Smiles

Here are a few things that made me smile this weekend:

This guy!

We traveled to Devon's softball tournament, and since I am the president of the Devon Fan Club, I couldn't miss the annual Memorial Day Tournament. He looks so cute in his uniform :)

Lucy, my girl who will only wear dresses, loves to play in the dirt. Icky, but pretty cute.

Get a closer look at that dirty face!

Max, as busy as ever, was determined to catch a "doggy", which was actually a bird.

BUSTED!  Lucy!

"Look Dad!  The doggies are all flying away!"

*Joe would have brought me smiles too, but he gladly spent the weekend with Grandma Donna rather than play in the dirt or chase birds :)

Papa Miller

My Papa Miller passed away today.

He died naturally- his body was simply finished- and when he passed, most of his children were at his bedside. I think that there is something poetic about being at a parent's bedside when a final breath is taken. My dad was present for both his mother's and his father's final breath, just as they were both there for his first breath.

The last time that I visited with my Papa was on Thanksgiving, over 5 years ago. Even then, he wasn't quite the same Papa that I knew when I was a child. He seemed a bit absent, and perhaps this is when I said goodbye to him, knowing in my heart that I would not see him again in this life.

Papa never met my husband. He never met any of my children, though it makes me happy to know that Pascal Coy Miller will forever fill a branch on their family tree. And if they ever happen to ask about him, I will be pleased to tell them that Papa always had a freezer stocked with Jello Pudding Pops. He called Nana "Mama". He would covertly give me and my brothers cash by folding a bill into a small square and then passing it to us through hand-shakes. He would sing silly songs and make up rhymes, like once at a family function at the country club pool, he asked, "Annie? Would you be so bold, to fetch my shoes? My feet are cold!" He would drive Nana to the mall but then he would stay in the car and sleep while she shopped. He would take us out to eat at Humpty Dumpty, and we would ride in the front seat of his blue Buick, listening to folk music. He would do silly dances, and he would watch TV from his big reclining chair.

When I was a teenager, before I could drive, Papa once gave me a ride home from my job at Mark Sports. He took me out to dinner after my shift, and he cried as he told me how much he missed "Mama". I remember thinking I never want to be this sad. Tonight, he is in Heaven with Nana, and he is with the Creator, and I am confident that he is not sad, not at all.

Lucy's First Bible Verse

I adore any artwork that Lucy's little hands take any part in creating. In my dream house I would have a wall of cork board upon which I could indulgently pin up the artwork of my kiddos, and I would smile every time that I looked at that wall.

Yesterday after church, Lucy ran up to me, handed me the green heart with the pink yarn and excitedly recited, "Mom! Do nuffing shellfish!"

My heart swelled with pride! "Lucy! Did you memorize that Bible verse? Great job! Do you know what it means?"

"Yes, it means to always share with my friends." And off she ran- the artwork had been delivered, the verse had been recited, and, later, the heart had been pinned on the cork board in our kitchen.

This afternoon, as we sat and ate our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, she asked, "Mom? Can we go to the park? Can me and Maxy swing at the park? And can we play on the grass- the grass that is green? Green grass like the green heart that I made at church..." She had glanced at the cork board.

I saw an opportunity to test her: "Lucy, do you remember the Bible verse?"

"Yes. Do (oh my gosh!) nuffing (she is going to remember! My little Bible scholar!) seashell!"

So there you have it, the inspired words of God: Do nothing seashell :)

Just Call Me the Fix-It Gal!

Somewhere in my garage there is an unused tool belt. I believe that it was a prop for a mattress sales meeting at one point in my short lived career. It is time to find that belt!

Yesterday we returned home to the unsettling smell of something burning, and it was horrendous! We located the source (the bathroom fan in the basement), and today I called a heating/air company to send someone out to fix/replace the bathroom fan. It was $39 to get someone to come to our house, and I naively thought that it wouldn't cost much more to get a fix.

I was wrong!

I showed the big, scary man where the burning smell was coming from, and I had barely finished my sentence before he had me sign off on a form that agreed that in addition to the $39 "appearance fee" there is a "diagnostic fee" of $219! And, folks, this is all before anything is even fixed!

A bit of time later, I was looking at a work-order of $861 + tax for the bathroom fan to be replaced.

This did NOT sit well with me! I felt like this guy thinks I am a sucker! (and it probably didn't help that I shrugged when he asked me where he could find the water heater, the electric box and the furnace).

I called Devon, hoping that he would say, "That is absurd! Tell him to take a hike! Let's hit up Home Depot tonight and replace the fan by ourselves!"

But, instead, Devon said, "Well, don't we have the money in savings? Do you really think that we could do this by ourselves?"

a) I can think of 1,000,000 things that I'd rather spend money on, and b) yes, in fact, I do think that WE CAN DO IT!

Big, scary guy was suddenly able to offer me no tax, and a $50 coupon, and even financing... but I sent him packing (after paying his appearance fee AND the diagnosis fee. Boooo! That will sting for a while).

Upon further investigation (homedepot.com), the fan should not cost more than $100, and there is even an installation guide available online.

From now on, I vow to be a DIY-er!

I like to joke that Devon and I cannot hang a picture straight, much less fix something, but times have changed, my friends, and I am going to find that tool belt, and I might even bedazzle it!

Call the Fashion Police!

This TJ Maxx shopper is a fashion DON'T!

Who is her mother???

A Knee-Slapping Good Time

Not too much news to report from the Rantz home, but here is what I've got!



Joe's baseball team is now in the playoffs, and it would be great if they could finish out the season with another win, making their total of games won: 2

Max received another box of hand-me-downs from the Lotts, and we LOVE hand-me-downs! He was particularly fond of these snow boots and this sun-hat.

Lucy's skin is still on the mend, but doesn't her face look better??

Devon's softball team won both of their games on Sunday- WOOHOO! Go Attitudes! Tournament season is approaching!

I might have an addiction to chocolate malts, and I wore a heart monitor for 24 hours (no results yet).

The weather has been lovely!

Lucy enjoys blowing bubbles on our back deck-

And Max does not get to join her (which may be part of the appeal for Lucy!).

And, finally, I was able to spend some time with Monica and Janelle! (These are old pictures, but they'll have to work). These ladies were some of my first friends in Seattle, and we have shared many good times together. Monica and I met when we both were hired by Simmons, and she has since moved to Atlanta to climb the corporate ladder, and she is such a super-star and I couldn't be happier about her success. MONICA FOR PRESIDENT! Janelle and her husband don't live too far from us, and it is pretty tragic that I don't see her more often!

These girls make me laugh so hard that I slap my knee- like, laughing and slapping my knee all at once. Monica always notices the ol' knee slap! It has been almost 3 years since I've seen these ladies, and the time spent with them was good for my soul :)

HELLOOOOOOOOO!

This is a quick hello!

My laptop is dying a slow and painful death, and my children don't let me have two minutes to myself anyway, so it has been a whole week since I have been able to post!

But Devon is home right now, and I am hogging his computer for as long as he will let me. But I do have both Max and Lu on my lap, so I'd better make this quick!


I had a really nice Mother's Day- we went to church and then off to the Mariner's game with the fam and my Mother-in-Law, Donna. The Mariners won, which is what Devon called a "Mother's Day Miracle".

Last week I visited the pediatrician's office 3 times- once for each child, and all for different ailments! Lucy's visit was regarding her sensitive skin, and we scored a prescription, and her face looks so much better! I'll get a great picture soon, so that y'all can see and remember what Baby Lulu looks like without scratches all over her pretty cheeks :)

The doctor's office has a poster that totally bugs me. It looks like this:

and reads The trick about life is to make it looks easy.

I'm not sure why this message bothers me so much. I've been meaning to sit down and write a diatribe about why the trick about life is not, in fact, to make it look easy. Or, perhaps I have been going about this all wrong, and the trick about life really is to make it look easy. Thoughts? Anyway, Max loves the poster and points at it and exclaims "dah gah!" several times (which translates "doggy").

Mama Rantz out!

Note to Self:

Don't turn your back on Max!

Because if you do, he'll do this-

(which will remind you of when Lucy did the same thing!)

And then the little man will break your new lamp (the lamp which replaced the other lamp, which he also broke) by throwing it to the ground not once, not twice, but three times.

And eventually your living room will look like this (complete with ballerina)-

And don't try to clean anything- he will only push the vacuum to the floor and then ride it, like this-And he will finish the day by running into the wall and put a boo-boo on his forehead like this-

So, please do yourself a favor and don't turn your back on Max!

(And you probably shouldn't buy another new lamp for at least a few more years)

All Good Things Must Come to an End

That is a saying, right? "All good things must come to an end"?

This post was going to be a eulogy for My Nursing Bra. She lived a full life... She was always supportive...

But, as I sit to write, I feel that I am going in a different direction. Here is where I'm at-

I have to stop nursing Max. My goal was to breastfeed him for a full year. Lucy quit on me before she reached 10 months- she was far too busy and independent to be bothered with nursing, so we bought formula until she turned one and then she drank whole milk. But, times have changed, and I made my goal in an effort to not spend $100+ each month on formula- well, that and the fact that "breast is best" for baby, yada yada.

I reached my goal last week-the one year mark-so it is now time to wrap up this party! My Nursing Bra is to be laid to rest in the trash can (she wasn't pretty in her final days, let me tell ya'!), I am anxious to buy some sassy new bras, I want to get dressed without first considering the easy-access-to-boobs factor, and I want my body back!

In addition, Max has seven teeth, and all 7 have bit me a handful of times, once waking Devon from his sleep with, "OUCH! OUCH! PLEASE LOOK AND TELL ME THAT MY NIPPLE IS STILL ATTACHED!" (yes, I nurse Max back to sleep at night. Aren't I accommodating?).

Also, the kid is huge. I must look like a hippy (no offense to hippies) with such a large child in my arms, his legs hanging off to the side, breastfeeding. Good thing that he is bald. His lack of hair makes him a bit more baby-ish, in my opinion, so that perhaps I don't look like the president of La Leche League (no offense of the president of La Leche League).

Yet, there is a YET. Yet, when my Lover Boy is tired and fussy, he climbs onto my lap and tugs at my shirt, desperate to get it off (Men! Right?!) (Just kidding, Dev), and when I ask "Ninny ninny num nums?" (that is our pathetic little code for "want some milk?" and typing it out just made me blush. Oh well, I'm going with it!) he giggles and claps and is overcome with anticipation. He begins to eat (which really isn't eating, now that he has 7 teeth and can actually chew and crunch), and his eyes roll back into his head and he is soooooooooo happy.

There is something completely satisfying about making my baby sooooooooooo happy.

I suppose I am learning that weaning from breastfeeding is a process for baby and for mommy.

Last night I left our family circus to go to the grocery store, but first I handed Devon a bottle of whole milk and our pajama-clad Bubs. A quick look of delight filled Devon's face, and whether he realized it or not, it was the first time that he would hold Max and feed him like a baby, from a bottle. I've been such a hog, keeping all of the feedings to myself! I don't actually feel guilty about not giving Max bottles, but I do feel kinda good about the transition which will allow Devon to take an equal part in nourishing our boy with milk.

So, cheers to weaning, and to new bras :)

Me & my babies yesterday at the Grand Opening of Stroller Strides in our neighborhood.

It was so cold that Lu & Max were both crying by the end of class :(The warm bath that followed :)

Fall Into the Gap

Every so often, Gap offers an additional 40% off their clearance prices. I came across such a sale last week, and it is just amazing how a $9.99 shirt doesn't interest me, but knock that price down to $5.99, and the same shirt suddenly has loads of potential!

An additional 40% discount makes me a little kooky.

Exhibit A:

Patchwork jeans. These jeans were originally priced $79.50, and I took them home for $14.99! A fantastic deal, yes, but do I need these jeans? Do I even like these jeans?

Exhibit B:

Camouflage cargo pants. Originally $69.50, these bad-boys only set me back $8.39. However, am I a nine-year-old boy? Do I think that huge cargo pockets on my thighs will somehow be flattering?

On a scale of 1-10, 1 being "YIKES" and 10 being "NICE FIND!", how terrible are these pants?