice on the best way to boil the eggs so they can be peeled easily. Long story short: add the eggs to a pot of boiling water, boil for a few minutes, let sit (covered) for about 15 minutes, cool under cold water. And voila! You have perfect, easy-to-peel eggs.

Today, we tested this method ...





drum roll, please ...





and it worked! The eggs were PERFECTLY cooked, and very easy to peel. Even my 6-year-old, who had never before peeled hard-boiled eggs, was able to peel the eggs pretty cleanly. She only butchered one or two, and that only happened when she tried to get it done too quickly!

So, THANK YOU, Jen! Now that I've found an awesome – no, make that the BEST – way to boil my eggs, I just might be ready to try making deviled eggs (my FAVORITE)!

UPDATE ~ MckLinky is back!

PHEW! MckLinky is back, so please use MckLinky to enter my giveaways. They can be found:

• Here Burns My Candle ~ Ends 4/9
• An Absence So Great ~ Ends 4/15
• This Little Prayer of Mine ~ Ends 4/19

GIVEAWAYS ALERT: MckLinky is DOWN!

This is a bad thing if you want to enter any of my giveaways! Until further notice, please leave a comment on the post in which the giveaways are announced. If you already signed up, PLEASE leave a comment in the post just in case MckLinky's not back soon! I don't want to miss anyone. Anyway, here are the links:

• Here Burns My Candle ~ Ends 4/9
• An Absence So Great ~ Ends 4/15
• This Little Prayer of Mine ~ Ends 4/19

Exciting Announcement

For several days now I have been considering breaking my book blog off from here. Don't get me wrong – I love this blog. But, I was thinking that it might be nice to split the more personal from the less personal. I felt like this blog was getting way too cluttered, and I don't like that! I want to keep this as my primary blog, but have my new blog as all things reading-related – book reviews, giveaways, or other book-related posts that might come along. So, without further ado, I introduce you to:

Proud Book Nerd

No, I haven't posted anything yet. But, I purchased a new layout and am now in the process of moving things over there. I will not be moving any posts from here to there. Anything that I had put on this blog before right now will remain here. Widgets, buttons, and other things like that might disappear from here, but posts aren't moving. So, if you're a bookish one, like me, or wanna win some free books, please start following me over there! Again, the new blog is:


Proud Book Nerd

I hope to see you there!

Book Review: The Flowering Cross by Beth Ryan

Title: The Flowering Cross

Author: Beth Ryan, Illustrated by Renee Graef

Summary: This is an Easter children's book about loving your neighbor. It talks about a little girl, Katie, and her family and how they befriend the grumpy old man next door. While the rest of the neighborhood refers to the man as "Mean Old Jack," Katie's family calls him "Papa Jack." Their love helps pave the way for him to come to know God's love.

My Thoughts: This is a very good story with a wonderful message! My 6-year-old daughter liked the story a lot. Included in the story are suggestions for how to talk to your child about the story and how it relates to God. While they're good, I think that they interfere with the telling of the story. I think that, for future readings, I'll make sure to discuss the insights after finishing the story. My daughter was very interested in the story, as well as the Bible verses on some of the pages. The illustrations are beautiful and nicely compliment the story. Also included is a page with instructions on how you can make your own flowering cross. I thought that's pretty neat – a way to further bring the story to life at home. Overall, I think this is an excellent addition to a child's library, especially if you're looking for Easter-related stories!

Source: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Own It: Get your own copy of The Flowering Cross HERE.

Book Review & GIVEAWAY: This Little Prayer of Mine

Title: This Little Prayer of Mine

Author: Anthony DeStefano, Illustrated by Mark Elliott

Summary: Author Anthony DeStefano’s adult books, The Prayers God Always Says Yes To and A Travel Guide to Heaven, have sold a quarter-million copies. Illustrator Mark Elliott’s cherished artwork has appeared in popular picture books and novels for young readers, including Gail Carson Levine’s ever-popular Princess Tales series.

Now, these acclaimed inspirational experts have come together to create This Little Prayer of Mine, a beautiful and alluring book designed to guide children into a very simple, real and expressive relationship with God.

Through engaging rhymes and alluring illustrations, This Little Prayer of Mine shows children—and their parents and grandparents—that complete dependence on God is what brings peace and fulfillment. It invites children to know and believe that God is always just a simple prayer away and that He longs to respond to them with a resounding, “Yes!”

This Little Prayer of Mine appeals to readers from all different faiths. Easy-reader format allows children to read alone, or with someone older, and encourages them to openly express their fears, thanks, and needs directly to God.

Author Bio: Anthony DeStefano is the author of The Prayers God Always Says Yes To and A Travel Guide to Heaven. He has received prestigious awards from religious organizations worldwide for his efforts to advance Christian beliefs in modern culture.

Mark Elliott’s brilliant illustrations have appeared in popular picture books and novels for young readers, including Gail Carson Levine’s Princess Tales series. His acclaimed artwork delivers inspiration, wonder, and timeless beauty on every page.

My thoughts: This is a very cute, sweet story about praying to God. It shows children all the different times we can pray – when we're sad, when we're lonely, when we're scared, etc. It also shows how to ask God's forgiveness when we're not acting as we should. The illustrations are absolutely lovely and go perfectly with the story. Very detailed, my children and I enjoyed really looking through them. This book would be a great addition to any child's library!

Source: This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Own It: Get your own copy of This Little Prayer of Mine HERE.

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*****WIN IT*****

I have one copy to give away to one lucky reader!

To Enter: Submit your entry using the MckLinky below (you can leave the first box, labeled "entry content," blank). Entries will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (Central) Monday, April 19. A winner will be chosen randomly with the help of random.org. I will send the lucky winner an e-mail notification. (It will come from ramblings.more(at)gmail(dot)com, so make sure to add this address to your safe list or address book to ensure it doesn't get lost in junk/bulk mail.) If I do not get a response within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. Unfortunately, this giveaway is only open to readers in the U.S. No P.O. boxes.

Speaking of GIVEAWAYS: Don't forget to enter my other giveaways!

The GIVEAWAY for Here Burns My Candle ends on April 9!

Enter to win An Absence So Great by April 15 HERE!

I'm back!

I just wanted to say a quick hello – and almost-too-late HAPPY EASTER! We had a lovely weekend with the hubby's family. It was very nice. I'm not going to worry about posting things I'd intended to over the weekend – or things I typically post over the weekends. I'm just going to pick up where I left off. I'm sure you can understand! ;-)

That said, this week is spring break for us, so I'm not sure how much I will be around. I do have a couple of book reviews – including another giveaway – coming soon, so I'll at least be around for those! ;-) In case I'm not around much beyond that, I hope you all have a very blessed week! :-)

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Reminder: I have TWO GIVEAWAYS that are currently open. Not surprisingly, both are books. The first is Here Burns My Candle. (Click on the title to find the post.) Entries are open through Friday, April 9. The winner will be chosen – and announced – the next day. The second is An Absence So Great. Entries are open through Thursday, April 15. To enter either, just fill out the MckLinky information attached to the end of the appropriate post. If you cannot figure out the MckLinky, please post a comment and I'll be happy to add you to the list! :-)